BREAKTHROUGHS WEB LINKS
Introduction
http://www.one-act-plays.com Website that provides free scripts for short plays of three to ten minutes. Plays can be searched by comedies, dramas, playwrights and cast size. These are an excellent source of speaking practice. You will find similar sites by searching for “one act plays” or “short monologues” in a search engine. Most plays and monologues are free to use as in-class exercises although you may need to contact the author for permission to hold public performances. Check the details on each website.
Helpful Internet Resources
http://language.massey.ac.nz/staff/awl/ Averil Coxhead at Massey University Background information and AWL http://web.uvic.ca/~gluton/awl/ Gerry’s Vocabulary Teacher—Vocabulary Exercises for the AWL http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/awlhighlighter.htm The AWL Highlighter Paste any text of up to 2400 characters at one time into the text box to highlight AWL words in the text. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~alzsh3/acvocab/awlgapmaker.htm The AWL Gapmaker Paste any text of up to 2400 characters at one time into the text box to create a gap exercise for AWL words in the text. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teachingenglish/radio/kotn.shtml Radio series for English Language teachers
Unit 1
http://www.collins.co.uk/corpus/CorpusSearch.aspx Online concordancer http://www.climatecrisis.net/trailer/ Trailer for An Inconvenient Truth http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1023 Interview on CBC’s The Hour with Al Gore and George Stroumboulopoulos http://www.theweathernetwork.com/climatechange/ David Suzuki talking about carbon emissions and climate change http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=10488 The Heartland Institute’s stance on global warming
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BREAKTHROUGHS TEACHER’S RESOURCE
http://www.davidsuzuki.org/NatureChallenge/What_is_it/ David Suzuki’s Nature Challenge http://www.davidsuzuki.org David Suzuki’s website
Helpful Internet Resources
Information about natural disasters and preparing yourself to survive these disasters can be found on the Internet. Keyword search: natural disaster preparedness http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/ A site with lots of information about disaster preparedness. http://www.pep.bc.ca/index.html A Canadian site giving information on all types of natural disasters. http://www.gdrc.org/uem/disasters/disenvi/intro.html Supplemental reading on Environmental Management and Disaster Reduction http://www.unisdr.org/eng/public_aware/world_camp/2006-2007/wdrc-2006-2007.htm World Disaster reduction Campaign Keyword Search: global warming http://www.climatehotmap.org/ Climate map and information about global warming world wide
Unit 2
Helpful Internet Resources
Note: Please alert your students that many sites advertising “psychics” are commercial sites and require payment. Avoid these sites. There are numerous non-commercial sites of interest, depending on which area of the paranormal you are interested in. Students should never pay for anything on these sites nor enter their email addresses anywhere on a site. Key word search: paranormal / parapsychology / psychic / astrology / ghosts / UFO Please explain that you are not endorsing these sites or the stories submitted to them and that the existence of the paranormal is a controversial. Visits to these sites should be in the spirit of entertainment and fun. http://www.coldspot.org/Canadian_Ghost_Stories.html#STORYOFTHEMONTH Read people’s monthly submissions to True Canadian Ghost stories. The entries are short and can generate good class discussion.
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WEB LINKS
http://paranormal.about.com/library/blstories.htm Your True Tales. Organzied by date, students can read tales of the paranormal that users have submitted. http://toptenparanormalvideos.vodpod.com/ VodPod—Top Ten Paranormal Videos. Watch updated short video clips that claim to show paranormal experiences. Have students watch the videos, discuss whether they think the claims are true or not, and give their reasons. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/horoscopes Daily horoscope readings from the Globe and Mail newspaper. http://www.west-meet-east.com/horoscope.htm Chinese horoscope. Read about the animal signs of the Chinese horoscope, determine your own animal sign and characteristics as well as elemental attributions. http://www.vedicprediction.com/vedic-astrology.html Read about Indian (Vedic) astrology and its beliefs.
Unit 3
http://www.pvsnet.com/Nile%20Page/Link%20Pages/nile_photo_gallery.html Pasquale Scaturro’s website http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=823491525 A short clip of Pasquale Scaturro and Gordon Brown commenting on their trip at various points on the Nile. http://www.nilefilm.com/MysteryNile.wmv Video trailer for Mystery of the Nile http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1854297 Story and podcast interview with Pasquale Scaturro after rafting the Nile. http://www.will.uiuc.edu/media/aftmag070905.mp3 Podcast of interview with Pasquale Scaturro.
