The United Nations has declared June 12 the World Day Against Child Labour. It is estimated that 152 million children have to work for a living, and lose out on education and well-being as a result. Many of them work to produce food or consumer items that we find on our high streets. The number … Continue reading “World Day Against Child Labour”
Juneteenth is an American celebration marking the end of slavery, when news of the Emancipation Proclamation finally reached the last U.S. state, Texas on June 19, 1865. Read more about the history and traditions of Juneteenth in our article. If you would like to introduce your pupils to the event, these resources will help you. … Continue reading “Juneteenth Webpicks”
It’s Fairtrade Fortnight, la quinzaine du commerce équitable, in France from 12 to 27 May. Products with Fairtrade or Max Havelaar certification have been produced by workers who receive a fair price for their products. These are essentially basic food commodities: the top six are bananas, sugar, cocoa, coffee, other fresh fruit, and tea. However … Continue reading “Join the Fairtrade Movement”
2018 marks the two hundredth anniversary of the publication of Frankenstein, a novel which has gone on to occupy a unique place in the collective imagination. In this A2+ article, your pupils will discover Mary Shelley, the teenage author who lived an exceptional life. These documents about Mary Shelley could be part of a larger … Continue reading “Mother of Frankenstein”
Civil-rights leader Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on 4 April 1968. To commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of King’s death, this B1 sequence will allow pupils to explore his life and legacy. After briefly sharing what they already know about this inspiring figure, students will watch a video and learn more … Continue reading “Martin Luther King Slideshow”
Professor Stephen Hawking, possibly the most famous modern scientist, has died at the age of 76, after beating enormous odds to survive and work for 55 years with the debilitating motor neurone disease. Hawking had an exceptionally brilliant mind. He became the prestigious Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University at just 35. But by … Continue reading “Stephen Hawking: Death of A Scientist”
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 26 January every year, ceremonies are held all over Australia to welcome new citizens as part of Australia Day celebrations. But the 2018 national day was overshadowed by debates about citizenship, and about finding a date for Australia Day that is less offensive to Aboriginal people. Citizenship was a major issue in the Australian … Continue reading “Australian Identity Crisis”
This short video of a NASA astronaut on the International Space Station discussing how he is going to celebrate Thanksgiving is a great way to introduce or revise this American holiday as well as food vocabulary. ISS Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA explained how he and fellow American, Peggy Whitson, were going to … Continue reading “Thanksgiving Dinner in Space”
If you live in the centre of a desert in Australia and you want to create an annual festival to collect money for charity, what do you do? Start a boat race, of course! Henley-on-Thames in England has a famous annual regatta. Henley-on-Todd’s version is a little less elegant! On the third Saturday of August … Continue reading “Only in Australia: Boating in the Desert”