Skellig (3ºB)

Watch the video and learn about the book we are going to read.

Grammar review (3ºA,B)

Here you are some extra online practice on grammar contents of the first term. Click on the links:

Tenses Practice. 

-Past simple in the negative (oh yes, you make many mistakes there)
-Past Simple/Past Continuous.
-Simple Past vs Present Perfect
-Simple Past vs Present Perfect(2)
-Past Simple vs Past Perfect 
-Present Perfect Continuous
-Present Perfect Simple vs Present Perfect Continuous
-Past Perfect Simple 
-A bit of everything (don´t do the drills on the Future)
-Irregular verbs forms 
-More irregular verbs 
-A crossword now.


Used to/be used to/get used to:

Try this link to practise these tricky structures.


Comparative and Superlative forms and structures:

-Comparative and Superlative mix (easy warm-up).
-More like the previous one (multiple choice)
-Still another dead easy one.
-Comparative gap-filling exercise 
-Comparative matching exercise  
-A crossword  now
-Let´s focus now on Comparatives  of Equality (as...as) 
-Only Superlatives here. 
-A Superlative quiz
-A Comparative/Superlative mix 
-Correlative comparatives
-A bit more difficult mix now (including Correlative Comparatives).
 -Irregular comparative and superlative forms.


Merry Xmas!!

2nd Term Literary Circles planning (3ºB). Updated

 Literary circles dates (on Fridays).  On Tuesdays you have to hand in the Literary Circle worksheet of the chapters whose LC is scheduled for the following Friday. 

JANUARY 13: CHAPTERS 1 TO 9
JAN. 20: CH. 10 TO 15
JAN. 27: CH. 16 TO 20
FEBRUARY 3: CH. 21 TO 28
FEB. 10: CH. 29 TO 34
FEB.17: CH.35 TO 40
FEB. 24: CH. 41 TO 46 MOVED TO FEB 23 (THURSDAY). CH. 35-46
MARCH 8: SKELLIG RECAP (EXAM ON MARCH 9)

Remember  this book will be included in an exam at the end of the term where you must get at least a 30% correct to pass the subject, just like in the first term. Happy reading!

2nd term Literary Circles planning (3ºA) NEW DATES

Literary circles dates (on Tuesdays).  On Thursdays you have to hand in the Literary Circle worksheet of the story/stories whose LC is scheduled for the following Tuesday. (Obviously except for the first LC worksheet, that must be turned in the day before, January 9). I highly recommend reading the introduction by the author to each story, but the LC (and the LC worksheet) will only deal with the story itself. 

JANUARY 10: MEETING CEZANNE + I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS

JAN. 17:  I BELIEVE IN UNICORNS THE GIANT´S NECKLACE

JAN. 24: THE GIANT´S NECKLACE MY ONE AND ONLY GREAT ESCAPE

JAN. 31: MY ONE AND ONLY GREAT ESCAPE
MY FATHER IS A POLAR BEAR + THE SILVER SWAN

FEBRUARY 7: MY FATHER IS A POLAR BEAR + THE SILVER SWAN
THE MOZART QUESTION

FEB. 14: THE MOZART QUESTION WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE?

FEB. 21: WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE? HALF A MAN + FOR CARLOS, A LETTER FROM YOUR FATHER

FEB. 28: HALF A MAN + FOR CARLOS, A LETTER FROM YOUR FATHER SINGING FOR MRS PETTIGREW

MARCH 7: SINGING FOR MRS PETTIGREW. RECAP DAY (EXAM ON MARCH 9: LAST STORY NOT INCLUDED)
MARCH 14: SINGING FOR MRS PETTIGREW.

Remember  all these stories will be included in an exam at the end of the term where you must get at least a 30% correct to pass the subject, just like in the first term (again, only the stories, not the author´s comments, will appear in the exam). Happy reading!

The Franklin´s Tale (from The Canterbury Tales)

Still another tale from The Canterbury Tales. Watch the story of Arviragus, Doringen and Aurelius and do the quiz.

The Pardoner´s Tale (from The Canterbury Tales)

The Wife of Bath tale (The Canterbury Tales)

What are the differences between this version of the tale and the one you read?

Literary circle worksheet (3ºESO)

Just a reminder of the outline your literary circle worksheets in 3º ESO must have:

1.Vocabulary: write five words you didn´t know the meaning of. Write the page where the word is to be found and a definition (if several, choose the definition that applies in the context).

2.Summary: no more than 70 words. 

3.Quotation: don´t forget to write the page where it is and explain the reason why you chose it (the quotation should be meaningful and significant).

