segunda-feira, 10 de junho de 2013

Wild Things...where are they?


Do you know where the wild things are?
This book was published, for the first time, in 1963 and after all these years, it has been one of the reading icon in the American childhood literature. I like it a lot and I do enjoy using it in my classes. And what really get me surprised is that no matter the age, my students always have a great time reading it. I believe it happens for two main reasons:     
- it is a very simple story, easy to read and easy to get involved. It's amazing how it seems that simple things have a direct connection to the heart!
- the book describe the world of children's imagination. It's the story of a little boy who is messing around and get punished. He is forced to go to his room and while he is there, he starts to imagine stories, fantasizing about being in a forest and traveling to a place where the monsters live, facing various adventures.
Students identify themselves with the book because all of us were children before and there is still a "little child" inside each one, so they know exactly what is happening with the boy because they did and have done the same thing ... dreamed, imagined and created many stories. It is a sweet memory that comes back and reminds us how fun life can be, even though we are "grounded". Actually it depends only on ourselves. If he were alive, Maurice Sendak would complete 85 years today and to honor the date of her birthday, Google has created an excited Doodle with the main designs of the author.

So...Where are the wild things? Thanks to Sendak, we know that they are wherever our imagination would like them to be and the best part...just waiting for our visit!

Post Question for the students: Have you read the book "Where wild things are"? Although you are in High School, do you still read children's book? Which one is your favorite? Why?

Tip: To read more about Sendak's work and  see the Doodle created by Google about his work, just click here

quarta-feira, 1 de maio de 2013

International Workers' Day - Are you going to celebrate it?


          Today is Wednesday and I’m sure a lot of you, school students, are very happy because it’s a holiday in the middle of the week. And you should be... it’s a very good pause, a moment to relax and enjoy this day, specially because it’s a very sunny and bright day! But a holiday is also a good moment to reflect about its meaning and why it is so important...at least the celebration is important enough to give us a holiday.
But before sharing some thoughts with you, let’s get something straight:
- LABOR Day is commemorated in USA. It’s an American federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September, that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.
- LABOUR Day, for many countries, is synonymous with, or linked with, International Workers' Day, which occurs on May 1st and it is a national holiday in more than 80 countries and celebrated unofficially in many other countries. It is an annual holiday to celebrate the achievements of workers. In Brazil, like in India and most of the other countries, most offices, banks, schools, etc. remain closed since it  is a public holiday. Labour Day has its origins in the labour union movement, specifically the eight-hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for rest, and eight hours for recreation.

          But is it a real achievement? I mean, it must be official and well written in some document, but how many people do you know that enjoy 8 hours for recreation? Or sleep 8 hours a day? As I know a lot of teachers, I know that many of them work 8 hours (sometimes even more) per day, but when they go home, the other 8 hours are also used to keep on working (researching some topics, correcting tests, checking the student’s work, preparing classes, etc.) It sounds crazy! But I also know that it’s not a teacher’s privilege. There are many other workers who have an 8-hour work journey and after that keep on working at home, thinking about what they have done, what they are going to do next day or even working at their computer (or as people like to say it, working at their home office).
         Workers didn’t have this right before and it was a hard work to achieve it...and now that we have the right of have a balanced life, where work, leisure and rest has the same importance, we act as if we didn’t have it . If it was so important before, the question is...what has really changed in our modern life that it’s not taking it into consideration anymore? What has really changed in our modern life that it’s not taking it into consideration what we have achieved in the past?
Post Question for the students: Are you an organized person? Do you have your routine elaborated in a balanced way? Do you plan your day? Can you study (in school) 8 hours, sleep 8 hours and spend 8 hours doing what you like? If you can, how do you organize your day? If you can not, what could you do, what changes would be the necessary to improve your routine and afford you great satisfaction and a more balanced day?
Tip: To learn more about the celebration of Labor Day, read the article from the British newspaper The Guardian and watch the second video in this article (Click here). While today may have been a day of rest for you, in many countries of the world, such as Russia, Cuba, Greece, the Philippines and South Korea, it was a day to protest against the economic crisis afflicting many workers and causing a high level of unemployment .

segunda-feira, 15 de abril de 2013

Poetry Month


                     April is National Poetry Month in United States.  According to English writer William Hazlitt:  Poetry is the universal language which the heart holds with nature and itself Poetry, as music, is a very sensitive way of expressing our thoughts and our feelings. Get some minutes of your day and stop to read a poem - it is a great opportunity of bring some beauty to your day, to your heart. To celebrate it and created by the Academy of American Poets, on Thursday, April 18, 2013; americans will be participating the "National Poem in Your Pocket Day". As it is explained on the Academy site, it's a very simple idea: first you choose one of your favorite poems, make some copies, carry them with you and share them with your friends, family and who else you think could enjoy a good poem. And guess what? You can also share your poem selection on Twitter by using the hashtag #pocketpoem. I chose this poem because I like it so much! We have just celebrated Easter and this lovely poem, which was written more than a century ago, is so up-to-date! Like all things that are well elaborated, a good poem is timeless!

