Assessment (2008-2009)
French teachers

Self-portraits (Art and English)

This first activity was a way for the pupils to introduce themselves to our partners.
It is a game in which the player listens to short oral clues in English and then chooses between various possibilities to match them to the right photographs and the right collages.
Logically enough the pupils first worked on the photographs and the collages and then wrote and rehearsed what they wanted to say to make it as significant as possible.
Before asking a friend to take the photograph, they filled in a form meant to help them think about how they wanted to be seen. They were free to dress up, to choose original places and positions …  We insisted upon elaborate photos which implied reflecting upon frame, camera angles, light and realizing that the way the photo is taken means something. The second part of the artistic work was the collage that’s to say another way of showing one’s personality using shapes, materials, colours, dimensions … As it was the case with the photo, reflection came first and then creation (here before collecting the materials they needed, they answered questions about  their qualities and defects and completed a Chinese portrait). Once finished, the collages have been photographed or scanned to be put on line.
We were a bit disappointed with the photographs which were not as elaborate as we would have liked (perhaps only because it was the beginning of the school year and the first eTwinning activity). As far as the collages are concerned, the digital result is not very convincing – too many small elements that are difficult to make out. The whole thing may also have been too directive, what they had to do was clearly defined so that creativity and imagination were a bit held back.