The Hat

Last year, we celebrated Carnival making in groups our own hats. To go warming up that day, we had an eye at this short film about different models of hat.

And now, let's watch and listen to a song by Ingrid Michaelson called 'The Hat'.

Here you can read the lyrics of this song.

Enjoy!!!

Types of Hat

Hat is just a generic name.

Different hats have different names. If you want to improve your knowledge about hats and their names, simply try to learn these.

The Doors Carnival

The year 2.012 the students of ESO decided to decorate their classroom doors to celebrate Carnival. Watch this video to see the results:

Walk Like an Egyptian

The studentds of 1rst & 3rd year have decorated their classroom door in the ancient Egyptian way to celebrate this Carnival. Will they start walking like an Egyptian?

Maybe this song by The Bangles could help them to learn how to do it:

All the old paintings on the tombs 
They do the sand dance don't you know 
If they move too quick (oh whey oh)

They're falling down like a domino 

All the bazaar men by the Nile 

 They got the money on a bet 

Gold crocodiles (oh whey oh)

They snap their teeth on your cigarette 

Foreign types with the hookah pipes say 

Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh 

Walk like an Egyptian 

Blonde waitresses take their trays 

They spin around and they cross the floor 

They've got the moves (oh whey oh) 

You drop your drink then they bring you more 

All the school kids so sick of books 

They like the punk and the metal band 

When the buzzer rings (oh whey oh) 

They're walking like an Egyptian 

All the kids in the marketplace say 

Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh 

Walk like an Egyptian 

Slide your feet up the street bend your back 

Shift your arm then you pull it back 

Life is hard you know (oh whey oh) 

So strike a pose on a Cadillac 

If you want to find all the cops 

They're hanging out in the donut shop 

They sing and dance (oh whey oh) 

Spin the clubs cruise down the block 

All the Japanese with their yen 

The party boys call the Kremlin 

And the Chinese know (oh whey oh) 

They walk the line like Egyptian 

All the cops in the donut shop say 

Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh 

Walk like an Egyptian 

Walk like an Egyptian 

Egyptian Fun

If you want to learn more about Egypt or have fun, just follow these links:

• The magic book lesson: Learn how to build a pyramid, embalm a mummy and scribe in ancient hieroglyphic writing.
• Build a pyramid: The name says it everything.
• Egyptian Hidden Objects: Find out the objects that don't fit the Ancien Egypt.
• Mummy Maker: Learn how to make an mummy while you have fun.
• Hieroglyphics Translator: Translate every message into hieroglyphic language.
• Bricks of Egypt: This breakout game takes you on a fantastic journey through the ancient Egypt.
• Pyramid Solitaire: This game requires players to match cards so their face values equal thirteen. 

Clothes

With this presentation there is a chance to learn more vocabulary on clothes.

Clothing Activities

Here you have a bunch of activities to review the clothing vocabulary.

1. A hangman game by Learning Together.
2. Help the boy dressing with this activity by English Flash Games.
3. A memory game by ESL Games.
4. A multiple choice activity by My English Pages.
5. Lots of different games and activities by Agenda Web.

Carnival

Carnival  is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent. Carnival typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, masque and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations, which mark an overturning of daily life. The most important celebrations are generally concentrated during the last days of the season before Ash Wednesday.

While the starting day of Carnival varies, the festival usually builds up to a crescendo in the week before lent, ending on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

History

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Hundreds of years ago, the followers of the Catholic religion in Italy started the tradition of holding a wild costume festival right before the first day of Lent. Because Catholics are not supposed to eat meat during Lent, they called their festival, Carne Vale — which means “to put away the meat.” As time passed, carnivals in Italy became quite famous; and in fact the practice spread to France, Spain, and all the Catholic countries in Europe. Then as the French, Spanish, and Portuguese began to take control of the Americas and other parts of the world, they brought with them their tradition of celebrating carnival.

The Carnival then was transported to the Caribbean by the European slave traders. They excluded the African slaves from the festival and had lavish masquerade balls. On emancipation the freed African slaves of the Caribbean transformed the European festival forever into a celebration of the end of slavery. The Carnival festival had a new cultural form derived from their own African heritage and the new Creole artistic cultures developed in the Caribbean. It is the Caribbean Carnival that is exported to large cities all over the world.

• From The Boston Globe’s Big Picture blog, we can see commented images from Carnivals around the world: 

• The CBBC has a commented short slideshow of Carnivals throughout the world:

The Brazilian Carnival

The Carnival of Brazil is an annual festival in Brazil held forty days before Easter. Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil. It is not about a big moment in history or about a famous person, but it is important for the people because it's a time of camaraderie, freedom, and almost a whole week without work. People can choose between parties or rest, and most people choose parties, day after day, night after night.

Brazilian Carnival exhibits some differences from its European counterparts, having mixed European, African, and Native elements. Furthermore, rhythm, participation, and costume vary from one region of Brazil to another.

