Schools : Portuguese 28 Tram Anniversary : resources

Lisbon tram, line 28

credits: Getty Images

https://www.gettyimages.fi/photos/

The delightful tram date from the 1930s. Trams are housed in a museum. In Lisbon trams are an integral part of the public transports. These historic trams are still in use, as the 28 line is completely unsuitable for modern trams due to its numerous tight turns and steep gradients. But there it is! 

Rewind Cities Lisbon (app)

https://play.google.com/

Yes! Do you know Lisbon? Remember Hello Lisbon in AR? Did you and your students visited Lisbon? If not, teachers  think about a school visit to Lisbon, a beautiful city, enter on the most known tram, line 28, to visit Lisbon in AR. Wow! A great adventure in a famous city.

Well, the 28 line celebrates today its 117th birthday!



110th Anniversary of the Lisbon Tram
https://www.google.com/doodles/

• Google Doodle:

Google celebrated on the 31 August 2011, the 110th anniversary of the first Portuguese tramway line, between Cais do Sodré and Algés, in Lisbon, Portugal, with a colorful Doodle.

How nice! The word Google enters letter by letter in the Portuguese tramway! It could be an interesting digital resource to include into school curricula: new countries, other cultures and different languages. An old but always 'fancy' transport in some big cities.

Tramway line 28 | Lisbon
credits: unknown
https://lisbonlisboaportugal.com/lisbon-transport/

Education:

So, let's start with some tips on cultural traditions as a brief introduction to learn about different cities in the world. In this case, Lisbon, Portugal.

Tram 28 in Lisbon, cartoon

credits: Sam Bosma

http://www.sbosma.com/

• The tramway

The tramway is an urban transport from the 19th century. And it's still working in some European countries, and other different continents: United States, South America, Australia or New Zealand.

In Porto, Portugal, there is the Tramway Museum! The Tramway Museum of Porto is open to tourists and to schools.

Museu Carro Eléctrico, Porto, Portugal

https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/

• Activities:

- General information: Ask your students to make some research about trams in Portugal.

They can use their smartphones, or tablets if you are teaching in a 'lucky' class.

- Culture: After the first information, teachers will ask the students to continue the research activity but now to find countries that are using the tramway as an usual public transport in our days and in which cities.

After a good individual research about cities that are using trams as a public transport, invite students to join in different groups.

Each group will choose a different city and will develop a project. For example, exploring a touristic tour.

Note: The fair way to distribute cities' names among students is the raffle.

Each group will prepare a little video on YouTube, using school account to present different cities to the classroom. Established a time presentation, 3-5 minutes, and time to finish the activity, 3-4 days. Take a week at least for younger students.

Urban Sketch : Lisbon, Belém Jerónimos

water color by Elena Petrova Gancheva

https://pixels.com/

Discussion:

Each group of students learned about a city in the world that is using trams. So, they will share their urban cultural knowledge with their classmates.

Teachers and students are asked to make some questions about each city: history, geography, language, culture, traditions.

Tramway model

 https://www.museudocarroelectrico.pt/

• The Tramway Museum:

In Porto, there is an interesting Museum. The Tramway Museum! The Tramway Museum of Porto is open to tourists and to schools.

The Museum has an impressive collection of antique trams. The museum is well prepared to do different activities with students (different class levels). 

Any group, teacher and his class can rent an old tram to do a touristic tour.

Resources:

Back to the 28 line in Lisbon, teachers and students can get some useful information on Google Maps to know the circuit of the 28 line.

Finally, invite your students to watch the videos on this post about the most famous tram line in Lisbon. Tram 28! They will love to take a tour... like a roller coaster! Wow! Amazing!

I hope you and your students will enjoy this little tramway tour and the activities in two Portuguese cities, Lisbon and Porto.

Don't forget to complete the touristic tour in Lisbon with the app Rewind Cities Lisbon in AR.

Have a nice cultural school visit to Lisbon after a very good lesson!

G-Souto

31.08.2011
update: 31.08.2018

copyright © 2018G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Schools : Portuguese 28 Tram Anniversary : resources by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Schools : Here we go again : Harry Potter game ? Your choice !

