Your special Spanish omelette

In this unit we are learning to cook. Everyone knows (more or less) how to cook Spanish omelette. But do you have special tips to prepare it? Please share your secret recipe with your classmates.

Two songs for baby 7 billion

Are you optimistic or pessimistic about our world? Here you have two famous songs with two different views.

We keep reading...

Juan José Cintado and Jorge Luceño told us about the books they've just read: King Arthur and his knights and Robin Hood. They told us about the plot and the characters. It was very interesting. Who's next?

Our self-portraits were great!

In unit 2 we were learning how to describe ourselves. We used different colours to describe our personality: red for active, energetic people; yellow for relaxed and cheerful; green for friendly and open; blue for calm; brown for warm and black for rebellius.
24 posters for 24 different people. We had all the colours and most of the works were really artistic. Congratulations!

SONG: HERO

READING...

Javier Luceño was the first student to tell us about the book he has just read. He spoke about the Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde. Javier did it really well and we participated asking him questions about the story.

The heroes at Fukushima Nuclear Plant

Would you risk your life for other people? Well, some people do. They are real heroes. The heroes at Fukushima have just been awarded the Prince of Asturias.
Read about them and enter comments with your opinion.




The 2011 Prince of Asturias Award for Concord has been bestowed on the “heroes of Fukushima”. The Jury for the Award announced its decision today in Oviedo.

This group of people represent the highest values of the human condition by trying to prevent, through their sacrifice, the nuclear disaster caused by the tsunami that struck Japan from multiplying its devastating effects, disregarding the grave consequences that this decision would have on their lives. Their courageous and exemplary behaviour has earned them the international epithet “heroes of Fukushima”.

Following the massive earthquake and tsunami that occurred in north-eastern Japan on March 11, 2011 and which caused around 28,000 deaths and displaced some 350,000 people, Fukushima nuclear power plant suffered significant damage resulting in hydrogen explosions and fusion of nuclear fuel. The International Atomic Energy Agency and the Japanese government initially placed the alert levels between 5 and 6 on a scale of 7, and finally at 7, as after the Chernobyl accident.

Despite major uncertainty regarding the development of the nuclear emergency, the different groups that worked for weeks in Fukushima did so under extreme conditions (high radiation, continuously rotating shifts and only a few hours of rest, and limited supplies of food and drinking water). Despite these grave consequences, they continued to participate in the efforts to regain control of the nuclear plant, aware of how essential their work was to prevent a catastrophe of even greater magnitude.

The work was carried out by different groups of people: employees of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the plant’s operator; of its 130 workers, 50 volunteered, as did some workers who had already retired or were nearing retirement, and, after increasing the number of rotating shifts and the needs for personnel, additional staff was hired (by May 3, 1,312 workers had intervened in Fukushima); fire fighters from various prefectures, especially from Tokyo, who participated in the work of cooling the reactors, a key task to restore control of the plant; and the police forces and Self-Defence Forces of Japan, whose work cooling the reactors by launching water from helicopters, inspecting the damage from the air, cordoning off the exclusion area and evacuating people when the reactors emitted very high doses of radiation was very important.

The behaviour of these people has also embodied the values most deeply rooted in Japanese society, such as the sense of duty, personal and family sacrifice for the greater good and dignity in the face of adversity, humility, generosity and courage.

http://www.fpa.es/en/press/news/the-heroes-of-fukushima-2011-prince-of-asturias-award-for-concord/

Do you remember the Chilean miners?

The Chilean miners were rescued a year ago, in October 2010. Do you remember the story. Here you have a summary. Please, read it and then enter you comments telling how you and your family followed this shocking accident with a happy ending. After reading, answer the following questions:

a)What happened?
b)When did it happen?
c)Where did it happen?
d)How long were the miners trapped?
e)What did everybody fear?
f)What did the government do to find the miners?
g)How did the miners communicate they were alive?
h)When were the miners rescued?

"The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known as the "Chilean mining accident", began in the afternoon of Thursday, 5 August 2010 as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San José copper–gold mine. The mine is located deep in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest regions in the world. The buried men, who became known as "Los 33" ("The 33"), were trapped 700 meters (2,300 ft) underground. The mixed crew of experienced miners and technical support personnel subsequently survived for a record 69 days deep underground before their rescue. During this time the world feared that the workers had probably not survived the collapse or would have starved to death before they were found, if ever.

The nation's tremendous outpouring of public concern for the 33 lost miners led the national government to take over the faltering search and rescue operation. Eight exploratory boreholes were hastily drilled. Seventeen days after the accident, on 22 August, a note written in bold red letters appeared taped to a drill bit when it was pulled to the surface after penetrating an area believed to be accessible to the trapped workers. It read simply "Estamos bien en el refugio, los 33" (English: "We are well in the shelter, the 33"). The nation of Chile erupted into a wave of euphoria and demanded that Chile's leaders find a way to bring the trapped workers safely home to their waiting families.

