The New World

The New World

About this Project

With this project we are going take look at our New World.

Goals

  1. to become a more sophisticated reader
  2. to become a better, more flexible writer
  3. to become a better listener and more effective speaker
  4. to become a more creative and critical thinker
  5. to develop moral imagination, ethical values, and a sense of vocation

How to Set Smart Business Goals for Your Small Business

Introduction

- What have we experienced during these weird Corona weeks? Let's read and discuss.

Vaccinations: yes or no?

- New and old types of vaccinations have always had and will always have advocates and people who are against them. Let's find out more about vaccinations through reading, watching and listening and a fierce debate!

Food Waste

- With the world’s population growing, there’s more and more waste being produced each year. During this Corona period, people spoke up and urged others to adress this problem; to create a better new normal. In this web task you are going to look at why so much food is thrown away and what we can do to reduce waste.

The post-nuclear animal kingdom

- Not a pandemic, but certainly a global issue that deserves our attention in the new world. Especially considering all the wildlife that roamed the streets during the lockdowns in major cities all across the world. In the context of this, think of what it means for different life forms to rebound after major crises and how they may have been affected by immediate and long-term radioactive contamination or other life-threatening events. After watching a video and reading an article about this, your final task is to write a synopsis of what you learned and perhaps already knew.

Reading File

- Choose the topics you find the most interesting about a new world and improve your reading skills through the use of different reading techniques.

 

 

Introduction

The New Normal

By Leo Babauta

It’s time for us to accept that this pandemic, and social isolation, are here for awhile. But in addition to that, our reality has changed, possibly for good. We’re in a new normal. Some things that have changed for many of us:

RIVM meldt 188 nieuwe positief op coronavirus geteste personen

 

  1. A sense of restriction: We’re not able to do our usual things — not only work and school, but things like haircuts, dentists, coffee shops, restaurants, bars, shops and more. That can feel very restricted.
  2. Heightened uncertainty & anxiety: Things are incredibly uncertain right now, for all of us — for our health, the health of loved ones, the state of the world, the shaky economy, our individual financial situations. And that’s just the start of it. All of this uncertainty is triggering feelings of stress, fear and anxiety in most people, in different ways.
  3. A feeling of isolation but also (possibly) togetherness: For many people, social distancing has created a feeling of isolation that can be very hard to handle. But for many, there can also be a feeling of togetherness – we’re all in this together, no one is excluded. Some are creating that feeling of togetherness by doing video calls, by connecting others online, or by taking part in community or group efforts to help.
  4. Contraction when we’re feeling overwhelmed: It can all be too much. And when we feel that sense of overwhelm, we can want to shut down, exit, turn away, avoid. We avoid hard tasks, we go to distraction, we avoid our healthy habits. This is all completely normal!
  5. A sense of disruption: Our old habits have been disrupted — we can’t do all the things we’re used to doing, and that gives us a feeling of being upended. It’s frustrating to have things disrupted, and can make us feel afloat.
  6. Irritation with others: Being isolated with the same people every day can cause friction. And that brings up all of our issues, all the ways we respond (and they respond) when we get triggered.
  7. Wanting it all to be over: Impatience! We just want to go back to normal. It’s hard to accept the way things are.
  8. Wanting to feel something meaningful: This can all feel very unanchored. And in this feeling of groundlessness and instability, we can yearn for some kind of meaning. Some sense of purpose.

You might not be experiencing all of these, because every person is experiencing the new normal differently. But it is a new normal. So the question is: will we resist it, or can we use it as an opportunity? We can complain about the new normal. Hate it. Stew in frustration about it. That’s one possibility. Another possibility is to use it as a growth opportunity.

The Opportunity That Life is Giving Us

Life is always opening doors for us, giving us a gift. We just don’t often recognize it. For example, this morning, life gave you an amazing gift of a new day. Many people who are on their last breath would give anything for such a miraculous gift — and yet, we often will take this gift for granted. Fritter it away. Complain about much of it. We waste the opportunity that life has given us! So being aware of this … how can we use this new normal as an opportunity and a gift?

The first idea I’d like to offer is that the new normal is just highlighting the difficulties we often felt before, but could more easily ignore.

We could pretend that we weren’t constantly being disrupted, that we weren’t very restricted, that we didn’t have massive uncertainty in our lives. We could pretend that we weren’t craving connection and meaning, that we weren’t irritated by others. We’re very good at fooling ourselves. But now, we can’t pretend (as much). We are faced with these realities, and we can either resist and complain … or we can look them squarely in the face, and accept them.

