Sparrows are Wise

HOROSCOPE PUZZLES

2012-02-13T10:04:00.000-08:00

Believe it or not, in these puzzles we have hidden

THREE different SIGNS of the ZODIAC.

They are just a sample of the great work done by our 1st ESO E students.
Is your sign here?
Try and find out!!!

If you can't see the puzzles clearly, just click on them to make them bigger!

By Daniel Herranz

OUR TWO LAST PUZZLES FROM 4º DIVER

2012-02-13T09:47:00.001-08:00

We had not forgotten them...just some technical problems!!
Here they are at last!!!!!

By Leidy Avendaño

IF YOY CAN READ THIS YOU HAVE A STRONG MIND!!!!

2012-01-16T12:37:00.000-08:00

Good example of a Brain Study:
If you can read this you have a strong mind:

7H15 M3554G3
53RV35 7O PR0V3
H0W 0UR M1ND5 C4N
D0 4M4Z1NG 7H1NG5!
1MPR3551V3 7H1NG5!
1N 7H3 B3G1NN1NG
17 WA5 H4RD BU7
N0W, 0N 7H15 LIN3
Y0UR M1ND 1S
R34D1NG 17
4U70M471C4LLY
W17H 0U7 3V3N
7H1NK1NG 4B0U7 17,
B3 PROUD! 0NLY
C3R741N P30PL3 C4N
R3AD 7H15.
PL3453 F0RW4RD 1F
U C4N R34D 7H15.

CAN YOU SOLVE THESE PUZZLES?

2012-01-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

Here are some puzzles produced by my 4º ESO DIVER students.

Do you want to try any of them?

By César Aguilera

By Sandra Villagra

By Rosa González

By Sergio Prudencio

By Juan Marín

By Manuel (Nano) Puig

By Esperanza García

By Mario Martín

By Mercedes Corbacho

And there are some more coming soon!!!

A COMPLAINT E-MAIL

2012-01-13T04:18:00.000-08:00

In our group of 4º ESO DIVER we have been working on how to write an e-mail complaning about something of our concern. Many things came up and each student chose their most important worry.

You can see some of their messages in the comments below. They worked really well...and they're not going to stop here. Just wait and see!!!

New Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, speaks in Parliament

2011-12-21T04:31:00.000-08:00

Want to know how it sounds in English?
Try this link to a TV Channel where you can hear about Rajoy's proposals in English.

http://www.livestation.com/channels/52?youtube_video=http%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fv%2F70dxb9U7p68%26feature%3Dyoutube_gdata_player

LOADS OF CHRISTMAS QUIZZES!!!!!

2011-12-21T03:21:00.000-08:00

How much do you know about Christmas?
Would you say you're an expert?
Try some of these BBC Christmas quizzes and...
improve your reading skills,
your general knowledge and
-most of all-
HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/14166917

ADVENT CALENDAR

2011-12-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

Are you curious about some of the most famous Christmas Traditions?
Try the Macmillan Advent Calendar.
You have to click on each day and it will open to reveal some 'hidden secrets'.

http://www.macmillanenglish.com/christmas/macmillan-advent-calendar/?utm_source=SilverpopMailing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Macmillan%20Advent%20Calendar%20%281%29&utm_content=

THE TOP 3 ENGLISH WORDS YOU NEED TO KNOW!!: 'HAVE'.

2011-12-05T10:07:00.000-08:00

Here's a wonderful video explaining (very clearly!!!) the different uses of 'HAVE'.
Do you think you know everything about such a simple verb?
Have a look at it, learn something else...and have fun!!!
Ah! And then you can try an easy quizz to check your understanding of the video!!
engVid · Free English Video Lessons

2011-12. First Term Readers. 1º Bachillerato.

2011-11-30T10:59:00.000-08:00

Here are the titles for 1º Bachillerato in the First Term.
You can see that there are three levels: Low, Intermediate and High.
I told you in class the title you had to read. Anyway, here you can read one page of each book and see if the level assigned to you is above or below your reading skills.
If you want to change the title, you have a week to let me know.

LOW:

"Dead Man's Island",
John Escott.
OXFORD. Stage 2.

ISBN: 978-0-19-479055-0
Pages: 64

INTERMEDIATE:

"My Family and Other Animals",
Gerald Durrell.
PENGUIN READERS. Level 3.
ISBN 978 1 4058 8196 8 / 56 pages

HIGH:

"Meet me in Istanbul",
Richard Chisholm.
MACMILLAN READERS. Level 5 Intermediate.
ISBN: 978-1-4050-7705-7
Pages: 55

THANKSGIVING RAP

2011-11-25T12:12:00.000-08:00

THE HISTORY OF THANKSGIVING DAY

2011-11-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

A HOLIDAY WITH A DIFFERENCE

2011-11-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

A bit late but here's the key to the 'Practice Test' on page 11 of your Workbooks. Some of you did it (I hope so!!) on Tuesday 25th October, the day I was absent from class.

WRITING A POEM?