Once the government rescuers knew that the men were alive, Chile implemented a comprehensive plan to both nurture the workers during their entrapment and to rescue the miners from the depths. After 69 days trapped deep underground, all 33 men were brought safely to the surface on 13 October 2010 over a period of almost 24 hours."

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

TEST 1 REVISION

How did you do in Test 1? Here you have some general information and tips:

A. Vocabulary. Most of you had problems with the word bank. This exercise is very demanding and you have to prepare (=practise and study)the new words. My advice is that you make sure you have the correct meaning of all the words in the workbook word bank. And, of course, you have to study. Anyway, this was the first test and I'm sure you'll do better next time.

C. Questions. Some people had problems to write correct questions. Don't panic! This is quite common. The only secret is practice. So, here you have a website to practise asking questions.
You also have an exercise to download and practise in our 3º ESO site. This is for homework.

D.E. Some students don't know how to write "WHICH". Pleeeaaase! And some forgot the "s" with the 3rd person singular. Typical! "A doctor is a person who cureS ill people."

F. Did some of you forget to revise the photocopy with adjectives and definitions? I think so.

G. When using adverbs the problem was the use of verb tenses really. Some of you wrote: "Maybe I go to the cinema" instead of "Maybe I will go to the cinema" (future). But you can use it with present when describing people (Maybe she is a bit shy) or abilities (Maybe she can speak Spanish), etc.
If you feel you have problems, don't miss the British Council explanations and practice.

H. Reading. This was the first reading and we have to practise... a lot! We have to learn how to form correct answers without copying the whole text. Don't worry. We'll do it.

I. Writing. As with the reading, we have to practise our writing to avoid some problems such as too elementary mistakes, too short compositions, repetition, copying from the texts and these sort of things. And YES, you have to be able to write 100 words about... anything.

YES, WE CAN!

Present simple or present continuous

Here you have some verb tenses practice. Have fun!
Exercise 0
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3

5 TIPS TO BECOME A GOOD STUDENT

Do you consider yourself a good student? Do you think you could be a better one? Is it possible to learn? Read these 5 tips to become a good student and give your opinion.

RUNNING DICTATION

It was half past one, we were tired and hungry, so the "running dictation" was a great way to enliven the class.

The text was short and easy. Each group had their own sheet of paper but placed... on the other side of the room! To do the dictation a member of each group (the runner) had to go to the text, try to remember one sentence and then return to the group and dictate it to the writer. If the runners forgot the sentence they were allowed to go back and read it again.

We all had the opportunity to be runners and writers, so we could stretch our legs a bit. All the groups finished the dictation. We all won!

THE IDEAL TEACHER

Does the perfect teacher exist or is it science fiction? Click here and read information about what an ideal teacher should be like. Then add your comments with your own ideas.

DEBATE: ARE UNIFORMS A GOOD IDEA?

3rd year students were debating about the use of uniforms. Are uniforms more convenient? Are they boring? What would you do if Norba school decided to make students wear uniforms? Read an article about this issue and then give your own opinion adding a comment.

http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:School_Uniform_(JUNIOR)


The question of whether children should wear a uniform to school always makes for a lively debate, and not only among students! In some countries school uniform is normal and most schools make their students wear one. Britain is the most obvious example of this, but in many other countries with strong links to Britain uniform often has to be worn to school - examples include Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, South Africa and many other African countries. Uniform is also required at almost all schools in Japan. In other countries, particularly in continental Europe, the USA and Canada, uniform is very rare in state-funded schools, although private schools may have one. Debates about school uniform have been going on for decades in different countries and districts, but during the 1990s state schools in the USA began to adopt uniforms. At first uniform rules were seen as a way of stopping children dressing in gang colours in troubled urban areas. Later, claims that introducing uniform leads to better discipline and educational results encouraged other school districts and schools to make a change. Both the Clinton and Bush administrations have been in favour of school uniforms. Other countries have picked up on this trend.

whether=if (si)
should=deberían
lively=animado
state-funded school=escuelas públicas
claims=afirmaciones
encouraged=animó
have picked up on this trend=han seguido esta tendencia

THE STORY BEHIND YOUR NAME

Do you know the reason why your name is your name? Is there a story behind it? Did your parents almost name you something else? Do you know where your name comes from? What does you name mean in that language? Please, add a comment and share all this information with your classmates.

YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME

Complete the missing words and sing along...

YOU’VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME

see-friendship-road-folks-bigger-bed-troubles-smarter-love

You've got a friend in me,
You've got a friend in me
When the _________ looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles from your nice warm __________
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me,
you've got a friend in me.
You've got a friend in me,
You've got a friend in me

You've got ________, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we ___________ it through
‘cause you've got a friend in me,
you've got a friend in me

Some other ___________ might be a little bit __________ than I am
Bigger and ___________ too. Maybe
But none of them will ever __________ you
the way I do It's me and you, boy.
And as the years go by,
our __________ will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me,
you've got a friend in me,
You've got a friend in me