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RESOURCES FOR THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

  For kids

The following sites are sites for kids. Some of the sites are for beginners, but also for intermediate and advanced levels.

-- GENERAL --

Kids Corner

Do not let the address fool you. This is a site, where there are many different sections to choose among. One of the sections is of course about cooking and favorite recipes submitted by children.
Another area gives links with favorite places for children to go on the web. There is Cartoon World, Snoopy, and Sesame Street to name a few. Below you will find these addresses directly.

Cartoon World

Snoopy

http://www.snoopy.com/

www.unitedmedia.com/comics/peanuts/

Sesame Street

http://www.ctw.org/

Enchanted Learning

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/
This is a good site for beginners. At the bottom of the home page, it is possible to find information on dinosaurs, an activity called Little Explorers, which is a picture dictionary with links to over 1000 educational activities and games in English, but also in French, German, Portugese and Spanish. There is also a section with many different types of activities on the right hand side. This is a site that is full of many possibilities.

-- JOKES FOR KIDS --

The following sites have many different types of jokes. They are listed with the levels of English necessary to understand them.

Animal Jokes

www.animalden.net/jokes.htm
This site can be used with beginners, but intermediate would be better. The animal jokes are listed in categories.

The Humor Archive

www.msoe.edu/~taylor/humor/
This is a good joke section for the advanced level. There are many different categories to choose among, so there should be something for everyone.

-- GAMES AND THINGS --

Word Games

www.edgamesandart.com/wordgames.html
This site provides different games for the beginner to play. There are a number of different games to choose from.

-- ANIMALS --

Australian Animals

www.aaa.com.au/A_Z
This site provides information on specific animals in Australia, but it also has information on other animals commonly found around the world. It is a really great site for beginners. Take a look.

Koalas

http://www.koala.net/
This site gives a great deal of information on koala bears in Australia, but also about other animals indigenous to the country.

-- SPORTS --

If your students are doing some work on the topic of sports, the following sites may be used. However, they are mostly for the intermediate and advanced levels. The sites are categorized by sport.

Baseball

www.ncyba.com/balllinks.html
This site provides links to things concerning baseball. The sites are official sites and you can find information concerning the greats, like Babe Ruth, or rules and regulations of baseball. There is also an index.

Basketball

http://www.nba.com/
On this site you can find out about the history of the NBA, find information about the players and the teams and current news. You can even join a chat session.

Football or Soccer

http://soccernet.com/
If you are looking for information football clubs in Britain and in Europe, this is the place to find information. There is also an area with the headlines in football, which are divided up into British, European and Global headlines.

Sports in General

Sports Illustrated for Kids

http://www.sikids.com/
This site is designed for children and young people who wish to read about different branches of sport played in the U.S.
There are also other activities on the site, such as games, fantasy sports and toons, which are fun to try.

Superstars

http://web2.sportsline.com/u/fans/index.html
If students are making a project, where they are to present a sports super star, this is the place to look. A good site for the intermediate and advanced levels

_________________________________________________________________________

Are you looking for information about traditions, news & media, movies & movie studios and food & health of the British/American culture

TRADITIONS - HOLIDAYS - FESTIVITIES --

IN GENERAL

"How stuff works"

www.howstuffworks.com/category-holidays.htm

If you or your students are looking for information on how different holidays are celebrated or what types of traditions are related to these holidays, then this is the site to use. On this site, you can find information on Christmas, Easter, Valentine´s Day, Mardi-Gras, Saint Patrick´s Day and in general about Fireworks.

HALLOWEEN

http://www.jackolanterns.net/
This is a site providing information on the traditions of Halloween and other interesting information.

CHRISTMAS

There are a number of sites that have to do with Christmas. Here are just a few of them. When you look through the sites, you will find that some are good for beginners, whilst the majority of them are for intermediate and advanced levels.

Santa´s net

http://www.santas.net/
This site provides different information about Christmas. It tells about songs, recipes and traditions. The front page also links you to sites about Easter and Halloween.

The 12 days

www.12days.com/scene.htm
This site is a good site for beginners because it is possible to play games on it. This page gives you the choice between a post office, a library and a playground. To make it easier for you the addresses are provided below.

The post office

www.12days.com/postoffice/
On this page you can write a letter to Santa and receive an answer from him the next day. There are a number of questions that you have to answer, and they are made in that way, that actually writing the letter is not difficult. However, if you do not have access to e-mail at your school, using this site may be difficult. It would be a good idea for the teacher to try this activity beforehand.

