"THE ORCHESTRA"

We're including today a project work done by 2nd ESO-year students in the subject of MUSIC in English about the composition of an orchestra and all its different instruments.

DICKENS' "CHRISTMAS CAROL"

Ending 2012, the year that commemorates the 200th birthday of British novelist Charles Dickens, IES "Rafael Dieste" is going to close the school term showing a film based on his classic novel "A Christmas Carol". Here we're including some reference about the novel and the film we'll be watching on Friday at 12:30 for 1st & 2nd ESO students.

A Christmas Carol is a novel by English author Charles Dickens, first published on 19 December 1843. The story tells Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation resulting after the supernatural visits from Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come. The novel was instant success and critical acclaim.

The book was written and published in early Victorian era Britain, a period when there was both strong nostalgia for old Christmas traditions and an initiation of new practices such as Christmas trees and greeting cards. Dickens's sources for the tale appear to be many and varied but are principally the humiliating experiences of his childhood, his sympathy for the poor, and various Christmas stories and fairy tales.

The story is about Ebenezer Scrooge. At the beginning of the book he is a mean old man who runs a business lending people money. These people are poor and often cannot pay him back. He pays his clerk Bob Cratchit badly.

On Christmas Eve, Scrooge refuses an invitation to his nephew's house for Christmas dinner, telling him he hates it (he calls it a "Humbug"). He then refuses to give money to two men who are collecting for charity.

Later that evening, he is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner Jacob Marley, who went to Hell because of his bad life. He tells Scrooge that the same future will happen to him unless he changes and that during the night he will be visited by three more ghosts. These will show him where he went wrong in his life, and how to be a better person in the future.

The first ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Past. This ghost shows him where he went wrong in the past, showing him his unhappy childhood and how he did not get married.

The second ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost shows him things which are happening now, such as how his clerk, Bob Cratchit, is having a nice Christmas despite not having much money. He also shows him Bob's youngest son, Tiny Tim, who is crippled. Later, the ghost shows him how his nephew is having a good Christmas, and how Scrooge is missing out.

The third ghost is the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. This ghost shows Scrooge what Christmas will be like in the future if he does not change. Firstly, people are shown celebrating a man's death and robbing from his house. The ghost also shows him that Tiny Tim has died. Scrooge is then shown his own grave, and realizes that the celebrations were for his death.

On Christmas morning, Scrooge wakes up and realizes that he has to change. He decides to celebrate Christmas, and help Tiny Tim get better. Through the ghosts' help he becomes a better man.

The tale has been viewed by critics as an indictment of 19th-century industrial capitalism. It has been credited with restoring the holiday to one of merriment and festivity in Britain and America after a period of sobriety and sombreness. A Christmas Carol remains popular and has been adapted to film, stage, opera, and other media many times. It is still a relevant story nowadays.

A Christmas Carol (named on-screen and in promotional material as Disney's A Christmas Carol) is a 2009 3D computer animated motion-capture holiday fantasy comedy-drama film written and directed by Robert Zemeckis. It is an adaptation of the Charles Dickens story of the same name and stars Jim Carrey in a multitude of roles, including Ebenezer Scrooge as a young, middle-aged, and old man, and the three ghosts who haunt Scrooge.

Video trailer of "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" (2009):

More on Dickens at these links:
- Previous post about Dickens at ClickOnEnglish.
- Dickens 2012: Website celebrating his 200th birthday.
- A Galician version of this post @ ArquivosDoTrasno.

CHARO & TIM ARE BACK

Once again, Charo Pita and Tim Bowley are back at IES Rafael Dieste with their stories in Galician & English versions. The same story in two languages. They'll be with us today. Students of 1st & 2nd ESO will meet them at our assembly hall ready to listen to their stories from different parts of the world. Welcome back, Charo & Tim.

VIDEO QUIZ: PINK PANTHER, "PINKNIC"

Once again, we're going to learn English with the help of the Pink Panther. Here's another video-quiz with her. Watch the video and later answer the questions that follow. Check how many you get right.



DO YOU PLAY ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT?

Here's a list of vocabulary of musical instruments. Students of 1st ESO can choose which one they want to do their individual project about. Be original!

