Infonews n°325 from 03/02/2008
Mardi Gras
Shrove Tuesday
In Ireland
Candlemas and Groundhog Day
Last news : Phil's prediction for 2008
Super Bowl (Sunday, February 3rd)
Super Tuesday (Tuesday, February 5th)
Valentine's Day (Thursday, February 14th)
Presidents' Day (Monday February 18th)
The Sarkozys versus RyanAir
Romney and the Mormons
Site of Mnemonics
Teenage Drinking
Writing a historical dialogue
Film vocabulary
ESL podcasts
Cambridge interactive guide
How Remote Controls Work
How to make an interactive white board with a Wiimote
Technical vocabulary translated
Mardi Gras
Read about how Mardi Gras works in New Orleans,
its origin and how modern Mardi Gras came to be.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/super-tuesday.htm
See also Michelle Henry's page about Mardi Gras
and Carnivals all over the world
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/carnivals.htm
and here is a page about Mardi Gras from the Librarian's Internet Index
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25302
Shrove Tuesday
In some other parts of the US, people celebrate
Shrove Tuesday ( linked to the Catholic tradition
of eating a lot to empty the cupboards (eggs,
sugar) on the day before Ash Wednesday, when Lent
starts (and rich food like eggs and sugar were
not allowed during those 40 days of fasting before Easter.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/celebrasites.htm#shrove
In Ireland
Read also this page presenting this festival in
Ireland, called imbolc and St Brigit's Day
http://www.ucc.ie/fecc/imbolc.html
Candlemas and Groundhog Day
And if you think of the French Chandeleur (it was
on February 2nd), implying the idea of light and
candle (chandelle), you find the same idea in
Candlemas, the festival of lights and the last
day to take down the Christmas decorations
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/holydays/candlemas.shtml
but the saying predicting the weather is the same
as for Groundhog Day (where they replace the fact
of seeing the shadow of a candle by a groundhog seeing its shadow).
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/ground.htm
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/groundhogday.htm
Last news : Phil's prediction for 2008
Yesterday, Phil, the official Groundhog in
Punxsutawney, saw its shadow and predicted
another six weeks of cold weather. See:
http://www.groundhog.org/
Super Bowl (Sunday, February 3rd)
In professional American Football, the Super Bowl
is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl
This is traditionally a big event in the US. Here is the official site:
http://www.nfl.com/superbowl
It will take place this Sunday in the University
Stadium of Phoenix, Arizona, and lots of events
are organised around the big day. Here is a nice
guide to read online, including a map of the town
p48 and a list of objects prohibited in the
stadium (throwing objects, laser pointer,
hairspray, noisemakers, duffel bag, food, computer, etc.) p61
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/navteq/superbowlxlii/index.php
Here is a site to learn everything about the Super Bowl, including history:
http://football.about.com/od/superbowl/Super_Bowl.htm
Many families and friends organise a big party to
watch it together at home, so here is a page of
advices ("a buffet is the only option", "set up
as many televisions as you have available around
the party area", etc.) and recipes
http://superbowl.about.com/od/partiesfood/a/superbowl_2.htm
And since it is such a big event on television,
there are special commercials for the day. In the
past, some were rather rude and raised
controversy. Sylvie Brod recommended those above
sites, plus these three where you can watch all
the ads (including the previous years' and the
banned ones on the second site) and even vote for your favourite on You Tube:
http://superbowl.about.com/od/offthefield/a/ds020402.htm
http://www.spike.com/superbowl
http://youtube.com/adblitz
and you will also find on About.com a Football
101, to check the rules of the game
http://superbowl.about.com/od/thegame/a/bl_football101.htm
Super Tuesday (Tuesday, February 5th)
How stuff works presents a page about Super
Tuesday, with a history of the Day and its origin, and why it is so important.
http://people.howstuffworks.com/super-tuesday.htm
and for more resources about the elections see
Michelle Henry's very comprehensive page
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/civiuselections.htm
This page from our colleagues from Paris, including a webquest
http://lve.scola.ac-paris.fr/anglais/uselections2008.php
and those pages in Infonews
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/321.htm#sec
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/318.htm#une
The Librarian's Internet Index also recommends
this Gallup site about the Election 2008 : "
Collection of polling results related to the 2008
U.S. presidential election, covering candidates,
parties, issues, and voting. Survey results
include charts and graphs, and an explanation of
survey methods. Also provides video reports for selected polls. From Gallup."
