Last lessons

Since we have almost reached our last lessons, today and next Monday we will see a comedy film together- The Gods must be crazy...

Enjoy it!

2 activities from British Council

Here are 2 activities from the "British Council" that we can use as lesson starters

https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/video-zone/diy-pranks-fool-your-friends

What is your best prank? Who did you prank and how did they react?
or

https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/video-zone/change-the-world-five-minutes

Would any of these examples be good for your school?  Why not test them out!!

Do you have any other examples?

Today's theme- My special place

Watch the film and fill in the worksheets.

Then look at the clip:

What special places do the people refer to in the book?

Write down the answers....

And you?

Write and tell me about your special place?

(Don't have any? Then write about a special person!)

Just write some English!!!!

To finish off we'll do some grammar and vocabulary exercises

HERE

Welcome back after the Easter holidays

Well, we're finally back in the classroom.

There was no lesson last Monday since our 8th graders were on work experience and we had to cancel the lesson...

So today we will start off by talking about your Easter holidays- where you went and what you did...

Our 8th grade students can tell us a little bit about their work experience...

After that we are going to watch one of our videos and the theme today is:-

Dear Diary

Have you ever kept a diary? Remember the correct spelling.. Lots of people spell it "dairy"- That's the place where milk gets processed (mejeri)....

We'll start off by answering some questions based on the beginning of the film...

What advice would you give to Suzy or Fat Mike to get into shape?

Now we will see the rest of the film!
When we watch it the second time you can fill in the correct order for the photos... 

What excuses does Suzy give to NOT follow her exercise rota?

We will listen a third and final time...

Now complete the email she writes to her friend...

Do you have any good excuses you use for not doing things???

Now write  a short note to Suzy and tell her what you think she should do to get a bit fitter or maybe you think it's pretty vain "fåfängt" to do like she does... Mail your answers to me..

A bit of language work...
Here is an exercise to see if you know words which are easily misspelt...

Good luck!

Horror stories and news items

Based on what we discussed last time you have today's lesson to either:-

Do a horror story or do a news item

Remember the links?

Here is a better one for the news item

Check through the list of resources and then decide what your news item will look like.

You can either write it or record it!

Next Monday we will have a short lesson...

I need to finish by 4 o'clock....

We will get the chance to present your news item or horror story...

Back on track?

Hopefully today we will be back on track with more than three students in the class!!

What did we do last week?

We talked about the difference between the English used in the US and UK. In both versions there are a lot of words which are different to describe things.. Some words even have different meanings depending on what side of the Pond you live...
Some examples could be "pants", "torch", "bonnet" or "chips"..
If you would like to see the film the link is on last week's blog.

Today we start off with some exercises to check your knowledge of American and British English.
We can try one of the tests together and then you can do the other two on your own..
Here is the link.

Well, how did you get on?

Last week we also discussed what topics we can work with until Easter (today and next Monday).

Here are some suggestions from our NE website:-

• Music
• Horror
• How we interact with technology
• Sporting Life

Or

• Easter around the world
• How to write a news report BBC

So, talk with a friend and let us pick one subject for today and next week..

Your heart is pounding so loud you can hear it. The palms of your hands are sweaty and your head feels light and giddy. You are breathing quickly and your body is shaking. 

What is happening?

It’s called a fear response.

Your fear responses are located in the amygdala area of the brain. The amygdala consists of two very small almond shaped areas between your ears and over your eyes. The amygdala processes information from sound, sight, touch and pain. This information tells the body how to react and gets it ready for action. Stress hormones such as adrenaline are pumped through the body; your heart rate and blood pressure rise and your breathing gets quicker. This is the ‘fight or flight’ response. Is it better to run away or to stay and fight in this situation? How best will I survive? This is seen as one of the most primary survival instincts and has helped us through the evolution process. Without this response our species could have died out.

