English Speaking Cities: Learning English through a journey around the world

English Speaking Cities is a collection of ten open educational resources from the EDIA Project, developed by CEDEC for English in Year 10 (3º ESO). The project uses travel as its central theme, taking students to cities where English is an important language of communication. London, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Cork, New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Toronto and Sydney become the settings for different learning projects in which students use English to complete meaningful tasks and create final products.

Each project follows a similar structure: students explore a city, carry out a series of activities and work towards a final task. These include writing an opinion article, creating a poster, recording an interview, designing an environmental campaign, producing an infographic, making a video, preparing a digital presentation or recording a podcast. At the same time, students work on specific language content such as different verb tenses, conditionals, comparatives, the passive voice, infinitives and gerunds.

The project combines reading, writing, listening, speaking and interaction with Project-Based Learning (PBL). Grammar is therefore not treated as an isolated set of exercises but as a tool students need in order to complete a communicative task. The resources also promote active learning, digital competence, higher-order thinking, formative assessment and reflection on learning. The travel theme also creates opportunities to connect English with geography, history, culture, environmental issues and digital literacy. 

The ten projects can be used as a complete learning programme or teachers can simply select individual activities or projects to complement their existing lessons. The resources are open and can be viewed, downloaded and adapted to suit different groups and teaching contexts.

https://cedec.intef.es/situaciones-de-aprendizaje-para-ingles-de-3oeso-proyecto-english-speaking-cities/

Plays.org: Learning through play

Sometimes the simplest way to introduce a new concept, practise something we have already learned or give students a short change of pace is to turn it into a game. 

Plays.org is a large collection of free browser-based games, and although the website is not exclusively educational, it includes a substantial section devoted to learning games that can be useful in the classroom. The main advantage is its simplicity: the games can be played directly in a web browser, without installing an app or additional software, and they are designed to work across computers, tablets and mobile devices.

The educational section brings together games covering areas such as mathematics, spelling, vocabulary, reading, phonics, numbers, shapes, science and basic health. There are very simple activities for younger learners, such as recognising numbers, identifying shapes or matching body parts, alongside more challenging games involving mental arithmetic, mathematical operations, word formation, logic and problem solving.

https://plays.org/education-games/

The secret messages of Viking runestones

The Vikings are usually associated with longships, exploration, battles and raids, but there is another side of their culture that is perhaps less familiar: the stories they left behind in stone. This short TED-Ed lesson, presented by historian Jesse Byock, takes us into the world of Viking runestones and the mysterious messages written on them in Old Norse using runic letters.

The video is a fascinating introduction to the Vikings through something they actually left behind. Instead of focusing only on the usual images of warriors and ships, it looks at the fragments of stone, bone and other materials that have helped historians understand Viking society. Runestones become a kind of historical evidence, giving us clues about the people who created them, what they believed, who they wanted to remember and even how they wanted to be remembered.

The animation also introduces students to the idea that writing has not always looked the way it does today. The runic alphabet, or futhark, opens up an interesting door into language and communication. Students can see how a written message can survive for centuries and become a source of information about a society that disappeared long ago. At the same time, it is a good reminder that historians often have to piece together the past from incomplete evidence rather than simply finding a book that tells them exactly what happened.

One of the things that makes this resource work particularly well in the classroom is its combination of history, language and visual storytelling. The animation is short and accessible, making it easy to use as an introduction to a unit on the Vikings, the Middle Ages or the history of writing. It could also work well in an English lesson, especially with students who enjoy history, fantasy or archaeology. The vocabulary provides plenty of opportunities to work with words connected with writing, symbols, exploration, ancient cultures and historical evidence.

There is also a nice opportunity for students to go beyond simply watching the video. After viewing it, they could investigate a Viking runestone, try to identify some runic symbols, research what inscriptions tell us about everyday life, or create their own short “runestone” containing a message for people living hundreds of years in the future. That last activity can lead to some surprisingly interesting conversations: What would we want people in the future to know about us? What would they misunderstand if all they had were a few objects and inscriptions?

https://ed.ted.com/lessons/spells-threats-and-dragons-the-secret-messages-of-viking-runestones-jesse-byock

Lesson planning with #AI

How can artificial intelligence help teachers prepare better lessons while saving time? This resource from Ditch that Textbook offers a practical introduction to using AI as a teaching assistant during the planning process. Rather than presenting AI as a magic solution, the webpage encourages teachers to use it as a starting point: a tool for generating ideas, exploring possibilities, creating activities and receiving feedback, while the teacher remains responsible for making the final decisions.

