tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30630389617676277502024-03-13T13:09:39.650+02:00English Teacher On The LooseTeaching on the wild side.N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-9826005601077682222023-09-18T04:08:00.000+03:002023-09-18T04:08:09.871+03:00No words are enough to welcome students back this year.<p>The school year has had two false starts here in Thessaly. Schools are closed in Trikala, where I live and work; the date for the annual blessing postponed first by one week, and then another. The same is true for Karditsa, Larissa and Volos, and all the villages surrounding these cities, in the aftermath of storm Daniel.</p><p>It deeply saddens me to think that many Thessalian children gathering their school supplies together are going to be grateful for anything they have this year. Thousands have lost homes and possessions, their school books and bags, pencil cases and folders have all been washed away along with family livelihoods, homes and even schools. (Children from some villages will be bused into nearby towns until repairs are complete). School gyms have become temporary homes to those who were not able to lodge with family or friends and when they are finally accommodated, it will be in short term solutions such as hotels and guest houses until cleaning and repairs are carried out.</p><p><i>Frontisteria</i> (tutorial schools and foreign language centres) are open though. In one of my first lessons, a student had a damp text book rescued from the flooding. This child still had a smile on his face and joined in the lesson as if nothing was out of the ordinary. It made me realise that the stability that going back to school will bring, is going to be crucial this year. Back to school with it's timetabled regularity, familiar faces and catching up with what friends have been up to over the summer is a staple of childhood Septembers. Even when all else is lost, school puts a semblance of order into chaos. As such, it should always be a place to feel safe and welcome. Provide opportunity for a pupil to explore who he is and is to become. A space where a child can spread his wings and see how far they will carry him, knowing that should he fall there is a safety network of teachers and classmates to catch him.</p><p>Do not underestimate the role school has on your life, be you pupil, teacher or parent. Let's be grateful that we are able to return.</p><p>If you want to donate school supplies (see list below), furniture or clothes, collection points have been set up around Greece, check with your local authority for details.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>School bags/pencil cases</li><li>Exercise books</li><li>Pens and pencils</li><li>Felt tip pens and coloured pencils</li><li>Organizational equipment, folders, ring binders and files etc.</li><li>Drawing books</li><li>Canson craft card</li><li>Photocopy paper </li><li>Glue, glue sticks and sellotape</li><li>Geometry sets and compasses</li><li>Lunch boxes</li><li>Water bottles and cool bags</li><li>Wet wipes, tissues and antiseptic hand gel</li></ul><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArV76jk09YnyN8XCVwvf4qfuuRdCjq9TnE4ZR_2puxBgB0XF9qAJ-nyjyU2gbswRyXd9ozAhSaWpvWXxDFE3rG85_w-4MTTTtYGIoMJbYp6GPnzsNpehTuqQuYqSp_PjIr8lRuZaeIozvDdNNn964SyqVDJFtVz8VcH8tvvoGtzNyDJ1PmfFcqhv1fQE/s4160/IMG_20230917_145215.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiArV76jk09YnyN8XCVwvf4qfuuRdCjq9TnE4ZR_2puxBgB0XF9qAJ-nyjyU2gbswRyXd9ozAhSaWpvWXxDFE3rG85_w-4MTTTtYGIoMJbYp6GPnzsNpehTuqQuYqSp_PjIr8lRuZaeIozvDdNNn964SyqVDJFtVz8VcH8tvvoGtzNyDJ1PmfFcqhv1fQE/s320/IMG_20230917_145215.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A school complex at Farkadona, the gate and yard strewn with debris from the flooding, which reached around two metres and only subsided enough in the last few days for residents to start cleaning.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-20259479233839205922023-06-01T13:40:00.002+03:002023-06-01T13:40:25.892+03:00ABBREVIATIONS - THE INITIAL POST! (PUN INTENDED)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">When I'm teaching students who are taking the Michingan <b>E</b>xamination for the <b>C</b>ertificate of <b>P</b>roficiency in <b>E</b>nglish (ECPE), one of the most <b>f</b>requently <b>a</b>sked <b>q</b>uestion<b>s</b> (FAQs) is what does <i>* INSERT SEEMINGLY RANDOM LETTER SEQUENCE HERE*</i> mean? If your answer is IDK (<b>I</b> <b>d</b>on't <b>k</b>now) look no further!</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LJE9pZ_5ORmgw1bbCn35j9m1PfU_EFVuZiZyDwNEKEqonk8z04qP2nn0YO_0Sf1d0X00u5uElgGoVIZtPMn7f4_dpa2basFvh3RG0qhHPISjMw8Dir2_dBblMjk9QvCJ9Szm1QsoaptwXFtfMXSdt1MbXprxQAIEOijJ1eW54vCNOBj0CXXz_MzX/s2000/6847030.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="2000" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3LJE9pZ_5ORmgw1bbCn35j9m1PfU_EFVuZiZyDwNEKEqonk8z04qP2nn0YO_0Sf1d0X00u5uElgGoVIZtPMn7f4_dpa2basFvh3RG0qhHPISjMw8Dir2_dBblMjk9QvCJ9Szm1QsoaptwXFtfMXSdt1MbXprxQAIEOijJ1eW54vCNOBj0CXXz_MzX/w320-h280/6847030.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Image by Freepik</span></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">So here are a few of the most commonly found on the exam, plus a few more common ones just for good measure.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">COMMON COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY QUALIFICATIONS (in order of degree)</span></u></h3><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dip<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Diploma of Higher Education (Usually, first 2 years of a degree course)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">BA<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Bachelor of Arts (Arts being all academic course that are not science)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">BSc<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Bachelor of Science </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">MA<span> </span><span> <span> <span> </span></span>Master of Arts </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">MSc<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Master of Science</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">MBA<span> <span> <span> </span></span>Master of Business Administration</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">PhD<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Doctorate</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">YEARS, TIMES AND DATES</span></u></span></h3><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">BC<span> </span><span> </span>Before Christ</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">AD<span> </span><span> </span><i>Anno Domini, </i>Latin for "In the year of our Lord" or more easily, after Christ</span></p><p><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">But now, as it is better to take a more inclusive view of the world, these are more frequently used, </span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">BCE<span> </span><span> Before Common Era</span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">CE<span> </span><span> </span><span>Common Era</span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">a.m. <i>ante meridiem</i><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-size: 14px;">, Latin for "Before midday"</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">p.m.<span> </span><span> post meridiem, Latin for "after midday" </span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">mm/dd/yy (US) OR dd/mm/yy (UK) month/day/year OR day/month/year</span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">TYPES OF BUSINESS & TITLES</span></u></span></h3><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Co.<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Company</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ltd.<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span>Limited</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Corp.<span> </span><span> </span><span>Corporation</span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Inc.<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Incorporated</span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">LLP<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Limited LIability Partnership</span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">LLC<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Limited LIability Company</span></span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">CEO<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Chief Executive Officer</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">CFO<span> </span><span> <span> </span>Chief Financial Officer</span></span></span></span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span><span><span><u><span style="font-family: inherit;">OTHER COMMON ABBREVIATIONS YOU MIGHT COME ACROSS</span></u></span></span></span></h3><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">FAQs<span> </span><span> frequently asked questions</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">RSVP <i style="background-color: white;"><b>Répondez s'il vous plaît, French for "reply if you please"</b></i></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ASAP<span> </span><span> as soon as possible</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">ETA<span> </span><span> </span><span> estimated time of arrival</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">n/a<span> </span><span> </span><span> </span><span> not applicable</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">AKA<span> </span><span> </span><span> also known as</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">DIY<span> </span><span> </span><span> do it yourself</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">CV<span> </span><span> </span><span> <span> </span>curriculum vitae Latin for "life timetable" , but used for a resume.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span style="font-family: inherit;">DOB<span> </span><span> </span><span> date of birth</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><br /></span></span></span></p><p><span><u><span style="font-size: xx-small;">RESOURCES</span></u></span></p><p><span style="font-size: xx-small;">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page</span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">https://careersblog.enterprise.co.uk/business-acronyms-a-beginners-guide/</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">https://manuals.ipaustralia.gov.au/trademark/annex-a1---abbreviations-of-types-of-companies-recognised-as-bodies-corporate</span></span></p><p><span><br /></span></p>N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-52732688264032925402020-06-01T22:27:00.001+03:002020-06-01T22:57:22.901+03:00Top 9 Teachers on film!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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There are many things that inspire someone to become a teacher. One of those, in my case, was movie teachers. So I thought I'd share a few of my favourites with you. They're most certainly not all good examples of what a teacher should be by any means, but I have soft spot for them all.<br />
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9. Mrs. McClusky, head mistress of Grange Hill from the BBC TV series of the same name. She spent her school years battling both unruly teachers and students and dealing with a huge variety of problems. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-eo6vJWC7U">Click here for a tribute to her.</a><br />
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8. Jack Black as Dewey Finn, a failed rock guitarist posing as Mr. Schneebly, a substitute teacher in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PsUJFEBC74">School of Rock</a>. This is a loser-makes-good movie. Jack Black loosens up the unnaturally mature children of a snobby preparatory school and their lives suddenly take on meaning. The great thing is that Black's character is also on the learning curve.<br />
