The World's Ugliest Woman?

I doubt it. Have a look and discover why.

And if you feel brave enough, try to answer this question: What defines you? 




Some of her quotes are posted below, including some interesting structures and vocabulary.

#StandUptoBullying


"There are benefits to this syndrome. Benefits to not being able to gain weight. There are benefits to being visually impaired. There are benefits to being really very small."

"I credit pretty much everything that I've done in my life to my parents."

"I'm a fun kid and she's the one missing out."

"You have this syndrome but it's not going to define who you are."

"What defines you? Who are you? Is it where you come from? Is it your background? Is it your friends? What is it? What defines who you are as a person?"

"My life was put into my hands just like your live were put into yours. You are the person in the front seat of your car. You are the one who decides whether your car goes down a bad path or a good path. You are the one who decides what defines you."

"My life is in my hands. I can either choose to make this really good or I can choose to make this really bad. I can either be grateful and open my eyes to realize the things that I do have and make those the things that define me."

"I'm going to let my goals and my success and my accomplishments be the things that define me, not my outer appearance. Not the fact that I'm visually impaired."

"Tell me those negative things. I'm going to turn them around and I'm going to use them as a ladder to climb up to my goals."

"Use that negativity thqt you have in your life to make yourself better because I guarantee you you will win."

"Brave starts here."

Lights, Camera... Action!

Hi everyone!

It's movie time!

As we are working on our drama project, please feel free to watch these movies to get a better idea of the location, costumes, characters and plot.

• 'The Merchant of Venice': English version with subtitles (you need to download both archives and store them in the same folder. Then open the movie with Video Lan Converter)

• 'Macbeth': English versions with subtitles

 

BBC version

2015 version (download both archives and store them in the same folder. Then open the movie with Video Lan Converter)

Figurative Language

Today's topic is related to literature. As I'm well aware that reading is not normally my students' favourite activity, let's learn a few things about Figurative Language in a fun way.

Yes... in a fun way. No hyperboles here.

It would be advisable to watch the video first so that students get a general idea of different examples of figurative language together with examples. Once they know the basics, they will be ready to go Kahoot!-ing.

I'll try both things myself in class. Wish me luck!

Kahoot! - Reported Speech

Hi there!

Today I strongly recommend you try Kahoot! It's an app that can be used on mobiles, tablets and many other devices to practice and have a lot of fun. I've prepared a game about Reported Speech if you want to give it a try. Enjoy!

Extra practice: Passives + Causatives

Hi everyone!

Just in case you need some extra practice on Passives and Causatives, click on the icons below and try some of the exercises provided. All of them can be downloaded and include key. Of course, do not hesitate to ask any doubts you might have.

For more practice on this or other topics, please have a look at:

- http://www.e-grammar.org/ 
- http://www.grammarbank.com/
- http://www.english-grammar.at

Causatives

Conversion Active to Passive

Passive or Active?

Passive or Active? (high)

Video: Causatives

I know... I know Causatives are difficult. For a Spanish speaker, they even sound weird because we can't find similar examples in our language.

That's why today we've got two videos in which two very talented teachers talk about Causatives in a very interesting way. Have a look, I promise you won't regret it.


1. LUISTHREE (in Spanish)

2. DANIEL BYRNES (in English - Causatives are Pattern #3)

Elizabethan Drama: Background and Themes

Just to introduce Shakespearian drama, these videos will teach us a couple of things about the socio-historical background, the main themes in drama and how theatres used to look like back in the time.


1. INSIDE THE GLOBE THEATRE

2. SOCIO-HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

3. THEMES IN ELIZABETHAN DRAMA

Literary Genres

Happy New Year everyone! 

I hope you've had a lovely holiday and are ready to continue learning interesting things. 

What's today's topic? Literary Genres. Have a look at the video and try to answer the questions below. It will be quite useful to deal with the reading task this term, so do your best! 

LITERARY GENRES WORKSHEET:

1. Name the four main literary genres.

2. Name at least four common forms of literature.

3. Explain three differences between poetry and prose.

4. What's the difference between fiction and non-fiction? Give examples of literary forms for each genre.

5. What's the main goal in drama?

 

Oral Presentation: Historical Figure / Celebrity

Long time!