The Easter Bunny
                                                                   by M. Josephine Todd, 1909
There's a story quite funny,
              About a toy bunny,
                  And the wonderful things she can do;
                      Every bright Easter morning,
              Without warning,
                  She colors eggs, red, green, or blue.

Some she covers with spots,
Some with quaint little dots,
And some with strange mixed colors, too
Red and green, blue and yellow,
But each unlike his fellow
Are eggs of every hue.

        And it's odd, as folks say,
           That on no other day
 In all of the whole year through
Does this wonderful bunny,
      So busy and funny,
  Color eggs of every hue.

                   If this story you doubt
                  She will soon find you out,
                    And what do you think she will do?
                            On the next Easter morning
                                                  She'll bring you without warning,
                                        Those eggs of every hue.


Post Question for the students: Do you like to read poems? What's your favorite poem? (In english or in Portuguese) If you could choose one special person to give him/her your favorite poem, who would you choose? Why? Would you like to celebrate the National Poem in Your Pocket Day?

Tip: To understand what exactly is the National Poem in Your Pocket Day, go to the site of the Academy of American Poets, (Just click here) read the ideas, watch the video, choose a poem, subscribe for their newsletter and get inspired to celebrate it and have fun! Enjoy it!


segunda-feira, 8 de abril de 2013

Grammar in my life- thanks God!

                         There is no ifs, ands or buts about it - reading is one of the most important abilities to help you to improve your vocabulary! Students use to say that they have some difficulties to understand the texts in the booklet because they don't know the meaning of some words. But the point is - you will just learning it by facing it - in order to learn new words and acquire a good level of vocabulary, you must keep on reading! There are no magic pills that will give you a language knowledge just by intaking them! (So sorry about that!) It will require a hard work from you to achieve the level of understanding that you wish - but there is also a good point - the more you read, the better your vocabulary will be, for sure! It means that your dedication will be rewarded! Every attempt of yours will approach you to the satisfaction of being able to read text (any kind of text),understand it and answer the comprehension exercises with confidence and security, being sure that you're doing your best and that you are really prepared for it! Thinking about it and to provide extra sources of good reading that our school has become a Newsweek subscriber and has bought some new books to our library. Remember that you can also recommend some titles to be bought and your suggestion is very important - it's the chance of choosing what you like to read!     
                  We have been using the Anglo booklet since you have started the High School.  Last week, in the 3ºD grade classes, we talked about one of the texts from the Newsweek magazine, the one about the tragedy that happened  in Santa Maria RS, titled "A Time to Mourn". I told them that mourn is a word that we haven't seen in our booklet since we starting using it and we never know...it can be in a text in your "vestibular" test. And this word mourn, by the way, was part of the glossary exercise. Reading the text, the word mourn appeared again, (but now as a verb) in the sentence: "And so a woman mourns over a coffin of one of the Brazilians who died along with more than 230 others at a night club in the southern city of Santa Maria." After reading this sentence, one student asked about the meaning of coffin and then I explained that it is common to see this word and the word mourn in the same text. Vocabulary bringing more vocabulary! And for sure, only knowing the meaning of the words is not enough, not at all! We can not forget the context in which this word is inserted. Sometimes the understanding of the whole text is compromised because we do not understand the meaning of  a word that might be the keyword. The picture above isn't exactly a text to be read but it reminded me the one we read in our class. It's a good example how your conversation can be misinterpreted...you may even being killing your grandma without noticing it!

Post Question for the students: Do you use any technique to improve your vocabulary? What is the most strange word you have learned in English so far? And the most exquisite? In the picture above, someone commented the post written by another person and he (or she) was very sarcastic. Explain why this person was sarcastic (ironic) in commenting the post. 

