News, discussions, role plays

This is our last class together before we leave (8 students and 1 teacher) for Uganda on Friday.

Everyone is now in a working group for the project (see Friday's blog) except Karim and Simon Leek.
I suggest they work together.

Here are the other groups:-

Sana, Linnea, Clara, Hannes
Gustav, Jonathan, Linus, Erik H
Markus B, Johan, Simon Lund, Jonas
Linn, Ulrika, Sofia, Sophia
Gustav W, Lukas
Elin, Johanna
Frida, Gustaf E, Zandrina, Daniel
Make sure you meet and plan today

We start off today by checking out two online news sites:
www.bbc.com/news

and 

edition.cnn.com

There is a huge difference in the focus on what they report on.
Why do you think this is?

The rest of the class we will work on the theme of Heroes and Heroines...

A short role play first:
a)You are reporter interviewing someone who has just done a heroic deed
b) You just did something heroic 


There are three texts about this topic in our text book (English C)

Dust of Life (p.39)
Heroes in the rubble  (p.45)
The Feather Men  (p.56)

Here are some personal comments having read two of them:-

Dust of life
Listen to the text HERE
Pre-Reading Activity
 Liz Thomas was only a year older than most of you are when she left everything that was familiar and secure to work with war victims in Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam War (around 1973).

Discuss what can make a person do as she did. In what circumstances would you do the same?

Comment
This text is a huge challenge to our lifestyle  based on comfort and self-indulgence. It really asks the question as to what is truly important in life. We need heroes and heroines (not heroin!) to shake us up and wake us up!

Alternative title
Leaving it all behind

The heroes in the rubble
Listen to the text HERE
Pre-Reading Activity
It's now 14 years this September since the events of 11th September took place. I remember walking past a classroom in school and seeing a student stare at the TV screen. I thought it was a movie. The whole thing was surreal. I remember watching the rescue service personnel running and trying to save the victims.

Comment
I thought immediately about Shakespeare's quote from "Twelfth Night"
Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them

If  Liz in "Dust of Life" achieves "greatness" then the rescue workers of this text "have greatness thrust upon them".
The article is written like a TV script offering cameo pictures of the aftermath of the 9/11 attack. The aim is to highlight the bravery of the rescue workers and, in my view, it succeeds.

Alternative title
Above and beyond the call of duty



Now do the same with "The Feather Men"
Listen to the text HERE
Before you read the text- Pre-Reading activity
a comment after and an alternative title for the text

Mail your answers to me!

Now work in small groups.

I want you to discuss "What makes a hero/heroine?"
Make a list of criteria for being able to call someone a hero.

Decide on ONE well-known person who you can agree on in the group who can be called a hero/heroine.

Every year in Sweden there is a gala for "Everyday heroes"
Why are heroes important for us? Write a reflection.

A lot of people would consider someone like Kristian Gidlund a hero. Would you agree in your group?

Finally there are national heroes:-

Gustav Wasa- Sweden
William Wallace- Scotland
Robin Hood- England (or maybe Winston Churchill)
Nelson Mandela (South Africa)
Charlemagne (France)
In Jamaica on 20th October every year they have a "National Heroes' Day".

Try to find out something about some of these people..
Why were they heroes?

Send in all your material on a joint document clearly marked with your names