Sarah	So, hi Andy, and thanks for agreeing to be interviewed about horror.
Andy	I’m looking forward to it. It’s normally me asking the questions, so to be the interviewee for once and not the interviewer is a nice change.
Sarah	OK. I’ll go easy on you!
Andy	(laughs) That’s very kind of you.
Sarah	I know you’ve published four horror books. Did you always want to write horror?
Andy	I’m not sure. I mean, I loved it when I was a kid – you know Doctor Who and scary stuff on TV and I read Dracula when I was eleven or so. I know it always interested me.
Sarah	What’s your favourite type of horror?
Andy	What do you mean?
Sarah	I mean like ghosts or monsters. The Walking Dead or Friday 13th?
Andy	Well, I’m not really into serial killers. I don’t really find that scary just kind of a bit sad and sick. But monsters are great and I’m all for a good ghost story. I like stuff with a twist in it – you know something that makes you think. And I like stuff that makes you question things as well.
Sarah	What like?
Andy	I wrote a story called Snowfall a couple of years ago. It tells a story of when snow starts falling all over the world and in the snow there is something really bad. It kind of takes away people’s identity. They forget who they are and everything around them. They get really frightened and scared like a child lost in a mall.
Sarah	What does that question?
Andy	Right. Yes. I mean, for me, why I wrote that was, I was trying to think about what’s really scary. Not monsters under the bed type of scary, but the kind of fear that keeps you lying in bed with your eyes open staring at the black ceiling and holding back the tears kind of scary.
Sarah	Sounds like a lot of fun!
Andy	(laughs) Right. But it’s what interests me. And, I thought that losing who we are is scary. You know it’s an infinite dark universe out there and what if that infinite darkness fills us up and we become nothing. Like death.
Sarah	OK. This isn’t the most cheerful interview, is it?
Andy	(laughs) I guess not. But that is what is truly scary. We all know we are going to die. That’s bad enough. But it’s when we lose who we are when we are alive. You know Alzheimer’s or dementia – I think that is truly terrifying. Or it is for me anyway.
Sarah	Why?
Andy	Well, it’s a bit personal. But one of my grandparents, as they got really old, lost their identity to the point that they couldn’t recognize me. We were close – but at that time, seeing them not know who I was or even who they were – it scared the hell out of me. It’s like their whole lives just got turned into something else. It’s like all the times we had spent together had become meaningless. Like it never happened. It’s hard to explain.
Sarah	But of course it didn’t. Just because they didn’t remember you, doesn’t mean that those experiences had no meaning. Just because we forget stuff it doesn’t make it less important.
Andy	Right. That’s what I tell myself. But still, you know, it’s scary stuff, isn’t it?
Sarah	I don’t know. I mean, I know there is a lot of stuff I’ve forgotten about my childhood. But I’m still me. I don’t think memories are all we are. So if we lose them – OK, it’s bad, but it’s not all we are.
Andy	I don’t agree. I think without them and without knowing who you are and who the people around you are, then you’re not you anymore. You’re someone else. Someone who can have new experiences, sure. But that’s not you.
Sarah	But, is that really horror?
Andy	I think so. Especially when it’s happening to everyone. So in my story, it is on a global scale. So imagine it. All round the world people forget who they are. They forget everything. What do you think would happen?
Sarah	I see.
Andy	Right. And that’s it - so that’s the world I imagine and I tell the story through one young woman’s eyes as she comes to terms with what is happening and tries to save her family and friends.
Sarah	Does it end happily ever after?
Andy	I’m not telling you that. What? You expect a writer to give away the ending? It will NEVER HAPPEN.
Sarah	OK. I get it. So what other ideas have you got about horror?
Andy	Well, I think it’s important. I think we need to face our fears and imagine them. It can prepare us for real life. We evolved to be aware of danger and imagine scenarios of how to avoid it.
Sarah	What kind of scenarios?
Andy	You know – would I climb a tree to avoid the bear or try and run? If a big tidal wave came crashing towards me what would I do? Stuff like that. We need to imagine bad, horrific scenarios to try and come up with solutions. So I think evolution rewards us by making us think about stuff like that. Or, to put it another way, what we now call horror gives us pleasure.
Sarah	It can’t just be that.
Andy	No. Of course not. We also just love imagining weird stuff – like ghosts and vampires and zombies and vampire-zombies.
Sarah	And we love a good story.
Andy	Yep.
Sarah	Ok. Well, I think that’s enough for now. Thanks for taking time out to chat to us.
Andy	You’re welcome. Anytime.

British and American English

Did you know that a lot of words are different if you live in the UK or the US. Instead of having a pavement outside your house you have a sidewalk.
Today we are going to begin to look at some of these differences. We start off with a film...

Then there will be some worksheets to do..

At the end of the lesson you will have the chance to choose what we are going to move on to next week

Festivals 2

Today we continue to work on our festivals.

You will get to work in pairs or on your own with a text about a festival in one part of the world.

Please fill in the table and work out the words for your text. 

Then we will try to put all the information together..

As we said last time today you will create your own (or group) festival.

Answer the questions on the worksheet..

This weekend has been an important festival for Irish people- St. Patrick's Day.