The library

www.12days.com/library/
On this page, the students can find poems and stories about Christmas that they can read for themselves or for each other. They can also be downloaded and read in class.

The playground

www.12days.com/playground/
This area has different games to choose among. There is a word search and card game called Concentration and a game called the Nutcracker. They are quite good for beginners of English.

Christmas

www.night.net/christmas/
This site provides a number of different possibilities when seeking information about Christmas. However, it is sometimes necessary to have extra equipment in order to use all of the links. There are, to mention a few things, songs and stories about Christmas. But take a look for yourself.

EASTER

The Easter Bunny

http://www.easterbunnys.net/
This site provides information about Easter. It has among other things, songs, recipies and stories about Easter.

 

-- NEWS AND MEDIA --

The following addresses are to different newspapers and other medias that provide current events. They are categorized into different areas of the world and some of the sites are of special interest.

These sites are good for teachers and students to find information on current issues being taught in the classroom. The language on these sites is the language of Native Speakers, so not all of the addresses are good for the intermediate level, they are more for the advanced level students. However, it is possible to adapt some of the information by the teacher for the intermediate level students.

African Newspapers

It is not always possible to get to these sites, due to technical difficulties. But for the most part they do work.

http://www.africanews.org/
This site provides information about news in Africa in general, as well as, regional news.

www.africanews.org/central/zambia
News on Zambia.

www.africanews.org/south/zimbabwe
This site gives news from Zimbabwe.

www.africanews.org/south/southafrica
This site gives news from South Africa.

www.africanews.org/west/ghana
This site gives news from Ghana.

www.mozambique.mz/eindex.htm
This is the official site of Mozambique giving information in English. It is also a site where you can find information on the developments of things in the country. There are also sections on the environment, sports, maps, basic facts and so on.

The Independent

http://www.inc.co.za/
This newspaper gives you current events and background information on Africa in general or South Africa.

British and American Newspapers and International Newspapers

USA

http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/
This site gives news from the U.S.A.

Canada

http://ca.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/Newspapers/
This site gives news from Canada.

Australia and New Zealand

http://au.yahoo.com/news_and_media/newspapers/
This site has news from Australia. This address will also get you news from New Zealand.

www.press.co.nz/
An electronic newspaper with news and events from New Zealand.

Northern Ireland

www.irlnet.com/aprn/index.html
This site is the Republican Newspaper, giving information on events in Northern Ireland.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/
This site is the Belfast Telegraph newspaper providing information on events in Northern Ireland.

Television

US - TV stations

The following sites give you information about different TV programs, like soap operas, the celebreties, movies and even games. There is a great deal of information to be found on these sites. However, the pages are apt to be changed or become non-existent or moved, due to the fact that things change so quickly at the TV stations, that some of the pages can be out-dated before they can be altered. So patience is a key word here.

ABC

http://abc.go.com/

CBS

www.cbs.com/flat/section_100.html

NBC

www.nbc.com/

AUSTRALIAN TV STATIONS

ABC- The Australian Broadcasting Corporation

http://www.abc.com.au/

News online, this site provides links to different topics concerning Australia. An example is Indigenous, which is about Aborigines.

 

-- MOVIES AND MOVIE STUDIOS --

If your looking for information on movies, then look at the site listed below.

Internet Movie Database

http://us.imdb.com/
This site provides news about movies and celebrities, as well as gossip. You can also search for more information on the stars or on films. However, it is not always easy to find what you are looking for. One of the drawbacks is also, that you can not always trust that what is put on the net about stars and films is actually authentic.So please, do not always believe what you find. Think for yourself. Is the site I am looking at official?

MGM Studios

http://www.mgm.com/
This site provides information on movies, history and other interesting information.

Universal Studios

http://www.usf.com/
This site provides information on Universal Studios in Florida. Among the things that can be seen here are a tour of the activities at Universal Studios.

 

-- FOOD and HEALTH --

If your students are doing a project about cultural cuisines around the world, then the following site is good to use. There are litterally thousands of recipes on this site to choose among and of course they are in English.

A project of this sort is a good cross curricular activity for those who have cooking classes as part of their curriculum, because the students get the chance to try their English in the classroom by reading recipes and then doing something practical with it. A relevant thing to do. It is especially a good exercise for those students who are on the intermediate level or the advanced level. It also gives them the possibility to choose for themselves what they wish to plan to do.

http://recipes.alastra.com/

International Vegetarian Union

www.ivu.org/index.html
This site provides information on vegetarianism. It tells of its history and other interesting information. There are also recipes.

