CHRISTMAS SONG 2012

....................AND HERE YOU ARE THE XMAS SONG

PUT THE SONG PHRASES IN THE CORRECT ORDER, NEXT GUESS THE TITLE AND THE MISSING WORDS LISTENING TO THE VIDEO CLIP.

LA CANZONE DEVE ESSERE RIORDINATA E POI DOVETE METTERE LE PAROLE CHE MANCANO ASCOLTANDO IL VIDEO E INFINE INDOVINARE IL TITOLO.

…………………………………………………………………………………..  (Bob Geldof, 1984)

Feed the ……………. 
Feed the ………………… 

And the ……………………… bells that ring there
Are the clanging chimes of doom
Well tonight thank ………….. it's them instead of you
And there won't be snow in ………………. this Christmas ……………

The greatest gift they'll get this year is ………………
Oh, where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow
Do they know it's Christmas ……………….. at all?
It's hard, ………… when you're having ……….. 
There's a …………….. outside your …………………………… 
And it's a …………….. of dread and fear 
Where the …………… water flowing is the bitter sting of tears 

Here's to you, raise a glass for ev'ryone
Here's to them, underneath that burning ……………………………
Do they know it's Christmas ………………………. at all?

Feed the ………………………
Let them know it's Christmas …………………. again
Feed the …………………………
Let them know it's Christmas ……………….. again


It's Christmas …………..; there's no need to be ……………. 
At Christmas …………….., we let in light and we banish shade 
And in our ………………… of plenty we ………… spread a smile of joy 
Throw your arms around the ………….. at Christmas time 
But say a prayer to pray ………….. the other ones 
At Christmas …………… 

CHRISTMAS TIME

Christmas Pictionary

MATCH THE PICTURE WITH THE CORRECT WORD

A short history of the origins of Christmas

   There is no doubt that Christmas is among the greatest religious holidays in the Western world. Actually the majority of people consider it to be the most highly anticipated and marketed one. As you probably know, the name of the holiday means 'Christ's Mass' and it is surely the most important holiday in Christian's calendar as it commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. 

   All the people around the world celebrate Christmas in different ways. Presumably, the most popular traditions are those coming from American and British cultures. They involve gift giving and the figure of Santa Claus which is partly based on historical records of Saint Nicholas, a generous man with round belly and red cheeks.

   The holiday of Christmas has a huge economic impact on the countries celebrating it as the Christmas tradition involves gift giving between family members, friends and loved ones. Those countries with a significant Christian population celebrate the holiday in masse, while many other countries pay more attention to the tradition of gift giving and neglect the religious side of the event.

   Even though the exact date of the birth of Christ is not known for certain, Christmas is annually celebrated on the 25th of December. It is supposed that during the time of the Roman Empire of the 4th century AD Christmas became an important Christian holiday and in the second half of the century Christianity became the official state religion of the Roman Empire, just before it split into Western and Eastern empires.

   It is widely accepted that Christmas was chosen to be celebrated on the 25th of December because this was a way to unite the old Pagan traditions with the new Christian ones. Romans are known to have commemorated the god Saturn with a special holiday which they called Saturnalia. This seven-day holiday began on the 17th of December and ended with the winter solstice which was then celebrated on the 25th of December. This holiday initiated the traditional gift giving on Christmas today.

   Another god that the Romans worshipped before they adopted the religion of Christianity was called 'Sol Invictus' or the 'invincible sun god' a deity with Persian origin who was believed to be born on the winter solstice. Having such old beliefs and traditions Romans found it easy to convert to Christianity.

Christmas as we know it today has evolved during the twentieth century. A lot of our modern traditions have strong roots in commercial marketing, from the red-suited Santa Claus (popularized by an illustrator named Haddon Sundblom in a series of Coca Cola ads in the 1930s) to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (who first appeared in a Montgomery Ward promotional book by a staff copy writer named Robert May). 

Christmas facts:

• Santa Claus and Father Christmas are, or were, two different people. St Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of sailors, ships, archers, children, students, became in Dutch folklore a bringer of gifts at Christmas, known as “Sinterklaas”. He originally was shown as a large, bearded man in a green cloak,. Father Christmas was a depiction of the Christmas spirit of cheer, but was not associated with gift-bringing. The two myths were merged, and they became synonymous. 

