Christmas activities

Have fun and enjoy the holidays !

You can do a wordsearch here.

Watch Mr Bean celebrating Christmas in his unique way below !

You can also watch the Simpsons' Christmas message :

Now get ready to sing !

Now go here to play Spot The Difference - you must tell me the differences in English !

Play Christmas hangman here 

Play the Christmas wordmatch game here.

Do some Christmas crosswords here.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was last week in America. What do you know about Thanksgiving already ? What do people eat ? What do they do ? What are the origins of the celebration ?

Watch this video :



1)Comple the sentence : "Thanksgiving is a touchstone for ______________________________________ and _______________________________."
2) When is Thanksgiving ?
3) Who created Thanksgiving ? In which year ?
4) Why did he create Thanksgiving ?
5) What name represents the first Europeans to arrive in America?
6) Who was Sarah Hale ?
7) Which recipes are mentioned ?

Watch this video :



Can you explain the story in your own words ?

Now watch this one :



Read and translate the words and sentences.





1) Why were people in England unhappy ?
2) Who was the king ? When ?
3) What happened if they refused ?
4) Where did they go ?
5) What was the problem ?
6) What name was given to America at the time ?
7) What was the name of the ship ?
8) How many Pilgrims were there ?
9) What were conditions like ?
10) How did they feel ?
11) How many Pilgrims died during the first winter ?
12) Who was Squanto ?
13) What did they say ? "Let us ..."
14) What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving ?

Just for fun, watch these videos.

http://youtu.be/BmhvCWTjq5s Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

Penpals - write a letter to introduce yourself

Try to make yourself and your life sound interesting. Ask questions about them so that they will have something to say to you.

Ideas for things to talk about :

- you
- your family, home and pets
- your hobbies, what you do at the weekend
- school
- Dunkirk
- things you like and things you hate (food, sport, TV, music, actors, .......)

It would be great if you could find a photo to send them too.

Penpals #4 : Mrs Vrotsos' class from Canada

Mrs Vrotsos' class :

Hi,

I'm looking to have 10 of my Grade 9 students (ages 13-15) correspond with students from another country. They're looking to learn about a new country and improve their writing skills. We are from Ontario, Canada (very close to Toronto).  I look forward to hearing from you.

Look at the map of Canada again. Can you find Ontario and Toronto ?

You can learn about Ontario here and here.

You can learn about Toronto here.

Penpals #3 : Mrs Boyd's class in Canada

 Mrs Boyd's email :

I am teaching a class of grade 7 students. Despite the fact that they have been learning French for a few years their level is quite low. We would like to write out letters in French but have the replies in English. I'm hoping to find a French speaking class who are interested in practing their English writing.
We are located in Northern British Columbia, Canada.
I would love to hear from you if you are still interested in finding penpals.

Thank you!

 

Look at the map of Canada. Can you find British Columbia ?

You can learn about British Columbia here and here.

Penpals #2 : Miss Bouteneff's class in America

From Miss Bouteneff (Miss Boo) :

I have a small group of students (no more than 12 kids in our group) in an afterschool program that are 12-14 years old that are looking to have written posted correspondence with a group of children their age and learn about another area of the world.

Our school is in Stratford (Connecticut) about an hour away from New York City. Please remind me where your school is located. As our program is an afterschool program any correspondence should be mailed to Flood Middle School in Stratford, CT 06614 USA.

 Look back on your work about the fifty states of the United States. Can you find Connecticut ?

You can learn about Stratford, Connecticut here and here. Look at the photo tour here.

Learn about Flood School here.

Penpals #1 - Mrs Hickey's Class in Ireland

From Mrs Hickey :

Hello,

I'm a teacher of French in a school in Ireland and I have a group of 12 - 14 year olds who are very interested in finding French penpals. I would love to get in contact with you about setting this up!

My students are beginning their studies of French (most of them) so do not have much French. However, they are eager to learn and would love to exchange ideas about French culture and Irish culture!

Mille mercis et j'espere trouver une classe francaise qui adore les langues!!

We're in Wicklow, just south of Dublin. I have first and second year students of French and about 10 or 12 of them are interested in getting French penpals. Half and half English/French sounds great - even though mine are mostly just beginning so their level is quite low!!

Hope you enjoy your mid-term break!

