SUPERCOMPUTER
Lawrence Livermore’s Sequoia Supercomputer Towers above the Rest in Latest TOP500 List - 14 June 2012
(top500.org)
LONDON 2012
Olympic Officials Probe Ticket Scandal (18th June, 2012) 
- a lesson plan with audio
"The International Olympic Committee has launched an investigation into allegations that officials in more than 50 countries
have been selling London Olympics tickets on the black market for profit."
(breakingnewsenglish.com)
WW2
American History: World War II on the Home Front
"While fighting raged in Europe and the Pacific, Americans made sacrifices at home to support the US military effort | THE MAKING OF A NATION"
"Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary."
(learningenglish.voanews.com)
FARM EXPRESSIONS
Words and Their Stories: Farm Expressions
English expressions related to agriculture | WORDS AND THEIR STORIES
"Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary."
(learningenglish.voanews.com)
CARTOONS
War on soda - Cartoons
(cagle.com)
Cartoon: New York Soda Ban
"This cartoon by Gary Varvel, cartoonist for the Indianapolis Star, relates to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban
on the sale of large sodas..."
+ COMMENTARY + THE CARTOON + VOCABULARY + LINKS
(englishblog.com)
War on Soda in New York
"In New York, there is a campaign war against soda and other sweetened drinks. The city’s health department has launched
‘a public-awareness campaign, which includes posters in the subway system and a multilingual Health Bulletin’
that began on the end of August and will run for three months.
The new campaign asks New Yorkers if they’re “Pouring On the Pounds.” Highlighting the health impact of sweetened drinks,
this is the Health Department’s tactic ‘to encourage consumers to choose beverages with less sugar.’."
(trendsupdates.com)
(Permanent link) (Permanent link 2)
ROBOT / FRIEND
Tiny shoulder robot provides physical body for virtual friend
"Researchers at Yamagata University are developing a miniature , wearable humanoid robot that sits on your shoulder to keep you company.
The small MH-2 bot can perch on your shoulder like a parrot and then remotely inhabited by your friends through telepresence from anywhere in the world.
The robot has two arms, a head and a body as well as a mechanism for realistic breathing. The idea is that you can share a journey or an experience
with a friend who is unable to be in the same geographical location as you..."
ARTICLE + VIDEO 
(wired.co.uk)
 |
|
(Permanent link 1) (Permanent link 2)
RODNEY KING
Los Angeles riots figure Rodney King found dead - 18 June 2012
"Rodney King, the African-American at the centre of the Los Angeles riots 20 years ago, has been found dead aged 47...
King was a victim of police brutality in 1991, but the officers involved were acquitted the following year."
+ LA riots: How 1992 changed the police
+ King arrested 'under influence'
+ LA riots after 'not guilty' verdict
+ In pictures: Rodney King
+ Twentieth anniversary of the Los Angeles riots
(BBC)
CREATE / SCRAPBOOKS
Beeclip
"Creativity made easy - Amazing digital scrapbooks for student creativity, imagination, and self-expression."
(edu.beeclip.com)
Recommended by Larry Ferlazzo.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
Happy Father's Day!
This cartoon's "by Bob Englehart, staff cartoonist for the Hartford Courant. You can read Bob's commentary on his cartoon here."
+ MORE FATHER'S DAY CARTOONS + LINKS
(englishblog.com)
Jimmy Fallon - The Evolution of Dad Dancing: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
"Jimmy takes you through the evolution of dance moves used by fathers everywhere."
(YouTube)
World Day to Combat desertification and drought - June 17
The deserts of the Americas and Africa: teeming with life!
"June 17 is World Day to Combat desertification and drought. This week, with InSight, learn more about the fauna and flora of desert environments..."
(ikonet.com/en/visualdictionary)
PREFIXES / SUFFIXES / FABLES
Prefixes and their Meanings (Chris Hardwidge) 
(primaryresources.co.uk)
Suffixes (Chris Hardwidge) - activity
"SUFFIXES (make 2 sets of LH column). Spread out cards & take turns to match to create words
& give example in sentences or use to invent new words giving definitions."
