Infonews n°266 du 29/01/2005
The Poetics of Hip Hop
Other sites to complement this unit
The cover of Rolling Stone Magazine
About Kanye West
Groundhog Day is on February 2nd! (next Thursday)
20th anniversary of Challenger's disaster on January 28th (today)
Google and censorship in China
Dossier du Café Pédagogique
Arts and crafts
Words search
Origami (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, Friday, January 27th)
see also groundhog day and Valentine day
5 Doghouses Crafted in Classic American Architecture
Winter Olympics
Role Play and grapevine activities
Questions and answers from experts (from the NYTimes)
The Library of Congress: Webcasts ( from The Scout Report -- January 27)
World Intellectual Property Organization ( from The Scout Report -- January
27)
Intelligent Designs on Evolution ( from The Scout Report -- January 27)
HTTrack Website Copier 3.40 ( from The Scout Report -- January 27)
Liste Interlangues sur le CERL
The Poetics of Hip Hop
[LII New This Week] discovered ~"ArtsEdge Lesson Plan" The Poetics
of Hip Hop and says it contains: "High school classroom materials focusing
on the analysis of hip hop lyrics to
"provide students with a greater understanding of rhythm, form, diction,
and sound in poetry."
Includes activities, readings, and links to related lesson plans and websites.
From the National Arts and Education Network (ArtsEdge), a program of the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts."
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3656/
I found this teaching unit fascinating, leading intermediate students (and
above) from Shakespeare to rap and to create their own poems and read them
aloud. Visit the links to poetry slam
http://www.poetryslam.com
and here are some tips for a slamming workshop
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/content/3659/
Other sites to complement this unit
- NPR website on Breakdancing
<http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/breakdancing/>http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/breakdancing/
- Hip-hop timeline and history
http://www.emplive.org/explore/hiphop/index.asp
- Hip-hop archives (advanced)
http://www.hiphoparchive.org/archive/index2.htm
- Break Dance (previews of a DVD and a forum)
http://www.breakdance.com/
<http://www.b-boys.com/>http://www.b-boys.com/
- the site of a hip-hop journalist
http://www.daveyd.com/
- and Hip-hop culture is also linked to graffitis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graffiti#External_links
The cover of Rolling Stone Magazine
The hot topic of the moment is Kanye West's picture as a black Jesus on the
cover of Rolling Stone Magazine
read the articles :
- the original article and picture on the site of the magazine
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9183008/kanye_west_world/
- "What does Jesus look like?" by Rosa Clemente
http://p076.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm70.showMessage?topicID=111.topic
- Rap star's Jesus pose (from an Australian newspaper with thpicture of the
cover)
http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/rap-stars-jesus-pose/2006/01/25/1138066839033.html
- on a forum, the reactions of the readers to the above article
http://p076.ezboard.com/fpoliticalpalacefrm69.showMessage?topicID=174.topic
About Kanye West
- bio : http://www.mp3.com/kanye-west/artists/321243/biography.html
- official homesite : http://www.kanyewest.com/
- a podcast of his interview to Rolling Stones (no script, difficult to understand)
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/9192196/kanye_sounds_off/
- MTV's site with bio, videos, etc.
http://www.mtv.com/music/#/music/artist/west_kanye/videos.jhtml
- the clip of "heard'hem say" ( a cartoon against smoking?)
http://www6.islanddefjam.com/www2/av_system/go.rm?link=p2RC12ezG6JYb726vbM92BEF-52806
- the lyrics
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kanyewest/heardemsay.html
My students have selected the songs "Gold Digger"
from the film Ray Charles starring Jamie Foxx ( forget the clip, it just shows
pinups!) and
"Jesus walks" which relates to the Rolling Stone cover (I haven't
seen the clip yet). I prefer
"heard'hem say" because the clip has a story and also because its
lyrics contain both "Allah o Akbar" and "Jesus", so I guess
they can be considered politically correct... ;)
Groundhog Day is on February 2nd! (next Thursday)
An article written this week, to launch the topic
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=3847651
here is a webquest I use with my students, plus links
http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/themes/groundhogday.htm
and this page where you can find all the links you may need (info, songs, lesson
plans)
http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/enjoy/groundhog/groundhog.html
20th anniversary of Challenger's disaster on January 28th (today)
Remember Christa McAuliffe and her crew
*** an excellent multimedia presentation (but no scripts for the audio files)
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/shared/news/interactives/challenger_20th/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1551527
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/content/accent/epaper/2006/01/28/a1d_challenger_web_0128.html
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/01/28/concord_remembering_teachers_life_not_the_disaster_that_took_it/
Google and censorship in China
Read the links suggested by the Scout report about Google’s decision to censor
its search services in China.
