HUMAN RIGHTS DAY 2009

December 10 is Human Rights Day. It commemorates the 61st anniversary of the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This year Human Rights Day focuses on ending discrimination.

POLL #9: WHAT TYPE OF TV PROGRAMME DO YOU PREFER?

Dear students,

24 people took our last poll: What type of TV programme do you prefer?. As you can see above, your favourive TV programmes are:

• Comedy programmes (37%)
• Cartoons (29%)
• Sports programmes (20%)

Next poll: Do you like Christmas?

SAINT ANDREW´S DAY

On November 30th Scotland celebrates St. Andrew´s Day.

Saint Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and St. Andrew's Day is Scotland's official national day. In 2006, the Scottish Parliament designated the Day as an official public holiday. The flag of Scotland is the Cross of St. Andrew, and this is widely displayed as a symbol of national identity.

Read more: British life and culture

www.visitscotland.com

www.scotland.org

THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada. In the USA, It commemorates the feast held by the Pilgrims in 1621 who were thankful for the harvest and for the help of the Wampanoag people in teaching them to hunt, fish and grow crops during their first year in America. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated in much the same way. A large meal is shared and eaten with family and friends. People say thank you for their food and the good things they have in life. There are some special foods that are associated with Thanksgiving such as turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, potatoes, corn and pumpkin pie. Besides eating the Thanksgiving meal, Americans watch football, go to parades, travel and go shopping on the long holiday weekend.

I´d like to thank Judith, our Language Assistant, for her help to write this post.

Harrykindergarten´s Channel

GUY FAWKES DAY

Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes Day is celebrated on November 5th in the United Kingdom. It's a British tradition dating back to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London. People celebrate the defeat of Guy Fawkes and the other conspirators with fireworks and bonfires.

There is a famous rhyme that goes:

Remember, remember, the fifth of November.

The Gunpowder, treason and plot,

I know of no reason

Why the gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot

JOSÉ LUIS LOPEZ VÁZQUEZ

Spanish actor José Luis López Vázquez died yesterday in Madrid at the age of 87. Throughout his career he received many prizes such as the Gold Medal for Fine Arts in 1985, the National Theatre Prize in 2002 and a Goya of Honour Prize in 2004. He was also awarded an Emy in 1973 for the TV film "La Cabina". He starred more than 200 films, including "El pisito", "Atraco a las tres", "El Verdugo", "Patrimonio Nacional" and "Plácido".

Video (www.euronews.net)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

This Saturday, October 31, is Halloween. As you already know it´s a very special celebration for many people in some English-speaking countries. Yesterday Judith, our Language Assistant, told us how Americans celebrate it and we learnt a lot.

I would also like to thank you for decorating our classroom. You did a great job!. Here are some pictures of the Halloween decorations you made.

HAVE A GREAT HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION!

SPRING FORWARD, FALL BACK

This Saturday night we must set our clocks one hour back, from 3 am to 2 am. Here in Spain, Daylight Saving Time, which began on the last Sunday of March, ends today, the last Sunday of October, but in The United States and Canada it always begins on the second Sunday of March and ends on the first Sunday of November.

Don't forget to change the time on your clocks back one hour before you go to bed tonight!

NEW LANGUAGE ASSISTANT

We have a new Language Assistant. Her name is Judith and she came from Connecticut, USA. We are very excited and we´d like to thank her for sharing her language and culture with us. We are sure our English will improve a lot with her help.

Thank you, Judith, for coming to teach us. We wish you a wonderful year in Spain!.

ACTIVITY: What do you know about Judith?. Click here.

ANCIENT GREECE

I have found many interesting websites about Ancient Greece. You can visit them and revise what you are studying in your History class. You can also learn many more interesting things about this period, and you can play some games, too.

Have fun and don´t forget to bookmark your favourite site!.

The Bristish Museum

Adventures in Ancient Greece

BBC / Ancient Greeks

Ancient History. Pppst

Channel 4 Learning

Ancient Greece

WORLD TEACHERS´DAY

October 5 is World Teachers´Day.

Click here to read more.

EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES

On 26 September 2006, the European Day of Languages will be held in Europe to celebrate linguistic diversity and promote
language learning.

