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.

Where do calendars come from?

And a universal calendar.
The Mayan had a beautiful calendar.
Moon phases calendar.
And a Chinese calendar.

The football team of Koh Panyee

Video from KarmaTube

This is a true story about a junior football team from Thailand, you will see that playing football is not always easy.

Surfing YouTube

Click on the Logo to go to the website

There are lots of great videos in YouTube, and not only musical videos, you can surf and find videos on different topics, although I know,  it can be sometimes difficult to find them.

Today I bring you some channels for you to explore, I hope you enjoy and have a great surfing.

American Museum of Natural History, if you are crazy about space, dinosaurs and natural science.

British Film Institute National Archive, a large collection of free films.

Oscars official channel: Everything you have always wanted to know about the Oscars:trailers, interviews, history...

Mr.Bean has got a great channel.

Learn English with the BBC

Riverdance: Enjoy the traditional dance from Ireland.

Save the children, for thsoe of you worried about life in poor countries.

Theatre in the age of Shakespeare

See above a facsimile of the baptism of William Shakespeare. 

The entry is in Latin and reads "Gulielmus filius Johannes Shakspere" or, if you prefer it in English, "William son of John Shakspere".
And a quote from one of his plays:

"The course of true love never did run smooth"

From A Midsummer Night's Dream (Act 1, Scene 1)
And the second part is here

Watch the video and tell me if theatre is the same now as it used to be in Shakespeare's time.



Do you find any difference?
Remember:
People used to go to theatres in the afternoon (no artificial lighting at the time).
Gentlemen could have their chair put right up on the stage (a great privilege!)for an extra fee.
You could enjoy a different play every afternoon, perhaps 4-6 plays in a repertory season.
There were no playhouses until 1576, so that performances usually took place in an inn yard.
Ladies could attend, but they used to be veiled or in masks.
A woman was not allowed to work as an actress on stage.

We are 7 billion

We are 7 billion on Earth, more humans than ever and still growing.
Here you have an interesting web on the matter:

The world at seven billion is an interactive of the BBC, you can write the date of your birth and know your number on Earth. Just write the date and clikc on "go". Then you click on "next" and get more info on the topic.
Click to see how many are 7 billions.

And National Geographic has a video that make us think about what 7 billion people mean:

About schools in Finland

What would the dream of any student be? spending less time in school?,having longer summer holidays and less tests? There is one country in Europe where that dream becomes a reality, and it works!



Click if you want to know more about Finland.

Read "The Wall Street Journal" article about Finland smart kids.

Arab countries are boiling

What is happening in the Arab countries? From the really rich oil countries in the Gulf to Morocco in the West, all countries find their population standing against dictatorial regimes. This seems the path to a new future for our Arab neighbours.
Arab countries are full of young people, many of them without a job and they want a change in the way of doing politics, as we have seen in Egypt.
Click and see the interactive from the Guardian newspaper.
And follow the link if you want to know why they are so upset.
And click if you want to know more about Egypt.

Spending in education

from FedEx

Have a look at the map, weird isn't it? it changes the shape of countries in response to the dates you select. I have searched about education and spending in education in the world, and this is what I have got.
Click to see the maps, write SPEND IN EDUCATION where you read SEARCH wait for the map and then click on each country to learn how much it spends in education.
Can you tell me:
How much does Spain spend in education?
What is the european country with a highest education budget?
Is there any relation bewteeen the shape of the country and its education budget?

Romeo and Juliet (again)

O, that I were a glove upon that hand, That I might touch that cheek! 

(Romeo talking to Juliet who is in a window, Romeo and Juliet, Act II scene 2)

This is for those of you who are reading Romeo and Juliet.
Watch how Romeo met Juliet and how he learnt that she was a Capulet, member of the family enemy to Romeo's ow family (Montague).

Click and follow the Romeo and Juliet itinerary in Verona.
 

This is a graffitti wall in Juliet's home in Verona.
Click for more about Romeo and Juliet.
Follow the link to see pictures of the Globe Theatre in London.
Some facts about Shakespeare.

breogan's lighthouse

Breogan's lighthouse is an anthology of Galician Literature that you can now read in English, written by  Antonio de Toro and published by Francis Boutle .  They are publishing anthologies of literatures of those lesser known European Languages as Manx, Breton and so many, those languages are alive and kicking, you can not say the same about  Cornish.

Thanks to old Greeks for so many words!

