Weekly news lesson 288: 17th May 2012: Doctors back denial of treatment for smokers and the obese

Thu, 17 May 2012

According to a recent survey, a majority of UK doctors controversially supports measures to deny treatment to smokers and the obese. This has sparked a row over the National Health Service’s growing use of “lifestyle rationing”.

The Terror of Blue John Gap: Part 1

Part 1 of this horror story introduces us to the narrator and we first hear of the legend of Blue John Gap. In this lesson, the students will: briefly discuss the topic of legendary monsters; listen to a short extract to familiarize themselves with the narrator’s voice and pace; discuss the events of the story and act out a short conversation; listen in detail to a short passage and discuss the importance of sounds in creating atmosphere.

Fantasy characters

Describing story characters is an important stage in the development of creative writing. In this worksheet, pupils match pictures and text descriptions to fairytale creature before writing their own description of a fantasy character.

Plants

Inspire your pupils' interest in the natural world with these resources which provide an invaluable resource for teachers introducing young learners to natural science.

Tech Tools for Teachers: Digital Images

Nik Peachey explores the world of digital images and how they can bring life into the classroom and be used to create motivating language-learning activities. Nik provides a comprehensive overview article on the use of digital images, including a list of tools for exploiting digital images like Flickr and Bookr, a downloadable lesson plan, a video screencast tutorial and a printable how-to guide.

Your English: Idioms: roof

Have you ever hit or gone through the roof? Tim Bowen is here to calm your nerves and explain a few idioms along the way.

Macmillan Dictionary BuzzWord: Li-Fi

A lesson plan by Kerry Maxwell, giving tips and suggestions for using the BuzzWord article on Li-Fi in class. Student worksheets include reading activities, vocabulary-building exercises and a focus on expressions with light and abbreviations.

Explanations: Geography

Keith Kelly looks at examples of language used in delivering questions and explanations from the area of geography, covering wh- question words, statements as questions, asking for explanations, possibility and uncertainty, explaining a process and conjunction phrases.

Top Trumps activities pack: 21-30

In her third and final instalment, Carol Read presents ten more activities suitable to use with any pack of Top Trumps cards. The activities are available to Staff Room members.