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7. St. Trinian's Headmistress Miss Millicent Fritton (played by Alistair Sim in drag) from the 1954 film The Belles of St. Trinian's, has to be one of my earliest memories of a film teacher. Despite being absolutely useless at trying to rein in hordes of screaming, hockey stick waving school girls, (most likely due to her gin drinking and total indifference to the surrounding chaos) she always ends up on top.<br />
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6. Arnold Schwarzenegger as John Kimble in Kindergarten Cop (1990). He's an undercover agent who replaces a kindergarten teacher colleague. With absolutely no experience in dealing with small kids, Kimble has the tots marching in line in no time. I'll tell you, there's a few classes where I could put such skill to good use!<br />
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5. & 4. The duo of teachers in the life of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUGHWje7liM">Matilda </a>The Good, and the Bad and Ugly of teaching, Miss Trunchpole and Miss Honey are polar opposites in teaching. 'The Trunchpole', as she is known literally tortures her charges with chocolate cake or swinging them around her head by their pigtails, where as Miss Honey is sweetness and light, who loves reading and brings joy to learning. There were few who didn't know how to spell difficulty after this movie.<br />
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3. Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid is the epitome of patience and virtue, the teacher who just knows that composure and determination are the way to get what you want. If you have never seen the 1984 original version of the movie, it is a cult masterpiece; wax on, wax off my friends!<br />
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2. Then, of course, Robin Williams' performance as John Keating in Dead Poets Society, comes in a very close second. Here is a teacher that inspires his students to 'seize the day' and do what they have thus far only dreamed of! Do not be food for worms!<br />
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1. Those of you who have ever seen me dressed up for Halloween, will not be surprised by number one on my list. Minerva McGonagall, like many other favourite teachers here was first introduced to the world through the pages of a novel (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone), however Dame Maggie Smith's portayal literally brings the character to life just as I had imagined her. I really hope that I have even half the skill and talent, the fairness and strictness as a teacher.<br />
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Do you have a favourite fictional teacher? Comment below and let me know!</div>
N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-15853178592290939352020-04-29T15:26:00.001+03:002020-04-29T20:23:02.190+03:00Back to School after Lockdown<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Whether you are raring to get back into the swing of things, reluctant, cautious or scared, we are going back to school. May 18th 2020, here in Greece at least, we're restarting school. Whichever reaction describes yours, there's one thing that is true, this school year has been like no other any of us have experienced.<br />
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I've got a few pointers for your academic progress and performance in English. Please bear in mind that I am assuming you have done nothing since March 11th when school closed. (If you are diligent then this blog post is probably not for you!)<br />
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<b>All students:</b></div>
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Make sure you have all your equipment in your bag: course books, exercise books, pens, pencils, hand-outs. Throw away the mouldy sandwich that has been festering there for 2 months! Add hand sanitizer, masks and optional single-use gloves.<br />
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<b>Young learners</b>:</div>
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What do you remember? Have a look at the course books you've been using. Do you remember the character names? Can you still read the dialogues? How many words do you remember? Do you still know the grammar rules? If you have ebooks listen to the recordings again.</div>
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<b>Pre-Intermediate + non-exam takers: </b></div>
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Read all the texts again to familiarise yourself with both the grammar and vocabulary. Catch up on the homework you left until after Lockdown. (That time is now!) </div>
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Revise vocabulary and grammar. Re-familiarise yourself with exam style tasks. Check the website or social media sites for your exam board, see if there are any online revision exercises or sample tests you can do. Find a friend who's taking the same exam as you and do some mock interviews from your course book or test book. Record the 'interview' and then be your own examiners; what did you do well? What could you have done better?<br />
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Most of all, stay safe, study hard and focus on the task in hand. Wear your mask, wash your hands, keep your distance. You can do this!</div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-47165495477448040862018-08-28T15:35:00.000+03:002018-08-28T15:41:57.225+03:00Five Notes on Back to School.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, it's after August 15th, which here in Greece means teachers turn their thoughts to getting back to work, (if they ever stopped in the first place)! I thought I'd give you a run down on some things going through my brain at this time of year and then we can compare notes. (Please add your views in the comments below!)<br />
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I love going back to school, I always did. As a kid it meant new shoes, bag, supplies and an outfit, catching up with my friends after a long summer break and learning new stuff. As a teacher, things are a little more complicated. Super duper new supplies (I will be looking at this in a future post) do come into it of course, but there are more urgent concerns for me as a teacher.<br />
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#1 New Routine:<br />
If you are working in a <i>''frontisterio"</i> - Greek foreign language centre, you will have your time table to consider, as you will in any other educational establishment of course, but the <i>frontisterio</i> often feel obliged to pander to their clients needs and thus you know that your timetable will be altered at least three times before the end of September. If you are a peripatetic teacher, you'll be juggling your hours and judging how much time it'll take you to get from one lesson to the next. That can be from a few minutes up to half an hour depending on where you live. Whatever, your teaching situation you'll soon get into a familiar routine.<br />
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#2 New Books:<br />
And I mean the books you use to teach with. Of course, you might not get a choice in what to use, but if you do, you need to consider quite a few different things in the selection process. Look at the level, age and interests of your students.<br />
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LEVEL: Look at the grammar and vocabulary covered; is it sufficient for the progress you wish to make with your class? If you have a class you want to fast-track. - you know those kids that just 'get' the language, you might want to consider jumping a level and supplementing with some fun vocabulary lessons. I find slow cooking classes (the ones where you find yourself explaining basic grammar for the umpteenth time) often like a book with a standard layout in each unit. Here it is important to check that grammar and vocabulary are recycled throughout the book.<br />
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AGE: Layout is important here. Adults tend to like plain, clear exercises in neat neat columns, and a traditional typeface, teens/tweens/infants like a busy page with wacky pictures and cartoons. Look at the age of the characters if there is a story theme, aim a little older rather than younger. Look at technology in the books, kids are very discerning and will be quick to point out ageing tech in photos, again adults are usually a little more tolerant.<br />
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INTEREST: Remember to choose objectively. (Personally, sports leave me cold, but give me nature and I'll prick up my ears.) If a unit you thought was fabulous hits a flat response, remind yourself that your students will not necessarily like the same stuff you do, accept it and get over it, after all you are there to help them. Of course, this tailoring of taste isn't always possible given that you may be teaching a large class. If that is the case, try to find a course book that has multiple topics that will appeal to many interests.<br />
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#3 Targets:<br />
I know several teachers who get into the office on the first day and check their academic calendar to see when public holidays fall and which classes they'll be missing. (I'm naming no names!) Joking aside, this is only partly because they'll get a welcome break mid term (no half-term/autumn/spring breaks in Greece), but also because if you have an exam class you need to plan lessons and material and know exactly how much time you have to cover that material. If you are in a state school, you'll also have to contend with school trips. If you are a home tutor, ask about family vacations in advance. Count days, and lessons according to the pace of your classes and do a rough calculation. Add in a few extra days if you you want to do extra activities for celebrations and so on.<br />
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#4 Extra activities:<br />
I'll be honest, this is my favourite part of teaching (I'm already scanning Pinterest for classroom decor and fun activities). The thing you need to think about is what you want to (re)present. Most teachers deal with major American and British celebrations. Don't forget there are also cultural heritage activities or International Days that you can look at. Again, depending on how much leeway you have, you can teach these things in many ways. In schools it's fun to see older kids teaching younger ones after a few years of following a celebration like Halloween for example. You realise you've brought another culture into their lives then and even if the customs don't have the same significance, it's lovely to see them being appreciated. *NOTE* Always respect parental views on these lessons; some will not wish their kids to participate in certain activities for whatever reason. You may think it's odd, but they're ultimately in charge. Check with the parents first if you are unsure. (E.g. Are kids allowed to have sweets? Are there any religious beliefs to be considered?)<br />
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#5 The first day:<br />
It's an old one, but I have to remind myself every year; start as you mean to go on. I've taught all ages - toddlers to pensioners and it's the same in every instance. Don't give the impression that you are a pushover - believe me chaos will eventually ensue! Don't be old-school strict - you do not want to hear kids ''complaining" about you to their friends/parents/your boss. Try to strike a balance so that your students know you are fair yet fearless. (You <i>are</i>, even if you don't feel like it all the time.)<br />
