Infonews n°269 du 05/03/2006

A la Une this week, suggestions to work with and from newspapers for the French semaine de la presse, and in the news, articles and videos about what president Bush knew before Katrina. Then find an update of last year's page about St Patrick's day, plus some new addresses. St Patrick's day is especially appealing to younger students, with the leprechauns, and lots of activities and handicrafts, but advanced students will also enjoy a video or an online interactive book to discover the legend or statistics from the US Census bureau to learn about Irish people and their traditions in the US.
Still for the youngest, discover the nice idea of poetry pebbles, several sing along songs and stories to watch and hear/read. Then find three sites about career education for intermediate and upper intermediate students, and several sites to learn more about the different type of video games and how young people use the internet, story starters to encourage them to write, a site with photos and picture testimonies about the Civil Rights Movement era and a site of recipes. Then discover Green Week and how to register and take part, and different sites about teaching practice.
You Infonews is delivered early this week because I leave for Brighton tomorrow and I'll stay there with some BTSI students selected by Région Haute Normandie until March 13th. So there will be no Infonews next week, and Infonews n°270 will be on March 19th.

Christine Reymond

Sommaire

A la Une : Semaine de la Presse

Two basic addresses
The daily newspapers I use most
From e-teach (webquests and lessons)

In the News

St Patrick's Day

Video and an interactive book
Traditions and parades
St Patrick's story and legends, and several Irish legends
The Leprechaun's Pot of Gold
Handicrafts and coloring pages
Ireland map coloring Printout
Treasure hunts/webquests
Ready to use lessons in .pdf
Irish Recipes
Other sites about Ireland and St Patrick's Day
To work online

Resources for Primary School

Sing Along
Online stories to hear and read
Poetry Pebbles (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, Tuesday, February 21st)

Career Education

Exploring Careers
What interests you?
Career matching and exploration

Resources for Secondary School

The MySpace Generation (from [LII New This Week] March 2)
Parallel Worlds: Online Games and Digital Information Services (from [LII New This Week] March 2)
Weekly writing topics (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, Wednesday, February 15th)
Unseen. Unforgotten.( from The Scout Report -- March 3)
The Great Family Cookbook Project ( from The Scout Report -- March 3)

Projects

Green Week 2005

Teaching Practice

Teaching strategies


A la Une : Semaine de la Presse

From March 13th to 18th, it is the 17th Semaine de la Presse in France. here are some pages where you will find useful resources:

Two basic addresses

a page of links to the sites of all the newspapers, ordered by countries :
<http://newslink.org/>http://newslink.org/
Today's front page from more than 400 U.S. and international newspapers
<http://www.newseum.org/>http://www.newseum.org/
in the Cybernewseum, find the front pages for the days when famous events took place: September 11th, Columbia's accident, Kennedy's assassination, etc.
http://www.newseum.org/cybernewseum/

The daily newspapers I use most

The New York Times : http://www.nytimes.com/
the Washington post : http://www.washingtonpost.com
the International Herald Tribune : http://www.iht.com/
the Guardian : http://www.guardian.co.uk/
the Times : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/
and to read the news and find links to articles about current issues from all over the world (but few real newspaper front pages)
http://news.google.com (select UK, US, Australia, Canada, India, etc.)

From e-teach

Our colleagues on e-teach have exchanged several useful addresses to work on and from newspapers, and ideas of activities :
- Webquests and ready to use files
Michelle Henry also recommend this "InfoChase about Tabloids and Broadsheets" from our German colleague Jurgen Wagner
http://www.wagner-juergen.de/englisch/newsquest.htm
Sylviane Vialaneix on e-teach recommends those two sites with documents easy to adapt to analyse the British Press:
http://www.englishresources.co.uk/workunits/ks3/langmedia/readallaboutit/yr9readallaboutit.html
http://www.ac-versailles.fr/pedagogi/anglais/tice/scenario/presse.htm
Brigitte Baudet has found those webquests
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/resources/teacherquest.pdf (from the BBC)
http://www.ugr.es/~inped/module4_4/m4_2.htm (webquest comparing right-wing and leftwing papers)
Isabelle Destat recommends this lesson from our colleague Alain Gayer (quality press, tabloids, gutter press)
http://www.ac-versailles.fr/pedagogi/anglais/joinin/press-alaingayer.rtf
Laurence Bernard has selected:
http://www.onestopenglish.com/Grammar/PDF/english/newspapers_efl.pdf
http://ndaeuro.rapnouil.net/teachers/media/newslesson2.htm
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/readtry/read_activites.shtml
http://www.teachit.co.uk/index.asp?M=3&A=5&S=142&Z=1#S142
- Create your own newspaper : Laurence also recommend this site, which was already in the first Infonews in 1997 and is still excellent and very useful, but you have to register:
http://crayon.net/

In the News

President Bush knew about Katrina : read this article, see the video, read the transcript and learn how G.W.Bush had been warned of the expected dangers coming from Katrina : He knew that it would be worse than Andrew, that the Superdome was not safe, and that the levees might break.

