Wonder, the movie

This film, based on the bestselling novel by R. J. Palacio, tells the story of August Pullman, a boy with facial differences caused by Treacher Collins syndrome who enters fifth grade and confronts the challenges of attending a mainstream elementary school for the first time. 

(SOURCE: wonderthebook.com)

Do you want to see how Jacob Tremblay changed into Auggie Pullman? Read this article.

Go to the nearest cinema to watch it or read the book. What are you waiting for? 

Little Red Riding Hood by Roald Dahl

Watch the video below and listen to the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf told by Roald Dahl.

Have you read this tale before? In what ways is this one different from the original story?

Now listen again and do the EXERCISES. Then, read the whole poem HERE.

The story behind the "Fearless Girl"

The Fearless Girl

A new statue facing the famous bull of Wall Street appeared on March 8th in New York. What does it symbolize? Click on the picture to learn more.

You can also watch this interesting video:

A Spaniard guy walking around the world

Nacho Dean is thought to be the only Spaniard to have walked around the world. Click on his picture below and learn more things about his amazing achievement.

Nacho Dean

• What did he learn from people during his trip?
• What obstacles did he overcome?
• What environmental problems did he observe?

You can hear an interview with him HERE.

TASK: Find information about other people who travelled around the world and prepare a presentation about them.

Weird jobs famous people had

Here are some of the weirdest jobs that celebrities had before making it big.

Wireless Electricity.

 A team of US researchers has come up with an electricity system that does not need wires. This is a breakthrough in what will hopefully be a wireless future. The scientists, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, lit a 60-watt light bulb using magnetic fields. In the test, the power source was just two metres away from the light, but the team hopes they will soon be able to send electricity longer distances through the air. They have dubbed their new invention “WiTricity”, or wireless electricity. Although wi-fi has been around for some years now, it has been limited to the transmission of information, especially between computers and modems, printers and scanners. This is the first time electrical appliances have been powered wirelessly.

This new development means that our houses may be free from tangled wires. Gone will be the days of having to unplug the vacuum to go from room to room, and of having countless plugs hidden behind the TV and stereo. The new source of delivering power to gadgets remotely may also reduce the number of fires caused by poor wiring and overloaded sockets. It turns out the concept is not so new. A century ago, inventor Nikola Tesla struck upon the idea of building a huge tower in New York that would wirelessly beam power to the city. Unfortunately, his idea never came to fruition, until today, that is. It will still be a while before we have wireless homes and offices. Safety experts will be checking closely to ensure the power source causes us no harm.

• How would "wirelessness" make our life better?
• Match underlined words in the text to these meanings:

  - completion: fruition

  - gadgets: appliances

  - spread: transmission

  - jumbled: tangled

  - faulty: poor

  - invented: come up with

  - send out: beam

  - called: dubbed

  - revolution: breakthrough

  - thought of: struck upon

• You can find out more about WiTricity in their website.

Storage Devices.

• We can find different storage devices such as magnetic (hard and floppy disks), optical and flash memory.
• CDs and DVDs are optical devices. Optical discs can store data at much higher densities than magnetic disks. Listen to this recording and find out the main characteristics and advantages of CDs and DVDs. You can also read the audioscript HERE.

• The Cloud is an off-site storage system for your data that is maintained by a third party. Read the whole article HERE.

Everyday Problems

Look at the problems you might have at home and match them to consequences a to g.

1. I'm having problems with the bathroom taps...
2. The TV isn't working properly...
3. The phone's out of order...
4. The washing machine's leaking...
5. The fan isn't working...
6. I'm having problems locking the front door...
7. There's something wrong with the iron...

      a. ... and I need to ring my family.
      b. ... they keep dripping and I can't turn them off.
      c. ... I can't turn the key.
      d. ... and we can only get one channel.
      e. ... It's not just getting hot enough.
      f. ... and there's water all over the floor.

Highlight here for ANSWERS: 1B, 2E,3A, 4G, 5C, 6D, 7F

(Source: cartoonstock.com)

You can also read this interesting article on how to troubleshoot electrical problems at home.

15 Interesting Facts About Halloween

1 Black and orange are typically associated with Halloween: orange, along with brown and gold, stands for the harvest and autumn. Black is typically a symbol of death and darkness and reminds us that Halloween was once a festival that marked the boundaries between life and death.

2 More candy is sold on October 28th than any other day of the year.

3 In Arkansas it's illegal to dress up as a priest.

4 The Village Halloween parade in New York City is the largest Halloween parade in the United States. It includes 50.000 participants and draws over 2.000.000 spectators.