 

 

Can you find Ireland on this map of the British Isles ? What is the capital of Ireland ?

 

 

Can you find Wicklow on this map of Ireland ?

 

You can learn about Wicklow here : http://www.visitwicklow.ie/

Happy Halloween !

According to Wikipedia :

Halloween (or Hallowe'en) is an annual holiday observed on October 31, which commonly includes activities such as trick-or-treating, attending costume parties, carving jack-o'-lanterns, bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks, telling scary stories, and watching horror films.

Discover a famous children's book about a witch and do the activities here.

Play I-Spy here.


Play Halloween hangman here.

Go here and try this crossword puzzle.

Now try this wordsearch puzzle here.

2011 is the 10th anniversary of 9/11

This year is the tenth anniversary of 9/11 - September 11th 2001. (In America, when you write the date in numbers, you put the month before the day, contrary to British people. So for an American 9/11 is September 11th - the 11th day of the 9th month - but for a British person, 9/11 is the 9th November - the 9th day of the 11th month.)

Watch the cartoon video about 9/11 here (http://www.brainpop.co.uk/psheandcitizenship/citizenshiplivingtogetherintheworld/september11th/) and answer the questions below:

(1) Which day of the week was the 11th September 2001 ?

(2) At what time did the first aeroplane crash into the towers ?

(3) On the poster it says "World Trade Center". On the tag, it says "World Trade Centre". Why ?

(4) How many passengers on the first plane survived the crash ?

(5) How long was it until the second plane crashed into the second tower ?

(6) What did people start to realise after the second crash ?

(7) Where was the third aeroplane crash ?

(8) What is the Pentagon ?

(9) Why is it called the Pentagon ?

(10) Which tower fell first ?

(11) Who was killed when the tower fell ?

(12) Why did the tower fall ?

(13) What time did the North Tower fall ?

(14) Where did the fourth aeroplane crash ?

(15) Why did the fourth plane crash ?

(16) How many passengers survived this plane crash ?

(17) How many victims were there in total on 9/11 ?

(18) What was the worst attack before 9/11 ?

(19) Listen carefully and complete the definition : "Terrorism is ... "

(20) What is Al Qaeda ?

(22) How many Muslims are there in the world ?

(23) What is the Koran ?

(24) What is fundamentalism ?

(25) Who was Osama Bin Laden ?

(26) How did the USA respond to 9/11 ?

(27) How long did it take to find Bin Laden ?

(28) What is FDNY ?

(29) How long did it take to repair the physical damage to the Pentagon ?

(30) Explain the slogan on the Tshirts.

Now click through and do the quiz online.

This is what the World Trade Centre used to look likebefore the attacks :

As Wikipedia explains :

The September 11 attacks (called September 11, September 11th or 9/11), were a series of four coordinated suicide attacks against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally crashed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, and both towers collapsed within two hours. Hijackers crashed a third plane into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. When passengers attempted to take control of the fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, it crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, preventing it from reaching its intended target in Washington, D.C.. Nearly 3,000 died in the attacks.

Go to :

http://www.life.com/gallery/62071/first/#index/0 

and 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/americas/2001/day_of_terror/in_pictures/1.stm

and look at the galleries of photos from 11th September 2011.

Brainstorming : think of all the words that you think of when looking at these pictures. Write them in your exercise book.

Go to http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/americas/2001/day_of_terror/eyewitness/ and read the survivor's story. (There are other stories you can read when you have finished). Draw a timeline in your exercise book to show the events of that day. (If you have time, do a parallel timeline for this story : http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/americas/2001/day_of_terror/eyewitness/6.stm )

The huge site left by the Twin Towers was named Ground Zero, which was the name given to the point of impact of the Hiroshima nuclear bomb at the end of the second world war. You can explore the site in 3d here (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14792712).

This is a computer-generated image of WTC (World Trade Center) 1, formerly known as the Freedom Tower, which is currently under construction and should be finished in 2013. It is designed to be the tallest building in America in 2012. (More information at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Tower .)

Look at this art (http://www.jackiestiles.com/WTC/sept112001.jpg)

Can you explain the images and the symbolism ?

New York City worksheets

Now that you have seen New York in pictures, it's time to do a quick worksheet.

Go to http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/statesbw/newyork.shtml and answer the questions.

There is also a quiz on the Statue of Liberty at

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/us/monuments/sol/quiz.shtml

New York, New York !