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Have a great school year 2018-2019 everyone!<br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-52883712393905662962018-04-22T12:16:00.000+03:002018-04-22T12:16:05.552+03:00Organisation or Organization?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Some of my students have been quizzing me on my spelling of the word <i>organisation</i>. Now I tend to fall back on the "It's British spelling" in answer to this in class</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">, but in the case of organisation, z is also British spelling. So I thought this was a great opportunity to </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">expound</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"> upon this and briefly delve into the issue of spelling in the English language over time and the differences in English between continents as well as reassure my students I am perfectly capable of spelling</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Language, by its very nature, is mutable and malleable. This is what allowed such a huge array of written English over the centuries. Think Shakespeare juxtaposed with Kerouac, or Charlotte Bronte with J.K.Rowling to get even just a glimpse of the scope in classic and popular literature let alone all other types of writing out there. Then take a glimpse at how each writer has stretched and played with words to find just the right nuance of meaning.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">So it is with spelling. English is a mishmash of invader influence, necessity and idiosyncrasy. There are Latin words, German words, Greek words to name but a few, there are hybrids (chocoholic, aquaphobia or beatnik) and even acronyms that have become accepted as words in their own right (laser). There's rhyming slang that sounds like gibberish (old china plate or apples and pears), regional words for things that are not understood elsewhere in the same country (ginnel, gennog, jetty or alley), there are words that have reversed their meanings over the passage of time (nice or bully), not to mention street speak, text speak, and good ol' jargon. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">But where am I going with all this, you ask me? How does that justify the pesky, errant 's'? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Flexibility, change and variety. </span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">If you visit the Oxford dictionary on line, it may indeed appear I am mistaken in my spelling (unless you read the small print!); here's what you get when you put organisation into Google. </span><br />
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<a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/organization">Oxford Dictionary entry.</a><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">If you look in companions from teaching material that I use, it might also seem that I have not done my homework.</span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rrRN9dDA7iM/Wtt_u7yyyoI/AAAAAAAABFA/_FXKPz-7oUkynGEtowP0KCFVqdChl0wEQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_20180421_153055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="478" data-original-width="1600" height="95" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rrRN9dDA7iM/Wtt_u7yyyoI/AAAAAAAABFA/_FXKPz-7oUkynGEtowP0KCFVqdChl0wEQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20180421_153055.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Here's an entry from <a href="https://www.burlingtonbooks.com/Greece/Page.aspx?PageID=1644&zoneIndex=0">Burlington book's Stay Connected B2 </a>course book for example.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">However, if you search a little deeper, you will see that my choice of 's' over 'z' is perfectly acceptable. According to the Oxford Living Dictionary, the s form, although not the original spelling, has been <a href="https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/03/28/ize-or-ise/">in use since the mid 1700s.</a></span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Nor, indeed, is it archaic; you will see that I am using the favoured spelling of the British press. (I read <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk">The Guardian</a> most frequently.)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span>
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<img src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UJV_WLmNRkM/WtrYRMnICBI/AAAAAAAABEw/Xk0wsvRBeaEx43Ylfjv64FWYlXVE4ttXgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_20180421_030128.png" /></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">So I will continue to write<i> organisation</i>, and you may choose to use 'z' when you write. We are both correct. Of, course that will undoubtedly change!</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;">Should you feel the need to delve deeper into English spelling you might like these links below.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/spelling/british-and-spelling">British and American spelling.</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/spelling/ize-ise-or-yse">Words that need to be spelled -ise.</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/03/28/ize-or-ise/">-ise or ize?</a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><a href="https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English">Australian spelling.</a></span></div>
N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-56676157065910814552017-12-29T09:42:00.001+02:002017-12-29T09:42:55.219+02:00Winners of the B2 & A2 Levels!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This will soon turn into the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOtEdhKOMgQ">Nightmare Before (or rather After) Christmas</a> Competition! I've still had very little time to type up these stories. Apologies to those who've been waiting. Here are the winners of the B2 level. And my only entrant at A2 level. Enjoy!<br />
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(If some of these have the same beginning it's because they were written from a prompt in their exam book.)<br />
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<b><u>B2 LEVEL</u></b><br />
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<i><b>Untitled </b></i></div>
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<i><b>by Izabela Bazima</b></i></div>
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I was feeling bored and was looking out of the window onto the street when I saw something strange. It was a shadow and then disappeared. I was scared and I was closed the window. I went down to tell my mom and my brother but they wasn't there. I called tomum and I said "Mom where are you? I'm scared because I saw a shadow and suddenly it disappered" My mum said" Izabela lock all the doors. The police are chasing a crazy man who kills little girls who are alone in the house." I locked all the doors and called the police. I remembered I jhad forgotten to lock the back door. I ran to the back door but I found the door open. I was scared so much. I locked the door and I ran to my room and I locked the door. I was hiding under my bed. Then I heard the voice of a crazy man. He said "Oh little girl I know where you are and I found you I will kill you!" He tried to unlock the door. I was beginning to cry. Suddenly the door opened and the crazy man entered my room. He stood in front of my bed and ducked. He pulled me out from under the bed and then he was pushing me. He tried to kill me with a knife in my leg. He injured my hand. He tried to slaughter me. It would have happened but the police entered my room and they saved me. When I found my mom I began to cry again because I was very scared. Anyway, everything went well. The police caught the crazy man and we moved house. I'm better now but really I'll never forget that day.<br />
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<i><b>Untitled</b></i></div>
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<i><b>by Maria Psarri</b></i></div>
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I was feeling bored and was looking out of the window onto the street when I saw something strange,there was a team of people which was very different. Many of them had big nails, many fur around their face amnd also had wrinkles. They looked like werewolves. I decided to go out and see what had happened. I went outside my house and I saw around until I had found them. Suddeny I hear a loud noise it was a big monster he was coming towards me. I screamed very loudly and I was very afraid But I felt a hand pull me back and I hurtmy hand. Moreover the strange people that I had seen before fought the big monster. One, a boy, was coming to me and helped me to hide. He asked me" Are you okay?" and I said "Yes I am but I feel very tired." AlsoI asked hime Also I aske dhim "What are you?" he looked at me strangely and said " What do you mean?" I replied " You dn't look like people What are you?" He told me "Relax, we are only people." I was angry and asked him one more time" What are you? And be careful, this time telll me the truth." "Okay. We are werewolves" I was shocked and I told him "No I don't believe you! tell me now the truth." He told me " This is th truth if you want to believe it, or you can believe whatever you want." After that I didn't say anything and I didn't look at him ether. When the fight was over, all of them came and the captain asked "What is your name?" I answered "My name is Maria." He told me "What did you see." I said "Do you want the truth?" He said "Of course" I said "Everything." He begged me not to tell anyhting about them and I promised I would. After day I saw all of them in school but they weren't werewolves and also I saw the boy who helped me and saved my life.<br />
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<i><b>Untitled </b></i></div>
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<i><b>by Zoe Gianni </b></i></div>
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Last year a boy went to a party. He was all alone, but after a few time he met a girl and she was beautiful. He fell in love with her. After a few days they became a couple and the boy wanted to to marry the girl. "Would you marry me?" he asked the girl."Of course, sweetheart." she answered.<br />
They were very happy for that decision. But one night when they were sleeping, the boy heard a horrible sound like an animal wich was breating very loud. He went to the kitchen to see where the sound came from but he didn't see anything. Then he went to his bed again. Suddenly, he realised that the sound came from the girl. He went closer to her but she didn't woke up. This continued for many weeks and the booy didn't have any problem any more with the sound.<br />
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Two days before the wedding he had a nightmare. He saw a lot of people injured and most of them were dead. Then in his dream appeared a woman. "Don't marry this girl if you want to stay alive." she said to him. "Why?" he asked. "Just don't do that. Wake up and run and don't look back. Leave this girl behind you and run." she said to him. Suddenly the boy woke up and saw the girl was watching him. "You are going to leave then?" the girl asked him. "No baby," he asnwered and they fell asleep again.<br />
The next day the boy thought about the words from the woman in his dream and at midnight he decided to leave the house house and the girlfriend who was sleeping. He took his clothes and some important things and started to run away. In the morning, when the girl woke up, she realized that the boy had left her. She went to find another boy to fall in love with her so that she could drink his blood to live. The boy was so happy that he was safe and he never fell in love with a girl again.<br />
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<u><b>A2 LEVEL</b></u><br />
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<i><b>The Cursed Knight</b></i></div>
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<i><b>By Nick Sargiotis</b></i></div>
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Once upon a time there was a good knight who cared for his people. A night when our hero was looking at the stars a witch cursed him to be bad every night with a blood moon. One night with a blood moon the knight almost destroyed an entire castle he lived in. Gladly they put him into the dungeon before he could destroy it.<br />
