Infonews n°299 from 18/03/2007
Generation Next
Women in the United States
American Women Through Time (from The Scout Report -- March 16)
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Une séquence sur women as peace makers
Paper Toys
St Patrick' Day
Jamestown 2007: America's 400th Anniversary (from NEW THIS WEEK, February
22)
Journaling templates and prompts (from Classroom Flyer Thursday, February 22nd)
Environment : The planet
Grammaire en ligne
Imagine by John Lennon
Anti-smoking
Quiz about work
Bionic prosthesis
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (from The Scout Report
-- March 16)
Infomat: Fashion Industry Business Information (from The Scout Report -- March
16)
Watch TV Online
Spring Day 2007 : Celebrate Europe
Apply for a summer course in Ireland
Rapport de l'IG sur l'évaluation en langues vivantes
Generation Next (from [LII New This Week] March 1st)
Generation Next: Speak Up, Be Heard
Companion to a 2007 documentary that "travels across the U.S. and speaks
with young adults 16-25-year-olds to gauge their beliefs on today's most pressing
issues -- such as terrorism, immigration, environment and health care." In
addition to transcripts from the documentary, the site contains audio and video
clips, background reports, forums, and a timeline highlighting major events,
media, music, sports, and technology related to the demographic. From PBS Online
NewsHour.
<http://www.pbs.org/newshour/generation-next/>http://www.pbs.org/newshour/generation-next/
A Portrait of "Generation Next": How Young People View Their Lives,
Futures and Politics
Summary of findings from a January 2007 report
"aimed at studying the lives of young people"
ages 18-25 (born between 1981 and 1988). It looks at lifestyle and views in
areas such as technology, family, religion, social issues, and politics. Includes
a link to the full report and to questionnaire results.
From the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
<http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=300>http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=300
If you want to study the statistics, all the figures are in this .pdf
<http://people-press.org/reports/questionnaires/300.pdf>http://people-press.org/reports/questionnaires/300.pdf
For an aural comprehension activity ( level B2), see this interview and its
full transcript dealing with video games and choices in real life in the current
context of terrorism and war in Irak.
Video games and real-life choices
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6307115>http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6307115
Women in the United States
Updates on U.S. government activities and data related to women in the United
States. Features articles, publications, and links to material on Women's History
Month (March), Domestic Violence Awareness Month (October), International Women
of Courage Awards, and more. From the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International
Information Programs.
http://usinfo.state.gov/scv/history_geography_and_population/population_and_diversity/women_in_the_us.html
[ several interesting documents on this official site from the US government;
See for example this text about an Iran-born female design
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=March&x=20070312150008GLnesnoM0.9696009 ]
American Women Through Time (from The Scout Report -- March 16)
There are many resources that detail the contributions of women in American
history, but this particular site does so in an organized and intelligent fashion.
Created by Ken Middleton, a reference librarian at Middle Tennessee State University,
the site is chronologically organized, and visitors can read through each area
to learn about various online resources that deal with each historical era.
The primary timeline covers the world of Native Americans all the way up to
the year 2001. The site also has a
“Other Timelines” section, which includes links to timelines that tell the
stories of notable women in history and topical ones as well, such as those
dealing with feminism, Jewish women, and women in the military. [KMG]
http://www.mtsu.edu/~kmiddlet/history/women/wh-timeline.html
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Here is the official website of Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Senator from
New York. It provides a biography, her positions on issues such as health care
and national security, recent legislation, audio and video clips of testimony,
constituent services, and related news and updates.
<http://clinton.senate.gov/>http://clinton.senate.gov/
See especially the page about the issues
<http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/>http://clinton.senate.gov/issues/
Une séquence sur women as peace makers
Voyez l'article du café Pédagogique:
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/lemensuel/lenseignant/languesvivantes/anglais/Pages/81_Journ%C3%A9edelafemmeFamouswomen.aspx
Paper Toys
This is a site of handicraft for young English speakers. Our ESL students
will discover there simple words like fold, glue, first, last that they will
be able to use to describe orally how they made their toy. They will also have
to opportunity to use colors as they will paint or decorate it. They can also
chose to make models with a cultural value, like « A London taxi » or
« Big Ben » or « Mount Rushmore ». You can then encourage them to visit websites
to find more information about this object or place, and explain it to the
class.