Helpful Internet Resources
Key word search: travel / city or country name http://www.cityguide.travel-guides.com/ Travel guides and information about cities around the world. http://www.fodors.com/ Fodor’s travel guide and online trip planner. Key word search: survival / wilderness http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/survival.htm Rules for survival and recommendations for survival kit. http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/survival/basic.htm
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BREAKTHROUGHS TEACHER’S RESOURCE
Basic survival guide including instructions on building various shelters. http://outside.away.com/outside/features/200409/top_survival_stories_1.html Real life survival stories in various settings. http://www.equipped.org/srvstoriestoc.htm True life survival stories and the lessons they learned.
Key word search: Nile / rafting / Scaturro http://www.nilefilm.com/ Site has an interactive map of the voyage and when you click on destinations, you can read the account of the explorers as well as see pictures Key word search: hike / travel blog / backpacking http://www.besthike.com/ Site describing best hikes around the world. http://www.thebackpacker.net/travelguides/index.htm Guide to backpacking around the world.
Unit 4
Helpful Internet Resources
Key word search: cross-cultural communications / socio¬linguistics / ESL http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/country_insights-en.asp?lvl=8 Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. This site allows you to access and read about countries around the world, including communication styles and conversations of the culture. http://www.cp-pc.ca/english/index.html Citizenship and Immigration Canada. This site allows you to access and read about countries around the world, including information about cross-cultural communication. http://www.maec.org/cross/ Cross-cultural communication (E-book)—A good reference for teachers.
Speaking
http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/presentations.htm Business English and Public Speaking. A good site that includes clear explanations of the elements of a good oral presentation.
Listening
http://www.esl-lab.com/ Randall’s Cyber Listening. A rich website with many graded listening activities for a variety of contexts. All activities include vocabulary and comprehension exercises.
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WEB LINKS
Reading
http://literacynet.org/cnnsf/archives.html Literacy Net. Includes a variety of reading and video exercises with vocabulary, prereading, reading and post-reading activities.
Writing
http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/tips/essay/index.htm Writing Den—Essay writing. Useful and clear descriptions of the parts of an essay, how to write an essay, and kinds of essays.
Unit 5
Helpful Internet Resources
Key Word Search: science fiction / inventions http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/guides_index.html Study guides for various Science Fiction novels and movies. http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/ctnlistPubDate.asp Timelines of science fiction inventions http://www.britishcouncil.org/languageassistant-robots.htm Lesson plan ideas about potential of domestic robots http://www.my-english-courses.com/projetseleves/scienceFi/total2.htm Science Fiction Project—Focus on robotics
Key Word Search: bionics http://www.healthcentral.com/video/408/2581.html Videos related to bionics and remote surgeries
Unit 6
Helpful Internet Resources
Key word search: critical thinking / problem solving / debating / intelligence / puzzles
Critical Thinking
http://learnweb.harvard.edu/alps/thinking/index.cfm The Thinking Classroom: A resource for teachers who want to promote critical thinking. http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Halvorsen-CriticalThinking.html An article on promoting critical thinking in the ESL classroom.
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BREAKTHROUGHS TEACHER’S RESOURCE
http://www.insightassessment.com/pdf_files/rubric.pdf A rubric, created by Dr. Peter Facione and Dr. Noreen Facione, for evaluating critical thinking holistically. http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/sirs/6/cu11.html Teaching Thinking Skills. This resource shows some of the research about teaching thinking skills. http://www.criticalthinking.org/resources/articles/ A range of articles for teachers on teaching critical thinking. http://www.teach-nology.com/worksheets/critical_thinking/ This site has a variety of brain teasers and critical thinking activities.
Debating
http://www.webenglishteacher.com/debate.html Designed for mainstream high school classrooms, this site has links to information regarding teaching debating skills. http://www.englishclub.com/speaking/presentations.htm Key Steps to an Effective Presentation http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Krieger-Debate.html A guide for engaging ESL classes in debates over a six-class session. http://www.winona.edu/AIR/documents/classdebate.pdf http://mh034.k12.sd.us/classroom_debate_rubric.htm Classroom debate rubrics
Other Domains of Thinking
The following sites represent a variety of perspectives on development and intelligence. When exploring the ideas presented on these sites, be sure to tell students that the perspectives are still only theories, and should be considered critically. http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/index.htm This site contains information on the theory of multiple intelligences theory, as well as a free online MI test. http://www.officeport.com/edu/blooms.htm Introduction to Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational objectives http://faculty.plts.edu/gpence/html/kohlberg.htm Kohlberg’s theory of moral development—It is useful from a linguistic, critical thinking, and moral perspective to have students discuss some of the moral dilemmas Kohlberg presented as part of his developmental theory.
