Valerian Strikes Back!

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 18 July 2017 > What's On

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is the new film by Luc Besson adapted from the science-fiction comic strip series by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières that inspired a whole generation of artists, writers and film-makers… including Georges Lucas. In the 28th century, Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne) form a team … Continue reading “Valerian Strikes Back!”

Lucky Stars: NASA’s New Astronaut Class

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 20 June 2017 > In the News

NASA received a record 18,300 applications to join its 2017 astronaut candidate class. The agency has just announced the 12 lucky people chosen for two years training to potentially become astronauts. And as NASA continues to open more opportunities to women, five of the new recruits are female. The 12 new astronaut candidates will undergo … Continue reading “Lucky Stars: NASA’s New Astronaut Class”

Teaching about Child Labour

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 07 June 2017 > Webpicks

For the United Nations World Day Against Child Labour on June 12, or any other time you want to discuss this important topic in class, here are some teaching resources for different levels. The Australian NGO Worldvision has a teaching resource on child labour with downloadable worksheets and photo stories. Several of the topics have … Continue reading “Teaching about Child Labour”

Inventing a Machine in Language Class

Posted by Speakeasy News > Saturday 03 June 2017 > Pedagogy

Let’s imagine a crazy machine! We look at a fun and active project that gets pupils moving and talking in English about a culturally specific phenomenon: a Rube Goldberg machine. Cartoonist Rube Goldberg was famous for drawing comically complex machines to complete everyday task. His drawings are so well known in the U.S.A. that there … Continue reading “Inventing a Machine in Language Class”

The Art of Rube Goldberg: Why do simple when it can be complicated?

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 02 June 2017 > What's On

You may have heard about a complex concept described as a “Rube Goldberg”… then wondered what that meant. The Rube Goldberg machine is a complicated machine that does simple tasks. Rube Goldberg was an American inventor, sculptor, author, engineer, cartoonist and he is very famous for his zany inventions cartoons. Before he was known as … Continue reading “The Art of Rube Goldberg: Why do simple when it can be complicated?”

Sorry Day Teaching Resources

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 19 May 2017 > Webpicks

Reconciliation Australia is an NGO set up to facilitate reconciliation between the wider Australian population and Indigenous Australians. They have a very attractive learning section on their Share Our Pride website which includes the following videos. It’s perfect for a theme about Indigenous Australians and/or Sorry Day. This is a relatively simple, short explanation (less … Continue reading “Sorry Day Teaching Resources”

Saying Sorry

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 19 May 2017 > Celebrate

For more than 150 years, tens of thousands of Australian Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and communities. On 26 May, Australia recognises and commemorates this injustice on Sorry Day. Policies of “assimilating” indigenous children started early in the British colonial period in the nineteenth century. It accelerated and became more systematic from … Continue reading “Saying Sorry”

Money for Nothing?

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 09 May 2017 > In the News

Give 20,000 schoolchildren £10 each and ask them to start a mini-business. It sounds ambitious, but the Tenner Challenge is a big success with British pupils and teachers. The competition is open to 11-19-year-old secondary-school pupils, alone or in teams, in two age categories. The basic format is simple and hasn’t really changed since the … Continue reading “Money for Nothing?”