____________________________________________________________________________

MULTI-NATIONAL COMPANIES

The following links are good to use, if you are trying to find information about the history of different companies. The majority of students on the intermediate and advanced levels can use these links without the assistance of a teacher. There is of course other information about the companies on these links and there are also links to other links. As a teacher, it would be a good idea to look at them beforehand, to make certain what it is the students are to be looking for. This is especially important in this section due to the fact that there are so many possibilities here.

Disney

http://www.disney.com/
This is the official site for the Walt Disney Corporation. It has all sorts of information and advertisements, as well as stories. You can also find information on the different Disney films that are in and out of distribution. There is also information on entertainment and what is going on inside the company. You can even book a vacation.
However, the easiest way to use this site is to work with the section called Disney keyword as this gives you the possibility to directly search for what you are looking for. In this case, it is a necessity, as there is so much information on this site.

Levi´s

http://www.levistrauss.com/
There are two possibilities with Levi´s. However, the above mentioned link is the best to use, if the students are looking for information on Levi Strauss or the history of the company. This is the site to use for information on the story of Levi Strauss and blue jeans.

http://www.levi.com/
This is the other site mentioned. However, this is more for those who are looking into the latest fashion ideas from the company or if the students want to see what is going on in the company around the world. It is more entertainment than anything else.

Lego

www.lego.com/siteindex/
This site is divided into different sections. The index is a good place for students to find information, because it is divided into different categories, making it easy to find information about the company´s history, just to mention an example.

http://www.lego.com/
This is another possibility, but it as a site, where there are games and activities that have to do with lego products. It is fun to play with, but the quality of its use in teaching is perhaps not applicable in the classroom. On the other hand, there is some English to be learned from using the different activities.

McDonald´s

http://www.mcdonalds.com/
This site contains a great deal of information about the company. It tells about the history and career possibilities. There is also the possibility of looking into what each country that has a McDonald´s has to offer on their menu. This is an interesting thing for students to research, because the food that is offered in McDonald´s restaurants around the world is not always the same. There are sometimes other items on the menu, than what is on the regular menu at McDonald´s. A good example of this is what they have to offer in Chili. We won´t tell you here, what that is. Take a look for yourself!

The Body Shop

http://www.bodyshop.com/
This site contains a great deal of information on the products made by the company, but there is also the possibility of finding information on the history and principles of the company itself. A suggestion with working on this site to find good information is to look into the section called international  and then resources/about us. This is basically information about the company and its history, but there are also other links to other organizations that work with the same ideals as the Body Shop.

Harley-Davidson

www.harley-davidson.com/home.asp
This address provides information about the history of the company, but it also provides information about the company´s products and the 'Harley' experience. It is a good site for motorcycle enthusiasts!

Mattel

http://www.mattel.com/
Mattel is the company producing a number of toys known around the world. Some of the most famous are Barbie, Hotwheels, and Fischer-Price toys. On this site you can find information about the products and how they came about, by using the search area. There are also links to other sites, as you will see by using the search section. One of the best ways to use the search section is to choose a word, like 'history' and then choose one of the sites, such as barbie.com. Under the section called FAQ, 'frequently asked questions', you will be able to get a great deal of information about the products or the history of them.

FOR BEGINNERS

Barbie

www.barbie.com/Activities/Storymaker/
This is a good site for those who have just begun to learn English, because there are many activities to choose among. One of the best activities is the storymaker, because students must choose characters and so on. When they are finished with their choices, they can load the story and have it told to them. There are a number of possible combinations, so you can make new stories everytime. On this site there are also other activities to choose among.

SCHOOLS

Web66

http://web66.coled.umn.edu/schools/UK/UK.html
If you or your students are looking for information about schools and educational institutions around the world, this would be a good site to use. Especially, if the topic being worked on has to do with different school systems or just schools in general. It is a site, that is good to use on the intermediate or advanced level.

However, it is not a successful site all the time. The problem with using this site is, that not all schools with a website have made an update, so not all the information may be correct. Another problem is, that you may not be able to get into all of the sites listed, because they have been changed or are non-existent. But for the majority of the time, it works fine.

You can click on the part of the world you wish to search in, or the country or in the U.S.A. on the state you desire.

It is sometimes possible to find a school that wishes to collaborate on a project.

Schools Worldwide

http://www.worldwide.edu/
If you are looking for information about school in English speaking countries, this site can be used to make a search. The site also provides a section for students interested in finding information about international student programs. There is also an international travel planner section.

