The Christmas ads 2015

Every year on TV, the big companies create special adverts with nice or funny stories. Here are a selection from this year.














 And this one is from Germany:

 

Martin Luther King

Listen to this extract of the famous I Have A Dream speech (click on the player on the left)

You can understand more about the rhetoric and speaking styles used in the speech here and here

Watch Martin Luther King's speech here and look at the reactions of the crowd.

The Jim Crow laws at the time totally segregated black and white people. Look at these photos :

Havergal College - Toronto, Ontario, Canada

We will be talking and Skype and exchanging letters with students from Havergal College - Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can see the school website here. 

You can read about the school on wikipedia

And you can see a video about the school on youtube

Now see what you can find out about Toronto. Where is it? What can you do there? Are there any famous monuments?

The Olympic Games - London 2012

 Can you translate all of the banners above?

A Little Bit of History : Go here to learn about the Olympic Rings. Now fill in your worksheet.

 Click here and complete the Web Quest.

 There are some printable worksheets here

What to see and do in London : Look here to learn about some of the top tourist attractions in London. Can you think of any more? Write a Brainstorming in your exercise book.

Choose one of the monuments/attractions and create a poster/fact sheet about it.

Read about the Opening Ceremony here

The London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony

Watch the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games and note all the historical and cultural references that you can spot.

Children & the Second World War BBC Website

Go to the website http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/world_war2/world_at_war/teachers_resources.shtml# and do the following activities :

1) Try the quiz on World War II - can you score 3 points ?

2) Read the Evacuees Letters and answer the following questions :

a) Why were children evacuated from London ?

b) Who are Delia and Clifford ?

c) Why is she excited about an orange ?

d) Why did people queue ?

e) Which new foods were created ? What is spam ? (google it !)

f) Why did Delia bring onions home ?

g) Describe the emotions of the evacuees.

h) What sort of clothes did people wear during the war ?

i) Explain the slogan "Make Do and Mend".

j) What happened to London in 1940?

k) Why was it so important to receive a letter from your family ?

l) Describe the Anderson shelters. (Do a google image search for Anderson shelter and Morrison shelter.) Do you think they offer good protection ?

m) What did people do during air raids ?

3) Click here : http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/worksheets/ww2/home_life.pdf and decide what you would take to the air raid shelter with you.

4) Go to A wartime home - Explore its rooms and shelter. Examine/read about the objects that light up in red. Make a plan of the house on an A3 piece of paper and describe the rooms/objects. (This will be marked.)

 

5)  Go to Rationing - Shop for a meal in 1943 and complete the rationing challenge. Look at what you had for a week's food. Come up with a menu plan for a week (breakfast - lunch - dinner every day). Think about food that you could also get that wasn't rationed (for example, from your garden, from the countryside, or maybe the black market but this was very expensive.) (This will be marked.)

6) Go to http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/worksheets/ww2/rationing.pdf and do the Make Do & Mend Challenge. Be creative !

7) Go to http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/worksheets/ww2/evacuation_2.pdf and http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/schools/primaryhistory/worksheets/ww2/evacuation_1.pdf . Choose ONE viewpoint. You are EITHER an evacuee OR a family who must welcome an evacuee. Write a letter to explain your experiences and feelings. (This will be marked.)

The Diamond Jubilee

What is the name of the national anthem ? What does it mean in French ? Who is the only person who doesn't sing ?

 

The Jubilee Flotilla - how many boats were there ? What is the name of the river in London ?


 

A special street party at a zoo !

A very British sport

Cricket is a very popular sport in Great Britain. It can be played in a team or just with your friends in the park.

You need a cricket bat ... a ball ... some stumps  ... and some protection for your legs and head !

 Cricket players usually wear white clothes.

A team is 11 players. Two players bat together. You must hit the ball and run fast to the opposite end ... and back again if you can.

  You are out (= eliminated) if the ball hits the stumps ...

or if the opposing team catches the ball.

DC or NYC ?

Where can you see these places ? In Washington DC or New York City ? How many can you name ?

Aaaaggghhh ! It's Friday the Thirteenth !

In France, Friday 13th is often considered lucky - people say that you should play the lottery !

