Infonews n°282 from 30/09/2006
A la une, this week, discover several
catalogues of Bushism and a lesson about so and neither, and in the News meet
the first woman space tourist. The resources for primary school
prepare Halloween and deal with fire safety; two
articles about art will enable primary school
teachers or art teachers to present lessons
around several painters of different styles; the
resources for secondary school offer links to
several questionnaires, a reflection about time
management for students (with tools), ideas for
fund raising or to organise a safe party for
under tens, poetry, suggestions for daily October
activities, and two pages from the BBC about the
Great Fire of London and how to write a film
critic. Then find two sites about music, and
seven special sites for teachers who teach
another subject in English (math, geography,
biology, agriculture, etc.). At the end, a site
for advanced law students and two for teachers :
one offers tips for good practice, and the other
gives links to French sites who suggest
evaluations at different levels to situate the
students at the beginning of the year.
Have a nice week!
amicalement,
Christine Reymond
So / Neither
Catalogues of Bushism
Other links
First woman space tourist
How Space Tourism Works (from How Stuff Works)
Fire safety Coloring Book (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 29th)
Prepare Halloween with Riverdeep
Art lessons
Leonardo da Vinci exhibition in London (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
Online Questionnaires
Organisation and Time Management for Students
Fundraising Ideas (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 27th)
30 Days of Poetry ( from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
Let's Party: A Guide to Drug-free Parties for
5th-8th Graders (from [LII New This Week] September 28)
Daily writing prompts for October
The Great Fire (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
All about films (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
Jean Sibelius (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
Shostakovich centenary (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
Geography : Earth Climate Course (from The Scout Report, September 29)
Biology : Human anatomy -- the cell
History : Lucy's baby -- the American Revolution
Math : Illuminations -- Interactive Algebra
Agriculture : National Sustainable Agriculture
Information Service (from The Scout Report, September 29)
Building, Gardening : Golf Course Construction
and Renovation (from The Scout Report, September 29)
Cooking, Nutrition : Worry-free Spinach (from [LII New This Week] September
28)
Pour les profs : Emilangues
Employment Law (from The Scout Report, September 29)
Effective Classroom Teaching Practices ( from
Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
Evaluation diagnostique de début d'année ( 2nde, 6ème, primaire)
So / Neither
On e-teach, Sylvie Brod suggested a unit around
so and neither that could start with this Bushism as an introduction:
article (short) : http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5613296/
article (long): http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3541706.stm
audio file : http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/multimedia/bushism_harmamerica.mp3
exercise to pratice so and neither ( what M.Bush should do ;) )
http://www3.ac-clermont.fr/etabliss/brioude/DISCIPLINES/ANGLAIS/activities/comparing/3eme/mat2.htm
Catalogues of Bushism
http://www.plattbridger.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/bushisms.htm
"The complete Bushism" from Slate
http://www.slate.com/id/76886/
"Adventures in George W. Bushspeak - Updated Frequently" , from Political Humor
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushisms.htm
Other links
List of the type of errors he makes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushism
Quiz about Bushism (difficult, for advanced students)
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blgeorgewbushquiz3.htm
"Make the Pie Higher" a poem made of Bushism (may
not be suitable for class work...)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,807587,00.html
Audio clips and transcripts
http://www.dubyaspeak.com/audio.phtml
Dubya dance
http://www.gopfun.com/2000archives/dancindubya.htm
A song and its lyrics, discovered by Isabelle
Richer (who says it is not for
students...although I think some mature students could appreciate)
song : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jLz5ifE7Sw&NR
lyrics : http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/pink/dearmrpresident.html
First woman space tourist
The last space tourist was a woman. She is a
successful business woman originating from Iran
but living in the USA, she's 30 and really
good-looking! Read the article from the BBC
written before she left, and see the video (without script)
"Lift-off for woman space tourist" from the BBC on September 18th
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5355022.stm
read her blog, with her impression in space
http://spaceblog.xprize.org/by-anousheh/
a video from the BBC presenting her as a role model (no script)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/news_web/video/9012da6800515a0/nb/09012da680051927_16x9_nb.ram
How Space Tourism Works (from How Stuff Works)
This site introduces the space tourism industry,
citing its first tourist adventurers, along with
the training and costs involved. It includes
summaries of several commercial space travel
projects and ideas, including space stations for
corporate communities and a national contest to
develop reusable launch vehicles for transporting the public into space.
