"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality" (John Lennon)

Monday, May 30, 2011

Imagine

Dear 3rd year students as this morning we listened to this song I found this video where John Lennon was playing it and I thought it could be a good idea to share it with you.







In the Beatles Museum in Liverpool




there is the white piano you see in the video and










 there are these rooms related to "Imagine" as well.

















If you want to know more on John Lennon you can visit the following website:
http://www.biography.com/articles/John-Lennon-9379045

As we have already said  several times,  John Lennon was one of the four Beatles, so here you can find more info on this English pop group:
http://www.thebeatles.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles

E per i più pigri qui ci sono info in italiano:
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_ Beatles
http://www.chiedichieranoibeatles.it/

And this is the pub where the Fabulous Four started in Liverpool!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Writing a letter

Here you have some tips to write a letter, and as 3rd year students are having the exams please read them carefully and remember them!




When you write a letter you have to think to all these info:

Your address
Date

Dear (name of the person you are writing to)

Opening greetings

Text of the letter

Closing greetings
EXAMPLE

25, London Street
R2H5 London
United Kingdom

24th May 2011

Dear Mark,

opening greetings
How are you? / Is everything ok?
I'm fine / I'm ok. I hope you are fine too.

beginning the text of the letter
I was very happy to receive your last letter / You can't imagine how glad I was when I received your letter. / It was a great surprise to receive your letter.

text of the letter
I'm writing to you because I want to tell you about ….......…...... etc. etc.

closing the letter
That's it for now / I think I should stop at this point / I'd like to keep on writing but I have to leave you now because I …....
I hope to have your news soon

closing greetings
Write to me soon / Let's keep in touch
Best wishes / Love
xxx (it stays for kisses)

Friday, May 27, 2011

The Flood

First year students enjoyed this song. They had a worksheet with the song jumbled up and they had to put the text in order. They succeed very well! 
Now here you can listen to the song and follow the words, enjoy again!




The Flood (Take That 2010)

Standing on the edge of forever
at the start of whatever
shouting love at the World.
Back then we were like cavemen
but we met the moon and the stars
then we forgave them.

We will meet you where the lights are
the defenders of the faith we are
where the thunder turns around
they'll run so hard we'll tear the ground away.

You know no-one dies in these love drowned eyes
through our love drowned eyes
we'll watch you sleep tonight.

Although no-one understood
we were holding back the flood
learning how to dance the rain.
We were holding back the flood
they said we'd never dance again.

Breathin' (Bleeding) but none of us leavin'
wash your mouth son or you'll find yourself floatin' home
Here we come now on a dark star
seeing demons not what we are
tiny minds and eager hands will try to strike
but now we'll last the day.

There's progress now where there once was not (none)
where there once was not (none)
then everything came along.

Although no-one understood
we were holding back the flood
learning how to dance the rain.
There was more of them than us
now they'll never dance again.
Although no-one understood
there was more of them than us
learning how to dance the rain.
We were holding back the flood
they said we'd never dance again.

We will meet you where the lights are
the defenders of the faith we are
when the thunder turns around
they'll run so hard we'll tear the ground away.

Although no-one understood
there was more of them than us
learning how to dance the rain.
There was more of them than us
now they'll never dance again
now we'll never dance again.


In the video you can see some of the most famous monuments of London: what are their names? The first who sends me the answers will get a surprise!




For more info about the band you can visit the following websites: 



































Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Congratulations!

Last Monday, 23rd May 9, 9 students from the school of Giove took their first exam of spoken English. It was a Trinity Exam. We decided to take it in winter and the students studied hard and followed my advice. 
When we left our school, in the morning, they were all afraid and anxious. Then we arrived in the school "B. Brin" in Terni where the English Trinity examiner was waiting for us. Then one after an other went into the room and spoke with him.  It was a matter of minutes and the exam was over. 

"Have we passed?"



 "Have we not?"




Everything went well and ...  yes you all passed and I'm very proud of all of you, so:


CONGRATULATIONS!!!




Sunday, May 22, 2011

Born in the U.S.A.

Some  days ago we listened to this song with students of the first class because one of them chose it, brought the cd and so we tried to follow it with the text and this exercise.
It was difficult to follow though because Bruce Springsteen sings it very quickly, nevertheless we succeed in filling in all the balks and we also spoke about the meaning.
I thought that this song might be interesting for the 3rd year students, and useful for their exam too. If you don't need for the exam, just listen to it!



