The World Cup is here!
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/shine2010/
World Cup 2010 kicks off tomorrow and it looks certain to be an exciting month ahead, especially since it is the first World Cup ever to be held in Africa. The final on July 11, and the first game between the hosts South Africa and Mexico, will be played in the magnificent Soccer City stadium (shown above) in Johannesburg. It has a capacity of over 91,000 people and takes its inspiration from the shape of a calabash, which are often hollowed out and used as pots in Africa. 32 teams will take part in the tournament and expect the games to be noisy with lots of supporters blowing the traditional African vuvuzela horn!
To celebrate the World Cup, and its African hosts, here are a couple of clips from the gallery. The first clip comes from the Primary Literacy module and would be useful if you are looking at African stories, myths, or legends in class. It includes shots of African settings and wildlife (the clumsy meerkats at the end are my favourite!), and could serve as inspiration for children to write their own stories about Africa.
| Title of clip | African Myths and Legends |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module B > Literacy > Year 5 > Narrative > Unit 3: Stories from other cultures > Section 1: Speaking > Tell a story using notes designed to cue techniques, such as repetition, recap and humour |
| Description | Images, with voiceover, depicting the settings and characters of African myths and legends: sun shines down on dried tree stump; footage over and under a rainforest canopy; meandering river; powerful waterfall; Zulus tribesmen in traditional dress dancing; performers play traditional music and dance to firelight; lion crosses river; lioness licks clean cubs; two cheetah cubs play fight; a wildebeest stampede; vast zebra and wildebeest herd spread across savannah; a zebra and giraffe; a wallowing hippopotamus; water buffalo standing forlornly in the rain; giraffe’s head; elephant family crossing desert sands; a gorilla has a good scratch; meerkats keep watch; beautiful sunset. |
| Duration | 4 minutes 30 seconds |
Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery
This second clip has some helpful tips if you want to brush up on your own footballing skills ahead of the tournament. Teachers demonstrate how to head, shoot, and loft the ball for long passes. It also features some great shots of classic England players (including a very young looking Gary Lineker in shades – see if you can spot him), who were my heroes when I was growing up. They played in the 1990 World Cup when England got to the semi-finals – hopefully they will do at least that well, or even better this time…just got to watch out for those penalty shoot-outs!
| Title of clip | Soccer school |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module C > PE > Year 4 > Unit 11: Invasion games (2) > Section 1: Acquiring and developing skills |
| Description | Adults coaching children to develop football skills and improve technique. The first clip shows two coaches demonstrating the basic skills needed for heading the ball, low powerful but precise shots and lofting the ball in long passes. For each technique the coaches describe their body position and body movement for correct ball contact. The second clip shows England football team players from the late eighties and early nineties, including John Barnes and Peter Beardsley displaying their football prowess with a group of young footballing children. England coach Bobby Robson watches from the sideline. |
| Duration | 4 minutes 47 seconds |
Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery
What is the impact of an oil spill?
- Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/therebel68/
With the oil spill from the sunken Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico making the headlines, and uncertainty over what its long-term environmental impact will be, if you are covering the topic in class it might be helpful to look at what the effects of oil spills in the past have been.
The consequences of the Prestige oil tanker sinking off the Spanish coast in 2002, for example, were terrible. The ship’s cargo of 70,000 tonnes of oil had a massive impact on marine wildlife and the fishing industry in the region, as well as causing a political and diplomatic rift over who was to blame:
| Title of clip | Oil spill from the Prestige |
| Curriculum location | Geography (secondary) > QCA > Key stage 3 > Unit 14: Can the earth cope? Ecosystems population and resources > Section 5: What are the effects on the environment of this resource issue? > Learning Objective: to collect, record and present evidence |
| Description | A report on the environmental disaster caused by an oil spillage from the sinking Prestige oil tanker: 70,000 tonnes of oil spilled into the sea; local fisherman help navy cadets to clean the coastline of oil; 60 percent of the region is dependent on fishing for its livelihood and the area is rich in wildlife; the slick covers an area of 20 square miles and is still expanding; Greenpeace describe the clean-up operation as inadequate; mussel fishing boats have been ordered to stay in port, the owners are promised some compensation for the loss of earnings. |
| Duration | 2 minutes 10 seconds |
Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery
How do volcanoes form?