The resource is divided into two main areas. The first explores ways of using AI to improve lessons that already exist. Teachers can ask an AI assistant to suggest a lesson plan, create analogies to explain difficult concepts, identify common misconceptions, generate discussion or reflection questions, develop real-world examples, create dialogues or even design interactive stories connected to the subject being taught. AI image generators can also be used to create an unexpected visual “hook” to introduce a topic and stimulate students’ curiosity. The page also suggests using AI to help with assessment, differentiation and the alignment of lessons with curriculum standards.

The second part focuses on planning new lessons with AI. The process begins with the big picture and gradually moves towards individual activities. Teachers can start with a unit or a set of learning objectives, introduce the relevant curriculum standards, and then ask AI to suggest activities, resources and assessment strategies. An important message throughout the resource is that AI-generated material should always be evaluated and adapted. AI can produce many ideas very quickly, but teachers are the ones who know their students, their classroom context and what will actually work.

https://ditchthattextbook.com/ai-lesson-planning/

Library of Congress. Free to Use and Reuse sets

Free to Use is a section of the Library of Congress that brings together images, photographs, maps, manuscripts, posters, illustrations and other materials from its digital collections that can be freely reused. It offers an excellent opportunity to explore historical and cultural documents while discovering how libraries and archives can become valuable sources of authentic educational material.

One of the most interesting features of the resource is its visual richness. Instead of working only with written explanations about history, society or culture, students can examine original photographs, historical maps, advertisements, drawings and other documents. These materials can be used to investigate the past, identify changes over time and ask questions about the people, places and events represented in them.

For teachers, the collection offers many possibilities for project-based and inquiry-based learning. A photograph can become the starting point for a historical investigation; a map can be used to study geographical change; an old advertisement can lead to an analysis of consumer culture and stereotypes; and a historical poster can be examined to understand propaganda, political messages or the social values of a particular period. Students can also compare historical images with contemporary ones and discuss how societies represent themselves.

The resource is particularly valuable for the English classroom because it provides authentic materials from an English-speaking cultural context. Students can describe images, reconstruct the stories behind them, write captions, create short narratives, investigate unfamiliar vocabulary or prepare presentations based on primary sources. It can also encourage students to move beyond the textbook and use English as a tool for exploring history and culture.

https://www.loc.gov/free-to-use/

The Library That Dolly Built

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a literacy initiative created in 1995 by American singer and philanthropist Dolly Parton through the Dollywood Foundation. Its purpose is simple but powerful: to encourage children to develop a love of reading from an early age by giving them books for free. The programme sends high-quality, age-appropriate books to children from birth to the age of five, regardless of their family’s income.

What began as a local initiative in Sevier County, Tennessee, has grown into an international programme operating in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and the Republic of Ireland. The programme reached its 200-millionth book in 2023 and, in 2022, was already mailing two million books every month worldwide.

The educational interest of the initiative lies not only in providing access to books but also in creating a relationship with reading before children even start school. The books are selected according to children's developmental stages: the youngest children receive books designed around images, sounds, rhythm and simple language, while older children are introduced to increasingly complex stories, poetry, science, values and preparation for school. Audio and Braille editions are also available.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNri2gb9jYk&t=1s

Maps.Interlude: geography, maps and data at a glance

Maps.Interlude is a blog dedicated to maps, geography and data, offering a large collection of visual resources that can help us understand the world through maps. Its posts cover a remarkably wide range of topics, from European housing, employment and agriculture to migration, elections, energy, climate, inequality and tourism. Recent examples include maps showing average home sizes in the EU, the countries with the largest agricultural economies, the length of time people stay with the same employer, military expenditure in Europe, voting ages and wealth inequality.

This makes the website particularly useful for Geography and Social Sciences, but also for subjects such as Economics, History, Citizenship Education or Mathematics, where students can work with statistics, comparisons and geographical information.

