A phizzwizard (E2ºC)

As you know, the BFG collected dreams that he kept in jars to later blow them into children´s bedrooms. The phizzwizard is the best kind of dream (the trogglehumper is the worst, he never used those). The other day in class you had to write a phizzwizard, here follows one of them:

"I had a phizzwizard yesterday. I was in my bed, then I went to the kitchen for a glass of milk and when I came back to my bed I went on sleeping. I phizzwizarded that I was flying with money around me and that I was swimming in money. I was the richest man in the world. I had a four-floor mansion and a one million dollar Bugatti. The crisis was over, and whenever I saw a homeless person I gave him five thousand dollars for them to have a house, food and water. I also went to a TV show called "The Anonymous Millionaire" and gave money to people who needed it. I also had three yachts with swimming pools, a good captain and better girls. Let´s talk about my family: I had a gorgeous wife and three beautiful sons. I phizzwizarded that I went with them to Antarctica and we saw a lot of Polar bears....." (by Razvan, E2ºC).

Past Perfect vs Past Simple (E2ºC)

Here you are some on-line practice on the Past Perfect-Past Simple contrast. Click on the links, the exercises are self-corrected.

-Link 1
-Link 2
-Link 3
-Link 4
-Link 5
-Link 6
-Link 7

This should be enough.

The PQE method

This is an example of how the P (point) Q (quote) E (explain) method works in a question about Tom, Sid, the Goth and the Ghost:

-How does Tom feel at the beginning of the story?

1. POINT (answer to the question): He feels very annoyed.

2. QUOTE (evidence from the text that proves your point): “I was pretty annoyed that no one had told me what was going on beforehand. It wasn´t as if Mum and Dad had been at each other´s throats for months, like my friend Luke´s parents before the split up”

3. EXPLAIN (paraphrase the quote using your own words, show me you have understood it):  He was annoyed because his parents´ separation came as a complete surprise for him so he was not prepared for it. Apparently they had a relation without important problems, for example he never saw them arguing. On the contrary his friend Luke realized his parents were going to split up because they were always arguing, so he was prepared when the finally separated.

-The full answer should be like this (you don´t have to write the three steps separately). Check the linking devices (underlined in the text):

 Tom feels very annoyed as we can see in this quotation: “I was pretty annoyed that no one had told me what was going on beforehand. It wasn´t as if Mum and Dad had been at each other´s throats for months, like my friend Luke´s parents before the split up”. In  other words, he was annoyed because his parents´ separation was a complete surprise for him so he wasn´t prepared for it. Apparently they had a relation without important problems, for example he never saw them arguing. On the contrary his friend Luke realized his parents were going to split up because they were always quarrelling, so when they finally separated the situation was not as shocking as for Tom.

The PQE method (E2C)

This is an example of how the P (point) Q (quote) E (explain) method works:

-Does the BFG fit in the Giant Country? (Find the answer in the Scene 3 Snozzcumber and Frobscottle).

1. POINT:The BFG does not fit in the Giant country.

2. QUOTE: “You is an insult to the giant peoples! You is not fit to be a giant!”

3. EXPLAIN: Fleshlumpeater tells the BFG he does not belong in the Giant Country because unlike the other giants he does not want to eat human beings, he finds it revolting.

The full answer should be like this (you don´t have to write the three steps separately):

The BFG does not fit in the Giant country. Fleshlumpeater tells the BFG : “You is an insult to the giant peoples! You is not fit to be a giant!” . He thinks the BFG does not belong in the Giant Country since he does not want to eat human beings, he finds it revolting, unlike the other giants who love eating humans (particularly children).

Life in the future (E1B)

"I think there won´t be schools in the future. Maybe scientists will create a chip that will keep all the information that can be learned. People won´t dress with clothes, they might be inside a "health robot". This robot will consist in a metal suit of armor that keeps a warm temperature and gives you whatever you want such as health and delicious food.

Holidays will last the whole year because without school, kids won´t have to do anything. People will have a gun that will project in 6D a landscape that you can choose, so you´ll be able to go to the beach by just pulling the trigger!

In the future people might not use means of transport because the robots where people are inside might also teletransport them anywhere in the world in just one second".

By Álvaro G. (E1ºB). Great ideas!

Gobblefunk in E2C!

Several students in E2ºC suggested gobblefunk terms (with definitions) inspired by the giants´ "language" in Roald Dahl´s The BFG. Here are some...

Sara suggests (among 33 other words): SQUIZZLET (adj., very small), to SPLATCHBUNKUM (v., to sleep), to SLOSHFUNKLY (v., to like), SCRUMDIDDLYSTER (adj., something scary), to ROTIDGY (v., to walk in circles), GLUMPERS (adj.,bad people), to WHIZZBLY (v., to call someone whistling), CRUMPELINGUTEROUS (adj.,something scary), SNITCHFLUNKING (adj., very thin)... Great work Sara, you are a Gobblefunk expert!

