The Birthday
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LESSON PLAN THE BIRTHDAY About this activity In this activity, students try to draw a picture of an impossible kiss according to the teacher’s instructions. ▶ Recommended language level: A1/A2 ▶ Main story task: Teacher-led picture-telling ▶ Topics: Art; love For this activity, you will need the following: • A photograph of Marc Chagall and Bella Rosenfeld (see below). • An image of a well-know painting by Marc Chagall titled “The Birthday” (see below). • A copy of the worksheet on page 3 – one for each student. The photograph In the photograph, painter Marc Chagall and writer Bella Rosenfeld look into each other’s eyes with love and affection. A table covered with the artist’s paints and brushes fills the foreground. The photograph was taken in Paris some time around 1938. “The Birthday” Marc Chagall painted “The Birthday” in 1915, just a few weeks before he and Bella got married. You can access both images at the Phaidon website: https://bit.ly/2MHfrQg 2 Part one: the photograph + dictation 1. Brainstorm your students for famous lovers from history and literature. Write ideas on the board. Here are some possibilities: • Romeo and Juliet • Cleopatra and Antony • Lancelot and Guinevere • Napoleon and Josephine • Bonnie and Clyde • Odysseus and Penelope 2. To the list, add: “Marc and Bella”. Note: It is unlikely but not impossible that someone will know about Marc Chagall and Bella Rosenfeld. If anyone makes the connection at any point during this activity, that is not a problem. Use this as an opportunity for the knowledgeable individual (or individuals) to tell the class everything they know about this famous couple from art history. Then continue with the activity. 3. Tell students that you are going to show them a picture of Marc and Bella. Display the photograph so that everyone can see it (see page 1). Ask the questions below. • Who are these people? Do you know them? • Can you guess – when was this photograph taken? (Answer: around 1938) • Can you guess – where was this photograph taken? (Answer: Paris) • Can you describe their relationship? (Elicit: They are in love. / They look like they are in love. / They look like they love each other a lot.) 4. Give out copies of the worksheet on page 3 and ask students to complete parts one and two. 5. Let students check their answers in pairs or small groups. Then go over the answers with the whole class. • If you are wealthy, you have a lot of money. • If you are penniless you are poor. (Literally, without a penny) • If you do something immediately you do it very quickly. • When two people love each other and stay together, they are in a relationship. • If you become something, you begin to be that thing. (E.g. I became a teacher in 2001.) • Inspiration is something that artists need. It is a feeling that makes you want to draw, paint, write, make films, etc. Come came Think thought Meet met Return returned Fall fell Get got Move moved Become became THE BIRTHDAY JAMIE KEDDIE, 2021 3 Worksheet 1. Complete the following definitions with the words below: • If you are __________________, you have a lot of money. • If you are __________________, you are poor. • If you do something __________________, you do it very quickly. • When two people love each other and stay together, they are in a __________________. • If you __________________ something, you begin to be that thing. • __________________ is something that artists need. It is a feeling that makes you want to draw, paint, write, make films, etc. immediately relationship penniless inspiration become wealthy 2. Do you know the past forms of these verbs? Only two of them are regular. Come ____________ Think ____________ Meet ____________ Return ____________ Fall ____________ Get ____________ Move ____________ Become ____________ 3. Dictation i. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iii. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… iv. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… v. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… vi. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… vii. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… viii. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… THE BIRTHDAY JAMIE KEDDIE, 2021 4 6. Dictate the following sentences about Marc and Bella. Note that there is space on part three of the worksheet for students to write their answers. i. Marc and Bella were Russian-born Jews. ii. Bella came from a wealthy family. iii. Marc was a penniless artist. iv. They met in 1909 and fell in love immediately. v. Bella’s family was not happy with their relationship. vi. In 1910, Marc moved to Paris for work. He thought about Bella night and day. vii. In 1914, Marc returned to Bella and they got married the next year. viii.Their love became the inspiration for Marc’s work. 7. Let students pair up and compare what they have written. Then show them the sentences and let them check their answers. Note: If you want to provide more support for A1 students, show them the following phrases before the dictation and give them 90 seconds to memorise them. Then remove the phrases and dictate the sentences. • Russian-born Jews • Fell in love immediately • Marc returned • A wealthy family • Their relationship • They got married • A penniless artist • Marc moved to Paris • Became the inspiration Part two: the painting + picture-telling 1. Tell students that you have another picture of Marc and Bella. Before you show it to them, you are going to tell them a story. Note: Don’t tell students that this second image is a painting. They might assume that it is another photograph. If so, they will get a surprise when they see it. 2. Tell students not to worry if they don’t understand everything in the story – you will tell it to them three times. Note: As you tell the story: • Speak slowly and clearly. • Stop to ask questions as shown. • Use gesture to reinforce language whenever possible. • Give students space (i.e. pause) – space to hear, space to process and notice language, space to visualise, space to think. THE BIRTHDAY JAMIE KEDDIE, 2021 5 The Birthday It was the 6th July, 1915 It was a Tuesday And it was a special day Can anyone guess why it was a special day? It was Marc’s birthday He was 28 years old And he was at home I don’t know what he was doing Perhaps he was painting Now, Marc didn’t like people to know his birthday He liked to keep it a secret But Bella was very clever We don’t know how she did it But she discovered Marc’s date of birth And she decided to give Marc a birthday surprise She arrived at his home She was was carrying food, gifts and flowers Marc was very happy to see her – you could say that he was over the moon! So this second picture is a birthday picture It’s very colourful Lots of red, lots of green, lots of black and lots of white Colourful and romantic Marc and Bella are in a room in Marc’s home It might be a bedroom or it might be a living room – I’m not sure It has a red carpet and a white wall Marc is wearing black trousers and a green jumper Bella is wearing a black dress with a white collar She is holding a bunch of flowers Bella is facing left and Marc is facing right Bella has one foot on the floor It looks like she is taking off! Marc’s feet aren’t touching the floor at all – he is floating in the air They are back to back They are kissing! THE BIRTHDAY JAMIE KEDDIE, 2021 6 3. Put students into groups or pairs and ask them to share what they understood. 4. Display the following story pathway on the board or screen. Then tell the story a second time. • a special day • keep it a secret • date of birth • a surprise • over the moon • a room in a house • a red carpet • a white collar • a bunch of flowers • facing left • facing right • one foot on the floor • taking off • touching the floor • floating in the air • back to back 5. Ask students if they have any questions about the story or the language. Tell students that they are going to hear the story one more time and after that, they are going to draw the picture of Marc and Bella as they imagine it. 6. Tell the story one more time and ask students to draw their pictures. Give them a time limit – 5 minutes, for example. Tell students that they don’t have to create masterpieces! 7. Ask students to compare their drawings. THE BIRTHDAY JAMIE KEDDIE, 2021 7 8. Show students the painting. Ask them what they think of it. Is it what they expected to see? The Birthday Marc Chagall, 1915 Public domain image 9. Ask students if they have any questions about Marc and Bella. If so, you can either answer these yourself or ask students to go online and find out the answers for themselves. Some more notes: • Full names: Marc Chagall and Bella Rosenfeld. • They were both born in the Belorussian city of Vitebsk. • Marc was two years older than Bella. • 19 days after Chagall’s birthday, the couple got married. • In 1916, Bella gave birth to their first and only child – a baby girl called Ida. • In 1924, the family moved to Paris. • In 1941, they escaped Nazi-occupied France and settled in New York. • In 1944, Bella died suddenly at the age of 48. This is one of art’s true love stories. In his book My Life, Chagall described his first meeting with Bella: "Her silence is mine, her eyes mine. It is as if she knows everything about my childhood, my present, my future, as if she can see right through me.” Bella later wrote, "When you did catch a glimpse of his eyes, they were as blue as if they’d fallen straight out of the sky.