The Scream

Language level:! ! Intermediate; Upper Intermediate (B1; B2)

Learner type:! ! Teens; Adults
Time:!! ! ! 30 minutes
Activity:! ! ! Illustrating a text; Text reconstruction
Topic:! ! ! CLIL (Art); Auctions
Language:! ! ! Past simple; Past continuous

THE SCREAM by Jamie Keddie 1

Preparation, materials and equipment
1.! For this activity, you will need a copy of the text on page 7 for every student. The
text comes from an 1892 diary entry from Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. It
describes a recurring vision that was said to haunt the artist. It was also the
inspiration for his most famous painting The Scream. On 2nd May 2012, a version
of the painting was sold by auction for $120 million. This put it in the list of most
expensive paintings ever sold.

2.! You will also need access to the following three images.

• Link 1: http://goo.gl/uI9bh
• Link 2: http://goo.gl/f0RmW
• Link 3: http://goo.gl/LGFmI

Decide how you are going to display the images in class. Possibilities
include:

• Mobile device! ! ! (For one-to-one situations)

• Laptop, desktop, tablet computer! (For small groups)
• Computer, projector + screen! (For larger classes)

Lesson plan
1.! Show students the first image (see Preparation, materials and equipment above)
! and ask the following questions:

• Who do you think these people are?

• Where do you think they are?
• Who do you think they are talking to?

THE SCREAM by Jamie Keddie 2

2. Tell students that you are going to show them a text which has a connection with the
picture. Put students into pairs or small groups and give out copies of the text on
page 7. Ask students to work together to do the following:

• Share and pool knowledge of any unknown words or language.

• Consider where the text came from.
• Consider what the connection between the text and the image is.

Note: It is possible that some students will know the connection between the
text and the image. This is why they are discussing their ideas in pairs or small
groups and not with the whole class. You can circulate and find out if any group
knows or has worked out the answer. If this is the case, congratulate them and
then ask them to keep it secret from the rest of the class.

3.! Ask students to read the text again and pay close attention to the images that
! form in their heads as they do so. Tell students that before you tell them where the
! text came from, you want them to capture these images on paper.

4.! Give out blank paper and coloured pencils. Ask students to illustrate the text in any
! way that they see it.

THE SCREAM by Jamie Keddie 3

5.! Put the drawings up on the walls and turn the classroom into a gallery. Let students
! compare their artwork.

6.! Find out if anyone has any more ideas about where the text came from before
! showing them the second image (see Preparation, materials and equipment on
! page 1.)

7.! Ask students what is happening in the picture (answer = an auction). Ask them to
! guess what is being auctioned (i.e. what is behind the blob).

8.! Show students the third picture (see Preparation, materials and equipment on
! page 1.) They will see that the item on sale at the auction is Munch’s Scream.

Establish that the people in the first picture are taking telephone bids.
Also establish that the text comes from an 1892 diary entry from the
artist (see Preparation, materials and equipment on page 1 for more
information).

9.! Find out what students know about the artist and the painting. You could ask them
! to go online and find out about any of the following:

• The artist and his life (http://goo.gl/QxDiI)

• The different versions of the painting and comparisons of them (http://goo.gl/UZxd)
• The theft of The Scream in 2004 (http://goo.gl/UOevc / http://goo.gl/ZhRb0)
• The sale of the painting on the 2nd May 2012 (http://goo.gl/UnWL3)
• Other works in the list of most expensive paintings ever sold (http://goo.gl/IiwiE)

THE SCREAM by Jamie Keddie 4

Language study follow up 1
Ask students to examine the text carefully and answer the following questions:

• How many past simple structures can you identify in the text?
• How many past continuous structures can you identify in the text?

Let students compare their answers before feedback.

Past simple:

• The sky turned blood red (1)

• I paused, feeling exhausted and leaned on the fence (2 and 3)
• My friends walked on (4)
• I stood there (5) trembling with anxiety
• I sensed an infinite scream (6) passing through nature
• Also, you may want to include: There was blood and tongues of fire above the fjord
and the city (7)

Past continuous:

• I was walking along a path with two friends (1)

• The sun was setting (2)

Potential confusion:
Draw students’ attention to the following structures which are not to be mistaken for past
continuous:

• I paused, feeling exhausted

• I stood there trembling with anxiety
• I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature

Follow up 2
Tell students that you are going to give them a memory test. Give them two or three
minutes to read and memorise as much as possible about the text. Tell them to pay
attention to order of ideas, key words, grammar, number of sentences, etc.

While they are doing this, write the following on the board:

THE SCREAM by Jamie Keddie 5

 • Walk (past continuous)
• Set (past continuous)
• Turn (past simple)
• Pause (past simple)
• Lean (past simple)
• There was ...
• Walk (past simple)
• Stand (past simple)
• Sense (past simple)

When time is up, ask students to put away their texts and rewrite them from memory. They
should attempt to reconstruct the text as accurately as possible. They should make use of
the prompts that you have written on the board as they do this. Finally, ask students to
compare their work before letting them check it with the original text.

! ! ! ! ! Left:
! ! ! ! ! Oil, tempera & pastel,
! ! ! ! ! 1893
! ! ! ! ! National Gallery, Oslo

Right:!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Above:
Tempera, 1910! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Pastel, 1895
The stolen and recovered! ! ! ! ! ! ! The auctioned version
version! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Purchased by
Munch Museum, Oslo! ! ! ! ! ! ! unnamed bidder

THE SCREAM by Jamie Keddie 6

 -----------------

I was walking along a path with two friends. The sun was setting. Suddenly the sky turned
blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence. There was blood and
tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends walked on, and I stood
there trembling with anxiety and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

-----------------

I was walking along a path with two friends. The sun was setting. Suddenly the sky turned
blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence. There was blood and
tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends walked on, and I stood
there trembling with anxiety and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

-----------------

I was walking along a path with two friends. The sun was setting. Suddenly the sky turned
blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence. There was blood and
tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends walked on, and I stood
there trembling with anxiety and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

-----------------

I was walking along a path with two friends. The sun was setting. Suddenly the sky turned
blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence. There was blood and
tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends walked on, and I stood
there trembling with anxiety and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

-----------------

I was walking along a path with two friends. The sun was setting. Suddenly the sky turned
blood red. I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence. There was blood and
tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city. My friends walked on, and I stood
there trembling with anxiety and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.

-----------------

THE SCREAM by Jamie Keddie 7