Wednesday 26 March 2014

Results of the Formative Tests- 7th A




1- 55,5%- Satisfaz Pouco  17- 61,5%- Satisfaz
2- 67,5%- Satisfaz           18-  74%- Bom
3- 86,5%- Bom                19- 77%- Bom
4- 74,5%- Bom                20- 85%- Bom  
5- 94,5%- Mto Bom          21-  90,5-Mto Bom
6- 76%   - Bom                22- 88%- Bom
7- 59%   - Satisfaz           23- Satisfaz
8- 81,5% - Bom               24- 65%- Satisfaz
9- 45,5% - Não Satisfaz  25- 55%- Satisfaz Pouco
11- 80,5%- Bom              26- 66%- Satisfaz
12- 85%  - Bom               27- 51%- Satisfaz Pouco
13- 79%  - Bom               28- 53,5%- Satisfaz Pouco
14- 76,5%- Bom              29- 57,5%- Satisfaz
15-80,5% - Bom              30- 44%- Não Satisfaz
16- 59,5%- Satisfaz         31- 42,5%-Não Satisfaz

Saturday 22 March 2014

The pen that spots mistakes as you write

A pen which vibrates when the person using it makes a mistake, could soon be used in the classroom.


The Lernstift or "learning pen", doesn't need ink or special paper to work and uses a special mechanism to work out what is being written.
It's connected to a mobile phone app that flashes to let the user know they've gone wrong.
It was invented by a dad for his son in Germany.
Falk Wolsky was inspired by his son Leon when he was first learning to 
write.
From CBBC newsround

Friday 21 March 2014

Cat-friendly cafe to open in Turin-Italy

Italy's first cat-friendly cafe is scheduled to open in the city of Turin on Saturday


Kittens playing
The establishment - to be called Miagola Cafe, or Cafe Meow - hopes to give a home to abandoned cats and encourage customers to become more respectful towards animals, says owner Andrea Levine in an interview with La Stampa. "I wanted the cafe to launch with a message: we rescue cats in trouble," she says.
Some experts also believe the sound of a cat's purr and playing with the animals can relieve stress, The Local website reports.
The cafe will also have an area where children can play with the cats, and learn more about animals. Levine adds that she is planning to screen videos with information about adopting animals.
Cat cafes are already very popular in Japan - there are reportedly more than 100 of them in the capital city Tokyo. The trend seems to have spread to China, Taiwan and Australia too.
From BBC News


Thursday 20 March 2014

Present Simple / Present Continuous


Simple Present
Present Continuous
For regular habits / daily routine in general 
(regularly, often, never) =
 with  Adverbs of Frequency
Colin plays football every Tuesday.
present actions happening one after 
another
First Colin plays football, then he watches TV.
To talk about actions happening:
Now / right now / At the moment/ 
At this moment
Look! Colin is playing football now.
also for several actions happening
 at the same time
Colin is playing football and Anne is watching.
Signal words
  • always
  • every ...
  • often
  • normally
  • usually
  • sometimes
  • seldom
  • never
  • first
  • then
  • at the moment
  • at this moment
  • today
  • now
  • right now
  • Listen!
  • Look!
Note: The following verbs are usually only used in Simple Present:
be, have, hear, know, like, love, see, smell, think, want
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/simple_present_progressive2.htm

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbs1.htm

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpre-prepro/exercises

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpre-prepro/exercises?ex03

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpre-prepro/exercises?ex04

What are they doing? (The Present Continuous)

Wednesday 19 March 2014

THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS


Affirmative sentences:

am playing volleyball.
He/she/it is playing volleyball.
We/you/they are playing volleyball.
NOTE: Use am with I - is with hesheit - and with all other pronouns are.
We often use short forms in affirmative sentences in the Present Progressive.

Negative sentences:

am not playing volleyball.
He/she/it is not playing volleyball.
We/you/they are not playing volleyball.


Questions:

In the Present Progressive we put the auxiliary (am, are or is) before the subject
(Auxiliary - Subject - Verb - Rest).
Am I playing volleyball?
Is he/she/it playing volleyball?
Are we/you/they playing volleyball?

Links for exercises
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=2332

http://www.gobiernodecanarias.org/educacion/3/Usrn/AulaTIC_Activ/CheerUp2/hot_potatoes/cheerup2/Presentcontinuos1&2/presentcont1.htm

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3438
http://www.eflworksheets.com/onlineexercises/animatedonline/prescon/prescon7.htm  
(New)

This one is a fantastic link. Try it!




What are they doing? (animated), by Elvira
Find this and other present continuous exercises in English Exercises .org

Wednesday 12 March 2014

How are national flags designed?

New Zealand could have a new flag after the Prime Minister announced a public vote on whether to change its design.
New Zealand flag

Currently the flag features the Union flag - the UK's flag - but John Key, New Zealand's Prime Minister, thinks it should be removed.
He says it represents a time when the country was controlled by the UK, as part of the British Empire.
The stars on the flag represent the four brightest of the Southern Cross, a constellation, as it would be seen if you were looking into the night sky from New Zealand.
The All Blacks rugby team flag

A new flag for New Zealand?

It has been suggested a design for the new flag could feature the New Zealand fern, used by the national rugby team.
The fern is a very important historical symbol at it represents the original tribal people of New Zealand - the Māori.

