National Stereotypes

There are many stereotypes surrounding individual nations. Sometimes some countries may promote national stereotypes about themselves in order, for example, to instil a sense of patriotism.

Stereotypes are generalizations about groups of people, they can be positive or negative, and they can be based on some truth or completely invented. Clichés about national stereotypes can be great fun; the problem is that they sometimes become a prejudice.

Links:

• National Stereotype
• TVTropes

Discourse Makers

Ancient Chinese Inventions

The ancient Chinese invented many, many things - things we still use today. Their inventions include the wheel, paper, silk, matches, gunpowder, porcelain, china, fireworks, medicines, kites, tea, the umbrella, jump ropes, ink, the crossbow, and even ice cream!  

Roman Gods and Goddesses

At first, Romans believed in many different gods and goddesses. These gods were like people, but with magical powers. The Roman gods were part of a family. People told stories or myths about them. Each god or goddess looked after different people or things. 

The Romans often borrowed new gods from people they conquered. They hoped these new gods would make them stronger. They borrowed gods from Egypt, for example, such as the goddess Isis.

The Greeks and Romans shared the same stories, but used different names.

Greek	Roman
Zeus	Jupiter	Lord of the sky and supreme ruler of the gods. Known for throwing lightening bolts.
Poseidon	Neptune	Ruler of the sea. Brother of Zeus. Carried a three-pronged spear known as a trident.
Hades	Pluto	Ruler of the underworld and the dead. Brother of Zeus. Had a helmet which rendered its wearer invisible.
Hestia	Vesta	A virgin goddess and sister of Zeus. No distinct personality or part in myths. Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol of the home.
Hera	Juno	Zeus's wife and sister. Protector of marriage, spent most of her time punishing the many women Zeus fell in love with. Likes cows and peacocks.
Ares	Mars	God of war and son of Zeus and Hera. Likes vultures and dogs.
Athena	Minerva	Daughter of Zeus alone. No mother.(?) She sprang from his head full-grown and in full armor. The protector of civilized life, handicrafts, and agriculture. Invented the bridle, and first to tame the horse. Likes Athens, olives, and owls.
Apollo	Apollo	Son of Zeus. Master musician, archer god, healer, god of light, god of truth, sun god. A busy god who likes the laurel tree, dolphins, and crows.
Aphrodite	Venus	Daughter of Zeus. Goddess of Love and Beauty. Likes the myrtle tree, doves, sparrows, and swans.
Hermes	Mercury	Son of Zeus. Wore wings on his sandals and his hat, thus was graceful and swift.
Artemis	Diana	Apollo's twin sister and daughter of Zeus. Lady of wild things and huntsman to the gods. As Apollo is the Sun, Artemis is the moon.
Hephaestus	Vulcan	Son of Hera, God of Fire. The only ugly and deformed god. Makes armor and weapons forged under volcanoes.

Interesting links:

• UNCG.
• UNRV.
• Gwydir.
• Linn Donn.
• Primary Homework.
• PBS.
• Ducksters.

Chariots of Fire

Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British historical drama film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice. The original escore for the film was composed by the greek musician Vangelis.

Instrument Families

Musical instruments are grouped into families based on how they make sounds. In an orchestra, musicians sit together in these family groupings. But not every instrument fits neatly into a group. For example, the piano has strings that vibrate, and hammers that strike. Is it a string instrument or a percussion instrument? Some say it is both!

For further informatión and to listen to the instruments:

• Fact Monster.
• Classics for Kids. 
• Music Tech Teacher.
• Wikipedia.
• DSO Kids.
• Education Portal.

Landforms

A landform is any natural formation of rock and dirt, found on Earth. A landform can be as large as a mountain range, or as small as a hill. It can be as large as a continent, or as small as a pond. 

Interesting links:

• Wikipedia.
• Southern Kings Consolidated.
• MCWDN Org.
• Mr. Nussbaum.
• National Geographic.

Prepositions

The Weather

For, since and During

Time to Say Goodbye

Next friday, the 22nd, is the last day of school this year. We will find again some of you next September, but some other students will have finished their studies here with us. This post is especially dedicated to them.

Here, in Catalonia, we use to say goodbye with a traditional Irish song that we call L'hora dels adeus. The original is called Auld Lang Syne. 

I would like to share this song in a day like this to wave goodbye our students of 4th year who have definitely finished their ESO days. It has been a real pleasure to have shared all these years. 

Good luck, boys and girls! We will miss you so much. 

Countable and Uncountable Nouns: Tips

Some tips to avoid mistakes.

The Parts of a Plant

Each part of a plant has a very important function. All plants produce flowers for the same reason: to make seeds so another plant can grow.

Ancient Egypt

A review of different aspects of life in the ancient Egypt.

Habitats

A habitat, or biome, is the type of environment in which plant and animals live. Habitat is dictated by what kinds of plants grow there, the climate and the geography. Rainforest, coral reefs and the tundra are all habitats where particular kinds of plants and animals might be found.

The 7 Wonders of Ancient World

The seven wonders are the architectural and artistic monuments considered as perfect by the Greeks and the Romans.

