Blanca Cotta en nuestra cocina: Yemitas azucaradas.

Blanca Cotta en nuestra cocina: Yemitas azucaradas.:       Cuantas veces sucede que llega una visita inesperada y quisièramos ofrecerles algo hecho en casa. Bueno, èsta es una receta...

Twelve paper planes

Have a break! Ten minutes to build a paper plane! On the wings, students write what they have learnt. Ideal for a plenary!

On this website, find ' 12 tipos de aviones de papel'

Glider

Gazpacho andaluz

1 pepino
1 pimiento
1 Kg. de tomates rojos
1 diente de ajo
1 trocito de cebolla del tamaño de un ajo
2 cucharaditas de sal gorda
1 chorreón de vinagre de vino de jerez
1 vaso de los de agua de aceite de oliva virgen extra
1 cubitera de hielo
1 minipimer
1 pasapurés

Here is a fill the gap exercise that you may want to use at the end of the Food topic.
Lavar las verduras, 

pelar el pepino y cortarlo a trocitos, 

quitar el rabito y las pepitas del pimiento y cortarlo a trocitos, descorazonar los tomates y cortar en cuatro trozos, 

pelar el ajo y cortar por la mitad, 

cortar el trocito de cebolla en varios trozos, 

añadir la sal,

el vinagre y 

el aceite, 

mezclar con la minipimer 

hasta que todo quede bien disuelto, 

pasar por el pasapurés en el recipiente que se vaya a servir, 

añadir los hielos de una cubitera, 

tapar el recipiente y

meter en la nevera.

Wash all the - 1 - , peel the cucumber and - 2 -  into pieces, remove the stalk and seeds from the  - 3 -  and cut it into pieces, core the tomatoes and cut into - 4 - pieces, peel the - 5 -  and cut it in half, cut the piece of - 6 -  into pieces, add salt, vinegar and -7 -, mix with the - 8 -  until everything is well dissolved, pass through a food mill into the bowl ready to serve, add the ice in a bucket, - 9 -  the bowl and put in the - 10 -. 

En mi dormitorio

En mi dormitorio, hay...  In my bedroom there is/are...

un armario.......... a wardrobe
un ordenador...... a computer
un alfombra........ a rug
una cama............ a bed
una mesa............ a table
una silla...............a chair
una  estantería...a bookshelf
una lámpara...... a lamp

un dormitorio limpio y arreglado.

to say where things are

in front of..........delante del/de la
behind...............detrás
between........entre
on top of...........encima del/de la
under...............debajo del/de la...
on the left of.............a la izquierda del/de la
on the right side of...a la derecha del/de la

Tip : use del if the noun that follows is masculine
Use de la if the noun that follows is feminine.

un cuarto desordenado

¿Tu cuarto está sucio y desordenado? Is your room dirty and messy?
No, es limpio y arreglado!                        No, it's clean and tidy!

Examples

La ventana está a la derecha del armario...the window is on the right side of the wardrobe

Mi gato está debajo de la cama...................my cat is under the bed

Los posters están en las paredes................the posters are on the wall

Tip: make sure that you conjugate the verb 'estar'  (to be) properly!

Object pronouns

Position of Object Pronouns

An object pronoun generally goes before the verb.

Me dio el libro:  he gave me the book

Exceptions: when a conjugated verb is used with an infinitive or present participle, the object pronouns can either precede the conjugated verb or be attached to the infinitive or participle

Voy a leerlo,

lo voy a leer =  I am going to read it

Estoy leyéndolo,

Lo estoy leyendo= I am reading it.

In affirmative commands, the object pronoun must follow the verb and is attached to it

Léalo a su madre!:  read it to your mother!.

When an indirect object and a direct object pronoun are used together, the indirect goes before the direct object pronoun

No te lo doy: I am not giving it to you

Léamelo: read it to me.

If both pronouns are of the third person, se is used instead of the indirect object le or les

Se lo di: I gave it to him

This se is not to be confused with the reflexive se

Se las lavaron they washed them.

Use the following pronouns for a direct object
Me
Juan no me ve: John does not see me
Te
Te quiero mucho: I like you a lot
Le
Senor, no le comprendo: Sir, I don't understand you.
La
Senora, no la veo a Vd: Madame, I don't see you.
Lo
¿Dónde está tu libro? Ve a buscarlo! Where is your book? Go and get it!

