Nativity Scene in Fátima

Nativity Scene in Óbidos

Your Teacher's 2014 Reading Challenge

Joining Goodreads in Jan 2012 was one of the best things I have ever done to improve my reading standards. As you may know, this website was founded in 2006 and "allows individuals to freely search Goodreads' extensive user-populated database of books, annotations, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists" (Wikipedia)
It's now the world's largest-site for readers and book recommendations and by allowing readers to set goals, I (certainly like so many others) do my best to achieve them!
For 2012 I had set my goal in reading 24 books and tough as it was juggling reading, schoolwork, housework, kids... I promised myself I would do it. And I did!!!For 2013, I was more modest and my Reading Challenge was 20 books - and so was the goal for the current year of 2014.

Besides the easiness with which all readers can keep track of their readings (or lack of them!), the visual reminders (or rather, the gadgets with the shelf and counting the books we can embed in our blogs / websites) have also worked for me either telling me I am one / two books ahead or behind and I become aware that I have to allocate more time to my reading (even if that means sleeping fewer hours ;) )
In the beginning of December, even before I had completed this year's reading goal, the nice folks at Goodreads sent me this:

- the list of books I have read throughout 2014

- the stats of those books

How pleased I was!!! This is another reason why I'm definitely joining their 2015 Reading Challenge!!!

What about you? Why don't you try it for 2015??? Challenge yourself and let me/us know!

One last thing...
Here's my top book recommendation from the ones I read in 2014 using a web 2.0 free tool we've tried before Vine (remember, João Carecho and Diogo Ricardo?)

Happy Reading(s) :)

Merry Christmas

I wish you all a Merry Christmas <3

Merry Christmas, by Carolina

Merry Christmas y'all!

In class I shared with you a Christmas song whose aim was to raise awareness and money for a world problem; this time I'm sharing a famous (and viral!) Christmas advertisement which also includes music and depicts real / historical events. But that's enough as far as I am concerned... as for you:
1. Where and When did the events take place?
2. What can be heard? How do you explain it?
3. What's the sequence of events in the advertisement?
4. If it's an advertisement, what's being advertised? ´
5. Why now? What is so special about Christmas 2014 in this context?
6. How would you describe Jim's act by coming out from the trenches?
7. Research a bit and share here what you find on "Sainsbury's", "No Man's Land", "Christmas Truce".
8. What's fictional? What's real?

If you are into Reading and / or wish to know more about this, do check

- a very short book / longer poem by Carol Ann Duffy called The Christmas Truce;

- a beautiful book with an even more beautiful message by Dr Seuss How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

- the classic tale by Charles Dickens with his famous Scrooge A Chrismas Carol; 

- another amazing book but on WW I, War Horse;

I'm sure you've already come across other books and movies on these events, so why don't you leave your suggestions here, too?

In the meantime,

Happy Reading and Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas

Christmas is a celebration, which marks the birth of Jesus Christ.
People exchange gifts to remember the Three Wise Men (in Portuguese: Melchior, Gaspar and Baltazar) who offered gifts to the child after his birth.
The Santa character was inspired by a Roman bishop from the fifth century, "St. Nicholas", which offered, on 6 December, donations in secret, to the daughters of a very poor man. Gradually this day merged with the Christmas period and was immortalised by a Coca Cola advertisement some decades ago featuring an iconic Santa Claus.

Merry Christmas to all and many gifts in your (little) shoe!!!!

Merry Christmas

Christmas is a day on which we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. In ancient times, Christmas was celebrated on several different dates because they did not know exactly the date of Jesus' birth. It was only in the fourth century that December 25 was established as the official date of celebration. 
In ancient Rome, December 25 was the date on which the Romans celebrated the beginning of winter. Therefore, it is believed that there is a relationship of this fact with the institutionalization of the Christmas celebration.

The old Christmas celebrations used to last up to 12 days, as this was the time it took for the three Wise Men arrive to the city of Bethlehem and deliver gifts to the infant Jesus. Currently, people often put up their trees and other Christmas decorations in early December and dismantle them until 12 days after Christmas.

From a chronological point of view, Christmas / Jesus' birth is a date of great importance to the West as it marks the first year in our history.

                                             My new pet

   
                                                                  My puppy is Mimi

Christmas Concert in Sobral

Christmas Concert

              Today is our Christmas concert in Sobral - Soure

Santa Claus is coming !!!