• Some Christians celebrate Jesus Christ's coming on January 6, the Epiphany, when they believe he was baptized.

• The word Christmas comes from the Old English Cristes maesse, which means Christ's mass.

• The word Xmas is sometimes used instead of Christmas. In Greek, X is the first letter of Christ's name.

• In 1969, the Roman Catholic church dropped St. Nicholas' Feast Day from its calendar because his life is so unreliably documented.

• Santa Claus generally was depicted as an elf until 1931, when Coca-Cola ads portrayed him as human-sized.

• Rudolph didn't become Santa's ninth reindeer until 1939 when an advertising writer for the department store Montgomery Ward created him.

• "Frosty the Snowman" is a popular song written by Walter "Jack" Rollins and Steve Nelson, and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950.

• The symbolic meaning of Christmas tree originates in pagan culture where the evergreen represents life, rebirth, and stamina needed to endure the winter months. The first use of Christmas trees as they're known today dates back to the 1500's. Some claim the tree originated in Germany in the mid 1500's, others claim it was Latvia in the early 1500's, and a few even believe in a legend that St. Boniface created the Christmas tree in the 7th century.

XMAS HISTORY

http://resources.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Xmas/xmas.html

http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-christmas-trees

       XMAS GAMES

Light the xmas tree http://akidsmath.com/mathgames/ctreepuzzle.html

Save rudolph the reindeer 

http://www.learn-ict.org.uk/resources/rudolph/rudolph.htm

XMAS PICTIONARY

 http://www.anglomaniacy.pl/christmasDictionary.htm

WRITE AND PRINT YOUR XMAS CARD 
(ecco un sito per produrre e stampare le cartoline di Natale gratis)
http://www.greetingsisland.com/Printables/Holidays/Christmas

IF YOU NEED YOU CAN COPY 
THE GREETINGS FROM THIS SITES
(ecco dei siti da dove copiare 
frasi di Natale per tutte le esigenze)
http://www.homemade-gifts-made-easy.com/christmas-card-messages.html

http://www.storkie.com/t-christmaswording.aspx

MERRY XMAS!!!!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://EzineArticles.com/307563, A Brief History of Christmas, By Morgan Hamilton

Encarta 96 Encyclopedia, World Book, Encyclopedia Brittanica

PARTONO I CONCORSI!!!

ANDATE ALLA SEZIONE CONTESTS (ossia concorsi) 

E TROVERETE LE ISTRUZIONI PER PARTECIPARE 

AD UN CONCORSO A PREMI (stelline e premi veri): 

SCRIVERE 

UNA POESIA SUI 

COLORI 

IN INGLESE

EVENTUALMENTE PRENDENDO SPUNTO 

DA ALCUNE METODOLOGIE ELENCATE NEL POST. 

NEL FRATTEMPO IO VE NE CITO UNA DAVVERO FAMOSA:

For Peace - Tali Sorek 

I had a box of colours 

Shining bright and bold. 

I had a box of colours, 

Some warm, some very cold. 

I had no red for the blood of wounds. 

I had no black for the orphans' grief. 

I had no white for dead faces and hands. 

I had no yellow for burning sands. 

But I had orange for the joy of life, 

And I had green for buds and nests. 

I had blue for bright, clear skies. 

I had pink for dreams and rest. 

I sat down and painted Peace. 

Written by Tali Sorek when she was aged 11, Beersheeba, Israel 

JACK O' LANTERN

ECCOVI LA LEGGENDA IRLANDESE DI JACK O'LANTERN.

 

SCUSATE IL RITARDO

 MA HO AVUTO PROBLEMI DI COMPATIBILITA' DI SOFTWARE!!!

 

VI RICORDO CHE QUESTA E' UNA DELLE TANTE POSSIBILI VERSIONI

ASCOLTATELA DALLA VIVA VOCE DI QUESTA DOCENTE

 

 

THE LEGEND OF JACK O LANTERN

          

            It is an Irish legend, it tells the story of a very bad man: Jack.

