November 18, 2022: Gender Neutral Language

“Small talk” refers to casual, light conversation about common or trivial matters, often used to socialize, break the ice, or establish a rapport. It’s not about delving into deep or personal topics, but rather about creating a comfortable atmosphere for interaction.

In this classroom activity, students become time travelers with big ideas! Each group prepares a short presentation about their plan to change history for the betterment of many people. They have to share their pitch with “scouts” from a company that invented a time machine that can only be used once. They have to convince the scouts their idea for using the time machine is the best one. The scouts will listen carefully and ask questions.

This activity uses a story to promote discussion and problem-solving skills. Students are put into small groups and given one paragraph of a story at a time. After reading each paragraph, the groups will discuss possible solutions or advice for the character in the story.

Foreign travel has been beyond most of us for the past 18 months because of restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. However, there are signs of hope for us to resume our sojourns to exotic and faraway places. The National Geographic magazine has released its list of the top 25 travel destinations for 2022.

A new phenomenon is taking hold across the world – “shrinkflation”. This is when companies reduce the size of their products or range of services while maintaining prices.