Josephine Baker: An Incredible Life

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 26 November 2021 > Ready to Use

Our bioboxes are short “Who Am I?” quizzes to help introduce pupils to famous figures in the English-speaking world.  This one is on Josephine Baker as she enters the French Panthéon. For more information on Baker, see our article. You can download the biobox below to use it offline with your pupils.  

Josephine Baker Enters the Panthéon

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 18 November 2021 > Celebrate

On 30 November, Josephine Baker will become the sixth woman, and the first black woman, to enter France’s Panthéon, where the country honours its greatest heroes. The Franco-American dancer and singer was an active member of the Resistance in WWII and civil-rights activist in the U.S. Freda Josephine McDonald was born into poverty in St … Continue reading “Josephine Baker Enters the Panthéon”

Goodbye RBG

Posted by Speakeasy News > Sunday 20 September 2020 > In the News

The death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on 18 September means the political balance of the court is likely to swing right. Justice Ginsburg was a pioneering lawyer and judge who was at the forefront of battles for gender equality and women’s rights. Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of three women out of … Continue reading “Goodbye RBG”

Florence Nightingale: Nursing Pioneer

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 06 May 2020 > Celebrate

Florence Nightingale is one of Britain’s most recognisable names. The Victorian nursing pioneer and statistician left an indelible mark on the world of medicine. The first woman ever to be featured on a British banknote, her influence is such that 200 years after her birth, the emergency hospitals created for the coronavirus pandemic in the … Continue reading “Florence Nightingale: Nursing Pioneer”

Florence Nightingale

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 06 May 2020 > Ready to Use

2020 is Florence Nightingale’s bicentenary. After she and a team of nurses managed to significantly reduce the death count by improving the appallingly unsanitary conditions at a British hospital during the Crimean War, she became an authority on public sanitation issues. She also earned a reputation for her statistician’s skills, and her charts would influence … Continue reading “Florence Nightingale”

Winners!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 08 July 2019 > In the News

At the end of the most-watched Women’s World Cup ever, an exciting final pitted the Netherlands against reigning champions the U.S.A. The Oranje held off the Stars and Stripes for the first half, but in the end the experience of the American team showed as goals from Rapinoe and Lavelle gave them their fourth World … Continue reading “Winners!”

Suffragist Honoured

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 26 April 2018 > In the News

A hundred years after some British women got the right to vote, there is finally a woman among the statues of political and democratic heroes on Parliament Square outside the Palace of Westminster. London Mayor Sadiq Khan unveiled the statue of Dame Millicent Fawcett on 24 April. There had been an organised and popular movement … Continue reading “Suffragist Honoured”

The Face of Money: U.S. Banknotes Get a New Look

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 20 February 2017 > Ready to Use

This A2-level article will enable your pupils to understand the historical significance of portraits on American banknotes, and to compare with other currencies. The presentation of new notes featuring Harriet Tubman and other African-American and women’s suffrage activists includes suggestions for  an EPI with history. Vocabulary and structures Verb tenses: simple past and simple present … Continue reading “The Face of Money: U.S. Banknotes Get a New Look”