BORN IN THE U.S.A. (by Bruce Springsteen)

Listen and fill in the blanks with the words in the box

your I in they go he's home ten don't him

Born down ____ a dead man's town
The first kick I took was when ____ hit the ground
You end up like a dog that's been beat too much
'Til you spend half _____ life just covering up
[chorus:] Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

I got in a little hometown jam
And so _____ put a rifle in my hands
Sent me off to Vietnam
To ______ and kill the yellow man
[chorus]
Come back _______ to the refinery
Hiring man says "Son if it was up to me"
I go down to see the V.A. man
He said "Son ____ you understand"
[chorus]
I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They're still there, _____ all gone
He had a little girl in Saigon
I got a picture of ____ in her arms

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I'm ____ years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain't got nowhere to go

I'm a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I'm a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.



In this video you can see the singer in the time he wrote the song, so look at the clothes, at the hair style and to other features to have an idea how the 80s looked like!

About the meaning of this song
One of the main theme of this song is about the Vietnam War. It is a tribute to the singer's friends who took part in this war. Some of his friends died some other came back but experiende a lot of difficulties. The main character has working-class origins, joins the armed forces and then comes back to the United States. In the song the Battle of Khe Sanh is named. In this battle (January – April 1968) the North Vietnamese Army was involved not the National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam (the Viet Cong). The Americans, finally, broke the siege. This battle showed that the efforts of the United States in the war weren't so useful.

About the singer
You can find info about Bruce Springsteen following the link below, there are also several videos and links to other websites. 




Friday, May 20, 2011

1st Year Questions

Dear 1st year students, as I promised this morning, here are some questions for you.
Answer the questions and exercise to ask them. Try to make similar questions to ask to your classmates next week.
And now ..... exercise, study, exercise, study!!!


  1. What's your name?
  2. How old are you?
  3. What's her/his name?
  4. How old is he/she?
  5. What's your surname?
  6. How do you spell it?
  7. Where are you from'
  8. Where is it exaclty?
  9. Are you Italian?
  10. Is he/she Spanish?
  11. Where are they from?
  12. Are they French?
  13. What is the capital city of Wales, Scotland, the UK, the USA, Northern Ireland, England...?
  14. What's your mum's (dad's brother's sister's) name?
  15. What is this? What is that?
  16. What are these?
  17. What are those?
  18. Describe yourself
  19. Describe your best friend
  20. Describe your pet
  21. What colour is/are …?    

  22. Who is he/she?
  23. Who's your teacher of English, Maths, Italian, …?
  24. What's your favourite fruit?
  25. What have you gto in your schoolbag, pencilcase?
  26. What is the capital city of Italy, …?
  27. Where is ….?
  28. What is there in you bedroom, house, kitchen, ecc.?
  29. Describe your house
  30. Describe your bedroom/favourite room
  31. Can you swim/play chess/read a map/ …?
  32. What can you do?
  33. What do you do in your free time?
  34. What do you do in the afternoon?
  35. What is your favourite school day and what lessons have you got?
  36. What are your favourite subjects?
  37. What do you like/prefer/love/hate doing?
  38. Describe your typical day
  39. What time do you get up?
  40. What time do you go to school?
  41. What time do you ….?
  42. What do you usually do at weekends?
  43. What do you have for breakfast/luch/dinner?
  44. What clothes do you like?
  45. How often do you have a Maths lesson?
  46. How often do you go to the cinema?
  47. How often do you ….?
  48. Describe your school day
  49. How much is a milkshake?
  50. How much is …...?

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Balck or White

Questa mattina abbiamo ascoltato questa canzone con gli alunni della II B e ci siamo soffermati, in particolare, sui versi evidenziati in rosso. 
Ieri con i ragazzi delle III abbiamo parlato di Rosa Parks e Martin Luther King e mi sembra che questo brano possa inserirsi proprio bene nelle riflessioni fatte. 
A voi una sfida: ci sono delle espressioni che non sono corrette, sapete dirmi quali?