Let's celebrate linguistic diversity!

Click here to read more about this day.

SCHOOL YEAR 2009-2010

Welcome back to school!.

I hope you had a great summer vacation.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

School starts September 16

GOOD BYE, CONNOR

Connor, our Language Assistant, finished working at our School on May 31. It´s been a pleasure to have worked with him. I would like to thank him for his dedication.

Connor, enjoy your time in Spain before you go back to the United States.

We´ll miss you a lot!. Good luck!

The students wrote some goodbye messages

POLL #8: WHAT´S YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF BOOK / FILM?

Results:

New question (Poll # 9): Have you got a pet?.

SELF-PORTRAITS

Here are some of the self-portraits you drew in your Art class.

Bárbara Lorenzo

Carmen Valverde

Cynthia Clemente

María Ángeles García

María Chocano

Paula Molina

Sara Pérez

TO OUR NEW FRIENDS IN BLY, OREGON

A group of students from Bly, Oregon,wrote to us a few days ago. They would like to be our friends. In their letters they told us about themselves, their school and their town. We are very exited about having some friends in the United States, so we wrote them back yesterday morning. This is our letter:

Dear new friends,

Thank you for your letters. We liked them a lot!. We would like to know you better and continue writing letters back and forth.

We are a group of 12-13 year old students in 1º ESO (this is the 7th grade in the USA). There are 31 students in our group, 19 girls and 12 boys. The name of our school is “IES Francisco de Quevedo”. IES means “High School” so you know. There are 600 students and around 60 teachers. We are in a special class called “The European Section” , which means that we study 3 subjects in English: Physical Education, Art and Geography & History.

Our school is in Villanueva de los Infantes, which is a small rural town in the province of Ciudad Real, in the middle of Spain. There are 5,000 people in this town. Not everybody lives in the same town. Some of us come from nearby towns by bus. This year we have an American teacher, Connor. He helped us with this letter.

We can´t wait to hear from you!.

Talk to you soon!

Your Spanish friends.

P.S. - Alfonso, our English teacher, took these pictures while we were writing this letter:

ACTIVITY: What do you know about Oregon?. Take this quiz and find it out?.

UP

The 62nd Cannes Film Festival opened yesterday, May 13th, with UP, a 3D Pixar movie. It is the first time that an animation movie opens this prestigious film festival in the French city of Cannes.

UP tells us the story of Carl Fredricksen, a 78 year-old widower, who fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of ballons to his house and flies away to South America.

ANTONIO VEGA

Antonio Vega, one of the most important Spanish singers and composers, died this morning of lung disease at the age of 51. In 1978 he founded "Nacha Pop" with his cousin Nacho García Vega. This legendary band was one of the most influential bands in Spanish Pop Music.

Nacha Pop released seven albums before they broke up in 1988. In 1991, Antonio Vega launched his solo career. He released nine albums and was nominated for one Grammy in 2000.  As a composer he wrote La chica de ayer, which is considered to be one of the most important Spanish Pop songs.

May he rest in peace

Gigolo Aunts, a band from Boston, USA, heard the song in Spain in 1999. They liked it and decided to translate it and sing it in English.

"THE GIRL FROM YESTERDAY"
(Antonio Vega)

One day you don't even know what time it is
You lay by my side but still you don't know why
The empty streets have seen you grow and change
But I know in your heart you might be crying again

I look out of the window for the girl I knew yesterday
Smiling in the flowers of my favorite garden
Too hard to understand too late to comprehend
While you and I can never be together again

The early morning light that slowly fills the room
Makes your golden hair shine like the sun
And late up in Penta I'm still listening to
Every song that ever made me fall for you..fell for you

I look out of the window for the girl I knew yesterday
So hard to understand there's nothing I can do
Now I'm going out of my mind following you
Going out of my mind following you...

Other important songs by Antonio Vega are:

El sitio de mi recreo

Se dejaba llevar...

The death of Antonio Vega in the media (in Spanish):

TVE (Televisión Española)

EL PAÍS

PÚBLICO

CUATRO

www.cuatro.com

A TRIP TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS

Last month Irene went on a trip to the Rocky Mountains. Her backpack was full of things.



ACTIVITY: Do you remember what she packed?.

