Thursday, December 22, 2011

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR !

 

From here I  wish you all the best and I hope that your Christmas will be filled with happiness and joy.

    See this nice e-card here just by clicking on the name                          
 
The Christmas Tree
 An angel brings the Christmas story to life

Music: A medley of carols, arranged by Mike Hughes-Chamberlain

Thursday, December 15, 2011

ITS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS


Glitter Photos 

Christmas is on its way and we are holding our traditional Glitter Words
                         COMPETITION
Here are some guidelines to consider:
  1. Students can participate with different designs.
  2. They will hand their cards to their English teachers.
  3. Deadline is December 23rd.
  4. We will value: good and well written messages, creativity, presentation , use of different languages, originality etc .
These are some of the carols chosen by teachers and students to sing along in our Christmas celebration party:






Tuesday, November 29, 2011

PATRON SAINT OF SCOTLAND : Saint Andrew

Here we show you the pps about Saint Andrew that Lauren (our Scottish Language Assistant) has prepared for some classes.

We are sure she was missing this festivity very much this year :-)

Never mind , in the afternoon we all tried to cheer her up while listening to our Pastoral singing  Flamenco.





Thursday, November 24, 2011

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN !!!


Violence in all forms is rampant in our society, however acknowledging the problem is not enough , it is simply a first step in trying to get solutions.

When we are dealing with violence against women, victicms  are not just female.Domestic violence affects everyone, including other members in the family, such as parents, brothers, sisters, but unfortunately the ones who suffer more are their own children who have to be the witness of such a terrible scene at home.

It is for this reason  that we must  have the power as a society, one more time and another year, to say NO MORE !!   STOP IT !!

Friday, November 18, 2011

THANKSGIVING TIME

There are many examples of nice songs thanking for all the good things we all have in our lives as the ones which follow here:






 TASKS
  1. Surf the net for similar songs 
  2. Complete this text about the History of Thanksgiving and copy it in your notebooks
  3.  Find  things that you are grateful for and write them  down.
  4. Add your sentences  to a nice turkey craft so we can decorate our class

( See some examples of  our 2011 activities   and the ones we did last year with Ryan, our American Language Assistant )

Thursday, November 10, 2011

POPPY DAY

The Royal British Legion provides support to those who have served or are currently serving in the British Armed Forces.

It is best known for its Poppy Appeal which takes place in the weeks leading up to the 11th of November. This involves the public making a donation to the British Legion and receiving an artificial poppy in return. 
 Remembrance Services take place at 11.00 on the Sunday nearest the 11th of November and there is a minute silence in supermarkets, in the street etc. Also, before football matches kick-off a minute silence is normally conducted.

During the First World War, poppies grew in the battlefields of Belgium and France and so the poppy now reminds people of the great loss of life caused by the war.

A Canadian soldier called John McCrae wrote a famous poem about the Poppy during the First World War.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below

This Year, FIFA decided to ban the England team from wearing the Poppy during their game against Spain. However, following pressure from the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, FIFA have decided that they can wear the poppy but it must be on a black armband instead of on their chest.

Monday, November 7, 2011

LEARNING ABOUT THE BEATLES

The Beatles, or the Fab Four, were one of the most famous bands in the history of pop music.
The line-up:

John Lennon (vocalist): born 9 October 1940, died 8 December 1980
Paul McCartney (vocalist and guitarist): born 18 June 1942
George Harrison (vocalist and guitarist): born 25 February 1943, died 29 November 2001
Ringo Starr (drummer): born 7 July 1940

 TASK : Copy the lyrics of your favourite song by this wonderful pop group and explain why you like it

Sunday, October 30, 2011

GOOD WORK !

MONSTERS

These are some of the  funny monsters created by my 2ºESO Bilingual students for Halloween :


Saturday, October 22, 2011

ENJOYING HALLOWEEN (activities)


This week we are going to watch some  flashcards  about costumes, Jack O´Lantern, skeletons and all these scaring things so we can practise our pronunciation and learn some songs  with Lauren Guimmell our Scottish Language Assistant.


Some ideas for our optional assignments are: 
  • Students can surf the net for some information about Halloween to write a nice project and add some photos to decorate their class.
  • They can write  a short paragraph about something they have done for Halloween in the past, for  example, what they have dressed up as or a party they have attended to.    
  • They can invent a very short story related to Halloween, for example a spooky story.  
  •  They  can draw a picture of their favourite Halloween "monsters"  and then write a short paragraph describing them.
    I am sure there will be some funny surprises on Friday :-))

    Have fun guys !

    Saturday, October 8, 2011

    EDMODO : SOCIAL NETWORKING FOR EDUCATION




    Our 2º ESO Bilingual students enjoying their English class using edmodo      


    It´s a free, secure, social learning platform for teachers, students, schools and districts.With worldwide use at over 1.5M as of Feb 2011, this popular service enables teachers to connect better with students, and safely leverage web resources for creative teaching.
    Some of the social network capabilities which Edmodo provides, include:
    • Enables teachers to post messages for their students
    • Enables teachers to assign and grade assignments
    • Enables teachers and students to share content and materials
    • Enables teachers to network with other teachers, to share ideas and resources
    • Keeps communications safe and secure with built-in privacy controls for each virtual classroom.

