eTwinning European Quality Label

We have been awarded the European Quality Label for our project from last year, Let's Cook Together.

Etw europeanqualitylabel lets_cook_together_2014-2015_es from Ana Arias Castro

New eTwinning Project: Call Me Maybe

This will be our new eTwinning project for this school year 2015-2016:

CALL ME MAYBE

Partner schools

• Gimnazjum nr 23, Poznan, (Poland)
• CPI Tino Grandío, Guntín, Lugo (Spain)
• Tryškių Lazdynų Pelėdos gimnazija (Lithuania)

 Short description
Our students using different methods will enquire about the usage/importance of their mobile phones (frequency, applications, texting, phone calls, etc.) and constant feedback will be received from the partner schools.

Communication language: English

Age range: 12-16

Number of students

• Lithuania 12
• Spain 11
• Poland 12

 Subject areas

• cross-curricular
• ICT- information and communication technology
• maths
• European studies
• foreign languages

 Tools to be used

• mobile phones/iPhones/smartphones
• computers – computer room
• online polls
• questionnaires
• e-mail
• social networks
• blog
• project diary

 Aims
The final aim is to create a newspaper and/or online blog in which students can put all their articles about mobile phones trying to get a critical perspective of their importance and usefulness for European teenagers.

Work process
The students from our schools will decide on the aspects to be dealt with and then they will try to enrich the monthly topics created with their descriptions, charts, photos, sms language, etc.

They will make at least one survey about phones that can help to answer various questions from what are the favorable means of communication with friends and parents to what appliccations they prefer in their mobile phones. Students will collect data using different methods: questionnaires,  interviews, group work.

Communication will take place either using the Twinspace (forums, chatroom) or using social networks. If this last option is chosen, a common hashtag will have to be used. (very good)

Expected results

• An increase of cooperative skills and competence.
• Better ICT competence.
• An improvement of our students communicative competence in English.
• A critical view of our use of technologies.

Reid' Halloween class

This is Reid's presentations for his classes this week. The first part is for primary classes and the second one is for ESO.

Halloween from Ana Arias Castro

Revision of present simple affirmative sentences (basic)

GRAMMAR:

• Isabel Pérez
• Englisch Hilfen

EXERCISES:

• Isabel Pérez-affirmative1
• Isabel Pérez-affirmative2-word order
• Englisch Hilfen-affirmatives1
• Englisxh Hilfen-affirmatives2
• Ego4you affirmatives
• Really Learn English-affirmatives
• Really Learn English-affirmatives2
• Really Learn English-affirmatives3
• Really Learn English-affirmatives4
• Really LEarn English-affirmatives5

READING COMPREHENSION TEXTS:

• Tim's day text & questions
• My name is Ben
• Simple present stories from The ESL Times

Past simple vs. past continuous

Past simple is often used for past events in a past time. Most stories are told using this tense and it is often used together with past continuous.

Past continuous or past progressive is one of the tenses we are going to study this year.

The following chart summarises the most important aspects you'll have to learn about both of them:

USES:

• Past simple is used to tell about past event or stories:
• We went to Ireland and there we met your sister.
• My parents spent a weekend in Coruña but they didn't go to the port.
• When did they release the film? Last Friday?
• Past continuous is often used to talk about what was happening at a specific time in the past (talking about memories...)
• We were watching the film at lunch time.
• Two past continuous tenses can be used to talk about long, simultaneous actions in the past:
• We were studying while the dogs were barking in the yard.
• Both tenses are used to talk about something that happened at one point (in the past simple) while a longer action was taking place (in the past continuous). In this use, the clause referring to the longer action, is often introduced by while or as; or, alternatively, the shorter action clauses is introduced by when:
• We weren't watching the film when my sister rang.
• They found the lost key as they were having a walk along the river.
• Myrtle broke here leg while she was exercising in the park.