5 According to legend, if you see a spider on Halloween it's actually the spirit of a loved one watching over you.

http://thechive.com/2013/09/19/30-interesting-facts-about-halloween-30-photos/

6 October 30th is National Candy Corn day.

7 It's actually very rare for a full moon to occur on Halloween.

8 Pumpkins are typically orange, but they can also be green, white, red and grey.

9 Ireland is believed to be the birthplace of Halloween.

10 The word "witch" comes from the Old English "wicce", meaning "wise woman". In fact, witches were highly respected people at one time.

11 Magician Harry Houdini died on Halloween.

12 In the UK white cats are thought to bring bad luck.

13 Hard candy lasts for a year, while chocolate can last up to two.

14 Thousands of people suffer from Samhainophobia, which is an irrational fear of Halloween.

15 Many shelters don't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween, for fear that they may be tortured or sacrificed.

(source: thechive.com)

• Read the information above about Halloween and find the FALSE fact.
• Then click on the picture and check if you were right.
• Explain in your own words: the origin of the word "Halloween" / fancy dress / trick-or-treating / pumpkin carving / jack-o'lantern / ducking for apples.
• You can also see this VIDEO on Halloween and answer the questions.

Touring London

My name is Diane White and I’m a tour guide. It’s a great job, I meet new people everyday and show them a beautiful city – London! I like taking tourists to Buckingham Palace. The Queen and her family live in this amazing palace. It’s got very large, beautiful gardens and the Queen sometimes has parties in the gardens. The Tower of London is another famous place to show tourists. They like looking at the crown jewels. I also take tourists to Westminster Abbey – a very old and important church. Of course there are many museums to visit in London, too. You can learn about history at some museums, for example the Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum and the National Gallery. There are many things to do in the city. That’s why I love being a London tour guide.

• True or False? 

1. Diane White is an artist in London.
2. Diane likes her job.
3. The Queen lives in Buckhingam Palace.
4. The Queen has parties in the Tower of London.
5. Westminster Abbey is a history museum.
6. London has got many museums.

International Workers' Day (Labour Day / May Day)

International Workers' Day is celebrated on 1st May and is a national holiday in more than 80 countries. (Wikipedia)

Do this Reading Comprehension and find out many interesting facts about this celebration.

And HERE you can find a lot of vocabulary related to Workers' Day.

Earth Day

Do you know when the first Earth Day was held? Try reading this text and do some comprehension questions, as well as an Earth Day wordsearch!

Enjoy!

Life at a Secondary School

Read this text about a teenager at school in Britain. Then do the activities in the worksheet.

Is his school day very different from yours?

The Missing Coins Summary

Summary

The Missing Coins

is a mystery story. Pete and Carla are

students, visiting the city of Bath in England. While they

are walking around looking at the shops and buildings

they hear music in a quiet street. A man is playing a flute.

He is standing next to the window of a shop which sells

coins and stamps. They go into the shop and have a look.

Pete wants some stamps, but they are expensive and the

girl shop assistant is unfriendly. Pete and Carla then go to

a café for a drink.

To their surprise, the shopkeeper comes to find them

there. He says that some of his coins are missing. He

thinks Pete and Carla have stolen them. He looks in

Carla’s bag and their pockets in front of a policeman, but

it turns out that they have not taken them.

Later, Carla hears the music again. She realises how the

coins were stolen: The girl in the shop has made a plan

with the flute player. She drops the coins into the flute

player’s hat through the open window. Carla explains this

to the policeman. The policeman finds the missing coins

in the flute player’s hat.

The shopkeeper is so pleased with Carla and Pete that he,

in return, gives Pete the stamps that he wants.

ACTIVITIES (RECOMMENDED):

1) Translate the summary in your language and find out the meaning of the words in purple.

2) Watch this video about Bath and do the exercises.

3) Prepare an oral presentation to do in class.

Reading Comprehension: Homes Around the World

 


All around the world, people live in different types of homes. Many people live in apartment buildings reaching high into the sky. In Spain many people live in villas with big swimming pools. Eskimos live in igloos. Igloos are made of huge blocks of ice. In some hot countries people live in huts with no windows or doors, made of mud, straw and leaves. Some Indians still live in teepees made from animal skins. In many countries people live in houseboats, which are houses on the water.

Complete:

water – igloo – animal – buildings – huts

1- Some people live in apartment ………………………………

2- Eskimos live in …………………………………

3- …………………………… are made of mud, straw and leaves.

4- Teepees are made out of …………………………… skins.

