On the occasion of the death of Professor Stephen Hawking, we’ve updated this B1-level article, which we published for his 75th birthday in 2017. Students will learn about Hawking, one of Britain’s most famous scientists, who had a brilliant career in spite of a terrible neurological disease. The film The Theory of Everything , released … Continue reading “Stephen Hawking: a Unique Scientist”
On the occasion of Frederick Douglass’s Bicentennial, there are lots of online resources to help you introduce this major figure of the abolition movement to your pupils. This section on Frederick Douglass from the Library of Congress children’s site is suitable from A2. It’s not a very detailed biography but has an excellent quote from … Continue reading “Frederick Douglass on the Web”
This B1 article will allow pupils to discover the mysterious disappearance of the 1845 Franklin Expedition to find the North-West passage, and the subsequent search expeditions and forensic archaeology which has begun to provide answers. Grammar past simple of regular verbs + some irregular verbs. Vocabulary ships and the sea. the Arctic. science, archaeology, forensics … Continue reading “Arctic Mystery”
This A1+ document is about teenage Australian adventurer Jade Hameister, whose dream came true in January 2018 when she completed the third challenge in the polar hat-trick, becoming the youngest person to ski to both Poles and Greenland. Interestingly, although we can expect her to be considered a superhero by A1+ students, she insists on … Continue reading “Polar Adventurer”
Sixteen-year old Jade Hameister from Melbourne, Australia, has undertaken a series of physical challenges from climbing to the base camp on Mount Everest to skiing to the North and South Poles. She is also an inspiring speaker and wants to encourage other young people, and particularly girls, to have the courage to test themselves, even … Continue reading “Polar Adventurer Video Resources”
After the terrible school shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Texas, gun control is once again very much in the news. Here are suggestions of ways to broach this topic in class. The Parkland students have been very active in calling for greater gun control and safety in schools (see our … Continue reading “Gun Control Teaching Resources”
The Steven Spielberg film The Post, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks, is an excellent resource for working on the press and the media as part of éducation aux médias. It would work very well with the theme for this year’s Semaine de la presse à l’école: Where does the news come from? The Semaine … Continue reading “Pentagon Papers Webpicks”
Scots celebrate their national poet, Robert Burns, on 25 January each year. These ebooks are useful for classroom work about the poet and the event. To find out more about Burns Night, check out Visitscotland’s ebook “Hold Your Own Burns Supper”, which includes recipes, information about the poet and a great video of traditional ceilidh … Continue reading “Robert Burns Digital Resources”
Darkest Hour, a new award-winning film about Winston Churchill’s role as Britain’s WW2 Prime Minister, gives an excellent opportunity to work on this historical figure and historical period with pupils at B1 level. The resource and the film focus on some of Churchill’s most famous speeches and their morale-boosting effect. The theme can be related … Continue reading “Winston Churchill’s Darkest Hour”
If you’d like to introduce your pupils to the annual African-American celebration Kwanzaa, from 26 December to 1 January, these articles, an audio sketch and festive music interactive can help you. This interactive feature from the Smithsonian has examples of celebration songs from different cultures in the U.S.A. and around the world. Click on number … Continue reading “Kwanzaa Webpicks”
