Fairytale of New York

 "Fairytale of New York" is an Irish folk style ballad by the Celtic punk group The Pogues, released in 1987. It has frequently been cited as the best Christmas song of all. The song follows an Irish immigrant's Christmas Eve reverie about holidays past while sleeping off a binge in a New York City drunk tank. When an inebriated old man also in the cell sings a passage from the Irish ballad "The Rare Old Mountain Dew", the narrator (MacGowan) begins to dream about the song's female character. The remainder of the song (which may be an internal monologue) takes the form of a dialogue between the couple, their youthful hopes crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction, as they reminisce and bicker on Christmas Eve.

American elections

Here are some links that will help you with your project:

• http://flocabulary.com/presidential-election-process/ the election process explained in hip-hop. 
• http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/usgovernmentandlaw/presidentialelection/ An animation explaining the process, as well. Related topics to the right of the page.
• http://www.pocanticohills.org/election/election.htm. A very nice step-by-stp explanation in the All about electing a president section.  A good collection of links, too.
• http://www.timeforkids.com/news/electionary/25346  Lots of articles related to the elections. A very good dictionary of election words.
• http://magazines.scholastic.com/Election-2012 Another huge collection of resources.
• http://mbonillo.xavierre.com/exercises/Games/uselections.htm A test on the American elections.
• http://youtu.be/_95I_1rZiIs Primary elections explained
• http://youtu.be/OUS9mM8Xbbw How the electoral college works
• http://youtu.be/1lt-f3QQ7-A  Political parties, voting and Presidents, explained in rap
• http://youtu.be/ok_VQ8I7g6I Electing a US president in Plain English
• http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/elections/home.html

  

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf

Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, read by Roald Dahl himself.

Dumped!

In class we read about an interesting programme on British television to raise awareness on ecological issues. Learn more about it in Channel 4's website or with the following video:


Calculate your carbon footprint.

11/11/11

Today is 11/11/11. This is the last of the unusual dates we've had this year. The other ones were 1/1/11, 11/1/11, 1/11/11.

But there's still more to it: take the last two numbers in your year of birth and add your age this year. What's the result???


And even more: in October there were 5 Mondays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays, which only happens every 823 years.

And some more curiosities about the number eleven here. 


If all this doesn't give you the creeps, watch this:




Do you recognize the place???

Roald Dahl Day

September 13th is Roald Dahl Day.

Watch, read and listen to his version of Little Red Riding Hood, included in Revolting Rhymes.

Saint Andrew's Day

November 30th is Saint Andrew's day, the patron saint of Scotland.

Read a bit about its history and celebrations, then try this multiple choice quiz and this crossword.

All Saints' Day

Can you complete this poem? Use the vocabulary here to help you.

Little Monsters

Choose your ­­____________ and carve it right,
For tonight is the night of fright.
A most dangerous eve is ____________,
Disguise yourself from dangers unseen.
Beware!
The witches and ____________ prepare their brews,
Deadly mixtures and magic stews.
Those without ____________ should run and hide,
Or, better yet, stay inside,
For the darkest night is the night of fools,
Souls unprepared for bone-eating ____________,
Ghosts and ____________ who seek to annoy,
Or, perhaps, even destroy.
Listen!
Hear the sounds of laughter and little feet,
As they threaten you with “____________."
Give them candy, they will go away.
Lock your doors and pray
That the ____________ candle stays lit,
And the devilish children quit.

Anthony Eitnier

Autumn begins today!

Get into the autumn mood by listening to some music:

and reading a poem:

?????????

by Elsie N. Brady

How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow.

By the way, what do you think is the title of the poem? If you know, leave a comment with your answer!

International Day of Peace

The International Day of Peace, observed each year on 21 September, is a global call for ceasefire and non-violence. It is observed by many nations, political groups, military groups, and peoples. The first year this holiday was celebrated was 1981.

To celebrate the day, there are millions of people in countries around the world participating in parades, concerts, dance celebrations, exhibitions and educational events. You can see what they're doing in the Peace Day Global Broadcast, a multimedia event which started on September 17 with the ringing of the Peace Bell from UN Headquarters by the Secretary General, and continues through September 21, the official International Day of Peace.

Segments in this year’s broadcast will feature Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Stevie Wonder, Bono, Annie Lennox, Alanis Morissette, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Dr. Jane Goodall, James Cameron, “The Elders” - Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, and Kofi Annan and many other prominent people.

You can watch the Peace Day Global Broadcast live below:

To learn more about this day, visit the International Day of Peace's official UN page.

World Animal Day

Do you like animals? If your answer is yes, October 4th is a day for you to celebrate.

World Animal Day was started in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species. Since then it has grown to encompass all kinds of animal life and is widely celebrated in countries throughout the world. October 4 was chosen as World Animal Day as it is the Feast Day of St Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

It is intended as a day of celebration for anyone in the world who cares about animals. It is not restricted to any one nationality, creed, religion, political belief or ideology.

