Σελίδες

Τρίτη 6 Νοεμβρίου 2012

Σάββατο 3 Νοεμβρίου 2012

2013 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF WATER COOPERATION


Water Changes Everything. from charity: water on Vimeo.





You can contribute to the campaign for the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 by participating in the slogan contest: your submission could become the official slogan! The winner will be invited to the kickoff meeting of the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation 2013 at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, in January 2013. The prize includes airfare to Paris and accommodation for two nights

http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/environment/water/water-cooperation-2013/slogan-contest-for-water-cooperation-2013/

ENTER THE COMPETITION HERE:

http://www.unwater.org/watercooperation2013/slogan.html

http://www.thewaterchannel.tv/

Δευτέρα 22 Οκτωβρίου 2012

Manos Hadjidakis - Reflections

Manos Hadjidakis, one of the greatest Greek composers of all times, was born on October, 23rd, 1925.

One of his most popular albums was "Reflections"






 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflections_%28Manos_Hatzidakis_album%29









Reflections is a 1970 album composed by Manos Hadjidakis.
The album was originally composed in New York City where Manos Hadjidakis was living since 1966 for the band New York Rock & Roll Ensemble and the lyrics were in English.
In 1993 the album was re-released with new lyrics in Greek which were written by Nikos Gatsos and performed by Aliki Kagialoglou.
In 2005 an adaptation of the album by the Greek band Raining Pleasure was released.
Album Songs
  • Orpheus
  • The Day
  • Love Her
  • Dance of the Dogs
  • Kemal
  • Dedication
  • The Three Answers
  • Street Song
  • Bitter Way
  • Noble Dame








Παρασκευή 19 Οκτωβρίου 2012

WEBWISE

A site created by BBC containing valuable info about computers and the net, for students and parents.

Looking for the meaning of special terms?
Security tips for parents?
Netiquette rules?

Visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise,

http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/about-netiquette








Πέμπτη 20 Σεπτεμβρίου 2012

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

After a brainstorming session on the topic "Animal Abuse" the students are grouped according to
the issue they are about to explore:

Animal abuse for purposes of
  1. entertainment
  2. medicine
  3. fashion  
and
  1. stray animals
Each group chooses some of the available resources posted on the blog in areas, such as:

  • literature
  • videos
  • campaigns
  • comics
  • posters-pictures 
  • music
  • fairytales
 They decide what their final product will be and which web 2.0 tool they are planning to use.
For example

  • a poster (collage or glogster)
  • a presentation
  • a short story
  • a comic of their own
  • a radio show (soundcloud)
This project will span over a one-month period. Students of the second grade of senior highschool will implement it. The springboard was a relevant unit in our textbook.

ANIMALS IN LITERATURE


                          




FASHION FOR ANIMALS-CAMPAIGNS


Δευτέρα 27 Αυγούστου 2012

Producing a radio show

3. ...And Sound

Radio Shows have always fascinated children and teenagers!

A wide range of possibilities, from discussing a particular topic
on occasion of a special day to picking your own music,
gives teachers the chance to organise projects integrating all skills
and students the pleasure of releasing their creativity.

The audio files can then be posted at the class' blog or at platforms
with school radio shows. Here are some tools you can use for this purpose:

http://www.spreaker.com/

http://soundcloud.com/

Πέμπτη 23 Αυγούστου 2012

Making a short video

2. IMAGE......



 Students are always attracted by image and sound. Making a short video could also serve as a stimulus for meaningful written tasks. However, how many of us, language teachers, know how to produce a short movie or video? Few I guess..there is an alternative though suitable for classroom purposes. Stop motion videos! What are they? Have you ever drawn pictures in the corners of old books? Drawing pictures slightly differently from one page to the next then flipping through them with your thumb makes the images animate. This is the concept on the basis of which these videos are made. Have a look at such a video created at a workshop, by teachers..







