HAPPY CHRISTMAS

It's CHRISTMAS time. All the streets are decorated. We meet our families on CHRISTMAS EVE for dinner. In Britain and Ireland families meet on CHRISTMAS DAY.They eat ROAST TURKEY with GRAVY and CHRISTMAS PUDDING for dessert. Children sing CAROLS. SANTA CLAUS leaves the presents under the CHRISTMAS TREE. It's BOXING DAY on the 26th of December. Then on NEW YEAR'S EVE people sing the song AULD LANG SYNE when the new year come.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas tre at Rockefeller Centre, New York

HAPPY CHRISTMAS by JOHN LENNON

HAPPY CHRISTMAS (WAR IS OVER) by John Lennon 

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
A new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear ones
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear

And so this is Christmas (War is Over, if you want it, war is over now)repeat with verse
For weak and for strong
The rich and the poor ones
The road is so long
So happy Christmas
For black and for white
For yellow and red ones
Let's stop all the fight

SCIENCE: UNIT 3: HUMAN REPRODUCTION

Activity for Sergio and his friends at 4th Grade Primary.

• The male reproductive system produces spermatozoa. It is formed by the testes, which are inside the scrotum, and the penis, a long organ over the scrotum.
• The female reproductive system produces ova and protects the baby while it develops. It is formed by the ovaries (produce ova), the uterus (where the baby lives), the Fallopian tubes (connect the ovaries with the uterus), the vagina and the vulva formed by the labia.
• Fertilsation is when a spermatozoon and an ovum join together to create a zygote.
• Pregnancy is when the embryo develops inside its mother's uterus. It lasts nine months and ends when the baby is born. The embryo becomes a foetus. The foetus receives food and oxygen from its mother through the placenta. This is connected to the foetus' tummy through the umbilical cord.
• Birth is the process when the foetus comes out of the mother's body. After the birth the doctor cuts the umbilical cord. This is why we have a tummy button. 

Here are links with some useful tips for parents to deal with this topic:

http://www.babycenter.com/0_parents-voices-how-can-i-explain-to-my-child-how-babies-are_3636395.bc

http://www.livestrong.com/article/223753-how-to-explain-the-reproductive-system-to-children/

http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/En/HealthAZ/FamilyandPeerRelations/Sexuality/Pages/Sex-Education-Age-Appropriate-For-Children-what-they-should-learn-and-when.aspx

CANDLE IN THE WIND

 Activity for my ACCESO students
We have worked the exam with a text about Marilyn Monroe which title was  Candle in the Wind. As I told you this is a song that Elton John wrote to her and some years later he adapted the lyrics to sing it at Lady Di's funeral. I'm sure you know the song. It's lovely and sad. Here is the link from Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80rHyABCb20

ANOTHER 15 YEARS "A TU LADO"

Enrique is still in many people's lives. There are a lot of fans of that voice and those poetic lyrics who cannot forget him. I do not understand why his only biography is not published anymore. He is part of the musical history of Madrid and he does not have his street yet. He died fifteen years ago. I woke up with that news on the radio and I could not believe it. I had seen him in lots of concerts since the 80s, with Los Secretos, with Los Problemas and with Begoña Larrañaga. I met him once in a pub in Moncloa and we were talking for a while. He was polite and sweet. I lost his autograph but I will never forget his words. I met him again in the underground in Ciudad Universitaria. He was a genious but so accessible at the same time. Both qualities do not often go together. I went to  this concert two weeks ago. I had gone to last year, tribute too. One of the musicians of Emisión Zero is a guy from my neighbourhood. They play fantastically. Both concerts were very emotional, unforgettable. Many people miss Enrique fifteen years later but in a way we feel HE IS STILL A NUESTRO LADO.

SCIENCE, UNIT 2: HUMAN RESPIRATION, CIRCULATION & EXCRETION

Activity for Sergio and his friends in 4th Grade Primary.

1) The RESPIRATORY SYSTEM is the part of the human body related to BREATHING (Taking in oxygen and letting out  carbon dioxide).
The RESPIRATORY TRACT is the group of tubes which air goes in and out: Nasal passages, pharynx, larynx, trachea and bronchi, which end in the alveoli. The lungs  are like sponges and contain the bronchi and the alveoli.

BREATHING has 3 stages:
1. INHALATION: Taking air into the lungs.
2. THE EXCHANGE OF OXIGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE with the blood.
3. EXHALATION: Letting air out of the body.

2) The CIRCULATORY SYSTEM is the part of the body that distributes nutrients and carries waste to the organs that eliminate it. It consists of:

- The HEART

- The BLOOD VESSELS

The BLOOD is the red liquid in our body.

The HEART pumps the BLOOD through the BLOOD VESSELS. The HEART has 4 chambers.

The BLOOD goes from the HEART to the BODY ORGANS and then comes back to the HEART. It's like a circuit.

3) EXCRETION is expelling waste.

The respiratory system releases carbon dioxide into the air.

The digestive system expells waste from the anus.

The EXCRETORY SYSTEM is made up of:

-  2 KIDNEYS (they filter the blood & make urine)

-  2 URETERS (tubes that carry urine from the kidneys to the bladder)

- The BLADDER (it contanis urine. It is full when we want to go to the toilet9

- The URETHRA (the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the toilet)

The SKIN eliminates waste through SWEAT GANDS, too.

Good job kids! Now you are sweating, you can rest.

DIET & NUTRITION

Activity for Sergio and his friends at 4th Grade Primary

We obtain NUTRIENTS by eating FOOD and drinking WATER. There are 3 TYPES OF FOOD according to the NUTRIENTS they contain:
- Energy-producing food (carbohydrates & fats) to get energy.
- Body-building food (proteins) to grow.
- Body-regulating food (vitamines, minerals and fibre) to prevent illness.

The human DIGESTIVE SYSTEM is made up of:
- THE DIGESTIVE TRACK: mouth, pharynx, oesophagus. stomach, small intestine, large intestine & anus.
- THE DIGESTIVE GLANDS: salivary glands, liver & pancreas.

The DIET is the food and water that a person consumes every day but a HEALTHY DIET is one that contains enough of the nutrients and water the body needs.

Important things TO BE HEALTHY:
- Have a HEALTHY DIET
- follow FOOD SAFETY rules.
- Do regular PHYSICAL EXERCISE
- SLEEP and REST.

So here is a link to DO PHYSICAL EXERCISE on line. You have all studied hard and you need to rest. I hope you enjoy it:

http://pbskids.org/mayaandmiguel/english/games/sports/soccer/flash.html

AUTUMN (Br. English) / FALL (Am. English)

Summer is my favourite season  although many people like Autumn. Well, it is a romantic time, the country looks beautiful, there are mushrooms, pines, acorns and leaves on the ground that crack when you walk on them. The  leaves of the trees get a bunch of warm colours yellow, orange, red and brown.

Many years ago I got a SCHOLARSHIP as a TEACHING ASSISTANT at a University in the US. I had finished my DEGREE in English Philology and I had the unforgettable expirience to work and live in the most beautiful area of the States in FALL: New England. There the colours of the trees range from light yellow to bright red even orange, pink and golden brown. The forests shine as if they were on fire. It is a phenomenon called the INDIAN SUMMER which is probably unique in the world. I worked at Williams College, Massachusetts, a quiet town surrounded by colorful mountains with a smell of wet wood that comes to my senses every Fall season wherever I am.

Here are some photos of that Fall in 1993.

 But there are also beautiful Autumn scenes in Spain, too. Enjoy the season!

San Pedro de Rocas, Galicia, 2003

Soria, 2001

BACK TO SCHOOL

Dear friends, students and other followers. I'm alive! I'm sorry for my long break but I needed holidays more than ever. Summer is over, another Summer in my village, in the almost forgotten village where my mother lived her childhood, in the Pirinees, a little bit of France and Portugal, sailing on the most beautiful river in Spain: Duero and visiting the most beautiful city in Spain: Salamanca.

I can't complain at all but the best thing of holidays is not the places but having time to spend with the people you love.

We are back to school at difficult times, more than ever. It's being hard, more than ever but I will survive. I feel like that Chinese mother in Amy Tan's novel. The Joy Luck Club who wants to say to her daughter: "This feather may look worthless but it comes from afar and carries with it all my good intentions. And she waited, year after year, for the day she could tell her daughter this in perfect American English".
I have a feather from the most beautiful swan for you all. I'll give it to you during this course but be patient. I'm busy at the moment but I promise to keep on working on this blog with ALL MY GOOD INTENTIONS.
Welcome back everyone.

THE CITY OR THE COUNTRY?

