tools to check before sharing:
http://www.busuu.com/es
and Astronmy for kids one
http://www.aula21.net/Wqfacil/ejemplos/astronomia.htm

Mrs Bixby and the colonel’s coat by Roald Dahl

Mrs Bixby with her fur coat

Go! animate video story

using go animate!

through goanimate we make up a video with characters and dialogues or even record our own voices. This could be a good tool to do speaking activities with the pupils.

weather activities team work

Hi there, students of 3º

for next day we will be talking about weather, weather maps and how to interpret them.

For the speaking and writing part I will be the responsible teacher and these are the assigments I expect from you for the week after.

SPEAKING AND WRITING

Read throughtfully point number 4 from the document uploaded and:

Make up a short weather forecast presentation about Spain in groups of 5 that should last at least  5 minutes. I will be checking the writing draft script either by collecting it in paper or you may as well upload it to our  blog. As usual font will be Times New Roman size 12 and the spacing 1,5. A 5 minute amateur forecast presentation shouldn't be longer than 300 words.

In relationship to block 3 Grammar and Language Functions use also discourse markers through your presentation.

To accomplish it you will be using either one of the 3 maps shown in the document or one chosen by you from the internet.

So, key word to be kept in mind is isobar when we talk about wind! 

For the presentation you will be using vocabulary that has to do with weather maps such as isobars, presure or antyciclone whose meaning you will have to know or look up.  

In relationship with block 2 Reading and writing and its subblock language and grammar you are required also to (1) introduce yourself and others using suitable expressions and to (2) use some of the expressions that indicate quantity such as: much/ many/ a lot of/ too/ not… enough..

For the presentation we will be using this blog here and

a) the voki tool which we have been using until today to upload activities explained interactively.

b) you may also record broadcast yourself instead of using the voki tool and upload it ans send it to me through an email which I will check and upload myself.

Check very accurately the pronunciation because your mark on the speaking activity will very much depend on it.

To do that remember the tools upload for you in the blog's main page: cambridgeonlinedictionary and the BBCpronunciation tips web.

--->contenidos 3º de la ESO (BLOCK 2)

C. FONÉTICA.

1. Pronunciación de fonemas de especial dificultad: vocálicos, consonánticos, diptongos,...

2. Pronunciación de formas contractas: I’ve, I haven’t,shouldn’t,...

3. Pronunciación de terminación en formas de tiempos verbales:/-ed/en pasado simple, participios de

verbos regulares e irregulares,...

4. Pronunciación de formas débiles:than,as,was /were,...

5. Acentuación de palabras y frases.

6. Entonación de frases.

7. Ritmo.

You may draw some ideas for your audio-video presentation from these youtube videos below-->

bbc explains how to decode a weather forecast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S6Fufl4jdc

what an isobar is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vzbxor5hdQ&feature=related

THE WEATHER

 On Earth, common weather phenomena include wind, cloud, rain, snow, fog and dust storms. Less common events include natural disasters such as tornadoes, hurricanes and ice storms.

Weather Map

A weather map not only allows us to see what the weather is currently doing, it also shows the observer what type of weather to expect during the hours and days ahead. As a matter of fact, weather maps include a great deal of information in one standard, easy-to-use format. Once you learn how to read them, you'll be able to better interpret weather forecasts.

A weather map illustrates the meteorological conditions of an area at a specified time. Weather maps may show cloud cover, storms, precipitation and severe weather conditions as well as air pressure isobars and air temperature isotherms.

Reading a Weather Map

What do you see when you look at a weather map? The first thing you should look for are the areas of high and low pressure. The centres of these high and low pressure weather systems are labelled "H" and "L", respectively.

You'll also have to look for isobars. Isobars are lines of equal air pressure; in most cases they are labelled with a number that represents the air pressure in millibars.

The air pressure is higher near the centre of a high-pressure weather system, while it is lower near the centre of a low-pressure system.

You can tell a lot about the weather by the isobars' proximity to each other. Isobars that are closely spaced mean strong winds, which usually go hand-in-hand with low-pressure systems. Spaced bars generally indicate calm, high-pressure systems. In other words, blue skies!

The isobars will also show how the winds are flowing. By following the isobars out from the centre and determining the wind direction, you can tell where the wind is coming from.

These air flow patterns are important, because a wind's direction and source will greatly influence the type of weather it brings. For example, air from high latitudes in winter is cold and dry, while air drawn from low latitudes will be humid and warm.

Weather maps can also show boundaries between air masses of differing temperatures. These boundaries, called fronts, are indicated by cold front and warm front lines. Cold fronts are indicated by lines with triangles; warm fronts are indicated by lines with hemispheres. In most cases, frontal systems will bring weather changes.

The ability to read a weather map will make weather forecasts easier to understand and more informative. Most newspapers feature fairly simple weather maps. Some of them show isobars, while others do not. Most newspaper weather maps do show primary high and low pressure areas as well as cold fronts, warm fronts, and stationary fronts.

To learn even more about the weather, many people now use both weather maps and satellite images. While satellite images show cloud formations, weather maps show how the weather is moving, where the air masses are coming from, and where the fronts are. This knowledge of weather allows people to see dangerous weather patterns such as snow storms and tropical storms before they arrive, so that protective measures can be taken.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

OUP Frontrunner 3º ESO

wikipedia discourse markers

THE HAPPY MAN

W. Somerset Maugham

http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=6127978&height=267&width=200
Hi students!

Check the glog and start moving the task I’ll be asking from you in 2 weeks time

Until the end of the week I expect to see your uploads in the blog from at least most of the activities written there

Good luck!

We will work with the short story The happy man which you will read as a complete text only when you are done with the tasks explained below. At th end of the page you will fond a link to Mr. Llop's Literature website that will directly lead you to the short story in a pdf format. But first:

Engaging students

first of all visit this pre-briefing wordle, try to get an idea what the story will be about, or what for concepts, ideas or morals will be treated in its course.
Are you able to feel any kind of sensibility in these words chosen for the wordle? do you think we're going to deal with a modern contemporary author?
is the story goin to talk about men or women?
why do you risk to say one or the other?
Now check this other more general prepared    wordle  and try to write down in a paper some ideas of what you think the text will speak about.

Which words do you think are more important? why?

1 –passage(in pairs-in groups-discussion)

“We can only guess at the thoughts and emotions of our neighbours. Each one of us is a prisoner in a solitary tower and he communicates with the other prisoners, who form mankind, by conventional signs that have not quite the same meaning for them as for himself. And life, unfortunately, is something that you can lead but once;”

What do you think the story is going to be about?

Does it start in a grave manner?

2- ending

'You told me when last I saw you that if I came here I should earn just enough money to keep body and soul together, but that I should lead a wonderful life. Well, I want to tell you that you were right. Poor I have been and poor I shall always be, but by heaven I've enjoyed myself. I wouldn't exchange the life I've had with that of any king in the world.'

Does the character from the novel seem happy to you? In what way: totally, modestly…

3. title of the story

What kind of story do you think awaits us? Try to imagine and write in around 5 sentences what you may imagine is the abstract of such a title.

Now check please Mr. Llop's Literature Website and read the complete short story: http://www.miguelmllop.com/stories/stories/thehappyman.pdf