In England and America, the superstition says that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day. It is a day of bad luck, bad news and accidents.

What happened to these poor people on Friday 13th?

Imagine that you are the most unlucky person in the world. (Maybe you are Mr Bean !) What do you think will/won't/may happen to you for the rest of this Friday 13th ?

Christmas activities

Have fun and enjoy the holidays !

You can do a wordsearch here.

Watch Mr Bean celebrating Christmas in his unique way below !

You can also watch the Simpsons' Christmas message :

Now get ready to sing !

Now go here to play Spot The Difference - you must tell me the differences in English !

Play Christmas hangman here 

Play the Christmas wordmatch game here.

Do some Christmas crosswords here.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was last week in America. What do you know about Thanksgiving already ? What do people eat ? What do they do ? What are the origins of the celebration ?

Watch this video :



1)Comple the sentence : "Thanksgiving is a touchstone for ______________________________________ and _______________________________."
2) When is Thanksgiving ?
3) Who created Thanksgiving ? In which year ?
4) Why did he create Thanksgiving ?
5) What name represents the first Europeans to arrive in America?
6) Who was Sarah Hale ?
7) Which recipes are mentioned ?

Watch this video :



Can you explain the story in your own words ?

Now watch this one :



Read and translate the words and sentences.





1) Why were people in England unhappy ?
2) Who was the king ? When ?
3) What happened if they refused ?
4) Where did they go ?
5) What was the problem ?
6) What name was given to America at the time ?
7) What was the name of the ship ?
8) How many Pilgrims were there ?
9) What were conditions like ?
10) How did they feel ?
11) How many Pilgrims died during the first winter ?
12) Who was Squanto ?
13) What did they say ? "Let us ..."
14) What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving ?

Just for fun, watch these videos.

http://youtu.be/BmhvCWTjq5s Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Penpals - write a letter to introduce yourself

Try to make yourself and your life sound interesting. Ask questions about them so that they will have something to say to you.

Ideas for things to talk about :

- you
- your family, home and pets
- your hobbies, what you do at the weekend
- school
- Dunkirk
- things you like and things you hate (food, sport, TV, music, actors, .......)

It would be great if you could find a photo to send them too.

Penpals #4 : Mrs Vrotsos' class from Canada

Mrs Vrotsos' class :

Hi,

I'm looking to have 10 of my Grade 9 students (ages 13-15) correspond with students from another country. They're looking to learn about a new country and improve their writing skills. We are from Ontario, Canada (very close to Toronto).  I look forward to hearing from you.

Look at the map of Canada again. Can you find Ontario and Toronto ?

You can learn about Ontario here and here.

You can learn about Toronto here.

Penpals #3 : Mrs Boyd's class in Canada

 Mrs Boyd's email :

I am teaching a class of grade 7 students. Despite the fact that they have been learning French for a few years their level is quite low. We would like to write out letters in French but have the replies in English. I'm hoping to find a French speaking class who are interested in practing their English writing.
We are located in Northern British Columbia, Canada.
I would love to hear from you if you are still interested in finding penpals.

Thank you!

 

Look at the map of Canada. Can you find British Columbia ?

You can learn about British Columbia here and here.

Penpals #2 : Miss Bouteneff's class in America

From Miss Bouteneff (Miss Boo) :

I have a small group of students (no more than 12 kids in our group) in an afterschool program that are 12-14 years old that are looking to have written posted correspondence with a group of children their age and learn about another area of the world.

Our school is in Stratford (Connecticut) about an hour away from New York City. Please remind me where your school is located. As our program is an afterschool program any correspondence should be mailed to Flood Middle School in Stratford, CT 06614 USA.

 Look back on your work about the fifty states of the United States. Can you find Connecticut ?

You can learn about Stratford, Connecticut here and here. Look at the photo tour here.

Learn about Flood School here.

Penpals #1 - Mrs Hickey's Class in Ireland

From Mrs Hickey :

Hello,

I'm a teacher of French in a school in Ireland and I have a group of 12 - 14 year olds who are very interested in finding French penpals. I would love to get in contact with you about setting this up!