Activities for Sergio, Matías and their class:
You are planning a lesson about the city and the country. Here are some links with games to help you. I hope you'll enjoy:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/wwww/buildings/standard/game1/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/education/wwww/buildings/standard/game2/index.shtml

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/language-games/monkey-squash/places-town

WORLD BOOK DAY

We celebrate the World Book Day today. The UNESCO chose this day, when theoretically both Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare died in 1616. We organize varied activities at schools and there are events like the reading of El Quijote at Círculo de Bellas Artes by many people all day long. You can buy books with a discount this week in many places. At el Sorolla we have filled two big boards with books recommendations by teachers and students and we have done the 1 book 1 euro market.
In Ireland and the UK people drive on the left!!! and they celebrate the World Book Day on the first Thursday in March!!!, which is St George's Day, in order to be different, I suppose.
Anyway, whenever people celebrate reading is always a pleasure and a gate to learn. It is very good for our brain and soul.
And this is all. I'm sorry. I have something to read now : )

HAPPY EASTER HOLIDAYS

Well, teachers always learn from other teachers. Miriam Guerrero, our new workmate has told me about a fantiastic Spanish course on Youtubr called "Tío Spanish". You learn English but many people learn Spanish as a second language and this is a fantastic tool to learn about our culture in a different way. This is his class about Easter in Spain:

Miriam, we'll miss you. You have been a great mate and a great teacher. Good luck!
And ENJOY THE HOLIDAYS, EVERYONE!

A PLAY OUTLINE:TRAPPED IN THE THEATRE BUS

TRAPPED IN THE THEATRE BUS

RECOMMENDED AGE GROUP: LEVEL 4

SYNOPSIS:

A group of students of and Adult School taking Secondary and two teachers do an extra school activity. They are seeing a play which is an adaptation of the film Shakespeare in Love at the “Theatre Bus””, this is a company that performs plays on a bus driving through Madrid. In the middle of the play there is a power failure and they have to stop and wait for the technician who will unlock the bus and let them free.

CHARACTERS:

NARRATOR

ACTORS: William Shakespeare, Thomas Kent/Viola de Lesseps, Christopher Marlowe, Henslowe.

TEACHERS: Ana and Maribel.

STUDENTS: Rodolfo, Susana, Lola, Jaime, Begoña, Víctor, Enrique.

ALL THE STUDENTS

DRIVER

TECHNICIAN

CHARACTER OBJECTIVES:

NARRATOR: He introduces the scenes of the play Shakespeare in Love.

ACTORS: They belong to a creative company. They want to perform their play for the students and they are very enthusiastic about it.

TEACHERS: Ana is a veteran teacher (the Head of the English Department, by the way) who prefers conventional classes rather than experiments and is very reluctant about this activity. Maribel is the opposite, she is a young teacher.  She wants to involve the students in new activities and try new methods to teach English.

STUDENTS: They are studying Secondary level II in an Adult School. They have different ages, aims and attitudes. They often clash about any matters.

DRIVER: He will retire in a month. He is only worried about driving the bus and finishing the crazy trip as soon as possible.

TECHNICIAN: A handsome young man. He feels important because he is the responsible of unlocking the bus. He is arrogant and self centered.

CLASS PREPARATION:

The students have recently watched the film Shakespeare in Love in English with subtitles in Spanish. This activity has been organized by the English and the Spanish Departments. Both departments have done activities to exploit the film. So this is the point of departure for our play inside a play (like in Elizabethan plays) in an unusual (but real) setting. Actually there is a theatre company that performs plays on a bus and I thought it would be funny to trap our varied students in a place like that. I told them and they liked the idea. I use my blog with my students and when they see the outline published, we will discuss what to do. We do not have much time to rehearse and perform a play. We have two classes a week and most students work but we could write a collaborative script.

SCENE BREAKDOWN

Madrid. Students from a CEPA do an extra school activity: “Theatre Bus”

SCENE 1

The teachers meet the students at school and give them general information about the activity. Some students look interested in it, some look bored, some are missing.

SCENE 2

The narrator welcomes the audience to the “Theatre Bus” and the play starts.

SCENE 3

Henslowe follows Shakespeare impatiently and worried begging for his play. Shakespeare tries to sneak away.

SCENE 4

Shakespeare meets Marlowe at an inn and confesses he has no inspiration. Marlowe gives him some ideas for the plot and Shakespeare feels relieved.

SCENE 5

Auditions start. Shakespeare feels fascinated by the actor Thomas Kent, who is reciting his verses.

