Ghost stories in Guardea

This year in class II G students created some ghost stories to practice the simple past.

Some weeks ago we finally displayed all the tales in a peculiar "castle". After that we also went out with students of class I G and the older kids read the tales to the younger ones.

Here is a thinglink with links to the stories. 

Storytelling in Guardea

Last Monday the weather was really nice, it was sunny and warm and instead of having the lesson in class we decided to change! In fact we went to the park behind the school and had the lesson there.

The students were really happy and they read their ghost stories, some of them were really frightening but, as we were outside, we weren't scared!

The stories were really nice, interesting and creative:

English school library

Dear students, 

you'll borrow English books from the English Library at school this year too.

When you borrow a book you can have it for a month or 2 weeks and, after you read it, I recommend you to fill in a book report. 

You'll give the book report to me the day you bring the book back and then you will have your work corrected and graded.

BOOK REPORT

Title
Authors
Editor
Main charcaters
Places
Favourite sentence

NEW WORDS

English	Italian	English	Italian

More on Halloween

This is a very interesting article on the history of Halloween and it is taken from First News, the newspaper students of classes II and III sometimes read.
Click on the link below and you'll discover new info.

First News Children's Newspaper - Official Site Features First News Finds Out: Whose idea was Halloween?

Olympic medals

In a few days Olympic games in London will start. The medals are ready and safe in the Tower of London.
Here you can read a very interesting article and watch a video.

First News Children's Newspaper - Official Site News Olympic medals are locked in the Tower of London

Lugnano: describing our school and our village

1st year students of class ID

Here is the file with all the descriptions of our school you have to learn for the visit of our Spanish friends.

Read your part several times and learn it by heart.

Our school description

View more documents from Chiara Sabatini

And here is the file with the description with the most important places in Lugnano.

Let's describe our school in Giove

1st year students of class IA 

Here is the file with all the descriptions you have to learn for the visit of our Spanish friends.
Read your part several times and learn it by heart.

Giove: historical descriptions

In a few days 3rd year students of class III A and III B will be like tourist guides. In fact they will tell their Spanish friends of the Comenius Project all about Giove and its most important places.

Here you find the file with all the info.



And here is also the tale.

The ghost of the little girl

View more documents from Chiara Sabatini

So please read it over and over several times and get ready to tell everything to your friends!

Assisi: audio files part 3

BASILICA OF SANTA MARIA DEGLI ANGELI

The basilica was built in the mannerist style between 1569 and 1679. It has a rectangular ground plan, divided into a central nave and two lateral aisles, with ten side chapels, a transept and a choir. The church is 126 meters long, 65 meters large and the dome is 75 meters high.

Voice Recorder >>

Inside this church there is the Porziuncola that is a little church of the 9^th century. In this little church Francis of Assisi decided to give up the world of rich people to live in poverty among the poor and here he started the Franciscan movement.

Voice Recorder >>

The transito

The Cappella del Transito is the small room where St. Francis died 3rd October 1226. It was a little hut used for ill people.

 

Voice Recorder >>

The Rose Garden

The rose garden is the last remains of the ancient wood in which St Francis and his friars lived. Here he talked to the doves, inviting them to praise the Lord. Doves have been nesting since a long time in the hands of the statue of St. Francis in this rose garden.

According to tradition, one night St. Francis, feeling the temptation to abandon his way of life, rolled naked in the bramble thorns. In contact with his body, the bramble bushes turned into dog roses (rosa canina) without thorns. Since then, these flowers are here in this garden.

Voice Recorder >>

Bifora or window with two lights is the symbol of humanity and divinity.

Trifora or window with three lights is the symbol of the Trinity (The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit).

Rose window is the symbol of Christ.

Voice Recorder >>

Assisi: audio files part 2

BASILICA OF SAINT FRANCIS

The basilica, which was begun in 1228, is built into the side of a hill and comprises the Upper Church, Lower Church, and a crypt where the remains of Saint Francis are. The Upper and Lower Churches are decorated with frescoes by medieval important painters such as Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini and Pietro Lorenzetti.

The façade of the Upper Church has a portal in Gothic style with twin doors and a beautiful rose window.