 And a video with  instructions:




 



 A rather clumsy first attempt, to prove how easy it is to produce such a video:

Τετάρτη 22 Αυγούστου 2012

Connected classrooms

A refreshing and relaxing summer is over and the new school year is lying ahead! I have thus decided to make a collection of the 10 web tools that will help me design and implement interesting and fruitful projects with my students.


 1. AUTHENTIC COMMUNICATION


 Real communication is an absolute must for children and teenagers. My e-twinning experience has taught me that this is first and foremost the reason why students decide to get engaged in such projects! So let's give them the chance to meet their peers face-to-face and use the foreign language to discuss, to exchange ideas and experiences, to have fun by using Skype for classrooms!


Introducing Skype in the classroom from Skype in the classroom on Vimeo.


Check out this video that features how the two teachers used Skype
and other technology to engage students across borders:



Πέμπτη 3 Μαΐου 2012

MY HIGHSCHOOL STUDENTS' BLOG!

This is a blog created by my students. All the texts and materials are produced by A, B and C Class students from NEO SOULI,  a village near Serres. I was only the administrator. Although it was created only a month ago, it is being updated regularly and the kids really enjoy it and have become more motivated! They name is their choice!And of course parents are satisfied, being able to watch their children's achievements!
I totally recommend it to all of you to try something similar in your English classes!

http://theperfectguysofneosouli.wordpress.com/

Πέμπτη 5 Απριλίου 2012

Τετάρτη 4 Απριλίου 2012

Day against Racism

The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is celebrated on 21 March each year. In our school we devoted a whole day of activities, such as video projection, drama activities, traditional dances and food, a photo and a drawing exhibition, to sensitise students and teachers. 

 

 

Δευτέρα 2 Απριλίου 2012

Πέμπτη 29 Μαρτίου 2012

Live Broadcast National Awards eTwinning 2012

LIVE BROADCAST ETWINNING EUROPEAN AWARDS 2012

The european award ceremony for the best Etwinning project is held in Berlin from 29-31/3/2012.
The award winning projects are
  •  "The new adventures of the twinnies around the world" (age category 4-11)
  •  "A taste of Maths" (age category 12-15)   
  • "Reporting without borders" (age category 16-19)
For more information about the prizes http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/awards/european_prizes.htm

CONGRATS to all the Greek schools (and there were many) who received prizes!

Τετάρτη 28 Μαρτίου 2012

The Olympic Torch Relay in Serres!


Line the Streets for the Olympic Torch Relay

The Olympic Torch Relay will be travelling in Greece in May, before going to the UK!
It will be in Serres in less than two months!!
To all my students: Let's come up with original ideas on how to celebrate it!

LINE THE STREETS


6th DAY 15-5-12
DRAMA - ALISTRATI - SERRES - KATERINI - LARISA - VOLOS - LAMIA


HERE IS A POSTER THAT ONE OF THE STUDENTS CREATED (with PIXLR) TO ADVERTISE OUR SCHOOL ACTIVITIES IN VIEW OF THE TORCH RELAY!

 (by Sakis Gr.)

Τρίτη 27 Μαρτίου 2012

What it takes to be a winner-Listening Activity (part II)


  1. Watch the video and note down some key words  
  2.  Read Lee Pearson's life story in http://www.leepearson.co.uk/ 
  3.  Write a short paragraph about a paralympic athlete to present him/her to your classmates




Here is some of the key vocabulary:

(LEE PEARSON – the Colour Gold


Para-dressage

Para-equestrianism

Disability

Lucky

Born with a talent

Awful sense of humour

Arena

Unique sport

28 gold medals in total/1 silver

Top competition rider

Kick asses)

Πέμπτη 22 Μαρτίου 2012

Jamie Keddie's interview in IATEFL Conference 2012






I had heard of Jamie Keddie and his lesson plans in www.lessonstream.org in the past, but  I attended one of his seminars for the first time a couple of weeks ago, in the TESOL Macedonia-Thrace Convention, in Thessaloniki.