Álex puts forward to SNOZZPOPPER (v.,to make noise with the nose), CHIDDILLIES (n.,babies), TROGGLESOME (adj.,ugly), MOOCHSTER (n.,monster).

Sofía B. has invented TROGGLEBUNKING (adj., very difficult), SQUIZZLERS (n., like a chill, but stronger), PIFFLESTER (n., someone really nice who lets you down when you have problems").

Let´s see what Silvia mentions: to FOOTCHSWITCH (v.,to kick witches), CHIDDPOPPER (n., children who make bubbles with their tongue), to TROGGLESQUIDDLY (v., to swallow very fast), SCUDDUMPTIOUS (adj., a person who is easily frightened), to DUMWIGGLER (v., to make magic).

Javier proposes HIPSTERSQUEAKING (adj., a fanatic of Starbucks)

Mihai mentions SQUIZZELING (v., to do silly things), FROBKIN (adj., delicious), BOGGLESQUASH (n., swimming-pool), SNOZZUMPTIONS (adj., a person who doesn´t like waiting).

Wondercrump work! (a bit buggles, but scrumdiddlyumptious anyway!)

The skateboard kid story (E1B)

Have a look at some of the articles you wrote yesterday in class about the skateboard kid in Tom, Sid, the Goth and the Ghost. Can you correct the mistakes? (they are indicated in bold). Remember we all learn from mistakes (I also make them. All the time...).

1."Ryan Grey was a boy of fourteen years that was riding his skateboard on the park with his friends when his friends and he decided to do a race. They all got ready to start in a zebra crossing. Ryan indicated the start of the race, all start riding his skateboard going down a street. Ryan was the first, when he started to riding in a  road, suddenly he didn´t see that a truck was back him. The conductor was drunk so he don´t saw the boy and run over him. The terrible accident occur on a sunday morning".


2."Last friday a man who was drank cause an accident whit zero injured and one kill. Domus Black was diving under the effect of alcohol hit with his brand new Jaguar a fourten years old teenager called Ryan Grey. It happen in the corner of Sid street and Chucky street. Domus Black, a therty four years old rock star was drinking with his friends. Two hours previous his concert that was taking place in the Santiago Bernabéu that same night. When he got out of the car he didn´t think it twice and take his key from one of his friends´ jacket, took the car and started diving very fast down Sid street. While he was diving he fell asleep and his car got on the pavement. Ryan Grey, who was skating [   ] the same pavement didn´t have time to scape from the fatal and horrible accident".

3."It was a nice day when Ryan Grey asked his fathers if he could go to ride, but what he didn´t know was that it would be his last ride. He´d been skating in the park until it became very late, so it was [     ] night. He decided to return to home by the Buncheburgo street (which was the street of Ryan´s house). When he was returning home very calm, when he saw two lights at his left. He looked quickly to the lights and he realised that it was a truck. The next thing we know about him is that he appeared dead in the Buncheburgo street with a skateboard in his hand and a stain of blood".

About The BFG: Roald Dahl´s gobblefunk (E2C)

Roald Dahl loved playing around with words and invented many new ones. In The BFG he gave this strange  and funny language the name of Gobblefunk. He created this new language using these strategies:

1.Wordplay. Dahl uses language to create humour, often driving us crazy with our sense of logic and order. In his invented language there are:
 *spoonerisms (transposing the initial letters or syllables of 2 or more words):  catasterous disastrophe is a "disastrous catastrophe", swigpill is "pigswill" (a disgusting food or drink),
*malapropisms (using a word in mistake for one sounding similar):  human bean instead of "human being".
*deliberate misspellings: norphan instead of "orphan".


2.Onomatopoeia (hopefully you remember from last year). A trogglehumper is a "nightmare" (try to say the word: the way it sounds indicates something really diasgreeable).

3.Similes and metaphors.

4.Alliteration or repetition of sounds (the BFG describes himself as brimful of buzzburgers).

5.Puns and nonsense words (Crunchem Hall primary school = "Crunch them all", a school were students are treated badly, "Am I right or left?"...)

Here are some words he invented with their definition (adapted from English 4 everyone), but rememeber you mustn´t learn by heart Dahl´s gobblefunk, the idea is to try and guess the meaning and basically to have fun with words: 


-SNOZZCUMBER: The BFG refuses to eat people, so he must survive on this revolting bitter vegetable. 
-FROBSCOTTLE: A delicious, fizzy and refreshing drink.
-WHIZZPOPPERS: The bubbles in frobscottle travel curiously downwards so they cause the drinker to 'break wind' instead of burp, this causes noises known as whizzpoppers.
-BLABBERSNITCH:  a creature that lives at the bottom of the sea
-CRODSCOLLOP:  A mouth-watering flavour; for example, the taste of chocolate ice cream 
-BUGGLES:  means completely crazy 
-GOGGLER:  an eye 
-OOMPA-LOOMPA:  A very small person.  A tribe of them work in Willy Wonka´s fantastic chocolate factory.
-HORNSWOGGLER:  A very dangerous creature. 
-PHIZZ-WHIZZING:  Means brilliant or really good! 
-SPLATCH-WINKLE: Splatch-winkling means rushing around; in a hurry 
-RINGBELLER:  The BFG´s word for an amazingly excellent dream; the complete opposite of a nightmare 
-SVOLLOP:  To svollop something means to destroy it. 
-TIME-TWIDDLER:  A time-twiddler is very special.  Time-twiddlers are immortal; they live forever and ever. 
-VERMICIOUS KNID:  Watch out!  These beasts are vicious killers who can fool you by changing shape. 
-WHOOPSY-SPLUNKERS:  Used to describe something absolutely marvellous.   