On June 6th- Sweden's national day almost NOTHING HAPPENS:

Make up some fun things to do on this day!!

Festivals

Today we start a new topic- Festivals.

Midsommar in Sweden is an example of a typical festival. Another word can be "celebration".

So, let's make a start!

We will start by looking at a text called:
"It's all about tradition"..

Answer the questions and look at the pictures.

What is your favourite festival. How do you normally celebrate it?

We will even listen to a text about "April Fools' Day".

What was the best trick you have played on someone? Has anyone ever tricked you?

Now we will follow Kara to the famous "Glastonbury festival".

Listen to the text and answer the questions. 
We will even do some writing today.

Welcome back!

Hope you have all had a great winter break.

So here we are again.

We have worked recently on two topics:-

1. From an animal's perspective

2. The Vikings

Today we will revise these topics before we move on.

Here is the link to the first video.

We will do some exercises about this

Now a bit of speaking...

Going to the cinema
Watch the video and repeat the prompts.
NOW discuss with someone in the class about the latest film you saw...
How good was it? Would you recommend it?



Finally the Vikings!

Here is a link to the BBC's material for primary schools. Do the newspaper article describing the first dramatic raid in Lindisfarne by the Vikings..

Vikings part 2

Today we will continue to work on the theme of "Vikings".

We will start off by looking at two YouTube Clips from a comedy site called Studio C.

They have sketches where Vikings turn up to help people in awkward situations... Well, help is maybe too nice a word.

Here are two of the clips:



Here is the one where even one of the Vikings gets a taste of his own medicine





Now I want you to outline a sketch where you get help from a Viking to solve a problem or an awkward situation.
What happens?

Or, why not outline a story where you are a Viking like in the following clip:




After your sketch ideas we will do some comprehension work...

1. Listen to the text which Mike reads and answer the questions.

2. Do the quiz at the following address:
https://www.dkfindout.com/us/quiz/history/quiz-yourself-on-vikings/

Write answers to the text about Viking clothing...

Finally look at the last Studio C  Clip






YOU ARE the Viking. Tell the story from your perspective. Mail it to me.....

Vikings

Today we are going to start to work on a new topic- the Vikings.

After an introduction we will do some exercise and see some clips.

The Vikings travelled and set up settlements in a lot of places.

We visited Wexford with Year 9- That is a Viking town. Here are two clips about the Vikings in Ireland






Here is a vlog film about Wexford. Also very short






Finally what English words we still use today come from the Vikings?

Here is an interesting link.
Which of these words were new to you?

Read out your stories

Today we are going to start to read out your short stories.

As I said one of my favourite books is also written from an animal's view. It is called "Call of the Wild". Here is the link.

Another book from an animal's perspective is
"The Art of racing in the Rain"

Here is a short clip from the movie of the same name




To wind up I have a short film to show you called "My humans" with some exercises to do

Njoy!!

Inside an animal's mind

Hallo everyone and welcome back to another frozen, snowy Monday.
Our theme for today is "inside an animal's mind".

We watched some clips last week and heard some views about how alike we and other animals are.

I want to start today with two short commercials where animals behave like us.

Can you imagine anything like that?

In the film "Doctor Dolittle" the doctor discovers he can communicate with animals.

Here is a trailer for the film:-



If you could communicate with any animal which would you choose and what would you talk about?

Short Story

Now I want you to write a short story based on an animal's perspective.

Monday 21 January

Welcome to our lesson today on Martin Luther King Day. In USA it's a special day for many people, but sadly not for everyone.

Martin Luther King's life journey was very interesting and exciting but it ended very tragically when he was shot in 1968..

Today we are going to watch another journey which was also not so simple.

Watch the film and then answer the following questions:

Where were the 4 young people going?
Why?
What were they wearing?
What happened on the way?
Who gave them a ride?
What happened next?
Where did they end up?

Have you every been on a journey when everything went wrong? Tell the class about it!

Inside an animal mind
 we are going to listen to and read some articles.

Afterwards I want you to imagine you are an animal and write a short story about how you feel.

Good luck!

Back on track

Welcome back after the Christmas break. Christmas seems like light years away.
Answer the following questions about your Christmas:

• Highs and Lows
• Friends or family
• Home or away
• Presents- soft or hard

Planning

I want you in small group to do some brainstorming as to what you would like to do this term.

You can use any sources to get information.

Today I want to use the National encyclopaedia to do some work

Today's discussion topic- Feelings- here is the link