Sunday, 13 May 2012

A scary story (in Poe´s style)


The Burning House
"One day I was walking through the forest with a friend in a stormy and bleak night. We heard the wind whispering: "Don´t drink in the fountain". But we didn´t listen to it. At the end of the forest, we saw a light and we went towards it. Near the path there was a fountain with a lot of ravens perched on the trees around. We were very thristy so we drank from the fountain. Suddenly the ravens attacked us and we fell down. When we woke up we were in a graveyard. We felt dizzy and I thought that the water from the fountain was toxic. Then, a rap under a tomb interrupted my thoughts and I tried to stand up, but something didn´t let me do it. My friend was near me sleeping. Then it started to rain, so I took my friend to a cave that was near. There, we went to sleep. When we soke up we weren´t dizzy, but someone put a rock in the entrance of the cave. We were very frightened, but thanks to some matches that my friends had we entered the cave until it finished in a wall with stairs. We went upstairs and we appeared in a house. We investigated there but there was no one. When we entered the chamber room the fireplace had some embers and then the chamber room door closed. We tried to open the door, but we couldn´t. Some ravens were in a window and when we opened it they entered and the wind closed the window. The ravens entered the fireplace  and suddenly they turned into ghosts. When the sat in the sofas, they burnt and all the house was burning with us inside". (by Alejandro G. and Daniel G.).


The October midnight of a Human-raven
"A midnight during a bleak October, I was standing in the old chamber room at my grandmother´s house when I heard a strange noise coming from the kitchen. I decided to go and see what had happened.
For the first time in my short life I felt weak and my soul within me burning: my grandmother was lying on the floor covered in blood. The window was broken, and for a few seconds I could see a man peering from the dark forest through the window... but he disappeared in the foggy, dark night. On the floor there were some notes about the transformation of a living human being into a raven and some drawings of hearts. I raised my eyes to my grandmother´s heart and the only thing I saw was a deep and stained hollow in the part of my grandmother´s chest, where her soft heart  was supposed to be. In was in a shock and I didn´t understand anything.
I decided to go to explore, because the night was bathed in moonlight in that ember-like and bleak night of that cold October. The hours passed and I found a haunted-house. A light was illuminating one of the windows. In that moment something inside me thought that the man, who was peering from the window when my grandmother died, was standing at the window. A note came from the window: "Dear girl: you should know my story, the story of your grandmother´s death, the story of the human-ravens. the legend says every fifty years, when the full moon is so bright that it can illuminate  almost all the city, a human-raven (a mixture of a raven and a human) can die. Your grandmother was a human-raven. Every night she turned into a raven and in the morning she became human again. I was also a human-raven. In order for a human-raven not to die, it had to collect three human-raven´s hearts and put them under the light of the shiny moon. I decided to take off the the life of three honest raven-women and now...I don´t have any words. I could never live feeling so guilty. My last words in this paper are filled with pain and sorrow". (By Elena R. and Eva B.)

Good work to you all! Did you know a film based on Poe´s stories and life is about to be released? It´s called The Raven (of course). Watch the trailer here.

Friday, 27 April 2012

A story (2AB)


"The story is about three friends that get lost in a big forest, when the day got dark they looked for a place to sleep. And they saw an old house where nobody lived. They went into the house and when they went to bed, one of them heard a noise and went to investigate. He didn´t come back and another boy went to look for him. He shouted and didn´t come back. The last boy went where the shout came from and saw his two friends dead in the room with a lot of blood. He ran away from the house and when he realized he was in the graveyard he turned round and shouted. The following morning the police found him dead and tracks of a wolf next to him and on his dead body it was written "Don´t run, it´s worse!" (Laura O. and Natalia C. Good work! Especially taking into account you had only 10 minutes, great!)

Thursday, 26 April 2012

The gun control debate in the USA


Watch this video about gun control in the US. What are the arguments for and against the issue mentioned in it?

A story (2AB)


Watch this videoclip, it is based on the story we are going to read next. Answer these questions:

-What kind of story is it? Why do you think so?
-What is the setting of the story?
-How is the house that appears in the clip?
-Does anyone live in the house? Why do you think so?

