Q&A with Lakeside Junior High, Springdale, Arkansas

Today my students got the chance to hang out with some students at Lakeside Junior High in Springdale, Arkansas through Google Hangout. We had prepared some topics to discuss - prisons, health care, education, diversity and the Nordic model. Each group had prepared some questions - and imagined possible answers to the questions coming in- and the discussion went on for close to 60 minutes. So educational - among other things, we found out that you may have to pay 5,000 dollars to mend a broken arm in the U.S., that there are "ladies' etiquette clubs" and "gentlemen's clubs" as extra-curricular activities at Lakeside Junior High, that a general type of lunch could be a chicken sandwich and that a typical stereotype of a southerner is a person in overalls playing a banjo. :)

Thanks to Brian for arranging yet another great Hangout! And thanks to my awesome students!

Link to video clip from Hangout

English 6 - instructions for module 1: "Tolerance"

Module 1: Tolerance - plan

Instructions for discussion essay (from Blueprint B)

Example of essay  (from Blueprint B)

Revision of text

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The DNA Journey: 

Preview to "America by the numbers":

What are human rights? 

Theme: Human Rights - Malala - year 8

What are human rights? Write the answer in your notebook. 

What happened to Malala? Describe the incident and what followed. Write your answers in your notebook.

  

Peek of the week 10 - great videos and channels on YouTube

Peek of the week 10 focuses on channels and inspirational videos on YouTube. What they have in common? They are informative, often funny and graphically appealing and, not to forget, they are in English. Here are some of my favorites..

Apart from English, I also teach History and I really like Epic Rap Battles . Important historical figures pop up with fun lyrics, but still with facts woven in..

Here is 

Gandhi vs Martin Luther King Jr:

Crash Course has illustrative videos with a tiny humoristic twist. Subjects to be found are History, Chemistry, Biology, Literature among others...

How and Why We Read:

It's Okay to be smart has informative videos and this is a current favorite of mine:

Amy Poehler's Smart Girls has some videos where smart girls take a dominant seat - love it! Here is Girls of the World and Hannah from Northern Ireland:

Other good channels to recommend are:

Anglophenia
CGP Grey (witty informative videos) 
SoulPancake (Kid President is found here, reflective videos about life...)
Teaching Tolerance
TEDEducation