The second idea is that these are opportunities to grow — to train, to become more resilient.

So for example, we could train in each area I mentioned above:

  • If you’re feeling restricted, let yourself feel the feeling of restriction. It’s probably something you’ve felt many times before but didn’t face it. Can you shift this feeling, after you’ve felt it, to see the sense of openness and freedom and gift in each moment?
  • If you’re feeling isolated, can you use this to connect to yourself more, as if you were a monk in a monastery? Can you let yourself feel the feeling of isolation, and give yourself some compassion?
  • Let yourself feel the craving for connection and meaning. And then see how you can create that for yourself, each day, without any certainty about whether you’re doing it right.
  • If you’re irritated at others, can you rise above your narrative about the other person, and see that you’re both feeling fear and pain? That you both are dealing with this with anger, irritation, frustration? That both of you are resorting to old (unhelpful) patterns? Can you practice compassion for them (and yourself) instead?
  • If you’re impatient and wanting it all to be over … can you practice patience instead? Let yourself be with the pain and frustration you’re feeling, and be willing to face it and sit in the middle of it? This is an incredibly powerful practice that will strengthen us for whatever we face in the future.
  • Can you practice this patience with everything you’re feeling: overwhelmed, irritated, frustrated, anxious, uncertain, fearful? And bring self-compassion to that as well?

So you can get a sense that we’re practicing a few things with whatever we’re facing:

  • A willingness to feel what we’re feeling
  • A willingness to face and sit in the middle of difficulty (patience)
  • Compassion for ourselves and others
  • The ability to create connection and meaning

What would it be like to use the gift of this new normal to get stronger during this crisis? To practice these incredibly transformative practices?

Een nieuwe besmetting met coronavirus in Vlaardingen | Vlaardingen24

Vaccinations: yes or no?

Introduction

Back to school means it's time for physicals and vaccinations ...

Teen Ethan Lindenberger, the 18-year-old who famously got vaccinated against his mother’s wishes, has now become a prominent advocate for immunization. In this webtask, you are going to find out more about vaccinations. You are also going to watch a video about the devastating effects of measles, and you are going to learn more about the arguments of the anti-vaxxer movement. Finally, you are going to have a discussion (a role-play) with a classmate about whether it is a good idea to vaccinate, or not.

Exploration A

Go to https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/immunizations.html?ref=search

Read the text and individually answer the questions.

1 Do you know the meaning of the following words in italics? Write down the Dutch translations. Use a dictionary if necessary.

a measles, mumps and whooping cough

b quaint old illnesses

c together in close quarters

d get a jab in the arm

e check your health records

f chickenpox

g vaccines may cause side effects

h discuss any concerns

i people who dread shots

 

2 Welke twee andere woorden worden gebruikt voor ‘vaccinations’?

3 Waarom worden vooral tieners en studenten getroffen door deze ziekten?

4 Welke drie redenen worden gegeven voor het belang van vaccinaties?

5 Waarom is het voor Amerikaanse tieners/studenten belangrijk om een certificaat te hebben?

6 Zijn inentingen veilig, volgens deze site?

7 Welke mensen moeten oppassen met vaccinaties?

8 Wat kun je doen als je erg bang bent voor naalden, volgens deze site?


Exploration B

Measles cases are reaching alarming rates across the world. Why is this disease so dangerous? Watch this video and answer the questions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0opgc1WoS4

1 What is measles and how does it spread?

2 How long does it take before you notice any symptoms?

3 How contagious is measles?

4 Which organs are affected by measles?

5 What are the symptoms of measles?

6 Why do people die of measles?

7 How is measles treated?

8 What is the message of this video?

Exploration C

Watch this video that tries to debunk myths about vaccinations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b03U6BYF9L0.

Make a list of seven the anti-vaxxer arguments that are presented in this video.

Exploration D

Watch the debunking anti-vaxxers video again, listen carefully, and make notes of the counter arguments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b03U6BYF9L0.

Final task

Now team up with a classmate. Have a discussion about whether or not vaccinations are a good idea.

1 Divide the roles: - One of you is an anti-vaxxer. You come up with at least three arguments against vaccinations (see Assignment C). - The other one thinks vaccinations are good and necessary. You try to debunk your classmate’s arguments (see Assignment D).