How is a national flag designed?

vexillologist is someone who designs flags.
vexillographer is someone who studies flags and what their shapes, patterns, colours and images mean.
Malcolm Farrow, President of the Flag Institute, thinks that flags play a bit part in a country's identity.
"A national flag is extremely important. It identifies a people and tells the story of a whole nation in one small rectangle," he says.
"In a multicultural society of different religions, backgrounds and languages it's the one thing that gives everyone a sense of identity and belonging in that country. It's the one thing a nation can unite under."
Often, the different colours, shapes and symbols on a flag aren't just because they look nice - they represent something.
Take for example one of the most famous and iconic flags in the world. The flag of the United States.

The history of the American flag

The American flag
It is famous for the 'stars and stripes' - but each part represents something.
The flag has thirteen horizontal red and white stripes to represent the 13 original colonies that were formed when people first came to America.
The stars represent the 50 states that make up the United States of America.

South Sudan - new country, new flag

After civil war in Sudan the country split into two. In 2011, the Republic of South Sudan was formed.
South Sudan as a new country needed a new flag.

Sudan's flag

The flag of Sudan

The new flag of South Sudan

Flag of South Sudan
This flag is similar to the old Sudanese flag but the colours here represent a new country after conflict.
Black represents the South Sudanese people, white is peace after the fighting, red stands for the blood shed, green represents the land and farming, blue represents the waters of the river Nile. The star represents the unity of states making up Sudan.

The challenge of designing a flag

Malcolm Farrow, President of the Flag Institute, thinks designing a flag needs a lot of thought.
He says, "Designing a great flag is very difficult, as you are trying to squeeze a whole nation into a small box."
"A great flag has a bold, simple design to grab people's attention. It should have no words and a maximum of four strong contrasting colours. It shouldn't be fashionable and it must be distinctive from other flags."
From CBBC newsround

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Enjoy your Shrove Tuesday!



Shrove Tuesday (also known as Shrovetide Tuesday, Pancake Tuesday and Pancake Day) is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday, a moveable feast, is determined by Easter.
The expression "Shrove Tuesday" comes from the word shrive, meaning "confess".Shrove Tuesday is observed by many Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Roman Catholics, who "make a special point of self-examination, of considering what wrongs they need to repent, and what amendments of life or areas of spiritual growth they especially need to ask God's help in dealing with." Being the last day before the penitential season of Lent, related popular practices, such as indulging in food that one sacrifices for the upcoming forty days, are associated with Shrove Tuesday celebrations, before commencing the fasting and religious obligations associated with Lent. The term Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday.
in Wikipedia

This video will show you how to make delicious easy cheap pancakes.
Watch it now and make your pancakes right away!



Sunday 2 March 2014

Spain's famous Altamira caves open again for a day

Spain's famous Altamira caves have briefly opened to the public, for the first time in 12 years.


People chosen in a draw were amazed at the Ice Age paintings of bison, bulls and other animals.


The paintings are special because they are thought to be the oldest art in Europe.
And one piece of art - a faint red dot - is said to be more than 40,000 years old.

From CBBC Newsround
Altamira is a cave in Spain famous for its Upper Paleolithic cave paintings featuring drawings and polychrome rock paintings of wild mammals and human hands.

Its special relevance comes from the fact that it was the first cave in which prehistoric cave paintings had been discovered. When the discovery was first made public in 1880, it led to a bitter public controversy between experts which continued into the early 20th century, as many of them did not believe prehistoric man had the intellectual capacity to produce any kind of artistic expression. The acknowledgement of the authenticity of the paintings, which finally came in 1902, changed forever the perception of prehistoric human beings.
It is located near the town of Santillana del Mar in CantabriaSpain, 30 km west of the city of Santander. The cave with its paintings has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
    
The cave is approximately 300 meters long and consists of a series of twisting passages and chambers. The main passage varies from two to six meters in height. The cave was formed through collapses following early karstic phenomena in the calcerous rock of Mount Vispieres.
Archaeological excavations in the cave floor found rich deposits of artifacts from the Upper Solutrean (c. 18,500 years ago) and Lower Magdalenean (between c. 16,500 and 14,000 years ago). Both periods belong to the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. In the millennia between these two occupations, the cave was evidently inhabited only by wild animals. Human occupants of the site were well-positioned to take advantage of the rich wildlife that grazed in the valleys of the surrounding mountains as well as the marine life available in nearby coastal areas. Around 13,000 years ago a rockfall sealed the cave's entrance, preserving its contents until its eventual discovery, which occurred after a nearby tree fell and disturbed the fallen rocks.
Human occupation was limited to the cave mouth, although paintings were created throughout the length of the cave. The artists used charcoal andochre or haematite to create the images, often diluting these pigments to produce variations in intensity and creating an impression of chiaroscuro. They also exploited the natural contours in the cave walls to give their subjects a three-dimensional effect. The Polychrome Ceiling is the most impressive feature of the cave, depicting a herd of extinct steppe bison (Bison priscus) in different poses, two horses, a large doe, and possibly a wild boar.
Dated to the Magdelenean occupation, these paintings include abstract shapes in addition to animal subjects. Solutrean paintings include images of horses and goats, as well as handprints that were created when artists placed their hands on the cave wall and blew pigment over them to leave a negative image. Numerous other caves in northern Spain contain Paleolithic art, but none is as complex or well-populated as Altamira.

Text from Wikipedia