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

mobile game

http://www.harrypotterhogwartsmystery.com/

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is a mobile adventure game which will allow players to become students at the wizarding school. It was launched on 25 April 2018.

I couldn't write about the new Harry Potter game before, because there were important subjects on the last days in April and first days in May. You know it!

Here the announcement on last April 25 on Pottermore:

"It’s time to create a new Hogwarts student, choose your house, and attend classes at the one and only Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the new mobile game, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, which launches today. First of all, here’s the trailer to whet your appetite one last time"

Created by games studio Jam City, Hogwarts Mystery is the first offering from Portkey Games, the new games label launched by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

Education:

I won’t lie! My potterheads in the 90's hoped every day that they might get a letter from Hogwarts, some of them Nicknamed Potter as a family name. Oh! dear! By that age, the existence of a secret school in the Highlands of Scotland seemed so possible! 

They imagined Hogwarts would be much the same as our school, but for wizards instead of extremely posh children. They wrote letters to Hogwarts school hoping to have an answer. They were aged 9-11. On that age, imagination has no boundaries. Everything is wionder!

Hogwarts Mystery takes players into the acclaimed institution to live and learn as a pupil. But don’t expect to see familiar faces among the student body.

 Michael Gambon as Professor Dumbledore 

in Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery 

credits: Portkey Games

https://www.theguardian.com/games/2018/

The game revealed on the Pottermore site features six actors reprising their roles from the Harry Potter films including Michael Gambon as Professor Dumbledore, Dame Maggie Smith as Professor McGonagall and Warwick Davis as Professor Flitwick.

Also appearing are Sally Mortemore as Madam Irma Pince, Gemma Jones as Madam Pomfrey and Zoë Wanamaker as Madam Hooch.

The first Harry Potter games in more than 6 years, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery seems to attempt to fulfil that childhood fantasy. 

Hogwarts Mystery

Warwick Davis/ Professor Flitwick

credits: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

https://www.facebook.com/HPHogwartsMystery/

Narration: Characters & experiences

It's a soft narrative game that offers an uncomplicated Hogwarts experience, letting students pick their house, from friendships and rivalries and master spells in the famous castle. 

The writing in the early scenes, however, is a little bland. It makes a good attempt at capturing Snape’s sardonic disdai, but there’s not much flair to it. It doesn’t have the fizz and personality of the books. No.

Described as 'a story-driven mobile narrative role-playing game', Hogwarts Mystery will see players/students creating their own student characters, attending classes, learning spells and taking part in Duelling Club. 

It will be possible to build friendships – and rivalries – as the story evolves, with key decisions affecting the character arc, while a new encounter system will provide pivotal moments that will shape each quest.

Hogwarts Mystery

credits: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

https://www.pottermore.com/news/

The story is set prior to The Chosen One’s arrival at Hogwarts. Instead,  players /students have the opportunity to make their own narrative choices and engage with the wizarding world setting to create new and unique experiences. 

Young students can write their own chapters, without being overshadowed by Harry Potter’s fame.

Hogwarts Mystery

credits: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

https://www.pottermore.com/news/

As well as being able to attend Hogwarts classes, go to Flying Class lessons, visit their chosen house’s common room (finally! A proper look inside Hufflepuff’s!), enrage Snape, or simply make new friends.

The game invites kids to twist the narrative in different directions, as well as giving their character a mysterious backstory.

The writing in the early scenes, however, is a little bland; it makes a good attempt at capturing Snape’s sardonic disdain and McGonagall’s pursed restraint, yes. But there’s not much flair to it. It doesn’t have the fizz and personality of the books. For sure. The books were so tempting! Even me, as the teacher reading the books in the classroom, I was really interested on the narrative.

Hogwarts Mystery

credits: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

https://www.pottermore.com/news/

But it’s all about the little details too: in every conversation young new potterheads choice dictates their character. And not just the character. For example, Pottermore "recommended one of it new friends Rowan a cool new hat, and we’re thrilled to say she took our advice in a later scene.