Yes  No

POLL #7: WHAT´S YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF WEATHER?

Our seventh poll expired days ago and 18 of you (58% of the class) took it. The question was: "What´s your favourite type of weather?".

Results:

- Hot: 28%
- Warm: 22%
- Snowy: 22%
- Cold: 5.6%
- Rainy: 5.6%

- Sunny: 5.6% 

- Foggy: 5.6%

- Windy: 5.6%

New question (Poll#8): What´s your favourite type of book / film?.

EARTH DAY

Dear students of 1º ESO-Sección Europea,

It was Earth Day last Wednesday, April 22nd, and to celebrate it I proposed to wear something green to school that day. Many of you accepted my proposal and wore one item of green clothing. I am happy to know that I have a lot of "green" students.

Thank you very much.

Connor (left) and me (right) with the class.

From left to right: David Pacheco, Jesús Arias and Lidia Mata.

From left to right

Front Row: Paula Molina and Irene Talavera.

Middle row: Cynthia Clemente and Sara Gómez.

Back row: Ismael Torres and David Vélez.

From left to right

Front Row: mª Ángeles García and J.Javier Pacheco.

Middle row: Mª Paz Montalvo and Verónica Romero.

Back row: Bárbara Lorenzo.

From left to right

Front Row: María Chocano and Sara Pérez.

Second row: Rafael Serrano and Inés Fernández-Yáñez.

Third row: Guillermo Jiménez and Alberto Villar.

Fourth row: Sergio Segundo.

Fifth row: Pablo Marco

Back row: Celia Navarro and Carmen Valverde.

Part of the class.

From left to right

Front Row: Sara Gómez and Cynthis Clemente.

Back row: Irene Talavera and Paula Molina.

Back: Verónica, Mª Paz, J.Javier Pacheco and Mª Ángeles.

David Pacheco (left) and Jesús Arias (right).

Celia Navarro (left) and Carmen Valverde (right).

Back to front: Celia, Carmen, Pablo and Sergio.

From left to right

María Pozo, Gonzalo Martínez and Juan Fermín Zopeque.

David Vélez.

1º ESO - Sección Europea.

ACTIVITY: 
Make a list of the possible ways in which we and our school might celebrate "Earth Day" next year. What things might we do?. What events might we organise?. Write your ideas here.

BOOK DAY

April 23 is a symbolic date for world literature because on this day in 1616 two very important writers died: Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare. This date was established by UNESCO as the "World Book and Copyright Day" to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property.

It´s also St.George´s Day, England´s National Day.

EARTH DAY

Wednesday April 22nd is Earth Day. To celebrate this day and to make it different from other school days wear something green to school tomorrow. It can be anything: a green sock, a green sweater, a green t-shirt, a green scarf, a green hat, a pair of green shoes…

Have a nice and green day!

JOBS

Hi, again!

I hope you had a wonderful "Easter" vacation.

Now it´s time to work!. Today we have studied a new topic in class: "Jobs". To revise the vocabulary we have learnt go to "Our Vocabulary Blog" , and to learn some extra words you can visit a very interesting website where you can do many different activities related to "jobs".

Click here to visit the site.

www.britishcouncil.org

SPRING BREAK

CASTILLA-LA MANCHA & TOMATO TOAST

I recently have discovered a breakfast that has changed my life and although it took twenty five years to find it since its encounter my life has been anything but just “plain toast.” I’ve come to Spain as an assistant teacher in a bilingual program in Villanueva de los Infantes which is in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha. For those who don’t have the geographical map of Spain under their control this tiny town is basically right smack in the center of the country and can only be referenced to me to be like Nebraska in the United States. The land here at first glance is absolutely as plain, boring and manicured as any other agricultural area, and for those who don’t stop to smell the proverbial roses or to appreciate its beauty it can look quite ugly, repugnant, unsightly, flavorless and simple. But beneath the raked fields of monotonous corduroy and the endless rows of olive and wine vineyards lays an untold and complex beatitude that accompanies the simplicity of this flat Mediterranean land

scape that can only be understood with time and open senses. This is perhaps why this wonderfully modest breakfast has become not only an enjoyment in my day but is also, to me, a representation of this tasteful region.