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WEB LINKS
Unit 7
Helpful Internet Resources
Because pop culture trends change very quickly, it’s best to use good search terms in search engines to find current information. Many pop culture sites are commercial sites which you will want to caution students about. Finally, much of what gets reported about pop culture is communicated in blogs. Make students aware of the reliability issues related to blogs. Key word search: pop culture trends [country] / pop culture trends [music,film, etc.] / computer usage trends / fashion trends around the world / world music http://www.thecoolhunter.net/ The Cool Hunter—an online magazine for fashion and design trends around the world http://web-japan.org/trends/arts/index.html Trends in Japan
Unit 8
CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) Activity Have students select a sport and then search to see if they can find a related sports idiom. One useful site is: http://www.idiomconnection.com/sports.html. Students could try using their idiom(s) in appropriate contexts.
Helpful Internet Resources
Key word search: sports,video http://sports.yahoo.com/ Overall sports site with video links. Key word search: Olympics; World Cup soccer; World Cup skiing http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/index_uk.asp Official site of the Olympic movement with information on past and future games. http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/ancient/index_uk.asp Video of the ancient Olympic games in cartoon style http://www.fifa.com/ Fifa’s official website with all new related to soccer and the World Cup http://www.wldcup.com/ World soccer news http://www.fis-ski.com/ International Federation of Skiing - official website
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BREAKTHROUGHS TEACHER’S RESOURCE
http://www.skiworldcup.org/ The history of the World Cup of Skiing and up to date news Key word search: extreme sports http://www.culture.ca/featuredarticle-articlepublie-e/extremesportssportsextremes_200702.html An overview of extreme winter sports in Canada http://www.extreme.com/ The extreme sports channel (Contains several video clips of extreme sports. http://www.xtsports.com/ Video clips of extreme sports. http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC030417/html/xgameshistory.html History, events and headlines about extreme sports
Unit 9
Helpful Internet Resources
Key word search: health food / organic / fast food http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php Canada’s Food Guide http://sic.conversationsnetwork.org/shows/detail3234.html Interview with John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods, about the future of organic food and agricultural sustainability http://www.naturespath.com/newsroom/podcast Podcasts about healthy eating and nutrition http://www.foxsearchlight.com/fastfoodnation/ Trailer for Fast Food Nation http://aceis.agr.ca/newintre.html Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Electronic Information site with links to agriculture, research and technology, publications, environment, education, inspection, acts and regulations, etc.
Reproducible 9.2 Background Information
http://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/goals/en/index.html http://www.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB113/eeb113r7.pdf
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WEB LINKS
Unit 10
Helpful Internet Resources
There are some good sites for this unit, but it is most helpful to preview them and design projects or tasks for students before sending them to the sites. This is especially important for the sites on human development. Key word search: storytelling / children’s stories / aging / youth / adolescence / teenagers / demographics / life expectancy http://www.storylineonline.net/ A site intended for young audiences, but great for ESL learners with a number of children’s stories read aloud by some famous actors. The site has streamed videos, the stories are illustrated, and there is a closed captioning option so that listeners can read along with the story as it is read. There are also pre-reading activities. http://bygosh.com/childrensclassics.htm This site contains free online illustrated children’s classics such as “The Three Little Pigs,” “The Princess and the Pea,” and Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes. Each story also has a summary. http://www.poetry-online.org/childrens_poetry_resource_index.htm A collection of children’s poetry, most of it humourous. The site includes Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky,” T. S. Elliot’s “The Old Gumbie Cat,” and Jonathan Swift’s “Stella’s Birthday.” http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/ca/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd02.htm Stages of development. Designed as a guide for foster parents, this site is published by the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. It ends with a chart where students can learn about physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and moral development for youth to 19 years of age. http://www.cdc.gov/lifestages/ Published by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this site offers interesting articles accessed by clicking different life stages. http://money.aol.ca/personal-finance/calculators/life-expectancy/ Life Expectancy Calculator. This is a commercial site about investing money, but it contains a fun and free life expectancy calculator. Please emphasize that this will not predict how long you will live, but the questions illustrate the factors that can influence your life expectancy. Have students take the calculator and follow up with a discussion on healthy lifestyle, predictors of longevity and the value of such a measurement tool as this. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html CIA World Fact Book. This website ranks countries in terms of life expectancy.
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