            Jack is a gambler, he likes drinking, fighting, playing cards and he often cheats. He doesn't work he spends all his time in pubs.

            One day, he meets the Devil and he is afraid of him. He thinks the Devil wants to take his soul. So, he decides to play a trick to the Devil. He asks the Devil if he can climb up on the top

of a tree very fast. The Devil answers "I'm very powerful, I can do everything!". Jack challenges him: " I don't believe it! Show it to me!". Then the Devil climbs up on the top of a tree very fast to show Jack he is very powerful.

            Jack carves a cross on the wood body of the tree so the Devil can't go down.  The Devil makes a promise to Jack: "If you let me go down, I will never take your soul."  Jack accepts and he cancels the cross. The Devil goes away.

            One day during a fight Jack dies. He goes to knock the Heaven's door but God refuses him because he is a bad man. Then he goes to knock the Hell's door but the Devil sends him away because of the promise and he forces Jack to wander in the darkness for ever.

            Moreover, the Devil throws toward him some burning coal. Jack pick it up and put it in a big carved turnip to make a lantern to light his way in the darkness.

HALLOWEEN SONG

HALLOWEEN SONG 

PRINT THE SONG AND TRY TO FILL IN 

THE GAPS OF THE TEXT 

LISTENING TO THE VIDEO

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO EVERYBODY!!!

This Is Halloween Lyrics SHADOW Boys and ……….. of every age Wouldn't you like to see something strange? SIAMESE SHADOW Come with ……………. and you will see This, our town of Halloween PUMPKIN PATCH CHORUS This is Halloween, this is Halloween …………………………. scream in the dead of night GHOSTS This is Halloween, everybody make a scene Trick or treat till the neighbors gonna die of fright It's our town, everybody ………………… In this town of Halloween CREATURE UNDER BED I am the one hiding under your bed Teeth ground sharp and eyes glowing red MAN UNDER THE STAIRS I am the one hiding under your stairs Fingers like …………………. and ………………….. in my hair CORPSE CHORUS This is Halloween, this is Halloween VAMPIRES Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! In this town we call home Everyone hail to the ………………… song MAYOR In this town, don't we love it now? Everybody's waiting for the next ………………………. CORPSE CHORUS Round that corner, man hiding in the trash can Something's waiting now to pounce, and how you'll scream HARLEQUIN DEMON, WEREWOLF, AND MELTING MAN Scream! This is Halloween Red 'n' black, slimy ……………………….. WEREWOLF Aren't you scared?

WITCHES Well, that's just fine Say it once, say it twice Take the chance and roll the dice Ride with the …………… in the dead of night HANGING TREE Everybody scream, everybody scream HANGED MEN In our town of Halloween CLOWN I am the clown with the tear-away ……………….. Here in a flash and gone without a trace SECOND GHOUL I am the "……………….." when you call, "Who's there?" I am the wind blowing through your hair OOGIE BOOGIE SHADOW I am the shadow on the ………………. at night Filling your dreams to the brim with fright CORPSE CHORUS This is Halloween, ……………. is Halloween Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! CHILD CORPSE TRIO Tender lumplings everywhere Life's no fun without a good scare PARENT CORPSES That's our job, but we're not mean In our town of Halloween CORPSE CHORUS In this ……………. MAYOR Don't we love it now? MAYOR WITH CORPSE CHORUS Everyone's waiting for the next surprise CORPSE CHORUS ……………………….. Jack might catch you in the back And scream like a banshee Make you jump out of your skin This is Halloween, everyone scream Won't ya please make way for a very special guy Our man Jack is king of the ………………… patch Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King now EVERYONE This is Halloween, this is Halloween Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! Halloween! CORPSE CHILD TRIO In this town we call home Everyone hail to the …………………. song EVERYONE La la-la la, Halloween! Halloween! (etc.)

HALLOWEEN 2012

HALLOWEEN TIME!!!

Halloween night is coming!

Anche quest'anno nella notte tra il 31 Ottobre
 e il primo Novembre si celebrerà la festa di
 Halloween che i celti chiamavano Samhain. 

