Weekly news lesson 287: 10th May 2012: Red Cross presses to protect medics in war zones

Thu, 10 May 2012

From Libya to Afghanistan, medical workers operating under extreme conditions regularly face death threats from relatives of patients injured in fighting. The Red Cross has embarked on a major international campaign to protect them.

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.

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.

A ghost's guide to London: Episode 2: King's Road

Lord Jeffrey, the Ghost of London, takes students on a swinging audio tour of the King’s Road. In this lesson students will: learn about the King’s Road; practise listening for gist and reconstructing audio stories from memory; compare and contrast standard forms of English with colloquial expressions and then practise these expressions in a personalized speaking task; prepare personalized anecdotes about falling in love.

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.