SCENE 6

The lights go off. There is a chaos among the actors and the students. The driver says the electricity has collapsed and they have to stop and call the bus company for help. He phones his boss and they have to wait for a technician for about half an hour. They try to leave the bus but nothing works. They are locked.

SCENE 7

The actors try to continue the performance but students get nervous and some lose control. They start having arguments. Even the teachers quarrel about the usefulness of that activity and other things. The driver feels miserable. Most people are speaking on their mobile phones.

SCENE 8

Ana takes control of the situation. People calm down and start sharing water, food and even confessions. They learn to respect the others, at least most of them.

SCENE 9

The technician arrives. They all get excited but it is not as easy as they thought. He shows off but is not very efficient. The driver feels desperate and dreams about his retirement.

SCENE 10

The technician fixes the power. They all celebrate it noisily. They escape from the bus. The actors insist on continuing the play another day but Maribel says that only as long as it is performed in the assembly hall of the school. The technician takes the driver to a bar to celebrate their successful work.

Written by Ana Hernández 

ROOM ON THE BROOM

As you know, I'm taking a teachers training  course about Drama and Storytelling. I'm learning a lot and so are my students and  my children.
Lucy is in love with this story: Room on the Broom
At last we found a good witch!!!!
You'll love her!

There is a poetic version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5rE75FT1bQ&feature=youtu.be

and this is the same story but chapter by chapter and different cartoons:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7CUCG6ijdE&list=PLHnIMMDvPyOOuwMv29H6AxCb01YDiJIhy

There is even a webpage with lots of resources related to the story:

http://roomonthebroom.com/

I'd like to thank the tutor and the other participants for sharing such interesting and useful resources.

INTERACTIVE ENGLISH COURSE

Another student of mine, Emilio, told me about this course. You have everything to practice Grammar:

http://www.learnenglish-online.com/grammar.html

This is the home page. I really recommend it to you:

http://www.learnenglish-online.com/

THE TRAVELLING COINS

This is the story I have written for my course Drama & Storytelling. I hope you like it!

THE TRAVELLING COINS

She could not believe they were there again. This time it was not a dream. It was real, the mess of trolleys and bags, the uncertainty of tourists, the tired look of residents, and people speaking Italian all around, the language that sounds like music to her.

They rented a car at Fiumicino airport and drove to Tuscany. They enjoyed the sunset and the sparking lights of little villages. They arrived at Rodellosso country house.  The hostess received them with a smile, a homemade cake and a bottle of red wine.

 “Isn’t it a dream, really?”, she thought.

The next morning after the sun and the rooster songs entered their room softly, they went to Pienza. They saw a telephone box and they decided to phone the family. Sergio got the receiver and inserted a coin. Somebody answered the phone on the other side and the line went off, and so did the coin. Surprisingly, he got mad about it.

“How can I make a complaint to recuperate our coin?”, he said furiously.

“I’m afraid it’s impossible. Forget it and enjoy. Let’s have an espresso!” answered Lucía. He stared at the telephone box promising revenge.

They went to Siena the next day. They escaped from the pigeons in the piazza walking along the narrow streets. Suddenly a telephone box stood opposite them. Sergio challenged it and went straight into it with a bright euro coin in his hand. But the same thing happened again. His face turned red and his look bitter. Lucía could not help laughing and a battle started. So they decided to ignore telephone boxes during the whole holiday.

And the last day came. They were driving to the airport when suddenly they had to stop at a toll road. There were several coins outside the basket. Sergio stopped the car, got out and picked his two coins. He had a triumphal smile when he entered the car.  He explained that the Italian Tourist Board offers this service to travelers who wasted their money on telephone boxes before leaving the country. Lucía did not say a word. She sighed and started missing Italy.

Written by ANA Mª HERNÁNDEZ DOMÍNGUEZ

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

As I have told you several times. Valentine's Day is celebrated in English speaking countries in a more extended way than here. People send cards to all the people they love and towns and cities are decorated with love so there is a magical atmosphere everywhere.I usually write posts on celebrarions in this blog so I do it again now. This year I have chosen...
Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