The eruption of the Icelandic volcano that’s brought Europe’s air travel to a standstill will be a popular topic in schools this term. Iceland, Europe’s youngest country, sits above the Mid-Atlantic Ridge fault line between two great shifting tectonic plates. One of the Heinemann Video Gallery clips for the 2008 KS3 Geography Programme of Study topic called ‘A hazard – two volcanoes’ shows Iceland’s position on this great fault line between the America’s and Africa and animates the process of continental drift and the formation of a volcano.
The topic focuses on Mount St Helens in Washington State, and Mount Kilauea in Hawaii, two very different types of volcanoes in terms of their origins, effects, and responses. The differences are explored in the detailed teacher notes and worksheets that accompany the clips, and you can view all of the videos here by taking out a free trial of the video gallery.
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11304375@N07/This example clip is one of them and explains how and why the majority of volcanoes form at plate boundaries because of plate tectonics and the process of continental drift. Other volcanoes occur in the middle of plates and these are caused by ‘hot spots’ in the Earth’s surface, where hot rocks from the Earth’s core rise up through the mantle and crust. As a plate moves across a hot spot over millions of years, a line of volcanoes is formed.
| Title of clip | How volcanoes form |
| Curriculum location | Geography (secondary) > KS3 Geography POS 2008 > A hazard |
| Description | The formation of volcanoes explained in geological terms: an animation depicts Iceland on the mid-Atlantic ridge, a great fault lying between the Americas and Africa; the Earth’s surface is divided into plates; the plates move across the Earth’s surface causing continental drift; an animation shows a cross-section of the Earth, each layer is described and named, the theory of plate tectonics is introduced; an animation demonstrates the constructive and destructive elements of plate tectonics and how volcanoes are formed along plate boundaries; an animation of ‘hot spot’ volcanoes forming on the Pacific plate, Mount Kilauea, Hawaii being a good example. |
| Duration | 4 minutes 47 seconds |
Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery
St Patrick’s Day
by Stephen
‘Beannachtaí na féile Páraic’ or ‘Happy St Patrick’s Day’!
This Wednesday, 17th March, is St Patrick’s Day, the annual feast day that celebrates the patron saint of Ireland. The festival is a national holiday in Ireland, but is also widely celebrated (if not officially) in many parts of the world, particularly the USA.
Saint Patrick was born in Roman Britain (Wales), and was captured by Irish raiders at the age of about sixteen. He was taken as a slave to Ireland where he lived for six years, before escaping and returning to Britain. After his ordination he returned to Ireland as a missionary. Key dates in Saint Patrick’s life can’t be fixed with certainty but it is likely that he lived from approximately the end of the fourth century (c. 385AD) to the middle of the fifth century (c. 460AD). The day we now celebrate as his feast day is believed to be the date of his death.
Saint Patrick was one of the earliest Christian missionaries in the British Isles, and although his work is not recorded in detail, his legacy is important for the example it set for others to follow.
There are many legends surrounding Saint Patrick. One of the best known is that he supposedly banished snakes from Ireland. One interpretation of this legend is that ‘snakes’ were symbolic of the Druids at the time. Personally, I like to think that Saint Patrick simply asked all the snakes who wanted to stay to raise their right hands… 
The Scoilnet Irish education portal has lots of resources relating to ancient Ireland. The BBC Religion site has more information on Saint Patrick, including a Radio 4 programme by Ian Hislop. The History.com website also has a wealth of relevant resources including a history of the feast day, video resources, and an ‘All Things Irish’ quiz. I’m sure a Google search will also reveal plenty of leprechauns, shamrocks and blessings.
If you’d like to practice your Irish, below is a video explaining how to say ‘Happy Saiint Patrick’s Day’ in Irish.
And below is a video clip from Heinemann Video Gallery illustrating the beauty of the Irish landscape. This clip is from the Secondary Geography section of the service: Key stage 3 > Unit 20: Comparing countries > Section 7: Are there differences within each country? > Learning Objective: to identify regional differences that exist within a country.
Remembrance Sunday
I’m re-blogging this post from last year, as it is proving one of our most popular this month.