Sapete davvero cosa significa questa festa?

 Avventuratevi cliccando sui diversi link proposti 

per scoprire cosa significa veramente la festa di Halloween.
You know that Halloween was a Celtic Festival brought to Usa by Irish and now it is celebrated all over the world in a superficial way.
We have studied it two years ago.

Maybe you don't know  that  this kind of festival was celebrated also in Piemonte and in other areas of Italy because Celts occupied Italy in ancient times.

Do you want to know more?  Visit this site
THE HISTORY OF PIEMONTE

 http://www.piemonte-online.com/storia/servizi/storia.htm

 Quindi anche se apparentemente sembra che la celebrazione di Halloween non ci appartenga, almeno nella classica usanza di mascherarsi e di esporre zucche vuote illuminate, in realtà la notte fra il 31 Ottobre e il 1° Novembre rappresenta una festività che risale alle nostre più antiche tradizioni. 
La celebrazione cattolica di Ognissanti si è innestata sulla più ben antica festa di Samhain risalente agli antichi celti. Essi non vivevano solo nelle regioni nord occidentali dell’Europa, ma in tutta Italia vi sono stati parecchi insediamenti celtici. Ad esempio in tutto il nord Italia: dalla Valle d’Aosta al Piemonte, dal Veneto all’Emilia fino alle Marche. 
Sappiate inoltre che tutti i nomi di città, fiumi e paesi che terminano in aco, ago, ico, igo (Giussago, Rovigo) in ate (Gallarate, Andrate), in visio o viso (Treviso, Monvisolungo) e in dubbio o uno (Belluno), indicano una presenza celtica che si è protratta abbastanza a lungo per lasciare il segno sulla denominazione di tali località. 

Non c’è dunque da stupirsi se nella tradizione popolare piemontese siano presenti feste e usanze celtiche come anche quella di festeggiare Samhain.
Samhain è una parola celtica che letteralmente significa riunione o raccolto e indicava la fine di un ciclo e l’inizio di un altro. 

Eccovi una serie di siti per poter ripassare la vera storia di Halloween divertirvi e prepararvi in modo adeguato a questo evento:
 
1)              STORIA 1:
 http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/
2)              STORIA 2: 
 http://www.woodlandsjunior.kent.sch.uk/customs/Halloween.html
3)     GAMES:
http://www.1halloween.net/html/search.html
http://halloweenarcade.com/index.php?halloweennightmare
4)     SONGS: 
http://www.kidsmusic.co.uk/acatalog/Free_
Halloween_Songs.html
  5)     RECIPES:
 http://www.easy-kids-recipes.com/halloween-recipes.html
http://www.hersheys.com/trickortreats/treats/recipes.asp 
    6)  CURIOSITIES:

http://www.history.com/minisites/halloween/

 

 HOW WILL YOU CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT, HAVE YOU GOT ANY GRANDPARENTS WHO REMEMBER SOMETHING ABOUT THE PIEDMONTESE TRADITION OF CELEBRATING SAMHAIN?

VOI COME LO FESTEGGERETE E COSA NE PENSATE?

NEW SCHOOL YEAR

BENVENUTI A TUTTI I NUOVI ALLIEVI 

E UN BENTORNATO A QUELLI CON CUI HO PIACEVOLMENTE LAVORATO IN PASSATO.

PER CHI NON MI CONOSCESSE ANCORA QUESTO MESSAGGIO INIZIALE E' IL BIGLIETTO DA VISITA DI QUESTO BLOG.

IN QUESTO AMBIENTE PROTETTO POTRETE IMPARARE COMMENTARE, GIOCARE, GUARDARE VIDEO, STUDIARE, DARE CONTRIBUTI  E CHIEDERE SPIEGAZIONI RELATIVAMENTE ALLA LINGUA INGLESE E A TUTTE LE SUE INNUMEREVOLI MANIFESTAZIONI CULTURALI.

PER POTERLO FARE DOVETE ISCRIVERVI SEGUENDO LE ISTRUZIONI DESCRITTE NELL'APPOSITA PAGINA E CURIOSARE TRA LE PAGINE VECCHIE E NUOVE LASCIANDO COMMENTI FIRMATI.