(primaryresources.co.uk)
Fables Activity Ideas (Chris Hardwidge)
(primaryresources.co.uk)
(Permanent link 1) (Permanent link 2) (Permanent link 3)
SUMMER READING
Summer Reading Flowchart: What Should You Read On Your Break?
"To help encourage high school students to find a book of their choice, we’ve compiled a list of 101 books to kick off your learners’ summer reading.
Interested in finding fiction vs. non-fiction books? Would you like to find classical or contemporary fiction? Intrigued by survival books?
Tales of war? We have them all and many more to choose from! Follow our chart of top picks and peruse the different categories
until you find something that’s a perfect fit!"
(teach.com)
This is just a small part of the extensive chart at the site :
HISTORY
Take Me Back To - interactive game
"We have invented the first Time Machine to let you enjoy looking back in time."
(takemeback.to)
(Permanent link 1) (Permanent link 2)
Thanks to Renée Maufroid. (Ac. Lille)
WEATHER
Weather for Kids
Information + interactive quiz + worksheets (coming soon)
(weatherforkids.org)
LONDON 2012
Anti-terror police blow up tourist's broken down car outside Parliament - 15 June 2012
"Driving in the capital can be taxing even without the added pressure of extra tourists arriving for the Olympics."
(telegraph.co.uk)
THE SHARD
What’s it like to live near a skyscraper?
"Towering 95 storeys high into the sky over central London, the Shard is now western Europe's tallest building.
Here Italian architect Renzo Piano and London property entrepreneur Irvine Sellar take Razia Iqbal on a tour of the building.
Below, World Service's Robin Banerji asks what it's like to live near skyscrapers."
(BBC)
SWEARING IN PUBLIC
US town to fine people $20 for swearing in public
"Officials insist the proposal was not intended to censor casual or private conversations, but instead to crack down
on loud, profanity-laden language used by teens and other young people in the downtown area and public parks."
(telegraph.co.uk)
Massachusetts town puts $20 fine on profanity
"The residents of Middleborough, Massachusetts, have had enough of this *#%@&!"
+ Overheard on CNN.com: What the $%#;!? Choice words for town's profanity fine
(news.blogs.cnn.com)
 |
Piano Blues
"is a 2003 documentary film directed by Clint Eastwood as the seventh installment of the documentary film series "The Blues" produced by Martin Scorsese.
The film features interviews and live performances of piano players Ray Charles, Dave Brubeck, Dr. John and Marcia Ball..."
(Wikipedia)
Information on the PBS site
"Director — and piano player — Clint Eastwood (Play Misty for Me,Bird, Unforgiven) explores his life-long passion for piano blues,
using a treasure trove of rare historical footage in addition to interviews and performances by such living legends
as Pinetop Perkins and Jay McShann, as well as Dave Brubeck and Marcia Ball..."
(pbs.org)
BULLYING
One in five children is bullied online
"One in five children aged eight to 11 is a victim of cyberbullying attacks, a new report from charity Beatbullying has found...
The bullying prevention group surveyed over 1,500 primary school pupils, finding that 21 per cent
had been "deliberately targeted, threatened or humiliated by an individual or group" using technology.
While bullying took place on social media sites, games consoles and chat rooms, the most common form of cyberbullying reported was by text message.
This reflected the fact that the majority of bullying the children reported began offline, often at school, and was then continued online or by phone."
(telegraph.co.uk)
JUBILEE
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee: the best photos from day four
+ The Queen's Diamond Jubilee carriage procession to Buckingham Palace - PHOTOS
(telegraph.co.uk)
 |
Snow White & the Huntsman
"
is a 2012 British-American action fantasy film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" by the Brothers Grimm,
directed by Rupert Sanders and written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini."
(Wikipedia)
 |
Marley
"is a 2012 documentary-biographical film directed by Kevin MacDonald documenting the life of Bob Marley.[4]"
(Wikipedia)
See Bob MARLEY
AFGHANISTAN
DGA Delivers the First Ground Robots MINIROGEN - June 11, 2012
- "intended for the engineer teams in charge of the mine clearance of roads susceptible to be trapped."
