The Flintstones' 50th anniversary

For fun...and curiosity

Another stunning Doodle on the Google Homepage to celebrate the Flintstones' 50 th anniversary!
If you're (even more) curious, read
http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/842573-the-flintstones-50th-anniversary-celebrated-with-google-doodle
http://www.metro.co.uk/tv/842598-the-flintstones-50th-anniversary-ten-things-you-never-knew

EDL 2010 (26 September)

Next Sunday September 26 is the European Day of Languages. Last year I posted here about it and there is not much else to add really. So, please have a look at my previous blogpost on this issue once there you'll find infos and resources as well. Nevertheless, as there are different ways to achieve the same goals  - and, in this case, to celebrate EDL, - I believe that in a multicultural class or with friends scattered around Europe, we could build a wall at http://www.wallwisher.com/build and ask them (either students or friends, or both!) to leave a greeting message in their own language; if this is not the case, something we could prepare beforehand is a matching exercise. Have a look at this word cloud:

Here we have the greeting "Good Morning" in different European languages and students could be asked to match countries / greetings. Interesting would also be to include Esperanto (which I didn't) and ask them to do some research on it as a possible communication language. They probably won't know some, but that could also provide an opportunity for research work not only on the correct greeting but also on the country (ies)...

Happy Sunday! Happy EDL 2010!!!

World Carfree Day - 22nd September

Image Credit: worldcarfree.net

Every September 22 is World Carfree Day.
In a car-dominated society, another eco-friendly initiative to make us all think about what we are doing to our planet...As for politicians / governments, well, it should really be a time to plan our cities differently and give priority to cycling, walking and better public transport!!!

I know, I know it's hard to avoid driving our cars to go to work or to take our children to school but at least, let's stop for a while and think about this - seriously! What do I do to avoid driving? What do I do to prevent more pollution? What do I do today or could do to improve my/our kids' future on Earth???

If interested, check:
http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/
http://worldcarfree.net/wcfd/resources.php
http://editthis.info/wcd/
http://www.ecoplan.org/carfreeday/index.htm

15th September 2010 - Agatha Christie's 120th birthday

Today is Agatha Christie's 120th birthday and what you see above is this year's Google Doodle depicting Hercule Poirot, her world famous fictional detective.
Agatha Christie, the Queen of Crime, is the best-selling author of all time.  She has sold over two billion books worldwide and has been translated into over 45 languages.  In a writing career that spanned more than half a century, Agatha Christie wrote eighty novels and short story collections. (For comprehensive data  click wikipedia.)

Image Credit: answers.com

In the official website besides the latest news, there is a Delicious Death cake recipe (how appropriate!!!) to celebrate this date, yet what really matters for us teachers is further below on our right hand side under HELP & INFO, I'm a teacher. This page gives you links to what they think are the most useful areas of the Christie's official website and links to readers and teachers’ classroom resources created by Christie’s publishers. Their publishers and other academics have prepared reading guides on some of the most famous books (which some of you might have already used in the classroom with secondary learners): And Then There Were None,
Murder on the Orient Express, or Death on the Nile .
With such a vast bibliography, Agatha Christie has become synonymous throughout the world with England.  Her quintessential “English” characters offer a charming view of a bygone era when people sat down to tea in the afternoon and tended roses in their gardens. The richness of the settings in Christie’s novels add to the great enjoyment when reading her novels and she drew on real places when writing her stories.
Teachers can always find something more and if you are a librarian make sure you check out this : there are tips for reading groups, for a session on the history and development of crime fiction, quizzes on the author... DO read it for inspiration!
Here are a couple of related resources that might be of interest to you:
http://www.answers.com/topic/agatha-christie-large-image
http://www.agathachristie.com/about-christie/the-queen-of-crime/An-Autobiography-2010/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/15/agatha-christie-google-doodle
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/8003559/Agatha-Christie-120th-birthday-anniversary-celebrated-by-Google-Doodle.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2006/09/20/agatha_christie_profile_feature.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/devon/hi/people_and_places/history/newsid_8988000/8988240.stm
http://www.englishriviera.co.uk/agathachristie/festival

13th September - Roald Dahl Day

Image Credit: scholastic.co.uk

Who doesn't know Roald Dahl, one of the world's best selling authors???

Born on the 13th September 1916 in Wales to Norwegian parents, Roald Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s with his works for both adults and children. Indeed, named after the polar explorer Roald Amundsen (a national hero in Norway at that time), Dahl wrote the world famous

Image Credit: telegraph.co.uk

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (do not miss the film!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Danny the Champion of the World

James and the Giant Peach

Matilda (just don't miss this film either!!!!)

to name some of the many great books he had written by the time of his death on 23rd November 1990 at the age of 74.

If you wish to know more on the world's No.1 Storyteller, try wikipedia, visit the official website (ROALD DAHL / ROALD DAHL BIOGRAPHY) or read this news article; for a listing of his books click here.

