Critical Reading Activity AP English

This photograph by Spanish photographer Samuel Aranda was awarded first place in the World Press Photo Award competition for 2011.

Re: Critical Thinking Exercise for AP English

Hello Class,

Part of the critical thinking process is context. Please look at the photo we discussed on Monday in class of the mother and son in the mosque. Here is the link to the photo (number one). Then, read number two so you can develop a context for understanding the photo. Finally, critical thinking involves connecting the story or photo, in this case, to additional information that will help you understand the meaning.

Number three will give you background on why the people in Yemen are rebelling against their government, and number four gives you factual information about the country of Yemen.

My questions to you are: Do you think this photo helped cause social change/revolution in Yemen? What was the photographer's message? What do you think the photographer, Samuel Aranda, wanted his audience to think or feel when they saw his photo? Why do you think it was voted the BEST photo of the year by the World Press? (These are all critical thinking questions that are commonly asked in American university classes.)

1. http://www.worldpressphoto.org/ World Press Photo of the Year

2.. The Story Behind the World Press Photo on the BBC, February 21, 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/17111673

3. And, recent news from Yemen on the status of the revolution and the election on the BBC, February 21, 2012

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17112797

4. BBC Country Profiles on Yemen - facts about the country

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-14704852

Two important questions I want to add to the homework:

1. How did your ideas, assumptions and inferences about the photo change after you read the information in links one through four?

2. Why is it important to keep an open mind while you read?

New information is being created in the world every second. It is important that we keep an open mind and be willing to be flexible with our ideas and thoughts as new information becomes available to us! Have a great day!


Educational P.S. because I believe in a good postscript. After one week, ask your students to search the term "Yemen" on Google News. Discuss the fluidity and ever-changing nature of knowledge. The students will realize that the situation in the country changes day by day, hour by hour. 

Lori

Don't Miss REKHA BASU

Basu: Whatever the reason, Weiner's actions were pathetic

Des Moines Register, June 7, 2011

My empathy is for the men who can't find work and can't afford to get a degree, who are falling behind by most standard measures -- not the guys with every advantage, stuck in what author Kay Hymowitz calls a prolonged adolescence. And it's for the women who work diligently, quietly and with dignity only to get dragged into the slime their husbands made.

Whatever demons haunt a man in his situation, they are no excuse for hurting people and shirking the blame. If he really had a problem controlling himself, he should have come clean about it to his wife and sought a solution instead of leaving her blindsided and humiliated.

Power May Increase Promiscuity: Men are the center of sex scandals because they hold the center of power. Interesting research on NPR.

Quality of Life PowerPoint

How should we measure the quality of life?

I gave a PowerPoint presentation to the English Club at Villa Washington on Thursday, September 16, 2010. Critical thinking about quality of life issues is a relevant activity for students learning English in the Congo. Here is a list of the questions they discussed in small groups on Thursday night.

u Does technology change your quality of life?

u What are the indicators of quality of life? How should we measure it worldwide?

u What do you need personally for a great quality of life?

u Describe your quality of life on a scale of 1 to 10.

u How does the environment in Brazzaville affect your quality of life? What can you do to improve the quality of your life in your city or country?

u What should your government do to improve the quality of life for all its citizens?

u What does having children do to your quality of life?

u Can money alone buy quality of life? How much money do you need?

u Will your quality of life get better or worse in the next 10 years? Explain.