I was impressed by his liveliness and energy, the way he used his body as a resource in the classroom, trying not simply to “deliver” the material as a postman (this was the topic of his presentation there) but to demonstrate how we, teachers, can actually mediate between the teaching content and the learner. In addition I had always been interested in teaching with multiple modalities and I was fascinated by the way he integrated visual prompts in the EFL classroom so as to teach lexis and pronunciation in the most motivating way.

So, as soon as I traced his IATEFL interview with Nick Peachey and Kirsteen Donaghy I wanted to hear him talk..His interview revolved around two main topics: Video story telling and quality Teacher Talking Time.

Video story telling is a way of bringing together traditional story telling and videos by deconstructing them. Jamie’s presentation focuses on the idea of Courage and putting your life in danger, by using a video regarding a rugby team of disabled people in wheel chairs, who are getting ready for the Paralympics.

Two are the main issues discussed: the content on one hand and the medium on the other. Content wise, the teacher can explore stereotypical representations of disabled people as objects of pity as well as introduce and practice topic-related vocabulary. The question raised by N. Peachy is to what extent there is a place in the language classroom for such issues. Well, “language works in multiple levels, not just the lexical one”, Jamie claims; therefore not only is there space for such topics but also children can be helped to develop critical thinking in a stimulating way. However, we, as teachers, should be careful when dealing with such matters.

Regarding the use of the video itself, Jamie claims that motivation increases due to the fact that none of the students has seen the video, which is delivered through the medium of the teacher himself. Also teachers are given the opportunity to grade their material and adapt it according to the age and level of their students, modifying, simplifying it or changing the focus. The magic of it is that the pictures stay the same but the language changes!

Jamie’s next topic is how to make teacher talking time more valuable for the learners. Teachers are often reluctant to talk too much in the classroom for fear of conducting monologues. What Jamie suggests is constructed dialogues, well prepared in advance, which are rather beneficial for their learners as along as they include talking with and not to our students. Teacher talking Time should not be kept to a minimum as long as it is quality time!

You can enjoy the full interview in the video above!

Τετάρτη 14 Μαρτίου 2012

A Tale of two Cities - Dickens

Getting our students (B1 level) ready for the Dickens drama workshop..also it could be used as a stimulus for a CLIL lesson..

Instructions
  1. Look at the book cover, describe it and discuss it. What information does the title and picture give you about the historic period and the country where this story takes place? What could its main theme be about?

  1. Now watch these two videos and take some notes:
  • Who are the main characters?
  • When and Where is the story taking place?
  • A brief summary of the plot (no more than 150w)
  • What are the main ideas discussed in this story?









3This is a quote from the first chapter of the book. What do you know about
the historical era when the story takes place? Can you find any similarities to the present?



"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
 it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
 it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, 
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
 it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, 
we had everything before us, we had nothing before us,
 we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, 
the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, 
for good or for evil,
 in the superlative degree of comparison only."

  Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, Book 1, Chapter 1

4. At the time in France...





5. While in Britain....
 During the Victorian times there were special conditions of living for the children. Find out more here

CHILDREN AT VICTORIAN BRITAIN - BBC



TEACHER RESOURCES
  • The Movie (1958)

    ETWINNING CONFERENCE 2012



     Η ετήσια Διάσκεψη του eTwinning θα λάβει χώρα στο. Βερολίνο στις 29, 30 και 31 Μαρτίου 2012 Στη διάρκεια της διάσκεψης θα βραβευθούν Ευρωπαϊκά έργα και θα συγκεντρωθούν περισσότεροι από 500 εκπαιδευτικοί από ολόκληρη την ήπειρο, για να συζητήσουν τρόπους ανάδειξης και ενίσχυσης των σχολικών ομάδων.

    http://blogs.eun.org/etwinningconference/

    Δευτέρα 12 Μαρτίου 2012

    The Best Extreme Sports



    Follow up activity (Unit 5 / Lesson 2 / Think Teen 1 Αρχάριοι)

    Watch the video and list 10 extreme sports that you can see on the video
    1.........................                             
    2........................
    3..........................
    4........................
    5........................
    6........................
    7........................
    8........................
    9.........................
    10.......................


