Infonews n°327 from 09/03/2008

A la Une this week, everything you may need to celebrate St Patrick's Day, with videos and an online book for the most advanced, and games, songs, handicrafts and recipes for the youngest. And read also about when the Chicago River turns green! Then see what else is in the calendar for March and let the youngest enjoy the Mister Men site. Secondary school students will be able to study and debate about the inflation of food prices, the importance of words in a campaign and euthanasia and to visit several sites about Art and artists. At the end, read an article written by a teacher who explains how web 2.0 tools have changed his relationship with his students and their way to perceive learning.

Have a nice week,
Christine Reymond

Sommaire

A la Une : St Patrick's Day

St Patrick in Chicago
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/quizzes
Ready to use lessons in .pdf
Recipes
Other sites about Ireland and St Patrick's Day
To work online

In the Calendar

Commonwealth Day : March 10th
Other special events in March

Resources for Primary School

Mr Men Show

Resources for Secondary School

Warning on food price inflation
The importance of words in political campaigns
Free resources on Art
Debate on Euthanasia

Internet Tools

Using Web 2.0 tools with your students


A la Une : St Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day is on March 17th. Discover how they die the Chicago river green on that day! the rest of the addresses are the update of a previous special report : 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!

St Patrick in Chicago

See the video (too long, edit it to use it in class)
http://www.greenchicagoriver.com/pics.html
Read about the tradition
http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/river-dye.html
Here is the full story
http://www.greenchicagoriver.com/story.html
See the parade and the whole tradition in Chicago
http://www.chicagostpatsparade.com/parade.html

Video and an interactive book

A mini-site from History Channel (with a video for advanced students, rather religious but usable)
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=1082
An interactive book of fact (discovered by Michelle 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 recommended 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/009465.html

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

http://www.youthonline.ca/stpatricksday/history.shtml
http://blackdog4kids.com/holiday/pat/history.html
http://www.stpatricksday.com/history/stpatricksday/ (history of the day in Ireland and all over the world)
http://www.marvelicious.com/stpatrick.html
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://members.tripod.com/~bgilley/INDEX.HTM ( short texts about the legends and traditions like "wearing green or getting pinched" and the Blarney Stone)

The Leprechaun's Pot of Gold

A short story about a leprechaun
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 rainbow 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
- for kindergarten and primary school : the leprechaun's dance and other songs based on famous tunes
http://www.hummingbirded.com/st-pattys.html
- several activities around the theme, from games to math, including pictures to color
http://www.abcschoolhouse.com/seasonal_pdfs/march_ideas.pdf
http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/St__Patrick_s_Day/
http://www.theideabox.com/ib.php?web=special&id=saint
- 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/

Handicrafts and coloring pages

- coloring pages, cut out jigsaw puzzles
http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/stpatty/fun.htm
- rainbow 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
- 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

Ireland map coloring Printout

A map of Ireland to color, for geography and English classes
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/europe/ireland/activity.shtml

Treasure hunts/webquests/quizzes

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
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/patrickwq.htm

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

Recipes

Fun St Patrick's meal and desserts
http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/holiday_pat_ideas.htm
Irish recipes (with cookies!)
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/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://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://lycees.ac-rouen.fr/pascal/infonews/themes/stpatrick.htm

In the Calendar

Commonwealth Day : March 10th

Here is the page of articles suggested by the British Council
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-commonwealth.htm
what is this day?
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page2191.asp
http://www.calendar-updates.com/info/holidays/canada/commonwealth.aspx
discover those important figures in the Oxford Dictionary of national Biography:
http://www.oup.com/oxforddnb/info/freeodnb/magazine/commonwealthday/

Other special events in March

Read the letter from the British council and discover documents and activities about Women's rights (Women's day was on March 8th) and racial discrimination:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/lec-news-march-2008-1.htm

Resources for Primary School

Mr Men Show

Our colleague Cécile Clavel has put on her blog a link to "the Mr Men Show" where children can meet all the characters ( and learn the adjectives) and also watch a video for each one of them. And there are lots of other resources and ideas on her blog. Just have a look!
http://www.mrmen.com/uk/
http://lewebpedagogique.com/cclavel/category/games/

Resources for Secondary School

Warning on food price inflation

BBC learning English features a text with audio about "rising food prices around the world [which] are causing more people to go hungry."
You can also read a longer article on this issue, and find more information in the links they offer. You could choose this topic to organise a debate in class or brainstorm your class to find solutions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/newsenglish/witn/2008/03/080307_brussels_food.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7281686.stm

The importance of words in political campaigns

Audio comprehension for advanced students about the words used by Obama and Clinton in the US presidential campaign. You can download the program and the script.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1728_people_places/
The presentation on the internet can also be meaningful : read this article from the New York Times (also published in Le monde) : "is Obama a Mac and Clinton a PC?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/04/technology/04link.html
and you can add this speech from Obama (especially the end, the last 3 mn, with "yes, you can!")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_lQYC7vqBg

Free resources on Art

TechLearning offers this page of commented links to pages presenting painters, sculptors, photographers and even a dancer and their work. For artistic students.
http://techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196605057

Debate on Euthanasia

Michelle Henry has prepared this page with lots of informative links about euthanasia, pros and cons and even a debate sheet, although too much based on the Bible for my taste.
http://www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/euthanasia.htm
To complement this, you could use those two articles, one from the BBC and another from someone from the USA who is a Muslim of Indian origins.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/islamethics/euthanasia.shtml
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/fields/2704/article20.html

Internet Tools

Using Web 2.0 tools with your students

Read this article on TechLearning where a teacher explains what tools he uses (slide show, online presentation, wiki,etc.) and how : " Using Web 2.0 tools to teach my courses not only enhances my innovative potential in designing lessons, but helps motivate student creativity in project based assignments. "
http://techlearning.com/story/showArticle.php?articleID=196605050&page=2
You can also see the results on the blog of the author, Mr Cory Plough:
http://mrplough07.blogspot.com/


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