BUON ANNO SCOLASTICO 

A TUTTI E GODETEVI QUESTA CLIP

 (ovviamente in inglese!)

PER LA TERZA F

HERE YOU ARE THE THREE LAWS OF ROBOTICS
ISAAC ASIMOV'S VOICE LIVE

ECCOVI LE TRE LEGGI DELLA ROBOTICA ENUNCIATE
DAL GRANDE ISAAC ASIMOV IN PERSONA:

 The Three Laws of Robotics are:

1. A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

From Handbook of Robotics, 56th Edition, 2058 A.D., as quoted in I, Robot.

In Robots and Empire (ch. 63), Asimov added the "Zeroth Law" so the other Three Laws were modified according to it. 

0. A robot may not injure humanity or, through inaction, allow humanity to come to harm. 

Unlike the Three Laws, however, the Zeroth Law is not a fundamental part of positronic robotic engineering, is not part of all positronic robots, and, in fact, requires a very sophisticated robot to even accept it.

Isaac Asimov, the legendary American science fiction writer, embraced technological innovation and dominated the field of robotics in literature. Many authors have imitated or directly acknowledged his Three Laws of Robotics, which were designed to effectively control a robot’s behaviour.

 INFINE

ECCO UN'INTERESSANTE

 CURIOSITA' LINGUISTICA

ORIGINE DELLA PAROLA "ROBOT"

The word "robot" (from robota, Czech for "work") made its public debut on this date in 1921, when it premiered on stage in Karel Capek's play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots). The play told of a world in which humans relaxed and enjoyed life while robots - imitation humans - happily did whatever labor needed to be done. Not unexpectedly, the robots eventually rebelled and took over the world. The term "robot" achieved its own world domination in 1923, when the play was translated into English; it quickly overran its competition, precursors "android" and "automaton." 

Apparently from Czech robotnik (worker) or robota (work).  The term 'robot' was first used by Czech writer Karel Capek in a 1921 play called "Rossum's Universal Robots", and caught on internationally. 

THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE THE FILM

THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE THE FILM - DOCTOR MIRACLE 1932 ROBERT FLOREY

DOPO AVER VISTO IL FILM, A SCUOLA, IN LINGUA INGLESE, POTETE DARGLI UN'OCCHIATINA ANCHE IN ITALIANO CLICCANDO IL VIDEO SOTTOSTANTE E POI RISPONDENTE ALLE DOMANDE:

1) WHO ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS?
2) WHAT DO THEY LOOK LIKE?
3) WHAT ARE THEY LIKE?
4) QUOTE AT LEAST FOUR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FILM AND THE BOOK
5) WHAT'S THE FILM END AND THAT OF THE BOOK?
6) DID YOU PREFER THE BOOK OR THE FILM? WHY?
7) WHO IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHARACTER? WHY?
8) WHERE IS THE STORY LOCATED?

VOCABOLI ESAMI CAMBRIDGE

ECCOVI LA LISTA DEI VOCABOLI DA

 SAPERE PER GLI ESAMI CAMBRIDGE 

CHE VI RICORDO SI TERRANNO

 IL 26 MAGGIO PRESSO 

LA SCUOLA MEDIA DI VOLPIANO.

 KET VOCABULARY LIST

https://www.teachers.cambridgeesol.org/ts/digitalAssets/115911_113295_ket_vocablist09_1_.pdf

 PET VOCABULARY LIST

http://www.cambridgeesol.org/assets/pdf/exams/pet-schools/pet-schools-vocab-list.pdf

PRONOMI RELATIVI  - RELATIVES

I pronomi relativi traducono l'italiano CHE quando introduce una frase RELATIVA
non il CHE congiunzione che in inglese non si traduce
EX: I think (that) Mrs K. is as pretty as Nicole Kidman

UNA FRASE RELATIVA E' UNA FRASE TIPO QUELLA CHE SEGUE:

IL RAGAZZO CHE VEDI E' IL FIDANZATO DI SUSAN ossi il ragazzo (il quale vedi)

IN INGLESE PERO' IL CHE NON SI TRADUCE SEMPRE IN UN SOLO MODO MA IN MODI DIVERSI A SECONDA DEL TIPO DI FRASE E DELLA FUNZIONE CHE QUESTI HA NELLA FRASE (SOGGETTO O COMPLEMENTO OGGETTO, PERSONA O COSA).

