Here are some great activities from Project Censored: CENSORSHIP GUIDE FOR TEACHERS | Project Censored CENSORSHIP GUIDE FOR TEACHERS12 Ways To Use Project Censored In Your Classroom from 「Challenging Big Media News And Censorship」 in the ACME Activities Guide (http://www.acmecoalition.org/) 1. 「News」 and 「Censorship」: Beginning with definitions can be helpful. Have students define 「news,」 and [...]
Posts under ‘Activities’
What does your community need?
This invention is incredibly cool. When can I get a hand-held version? This article and the invention about which it was written could stimulate discussion and group activity related to how science might improve one’s own community. “Given unlimited X, how could you improve Y.” Such a discussion might start with a brainstorm of the [...]
You be the judge
I’m getting increasingly interested in activities that require a discussion of values, community, and society. Related issues are generally ripe discussion topics. The following is from today’s news in Taiwan, and I’m wondering how such a variety of crimes (or otherwise objectionable actions) could serve as the basis for an activity. Can a group be [...]
You’ve got tweets
Here’s a timely article that will remain timely in the sense that technology use will continue to change at an increasingly fast pace. A number of lessons could be based on this article, from simple reading and discussion to a class creating and taking its own survey. It would also make a good listening activity [...]
Ready-to-go role plays
Yahoo sure puts a lot of banal flotsam on its site, and the following ‘article’ is just that. But, it does provide the material for some light-hearted yet useful role play in the ESL classroom. Below are six situations with some relevant dialogue. Students could fill in the blanks with their own material. For example, [...]
Global warming discussion
This article could provide the basis for somewhat of a provocative discussion on what one is willing to sacrifice for the sake of helping the environment. Print Story: Polluting pets: the devastating impact of man’s best friend – Yahoo! News Polluting pets: the devastating impact of man’s best friendby Isabelle Toussaint and Jurgen Hecker Isabelle [...]
How unsafe is safe enough for you?
The headlines assuring us that vaccines are safe are large, front page, and numerous. One might think that somebody is trying to convince us of something. But this story was somewhat buried in the on-line press. This article could supplement a discussion on students’ feelings about the safety of vaccines and their health care in [...]
Let students sleep for homework
This article might provide the basis for a fun, if not scientifically valid, activity: Want to Boost Your Memory? Try Sleeping on It – Yahoo! News Want to Boost Your Memory? Try Sleeping on ItTime.com By ADI NARAYAN Adi Narayan – Mon Nov 30, 10:00 am ET Can’t remember where you put your keys? Here’s [...]
Winning Ig Nobel Prize research not so improbable
I was excited to learn that the designers for a bra that doubles (or quadruples?) as a face mask won an Ig Nobel Prize. Still, this is not at all improbable research, so I’m wondering if it was indeed a legitimate contender. During the SARS outbreak in East Asia, stocks of face masks were depleted, [...]
Discussing misconceptions about life in the US
I’m often surprised by some of the misconceptions my students from Taiwan and China have about the US. They often have wildly, usually media-induced, positive ideas about the standard of living and general levels economic, health, and social security. Articles such as the one below can be used to stimulate discussion about how and why [...]