http://science.howstuffworks.com/ref/space-tourism.htm?cid=s28
Fire safety Coloring Book (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 29th)
Download these coloring pages for fire safety
month, make a colorful and creative back and
cover, and then staple them all together to
create your own fire safety tips coloring book.
http://167.193.82.12/colorpage.asp
Prepare Halloween with Riverdeep
Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer from September 27th
and 29th suggest several activities for
elementary school around the theme of halloween,
extending it to the study of the skeleton or the
life of bats and spiders. Find those addresses and the comments at:
http://www.riverdeep.net/
http://www.riverdeep.net/portal/page?_pageid=338,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
http://www.riverdeep.net/portal/page?_pageid=338,968922&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
here are some of the sites:
Pumpkin adjectives worksheet
http://worksheets.teach-nology.com/misc/halloween/adj/3/
Macaroni Skeleton Art
http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Arts/Visual_Arts/ARA0023.html
Bat Curriculum
http://wings.avkids.com/Curriculums/Bats/
Spiders!
http://www.sedl.org/scimath/pasopartners/spiders/welcome.html
Art lessons
Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer from September 29th
presents several sites to introduce famous
painters and their work. Here are some titles:
Art Appreciation Lessons (general)
http://gardenofpraise.com/art.htm
Action Painting with Pollock
http://www.kinderart.com/arthistory/pollock.shtml
Magnifying Flowers with O'Keefe
http://www.kinderart.com/arthistory/georgia.shtml
Abstract Art with Mondrian
http://www.kinderart.com/arthistory/abstract.shtml
Matisse Cut-Outs
http://www.kinderart.com/arthistory/matissecutouts.shtml
Build a Klimt
http://www.kinderart.com/arthistory/klimt.shtml
to read more about them, go to :
http://www.riverdeep.net/portal/page?_pageid=338,1&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Leonardo da Vinci exhibition in London (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
Leonardo da Vinci is a historical figure who
continues to fascinate us today. His paintings,
designs and experiments are renowned all over the
world. A new exhibition of his work has just
opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum in
London and in this edition of Entertainment the
program interviews one of the curators of the exhibition.
http://www.bbclearningenglish.com/radio/specials/1446_entertainment/
[ for advanced students.]
Online Questionnaires
- Learning styles
On eTeachNet, annie Gwynn recommends this
learning style questionnaire for our students.
The results allow them to understand that, for
example, if they scribble all the time, they are
not abnormal : it is just because they need to scribble to fix their attention.
http://www.its-english.com/knowledge/education/ex1.asp
- Psychology, personal profile
On e-teach, Caroline Bouron recommends this
personality test, which can be interesting for ourselves or for adult students:
http://www.davidpbrown.co.uk/psychology/human-relations-test.html
- A quiz about family (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
This questionnaire is diferent from the previous
two : here the focus is on the vocabulary of the family.
http://www0.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1220_family
Organisation and Time Management for Students
Those two sites provide information and documents
that could be helpful when you work on learning
strategies and learning how to learn or just
inside a unit about school. Through these
activities, the students will have to reflect on
how they organise their personal time table, and
this can lead to discussing, for example, if it
is more efficient to do their homework
immediately when they come back from school or if
it is better to relax first with watching TV,
playing football with their friends in the street
or playing video games, and so on.
- Time Management ( from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
Help your students get organized and stay
organized with this interactive and online tool.
They will first determine how they spend a
twenty-four hour day, and then prioritize their
goals and objectives. Several printable guides
are available to complete management exercises,
with students learning how to plan and schedule
their own educational requirements.
http://www.studygs.net/schedule/
- Organization Tips & worksheets for students
(from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
Find tips here to help students become and remain
organized, with specific directions for various
facets of school life, activities, and worksheets on time management.
http://www.coping.org/studyskills/organize.htm
Fundraising Ideas (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 27th)
Whatever you're trying to raise funds for,
whether a student field trip or a purchase for
your classroom or gym, find a list of twenty
tried-and-true ideas that all of your students
can participate in to help you attain your common goal.
http://www.canteach.ca/elementary/classman7.html
[ interesting site both to find ideas you may not
have thought of for your own fund raising, but
also to discuss what ideas work in the USA but
would never work in our country.]
