Friday 29 January 2010

Water for Life: video & activities

Did you know that approximately 70% of the earth's surface is covered with water? If there is so much water, why do we still hear that there is a shortage of water, and that we're running out of water?


The answer lies in the fact that only 2-3% of this is fresh water, the rest being sea water, which contains salt and other minerals, making it undrinkable for humans.

To make matters worse, 90% of this fresh water is unavailable to us because it is in a frozen state in the North and South Poles, or too deep beneath the earth for us to reach.

More than a quarter of the world's population is without safe drinking water. Without water, there is no life. We can survive up to a month without food, but we won't last a week without water. 60% of an adult body and almost 80% of a baby is water! Even though water is constantly recycled, factors such as natural disasters and contamination are reducing the supply of fresh water, while at the same time, demand is increasing.

It is no surprise then that the UN has decreed 2005-2015 the International Decade for Action ‘Water for Life’.

Watch this entertaining video, and learn the catchy lyrics following it. Then, do the activities at the bottom.

The Water Cycle Song

Somewhere out there the sun is shining in a little puddle.
That's just part of something that we call: the water cycle.

Water from a little puddle turns to gas: Evaporation
The gas forms into puffy clouds: Condensation
The clouds get heavy and the rain pours down: Precipitation in their puddles on the ground

Oh, the water cycle round and round
Vapour goes up and the rain comes down

Water in the sky, in the ocean, in the ground
It's all in a cycle going round and round

Some clouds look like a horse's tail: that's cirrus (Cirrus)
Some clouds look like cauliflowers: that's cumulus (Cumulus)
Some clouds look like a blanket of grey: that's stratus (Stratus)

There are high clouds low clouds and in between clouds
Fog on the ground is also where we see clouds
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Oh, the water cycle round and round
Vapour goes up and the rain comes down

Water in a river, in a glass, in a cloud
It's all in a cycle going round and round

When warm air meets cold air trouble brews
That could mean a storm and that's bad news
A hurricane can form when that happens near warm water

Look out if that storm reaches land
Get out of the way; grab your sons and daughters
Crash, bash, boom and Kebam
Oh no, we forgot Uncle Dan

I'm okay, I'm allright, I was just hiding in a garbage can
(He was hiding in a garbage can)

Oh, the water cycle round and round
Vapour goes up and the rain comes down

Water in a person, in a well deep down
It's all in a cycle going round and round

Have a go at this 12-question quiz. Don't forget to comment below!


This is a simple exercise where you have to match pairs of sentences. You have a time limit of 3 minutes.

To start the game, click on the icon below.


Chiew's ESL EFL CLIL Games for Education Blog, 游戏学英语

Now, try this word search. The words are related to water and can be found at the bottom of the page. Try to do it without looking at the words first. If you still can't find them all, you can look at the keys here.


If you like this game, please link to it by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:

Games for Education

Games Competition

Those of you who are into competitions, two of my games (Cooking Verbs and Laboratory Equipment) are featured in a games competition in Purpose Games. You'd need to sign up to be able to compete. If you have played those games, why don't you pop over there and have a go? Let me know how you got on.

 It will run for only 2 weeks, so do hurry! Good luck!

Monday 25 January 2010

Food, Glorious Food: Cooking Verbs - do you know the difference between bake & roast?



So, do you know the difference between roasting and baking?

It actually hasn't got a straightforward answer. Traditionally speaking, we use roasting for meats such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, etc. and baking for foods such as potatoes, cakes, and fish.

In the old days, fatty meat is cooked on a spit over an open fire, while the drier stuff can be baked in a bread oven, hence the usage of these different terms.

It could also be related to the origins of the words. If you look at the origin of many English words, you'll find that food associated with poor people have their origins in Old English, while those associated with the rich originated from French (the upper class spoke French). Likewise, roast comes from the French word, rostir but bake comes from the Old English word, bacan.

So, while the rich ate beef, the poor ate bread and potatoes. And, did the poor eat fish? Well, that's for you to find out, and post your findings in the comments section below!

