The World Cup will be taking place in early June, and I thought I’d get a “head-start” at beginning to accumulate useful resources on the event. I’ll obviously be adding a lot of new materials over the next month-and-a-half.

I’ve divided list into two sections — one with sites accessible to students and the other with lesson plans for teachers.

Here are my choices for The Best Sites For Learning About The World Cup:

FOR STUDENTS:

The Wall Street Journal has two online videos and one slideshow:

World Cup Trophy Unveiled

South Africa Prepares For World Cup

Sewing Soccer Balls

Here’s a quiz on the World Cup for English Language Learners.

Fanatical World Cup fans is a slideshow from Sports Illustrated.

The Road To Twenty Ten has lots of videos and slideshows on the World Cup.

CNN has many World Cup-related videos.

Here are quite a few online learning games connected to the World Cup.

Learn about how the World Cup began.

Baboons a 2010 Soccer World Cup Problem is from Breaking News English.

10 South African Stadiums Of The 2010 FIFA World Cup

Sean Banville has outdone himself by creating 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup – 32 Special Lessons Free, Printable Handouts / MP3 Listening / Online Quizzes — all for English Language Learners.

2010 World Cup: Soweto Rebuilds From Troubled Past is a video from the Wall Street Journal.

ABC News has several World Cup-related online videos.

Spotlight On Soccer is a Time For Kids article on the World Cup.

2010 World Cup – interactive guide to the groups comes from The Guardian.

2010 World Cup is a slideshow from USA .

MSNBC has a number of multimedia resources on the World Cup on webpage.

The BBC has three online videos:

South Africans hopeful of World Cup legacy

Football fever grips South Africa as World Cup nears

World Cup: The tribe that built a football stadium

ESOL Courses has many World Cup-related online activities and printable worksheets.

The Associated Press has an interactive on the World Cup and South Africa.

Here’s a graphic on the official ball of the World Cup.

Soccer fans catch World Cup fever is a Washington Post slideshow.

David Deubelbeiss has developed a fun “Fling The Teacher” game on the event.

Pepsi’s Soccer Viral Video is a very fun clip to watch.

World Cup: How Much Do Top Footballers Earn?

LIFE has many related slideshows.

Crazy Fan Outfits and Costumes is a slideshow from Fox Sports.

Fox also has a video gallery.

The site 2learn.ca has a really exceptional site on the World Cup 2010. It’s filled with resources that can be used in the classroom.

“A Brief History Of The World Cup” is a nice slideshow from TIME Magazine.

What Soccer Means To South Africa is a TIME Magazine slideshow.

World Cup Posters is another TIME slideshow.

2010 World Cup Art Posters is a slideshow from PBS.

Watch the Diski Dance and learn about South Africa. Thanks to Tom Barrett for the tip.

Learn How We’ve Watched The World Cup Finals In History.

Watch the production process for the World Cup soccer ball.

Faces Of Football is a slideshow from TIME Magazine.

The Evolution of the World Cup Ball comes from The New York Times.

NBC Sports has a special World Cup page.

CNN also has a special World Cup page.

TIME Magazine has a special World Cup page.

The Washington Post has a website filled with World Cup features.

Here are several resources from The Guardian:

Nelson Mandela meets South Africa’s World Cup squad is an online video.

World Cup 2010: The worst merchandise is a slideshow.

World Cup feast – South Africa’s half-time snack is an audio slideshow.

Type in an address into Google “Street View” web app and then decorate it with the colors of your favorite team in the World Cup. You can type in a headline, and then the url address of your creation. After a student copies and pastes the address in a student/teacher website, he/she can describe it — always a good language learning activity.

World Cup Infrastructure is an infographic.

World Cup Insured for $9 Billion is a Breaking News English lesson.

South Africa’s Long Road To The World Cup is a CNN video.

The Cup Comes To Africa is a MSNBC slideshow.

The Economics of the World Cup is a useful infographic.

Here’s a video about the World Cup’s “diski” dance.

The Sydney Morning Herald has an excellent webpage on the World Cup, including many multimedia features.

BBC Schools has some nice videos on actually playing soccer.