2011-11-08T00:11:00.000-08:00

If you are in the mood for writing a poem and can't find the right word for a RHYME, try the links below: they will give you loads of rhyming words, synonyms, antonyms... It's worth to have a look at them!
http://www.rhymezone.com/
http://www.rhymer.com/

Teachers hold seventh round of strike in Madrid

2011-11-05T03:45:00.000-07:00

Well, well...it seems that even in Shanghai they know about our fight against the new education cuts!!!
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.asp?id=28090
Take a couple of minutes to read the article and tell me what you think about it: you'll improve your reading skills, your vocabulary...and your knowledge of our protest!

NEED SOME PRACTICE WITH IRREGULAR VERBS? TRY THIS SITE!!

2011-11-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.english-4u.de/irregular_verbs.htm
Try exercises 1 to 12.Exercises 10 to 12 are more demanding.
And, of course...don't forget to try the QUIZZES. They're fun and really helpful!
Good luck!

LOOKING FOR HALLOWEEN ACTIVITIES?

2011-10-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Try this site by Oxford University Press...and have fun!
http://promo.oupe.es/halloween/#secondary

SUMMER FUN IN FINLAND

2011-10-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Here's the answer key to those who decided to work on your own and do some more reading practice. This is an excellent way to improve your reading skills and learn new words as well as customs from other places!

THIRD TERM READERS FOR 1º BACHILLERATO

2011-03-11T04:06:00.000-08:00

IMPORTANT!!

Read the pages carefully and check their level of difficulty. Remember that you don't have to understand everything. The right text should be a bit challenging for you.
If you decide to change the title you have been given by your teacher, you must tell him before Friday, 18th March. No changes will be allowed after that date!!

LOW: "A Pair of Ghostly Hands" (and other stories), Retold by Diane Mowat,
OXFORD, Stage 3.

INTERMEDIATE: "The Moonspinners", by Mary Stewart,
OXFORD, Stage 4.

ADVANCED: "The Mayor of Casterbridge", by Thomar Hardy,

PENGUIN READERS, Level 5.

THIRD TERM READERS. 1º BACHILLERATO.

2010-03-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

IMPORTANT!!
Read the pages carefully and check their level of difficulty. Remember that you don't have to understand everything. The right text should be a bit challenging for you.
If you decide to change the title you have been given by your teacher, you must tell him before Friday, 9th April. No changes will be allowed after that date!!

LOW: "A Pair of Ghostly Hands" (and other stories), Retold by Diane Mowat,
OXFORD, Stage 3.

INTERMEDIATE: "The Moonspinners", by Mary Stewart,
OXFORD, Stage 4.

ADVANCED: "The Mayor of Casterbridge", by Thomar Hardy,

PENGUIN READERS, Level 5.

SECOND TERM READERS. 4º ESO

2010-01-25T03:16:00.000-08:00

LOW: "The Phantom of the Opera", Jennifer Bassett, OXFORD, Stage 1.

INTERMEDIATE: "The Room in the Tower", Rudyard Kipling and Others, PENGUIN. Level 2.

HIGH: "Chemical Secret", Tim Vicary, OXFORD. Stage 3.

SECOND TERM READERS. 1º BACHILLERATO

2010-01-25T03:06:00.000-08:00

LOW: "Earrings from Frankfurt", Reg Wright, OXFORD Stage 2.

INTERMEDIATE: "The Picture of Dorian Gray", Oscar Wilde, MACMILLAN Level 3.

HIGH: "Evening Class",Maeve Binchy, PENGUIN Level 4.

CHRISTMAS QUIZ. HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CHRISTMAS SYMBOLS?

2009-12-12T04:30:00.000-08:00

Yes!!! Despite all the stress of these days of tests and long hours of study (!!) we can almost touch our Christmas Holidays!
Our streets are full of the typical decorations: Christmas Trees, Santa Claus, Fairy Lights... Even in our houses we can see Nativity Scenes, tinsel, holly, mistletoe and the bright red poinsettias, among other things.
Just for fun! How much do you know about all these traditions and symbols?
Why don't you try the quiz at http://wilstar.com/xmas/xmasquiz.htm
But to do it properly you'll have to read some information on the same website first.
Good luck and have fun.
Why don't you post a comment with your score so that we can see who the winner is!!

WHAT DID THEY SAY?

2009-11-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

OXFORD suggests a new challenge for you.

Below there are six quotations related to work, but they are jumbled up!!

Can you put them in order?

Maybe the names of the people who said them can give you a clue!

School trip to La Pedriza

2009-11-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

Wonderful day! Pity that we had to split up in two groups. Pity that one of the groups (I won't say which!) got lost and turned up one hour later... But it was worth the experience, wasn't it? We saw lots of 'wild' animals: cats, horses...oh, yes, and some snakes and vultures. On our way back we could enjoy the amazing choir of 1º Bachillerato singers which delighted us with the latest hits in Fuenlabrada discos. Here are some photos to prove that..Yes, we did it!!

THE WINDOW IN MY MIND

2009-11-07T04:49:00.000-08:00

Yes, everybody has a window

(or more!!)

in their minds

and when we close our eyes

and open that window

we can see wonderful things...