-Invent a plot for the story.

Thursday, 19 April 2012

The Raven by Edgar A. Poe


-Animation of the poem The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe (with music by Alan Parsons Project).

-Listen to the poem  here.


Monday, 16 April 2012

Sunday, 15 April 2012

The Present Perfect and you.

Some of you seem to have problems when using the Present Perfect. These are excerpts from your compositions, is the tense used correctly? If not, correct the mistake:

1."I have been in Luis García Berlanga high-school for seven months."
2."In the first course of Primary I met Laura, Eva, Paula, Lidia, Ana... Since first course I had been her friends".
3."So I have been learning English since then and now I know a lot".
4."When I was a child I couldn´t be relaxed so I had broken many times my arm, my leg, a finger..."
5. "Since August last year, for several months, I have been proposing a trip to London and Ireland and finally we are now preparing it".
6. "I am in a football club since 2009, it´s called E.F. El Olivo".
7. "I have been living in Ecuador since I was born till I was 3 years old".
8. "For four years I have been going to an English academy with some friends in Coslada".
9."I have being living in Coslada all my life with my parents".
10."I have been studying in the school or high-school since 2002".
11."Since 2000 I go every summer to France".
12."Our class is famous because teachers have been angry with us since the first day".

13."I love tennis. Since I was a baby I was playing tennis with my grandfather".

14."When I was little I have played a lot with my cousin".

15."I like playing the piano, I have been playing it for 3 years".
16."Since I was small, I love playing football".
17."Since I was a child I had been living in Coslada".
18."In the 1st course of ESO I have made much more friends and my life has changed, but I like those changes".
19."In 2011 I started high school. My marks were not brilliant but they weren´t bad".
20."I have gone to karate classes when I was 4 years old".
21."I have started the high-school in 2011".

Thursday, 12 April 2012

BECAS PARA CURSOS DE INMERSIÓN EN AGOSTO

For 1º ESO students only. It´s a two week course in August. Deadline: April 25. Follow the link for more information.

Friday, 23 March 2012

The death penalty debate


Following Vanessa´s presentation, here you are more "food for thought" ideas on the issue by actor Jeremy Irons. Try and answer these questions about the video:

1.Say 2 ideas he mentions against death penalty.
2. Which social group is especially affected by death penalty?
3. What is the saying in the US about "capital punishment"?
4. "Death penalty is irreversible". Explain.
5. Since 1990, how many execution of child offenders have there been in countries with death penalty?
6.Complete the sentence: "an attack to human rights (like the right to life) is an attack...................."
7. "Explain: "Criminals and murderes have crossed the line between right and wrong. Do we want to join them?"


Thursday, 22 March 2012

More Maori legends

Watch the video and answer the questions:
 
1.Why did the days become too short?
2.How many brothers did Maui have?
3.What did Maui want to do?
4.How is he going to do that?
5.Why did they walk where the sun rose during the night?
6.Why did they make a wall?
7.What did they do with the ropes?
8.Why were they magic?
9.What did Maui do when the sun rose?
10.What happened in the end?

Monday, 19 March 2012

Friday, 16 March 2012

BECAS MEC (CURSO DE INMERSIÓN EN JULIO)

For Bachillerato students only. Click HERE for information. Deadline: April 7.

Thursday, 15 March 2012

Thursday, 8 March 2012

Maori legends


This is a waka.

This is the map of New Zealand. What is the relation between the map and The Legend of Maui and the Magic Fishhook?




Tell me the names in Maori of the different islands.

Monday, 5 March 2012

Your Haikus (E1ºC)


Forests have been cut
by the anger of chain saws
to take from them wood
("Deforestation", by Laura G. and Alejandro G.) 

If you are alone
happiness is always there
to give you colour 
("Alone with Happiness", by Marta Z. and Steveen T.) 

Sunset finds a voice
of a strange boy with a rose
for his beauty lost
("Love" by Alicia M. and Concha L.)

You are suffering
the death takes your life away
and the silence cries
("Dust in the Vault" by Esther L. and Marina L.)

Good work to you all!