Students: Sara Sophia Velasco Silva Pedagogy and Didactics 2

Estefanía Pérez Bermúdez

Name: ____________________________________________ Date: _________________

Total ____/ 5

Reading - Art and Entertainment. /1,5

Objectives

a) To comprehend important information and facts about a historical figure, in this case
the life of Vincent Van Gogh.

VAN GOGH’S WORLD

1. STARRY NIGHTS AND SUNFLOWERS, self-portraits and café settings-all painted
in bold, intense colors. Today, people around the world immediately recognize these
as the work of Vincent van Gogh, the Dutch painter. Probably no other artist, at any
time in any culture, has achieved such popularity. But who was this man exactly, and
why, even today, do his art and life have such an ability to move us?

An Artist is Born

2. Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in a small village in southern
Holland. As a child, he was serious and sensitive. He loved to draw, and his work
showed talent, but no one encouraged him to become an artist. Instead, his father
thought he should take a “sensible” job- something like a sales clerk or carpenter. As
a young adult, he wandered from job to job with little success and very little money,
becoming more depressed with each failure. In March 1880, however, just before his
27th birthday, something changed inside van Gogh. He realized that he was meant to
be a painter, and he began to study art in Brussels, receiving a subsidy from his
brother Theo, which helped him to live.

Discovering Color

3. In 1886, van Gogh moved to Paris, hoping to learn more about color techniques
being used by Impressionist artists there. Instead of grays and browns, his work
began to emphasize blue and red, and then yellow and orange. Soon he began to
see life differently: Go Slow. Stop thinking. Look around. You’ll see something
beautiful if you open yourself. These were the principles that guide his art. With his
innovative color combinations, van Gogh wanted to show his viewers how to better
appreciate a flower, the night sky, or a person’s face

Descent into Madness

 4. Few who lived in van Gogh’s time appreciated his work, however. Many laughed
when they saw his paintings, which hurt the sensitive artist terribly. In February 1888,
he moved away from Paris to Arles, a town in southern France. Often he could not
eat or sleep, and stayed up into the early morning hours painting. Days passed, and
he spoke to no one. Following an argument with fellow artist Paul Gauguin, van Gogh
took a razor and cut off his own earlobe.

5. He never explained why, but by now, many were convinced that van Gogh was
crazy, and indeed, his mental health started to decline. He began to have attacks
during which he would hear strange sounds and think people were trying to hurt him.
In the spring of 1889, he was sent to a mental health hospital in St. Rémy, a town
near Arles.

6. What exactly was van Gogh suffering from? No one knows for sure, but some now
think it may have been a form of manic depression. Whatever his condition, van
Gogh’s illness both inhibited and inspired his creativity. When his attacks came, he
could not paint. But during his periods of calm, he was able to complete more than a
hundred masterpieces, including the classic starry night “Working on my pictures”, he
wrote “is almost a necessity for my recovery”.

Final Days

7. Following his release from the hospital in May 1890, van Gogh took a room in a town
just north of Paris. For the 70 days that he lived there, he produced, on average, a
painting a day. Until his death, however, he was unable to sell a single one; today,
those painting would be worth more than a billion U.S. dollars.

8. It was at this time that van Gogh either borrowed or stole a gun. On the afternoon of
July 27, 1890, he went out to the country and shot himself in the stomach. Two days
later, Vincent van Gogh died at age 37. What caused him to take his own life-his lack
of financial success, mental illness, his loneliness?

Van Gogh’s Legacy

9. Over a century after his death, van Gogh still remains extremely popular. His story-of
a man who resisted materialism and greed, who was alone and unappreciated-gives
people something they need. We find pieces of ourselves in him. This may also
explain the high prices paid for van Gogh’s work. His portrait of DR. Gachet sold in
1990 for more than $80 million to a Japanese businessman, breaking the world
record for art pieces. Many of his other works have also sold for millions. Of course,
people are buying great art when they purchase one of van Gogh paintings. But they
are also buying a piece of history, which, like his work, will live on forever.

Taken from: Reading Explorer (Second Edition) by National Geographic Learning.

Multiple choice
A) Choose the best answer for each question

1. Why did van Gogh not follow his passion for painting since he was a child? (1pt)

a. He thought that it would not have a good income in the future

b. His father thought that being a painter was not a worthy profession
c. He was not very good at it
d. He was not able to get into an art school

2. According to the reading, which of the following factors is not a possible reason for
van Gogh’s suicide? (1pt)

a. His mental illness

b. The lack of financial success
c. Not having a stable job
d. His loneliness

Sequencing

Number the events of van Gogh's life in the order in which they happened. (1-9)

___6___He began to feel deeply affected because people did not appreciate his art.

___7___He cut his earlobe and began to have attacks.

___9___He shot himself and died to two days later.

___2___He worked in different jobs earning very little money and having no success.

___5___He moved to Paris to follow his passion for painting.

___1___He enjoyed drawing as a child but no one encouraged him to follow his passion.

___4___He began to study art in Brussels.

___8___He was released from the hospital and moved to a town near Paris.

___3___He realized he was meant to be a painter.

Listening - Culture and Stereotypes ____/2

Objectives:

a) To identify what are the main ideas and details of the video.
 Watch the video “Can stereotypes ever be good” from Sheila Marie Orfano and
Densho. Can stereotypes ever be good? - Sheila Marie Orfano and Densho

A) Multiple choice
Choose the best answer for each question

1. In the survey conducted, what kind of stereotypes were held about Asian students?

a. Shy, intelligent and funny

b. Selfish and materialistic
c. Agressive and stubborn
d. Industrious, intelligent and gentle

2. How did the government attempt to transform the public perception of Japanese
Americans?

a. Addressing the subject in schools

b. Through campaigns
c. Through media coverage
d. Punishing people who had negative stereotypes of this population

B) According to the audio, fill in the gaps with the correct word(s). No more than
three (3) words per gap are accepted. Be sure to use the correct form of the
word. (1:40-2:41)

During World War II the US government ___tried____ _to__ ___Americanize_______

incarcerated Japanese Americans. They did this through English language classes, patriotic
exercises, and lessons on __how__ _to __ ___behave_______ in white American Society.
When incarcerees were released they were instructed to avoid returning to their own
communities and cultural practices, and instead, integrate into___white__ ___society____.
But after decades of anti-Asian policies and propaganda, white Americans had to be
persuaded that Japanese Americans were no ___longer_______ _a_ ___threat______. So
the government organized media coverage to transform the public perception of Japanese
Americans from ___suspected____ ____traitors_____to an American success story. In
fact, the phrase “__model_______ ___minority________” was coined by one such article
from 1966. But this article, and others like it, didn’t just cast Asian Americans as an obedient
and respectful “model minority”. They also criticized so-called “____problem _______
___minorities______”, primarily Black Americans.

Speaking - Ethical Dilemma __/1,5

Objectives
 a) To express opinions and believes in a discussion about animal testing.

1. Watch the following video and answer the questions below Ethical dilemma: Whose
life is more valuable? - Rebecca L. Walker

a. Why are drugs tested on animals?

b. Are human lives more valuable than non-human lives?

2. Using second conditional answer the question below

a. What would you do as a scientist faced with this scenario?