EASTER

On this page you can find lots of activities related to Easter for different levels, even videos. It is very complete. I recommend it to all the students.
http://www.esolcourses.com/topics/easter.html

And Happy Easter!!!!

HAPPY EASTER

ACTIVITY FOR ALL THE STUDENTS (even children)
There are some word-squares in this link to do at Easter.
They are fun and you can review or learn vocabulary related to Easter
http://www.mes-english.com/flashcards/files/easter_wordsearch.pdf

SONG: ANGELS BY ROBBIE WILLIAMS

This song is for LUCÍA, my little angel.

PROYECTO: 8. THOSE WERE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP

You have worked very hard so far. You need a happy end. Listen to the song "Summer of 69" by Bryan Adams.Try to understand the story. There are key words at the end of it. You can ask me any questios about it in class. Then write a composition about "The best days of your life" or just "A happy moment of your life". Give it to me in class and I'll mark them all. You have done a great job in this project. Thanks for beeing so enthusiastic and helpful. I guess we have learnt something together.

http://www.educa2.madrid.org/cms_tools/files/4871a0de-04d4-43b2-94c7-8269501fab62/b%20adams/summer%20of%2069.mp3

(Depués de pinchar en el enlace, minimizar y así escucháis la canción y véis la letra)

SUMMER OF 69

I got my first real six-string
Bought it at the five-and-dime
Played it till my fingers bled
Was the summer of '69

Me and some guys from school
Had a band and we tried real hard
Jimmy quit, Jody got married
Shoulda known, we'd never get far

Oh when I look back now
That summer seemed to last forever
And if I had the choice
Yeah, I'd always want to be there
Those were the best days of my life

Ain't no use in complainin'
When you got a job to do
Spent my evenings down at the drive-in
And that's when I met you

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me that you'd wait forever
Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Oh yeah
Back in the summer of '69
Ohhh

Man we were killin' time
We were young and restless
We needed to unwind
I guess nothin' can last forever, forever, no

And now the times are changin'
Look at everything that's come and gone
Sometimes when I play that old six-string
Think about you wonder what went wrong

Standin' on your mama's porch
You told me it would last forever
Oh and when you held my hand
I knew that it was now or never
Those were the best days of my life

Oh yeah
Back in the summer of '69
Un-huh
It was the summer of '69, oh yeah
Me and my baby in '69, oh

KEY WORDS
- six-string: guitar
- five-and-dime: shops in America where things are sold from 5 dollars to 10 cents.
- quit: stop
- shoulda known: we should have known
- ain't: there isn't
- complainin': complaining, expressing dissatisfaction
- drive-in: In The United States, cinemas or restaurants you go by car and stay in the car.
- unwind: relax
- nothin': nothing

PROYECTO: 7. MADRID BEFORE AND NOW

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP

Describing a place before and now

Look at these photos of La Gran Vía in Madrid. How many differences can you find?

Think about it and we will speak about it in class.

This will be the starting point of a discussion about how Madrid has changed in different aspects.

PROYECTO: 6. GLENDALOUGH AND CLONMACNOISE

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP

Describing a place before and now.

You are going to watch and listen to a video about Glendalough and Clonmacnoise, two medieval monasteries in Ireland. It deals with the history of these magnificent monuments. In the past the monks lived there. Now they are beautiful ruins visited by thousands of tourists. The background of both monasteries is impressive: green fields and mountains, waterfalls, lakes, rivers. Nature is all around. Enjoy the video and then answer to the following questions:

1. In which part of Ireland are the two monasteries located?
2. What is the most important element of their architecture?
3. Who was the founder of Glendalough?
4. What did the founder of Clonmacnoise see in a vision?
5. What is the meaning og Glendalough?
6. Did you like the monasteries and the settings? Why?
7. Why do artists usually go to these places?

PROYECTO: 5. THINGS AROUND US BEFORE AND NOW

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP
Read this text and write the verbs in the correct tense. Then think about the topic and we'll have a discussion in class:

Things around us before and now

Our lives (1)  ________ (change) a lot during the last two decades. There (2) _____(be) so many things around us that have made our lives easier and maybe more stressing, too. When I (3) _______ (be) young and I was going to be late home I used to phone my mother from a telephone box using coins, some years later, phone cards and now...Where are the telephone boxes? Well, you can see some British ones behind this text. Everybody (4) ______ (have) a mobile phone nowadays.

