Infonews n°318 from 02/12/2007

A la Une this week, the 2008 US presidential elections starting from a document from Time magazine called "eco-vote" presenting the position of the candidates regarding environment. Then find pages about Christmas and the dates to celebrate in December, an information about the oil spill in California, seven interactive advent calendars, to play and learn, then a TV program about the new business of tracking and spying people, and a teaching unit around a song from our colleague Florinda Fernandes.

have a nice week!
Christine Reymond

Sommaire

A la Une : US Presidential Elections 2008

Ecology
Eco-vote
How the elections work
Parties and candidates
From the UK point of view
Analysis
Lesson plans and worksheets
*** Play the election game

In the Calendar : Christmas

Christmas links
Other dates to celebrate
Some new links

In the News

Bay Spill (from [LII New This Week] November 22)

Resources for Primary School

Play and learn with this advent calendar
Christmas crafts in an advent calendar
Liverpool Museums advent calendar
German advent calendar
Finish advent calendar
Cadbury's advent calendar
CBeeBies's advent calendar

Resources for Secondary School

Big Brother, Big Business
1984

From our colleagues

Dear Mr President by Pink

A la Une : US Presidential Elections 2008

Ecology

Concerning environment, the terms are changing quickly : from environmentally-friendly to environment-friendly and now eco-friendly, and the base "enviro" (envirotalk) tends to be replaced by "eco" (ecocities) and the term "ecology" seems to be more and more used : 43.000.000 answers on Google against 68.000.000 for "environment friendly" and 2.000.000 for "environmentally friendly". Of course, there is a difference between those terms (see the short definition for ecology in the Webster http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/ecology ) but also in the philosophy.
http://www.enviro-friendly.com/environmentally-friendly-products-resources.shtml
http://www.greenpeople.org/index.htm
http://www.urbanecology.org.au/
http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/busyt/eco.shtml (K12 ecology/environment links)

Eco-vote

*** Time magazine this week compares the candidates positions of the issue of environment. A useful worksheet for our students!
http://www.time.com/time/2007/includes/eco_vote.pdf
See also the positions of all the candidates on the main issues (education, Iraq, oil, guns, marriage, healthcare, etc.)
http://www.2decide.com/table.htm

How the elections work

See this animation with Tim and Moby from Time for Kids
http://www.timeforkids.com/TFK/election04/brainpop.html
and the infonews page about the 2004 elections
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/uselections.html
see also all the links on Michelle Henry's page
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/civiuselections.htm

Parties and candidates

- Official governmental website for the elections, with a list and links to the official websites of the main republican and democrat candidates, and their position concerning climate change, immigration, Iraq, security, trade. (also in French)
http://usinfo.state.gov/politics/elections/index.html
http://usinfo.state.gov/politics/elections/candidates.html
- A comprehensive site (which proclaims to be non partisan) presenting all the running (and not running) candidates for all parties : discover the socialist party, and a prohibition party against booze!
http://www.politics1.com/p2008.htm
- the page on Congresspedia : "The citizen's encyclopedia on Congress that you can edit." (from source watch encyclopedia)
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=U.S._presidential_election%2C_2008
- the election guide from the New York Times (only democrats and republicans, but also with their positions on the issues)
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008/candidates/index.html
- the CNN guide to the elections, with lots of videos and a map
http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/
- the Vote Smart site with a lot of information
http://www.vote-smart.org/election_president.php
I discovered a fascist party (sorry that it exists) and a Light Party : "a wholistic, proactive, educational, empowerment party is a synthesis of the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian and Green Parties. We have formulated a practical, synergistic 7-point program which addresses and serves to resolve our current socio-economic and ecological challenges... " (definition from the website)
http://www.lightparty.com/index.shtml
- see also the pages from About.com, with the calendar of the primary and caucuses
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/2008elections/a/overview_prez.htm

From the UK point of view

- Special report from the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/americas/2008/vote_usa_2008/default.stm
- the guide from the Daily Telegraph (UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/uselection/nosplit/uselection.xml
- the guide from the Guardian (UK) with interesting links, such as the watchblog
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uselections08/0,,2014926,00.html
- the special report from the Financial Times
http://www.ft.com/indepth/uselections2008

Analysis

- "The invisible Primary" from Journalism.com
http://www.journalism.org/node/8187
- Poynteronline: Election Coverage (from [LII New This Week] November 22)
Coverage of elections in general and the 2008 presidential election in particular, with an emphasis on resources for journalists covering the election. Features background, reading suggestions, ideas for story angles, and other material of interest to journalists and also to general audiences. From the Poynter Institute.
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24925
- Scoop08 (from [LII New This Week] November 22)
Website for a national student newspaper "dedicated to providing in-depth and innovative coverage of the 2008 presidential election." Features articles and editorials (in blog format) from student correspondents from universities and high schools across the country, descriptions of beats and how to get involved as a correspondent, and details about the contributors and advisors (journalism professors and journalists from national media outlets).
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24940

Lesson plans and worksheets

- from Education World
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/newsforyou/newsforyou077.shtml
with a worksheet with a task : what one question would you ask the candidates?
http://www.education-world.com/a_lesson/newsforyou/pdfs/newsforyou077.pdf
- from Teachable Moments, a lesson plan to analyse the elections from a journalistic point of view (for advanced students)
http://www.teachablemoment.org/high/horserace.html
- activities from Kid Voting USA, with a matching game about the history of voting in the USA
http://www.kidsvotingusa.org/FileDownload.cfm?file=Activity%5FSamples%2Epdf