The site for the models
<http://papertoys.com/>http://papertoys.com
The London taxi template
<http://papertoys.com/londontaxi.htm>http://papertoys.com/londontaxi.htm
A site describing a London taxi and its features
<http://www.londontaxicabs.net/luxury.htm>http://www.londontaxicabs.net/luxury.htm
And another one on taxis, but it is the same page in French and in English
<http://eu.visitlondon.com/fl/fr/travel/taxi.html>http://eu.visitlondon.com/fl/fr/travel/taxi.html
http://eu.visitlondon.com/travel/getting_around/taxis/
St Patrick' Day
St Patrick's Day was last Saturday, so next week is not too late for some
St Pat's activities. You can choose among those offers by our colleagues from
Dijon and nancy Metz:
http://crdp.ac-dijon.fr/Saint-Patrick-s-Day.html
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/patrick.htm
or choose from this page in le café Pédagogique
http://www.cafepedagogique.net/lemensuel/lenseignant/languesvivantes/anglais/Pages/81_StPatrick.aspx
or use this page from the BBC (recommended by Yohann Panier on e-teach)
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/plans/patrick/patrick.pdf
Jamestown 2007: America's 400th Anniversary (from NEW THIS WEEK, February 22)
Official site for the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the founding
of Jamestown, Virginia, "settled in 1607, [it] was the first permanent
English settlement in the Americas."
The site features tourist information, an events calendar, a link to educational
material, activities and games for children, and descriptions of prior commemorations
in 1807, 1857, 1907, and 1957.
<http://www.jamestown2007.org>http://www.jamestown2007.org
[ you find there information about the commemoration, but what we are mainly
interested in is teaching resources. this anniversary offers you the opportunity
to recycle the documents about Thanksgiving or reactivate what your students
have learnt in November.
here are some lessons
<http://www.jamestownjourney.com/Home.htm>http://www.jamestownjourney.com/Home.htm
see especially this one about the arrival of the settlers
<http://www.jamestownjourney.com/docs/arrivalinvirginiahsms.pdf>http://www.jamestownjourney.com/docs/arrivalinvirginiahsms.pdf
and invite your students to learn as the play this interactive game where they
are a settler and make decisions. Then your choices are confronted with the
latest information we now have of what really took place at the time. If you
studies the arrival of the Mayflower in November, your students will have all
the vocabulary they need for the game.
http://www.historyglobe.com/jamestown/
Journaling templates and prompts (from Classroom Flyer Thursday, February 22nd)
"Whether you use journaling for your writing exercises, for literature
responses, or as learning logs, find several templates here to print out for
student exercises. Use the 2nd link above for an ongoing supply of SAT practice
writing prompts or daily journal topics, accessible simply by clicking on each
calendar date."
[ this site provides templates and advices for writing journals and logs. These
can be useful for students who work on a report, reflect on the way they are
learning, or read a book and want to keep track of their impressions or progresses.
There are templates for all types of journals and logs : Metacognitive Journal,
Double Entry Journal, Reflective Journal, Dialectical Journal, Journal Activities,
Response Journal (To Student), Learning Log, Synthesis Journal, Speculation
About Effects Journal.
<http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/tjournal.htm>http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/actbank/tjournal.htm
and there, you can find ideas of activities for each day of the month:
<http://www.everydayteaching.com/>http://www.everydayteaching.com/ ]
Environment : The planet
This Swedish site recommended by Thot Cursus can be a really useful resource
in class or to invite the students to work autonomously. here is how the site
presents itself : « The aim with the production is to enhance public awareness
of the planet Earth; to show its limits, its treats and its possibilities.
The Planet is presented with educational stories, illustrative animations,
and interactive videos. The campaign consists of a movie, a four episode TV
series, a website with on-line games, all together a result of a unique collaboration
between a film production company, the Swedish public service Television and
forskning.se.”
<http://www.forskning.se/theplanet/>http://www.forskning.se/theplanet/
Grammaire en ligne
Notre collègue Yvan Baptiste a conçu cette page afin d’aider ses élèves sur
deux points :
- l'idée de départ était de comparer les temps grammaticaux du français et
ceux de l'anglais.
- la deuxième idée était d'essayer de faire mémoriser des mécanismes (du style
have toujours suivi de Ven, be toujours suivi de Ving, Modal toujours suivi
de V et pas d'autre chose!)
Vous y trouverez des pistes de réflexion, des exemples de correspondances français-anglais à
observer, des tableaux de rappels des valeurs des modaux, et des exercices
d’application, en hot pot ou en version classique. Vos élèves y trouveront
sûrement des aides précieuses!