Teaching (5) __________ (change) very much lately. Before we used to have books, notebooks and a blackboard. English teachers (6) ______ (take)  the tape recorder to the classes and got crazy to find the exact listening we (7) _______ (need). Now there are digital boards and computer laboratories in the schools. Readers books and text books (8) _____ (have) a CD for the students to listen at home. The Internet is a fantastic tool to do plenty of activities for the English classes. Well, this is a real example!

Now you don't even have to cook!. The miraculous Termomix (9) ______ (cook) for you! That's what I (10) _______ (hear). What would our grandmothers think about this?

PROYECTO: 4. A SONG: BEFORE AND NOW

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP
Listen to the song: A Different Corner by George Michael. This is the video-clip of the 80s. 

Then, listen again and fill in the blanks of the lyrics of the song:

SONG: A DIFFERENT CORNER BY GEORGE MICHAEL

I'd say (1) ____ was a magical thing

I'd say (2) _____would keep us from pain

Had I been there, had I been there

I would promise you all of my (3) _____

But to lose you would (4) ____ like a knife

So I don't dare, no I don't dare

'Cause I've never come close in all of these (5) ______

You are the only one to (6) _____my tears

And I'm so scared, I'm so scared

Take me back in time maybe I can (7) ______

Turn a different corner

And we never would have met

Would you care?

I don't (8) ________ it, for you it's a breeze

Little by little you've brought me to my knees

Don't you care?

No I've never come close in all of these (9)

You are the only one to (10) ______ my tears

I'm so scared of this love

And if all that there is, is this fear of being used

I (11) _______go back to being lonely and confused

If I (12) ______, I would, I swear

I swear.

I was a fan of Wham and George Michael in the 80s. I am still his fan. I have been  to all his concerts in Madrid. The last one was last September. It was called Symphonica and he sang with an orchestra. He has changed a lot in many aspects in all these years but he stil has a wonderful voice.

SPEAKING ACTIVITY: Think about a famous person that you have always admired. Look for some information about him/her on the Internet if you want to. Write a short summary of his/her career. We'll talk about the past and the present of our idols in class.

PROYECTO: 3. THE PAST AND THE PRESENT OF A PERSON'S LIFE

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP
Unit: "LIfe before and life now"
Look at these photos and read the text. Write all the verbs you see and say in which tenses they are in the next class. Then write a similar short biography of a person you love and give it to me in class.

Sergio was born on  March 22nd 2005 in Madrid. He has been a great traveler since he was a baby. He loves travelling. His frst trip abroad was in 2006. His parents took him to Wales and they saw farms and old steam trains. He learnt his first words in English: tractor, sheep, train... The next Summer he travelled to Italy and the family spent a week in a country house in Tuscany. He learnt his first words in Italian: Ciao, gelatto, buon giorno... That year his family moved to a new house in a new neighborhood where there are lots of parks and lots of children. He started school and made many friends. The next Summer, in 2008, Sergio and his family travelled to The Netherlands and he had a fantastic time travelling by tram and visiting Madurodam, a small town made of models. Then he stopped travelling for some time. Something important happened in his life on October 19th 2009: His sister, Lucía, was born. The family continued travelling abroad in Summer 2011. They went to England (Yorkshire and The Lake District) and they enjoyed a lot. They saw lots of animals both in farms and in the fields: sheep, cows, rabbits, geese, squirrels, ducks.

Sergio is in the first year of Primary school this year. He has had very good marks recently. He also takes football classes and his team is the first in the league. He is very happy these days because he is preparing his birthday party for next week. There are going to be games and surprises for him and his friends!

PROYECTO: 2. COMPARATIVE, SUPERLATIVE, TIME CONNECTORS

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP
Unit: "Life before and life now"
You will have to compare places and things in this unit. You will also have to write and speak about people's life so the connectors of time will be useful, too.
Rememeber:

• Adjectives can have a comparative (-er...than, more...than) and a superlative form (the ...-est, the most...) depending on the number of syllables.
• Subordinate clauses of time can have different connectors: when, while, after, before, as soon as, as, as long as.

