The Middle Ages and its castles

People use the phrase “Middle Ages” to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 AD and the beginning of the Reinassance in the 14^th century. Many scholars call this era the “medieval period” instead. “Middle Ages, they say, incorrectly implies that the period is an insignificant blip sandwiched between two much more important epochs.

The phrase “Middle Ages” tells us more about the Renaissance that followed it than it does about the era itself. Starting around the 14th century, European thinkers, writers and artists began to look back and celebrate the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Accordingly, they dismissed the period after the fall of Rome as a “Middle” or even “Dark” age in which no scientific accomplishments had been made, no great art produced, no great leaders born. This way of thinking about the era in the “middle” of the fall of Rome and the rise of the Renaissance prevailed until relatively recently. However, today’s scholars note that the era was as complex and vibrant as any other.

(History.com)

During the Middle Ages many castles were built in Europe and in the Middle East. A medieval castle was the fortified home of an important person, a lord or king. They ranged from simple wooden enclosures to vast stone palaces. From the castle the lord could control his land and keep his family and treasure safe from rivals while he was at war.

Now surf the following interactive map I made by Cacoo and Thinglink. Move your cursor over the image and some links will appear. Click on the image to enlarge.

The European Union

The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 28 European countries that together cover much of the continent.

The EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries that trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict.

The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Since then, a huge single market has been created and continues to develop towards its full potential. 

(from https://europa.eu)

Surf the following interactive image I made using Cacoo and Thinglink. Clic on the imag to enlarge.

BREXIT UPDATES

Shakespeare for young learners - A webquest and some resources

William Shakespeare was born in 1564 in the Tudor England at the time of Queen Elisabeth I. He is one of the world's greatest writers. He wrote plays for the theatre but he composed sonnets, too.

At the beginning of his career he went to London  to be an actor, but he suddenly became famous for writing plays.

Nowadays Shakespeare plays are performed all over the world. 

Shakespeare died 400 years ago, on April 23rd 1616.

Surf the following mindmap I made with Cacoo  and Thinglink. Then answer the questions.

Click here to open and enlarge.

1. In 2016 England, and all the world, will commemorate 400 years since the death of the Bard. Can you list any of the events and activities planned on this occasion?
2. What is the "Complete Walk"?
3. Where and when was Shakespeare born? 
4. Who were Shakespeare' s parents? 
5. When did he get married? 
6. When did he move to London to begin his theatrical career?
7. Where did he die and  where was he buried?
8. Where does the name "Globe" come from?
9. Was the Church happy with theatre performances? What did the Church call the theatre?
10. What was the name of Shakespeare' s acting company?
11.  Describe briefly the structure of the Globe.
12. Where there any actresses in the Elisabethan theatre?

Some resources

Shakespeare invented a lot of words and expressions that are still used today all around the world! Here you can find some of the most famous Shakespeare' s quotes:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/w/william_shakespeare.html http://absoluteshakespeare.com/trivia/quotes/quotes.htm http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/shakespeare

Would you like to perform any Shakespeare' s play in your school? Below you can find some free scripts, adapted and revised, for students. Enjoy!
http://www.shakespearefreelibrary.com/scripts.html

Blogging in the classroom - after two years I weigh the pros and cons of my "teacher blog" (...and create a "students blog")

I have been a blogger for nearly two years. 
I use my educational blog The Travelling Teachers  almost every day in my classes and my students are asked to use it at home.

I have already written on this blog about the advantages of blogging in the classrom and  I propose again my Popplet mind-map about it below.

Click on the image to open it

After two years I can say that my students are more engaged than before, they are enthusiastic about using my blog both at home and in the classroom. 

Blogs support writing, reading, listening and even speaking skills. 

In the classroom (blended learning) we read some posts, translate them and comment on them. We watch some videos, listen to some songs or surf the Net through the suggested links. 
At home students can enter their reflections on posted questions, publish their own questions and share opinions. They are sometimes asked to study a particular topic on the blog at home and relate to the classmates and to the teacher about it in the classroom. (flipped learning).

By blogging, we also reach some important goals concerning technology. Students exercise their digital citizenship and understand some ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to technology; they also learn to use some technology tools to increase their productivity and creativity; they improve their knowledge of other disciplines through the foreign language (CLIL); they use the English language both within and beyond the school and, in the end, they start becoming life-long learners by using the foreign language for personal enjoyment and enrichment. 

But I realised that something was missing... 
Students did not willingly leave their comments on the posts. 