For teachers, the blog can be used as a source of short, engaging prompts for classroom discussion. A map about voting age in Europe, for example, could lead students to compare electoral systems and discuss political participation; maps about migration could open a discussion about population movements and diversity; and data on employment, salaries or inequality could provide opportunities to analyse social and economic differences between European countries. Other maps, such as those dealing with climate, energy production or agriculture, can provide starting points for work on sustainability and the European Green Deal.

https://mapsinterlude.wordpress.com/

Experiencing Democracy in the Classroom

Experiencing Democracy in the Classroom: Building Democratic Learning Environments to Promote Civic Learning is an open-access publication edited by Valeria Damiani and published by Springer in 2026 as part of the IEA Research for Educators series. Its starting point is both simple and powerful: schools are not only places where students learn about democracy; they are also places where they can experience and practise it.

The publication aims to provide teachers with practical tools and examples to create democratic learning environments, strengthen civic learning and encourage students to become more engaged in classroom and community life. It emphasises that when students have meaningful opportunities to participate, express their views, listen to others and become involved in decision-making, they develop not only civic knowledge but also the attitudes and behaviours needed for active citizenship.

The first part of the book connects the theory of civic and citizenship education with everyday classroom practice. It looks at the role of schools and communities in developing citizenship and also draws on findings from the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS). The second part moves towards practice, presenting teaching strategies and examples from schools in Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil and Slovenia. These experiences provide inspiration for teachers who want to make participation, dialogue and democratic values a more visible part of school life.

For teachers, the publication offers an interesting reminder that democratic education does not have to be restricted to a particular subject or occasional activity. The way we organise a classroom, encourage discussion, manage disagreement and give students a voice is itself an opportunity to teach democracy. This makes the book particularly relevant for work on active citizenship, critical thinking, human rights, inclusion, media literacy and participation.

The publication is freely available online, making it an accessible resource for teachers and schools interested in developing more participatory and democratic educational environments.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-25449-8

ESL Worksheets and Lesson Plans for English Teachers

Linguahouse is an online platform offering a large collection of teaching materials for teachers of English as a foreign or second language. Its ESL Lesson Plans section brings together lesson plans and worksheets that can be searched and filtered according to different criteria, making it easier for teachers to find activities suited to their students and teaching context. The platform includes resources for general English, English for teenagers and other more specific areas, as well as materials based on different types of language and media.

One of its main advantages is its practical approach. Instead of simply providing isolated exercises, the platform offers materials that can be incorporated into complete lessons, with topics and activities designed to encourage students to use English in meaningful contexts. Some resources also include audio or video, which can help teachers develop listening skills and introduce more varied and engaging classroom activities.

For secondary-school English teachers, Linguahouse can therefore be a useful source of inspiration when planning lessons, looking for activities on particular topics or adding variety to the textbook. Materials can be adapted to different levels and classroom situations and can provide opportunities to practise vocabulary, grammar, reading, listening and speaking while discussing contemporary and engaging topics.

The website also distinguishes between free and subscription-based materials, so teachers can explore the available resources and choose those that best fit their needs. Its subscription plans provide broader access to the platform's EFL/ESL resources and include lesson and course plans, among other materials.

https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans

Exploring eclipses with the European Space Agency

The European Space Agency (ESA) offers this clear and accessible resource to help students understand what an eclipse is and why these fascinating astronomical events occur. The page explains the two main types of eclipses that can be observed from Earth: solar eclipses, which occur when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, and lunar eclipses, which happen when the Earth comes between the Sun and the Moon.

The resource goes further by explaining the different forms of solar eclipses and showing how the Moon's elliptical orbit affects what we see from Earth. It also explains why solar eclipses do not occur every month, despite the Moon orbiting our planet approximately every 28 days. The section on lunar eclipses describes total and partial eclipses and explains why the Moon can sometimes appear reddish during a total lunar eclipse.

For teachers, this ESA resource is an excellent starting point for introducing astronomy and space science in an engaging way. In the English classroom, it can also be used as authentic English-language material to develop scientific vocabulary and reading comprehension while learning about a fascinating real-world phenomenon. Students could use the information to explain an eclipse in their own words, create a diagram, compare solar and lunar eclipses, or prepare a short presentation. The page also links to additional ESA resources on the science of solar eclipses, eclipse prediction and the history of eclipses, making it easy to extend the learning experience.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/What_is_an_eclipse

New Children’s Books for Autumn 2026

For teachers looking for fresh reading ideas for the new school year, the School Reading List has put together a useful selection of children’s and young adult books being published in the UK during autumn 2026. The collection includes picture books, early readers, fiction for different age groups, poetry and non-fiction, covering readers from around 3 years old to teenagers and young adults. The selection has been specifically designed with classroom teaching, school libraries, home learning and reading for pleasure in mind.