    Sunday, October 2, 2011

    WRITING TIPS

     

    Sunday, September 25, 2011

    BENEFITS OF LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGES

    Let me introduce you to Dr. Sarah Elaine Eaton  She is a researcher at Calgary University, Canada, PhD in Educational Leadership.











    She has written an ebook: Want to Change the World? Learn Another Language: Leadership Inspired by Language Learning

     In her book she mentions the immense benefits of learning another language but bringing in more perspectives. She points out that some people became leaders or could change the world, because they learned another language.

    I quote some of her lines: “Learning a language is about growing as an individual, broadening our horizons and deepening our understanding of the world around us”. “When we learn other languages, we challenge ourselves to dig deep into ourselves in order, ultimately, to reach out, to connect”

    I recommend reading her ebook, which is available for free by visiting:

    Thursday, September 15, 2011

    CLASSROOM LANGUAGE

           Tell me and I forget...

                      Show me and I remember...

                               Let me do and I understand....
    “Se recuerda el 5% de lo que se escucha, el 20% de lo que se ve y el 90% de lo que se hace”








    Thursday, September 8, 2011

    IT´S TIME TO GO BACK TO SCHOOL

    Thursday next week is going to be our first day of school for 2011-2012.  I wonder how my students are feeling   (happy, sad, nervous, excited ?)   

    Now the classrooms are ready for our returning .We will have  new students.  I can’t wait to see everyone and hear about their summer vacations.

     What did you do?

    Where did you go?

    Who did you see?

    Friday, August 26, 2011

    SUMMER IN WALES


     Nearly ending my summer time here in Wales, as you can see"a picture paints a thousand words" ...

    Saturday, June 18, 2011

    SCHOOL YEAR CLOSING THOUGHTS

    Well, we are closing another school year,it seems like only yesterday I was meeting you for the very first time! I hope it’s been a pleasant learning experience. 

    Congratulations to all of you who graduated and  passed all your subjects!

    I hope you can relax now and remember everybody that our goal in this life is to be happy and learning something  new everyday  must be part of it.

     As a teacher I know there is not a recipe for a good life, you have to make it happen yourself with your own work and effort.So I would like you to get all the best in you next future, no matter what dream we believe in, at the end the most important is to find our own way looking after ourselves and the ones we love.
    Surfer 
      I wish you all have an excellent summer!

      Have fun and take care!

    Saturday, June 4, 2011

    FINAL EXAMS NEXT WEEK!




















    I just want to tell you that you are about to do the final tests this week, and there is something you can do to improve your results:

    1.-Focus as much as possible in the classroom and ask me your doubts.

    2.-Revise the information given during the course and make sure you have done all your homework.

    -You can also check other exercises . I recommend you to click on these links :

    Wednesday, June 1, 2011

    LET´S MOVE WITH BEYONCE

    On Tuesday, May 3, 2011  middle schools across  USA participated in the "Let's Move! Flash Workout." This historic event was produced in support of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative and  underscored the importance of physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle for children.

    DO YOU WANT TO LEARN THE DANCING TOO?


    Here you can watch and follow the Flash Workout Instructional Video

    Sunday, May 29, 2011

    FINAL SPEAKING TEST

    Are you worried about your final speaking test ?


    Here you have 25 topics to practice conversation. There are different situations in each topic.


    You can practice "speaking" with this online robot:

    TUTOR MIKE


    
    
    
    
       

    Friday, May 13, 2011

    USING TECHNOLOGIES IN OUR CLASSROOMS

    Last Thursday 12th our CEP  in Málaga  organized THE FIRST PROVINCIAL CONVENTION OF EDUCATIVE BLOGS and the  usage of these new technologies in the classroom.
    It was  at  Barceló  Hotel and  in there several  teachers  presented their blogs in  morning and evening  sessions.
     












    To me, and I am sure to many other teachers, assisting to this event was an incredible experience whose main purpose is the use of blogs as another teaching  resource in its different aspects, both as an excellent way to amplify our learning by real context, and in its training cooperative function. That is why  educative blogs are becoming a means for teachers, students and education administrators to interact more effectively than ever before and new technologies should become a new subject in our classrooms.


    STUDENTS ACTIVITY:
    Are you good at using computers?

    And what about doing it in English?

    With this song you will have no problem. You will only have to memorise a lot of vocabulary about technology. Then copy and translate into Spanish  all the expressions in your notebooks.

    Finally I recomend you to learn some of the internet symbols you need  too.
    After some tries with this song you will have the opportunity to show your classmates how good your memory is.
    Enjoy it!

      

    Wednesday, April 27, 2011

    ROYAL WEDDING

    Prince William and Kate Middleton have made their vows to each other during their wedding ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

    Watch  the BBC video of the Royal  Wedding 

     

    On 29 April, Prince William will marry Catherine (Kate) Middleton at Westminster Abbey in London.
    The couple's romance has captured the public's imagination for the past nine years. Now is your chance to explore some others Royal Weddings from the past.
    Watch this video on British Royal Weddings to gain some background information on the forthcoming wedding of William and Kate.

