The Booker Prize shortlist 2023 contains books by two Irish, two American, a Canadian and a British author exploring identity, family dynamics and societal collapse. All of them have been shortlisted for the first time, and two of the books are debut novels. The winner of the U.K.’s most prestigious literary prize will be announced … Continue reading “Six Books for the Booker”
It’s the beginning of the school year and working on school vocabulary can reassure pupils and help them realise they CAN actually remember some of what they learned in previous years. A video and a quiz from the BBC Newsround site are a great way to start the year. Not all of the videos on … Continue reading “Back to School”
This A1-level activity will help you introduce or revise some basic school vocabulary at the beginning of the school year. Pupils can type in the vocabulary directly onto the image on the interactive pdf, or you can print it out and ask them to write the words in. Vocabulary and structures school buildings and equipment … Continue reading “My New School”
The winner of the U.K.’s most prestigious literary prize, the Booker, will be announced on 15 October. The six authors on shortlist in the running for the prize are from the U.K., Ireland, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the U.S.A. Their books are overwhelmingly inspired by real historical events, from a terrible lynching in America to … Continue reading “Short List for the 2022 Booker Prize”
France’s Fête de la Musique is 40 years old this year, and it has inspired other countries to celebrate music on the longest day of the year, 21 June. Make Music Day, as it’s dubbed in English, made it to New York 15 years ago and has spread across North America, helped by a non-profit, … Continue reading “World Music Day”
The Extinction Rebellion ecological movement first came to prominence in 2019 when after 11 days of protests it persuaded the British government to declare a state of ecological emergency. This twelve-minute-long film starring Emma Thompson is a fiction based on real events and was shot during the 2019 protests in an eco-friendly sustainable way. It … Continue reading “Extinction Rebellion Short Film”
Ready for some reading? The 2021 Booker Prize shortlist has been published and, despite eliminating Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro’s longlisted Klara and the Sun, contains plenty of intriguing titles. Britain’s premier literary prize opened up in 2013 to books written in English by authors of any nationality, which sparked worries of it being dominated by … Continue reading “Booker Prize 2021 Shortlist”
England’s football players have been taking the knee at Euro 2020 to protest against racism but one in particular has been standing up for Britain’s poorest children. Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford has been campaigning for the astonishing 20% of English* children who qualify for free school meals, one of the indicators of poverty in … Continue reading “Marcus Rashford: Football Against Food Poverty”
World Book Day is on 4 March this year. In the UK, schoolchildren receive a £1 book token they can spend on a selection of books chosen for the day. The authors have recorded ten-minute readings great for classroom use. Here’s a selection. The readings are part of a project to share stories by recording … Continue reading “Ten-Minute Stories for World Book Day”
As Boris Johnson said as he announced a new lockdown: “‘Tis the season to be jolly careful”. But it’s nice to know that some festive traditions have survived the pandemic. Friday 11 December is the ninth Christmas Jumper Day, organised by Save the Children U.K. Normally, people wear a Christmas-themed jumper to work or school … Continue reading “Ho, Ho, Ho, Christmas Jumper Day is Back!”