4.Question about the story and the answer (again, come up with interesting questions that can trigger a discussion, not simple understanding questions such as -in The Gift of the Magi story, for example-:  What did Della sell? or What did Jim buy? but questions like Do you think this is a sad or a happy story? or  Would you be ready to sell your most valuable possession to buy a present for your girl-/boyfriend? ).

5.A piece of writing (70 word min.):

In Singing for Mrs Pettigrew (a compilation of short stories) you can choose ONE of these topics:
-New ending: either develop the story further or think of a new ending.
-Moral of the story.
-Blurb for the story
-Your opinion about it.

In Skellig (one long story):
-Write a prediction: how do you think the story will continue?

Beowulf: your essays (3ºA,B)

Let´s have a look at some excerpts from your compositions:

What is a hero for you? Are heroes still necessary nowadays? Name someone you consider a hero and explain why s/he is a hero for you. 
"Nowadays I think that heroes are the normal people because you can be a hero and you don´t know it, for example you can be walking normally in the street and then something happens and you can help to resolve the problem quickly, people can say that you are a hero. (...) So the conclusion is that you don´t know who heroes are because you can be one of them". (Ángeles E.)

"I think that a hero is someone that steps out of their comfort zone to help someone else. (...) For me my heroes are all those parents that work half a day and the other half are cleaning, cooking, studying with their sons, going with them to their after-school activities, etc." (Inés M.)

"For me a good hero is being the bravest one, so brave that people think he´s stupid, with an imposible dream, but when the action takes place, he convinces you that he can do it. (...) I think everyone needs a hero and a motivation with a dream, so that if we fell down, we would quickly stand up and continue, we must have the idea that it doesn´t matter how many times we fall, if we stand up". (Javier S.)

Is Beowulf a good warrior? And a good King?
"In my opinion, Beowulf has shown the image of a real hero. Without any special powers, he has killed a monster, only with his brave mind of great warrior, and also his strength. The heroes I know have powers and even so it´s difficult for them to kill their enemies but it has more merit to fight monsters without any special powers". (Jose R.)

"Now 50 years have passed and Beowulf is the king. Is he a good king? No he isn´t. He went to fight the dragon alone, without thinking that he wasn´t as strong as he was 50 years ago and could die letting his kingdom without a king and making it very vulnerable, and that is what happened because he died. A very bad decision, don´t you think?" (Alexandru R.)

In your opinion, if Grendel reappeared now, what action should be taken against him? Why?
"(..) I know he is half-human but the other half is an ugly and horrible monster that kills people just because he is jealous. I sometimes feel jealous too, but I don´t go to the street and start killing people. Only monsters do that, and for that reason monsters need to be killed. If one of the persons Grendel has killed is your mother or your father, or a friend, what would you do in that situation? Obviously you will kill him immediately". (María O.)

"We shouldn´t kill Grendel because it´s a unique species that can have the cure for some illnesses and help science. Also by studying Grendel´s brain, we can know lots of things that he knows and we don´t". (Julia J.)

In what way(s) can Grendel and Grendel´s mother be considered human?
"Grendel´s mother showed a great protection instinct when she went to kill Beowulf after he had killed her son.  I think she had a really human feeling, which is revenge, every mother loves their children, so she did too. (...) She knew she may die, but she did it to take revenge on her son". (Eva A.)

"What he does is to destroy and kill everything he sees, and this leads me to think: don´t we, humans, destroy everything? Of course we do, we cut down tres, kill animals, and also people just for our own benefit. To sum up, I think that the only difference between Grendel and his mother and us is our appearance". (Julia del Carmen J.)

Write the story from Grendel´s point of view.
"Today it was a sad day for me, as always. I felt lonely and I could hear Hrothgar and all his people in Heorot. They were having a good time. They were laughing and enjoying life, while I was here, all alone, wondering what to do with mine. I hated all these people for their sefishness, for not accepting me in their society. I was a monster, that´s true, but I was also partly human and I could feel. I was fed up and I couldn´t take it any more. My fury blinded me, and I decided to go to Heorot. I was so angry, that I couldn´t think properly, and I started killing people. When I realised it was enough, I left." (Paula F.)


"I´m Grendel, the antagonist of the story. My life wasn´t easy. All the people judge me for my appearance and not for my personality. I had never got any friends. I was lonely all my life. The time passed and I became more and more evil because no one accepted me. I decided to start eating people although I´m half human. One day a man called Beowulf decided to find me and kill me. I was very jealous of him because he was so popular and so loved by people... I wanted to be like him. So handsome, so clever, so popular... At last he killed me. Later, my mother decided to kill him because he had killed me, but he killed my mother too. I reunited with her in hell, the place I´m writting now. (...) Now in hell, the place I wanted to be, I have made new friends that understand me. I don´t see Beowulf here. He probably is in heaven. Better...". (Simina D.)