"Black Or White"

I Took My Baby
On A Saturday Bang
Boy Is That Girl With You
Yes We're One And The Same

Now I Believe In Miracles
And A Miracle
Has Happened Tonight

But, If
You're Thinkin'
About My Baby
It Don't Matter If You're
Black Or White

They Print My Message
In The Saturday Sun
I Had To Tell Them
I Ain't Second To None

And I Told About Equality
An It's True
Either You're Wrong
Or You're Right

But, If
You're Thinkin'
About My Baby
It Don't Matter If You're
Black Or White

I Am Tired Of This Devil
I Am Tired Of This Stuff
I Am Tired Of This Business
Sew When The
Going Gets Rough
I Ain't Scared Of
Your Brother
I Ain't Scared Of No Sheets
I Ain't Scare Of Nobody
Girl When The
Goin' Gets Mean

[L. T. B. Rap Performance]
Protection
For Gangs, Clubs 
And Nations
Causing Grief In
Human Relations
It's A Turf War
On A Global Scale
I'd Rather Hear Both Sides
Of The Tale
See, It's Not About Races
Just Places
Faces
Where Your Blood
Comes From
Is Where Your Space Is
I've Seen The Bright
Get Duller
I'm Not Going To Spend
My Life Being A Color



[Michael]
Don't Tell Me You Agree With Me 
When I Saw You Kicking Dirt In My Eye

But, If 
You're Thinkin' About My Baby
It Don't Matter If You're Black Or White

I Said If
You're Thinkin' Of 
Being My Baby 
It Don't Matter If You're Black Or White

I Said If
You're Thinkin' Of
Being My Brother
It Don't Matter If You're
Black Or White

Ooh, Ooh
Yea, Yea, Yea Now
Ooh, Ooh
Yea, Yea, Yea Now

It's Black, It's White
It's Tough For You
To Get By
It's Black , It's White, Whoo

It's Black, It's White
It's Tough For You
To Get By
It's Black , It's White, Whoo 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Martin Luther King Jr.

3rd year students

We also talked about Martin Luther King Jr. We read about his life and we discovered he was an activist of the African American Civil Rights Movement like Rosa Parks, in fact they knew each other and were friends. He won the Nobel peace Prize in 1964 and he was, unfortunately, assassinated in 1968.

Martin Luther King Jr. Biography - Biography.com

We said he is still famous, among other things, thanks to his speech "I have a dream".
When he gave this speech he was in front of Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC in 1963.


This is Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC and Martin Luther King was on the steps when he gave his speech.



The statue of Abraham Lincoln is inside
the Memorial




"... I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character



I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day ..." 

(28th August 1963 - Washington DC).



Rosa Parks

3rd year students

This morning we talked about Rosa Parks and we explained that she is considered the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. I also told you the episode of the bus: she refused to stand and to give up her seat to a white passenger. Here I found a very interesting site where there more info about her, a video about her life (there is also the famous bus) and other things.

Rosa Parks Biography - Biography.com

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Free time

We are almost at the end of the school year and soon you will have a lot of free time!
So enjoy these exercises to review hobbies, free time activities and sports.


Exercises for 1st year students
http://www.isabelperez.com/hotpot/hobbies.htm
http://englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/free_time_sport/sports_disciplines.htm

Exercises for 2nd and 3rd year students
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2453

Adverbs of frequency

When we talk about our everyday activities we sometimes need adverbs of frequency.
So here you find some a useful exercise and a game to review them.



http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/adjectives_adverbs/adverbs_of_frequency.htm

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=6162

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Comenius week

From the 2nd to the 9th of May we celebrated the Comenius week.

Among other activities, in our school the students prepared a photo album reporting their visit to Spain last April.


The students chose, cut and glued the pictures,








working in groups.
Then they decided on the comments to write and 
started decorating the pages.
They fixed the decorations 
with a special product. 

Now we still have to put all the pages together and tie them with a nice ribbon


so that we will show the album to the parents at the end of the school year in June.


We also joined the comenius week website and shared our activities there.

http://comeniusweek.eu/it/pub/index.htm

http://comeniusweek.eu/it/pub/event.cfm?id=1817

Simple Past

2nd and 3rd year students

Here you find some online exercises to review the simple past and to get prepared for the end of year test.
Review, or study (!!!) the irregular verbs too.

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/irregular_verbs/fill_in.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/simple_past_mix.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/questions/simple_past.htm

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-past/exercises?02

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-past/exercises?05

Exam conversation



This is for my 3rd year students

Here are some useful questions to practice for the conversation at the exam.
Remember:
don't answer saying only yes/no;
don't give short answers;
try to answer with more than one sentence.