As The BFG says: “Words is oh such a twitch-tickling problem to me all my life.... I know exactly what words I am wanting to say, but somehow or other they is always getting squiff-squiddled around.”

Now discover some really scrumdiddlyumptious facts about Roald Dahl here. 

Sleepy Hollow (E1B)

-Watch the trailer for this film (Sleepy Hollow), describe the setting and the characters and explain some of the events in the plot.
-How is this story similar to The Canterville Ghost?

Hansel and Gretel (a very modern version) (E2C)

This is the beginning of a peculiar version of Hansel and Gretel we gave you to work with (adapted by Catherine from a story by Chloe Maclean): 

“In a large house in the middle of the city lived two children, Hansel and Gretel. Their parents were poor, due to the global financial crisis and they couldn’t afford to keep their children. They sat together and talked it over. Finally they decided to take the kids into the shopping centre and abandon them there where they would get lost, (because shopping centres are becoming so big these days.)
“Hansel, Gretel. We’re going shopping,” declared their mother.
“Go away, we’re busy!” snapped Hansel, pounding away at his Xbox controller.
“Mmmmm,” agreed Gretel, through a mouthful of chips.
The mother edited the plan.
“We’ll go to McDonalds on the way back.”
They perked up instantly.

The two bratty children were trotting beside their mother.
“I’m bored.” whined Gretel.
“I’m boreder,” moaned Hansel.
“Not a word!” snapped Gretel.
The children began to argue amongst themselves and their mother took the opportunity to leave.

Gretel’s eyes grew wide.
“Mummy?” she squeaked. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know!” Hansel said, his voice shaking.
Gretel began to cry....."

  

And this is how Daniel and Razvan finished the story: 

"They started to see a lot of people screaming, so they decided to go with that group of persons to find help. In that place, One Direction were signing books. The band saw Hansel and Gretel in the crowd. They felt so bad for them that  they went to see what was happening. Hansel and Gretel told them what was going on, so the group decided to adopt them. They were all so happy!

One night the band went to a disco with them. Hansel started singing rap and Gretel started twerking with Miley Cyrus. Miley liked them, so he decided to to take them home with her, making them twerk all day long. 

One Direction were worried about them so they started to to look for them. They finally called Miley. She answered and told them she didn´t know anything, but they could hear "save us from the twerking witch" so Niall went to save them and lived happily forever".

Little Red Riding Hood (Some Like It Hot version)

Watch this crazy version of Little Red Riding Hood by Tex Avery. Thanks to María Moreno for the link and the activities!

Presentations (E1B)

(This information is for ESO 1ºB only).

-The presentations, as you know, will be on December 2.

-You must speak for at least one minute.

-You can´t read your presentation.

-Choose one of these topics:

1.“A DAY I WILL REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE”

2.”A FANTASTIC JOURNEY I HAVE MADE”

3.”MY HERO”

4.”WHAT I AM GOOD AT”

5.”MY DREAM JOB”

6.”MY MOST FRIGHTENING EXPERIENCE”

Debates (E2C)

(This information is for ESO 2ºC only)

Instructions for the debate:

-The pairs will be the same as the ones I organized for Kathryn´s speaking practice on Thursday.There will be a group of three people. If you want to work with a different person and the rest of your partners agree on the change, it´s OK for me but let me know first.

-In each group, one member will be for the statement and the other will be against. If you have the same opinion on the topic, one will have to pretend.
-The script with the debate must be handed in to the teacher by Friday 22, I´ll give them back to you, with my corrections, the next Monday.
-The debates will begin on Monday 2 (December).
-Each member in the group must speak at least 3 minutes.
-Participation of the rest of the students in the debate (questions at the end) will be rewarded.

-Evaluation: 1 point.
 

-Topics of the debate (they are suggestions, you can think of other topics but tell me first): 

1. I couldn´t live without the internet.

2. Bilingual education is great.

3. I wouldn´t mind working abroad in the future.

4. Teamwork activities are my favourite at school.

5. I would rather study in a private school.

6. Recycling is a bore.

7. Secondary school students should wear uniforms.

8. Doctors should get a higher salary than football players.

9. Mobile phones should be allowed at schools.

10. Success in life means money.

11. Parents should let us do whatever we want.

-Each group must choose a different topic. Choose the topic fast! The first to tell me their choice will get it; if you are too late you may have to choose a different one.