Apps

Here are some interesting links you can check:

The official Angry Birds website, with screenshots and videos of the game.

From ABC News, a video clip (January, 2011) about the 14-year-old boy who designed the game Bubble Ball, a huge hit in the Apple's free apps chart. Intermediate level.

Website of the first US award ceremony for smartphone apps, "The Appys" (February, 2011), with screenshots and short descriptions of each winning app, listed by category. Challenging for Intermediate level.

Wall Wisher

Hi Guys n Gals,

I have created a Wallwisher wall. It is a simple webpage where we all can post our messages easily.

So simply go to http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/mrscarrasco and post your message there.

Happy Posting!

Paloma

The nuclear debate

Today we read and discussed some of the pros and cons of nuclear power, following the radiation leak at the Fukushima nucleear power plant in Japan.

Take a look at these interesting websites:

An interactive diagram with text explaining how nuclear power plants work, from MSNBC Science.

An explanation of some of the pros and cons of nuclear power, with accompanying dramatic pictures in a slideshow format.

An NPR article (March 2011) on the possible shift opinion on the nuclear debate in the USA following the Fukushima crisis in Japan.

Twin Day

Hi everybody,
As this would be our last week before Easter Holidays, I was wondering if we could have another Twin Day, What do you think? We can also have some snacks, drinks and what about a Secret Friend? I'm working on activities we could do during the class on Wednesday with 2ºA and 2ºB -because you are on a trip out on Thursday. So, write your suggestions and comments so that we can set a plan.
We deserve a treat!
See you on Monday

Fairy Tales

Untitled by María Lara 1ºESO B

Once upon a time, there was a princess who couldn't find her perfect prince. She kissed lots of princes but they all transformed into frogs. One day the princess went out to the forest to pick fruits for breakfast. Suddenly she heard a strange noise and she looked around, but she didn't see anything. The princess, nervous, forgot about the noise and continued picking fruit. Suddenly, a frog appeared in front of her. "Hi!", said the frog. The princess said hello to the frog. "I think you are looking for a prince that can make you feel happy", said the frog, "and if you kiss me, I will transform into the best prince you have seen in your life". The princess didn't know what to do, but finally she kissed the frog and it transformed into a handsome and nice prince.
A few months later they got married. After the wedding, when a carriage with beautiful horses was riding home husband and wife, the prince transformed again into a frog.

The End

Fairy Tales

The Ogre Story by Alberto Rodriguez 1ºESO B

Once upon a time there was a Prince in a castle. The Prince was riding a horse when someone said: "Come here!" The Prince went there but he saw that the person was a witch. So he ran to find his horse to fight the witch but she cast a spell on the Prince. He was transformed into a very bad ogre. Then the witch disappeared.
The ogre started to cry but he thought that if he could find a Princess to kiss him, he would be a prince again. He didn't find any princess but he found a frog. The frog helped him finda dragon. The dragon helped him find a wizard and he found a genie who transformed the ogre in a prince. The prince, who was very happy, started a new life with a new form.
The End

The Princess' Magic Hair

The Princess' Magic Hair by Alicia Mora 1ºESO B

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess in a castle. She didn't go out because a horrible witch had captured her when she was born. She lived alone with only an ugly frog as a pet. She talked with it as if it was a real person.
The fair hair of the princess was magic and the witch liked it to do charms. Her mother, the Queen, and her father, the King, looked for the princess for a long time, but they didn't find anything. One day a handsome prince found the princess. He rescued her and he took the princess with her parents in a beautiful carriage. When her parents saw the princess, they ran to embrace their daughter. They lived in peace the rest of their lives.
The End

Fairy Tales

THE RESCUE
by Julio Ortiz, 1ºESO B

Once there was a princess who lived in a palace with her father, the King. One day, the princess left the palace and met an ogre who captured her and took her to an abandoned tower of a castle protected by a dragon.
Next day, the King realized that his daughter was not anywhere in his palace, neither in her room, neither anywhere else.
The King began to look around the garden, the town but she was not anywhere.
A young man heard the news that the princess had disappeared for one poster that said "wanted" and the reward was 50,000$.
Then the young man named Rowly, went to look for her with his horse for a very lush, dark forest. At the end of the forest he met a very old abondoned castle. He thought that she could be there at the top of the tower so, he began the journey.
When he was in the front door, he found a dragon that impeded to follow. So he had no choice that to fight the dragon.
At first he was afraid, but he was very brave. He was able to beat him and continued his way up the tower to free the princess, but suddenly they met the ogre who told them they will not easily escape. The princess remembered that she had a wizard friend who could help them. She shouted his name and the wizard friend appeared quickly and he killed the ogre. The princess and the young man went to the palace, the king was very happy to have his daughter back with him, for that the King gave the young man a reward.

Slang

Hi everyone,
Last week we learnt some examples of slang words from American, Australian and British English. Take a look at these websites:
*A selection of links to online slang dictionaries.
*Pages of commonly-used American slang words. Worth checking!
*From American public radio show "A Way with Words", a podcast quiz about regional slang from the US South (Audio only). Links to other podcasts about English words.

IRREGULAR VERBS

Hi students,
Here are some useful links to practice and help you learn your verbs.
Bye!

WikiLeaks

WiliLeaks has been on the news since late November 2010 when it released the contents of more then 250,000 confidential telegrams between the US State Department and Us embassies around the world. Take a look at these websites if you want to learn more about it.

A mirror website (duplicate, to protect the original from attack) of the official WikiLeaks website (wikileaks.ch). Challenging!

Discussion of the "divided opinion" on WikiLeaks, and the possible espionage charges to be brought against Assange, from the Voice of America News website (December 2010).

A National Public Radio (NPR) news broadcast (January 21, 2011) about the reaction to WikiLeaks and Assange in his homeland, Australia. Audio with transcript.

The English Language

Here's the video you saw in class a few days ago. My excuses for the inappropiate language but the different accents make it worthwile. Enjoy!

Shakespeare: unanswered questions

Nearly 450 years after his birth, William Shakespeare is still generally considered to be the greatest writer in the English language. Did you know that some critics actually doubt whether he wrote the plays at all?

Click here to learn more about Shakespeare's biography.