VIDEOS AND PRESENTATIONS

WHEN/WHILE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE & PAST SIMPLE from Münevver Çelebi

EXERCISES:

• Past continuous 1
• Past contunuous 2 - statements
• Past continuous 3 - statements
• Past continuous 4 - negative
• Past continuous 5 - questions
• Past continuous 6 questions
• Past continuous use
• Past simple versus past continuous 1
• Past simple versus past continuous 2
• Past simple versus past continuous 3
• Past simple versus past continuous 4
• Past simple versus past continuous 5
• Past simple boy (from www.isabelperez.com)
• Lady past continuous (from www.isabelperez.com)
• Choose the right tense exercise (perfect-english-grammar.com)
• Revision exercise for unit 2 (past simple / past continuous / jobs / questions)
• Shakira's life (past simple exercise)

Halloween vocabulary

SOME BASIC VOCABULARY

Halloween vocabulary presentation from Laia Almenara

MORE VOCABULARY

Halloween Vocabulary from English Village

Halloween trivia

Halloween trivia from Ana Arias Castro

Maps of Europe and Spain

MAP OF EUROPE IN SPANISH 

(Banco imágenes INTEF)

MAP OF EUROPE IN ENGLISH 

(http://www.youreuropemap.com/europe_map_political.gif)

MAP OF SPAIN IN SPANISH 

(Banco Imágenes INTEF)

MAP OF SPAIN IN ENGLISH 

(http://www.mapsopensource.com/images/spain-political-map.gif)

 

10 years of eTwinning projects

Past continuous & past simple

Past simple is often used for past events in a past time. Most stories are told using this tense and it is often used together with past continuous.

Past continuous or past progressive is one of the tenses we are going to study this year.

The following chart summarises the most important aspects you'll have to learn about both of them:

USES:

• Past simple is used to tell about past event or stories:
• We went to Ireland and there we met your sister.
• My parents spent a weekend in Coruña but they didn't go to the port.
• When did they release the film? Last Friday?
• Past continuous is often used to talk about what was happening at a specific time in the past (talking about memories...)
• We were watching the film at lunch time.
• Two past continuous tenses can be used to talk about long, simultaneous actions in the past:
• We were studying while the dogs were barking in the yard.
• Both tenses are used to talk about something that happened at one point (in the past simple) while a longer action was taking place (in the past continuous). In this use, the clause referring to the longer action, is often introduced by while or as; or, alternatively, the shorter action clauses is introduced by when:
• We weren't watching the film when my sister rang.
• They found the lost key as they were having a walk along the river.
• Myrtle broke here leg while she was exercising in the park.

EXERCISES:

• Past continuous 1
• Past contunuous 2 - statements
• Past continuous 3 - statements
• Past continuous 4 - negative
• Past continuous 5 - questions
• Past continuous 6 questions
• Past continuous use
• Past simple versus past continuous 1
• Past simple versus past continuous 2
• Past simple versus past continuous 3
• Past simple versus past continuous 4
• Past simple versus past continuous 5
• Past simple boy (from www.isabelperez.com)
• Lady past continuous (from www.isabelperez.com)
• Choose the right tense exercise (perfect-english-grammar.com)
• Revision exercise for unit 2 (past simple / past continuous / jobs / questions)
• Shakira's life (past simple exercise)

Present continuous

GRAMMAR:

EXERCISES:

• Englisch Hilfen-present progressive 1
• Englisch Hilfen-present progressive 2
• Englisch Hilfen-present progressive 3-contracted forms
• Englisch Hilfen-present progressive 4-contracted forms
• Englisch Hilfen-negatives 5
• Englisch Hilfen-contracted negatives 6
• Englisch Hilfen-questions7
• Englisch Hilfen-mixed 8
• Englisch Hilfen-mixed 9

Everyday activities

Everyday activities (1) from Ana Arias Castro

Adjectives ending in -ed and -ing

First read the infographic and then try to do the following exercises:

EXERCISES:

• ESL Quizz

Word of the day

Why don't you subscribe to Wordreference Word of the Day emails?

Each day you'll receive a message with a new word in English, its meanings, collocations and origin. It will help you increase your vocabulary in English.

Quantifiers in English

This is a chart with the main quantifiers in English. Pay attention to which ones are used in affirmative, interrogative and negative sentences:

FURTHER READING:

• My English pages
• English EFL

SOME EXERCISES:

• Bristish Council (exercise at the bottom of the page)
• To learn English: some, any, no
• To learn English: much, many
• To learn English: a few, a little, few, little
• Englisch Hilfen:
• exercise 1: a / an / some
• exercise 2 : how much / how many
• exercise 3 : much / many
• exercise 4: much / many 2
• exercise 5 : much / many in questions
• exercise 6: some / any
• exercise 7: some / any 2
• exercise 8 : some / any statements and questions

Reid Wagner's presentation

Reid Wagner from Ana Arias Castro

Numbers from 1 to 100

Why don't you revise numbers?

