BELLE - A MOVIE & A TRUE STORY FROM THE 18th CENTURY

Belle: The mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral is raised by her aristocratic great-uncle in 18th century England.

TEENAGE ACTIVISTS THAT PROVE GRETA THUNBERG IS NOT ALONE

Known for being hormonal, moody and apathetic, teenagers don’t always get the best reputation.

But the recent rise to prominence of 16-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg has smashed all such stereotypes and made people of all ages take notice of what she has to say.

But she is far from the first teenager to prove that young people can make huge changes to the world.

Malala Yousafzai was only 14 when she was shot for speaking out about the lack of education for girls in Pakistan, where she grew up.

Nine months after the attack she gave a speech at the UN, and she continued to campaign tirelessly for fair education for girls.

Aged 17, she became in the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014.

Young people like Thunberg and Yousafzai are inspirational for everything they’ve accomplished at by such a young age, but they’re not alone.

More and more teenagers are standing up for their beliefs and trying to create a fairer world that aligns with their beliefs. Here are a few of the most influential.

It seems like the future generation may be able to solve the world after all.

BACK TO SCHOOL - LETTER TO A TEACHER

Here's the text of the letter we read this morning in our first lesson ... CLICK HERE

SUMMER ACTIVITIES 3 - PETER NORMAN, THE FORGOTTEN BLACK POWER HERO

• 
  

The Olympic Games 2016 in Rio, Brazil, end today. What about celebrating the many emotions and athletic achievements we have witnessed with a compelling story from the past connected to the 1968 Games in Mexico?

The picture above is  perhaps the most iconic sports photograph ever taken. Captured at the medal ceremony for the men's 200 meters at the 1968 Mexico Olympics, U.S. sprinter Tommie Smith stands defiantly, head bowed, his black-gloved fist thrust into the thin air. Behind him fellow American John Carlos joins with his own Black Power salute, an act of defiance aimed at highlighting the segregation and racism burning back in their homeland. It was an act that scandalized the Olympics. Smith and Carlos were sent home in disgrace and banned from the Olympics for life. But they were treated as returning heroes by the black community for sacrificing their personal glory for the cause. History, too, has been kind to them. Yet few know that the man standing in front of both of them, the Australian sprinter Peter Norman who shocked everyone by powering past Carlos and winning the silver medal, played his own, crucial role in sporting history.  (from The third man: The forgotten Black Power hero) 

Read his story in this article from CNN and complete the tasks in the worksheet

KIKA, EDO & THE SINGING OF THE TREES

In November you met Maria Sofia, studying Arabic and giving a helping hand in Palestine. In December, Emanuele, living in Milan and working as a software developer. After them, the first of my former students I want to introduce you in 2016 is Edoardo , Edo,  with his lovely girlfriend, Federica, aka Kika. They live in Salento, in the South of Italy. Contrada Lusci is their place and a lifestyle, about which they write on their blog. They are a special couple and I'm glad to share their story with you.  
It is a story of love, peace, beauty, respect for nature and every living being, hope and incredible adventures.

*****************************************************

Edoardo was one of my students, he left school eleven years ago and he is a young man in his thirties now. I met him again a couple of months ago because he and his lovely partner, Federica, presented a very original project, a book + CD,  here in my town and I was invited to the event by friends and colleagues.

Obviously teenagers change once they turn into men and women but what surprised me most meeting Edoardo again was how totally different his posture, attitude, smile, speaking voice and look were. He looked and sounded relaxed, calm, focused and imperturbable. His eyes and his smile were warming, welcoming, peaceful. Well, actually, both Kika and Edo are the embodiment of the word “peaceful” and  both have a special smiling light in their eyes which speaks volumes of their inner world.  

SUMMER ACTIVITIES 3 - A PRIZE FOR YOUNG HEROES

THE GLORIA BARRON PRIZE

Changemakers come in all shapes and sizes. Often we forget what young people are capable of achieving amazing things. But it’s young people who have the creativity and the energy to solve many of our society’s most difficult problems and in fact they are already starting. That’s why the Barron Prize was founded. To remind young people that they too have the power to be powerful shapers of society. 

The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes was founded by author T. A. Barron in honour of his mother, the prize celebrates outstanding young leaders. Each year the Barron Prize honours 25 inspiring young people who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet.

Now read T.A. Barron's essay about the prize (HERE)  and do the excercises in the worksheet (HERE)

SUMMER ACTIVITIES 1 - HAS TECHNOLOGY RUINED OUR LIVES?

Reading, listening, writing

Watch the video, read and complete the text 

Read this article: Take the test - Do you have social media addiction?
 then answer the following questions:
1. How much of your life have you wasted on facebook? (take the test) 2. What is the best test to check if you are a social media addict? 3. What advice does the blogger suggest to stop beind addicted?  4. Now write down a list of advantages and disadvantages related to the use of social media. Which of your two lists is the longer one? 

THE A TEAM & THE BIG ISSUE

Ed Sheeran, the worldwide popular British singer and songwriter, wrote this beautiful ballad in 2011 after  following a last-minute performance at an event for the homeless. It tells of a crack-addicted girl (crack is known as a "class A drug"). It was written after Sheeran visited a homeless shelter and heard some of the stories of the lives people had been living. Making the song upbeat was Sheeran's way of masking the heavy subject matter. Also using the term "Class A Team" was another way of masking it a little more. Watch the video, listen to the song and complete the tasks 1 and 2 in the worksheet (HERE)

FOCUS ON ... BEING A TEENAGER

Our topic for conversation classes has been what being a teenager means. Here is our worksheet for a reading, speaking, writing activity which can be rather involving since the focus of the discussion is the students themselves and their feelings. 

CLICK HERE FOR THE WORKSHEET