Hurricanes Webpicks

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 08 September 2017 > Webpicks

Hurricanes are dominating the news at the moment but how do hurricanes form and how are they classified? This video and animation are useful teaching tools. This animation from U.S. National Hurricane Center shows the intensity of different levels of hurricane. It is purely visual and can be used for description. This report for children … Continue reading “Hurricanes Webpicks”

Teaching with Irving Penn’s Photography

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 07 September 2017 > Webpicks

The Irving Penn exhibition opening at Paris’s Grand Palais was shown in New York’s Metropolitan Museum this spring. The Met’s site has interesting videos and audio guides in English made to accompany the exhibition and which are useful teaching tools. The Grand Palais site has a teaching pack you can download giving you background information … Continue reading “Teaching with Irving Penn’s Photography”

Labor Day Video

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 04 September 2017 > Webpicks

The first Monday in September is Labor Day in U.S. and Canada and heralds the beginning of the school year. This 1-minute video presentation explains the holiday. Perfect for a quick injection of Anglophone culture! It’s an animated slideshow with written text rather than voiceover and can be used from A2. It presents the holiday, … Continue reading “Labor Day Video”

School of the Air in Australia

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 30 August 2017 > Ready to Use

In this A2 article your students will discover the special distance-learning schools which provide classes for children in the Australian Outback who live hundreds or even thousands of kilometres from the nearest school. We suggest going further with two downloadable short videos. For full listening-comprehension they require a B1 level, but there is plenty that … Continue reading “School of the Air in Australia”

The Romans in Britain Teaching Resources

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 28 August 2017 > Webpicks

London is celebrating its Roman past with the Londinium festival. Access and download teaching resources on the Romans in Britain from A1+ to B1. There are articles about Hadrian’s Wall at A1+, A2 and B1 levels, with accompanying interactive comprehension activities, as well as a B1 audio on British Queen Boudica’s resistance to the Roman … Continue reading “The Romans in Britain Teaching Resources”

Robin Hood Videos

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 18 July 2017 > Webpicks

Robin Hood is great way into British history as pupils can build on their prior knowledge of the character. If you are working on Robin Hood as part of a medieval theme, with the Robin Hood Festival in Nottingham, or as a theatre activity, these videos provide vocabulary help and food for thought. This one-minute … Continue reading “Robin Hood Videos”

Big Ben

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 18 July 2017 > Ready to Use

Big Ben is a must-see on any trip to London. The iconic London landmark is undergoing major renovation work for the next three years. We take the opportunity to show pupils what makes Big Ben tick with an A2-level article.  Language and Structures: Descriptive narration: simple present and preterite tenses Numbers: saying dates Modals and … Continue reading “Big Ben”

Dunkirk

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 04 July 2017 > Ready to Use

This B1-level article focuses on an important yet little recounted moment during WWII, the evacuation of British and Allied forces from the beaches of Dunkirk by the Royal Navy, aided by hundreds of civilian boats. This symbol of solidarity has been adapted into a movie by director and screenwriter Christopher Nolan. Language and structures Historical … Continue reading “Dunkirk”