The page is organised by age and reading level, making it particularly practical for teachers who want to discover books that match their students’ interests and abilities. 

What makes the resource especially interesting for education is the diversity of themes that can be found among the recommended titles. Some books explore friendship, identity, inclusion and difference, while others address environmental problems, migration, war, grief, family relationships or the impact of technology. 

The resource can therefore be much more than a list of new books. It can help teachers refresh classroom libraries, find material for reading projects and discover stories that provide starting points for discussion and interdisciplinary learning. For English teachers, in particular, it offers an opportunity to bring contemporary authentic literature into the classroom and encourage students to read for pleasure while developing vocabulary, comprehension and critical thinking skills.

https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/new-book-releases/new-childrens-books-autumn-2026/

Hooking students on classical mythology via The Odyssey

With Christopher Nolan's epic film adaptation of The Odyssey capturing audiences, ancient Greek mythology is having a major cultural moment in classrooms. While a cinematic spectacle is a great way to spark curiosity, students still need accessible text resources to help them process Homer’s complex narrative structure, non-linear timeline, and vast cast of characters.

The BBC Bitesize guide to Geraldine McCaughrean’s adaptation of The Odyssey offers an ideal bridge between Hollywood hype and classroom literacy.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/ztsj2v4#zp4pf82

Research Animations for Educators by Edutopia

Edutopia brings academic research to life through a dedicated series of animated videos that explore how learning actually happens. By gathering these visual breakdowns in one place, the platform translates scientific findings into clear, bite-sized insights, helping educators refine their teaching practices and empowering students with proven strategies to improve their own learning habits.

https://www.edutopia.org/package/research-animations-for-educators

Football Welcomes Refugees

This educational resource pack published by Amnesty International UK, primarily for students aged 7 to 14, serves as a teaching tool to spark meaningful classroom discussions about human rights, asylum, and migration by using football as a familiar and engaging entry point. 

The core of the material explores the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically focusing on the rights to life, to seek asylum from persecution, and to enjoy rest and leisure. To make these abstract concepts tangible for young learners, the pack features real-life case studies of professional footballers and community clubs with refugee backgrounds. 

Alongside these inspiring stories, the resource provides a series of reflective discussion prompts and structured curriculum activities ranging from creative drama and geography mapping to research-based journalism projects.

For an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, this resource is a highly effective asset for Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), allowing students to develop authentic language skills while engaging with a significant global topic. Teachers can utilize the biographical texts for jigsaw reading tasks, where students read different profiles and practice their speaking and listening skills by summarizing their assigned player's life history to their peers. The topic introduces a rich set of vocabulary related to migration, community integration, and emotional resilience. The built-in discussion questions, which ask students to imagine what they would pack if they had to suddenly leave home, serve as an excellent communicative tool to practice conditional structures and build empathy in a highly interactive way. The project-based prompts can be adapted into creative writing assessments, such as formatting a short newspaper report or designing a school welcome poster, which encourages students to synthesize new vocabulary into meaningful, real-world output.

https://media.amnesty.org.uk/documents/HRE20Football20welcomes202022.pdf

FlightQ

FlightQ is a popular daily trivia platform featuring geography and aviation puzzles. 

The site offers various Wordle-style challenges where you get up to five daily attempts to guess flight routes, identify airports, or recognize transit networks around the globe. Its flagship game, SkyQ, prompts you to guess a mysterious flight path by picking a starting airport and using directional and distance clues to narrow down the correct destination. Another core mode, AirportQ, challenges you to name a specific airport using geographic clues, while additional variants focus on train systems and urban exploration. 

You can play these daily puzzles for free directly on the FlightQ website or download the mobile application.

https://flightq.app/

Child Safety Online: Protecting and Empowering Minors in a Digital World

Keeping children safe online is one of the biggest challenges facing families, schools, and policymakers today. The European Commission's report Child Safety Online: Protecting and Empowering Minors in a Digital World, prepared by a special panel of experts, brings together research and practical recommendations to help create a safer and healthier digital environment for children and teenagers. The report examines both the opportunities and the risks of the online world, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, and artificial intelligence, while highlighting the shared responsibility of families, educators, technology companies, and public institutions.

Rather than focusing only on online dangers, the publication promotes a balanced approach that seeks to empower young people to use digital technologies safely and responsibly. It offers recommendations on age-appropriate digital experiences, stronger online protection, digital literacy, and the importance of supporting children's wellbeing while respecting their rights. The report also stresses that parents and teachers need guidance and practical tools to help children navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape.

