US INDEPENDENCE DAY

Fourth of July.
This day in history, America claimed its independence from Britain in 1776.
The presentation you are about to see shows you what Americans do to celebrate this event every year.

Fourth of July - US Independence Day

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23 DE ABRIL: DÍA DEL LIBRO

DÍA DEL LIBRO.


Como ya sabeís el día 23 de abril, es el día internacional del libro. Se celebra con motivo del aniversario de la muerte de dos escritores universalmente conocidos; Cervantes y Shakespeare.  Parece ser que los dos murieron el 23 abril del 1616.

Sin embargo no es exactamente cierto que Miguel y William murieran el mismo día. El primero murió el día 22 de abril de 1616, pero fue enterrado el 23, por lo que casi lo podemos dar por cierto. El segundo murió realmente el 3 de mayo, pero como en Inglaterra se utilizaba un tipo de calendario distinto (el juliano en vez del gregoriano que se usaba en España), la fecha oficial de su defunción es el 23 de abril. 

Para saber más información sobre la vida, coincidencias y diferencias de estos escritores os invito a que veais el siguiente artículo:

Fuente wikisaber.es

Estos autores presentan más coincidencias. Los dos amaban la poesía pero tenían que ganarse la vida y lo que les dio el verdadero éxito fue el género de la novela a Cervantes y el teatro a Shakespeare.

Hoy quiero incluir dos poemas de estos prolíficos autores como homenaje a la lectura de la poesía:

 Bailan las gitanas
[Poema: Texto completo.]

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Bailan las gitanas,
míralas el rey;
la reina, con celos,
mándalas prender.

Por Pascua de Reyes
hicieron al rey
un baile gitano
Belica e Inés.
Turbada Belica,
cayó junto al rey,
y el rey la levanta
de puro cortés;
mas como es Belilla
de tan linda tez,
la reyna, celosa,
mándalas prender.

 Sonnet 116
William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O, no, it is an ever-fixèd mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his heighth be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

HAPPY SAINT GEORGE´S DAY !!!

 SAINT GEORGE´S DAY .

El día 23 de abril, fecha del Día de San Jorge, fue el elegido para conmemorar la muerte de este popular santo guerrero cuando fue canonizado en el año 494. Las leyendas sobre su vida son muy numerosas pero la más célebre, sin duda, es la que relata su lucha con el dragón que atemorizaba y diezmaba la población de una lejana ciudad. Esta lucha y la muerte de la bestia fabulosa a manos del santo es un tema recurrente de la literatura medieval occidental y uno de los motivos más representados de la historia del arte, desde la Edad Media hasta nuestros días.
La gran popularidad de este santo lo ha llevado a ser nombrado patrón incluso de países enteros como Inglaterra. Pero es en los países del sur de Europa y especialmente en España donde la fiesta del Día de San Jorge se celebra con especial devoción. Este día corresponde al día de la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón, de la que san Jorge es patrón junto con las de Cataluña e Islas Baleares. Es precisamente en Cataluña donde podemos encontrar la que quizá sea la tradición festiva más arraigada de las relacionadas con este día, a pesar de no ser día de fiesta oficial en dicha comunidad autónoma.

En el día de Sant Jordi, los catalanes tienen la costumbre de obsequiar, a sus parejas o a las personas más allegadas, con rosas y libros; esta costumbre se ha convertido ya en tradicional e incluso ha comenzado a trasladarse a otras regiones españolas.El Día de San Jorge en 2015 se celebra el miércoles siguiente al lunes de Pascua y, como todos los años desde 1996, coincide con la conmemoración del Día Internacional del Libro, acontecimiento que suele llenar las plazas y paseos españoles con puestos de venta de libros al aire libre.

Para más información sobre "Saint George ", patrón de Inglaterra y su historia puedes ver el siguiente enlace.
Fuente El Northen

 ACTIVIDADES PARA REALIZAR CON LOS ALUMNOS

La Editorial Macmillan, propone unas actividades para practicar con los alumnos en clase para que aprendan sobre la historia de este Santo.  La actividad que adjunto  fomenta el trabajo cooperativo y la creatividad. Es para alumnos de 4º ESO y 1º De Bachillerato. Os envío un enlace a esos ejercicios.
Fuente Macmillan: https://www.dropbox.com/s/vfiwt9b6csuor12/%20Saint%20George%20LIFE%20SKILLS.pdf?dl=0

Feliz día!. Have a great day!