Pronouns are definitely not an easy thing to understand. Practice is the best!
Follow this link for more explanations on the pronouns and other grammar topics.
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dict_en_es/front/notes

Creative MFL ideas

Teaching languages is more exciting when you can share ideas and good practice with other colleagues. You may want to be inspired by the following slide show.

Creative MFL ideas for KS3 and KS4 from Chris Fuller

You will note that lots of examples are in Spanish so this is even better!

Daily routine

1. El arreglo personal                                                        Personal hygiene

2. un despertador                                                             the alarm clock
3. despertarse                                                                  to wake up
4. el jabón                                                                        the soap
5. el champú                                                                     the shampoo
6. lavarse                                                                          to have a wash 
7. una toalla                                                                      the towel
8. una secadora                                                                the dryer
9. secarse                                                                        to dry yourself
10. (el) agua caliente                                                           the hot water
11.  bañarse/ducharse                                                         to bathe / shower 
12. unas tijeras                                                                   the scissors                                                            
13. un cepillo                                                                      a brush
14. un cepillo de dientes                                                      a toothbrush
15. cepillarse                                                                      to brush your hair
16. una maquinilla de afeitar                                                a razor
17. una afeitadora eléctrica                                                 an electric shaver
18. para afeitarse                                                                to shave 
19. unos rulos                                                                     curlers
20. rizarse                                                                          to curl your hair
21. un peine                                                                        a comb
22. peinarse                                                                       to comb your hair
23. el lápiz labial                                                                 a lipstick                                                        
24. maquillarse                                                                   to put some make up on.

There is more vocabulary on this topic on this website. (Click on the word website)

Brain-based learning, a buzz phrase...

Do you wish to find out more about brain-based learning theory? Read on...

Brain based learning theory is guided by the assumption that “research in neuroscience should guide learning and assessment.” (Gulpinar, 2005) Much of brain-based learning (or BBL) theory stresses the importance of environment and learning climate and engaging students by reducing stress and getting them to a state of “relaxed alertness.” Reduce stress, put on some background music, make sure that every student is welcome..

HOW BRAIN-BASED LEARNING IMPACTS EDUCATION
Curriculum -- Teachers must design learning around student interests and make learning contextual. One example, start talking about theme parks during your MFL lesson and you will see that your students'interest increases dramatically.  
Instruction -- Educators let students learn in teams and use peripheral learning. Teachers structure learning around real problems, encouraging students to also learn in settings outside the classroom and the school building.
Assessment -- Since all students are learning, their assessment should allow them to understand their own learning styles and preferences. This way, students monitor and enhance their own learning process.
The three instructional techniques associated with brain-based learning are:
1. Orchestrated immersion -- Creating learning environments that fully immerse students in an educational experience.
2. Relaxed alertness -- Trying to eliminate fear in learners, while maintaining a highly challenging environment.
3. Active processing -- Allowing the learner to consolidate and internalize information by actively processing it.

Here is where you can find an overview of brain-based learning theory.

Kinesthetic activities

As I was browsing the web to find different kinesthetic activities for my students, I found the following one. You write sentences, split them into three, i.e. the sujects, the verbs and the complements. You give the bits of sentences to the pupils who in turn have to build the sentence up. To do this, the students need to get up and go round the classroom and find their match.
Recently, I did a similar activity to consolidate the past tense. They received different cards, subject, auxiliary verb, complement and past participle. However the students were working together on  4 sentences. So a little variation is beneficial. As I was doing a carousel, I could hear some other students desperate to get their hands on the cards. The same eagerness was apparent in another class, I told the students that they could get up and use the interactive whiteboard soon as they'd finish the first tasks. Soon enough, they got up in group of 4 to enjoy a snake and ladder grammar game on hobbies (testing opinions and present tense).

The European Day of Languages

The European Day of Languages was created during the European Year of Languages in 2001, a Council of Europe initiative jointly with the European Union.
Throughout Europe, hundreds of activities celebrating language diversity and promoting language learning are held on 26 September.
We are having a special assembly and a competition at our school. Let us know what you are planning!