The south-eastern cities of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo organize parades led by samba schools vie for prizes on the "sambodromo" open stage. Only samba-school affiliates participate in the shows. Smaller cities often have no public events, but promote balls in recreational clubs.

The north-eastern cities of Salvador and Recife organize groups parading through streets, but watchers are also welcome to dance.

Rio de Janeiro Carnival

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Modern Brazilian Carnival originated in Rio de Janeiro in 1641, when the city's bourgeoisie imported the practice of holding balls and masquerade parties from Paris. It originally mimicked the European form of the festival, later absorbing and creolizing elements derived from Native American and African cultures.

In the late 19th century, the cordões (literally laces or strings in Portuguese) were introduced in Rio de Janeiro. These were pageant groups that paraded through city avenues performing on instruments and dancing. Today they are known as Blocos (blocks), consisting of a group of people who dress in costumes or special t-shirts with themes and/or logos. Blocos are generally associated with particular neighborhoods; they include both a percussion or music group and an entourage of revellers.

Block parades have become an expressive feature of Rio's Carnival. Today, they number more than 100 and the groups increase each year. Blocos can be formed by small or large groups of revelers with a distinct title with a often funny pun. They may also note their neighborhood or social status. Before the show, they gather in a square, then parade in sections of the city, often near the beach. Some blocos never leave one street and have a particular place, such as a bar, to attract viewers. Bloc parades start in January, and may last until the Sunday after Carnival.

Blocos parade in nearly every neighborhood, but the most famous ones parade in Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Lagoa, Jardim Botânico, and in downtown Rio. Organizers often compose their own music themes that are added to the performance and singing of classic "marchinhas" and samba popular songs. "Cordão do bola preta" ("Polka Dot Bloco"), that goes through the heart of Rio's historical center, and "Suvaco do Cristo" (Christ's statue armpit, referring to the angle of the statue seen from the neighborhood), near the Botanical Garden, are some of the most famous groups. Monobloco has become so famous that it plays all year round at parties and small concerts.

Samba schools are very large groups of performers, financed by respected organizations (as well as illegal gambling groups), who work year round in preparation for Carnival. Samba Schools perform in the Sambadrome, which runs four entire nights. They are part of an official competition, divided into seven divisions, in which a single school is declared the winner, according to costume, flow, theme, and band music quality and performance. Some samba schools also hold street parties in their neighborhoods, through which they parade along with their followers.

Rio Carnival

Carnival is a multicoloured parade of the Samba Schools. Official is it a removal of two days, but in general takes the festival longer. People from all over the world are dancing around the parade floats. The motto of the carnival is “Everyone is free”. There are 14 Samba Schools. All of them act out with 3.000 to 5.000 members (singers and dancers) to make a parade of 82 minutes. On both days act out in each case 7 Samba Schools. On Ash Wednesday is the counting of the scores. The counting is shown in all TV-channels in Brazil. The celebration of the winners is celebrated with fireworks.

• Preparations Underway for Brazil's Carnival with comments on each photo from the Washington Post:

• MSNBC has a slideshow about Rio de Janiero and its Carnival:

• A photogallery from WA Today:

  

The Venetian Carnival

One of the oldest festivals in Europe, the Venice Carnival, dates back to the 13th century and has always been about magic, mystery and colourful spectacle.

It is said to have originated from an important victory of the "Repubblica della Serenissima" (Ancient name of Venice), in the war against Ulrico, Patriarch of Aquileia, in the year 1162. To celebrate this victory, dances and reunions started to take place in San Marco Square.

The masquerade aspect of Carnival is even older: the Romans celebrated winter with a fertility festival where masks were worn by citizens and slaves alike. Another hypothesis suggests that the word comes from 'Carrus Navalis', which was in times past a Roman festival in honour of Saturn. This was celebrated with horse drawn carriages that used to carry men and women in fancy dresses and masks and singing songs.

When the carnival first begun it was celebrated from December 26 and reached its climax the day before Ash Wednesday.

Venice Carnival is a celebration of art and expression that sees locals and tourists come together during two weeks. Thus Carnival of Venice is considered one of the world’s most famous festivals and fills the whole city with musicians, acrobats, clowns, magicians, puppeteers, beautiful masks, elaborate costumes, and parades. People come from around the world to participate in masked balls and general festivities in the ancient Venetian tradition, and to enjoy theatrical and dance performances, exhibitions and concerts along the canals, squares and the magnificent palaces of the city.

The types of masks and costumes worn today are based on character types drawn from Italian folklore, history, and society:

• Commedia dell'Arte masks are based on traditional characters like satyrs, demons and lawyers to sailors, bakers, butchers Harlequin and Pierrot.

• Fantasy masks are figments of the maskmaker's imagination, although they may be inspired by historical designs.

• Traditional Venetian masks such as the white volto half-mask with nose cover and its variant, the "plague doctor's" mask with its phallic beak. (According to tradition, the beak was intended to protect the wearer from being infected by the plague.)