PER PRIMA COSA DEVO CAPIRE IN CHE TIPO DI FRASE RELATIVA SI TROVA IL CHE SE E'

1) DEFINING (fondamentale alla comprensione della frase)
ex: THE MAN WHO/THAT REPAIRED MY TV YESTERDAY IS MR BROWN.
L'uomo che ha riparato la mia tv ieri è Mr Brown.

2) NON DEFINING (non fondamentale alla comprensione della frase e viene messa tra due virgole)
ex: MR BROWN, WHO LIVES NEXT DOOR, REPAIRED MY TV.
Il signor Brown, che vive qui accanto, ha riparato la mia tv ieri.

UNA VOLTA STABILITO SE LA FRASE E' DEFINING O NON DEFINING DOVETE TRADURRE IL CHE SECONDO IL SEGUENTE SCHEMA:

1) DEFINING 

SE IL CHE E' SOGGETTO  =
 THAT (per persone, animali e cose) oppure
 WHO (solo per le persone)
 WHICH (solo per cose e animali

EX: THE MAN WHO/THAT REPAIRED MY TV YESTERDAY IS MR BROWN.

SE IL CHE E' COMPLEMENTO OGGETTO =
THAT (per persone, animali e cose) oppure
WHO/WHOM (solo per le persone)
WHICH (solo per cose e animali)
EX: BILL WORKS IN A FACTORY THAT/WHICH MAKES WATCHES.

2) NON DEFINING (la riconoscete perchè è fra due virgole)

SE IL CHE E' SOGGETTO =
WHO (solo per le persone)
WHICH (solo per cose e animali)
(SENZA ALTRA SCELTA OSSIA NON METTETE IL THAT PER NESSUN MOTIVO!!!!!)
EX: MR BROWN, WHO LIVES NEXT DOOR, REPAIRED MY TV YESTERDAY.
Il signor Brown, che vive qui accanto, ha riparato il mio televisore ieri.

SE IL CHE E' COMPLEMENTO OGGETTO =
WHOM (solo per le persone)
WHICH (solo per le cose e animali)
(SENZA ALTRA SCELTA OSSIA NON METTETE IL THAT PER NESSUN MOTIVO!!!!)
EX: BILL'S FACTORY, WHICH MAKES WATCHES, IS NEAR LONDON.
L'azienda di Bill, che produce orologi, è vicino a Londra

PER TRADURRE DI CUI IN TUTTI I CASI USATE WHOSE 
EX: SUSAN, WHOSE MOTHER IS A TEACHER, IS MY FRIEND.
Susan, la cui madre è un'insegnante, è mia amica.

PER ESERCITARVI CLICCATE SUL LINK SOTTOSTANTE:

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-1/exercise-english-146.php

MARCH CONTEST

CONCORSO DI INGLESE 

CON RICCHI PREMI

 English Culture Contest

"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what 

you can do for your country ...."

Task: Listen to JFK's speech and complete the quotation above. Next comment this statement. What does it mean according to you? How can you apply this philosphy to your own life? Write a little essay. (No more than 10 lines)

Consegna: Ascoltate il discorso di JFK e completate la citazione sopra riportata. Poi commenta la frase intera. Cosa significa secondo te in senso filosofico? Come potresti applicare questa filosofia alla tua vita personale? Scrivi un breve commento. (Non più di 10 righe).

I COMMENTI PIU' INTERESSANTI E ORIGINALI, POSSIBILMENTE SCRITTI IN INGLESE (DA SOLI!!!!) SARANNO PREMIATI ALLA FINE DEL MESE CON PREMI DI DIVERSO TIPO.

PARTECIPATE E VINCERETE COMUNQUE!!!

p.s. Who is JFK?