(defense-aerospace.com)
FOOD HABITS
We Are What We Eat (data.massivehealth.com)
"is a pretty amazing interactive infographic on food habits in the U.S. and around the world." (Larry Ferlazzo)
LONDON 2012
Cartoon: Olympic Wind Farm
"This cartoon by Paul Thomas from The Daily Express relates to news that the Olympic Stadium will be transformed into the "British countryside"
for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games on 27 July. A cast of 10,000 volunteers will help recreate country scenes,
against a backdrop featuring farmyard animals and landmarks like Glastonbury Tor..." Read more >>
+ EXPLANATION + GRAMMAR + LINKS
(englishblog.com)
JUBILEE
Diamond Jubilee: Prince William's tribute to the Queen - 13 June 2012
"During his speech about the Fields in Trust Charity, Prince William said he felt a bit of an 'interloper',
as the Queen was patron and his grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, has been president of the charity for 60 years."
(BBC)
PM / DAUGHTER / PUB
UK PM Leaves 8-Year-Old Daughter In Bar (12th June, 2012)
- a lesson plan with audio
"British newspapers have revealed that Prime Minister David Cameron left his eight-year-old daughter in a pub and went home,
thinking the little girl was with his wife. His wife Samantha left the pub separately believing her child Nancy to be with her father."
(breakingnewsenglish.com)
Cartoon: Cameron Leaves Daughter At Pub
"This cartoon by Mac from The Daily Mail relates to news that David Cameron accidentally left his eight-year-old daughter Nancy at a pub two months ago..."
+ THE CARTOON + VOCABULARY + GRAMMAR + LINKS
(englishblog.com)
Reuters Video: David Cameron leaves daughter at pub
"British Prime Minister David Cameron accidentally left his eight-year-old daughter Nancy behind at a pub. Deborah Gembara reports."
+ TRANSCRIPT + LINKS
(englishblog.com)
(Permanent link 1) (Permanent link 2)
SECURITY CAMS
Coca-Cola Security Cams
(YouTube)
"This really is an extraordinary video, and is tailor-made to use in an ESL class
— it’s extremely engaging and has lots of different activities that students can describe and discuss."
(Larry Ferlazzo)
NICKNAMES
Words and Their Stories: Nicknames for New Orleans and Las Vegas
"Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary."
New Orleans = The Big Easy
Las Vegas = Sin City
(learningenglish.voanews.com)
LA LEGENDE ARTHURIENNE
« La légende arthurienne »
"L'histoire de la résistance des Celtes contre les envahisseurs anglo-saxons, en Grande Bretagne, a donné naissance au mythe du roi Arthur
dont les aventures rassemblent divers éléments issus de traditions médiévales.
Depuis Chrétien de Troyes, les héros de la légende arthurienne n’ont cessé d’inspirer les artistes de toutes disciplines.
Les dossiers suivants nous entraînent dans des parcours ludiques à la découverte des personnages et des lieux de la légende arthurienne.
Ils permettent aussi de redécouvrir cette légende à travers le cinéma et la littérature qui ont largement contribué à l'entretenir."
Primaire / A1 (6e) : Les personnages de la légende arthurienne
Collège / A2 - B1 : Au pays de la légende arthurienne
Lycée / B1 - B2 : La légende arthurienne, de la réalité à la fiction
(CNDP)
RIO+20 EARTH SUMMIT
Nations at odds on Rio+20 earth summit - 12 June 2012
"The draft agreement (titled The Future We Want) would improve energy, water and food security in poorer countries,
phase out fossil fuel subsidies and boost ocean protection."
(BBC)
WW2
American History: D-Day Invasion of Europe
"Read, listen and learn English with this story. Double-click on any word to find the definition in the Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary."
(learningenglish.voanews.com)
YouTube / Mp3
Video2mp3: Convert Youtube to Mp3
"Enter the URL of the video you want to convert to MP3."
(video2mp3.net)
SPYING
FBI quietly forms secretive Net-surveillance unit
"CNET has learned that the FBI has formed a Domestic Communications Assistance Center, which is tasked
with developing new electronic surveillance technologies, including intercepting Internet, wireless, and VoIP communications."