5- Houseboats are on the …………………………………

Write true (T) or false (F):

1- Huts are made from blocks of ice.                      -------

2- Houseboats are on the land.                               -------

3- Everyone lives in the same type of house           -------

4- Indians live in teepees                                       -------

Answer the following questions:

1- Are there villas in Spain?

2- What are igloos made out of?

3- Do houseboats float on the water?

St Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day falls on February 14 every year. Red and pink hearts decorate classrooms. Children make or buy cards to give to their friends. Adults often buy cards for the people they love. Friends may give gifts of candy, chocolate, flowers, or jewelry.

The cards given on Valentine’s Day are called “valentines”. Valentines often have poems written on them: 

Roses are red / Violets are blue / Sugar is sweet / And so are you

Valentine's Day / Is a wonderful way / To make I love you / Easy to say

Valentine’s Day is not a legal holiday. Children go to school on Valentine’s Day. Moms and dads go to work. But Valentine’s Day is still a very special day. Valentine’s Day is a good time to tell someone “I 'm glad you are my friend”, or “I love you”.

Now play filling in the lyrics for the song Love Story by Taylor Swift.
  

How to play:

• » To continue playing you must complete each line.
• » To listen again the last line, press backspace key.
• » If you can't understand a word, press tab key to jump to the next.
• » Don't write spaces neither any special character.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

Happy Halloween!!

The pagans who lived in Britain 200 years ago celebrated New Year on 1st November. Then the Christians came and celebrated “Hallowmas”, a festival between 31^st October and 2^nd November.

31^st October slowly changed the name to HALLOWEEN.

In the past, people believed that bad spirits came in winter. They wanted bad spirits to go away, so they made fires outside and used pumpkins to make jack o’ lanterns.

To make a jack o’ lantern, people cut a hole in a large fruit. Then they put a candle in the hole, and cut a face in the side.

Another thing people do is to dress like witches and ghosts to make the bad spirits go away. People often put up decorations for Halloween parties, play games such as "bobbing apples", attend costume parties and bonfires, tell scary stories and watch horror films.

Children go “trick or treating”. They dress like witches and ghosts, and go to the houses in small groups.When someone answers the door, the children say: TRICK OR TREAT? and the person in the house must decide. They may give the children a treat ( chocolate, fruit, sweets…) or the children will play a trick on them . The children sometimes throw eggs at the house.

__________________________________________________________

Read the text and do these exercises in your notebook:

1 Answer these questions:

•  When do we celebrate Halloween?
•  What countries typically celebrate Halloween?
•  What is a jack-o-lantern?
•  Can you mention three activities people often do in Halloween?

2 Find the meaning of the underlined words (you can use a dictionary)

3 Find out the meaning of the word "halloween".

__________________________________________________________________________

4 Now, watch this cartoon related to Halloween and answer these questions in your notebook:

a What are the children doing?
b Mention four things children have got in their bags.
c What does the last child get?

Halloween is fun, isn't it? Enjoy a lot and don't forget to bring your HOMEWORK to class!!



Island for Sale

Island for Sale (Anne Collins, Penguin) is the book you will read this term. Here is the summary and some interesting things to know about it.

Summary

A young Scotsman, Duncan McTavish, lives in a big castle with his dog, Jock, on a small Scottish island called Lana. He likes it, but as he cannot afford to pay his electricity bills, he has to sell the island. Mr Moneybags, an estate agent in London, finds a buyer: Leaping Larry, an American rock star who visits the island with his girlfriend, Roxanne. Roxanne hates the cold, dark castle. She is very angry, so they go back to California. Mr Moneybags doesn’t want to sell the castle now. Duncan is very unhappy. But then he meets Jean, a teacher who likes painting pictures of the island. Jean has an idea: tourists can stay at the castle and she can teach them to paint pictures. Duncan and Jean get married and live happily in the castle, which is now full of tourists.

Did you know that...?

Scotland: In northwest Europe, Scotland forms part of the United Kingdom. Apart from the mainland, it consists of over 790 islands. It has its own laws, education system and traditions, but it is not a sovereign state. It is very popular with tourists. 


Castles: Big ancient residences generally built in medieval times and owned by rich people. They are sometimes hired for special occasions (weddings, conferences) and are used by tourists interested in a different kind of holiday.

Islands for sale: In some countries islands are not sold as private property, as they are part of the national territory.

Lifestyles: Duncan leads a simple life, though he is the owner of the island. Larry and Roxanne have a different idea of what an interesting life is.

We will start reading Island for Sale the first week of November!!

Very Important People

Click on the pictures and find out interesting facts about them.

Imagine you can interview them. What six questions would you make? (Write the answers too!)

Is there anything surprising about them?

Leave a comment with your name...