An article from USA today and the reactions on the blog:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-01-video-katrina-warning_x.htm
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline/2006/03/heres_how_some_.html
An article plus link to the full coverage of the event and the aftermath
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/02/national/nationalspecial/02katrina.html
The same from the British side
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1721896,00.html
The news on CNN, plus links to the complete coverage.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/02/fema.tapes/
If your students want to review information about past hurricanes, the Scout Report recommends this site:
Hurricane Digital Memory Bank: Preserving the Stories of Katrina, Rita,and Wilma
http://hurricanearchive.org/
These news echo the publication of the "Katrina : lessons learned" by the White House:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/reports/katrina-lessons-learned/

St Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is on March 17th. Advanced students can discover the details of this festival through a video from History Channel or through an interactive book from the BBC. Intermediate students can discover pictures of the parade, the details of St Patrick's life and the legends around St Patrick's day, and figures from the US Sensus Bureau about Irish people in the USA and their traditions. Then kindergarten and primary school teachers will find many suggestions of handicrafts, activities or coloring pages for St Patrick's Day. For intermediate students and above, find webquests, maps, recipes, ready to use lessons and pages of links to use in the computer lab of just to explore.
Happy St Patrick's Day!

Video and an interactive book

A video from History Channel (for advanced students, rather religious but usable)
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/index.jsp
An interactive book of fact (discovered by Michèle Henry, for advanced or upper intermediate students)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/spring/patricks/book.shtml

Traditions and parades

- see pictures of the parades in Dublin
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/spring/patricks/parade_gallery.shtml
- U.S. Census Bureau Facts for Features: Irish-American Heritage Month and St. Patrick's Day
[LII New This Week] March 2, recommends this site of facts and statistics related to St. Patrick's Day, including topics such as population distribution of Americans with Irish ancestry, immigration, places in the U.S. called Dublin and Shamrock, trade with Ireland, beer consumption, and "[the] number of U.S. residents who speak Irish Gaelic at home." From the U.S. Census Bureau.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/006328.html

St Patrick's story and legends, and several Irish legends

http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/history_stpatricksday.html
http://www.youthonline.ca/stpatricksday/history.shtml
http://blackdog4kids.com/holiday/pat/history.html
http://www.saintpatrick.com/2002/index-en.html
http://www.wilstar.com/holidays/patrick.htm ( remember to turn the music off!)
http://www.marvelicious.com/stpatrick.html ( forbidden by mistake by the filters of the rectorats)
http://www.sparta.k12.il.us/SID/legends.htm
http://pedagogie.ac-montpellier.fr/disciplines/anglais/civilisation/patrick.html (history and links, ready to use in the computer lab)
http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/stpatricksday/index.jsp
http://members.tripod.com/~bgilley/INDEX.HTM( short texts about the legends and traditions like "wearing green or getting pinched" and the Blarney Stone)
http://www.alphabet-soup.net/hol/sphist.html (text)

The Leprechaun's Pot of Gold

A short story about a leprechaun
<http://www.beavers.westlancashirescouts.org.uk/Programme%20Ideas/The%20Lazy%20Leprechaun.doc>http://www.beavers.westlancashirescouts.org.uk/Programme%20Ideas/The%20Lazy%20Leprechaun.doc
*** Leprechauns' story starters (to make students write stories, excellent for all levels)
http://www.teachersdesk.org/topics/leprechaun.html
Several activities and handicrafts around the theme
- for the youngest : make a bookmark
http://www.thebestkidsbooksite.com/printcraft.cfm?CraftID=823
- for beginners : color a picture, and write a poem, a few sentence or just some words underneath
<http://www.abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/March/colorwrite.htm>http://www.abcteach.com/MonthtoMonth/March/colorwrite.htm
- for crafty beginners or lower intermediates : make a puppet
<http://crafterscommunity.com/index.php/114>http://crafterscommunity.com/index.php/114
- for kindergarten and primary school : the leprechaun's dance and other songs based on famous tunes
http://www.hummingbirded.com/stpat_pres.html#st
- several activities around the theme, from games to math, including pictures to color
<http://www.abcschoolhouse.com/seasonal_pdfs/march_ideas.pdf>http://www.abcschoolhouse.com/seasonal_pdfs/march_ideas.pdf
http://www.123child.com/march/
<http://www.theideabox.com/ib.php?web=special&id=saint>http://www.theideabox.com/ib.php?web=special&id=saint
http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/stpatty/fun.htm
- another page of activities : Color a pot of gold, a shamrock, read the story of St Patrick, answer trivias, etc.
<http://www.youthonline.ca/stpatricksday/>http://www.youthonline.ca/stpatricksday/