After centuries some students wanted to go to the scariest place that ever existed. They chose a haunted house, but it wasn'r scary enough for them. The next night they went to an abandoned mineshaft which was abandoned 34 years. But it was nothing compared to what they wanted. Next night they searched on the internet for the spookiest place on earth and they found a ruined castle which was destroyed by a cursed night. On the internet said that every night with a blood moon the knight comes from the dead to kill people who tresspass his territory which was his castle.The students thought it would be the spookiest place on earth and they waited for a night with a blood moon. The next night - with a blood moon - the students went into the ruined castle to feel the spookiest experience they have ever experienced but one thing they didn't know was that the curse was real and their life would be in huge danger. The knight almost killed them but the soul of the king heard the students and defeated the knight. After that the students never wanted to go back again.<br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-47230332734298918332017-11-12T00:27:00.000+02:002017-11-12T00:27:27.113+02:00THE WINNERS OF THE 2ND SPOOKY SHORT STORY COMPETITION (C2 LEVEL)!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've been a bit short on time this week and last (so many Halloween parties and so little time!💀Too many <a href="http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/lesson-share/winning-lessons/speaking/speaking-murder-in-the-classroom/154250.article">murders in classrooms</a>!) so keep checking in for the updates. Here are <u>the winners of C2 level </u><u>(in no particular order)</u>. REMEMBER: I have not made any corrections to these stories at all. This is all the writers' own work.<br />
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👻 Hope you enjoy the spooky Halloween reads Part 1! 👻</div>
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<b>C2</b><br />
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<b><i>Strange Encounter</i></b></div>
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<b><i>by Panagiotis Psarris</i></b></div>
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<b><i><br /></i></b></div>
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A night of horror and spook! The Halloween Night! Me and my friends, Frank, George Dylan and TJ (I am Dylan). Our target was to go around the neighbourhood and knock on people's doors, then we would hide in the bushes. You're going to ask how we would hide as bushes, the answer is we were working on handmade ghilie suits* and trust me it actually worked! So we went to all the houses even ours! Knocking doors and hiding, what else could we ask for? Our Halloween themed buckets were flooded with candy and chocolate goodies! We had the best costumes in the block, taking pictures and shooting videos, we had the time of our lives. In my house we went to unload our buckets and go to the next block to do the same jokes again. Every block had scarier and scarier costumes. From zombies and bloody men to invisible costumes! Can you believe it? We were tired, it was time to go back and relax by playing video games. In the home stretch just two steps from my home all the lights went out my friends ran away and I just stayed there wondering why. I looked to my right and to my left and behind me. Lastly, I looked above me and noticed the only street lamp that was lit was the one above. I looked at my friends and they were shouting "At the alleyway!" I looked at the alleyway and saw a figure, no hands, not a regular body, was walking in the alleyway. Suddenly it looked at me and started running towards my way. As it exited the the alleyway it walked towards me, I crawled up into a ball just to camoflage with the grass. I was able to look at him.. It looked like a person with a straight jacket and a Hannibal mask. I thought "Is this the end? Is that my end?" then I saw Frank flashing his flashlight at his face but as soon as the man looked at Frank, Frank took off. So it was me and him, I was sweating bullets and crying. The figure stopped just in front of me. I thought "This is it." when I suddenly heard"Dylan?" I thought "How does he know my name?" But then his voice sounded familiar. I said "Brian?" He answered "Yes Dylan?" Then relieved I got on my feet again and shouted "I'm safe!" My friends came and said "Who is he?" I said "It's Brian." I t turned out he had been making his won costume all this time so in the end we all played video games while eating hot buttered popcorn.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b>Suspicious Person</b></i></div>
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<i><b>by Apostolos Psarris</b></i></div>
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It was the 31st October, about 11 o'clock at night my friends and I were talking via our phones talking about when we were going to go trick or treating. I said I couldn't come because I was ill so they were goin' to go by themselves. The clock strikes 11 my mom says she'll take the kids out for trick or treating, so I was home all alone. I was used to being home alone so I made myself a bucket of popcorn and sat on the couch watching a family guy marathon. It was about 12 o'clock now and I kinda started getting worried 'bout my mom. I called to tell her if she is okay, I got no response at all. So I went to sleep. That's when it happened.<br />
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I heard knock on the door, I was thinking "It must be Trick or Treaters!" So I turned aside to sleep. Suddenly the knocks became bangs like someone was kickin' it, so I got up and went to the door to check but no one was there, just a note saying "Night night." I gulped and closed the door I went to sleep again and outside my window I heard giggles. I said it must be Bennie messin' around. One hour later, I heard screeches down the window, it was 1am so I was creeped out. I went to check and all I could see was a black figure wearing a straight jacket just staring at me intently with its head twitching. I could hear pure silence but [in my head] whispers saying "It's a frame." I screamed "Sir are you okay?" not an answer came back, "Do you need help?" I then got a phone call from an unknown person. I answered with a cold "Hello?" they hung up. Then I thought to myself "How could a straight jacketed maniac call or write?" When I looked again, nothing was there! So I slept with my pepper spray aside.<br />
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I woke up at 8am of course, I was late. And of school, on my way home but a strange figure scratches my eye sitting in the middle of the square. The same person from yesterday was following me all day long so at night I said"OK it's time I called the police." I didn't want to grab my eyes off him so I was talking on the phone and looking at him. The police eventually came, six police interceptors and a helicopter. They told me he he was a slaughterer that was stalking his victims for three days and then killing them on the fourth day. I was on the news - I was relieved to see myself on the TV. After living this I heard a lot of strange noises in the night, strange isn't it?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
*WARNING * VIOLENT STORY*</div>
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<b><i>The Creature</i></b></div>
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<b><i>by Fotis Georgakis</i></b></div>
It was a rainy Halloween night. A group of friends are in their car heading home after Halloween party. After some time, the car entered a thick grey fog. Then a tall black shadow got formed in the fog.. The creature forming the shadow was making spasmodic moves around the car car, inspecting it, ensuring the group it was nothing human-like. Eric, despite the rest of the group saying not to, got out of the car to investigate. The shadow stopped moving right in front of him and suddenly, a white skinny hand came out of the fog quickly, grabbing him by wrist and pulling him into the fog. Then a loud scream was heard followed by the brutal sound of bones breaking. Rachel, Eric's girlfriend started crying and Matt grabbed the steering wheel and quickly drove away. The moment they arrived at home, Matt called 911 and reported the event.<br />
The following day, the police investigated the whole area and the same<span style="text-align: center;"> night one of the reporters in the news said that the police confirmed that they found a weird old cabin in the periferals of the city. When When he heard it, Matt stood up:</span><br />
"We have to go there guys!" he shouted.<br />
"But we can't" said Rachel interrupting him<br />
"Come on! It's about your best friend!" Mart said " At least we can avenge if he is...d, dead..." Matt stopped talking and sighed.<br />
"Admit it Rachel, He's right" said Helen. "We have to find Eric."<br />
They looked at Rachel and said do you agree?"<br />
"Yeah, let's go" Rachel said. The same night, the group headed to the location police said they had found the cabin. After about an hour they where in front of the cabin. It was surprisingly big with rotten shutters and an old rotten wooden door. The cabin was filled with old fashioned furnitures and three doors with carved messages such as: "Not scary at all", "Scary" and "Really scary". At first they thought that Eric would be behind one of the doors. They first opened the "Not scary at all" be hind that door was lying a pile of bodies and a weird creature was feasting on them. Then the creature looked at the friends revealing its glowing yellow eyes. Then it started running towards them but Matt quickly locked the door and said; "That's not real there's no way..." Then a squeaky voice crumbling voice said "So... it's not real enough for you Matt! You want this nightmare of yours and your friend to last longer?" The the last door opened and the friends saw the creature that got Eric. It was tall with big crossed yellow eyes and had a huge disturbing smile across its white face filled with fangs all the place. It looked at the friends and started walking towards them. It started attacking the group but Rachel by instinct grabbed a large spike of the floor with all her hatred for the creature, she stuck it through the face! The creature roared in pain. Rachel's win was too good to last for long. The creature somehow healed itself, grabbed Rachel buy her neck and and brutally choked her. The big claw grew out of its hands and blood started running of its eyes. It grabbed Matt by his neck and whispered in his ear " You cant hide from me human" I'll forever feasting of your fears As it impaled him with the spear that Rachel attacked it with. Helen was lucky enough to run out of the house and reached the car. The last thing she heard before turning the engine on was: "Don't get fooled little girl Its not over!"<br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-40239058604312185482017-10-02T09:45:00.000+03:002017-10-02T09:45:04.079+03:00Let the 2nd Spooky Short Story Competition begin!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's October, that means Halloween and that means spooky stories! <a href="http://eflmiss.blogspot.gr/2016/10/winning-spooky-stories-for-halloween.html">Last year's stories</a> were great. This year I've extended the competition to a few more schools in the area where I live, not just the ones I teach in, so be looking out for a bumper read towards the end of the month<span style="text-align: left;">!</span></div>
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If you are looking for help on how to write a story, you can check out this blog post <a href="http://eflmiss.blogspot.gr/2016/10/hints-for-spooky-short-story-writing.html">here</a>.<br />
And if you are wondering why I'm so into scary stories, you can check out my writing <a href="http://noarawle.blogspot.com/">here</a>.<br />
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Here are the rules:<br />
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Only students who attend the participating schools may take part.</li>
<li>No story should exceed (be longer than) 300 words.</li>
<li>All stories must be on A4 paper with students name, class level and school at the top.</li>
<li>All stories must be hand written and not corrected by another person.</li>
<li>All stories must be original and the student's own work.</li>