CHARO & TIM ARE BACK TO TELL STORIES IN GALICIAN & ENGLISH

Charo Pita (Galician) and Tim Bowley (British) will be back at IES Rafael Dieste for the fourth time to continue telling stories in a double version Galician/English on Tuesday, 8th November at our assembly hall. At 10:30 for 1st ESO students and at 11:20 for 2nd ESO students.

CLASSROOM ORGANIZATION RULES

Sometimes it's a bit difficult to teach in a classroom. Classrooms have a big number of students, and students can't do whatever they want in class. There must be some rules.

1- LISTEN CAREFULLY. And even more in an English class, because you need to understand what you have to do. Listen to what other people have to say and don't interrupt them.

2- FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS. Do what the teacher tells you to.

3- DON'T INTERFERE WITH THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF OTHERS. Don't disturb in the classroom: talking, making noises, moving things, walking around, standing up...

4- RESPECT PERSONAL SPACE, RIGHTS AND PROPERTY OF OTHERS. Don't take things that aren't yours, don't disturb other people. Use kind words. Think before you do something.

5- RAISE YOUR HAND AND WAIT TO BE CALLED ON. If you have any question or problem, put your hand up and wait until the teacher asks you or goes to you. When there's nothing to say, say nothing. You can't talk about anything you want at any time in the class. Think before you speak or say anything out loud in class.

6- COMPLETE WORK ON TIME. Do the exercises you are told in class when the teacher says. Do and bring the homework when the teacher says. Bring the books and notebook to class.

7- ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST. Come to class to work, pay attention and learn. Work is time to work. We can also have fun, but learning.

8- WORK AND PLAY SAFELY. Be careful. Don't get into trouble.

9- STAY ON TASK. Concentrate. Pay attention.

10- OBEY ALL SCHOOL RULES. The school and class rules have to be followed. If you break any of the rules, you'll get into trouble. You can be punished.

Bart Simpson has the same rules in his English class:

DOs:

DON'Ts:

TIM BOWLEY & CHARO PITA: STORYTELLING IN ENGLISH & GALICIAN

Tim Bowley e Charo Pita, a British-man and a Galician-girl make up an artistic duo that go around the world telling stories. Tim with his powerful voice starts off the story in English and later Charo starts it in Galician... the same story from two cultures, two ages, two languages that blend in a unqiue and funny show.

They'll be back at our school for the third time, tomorrow, Thursday 3rd March. For 1st & 2nd ESO students at 10:30h & 11:20h, respectively, at our assembly hall.

THE HISTORY OF MADAME TUSSAUD

On page 44 of 2ºESO English stuednt's book there's a spotlight on Madame Tussaud: who she was and why her name is so famous now. Here's some more information and videos to complete it.

Marie Tussaud, born Anna Maria Grosholtz (1761–1850), was born in Strasbourg, France. Her mother worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius in Bern, Switzerland, who was a physician skilled in wax modelling. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling.
Tussaud created her first wax figure, of Voltaire, in 1777. Other famous people she modelled at that time include Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Benjamin Franklin. During the French Revolution she modelled many prominent victims. In her memoirs she claims that she would search through corpses to find the decapitated heads of executed citizens, from which she would make death masks. Her death masks were held up as revolutionary flags and paraded through the streets of Paris.

Her marriage to François Tussaud in 1795 lent a new name to the show: Madame Tussauds. In 1802, she went to London. By 1835 Marie had settled down in Baker Street, London, and opened a museum. One of the main attractions of her museum was the Chamber of Horrors. This part of the exhibition included victims of the French Revolution and newly created figures of murderers and other criminals.
Madame Tussaud's wax museum has now grown to become a major tourist attraction in London, incorporating (until 2010) the London Planetarium in its west wing. It has expanded and will expand with branches in Amsterdam, Bangkok, Berlin, Dubai, Hamburg, Hollywood, Hong Kong, Blackpool, Las Vegas, Moscow, New York City, Shanghai, Vienna and Washington, D.C.. Today's wax figures at Tussauds include historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars and famous murderers. Known as "Madame Tussauds" museums.

Here are some videos about Madame Tussaud and her London wax museum: