Tag Archives: Beauty

Beauty is Only Skin Deep…Or So They Say

“Adults often tangle themselves in knots when discussing physical appearance with children. We try to iron out differences by insisting they don’t matter, attribute a greater moral fortitude to the plain or leap in defensively when someone is described as not conventionally attractive, or — worse — ugly or fat…The Australian author Robert Hoge, who describes himself as the ugliest person you’ve never met, thinks we get it all wrong when we tell children looks don’t matter: They know perfectly well they do.”  J. Baird, The New York Times

Gucci models. Photo-thefashionlaw

Gucci models. Photo-thefashionlaw

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post with Answer Key

Excerpt: Being Dishonest About Ugliness By Julia Baird, The New York Times

“A former speechwriter, he has written a book for children, based on his own life story, called Ugly. He finds children are relieved when a grown person talks to them candidly about living with flawed features in a world of facial inequality. It’s important they know that it’s just one thing in life, one characteristic among others. That appearance, in other words, means something but it doesn’t mean everything.

Ugly By Robert Hoge. Photo- R. Hogewebsitetiff

 Ugly By Robert Hoge. Photo- R. Hoge website

Mr. Hoge was born with a tumor on his face, and deformed legs. He describes his face by asking us to imagine being in art class after the teacher has presented you with a lump of wet clay and asked you to sculpt a baby’s face. You labor and sweat, tearing off lumps, smoothing lines, shaping a nose, eyes, chin. Beautiful. Then a kid tears across the room and smashes a clay lump into the middle of the face, pushing the eyes apart. That’s what he looked like when he was born; his parents burst into tears.

Mr. Hoge says that his mother left him in the hospital, wishing he would die. It was not until he was almost five weeks old, after a family meeting where his siblings voted for him to be brought home, that his parents returned for him.

He grew up to be a political adviser to the most senior politician in his state: the Queensland premier. So how is a child to grapple with the savage social hierarchy of “lookism” that usually begins in the playground, if adults are so clumsy about it?

It’s important to talk to children, he says, before they get sucked into the tight vortex of peer pressure, where every single difference is a case for disaster. Don’t tell kids they’re all beautiful; tell them it’s O.K. to look different.”

“Our Hearts go out to the families of the innocent victims and to the people of Paris”  

~ESL Voices~

Hand written notes lie among flowers and candles at the French Embassy-

Hand written notes lie among flowers and candles at the French Embassy-

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this post

Level: Intermediate – Advanced


Language Skills: Reading, writing, and speaking. Vocabulary and grammar activities are included.


Time: Approximately 2 hours.


Materials: Student handout (from this lesson) and access to news article.


Objective: Students will read and discuss the article with a focus on improving reading comprehension and learning new vocabulary. At the end of the lesson students will express their personal views on the topic through group work and writing.

I. Pre-Reading Activities

 Predictions: Analyzing headings and photos

Directions:  Have students  examine the titles of the post and of the actual article. After they examine the photos, ask students to create a list of  words and  ideas  that they think might be related to this article. 

II. While Reading Tasks

Word Inference

Directions: Students are to infer the meanings of the words in bold taken from the article. They may use a dictionary, thesaurus, and Word Chart for assistance.

  1. Robert Hoge is a a former speechwriter.
  2. Children are relieved when a grown person talks to them candidly.
  3. Living with flawed features is difficult. 
  4. Appearance, in other words, means something but it doesn’t mean everything.
  5. Mr. Hoge was born with a tumor on his face.
  6. Imagine that the teacher has presented you with a lump of wet clay.
  7. His siblings voted for him to be brought home.
  8. So how is a child to grapple with deformity?
  9. Society has the savage social hierarchy of “lookism”.
  10. Hans Christian Andersen wrestled with rejection from his peers.
Vocabulary Cluster By Learnnc.org

Vocabulary Cluster By Learnnc.org

 

Reading Comprehension

Word -Recognition

Directions: Students choose the correct word to complete the sentences taken from the article. They are to choose from the options presented in the sentences.

“Mr. Hoge tells us we don’t need to apply a sepia/scepter filter. “I’m happy to conclude/concede the point, he says, that some people look more aesthetically pleasing/placing than others. Let’s rant/grant that so we can move/mode to the important point — so what?

Perhaps we also need/nice to spend more time pointing to some of the magnifier/magnificent creatures who have walked the earth/early without the need for pageant/page ribbons or Instagram likes, but who have contribute/contributed in enduring /endearing ways.”

 Grammar Focus

Using Adjectives  to describe pictures  

Directions: Have students choose a picture from the article, or bring in one of their own  and write a descriptive paragraph using adjectives.