http://scout.wisc.edu/Reports/ScoutReport/Current/inthenews.php?PHPSESSID=0eb95a598dd995391b3844aab06be288
Dossier du Café Pédagogique
Find in n°59 from the Café Pédagogique many addresses for Valentine's Day
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/disci/anglais/59.php
Some links have changed, here are the ones to replace:
- everything about Valentine : history, poems, lots of links!
http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/enjoy/valentines/valentines.html
- why Valentine?
http://www.holidays.net/amore/story.html
-handicrafts
http://www.dcrafts.com/valentineactivities.htm
- Love poetry (including Red, Red Rose and Porphyria)
http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/enjoy/valentines/valpoetry.html
- update of last year's links
Riverdeep's documents are no longer free
http://holidays.mrdonn.org/valentine.html
- Wacky Web Tale about Valentine
http://www.eduplace.com/tales/content/wwt_004.html
Arts and crafts
Secret valentine (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, Friday, January 27th)
Have your students create some interesting Valentine cards this year while
integrating a writing lesson plan as well. Use cut-out newspaper and magazine
words to write a secret message for younger students or a poem for older
students.
http://www.kid-at-art.com/htdoc/lesson18.html
Folding hearts for Valentine (Origami)
http://web.singnet.com.sg/~owrigami/hearts.htm
Cloth Valentines
http://www.theideabox.com/Cloth_Valentines.html
Words search
Word scramble, and word search
http://bogglesworld.com/valentines_day_worksheets.htm
Origami (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, Friday, January 27th)
Basics http://www.fishgoth.com/origami/basics1.html
a box http://my.hsonline.net/~kidatart/htdoc/lesson16.htm
a penguin in 7 steps and drawings http://dev.origami.com/images_pdf/penguin_grebenicek.pdf
folder paper structures (to hang or use as lamp shades) http://www.sgi.com/misc/grafica/fold/page004.html
5 Doghouses Crafted in Classic American Architecture
[LII New This Week] from January 26 recommends this site with ideas and instructions
for building backyard doghouses to match Greek revival, Craftsman, Victorian,
Georgian, and Tudor architectural styles. From the website for This Old House
magazine.
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/knowhow/design/article/0,16417,1076402,00.html
[ building and design technicians will enjoy study technical building vocabulary
through this easy project. Non specialist may choose to discuss the position
of people who spend a lot of money to have a Victorian style dog house...]
Winter Olympics
find lesson plans and resources at this address:
http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/specialedition/olympics/olympics.asp
Role Play and grapevine activities
Florinda Fernandes recommended Bogglesworld on eTeachNet, and it is indeed
a site worth a place in your bookmarks.
http://bogglesworld.com/
Boggle's World ESL is maintained by a group of ESL teachers in Asia and North
America. Their aim is to bring printable quality resources to teachers and
parents. The lesson plans and documents for role play and grapevine activities
are rather aimed at Asian adult beginners and lower intermediates, but the
ideas are excellent and can be easily adapted or transferred. You can find
the grapevine activity (with worksheets and handouts) and role plays about
giving directions, choosing a film, job interview or at the bank (with worksheets
and handouts) in the archives:
http://bogglesworld.com/lessons/archive.htm
and to complete the unit about Pets I described in Infonews n°263, here is
a card game for beginners or students who need a cheerful atmosphere to start
speaking English.
http://bogglesworld.com/lessons/animal_parts.htm
Note : Don't be short of printing paper or ink, you need a lot of material
: three worksheets plus the cards (there are 45 cards in all.)
Questions and answers from experts (from the NYTimes)
A very interesting article for intermediates and above, featuring the questions
children keep asking their parents and which the parents can't answer, and
the sometimes surprising answers from the experts (yes, being stung by a jellyfish
can be more painful than being run over by a car!!!!!)
Read the article : "When Father Knows Less", By WENDELL JAMIESON,January
27, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20060127friday.html
and see the suggested lesson plan about finding and asking experts to answer
tricky questions.
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20060127friday.html
[ I find the activity interesting, although I doubt the prompt "Do you
have any burning questions that no one has been able to answer?"
will be able to bring about some really interesting questions. ]
The Library of Congress: Webcasts ( from The Scout Report -- January 27)
Perhaps you, gentle user, are looking for an insightful and contemplative
45-minute talk on Beethoven? Maybe you would like to learn more about the nature
of Cold War realpolitik? Fortunately, the Library of Congress’s Webcasts website
has these topics well covered, along with 301 like-minded talks. Over the past
six years, the Library of Congress has documented several hundred of the talks,
discussions, and conferences that have taken place under its leadership. On
this site, visitors have access to all of these talks in their entirety, along
with webcasts from the National Book Festival. Visitors can scan through a
complete list of all 303 webcasts, or browse a thematic list that organizes
the talks into areas such as religion, government, and education. Some of the
webcasts are particularly engaging, such as John Hope Franklin’s talk on his
own life as well as John Irving’s appearance at the 2005 National Book Festival.
