The Fall Of Icarus

When I first saw the beautiful picture of the Fall of Icarus, I can say that it is a good visual aids for the students for three reasons. First, the picture comes in a coloured large sized setting (so it is easier for the teacher to project the picture clearly). Second, there are a lot of things to be described and interpreted (e.g: the actions of the people in the picture). Third, by using it for a set induction, the teacher will provide opportunity for the students to use their imagination speaking skills. Students will be anticipated to share their opinion about the picture and start discussing. The discussion can be an indirect need analysis because the teacher will know how far the students can go into the topic.
However, to get the picture connected to the story the Fall of Icarus, the students should be aware of the plot and description because the actual fall was not really portrayed in the picture (only half of the legs are exposed). By the end of the lesson (after the students have read the story), the teacher can discuss certain things about the picture in depth. For an example, how the artist draws and painted the picture reflects his view of the story. Second, the teacher can ask the students to come out with different response of the story. (e.g: poems, lyrics, cartoon, riddles and so on).
By using this picture, the teacher can help the students to tap the right schemata about the setting of the story. Through this, the students will not be lost and give up in the beginning of the lesson but encourage them to imagine more about the story. The picture of the Fall of Icarus is a good way for our Malaysian visual oriented students in many ways.