Here's -I hope- all you need to start your oral project for the second term. Remember that you'll be working in pairs and you must select either a historical figure or a celebrity from the list I gave you.

Also, you need to include the following information:
- Introduction + justification of your choice
- Relevant biographical data
- Awards / Achievements
- Fun Facts / Anecdotes / Unknown facts
- Quotation by / about that person
- Trivia questions


Also, here's Kelsey Vanderschoot's presentation in case you want to have a look:

Paul McCartney, by Kelsey Vanderschoot de eriscolazaro

Natural Disasters

Here's the worksheets about Natural Disasters I gave you in class, in case you need to have a look or download them.

Making and Responding to Suggestions

Hi everyone! 

Click on the icon below to access to the PowerPoint presentation on "Making and Responding to Suggestions". You might find it useful to get some ideas for real conversations with the upcoming exchange students. Just have a look!

A Classmate's Profile

Here's all the information you need to get our first oral project of the year going. Have a look and start thinking about interesting questions to be included in your questionnaire.

A Classmate's Profile de eriscolazaro

This is NOT the End

Después de tres años increíbles en la Ciudad de los Ángeles -y algún que otro demoño que al final no fue tanto- toca emprender una nueva etapa. Hay una pequeña criatura, pero bien grande por dentro, que diría que 'This is not the end' y tiene razón, es otro de los múltiples comienzos de las múltiples vidas que vivimos pensando que es una sola.

Toca emprender una nueva etapa, pero os llevo conmigo. También hago espacio para mis nuevos alumnos y compañeros 'ateneos'.

En breve el blog volverá a estar operativo con nuevas entradas y actividades. Feel yourselves at home.

Writing: For and Against essays

Para preparar una composición dando razones a favor y en contra de un tema concreto, aquí os dejo una explicación que tomé "prestada" de Slideshare. ¡Muchas gracias, sarafant!

A for and against essay from sarafant

Oral Presentation: 'Movies'

As you all know, the oral project for the second term is about movies. Here you will find the structure in case you need to have a look:

+ Guessing Game (optional)
0. Introduction: title of the movie and reason why you chose it
1. Background Information
- Year of release
- Genre
- Crew members
- Cast: main characters / supporting characters
2. Plot: no spoilers!!
3. Awards
4. Anecdotes
5. Quotation: text, meaning and reason why you chose it
+ Trivia (optional)

Also, you will also be able to learn some new vocabulary and expressions to use in your presentation if you click on the presentations below:

Look Up: A Poem

Today's entry is all about filmmaker and spoken word artist Gary Turk. One of the things he does -brilliantly, I must say- is talking about daily life through poems, so you might easily relate to the topics he deals with. As sometimes "A picture is worth a thousand words", he makes videos out of his poems. You can watch some of them HERE.

Just to start with, I've taken a poem called 'Look Up'. As you can see in the video cover, it is about how an abusive use of technology can make us lose awareness of what happens around us.

Here's the poem in its written form as well. Hope you enjoy it!

Present Passive for ESO

To get ready for your final exam, you can try these links on the present passive. Hope it helps!

PRESENT PASSIVE: Complete the sentences

PRESENT PASSIVE: Transform into passive 1

 PRESENT PASSIVE: Transform into passive 2

 PRESENT PASSIVE: Transform into passive 3

ACTIVE OR PASSIVE SENTENCES?

Verb Tense Mix

Hello everyone, and welcome to...

 

 
Today's practice is on mixed tenses in simple sentences. If you feel you need to work on it, or you think you need to revise, or you don't have anything else to do, here's some links that may be useful:

PRACTICE 1

PRACTICE 2

PRACTICE 3

Future Tenses: Will, Be Going To, Present Continuous

It's been a while!

Here's some practice on future tenses to revise the contrast between Will, Be Going to and Present Continuous with future meaning. The key is included.

For further practice, click HERE

The Last Lesson

Today's the last lesson with my dear 2ºBachillerato students. All the best to you all!

Here's my goodbye message for them. Now go create your own masterpiece!

You'll find the lyrics here: Masterpiece - Jessie J