Getting connected...

Photo by Kátia Veloso

July in San Diego...being with some students in an exchange program.

To refresh this early afternoon, there is nothing like a juice well chilled. And to enjoy this moment even more, a little chat with my family (my husband and Kika). Just a little detail...they are on the other side, I mean, they are all the way down in America. I'm in the north part of America (California - USA) and they are in the south part (São Paulo - Brazil), but we can talk as if they were right in front of me. And what is really amazing, we can communicate in more than one way. I could use my cell phone (which was invented 40 years ago and for sure it is a great option and for many years it was the only option we had) or I could use my tablet (which became very popular after the introduction of the iPad device made by Apple, in 2010). Of course we have had many ways to communicate through these years, but what can really caught my attention is how fast it has improved and how easy it has become during all these years. I know I could use e-mails, but I really wanted to hear his voice...it is much nicer than just read e-mails.

When I was a child, my grandmother used to live in Paraná, another state here in Brazil. Her house was about 500 km (about 310 miles) far from mine and we used to visit her just once a year, in December or January (because it was our school summer vacation) and we used to go there by car. During all the other months, there were only two ways to get some news from my grandparents: somebody that had been there with them and could bring us some news or by mail. So, I used to write letters to my grandmother (she was the one who usually replied them) every month. It's funny that, remembering all that now I have this feeling of "how could I get patience enough to wait days, weeks and sometimes even months (when my grandmother couldn't write me back so promptly) and now, some years later, I can't spend one day without talking to my husband - and sometimes twice or three times a day, depending on where I am or what I'm doing - which gives me a kind of a feeling like if he was here with me, traveling and visiting these gorgeous places in California.

It makes me wonder... if keep in touch has getting better and better so fast...how will we possibly be communicating to each other in the future? I don't know but I like to think that somehow we will be able to use a kind of teleportation - so, even if it could not be for the whole day, at least we could have people we love        for some hours, sharing our good moments and keeping us company!  But, on the other hand, could it reduce even more my patience? Although I think so; I want to believe that there is a way to prevent it...hopefully!

Post Question for the students: How do you usually communicate to people you care about? How often do you get together with your grandparents? Do you enjoy being with them? If you could be teleported anywhere in the world (or in the galaxy), where would you like to go? Why?
 

Tip: To learn more about one of the great inventions, the cell phone, listen to its inventor's interview (Marty Cooper) with the BBC. To watch it, just Click here. 

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. 

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 .

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!

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!