ST PATRICK´S DAY

 On 17th March, The Irish celebrate St. Patrick´s day. In this St. Patrick's Day short video, you can learn about this historic holiday, full of the color green, clovers, leprechauns, parades, green rivers, and of course the story of St. Patrick!

CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES

The short video you are about to watch is about the origins of Christmas.
Answer the following reading comprehension questions you will find in this link:
Origins of Christmas



Then, we can watch a video called Mog´s Christmas calamities and you can work with the activities suggested in this link:
http://film-english.com/2015/12/18/mogs-christmas-calamity/

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Today is Thanksgiving day and our American language assistant has done a presentation about it.

Some students have asked to see it again to revise vocabulary and grammar issues. So, here is her lesson for thanksgiving. First is a video explaining the history of Thanksgiving:  click on this link

Then, a powerpoint about food items eaten at Thanksgiving:

Thanksgiving(1)Julie de Elena T

Lastly for a writing activity they have completed this Thanksgiving poem "Thanksgiving Acrostic poem":

BONFIRE NIGHT

This is a British festive day which is celebrated on November 5th. The tradition started to celebrate the failure of a plan to blow up King James I and the Houses of Parliament in 1605. Watch the following video  co-produced by the BBC and The British Council and find out all about it.
After watching the video, there are some suggested activities: reading comprehension and vocabulary exercises. Besides, the page provides you with worksheets and downloads together with the transcript. This is the link:  Bonfire night activities .

THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

Today, we have seen the following video to talk about Halloween.
For further information about Halloween origins, traditions, superstitions...    I recommend seeing this link:
History of Halloween

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!

I am devoting this post to talking about New Year´s and I am showing the following video. For further information, you can visit the following link:
http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/new-year

 

LET IT SNOW !!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New year !!!
Today´s Christmas song:

THE HISTORY OF CHRISTMAS

I am devoting this post to talking about the history of Christmas and I am showing the following video.
For further information, you can visit the following link:
History of Christmas

THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated in the United States as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. It is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.
 Several other places around the world have similar celebrations.
Thanksgiving has its historical roots in religious and cultural traditions. For further information, you can visit the following link: This day in history Thanksgiving
The following video shows the history of Thanksgiving:

REMEMBRANCE DAY

Florespedia.com

Armistice Day or Remembrance Day is celebrated on November 11th every year. It commemorates the end of World War I on 11th November 1918.
 Armistice Day is observed all over the world. In many countries, people stop what they are doing for a two-minute moment of silence at 11:00 a.m. This is a sign of respect for those who died. In Britain, there is another name for Armistice Day - Remembrance Sunday. In 1939, the British government moved Armistice Day to the Sunday nearest November 11. In America, the day is also called Veterans Day. Children in Commonwealth countries know these days by another name – Poppy Day. People wear poppies and donate money to charities for soldiers injured in wars. Poppies are a symbol of the blood that filled the trenches. Poppies also bloomed across some of the worst battlefields during the War. Source link: http://www.eslholidaylessons.com/11/armistice_day.html
 For further information you can visit the following links:
What is remembrance day ?
Armistice day in pictures.
ESL Holiday Lessons. This page contains activities you could do with students to practise vocabulary, listening and reading comprehension exercises about this topic.

Finally I will include a short video about Remembrance Day:

DYLAN THOMAS

National Museum Wales

This day in history Dylan Thomas was born in 1914 at the start of World War I. His first home was in Swansea, in South Wales. Later he lived in England, and visited America, but Wales was his real home. He died in 1953.
 Dylan Thomas is the most famous Welsh poet, and his most famous work is "Under Milk Wood". It was first broadcast on radio by the BBC in 1954. It is about the people of a small town in Wales.
 In his poems, he used words in fresh and exciting ways. He loved the sounds of words, so his poems are great for reading aloud. He wrote about his life, his friends, and about Wales. Some poems are serious, some are funny.
For further information, I recommend visiting the following links:
bbc.co.uk Dylan Thomas
bbc one Dylan Thomas
Under Milk Wood
Do not go gentle into that good night

I will include a prezi presentation about Dylan Thomas, his life and the analysis of one of his poems: "being but men".