• A towel
3. Now follow the steps below to make your camera:
(a) Make a hole in the middle of the bottom of the can, using the nail and hammer.
(b) Cut a circle out of the plastic lid.
(c) Cut a square piece of wax paper, big enough to stick over the edges of the open end of the can.
(d) Place the wax paper over the open end of the can and put the plastic lid on firmly.
(e) Place the towel over your head and the coffee can which you must be holding with the wax paper end towards you. The towel must cover the edges of the can which has the nail hole, but not cover the nail hole itself.
(f) With the towel still in place, look through the wax paper end of your camera at an object. The object will appear to be upside down!
Make notes while reading
As you know, it is a good idea to make notes of a text that you need to study. To do this, you write down the main ideas. In the next activity you will practise doing this.
1. Read the following article carefully. You are going to be asked to make notes of it and to answer questions on it.
The history of photography
The word ‘photography’ comes from the Greek words ‘photos’ meaning ‘light’ and ‘graphien’ meaning ‘to draw’. So photography is about drawing light.
The first photograph was taken in 1825 by the French inventor Niépce. He produced his photos on a pewter plate covered with bitumen. Bitumen hardens when it is exposed to light, and the material that has not hardened can be washed away. The pewter is then polished, showing up a negative image which is coated with ink and then pressed on to paper.
Niépce then began experimenting with silver compounds and he and his partner Daguerre refined the silver process for producing photos. After Niépce died, Daguerre continued experimenting producing a method using silver on copper plate which he called the daguerreotype. A similar process is still used today in taking Polaroid photos.
Daguerreotypes became very popular. People who could afford to used to have their portraits painted by artists to preserve a likeness of themselves. The daguerreotype was not nearly so costly and so more and more people began to have their photos taken using this method.
It was only in 1888 that the Kodak camera was developed and was sold to users. Their slogan was ‘you press the button, we do the rest’. This meant that anyone could take photos and leave the development of them to the professionals.
Today, photography is known worldwide. It is a field that has many different areas of use.
2. The article has six paragraphs. Make a brief note of what each is about.
3. When were ordinary people able to take their own photos without having to go to a professional?
4. Make two lists of words that you know, one using ‘photo’ and the other using ‘graph’.
5. Make a list of all the areas in life today that use photography.
6. Look the following words up in a dictionary and then write them and their meanings into your personal spelling and vocabulary book: daguerreotype, pewter, bitumen, compound, refine, portrait.
7. What kind of text is this article? We can see right away that it is not a story, so what is it? Give reasons for your answer.
8. Look at your list in your answer to Question 5. Take one of the areas and use different sources to find out something about it. This could be what it is exactly, or who does it, or what its purpose is, or its history. Make notes about what you find.
9. Bring your notes to class and write up an article about your topic. Think of who you are writing for and of the purpose of your information.
10. Remember to make a note of your sources and to list them under your article in the following way:
Sources
• Internet (give the site)
• Magazine (give its title and date)
• Book (give its title and author)
11. Make a pamphlet of your article. You can use anything from this activity.
A pamphlet is a leaflet containing information. It usually advertises something or informs the public about something. It often has pictures and photos.
Borrowed words
Languages develop by borrowing words from each other. You saw in the previous activity how two words were borrowed from the Greek to make many English words.
In the next activity you will look up words borrowed from other languages and say what they mean and which language they come from.
1. Look up the following words in your dictionary. Write down their meaning and their language of origin:
(a) trek
(b) samoosa
(c) geography
(d) versus
(e) koeksister
(f) ballet
(g) bobotie
(h) à la carte
(i) aquaduct
(j) crochet
2. Make a sentence with each of the words above, showing that you know what they mean. Use the checklist below to make sure your sentences are good.
A group discussion
You already know how to have a group discussion. You have to participate, be polite, listen to and encourage others, and keep to the topic. The purpose of a discussion is usually to share ideas and to come to a general conclusion that you all agree on. In the next activity you will have a chance to practise your skills at group discussion.
1. Your group is going to hold a photographic exhibition. There are several things that you have to decide. You will probably find it necessary to appoint one of the group as a chairperson. Someone should also make notes of decisions reached.
(a) What will the topic be? People, places, events? Or anything else?
(b) Where will it be held? And when?
(c) How will you put up the photos? On a wall, a board, a chart?
(d) Will you only use real photos that you have or will you be allowed to cut out photos from other sources?
(e) Must they all be in colour, or in black and white, or mixed?
(f) Will there be a written explanation under each photo? If so, who will draw these up and who will write them out?
(g) How many photos will your exhibition consist of?
(h) How long do you need to prepare?
2. Now carry out the decisions made. When you put up your display,