The Canadian Schoolnet

http://www.schoolnet.ca/
This is the Canadian site with a great deal of information on schools and education in Canada. It is in an English and a French version.

The CWA Education Web - New Zealand

www.cwa.co.nz/eduweb/index.html
This is a good address for teachers interested in New Zealand education and curriculum. There are also a number of links on this site, connecting you with schools and other resources, that concern education.

Alice Springs School

www.assoa.nt.edu.au/
This site gives information about the school in Alice Springs. You can read about its history and teaching principles.

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Environmental issues

 

Interested in working on environmental issues in the classroom

In this section the majority of sites are for the advanced level or for teachers who are interested in working on environmental issues in the classroom and who are looking for information or inspiration on this subject.

Green Peace

http://www.greenpeace.org/
This is the official site of the environmental organization. It has information about the organization and its work, its history, programs and present activities. Some of the subjects presented on this site are about climate, toxics, oceans, forests, etc.
There is also information on Campaign Events and other news.
It is also possible to see what is going on in a particular country as well, by clicking on Greenpeace Worldwide in the upper right hand corner of the site. It is also possible to make a search from this site.

Rainforest Action Network

http://www.ran.org/
This is a wonderful site to use, because there are so many possibilities and the language is not too difficult. It may be used with the intermediate level or the advanced level.
There are quite a few things to look at and read about. There are different campaigns and also information about an area called tribal links, www.ran.org/tribe_links/index.html where there are links to many different sites concerning the earth.

Terraquest

http://terraquest.com/
This site provides different subjects about rock climbing in Yosemite, but it also has information about the history of Yosemite and other informative things on Yosemite. There is also an area called Virtual Galapagos, which gives you a fully informative perspective on the natural and human history of Ecuador and the Galapagos.
Terraquest is a site that may be used with the intermediate level or advance

Travel

If you or your students are looking for information on a particular region of the world or a certain country, the following links are good to use.

FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER

The world
The United States of America
South Africa
The United Kingdom
Ireland
New Zealand
Australia

-- THE WORLD --

Lonely Planet

www.lonelyplanet.com/dest/
This site gives you the possibility to search by region or search by country to find information and facts about a certain area of the world or a country. A good site for the intermediate and advanced levels.

Excite Travel

http://travel.excite.com/
This site allows you to search for cities or individual countries around the world. It is a good site for the intermediate and advanced levels.

The CIA Factbook

www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
This site provides all kinds of information on any country in the world. It has facts about people, economy, government and much more. It is an easy site to use and it is loaded with information. If students are looking for easy access to information on a country, this is a great site.

Atlapedia Online

www.atlapedia.com/online/country_index.htm
This site provides facts about any country in the world. This site is easy to use. At the top of the page, you simply click on the letter the country begins with and then the country you wish to access.

-- THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA --

The following links are divided into different categories, depending on the subject they are related to. There is information on travel in the United States, as well as the United States´ history and the Civil Rights Movement.

IN GENERAL:

The 50 states and their capitals

http://www.50states.com/
This site gives information about the 50 states and their capitals. It is a site that can be used from the intermediate to advanced level.

WASHINGTON D.C.

A Tour of Washington D.C.

http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/tour.html
This site provides a map of the nation´s capital. When clicking on a site on the map, you receive pictures and information about the sights. This site can be used for the intermediate and advanced levels.

A good way to use this site is to allow the students to make a brochure about some of the sites that they find, telling about them in their brochure or presenting their site information to the rest of the class.

Presidents

www.ipl.org/ref/POTUS/
If your students are trying to find information on presidents, then this is a good place to search. It is also a good site to use in the classroom, if the students are to make a presentation, in the form of a biography.

A Tour of the U.S. Government

www.virtualfreesites.com/us-gov.html
This is a really great site to use, because the language is simple and there are a number of pictures. It gives you links to all the president, the first families, a tour of the White House in a historical perspective, as well as, for kids. You can even e-mail the president and get a reply. A good site for the intermediate and advanced levels.

The White House

http://www.whitehouse.gov/
This site provides the same type of information as the above address, however, there are also more current events presented from the White House.

The CIA

www.cia.gov/cia/sitemap.html
This site provides information on the CIA. It is divided into three major categories which are as follows:

• About Us
• News
• Homepages, under which is a sub-category called Homepage for kids.

NEW YORK CITY

The New York City Tourist Office

http://www.nyctourist.com/
This site gives you the menu to find all kinds of information on New York City. It is a good site for the intermediate and advanced levels. They can make their own tourist brochure or just present some of the sites for the rest of the class.