<li>No more than one story per student, so choose your best one!</li>
<li>Do not include violence and blood for the sake of it. I want to be scared not made to feel sick!</li>
<li>The judge's decision is final.</li>
<li>All winning stories will be published on this blog towards the end of the month.</li>
<li>Closing date 20th October 2017. (Hand in your stories to your teacher who will pass them on to me.)</li>
<li>Artwork welcome!</li>
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Have fun!</div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-88264365960812250622017-09-07T10:11:00.000+03:002017-09-10T16:23:15.333+03:00Welcome back!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It's been an long hot summer in Greece and I'm feeling rested and recuperated. So much had been happening!<br />
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First of all, I have to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to all my students who passed their exams at B1, B2, C1 and C2 levels. You deserved it, you worked like troopers this year!<br />
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After school was out, I took a long deserved trip back to the UK for my niece's wedding and a huge family reunion. (It was about time after thirteen years, don't you think?) I also read endless books and spent quality time with my family. What about you? Feel free to let me know what you be been up to by commenting below.<br />
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Now I'm back and raring to go!<br />
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If you are an old friend, you'll notice some changes happening here at my blog and I hope you'll hop on board and support me by hitting the subscribe button up there on the right. If you are new here, no problem, by subscribing, you can enjoy all the benefits too. So what will you get from this? Subscriber exclusives of course! There will be a whole new series of How-to guides for teachers and students to help you with all the things you need to make your English teaching/learning experience so much more enjoyable, as well as all the old favourites. And of course they are all entirely FREE! If things really take off, I have so much more planned! So click on that subscribe button and let's kick off the 2017- 2018 school year together!<br />
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The coming months:<br />
I'll be attending a seminar on Dyslexia and EFL.<br />
The 2nd Spooky Short-Story Contest will be running from October 1st -20th. Look out for details in school or here. </div>
N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-17988078802963887872017-06-18T08:24:00.001+03:002017-06-18T08:28:39.240+03:00TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Where did the year go? It's been two months since I posted and I hardly noticed!</div>
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Well now it's the end of year I thought I set you up with all you need to: </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Create you very own yearbook!</span></h3>
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A yearbook is a way for each student to remember classmates, what they looked like and what interested them in that year of school. Traditionally yearbooks are presented to graduating students but in EFL classes, you can create them for the students who have just taken or are going to take exams and are going on to the next level or going to leave.</div>
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THINGS TO REMEMBER:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>All comments made must be positive.</li>
<li>All comments must be in English.</li>
<li>Use your best handwriting.</li>
<li>Use a mobile phone/school camera to take photos and print them up (or get students to bring their own).</li>
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WHAT TO WRITE:<br />
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<li>Write your name.</li>
<li>Write a short auto biography.</li>
<li>Write three adjectives that describe you.</li>
<li>Write what you hope to achieve next.</li>
<li>Ask your teacher to write something.</li>
<li>Ask your classmate(s) to write something.</li>
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COLLATING THE YEARBOOK:<br />
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When you have gathered all the completed pages copy them back-to-back and staple them together with a cover of your own design or using the template I have below.<br />
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3cF1IV0WSE3RnhBVDRSOGpCb1k/view?usp=sharing">PRINTABLE YEARBOOK TEMPLATE</a></div>
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Make enough copies so all the students can have one each and one for you and the school owner. If finances are an issue, you can reduce the copy size so that each page is A5, or make monochrome copies. Alternatively, scan them all into a computer and email them or make a PDF available through your school site or only to those who have the link.</div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-57194339624040919422017-03-15T02:28:00.001+02:002017-03-15T02:28:54.805+02:00The meaning of March and other phrases...<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
March is the month of spring and has always been one of fond memories for me. My best friend from preschool years and my favourite auntie have their birthdays on the official first day of spring - the 21st of March which is usually the <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/spring-equinox.html">spring or vernal equinox</a>. Happy birthday to you!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://romanworship.weebly.com/photo-gallery.html">Mars</a> </td></tr>
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The month of course is named after the Roman god of war, Mars which brings the imagery of a chariot blazing across the sky dragging spring behind it. It would be nice to think that the verb to march would fit in here, (one imagines legions of Roman soldiers in strict formation) but sadly it doesn't.<br />
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So what other phrases and idioms are connected with March? </h3>
<a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/42400.html">Mad as a March hare</a>, meaning completely crazy, stems from the dancing/jumping/boxing motions of hares at this time of year - it is their mating season. Just have a look at this!<br />
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Why am I posting today you might ask? Well today is the ides of March. You may have heard of this before from Shakespeare <i>"Beware of the Ides of March".</i> Again <b>ides</b> is a <a href="http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-are-the-ides-of-march">Roman term </a>used for the first full moon of the Roman new year, which fell on the 13th or 15th of March, and so the <b>Ides of March </b>is now accepted as the 15th of the month. (Although strangely this year the full moon was the <a href="http://www.space.com/35891-march-full-moon.html">13th</a>!) </div>
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Finally, <a href="http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/March+comes+in+like+a+lion%2c+and+goes+out+like+a+lamb">March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb</a>, refers to the changeable weather and the change of the season. Early March weather tends to be fierce and cold whereas in late March one can really feel the mildness of spring just around the corner. Lions are fierce, lambs are mild, it's not so hard to see! There is a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Like-Lion-Out-Lamb/dp/0823424324">lovely children's book </a>of the same name written by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully that brings this idea to life provides plenty of weather vocabulary too.</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-co5J7heaZWU/WMiIHvHhoQI/AAAAAAAAA7o/CTEMj3nTrfcNiN28B8tLzO9nBWPS21YSACLcB/s1600/lion%2Bbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-co5J7heaZWU/WMiIHvHhoQI/AAAAAAAAA7o/CTEMj3nTrfcNiN28B8tLzO9nBWPS21YSACLcB/s320/lion%2Bbook.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-14177331013472605902017-02-24T00:33:00.000+02:002017-02-24T10:11:20.945+02:00Quick! There's been a Murder in the Classroom!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sometimes it's super for busy teachers to allow another person or company do the planning and that's just what I did today with 'Murder in the Classroom' from One Stop English, the Macmillan website.<br />
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Macmillan website <a href="http://www.onestopenglish.com/">OneStopEnglish</a> has a super Murder Mystery that takes up a one hour period and was the perfect way to lead into the holiday weekend. I had, of course, spent a half hour or so preparing the scene just to get the atmosphere right. (Thanks to hubby for the tape and to V.K. for interrupting her busy schedule to print up my 'Police Line: DO NOT CROSS' sign and L.L. for the photos.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss McGowan, R.I.P.</td></tr>
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I delighted in monitoring my students as they questioned each other, narrowing down the likely suspects and finally detecting the murderer.<br />
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If you would like to try this you need to have at least seven students in your class and there are roles for another four provided on the Macmillan website. My class was twelve so I had to write one more, but that wasn't so hard to do. <a href="http://www.onestopenglish.com/community/lesson-share/winning-lessons/speaking/speaking-murder-in-the-classroom/154250.article">Click here</a> for a link to the material provided by Macmillan and see if your students can discover Whodunit?</div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-14292810696267222372016-11-08T09:01:00.000+02:002016-11-08T09:01:41.966+02:00ARMISTICE DAY <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Armistice </span>Day is a day of remembrance, a day to honour those who died in <span style="color: #cc0000;">World War</span> I and World War II and other, subsequent wars. Which day is it? In Britain, Belgium, France, Serbia and New Zealand people wear <span style="color: #cc0000;">poppies </span>on this day. Do you know the reason why? There are <span style="color: #cc0000;">parades</span> and <span style="color: #cc0000;">wreathes</span> are laid a <span style="color: #cc0000;">memorial</span> <span style="color: #cc0000;">cenotaphs</span> in villages, towns and cities. A minute's <span style="color: #cc0000;">silence</span> is also observed to allow for reflection, but upon what? Watch the short <span style="color: #cc0000;">centenary</span> video below to find out more.</div>
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ACTIVITIES: Watch the video again and answer the questions. For a printable copy <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3cF1IV0WSE3TlhxQVk0ZUxmTFE/view?usp=sharing">click here.</a></div>
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1.Answer these comprehension questions.</div>
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When was the First World War?</div>
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What happened in 2014?</div>
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Which day did the first world war end and what do we call this day now?</div>
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When is Remembrance Sunday in Britain?<br />
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Where did the poppies grow?</div>
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Who was Lieutenant Colonial John McCrae and what was he inspired to do?</div>
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2. Which of the following areas was World War I fought in?</div>
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>The South Atlantic</li>
<li>The Middle East</li>
<li>Australia</li>
<li>China</li>
<li>Turkey</li>
<li>East Africa</li>
<li>The United States</li>
<li>The Alps</li>