The interior is an important example of the Gothic style in Italy. The most important decorations are the series of 28 frescoes ascribed to the young Giotto.

The frescoes tell the story of the life of Saint Francis and were probably painted between 1296 and 1304.  

The Lower Church consists of a central nave with several side chapels with semi-circular arches which are connected by a low blue-painted ceiling decorated with golden stars. The nave is decorated with the oldest frescoes in the church.

 

Voice Recorder >>

In the crypt there is the stone coffin of Saint Francis. This burial place of St. Francis was found only in 1818 because his remains were put in a secret place by a friar to prevent the spread of his relics in medieval Europe.

Voice Recorder >>

Assisi: audio files part 1

To 1st year  students of class I D.
Here are the audio files of the descriptions you have to read when we go to Assisi.
Listen to them and exercise your pronunciation.

ASSISI

Around 1000 BC some immigrants settled near Assisi and were called Umbrians. From 450 BC these settlements were gradually taken over by the Etruscans. The Romans took control of central Italy in 295 BC. In Assisi there are still some Roman ruins such as the Temple of Minerva that now is a church.

In 238 AD Assisi was converted to Christianity by bishop Rufino and his remains rest in the Cathedral Church of San Rufino in Assisi.

After the Romans, the Ostrogoths, the Lombards and the Frankish ruled. Assisi became an independent council in the 11th century.

There were a lot of wars between Assisi and Perugia at that time, and in one of these battles Francesco (St. Francis) was imprisoned by the soldiers of Perugia.

Later the city was under the rule of the Pope.  

Voice Recorder >>

BASILICA OF SAINT CLARE

The Basilica of Saint Clare is a church dedicated to Saint Clare of Assisi and it contains her remains. She founded the Order of the Poor Ladies or Order of Saint Clare and died in 1253.

The construction of the church dates back to 1257. Clare's tomb was found in 1850.

The feast of St. Clare is celebrated throughout the Church on 11th August.  

Voice Recorder >>

Cartoons!

This is for 3rd year students of class III D

III D students wrote two stories that we will use to create cartoons together with the teacher of Art.
Here are the stories that you have to read to make the audio files for the project.
Practice reading aloud so that when we are back from Easter holidays we'll work on it.

First News

This year I made a subscription to the weekly magazine "First News" (you find the link on the right).
Every week I get a newspaper and I take it to school. I leave it in the English mini-library where the students can take a copy to read it at school or at home if they want to.
As this morning we had some time left at the end of the lessons I paired them up, they choose some articles they were interested into and read them.

After reading they had to write the words they didn't know in a piece of paper and look them up in the dictionary. For homework they have to reuse the words to form sentences that refer to a different context.  next week we'll see what they have found out and what they have created!

Halloween

The History of Halloween

Halloween is one of the oldest holidays with origins going back thousands of years. It has had many influences from many cultures over the centuries. From the Roman's Pomona Day, to the Celtic festival of Samhain, to the Christian holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days. Hundreds of years ago in what is now Great Britain and Northern France, lived the Celts. The Celts worshipped nature and had many gods, with the sun god as their favourite. It was "he" who commanded their work and their rest times, and who made the earth beautiful and the crops grow. The Celts celebrated their New Year on November 1st. It was celebrated every year with a festival and marked the end of the "season of the sun" and the beginning of "the season of darkness and cold." On October 31st after the crops were all harvested and stored for the long winter the cooking fires in the homes were extinguished. The Druids, the Celtic priests, used to meet in the hilltop in the dark oak forest and they used to light new fires and offer sacrifices of crops and animals. As they danced around the fires, the season of the sun passed and the season of darkness began. When the morning arrived the Druids gave an ember from their fires to each family who took them home to start new cooking fires. These fires would keep the homes warm and free from evil spirits.

The November 1st festival was called Samhain (pronounced "sow-en"). The festival lasted for 3 days. Many people walked around in costumes made from the skins and heads of their animals. This festival became the first Halloween.

During the first century the Romans invaded Britain. They brought with them many of their festivals and customs. One of these was the festival known as Pomona Day, named for their goddess of fruits and gardens. It was also celebrated around the 1st of November. After hundreds of years of Roman rule the customs of the Celtic's Samhain festival and the Roman Pomona Day mixed becoming the most important autumn holiday.

