Instructions

Instructions for a research of a European country

Work in pairs. You shall do everything together and not split your work with the topics and countries between you.

1.   Decide on a European country you’d like to know more about.

2.   Take a look at a map to find out where your country is located.

3.   You will search for information in books or on the Internet, but remember to be source-critical. You may        also use your own experiences of the country, if you have any.

4.   Choose five of the following topics to write about.

·         History

·         Sports

·         Nature

·         Famous people from this country

·         Population

·         The capital city

·         Watercourses and mountains

·         Culture

·         Special food

·         Destinations a tourist needs to visit

·         Well known monuments

5.   Choose one more country to write about.

6.   Make a research on the same five topics and compare them to each other.

7.   Assemble your comparisons on a poster. Use both text and pictures.

8.   Prepare an oral presentation of your research. Remember that both of you shall participate and be active during the accounting.

A story for children aged 10-12 years

The boy who makes the first snow fall

Once upon a time there lived a strange boy named James. He lived not far from our village, just up the mountain, but people seldom saw him. The rumor said that there was something very wrong with him and that his parents left him in the forest because they were ashamed of their little boy, but no one knew why.

One early morning a little girl named Alice was out walking in the forest when she suddenly heard a terrible whining, just a few yards in front of her. She froze with fear. But all of a sudden she heard a twinge of sadness in the whining. She started looking around and over in the bushes there sat a small, skinny boy with his hands wrapped tightly around his stomach.

“Hello” Alice said carefully. “Why are you so sad?”

“I, I’m just so hungry” the boy answered with a low and fragile voice.

“Why don’t you go home and eat? Are you lost?” Alice asked.

“No, I’m not lost. I live in the mountain, all by myself. And it’s so cold so I can’t find any food.” James answered sadly.

“Why do you live alone?” Alice asked.

“My parents don’t like me because I don’t grow. And I don’t have any friends” James said, with a tear falling down his pale cheek.

“Oh, I can be your friend!” Alice replied happily. “My name is Alice. I live in the village not far from here. What’s your name?”

“James” the boy answered in a low voice but with a smile on his face.

“I can teach you how to bake, so that you don’t need to be hungry anymore” Alice sad with a happy voice, glad that someone finally wanted to listen to her. “Wait here”

And so Alice ran off to get her thick book with recipes, some flour, sugar and butter. Then she met up with James and followed him to his cave, which was homey and beautifully decorated. Alice taught James how to bake the most amazing bred and pasties. And so Alice and James baked together every year when the cold had come, until Alice grew old and couldn’t climb the mountain to visit him anymore.     

It is said that the boy still lives by himself in the mountain. And every winter when you can see the first snow fall over the mountain and our village, it’s just James who is baking cookies and pastries so that flour and sugar fills the air and then fills the land like a light snowfall. But if you try to catch one of the first snowflakes in your mouth, you will find out that it is not cold at all and that it has the most wonderful taste of pastries. 

Argumentative essay 2

ICT in primary school as a reflection of our society

I think it’s important for our school to be a reflection of the society we all live in. Our society is changing fast and school needs to change with it to make the education meaningful for our students. I will argue that ICT tools are useful for our students’ education since it’s already a big part of their everyday lives.

By writing on a computer I think that student who have not yet developed their motor skills are being able to develop their writing skills. I think that writing on a computer is an inspiring way to learn how to write and read without having to focus on how to form letters. Instead the children can focus on what to write and how to use letters before they learn how to form the letters, which some children can find really hard. Of course they will learn how to form letters as well, but I think that if our children first get in touch with the letters it will facilitate their writing process.

By using computers my students can find information really fast. I know that some people might think that many media sources are unreliable, but this is our job as teachers to inform our students of.  Of course they will need to be source-critical to know which sources to use and trust, but I think that this is an important part of their education. I also think that if the students are using the computer in pair they will have to communicate and learn from each other. If they encounter problems they need cooperate to get to common conclusions.

Since our society has gone thru a fast development during the last 15 years I think that the school also needs to change to make our children see a meaningful usage of what they learn in school. Our student will come in contact with ICT tools in their everyday life and that’s why I think it’s important to take advantage of their world to make their education feel meaningful to them. ICT will probably have an even bigger part of our society in a few years, and it’s important for our children to learn how to take advantage of ICT tools and how to use them in an appropriate way. This is the reason why children need to get in touch with ICT in school so that they will get a positive view of ICT tools as a part of their learning.

ICT is a big part of many students’ lives and that’s why I think we should use it more in school to make education feel more meaningful. By using ICT tools students will more easily learn to write and also learn how to teach themselves by being source-critical and learn from each other’s experience.  

Argumentative essay

ICT in primary school as a reflection of our society

Introduction

I think it’s important for our school to be a reflection of the society we all live in. Our society is changing fast and school needs to change with it to make the education meaningful for our students. I will argue that ICT tools are useful for our students’ education since it’s already a big part of their everyday lives.

ICT tools to develop writing skills

By writing on a computer I think that student who have not yet developed their motor skills are being able to develop their writing skills. I think that writing on a computer is an inspiring way to learn how to write and read without having to focus on how to form letters. Instead the children can focus on what to write and how to use letters before they learn how to form the letters, which some children can find really hard. Of course they will learn how to form letters as well, but I think that if our children first get in touch with the letters it will facilitate their writing process.

The computer as a learning source

By using computers my students can find information really fast. I know that some people might think that many media sources are unreliable, but this is our job as teachers to inform our students of.  Of course they will need to be source-critical to know which sources to use and trust, but I think that this is an important part of their education. I also think that if the students are using the computer in pair they will have to communicate and learn from each other. If they encounter problems they need cooperate to get to common conclusions.

ICT tools -a reflection of our society

Since our society has gone thru a fast development during the last 15 years I think that the school also needs to change to make our children see a meaningful usage of what they learn in school. Our student will come in contact with ICT tools in their everyday life and that’s why I think it’s important to take advantage of their world to make their education feel meaningful to them. ICT will probably have an even bigger part of our society in a few years, and it’s important for our children to learn how to take advantage of ICT tools and how to use them in an appropriate way. This is the reason why children need to get in touch with ICT in school so that they will get a positive view of ICT tools as a part of their learning.

Conclusion

ICT is a big part of many students’ lives and that’s why I think we should use it more in school to make education feel more meaningful. By using ICT tools students will more easily learn to write and also learn how to teach themselves by being source-critical and learn from each other’s experience.  

Letter

Dear Mr and Mrs Przybylska,

I am writing to you regarding to your son Martin. I'm his teacher and I'm stating to get worried about his health and wellbeing. Lately he has been late for school several days a week, which is not like him at all. He has also forgotten his sports clothing for almost three weeks, even thou I have reminded him. This means that he has not been able to join gymnastic class. Since I know that he like sports and plays soccer in every break, I find it unlikely for him to forget to bring his cloths for so many days. I also noticed him eating less and less during lunchtime, which also worries me.

Therefore I wonder if this is something you have noticed at home? If you have done that, is there something I should know about to make it easier for him? If not, I think it is important for us to pay attention to this and try to find out what might be bothering him.

I have tried to talk to him and he says everything is fine, but I am not so sure about that. I'm really worried and it would be great if we could get together and talk about it.

Best regards,

Marina Gustafsson