<http://www.franglish.fr/conjug/>http://www.franglish.fr/conjug/
Voyez aussi ces exercices hotpot réalisé par Sylvain Petit, un autre collègue
sur e-teach, pour aider ses élèves de troisième à reconnaitre, construier et
utiliser un temps à bon escient.
http://www.ac-grenoble.fr/college/bauges.le-chatelard/anglais/exercices/3/conjugaison/conjugaison_Index.htm
You can also find various exercises among those listed there:
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/onlineexercises.htm
Imagine by John Lennon
Imagine is a song we often use in class. You can download the MP3 version
of the song there:
<http://www.emp3world.com/mp3/15722/John%20Lenon/Imagine>http://www.emp3world.com/mp3/15722/John%20Lenon/Imagine
and you can find several videos on You Tube. Here is a version by Neil Young,
but you can choose among several others of different quality and value...
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3T8xr274q8>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3T8xr274q8
You can also use this worksheet made by our colleague from e-teach Corinne
Cormier, and put online by Michèle Henry from Nancy-Metz:
<http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/imagine.doc>http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/imagine.doc
or this other one, also recommended by Michèle Henry
<http://www.developingteachers.com/plans/lennonpf.htm>http://www.developingteachers.com/plans/lennonpf.htm
and choose other worksheets for songs by the Beatles and some other singers
on Michèle Henry's impressive page of links
<http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/chans.htm#sin>http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/chans.htm#sin
Here are some worksheets created by English speaking teachers
<http://czv.e2bn.net/e2bn/leas/c99/schools/czv/web/johnlennon3.htm>http://czv.e2bn.net/e2bn/leas/c99/schools/czv/web/johnlennon3.htm (around
John Lennon)
<http://www.kidsfreesouls.com/peacelesson.htm>http://www.kidsfreesouls.com/peacelesson.htm (around
Peace Songs)
and an interview of Yoko Ono (with full transcript) that you can use for aural
comprehension
<http://www.amnestyusa.org/imagine/aboutimagine.html>http://www.amnestyusa.org/imagine/aboutimagine.html
Anti-smoking
[LII New This Week] from march 1st recommends this site featuring several
of the « health warnings » that you can find on cigarettes packets in several
countries.
<http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/tobacco_advertising/health_warnings.cfm>http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/handouts/tobacco_advertising/health_warnings.cfm
you will also find there a teaching unit with transparencies of the adverts
to encourage students to analyse them, and a ready to use .pdf kit with the
detail of the teaching steps and some more documents :
<http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/lessons/elementary/tobacco/tobacco_labels.cfm>http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/lessons/elementary/tobacco/tobacco_labels.cfm
http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/lessons/elementary/tobacco/upload/Tobacco-Labels-Lesson-Kit.pdf
Don't forget Adbusters' spoof ads with Chemo Camel
<http://adbusters.org/spoofads/tobacco/>http://adbusters.org/spoofads/tobacco/
and Joe Chemo's site offering advices to quit smoking and a tobacco IQ test.
Note that this test is aimed at teenage boys and stresses the problems related
to sex (impotence, infertility, cancers) so I don't think it is appropriate
for a use with the whole class but I think it can be efficient when used individually.
<http://www.joechemo.org/>http://www.joechemo.org
Quiz about work
In Quiznet, the BBC features this week several questions on the theme of
work. This questionnaire can be th opportunity for the students to learn the
essential vocabulary about this theme : hire, fire, redundant, income, maternity
leave, etc.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/apps/ifl/worldservice/quiznet/quizengine?ContentType=text/html;quiz=1548_work
Bionic prosthesis
[LII New This Week] from march 1st features a a series of four articles from
2006 about new technologies in the field of prosthetics (arm, legs, eyes, etc.),
particularly in the area of bionics. From Wired News. The person just thinks
of a movement, and the prosthesis does it. You find in the site various articles,
some videos and an interactive tour of bionic research under development showing
the different prosthesis adaptable to a human body:
<http://blog.wired.com/images/bionicanimation.html>http://blog.wired.com/images/bionicanimation.html
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/medtech/0,71785-0.html
Then meet Jesse Sullivan, the World's First
"Bionic Man", who has two bionic arms and can now move his fingers
and do most of what he did before his accident.
<http://www.ric.org/bionic/>http://www.ric.org/bionic/
Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (from The Scout Report -- March 16)
The British government created the Commission for Architecture and the Built
Environment (CABE) in order to improve citizen’s quality of life through good
design. It is a lofty and admirable mission, and persons with an interest in
architecture, urban design, and public space will enjoy wandering around this
site. First-time visitors can look over the news
updates on the homepage to get a sense of CABE’s mission and focus, and then
move on over to the
“Latest Publications” area. Here visitors will find a number of gems, including
the instructional manual “Better public building” and
“Actions for housing growth: creating a legacy of great places”.
Visitors looking for high-quality case studies on designing commercial buildings,
educational facilities, and civic buildings will find plenty to view on the
site. Finally, the site is rounded out by the “Teaching Resources” area, which
includes instructional materials for educators seeking to teach their students
about what makes places work well for different users.[KMG]
http://www.cabe.org.uk/
[ appropriate for students in home design and environment.]