Now, listen to Weird Al Yankovic's parody of Michael Jackson's Beat It, and try to fill in the missing gaps. Then, do some, if not all, of the various activities (including crossword, word search, labelling game, and quiz) which follow.

"Eat It"

How come you're always such a fussy young man
Don't want no Captain Crunch, don't want no Raisin Bran
Well, don't you know that other kids are starving in Japan
So eat it, just eat it

Don't want to argue, I don't want to debate
Don't want to hear about what kind of ____ you hate
You won't get no dessert 'till you clean off your plate
So eat it

Don't you tell me you're full
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Get yourself an ____ and ____ it
Have some more chicken, have some more pie
It doesn't matter if it's ____ or ____
Just eat it, eat it, just eat it, eat it
Just eat it, eat it, just eat it, eat it, ooh

Your table manners are a cryin' shame
You're playin' with your ____, this ain't some kind of game
Now, if you starve to death, you'll just have yourself to blame
So eat it, just eat it

You better listen, better do what you're told
You haven't even touched your ____ casserole
You better chow down or it's gonna get cold
So eat it

I don't care if you're full
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Open up your mouth and feed it
Have some more ____, have some more spam
It doesn't matter if it's ____ or canned
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Don't you make me repeat it
Have a banana, have a whole bunch
It doesn't matter what you had for ____
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it

Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
If it's gettin' cold, reheat it
Have a big ____, have a light ____
If you don't like it, you can't send it back
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Get yourself an ____ and ____ it (oh lord)
Have some more chicken, have some more pie
It doesn't matter if it's ____ or ____
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it



Click on the image below to start the labelling game.

Chiew's blog: Games for Education, 游戏学英语




Nathan Grimm from Guide to Culinary Schools told me about an article his site has just published: 101 Best Cooking Videos. So, if you want to try some new recipes or learn some new tricks, check it out!

It's been brought to my attention that I haven't uploaded the keys. That has now been rectified. The keys are available in both Slideshare and Scribd.

Tuesday 19 January 2010

Laboratory Equipment - Quiz and Labelling Game



This is a 2-part quiz for you to test yourself on what you remember of laboratory equipment.

The first is a multiple choice quiz where you are provided with the description and you need to match it to the name of the equipment.

The second is a labelling game.




Click on the image below to start the game.

Chiew's blog: Games for Education, 游戏学英语

If you like this or the other games in this blog, please link to them by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:


Games for Education

Friday 15 January 2010

Parts of a Flower & its Life Cycle

Last updated on 22nd Jan to add more videos, etc.

Last updated on 21st Jan to add an alternative labelling game.


To help you study the reproductive process of plants, watch these videos and then, do the activities which follow. Try to learn the lyrics of the flower song - it will help you remember important details. Some words are linked to explanations; click on them if you don't understand the meaning.


Flowers may look pretty, but from a different slant
They're simply reproductive organs of a plant
The stamen has the pollen that goes to make a seed
It's separate from the stigma and the ovary

You need flower power so a plant can breed
You need flower power to make a lot of seeds

Pollen can be carried by an insect or the breeze
If you are allergic it can make you sneeze
It has to reach the stigma and the ovary
If it's ever gonna turn into a seed

You need flower power so a plant can breed
You need flower power to make a lot of seeds

You can admire their petals, their style and their stem
But I'll get mighty riled if you go picking them
Seeds must be dispersed so they get a chance
To germinate and grow into healthy plants

One day they will flower and make a lot of seeds
When pollen hits their stigmas and the ovaries

You need flower power so a plant can breed
You need flower power to make a lot of seeds

You can admire their petals, their style and their stem
But I'll get mighty riled if you go picking them

You need flower power so a plant can breed
You need flower power to make a lot of seeds





Click on the image below to start the game.

Chiew's blog: Games for Education, 游戏学英语

Click on the image below to start the alternate labelling game.

Chiew's blog: Games for Education, 游戏学英语

If you like this or the other games in this blog, please link to them by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:


Games for Education