Pocahontas biography

Pocahontas was the beloved daughter of the Algonquian Chief Powhatan, you know about her life because of the famous Disney picture, but you can also listen to her biography here:




 Follow the link and read while you listen, (I know, it is a bit too long...).
 This is a download from: Voice of America Special English.

Here you have some more links about biographies.

And click here for a crazy quiz about Pocahontas.

Some English words of Amerindian origin.

Listen to Tom

 

Follow the link and listen to Tom Sawyer and read it at the same time.
Download the audiobook if you prefer, or listen to it online.

Mark Twain (that is a pen name for Samuel Langhorne Clemens) life is important because he wrote about his chilhood memories in Hannibal, a small town in Missouri (USA).

Singing along

Bruno Mars was born in Honolulu (Hawaii) in a family of musicians, he is a now a famous singer and songwriter.  Now you can sing this song with him.

Links:
His official website.
Hawaii

Watch a video on Hawaii:


Watch the video the times you need and then choose the right answer:
1) What is the biggest city in Hawaii?
a) Waikiki, b) Honolulu, c) Pearl Harbor.
2) Can you name a sport invented there?
a) surfing, b)sailing, c) skating.
3) Do you remember the names of two sea animals in the video?
a) seals and whales, b) whales and sardines, c) sardines and octopus.
Easy, don't you think?

Pull them up

"Stop the Sag" billboard in Brooklyn (New York)

Sagging is the fashion trend for wearing pants, slacks, jeans, trousers in general,  below the waistline to expose one's underwear, it is practised by males.The origin of this word is uncertain some believe it has begun in prisons, but what seems to be certain is that it comes from America, where there is a huge controversy about this fashion.

it has been banned in some States because some people think that  sagging is an indecent fashion and they have started a campaign to "pull them up".

Barak Obama said that those laws were a waste of time, although he also said:

"Some people might not want to see your underwear. I’m one of them." (Barak Obama).

Listen to the Pull them up song:

And the lyrics:

you stand up straight, bet your pants fall.

Might as well walk around with your pants off.

Pull 'em up, pull 'em up, pull 'em up.

Be a real man. Stand up.

Is that your underwear, man? Pull your pants up.

 

And what is your opinion? You can express it voting in the poll on your right.

goodbye to Salinger

Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad.

 (The Catcher in the Rye Holden Caulfield in Chapter 7)

J.D. Salinger, the great American author of "the catcher in the rye" has died, he was 91 years old. In  "The catcher in the rye" which made of him a famous writer, Salinger gave to a young called Holden Caulfield a voice to express himself, as it had never happened before.  He lived in privacy and far of literary circles from 1965, year in which he published his last story:"Hapworth".
Follow the link and walk around Manhattan with Holden Caulfield.

Mark Twain lost stories

              

"This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four."  (Mark Twain on April fools' Day published in Pudd'nhead Wilson's Calendar)

For those of you who have read and enjoyed Tom Sawyer adventures  here you have a picture of Mark Twain in front of his home. We remember him today because some stories written by him have been found just now, it seems that he had given them to his brother and told him "you had better shove this in the stove." because he didn't want things published after his death. Now they will be published in spite of Twain's wish. What would you do? Would you publish a story when its author had told you not to?.A lot of time has passed anyway and although Twain's brother didn't burn the stories, he didn't publish them either.

I want you to search and learn about Mark Twain's life. Click to see the crossword about him (and print the pdf).

Here you can find help with the crossword.

And... What are we reminded of on April fools' Day in Twain's opinion? (I know it is easy).

Barack Obama, inaugural speech

Watch (and read) Barack Obama's inaugural speech. You can choose among different languages, but, of course, it is much better if you follow the speech in English, and read it at the same pace as Obama talks.

Remember that you can download the speech from the printing box.

Click to read his biography.

Click here to an African-American History Timeline.

If Dr.King were among us he would be really happy. 

Click here if you want to see (or dub) some other videos.

Missing Lennon (still)

"A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream  together  is  reality."

John Lennon.

John Lennon was killed by David Chapman the 8th of December of 1980 and we still miss him. Barak Obama has used the above quote in his campaign, but he is not the only one to think of Lennon as somebody important in his life, a very different personality as Bono (U2) has seen Lennon as a really great influence in his early years, this is what he has said : "I really remember John Lennon's Imagine. I guess I'm twelve; that's one of my first albums. That's really set fire to me. It was like he was whispering in your ear -his ideas of what's possible. Different ways of seeing the world."
Click here if you want to read some more quotes by John Lennon.
Click here to listen to his famous song, Imagine with lyrics.

Columbus Day

Columbus, the explorer who left Europe and sailed looking for fame and fortune in Cathay, the man who discovered a new continent but never took notice of it, the same who died in poverty in Spain, in spite of being his day a public holiday in many American countries, many people don't feel comfortable with this celebration as this explorer has a dark side which is usually forgotten.

Try the following links:

Watch the film: Columbus landing in America.

Click here to link to the BBC for schools and listen about Columbus life.

A different point of view:
Follow the link to learn about Native American from South Dakota.

And a controversial article in the CNN.

We shall overcome

Today we will remember M.L.King who was the leader of the Nonviolence movement in the US and was assassinated on the 4th of April of 1968. He defended peaceful ways for Afroamericans to achieve the same Civil Rights as white people and was a leader of a movement inspired for Gandhi and his nonviolence philosophy.

World Day Against the Death Penalty

As today is the International Day against Death Penalty I would like to know your views about this matter. Please follow the links and then share your opinion with the classroom.
Death penalty in the USA
Children executed estatistics
BBC news about the World Day Against Death Penalty
Learn what cities for life mean.