...we can see poetry!!

This is what happened

when some 4ºESO A students

opened their mind windows

to some relaxing music.

Here are the poems and pictures they came up with.

Enjoy them.

They're really beautiful!!

By Esthephania Serna

By Daniel PérezBy Beatriz Gómez

By Gianina Elías

By Beatriz Almorós

First Term Readers. 1º Bachillerato.

2009-11-02T12:07:00.000-08:00

LOW:
"Dead Man's Island", John Escott. OXFORD. Stage 2.

ISBN: 978-0-19-479055-0
Pages: 64

INTERMEDIATE:
"My Family and Other Animals", Gerald Durrell. PENGUIN READERS. Level 3.
ISBN 978 1 4058 8196 8 / 56 pages

HIGH:

"Meet me in Istanbul", Richard Chisholm. MACMILLAN READERS. Level 5 Intermediate.
ISBN: 978-1-4050-7705-7
Pages: 55

First Term Readers. 4º ESO

2009-11-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

LOW:

"Remember Miranda", Rowena Akinyemi. OXFORD. Stage 1.

INTERMEDIATE:

"Dead Man's Island", John Escott. OXFORD. Stage 2.

HIGH:

"The Canterville Ghost", Oscar Wilde. OXFORD. Stage 2.

SIMPLE TESTS ONLINE!!!

2009-10-31T03:34:00.000-07:00

Do you want to try some very simple and quick tests online?
They'll give you an idea of how good your grammar is.
Try the link below and...good luck!!!
http://www.simpleenglishnews.com/quiz/index.php

LET'S KICK RACISM OUT OF FOOTBALL

2009-10-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

You've probably seen a lot of racism in football matches...well, there are a lot of people who are against that!! They think that the best way to support football is, as they say, "TO KICK RACISM OUT OF FOOTBALL".
They've done a lot of things to promote their idea: adverts, videos, posters...
What do you think of this one?

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 9

2009-10-29T06:35:00.000-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 8

2009-10-29T06:34:00.001-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 7

2009-10-29T06:33:00.003-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 6

2009-10-29T06:33:00.001-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 5

2009-10-29T06:31:00.001-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 4

2009-10-29T06:30:00.001-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 3

2009-10-29T06:29:00.002-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 2

2009-10-29T06:29:00.001-07:00

MINI-SAGA PHOTO 1

2009-10-29T06:27:00.001-07:00

WRITING MINI-SAGAS

2009-10-29T03:15:00.000-07:00

What is a mini-saga?
A mini-saga is a very short story. It is a piece of writing of 50 words, no more and no less, that tells a complete story, with a beginnig, a middle and an end. The story should have exactly 50 words including the title. Contractions count as one single word (i.e. it's = one words; it is = two words).
Mini-sagas help you to play with words. If you can write a story in only 50 words, then you will be able to write much longer stories!!

Here is an example of a mini-saga...

... and here are two more examples based on photographs!!

MINI-SAGAS AS WRITING PRACTICE.
I usually ask my 1ºBachillerato students to write as many mini-sagas as they like.
This is the procedure to follow:
First, I suggest some photographs, they choose one and write a 50-word story about it. It is really challenging to your creativity!!
Then, the mini-sagas must be handed in to the teacher and he will give them back with some corrections.
After reading the corrections, the students try to write a better second version and hand it in to the teacher again.

Finally, if the story is acceptable, the student writes it on the blog and receives some extra marks for the writing part of their next test!!

Why don't you try one of the suggested photographs?

You can be the new consummate novelist

we're waiting for!!!

Chicken a la carte

2009-10-27T03:49:00.000-07:00

Letter to my 1º Bachillerato students

2009-10-27T02:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody!

I don’t know about you but whenever I begin a new school year I found my head filled with questions. Some new, some old. Questions of all types: what will my students be like? Will they be nice or rude? Will they be interested in English or not? Will they be able to understand my lessons? Will my lessons be interesting or boring? Will they learn anything at all? Being a teacher is not an easy thing...if you care about teaching, of course!

I didn’t work as a teacher first. I used to work in an advertising agency because that was what I had read at university. But I decided to be a teacher because I liked being with young people. Talking and listening to their thoughts. Trying to help them with their problems and sharing their happy moments.

I’ve always tried to make my lessons insteresting and funny but this is not always easy. Sometimes your head is full of new bright ideas but at other moments you are desperate to find something creative but it just won’t come.

I also need my students’ help. I can’t make them learn English if they don’t want to. I remember an arab proverb which says that you can take a camel to the fountain but you can’t make it drink!! I think this is absolutely certain: no mater how good a teacher is, nothing will happen if the student doesn’t work on their own (i.e. taking notes, paying attention, doing homework, revising everyday...).

Another year as an English teacher. My twenty-fourth!! That’s quite a lot! Let’s see what happens this year. Every student is different. Every day is different. Let’s hope the best!!

Your teacher.
José Luis
Fuenlabrada, 16 September, 2009