    Sunday, April 24, 2011

    LITERARY WEEK (fotos)







    From Monday 25th  to Friday  29th we are celebrating our Sixth Literary Week. Hopefully we will read a lot of books during all our life, and  I am sure we will have a lot of moments of pleasure through them.

    Reading is the basic foundation on which academic skills of an individual are built. You can read almost anything including books, newspapers, magazines, comics etc . So the list is very long, but that hardly matters, as long as you like doing it. Whether you like fiction or non-fiction is not important, but whether you like reading or not is!

    Nowadays teenagers are often too busy with their computer games , social nets and chats , whereas some parents are glued on to their television screens . Reading does have its loyal fan following, but the fan base is rapidly decreasing. We at IES Portada Alta have been making an attempt at increasing this fan base through our Literary Week celebrated every year.
    _________________________________
    Reunido el Jurado del II Concurso de Microrrelatos "LA VIDA ES CUENTO: CUÉNTALA" ha decidido otorgar los siguientes Premios:
    CATEGORÍA SECUNDARIA:
    • PRIMER PREMIO: María Vilches Jiménez 4º ESO-B
    • SEGUNDO PREMIO: Mahmood Mohamed Ali, por "Vine y me fui"
    CATEGORÍA BACHILLERATO Y CICLOS:
    • DOS PRIMEROS PREMIOS: Eva Cristina Javier Remes, 2º Bachillerato A y Jorge Reyna Navarrete por "Qué estás buscando?
    Agradecemos a todo el alumnado participante su ilusión y sus ganas literarias, que han hecho que en esta edición del Concurso fuese más difícil la elección de los ganadores, tanto por el aumento del número de obras como por su calidad.
    _________________________________________
     EL IES PORTADA ALTA EN UN MUY BUEN PUESTO EN EL CONCURSO EUROESCOLA 2011
    La Oficina del Parlamento Europeo en España, en colaboración con la Representación en España de la Comisión Europea, convocó este año la XVII edición del Concurso Euroscola.
    Coincidiendo con el AÑO EUROPEO DEL VOLUNTARIADO 2011, el tema central de esta edición ha tenido como objetivo fomentar el voluntariado entre los jóvenes en el marco de la Unión Europea.
    La competición comenzó el 14 de febrero y finalizó el 14 de abril.

    MY CONGRATULATIONS !

    Sunday, April 10, 2011

    EASTER

    REPORTED SPEECH

    For those of you who need some extra- practice  here you have some excellent exercises:


    Reported speech statements ( easy)
    Reported speech  : statement and questions (1)
    Reported speech: statements and questions(2)
    Reported speech: commands (1)
    Reported speech commands(2)


    Listen to this song by Nelly Furtado and guess how many direct questions the singer changes

    Monday, April 4, 2011

    PRACTISING ENGLISH AND CREATING MOVIES

    Some of my students are now practising their English by creating short 3D animated movies from simple text-based movie-scripts. 

    Watch them and comment which ones are your favourite , ok?

    MARINA CUBERO 4º B



    To see more movies created by them you can clic on ACTIVITIES FOR ESO

    Thursday, March 31, 2011

    APRIL FOOL´S DAY

      Take this fool´s QUIZZ about sixteen claims that have been made in the media. Approximately half the claims were April Fool's Day jokes. The other half were real news stories. Can you tell the difference between the two?

    Tuesday, March 29, 2011

    IF YOU CAN TYPE, YOU CAN DO MANY THINGS HERE

    Did you enjoy our last project creating comics?

    If you want to go on  writing and listenig to your own English dialogues you can use  Xtranormal's text-to-movie platform—a web-based application used to create short 3D animated movies from simple text-based movie-scripts. The characters in the movie speak the dialogue in the script, and react to performance triggers—icons that are dropped directly into the script, just like smileys in IM/chat. Movies can be shared through e-mail, blogs and online video sharing and social networking sites such as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook.

     Here I show you another way of learning English by doing things on the web with this talk about learning in Second Life a mixed reality session with Chris Smith in R.L. interacting with Shamblesguru in S.L.

    Sunday, March 27, 2011

    REMEMBERING ELIZABETH TAYLOR

    JOBS FOR THE FUTURE


    We know where the jobs are today -and we definitely know where they aren't.

    But what about in 10 or even 20 years?
    As things like Technology, Medicine, Science and Environmentalism continue to advance in the coming years, several occupations are bound to emerge.

     By understanding these trends, job seekers can play a more active role in planning for their careers.
    • 1. Cyber security specialist
    • 2. Genetic counselor
    • 3. Organic food farmer
    • 4. Medical records administrator
    • 5. Mobile application developer
    • 6. Robotics technician
    • 7. Simulation engineer
    • 8. Social media manager
    • 9. Stem cell researcher
    • 10. Sustainability officer
    Some are speculative, some are definitive -- but here are 10 potential jobs of the near or distant future, based on the trends:

    WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THEM ?