Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954 is remembered in the U.S. as a landmark moment in the fight for civil rights. The segregated school that seven-year-old Linda Brown attended while the case for desegregation made its way through the courts is now a National Park Service Historic Site. These videos and websites are … Continue reading “School Integration Webpicks”
Mary Cassatt was doubly unusual within the school of Impressionism: as a woman and an American. An exhibition in Paris puts the spotlight on this lesser-known member of Degas’ school, and free class visits are available in English. Cassatt was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1844, into a family that had made a fortune in … Continue reading “Mary Cassatt: An American Impressionist”
Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 is remembered in the U.S. as a landmark moment in the fight for civil rights. But behind the title were real children. The one whose name was forever associated with the case, Linda Brown, has died, aged 76. Linda Brown was just seven years old in 1951, when … Continue reading “School Integration Pioneer Dies”
Winnie the Pooh is one of those rare children’s classics that seem universally recognisable, whether you think of the books, the illustrations or the Disney cartoons. An exhibition at the Victoria and Albert museum in London does exactly what it says on the tin: Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic. The exhibition has large sets plunging visitors … Continue reading “The World of Winnie the Pooh”
If you know a great science communicator – maybe a teacher doing DNL lessons for classes européennes – let them know about the British Council FameLab competition. Participants need to explain a scientific concept for non-experts in just three minutes! And why not have your pupils do something similar? FameLab is an international competition with … Continue reading “Talking about Science Competition”
A scientific study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that false news spreads on Twitter much further and faster that true news items. Just like spoken gossip and rumours, people just can’t wait to share or retweet something unusual or shocking. The study found that false news stories are 70 percent more likely to … Continue reading “False News Travels Faster and Further”
Governments and news organisations around the world are more and more concerned about teaching children to navigate the nebulous world of news and information on the Internet and help them become well-informed citizens. That means there are plenty of resources out there to help teach the topic. Here’s a selection. Today’s teenagers are often referred … Continue reading “Media Literacy Online Resources”
This worksheet is based on an article which can be labelled A2+ as far as understanding is concerned, but the final writing activity should target B1 for a good number of students. Therefore, we suggest starting with easy activities to engage everyone in the class and gradually move on to more demanding work. It is … Continue reading “What’s in the News?”
Ready Player One is set in a universe many pupils recognise – that of video games and virtual reality. The trailer is relatively simple in terms of speech and very rich visually, so it’s a great classroom resource from A1+. If there are pupils in the class who have seen the film already, or read … Continue reading “Teaching with Trailers: Ready Player One”
Two months after his historical movie about the Pentagon Papers affair, starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, Steven Spielberg returns to the science-fiction genre with Ready Player One. Steven Spielberg’s second movie release of 2018 is based on a book by Ernest Cline who also co-wrote the film. Published in 2011, the book became a … Continue reading “Are You Ready to Play?”