Complete these sentences with the correct comparative or superlative adjective or a connector of time.

1. My brother is _____ (tall) of my family.
2. The book The Name of the Rose is much ______ (good) than the film.
3. Madrid is ______(big) than Guadalajara.
4. He is the ______ (intelligent) person I have ever met.
5. _______ I entered the classroom, the students sat down and opened their books.
6. I had breakfast _____having a shower.
7. She was doing her homework ______ she was listening to music.
8. You can find ______ exercises on this link:

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises_list/alle_grammar.htm

PROYECTO: 1. VERB TENSES

ACTIVITY FOR MY CONVERSATION GROUP
Unit: "Life before and life now"
The first thing we are going to do in this unit is to review verb tenses to express "life before (Past Simple, Past Continuous, used to, Past Perfect) and "life now" (Present Perfect, Present Simple, Present Continuous)
Fill in the blanks with the verb in the correct tense:

1.  I _____ (meet) my best friend yesterday.
2. When I _____ (be) a child, I _____ (play) football every day.
3. We ______ (live) in Madrid since 1999.
4. When she _____ (give) me the book as a present I _____ ( read already) some years before.
5. This year ______ (work) in the best adult school in Madrid.
6. I _____ (have) a shower when I ____ (hear) that terrible noise.

There are more exercises to practice in this link:
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

St Patrick's Day for children

Activities for kids: Marcos, Javier, Sergio, Lucía... related to St. Patric's Day (March 17th). He is the Saint Patron of Ireland.
 http://www.dltk-holidays.com/patrick/
Great link!

St. PATRICK'S DAY

This activity is for THE CONVERSATION GROUP

St Patrick is the Saint Patron of Ireland. The celebration takes place on the 17th of March

Watch this video and listen to it as many times as you need and answer to the following questions:





1. Who was St Patrick?
2. Why is this celebration so important in the United States?
3. How do people celebrate it now?
4. Why is this festival celebrated on March 17th?
5. Mention three ingredients of the typical meal on St Patrick's Day.

KEY WORDS (Look up these expressions in a dictionary and ask me in class any questions about the task) :
- Emerald Isle

- Kidnap

- Sheperd slave

- Vows as a priest

- Converting the Irish to Christianity

- Shamrock

- Holy Trinity

- Potato famine

- Parade

- Pints to toast

EXPLOTACIÓN DIDÁCTICA: El video se trabaja con mi grupo de Inglés de Conversación  de adultos para reforzar la comprensión auditiva a través de preguntas sobre el contenido del texto. Al mismo tiempo introducimos elementos de la cultura de un país de habla inglesa, Irlanda, ya que el tema del video es la historia y las costumbres de la fiesta nacional irlandesa. Una vez que los alumnos hayan realizado la tarea, ampliaremos contenidos y describiremos fiestas típicas de nuestro país ya que este grupo está enfocado a desarrollar y mejorar las destrezas orales.

GAMES FOR CHILDREN

FUN GAMES FOR CHILDREN  (And crazy adults too!)
There are lots of games for children. They have fun, I tell you. Try it
http://www.funenglishgames.com/games.html

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES FOR ALL THE STUDENTS:
In this page you can find activities for all levels, different topics: Grammar, vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation.  You can work the 4skills: Listening, speaking, reading and writing. It's very useful
http://englishinteractive.net/

RIVERS OF EUROPE

Activity for MARCOS and other kids.
Games to learn the European rivers in English

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/Europe-rivers-click.html

EUROPE MAP GAMES

Link with games for Marcos and other kids to learn about Europe Geography:
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/European_Geography.htm

SUMMER OF 69

This song is for César, my guide in this trip as well as in others, and for Sergio, my favourite guitar player & football player, and, of course, for all the friends born in 1969.
Bryan Adams Summer of 69 Live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgpcwYooLO0&feature=related

DUBLIN

These are four photos of my beloved Dublin: A golf course in Wicklow Co., where Ferghil took us, a beautiful flower bed in St Stephen Green,Sergio & I are posing with Molly Malone and Trinity College. This was our last trip there in MAY 2007. To Clare & Ciara.