What national, international, cultural and personal events in 2011 stand out for you most? Why?
Or is it a viral Internet idea?
Or is it an event in your own life, or something else entirely?
You might even list the first five or ten events that come to mind when you think about 2011 as a whole. How would you sum up this year?
What are you looking forward to in 2012?
The New York Times Learning Network suggests the most memorable moments of the year for you as a talking point to wrap up 2011. Before you get together with the people in your group to discuss the topic, there are some things you might do in preparation, so that you can greatly contribute in the discussion.
Take a look at the New York Times 2011 News Quiz to refresh your memory. You have 34 statements with blanks. For help, you can find the missing words jumbled up after the quiz by scrolling down the screen. If your memory fails you or you find the test too demanding, you can click on each blank to be directed to the original Times source for that entry.
You can always check your answers for the quiz on this PDF.
The New York Times Learning Network also presents a video from Flocabulary where the main events of the year are presented in a two-minute rap.
The Year in Rap: 2011 from Flocabulary on Vimeo.
Here are the lyrics for the rap:
2011: We're looking back,
We ran around the sun, it's the Year in Rap.
Dictators used to run the Middle East,
Till this year when people hit the streets.
Started in Tunisia, then it moved
to Egypt, Libya, Yemen, too.
Democracy's now an Arab thing,
It's been blossoming since the Arab Spring.
US found Bin Laden in Pakistan,
And killed him, now he won't attack again.
He'd been hiding out, but we tracked the man,
Now some Pakistanis think that we should pack it in.
South Sudan is a new nation,
While Palestinians are made to stay patient.
In London, reporters hacked a phone
Of a dead girl, so a paper closed.
They nearly ran out of money in Greece,
Italy struggled too, capisce?
Disasters have been off the leash:
Japanese earthquake and a tsunami,
Damaged a nuclear reactor,
The costliest year ever for disasters.
We felt the winds of Irene blow,
And for Halloween, rain dressed up like snow.
Rep. Giffords was shot in Arizona.
Some thought she would be a goner,
But her recovery was amazing,
Her strength is an inspiration!
In the military, you can ask and tell,
And gay marriage in NY as well.
Some think economic inequality is not what it ought to be,
So they occupied Wall Street.
And then it spread real fast,
To cities but some got tear gassed.
The President and GOP can't agree,
His jobs plan? They canned it, see.
We need to reduce our debt like a fraction,
The Supercommittee couldn't make it happen.
The GOP field had more debates
than Lindsay Lohan has had court dates.
NASA stopped shuttle trips into orbit,
I guess they couldn't afford it.
Wisconsin disputes were sharp like cheddar cheese,
When the Gov. tried to cut the unions at the knees.
Bullies in NJ will get stopped,
By the tough new laws they chose to adopt.
Dirk beat the flu to beat the Heat,
NBA locked out so we missed some weeks.
In the ATL we saw teachers cheat,
And we watched when Watson won on Jeopardy.
Computers are smart and getting jacked,
It's Friday like Rebecca Black, remember that?
Sad news: Steve Jobs died,
But there are now 7 billion people alive.
2011: We did it well,
Relax a spell, see y'all in 2012!