<li>The Carpathians</li>
<li>Western Europe</li>
<li>Great Britain</li>
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3. How Many? Match the numbers on the left to the facts on the right.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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13 soldiers fought in the war<br />
71,497,467 died in Britain alone</div>
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888,246 major wars are in progress*</div>
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70,000+ smaller conflicts in progress*<br />
Dozens people have died as a result of these wars*</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">*Figures correct for 2014, when the video was produced.</span><br />
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4. Complete the following paragraph:</div>
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<i>global, lives, November, observe, poppy, remember, silence, victims, War</i></div>
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The First World _____________ was the first truly ___________ war. At 11am on _____________ 11th 1918 the fighting stopped. This day is now an important day of remembrance where people from across the globe ___________ a minute's ____________ to reflect upon the ___________ of all wars. The __________ is a way to ___________ the people who gave their ___________ for the world we live in today.<br />
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5. Read the poem. How does it make you feel? What images do you get when you read it? Who narrates the poem?</div>
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IN FLANDERS FIELDS<br />
By Dr John McCrae, 1915<br />
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In Flanders fields the poppies blow<br />
Between the crosses, <span style="color: #cc0000;">row</span> on <span style="color: #cc0000;">row</span>,<br />
That mark our place; and in the sky<br />
The <span style="color: #cc0000;">larks</span>, still bravely singing, fly<br />
Scarce heard amid the guns below.<br />
We are the Dead. Short days ago<br />
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,<br />
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie<br />
In Flanders Fields.<br />
Take up our <span style="color: #cc0000;">quarrel</span> with the <span style="color: #cc0000;">foe</span>:<br />
To you from failing hands we <span style="color: #cc0000;">throw<br />The torch</span>; be yours to hold it high.<br />
If ye break faith with us who die<br />
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow<br />
In Flanders Fields.<br />
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6. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS<br />
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Do you or would you wear a poppy? Why/Why not?<br />
Who are we remembering: soldiers or civilians?<br />
Is there a similar celebration to Armistice Day in your country?<br />
What happens on this day?<br />
Do you think that war is better forgotten?</div>
How do you feel when you see images of war in the media?<br />
Which wars are being fought at the moment?<br />
Many soldiers are referred to as Peace Keeping Forces, what do you think this means?<br />
Do you watch war films? Why/Why not?<br />
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7. Click on the links below for a crossword and word search based on the red words from the worksheet, and a gap fill exercise based on the song 'I Vow to Thee, My Country'. This exercise is based on the acoustic version of the song by the singer from London, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/elenya">Elenya</a>.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/EZvzj0Y1FUA/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/EZvzj0Y1FUA?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3cF1IV0WSE3TlhxQVk0ZUxmTFE/view?usp=sharing">WORKSHEET + ANSWERS</a></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3cF1IV0WSE3ZTNsaG13RExXY2c/view?usp=sharing">WORD SEARCH</a></div>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3cF1IV0WSE3azZhTXh5WlVfNXM/view?usp=sharing">SONG GAP FILL</a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">VOCABULARY<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Armistice truce;
when fighting stops because of an agreement<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">World War a war
which involves most of the continents<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Poppies red
wild flowers <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Parade large
number of people/vehicle walking in the same direction<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Wreathes ring
of flowers or plants<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Memorial something
created /done to honour people who have died<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Cenotaph structure/building
to remind us of the dead<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Centenary hundred
year anniversary<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Silence quiet</span><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">row straight line</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">larks small birds that fly very high</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">quarrel argue </span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">foe enemy</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">throw the torch to give responsibility to someone </span></span></div>
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Many thanks to: Mr. Allsop for letting me use his video on my blog. He has loads more informative videos on his You Tube Channel 'Mr. Allsop History'. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mr+allsop+history">Subscribe and learn!</a> And to Elenya, for her lovely version of 'I Vow To Thee, My Country'. She also has other great songs on her channel 'Elenya'. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiTyLtaDQwQUH1FU4OXLdXA">Subscribe and listen</a>!<br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-41785908729046806122016-10-30T01:28:00.001+03:002016-10-31T13:19:54.191+02:00WINNING SPOOKY STORIES FOR HALLOWEEN!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After my last post, I held a spooky short story competition for my students. I asked them to write a story that would <b><span style="color: red;">scare the living daylights out of me</span></b>. Below are those that <b><span style="color: red;">made the grade</span></b>.<br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Is your story here? Read on to find out! </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">(If you wish to have your name added or even a title, just let me know and that can be sorted out!)</span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Many of the stories had great artwork even if the story didn't make it here, all the pictures have, so congratulations to you all!</span></div>
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Although they are in order of class level, I've copied them up just about <b><span style="color: red;">warts and all</span></b>, so don't worry if you see typos! [I added some corrections for clarity.] Some children preferred to <b><span style="color: red;">remain anonymous</span></b>, those who wished to<b><span style="color: red;"> take the credit</span></b> have a <span style="color: red;"><b>by-line</b></span>.<br />
Note: Stories are not posted in any particular order and there is no overall winner ;-)<br />
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scare the living daylights out of someone = frighten someone very much<br />
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make the grade = be good enough</div>
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warts and all = as it is found/without changing the original</div>
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remain anonymous = keep names/identity hidden</div>
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take the credit = get the praise</div>
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by-line = mention who a piece of writing is written by<br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Congratulations to the winners and thank you all for your hard work and participation! </span></div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Have a truly Happy Halloween!</span></div>
<span style="color: purple;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: purple;">Level C2</span><br />
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CONFESSIONS OF A PRISONER: THE UNKNOWN SUSPECT</div>
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by Evita Koukia</div>
It was Saturday, 31st of October 2009. Scarlett and Adam had heard some rumors about a haunted house. They decided to take a late walk and pay a visit, just to satisfy their curiosity. Early in that evening, they were already on their way to the haunted house, which was far away from the city centre.<br />
By the the time they got there, they saw an old, abandoned house which seemed a little gloomy at first sight. An old car was parked in front of the the fence. Once they got inside, they started laughing. They did not see anything unusual, suspicious or mysterious. As they slipped towards the kitchen they heard some footsteps. They thought that it might be the owner of the car and paid no further attention. As they were strolling into the other rooms they realized that that the footsteps were coming from downstairs. They were terrified, when they heard a hollow scream. They ran to the door, but it was locked. It felt like somebody did not want them to leave the house.<br />
Their minds were blown as they could not just wait to die. They had no idea about what they were up to. After a while, Scarlett and Adam heard these footsteps again again. But the is time something was different. The footsteps were coming closer and closer.. The door slightly opened but nobody was there. Adam went downstairs to check who else was in the side the house, mocking and playing them like fools. Scarlett was left alone and second later she started screaming. By the time Adam Adam got to the kitchen it was too late. Scarlett was already dead, bleeding to death. Adam felt that it was his fault.<br />
An hour later the police arrived and Adam was arrested. Today seven years later, he insists on his innocence. The crime investigation has shown no fingerprints on the deadly weapon. Adam shares his story with Jonathon Tries, a prisoner who faced a similar situation, with his then girlfriend, 17 years ago.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wHHUARhoAwM/WBUfs5g-MLI/AAAAAAAAA1o/REoGdS-Oe4Ilqg1x1rK9AVJn6SayRbb-ACLcB/s1600/IMG_20161030_004534.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wHHUARhoAwM/WBUfs5g-MLI/AAAAAAAAA1o/REoGdS-Oe4Ilqg1x1rK9AVJn6SayRbb-ACLcB/s320/IMG_20161030_004534.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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HALLOWEEN</div>
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Anonymous</div>
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At the age of 12, my friends and I had a Halloween sleepover party at my house. Curious as we were for creepy stories we have heard, we decided to try one of those ourselves. The idea came from Nikos, the older one, he was 13 then and he was the leader of our gang! He have mentioned of the "Mirrored black which[witch] with the knife..."</div>
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"the what?" we asked...so Nikos told us about a black magic witch, living on the mountains hundreds years ago who by her will[wanted] to stay young forever, was killing children with a knife and drunk their blood by the light of the moonlight. When the villagers found out who she was, they hunted her down, after that they striked her down and burned her, after that they striked her fiercly with knoxes[sic] and knives. Before she passed away, cursed the night, and gave a promise to the moon that she will never stop killing children in halloween nights.The plot of the ceremony required to call her name "Black magic with a knife" three times, infront of a mirror in a dark room, only with the light of a candle. And so we did...the silly ones, we did! As Nikos finished his story, we immediately gathered Nikos, Stells, Eva, George and I started calling her name. At the third calling the mirror started shaking and breaking and a skinny hand with long black nails holding a knife came through the broken mirror. At once a witch appeared screaming at us</div>