*** Play the election game

USA today offers this game to decide which candidate is most like you. You answer 11 questions, 3 about Iraq, 2 on immigration, 2 on health care, one on same sex marriage, one on tax reform, one on global warming and one on the experience required to become an efficient president. Interesting for upper intermediates and teachers interested in US governmental issues.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/candidate-match-game.htm

In the Calendar : Christmas

Christmas links

Each year, find all the best sites about Christmas : the history, songs, traditions, handicrafts, recipes (including gingerbread houses), stories, etc. on:
Michelle Henry's site
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/christmas.htm
le Café Pédagogique
http://www.cafepedagogique.org/disci/anglais/78.php
Infonews
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/290.htm#christmas
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/christmas1.htm

Other dates to celebrate

Don't forget that December doesn't mean only Christmas, but also several other holidays :
December 3rd : International day of the disabled
December the 10th : Universal declaration of the Human Rights
December 13th : Sainte Lucia ( Sweden)
December 20th : Boston Tea party
dec 15th-22nd : Chanukah or Hanukkah (Jewish celebration)
December 26th : Boxing Day
December 26th to Jan 1st : Kwanzaa (African American celebration)
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/rescol.htm
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/290.htm#calendar

Some new links

Mr Bean's Christmas (with the turkey, not very refined, but a classic, ends with : "got a turkey on?"!!!!!!!!!!!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etUq95XKGiw

Eco-Friendly Kwanzaa (from [LII New This Week] November 22)
Craft ideas for making your own Kwanzaa celebration supplies. Includes instructions for making a Kwanzaa candle holder representing the seven principles which are the foundation of Kwanzaa. Also describes how to create other Kwanzaa symbols. From Care2, an activist organization. [ lots of specific vocabulary : kuumba, Mkeka, Mazao, etc.)
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24922

FamilyFun: Have a Happy Green Holiday (from [LII New This Week] November 22)
Collection of children's craft activities for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve that "give a gift to Mother Earth ... [by turning] holiday and household surplus into festive decorations and eco-friendly packaging." Includes instructions for a bubble packaging advent calendar, new uses for old greeting cards, fabric wrapping (inspired by Japanese furoshiki), and more. From FamilyFun magazine.
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24919

In the News

Bay Spill (from [LII New This Week] November 22)

Compilation of news stories and editorials concerning the oil spill that resulted from a container ship striking the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge in November 2007. In addition to ongoing stories about cleanup efforts and investigations into the accident, this feature include photos, audio and video clips, graphics, a list of beach closures, and details about volunteering to help with the cleanup efforts. From the website for the San Francisco Chronicle.
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24935

Resources for Primary School

Play with this advent calendar

each year, woodland school prepares an interactive advent calendar : this year, click on the square and answer a different question each day...and learn!
http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/calendar/index.html#calendar

Christmas crafts in an advent calendar

ET Free Flyer Nov. 30 recommends this page : you click on the decorations on the tree, and get each day a new idea for a craft, with the instructions and photos. Primary school teachers could devote a few minutes each day to discover the craft of the day...
http://www.everydayteaching.com/Calendar/index.php

Liverpool Museums advent calendar

The museums in Liverpool have prepared this interactive calendar for children. For December 1st, learn everything about reindeers...
http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/online/advent/

German advent calendar

discover also this advent calendar from the German ambassy in Washington
http://www.germany.info/Calendar/adventcalendar.html

Finish advent calendar

provided by the embassy of Finland in London, a nice interactive advent calendar from the home of Santa Claus, with a new story fro every day.
http://www.kidzonefinland.org.uk/christmas/flash_content/mainpage.html

Cadbury's advent calendar

you play in two step : first download the code cracker, then decipher the code you obtain by clicking on the day, and then you access a joke read by an elve...
http://www.cadburymagicalelves.com/calendar.aspx

CBeeBies

Just for fun : a game for the youngest every day.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/christmas/advent.shtml

Resources for Secondary School

Big Brother, Big Business

On her Blog, Karen Ellis recommends this program on CNBC television. CNBC was nominated to the business Emmy awards for this program.
http://blog.edu-cyberpg.com/2007/11/22/BIG+BROTHER+BIG+BUSINESS+And+Cell+Phone+Secrets.aspx
Unfortunately, CNBC requires a payment to watch the program online, but you can find it on You Tube
http://www.cnbcbigbrother.com/BigBrother-Open.wmv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k12-yxStwIc
*** and the full program there (12mn) :everything about the new surveillance technologies. It's long, but worth it, and you can use only parts of it in class.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article15716.htm

1984

you can also refer the students to the various sites about Orwell's 1984
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/294.htm#une
show them the famous 1984 Apple commercial
http://www.curtsmedia.com/cine/1984.html (comments, short version, making of)
http://www.cnettv.com/9742-1_53-15243.html (just the commercial)
and the trailer of the film
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QF51CqBy81U
http://www.videodetective.com/titledetails.aspx?masterId=4874

From our colleagues

Dear Mr President by Pink

our colleague Florinda Fernandes shares with you the teaching unit she has done with her students (intermediates level B1, terminales ES) around the song, followed by a debate, with two ready to use worksheets. Thanks Florinda!
http://englishingambier.over-blog.com/article-5309227.html
http://englishingambier.over-blog.com/article-5489749.html


Ceci est un message de la LISTE INFONEWS
réalisé par Christine Reymond
lycée Blaise Pascal, Rouen, France
E-Mail: Christine.Reymond@ac-rouen.fr
Les commentaires et réflexions entre [ ] ne reflètent que mon opinion personnelle.
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