I’m not going to sugar coat the ingredients because they are what they are and I’m not going to detour away from this: Baguette bread toasted, with grinded up tomato spread on top. Grinded tomato and bread for breakfast perhaps to some isn’t exactly the most appetizing item on the menu nor is it perhaps the most alluring when compared to eggs, onion and potatoes with a slice of ham on the side but it’s not about what you see or what it looks like, it’s how you view it and what you do with it to make something norm

al it into a delightful experience.

The grinded up tomato and toast comes with: a fork, a napkin olive oil and salt. The process has been slow and tedious but I think I now know what these “Manchegos” (people from Castilla La Mancha) have been experiencing for generations upon generations. The fork is the key for opening the door to deliciousness. Like the farmer uses a plow to scrape the land so must the fork be used in a similar way to allow the seeds to penetrate the surface, but in this case the seed is salt. A slow light sprinkle of salt over the bread and tomato ensures a healthy flavor. With a monsoon like downpour of fresh olive oil the salt accompanies the flow into the punctured exterior and is soaked up by the porous earth below. The end result is far from unappealing to the taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell and you’ll know as the aroma that accompanies the rising steam of the toast in the morning air and the b

rilliant light reflects upon the olive oil covering the reddish level landscape and leaves your fingers smooth and soft with its remnants while the crunching, crackling, snapping and rolling ruffle of the bread vibrates through your ears delivering to your mouth an honest natural flavor leaving you crying out for more and more, that what you’ve experienced is not just grinded up tomato and bread, it’s “Una tostada con tomate", and it’s something special.

Connor Stava

Language Assistant

"Francisco de Quevedo" High School

MY RECIPE FOR: 

TOAST AND TOMATO (TOSTADA CON TOMATE)

Ingredients needed: 

1. Bread

2. 1 Tomato

3. Olive oil

4. Salt

Utensils needed:

1. Toaster

2. Knife

3. Fork

4. Plate

Instructions: 

Step 1: Cut bread in half and place into toaster

Step 2: While bread is in toaster slice the tomato thinly

Step 3: Take Toast out of toaster

Step 4: Place tomato onto warm toast

Step 5: Poke holes into the toast and tomatoes with fork

Step 6: Spread olive oil over toast graciously

Step 7: (optional) Spread olive oil around with knife

Step 8: Lightly salt the bread and tomato and if you like, put a little on the plate 

Step 9: Enjoy!!

APRIL 1: APRIL FOOLS' DAY

April 1 is April Fools' Day, the day on which people play jokes on each other and newspapers include stories that aren't true!. It is the equivalent of the Feast of the Holy Saints (El Día de los Santos Inocentes) in Spain, which is celebrated on December 28.

Have you ever played a joke on someone and then, just when that person has fallen for it, said "April Fools!"?. Read more...

EARTH HOUR

Yesterday, March 28, from 8.30 pm to 9.30 pm local time, hundreds of millions of people around the world switched their lights off to show global leaders they want strong action to tackle climate change.

This global event, called Earth Hour, is organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and is held on the last Saturday of March annually. People are asked to turn off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Spain was one of the participants. Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona and Bilbao are some of the Spanish cities that switched off their lights for an hour.

POLL #6: WHAT´S YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY ACTIVITY?

Our sixth poll expired a few days ago and 16 of you (52% of the class) took it. The question was: "What´s your favourite holiday activity?".

Results:

- Sunbathe on a beach: 68%
- Walk in the mountains: 12%
- Eat local food: 12%
- Buy souvenirs: 6%
- Visit museums and monuments: 2%

New question (Poll#7): What´s your favourite type of weather?.
I´m waiting for your votes!

THEATRE IN ENGLISH

On March 17 some students and teachers from our High School attended a theatre perfomance in “La Encarnación” Auditorium in Villanueva de los Infantes. Moving ON Theatre Company performed a dynamic show called “Food for Thought”. The show was a great success and our students enjoyed a lot.

Here is a selection of some of the pictures taken during the show.

Food for Thought

Moving On Theatre Company

MY LUCKY DAY

Eric Herman wishes you a Happy St. Patrick´s Day with this funny song about a particularly lucky day.

Eric Herman - Cool tunes for kids

ACTIVITY: Read the lyrics of this song and fill in the gaps with the correct word.