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"I want your lives. I want my youth" she said, "I want to kill you. we started running and turning on the light and screaming by fear, the witch disappeared and we promised never to try such silly ceremonies ever again.</div>
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HALLOWEEN</div>
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by Eleni Svina</div>
It was a cold day in Octomber and I was very happy because that it was Halloween. It was raining so I was more happy the rain created a scary atmosphere like it had to. We were ready to go out and scary them so much that they had not even predict. But nobody would predict the event that happened to us.<br />
We wore our costumes and we began to share the fear. All the neighbours were really frightened. My mom said to me that they had nightmare and they could not sleep in the night. Thankfully they gave us many sweets, so we had not to scare them more. We had a really great time, to the time we heard scary screams and voices. We were really scared. The screams heard everytime from closer and closer, suddenly we were surrounded from ghosts. three minutes later, we managed to juggle them and quickly we got inside my home and I locked the door. We were so scared that we could not even to talk. To make things worse, my family were not in there.<br />
"Did you see my parents?"<br />
"No, why?"<br />
"Because they are not here and if there would be a reason, I would not know it."<br />
"What do you think could happen?"<br />
"I have no idea."<br />
Suddenly, I heard that a glass broken but we were in the hall and the glass were in the saloon.<br />
"What happened?" I asked, scared.<br />
"I do not know, something broke down."<br />
"Yes, but how?"<br />
"I do not know."<br />
I unlocked the door. We ran as quickly as we could to my friends house because we believed we would be safer. As we ran these same ghosts surrounded us, take us into their hand to eat us.<br />
"Just leave us, we will find food for all of you but just let us down."<br />
They began to laugh. They dropped their masks and their costumes. These ghosts were our families. They participated in the scaring fest too. I was just unpredictable. I was shocked about one hour. It was really scary.<br />
In the next fest, even when all our families will not participate in the fest we will scare them more than everyone else to tell what we felt. We will push the limits.</div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><span style="color: purple;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="color: purple;">
Level B2</span><br />
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TRICK OR TREAT?</div>
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by Panagiotis Psarris </div>
Once upon a time in a really spooky neighbourhood it was Halloween.<br />
I was cruising around on my bicycle when suddenly i heard a noise from the passage right next to me. I took a quick peek but it was pitch black, so i walked in blinded. A couple minutes later i noticed that i had a flashlight so i turned it on and guess what I saw, i saw a shadow, a tiny shadow growing bigger. Then shaking like a leaf i keep on walking with my flashlight low on battery. Slowly a light was coming and a noise was coming so I got to the other side of the passage and I heard the noise next to me. I got sweaty and slowly turned my head, and i saw...A pumpkin with a puppy stuck in it. That calmed me down and I got all the stress away. I putted the puppy in my jacket and ran to the vet.<br />
Now the puppy is my pet, and his name is Oscar.<br />
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN!</div>
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by Apostolos Psarris</div>
A rainy evening when I was just coming back from my english lessons a thuder suddenly struck the ground, that was the moment I was completely terrified but a folded paper landed right on my leg I unfolded it with curiosity and on it there was a house adress on it, I ran back home, slept and the morning I went to that specific adress:(x0127ae*, I know... weird. So I went to that adress and there was a sign with this template: under the mail-box. I was freaked out while entering the dark yard slowly and I took a sneaky peek under the mail-box, I saw a note it was writing something on it: out in the hole. I searched everywhere and found a hole above the mail-box when I put it inside the hole reptiles flew out imidiately, scorpions, spiders, snakes, lizards. I shouted for help but then I realised they were gummy candy! Well I guess it was my 'sweetest' scare!<br />
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<span style="color: purple;">Level B1</span><br />
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SPOOKY SUMMER CAMP</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by Theodore Damagas</div>
Do you want to scare the living daylights out of you, do you want some adventure, do you want to do something special, then come to Spoocy Sumer Camp. It's a very good place for children who want to learn special facts. The text below is an example for our camp.<br />
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1st September 2019.<br />
It's morning, the sun is shining and nothing is scare. We are, now, climbing a mountain. Afternoon: I'm too tired! Evening: Something is making noise outside my tent. I'm to scared. Next, I looked and saw... a... a... a bear!<br />
2nd September 2019.<br />
Today, we are learning how to use guns! Then we are going for hunting in the forest. When we were walking a scary noise is hearing. Next, a green zombie came out of nowhere. All started shooting. Actually we killed it. From then we were have, all the time, the guns in hand.<br />
3rd September 2019.<br />
Now, we have been here in big wooden, haunted house. It is night. Everything in there does spooky noises. Then a vampire, a murderer and 5 zombies start to fighting us...<br />
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We found this page on the base camp. It came to us with the river. If you want to learn the end of the story, come to spoocy sumer camp!<br />
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THE HAUNTED HOTEL</div>
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by Konstantina Triantafillou</div>
The story took place at a little town near Texas. In Brown 2 Street there was a 5 stars hotel that was the most popular in the area. But one day when one family went there creepy things happened...<br />
Thomsons family (the family that went on the hotel) was included by mr. John, mrs Kathrin and their kids, Anna and Bill. After their trip they were very tired so they let their baggage and went at the mini cafe at the ground flour[floor] of the hotel. Anna and Bill wanted toplay so they went to their room. Suddenly there was a blackout and a scary voice said: "If you wanna stay alive live[leave] this place until tomorrow morning." After a while when the lights came up everyone thought it was a joke and laughed. But it wasn't...<br />
When John and Kathrin arrived at their room they saw their kids choked and they saw a ghost holding a knife. The ghost killed them too. The receptionist heard screams and ran to the room and he saw the ghost. It was too late. It hanged him at the chandelier.<br />
But did everyone die? Has anybody servived? Did the hotel close? Why this ghost killed the Thomsons? No one knows.<br />
Maybe the ghost visit your house too!<br />
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UNTITLED</div>
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by Natalia Sophia</div>
It was Halloween, at midnight. Mary and her friends had gone for pranks. They walked and saw a huge house. But this house has a vampire and Mary and her friends isn't know. They hit the door but nobody answer sudenly the door is open. The girls go insite the house. Sudeny they listen a a strange voice the girls want to go out but the door is closed and they don't up [open] it/ They find secret stairs and they follow it. Sudenly they lisen again the strange voice, on the floor had blood. On the wall its wrote with blood I KILL YOU. Mary it open her eyes and she saw her mother where she said: "Wake up it's time for school." She [Mary] understand that this is a nightmare.<br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-24556324595161377952016-10-05T08:50:00.002+03:002016-10-05T08:56:26.967+03:00HINTS FOR (SPOOKY) SHORT STORY WRITING!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
October = <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3cF1IV0WSE3N2tUN2ZMVjdTYms/view">Hallowe'en</a>! </h4>
<div style="text-align: left;">
If you know me, you know that I <i><b>love</b></i> spooky stories!</div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
What do you need to do to write a (spooky) short story?</h4>
<div>
Here are my hints and tips for short story writing.</div>
<div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Keep it simple! Don't have too many characters. Usually one or two are enough if you are writing up to 350 words.</li>
<li>Use adjectives and descriptive verbs (rather than a verb-adverb combination) to build atmosphere. <i>He sprinted</i> is much more exciting that <i>He ran quickly</i>.</li>
<li>Use direct speech to carry the story on and give your characters personality. The way someone speaks can tell you how educated they are, where they are from and what they think of the other characters. Compare these examples: <i>"'Sup?" "What's up?" "How are you?" "How do you do?" </i><a href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/punctuation/punctuation-in-direct-speech">Check out punctuation for direct speech.</a></li>
<li>Use a variety of linking words to carry the action forward or backward. And then... and then... and then... is dull and repetitive. <i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First of all, secondly, previously, before that, then, later (on), all of a sudden, suddenly, until, (just) when, in the meantime, not until then, at that moment, only after that, as soos as, while, although, even though, so that, finally, in the end.</span></span></i></li>
<li>Stories are usually narrated (told) as if the action has happened in the past. Use a variety of tenses to help you do this. <i>Past simple </i>for completed actions, events that happen one after the other, or which interrupt a long action.<i> Past continuous </i>for longer actions or for things that happen simultaneously (at the same time), for setting the scene.<i> Past perfect </i>for an event in the deep past (before other actions in the past).<i> Past perfect continuous </i>for events that were happening before the past perfect action.</li>
<li>Use vocabulary appropriate to the theme. For spooky Hallowe'en vocabulary you can look at the following resources: <a href="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/wordlist/halloween.shtml">Hallowe'en vocabulary word list</a>, <a href="http://www.esolcourses.com/content/topics/autumn-festivals/halloween/halloween-vocabulary-list.html">Hallowe'en vocabulary with definitions</a>, <a href="https://www.myvocabulary.com/word-list/halloweenvocabulary/">My Hallowe'en vocabulary</a></li>
</ul>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lpel5NW7TOk/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lpel5NW7TOk?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>A story has to have <i>a beginning, a middle </i>and <i>an end.</i> That is the reader needs to get to know the characters in the beginning, then she/he needs to experience the conflict (a difficult situation which is, or leads to the main event/action) and finally to feel the pleasure of the resolution (finding a solution to the problem) at the end. Use paragraphs to make these distinctions clear.) I also found a great <a href="http://healthy-family.org/minecraft-story-map-kids-writing-prompt/minecraft-story-map-narrative-writing-2/">story map</a> to help you plan ideas. (It has a Minecraft theme, but your story can be about anything!)</li>