(news.cnet.com)
Cartoon: King Charles
|
Reuters Video: |
Words in the News: Cyber Bully |
SUMMER SLIDE
The Best Resources On The “Summer Slide”
"We’re all familiar with the “summer slide” — the academic losses that many young people,
especially in low-income communities, experience during the time they’re out of school...
I thought readers might find it useful for me to share some of the research sources on summer reading loss..."
(larryferlazzo.edublogs.org)
LOTTERY
Lottery Ticket: Lotteries
"Talking about luck and the lottery is really common in EFL ESL classes. I used this scene to lead in the topic.
The scene sounds almost like a documentary, since it shows interviews of passers-by, saying what they would do if they won a very fat lottery ticket..."
+ a video
(warmupsfollowups.blogspot.fr)
BOTOX
Just Go With It: Botox
"This is a funny movie that talks about plastic/cosmetic surgeries. This is a great scene to discuss the use of a trendy procedure nowadays. Botox."
+ a video
(warmupsfollowups.blogspot.fr)
USING SILENT VIDEOS
EFL Activities using silent videos
"My inspiration for these video activities was this post by David Deubelbeiss.
- the activities are short.
-
the videos are all found in Youtube.
-
there's no need to prepare any extra material."
(lifefeast.blogspot.com.br)
MOBILE LEARNING / FOOTBALL
Premier Skills App
"This interactive vocabulary app combines the fun of football with English learning."
(premierskills.britishcouncil.org)
(Permanent link 1) (Permanent link 2)
ALCATRAZ
Alcatraz escape still surprises, 50 years on - 12 June 2012
"Those who ran Alcatraz liked to say nobody ever escaped alive.
But that hasn't stopped US marshals from continuing the search for three men who made it off the island 50 years ago..."
+ "Philip Dollison was living on Alcatraz island when three men escaped."
(BBC)
JUNK FOOD ADS
Media giant Walt Disney to ban junk food ads - 6 June 2012
"US media giant Walt Disney has said it will ban junk food ads on its TV, radio and online programmes."
+ "Michelle Obama said Disney was changing its business model to tackle obesity."
+ Viewpoint: Obesity and parenting
(BBC)
TEENAGE
A Point of View: Embarrassing parents and the teenage truth
"All parents are destined to be ridiculous, embarrassing or annoying, warns Adam Gopnik."
+ BBC Podcasts - A Point of View
(BBC)
OCEANS
Celebrate World Oceans Day! - June 8th
"World Oceans Day is being celebrated by millions of people all over the globe. Be a part of the movement to protect our oceans!
Visit http://oneworldoneocean.org and http://worldoceansday.org to see more amazing videos about the ocean and learn what you can do to help protect it."
(YouTube)
LONDON 2012
Olympic Games
"Activité d'une heure pour introduire les jeux olympiques de Londres 2012 et les sports associés à des élèves de 6e/5e.
Activité sur tableau interactif (le document a été transformé en ppt pour ceux qui n'ont pas active inspire)"
(brassac-anglais.wikispaces.com)
Olympics Ideas Part One: Teaching English for and through Sport
(usingenglish.com)
Talking about sport - Conversation questions 
(usingenglish.com)
Olympics & Sports 20 Questions Guessing Game
"Choose one of the sports below and answer your partner’s Yes/ No questions
until they guess which sport you are thinking of. Don’t answer Wh questions."
(usingenglish.com)
Olympic and Other Sports Trends
"Try to agree on the past, present and future trends in the things below..."
(usingenglish.com)
The Official London 2012 Olympics Film.'Sport At Heart'
- "the award-winning film featuring David Beckham, Amir Khan, Dame Kelly Holmes and Sir Roger Moore..."
(YouTube)
VIDEO GAMES
Wreck-It Ralph
"is an upcoming 2012 3D computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios
and directed by Rich Moore, a former animation director of The Simpsons and Futurama.[2]...
The film tells the story of Wreck-It Ralph (Reilly), an arcade video game"bad guy", who is determined to prove he can be a good guy."
(Wikipedia)
Wreck-It Ralph E3 2012 Trailer
"featuring a ton of video game characters such as Dr. Eggman and Bowser!"
(YouTube)