As Much Love as Hate for World Cup ‘Soundtrack’ is a not-to-be-missed musical interactive from The New York Times.

Preparing for the World Cup is a series of great photos from The Boston Globe’s Big Picture.

FIFA World Cup Countries Best Results, 1930 to Present is a useful interactive.

Soccer Photography comes from National Geographic.

The Game: Football Anticipation is a series of photos from The Denver Post.

Animals Playing Soccer is a slideshow from LIFE.

Stunning South Africa is a LIFE slideshow.

The Best World Cup Ads (thanks to Monika Hardy for the tip)

TIME has a slideshow of body paint used by World Cup fans.

World Cup 2010: South Africa fans party in the streets of Johannesburg during a Bafana Bafana parade is a Telegraph slideshow.

World Cup 2010: Bangkok’s prison World Cup – in pictures is another Telegraph slideshow.

Here’s an interactive World Cup Schedule.

The World Cup’s Kick-Off is a Wall Street Journal slideshow.

MSNBC has an interactive map with information on all the teams.

I’m adding these next resources from The Wall Street Journal with some reluctance. They’re interesting, but they seem to me that they may play to the Western stereotype of the “African witchdoctor.” I’m going to them, but I am very interested in hearing from people if you think I should keep them here, or remove them from the list:

A Magical Edge For South Africa

Some Africans Are Betting on World Cup Witchcraft

Here’s the official World Cup Song for karaoke, and designed for language learners (thanks to David Deubelbeiss for the tip)

Who Should I Cheer For? ranks the teams by their countries equity and social justice issues (thanks to Shelly Terrell for the tip).

Don’t Drop The Ball On Aid is an Oxfam campaign that includes user-created soccer videos.

Death Casts Shadow Over Opening Day is a Wall Street Journal slideshow.

The photo site Picnik has a special feature where you can decorate yourself for the World Cup. Check-out Football Fever.

World Cup 2010 South Africa is a TIME slideshow.

Live The Beautiful Game lets you upload your photo and be a professional player.

Check-out the Carbon Footprint of the World Cup in infographic.

Learn about World Cup Technology Throughout History in infographic.

World Cup Comes To Africa is a USA video.

World Cup Opening Ceremonies is a pretty impressive series of images from the Sacramento Bee.

World Cup Replay — Day One is a New York Times slideshow.

World Cup Interactive History comes from The Guardian.

Energy And Change is a science lesson using soccer.

The Voice Of America has a special section on the World Cup.

USA ties England at the World Cup is a Washington Post slideshow.

“Can I Play At Home?” is a fun World Cup activity where students can “play” a soccer game by answering questions. You can use questions that the game has already prepared, or you can create your own for any subject. Greg Pallis was nice enough to let me know about it. He writes, “My students were pretty obsessed with it when I used it with them (they asked
to stay in after school to play it more), so I’d like to spread the love and see if other teachers get the same response.” Thanks, Greg!

World Cup Pictures From Around The World from the New York Times.

Setting The Table For The World is an information-filled infographic.

Here are some great soccer documentaries from David Deubelbeiss.

Castrol has a pretty wild-looking site on the World Cup. Check it out.

The Denver Post is posting a series of photos on every game in the World Cup.

World Cup 2010: vuvuzela humour – the best of the web is a slideshow from The Telegraph.

Opening Weekend: 2010 World Cup is a series of photos from The Big Picture.

World Cup 2010: Holland v Denmark. Dutch fans turn Soccer City into a sea of orange is a slideshow from The Telegraph.

For The Love of Soccer is a TIME Magazine slideshow.

The Goals That Got Away is a Wall Street Journal Slideshow.

World Cup 2010 countries from space: NASA satellite pictures of the participating nations is a slideshow from The Telegraph.

The Vuvuzela By the Numbers is a fun infographic.

Top 10 YouTube Videos About Soccer contains some pretty amazing stuff…

It’s A Goal is an interactive exercise with audio and text designed to help beginning readers learn phonics. They score a goal if they choose the correct answer.

You can put yourself, or the image of anyone you can grab off the Web, into a World Cup game in in the Live The Beautiful Game application. Students can post the link to their creation on a student or teacher blog, and then write about it.