On their own (as homework or research) learners can answer a simple quiz on the author (MEET ROALD DAHL with questions / answers / scoring as well as the possibility of filling in personal data and having everything printed in the end).
As for teachers, if you are looking for resources, click here:
(ROALD DAHL and then TIPS FOR TEACHERS). Once there you'll see this:

If you browse a bit, you'll have lesson ideas, resources and activities with PDF files we can download and or print. Furthermore, for those interested in READING, there's a competition going on and nice resources and suggestions are presented here including a chart to register one's progress in the Roald Dahl Reading Relay Diary. Ah... there is a certificate and all in the end!
Here you'll also find nice activities ranging from quizzes, multiple choice exercises, matching or bingo to childish arts and crafts to celebrate this day either at home or at school.
Nice readings!!! Enjoy Roald Dahl ;)

8th September - INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY

Image Credit:
reading.org

Endorsed by UNESCO, this date is celebrated for disseminating literacy awareness among the world’s illiterate community.
But what exactly is LITERACY?

Image Credit: UNESCO

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read and write; UNESCO, though, defines literacy as the "ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society." indeed, literacy is a human right and essential for eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy. This year UNESCO celebrates the power of women’s literacy.

If you’re curious, read Irina Bokova’s message (Director-General of UNESCO) on this occasion here.

Image Credit: UNESCO

If you are looking for more resources, take a look at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy

http://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/

http://www.reading.org/general/conferences/InternationalLiteracyDay.aspx

Before you go...today, once we are celebrating International Literacy Day and the beginning of a new school year, take some time to listen to this inspirational talk by Sir Ken Robinson "Bring on the Learning Revolution!"

Let's innovate, let's revolutionize education, let's teach creatively, let's "take the less traveled road", folks!!!It's hard, yeah, but the earlier, the better. According to UNESCO "A good quality basic education equips pupils with literacy skills for life and further learning; literate parents are more likely to send their children to school; literate people are better able to access continuing educational opportunities; and literate societies are better geared to meet pressing development."

BBC update!

(Even) more from BBC. Among other suggestions under Useful Education & Family Links, you'll find BBC Learning with resources for all: 

World Class, in partnership with the British Council, also has interesting ideas.
Just browse!!!

BBC Learning English

Following my last blog post, another tip now to learn English with BBC.
Besides having constantly updated world news we can always introduce in class - either longer articles / special reports or even One-Minute World News, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/index.shtml we have a myriad of language resources and activities for our English classes (mainly secondary). Please look at this screenshot I took:

Under Words in the News we find interesting articles starting with a summary followed by the report with words in bold, a podcast with vocabulary and finally, definitions. All these materials can be downloaded and readily used in class or further developed according to our needs.

If we click General & Business English, we'll have 6 Minute English with image / short text / question and a listening activity which takes around 6 minutes. This one, for instance, could be used with our 10th graders with the module "Young people in the global era"...

Keep your English up to date in Grammar, Vocabulary & Pronunciation is exactly what it suggests. Aware that the English language is permanently evolving and developing, linguist experts as David Crystal have selected words and expressions that have recently made it into the language. After choosing one of the series, just by clicking on the word / expression we'll have a text and a lesson plan; we can also listen to the talk and download the transcript and audio. Try... blog! While you're there, check out the series by David Crystal and Gavin Dudeney and you will be surprised with the amount of vocabulary / exercises you can use in classes, as support material or homework with the modules The World of Technology, the Media and Global   Communication, Environment / The World Around us, and definitely, A World of many languages (The importance of English / Youth and Language / Friends without faces). They are great, believe me!

Further below News English Extra deals with news words and how different words feature in the news. There are some exercises plus the possiblity of introducing comments to the challenges presented.

In Pronunciation Tips you'll have videos, the sounds of English and similar sounds exercises, quizzes,...

Neither grammar exercises nor cultural data are forgotten here. As for the teachers themselves there is also a lot here worth our time. Enjoy (even if you are already familiar with the content...it works as a reminder)!

CNN Student News

As teachers I feel we have to be real MacGyvers (remember?)-resourceful, always (re)inventing and (re)discovering different ways to introduce common topics in order to have engaged classes.

Especially for secondary teachers, a resource I find might be very useful is CNN Student News, a ten-minute daily news video produced by the journalists and educators at CNN. These shows include teacher materials, daily transcripts, maps, discussion questions, even teaching strategies. Nice! So, for example, if you're dealing with the topic ENVIRONMENT, why not use recent news on New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina? Please have a look:



I'm looking forward to introducing a show in class! Whenever you do - if you haven't already - please give me some feedback. These shows will certainly please us (and our students) to introduce current issues, to boost discussions, to promote critical thinking and enhance communication skills.