Infonews n°330 from 30/03/2008
Pictures
Articles
Animations
Save Tibet
Patients rate US hospital care
Edison's first recording predated
- Picture of the phonautograph
- Audio
- Video
Obama's Mother
Earth Hour : the big turn off
Sarkozy's visit to London
April 7th : World Health Day
April 22nd : Earth Day
BBC games to learn
Funfacts
Change Maker
What number is missing?
Choose your math game
Written Compréhension
Audio Comprehension : BBC Children's news
Free films to download
Business, economics : Time share
Politics : Campaign 2008 - Patchwork Nation (from [LII New This Week] March
27)
Sustainable development, engineering : Drive Clean (from [LII New This Week]
March 27)
Social Studies : Britain's Mean Streets
Les Langues Modernes
Entrainement niveau A2
Pictures
Here is an excellent picture to start the topic. It is enigmatic enough to
start students talking, and will also enable them to raise interesting philosophical
questions to which they will then try to find answers through the articles.
http://www.wired.com/images/article/magazine/1512/ff_genomics1_630.jpg
You may prefer this picture presenting a test tube, which will gear the questions
towards more technical issues : a less rich approach, but more focused.
http://www.wired.com/images/article/full/2007/11/genomics_full.jpg
Articles
In the news this week, I found this article from the Washington Post entitled " Dollar
signs in double Helixes". It deals with the benefits and problems linked
to this new opportunity for people in the US to access paternity tests easily.
Some will spare a costly trial, but others may have problems to face the results
unprepared:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/28/AR2008032803511.html
The article also hints at some companies offering those tests to find out what
disease you may get...or your ideal partner! For more on that line, read "Companies
offering DNA insights into health, behavior or even mate selection". At
the end of the article, they mention the fact that companies might one day
use DNA test to hire their employees and make sure they will not develop some
disease that will keep them away from work.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/mar/30/genetic-testing-gets-personal/
You may also find interesting material in this long article (5 pages) from
Wired : "32andMe Will Decode Your DNA for $1,000. Welcome to the Age of
Genomics." This new opportunity is considered from several points of view,
but mainly the medical aspect, including this difficult question : do people
want to know what they are likely to die from?
http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/magazine/15-12/ff_genomics?currentPage=all
http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/magazine/15-12/ff_genomics?currentPage=5
You will also discover how two women started the 32andMe company. Here is the
website of their company:
https://www.23andme.com/gen101/genes/
You can also relate this finding to history with this article about "the
royal disease", hemophilia that affected Queen Victoria's offsprings.
https://www.23andme.com/gen101/variation/hemophilia/
Animations
The genes 101 section of the 32andMe company features 4 Flash animations
presenting what the genes are, where they come from, what SNPs are and what
a phenotype is. Those animations are easy to understand for students specialised
in biology who already know most of the information, so students with a level
as low as A2+ can understand it.
https://www.23andme.com/gen101/
Save Tibet
[LII New This Week] March 27 presents "March 2008 analysis about the
conflict between Chinese authorities and Tibetan protesters in which Chinese
troops "moved to seal off the Tibetan capital of Lhasa." Features
links to news stories and related commentary, such as about reform pressures
on China related to Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympics. From the Council on
Foreign Relations."
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25731
http://www.cfr.org/publication/15738/trouble_in_tibet.html
and recommends to take action with "the International Campaign for Tibet
(ICT) : a website for this organization that believes that
"there must be a political solution [about Tibet] based on direct dialogue
between the Dalai Lama and his representatives and the People's Republic of
China." Features material about campaigns (such as "Beijing 2008:
Race for Tibet," related to the 2008 Olympics in China), news, background
about Tibet and the Dalai Lama, and details about advocacy efforts (including
information about U.S. policy and Tibet). Available in several languages."
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25732
http://savetibet.org/
Patients rate US hospital care
Read this article from Associated Press presenting the new site from the
US government allowing patients to rate and compare hospital care
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iFD5ubtTb2aOaVeyeo7KeQKq0x6gD8VMNFNG0
Here is the site
http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov/
and on Medicare.gov, US citizen can compare nursing homes, dialysis facilities,
and health plans.
http://www.medicare.gov/
Edison's first recording predated
Nothing to do with predator! This title just means that an earlier attempt
to record sound was discovered in France by American researchers. Edouard-Leon
Scott de Martinville made this first recording of "au clair de la lune" 17
years before Edison recorded "Mary had a little lamb". Read this
short article, for the use of the word
"predate" : "A 10-second version of "Au Clair De La Lune," now
archived online, is said to predate Thomas Edison's Manhattan railroad sounds."