So, before we start - what's the capital of the United States ? No, it is NOT New York ! It's Washington DC, which is on the East Coast of the USA too. Don't get confused by Washington State which is in the northwest corner of America. New York is one of the most popular tourist destinations though and that is the city that we will be exploring.

Have a look at these photos of famous New York sites and monuments and see if you can name them all.

If you get stuck, the name of each photo should help !

Now go on a virtual trip and discover the sights and sounds of New York City, by clicking on these websites :

http://www.cnewyork.net/photos/index.htm New York in 80 photos

http://www.cnewyork.net/photosair/ New York City from the air


(http://youtu.be/4-58nsUMFs8)

Watch the video and answer the questions :

1) What is Broadway famous for ? Who were the first people to use this road ?

2) Where does the name Time Square originate ?

3) How high is the Chrysler Building ? What is it made of ?

4) Which president gave his name to a hall for opera and concerts ?

5) Where can you find expensive shops ?

6) What is the name of the gothic cathedral ?

7) How many floors does the Empire State Building have and how high is it ?

8) When was it built ?

9) How many visitors does it have ?

10) Where is Castle Clinton and who was it named after ? (Clue : it's not Bill Clinton, the former president !)

11) Who was the first president of the United States ?

12) Which famous street is situated in the financial district ?

13) What is Ground Zero ?

14) When was the Brooklyn Bridge built ?

15) What was Ellis Island used for ?

16) Which two nationalities have their own districts and what are they called ?

17) What colour are the taxis (or "cabs") in New York City ?

Watch the short video below and see which monuments you can recognise :


(http://youtu.be/SfMCCGiwK4M)

You can even see New York City right now via live webcams at http://www.cnewyork.net/webcamstour1.htm

Enjoy your visit !

The United States of America - the "nifty fifty" states

As Wikipedia explains :

The United States of America (also called the United States, the States, the U.S., the USA, and America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.

How many of the fifty states can you name ? Take a piece of paper, write the numbers from 1-50 and see how many of the fifty states you can think of.

So how many did you find ? This online wordsearch might help you find some more :
http://www.surfnetkids.com/games/50states-ws.htm

You should have all fifty now but can you put them in the correct place on the map ?

Here is a map of the United States of America. (Go to http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/outlinemaps/statesnumbered/ for a bigger map and click around to explore when you've finished. You can learn lots of things on this website.)

Can you put the right number next to each state on your list ? When you have finished - and only when you have finished, no cheating ! - you can find the answers here :

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/outlinemaps/statesnumbered/statesanswers.shtml

OK, let's see how much you can remember ! Try to complete the three levels of this game to correctly place the states on the map :

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_GL_click_1024.html Click on each state to learn the correct pronunciation. Can you pronounce them correctly too ?

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_G0_1024.html This time listen to the name of the state and click on the map to show where you think it is.

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/USA_Geography/USA_G1_1024_768.html Now find the state in the bottom left-hand corner and move it to the right place on the map.

If you've finished already, you can see how good you are at correctly identifying the major cities in the United States here too :

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/cities/label/

Have a try but don't worry if you can't find them all - it's very difficult ! You can find the answers here :

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/cities/label/answers.shtml

Well done !

Show & Tell

One of the regular activities that we will be doing in class is Show & Tell, which is very poular in American primary schools. Wikipedia explains :

Show and tell is the process of showing an audience something and telling them about it, predominantly in North America and also popular in Australia. It is usually done in a classroom as an early elementary school technique for teaching young children the skills of public speaking. Usually, a child will bring an item from home and will explain to the class why they chose that particular item, where they got it, and other relevant information.

You will all have to do a Show & Tell at least once - bring in an object or a photo, a song or a video clip, a website - you choose ! Tell us why you chose it, why it is important or interesting to you and be prepared to answer questions about it from your classmates (and me !). This will be marked so think carefully !

Pen Pals

Every year, we find a class to correspond with, sometimes by email, sometimes by "snail mail" (letters) and sometimes both. We've had penpals from Ireland, England and America. Let's see who we can find this year !

Welcome to your class blog !

Welcome to your class blog !  This is your space so don't hesitate to make comments in the box or play on the blog at home with your family. Please don't go too fast and finish everything before we use it in class though ! Have fun !