The next influence came with the spread of the new Christian religion throughout Europe and Britain. In the year 835 AD the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honour all the saints. This day was called All Saint's Day, or Hallowmas, or All Hallows. Years later the Church made November 2nd a holy day. It was called All Souls Day and was to honour the dead. It was celebrated with big bonfires, parades, and people dressing up as saints, angels and devils. But the spread of Christianity did not make people forget their early customs. On the eve of All Hallows, Oct. 31, people continued to celebrate the festivals of Samhain and Pomona Day. Over the years the customs from all these holidays mixed. October 31st became known as All Hallow Even, eventually All Hallow's Eve, and then Halloween. The Halloween we celebrate today includes all of these influences.

Trick or treat, Smell my feet Give me something good to eat !!!

The history of "Trick'O'Treating" can be traced back to the early celebrations of All Soul's Day in Britain. The poor went begging and the housewives gave them special treats called "soulcakes". This was called "going a-souling", and the "soulers" promised to say a prayer for the dead. Then the custom changed and the children became the beggars. As they went from house to house they were given apples, buns, and money. During the Pioneer days of the American West, the housewives gave the children candies to keep from being tricked. The children would shout "Trick or Treat!".

Origins of Jack O'Lantern

An Irish tale tells us where the origins of the name Jack o'lantern came from. There once was a man named Jack who liked to play tricks on people. He lived a long, mischievous life. One day he tricked Satan into climbing a tree. Jack then carved the image of a Holy Cross in the trunk of the tree. This trapped the Devil up the tree. Jack made a the following deal with the Devil: he would let the Devil down the tree, if the Devil promised never to tempt him again. After Jack died, he was not allowed into Heaven because of his evil ways. He was also denied access to Hell because he had tricked the Devil. The devil gave him a single ember to light his way through thedarkness. This flame was put inside a hollowed-out turnip to keep it glowing. As Jack walked his neverending journey as punishment for his trickery, he carried a burning coal inside a turnip to help him see along the roads everywhere he travelled. Soon he was known as "Jack of the lantern" or Jack O'Lantern. In Ireland, turnips were used originally. However, immigrants to America, found pumpkins more plentiful than turnips. The Jack-O-Lantern in America was a hollowed-out pumpkin, lit with an ember.

Dear students here you read about Halloween now try to answer to these questions.

Answer the questions

1. When is Halloween?

2. Which culture influenced the holiday of Halloween?

3. When did the Celts celebrate New Year?

4. What was Pomona day?

5. What did the housewives give to children during Pioneer days?

6 Who was Jack?

7. What did he carve in the trunk of the tree?

8. Who did he trick?

9. What did the devil give him to light his way?

9. Do you celebrate Halloween? Why?

Watch this video and enjoy the short poem!

And now have fun with this online game

http://funschool.kaboose.com/fun-blaster/halloween/games/game_transylmania.html

Magazine Report

This morning class III D started to borrow books from the English School Library.
This week eve the students from other classes will start borrowing books.
I just remind you that you can keep a book or a magazine for a month and that after having read it you have to fill in the book report or the magazine report.
For the book report click here: http://funwithenglishandmore.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-report.html

Here is the magazine report:

Magazine Report
Title of the Magazine
Date
Title of the article
Main Topic
Your opinion
Short summary
NEW WORDS
English	Italian		English	Italian

Now that you have started I tell you:

Have a nice time reading in English!

Book Report

Dear students, 

you'll start to borrow English books from the English Library at school very soon.

When you borrow a book you can have it for a month and, after you read it, I recommend you to fill in a book report. 

You give the book report to me the day you bring the book back and then you will have your work corrected and graded.

Cari studenti,

inizierete a prendere libri inglesi dalla biblioteca della scuola molto presto. 

Quando prendete un libro in prestito potete tenerlo per un mese e, dopo averlo letto, vi consiglio di compilare il "book report".

Mi consegnerete il "book report" il giorno in cui riporterete il libro e il vostro lavoro verrò corretto e valutato.

BOOK REPORT

Title
Authors
Editor
Main charcaters
Places
Favourite sentence

NEW WORDS

English	Italian	English	Italian