The canonical list refers to the seven following wonders:

• The Great Pyramid of Giza
• The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
• The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
• The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
• The Colossus of Rhodes
• The Lighthouse of Alexandria

These monuments are located in Greece, northen Africa and minor Asia. Their date of construction varies from 2800 BC for the Pyramid of Giza to 280 BC for the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players (singles) or two opposing pairs (doubles), who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court divided by a net. 

Longest rally in badminton history (Men´s singles)

Colours of the Fruits

Sporting Events

Are you a sports fan? What's your favourite sport? Follow this link to check out these vocabulary exercises to learn words for sporting events.

Conditional Sentences

"Since" & "For" for Time

The Wide World of Sports

There are lots of different sports, not only football, basketball or tennis. The world of sports is so wide...

Health (At the Doctor's)

Health is very important. Being ill is one of the worst things that could happen to you. At the next video you'll find several causes that can send you  to the doctor's.

To have an eye to the main vocabulary about injuries and health, click on these links:

• About.com
• Saber Inglés

Activities:

• Michelle Henry: Lots of activities, vocabulary lists, songs, cartoon, interactive games..., that you won't be able to finish!
• Many Things: On-line games about injuries.
• ESL All: A crosswords about health and injuries.
• Learn English: An exercise about accidents and injuries.

Die Another Day

Die Another Day (2002) is the twentieth spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film follows Bond as he leads a mission to North Korea, during which he is betrayed and, after seemingly killing a rogue North Korean colonel, is captured and imprisoned. More than a year later Bond is released as part of a prisoner exchange. Surmising that someone within the British government betrayed him, he attempts to earn redemption by tracking down his betrayer and killing a North Korean agent he believes was involved in his torture.

The singer Madonna wrote and performed the main title of the film and also had a cameo in the film as Verity, a fencing instructor.

I'm gonna wake up, yes and no
I'm gonna kiss some part of
I'm gonna keep this secret
I'm gonna close my body now

I guess, die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess, die another day

I guess I'll die another day
(Another day)
I guess I'll die another day
(Another day)
I guess I'll die another day
(Another day)
I guess I'll die another day

Sigmund Freud
Analyze this
Analyze this
Analyze this

I'm gonna break the cycle
I'm gonna shake up the system
I'm gonna destroy my ego
I'm gonna close my body now

I think I'll find another way
There's so much more to know
I guess I'll die another day
It's not my time to go

For every sin, I'll have to pay
I've come to work, I've come to play
I think I'll find another way
It's not my time to go

I'm gonna avoid the cliche
I'm gonna suspend my senses
I'm gonna delay my pleasure
I'm gonna close my body now

I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day

I think I'll find another way
There's so much more to know
I guess I'll die another day
It's not my time to go

I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day
I guess, die another day
I guess I'll die another day

Another day [x6] 

La La Land

I am confident, but I still have my moments. Baby, that's just me. I'm not a supermodel I still eat McDonalds. Baby, that's just me. Well, Some may say I need to be afraid of losing everything. Because of where I've If i started,Where I made my name But everything's the same In a La-la land machine. Machine Who said I can't wear my Converse with my dress? Oh, Baby, That's just me! And Who said I can't be single i have to mingle BABYYY, That's not me Noo, noo. Well, Some may say I need to be afraid of losing everything. Because of where I've if i started, Where I made my name But everything's the same In the La-la land

Tell me do you feel the way I feel Cause nothing else is real in the La-la land machine Some may say I need to be afraid of losing everything. Because of where I've if i started Where I made my name When everything's the same In La-la land machine Well, I'm not gonna change In a La-la land machine Well I will stay the same In La-la land...         Machine I won't change anything of my life (I won't change anything of my life) I'm staying myself tonight (I'm staying myself tonight) la la la la laaaa....

Gutenberg and the Printing Press

Johannes Gutenberg's work on the printing press began in approximately 1436. Having previously worked as a professional goldsmith, Gutenberg made skillful use of the knowledge of metals he had learned as a craftsman. He was the first to make type from an alloy of lead, tin and antimony, which was critical for producing durable type that produced high-quality printed books and proved to be much better suited for printing than all other known materials. To create these lead types, Gutenberg used what is considered one of his most ingenious inventions, a special matrix enabling the quick and precise molding of new type blocks from a uniform template. His type case is estimated to have contained around 290 separate letter boxes, most of which were required for special characters, punctuation marks, etc.

If you want to see how Gutenberg's printing press works, watch this video:

The Bible was the first book printed by Gutenberg with movable types in the west and the first major book produced on a printing press anywhere in the world.  

The Process of Mummification

The ancient Egyptians developed a sophisticated method to preserve a dead body for the afterlife: mummification. First, the internal organs were removed and all moisture from the body was eliminated. Next, the body was wrapped with long strips of linen, and then covered with a large linen cloth. Follow the steps of the mummification process in this short animation about the Getty Museum's Romano-Egyptian mummy Herakleides.

Comparatives and Superlatives Adjectives: Activities

This video shows us various examples of the use of comparatives and superlatives in songs.

Activities

• Comparative and superlative theory
• Comparative adjectives (bigger, older, better, worse)
• Superlative adjectives
• Comparative and superlative
• Comparative and superlative Quiz
• Comparison of adjectives 1
• Comparison of adjectives 2