The Tate Britain exhibition on William Blake explores this talented 19th century artist whose poems and paintings are strikingly modern and pregnant with meaning. Differentiated activities from A2+ to B2 will allow you to add Blake to a sequence on the Gothic or the Romantic movements, for example Shine Bright 1ère Advanced File 1 “Freaky dreams”. … Continue reading “William Blake: Visionary”
It’s one of those ideas that seem so obvious you can’t imagine why someone has already had it. A Christmas movie inspired by one of the most perennially popular (though bittersweet) yuletide pop songs: “Last Christmas” by George Michael. The 1984 song, a hit for Wham!, is a sad love song about heartbreak at the … Continue reading “Last Christmas: Rom-com with a Message”
We promised them and here they are. Our first four Reading Guides are available for books on the 1ère LLCER curriculum by Edgar Allan Poe, George Orwell, Harper Lee and Mark Haddon. Designed for class or home use, they will help pupils successfully meet the challenge of reading their first full fictional works in English. … Continue reading “Reading Guides for Your Students”
On 18 December, President Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives, only the third president in U.S. history to be rebuked in this way. The second stage of impeachment, before the Senate, is unlikely to succeed, but it will run into the beginning of primary season for the November presidential election. The impeachment … Continue reading “Impeached”
The speech young climate activist Greta Thunberg made to the UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019 is a great example of a speech for students. It can be added to work on several Shine Bright 1e themes. Greta Thunberg would also be interesting to study in connection with the LLCER literature curriculum The Curious … Continue reading “Greta’s Speech”
It’s been quite a year for Greta Thunberg. As well as leading millions of people in climate protests around the world, the 16-year-old activist has addressed the United Nations, met and harangued world leaders. It’s no wonder that Time Magazine named her its Person of the Year. Thunberg never imagined her solo protest would have … Continue reading “Greta’s Year”
A young Latina woman from the Bronx, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shatters our traditional vision of Congressional Representatives. This article explores her life, both private and public, from the Bronx to Washington, D.C. after the recent midterm elections: how can “one of us” sit in Congress at barely 29 and champion the average working class person’s rights? … Continue reading “The New Face of Congress”
In this A2 article, your students will learn about Charlie Chaplin’s life and films, and about the importance of music in both his life and his art. Although he could not read music, he was able to compose and play the violin by ear, and even direct an orchestra. Most of his films were silent, … Continue reading “Charlie Chaplin: Music Man”
Do you fancy using an advent calendar in class in December as a cultural reference, but want to avoid the religious connection? How about using this fabulous December Kindness Calendar instead? Produced by British charity Action for Happiness, it encourages you to do a kind act each day, like counting your blessings or seeing how … Continue reading “Do Good in December”
We always love to read students’ work. Here are some poems pupils wrote as their final task in a sequence from Shine Bright 2e: File 1 United Colours of Harlem. In this sequence, in Axe 3 Le village, le quartier, la ville, students discovered Harlem and considered what makes it such an inspiring neighbourhood. As … Continue reading “Your Students Have Talent: United Colours of Harlem”