For a review of Adjectives visit ESL Voices Grammar

Discussion/Writing Exercise

Directions: Place students in groups and have them answer the following questions. Afterwards, have the groups share their thoughts as a class. To reinforce the ideas, students can write an essay on one of the following discussion topics.

1. The following  statements were taken from the article. Rephrase each statement in your own words, then discuss the meaning with the members of your group.

“The advantage of beauty has been long established in social science…We talk about body shape, size and weight, but rarely about distorted features. And we talk about plainness, but not faces that would make a surgeon’s fingers itch.”

“Even in children’s literature, we imply ugliness is either transient or deserved. Hans Christian Andersen wrestled with rejection from his peers as a child, most probably because of his large nose, effeminate ways, beautiful singing voice and love of theater; The Ugly Duckling is widely assumed to be the story of his own life.”

“Some kids are good spellers; some have bad haircuts; some are fast runners; some kids are short; some are awesome at netball. But the kids who are short aren’t only short. And the kids who are great at netball aren’t only just great at netball. No one is only just one thing. It’s the same with appearance.”

2. In your opinion, do people place too much emphasis on appearance? Provide examples to support your answer.

3.  What makes a person beautiful? What makes a person ugly?

1-Minute Free Writing Exercise

Directions: Allow students 1 minute to write down one new idea they’ve learned from the reading. Ask them to write down one thing they did not understand in the reading.  Review the responses as a class. Note: For the lower levels allow more time for this writing activity.

ANSWER KEY

Category: Social Issues | Tags: ,

Beauty: In the Eyes of the Beholder…or the Media?

What is beauty and who has it? By A. Dawson, CNN

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this article With Answer Key.

 

The criteria for beauty in America is changing.

The newly crowned Miss Universe Leila Lopes is happy, sparkling, and she’s beautiful. The same is true for Miss USA  Alyssa Campanella. Many super models are beautiful, as are many movie  stars. The  question is   What is Beauty?  Who decides who is beautiful or not?

This is an excerpt from an interesting article that discusses  beauty and how the definition is changing in America:

1. “Can beauty be defined by age, gender, color, body shape or size? Who gets to decide?   Multibillion-dollar beauty and fashion industries both shape and depend on the cult-like worship of what physical attributes the public sees as beautiful. And most women feel the effects of those decisions.

2.  The photo exhibition “Beauty Culture” at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles, with 175 pictures by iconic photographers, is aimed at starting people thinking and talking about female beauty. It also peeks into the underbelly of the beauty industry, including its relation to celebrity, plastic surgery, the faux-perfection of airbrushing of advertising and even child beauty pageants There are a lot of hot-button issues as to how the media and the beauty and fashion worlds depict whole groups of people, why they show them in a particular way or barely notice them at all.

3. However, there’s been a major shift when it comes to diversity in beauty advertising and magazine beauty editorial spreads…America’s changing definition of beautiful. Several studies suggest that many equate beauty with symmetry, but even within that equation, “Each time has its own standard (of beauty),” said photographer Melvin Sokolsky during his lecture at the Annenberg.

4.  And that standard in America is changing rapidly. Today, the number of marriages between people of different ethnicities is surging. Back in 1993, Time magazine’s cover story “The New Face of America,” featuring a computer generated face consisting of a mix of several ethnicities, is indeed more in line with what most of us now consider beautiful, according to Allure’s 20th Anniversary Beauty Survey. “Sixty-four percent of all our respondents think women of mixed race represent the epitome of beauty,” the survey says…” Ms. Dawson makes some interesting observations,  so read the rest of the article.

ESL Voices Lesson Plan for this article.

Also,watch Denis Dutton: A Darwinian Theory of Beauty in this Lesson plan!

Lesson: The Definition of Beauty
Level: Intermediate -Advanced
Materials: article excerpt.
Objectives: Students will discuss how beauty is defined by others, and give their own opinion of the definition of beauty. Students will practice reading , speaking, writing and listening skills.
Procedure:

I. Pre-reading Task

A. Prediction: Have students read the titles (of both this post and of the original article) survey the photos, to see if they can predict what the article will be about.

B *Stimulate background knowledge by having students brainstorm to build a list of all of the terms they can think of connected to the term “beauty”.

*Visit ESL Voices Reading Strategies

II. While Reading Tasks

A. Vocabulary Inference

Students guess the meanings of the words in bold, and use a dictionary or thesaurus for assistance.

