RECENTLYThose of you who know me personally, know of my addiction to the internet. Even those of you who don't know me, probably suspect that I spend more time in cyberspace than anywhere else. That's why you won't find any photos of me on the blog doing anything else this week. I've been spending time in front of the monitor trying out the activities for this newsletter. They are fun, mesmerizing, and a challenge for kids and adults of any age. If you find yourself sitting too long in front of the computer, don't blame me!
This Week's Theme - Celebrating Multiculturalism and Diversity
Finally spring has arrived. With the coming of the new season and the beginning of new activities we felt it was a good time to enjoy some of the different cultures that exist around the world. This week we are celebrating diversity and multiculturalism with the song Celebrate the Human Race from the CD kit with the same name.
Free Song & Lyrics Download - Celebrate the Human Race from the CD/Book Kit: Celebrate the Human Race
Download in Mp3 format:
http://www.sara-jordan.com/promo-HumanRaceMp3.shtml
Lyrics for Celebrate the Human Race can be downloaded here:
http://www.sara-jordan.com/promo-HumanRace.shtml
You can view the contents of the entire CD here:
http://www.sara-jordan.com/product-106.shtml
Corresponding Links and Activities
LEARN ABOUT EUROPE BY HAVING FUN JUDGING THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST
You'll have a great time with this activity! Have your students learn about geography, and the countries in the European Union, as they listen, critique and vote on all of the participating bands involved in this year's Eurovision.
28 countries in the European Union will be competing in the Semi-Finals of the Eurovision Song Contest on May 10th. Ten bands will be chosen as finalists and will perform in the finals on May 12th.
Students in your classes could each choose a band, play the video of the song for the class, research the country represented by the band. Have students in your class vote for their favorite band/song.
Further research on the net could include why Italy chooses to boycott the contest, why France insists on only performing in French and why contestants of many other countries feel that they have a better chance if they perform in English. Your class could discuss whether it might be better to preserve the heritage of each country by insisting that countries perform in their native languages. (Would this be a disadvantage to smaller countries who may have fewer potential voters speaking that language?)
You'll find a list of competing bands/songs here.
http://www.yle.fi/eurovision/main.php?id=2587
By clicking on the link (of each country) students can print out the bios of each group and the lyrics of each song.
You can find out a little about the history of the Eurovision Song Contest here:
http://www.yle.fi/eurovision/main.php?id=668
The curious will find frequently asked Questions and Answers about the song contest here:
http://www.yle.fi/eurovision/main.php?id=1481
AND NOW FOR THE REALLY EDUCATIONAL PART!
Check out these links. I searched the net for the very best European geography quizzes I could find. Congratulations to the folks at www.ILike2Learn.com. These quizzes are bright and the maps are cheerful. There is even a little help box for those of us who need help! I'd probably make this part of the contest too. Students should learn all of these!
Here is the map quiz.
http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/europe.html
Here is the capitals quiz.
http://www.ilike2learn.com/ilike2learn/Europecapitals.html
If your students are a little young to participate in Eurovision, please accept my apology. So often our newsletters include activities for early learners. If you'd like to participate in something a little simpler for younger students, I suggest you have your class write to pen pals in European countries (see below for our Pen Pal Forum). The European map quizzes would still be fun and a challenge for kids of any age.