An educational blog should improve the students' way of expressing themselves.  In fact being published, by leaving their comments, should be an incentive for many students. Even the most shy students should feel empowered and motivated by expressing themselves better in a written discussion than in front of a class.

But, when asked to leave their comments on the posts or to answer some questions in a written form, my students felt intimidated. Absurdly, they preferred writing them on their exercise-book because they were afraid of my blog visibility (my students are young learners, unaccostumed to social networks and impractical in using social forums).

How to solve this problem? I really wanted my students to write more. I decided to create a students blog to make the learners more active, more self-confident and more and centered on their own learning process.

I created this image with Cacoo.

The Michelangelo English Club was born, on an experimental basis, a month ago.
It is meant to be a blog for the students of my classes, it will contain all their projects, works, reports and researches. The posts will entirely be written by the students. Learners will gradually feel more confident in writing posts and leaving comments because this blog will be their own, they will feel "at home".
Of course we will continue to use my blog, as well. The "teacher blog" and the "students blog" will be closely related and... we will see what happens!

Saint Valentine' s Day activities

February, 14th is Saint Valentine' s Day! On this day cards, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones.

But do you know where this festival comes from? Are you ready to say or write something special to the people you care about?

Clicking on the following Thinglink image (that I previously created with Cacoo), you will find some useful activities to get prepared for that day.

• You can read some information and watch some videos about St. Valentine' s Day origins 
• You can learn some useful vocabulary and play a vocabulary game
• You can listen to some hints on how to make a perfect Valentine' s gift
• You can learn to write a great Valentine' s card
• You can learn some love poems for your boyfriend or girlfriend (but also for a member of your family or a friend)
• You can read some love poems written by the greatest British and American poets
• You can have fun by taking some quizzes!

Now it' s up to you! 

Show your love to the people you care about!

Never too young to remember - International Holocaust Remembrance Day

“If we bear all this suffering and if there are still Jews left, 

when it is over, then Jews, instead of being doomed, 

will be held up as an example.” 

Anne Frank

January 27th is the International Holocaust Remembrance Day

On 27 January 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, was liberated by the Soviet troops during World War II.

What is World War II?
http://history.parkfieldict.co.uk/world-war-ii/why-did-world-war-ii-start

Learn more about the Remembrance Day at the following websites:

The United Nations site:
http://www.un.org/en/holocaustremembrance/

The Unesco site:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/commemoration-in-memory-of-the-victims-of-the-holocaust/

Over one million children under the age of sixteen 

died in the Holocaust...

Children of the Holocaust

Click on the images below to open my Blendspace lessons about the Holocaust children and Anne Frank.

Anne Frank - A graphic biography

Anne Frank

Anne Frank - the only known video

STUDENTS' TASK

Click on the image below and surf the links.
Read and listen to some excerpts from Anne's diary, then take a quiz.

“Monsters exist, but they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.”

Primo Levi

A Christmas Carol: a flipped lesson.

Every year at Christmas time I talk about A Christmas Carol in my classes for many different reasons. It is a wonderful Christmas tale and it allows to study some aspects of British literature, as well. We usually watch the last Disney movie and we read some excerpts from the book.
This year I thought of a flipped lesson. Students have to gather information and do some research about the tale before watching the movie or reading the book. Then, they will discuss the topics concerning the novella, the author and the Victorian Era in their classroom. As a teacher, I will just provide the learning material, suggest the websites to surf outside the classroom and guide my students to apply their knowledge during class activities.
As usual, I prepared a lesson with the help of some digital tools. I created a mindmap with Cacoo and I made it interactive with Thinglink.
If you move the cursor over the image below, some icons will appear. Click on them to open the links. You will find some information about Charles Dickens, the main characters of his novella and some fun activities.

The following is a deepening on the Victorian Era for more advanced students. I prepared this mindmap with Popplet. You will find some videos, links and a PowerPoint presentation. 

Click on the following symbol on the image to enlarge:

Inside the classroom the students will discuss what they have learned outside the classroom. They will actively and interactively apply their knowledge.

Some ideas for class discussion:

• What are the moral lessons in this story?
• Describe how Scrooge changes during the night of Christmas Eve.
• Would a visit from the three spirits of the tale impact your life? How?
• How would you describe the Victorian Era?
• Can we see any typical aspects of the Victorian Age in the novella? 
• What is Dickens' position towards the social problems of his era?

Let's talk about the UK (still with Scotland)

At the beginning of the new school year teachers usually explain to their students what they are going to study. Sometimes efl teachers not only teach grammar but also British culture, so one of the first cultural topics they discuss with their students are the geography of the UK and its form of government. Here you can find an interactive mindmap, a digital poster and a  collection of useful websites, just to simplify the work.

