HALLOWEEN

The origins of the nameThe festival of Hallowe'en has its roots in Celtic and Roman traditions. Over 2,000 years ago the Celts in Britain, Ireland and parts of France celebrated Samhain to mark the beginning of winter. When the Romans invaded, they merged this with Feralia, their celebration of the passing of the dead. As Christianity spread, the Church tried to replace these pagan feasts with official Church holy days. One of these was November 1. It was called All Saints Day, or "All Hallows", and October 31 was known as "All Hallows' Eve", and then Hallowe'en.
Hallowe'en traditionsIn the past there was a tradition called "souling". Poor people went around houses asking for food. In exchange, they promised to say prayers for the dead. People no longer go souling, but the habit has been transformed into a modern Hallowe'en game for children in America, who dress up as ghosts, witches and monsters and go around people's houses, asking for sweets. This game is called “Trick or Treat’.
WitchesHallowe'en wouldn't be fun without witches. Witches have always been part of popular folklore. Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" opens with three witches. A witch was someone - usually a woman - who had special powers and had dealings with the devil. The American town, Salem, in the state of Massachusetts, is famous for the "witchcraft trials", which took place there in 1692.
PumpkinsThe pumpkin has become a symbol of Hallowe'en. People empty a pumpkin, cut a face into the side, and put a candle inside to make a lamp. It's known as a Jack O' Lantern, from an Irish legend about a man called Jack, who made a deal with the devil.
AnimalsBlack cats, frogs, mice and spiders are just some of the animals associated with Hallowe'en. Generally, the more unpleasant the animal, the stronger the Hallowe'en connection. Nocturnal animals like bats are particular favourites, and if, as is the case with vampire bats, they like drinking blood, they are high on the Hallowe'en list.


Answer these questions:

Where can you find the roots of Halloween?
What celebration is November 1st?
What do children do today on October 31st?
What is a Jack o'Lantern?
Which animals are associated with Halloween?

Now watch this webcast done by an American teacher, a friend of mine, for you. You will learn about candies for Halloween.

http://www.jacksonschool.org/webcasts/Candy/
and answer:
how many candies does she mention?
which do you like best?
Are any of them sold in Argentina?

and some games for Halloween:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-games-wizardry.htm
http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-magazine-halloween.htm#links, click on word games and spelloween.

and Lastly a song:

http://www.eslvideo.com/view_quiz.php?id=160
with a quiz:


I hope you enjoy it!!

Real English lesson 40 - introduction to

what's Michael going to do?
what's the first question the presenter asks?
what's the second he asks?

Going to Future

You are going to learn Going to . Click on this site, you are going to learn the form here:



http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/330/grammar/gofut.htm



and exercises:

http://a4esl.org/q/h/0101/sv-goingto.html

THE ENVIRONMENT. Blog Action Day

Watch this video in which some students speak about what we should do for the environment
http://explorations.bloxi.jp/a/the-voice-of-nature/

and then in the comment area , post some things that you do for the planet.

Che Guevara:40th anniversary of his Death

This is not political. My intention in this blog is that you learn English in a meaningful way, learning at the same time other topics. As you must know it is the anniversary of Che Guevara's death, and I pasted an article of Wikipedia for you to read. Then you will answer the questions and study briefly his life for an oral lesson.



Ernesto Guevara de la Serna (June 14,[1] 1928 – October 9, 1967), commonly known as Che Guevara, El Che or just Che was an Argentine-born Marxist revolutionary, political figure, and leader of Cuban and internationalist guerrillas.
As a young man studying medicine, Guevara travelled throughout South America, bringing him into direct contact with the impoverished conditions in which many people lived. His experiences and observations during these trips led him to the conclusion that the region's socio-economic inequalities could only be remedied by socialism through revolution, prompting him to intensify his study of Marxism and travel to Guatemala to learn about the reforms being implemented there by President Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán.
While in Mexico in 1956, Guevara joined Fidel Castro's revolutionary 26th of July Movement, which seized power from the regime of the dictator[2] General Fulgencio Batista in Cuba in 1959. In the months after the success of the revolution, Guevara was assigned the role of "supreme prosecutor", overseeing the trials and executions of hundreds of suspected war criminals from the previous regime.[3] After serving in various important posts in the new government and writing a number of articles and books on the theory and practice of guerrilla warfare, Guevara left Cuba in 1965 with the intention of fomenting revolutions first in Congo-Kinshasa, and then in Bolivia, where he was captured in a military operation supported by the CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces.[4] Guevara was summarily executed by the Bolivian Army in the town of La Higuera near Vallegrande on October 9, 1967.[5]
After his death, Guevara became an icon of socialist revolutionary movements and a cultural icon worldwide. An Alberto Korda photo of him (shown) has received wide distribution and modification, appearing on t-shirts, protest banners, and in many other formats. The Maryland Institute College of Art called this picture "the most famous photograph in the world and a symbol of the 20th century.



when and where was he born?