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

Tuesday 17th March is Saint Patrick's Day, the patron saint of Ireland. It´s a day of celebration for Irish people around the world. Click on "links" below to learn about Ireland, St. Patrick´s Day and how Irish people celebrate this day.

Links 

POLL #5: WHAT´S YOUR FAVOURITE TYPE OF MEAT?

Our fifth poll expired a few days ago and 13 of you (42% of the class) took it. The question was: "What´s your favourite type of meal?". 

Results:

- Pork: 23%
- Lamb: 8%
- Beef: 8%

- Chicken: 61%

- I don´t like meat: 0%

New question (Poll#6 - Unit 6): What´s your favourite holiday activity?.
I´m waiting for your votes!

MAPS

In Geography (unit 6) you are learning about the physical features of the continents.

You can download and print some very nice maps of the world and the continents from the following link:

Maps (The Washington Post)

MY INGREDIENTS FOR...

A few days ago you created a poster with the ingredients for one of these menus: a big breakfast, a perfect pizza, a super sandwich, a mega-burger, a delicious drink or your favourite meal. All of you did a great job. Here you can see three of them.

by Paula Molina Pacheco

by Sara Gómez Jiménez

by MªBárbara Lorenzo López

COLOR

Ana, your Art teacher, recommends you these three websites to revise "Color".

Color in motion

Blog "Las TICs en Plástica"

Exhibition: "Color Chart: Reinventing Color. 1950 to today".

March 2 - May 12, 2008

MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). New York

HOW TO MAKE A CHEESE OMELETTE

Did you like the video we watched in the classroom this morning?. I found it on videojug.com . If you want to watch it again just click on "play" below. Enjoy!

Videojug.com

ACTIVITY: Write the recipe of a dish you like. Write the ingredients and the utensils you need and also the instructions.

You can write your recipe by clicking here or on "comentarios/comments" below.

POLL #4: WHAT´S YOUR FAVOURITE MEAL OF THE DAY?

Our fourth poll expired a few days ago and 18 of you (more than half of the class) took it. The question was: "What´s your favourite meal of the day?". These are the results:

- Breakfast: 27%
- Lunch: 66%
- Dinner: 7%

The new question (Poll#5) is also about food (unit 5): What´s your favourite type of meat?. 

I´m waiting for your votes!

OLDEST ENGLISH WORDS

The BBC has published that some of the oldest words in English have been identified. "I", "we", "two" and "three" are among them. Reading University researchers say that some of the words are more than 10.000 years old.

Talking about words, what´s your favourite word in English?.

CARNIVAL

To celebrate Carnival,we start a 4-day weekend today. 

Classes resume February 25th.

Happy Carnival !!!

See you on Wednesday!

FOOD & QUANTITY

In unit 5 we are talking about food. We are also learning how to express quantity. To revise food and quantity you can watch this video I found on youtube. 

Video: EF

VOCABULARY:

To bake: hornear (cocinar en el horno).

Bakery: panadería.

Flour: harina.

To grow: cultivar.

POLL #3: HOW OFTEN DO YOU STUDY ENGLISH?

Hi, guys.  Our third poll expired a couple of days ago and 15 of you (half of the class) took it. The question was: "How often do you study English?". Here you have the final results:

- Every day: 20%
- Often: 74%
- Rarely: 6%

Please, take the new poll (it´s on the right column). The questions is about food (unit 5).

LIFE IN THE UNITED STATES

Connor, our Language Assistant, is American. We asked him about his family, home life and pocket money when he was 13 years old.

Hi, my name is Connor and I’m from Reno, Nevada. I’m 13 years old and live with my mom and dad in a house with a garden. I like to do a lot of different activities especially outdoor activities. I really like to go camping, fishing, hiking, biking and playing sports like soccer and basketball but right now I’m in school so I’m studying more than anything. My typical day right now goes something like this: I get up at 6:45 in the morning, I take a shower and then get dressed. After I get dressed I usually go downstairs at 7:00 and have breakfast of milk, cereal, toast, fruit and orange juice. I try to eat a lot because I will not eat again until 12:00 and I usually get hungry. I leave the house at 7:20 and start school at 8:00. I study from 8:00 until lunch time which is at 12:00. For lunch I usually eat a sandwich, some potato chips, a Coca-Cola, fruit and a cookie. Then at 12:30 I go back to class and don’t finish until 2:30. After school I study and then go outside and play with my friends and then we usually have dinner around 7:30 or 8:00 o’clock. Dinner is normally a big meal. Then I watch TV until 10:00 and then go to bed around 10:30.