30 Days of Poetry ( from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
Concrete poems, synonym poetry, month metaphors,
object poems, contrast poetry... There are fully
thirty days of lesson plans of poetry here to use
in your language arts classroom.
http://www.msrogers.com/English2/poetry/30_days_of_poetry.htm
Let's Party: A Guide to Drug-free Parties for 5th-8th Graders (from [LII New This Week] September 28)
"This website is a resource for parents to help
their fifth through eighth grade children as they
begin to host and attend parties." Provides
suggestions for parents for party planning,
rules, invitations, curfews, and more. Includes
party game and food ideas. Also available in
Spanish. From the University of Illinois Extension.
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/party/
[ students are always interested in parties, and
the American often have sophistocated ideas about
how to organise a party, games, a buffet, special
food, etc. Have a look at this site dealing with
parties for elementary students for original
suggestions and also to read and comment the advices to the parents.]
Daily writing prompts for October (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 29th)
Learn how to create your own comic strip,
celebrating the date when the lovable cartoon
character "Peanuts" was introduced to the world,
courtesy of Charles Schulz, or use the printable
prompt for October 4th on Sputnik I to respond to
space travel. Find a writing prompt for each day of the month.
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/edit/edit10.shtml
The Great Fire (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
In September 1666 the City of London was almost
destroyed by what became known as The Great Fire.
The fire started in Pudding Lane and this
programme was recorded there with the help of
James Clare who is the Historic Buildings Architect for the City of London.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1128_london_life/
[ with the audio file to download and the full script.]
All about films (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
This week the guest of the webcast is BBC World
Service Arts Reporter Vincent Dowd and he talks
about how to review films. The program also
presents some listeners around the world who talk
about the films they like. The BBC then introduces their latest competition.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/webcast/
Note : the webcast is programmed for october 5th,
so you can't listen to it before. but here is the
link to the page about the competition for students aged 16 or older.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/competition.shtml
Jean Sibelius (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
The series "the blue Plaque" looks at the lives
of famous and important people who lived or
worked in London. The latest feature is on the composer Jean Sibelius.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1758_blue_plaque/page2.shtml
[ with audio file, transcript and quiz.]
Shostakovich centenary (from BBC learning English, 29 sept)
This week the program "words in the News" looks
at the vocabulary in the report about this famous musician.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2006/09/060925_shostakovich.shtml
Geography : Earth Climate Course (from The Scout Report, September 29)
Through their interactive website and educational
outreach efforts, NASA’s Goddard Institute for
Space Studies brings many of their research
findings to the general public. In this
particular learning module, educators and
students will get the chance to learn about how a
planet’s climate is determined. The primary aim
of the module is “for students to develop a
scientific view that our environment is a system
of human and natural processes that result in
changes over various space and time scales.”
Educators are most welcome to download the entire
set of teacher notes, student activities, and
data sets for their use. Each section may also be
downloaded individually as well, and visitors
would do well to read the thorough introduction. [KMG]
http://icp.giss.nasa.gov/education/modules/eccm/
[ for upper intermediates students. Excellent for
all those who want to study earth sciences in
depth. Ce site sera un excellent support pour des
cours de DNL ou un TPE SVT / Anglais.]
Biology : Human anatomy -- the cell
- Human Anatomy Online (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
This interactive human anatomy resource offers an
annotated tour through the body. The skeletal
system provides a section on broken bones, while
the extensive cardiovascular system, besides
explaining all the various parts and purposes,
also looks at kidney filtering. The muscular
system includes interactive push and pull muscle
animations, with further sections offered on the
digestive, lymphatic, endocrine, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems.
http://www.innerbody.com/htm/body.html
- A Virtual Tour of the Human Body (from
Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 27th)
Take a tour inside the human body, visiting the
heart, the human brain, the digestive system, and the human skeleton.
