English · Première générale · LVA · B1 towards B1+

Session 4: Campaigns, the press and the power of images

Recap check
  1. What is the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico?
  2. Give one difference between Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
  3. Complete: ______ they are citizens, they cannot vote for president.
Answer key
  1. Puerto Rico's member of the House, elected for four years, who cannot vote on the final passage of bills.
  2. Washington, D.C. has three electors; Puerto Rico has none.
  3. Although / Even though
Axe 3. Art et pouvoir
Objet d'étude : S'engager dans la presse et les médias : dessins, caricatures et photojournalisme

Question: Can images and the media inform voters without taking sides?

Under the trees, a candidate on a small platform speaks to a crowd of rural citizens; behind him, a seated man takes notes.
George Caleb Bingham, Stump Speaking, 1853-1854, oil on canvas, 108 x 147.3 cm. Saint Louis Art Museum, Gift of Bank of America, 43:2001. Public domain. Museum record

A painter who lost an election

Compréhension de l'écrit

Stump Speaking is the first painting of Bingham's Election Series.

A candidate leans forward to make his points to a crowd of rural citizens. Behind him, his opponent sits with a tablet and takes notes for his turn.

In 1846, Bingham himself was a Whig Party candidate for the Missouri legislature. He won by three votes, but the election was contested and the seat was given to his opponent, Erasmus Darwin Sappington.

According to the Saint Louis Art Museum, Sappington is the speaker shown in the painting.

Bingham still wanted the painting to celebrate democratic elections for a national audience.

Sources: Saint Louis Art Museum, Stump Speaking

Understand

Compréhension de l'écrit
  1. What is happening in the painting?
  2. What happened to Bingham in 1846?
  3. Who is the speaker, according to the museum?
  4. Is the painting a criticism or a celebration of elections? Justify.
  5. Find one sentence in the text that is a fact and one that is an interpretation.
Answer key
  1. A candidate gives a speech to a rural crowd; his opponent waits and takes notes.
  2. He won by three votes, but the election was contested and the seat was given to his opponent.
  3. Erasmus Darwin Sappington, his opponent.
  4. Both are possible: Bingham painted the man who took his seat (a personal comment), but he wanted to celebrate democracy for a national audience.
  5. Fact: In 1846, Bingham was a Whig Party candidate. Interpretation: Bingham intended the painting to celebrate democracy.

Your turn

Compréhension de l'écrit · Esprit critique

Information or opinion? Classify: 1. Polls closed at 7 p.m. in Georgia. 2. This candidate is the only one who really cares about you. 3. The House has 435 voting members. 4. A disastrous night for the party. 5. The results will be certified by each state. 6. Voters sent a clear message. Then rewrite two opinions as neutral information.

Key points

Information: 1, 3, 5. Opinion or interpretation: 2, 4, 6. Example of a neutral rewrite: 4. The party lost seats. 6. One party won more seats than the other.

Expanding your vocabulary

Lexique en lien avec les axes culturels · Médias et engagement
WordMeaningExample
a stump speechthe standard speech of a candidate on tourHe gave the same stump speech in ten towns.
to campaign, to canvassto try to win votes, to visit votersVolunteers canvassed door to door.
biasednot neutralA biased article hides some facts.
to fact-checkto check that a statement is trueJournalists fact-check the candidates.
a soundbitea short sentence made to be repeatedThe debate was full of soundbites.
spina way of presenting facts to look goodBoth parties put their own spin on the results.
to sway votersto influence votersCan a painting sway voters?
to heighten public awarenessto make people more conscious of an issueThe press heightens public awareness.

Odd one out, then explain: 1. biased, neutral, one-sided, partisan. 2. canvass, campaign, fact-check, rally. 3. soundbite, slogan, catchphrase, ballot.

Answer key
  1. neutral (the others mean taking sides)
  2. fact-check (the others are about winning votes)
  3. ballot (the others are short sentences)

Grammar

Passer du discours direct au discours rapporté

Reported speech: say (that) / tell someone (that) / ask if, what, why. With a reporting verb in the past, go back one tense: present → past, will → would, past → past perfect. "I will win," he said. → He said (that) he would win. Questions: "Who won?" she asked. → She asked who had won.

  1. "I care about farmers," the candidate said. → The candidate said ______ .
  2. "We will lower taxes," they told voters. → They told voters ______ .
  3. "Did you vote?" the reporter asked me. → The reporter asked me ______ .
  4. "I won by three votes," Bingham said. → Bingham said ______ .
Answer key
  1. (that) he cared about farmers.
  2. (that) they would lower taxes.
  3. if I had voted.
  4. (that) he had won by three votes.

Production

Expression orale en continu

Speech: you are a candidate in Stump Speaking. Give a one-minute stump speech to the crowd. Then a classmate reports it in reported speech and says what is fact and what is opinion.

Key points

Check: a greeting, three promises, a call to vote; the report uses said, told, asked and goes back one tense; the classmate separates facts from promises and opinions.

Homework

Find one front page or website home page about the 2026 midterms (any English-speaking country). Copy one headline and say if it is information or opinion, and why.
Key points

Check: a source and a date; a justified answer (an information headline states a verifiable fact; an opinion headline uses judgement words such as disastrous, clear, historic).