    suggested answers: white water rafting, snowboarding, scaling, canoeing, BMX, rock climbing, parachuting, mountain biking, abseiling, paragliding, skydiving, cliff jumping, parkour, skateboard,
    bungee jumping

    Τρίτη 6 Μαρτίου 2012

    Olympic Games Posters from 1896

    The students can watch this video that contains a beautiful record of all posters from 1896 onwards and get inspired to create their own poster so as to participate in the "English for the Games" competition organised by the British Council. Enjoy!



    http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-for-the-games/competition

    Olympic Games Mascots

    • LONDON 2012



    http://www.london2012.com/mascots


    BEIJING 2008


    ATHENS 2004


    OLYMPIC MASCOTS FROM 1972



    Choose one of the mascots and find the following information:

    • The Origins of their names
    • The Artist who created them
    • The Philosophy behind them

    International Women's Day - 8th March


    International Women's Day - Παγκόσμια ημέρα των Γυναικών from lefteris hristou on Vimeo.

    VISIT
    http://www.internationalwomensday.com/about.asp

    Κυριακή 4 Μαρτίου 2012

    Dickens' LIfe (BBC)



    Here is the script of the video.
    We can use it with our students in different ways (jumbled sentences, gapped text etc)
    1. • Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England, on February 7, 1812, to John and Elizabeth Dickens. He was the second of eight children.
    2. • He moved to London in 2022
    3. • At 12, Charles Dickens went to work at a blacking factory, labelling bottles for 11 hours a day
    4. • His father was imprisoned for debts
    5. • He began work as a solicitor’s clerk in 1827
    6. • He began to collect names and characteristics of the people he saw
    7. • He began a journalistic career in 1831
    8. • Writing became his passion
    9. • He was beginning to taste success
    10. • His first piece of fiction was published in 1835
    11. • The same year he met Cathering Hogharth, fell in love and got married
    12. • The next few years resulted in much writing and many children
    13. • As his writing became more popular and his fame more widespread, rumours were spread of his drunkenness and admission to an asylum
    14. • He kept a pet raven
    15. • In 1842 Charles and Catherine set sail for America with his family
    16. • On landing in Boston they were mobbed by crowds
    17. • He visited the unusual that inspired his writing
    18. • In summer of 1844 he went to Italy
    19. • Upon his return he started editing a new radical newspaper
    20. • He founded a refuge for homeless women
    21. • He performed his works at public readings
    22. • Aged 44 he bought the house his father had pointed out at him years before
    23. • It symbolised achievement
    24. • Whilst he was organising a theatrical project, he met and was spellbound by a young actress, Ellen Ternan
    25. • This relationship caused the end of his marriage
    26. • In 1865, while Charles and Ellen were returning from Paris, their train crashed
    27. • Only at the last minute did he remember to retrieve from the wrecked carriage the final part of “Our Mutual Friend”
    28. • The incidence left Charles very shaken
    29. • For a while he kept his busy itinerary, but then his health began to fail
    30. • He died of a stroke in 1870, at the age of 58.
    31. • He is buried at Westminster Abbey.

    Τρίτη 28 Φεβρουαρίου 2012

    The Olympic Games Ideals

    This is a lesson about the OLYMPIC GAMES IDEALS

    Level: Intermediate to Upper Intermediate
    Age: Teenagers 
    Time: 60' 
    Aim: To raise awareness and warm up sts regarding the topic of Olympic Games; to practise speaking skills;  to practise relevant vocabulary


    •  Ask your students to comment the following quotes by Pierre de Coubertin :  

    The six colours, including the white background, represent the colours of all the world's flags... this is a true international emblem.”

    “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not winning but taking part; the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.”

    • Continue with a brainstorming activity on "Olympic Games Ideals". We can use a tool such as http://www.mindomo.com/    

     by Paschalis T.