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25309
See also this interesting "vote from abroad" site
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/25309
Valentine's Day (Thursday, February 14th)
Michelle henry's page is the most useful, with
lots of audio and interactive resources
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/valentine.htm
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/296.htm#valentine
See also this page from the Librarian's Internet Index :
http://search.lii.org/index.jsp?sm=fr10%3BSubTopic1048%3B00http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lii.org%2Fia%2Fdata%2Fdemo1%2Fsubtopic%23523915%3BValentine%27s+Da
Presidents' Day (Monday February 18th)
You will find everything you need on Michelle Henry's page
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/presidents.htm
and several webquests there
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/presidents.htm
For students level B1+ and above, the Librarian's
Internet Index recommends "Presidents as Poets:
Poetry Written by United States Presidents" :
This is "a guide to the poetic endeavors of U.S.
presidents. Select a president from the list ...
to learn about the context in which his poetry
was written and to find samples of his poetry."
Some of the presidents include George Washington,
James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and Jimmy Carter.
Includes a FAQ and links to other poetry guides.
From Peter Armenti, Digital Reference Specialist at the Library of Congress.
http://lii.org/cs/lii/view/item/24315
The Sarkozys versus RyanAir
BBC Learning English features an article about
M.Sarkozy refusing the new add from RyanAir presenting him and Carla
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2008/02/080201_sarkozy_ryanair.shtml
you can also see a video : is there an
infringement of the right to image? ( he's asking
for a symbolic euro as damage, and she is asking for half a million euros!)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7220000/newsid_7221400/7221461.stm?bw=bb&mp=rm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1#
and since they got married on Saturday, here are
some articles reporting the event or the romance:
The Washington Post :
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/02/AR2008020200714.html?hpid=moreheadlines
The Mirror :
http://www.sundaymirror.co.uk/news/sunday/2008/02/03/nicolas-sarkozy-marries-carla-bruni-98487-20307775/
The Times of India : ""I am a tamer (of men), a
cat, an Italian," she told Le Figaro magazine in
February last year. "Monogamy bores me terribly.
I am monogamous from time to time but I prefer
polygamy and polyandry," its female equivalent. "
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Bruni_Catwalk_to_Elysee/articleshow/2752134.cms
From China : http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-02/03/content_7557427.htm
Romney and the Mormons
Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney
attended Hinckley's funeral. Hinckley was the
leader of the Mormon Church, the equivalent of a
pope. Read this article showing that this
candidate, although a Mormon, tries not to bring
his faith forward in his campaign:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-02-02-hinckleyfuneral_N.htm
If you mention this to your students, they will
ask who Mormons are. Here is a page from PBS
where you can find the basics of this religion
from a non-partisan point of view. Discover the
book of the Mormons, written by John Smith in
1933, and some of their creed and rituals:
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/faqs/
Site of Mnemonics
On e-teach, Marielle Bianchi recommends this site of Mnemonics.
http://www.ict4us.com/r.kuijt/en_sitemap.htm
Anyone can find interesting tips there, in
English, German, French, and Spanish. I especially enjoyed these Mnemonics:
- about how to tie the shoes, that could be
taught to very young children as a poem or a song:
"The silly bunny has 2 ears, and crossed eyes, he
picks his nose, and pulls his ears."