Merry Christmas

Nobel Week 2014

Traditionally, the Nobel Prizes are presented to the Laureates at ceremonies on December 10, the date that marks Alfred Nobel's death. We've all heard about him already, but who exactly was Alfred Nobel? Well, you can look for further bio and biblio here, but, in short, he was a Swedish-born inventor and international industrialist who stipulated in his will that his fortune was to be used for prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Psysiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace.

We've already congratulated Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi on their shared Nobel Peace Prize in this blogpost last October; today, that the award ceremonies are taking place in Oslo and Stockholm, let's meet the laureate for 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature: Patrick Modiano, a French writer, hardly known outside France, though translated into English.

If you check http://www.nobelprize.org/ you'll find all you can possibly imagine about the founder, about these prestigious awards, laureates and ceremonies throughout time.

Your fantastic teacher of French, Anita Duarte, has again generously contributed to this blogpost. Please read further, but now in the literature laureate's mother tongue:

Finally, has any Portuguese ever been awarded a Nobel Prize? Yes? How many? Who? In what area(s)? 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!!!!!!

CR7 cissé

Hello everyone!
I wanted to introduce you to my new team "VINHA DA RAINHA".
The team that has a yellow outfit was my old team "Sourense" and the team that has the white outfit is my new team "Vinha da Rainha".
This is the first time I play in this team, and I'm really enjoying it. This is going very well !! I am very proud !!
When I played in Sourense there was a proposal to play with sporting, but my father did not let me go because I was too young.
My dream is to be a professional soccer player. I love playing football.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone !!!!

Welcome December!

Welcome December, the last month of the year and the one that brings us some days off as well as some presents - not all that matters but also contribute for a sense of joy, right?
Here you have a personalized calender for this December 2014 and below, if you click on the link, you'll have an Advent Calendar in which a new window pops up every single day :)

Click on...

http://pearsonelt.es/adventcalendar/ 

Thanksgiving Day

What is Thanksgiving Day?


The Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. In the US it is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and in Canada, on the second Saturday of October.
Facts about Thanksgiving Day

As its name implies, the Thanksgiving Day is a day where people come together to show their gratitude for the blessings received during the year, also expressing affection for their friends and family. This is one of the most important holidays in the US and Canada, along with Christmas and the New Year. The Thanksgiving Day is therefore a family holiday, where it is normal to make long trips to visit relatives. Another great tradition of this holiday is the food. Families celebrate this day with great gastronomic variety where they typically eat turkey (so it is also known as Turkey Day - Turkey Day), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, apple pie, pecan pie, among many other things

There is a ceremony on Thanksgiving Day where the American President pardons two turkeys (an officer and a reserve), thereby saving the animals from the same fate of the other 46 million turkeys - the estimate number of turkeys that is eaten in the public holiday.The Thanksgiving Day is also well known for big parades. The best known of all is Macy's Parade in New York, where hundreds of participating media figures and characters from the world of childhood and fantasy like Mickey, Spiderman and others meet. On Thanksgiving Day there are also football games, one of the most popular sports in America.The Friday after Thanksgiving Day is known as Black Friday. On that day, several shops have amazing promotions, and for this reason, the stores are overcrowded, so that every year, there are always cases of clashes between customers struggling as they try to get the same products.

The First Thanksgiving

The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in the United States in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, by pilgrims (the founders of the village) together with their Indian friends who had helped them survive.

After the crops were severely damaged by the harsh winter, the colonists had a good corn harvest the following summer, in 1621. To mark the occasion and celebrate that difficult year in terms of agriculture, the governor of the village decided to organize a party in the autumn of 1621. This party was attended by about 90 Indians and ducks were eaten, turkey, fish and corn. From this year onwards, in New England, each autumn a feast of Thanksgiving to God was organized because of good harvests  In 1863, Abraham Lincoln (president at the time) announced that the last Thursday of November would be known as the National Day of Thanksgiving.

Spreading Gratitude

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.” 
CÍCERO

I hope today's activity has taught you there is a lot to be thankful for in our every day life; two words, THANK YOU, or even shorter, THANKS, can make a whole difference in our hearts, in other people's hearts, and in the way we face life.