Click on the Glogster digital poster below, you will find general information about the United Kingdom and some videos.

Now take a look at my Cacoo mindmap below about the UK form of government. I have edited it with Thinglink to make it interactive. Pass your cursor over the image, you will see that some links will appear.

You can also click on the following link to enlarge the above image:

http://www.thinglink.com/scene/568385850161758208

SCOTTISH REFERENDUM

Last September, 18th Scottish people voted for Scotland independence. The question they were asked to answer was "“Should Scotland be an independent country?” The majority of voters answered "NO". Click on the following link to learn more about the referendum: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/scottish-independence-referendum/about; 

then watch the video below from The Guardian.

Scottish referendum explained for non-Brits

Here you can see the referendum results.

If you want more general information about the Uk government, the Queen and the Royal Family, open my Blendspace lesson.

STUDENTS' TASK

Use Cacoo or some other mindmapping tool to draw your own mindmap about the Scottish referendum (what the referendum process was; what "yes"  and "no" voters wanted, etc.)

"Establishing lasting peace is the work of education"

"Establishing lasting peace

 is the work of education"

 Maria Montessori

In this hard time for peace I suggest some activities to talk about love and tolerance.

Listening

Listen to the following songs about peace:

"Playing for change" songs bring together musicians from around the world to talk about peace and to fight war.

Gimme Shelter - Playing For Change 

Love Is All - Playing For Change

Imagine - Playing for Change 

War/No More Trouble - Playing for Change

A Better Place | Playing For Change

In the above video there are not subtitles. Can you understand what they are saying? 
Write down all the words or sentences you can catch.

Some other classics

One love - Bob Marley

John Lennon - Give peace a chance

U2 - Peace on Earth

Writing

Answer the following questions:

• What do you think about war?
• How do you think conflicts should be solved?
• Do you know anyone who has fought in a war?
• What war has your country fought in the recent past? What do you know about that?
• Do you think that war always solves problems?
• Which is the best way of achieving peace in your opinion?
• Conflicts are around us everyday (in our family, school, etc.). How do you respond to conflicts?
• Do you know any important people who promoted peace and non-violence?

Now have a look at the following diagram I made for you. Are there any other words that you would use to define "war" and "peace"? Use them to compose some sentences.

https://cacoo.com/lang/en/

Speaking

Form two groups of students: one group is in favour of force and war to resolve conflicts, the other is in favour of peace and diplomacy. You are on a TV talk show, make a debate!

Reading

Read about some famous people who promoted world peace in their life, then write your impressions:

http://www.biographyonline.net/people/world-peace.html
http://listverse.com/2011/06/05/top-10-peaceful-men/

http://worldpeace.org.au/messages.asp

http://www.biography.com/people/groups/nobel-peace-prize-winners

http://www.britannica.com/nobelprize/article-9487436

  “If we don’t end war, war will end us.”

HG Wells

Poetry in EFL classes

Today I would like to talk about poetry. Could it be useful in an EFL class?  As usual, I try to imagine some activities that involve the use of different digital tools.

What's poetry? 
At the following link you can find some great definitions (I made the above word cloud from some of these definitions using Tagul):
http://poetinthecity.wordpress.com/2011/03/16/what-is-poetry-50-definitions-and-counting/



Why study poetry in an ESL classroom? 
Poetry can help you reach many goals. Take a look at the following map I created with Cacoo:

Click to enlarge my diagram

Some links about the different kinds of poetry

Different types of poetry:
https://www.youngwriters.co.uk/glossary-poetry-types
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/learning/glossary-terms?category=forms-and-types

Examples of different types of poetry:
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/types-of-poetry-examples.html

Forms of poetry:
http://www.poeticterminology.net/index.htm

What about writing a poem?

Watch the video

Where to begin? Have a look at this diagram I made with Cacoo.

Click to enlarge my map

Some more tips

Some useful figures of speech:
http://esl.about.com/cs/reading/a/blpoetry.htm

To find rhymes:
http://www.rhymezone.com/

Let's practise!

Magnetic Poetry is a funny tool to write poems. You have to choose some words to create your masterpiece! Try it! Watch my example at the following link:
http://play.magneticpoetry.com/poem/Original/kit/15415/?h=8444d213e9cd688d306fa98d2aa7ca79

You could also make a poetry magazine where you could collect all your poems! Joomag is a great web tool.

Have a look at my example by clicking on the picture below:

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words."

Robert Frost