 

The New York Times offers a commented slideshow about this celebration in Venice. CBS News has a video about the celebrations for the 2009 carnival:

The Notting Hill Carnival

Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event which since 1966 has taken place on the streets of Notting Hill, London, UK each August, over two days (the August bank holiday Monday and the day beforehand). It is led by members of the Trinidad and Tobago; Caribbean population, many of whom have lived in the area since the 1950s.

Today the Notting Hill Carnival is a dynamic celebration of London's multi-cultural diversity, though dominated by the Caribbean culture in the best traditions of Rio.

      

Here are some photos of their celebration taken from the official web site of the Carnival.

Carnival: Useful Links

·       A great web with hundreds of resources and information

·       About the history of Carnival

·       A classic resource: Wikipedia

·       More on history of Carnival

·       Carnivals around the world links:

·         Gadling

·         Oracle

·         Haga Library

·         Carnaval.com

·         Timepast

·       About Venetian Carnival and masks

·       Thousands of pictures of Venetian masks:

·       How to make a Carnival mask from "eparenting"

·       Mardi Gras, the New Orleans's Carnival

·       The Traditions of Mardi Gras

·       The New York Times has a Mardi Gras slideshow

·       Lots of links to resources

Heart Idioms

 

The Fonix 2.014: Address for the Regional Stage

The Regional Stage of the Fonix will be held on Saturday 1rst March at 12:00 midday at the INEFC (Institut Nacional d'Educació Física de Catalunya).

Address: Avinguda de l'Estadi, 12-22 (Anella Olímpica), 08038 Barcelona. 
Phone number: 93 425 54 45
Registration: from 11.15

Ver mapa más grande

The organisers will publish the names of the winners from the regional stage of the competition and the centres they represent as of 7th April.

The Fonix 2.014: Theme for the Regional Stage Revealed

This year’s theme (2014) will be focused on Sport, the Commonwealth Games and Para Sports.

Task Types:

1st CYCLE OF SECONDARY / 1r i 2n D'ESO)

Vocabulary: words and verbs related to sport - captain net speed goggles helmet, kick, score, etc.

Reading: Answering questions about a text, matching, finding words in text.

Tasks: Matching definitions, gap filler, ordering words to form sentences. 

Writing: Writing a letter to a friend. Giving an opinion about sport.

Time Limit: 40 / 45 minutes

2nd CYCLE OF SECONDARY (3r i 4t D'ESO)

Vocabulary: team spectator referee umpire, etc. 

Reading: Answering questions about a text, choosing the correct word, matching.

Tasks: Matching definitions, answering questions, gap filler, choosing correct tense(past tenses),gerunds and infinitives (ESO 4).

Writing: Giving opinion about the use of drugs in sports. Advantages and disadvantages of sport. 

Time Limit: 40 /45 minutes

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is celebrated February 14 in honour of a Roman priest named Valentine who lived in the 3rd Century. The Emperor at that time, Claudius II, banned marriages because he believed that married men made worst soldiers. Valentine didn't accept this law and married couples in secret. When the Emperor found out, Valentine was sentenced to death. While he was in prison, he fell in love with the jailer’s daughter and just before he was put to death, on 14 February, he wrote a final love message to her and signed it “From your Valentine”. Not long after his death, Valentine was made a saint.

The story of Valentine quickly spread and it soon became tradition to send a card to the person you secretly admired. The cards were always signed “From your Valentine”. The first commercial cards appeared in the mid 1800's. Today, we send over a billion Valentine cards each other, 70% of them sent by women.

Valentine's Traditions

• Hundreds of years ago in England, many children dressed up as adults on Valentine's Day. 
• In Wales wooden love spoons were carved and given as gifts on February 14th. Hearts, keys and keyholes were favourite decorations on the spoons. The decoration meant, "You unlock my heart!"
• In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.
• In some countries, a young woman may receive a gift of clothing from a young man. If she keeps the gift, it means she will marry him.
• Some people used to believe that if a woman saw a robin flying overhead on Valentine's Day; it meant she would marry a sailor. If she saw a sparrow, she would marry a poor man and be very happy. If she saw a goldfinch, she would marry a millionaire.
• A love seat is a wide chair. It was first made to seat one woman and her wide dress. Later, the love seat or courting seat had two sections, often in an S-shape. In this way, a couple could sit together -- but not too closely!
• Think of five or six names of boys or girls you might marry, As you twist the stem of an apple, recite the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you were saying when the stem fell off.
• Pick a dandelion that has gone to seed. Take a deep breath and blow the seeds into the wind. Count the seeds that remain on the stem. That is the number of children you will have.
• If you cut an apple in half and count how many seeds are inside, you will also know how many children you will have.

Valentine's Symbols

Valentine's Day has acquired over the years many different symbols or things that represent love and romance. Watch some of them on this video.