Hogwarts Mystery

credits: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

https://www.pottermore.com/news/

The game is not written by J.K. Rowling herself. The game has been honed to emulate the Hogwarts experience so kids, the student/player, can create their very own Hogwarts story.

Apps: Game Features:

• Magic Spells, Potions & More

- Attend classes to learn and master magical skills like casting spells and brewing potions.

- Unlock new characters, spells, potions and locations as you advance through the years of Hogwarts.

- Customize your student avatar.

• Mystery and Adventure

- Use your magical skills to investigate mysteries at Hogwarts.

- Discover the truth behind the Cursed Vaults and your brother's disappearance in an all new story.

• Friendships that Matter

- Bond with your housemates to win the House Cup.

- Go on quests to help friends and fellow students…or frustrate rivals.

- Earn respect and build relationships by adventuring together.

Game demo/ YouTube

Available:
iPhone
Android
Please note that Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is free to download and play, however, you can purchase some in-game items with real money. 
If students want to limit this feature, they must disable in-app purchases in their device's settings.

"After drawing in the Potterites with a enchanting start, this game constantly interrupts your play unless you pay up. It’s dull, dismaying and deeply cynical"

Keza MacDonald, Games, The Guardian

screenshot Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mistery

https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/

Some notes:
Hogwarts Mystery really captures something of the Hogwarts fantasy. It’s set in the 1980´s when Harry was still a baby, so there are no conversations with Draco or Ron, but there are cameos from other well-known characters in their younger days. 
For students who love Harry Potter books, there’s a thrill to trying out your first wand in Olivander’s.
And of course for teachers who want to include games into school curriculum to captivate young and new potterheads. An of course teach narration.
Oh! Perhaps are you a young teacher around 25-30 years, first potterheads generation?
G-Souto
13.05.2018

Copyright © 2018G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Schools : Here we go again. Harry Potter game Hogwarts Mystery ? by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

References:

Pottermore/ Hogwarts Mystery

Schools : And now, World Poetry Day !

World Poetry Day 

©Shutterstock

https://www.unesco.org/

We have not wings, 

we cannot soar; 

But we have feet to scale and climb 

By slow degrees, by more and more, 

The cloudy summits of our time.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"Poetry is a window onto the breath-taking diversity of humanity."

Irina Bokova, Former Director General, message on World Poetry Day 2017

At a time when the challenges we face – from climate change, inequality and poverty to violent extremism – seem so steep, the words of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow give us hope.

Those are the first words from Irina Bokova's message for World Poetry Day 2017.

Held every year on 21 March, World Poetry Day celebrates one of humanity’s most treasured forms of cultural and linguistic expression and identity. 

Practiced throughout history – in every culture and on every continent – poetry speaks to our common humanity and our shared values, transforming the simplest of poems into a powerful catalyst for dialogue and peace.

@aoyagi_unesco

UNESCO first adopted 21 March as World Poetry Day during its 30th General Conference in Paris in 1999, with the aim of supporting linguistic diversity through poetic expression and increasing the opportunity for endangered languages to be heard.

In celebrating World Poetry Day, March 21, UNESCO recognizes the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.

One of the main objectives of the Day is to support linguistic diversity through poetic expression and to offer endangered languages the opportunity to be heard within their communities.

World Poetry Day

credits: UN

https://www.un.org/

World Poetry Day is the occasion to honor poets, revive oral traditions of poetry recitals, promote reading, writing and teaching of poetry, foster the convergence between poetry and other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and raise the visibility of poetry in the media.  As poetry continues to bring people together across continents, all are invited to join in.

credits: UN

https://www.un.org/

 

The Nobel prize poet Pablo Neruda wrote, “poetry is an act of peace.” Poetry is unique in its ability to speak across time, space and culture, to reach directly the hearts of people everywhere. This is a wellspring for dialogue and understanding – this has always been a force to challenge injustice and advance freedom. 

As UNESCO’s new Goodwill Ambassador for Artistic Freedom and Creativity, Deeyah Khan has said, all art, including poetry, “has the extraordinary capacity to express resistance and rebellion, protest and hope.” 