My students are beginning their studies of French (most of them) so do not have much French. However, they are eager to learn and would love to exchange ideas about French culture and Irish culture!

Mille mercis et j'espere trouver une classe francaise qui adore les langues!!

We're in Wicklow, just south of Dublin. I have first and second year students of French and about 10 or 12 of them are interested in getting French penpals. Half and half English/French sounds great - even though mine are mostly just beginning so their level is quite low!!

Hope you enjoy your mid-term break!

 

 

Can you find Ireland on this map of the British Isles ? What is the capital of Ireland ?

 

 

Can you find Wicklow on this map of Ireland ?

 

You can learn about Wicklow here : http://www.visitwicklow.ie/

Happy Halloween !

According to Wikipedia :

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Discover a famous children's book about a witch and do the activities here.

Play I-Spy here.


Play Halloween hangman here.

Go here and try this crossword puzzle.

Now try this wordsearch puzzle here.

2011 is the 10th anniversary of 9/11

This year is the tenth anniversary of 9/11 - September 11th 2001. (In America, when you write the date in numbers, you put the month before the day, contrary to British people. So for an American 9/11 is September 11th - the 11th day of the 9th month - but for a British person, 9/11 is the 9th November - the 9th day of the 11th month.)

Watch the cartoon video about 9/11 here (http://www.brainpop.co.uk/psheandcitizenship/citizenshiplivingtogetherintheworld/september11th/) and answer the questions below:

(1) Which day of the week was the 11th September 2001 ?

(2) At what time did the first aeroplane crash into the towers ?

(3) On the poster it says "World Trade Center". On the tag, it says "World Trade Centre". Why ?

(4) How many passengers on the first plane survived the crash ?

(5) How long was it until the second plane crashed into the second tower ?

(6) What did people start to realise after the second crash ?

(7) Where was the third aeroplane crash ?

(8) What is the Pentagon ?

(9) Why is it called the Pentagon ?

(10) Which tower fell first ?

(11) Who was killed when the tower fell ?

(12) Why did the tower fall ?

(13) What time did the North Tower fall ?

(14) Where did the fourth aeroplane crash ?

(15) Why did the fourth plane crash ?

(16) How many passengers survived this plane crash ?

(17) How many victims were there in total on 9/11 ?

(18) What was the worst attack before 9/11 ?

(19) Listen carefully and complete the definition : "Terrorism is ... "

(20) What is Al Qaeda ?

(22) How many Muslims are there in the world ?

(23) What is the Koran ?

(24) What is fundamentalism ?

(25) Who was Osama Bin Laden ?

(26) How did the USA respond to 9/11 ?

(27) How long did it take to find Bin Laden ?

(28) What is FDNY ?

(29) How long did it take to repair the physical damage to the Pentagon ?

(30) Explain the slogan on the Tshirts.

Now click through and do the quiz online.

This is what the World Trade Centre used to look likebefore the attacks :

As Wikipedia explains :

The September 11 attacks (called September 11, September 11th or 9/11), were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and both towers collapsed within two hours. Hijackers crashed a third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. When passengers attempted to take control of the fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, it crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, preventing it from reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C.. Nearly 3,000 died in the attacks.

Go to :

http://www.life.com/gallery/62071/first/#index/0 

and 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/americas/2001/day_of_terror/in_pictures/1.stm

and look at the galleries of photos from 11th September 2011.

Brainstorming : think of all the words that you think of when looking at these pictures. Write them in your exercise book.

Go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/americas/2001/day_of_terror/eyewitness/ and read the survivor's story. (There are other stories you can read when you have finished). Draw a timeline in your exercise book to show the events of that day. (If you have time, do a parallel timeline for this story : http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/americas/2001/day_of_terror/eyewitness/6.stm )

The huge site left by the Twin Towers was named Ground Zero, which was the name given to the point of impact of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb at the end of the second world war. You can explore the site in 3d here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14792712).

This is a computer-generated image of WTC (World Trade Center) 1, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, which is currently under construction and should be finished in 2013. It is designed to be the tallest building in America in 2012. (More information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Tower .)

Look at this art (http://www.jackiestiles.com/WTC/sept112001.jpg)

Can you explain the images and the symbolism ?