Select either Spanish or English versions, with
narrated tours and interactive activities.
http://www.medtropolis.com/VBody.asp
- Make a Model Cell (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
A printable student worksheet on the inside of a
cell reinforces this student activity, where
students will be using corn syrup, ziplock
baggies, buttons, pasta, beads, and pieces of
pipe cleaner to represent the parts of a cell.
http://www.sciencenetlinks.com/lessons.cfm?Grade=6-8&BenchmarkID=11&DocID=101
History : Lucy's baby -- the American Revolution
- Special Report: Lucy's Baby (from [LII New This Week] September 28)
September 2006 feature about the discovery in
Ethiopia's Afar region of a skeleton of an
Australopithecus afarensis child who lived 3.3
million years ago. Features background about the
skeleton (found in the same area as area as
"Lucy," another A. afarensis skeleton), an
interactive graphic of this human ancestor, a
photo gallery, and a podcast of an interview with
the Lucy discoverer. From the website for Scientific American magazine.
http://sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa004&articleID=00076C1D-62D1-1511-A2D183414B7F0000
LII Item: http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/22656
The American Revolution Unit (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 27th)
A total of 15 lessons comprises this unit on the
American Revolution, following the stages leading
up to the war. Student activities and a quiz accompany each lesson plan.
http://www.mce.k12tn.net/revolutionary_war/american_revolution.htm
Math : Illuminations -- Interactive Algebra
- Illuminations: Math Lessons (from The Scout Report, September 29)
To some the word Illuminations may bring to mind
Walter Benjamin’s classic work, and still others
may imagine those manuscripts that were a product
of the medieval intellect and imagination. In
this case, the illuminations in question are a
set of mathematical teaching and learning tools
designed by the National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics. Their website was redesigned in
early 2006, and is now quite user friendly. From
this page, visitors can search all 524 lesson
plans at their leisure. They may wish to look
through the materials by grade level, subtopic,
or by specifying specific keywords. Along the
way, visitors may also wish to send these
resources to their colleagues via email or offer
their own comments on each lesson plan. [KMG]
http://illuminations.nctm.org/Lessons.aspx
- Interactive Algebra Resource (Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
Here is a great online resource for high school
students, with preliminary topics, beginning
algebra, intermediate, and advanced algebra
coverage. Excellent, clear explanations use
several sample questions. Solving Word Problems is also included.
http://www.purplemath.com/modules/index.htm
[ to teach math in English, at all level of
secondary school, and also to see how math is taught in the US.]
Agriculture : National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (from The Scout Report, September 29)
With significant funding from the United States
Department of Agriculture’s Rural
Business-Cooperative Service, the National
Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
(ATTRA) is committed to providing visitors to
their site with the latest information on
sustainable agriculture practices, innovation,
alternative crop and livestock enterprises, and
of course, organic certification. For a succinct
introduction, first-time visitors will want to
click on the “What is Sustainable Agriculture?”
link, which leads to a number of pieces that
address just that question, along with overviews
of organic crop production, integrated pest
management, and permaculture. After that,
visitors can browse around in sections dedicated
to field crops, horticultural crops, water
management, livestock, and farm energy. Visitors
can also sign up to receive the “Weekly Harvest”
e-newsletter which is a web digest of sustainable
agriculture news, resources, and funding
opportunities that staff members at ATTRA have located on the internet. [KMG]
http://attra.ncat.org/
[ for upper intermediate and advanced students
studying or interested in agriculture.]
Building, Gardening : Golf Course Construction and Renovation (from The Scout Report, September 29)
The United States Golf Association is considered
one of the premiere organizations that has a
truly vested interest in the world of golf course
management, construction, renovation, and in some
rare instances, rejuvenation. In order to
maintain their exacting standards, they have
created their own construction education program.
They have also seen fit to place some of their
information about the aforementioned topics
online at this site. For those working in this
field, starting their career in the field, or
those just interested in creating a backyard
putting green, the "Case Studies" section should
be considered first. Here they will find timely
primers on building short courses for young
players, tee leveling, and bunker
renovation. Moving right along, the "Course
Construction" section contains a variety of
articles, thematically arranged into such areas
as "Greens", "Tees", and once again, "Bunkers". A
few of the highlights among their number include
"Avoiding the Hazards of Golf Course Renovation"
and "Tee Construction With Laser Technology". [KMG]
http://www.usga.org/turf/course_construction/course_construction.html
[ resources for students in road construction or
garden design, for an touch of something different and very specific.]