Handicrafts and coloring pages

- Lucky mobiles
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/stpatrick/Rainbow.shtml
- Lucky stones
http://www.makingfriends.com/stones_magic.htm
- Rainbow and shamrocks
http://www.alphabet-soup.net/hol/stpart.html
- Hand print rainbow
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/holiday_pat_ideas.htm
- Paint a shamrock
http://www.kinderart.com/seasons/shamrockfun.shtml
- Shamrock template
http://www.first-school.ws/t/pattern/clover.htm
- Hairy shamrocks (with growing seeds)
http://www.theideabox.com/Hairy_Shamrocks.html
- Coloring page
http://www.coloring.ws/patrick.htm
- handicrafts with shamrocks
http://info.riverdeep.net/Key=51255.C0j.Q.LH4fZH
http://www.123child.com/march/

Ireland map coloring Printout

A map of Ireland to color, for geography and English classes
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/stpatrick/Rainbow.shtml

Treasure hunts/webquests

<http://www.ecps.k12.nc.us/dfw/ebaker/St.Patrick'sDay.htm>http://www.ecps.k12.nc.us/dfw/ebaker/St.Patrick'sDay.htm (simple, for lower intermediates)
<http://lve.scola.ac-paris.fr/anglais/stpat/quiz.htm>http://lve.scola.ac-paris.fr/anglais/stpat/quiz.htm (easy, for lower intermediates)
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/patwqki.doc

Ready to use lessons in .pdf

a quiz, a short history of Ireland, a text and a crossword
http://www.reward-english.com/warehouse/March/RW025C-stpatrickI.pdf
a warming up the text and the crossword
http://www.reward-english.com/warehouse/March/RW025C-stpatrickU.pdf
crossword, text and vocabulary
http://www.reward-english.com/warehouse/March/RW025C-stpatrickE.pdf

Irish Recipes

http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/spring/recipes/index.shtml

Other sites about Ireland and St Patrick's Day

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/crafts/stpatrick/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/yourlondon/stpatricks/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/spring/patricks/index.shtml
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/unitssubjhol/qt/mar17a7.htm
http://www.sdmf.k12.wi.us/bf/resources/stpatrick.htm
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/patrick.htm
http://www.ac-versailles.fr/pedagogi/anglais/civi/stpatrick.html
http://lve.scola.ac-paris.fr/anglais/stpat.php
http://lve.scola.ac-paris.fr/anglais/fetes03.php

To work online

And the page of links I designed for my students, encouraging them to first do the quizzes to get basis info and key words, and then go to the sites about legends, traditions and St Patrick's story to complete their notes. You can also choose to do the opposite : first take notes from the sites about St Patrick's and the legends, then invite them to do the quizzes.
<http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/themes/stpatrick.htm>http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/themes/stpatrick.htm

Resources for Primary School

Sing Along

sing along this song : "It's time to fight a fire", with pictures and sounds. For young beginners.
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/timetofightafire.asp
then you can invite your students to play "What should Firefighter Fran wear" and review the name of the clothes while listening to the sentences.
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/activities/whatshouldfranwear.asp

Online stories to hear and read

A colleague Etni recommends this site for American pre-readers : Kizclub (go to stories) "It's really nice. They have several topic based books, you click on the cover, the story is read to you and you can also read it yourself."
http://www.kizclub.com
see also the stories and the activities on various themes
http://www.storyplace.org/preschool/other.asp

Poetry Pebbles (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, Tuesday, February 21st)

Painting pebbles and printing words on them are only half the fun; making up poems with them will always provide surprises and creativity.
http://www.kinderart.com/across/poetry.shtml

Career Education

Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer from Thursday, March 2nd recommends those sites to work on career education or study jobs.

Exploring Careers

Find several teaching strategies here to explore careers with your secondary students. A sample lesson plan is included.
http://www.teachnet.com/lesson/real/career4all/secondary.html

What interests you?

Match up your students' interests with promising careers. This site offers several different careers for your students to explore, with a question and answer guide on what students might expect for each job, what salary is usually matched with the occupation, and what the job out-look is like in all the different fields.
http://www.bls.gov/k12/

Career matching and exploration

Take the quiz first to see where your students' specific skills and strong points lead the, then explore careers in a wide variety of fields. Online games in each category help students nail down their interests.
http://thefunworks.edc.org/SPTUI--FunWorks/funworks/quiz.php

Resources for Secondary School

The MySpace Generation (from [LII New This Week] March 2)

This December 2005 cover story from Business Week magazine explores current teen online computer usage, such as the social networking site MySpace.com ("whose membership has nearly quadrupled since January alone, to 40 million members"), similar sites such as Facebook.com, and other topics such as advertising. Includes a podcast. From BusinessWeek Online.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_50/b3963001.htm
[ you might use this site to invite your students to comment and compare with their own use. I also found it useful to keep up with the new trends and habits of the teens.]