  1. Can beauty be defined by age, gender…
  2. …industries both shape and depend on the cult-like worship…
  3. what physical attributes the public sees as beautiful
  4. And most women feel the effects of those decisions.
  5. 175 pictures by iconic photographers…
  6. It also peeks into the underbelly of the beauty industry…
  7. including its relation to celebrity, plastic surgery, the faux-perfection…
  8. the faux-perfection…
  9. …thefaux-perfection, airbrushing of advertising…
  10. There are a lot of hot-button issues as to how the media…
  11. However, there’s been a major shift when it comes to diversity in beauty advertising and magazine
  12. Several studies suggest that many equate beauty with symmetry…
  13. Sixty-four percent of all our respondents think women of mixed race represent the epitome of beauty…

B. Choose the correct word.

Circle or underline the word that is correct, reread the paragraph to check your work

 

Paragraph1:

  1. Can beauty be defined / definition by age, gender, color, body shape or size?
  2. Multibillion-dollar beauty and fashion/ fashionable industries both shape/ship and depend on the cult-like worship of what physical attributes

 

Paragraph 2:

  1. The photo exhibition/ exhibit “Beauty Culture” at the Annenberg Space for Photography…
  2. …175 pictures by iconic /icon photographers…
  3. …including its relation to celebrity /celebrate plastic surgery, the faux-perfection…
  4. … starting people thinking / think and  talking / talked about female beauty.
  5. It also peeks / peaks into the underbelly of the beauty industry, including its relation to celebrity…

 

Paragraph 3:

  1. There are a lot of hot-button issues… why they show them in a particular way or barely / bearly notice them at all..

Paragraph 4:

  1. However, there’s been a major shift when it comes to diversity/diverse in beauty advertising
  2. Several studies / students suggest that many equate / equation  beauty with symmetry / symmetrical but even within that equation…

Paragraph 5:

  1. Today, the number of marriages between people of different ethnicities /ethnics is surging.

C.  Reading for Comprehension-True / False

If  a sentences are true write (T) if it is false, write (F). Provide the correct answer from the article.

Multibillion-dollar beauty and fashion industries both shape and depend on the cult-like worship of  what physical attributes the public sees as beautiful

The photo exhibition “Beauty Culture” at the Annenberg Space for Photography in New York …

There aren’t  a lot of hot-button issues.

However, there’s been a minor shift and  diversity in beauty is the same.

Several studies suggest that many equate beauty with symmetry, but even within that equation, “Each time has its own standard (of beauty)

Today, the number of marriages between people of different ethnicities is decreasing..

D. Questions for Reflection and Discussion

How do you define beauty?

Is beauty something we can always see?

Can a soul be beautiful?

Can men be beautiful?  Can Animals?

What makes a person beautiful?

Is there more than one type of beauty? What are they?

III. Post Reading Tasks

A. *Paragraph Writing:

Visit *ESL Voices Paragraph Writing review.

1.  Choose one of the sayings and write a paragraph interpreting  what the author is saying about beauty. Do you agree or disagree, and provide reasons why.

2. Research the authors, and write an essay about their lives.

  1. Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.  ~Kahlil Gibran
  2. I’m tired of all this nonsense about beauty being only skin-deep.  That’s deep enough.  What do you want – an adorable pancreas?  ~Jean Kerr,
  3. It is amazing how complete is the delusion that beauty is goodness.  ~Leo Tolstoy
  4. Flowers… are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844
  5. In every man’s heart there is a secret nerve that answers to the vibrations of beauty.  ~Christopher Morley
  6. As we grow old, the beauty steals inward.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
  7. The most beautiful view is the one I share with you.  ~Author Unknown

  8. Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.  ~Confucius

     

  9. When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other.  ~Chinese Proverb

     

  10. A woman who cannot be ugly is not beautiful.  ~Karl Kraus

     

  11. Beauty comes in all sizes, not just size 5.  ~Roseanne

     

  12. Do I love you because you’re beautiful, Or are you beautiful because I love you?~Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, Cinderella

     

  13. Beauty comes as much from the mind as from the eye.  ~Grey Livingston

B. Photos Activity:

Study the photos, then  choose one to write a paragraph about. Answer  the questions:

Is the person beautiful in your opinion? Try to describe what it is that you find attractive. Would you want to look like this person? Why or why not?

What do you think the person is thinking about?  Do you think you’d like this person as a friend?  Why or why not?

Photos here.

C. Listening Activity


Level: Advanced

Denis Dutton: A Darwinian Theory of Beauty

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design… Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, and others. In this segment TED collaborates with animator Andrew Park to illustrate Denis Dutton’s provocative theory on beauty — that art, music and other beautiful things, far from being simply “in the eye of the beholder,” are a core part of human nature with deep evolutionary origins...Click to start video

I. Pre-listening Task:

Here is a list of names and phrases  from the video. Review the meanings with students before listening. There are links to the names in case students want to do further research.