Downloads:

https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/d833504d-5ec3-4fac-945f-38e7d0bd5326_en?filename=Special-panel-report.pdf&prefLang=es

Learning English as a foreign language across PISA countries and economies

The OECD report Learning English as a foreign language across PISA countries and economies provides a fascinating overview of how English is taught around the world and the different strategies education systems use to help students develop their language skills. As English continues to play a key role in higher education, employment, international communication, and access to digital information, the report highlights why effective English language teaching has become a priority for schools across many countries.

Drawing on data collected for the PISA 2025 Foreign Language Assessment, the publication compares when students begin learning English, how much time is devoted to language instruction, and the different approaches countries take to teaching it. The report shows that there is no single successful model: while some education systems introduce English at an early age with relatively few lessons, others start later but provide more intensive instruction. These differences offer valuable insights into how language learning can be organised to support students' progress.

For English teachers, this publication is an excellent source of international perspectives on language education. It can stimulate professional reflection on curriculum design, teaching practices, and the role of English in today's interconnected world. The report is also a useful classroom resource, encouraging discussions about multilingualism, global citizenship, and the importance of learning foreign languages in an increasingly international society. By exploring authentic OECD data, students can also develop their critical thinking, data interpretation, and intercultural awareness while improving their English through real-world educational content.

https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2026/05/learning-english-as-a-foreign-language-across-pisa-countries-and-economies_2c68f972/a704eee2-en.pdf

Teachers' and school heads' salaries and allowances in Europe

This interactive tool makes it easy to explore and compare teachers' and school heads' statutory salaries across Europe through clear and engaging data visualisations. It provides up-to-date information on the annual gross salaries of full-time, fully qualified staff working in public schools, as well as the additional allowances they may receive.

The resource includes data from 39 education systems in 37 European countries that are part of the Eurydice network. In some countries, it also covers government-dependent private schools, where these make up a significant part of the education system. The information is organised according to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), covering pre-primary, primary, lower secondary, and upper secondary education. It is a useful resource for anyone interested in understanding and comparing teachers' working conditions across Europe.

https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/data-and-visuals/teachers-heads-salaries

War Atlas

War Atlas is an interactive online platform that uses maps, satellite images, data visualisations, and historical information to explain how wars and armed conflicts affect people, places, and the environment. Instead of presenting conflict only through written reports, the website allows users to explore geographical information and understand where conflicts take place, how they develop over time, and what impact they have on communities, infrastructure, migration, and natural resources.

The platform combines reliable data with clear visualisations, making complex information easier to understand. Users can examine different conflicts, compare regions, and explore how war changes landscapes and human lives. By presenting information in an interactive format, War Atlas encourages users to look beyond headlines and develop a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of armed conflict.

For education, War Atlas is a valuable resource because it promotes geographical literacy, critical thinking, and global citizenship. Teachers can use it to help students interpret maps, analyse data, discuss current international issues, and understand the humanitarian impact of war. It is particularly useful in subjects such as Geography, History, Social Studies, Citizenship Education, and English as a Second Language (ESL), where students can work with authentic English-language materials while developing vocabulary related to peace, conflict, human rights, migration, and international relations.

https://waratlas.org/

Reading Maps

Reading Maps is an interactive website that takes the fictional and real-life journeys from famous books and films and plots them onto a digital map of the real world. By bridging the gap between narrative storytelling and actual geography, the platform maps out the literal tracks, roads, rivers, and sea routes taken by iconic characters and historical figures. Users can filter through a massive database of classics, contemporary novels, and cinema—ranging from Homer’s The Odyssey and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to modern pop culture staples like Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code—to visually track exactly where these stories take place on our planet.

For educators, Reading Maps is a brilliant cross-curricular utility that brings literature, history, and geography together in a visual format. In an English or literature classroom, it serves as a powerful engagement tool that transforms abstract reading assignments into tangible, spatial adventures, helping students conceptualize the grueling scope of a journey. This spatial visualization is especially beneficial for visual learners and struggling readers who find it difficult to track complex settings or shifting locations solely through text. Furthermore, geography and history teachers can use the site to create highly interactive lessons, encouraging students to compare a character's fictional route against real-world topographies, historical borders, or climate zones. 

https://readingmaps.com/