in the mother tongue. However, the children can be required to report the results in the target language. In addition, it teaches cultural awareness and hopefully fosters tolerance and
understanding of why things are done differently around the world.
2 Telling time is not the same around the world. Different cultures have varying approaches to recording what day it is, what month, etc. Looking at world calendars gives us a window into a different culture and generates lots and lots of language. See ‘Time and date’ in section 7, page 118, for some excellent websites.
LEVEL AGE TIME AIMS
IN CLASS
3.5 Holidays around the world
____ P re-in term ed iate ____ 10 and above
60 m in u tes +
To read and interpret a calendar.
Language: Days, months, years. Names of key holidays/festivals, present simple tense (or past depending on level), ^ -questions
(when corresponding with a partner).
1 Explain to the children that just as we have different calendars, countries have different holidays, too. Some are religious, like Christmas, Ramadan, etc., while others are national, like Independence Day, etc.
2 Write the following web address on the board:
http: IIwww. earthcalendar. net!
3 Tell the children to go in groups to the computer and access this site. Show them how to navigate and let them experiment freely for a few minutes. Circulate between the groups to make sure they understand how the site works.
4 Now ask each group to select a country. Write the names of the countries up on the board.
5 While the children are still at the computers ask them questions:
-A r e there any holidays in your country in March? in April? in June?
6 Have the children print out the yearly holiday calendars.
7 Bring the groups together and have them create a combined calendar for all the countries being investigated. Ask the children:
-A re there any countries that share the same holidays?
- Do some countries have different holidays on the same day?
6 0 WEB SEARCH ACTIVITIES
8 Choose a holiday that particularly interests the children. Look for partners in a country that celebrates this holiday or festival. Have the children create a set o f questions to send to their partners.
(See section 7, ‘Finding partners’, page 110, and section 2,
‘Communication activities’, pages 36-53.)
VARIATION 1_______ Choose one holiday or festival that is shared in many countries, for instance, Easter. Compare how the holiday is celebrated in each place.
VARIATION 2_______ Ifyou cannot find suitable partners, you can conduct a web search on your own and pre-select sites you feel your children will
understand which describe these holidays.
COMMENTS________ This activity builds on activity 3.4. Children can now select a country and find out about its holidays and perhaps research their origins and the customs associated with them. The very practical website recommended in step 2 allows you to search for holidays by many criteria such as date, country, and religion, all in one clear, easy place.
LEVEL AGE
3.6 World travel
In term ed iate and above 10 and above
TIME AIMS
MATERIALS PREPARATION
IN CLASS
90 m in u tes to set up a ctivity and th en ongoin g.
To read itin era ries and tim eta b les and find in form ation about d estin ation s.
Language: Depends on scope of the task.
Worksheet 3.6, ‘We’d like to go to ... ’.
Before class, pre-select a travel website which includes hotel and flight booking. See ‘Travel’ in section 7, page 118.
1 Explain to your class that each week (or month) they will go on a journey to a different city or country. Let the children choose where they want to go by popular vote, or hang up a map of the world on the wall and blindfold one child and play ‘Pin the plane on the city’.
2 Once you have established a destination tell the children that there is a lot to think about when taking a trip. Write travel in the middle of the board and draw a circle round the word. Ask children to create a mind-map of possible things to consider.
W E B S EAR CH AC TI VI T I ES 61
VARIATION
COMMENTS
3 Once the children have come up with some ideas, write the following topics on the board:
Transportation: How do you get there? Can you take a train, fly?
How long will it take? How far away is it?
Where can you stay? W hat are the best hotels in town?
Weather?W hat are the average temperatures? W hat is the five-day forecast? W hat do you need to pack?
Typical food
W hat can you do or see?
4 Divide the children into groups and assign them one of the topics to investigate. Distribute the worksheet and a list of web
addresses for them to look for the information.
5 Come together as a whole class and let each group report their findings.
Create a web page on the country in question. (See section 4, ‘Web creation activities5, pages 85-100.)
This activity provides an excellent opportunity to integrate many of the Internet skills that children may have learned working on other related activities in this book. It is probably best done after you have completed activity 3.8, ‘H ow ’s the w eather’ and activity 3.11,
‘D istances’.
3.7
LEVEL AGE TIME AIMS
MATERIALS
PREPARATION
IN CLASS
Welcome to the Children’s World Congress!
P re-in term ed ia te and above 10 and above
90 m in u tes +
To com p ile b asic in form ation about a country. To retrieve, understand and relate travel inform ation.
Language: Dates and times, zu/z-questions, present simple tense, geographical terms.
Slips of paper with countries written on them and a small bag to keep them in. An atlas or map of the world.
Select a travel website and learn how to use it. See ‘Travel’ in section 7, page 118, for some examples.
1 Split the class up into two groups. Tell the one group that they have been nam ed delegates to the C hildren’s World Congress.
Explain that children from around the world will m eet to talk about things im portant to them.
6 2 WEB SEARCH ACTIVITIES
2 Tell the other children that they are travel agents who will help them get there. Pair one delegate with one travel agent. Tell them the congress will be held in ... (your choice).
3 Ask each delegate to choose a country that they will represent by taking a strip of paper from your bag.
4 Ask the children to find which country they are from on a world map. Help them if they are completely lost.
- Sort the countries out by continent. (This can be a movement activity.)
- Put the countries in alphabetical order.
5 Have the delegates go online and look for information on the country they selected. Some questions could be:
- Can you find the flag of your country?
-W h a t is the national currency?
-W h a t is the capital city?
-W h a t is the official language?
6 While the delegates are collecting information on their countries show the travel agents how to use the Internet travel site you have chosen.
7 Tell the delegates to go to their travel agents and arrange
transportation and hotel accommodation at the conference site.
8 Print out the itinerary.
VARIATION 1_______ Use a currency converter to translate the cost of the trip into the delegates’ local currency. See activity 3.10, ‘Currency converter’.
VARIATION 2_______ Organize a real Children’s World Congress as a collaborative
project and invite children from around the world to participate and talk about issues important to them. Ask the children what they would talk about at such a congress. You can do this quite easily by creating a discussion group for this purpose. With the polling function, you can quantify members’ opinions on questions the children choose to create.
3.8 How’s the weather?
LEVEL______________ E lem en ta ry and above AGE________________ 8 and above