My mom and dad usually give me an allowance (pocket money) of $10.00 a week. I don’t have a job right now. So I think $10.00 is enough money. Sometimes when the neighbors are away I’ll take care of their house for them and they pay me $30.00 a week. With my money at night time on the weekends I like to go see movies with my friends and go get something to eat and drink. I usually don’t save any money to buy other things but when I do save money I usually like to buy CD’s and clothing.

ACTIVITY

LIFE IN THE ARTIC

washingtonpost for kids

IQALUIT, Canada — It is dark in the winter when Darcy Nowdlak goes to school and dark when he comes home. The sun barely gets above the horizon for a few hours. And it is cold —very cold. Often 20 degrees below zero. And Darcy loves it. Read more...

ACTIVITY 1: Click here and translate the previous paragraph into Spanish.

ACTIVITY 2: Click on the link "Read more..." above and read the text about Darcy and his life in Canada. Then, click here to answer the following questions.

1. How old is Darcy?.
2. Where does he live?.
3. How many people live in his town?.
4. How are "people" called where he lives?.
5. What type of house does he live in?.
6. How does he go to school?.
7. What languages does he speak?.
8. How many brothers and/or sisters has he got?.
9. What does he like doing in his free time?.
10. How does he ride around his town?.

POLL #2: BROTHERS & SISTERS

OK, guys.  Our second poll expired a few days ago and only 9 of you took it. The question was: "How many brothers or sisters have you got?". Here you have the final results:

- 0 (I´m an only child): 11%

- 1 brother/sister: 55%

- 2 brothers/sisters: 33%

Please, take the new poll (it´s on the right column). Now, the questions is about your daily routine (unit 4).

GROUNDHOD DAY (2)

Yesterday, Groundhog Phil, the most famous groundhog in the United Stated, saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter.

More information:

groundhod.org

washington post (news for kids)

GROUNDHOD DAY

Groundhog Day is a traditional festival celebrated in the United States and Canada on February 2, midway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.
In traditional weather lore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and cannot see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow because the weather is bright and clear, it will be frightened and run back into its hole, and the winter will continue for six more weeks.

TRIANGLES & QUADRILATERALS

You are now studying the different types of triangles and quadrilaterals in Art. Watch these videos to learn about them:

TRIANGLES

QUADRILATERALS

from  http://www.studio4learning.tv 

AUSTRALIA DAY

January 26, is the biggest day of celebration in Australia and is observed as a public holiday in all states and territories.

On Australia Day Australians come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian. It's the day to reflect on what they have achieved and what they can be proud of in their great nation.

DAILY ROUTINES II

Listen to this Canadian boy talking about his daily routine.

ACTIVITY: Write a short text about your daily routine. Use the video as a model.

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

Watch this video from www.studio4learning.tv to revise how to use the present simple tense.

DAILY ROUTINES I

The following links will take you to many activities to revise "Daily routines" and "The Present Simple Tense".

Habits and routines (isabelperez.com)

Daily routines (clic.xtec.net)

Daily routines (British Council)

POLL#1: CHRISTMAS PRESENTS

Our first poll expired yesterday and only 5 people participated. 

My question was: "When did you get your Christmas presents?". These are the results:

- On December 25th: 0%

- On January 6th: 1 person (20%)

- On December 25th and January 6th: 4 people (80%)

As you can see, 80% of the people who participated received their Christmas presents on two different days. They must have been very good in 2008!.

There is a new poll. This time the question is about your family (unit 4). Please, participate!

DAYS OF THE WEEK

Let´s revise the days of the week with this lively song by the British pop group The Cure. Although it wasn´t my favourite group, I used to listen to it a lot in the 80s.

 

Activity: Write the lyrics of this song (you can copy and paste) on your notebook. Then listen to the song and complete the gaps with the correct day of the week. 