THE JOY LUCK CLUB BY AMY TAN

We, philologists, are a kind of people who like rereading books over and over again. It also happens to other people and not ony with books but also with films, art shows and so on. This year, when I was teaching my Acceso students in class,  I remembered the beginning of a novel that was an impact for me when I read it for the first time in 1993 in Massachusetts: The Joy Luck Club by the Asian-American writer Amy Tan. So in the next class I gave them the text and we worked it together. The power of her words full of meanings evoking the past and far away lands as well as expressing the inmense love of  mothers to  daughters and the the hope of a better life in the land where the dreams can come true is overwhelming in that text. Here it is if you want to read it:

https://app.box.com/s/twbq4tufm9o8wwemqqkf

 After reading this I decided to read the novel again and I found  it  superb. It is the story of four mothers born in China and for daughters born in the US and we can see the cultural contrasts and the bonds between these women written in a sensitive poetic style.
Amy Tan dedicated her first novel : To my mother and the memory of her mother" and she adds these deep words: "You asked me once what I would remember. This, and much more" and the novel starts like this filling he reader with great expectations.
Amy Tan is an American writer who was born in California in 1952. Her parents were immigrants from China. The Loy Luck Club is her first novel published in 1989 and she has published other well written novels such as: The Kitchen God's Wife, The Hundred Secret Senses, The Bonesetter's Daughter, The Opposite of Fate and Saving Fish from Drowning . All of them are translated into Spanish. If you read any of them, you will hook up, I'm sure.
She has beautiful quotations, among them I choose this: "Writing is an extreme privilege but it's also a gift. It's a gift to yourself and it's a gift of giving a story to someone"

THE EARTH

Activity for Sergio and his friends at 3º primaria.
THE SOLAR SYSTEM has a star, the SUN, planets (MERCURY, VENUS, THE EARTH, MARS, JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS & NEPTUNE) and SATELLITES ( THE MOON)
THE EARTH is our planet and it has LAYERS: the ATMOSPHERE (air), the HYDROSPHERE (water), the BIOSPHERE (living organisms) & the GEOSPHERE ( a big ball of rock with layers too: the CRUST, the MANTLE and the CORE)

The Sun, the Earth and the Moon move. That's why the Moon has different shapes: the PHASES OF THE MOON: WAXING CRESCENT, FULL MOON, WANING CRESCENT and NEW MOON. You can make the Moon Phases with Oreo cookies:

As the Earth moves, that's why there are four SEASONS: SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN & WINTER:

What's your favourite season? Sergio's is Winter!! because he loves Christmas :  )

This is a song you have listen to in class, it's taken from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ-qLUIj_A0

10,000 PAGEVIEWS!!!

I can't believe it. This was a real challenge. I started this blog on a course to get my credits for sexenios two years ago and I must confess that I was very suspicious about it. Then little by little I became hooked. I decided to have a unique blog for my students, my friends, my kids, my likes instead of sepatate ones. I am a single person and I am a mixture of all the bits of me. That's why my blog tries to represent myself with all those bits.
I just want to THANK all of you from the ones who have clicked only once to the ones who have followed this blog from the very beginning, those of you who have helped me to create it, those of you who have given advise to me or have made proposals, those of you who have inspired me with your work, your ideas and your love, those of you who have shared experiences with me that are reflected in some posts and those of you who are obligued to enter for homework.
You can see a view of Howth in Ireland in the background of the page.
I feel very happy. THANKS A MILLION!
I feel like dancing this songs which reminds me so many parties in Madrid, Cogolludo, Dublin and Massachusetts: Donna Summer, Last Dance (from Youtube) for U all because "I need you by me, beside me, to guide me, to hold me and even to scold me":

C.V. IN ENGLISH

It's useful to have a C: V: or resume in English nowadays. I have found some interesting tips on the Internet you can check:

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/cvsamples/a/blsamplecv.htm

http://jobsearch.about.com/od/cvsamples/a/cvsample.htm

http://orientacion-laboral.infojobs.net/ejemplo-curriculum-ingles

http://www.modelocurriculum.net/wp-content/eu-cv_en.pdf

THE SILVER BEATS (MÁLAGA)

Well, I'm back & stronger!!
The best thing of my Christmas holidays is going to Fuengirola and see the sun there. It's is always a wonderful experience. This year we have discovered a band from Málaga called The Silver Beats who are a tribute band of the Beatles and also play songs by Elvis and others. They are fantastic. Sergio is a fan of the Beatles now thanks to them. Here is a bit of them from youtube. I hope you like it. Learning English through music is fun and enriching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ir57EMGA6Y&list=PL0B07C12A530200C0&index=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF9TLSYMKzE&list=PL0B07C12A530200C0