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207000451
or those articles from the New York Times, the BBC and the Guardian
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/arts/27soun.html?ei=5124&en=f98597c0206e2879&ex=1364356800&adxnnl=1&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink&adxnnlx=1206861630-ePpZLlcC0cYhGYoi9Xb3EQ
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7318180.stm
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/mar/30/sciencenews.france
- Picture of the phonautograph
http://inventorspot.com/files/images/phonautograph_0.png
- Audio
Several reacordings on the site First Sounds
http://www.firstsounds.org/
A long interview of Scott's relative from the BBC (B1+, French accent)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7310000/newsid_7318700/7318701.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1#
Listen to the oldest recording and presentation of the invention. The beginning
is easy and can be used with level A2 students.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7310000/newsid_7318200?redirect=7318205.stm&news=1&nbram=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&asb=1
- Video
On Euronews, a short report with part of the script, level B1
http://www.euronews.net/index.php?page=info&article=477709&lng=1#
Obama's Mother
Discover Obama's mother and a timeline of his life in " A Free Spirited
Wanderer Who Set Obama's Path", an article published the New York Times
and also in the Sunday supplement of Le Monde yesterday. Gives a endearing
image of the candidate.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/us/politics/14obama.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2007/12/29/us/politics/20071229_OBAMA_TIMELINE.html
You will also find information in the profile page of the NYT
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html?inline=nyt-per
Earth Hour : the big turn off
Yesterday, March 30th, 27 big cities in the world including Sydney and Dublin
switched off their lights as a sign of their concern towards global warming.
Read this article from Reuters and watch the video (level B1, note : "the
darker the better")
http://www.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUSSP28389220080330
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=79164&newsChannel=wtMostRead
Sarkozy's visit to London
Here are some sites where you can find articles and photos of the visit:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7316200.stm
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/sarkomania-your-complete-guide-to-the-state-visit-of-the-year-800615.html
a short article from the Guardian : "Carla dresses for success"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/30/pressandpublishing.nicolassarkozy
April 7th : World Health Day
"World Health Day, on 7 April, marks the founding of the World Health
Organization and is an opportunity to draw worldwide attention to a subject
of major importance to global health each year. In 2008, World Health Day focuses
on the need to protect health from the adverse effects of climate change. " (from
the site)
http://www.who.int/world-health-day/en/index.html
April 22nd : Earth Day
Don't miss Earth Day, a special day to talk about environmental issues, discuss
global warming and sustainable development!
http://ww2.earthday.net/~earthday/
and if you missed that day, there will be Environment Day 2008 on June 5th.
You will find all the links you need on Michelle Henry's page and mine:
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/earth.htm
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/earthday.htm
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/earthandenvironment.html
BBC games to learn
Here are several short games for the youngest. The child has to locate a
town on the map, put the right weather symbol on a place, put some items in
the right recycling box, etc. It's fun, and a way to learn simple vocabulary.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/barnabybear/games/
Funfacts
Learn everything about cheetahs. The text is read aloud and the letters color
as they are pronounced.
http://www.playkidsgames.com/funfacts/cheetah/funfact_011_cheta.html
Change Maker
Students have to practice giving back change in US, UK, Canadian, Australian
and Mexican currency : they learn how to count and how to recognize the coins.
http://www.funbrain.com/cashreg/index.html
What number is missing?
Find as fast as you can the missing number.
http://www.mathsyear2000.org/magnet/minus/mouse/index.html
Choose your math game
lots of other math games to do in English.
http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/ekowalcz/math/elementary_web_sites.htm
Written Compréhension
On e-teach, Emmanuelle Saupé shared with us a Canadian site that she has
discovered and which contains short texts about various subjects that could
be used for an evaluation of written comprehension level A1+/A2
http://2ndnature-online-eikaiwa.com/Canada-Festivals/Festivals-Canada.htm
Audio Comprehension : BBC Children's news
Listen to the news online, and find the transcript for teachers; A good comprehension
exercise for students level A2.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldclass/bulletin_scripts.shtml
Free films to download
On e-teach, Catherine Hugenschmitt recommends this site with old movies and
animations films that you can download. The films are in streaming, but you
can easily download them with DownloadHelper.
http://www.freemooviesonline.com
For example, you can watch :
- an old version of "the man who knew too much"
by Hitchcock: "This is the original, British-made movie from 1934 and
is now in the public domain. After coming to the United States, Alfred Hitchcock
produced a remake of this movie in 1956 starring James (Jimmy) Stewart and
Doris Day. The remake remains under copyright.
http://www.freemooviesonline.com/watch-free-movies/mystery-movies/the-man-who-knew-too-much.html
- a day at the zoo by Tex Avery
http://www.freemooviesonline.com/watch-free-movies/animations/a-day-at-the-zoo.html
Business, economics : Time share
[LII New This Week] March 27 recommends this site of tips and advices to
time share buyers and owners from the American Resort Development Association.
