General websites for Popular Culture
www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/cool/
view/
A site focusing on the ways in which trends are identified, including a TV programme, which could be used to introduce pop culture.
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews The children’s section of the BBC site, containing games, quizzes, interviews and articles on thought-provoking topics. The main site also contains topic based articles which could be used for reading and discussion activities, such as the
‘relationships’ section.
www.hkedcity.net/english/ Excellent resource for Hong Kong teachers of English which includes films for use in class.
http://bagnewsnotes.typepad.com Interesting blog with discussion about media issues, including the Dove Real Beauty campaign. Extensive links section for media/advertising
related sites.
www.teachingenglish.org/think/methodology A British Council site with many interesting and useful articles on teaching
methodology, lesson ideas and discussion forums.
Photo captions
www.littlegreenfootballs.com A blog with lots of examples of manipulated media images, also media links. Quite specific so maybe more useful for media studies.
http://www.captionmachine.com/ A site where you can upload your own photos and add captions or add captions to other people’s photos.
* Care needed as some examples may use inappropriate language.
http://captionbubble.com/ Another site where you can upload your own photos and add captions.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/presspack/skillsroo m/tellingastory_photos.shtml
A great interactive website with a tutorial which guides students through the process of making a photo story by ordering the images and adding captions. There is also a quiz to test their knowledge of photo stories.
Comic Strips
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ruXrTfrN8 ‘How an Extra-Life comic is made’ is a short film with a cartoonist describing and
showing the steps he goes through to create a comic strip. * Check first as you might feel the finished product may contain unsuitable language in the punchline for your students (you could choose to just show an extract without the end wording)
http://www.kiddonet.com/ Go to ‘Comics Center’ on the drop-down menu for various activities including a very clear student-friendly reference about the Language of Comics and ‘My Comic Strip’
where they can create their own strip and post it online.
http://www.comics.com/ A vast database of all sorts of comic strips.
Very good for providing examples for students.
Magazine Columns
http://www.ellegirl.com/fashion.html Has short sections on fashion items for young women. Can be used as a good resource for showing how to mix image and words. (American)
http://www.teenmag.com/advice/fashion/ The following link has one fashion question followed by a suggestion with links each issues. A good place to start for fashion advice. (American)
http://www.mizz.com/obj/horoscopes.php UK teenage girls’ magazine site containing horoscopes as well as fashion, advice etc.
http://www.blissmag.co.uk/ Another UK magazine aimed at teenage girls containing horoscopes, fashion, advice and more.
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/try/resourcet ry/magazines.shtml
A site with lots of practical ideas based on magazines for teachers to try out in the classroom.
http://www.yp.scmp.com/ The Website for the Young Post section of The South China Morning Post which has a variety of columns and articles, plus a forum. *Needs registration for access.
Film Trailers
www.apple.com/trailers/ Many movie trailers available for streaming / download, plus plot summaries, cast information etc.
http://www.comingsoon.net/trailers/ Movie trailers and clips.
http://www.filmeducation.org/secondary/Study Guides/index.html
www.filmeducation.org/secondary/StudyGuides /teachingtrailers.pdf
Downloadable guides for teaching many areas related to film, including
‘Storyboards’. Aimed at native speakers so quite high level.
Ideas for exploiting film trailers in class.
Advertisements
www.mediaworkshop.org Lesson plans for analysing advertising – useful but quite in-depth so may need some tailoring to suit Ss’ needs.
kathrynchamberlain Page 105 23/05/2008 All rights are reserved. The copyright of the materials for this workshop belongs to the Education Bureau (EDB) of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region. Schools are allowed to use them for non-profit making educational purposes, including English
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/brands/index.html
http://www.virtualvender.coca-cola.com/vm/Vending.jsp
Coca-cola’s corporate site with lots of examples of brand / product descriptions which could be used as examples for students’ own advertising work. The ‘virtual vender’ is a more fun interactive site that allows them to search for products by country / type.
http://www.yourpointofview.com/hsbcads_airpo rt.aspx
Examples of HSBC adverts which use cultural comparisons
http://mediaknowall.com/gcse/advertising/analy sis.html
Very clear student-friendly site with information about lines of appeal,
advertising strategies, common advertising words etc.
Reviews
http://www.hkedcity.net/english/watch/film/revie w/
Step-by-step guide on how to write film reviews with good clear accompanying tasks. Students can add their writing to the forum and read other people’s work.
www.imdb.com A comprehensive site containing trailers, plot summaries, cast information etc. for current and old films.
http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/ A site containing dozens of movie reviews, plus trailers and photos. *Can be a little confusing to navigate due to the amount of content.
http://www.metacritic.com/ Contains reviews of films, DVDs, music, games, books and TV which are
searchable by category / release date / name. The reviews are ordered according to scores awarded.