2 Prepare your role by making notes (use keywords only).

3 Have the discussion.

4 Now swap roles.

Food waste

Introduction

Food industry giants sign up to waste "pact " in France - Industry ...

With the world’s population growing, there’s more and more waste being produced each year.  Experts think that as much as half of all the food produced in the world ends up going to waste. It’s estimated between 30 and 50% of all the food produced in the world never even reaches a human stomach. Scientists blame food having strict use-by dates and consumers expecting fruit and vegetables to look a certain way. In this web task you are going to look at why so much food is thrown away and what we can do to reduce waste.

 

Exploration A Date labels and food safety

Go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDIpDupYPiY and watch the video. Answer the questions in English.

1 What is the difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates?

2 What is the correct fridge temperature?

3 What happens if your fridge is not cold enough?

4 Can you still freeze food at the ‘use by’ date?

5 What are the Dutch translations of ‘best before’ and ‘use by’?

 

Exploration B Food hero Dan Cluderay

Go to http://www.approvedfood.co.uk/ and read about Dan Cluderay’s business.

1 What does Dan sell?

2 How much money can you save by buying from this company, according to the website?

3 Which products does the company NOT sell?

4 Does Dan have a real shop you can go to? Explain your answer.

Now watch the video about Dan’s company on the website (or on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYUMFnxo-wY) and answer the questions.

5 How does Dan get the goods?

6 How does Dan make sure that the foods he sells is safe to eat?

7 How is the reporter responding to the taste test?

8 How do the people of Sheffield respond to the taste test?

9 What were the results of the lab tests?

10 Would you buy or eat products that are past their ‘best before’ date? Why (not)?

Exploration C Take the quiz


Are you a waster? Take the quiz here: http://www.foodwastemovie.com/quiz-js/

Final task

Food waste is a hot topic both for those trying to save money and the planet. Consumers play a leading role in preventing food waste. But what can we do? How can we make sure we throw away less food?

Make a list of ten ‘top tips for teens’ for preventing food waste. Look on the Internet for ideas, or think of original ideas yourself. Share your tips with your classmates (& family members)!

The post-nuclear animal kingdom

Introduction

Wildlife - The TreadRight Foundation - Make Travel Matter

Almost 30 years after a horrific accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant released massive amounts of radiation and became one of the world’s worst nuclear catastrophes, the long-abandoned site has some new inhabitants: new research finds that many native wildlife species are once again finding refuge in the human-free Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine. In the context of this, think of what it means for different life forms to rebound and how they may have been affected by immediate and long-term radioactive contamination. After watching a video and reading an article about this, your final task is to write a synopsis of what you learned and perhaps already knew.

Exploration  A

1. Read the article about wildlife returning to the Chernobyl area:

https://www.livescience.com/52458-wildlife-populations-chernobyl-disaster.html

2. Going by the article, what questions still remain unanswered?

3. Come up with at least three questions of your own you’d like to see answered.

Exploration B

1. Watch the video about wildlife returning to the Chernobyl area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khv87k68kIs

2. What do you learn from the video about how much the natural habitat for animals is still impacted by the 1986 nuclear disaster?

Final task

1. Because you care about a healthy environment for all lifeforms, you have become actively involved with the organisation Friends of the Earth International (FoEI).

To inform the general public, you are asked to write a short report about some of the short- and long-term consequences of nuclear disasters on people, animal life, and plant life. Use what you learned about Chernobyl as an example. Express the concern that we don’t know enough yet about the impact of radioactive radiation on any and all lifeforms and that more research is needed.

• List at least five animal species that we have come to depend on for food and whose potential DNA mutations should be researched to learn more about radioactive contamination.

• List a minimum of five animal species that don’t necessarily depend on humans for survival and that might thrive (with or without DNA mutations) in a post-nuclear disaster environment. Draw from what you learned from the article and video listed in this web task.

• Mention the notion that, despite humans are at the top of the food chain, they might not make as successful a return as some other lifeforms.  

• Mention and explain that you may not need to be an environmentalist to be against nuclear power plants.

* Length: 350-400 words.

Reading File

Antibiotic resistance: new discovery could change the future of ...

 

A) Pick a text

- Read the text

- Create a summary

- Devise 5 test questions for the text

- Choose from these types of questions

 

ABCD-vragen (meerkeuze vragen)

Open vragen (antwoord opschrijven/citeren)

Gatenvragen (gaten in tekst invullen)

Stellingvragen (stellingen beoordelen met juist/onjuist))

Scanvragen (één open vraag bij een hele tekst)

Post apocalyps Stockfoto's, Rechtenvrije Post apocalyps ...