The best site is:

www.nyctourist.com/map1.htm
because here you can either choose the neighborhood you would like to study or the different sights on the map of Manhatten. There is useful information for anyone looking into the sights of New York and there are photos of the different sights, giving the students a good visual encounter of New York City.

AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Black History

www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/AfroAm.html
This is a great site on African American history. The home page gives a number of choices in finding information on African American history. It also has a hotlist, which is a good place for teachers who are looking for sites to use in teaching African American events and issues. There is also a treasure hunt, where you can test your knowledge of African American History. But there is much much more. Have a look!

The African American Museum of Black History

www.afroam.org/history/history.html
This is a site that gives a great deal of information on topics such as slavery and the black resistance. This site is good for students on the advanced level working with projects on this topic. The site also provides information on African American culture and activities and information for children.

The Civil Rights Era

www.webcorp.com/civilrights/voices.htm
This site provides information on The Civil Rights Movement, but it is also possible to find information concerning John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Malcom X.

Martin Luther King

www.stanford.edu/group/King/
This site provides an autobiography, a biography and articles about Martin Luther King. It is a good site for the advanced level.

www.seattletimes.com/mlk/index.html
This is another site providing information on Martin Luther King.

-- SOUTH AFRICA --

The ANC

www.anc.org.za/index.html
This is the ANC´s official site and it provides information on the political situation in South Africa.

Nelson Mandela

http://wagingpeace.org/hero/nelson_mandela.html
This site provides a biography of Nelson Mandela. Some students on the intermediate level will be able to work with this text, but otherwise it is for the advanced learners.

-- THE UNITED KINGDOM --

The sites listed below provide general information on Britain.

UK Travel Guide

http://www.uktravel.com/
This site provides a great deal of information on a number of attractions in the UK. Some of its features are a City Guide, a London Guide, a map of London, a castle guide, and information on the royal family.

This site can be used on the intermediate and advanced levels. The different areas give you information and facts and there are pictures to go along with this, so it is most enjoyable to use for students and teachers.

LONDON

On the sites above, it is also possible to find specific information and facts about London.

SCOTLAND

The Gateway to Scotland

www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/scotland.html
This site has a great deal of information on Scotland, but also about other areas of the United Kingdom. There are a number of facts about the history of Scotland and famous Scots and where there are links to information about them. There is also information on the government of Scotland and links to maps, culture, song and music. A site that can be used on the intermediate and advanced levels.

The Legend of Nessie

www.nessie.co.uk/
This is a great site to use, if you or your students are working on the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. This site has a great deal of information and it has a number of possibilities. It can be used on the intermediate and advanced levels.

-- IRELAND --

A Virtual Tour of Ireland

http://ireland.iol.ie/tip/
This site gives you a great deal of information and facts about Ireland. If you scroll to the bottom of the homepage, youu will find a number of possibilities to try different tours. There is of course other useful information, too. The language on this site varies and therefore it can be used on the intermediate level, but more so on the advanced level.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Sinn Fein

http://www.sinnfein.ie/
If you or your students are looking for information about Sinn Fein, this is the right place. It is a good site, because is simple and understandable. In the menu at the bottom, you can search for related topics, for instance, the background to the conflict in Northern Ireland.

-- NEW ZEALAND --

Discover New Zealand

www.new-zealand.com/
This site provides a great deal of information on New Zealand. If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will find a number of possibilities and also a section with useful links.

Under the travel guide section, there is also information on Maori culture.

100% Pure New Zealand

www.purenz.com/aboutnz.cfm
This site provides information and facts about New Zealand, it climate, nature and people.

New Zealand on the Web

http://www.nz.com/
Also a good site for seeking information on New Zealand. This site also provides a virtual tour of the country.

The Maoris

www.culture.co.nz/
This site gives you quick links to information about Maori cooking, culture and other interesting things.

-- AUSTRALIA --

The Australian Embassy

http://www.austemb.org/
This site provides information on goegraphy, animals, history and people, education, sports, the arts and many other things. When you use the site, click on the section For Kids. The site can be used on the intermediate and advanced levels.

Just the Facts

http://about-australia.com/facts.htm
This site provides fact about Australia and it is quite informative. It also has facts about the different territories and states. A good site for the advanced level, working on the topic of Australia.

InfoAustralia

http://www.infoaustralia.com.au/
This site provides lins to different categories concerning Australia. A site for advanced level learners