Google Doodle:

Nowruz 2017

https://www.google.com/doodles/

"Nowruz is a field where reconciliation and dialogue can take their roots."

Irina Bokova, Former Director General,
Message on International Day of Nowruz 2017

March 21, is also International Day of Nowruz. For more than 3,000 years, people of Persian ancestry have been celebrating Nowruz, the return of Spring and the start of a new year. 

Google celebrates as well the 21 March Nowruz Day with springtime flowers, like the hyacinths and tulips in today’s Doodle.

A combination of the Persian words “now” for new and “ruz” for day, it is often celebrated at the exact moment of the vernal (spring) equinox, when the days start getting longer, and the celebrations can continue for up to two weeks.

Nowruz is a time of joyous renewal. Visits with friends and family, a clean house and new clothes, and special spring foods are traditional ways to celebrate the holiday. 

Perhaps the most enduring image of Nowruz is gathering together with friends and family around a bonfire. People also like to decorate with springtime flowers, like the hyacinths and tulips in today’s Doodle.

Nowruz traditions

https://www.bbc.com/

Inscribed in 2009, and extended in 2016 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a cultural tradition observed by numerous peoples, Nowruz is an ancestral festivity marking the first day of spring and the renewal of nature.

It promotes values of peace and solidarity between generations and within families as well as reconciliation and neighborliness, thus contributing to cultural diversity and friendship among peoples and different community.

Persian Poetry: Omar Khayyam. Rubáiyát

Translated by Edward FitzGerald with illustrations by Arthur Szyk 

New York: Heritage Press, ca. 1946

https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/

The rich Persian poetry is an ancestral art. The modern Persian speaker comprehends the literature of the earliest Persian poets including founder of the Persian poetry and literature Rudaki (approximately 1150 years ago) all the way down to the works of modern Persian poets. 

I saw a bird near the city of Sarakhs It had raised its song to the clouds I saw a colorful chador on it So many colors on its chador

Abū ‘Abdallāh Rūdakī (858–ca. 941)

Often referred to as the father of modern Persian poetry, the ninth-century Persian poet Abū ‘Abdallāh Rūdakī (858–ca. 941) 

World Poetry Day
credits: Elyx
https://www.facebook.com/ElyxYak/

So, on World Poetry Day, teachers promote teaching poetry, restore a dialogue between poetry and the other arts such as theatre, dance, music, painting and other arts to  create an attractive image of poetry in the school so that the art of poetry will no longer be considered an outdated form of art but one.

Activities:

For different activities, you will find some interesting proposals on my Poetry Day post (2016) here

Poetry Day, UK

https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/

Education:

World Poetry Day is an opportunity for children to be introduced to poetry in at school (all levels). It is a time when classrooms are busy with lessons related to poetry, in which students examine poets and learn about different types of poetry. 

Students love poetry! Poetry is a good part or Languages and Literature. So here are some ideas that teachers can include into curriculum.

I love poetry. I read often poetry books. Here the reason why I'm always write 

about World Poetry Day and the importance of Poetry in our life. Poetry must be a part of children's education for the next citizen generation, women and men.

In adult life, they will be women and men of dialogue. Only dialogue can be established in difference and respect for difference. And who knows some among our students will be writers and poets.

All the Activities must be adapted to the levels you teach, of course. You will do wonderful I know. Include attractive poems into your lessons, so that the art of poetry will no longer be considered an outdated from of art but one. Poetry is a fundamental expression of peace.

World Poetry Day is symbolic. We can celebrate poetry every day.

"Poetry is not a luxury. It lies at the heart of who we are as women and men, living together today, drawing on the heritage of past generations, custodians of the world for our children and grandchildren. 

By celebrating poetry today, we celebrate our ability to join together, in a spirit of solidarity, to scale and climb “the cloudy summits of our time.” 

We need this to take forward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to implement the Paris Climate Agreement, to ensure no woman or man is left behind."

Irina Bokova, Former Director-General of UNESCO

G-Souto

20.03.2017
Copyright © 2017G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com®

Schools : And now World Poetry Day ! by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.