THE CURE

Friday - I´m in love!

I don't care if _______________'s blue

_______________'s grey and_______________ too

_______________ I don't care about you

It's_______________ I'm in love

_______________ you can fall apart

_______________  _______________ break my heart

_______________ doesn't even start

It's _______________ I'm in love

_______________ wait

And _______________ always comes too late

But _______________ never hesitate...

I don't care if _______________'s black

_______________  _______________ heart attack

_______________ never looking back

It's _______________ I'm in love

_______________ you can hold your head

_______________  _______________ stay in bed

Or ______________ watch the walls instead

It's _______________ I'm in love

_______________ wait

And _______________ always comes too late

But _______________ never hesitate...

Dressed up to the eyes

It's a wonderful surprise

To see your shoes and your spirits rise

Throwing out your frown

And just smiling at the sound

And as sleek as a shriek

Spinning round and round

Always take a big bite

It's such a gorgeous sight

To see you eat in the middle of the night

You can never get enough

Enough of this stuff

It's _______________

I'm in love

CONNOR´S FAMILY

Connor, our American Language Assistant, tells us about his family.

Hi, there.

My family is big and interesting. I have a dad or father named Jim, a mother named Holly and a brother named Jensen and a dog named Sierra. Although my inmediate family is small my extended family is very large. My parents´mothers and fathers are still alive, so I have four grandparents. My grandmothers´names are June and Sarah and my grandparents´names are Con and John. My mother has three brothers ans my father has five sisters, which means that I have three uncles and five aunts. All of my aunts and uncles are married and have children, so I have around 20-30 cousins. It is very hard to keep in contact with them all and sometimes it´s hard to remember their names.

My dad´s very serious but very funny and likes to do many fun things. My mom´s funny and cheerful and is very outgoing. My brother´s funny and very interesting. His girlfriend´s name is Sophie who is very nice as well. We all live in different places so when we get together you can imagine that we have a very good time. And when my entire family gets together we have a huge party which usually lasts at least four days and is a very good time also.

Connor.

ACTIVITY: Answer these questions.

1.- Has Connor got any brothers or sisters?.

2.- Who´s Sierra?.

3.- How many grandparents has Connor got?.

4.- Who are Connor´s parents?.

5.- How many cousins has Connor got?.

6.- Who is Sophie?.

FAMILY TREE

Watch this video to revise the inmediate family vocabulary.

GLACIER vs. ICEBERG

Dear students of 1º ESO (Sección Europea)

Someone asked in class: "What´s the difference between a glacier and an iceberg?". 

Can you guess what the difference is by looking at these pictures that I took when I visited "Los Glaciares National Park" in Argentina a few years ago?.

Remember!!!

A glacier is a huge mass of ice.

An iceberg is a fragment of a glacier that floats on the water.

QUESTION:

Is picture 1 a glacier or an iceberg?. And picture 2?.

Click on "comentarios" below and write your answers (Remember to write your name down).

THE COLLAPSE OF A GLACIER

In this video you can see the rupture of one of the most famous glaciers in the world. Its name is "Perito Moreno" and it is located in Los Glaciares National Park, in the Argentine Patagonia.

It is one of the 48 glaciers of the Southern Patagonian Icefield located in the Andes mountain range. This icefield is the 3rd largest reserve of fresh water in the world.

The terminus of the Perito Moreno Glacier is 5 kiliometres wide, with an average height of 60 metres and a total ice depth of 170 metres. It advances at a speed of 2 metres per day approximately.

It ruptures, on average, about every four to five years.

QUESTION: 

Where can we find glaciers?. Click on "comentarios" below to write your answer.

WELCOME TO MY NEW BLOG

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Dear students of 1º ESO-Sección Europea,

From January 2009 we have one more tool to practice our English in and outside our classroom. You can use this blog to read and write and also to listen to real English. I hope you participate as much as you can.

To start, I want you to participate by guessing where I spent my Christmas holidays. Here you have some clues (pistas):

1- It is a small country.

2- It is an island.

3- It is very cold in winter.

4- There are volcanoes, glaciers, geysers, hot springs ...

Can you guess the name of the country?

To write your answer click on "comentarios" below, and remember to write your name down.