THE “FAMOUS PEOPLE PORTRAIT GRID” – A COST-EFFECTIVE EDUCATIONAL TOOL

By Arthur Rubin

Authors & Editors offers a wide array of low-cost but highly effective visual and/or print materials. I’d like to dwell at length on one such tool - our “Famous People Portrait Grid.” It’s amazing the number of uses to which this item can be put.    

On one side of the “Famous People Portrait Grid” can be found the faces of 16 public figures (for example, Bill Cosby, Indira Gandhi, Bill Gates, Mohammed Ali); on the other, their names. The teacher can use these names to improve pronunciation of syllable-stress patterns in words, as well as in memory improvement exercises which can help with building vocabulary.  One memory and name pronunciation game involves using copies of the “Famous People Portrait Grid” without printed names. Each participant tries to give the names of 1, 2 or 3 public figures in order – from left to right and from top to bottom. The participant who correctly pronounces the name of the figure depicted in the last grid wins the game.   

Another way to utilize the portraits involves categories or classifications. The idea behind this is to develop organizational and outlining skills. The 16 figures from the “Famous People Portrait Grid” are printed on cards and the teacher encourages students to classify them (the most obvious classifications would be 4 athletes, 4 businesspeople, 4 entertainers and 4 political leaders). The cards are shuffled and distributed to the participants, who then divide up into groups of 4. Each group explains to those in the other groups why the people pictured in the cards they hold qualify to be in that category.

In addition, there is “Concentration,” a game in which group members spread out on a table shuffled decks, each comprised of 16 cards. The purpose of the game is to make the most “matches” – that is to say, pairs of cards with famous people in the same category. Furthermore, players are called upon to turn 2 cards up and then name the public figures, and describe what they do. Players who succeed in making a match get to keep the cards and are entitled to another turn. If they fail to make a match, the cards are again turned face down and another participant takes his or her turn.

The next learning activity idea involves describing people. Here the focus is on grammar – simple present statements, questions and answers, the verb TO BE and adjectives. Using the “Famous People Portrait Grid,” participants will, without identifying the famous person by name, describe his or personal appearance. The player continues with the description until someone else is able to name the famous person. Conversely, the teacher can have participants employ negative statements (“This person isn’t wearing glasses,” “She isn’t smiling”) to describe the public figures, while the other players try to identify them using the process of elimination.

These are only a few of the strategies we at Authors & Editors can suggest regarding the use of the “Famous People Portrait Grid” in the ESL classroom. There are doubtless very resourceful teachers out there who can come up with many more.