World Cup Powerhouses is a graphic from The New York Times.

Halfway in – 2010 World Cup is a series of photos from The Boston Globe’s Big Picture.

World Cup Violence is an Associated Press interactive on violence at World Cup’s throughout history.

2010 World Cup is a nice graphic from the Sun-Sentinel in Florida.

Top 10 World Cup Moments (So Far) is from TIME.

Animal Soccer is a fun TIME Magazine slideshow.

Calls for Technology in Soccer After Referee Errors is a Breaking News English lesson.

Instant Replay: Major Sports Using High Tech Help is an Associated Press interactive.

The New York Times has published an interactive showing which players in the World Cup have gotten mentioned most often, and when, on Facebook.

Five World Cup Fads We Love is a slideshow from TIME.

China’s English News has a special World Cup page with lots of multimedia features.

Economic and Sales Productivity During The World Cup is an infographic.

Diego Maradona’s Quest For The World Cup is a TIME slideshow.

How The Cup Stacks Up is a Newsweek slideshow.

Robben Island Soccer League is the title of a New York Times slideshow about the soccer league apartheid opponents organized at the infamous South African prison.

The New York Times has just published a great slideshow titled Grassroots Soccer.

is how they describe it:

Jessica Hilltout, a Belgian-born photographer, drove across Africa for seven months last year to capture the continent’s love of soccer in advance of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Her photographs are currently on display in galleries in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Brussels.

“As the World Cup draws to a close week, images of the highly commercialized, FIFA-sanctioned soccer will not be the only lasting ones,” writes Celia Dugger.

“The Would-Be World Cup Winners” is the title of a TIME Magazine slideshow. TIME says it’s:

A look at the countries that have reached the World Cup finals but have never claimed the ultimate prize

Psychic octopus Paul predicts Spain to beat Holland in World Cup final is an article and video from The Guardian.

World Cup 2010: The weird and wonderful in South Africa is a great slideshow, also from The Guardian.

By the Numbers: Vuvuzela! is a fun infographic about the instrument that we hear blowing constantly during World Cup games.

World Cup Final is a slideshow from The Wall Street Journal.

Spain Is A Fiesta is a slideshow from The Wall Street Journal about celebrations in that country after their team won the Cup.

World Cup Replay: July 11 is a New York Times slideshow about the final game.

The World Cup, Around the World is another NY Times slideshow.

World Cup Photos is from the Sacramento Bee, and is an 800 photo slideshow.

2010 World Cup comes to a close is the title of a series of photos from The Boston Globe’s Big Picture.

The San Francisco Chronicle published an article with photos on a group’s effort to design and distribute one million durable soccer balls in the Third World.

FOR TEACHERS:

Oz Projects has a huge amount of resources for teachers and students on the World Cup. It’s definitely worth a look.

Oxfam has a series of World Cup lessons.

Teacher Planet also has some lessons.

Sean Banville’s “Listen A Minute” site has a lesson including “Listening + 9-Page Handout + Quizzes on the South Africa World Cup.

The football World Cup has a ton of excellent educational resources. Thanks to Michelle Henry for the tip.

Teaching Themes: World Cup is another sources of multiple resources.

World Cup 2010 is a collection of resources for teachers from TES Connect.

The Geographical Association has a number of World Cup-related lessons. Thanks to Tom Barrett for the tip.

Here’s a grammar lesson from One Stop English using the World Cup.

Top Ten Football Games is a post from the great blog Digital Play that shows how you can use online soccer games for language development.

ESL World Cup links from Using English. Thanks to the English Blog for the tip.

David Deubelbeiss has created a neat World Cup Project Book.

The Beautiful Game: Teaching and Learning With the World Cup is a treasure trove of teaching ideas from The New York Times Learning Network.

Breaking News English has new daily lessons on the World Cup.

The World Cup 2010 – Links to Free Online Games, Quizzes and More comes from ESOL Courses.

Fifa World Cup - Now and Then - 2014 vs 1950

by wond.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

World Cup 2014 Groups Map

Explore more infographics like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

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