Cooking, Nutrition : Worry-free Spinach (from [LII New This Week] September 28)
This September 2006 article provides brief
suggestions, including buying spinach from a
small local farm and using frozen spinach, for
those who "want to eat spinach but are worried
about recent reports of E. coli contamination."
Accompanied by several recipes using frozen
spinach, such as spinach and crab enchiladas and
tamale tarts. From the website for Sunset magazine.
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/food/article/0,20633,1537649,00.html
[ the news last week that some spinash were
contaminated with E. coli has traumatised the US
: so here is a site which explains how people can
still use spinach and also suggests recipes. For
all students studying food, cooking and nutrition.]
Pour les profs : Emilangues
Message de la part des reponsables du site
Emilangues retransmis par Lee Smart sur la liste English.Teacher:
"Emilangues, le site institutionnel
d'accompagnement pour les sections européennes ou
de langues orientales, ouvre son forum le 9
octobre 2006. Il s'intitule " Initier des projets
d'échange européens et internationaux :
expériences, enjeux, questionnements". Nous
encourageons toutes les personnes intéressées par
le sujet (enseignants, formateurs, ...) à se manifester sur le site."
http://www.emilangues.education.fr/
Employment Law (from The Scout Report, September 29)
Ross Runkel is a retired professor of law, and
given his long experience with employment and
labor law, it seems quite natural that he would
be the founder of the site, Employment Law. Along
with a team of other equally qualified
professionals, he has created this site to serve
as a clearinghouse of material about the world of
employment law and its many facets. First time
visitors may wish to check out his employment law
or arbitration blogs, then move on to one of the
most popular features, a list of recent and
pending cases in the field that have been heard
before the US Supreme Court. Additionally, the
“Articles” area contains pieces authored by
Runkel and others, including a piece on how to
find an employment lawyer and several timely
pieces on the National Labor Relations Board. [KMG]
http://www.lawmemo.com/
[ for advanced law students.]
Effective Classroom Teaching Practices ( from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, September 28th)
With ten basic tenets, these guidelines to help
you excel in your own classroom teaching practices address all learners.
Each guideline is accompanied by strategies for effective classroom practice.
http://www.hellofriend.org/teaching/good_classroom.html#send
Evaluation diagnostique de début d'année
En seconde :
comprehension orale : http://pedagogie.ac-montpellier.fr/disciplines/anglais/ressources/evaseconde/
production orale : http://pedagogie.ac-toulouse.fr/anglais/evoral3.html
compréhension écrite, comprehension orale : http://pedagogie.ac-toulouse.fr/anglais/evoral3.html
http://www4.ac-lille.fr/~anglais/Documents%20words/Evaluation_seconde/eval_diag_2_prof_co_2006.pdf#search=%22anglais%20evaluation%20seconde%20lille%22 (le
cahier complet de Lille en .pdf à télécharger)
la production écrite est un texte d'environ 100
mots à rédiger sur un sujet connu des élèves, qui
sera évalué selon les critères d'évaluation de
l'écrit au bac ou une grille plus fine conçue en
fonction du sujet et des attentes en rapport avec
ce qui a été étudié en classe.
Pour la 5ème compétence, l'interaction, elle
interviendra lors des échanges dans l'épreuve de production orale .
on trouve aussi des exercices pour l'évaluation
ou la remédiation dans la banqoutil
http://www.banqoutils.education.gouv.fr/
en sixième :
voici une quelques addresses proposées par les collègues sur les listes:
http://www.ac-poitiers.fr/anglais/evalsix06/HTM/preambule.htm
http://anglais.ac-rouen.fr/ecole/liaison_ecole_college_2004/evalcm2004.htm
http://www.educreuse23.ac-limoges.fr/cddp_eile/evaluation/presentation.htm
http://www.ac-nantes.fr:8080/peda/disc/lv/anglais/eva6.htm
En primaire :
évaluation de la capacité à comprendre des consignes A1
un lien précieux recommandé par Sylvie Marc, et
pas que pour le primaire, avec des fichiers-son
téléchargeables pour ECOUTER ET COMPRENDRE -
A1- « Je peux comprendre des consignes et indications simples »
http://www.primlangues.education.fr/php/suggestion.php?id_sug=31&type=4#consignes
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