Students level A2+ and above specialised in tourism, economics or social studies
will find this site interesting and you can organise a learning unit around
it. You can for example use it as a basis for role playing activities, mock
interviews, etc.
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25689
http://www.arda.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Purchasing_Tips
They also recommend this article from Kiplinger, a business and finance magazine.
The article also gives tips and advices, but presented in a long article. it
could be interesting to have one part of the class working on the ARDA site
and the other on this article.
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25692
http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/2007/10/timeshare.html
Politics : Campaign 2008 - Patchwork Nation (from [LII New This Week] March 27)
"Series of features about 2008 U.S. presidential election issues important
in "11 places across the US that represent distinct types of voter communities.
They are Monied 'Burbs, Minority Central, Evangelical Epicenters, Tractor Country,
Campus and Careers, Immigration Nation, Industrial Metropolis, Boom Towns,
Service Worker Centers, Emptying Nests, and Military Bastions."
Includes a blog, message boards, candidate information, and related material.
From the Christian Science Monitor."
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25740
[ Fascinating classification of American people by the Christian Science Monitor.
Discover the monied burbs and the tractor Country, but remember that this newpaper
is published by a church (read the "about us" section):
http://www.csmonitor.com/aboutus/about_the_monitor.html
This site is also recommended by Intute, a British site for social sciences
recommended by two British universities.
http://www.intute.ac.uk/socialsciences/cgi-bin/fullrecord.pl?handle=20080327-10115551
Sustainable development, engineering : Drive Clean (from [LII New This Week] March 27)
"A zero and near-zero emission vehicle guide brought to you by the California
Air Resources Board." Features background about clean and cleaner air
vehicle types including electric, hybrid electric, alternative fuel, fuel cell,
and cleaner gas cars. Includes information about environmental benefits, charging
and fueling, technology, safety, and carpool lane eligibility. Also includes
fact sheets, a vehicle search, information about government incentives, news,
and links to related sites."
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25632
http://www.driveclean.ca.gov/en/gv/driveclean/vtype_electric.asp
[ an excellent site for students interested in alternative energy for cars
: for each type, the site provides an easy-to-read (level A2+) article with
sections like benefits, perks (meaning perquisite : privilege, gain) etc. I
also discovered the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lanes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOV ]
Social Studies : Britain's Mean Streets
This week's cover story from Time Magazine is entitled "Unhappy, Unloved
and Out of Control" is about "an epidemic of violent crime, teen
pregnancy, heavy drinking and drug abuse fuels fears that British youth is
in crisis"
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725547-3,00.html
As an illustration, you can watch this extract from BBC News featuring a very
young mother who delivered her baby alone in the bathroom while her companion
was fast asleep in the bedroom. Appalling!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F2ro7C390Q
a page from the BBC (with link to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/outreach/2006_review/partnerships/homelessness.shtml
History of homelessness in the UK
http://www.mungos.org/facts/history.html
an educational pack about homelessness, with lessons, quizzes and activities
http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/content/view/34/21/
http://www.centrepoint.org.uk/documents/Centrepoint_MyPlace.pdf
Audio material : homeless stories from the BBC. Teens tell their story and
explain how and why they became homeless
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nohome/homeless/
more real stories
http://www.crisis.org.uk/page.builder/reallifestories.html
a US page of links about homelessness
http://www.gradebook.org/Poverty.htm
Les Langues Modernes
L’équipe de rédaction de la revue Les Langues Modernes a le plaisir de vous
annoncer la parution du n°1/2008 : « L'intercompréhension».
Sommaire à voir sur le site de l'APLV.
http://www.aplv-languesmodernes.org/spip.php?article1604
Entrainement niveau A2
Yvan Baptiste nous informe que les IPRs viennent de mettre en ligne sur le
site académique de Montpellier des documents (texte et sonore) pour entraîner
/ évaluer le niveau A2 dans toutes les compétences, y compris l'interaction.
Ces documents pourront vous permettre de voir comment
évaluer vos élèves pour la certification A2 en fin de troisième.
http://pedagogie.ac-montpellier.fr/disciplines/anglais/ressources/niveauA2/index.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.
Sites Infonews:
http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/une1.htm
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/une1.htm
Pour consulter les sources:
http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/archives/sourcinfonw.htm
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/sourcinfonw.htm
Pour vous inscrire ou vous désinscrire:
http://listes.ac-rouen.fr/wws/info/liste-infonews
