February 14

Today, we responded to a word cloud about visual analysis for writing into the day.  After sharing our responses with partners, we graded ourselves on participation and explained those grades.  Then, we read page 60 in Practical Argument and annotated the first photograph in groups.  The groups noticed:

• The boy is mad.
• The paper is blank.
• He is wearing a uniform.
• There is a math problem on the board.
• The pencil is new.  It has no eraser.
• The graph is crossed out.
• He looks perfect.
• He's not facing the board.
• He's alone.
• The background is plain.
• The body language says he is not happy or he is confused.
• He has clenched hands.
• He has nice clothes.
• He has a popped collar.
• He has rolled up sleeves.
• He has spiked hair.

Then we analyzed the picture:

• He goes to a private school.
• He is in trouble for crossing out the problem.
• He is too young for the math problem.
• The fact that he is young makes the viewer feel sympathy.
• Outwardly, he is standard.  Inwardly, he is frustrated.
• The hair gives you a time frame; this is a current photo.
• The desk looks like a teacher's desk.  This could mean that both teacher and student are frustrated.
• Is he in detention?

We also answered the questions on page 63 in Practical Argument with our groups.  We discussed whether this photo is effective and whether it would be a good photo to use for the topic of standardized testing.  We talked about the same thing with the second photo.

Finally, in groups, we analyzed the photo about education being the most powerful weapon.

Homework:

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