"Hello, I´m Grendel. I´m writting this letter to the Danes to explain the reasons of my attacks. But first of all I want to say I´m sorry for all the pain I´ve caused. (...) I am a strange creature born by a mixture of sea monster and human. And now you will be wondering: where is his human part? It is a very normal question. As a little "kid" I asked my mom that question every day. And the answer was always the same one: 'My sweet Grendel, don´t think that being human means being nice and perfect. of course humans can be good but every single human has a dark side. Do you think being human means being perfect? You are wrong, Grendel. Humans are cruel, jealous, avaricious, but they have pretty envelopes. Just like candy. But you and I, Grendel, don´t have that pretty wrapping. We are ugly and consequently considered monsters. No matter if we have the human capacity to love, laugh or just being happy. Our wrapping is a monster and we are treated as such, my darling'". (Irene L.)

"I´m Grendel, well, I was Grendel. Now, as you may know, I´m dead. Finally I reached heaven. I was considered a monster for lots of years but that was never my intention, I wanted to be accepted, to be one more, but oh, I was so different and you know, humans do not like difference, they punish difference just because they don´t understand it, and they don´t give it a try either. (...) I couldn´t stop my instinct, it controlled me. I reached a point in which I wanted them to kill me but their weapons didn´t hurt me at all, I wanted to escape from all the destruction I had caused, I wanted to give back the lives I took off, but it was too late. After all, I want to thank Beowulf, because of him I´m free now. Humans call me monster for killing and they want to solve this by killing me, and not only me but my mother. Isn´t it ironic?" (Lucía R.)

More about Beowulf comic by Santiago García and David Rubin  here.  

The Canterbury Tales: an introduction

Listen, watch and complete the questions in the quiz.

Beowulf: topics for your composition (Nov. 7). 3ºA, 3ºB

For November 7 (Monday) You have to hand in a 150 word composition on ONE of the topics below (you can mix several if you want). Use the information and handouts provided by me to do it. Write three paragraphs:
-Introduction (mention the topic you have chosen and why you chose it).
-Body (main ideas, include examples to support your points).
-Conclusion (recap of the most important idea(s)).
Don´t forget to use connectors and show off your use of English (use varied tenses in the past: Past Simple+ Past Continuous, Past Perfect+Past Simple, Present Perfect -Simple and Continuous- + Past Simple, etc).

Topics (choose one):

1. What does Heorot (Hrothgar´s meadhall) symbolize in the novel?  Does this make Grendel’s choice to specifically attack people in Heorot more understandable?

2. In many ways, Beowulf is the precursor of a modern superhero in later stories.  What modern stories do you think reflect the same mythological elements used in Beowulf?

3. Is Beowulf a good warrior? And a good king?

4. In what way(s) can Grendel and Grendel´s mother be considered human?

5. What is a hero for you? Are heroes still necessary nowadays? Name someone you consider a hero and explain why s/he is a hero for you.

6. In your opinion, if Grendel reappeared now, what action should be taken against him? Why?

7. Write the story from Grendel´s point of view. (In this case you don't have to follow the outline above, anyway use paragraphs to separate different events or situations in the story). 

More kennings

Do you remember what a kenning is? Yes, a figurative, usually compound expression used in place of a name or noun, especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry; for example, sword storm is a kenning for battle. It´s basically a two-word metaphor. Let´s see some kennings other classmates came up with in past courses. Can you guess what they refer to?

Red heaven:
Soul food:
Frozen memories:
Car sea:
Chalk-owner:
Students relief :
Knowledge-giver:
Ambitious leaves:
Human book: 
Moving cage:
Monster-maker:
Earth´s veins: 
Car-paradise:
Power-giver:
Drop machine gun:
Teenagers´ jail:
Intelligence-enhancer:
Information box:
Poverty-killer:
Dream-factory:
Modern scop:
Golden happiness:
Soul-rhyhtm:
Insects heaven:

Beowulf animated movie

Watch the video and answer the questions in the quiz I gave you (3ºB).

Mead-hall (Heorot):

Grendel is back!

Grendel as you know from Beowulf is a dreadful blood-thirsty monster who slaughtered many warriors in a brutal way and ravaged the land of the Danes. Beowulf killed him, but what if he lived nowadays? What should we do with a monster like Grendel now, in the 21st century? We no longer live in barbaric, brutal Middle Ages, we are far more civilised... aren´t we?  In pairs (the same ones as for the first presentations), you have been assigned some possible solutions ("actions")  for the situation and countries, because as you know we are going to find a way to solve this using the UN model (so check your notes on the procedure given to you by Carlos). You have to defend your action in the TUESDAY OCT 25 (3ºA) / FRIDAY OCT 28 (3ºB) conferences we´ll hold about the issue, so you are supposed to prepare an opening speech (1.30 min long) explaining why your action is the most effective. You should also think of disadvantages of the other punishments in order to have arguments against the other pairs´ actions. In relation with the country assigned to your pair you don´t have to prepare anything, just make a PLACARD with the country name on it. The future of our world as we know it now depends on you!

