Have a Good Summer!

Dear students,

The school year is almost finished. Although sometimes it was a bit difficult, now I can say it's been a pleasure having you as my students. I hope you have learned new things and I wish you keep on learning. In the future you'll see how important it is to speak foreign languages. You know how to contact me for whatever you want or need. Good luck!

Enjoy your summer holidays!

Would you like to visit Mark Twain's house?

We have already read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. To finish up with the activity, you handed in a reader's report and you took a test. As you know, the author of the book is Mark Twain. This is a very interesting website through which you can learn about the writer, as well as visit his museum and enjoy a virtual tour around his house.

Easter

Before the holidays we learnt what Easter is and how it is celebrated in different parts of the world. We also learnt about its religious and pagan origins.

This is the worksheet we used in class. I hope you learnt many things.

Enjoy the holidays!

Easter

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April Fool's Day

April Fool's Day, or All Fools' Day, is the first day of April. It is a traditional day for playing pranks on unsuspecting people. In many countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, people play tricks on others. A favourite joke is to send someone on a fool's errand (a search for something that does not exist), or to get people to believe ridiculous things. The victim is called an April Fool.

No one knows where the April Fools' custom began. The origin is uncertain but may be related to the arrival of spring in late March, when nature "fools" humanity with changes in weather. Another explanation has to do with the change to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, which moved New Year's Day to January 1.

The tradition originated in France and Great Britain and it was introduced into America in colonial times.

The French call April 1 "Poisson d'Avril" or "April Fish". French children sometimes stick a picture of a fish on the back of their schoolmates, crying "Poisson d'Avril" when the prank is discovered.

St. Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17th. In Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is both a holy day and a national holiday. Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland because he brought Christianity to the Irish.

According to legend, Saint Patrick used a shamrock (a type of clover) to explain about God. The shamrock has three leaves on each stem. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea of the Trinity – that in the one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Although it began in Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries around the world. People with Irish heritage remind themselves of the beautiful green countryside of Ireland by wearing green and taking part in the festivities.

Saint Patrick’s Day is usually celebrated with a parade. The one in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is very famous. But the one in New York City is one of the biggest. It lasts for hours.

One tale about Patrick is that he drove the snakes from Ireland. This is a metaphor for his bringing Christianity to Ireland and driving out the pagan religions. It’s true that Ireland has no snakes, but this has to do with the fact that Ireland is an island and being separated from the rest of the continent the snakes couldn’t get there.

Play a game here and have good luck! You can also read poems and listen to songs for this special day here.

Computers and the History of the English Language

There is a computer programme that can be used to know which the oldest English words are and which ones will probably disappear in the future. If you click here you can read the whole article (in Spanish).

Thanks for the information, Tomás!

I Wish You a Merry Christmas!

We have already begun our Christmas holidays. I hope you enjoy yourselves and have lots of fun. Here are some interesting online activities for you to review English and have a good time:

If you want to learn some Christmas vocabulary by joining words and pictures, click here.

If you prefer to review what British people do at Christmas, click here.

Would you prefer something more challenging? Well, do this quiz on how people celebrate Christmas all over the world.

Here you can read and listen to a story about Christmas Day and here you can listen to a song about Santa. Go here if you prefer a story about his helper.

And now that you are an expert on Christmas, why don't you help Santa choose the best presents for some kids here?

Thanksgiving Day

The fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving Day in the USA. These days we will learn about both its origin and the way people celebrate it nowadays.

If you click here you'll visit a wonderful website where you'll be able to experience the first Thanksgiving feast.

If you prefer to read about their food (both in English and Spanish), click here.

And here is the worksheet we will work on in class. I hope you learn interesting things about how Americans spend this special day with their friends and family. And of course, I hope you have no doubt when and how to use Present and Past Simple!

Thanksgiving

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