  1. How do you get to school?
  2. How long does it take you to do your homework?
  3. How long does it take to get to school?
  4. Can you tell the way to the castle, bar, pizzeria, ….?
  5. How do you get from your home to school?
  6. How do you get to the library, computer room, …?
  7. Which is the best way to travel in your country?
  8. Where are you at the moment?
  9. When did you arrive?
  10. How long are you staying?
  11. Where are you staying?
  12. What are you doing hire?
  13. How did you travel?
  14. When are you going to go back to your country?
  15. What are you going to do today?
  16. What did you do yesterday?
  17. What do you have to do in your school?
  18. Describe your best friend, mum, teacher of ... (both physical appearance and personality)
  19. Describe our house, your bedroom, your school, etc.
  20. What's your best friend like? (Describe your best friend)
  21. What are the shops in your town like?
  22. Do you like going shopping? Why?
  23. Why are you going/doing/talking/....? To …
  24. Describe a famous tourist attraction: what is it? Where is it? When did they build it? Why did they build it?What is interesting about t? Why do tourists visit it now?
  25. Describe Giove, Penna ….
  26. Compare your village to a big city (Rome, Milan, London, etc.)
  27. What are your favourites in London/New York? Describe
  28. Who's best at English in your class?
  29. What are you good at?
    What are you like?
    Do you think you are lazy, generous, …?
  30. What clothes do you have to wear at school?
  31. Do you have to do much homework?
  32. Imagine a journey: Where do you leave from?
  33. When and where are going to?
  34. Who are you going with?
  35. Where is your journey from and to?
  36. How are you going to travel?
  37. How far is it and how long is it going to take?
  38. Where are you going to stay?
  39. What are you going to see an do on the way?
  40. Your favourite holiday: Where did you go on holiday?
  41. When did you go?
  42. What was the place like?
  43. Who did you go with?
  44. Where did you stay?
  45. What was the weather like?
  46. What did you do?
  47. Did you like the holiday? Why?
  48. Imagine you are going on holiday: When and where are you going to?
  49. How are you going to travel?
  50. Who are you going with?
  51. What are you going to do?
  52. What are you going to visit?
  53. What are you going to do after school?
  54. What are going to do next week, tomorrow, …?
  55. What are you doing at the weekend, ….?
  56. Describe something strange that happened to you? When did it happen?
  57. Where were you? What were you doing?
  58. What did you think next?
  59. What could you do when you were 5 years old?
  60. Where were you yesterday?
  61. What did you do yesterday, last week, last summer, ect?
  62. What are your plans for the future?
  63. Talk about your best/worst experience in these three years of school
  64. Have you ever been to …?
  65. Have you ever read harry Potter books?
  66. Have you ever travelled by plane, boat ..?
  67. What is your favourite book/film/TV programme, actor, singer, footballer, etc.? Why?
  68. What will life be like in the future?
  69. Which would you rather be, a doctor or a teacher, or a …..?
  70. Where would you like to go? Why?

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Daily Routine

Dear students it's time for end of year tests so I think it is a good idea to exercise a little bit more.
Here there is a link to a very nice online exercise about daily routine that can be useful to I class students but II and III class students can do it too!
You do the exercise first then you press the button "check" so you can correct it: good luck!


http://www.isabelperez.com/happy/tenses/exercises/habits.htm

Monday, May 9, 2011

Festa dell'Europa 9 maggio

"Il contributo che un'Europa organizzata e vitale può apportare alla civiltà è indispensabile per il mantenimento di relazioni pacifiche".
Erano queste le parole che Robert Schuman, Ministro degli Esteri Francese, pronunciò il 9 maggio del 1950. Il discorso che fece è noto come "Dichiarazione Schuman" che è anche considerato l'atto di nascita dell'Unione Europea.

Per saperne di più: http://europa.eu/abc/index_it.htm


Buona Festa dell'Europa!


Sunday, May 8, 2011

Ballons in Jerez de la Frontera - Spain

Dear students and friends, at last I created a blog! 
I think the best way to start is reporting the wonderful experience I had in Spain, together with my Italian  students and colleagues.
We have an exchange program (Comenius Project) with the school Colegio Compania de Maria in Jerez de la Frontera in Spain and last April we returned their visit (they came to Italy last January). 
We really enjoyed a lot, we learnt new things and we made friends who, we hope, will keep in touch with, as long as possible. 
We already published some works about this project in our school website, so for more info please visit us: http://istitutocomprensivoattigliano.it/comenius.html

Here I put a very short video of the first day in the Spanish school when they welcomed us with songs, colored balloons and happiness.