MISSION STATEMENT for WORLD ANIMAL DAY:
- To celebrate animal life in all its forms
- To celebrate humankind’s relationship with the animal kingdom
- To acknowledge the diverse roles that animals play in our lives – from being our companions, supporting and helping us, to bringing a sense of wonder into our lives
- To acknowledge and be thankful for the way in which animals enrich our lives

(Information taken from the World Animal Day official website)

Selectivitat

To practise your reading and improve your listening skills at the same time, try these two sites:

http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/
A news article with an audio file. You can do a number of comprehension exercises as well.

Learning resources
Another news article with audio or video and some interactive comprehension exercises.

Posa't a prova
English readings at 4 different levels of difficulty (but no listening!) and all the other Selectivitat subjects.

April Fool's Day

April the 1st

The first of April, some do say, April The 1st
Is set apart for All Fools' Day.
But why the people call it so,
Nor I, nor they themselves do know.
But on this day are people sent
On purpose for pure merriment.
-- Poor Robin's Almanac (1790)

Today is April Fool¡s Day, the day in which people play hoaxes and practical jokes on friends, family members and other people in general. Newspapers and the media also have their share in the celebration. Most of them publish fake articles or give fake news on television.
Here you have some articles taken from different British newspapers. Can you tell which is the REAL one?

• Honda demonstrates robot controlled by mind power
• Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink
• Ryan Giggs launches groundbreaking jumpers for goalpost technology
• It's the Mona Greasa!

Red Nose Day

Red Nose Day is the main way in which Comic Relief, a British charity, raises money. It is held in the spring every second year and is often treated as a semi-holiday, with, for example, schools having non-uniform days. The day culminates in a live telethon event on BBC One starting in the evening and going through into the early hours of the morning, but other money-raising events take place all over the country.

To raise money on Red Nose Day, you just have to do something funny, like wearing plastic/foam red noses which are available, in exchange for a donation, from many shops. People are encouraged to wear the noses to help raise awareness of the charity. The design of the nose has been changed each year, beginning with a fairly plain one, which later grew arms, turned into a tomato and even changed colour. Over 50 million Red Noses have been bought over the years. Other funny things may be wearing something funny, or waxing a part of your body, selling articles or organizing competitions. There are plenty of ideas if you run short of them.

Red Nose Day has become very popular in Britain, with thousands of people involved. It has even spread to other countries like New Zealand. Since the Charity started in the 1980s, Comic Relief has raised over £600 million.

Martin Luther King's Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a United States holiday marking the birthdate of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., observed on the third Monday of January each year, around the time of King's birthday, January 15.

King was the chief spokesman of the nonviolent civil rights movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law (at his time, for example, coloured people had to sit at the back of the buses, or had to give their seat to the whites, and there were segregated toilets for coloured and white people). He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was assassinated in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

His most famous words were a speech he delivered in 1963, which goes "I have a dream..."


Try to complete his words as you listen to the speech.

Fashion

What to wear? That's the question every morning, because your look says a lot about you. Read this interesting text about different looks.

When you buy clothes, you should take into account the shape of your body - not all clothes will look good on you!This personalised style rule generator will tell you what suits you best.

If that's not enough, this style guide will give you some basic rules to look even better.

Finally, decide whether you are a fashion fan or a fashion slave.

End with this quiz and check your vocabulary: You are what you wear.

Guy Fawkes & the gunpowder plot

November the 5th is Bonfire Night, when the British commemorate the capture of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators who tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament (the gunpowder plot).

On Bonfire night people light large bonfires, set off fireworks and burn "guys", effigies of Guy Fawkes made with old clothes and stuffed with straw or paper. Before the fifth, children traditionally use the "guys" to request a "penny for the guy" in order to raise funds with which to buy fireworks.

Watch this video which explains in short where this celebration comes from.



Or you can help Guy Fawkes push the barrels in this game:

American elections

Tomorrow all the world's eyes will be set on the US, as they're electing their president for the next four years.

The presidential election process is quite complicated. Read All about Electing a President of the United States or watch this animated video (click on cc for the transcript) to get the hang of it.

If you get stuck with some of the vocabulary, try this Electionary.

Make sure you understood it all by doing this test.

Who will win the election? We'll know in a few hours. In the meantime, watch this video and decide who's best:


or find a winner by playing this game:

McCain Vs Obama Risk it all and use superior tactics to win the Presidential Election

Play this free game now!!

April Fool's jokes

Today we read about some jokes (also known as pranks or hoaxes) played on the media on April Fool's Day.

Visit the following page:

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/hoax10.html (and its link)

to learn about some successful jokes that fooled a lot of people and became very popular.

Activity: send a comment to this article with the following two tasks:

- was any joke you read specially funny/witty/wise? Explain it and say why.

- could any of those jokes be harmful/not funny at all and why?

(don't forget to sign your writing!)

Vanuatu

Today we read about Vanuatu and the Pentecost leap. Quite interesting, isn't it? Visit the country's website here and enjoy the white sandy beaches with tourquoise waters, the lush vegetation and great volcanoes.

Read some of the information and answer some questions:

- how many islands are there in the archipelago?

- how many people live there?

- how many languages do they speak there?

- what's the capital city?

- what's the weather like?

Be prepared to comment anything you find curious/interesting/funny in class.