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/saital/Britain and its Empire suffered 3,049,972 casualties, including 658,705 dead, during the First World War. Since then, and the hundreds of thousands who lost their lives during World War Two, hundreds of Britain’s armed forces have fallen in conflicts around the world and continue to do so up to the present day in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Tomorrow is the 90th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War. Here are two example videos from Primary History Unit 17: What are we remembering on Remembrance Day? The first provides a summary of what happens around the country on Remembrance Day, and the second reminds us why it is so important that we never forget.
| Title of clip | National Commemoration of the Victims of World War One |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module A > History > Key stage 1 > Unit 17: What are we remembering on Remembrance Day? > Section 5: Why is it important to remember? |
| Description | Commemoration of victims of war through silence and commemoration ceremonies; Big Ben’s bell tolls, adults and children alike stand still and pay respect, an airport concourse is quiet with travellers remaining still, a ferry slows, interview with a child whose ancestor died in the war, another child pays respect for the dead, British Legion, four veterans were able to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day, lone trumpet plays, inscriptions on wreaths remember the dead. |
| Duration | 2 minutes 16 seconds |
Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery
You might also find this video, entitled ‘The Last Veteran’ and one of the first that we posted on this blog, useful, and you can make a donation to this year’s Poppy Appeal here.
| Title of clip | The Reality of World War One |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module A > History > Key stage 1 > Unit 17: What are we remembering on Remembrance Day? > Section 3: Why do we have Remembrance Day? |
| Description | Scenes of fighting in World War I and commentary from a war veteran; troops march over the crest of a hill, machine gun fires from a fortified bunker, soldiers struggle across ‘no man’s land’, soldiers fall to the ground as others advance, shells explode around soldiers throwing them to the ground, soldiers fire rifles over the edge of a trench, soldiers jump down into the safety of the trenches, wrapped corpses are carried off the battlefield, a veteran remembers the experience of being dug out of the mud after being shelled, soldiers running along trenches, across open fields with mortar fire exploding around them, using damaged buildings as cover, loading and firing large artillery guns, horses and cavalry used to move the large artillery, troops going over the top into battle, a body left dead on the ground. |
| Duration | 2 minutes 46 seconds |
Please note that this is an example clip provided through our YouTube channel and does not reflect the actual quality of clips in the gallery
Jewish New Year
The Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashanah (“head of the year”), begins tomorrow. The celebrations to mark the start of Jewish Year 5770 will begin at sunset on September 18 and continue until nightfall on September 20.
During the two day festival, no work is permitted and much of the time is spent in the synagogue. It is a time for judgement, when Jews believe that God reflects on a person’s behaviour over the past year, and decides what the next year will be like for them.
One of the customs is the blowing of a shofar made from a ram’s horn. A hundred notes are sounded in a special rhythm – you can hear a demonstration here.
Special food is also eaten, with an emphasis on sweetness, which Jews hope will characterise the year that lies ahead. Meals often include apples, honey and carrots. You can find all kinds of recipes here if you would like try to make something yourself!
I am hopeless at cooking so will be playing safe and sending e-cards You can find a wide selection here.
When looking at Judaism in the classroom, you might also find the sample video below useful, from the Key Stage 1 Religious Education module of the gallery.
L’shanah tovah (“for a good year”) everyone!
| Title of clip | Learning Hebrew |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module A > Religious Education > Key stage 1 > Unit 2A: What is the Torah and why is it important to Jewish people? > Section 1: What is the Torah? > Learning Objective: to learn about the way the Torah is treated and what this shows about Jewish beliefs |
| Description | Report on a Jewish boy preparing for his Bar Mitzvah: he is being tutored by a Rabbi to read in Hebrew correctly from the Torah; he tells of the stories in the Torah and the difficulty of writing Hebrew; he uses a yad to mark the place whilst reading from the scroll; a passage is recited about the use of a Tzittzit and how it helps to remind Jews to follow God’s commandments. |
| Duration | 1 minute 44 seconds |
Welcome back – 999!
Welcome back to the new term everybody! Hope you enjoyed the summer break and feel refreshed, ready to start a new year.
In case you haven’t noticed already, today’s date is 09/09/09! If you are reading this before your first class of the day, you might even be able to look out for 09:09:09 on the clock as well.