 

B) Pick a text

- Record yourself reading the text out loud, let a classmate listen to it and provide you with feedback on your pronunciation

Ping An partners with public blockchain SingularityNET for AI ...

 

 

C) Pick a text

- Use the SQ3R Method

SQ3R Survey, Question, Read, Recite and ReviewSQ3R is a five-step study plan to help students conSQ3R Method | Reading intervention, Reading skills, Studystruct meaning while reading. It uses the elements of questioning, predicting, setting a purpose for reading, and monitoring for confusion. SQ3R includes the following steps:1. Survey • Think about the title: “What do I know?” “What do I want to know?” • Glance over headings and first sentences in paragraphs. • Look at illustrations and graphic aids. • Read the first paragraph. • Read the last paragraph or summary. 2. Question• Turn the title into a question.  • Write down any questions that some to mind during the survey.  • Turn headings into questions.  • Turn subheadings, illustrations, and graphic aids into questions.  • Write down unfamiliar vocabulary words and determine their meaning. 3. Read Actively• Read to search for answers to questions.  • Respond to questions and use context clues for unfamiliar words. • React to unclear passages, confusing terms, and questionable statements by generating additional questions. 4. Recite • Look away from the answers and the book to recall what was read.  • Recite answers to questions aloud or in writing.  • Reread text for unanswered questions. 5. Review• Answer the major purpose question.  • Look over answers and all parts of the chapter to organize information.  • Summarize the information learned by drawing flow charts, writing a summary, participating in a group discussion, or by studying for a test 

Antibiotic resistance: why we must win the war against superbugs

https://website.thiememeulenhoff.nl/binaries/content/documents/standaardsites/waspreporter/archief/archive/reading-files/2/antibiotic-resistance-why-we-must-win-the-war-against-superbugs/antibiotic-resistance-why-we-must-win-the-war-against-superbugs/hobosa%3Afile/Antibiotic+resistance+why+we+must+win+the+war+against+superbugs.pdf?download=true

Giant virus revived from deep freeze in Siberian tundra

https://website.thiememeulenhoff.nl/binaries/content/documents/standaardsites/waspreporter/archief/archive/reading-files/2/giant-virus-revived-from-deep-freeze-in-siberian-tundra/giant-virus-revived-from-deep-freeze-in-siberian-tundra/hobosa%3Afile/Giant+virus+revived+from+deep+freeze+in+Siberian+tundra.pdf?download=true

Survival skills put to the test

https://website.thiememeulenhoff.nl/binaries/content/documents/standaardsites/waspreporter/archief/archive/reading-files/2/survival-skills-put-to-the-test/survival-skills-put-to-the-test/hobosa%3Afile/Survival+skills+put+to+the+test.pdf?download=true

Artificial intelligence is the future—but it’s not immune to human bias

https://website.thiememeulenhoff.nl/binaries/content/documents/standaardsites/waspreporter/archief/archive/reading-files/3/artificial-intelligence-is-the-future-but-it’s-not-immune-to-human-bias/artificial-intelligence-is-the-future-but-it’s-not-immune-to-human-bias/hobosa%3Afile/WRWeb+17.4+RF+Driester+AI.pdf?download=true

Life after the apocalypse

https://website.thiememeulenhoff.nl/binaries/content/documents/standaardsites/waspreporter/archief/archive/reading-files/3/life-after-the-apocalypse/life-after-the-apocalypse/hobosa%3Afile/Life+after+the+apocalypse.pdf?download=true

Wrapping it up (Summary/What to hand in?)

Clarification about Endorsement Rules - Whatcom Democrats

 

Introduction

* Written piece: Your opinion on the discussion (150 words) (10 points)

Vaccinations

* Video: of the final task discussion (5 min) (10 points)

Food Waste

* List: of Top Ten Tips for Teens for preventing food waste (100 words) (5 points)

Animals

* Report: about short - and long-term consequences of nuclear disasters on people, animal life and plant life. (350-400 words) (25 points)

Reading file

* Summary + Test Questions ( 150 words) (15 points)

* Recording + feedback Pronunciation (15 points)

* SQ3R Report (10 points)

Lay-out

Neat coherent paper with proper lay-out (10 points)