 

3ºA NAME	NAME	ACTION	COUNTRY
1. CARMEN IZQUIERDO	PAULA IZQUIERDO	Confinement in a mental institution.	NEW ZEALAND
2. EVA MARTÍN	PAULA FRANCO	Death penalty	UNITED STATES
3. JAIME GARCÍA	ADRIÁN FERNÁNDEZ	Life Imprisonment	ARGENTINA
4. NURIA PINA	PAULA OLIVA	Reeducation in a special institution with special teachers	SWEDEN
5. CRISTIAN HUERTA	SERGIO PIRIS	Confinement in a zoo.	SOUTH KOREA
6. VICTOR MUÑOZ	ALEX RADACOVICI	30 year imprisonment.	ITALY
7. SIMINA DEFTA	PAULA HOLGADO	Confinement in Siberia.	INDIA
8. MÓNICA GARCÍA	SUSANA GARCÍA	Police work. Grendel, properly controlled, could be used as a policeman for especially dangerous situations (terrorist attacks, etc).	UKRAINE
9. JAVIER MURILLO	DANIEL GUERRERO, ALEJANDRO CAPITÁN	Space exploration. After some training Grendel will be sent to a distant planet. This way we kill two birds with one stone.	SOUTH AFRICA
10. INÉS MARTÍNEZ	ALMA SERRANO	Negotiated action. A team of highly-skilled mediators will speak to him and will reach an agreement with him on what action to take.	THE NETHERLANDS
11. CARMEN RIDOCCI	MªÁNGELES ESCALANTE	Confinement in comfortable premises while a team of top-qualified scientists study his body and brain. Maybe Grendel can help cure serious illnesses.	RUSSIA
12. RAÚL SAN CIRIACO	NICOLÁS TITUAÑA	Cloning. Grendel can be an excellent soldier, imagine 1,000 of them.	CHINA
13.CAROLINA  MARTÍNEZ	IRENE LÓPEZ	No punishment at all. It must be assumed that Grendel is a monster and his nature should be respected at all costs. Monsters have also rights.	SPAIN
14.ASTRID RUALES	MARÍA OLIVAS	Confinement in a deserted island far away from populated areas.	EGYPT

 

3ºB NAME	NAME	ACTION	COUNTRY
1. JUAN VALLÉS	JOSÉ RABADAN	Confinement in a mental institution.	NEW ZEALAND
2. ADRIÁN ÁLAMO	JAVIER SCHETTINI	Death penalty	UNITED STATES
3. EVA ANTELO	NATALIA PAVÓN	Life Imprisonment	ARGENTINA
4. ADRIÁN APARICIO	JORGE CANORA	Reeducation in a special institution with special teachers	SWEDEN
5. LORENA CAMACHO	AZUCENA JIANG	Confinement in a zoo.	SOUTH KOREA
6. DAVID QUERO	VALENTÍN COBIANU	30 year imprisonment.	ITALY
7. JOSÉ DANIEL CORDERO	MARIUS RADU	Confinement in Siberia.	INDIA
8. STEFANÍA ENACHE	CRISTINA PICA	Police work. Grendel, properly controlled, could be used as a policeman for especially dangerous situations (terrorist attacks, etc).	UKRAINE
9. IVÁN FERNÁNDEZ	JUAN ANTONIO MUÑOZ	No punishment at all. It must be assumed that Grendel is a monster and his nature should be respected at all costs. Monsters have also rights.	SOUTH AFRICA
10. JULIA DEL C.JURADO	NURIA SOTO	Negotiated action. A team of highly-skilled mediators will speak to him and will reach an agreement with him on what action to take.	THE NETHERLANDS
11. ARIADNA MARTÍNEZ	JULIA JIMÉNEZ	Confinement in comfortable premises while a team of top-qualified scientists study his body and brain. Maybe Grendel can help cure serious illnesses.	RUSSIA
12. LUCÍA REQUENA	LAURA ALVAREZ	Cloning. Grendel can be an excellent soldier, imagine 1,000 of them.	CHINA
13. CORAL SÁNCHEZ	CARLA SÁNCHEZ	Confinement in a deserted island far away from populated areas.	SPAIN
14. HELENA SALCEDO	DELIA UNGUR	Space exploration. After some training Grendel will be sent to a distant planet. This way we kill two birds with one stone.	EGYPT