Little Rock School Integration Videos

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 26 September 2017 > Webpicks

2017 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the a major landmark in ending school segregation in the U.S.A.: when nine courageous black students braved screaming mobs, police and troops to gain access to Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Both the National Parks Service Visitors’ Center on the site, and the Dwight Eisenhower Memorial have … Continue reading “Little Rock School Integration Videos”

President Kennedy Slideshow

Posted by Speakeasy News > Wednesday 13 September 2017 > Ready to Use

In 2017, the U.S.A. has been commemorating the hundredth anniversary of John Fitzgerald Kennedy’s birth. In this B1-B2 sequence, pupils view a short, downloadable animated slideshow giving basic facts about JFK’s life. They will then work in groups to expand their knowledge before preparing a presentation in the Bac oral format. Language and structures John … Continue reading “President Kennedy Slideshow”

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”

Fighting for the Right to Love

Posted by Speakeasy News > Thursday 16 February 2017 > Webpicks

Loving tells the astonishing true story of an American couple who married in 1958 and spent the first nine years of their marriage fighting the segregationist laws that found them guilty of the crime of loving someone who was a different colour. Richard Loving and Mildred Jeter were childhood sweethearts in Virginia. When Mildred became … Continue reading “Fighting for the Right to Love”

Jackie

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 03 February 2017 > What's On

Seen through the eyes of the iconic First Lady, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy (Natalie Portman), Jackie is an intimate portrait of one of the most important and tragic moments in American history: the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. President Kennedy’s assassination was a generation-marking event not just for Americans but for the millions of people … Continue reading “Jackie”

Prohibition

Posted by Speakeasy News > Tuesday 17 January 2017 > Webpicks

Ben Affleck’s gangster film Live By Night is a great opportunity to introduce your classes to the period of Prohibition. Live By Night centres on the organised crime gangs which profited from Prohibition by producing or importing illicit alcohol and running underground bars called speakeasies. The Bill of Rights Institute has free downloadable teaching resources … Continue reading “Prohibition”

Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Victory for Civil Rights

Posted by Speakeasy News > Monday 28 November 2016 > Celebrate

Sixty years ago, on 20 December, 1956, Martin Luther King and his fellow campaigners won a first victory in the long battle for African-American civil rights. The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which had begun when Rosa Parks famously refused to move to the back of the bus, finally ended after 381 days, when the Supreme Court … Continue reading “Montgomery Bus Boycott: A Victory for Civil Rights”

Civil Rights: The Montgomery Bus Boycott

Posted by Speakeasy News > Friday 25 November 2016 > Ready to Use

Sixty years ago, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which had started on 5 December, 1955, after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat, finally ended. It was the first victory for Martin Luther King on the road to civil rights for African Americans. This B1-level article recapitulates the beginnings of the Civil … Continue reading “Civil Rights: The Montgomery Bus Boycott”