As for the English class itself, well, there is a collaborative document in your gmail account so that each of you can add info on Thanksgiving, a very important festivity in the USA. This time, I flipped it a bit, in other words: below you can find some videos and / or links for you to go through and then be able to do your share. Easy, right? You just have to click on the link of the googledoc I've just sent you, read what you are expected to do, browse / watch the videos and then summarize the info to write down in our shared document. Any questions? Just send me an email, ok?

25points. Deadline: Saturday, 12:00. 

Thank you!

I could direct you to amazing websites out there in the web, but I would rather you focus your time and attention in a single one which encapsulates the relevant info. Please check the written material as well as the videos at http://www.history.com/topics/thanksgiving to accomplish your task!

Source: http://www.nrm.org/2013/11/giving-thanks/?lang=en

Sadness

Oh, my friends, I've had my hair cut!!!! I'm so sad...

Groups

Whether in class or outdoors, we all like being in groups or belonging to a group - true?
Have a look at the following sequence of advertising clips by De Lijn, a Flemish transport company which runs almost 4000 buses and around 400 trams.



Now say...
1- How many clips are there?
2- What animals are included in each of the clips?
3- What situation is REALLY portrayed by the animal clips?
4- How does it apply to our classroom / classes / ourselves?
5- Are there any other videos you know of featuring this relevant issue you can share here?

Hope you have as much fun as I did :) Thank you!

StickStuckStuck

I know you just loveeeeee the repetition of irregular verbs in class :=)

Well, here is something especially for you. Until Monday 23:59, and for 10 points...

- What do you think of this hip hop irregular verb song?  Does it "stick"?

- How do you learn better? With music? Videos? ...?

- What do you understand by "Relax. Repeat. Remember."?

- Add 5 more irregular verbs you've already come across this school year ;)

Now, enjoy it - until the very end!

I wanted to thank you all for having me in your class . Here is one kiss from your friend Carolina .

Tradition To Our Table

Chestnut season is here!

Tradition says that on November 11th there are chestnuts at our table, right?
Here are my fresh chestnuts ready to go to the oven to be roasted. Can't wait to eat them with my boys and husband. What about you?

In France traditions are different, though.

Please check this info shared by your teacher, Anita Duarte.

Pas d'école le 11 novembre! Mais pourquoi?

Le 11 novembre, le président de la République François Hollande et deux adolescents déposent une gerbe devant la tombe du soldat inconnu, sur laquelle brûle en permanence une flamme.

 © Philippe Wojazer/ Pool/ AFP

1jour1actu.com/ 

Guessing Activity - WHO IS (S)HE?

Guessing Activity for all:

1. Here are the descriptions (some of) you handed out.
2. Seven (short) texts for you to identify who the classmate is - boy or girl!
3. One entry each, you just need to write down the number and the name, ok?
4. Only on Monday will I say who the winner is: the first to successfully identify the classmates and write down their names in the correct order in a comment.
5. Besides the 10 points, the prize will be a (real) WRISTWATCH :)

1 - She is thin and short. Her hair is shoulder-length, wavy and brown. She is a bit boring, bossy and impatient.

2 - She is a very energetic girl - sometimes TOO energetic – and she is talkative and a little bossy. She has got long wavy dark hair; she is quite tall and slim (but not that skinny) and has some zits. She has got beautiful light brown eyes and thin lips.

3 - He is a very short and thin boy; his eyes are brown and he has got short straight brown hair. He can be very fun, but sometimes he can also be boring. He is a great friend though, and he helps me whenever I need.

                                                                                                                                                

4 - She is a very beautiful girl. She has got hazel eyes and wears glasses and she has got long straight light brown hair. She is thin, of medium height, drinks a lot of water and loves reading. She is very a friendly, caring, honest and talkative girl.

She is one of the classmates I can relate best in class.

She is everything I did not think of her.

5 - He is tall and slim.

He has got short spiky brown hair.

His eyes are brown and he is very friendly; he's funny, generous and nice, but also a bit lazy.

He is not only very photogenic but also very skillful with computers.

                                                        

6 - He is tall and slim. He has got black hair and wears glasses.

He’s cheerful, talkative and energetic.

He usually wears jeans and a shirt or a t-shirt.

7 - He is of medium height and slim. He wears glasses and he’s talkative.

