This short video is a great way to have pupils study how actors express emotions when they speak a text on stage, even something as short as Hamlet’s classic line “To be or not to be”. In this performance for the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016, Paapa Essiedu, who was playing Hamlet at … Continue reading “Staging Emotions: Hamlet”
It’s one of the best known charity fundraisers in the U.S.A. Since 1948, kids have been adding a civic element to their Halloween trick or treating by collecting donations for UNICEF, the United Nations’ children’s fund. Trick-or-treaters used to carry a little cardboard collecting box. The iconic box disappeared during COVID in favour of online … Continue reading “Put Some Meaning in Your Halloweening”
General elections in the U.K. have a lot in common with French legislative elections. Here are some resources on the British system that can help pupils think about democracy and compare and contrast the British and French systems. The video on this page has a 1-minute explanation of how a general election works, written for … Continue reading “Teaching About the UK Electoral System”
Dr Martin Luther King, Jr was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his leadership of the African American civil-rights movement. The Nobel committee has published a series of videos and a lesson plan for using them in class. Perfect for Martin Luther King Day, 17 January this year. You can download the lesson … Continue reading “Videos for Martin Luther King Day”
This three-minute film with no dialogue is a great basis of a discussion about Christmas with your classes. It also fits with the theme of being different, and starts in a boarding school. The premise is that Santa Claus started out at a school for extraordinary children, where as a child he slowly grew his … Continue reading “Short Christmas Film”
This 4-minute video is a simple explanation of Thanksgiving, designed for young learners in the U.S.A. It would work well in an ESL classroom. We’ve indicated the content of the sections if you don’t want to use the whole thing. The voiceover is slow and understanding is helped by the images. You could use sections … Continue reading “Simple Thanksgiving Video”
The This is England short-film festival in Rouen has a specific programme of short films for CM1, CM2 and 6e classes that explore original and age-appropriate ways to tackle difficulties faced by children. If you sign up for a jeune public showing, your students will see five films ranging in length from 4m20 to 14 … Continue reading “This is England 2023 films for Young Learners”
The This is England short-film festival in Rouen has a specific programme of short films for collège classes. This year’s selection takes us back to the First World War and forward to imagined futures in 2053 and 2087 as well as films on the UK today and contemporary issues. If you sign up for a collège … Continue reading “This is England 2023 films for Collège Classes”
The This is England short-film festival in Rouen has a specific programme of short films for lycée classes. The varied selection this year includes odes to two very different British landscapes, family relations, mindfulness, racism, a music video based on an historic Scottish figure and a documentary about a prosthetic leg. If you sign up … Continue reading “This is England 2023 films for Lycée Classes”
This year’s UK National Poetry Day is on 5 October. A great opportunity to get some poetry into your class, and to explore this year’s theme: Refuge. The National Poetry Day site has lots of poems and teaching resources. We picked out some which are especially well adapted to ESL learners. There are short films … Continue reading “Poetry in the Classroom”