Parallel Worlds: Online Games and Digital Information Services (from [LII New This Week] March 2)

This December 2005 article looks at the similarities of online gaming and digital library services, and provides background about the development of online games. Explains early online games (such as MUDs or multi-user dungeon games), advancements to MMOGs (massive multiplayer online games), characteristics of online game players and games, the significance of "Web 2.0," and related subjects. From D-Lib Magazine, a publication that focuses on digital library research and development.
http://www.dlib.org/dlib/december05/kirriemuir/12kirriemuir.html
[ for teachers and advanced students, a full study of video games usage. With a lot of links to other articles of the same type at the end. You may find other useful information in this page:
http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/themes/videogames.html ]

Weekly writing topics (from Riverdeep's Classroom Flyer, Wednesday, February 15th)

Several new topics have been added to this Paragraph a Week database for writing assignments for upper elementary students. A student checklist is always included; have your students perfect their writing skills by assigning one topic each week.
http://www.teachersdesk.org/topics/par_week_program.html
[ useful prompts, starters and suggestions to encourage students to produce short written work.]

Unseen. Unforgotten.( from The Scout Report -- March 3)

Dozens of previously unpublished photographs from the Civil Rights era, located in 2006 in a storage closet at the Birmingham (Alabama) News. Organized by theme (such as the Freedom Riders, school desegregation, and voting rights) and year. Includes captions from the photo files, and photo reports with an audio comment from people who live there and then. [ sometimes difficult to understand, but the photos are often striking.]
http://www.al.com/unseen/
[ the sites requires registration for US residents, but overseas can access the site directly by clicking on the "outside the US" sign.]

The Great Family Cookbook Project ( from The Scout Report -- March 3)

Some families pass down cookbooks across generations, often giving them the same importance as a piece of heirloom jewelry or a well-worn piece of furniture. As with many things, the family cookbook can now be passed down electronically, and websites like this one can be of great help in this type of endeavor. When creating a family cookbook using this site, it requires a modest fee, but visitors are most welcome to search through recipes submitted by hundreds of families for their own use. Here you will find such gems as peanut butter cookies from the Wilhalm family, walnut-crusted stuffed chicken breasts from the Sheerin family, and spicy hush puppies from the Marley clan. Of course, epicureans should also feel free to use the helpful search engine here to look for recipes for everything from appetizers to tasty desserts. [KMG]
http://www.familycookbookproject.com/
[ Short recipes, no pictures. For students studying cookery...and all those interested in cooking and eating...;) ]

Projects

Green Week 2005

The European Commission invites all children in the enlarged EU and candidate countries, aged between 6 and 16 years, to take part in its Green Week schools competition 2005. The competition is part of the annual Green Week conference and exhibition, which will take place from 31 May to 3 June 2005 in Brussels. This year the competition highlights the theme of climate change.
http://www.greenweek2005.eun.org
Younger children may create drawings and paintings illustrating their views about climate change, while older pupils are invited to submit a short digital video on the same subject.
http://www.greenweek2005.eun.org/ww/en/pub/greenweek_2005/info/info.htm
The competition is open to schools in the enlarged EU and candidate countries.
This year there are two competition categories:
- A drawing and painting competition for children aged 6-10
- A short digital video competition for young people aged 11-16.
The competition, which is the fifth edition of its kind, is being run by European Schoolnet (<http://www.eun.org>www.eun.org) on behalf of the Commission's Environment Directorate-General.
Questions about the competitions can be addressed to Chris Coakley at the following email address:
<mailto:chris.coakley@eun.org>chris.coakley@eun.org.
[ if you plan to work on this topic, you might find interesting documents in this page about recycling and protecting the environment:
http://perso.numericable.fr/~dreymondch46/infonews/themes/earthandenvironment.html ]

Teaching Practice

Teaching Strategies

Find strategies and advices to teach, assess and deal with students, and also some interesting cooperative learning activities:
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/index.html
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/monopolizingstudents.html
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/smallgroupofftrack.html
http://www.lcc.edu/cte/resources/teachingettes/cooperativelearning.html
see also this page of links recommended by the Scout Report:
http://www.delmar.edu/tlc/links.html


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lycée Blaise Pascal, Rouen, France
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