He usually wears jeans, a t-shirt and trainers.

Well, what are you waiting for???

UPDATE:

There were two winners, Joana and João, as both were correct...

As promised, here is a pic with the prize(s):

Book Recommendation, by RAQUEL

It's true that on holidays we all have more time to do what we really like doing, especially reading, but its benefits are so acknowledged and relevant that we should all make time for reading every single day of our lives.
I believe Raquel is one of those people. Please look carefully at her book recommendation, "The Secret Keeper", by Kate Morton, not only in what concerns its content but also format, once she uses a WEB 2.0 tool that is new for many of you, Prezi.
Don't forget to leave your appreciation in the end, ok?

Our Halloween!!!

TRICK OR TREAT

        Joana, Verónica and M. Beatriz - 8ºA!!!








                           1st November is my birthday :)

Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on the night of 31 October. This celebration of Celtic origin is over 2000 years.

Legend has it that on the night of 31 October, the dead return to populate the earth and therefore the personification of the ghost. Its goal was that the family of the dead would leave food and drink on the doorstep for the reception of spirits.

This tradition was taken to America by settlers where Halloween is, today, one of the most popular festivals in the country. Costumed boys and girls roam the neighboring houses repeating the phrase "Trick or Treat?" and receive sweets in exchange for the peace of the homeowners.

From America it has been exported worldwide, including Portugal.

A Spooktacular Halloween!

This free digital greeting card created with Smilebox

One of the most comprehensive and trustworthy sites I often go back to is http://www.history.com/. There you can find lots of info on the History of Halloween, fantastic funny videos as well as infographics. If curious, please check here.
Furthermore, you also have our Wonderopolis below. You can read the info and in the end of the article you'll find a light bulb and a question highlighted in blue. If you click on it, a quiz will pop out. Great, isn't it?

Enjoy a spooktacular Halloween with Marilyn Manson and my favourite Halloween clip - an oldie but goodie from Tim Burton's 'The Nighmare Before Christmas' re-cut with Marilyn Manson's version of 'This Is Halloween' for the re-release of the film in Disney.

 

This is MY favourite, what about yours? And if you're dressing up for Halloween, don't forget to share a pic here :)

National Honour Position

Congrats, dear students!

(Y)our class blog has been awarded with a national Honour Position in what concerns Innovative Initiatives in Teaching / Learning Languages :) at  http://www.erasmusmais.pt/erasmusmais/images/pdfs/erasmus_pulicacao_resultados_141014.pdf 

Full of pride, girls and boys! Hope you feel even more energized to keep your good work.

Did you know...?

Did you know that...

Source: www.jewlicious.com

- today is World Food Day?
- the European Union made 2014 the European Year Against Food Waste?
- tons of fruits and vegetables are thrown away each year?
- there are still thousands of hungry people around the world? And that Portugal is no exception?

Here's a poem in which the author, Laurence Binyon, lets HUNGER speak for itself...

I come among the peoples like a shadow.
I sit down by each man's side.

None sees me, but they look on one another,
And know that I am there.

My silence is like the silence of the tide
That buries the playground of children;

Like the deepening of frost in the slow night,
When birds are dead in the morning.

Armies trample, invade, destroy,
With guns roaring from earth and air.

I am more terrible than armies,
I am more feared than cannon.

Kings and chancellors give commands;
I give no command to any;

But I am listened to more than kings
And more than passionate orators.

I unswear words, and undo deeds.
Naked things know me.

I am first and last to be felt of the living;
I am Hunger.

Taking also into account that our country is undergoing a time of crisis, here's a video I would like to share with you. It's informative but also a great campaign to minimize waste. Please have a close look at The (In)glorious Fruits and Vegetables and then, for 10 points, leave your comment, answering the questions with your parents' help and tips:
1. Do you / your parents agree with this campaign? Why (not)?
2. Should Portugal and the Portuguese supermarkets do the same?
3. Would you / your parents buy such fruits and vegetables? Explain!
4. Please suggest other ways to solve the problem of food waste.



If you are willing to help fight Hunger in the world, why not play a game?
Play and learn online with http://freerice.com/category: a game in which for each answer you get right, they donate 10 grains of rice through the World Food Programme to help end hunger. You can choose subjects, learn and contribute for a worthy cause!!! 
Do try and enjoy :)))