3rd ESO - WHAT'S IT FOR?

Days from Agusti's Place

SEASON'S GREETINGS

Illustration taken from Dagsson.com

Time has come to wish you a great winter holiday and remember: never eat the yellow snow. Enjoy.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW

Picture taken from The University of Utah website.

Visit the Observer's website to find a pack of websites where you can learn something new.

1st BAT - A MOMENT OF SILENCE

Some people say that a moment of silence is when you are walking in the country and the only thing you can hear is your own footsteps crack on the autumn leaves, the wind blow, a nearby river rush, and the birds sing.

For me, a moment of silence takes place just ten seconds before the train arrives at the underground station: all conversations, readings, and thoughts stop and all the eyes concentrate on the tunnel's black mouth until the train appears with a thundering noise.

Now, tell me: What is your moment of silence? What describes it?

1st BAT - Edward Gorey

Here's one of my latest findings. Believe me, as a book illustrator, Edward Gorey was a great artist.

The Gashlycrump Tinies is the first  of Gorey's books I saw. A dark morality alphabet. Every letter is illustrated by a child's misfortune.

Now, watch the presentation below. Your comment this time must have two parts:
1. General comment. Did you like the presentation?
2. Discuss two of the stories. One must be the most beautiful and the other must be the saddest. If you can make a decission, you can choose your name initials.

[NOTE: There was a nice presentation of Gorey's book here but the Eduard Gorey Charitable Trust refuse to "license the Edward Gorey works for that purpose". I suppose that that purpose means educative purpose.]

1 BAT - HUMAN FREEDOMS

"We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.
The first is freedom of speech and expression - everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way - everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want... The fourth is freedom from fear."

(Franklin D. Roosvelt, Message to Congress, 6 January 1941, in Public Papers vol 9)

ASSIGNMENT for the oral exam:
1. Choose one of these 4 rights and find arguments to support it. Use expressions like: Roosvelt said that..., In my opinion..., I (don't) agree with..., He is (not) right when he says that...
2. Learn the quotation by heart.

1 BAT - SCOTLAND

Image from www.visitscotland.com

Visit the OXFORD PLUS > OXFORD ONLINE LEARNING ZONE (your are going to need your OXFORD PLUS access license), go to the section called VIDEO and choose one which is titled SCOTLAND.

Watch the video and then do the exercises suggested.

A will check your work by november 8th, 2015.

REGISTERING IN "OXFORD PLUS"

Batxillerat students, we are currently using the text book:

Bess Bradfield. OVER TO YOU. Oxford University Press.

There is a website called OXFORD PLUS for students and it's packed with lots of extra materials and exercises of all kinds. In order to use it, you must register HERE.

There are clear instructions of how to register, but if you prefer, you can follow these directions:

1. Once you are there, you will find a button that says REGISTRA'T: just click it.
2. Introduce your birth date and click REGISTRA'T again.
3. Fill in the form and you'll have access to OXFORD PLUS. You will be asked for the access code you will find on the back cover of your book.
4. When you fill in the form you must click the box to accept the "termes i condicions".
5. Now you can access OXFORD PLUS which we'll be using for extra exercises though the year.

In order to allow me to check your work, the first time you log in you will be asked for your class activation code. Check your CLICKEDU mailbox where you will find en e-mail with your class code.

BACK INTO BOOKS AGAIN

So there we go again. This is just to wish you an excellent new school year. Getting back into books will bring you new experiences the will help you paint your life. ENJOY.

P.S. If you want to greet me, just drop your comment.

ENJOY YOUR HOLIDAY

So, now that the school year is over, you might have a while to watch this fantastic and idiomatic video-clip. I wish you a nice holiday and just tell me if you are able to find an idiomatic expression thoughout the short movie.


Confessions of an Idiom from Amanda Koh on Vimeo.

As the author says: Everyone has Skeletons in their Closet but what happens if one day the Elephant in the Room decides to make the Skeleton in the Closet bring the truth to light? The Skeleton isn’t one to confess to his crimes so easily. Mayhem ensues in this power struggle with a world full of idioms.
This film was done by Amanda Koh and Mollie Helms at Ringling College of Art + Design. If you have any questions, feel free to visit my website at amkoh.com .

BLOOMSDAY

Bloomsday is celebrated on June 16th every year in Dublin and commemorates the work of the Irish author James Joyce and is called after the main character in his most famous work -- Leopold Bloom of Ulysses fame. Joyce's novel tells what was an ordinary day for Leopold Bloom.

4t ESO - Voices-4 computer assited task Unit 7

Image taken from Ox-runaway smile.