How to pronounce the -s/-es of third person present simple verbs

This inforgraphic will let you see the three possible pronounciation patterns for the final -(e)s either in present simple verbs or in plural nouns:

used to / didn't use to

USED TO 


The expression "used to" refers to a habit that people had in the past, a longing action which is now over:

• He used to work in Madrid.
• When I was a child I used to watch television in the afternoons.

The negative form is "didn't use to":

• I didn't use to do much sport in the mornings.
• When she was a teenager, she didn't use to go out at night.

And questions take "Did ______ use to______?":

• Did you use to have long hair?
• Did your parents use to go to the cinema at the weekend?

EXERCISES

• used to (To Learn English)
• used to sentences (ESL Lounge)
• English Grammar Secrets 1
• English Grammar Secrets 2
• English Grammar Secrets 3
• English Grammar Secrets 4

UNIT 2: The American Revolution

UNIT 2 - The American Revolution

These are the materials that you have for the American revolution:

Declaration of Independence - by John Trumbull

- unit 2

- presentation 2

- glossary 2 

- additional text from Wikipedia
- video: the American Revolution in 2 minutes
- video: the American Revolution in 4 minutes
- ESL video: Schoolhouse rock: No More Kings
- ESL video: The Yellow Rose of Texas
- revision test
- fill the gaps
- crosswords
- match these definitions

- audio1

- audio2

there is / there are / some / any / a / an (4º PDC-unit 1)

REVISION EXERCISES:

SOME / ANY

• some / any / how much / how many /physical description
• some / any (Isabel Pérez's site)
• some / any / a (English test ESL) 
• some / any (Agendaweb)
• some / any (English Room)
• some / any 1(Englisch Hilfen)

A / AN

• a / an 1 (Englisch Hilfen)
• a / an 2 (Englisch Hilfen)
• a / an 3 (Englisch Hilfen)
• a / an / some (Englisch Hilfen)

THERE IS / THERE ARE

• there is / there are (Englisch Hilfen)
• is there / are there 1 (Englisch Hilfen)
• is there / are there 2 (Englisch Hilfen)
• there is there are: questions and statements 1 (Englisch Hilfen)
• there is there are: questions and statements 2 (Englisch Hilfen)

Present simple and present continuous: basic grammar and contrast

PRESENT SIMPLE AND PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Eso 3-present simple and present continuous (1) from Ana Arias Castro

PRESENT SIMPLE

form

• affirmative: subject + infinitive (+3^rd p –(e)s)
• negative: subject + don’t/doesn’t + infinitive
• question: do/does + subject + infinitive

Remember that we only add the –(e)s in the 3^rd person affirmative form and that be is an exception: am / is / are

use

• facts and permanent states.
• habits and routines
• 1^st type conditional sentences
• stative verbs that are not used in the pres. cont. (see, hear, believe, want, know, understand, think, like, love...)

Key words: how often / always / sometimes / often / never / usually / every day / once a week / twice a month... / if (in conditional sentences)

examples

• Snow melts at 0ºC.
• Harry lives in Liverpool.
• My dog plays football with us.
• Daniel washes his jacket every week.
• We don’t like football.
• She doesn’t understand baseball.
• Do you enjoy dining out?
• Does Rafael Nadal train in the morning?
• If you drink too much you’ll have to go to the toilet.

PRESENT CONTINUOUS

form

subject + am / is / are + (not) + -ing

Remember the rules for -ing

use

• actions happening at the moment of speaking
• Key words: now / at the moment

examples

• My sister is watching TV now.
• They aren’t listening to me.
•  I’m not sleeping now.
• He’s setting the washing machine.

INTERESTING LINKS:

In this unit we are revising the form and uses of two very common tenses: present simple and present continuous. These links will lead you to useful materials for you:

• Summary of tenses
• Tenses in detail
• Worksheet: unit 1
• Revision test for unit 1: Unit 1
• Isabel Pérez:
• Present simple: explanations and exercises
• Present continuous: explanations and exercises
• Englisch-hilfen:
• exercise 1
• exercise 2
• exercise 3
• Execise 4
• Exercise 5
• Exercise 6
• Exercise 7
• Exercise 8
• Exercise 9
• Exercise 10

Present simple and present continuous from Cynthia Maurizzio

present simple and present continuous from jesusmarcos42

Joke