    Some of them might be...
    fair play
    friendship
    honour
    glory
    peace
    moral integrity
    mix of mind, body and spirit 


    VS 

    corruption, 
    commercialism, 
    doping
    terrorism and war 



    •  Watch this stop motion film  OLYMPIC SPIRIT  created for the International Olympic Committee.
    •   Ask them to write down some key words while watching the film. Show it twice. Then try to associate these simple words with the Ideals discussed earlier.
    Associations
    View more documents from doragk

    •  Now Visit the site and discuss the vision and the mission of these important people
    http://www.olympicspirit.org/mission.php

     

    •    Ask your sts to prepare their own Little Book of Olympic Spirit either with quotes of famous people or with stories of inspirational athletes, representing each one of these ideals. 
    • This is an end product to be finished upon completion of the whole project entitled "Olympic Games"  of which this lesson is only the introduction.

    Τρίτη 14 Φεβρουαρίου 2012

    Am I on the right track? : Getting Feedback from my Students

    It has been argued that ‘real’ school improvement takes place when emphasis is put on the classroom level with a strong focus upon pedagogy and learning (Harris, 2003). Modification of classroom practice is one of the conditions that guarantee effective educational development and enhanced pedagogical outcomes.
    Teacher development, collaborative ways of working and classroom research are the means to achieve this goal. One of the methodology tools that can be used in classroom research is learner feedback.
    Here is a questionnaire I created for my teenage students. The benefit of online questionnaires is that the data are analysed automatically, so teachers can save valuable time!

    Harris, A. (2003) Behind the classroom door: the challenge of organizational and pedagogical change. Journal of Educational Change Volume 4, 4, 369-382
    http://www.springerlink.com/content/rj140q7068385638/


    http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/transform/teachers/teacher-development-tools/action-research

    http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/continuing-professional-development-intro


    Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool.

    Τρίτη 31 Ιανουαρίου 2012

    Ancient Greece and the Olympic Games



    by Artiola K.


    An excellent site created by BBC containing facts, quizzes and games about 
    Ancient Greece and the Olympic Games.

    The Olympic Games Quiz (BBC)

    Another page containing animation about the History of the Olympic Games
    is the

    History of the Olympic Games

    created by the British Museum.

    Both ideal for a general introduction to a CLIL lesson (history and language)
    or as support material for THINK TEEN 2
    (advanced), unit 3, lesson 9 "...Let the Games Begin!

    Σάββατο 28 Ιανουαρίου 2012

    Visualising Songs

    When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs.  
    When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence. 
    ~Ansel Adams



    Visualising Songs?


    Why?

    Because pictures succeed where words fail.
    Because it's authentic, motivating, fun and engaging for teenagers.
    Because teachers thus cater for multiple intelligences.
    Because it is one of the most stimulating kinds of homework.
    Because songs contain lexis and grammar aspects for which further practice is needed.

    How?

    The simplest way would be to produce Powerpoint Presentations including
    text and pictures. However, posters containing sts' drawings are also acceptable.
    Windows Movie Maker could be used by sts with advanced digital skills.
    Thus even learning challenged students can get actively involved using their imagination
    and creating their own files.

    What?

    What songs do I choose?

    You can select a variety according to their topic, grammar focus, time of year etc.

    Alternatively you can choose them according to the skill you would like to focus on, eg. pick a song with beautiful imagery (eg "What a wonderful world") to practice listening comprehension and create files containing only photos and drawings.
    If you want to focus on reading comprehension for instance, choose one like "Hurricane" (Bob Dylan) and
    check the sts' understanding first in a non-verbal context. Then they can even produce their own stories, first visually, then in written.
    You may also wish to go the other way around and show your students a visualisation without lyrics as a prompt to produce their own song, poem and practice writing/speaking.
    The possibilities are endless..

    Here you can have a look at my students' work while exploring the theme of love and forgiveness




     



    Κυριακή 22 Ιανουαρίου 2012

    What it takes to be a winner-Listening Activity (part I)

    Original Activities produced on the occasion of the 2012 Olympic Games

    Level: pre-intermediate
    Learners: teenagers
    Time: 6-7'
    Topic: Character Qualities
    Aim: Revise Vocabulary - Personality traits