Go to the Voices Student's Website, log in, and do these exercises:

GRAMMAR:
Modals of obligation and prohibition 1-4
Modals of possibility and deduction 1-2

VOCABULARY:
The senses
 
READING:
Phobias

Remember that you can use your book if you have any problems with the exercises. I'm sure you will find similar exercises there.

I will check your work on Wednesday, May 28th, 2015.

2nd ESO - Voices computer assisted task: Unit 6

Image taken from PhilipinoFreethinkers.

Go to the Voices Student's Website, log in, and do these exercises:

GRAMMAR:
Comparative adjectives
Superlative adjectives
Comparative and superlative
Could/couldn't and Should/shouldn't

VOCABULARY:
Games

READING:
Scrabble

VIDEO:
Playing games

Remember that you can use your book if you have any problems with the exercises. I'm sure you will find similar exercises there.

I will check your work on Wednesday, May 8th, 2015.

4th ESO - Scotland's Graffiti Castle

Read the text about a castle in Scotland and do the exercises below. I will check your exercices next April 28th.

Scotland's Graffiti Castle

When Lord Glasgow heard that his son and daughter were planning to cover his castle with graffiti, he wasn't very pleased. At first, he thought that they had gone mad! But they did their best to convince him, by explaining that it would be a collaborative project with some of the best graffiti artists in the world.

Nina, Nunca and the identical twins Os Gemeos are all well-known in Brazil. They were invited to spend a month at Kelburn Castle to complete the Graffiti Project. All of them agreed that it was an amazing opportunity to make their mark, and to unite two different cultures through art.

First, the design was created in the studio, and then the walls were painted white. After that, 1,500 cans of spray paint were used. Now the back part of the castle is covered with faces, figures and animals. The brightly-coloured designs are painted on the walls, turrets and chimneys. The whole project was completed in four weeks. It was also recorded on video, so you can see it on the website.

The graffiti won't be left forever – it will be removed when repair work begins on the castle's walls. So make sure you visit soon if you want to have a look! Kelburn Castle is located on the west coast of Scotland, 35 miles from Glasgow. It's open to the public every day from 10 am to 6 pm. The Graffiti Project definitely won't be forgotten. Even Lord Glasgow changed his mind – he loved it in the end!


Now, do the exercises below.




I took this activity from the book:

Catherine McBeth. (2009). Voices - 4. Student's book. Macmillan. pages 72-73.

4th ESO - JACKSON POLLOCK

Here's a video clip inspired in the life of the great abstract painter Jackson Pollock. Watch it and post your comment:

This time, you are going to be a passage person. So remember, you are asked to choose what the best moment in the video clip is. Remember to justify your election.

The 10 worst mistakes you can make in a job interview

I recently found this list of The 10 worst mistakes you can make in a job interview at the Independent's website.
Just read them and choose three as the worst of the worst mistakes you can make in a job interview. Don't forget to tell me why!!

4th ESO - Voices computer assisted task: Unit 5

World's on trouble. Picture from The world.

Go to the Voices Student's Website, log in, and do these exercises:

GRAMMAR:Will and Be Going To
First conditional
Second conditional
First and second conditional
First and second conditional (questions)

VOCABULARY:
Environment: verbs and nouns

READING
Asteroids

Remember that you can use your book if you have any problems with the exercises. I'm sure you will find similar exercises there.

I will check your work on Wednesday, March 15th, 2015.

2nd ESO - Voices computer assisted task: Unit 5

This storm and other phenomena at WallpaperWeb.Org

Go to the Voices Student's Website, log in, and do these exercises:

GRAMMAR:
Past continuous and past simple 1
Past continuous and past simple 2
Past continuous and past simple 3

VOCABULARY:
Adverbs

LISTENING:
The news

VIDEO:
Ships

Remember that you can use your book if you have any problems with the exercises. I'm sure you will find similar exercises there.

I will check your work on Wednesday, March 15th, 2015.

4th ESO - Voices computer assisted task: Unit 4

Image by Joan Brossa

Go to the Voices Student's Website, log in, and do these exercises:

GRAMMAR:Will and Be Going To
Be going to 1
Be going to 2
Present continuous for future 1
Present continuous for future 2

VOCABULARY:
Personal qualities

Remember that you can use your book if you have any problems with the exercises. I'm sure you will find similar exercises there.

I will check your work on Wednesday, February 13th, 2015.

2nd ESO - Voices computer assisted task: Unit 4

I took this stripe at NO RULES JUST WORDS

Go to the Voices Student's Website, log in, and do these exercises:

GRAMMAR:
Past simple affirmative 2
was/were
Past simple negavite and questions
Past simple affirmative, negative and questions

VOCABULARY:
Types of film

READING:
James bond Story

VIDEO:
Horror stories

Remember that you can use your book if you have any problems with the exercises. I'm sure you will find similar exercises there.

I will check your work on Wednesday, February 8th, 2015.