Infomat: Fashion Industry Business Information (from The Scout Report -- March 16)
The fashion industry has many facets, and aspiring students who hope to break
into the field may find themselves wondering about such aspects as marketing,
industry trends, and the expansive world of fabrics and textiles. All of these
subjects are covered on the Infomat website, which includes a “Guides” section,
where visitors can learn about accessories, apparel marts, designer collections,
and modeling agencies, among other areas of interest.
Instructors will also appreciate the site’s versatility, as they may be intrigued
by the
“News” area, which contains news digests from the areas of textiles, retail,
and apparel. The site is rounded out by a “Community” area, which features
a searchable calendar of events and a
“Who’s Who” section that provides brief biographies of industry leaders like
Yves Saint
Laurent and Issey Miyake. [KMG]
http://www.infomat.com/
[ for students in fashion and clothes design, but also business and retailing.]
Watch TV Online
BeelineTV.com provides links to a selection of
"free online TV channels from around the world."
Organized by language. Listings link directly to the programming, and indicate
which media player is necessary to view the content. Provided by a software
company.
<http://beelinetv.com>http://beelinetv.com
wwwiTV is a site provided by a company from the Netherlands but this site is
in French. You can find links to hundreds of online TV channels in English.
See for example the page of the United Kingdom:
http://fr.wwitv.com/television/217.htm
but there are also Tv channels from the USA, Canada, Australia, and many more.
http://fr.wwitv.com/
and for the news in French and in English, see Euronews ( videos with transcript
of the beginning) and France24 (few videos but interesting special reports).
http://www.euronews.fr
http://www.france24.com
Spring Day 2007 : Celebrate Europe
Spring Day this year will last longer because it is the 50th anniversary
of the treaty of Rome. Here is what the site says: “This year marks the 50th
anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. For this reason, “Together since 1957:
Schools celebrating Europe” is the chosen theme for Spring Day 2007.
This anniversary is an opportunity to communicate about what the EU has achieved
so far and to intensify the debate on the future of Europe, a future matching
the needs and expectations of young generations.
The new edition of Spring Day for Europe will be held from 26 March - celebrating
the 50th anniversary of the signature of the Rome Treaties - to 30 June 2007,
with a special focus on 9 May, which is Europe Day. These dates are the two
highlights of the event intended to all schools in the EU, as well as accessing
and candidate countries.”
To learn more about Spring Day and register, go to:
<http://www.springday2007.net/>http://www.springday2007.net
or go to last year’s page for ideas of activities:
<http://www.springday2006.org/>http://www.springday2006.org
Our colleague from Austria, Dr. Susanne Pratscher, has launched a project in
which you can all take part, or just use the links given if you prefer. See:
<http://webs.schule.at/website/Europa/Europa_1957_2007_en.htm>http://webs.schule.at/website/Europa/Europa_1957_2007_en.htm
Apply for a summer course in Ireland
Teachers can still apply for a Comenius grant to take part in these courses
in Ireland this summer. Here is the message I received from the English Matters
Co-ordination Team.
" The dates to apply for a Comenius or Grundtvig grant to participate
in courses for teachers have been extended to the 30th March 2007. We still
have places available in our courses in Ireland during July and August 2007:
In Dublin:
*TALKING TO PEOPLE PLUS - DUBLIN: A Course for Teachers of English as a Foreign
Language.
In Limerick:
*LET’S TALK: An Intercultural Dialogue for Teachers of English as a Foreign
Language.
*AN ENQUIRY-BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR SUBJECT TEACHERS (History,
Geography, Literature, Art, Religion, Politics, etc.).
You can find the description of these courses in the Comenius-Grundtvig Training
Database of the European Commission.
Should you be interested in participating in any of them, please do not hesitate
to contact us for a provisional registration that will enable you to apply
for a Comenius or Grundtvig Grant.
english@englishmatters.eu"
To learn more, see their site
http://www.englishmatters.org/
and here is the comenius site in France, which explains how to apply for the
grant
http://www.europe-education-formation.fr/comenius-doc.php
Rapport de l'IG sur l'évaluation en langues vivantes
L'inspection générale vient de publier un rapport sur l'évaluation. Vous
pouvez le télécharger sur le site du ministère:
http://media.education.gouv.fr/file/45/2/4452.pdf
ou en lire des extraits commentés sur vos sites académiques, comme par exemple
sur celui de l'académie de Paris:
http://lve.scola.ac-paris.fr/anglais/rapportsIG.php
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