The date could be used as an opportunity to ask the children what the number nine means to them. It is lucky in Chinese as it is a homophone of the word for longevity: jiu. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and nine is revered in Hinduism as it is thought to be a complete and perfected number because it represents the end of a cycle in the decimal system. A human pregnancy usually lasts nine months, and before 2006 (when Pluto was designated as a non-planet) there were nine planets in the solar system. Cats, of course, are also said to have nine lives!
This clip from the Key Stage 1 Citizenship module of the gallery explains how to make a 999 call. The children could make a small postcard to remind themselves how to contact the emergency services. Discuss with them which service to ask for in different situations, and the various stages to go through when confronted with an emergency and placing a call (stay calm, phone 999, explain details, give name and address).
Hopefully it won’t be necessary to use this, however, and you will all have a lucky and happy 09/09/09!
| Title of clip | Contacting Emergency Services |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module A > Citizenship > Key stage 1 & 2 > Unit 4: People who help us – the local police > Section 2: Key stage 1 – How can we help to keep our locality and ourselves safe? |
| Description | Child phoning emergency services, and the fire brigade being called out. |
| Duration | 34 seconds |
40th anniversary of the first Moon landing
by James
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fleur-design/
This month sees the 40th anniversary of the first manned mission to land on the Moon. On July 20 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the Moon, as Michael Collins orbited above in the Apollo 11 Command Module.
It also seems as if one of the long-standing issues concerning the first landing might have been resolved. There has always been debate over whether Armstrong omitted an ‘a’ from his famous first words as he stepped onto the Moon’s surface. Without saying ‘a man’, man and mankind have much the same meaning in the words: “One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind”.
It had been argued that Armstrong failed to say what was intended, or that the ‘a’ was perhaps lost in the static of the radio transmission. The latter seemed to be confirmed in 2006 when analysis showed that there was time in Armstrong’s speech for an ‘a’, but the most recent evidence claims that the ‘a’ was definitely never spoken.
Although incorrect grammatically, it is suggested that the omission was intentional by Armstrong to make the phrase more poetic, and that he draws a distinction between ‘man’ and ‘mankind’ by using rising and falling pitch for each word respectively. Guess it comes back to the old adage that it’s not what you say, but how you say it….
Aside from the linguistic debate, I’ve always found the Moon landings fascinating. What must it feel like to look back at Earth from the surface of the Moon, or similarly after the mission, to stare up at the Moon in the night sky and think that you have been there? It’s not really surprising that many of the Apollo astronauts had difficulties adjusting to life back on Earth when they returned.
To mark the special occasion (and also probably the last post of the year before you all break up for the summer!), here are some fantastic Moon-related clips from HVG. It was very difficult to decide which clips to post due to the number of Moon/Space-related clips that can be found in the gallery. Have a look for yourself by taking out a free 30-day trial and using the search function at the top of the page. Most of them can be found in the KS3 Science (‘Earth, Space and beyond’ substrand) and Key Stage 1&2 Science (QCA Unit 5E: Earth, Sun and Moon) modules.
The two sample clips I have chosen are from KS3 Science. The first (actually located within the ‘Reflection’ theme of the ‘Energy, electricity and forces’ substrand) shows how a mirror left on the Moon by one of the Apollo missions is still used today to measure the distance from the Earth to the Moon.
| Title of clip | Mirror on the Moon |
| Curriculum location | KS3 Science > Energy, electricity and forces > Energy transfer and electricity > Section: Reflection > 3.1a energy can be transferred usefully, stored, or dissipated, but cannot be created or destroyed |
| Description | A report looks at how the distance between the Earth and the Moon is measured accurately using a laser and a mirror that was placed on the moon by Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969. The report includes original images and photographs taken on the Moon’s surface and an interview with a scientist who describes and explains how the mirror on the Moon and the laser telescope are both used to calculate the distance between the Earth and the Moon accurately. |
| Duration | 2 minutes 18 seconds |
With it being the 40th anniversary, the second sample clip had to be one that included some of the original footage from the Apollo missions. This video of an astronaut experimenting on the Moon demonstrates that Galileo’s prediction that in a vacuum, a hammer and feather would fall to the ground at the same rate, was correct…
Have a great summer break !