http://www.ict4us.com/r.kuijt/en_sillybunny.htm
- about the rule of nine and 9x4 (it is also the
opportunity to learn the tables in English)
http://www.ict4us.com/r.kuijt/en_nines.htm
[ and for teachers, do you know a mnemonic to
remember the French presidents of the fifth republic? See the answer there
http://www.ict4us.com/r.kuijt/fr_cinquiemerep.htm ]
Teenage Drinking
Sophie Bonfils recommends this video from the
Guardian which raises the issue and offers
several statistics and figures. ( level A2+, B1)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/video/2008/jan/23/binge.drinking
On this issue, see :
- this front page from the Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/independent.co.uk/editorial/p1Images/20071104_p1_small.jpg
- the corresponding article : "Children and alcohol, a deadly cocktail"
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-wellbeing/health-news/children--alcohol-britains-deadly-cocktail-744875.html
- this selection of sites in Infonews n° 261,
when Britain started allowing pubs to open longer
(binge drinking, anti-drink and drive campaign, etc.)
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/261.htm#une
- this article in Infonews n° 152 about drinking
and social behavior in American colleges
http://cnnstudentnews.cnn.com/2002/fyi/teachers.ednews/04/09/us.college.drinking/index.html
- and those articles in Infonews n° 284 about
health warning on British wine bottles and also
children ordering alcohol over the phone.
http://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/archives/284.htm#news
Writing a historical dialogue
The New York times Learning Network features a
lesson plan called : "Hello, Mr president?"
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/20080128monday.html
in the aim of "Illuminating History Through
Imagined Conversations" and based on the article
entitled "Phone Call Into History", By May Jo Murphy from January 28, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20080128monday.html
The article presents a real conversation between
Martin Luther King and Lyndon Johnson in 1965,
before the Selma-to-Montgomery March. The
students will "look at history from the
perspective of history-makers by creating
fictional but historically accurate dialogues
that they imagine could have taken place. In
doing so, they will come to more fully understand
the power of primary sources in the study of the past."
[ For students level B1 minimum.]
Film vocabulary
On e-teach, Marie-Christine Silvestri recommends
this page on Bernard Moro's site presenting the
basic film vocabulary (close up, frame, etc.) with a picture.
http://languagelearningresourcecenter.org/anglais/read_films/film_language/index.htm
ESL podcasts
On e-teach, Elisabeth Champeyrache recommends
"these podcasts [which] can be used in your
classroom or computer lab to supplement course
book listenings. The conversations are authentic
and so the language is more natural. They
therefore provide a refreshing alternative to scripted listenings.
All podcasts are free for language learners and
teachers, but you have to pay receive the
learning English worksheets, vocabulary tasks, webquests and transcripts."
http://www.podcastsinenglish.com/
Cambridge interactive guide
On e-teach, Emmanuelle Duchironon presented this
interactive guide of Cambridge, including
interesting podcasts of audio guides. She
especially recommends the "historic highlights".
http://www.stridedesign.net/shapewalks/home.aspx
How Remote Controls Work
How stuff works features this new presentation
that could be very useful to all students
interested in technology : "The world's first
remote controls were radio-frequency devices that
directed German naval vessels to crash into
Allied boats during WWI. In WWII, remote controls
detonated bombs for the first time."
http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/remote-control.htm
How to make an interactive white board with a Wiimote
A wiimote is this special remote control that
allows you to interact with a Wii game consoles
(the one with which people get hurt because they
play as they would in real life!). An American
student invented a way to use it to make an
interactive white board. Very interesting for all
students in technology and engineering sciences
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/projects/wii/
Here is the French version recommended on e-teach
by Emmanuelle Antich who saw it working. If you
want to pass it on to somebody who doesn't understand English...
http://www.prtice.info/?voir=tnwii
Technical vocabulary translated
Sur e-teach, Rémi Thibert nous informe que sont
parues au BO n°5 du 31 janvier, des listes de
vocabulaire à utiliser en français, en lieu et place des noms étrangers.
Ce qui est intéressant, pour nous prof d'anglais,
ce sont les noms étrangers correspondant, et O
surprise, ils sont souvent en anglais !
A partir de cette page, les listes pour
l'automobile, l'audiovisuel et la communication,
le nucléaire, les sciences et techniques
spatiales et le patrimoine et la création culturelle :
http://www.education.gouv.fr/bo/2008/5/default.htm
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