Tip: To help you to improve not only your vocabulary but also your grammar, there is a site that provides quick and helpful tips. It's a blog written by a girl who is really engaged of helping people to understand the English language better. You can also subscribe to receive the newsletter. Just click here to learn more!


quinta-feira, 4 de abril de 2013

Graduation Ceremony


Thank you very much!

Muito obrigada!


Aproveito esse espaço para agradecer aos alunos formandos de 2013 do 3ºE pelo carinho da escolha de vocês. Foi um prazer participar da cerimônia de formatura e foi uma honra poder ser a oradora dos professores, apesar de ser uma tarefa difícil ter que transmitir todo o nosso apreço por vocês, em tão poucas palavras, em um espaço curto de tempo e para tantas pessoas que estavam conosco no teatro Paulo Machado de Carvalho. Para poder realizar tal missão, fui à busca do auxílio do professor Flávio, convidando-o para fazer o discurso junto comigo. E para a minha sorte e o deleite de todos os presentes, ele prontamente aceitou. Usando as palavras da poetisa Cora Coralina e do professor Luiz Schettini Filho, nós escrevemos um texto e a pedido de alguns de vocês, vamos disponibilizá-lo aqui. Mais uma vez obrigada pela confiança nesses 3 anos juntos e que daqui pra frente você consigam galgar degraus ainda maiores e que no meio de toda a novidade que essa fase irá trazer, vocês possam encontrar um tempinho para vir até o colégio, contar as boas novas e sobretudo, trazer um abraço para amenizar a saudade! Nós aqui vamos continuar na torcida, sempre! Sucesso!


Discurso da Cerimônia de Colação de Grau do Formandos de 2013.

Boa noite a todos. [...]
Gostaríamos de deixar uma mensagem aos nossos alunos formandos para que eles possam compreender que suas atitudes, por mais simples que pareçam, podem fazer toda a diferença para si mesmo e para outros.
Esqueci algumas coisas. A memória, às vezes falha. Também é só memória. O amor, por exemplo, com o tempo se fortalece. Quando tudo falhar, lembre-se de que o amor nunca falha.
Apesar de todos os desencontros nas relações com as pessoas não pensem que será impossível amá-las, até porque, quando negamos amor ou outro, antes estamos negando a nós próprios.
Enquanto castigamos o outro, deixando de amá-lo, estamos na realidade, subtraindo os nutrientes à nossa própria vida. A vitória não é vitória quando destrói o outro, mas quando o recupera.
E, por fim, nunca esqueçam, que muitos dos nossos medos são fantasmas que desaparecerão com o exercício da esperança.
As pessoas são como joias expostas em uma vitrine. É verdade, que umas têm mais destaques que outras. Há as que têm maior presença, enquanto outras passam quase despercebidas. Há, no entanto, um aspecto em que são iguais: todas são de ouro. Nisso não diferem.
 Se você tiver apenas um colo, um braço, uma palavra, um silêncio, uma alegria, uma lágrima, um olhar, um desejo ou um amor para oferecer...não tenham dúvida, isso muitas vezes basta! É o suficiente para a grande maioria, portanto, não subestime a capacidade de suas ações. Quem nos traz essa lição é, por definição de Carlos Drummond de Andrade, um dos seres humanos mais sensíveis e belos que nosso país comtemplou, a poetisa Cora Coralina.
Portanto, emprestando o poema dessa ilustre brasileira, intitulado Saber Viver, gostaríamos de reforçar:
“Não sei... se a vida é curta
ou longa demais para nós, 
mas, sei que nada
do que vivemos tem sentido, 
se não tocamos o coração das pessoas.

Muitas vezes basta ser:
o colo que acolhe, 
o braço que envolve,
a palavra que conforta,
o silêncio que respeita,
a alegria que contagia,
a lágrima que corre,
o olhar que acaricia,
o desejo que sacia,
o amor que promove.

E isso não é coisa de outro mundo,
é o que dá sentido à vida.
É o que faz com que ela não
seja nem curta, nem longa demais,
mas que seja intensa, verdadeira,
pura enquanto ela durar...”

Que ela possa durar o suficiente para que vocês possam genuinamente descobrir que ser feliz é muito mais simples do que se imagina e assim, quando nos encontrarmos novamente, que a narrativa dessa descoberta seja nossa companheira em longas prosas. Por que com certeza nós vamos nos encontrar...logo ali, depois da curva! Até lá, nós, os professores do colégio Eduardo Gomes desejamos que todos vocês sejam muito felizes.
Obrigado.