The Purposes of the Arts

Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities. Here you have some of its purposes, though we could list several more because these purposes have varied throughout the years and the history.

The Fonix 2017: Describing Pictures

To describe a picture or an image in English, you should follow these steps:

Introduction

· The photo / picture shows...

· It was taken by / in...

· It's a black-and-white / coloured photo.

What and where

· In the foreground/background there are... / there is... / you can see...

· On the left/right there are... / there is... / you can see...

· At the top/At the bottom there are... / there is... / you can see...

· In the middle/centre there are... / there is... / you can see...

· Behind/In front of ... there are... / there is... / you can see...

Who and what

To describe the persons or animals in the picture and explain what is happening, you have to use the Present Continuous: He is walking / They are sleeping / ...

Personal opinion

· It seems as if...

· The woman / boy / cat / child seems to...

· I think... / believe... /guess...

· I (don't) like the picture because...

For well skilled students, or those who want to improve their description skills, here you have a presentation with some exercises that could help you: 

Describing a Picture in English

Thanksgiving Vocabulary

Learn the main Thanksgiving vocabulary with this slides presentation.

Wedding Traditions

How beautiful weddings are... Don't you think? Let's learn about traditions related to weddings.

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.

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.

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)

The Wide World of Sports

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

Must & Mustn't: Activites

To practise must and mustn't, take a look at this presentation, and after, do the activities below.

Activities:

• From The Yellow Pencil, a page with listenings, rules and exercises.
• 3 Exercises from Guadiana Inglés.
• From English Grammar Lessons.
• A gapfill exercise from Pedagogie Ac.
• From To Learn English.
• An exercise from Better English.
• English Exercises offers you more activities.

Parts of the Body

Look at this presentation to learn the parts of the body:

parts of the body

Here you can listen to this same presentation:

Titanic

At 11.40pm on the 14th April 1912 RMS Titanic struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic, near Newfoundland. 
At 12.20am on the 15th April the crew was given the order to send away women and children in the ship’s lifeboats. 
Titanic sank at 2.20am on the 15th April. 

Take a look at a gallery with more than 100 photographs about Titanic by CyArk Media.

Learn some facts about this ship:

Tonnage:	46,328 GRT
Displacement:	52,310 tons
Length:	882 ft 6 in (269.0 m)
Beam:	92 ft 0 in (28.0 m)
Height:	175 ft (53.3 m) (keel to top of funnels)
Draught:	34 ft 7 in (10.5 m)
Depth:	64 ft 6 in (19.7 m)
Decks:	9 (A–G)
Propulsion:	Two 3-blade wing propellers and one 4-blade centre propeller
Speed:	Cruising: 21 knots (39 km/h). Max: 24 knots (44 km/h)
Capacity:	Passengers: 2,435, crew: 892
Notes:	Lifeboats: 20 for 1,178 people

And finally, why don't finish with the main title of the most famous film about the Titanic performed by Celine Dion, My Heart will Go on?

Check this link for the lyrics of this song.

Bell and the Telephone

The Human Being never takes a rest. He is always inventing new things to ease our lives. One of the most important devices never invented is the telephone. And the person who was able to think that people could communicate each other without mind the distance was Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone.

Watch this silent film that re-creates the moment of this invention.

Take a look now at this presentation to learn lots of things about Bell and the telephone:

And, finally, a funny approach with this parody of Lady Gaga's famous song Telephone.

The Water Cycle

To answer some questions of your Treball de Síntesi, you must take a look at this presentation about the water cycle. The first part of it explains this process thanks to a friendly character called Droppy the Raindrop. The second part is devoted to some more specific explanations about the three steps of the water cycle.

Christopher Columbus

An approach to life and facts of Christopher Columbus and his voyages. Also an short explanation about Columbus Day.