[KMG]
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/index.php
[ conferences in video for upper intermediates.
- I enjoyed "American Heroines" by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas),
a conference about women barrier breakers.
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3680
"she discussed, "American Heroines: The Spirited Women Who Shaped
Our Country." "American Heroines" is a blend of biography, history
and personal memoir that profiles notable American women from the 19th century
to the present. This compelling mix of social history and personal recollection
presents female pioneers in fields as varied as government, business, education
and health care, who overcame the resistance and prejudice of their times and
accomplished things that had not been done before.
Hutchison became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from the state
of Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas and the University of
Texas Law School. She was twice elected to the Texas House of Representatives."
She also quotes De Tocqueville, a Frenchman who has become a reference in the
US, although he is rather neglected in France, and focuses mainly on women
in politics.
Of course, you have to select short excerpts for students, and add information
about the references. There is no script, but her accent is easy to understand
and it is a real pleasure to listen to her conference.
- You can also find lots of other conferences on various subjects. *** I especially
enjoyed this full of humor conference about finding a corporate job again in
the US for a white collar who has been laid-off ( I love the corporate dressing
coach and his advices!)
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=3833 ]
World Intellectual Property Organization ( from The Scout Report -- January 27)
As with many forms of international governance, it is difficult to understand
the complex lattice-like structure that protects intellectual property across
the globe. Headquartered in Geneva, the World Intellectual Property Organization
(WIPO) is responsible for administering 23 international treaties that deal
with various aspects of intellectual property protection. For those who may
be less familiar with the nuances of this complex field, the
“About” area is a good place to start. Here users can learn about the nature
of trademarks, industrial designs, and emerging issues in intellectual property.
After consulting this part of the site, users may wish to continue on to the
“News & Information Resources” area, which contains access to the WIPO
Magazine, the Intellectual Property Digital Library, and information about
upcoming events and conferences. Finally, the site also contains specific information
about the various treaties that protect the rights of intellectual property
across international borders. [KMG]
http://www.wipo.int/portal/index.html.en
[ for advanced students interested in this topic, or for the teachers' information.
the site is also available in French:
http://www.wipo.int/index.html.fr ]
Intelligent Designs on Evolution ( from The Scout Report -- January 27)
Recently, many interested parties have taken up the debate surrounding intelligent
design and the teaching of evolution in public schools. While it can be hard
to sort through the vast debates surrounding these issues, the good people
at American Radio Works have created this thoughtful and introspective website
that explores some of the issues surrounding this important topic. Under the
careful direction of Mary Beth Kirchner, the documentary takes a look at some
of the people involved in the debates, and features interviews with high school
teachers, intelligent design theorists, and others. After listening to the
documentary, visitors will also want take a look at the site’s other features,
such as an interview with Professor Ted Peters (a theology professor) and a
selection of additional relevant sites, such as those for the National Center
for Science Education and the Institute for Creation Research. [KMG]
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/inteldesign/
[ a useful site to keep up to date with the different arguments on both sites,
although it seems more orientated for than against.]
HTTrack Website Copier 3.40 ( from The Scout Report -- January 27)
While it is getting easier to find free wireless Internet access around the
country, there are still some areas in which it is still difficult to obtain
such an amenity. For those who need to work or browse on websites while offline,
HTTrack Website Copier 3.40 will be a most welcome find. With this application,
users can download a site straight from the Internet to a local directory.
The application stores all of the HTML and images from the site, which makes
viewing the site quite simple. This version of HTTrack Website Copier is compatible
with all computers running Windows 98 or newer. [KMG]
http://www.httrack.com/
[ a useful free and easy to use website copier.]
Liste Interlangues sur le CERL
Josiane Laval, présidente de l'association Cyber-langues, suggère à ceux
qui aimeraient
échanger au sujet du CECR et du portfolio européen, à ceux qui expérimentent
déjà en classe, ou qui se posent mille questions, de venir partager leurs expériences
et leurs questionnements sur la liste Interlangues animée par Pascale Catoire,
de l'académie d'Orléans-Tours. Voici le descriptif de cette liste:
"Le Cadre Européen Commun de Référence pour les langues est un document
qui concerne toutes les langues.
Sur cette liste de discussion, les professeurs de langues partagent leurs interrogations
et expériences concernant l'utilisation de ce Cadre, du Portfolio Européen
et l'intégration de ceux-ci dans leur enseignement."
http://weblistes.ac-orleans-tours.fr/wws/info/interlangues
Ceci est un message de la LISTE INFONEWS
réalisé par Christine Reymond
lycée Blaise Pascal, Rouen, France
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Pour vous inscrire et recevoir Infonews gratuitement chaque dimanche:
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