What did he study?

Where did he travel while he was studying?

when did he join Fidel Castro's revolutionary movement?

who was in power in Cuba then?

Where did he go after he left Cuba?

who captured him? Where?

when did he die?

Online Safety for kids

Kids' Rules for Online Safety
1.
I will not give out personal information such as my address, telephone number, parents’ work address/telephone number, or the name and location of my school without my parents’ permission.
2.
I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
3.
I will never agree to get together with someone I "meet" online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will be sure that it is in a public place and bring my mother or father along.
4.
I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents.
5.
I will not respond to any messages that are mean or in any way make me feel uncomfortable. It is not my fault if I get a message like that. If I do I will tell my parents right away so that they can contact the service provider.
6.
I will talk with my parents so that we can set up rules for going online. We will decide upon the time of day that I can be online, the length of time I can be online and appropriate areas for me to visit. I will not access other areas or break these rules without their permission.
7.
I will not give out my Internet password to anyone (even my best friends) other than my parents.
8.
I will check with my parents before downloading or installing software or doing anything that could possibly hurt our computer or jeopardize my family’s privacy
9.
I will be a good online citizen and not do anything that hurts other people or is against the law.
10.
I will help my parents understand how to have fun and learn things online and teach them things about the Internet, computers and other technology.
Rules one through six are adapted from the brochure Child Safety on the Information Highway by SafeKids.Com founder Larry Magid. (© 2004 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children). Rules 7 through 10 are copyrighted by Larry Magid (© 2005)

Epals

As I told you, you have received new epals messages. I want you to fill in this chart with all the emails you get. you will hand in this chart before the end of the year with all the information you have collected.

Name:__________________________________________________
Family: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Age: ___________
Birthday: ______________________________
Best friend: _____________________________________________
School description: ________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Favourite school subject: ___________________________________
Favourite colour: __________________________________________
Favourite food: ___________________________________________
Favourite drink: __________________________________________
Favourite dessert: ________________________________________
Favourite music: __________________________________________
Favourite singers: _________________________________________
Favourite T.V. shows: ______________________________________
Favourite film: ___________________________________________
Favourite books: __________________________________________
Favourite hero: ___________________________________________

House description: ________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Favourite sports: _________________________________________
Favourite teams: __________________________________________

Hobbies: ________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
Favourite place in town (and why): _____________________________
_______________________________________________________

Near future plans: ________________________________________
______________________________________________________

Wants to be (and why): _____________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Global concern: ___________________________________________

Global Coalition

Primera Junta school has been a member of The Global Coalition for some years now. Last year, Florentino Ameghino school has become a member too.

So far, in 2007 we couldn't post anything on it, but we will soon, before our school year ends. But before posting, I want you to see it , browse it and answer some questions.
so:

First, click on this site:
http://bcsd.k12.ny.us/middle/Global/global.htm

Second, Answer these questions:


The Global Coalition: Quick Questions Information Hunt
These answers can be found by reading various pages of the Global Coalition website
1. How many countries are in the Global Coalition?
2. Write the names of the countries.
3. Name two holidays celebrated in Portugal.
4. Which school is in Moscow?
5. How many of the countries have flags with stars on them?
6. What is the name of the Belize school?
7. What time does Anna Teryoshina (from Moscow) go to school?
8. Write the names of three recipes you can find on the website. Which recipe sounds more yummy?
9. Can you find Nick P.? What 's his favourite food?
10. Can you find a boy called Demetris? Where is he from?
11. In which country does Martha Nojima work?
12. Which school is located in 130,000 acres of rain forest?
13. Name two holidays celebrated in Azerbaijan.
14. Find the names of two famous people.
15. Which famous person do you think is more interesting?
16. What do boys in Israel wear on their heads?
17. Find two legends that you can read on the Global Coalition website.
18. How many interesting facts are there in Poland?Why is it called Poland?
19. Choose a country form the list.. Name: the capital city, its religion, a tradition, the colours of the flag.

WANT TO

In this unit, you are learning WANT TO.
We have already seen it in The Grey Lady, eg: Lucy didn't want to marry Lord Griston. She wanted to marry Thomas.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

German Reunification. October 3rd

Find out:

When did the German reunification happen?
Who were the people who carried out the process?
Why was Germany divided?
How long had it been divided?

Answer them in the comment area.

Thanks,

Gabriela