More social studies lessons on Countries & States at NeoK12.com

Thanks to old Greeks for lending us so many words.
Here you have a game about English words of Greek origin.

And I hope you enjoy your summer holidays a lot, see you in September!

Midsummer night

Loreena McKennitt

Tonight is  Summer Solstice, Midsummer Night , Bonfire Night or St. John's Eve 

  

Have a great bonfire tonight!

And now learn about Loreena McKennit and her opinion about Santiago:

Loreena McKennitt : read some pages of her diary with her views about Santiago
Just performed in Santiago de Compostella in the Galician area of Spain...misty and lush as we arrived from more arid areas of the country; clearly Celtic territory in the language and music, and a place I must visit again soon...We arrived a day early; band et alii went for a wonderful Sunday lunch and then wandered over to the cathedral to observe the wonderful faces on the Portico.

In Santiago again - Santiago de Compostella (St. James in the Field of Stars)...had occasion to return to Galicia and Santiago sooner than I'd thought...I learned the story behind the city. Supposedly the remains of St. James arrived mysteriously in the village of Padron (which we visited...lovely line of trees along the waterway leading to the place where the relics were found) and interred here in Santiago...

Loreena McKennitt is from Canada and this is her composition "Santiago" based in traditional Galician music:





Enjoy your Bonfire night (that is the way it is called in Ireland) and remember that this day is not only celebrated in Galicia.

Robin Hood Tax

The Robin Hood Tax is a campaign that some charities in the UK have started, the idea is adding a tiny fee to all financial bank transactions with the aim of raising millions of euros to help fighting against hunger in the world, but the video explains it much better:



The idea of this tax comes from the economist and Nobel laureate James Tobin
Here you have a Robin Hood mask.
And remember that  hunger comes from poverty.

Bloody Sunday

On January 30, 1972, British troops opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilians in Derry, Ireland during a civil rights march, 13 people were killed and 14 wounded, one of those died later.That was remembered with the name of  "Bloody Sunday".
The conflict in Northern Ireland (called "the troubles") was an old one,  Irish Catholic people wanted an independent Irish state or associated to the independent South (they were called "Republicans") while Irish Protestants wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom (they were called "Unionists"). As a result of Bloody Sunday, more people started to believe that the pacific protests were of no use and the IRA increased its violent acts and bombing.
Nearly forty years after Bloody Sunday, the British Prime Minister, David Cameron apologises for the killings, after the results of the Saville report on the matter were released.
 Watch the news in Channel 4:



Click here to watch and listen to "we shall overcome" this anthem was sung by Bloody Sunday demonstrators.
U2 adicated a song to the ones who died that day.


Click to see the lyrics.

Listen to David Cameron apology in the House of Commons:

Titanic

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Do you enjoy going to the cinema? I am sure you remember Titanic the film which got 14 oscars of the Academy in Hollywood.
Today I bring you am audioclip of the film, it is a dialogue between Leonardo diCaprio and  Kate Winslet.




Click here if you want to download the exercises.
Click to watch a video about the story of the Titanic or go to the watch the videos section on the sidebar on your right.

Magnificient Maps Exhibition

Click on the map to follow the link.

If you think to travel to London next summer, you are lucky because you will be able to visit the exhibition of Magnificient Maps in the British Library (a great library with more things than books). But if you can't go there, you always have the possibility to visit this great  website, where you can travel through the old maps and use the zoom to get a detailed view of them.
Click here you can see an animated presentation of the BBC showing the History of Mapmaking in Europe.
Or click to explore the beautiful website the BBC has about maps.
Pictures of London, just to enjoy.
Map to find the British Library and some more tips from Time Out London.
London for free, just in case you are short of money.

Hunger: an infographic

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever" (Mohandas Gandhi)

I liked very much this infographic about world hunger , here you have everything you should know about hunger in hte world. And don't you agree that the the quote by Gandhi is really inspiring?

Just wondering why...?

If you are one of those who spend the time "just wondering..." this is your website, if you want to know  why Google is called google, or if you feel curious about the reason why Britney Spears shaved her head  and you just don't know who would know the answer, I know the website for you,  where you can find the reasons to those questions and many more, just click on the picture and follow the link to the website for those of you just wondering...

The best world museums in your computer

The Times has made a list of the best websites of museums in the world. You can visit them without leaving your home, you just need to click on the picture and follow the ten links in the newspaper website. Enjoy your trip and explore the one you prefer.