| Title of clip | The hammer-feather drop |
| Curriculum location | KS3 Science > Energy, electricity and forces > Forces > Gravity and resistance > 3.1b forces are interactions between objects and can affect their shape and motion |
| Description | NASA astronauts, on the moon, perform a demonstration to prove Galileo’s thought experiment that a feather and a hammer will fall with the same acceleration, in a vacuum, regardless of their mass. On Earth, air resistance will effect the fall of the feather. |
| Duration | 35 seconds |
Independence Day – the Fourth of July
by James
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/23323418@N03/
To celebrate American Independence Day tomorrow, here are a couple of sample clips from the Key Stage 2 History module of HVG. Both would be useful for work on QCA Unit 19: ‘What were the effects of Tudor exploration?’
The first clip shows the earliest map to include the continent of America. Drawn in 1507 by the cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, this map named the new continent in honour of the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
| Title of clip | The Naming of America |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module A > History > Key stage 2 > Unit 19: What were the effects of Tudor exploration? > Section 1: How did knowledge of the world change during the Tudor period? > Learning Objective: to compare the knowledge of the world that people had in Tudor times with what is known today |
| Description | The first representation of America on a map is examined. |
| Duration | 36 seconds |
The second clip tells the story of the English settlers on Roanoke Island a few decades later. It includes readings from the diary of Thomas Harris and images from sketches made by John White. White went back to England for supplies and when he eventually returned to Roanoke he found the settlement deserted. To this day the fate of the colonists has never been ascertained…
| Title of clip | Roanoke Island Mystery |
| Curriculum location | Primary Module A > History > Key stage 2 > Unit 19: What were the effects of Tudor exploration? > Section 5: Why did the Roanoke settlement fail? |
| Description | Documentary detailing the experiences of English settlers on Roanoke Island, USA: the expedition was documented by Thomas Harris and sketched by John White; a reading on the difficulties of finding the mainland coast due to the treacherous shallows and numerous small islands; initially the settlers were enthusiastic once landed, the Indians were friendly and the weather fair, the settlers depended on the Indians for food as their own seeds had been lost or had rotted; the Indians began to resent this persistent demand from the settlers and tensions rose between them, leading to violence; Drake took this group of failed settlers off Roanoke and brought them back home to England; in July 1587, 157 people returned to Roanoke and set up in the original settlement, they made contact again with the Indian tribes, the relationship was friendly but unpredictable; after a while the settlers began to run out of stores, John White was persuaded to return to England for further supplies; after he left Roanoke the settlers were never seen again; White returned to find the settlement deserted, he wanted to continue the search as his daughter was with the settlers but the weather was bad and the ship’s crew wanted to get to the Caribbean, so he turned back. |
| Duration | 2 minutes 34 seconds |
Tennis and KS3 Science
by James
Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/georgio/
With Wimbledon in full swing (excuse the pun), I thought I’d post a KS3 Science sample clip with a tennis-related theme. The clip would serve (sorry, really not trying!) as a useful introduction to the respiratory system topic and begins by showing an examination of the trachea and bronchi using an endoscope.
Before showing the video, you could ask the pupils to discuss the functions of the lungs and what the inside of a windpipe or trachea might be like, and to feed their ideas back to the class. After the video, you may wish to discuss any differences between their ideas and the accepted ideas about the lungs.
The clip goes on to show a game of tennis in order to illustrate that the size of a tennis court is approximately equivalent to the surface area of a human’s lungs! You could discuss this with the class, asking how such a large surface area is achieved and why it is important for gaseous exchange.
Good luck Mr Murray!
| Title of clip | The respiratory system |
| Curriculum location | KS3 Science > Organisms, behaviour and health > Life processes > Section: Circulatory system > 3.3a life processes are supported by the organisation of cells into tissues, organs and body systems |
| Description | An examination of the structure of the human lung. A doctor uses an endoscope to explore a person’s lung, he describes how the air passages continue to bifurcate the deeper he journeys. Two people play tennis on a clay court; the size of the court is approximately equivalent to the surface area of a human’s lungs. |
| Duration | 33 seconds |