  1. aesthetics plural noun. [usu. treated as sing. ] a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty, esp. in art.
  2. go off the rails informal phrase.  begin behaving in a strange, abnormal, or wildly uncontrolled way.
  3. Berlioz’s “Harold in Italy” Hector Berlioz [11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts (Requiem). Berlioz wrote little music during his stay in Italy in 1831-2The first large-scale reflection of his Italian experiences is the symphony Harold in Italy.
  4. Anton Pavlovich Chekhov ( 29 January 1860-15 July 1904) was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature.
  5. Hokusai Katsushika Hokusai ( October or November 1760 – May 10, 1849)was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. Hokusai is best known as author of the woodblock print series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji …
  6. Der Rosenkavalier (Op. 59) (The Knight of the Rose) is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss.
  7. Vincent Willem van Gogh Dutch: ( March 30, 1853 – July 29, 1890) The Starry Night (is a painting by the artist.
  8. Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction… earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature.
  9. Fred Astaire (born Frederick Austerlitz (May 10, 1899 – June 22, 1987) was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor.
  10. Lascaux is the setting of a complex of caves in southwestern France famous for its Paleolithic cave paintings.
  11. The Musée du Louvre (n English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world’s largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris.t
  12. Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue.

Have students listen to the passage, to see if they hear the names and phrases above.

II. While Listening task

See if students can answer the following multiple choice  questions,  they may need to hear the video again.

Question 1

What are the three ways Ted tries to figure out beauty?

A. asking questions, studying, reading,

B intellectually, philosophically, psychologically,

C. Talk to beautiful people, study philosophy of art, study aesthetics,

Question 2

According to Dennis the most powerful theory of beauty is

A – a baby’s face

B -Van Goh’s Stary Night

C – the theory of Charles Darwin

Question 3

The speaker notes the many people think they know what beauty is, how many meanings  does  he provide?

A. 2

B. 3

C. 4

It’s in the eye of the beholder. It’s whatever moves you personally, beauty is in the culturally-conditioned eye of the beholder.

Question 4

The speaker claims that in order to understand the universality  in the arts we must

A -try to reconstruct a Darwinian evolutionary history of our artistic and aesthetic tastes.

B -listen to American jazz

C look at cross-culturl movies

Question 5

According to Dennis where should we begin looking?

A. To our grandparents

B. our artists and aesthetic tastes

C.  prehistoric environments, fossils, cave paintings, and the aesthetic interests of isolated hunter-gatherer bands that survived into the 19th and the 20th centuries.

Question 6

What are the two primary mechanisms of evolution

A.Selection of the fittest and strongest

B. Natural selection, and sexual selection-

C. Selection of the most attractive and fittest

Question 7

The tail of the Peacock did not evolve for natural survival, but

A. resulted from mating choices of the peahen

B.  resulted from natural beauty

C. resulted from eating multicolored rocks.

Question 8

In order to encourage us to select the most adoptive choices for survival and reproduction evolution’s trick is to

A. consider briefly pleasure

B. make people beautiful so that we happy to look at them-

C. make people unattractive

Question 9

The clearest example of humans everywhere finding beauty in similar visual  experience is

A. Yellowstone Park

B. The Hudson River

C.  the ideal savanna landscape

Question 10

Why is this type of  landscape so appealing to all types of people?

A.it is very similar to the pleistocene savannas where we evolved.

B. it reminds us of home

C. it’s pure coincidence

Question 11

According to the speaker, what are the most intrguing prehistoric artifact?

A. shell neclaces

B. Acheulian hand axes.

C. ochre body paint

Question 12

Why are these considered to be the most intriguing to us?

A. Their symmetry, their attractive materials and, above all, their meticulous workmanship are simply quite beautiful to our eyes, even today.

B. they were good for butchering animals

C. they had thin small blades

Question 13

What is the one fundamental trait of the ancestral personality that persists in our aesthetic cravings:

A. dancing

B. hairstyling

C. the beauty we find in skilled performance

Question 14

According to Dennis is beauty in the eye of the beholder?

A. Yes, especially if its a teardrop-shaped diamond stone.

B. No, it’s deep in our minds… handed down from the intelligent …ancestors.

C. Yes, it depends on what we’re looking at.

III. Post-Listening Tasks

1. In groups, have students make up questions they would like to ask the speaker.

2. Did they agree with everything the speaker said?  Which comments did they disagree with and why?

3. After listening to this talk,  has their personal idea of beauty changed?  Describe in what way.

Answer Key Here.

Category: Education | Tags: ,