</ul>
<div>
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</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Here are some spooky stories for you to read and listen to. Perhaps they will inspire you!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://www.neilgaiman.com/works/Books/Smoke+%2526+Mirrors/in/197/">Nicholas Was... by Neil Gaiman</a><br />
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<a href="http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/shortstories/downloads/The_Pedestrian.pdf">The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury</a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
The Riddle of the Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Here are a few of mine:<br />
<a href="https://www.101words.org/jack-be-nimble/">Jack be Nimble</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.darkertimes.co.uk/winners/ff-hon-mention-3-jan-2014.aspx">Passerby</a><br />
<a href="https://www.101words.org/wrapped-in-chains/">Wrapped in Chains </a></div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-149987765811834702016-09-08T10:31:00.000+03:002016-09-19T15:43:07.634+03:005 Lifehacks for Super English Spelling!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=lifehack">Lifehacks</a>* are terrific ways of remembering tricky stuff! So without the benefit of one of the those snazzy You Tube vids (I am not up to that level of tech just yet) here are five spelling lifehacks for English!<br />
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* You will also see 'life hack' written as two words.<br />
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<b>SPELLING HACK #1</b><br />
<i>POETRY</i>: I learnt to spell <i>difficulty</i> with the very same poem represented here in the wonderful film adaptation of Roald Dahl's book 'Matilda'. You can use <i>Mr.</i> just as well as <i>Mrs</i>. - the rhythm is the same.<br />
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<i>'I</i> before <i>E</i> except after <i>C</i>.' Is another rhyme that is taught, but there are so many exceptions how do you remember them? I love this meme, even though it doesn't cover all <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:English_words_not_following_the_I_before_E_except_after_C_rule">the exceptions</a>:<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Or 'When two vowels go walking, the first does the talking.' Meaning that the first vowel in the pair is the sound that's pronounced. In words with a double vowel that makes one sound, this is usually the case.</div>
b<b>o</b>at, g<b>o</b>at, m<b>a</b>int<b>a</b>in,<br />
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<b>SPELLING HACK #2</b><br />
<i><a href="http://eflmiss.blogspot.gr/2015/10/q-what-is-acrostic.html">ACROSTICS</a>: </i>Make up silly sentences from the letters of words that you always spell incorrectly.<br />
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Look At Ugly Goat's Hair! (laugh) ( Taken from Jolly Phonics books bought from ELC.)<br />
Could Old Ursula Love David? (could)<br />
Would Otters Undo Locker Doors? (would)<br />
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<b>SPELLING HACK #3</b><br />
<i>PATTERNS WITHIN WORDS: </i>Look for motifs within the word you want to remember.<br />
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Never remember the order of <i>ght</i> in words like <i>light, night, fight, bright, taught, fraught, daughter</i>? These letters are in the same order they come in the alphabet: ABCDEF<b>GH</b>IJKLMNOPQRS<b>T</b>...<br />
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<b>SPELLING HACK #4</b><br />
<i>MNEMONICS (Memory triggers):</i> These are often mental images.<br />
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Is it friend of freind? ie or ei? Simple:<br />
Fri<b>end </b>ends with end.<br />
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Can I have a <b>pie</b>ce of <b>pie</b>?<br />
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Never remember how many Cs or Ss in necessary? Think of a businessman getting ready for work; it is ne<b>c</b>e<b>ss</b>ary for him to have one <b>collar</b> and two <b>socks</b>, so one C and two Ss.<br />
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Desperately want to write <i>bizness</i>? Simply remember: <b>Bus</b>inessmen catch the <b>bus</b> to work.*<br />
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Or <i>separet</i>? There's a <b>rat</b> in sepa<b>rat</b>e* (*Adapted from <a href="https://books.google.gr/books?id=9d1zBAXKVlkC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=one+collar+and+two+socks&source=bl&ots=zMesUlyj54&sig=SKA37hz_LXbOeynkD4qD1GxUMik&hl=el&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjRgo-srP7OAhVFDxoKHaYLDYcQ6AEIUTAH#v=onepage&q=one%20collar%20and%20two%20socks&f=false">Study Skills for Students with Dyslexia</a>)<br />
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This also works for homonyms: words that sound the same but have different meanings. How do you remember which ones the right one.<br />
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Wear and W<b>here</b>? The one that describes place has the word <b>here</b> in it.<br />
Hear and here? H<b>ear</b> is what you do with you <b>ear</b>s and here is there.<br />
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<b>SPELLING HACK #5</b><br />
<i>BACK TO BASICS: </i>Break words down into parts.<i> </i><br />
<i><br />
WORDS</i>: Never remember how many Rs in earring? It's two words, ear + ring= ea<b>rr</b>ing<br />
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<i>PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES</i>: This is especially true of adverbs and words whose prefix ends with the same letter the word begins with.<br />
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Real + ly = rea<b>ll</b>y<br />
un + necessary = u<b>nn</b>ecessary<br />
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<i>SYLLABLES</i>: Re + com + mend = reco<b>mm</b>end<br />
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I hope you enjoyed these hacks and find them helpful. Be sure to follow my blog for more fun and games learning English!<br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-64645775729984443702016-05-30T20:32:00.000+03:002016-05-30T20:32:08.213+03:00To Vax or Not to Vax? (C1/2 debate material/vocabulary)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
How Do Vaccinations Work?</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
When a person is vaccinated, they receive a small amount of a <span style="color: red;"><strong>pathogen</strong></span> (the thing that causes the illness) via an <span style="color: red;"><strong>injection</strong></span> which causes the body to suffer a mild form of the disease (or a different <strong><span style="color: red;">strain</span> </strong>of the disease) against which <span style="color: red;"><strong>immunisation</strong></span> is required. In this way the body's defence system builds up <span style="color: red;"><strong>antibodies</strong></span> or immunity against further and possible more lethal attack from the disease in the future.</div>
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Who Discovered & Developed Vaccinations?</h3>
Although the Chinese had knowledge of immunisation as early as the 10th century, the first documented <span style="color: red;"><strong>medical trial</strong></span> was conducted by Edward Jenner in the 18th century. He saw that milkmaids who had contracted cowpox seemed to be immune to a more deadly strain of the disease, smallpox. He put this theory to the test by<strong><span style="color: red;"> inoculating</span></strong> a small boy, James Phipps, from Sarah Nelmes, a young girl who had cowpox. He later injected the boy with smallpox. Because of his exposure to the milder disease, the <strong><span style="color: red;">subject</span></strong> did not develop smallpox. Louis Pasteur developed the techniques and created vaccines for anthrax and rabies in the 19th century. The most <strong><span style="color: red;">prolific</span></strong> number of vaccines were developed by Maurice Hilleman (measles, mumps, hepatitis A and B, chickenpox, meningitis, pneumonia and the flu). The World Health Organisation (WHO) is looking to eradicate various deadly diseases and has been successful. The last naturally occurring case of smallpox was in 1977, polio has almost been eradicated with measles the next on their list.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
So Where is the Controversy?</h3>
The medical journal The Lancet published an article that claimed autism could be <strong><span style="color: red;">triggered</span></strong> by the MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) vaccination. This caused such a scandal, despite the fact that the claims were founded on very <strong><span style="color: red;">sketchy</span></strong> evidence, that many <strong><span style="color: red;">anti-vaxxers</span></strong> still believe that vaccinations may do more harm than good. There is also the belief that, because a disease had been eradicated, there is no longer any need to receive the vaccination against it. This is<strong><span style="color: red;"> unfounded</span></strong> as diseases living in unvaccinated <strong><span style="color: red;">hosts</span></strong> are able to mutate into stronger strains and thus infect even those who have been vaccinated thus destroying what is known as <span style="color: red;"><b>herd immunity</b></span>. There have been recent <strong><span style="color: red;">outbreaks </span></strong>of whooping cough, scarlet fever and measles probably caused by <strong><span style="color: red;">abstinence</span></strong> from vaccination.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B3cF1IV0WSE3OVlaQ291OEw0Szg">Click here for printable copy with discussion questions and exercises.</a></h4>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Comprehension tasks:</b></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Explain, in your own, words how vaccinations work.</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Who was Edward Jenner and what did he do?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Which scientist from the 19th century is mentioned and for ehat reasons?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Can you name three diseases which are mention in the text?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">What does WHO wish to achieve?</span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">What are the fears of the anti-vaxxers?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "comic sans ms"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Which belief is unfounded according to the text?</span></span></div>
<b>Discussion questions:</b><br />
Are you vaccinated? <br />
Do you know what you have to vaccinated for?<br />
What vaccinations are required by law in your country? <br />
Is vaccination a prerequisite for attending school or children's social activities?<br />
Are there punishments for not vaccinating your child?<br />
What are the risks of not immunising a child <br />
a) to the child <br />
b) to the community?<br />
In your opinion, do parents have a moral obligation to immunise their children?<br />
Can you think of any grounds where not immunising a child is justified?<br />
Which diseases would you like to see vaccinations developed for?<br />
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<strong>Further reading:</strong><br />
<a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/claire-harvey-anti-vaxers-you-are-baby-killers/story-fni0cwl5-1227272923247">Rage at anti-vaxxers (The Telegraph, Australia) </a><br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/02/should-anti-vaxxers-be-shamed-or-persuaded/385109/">Should Anti-Vaxxers be Shamed or Persuaded? (The Atlantic)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/child-care-centre-for-anti-vaxers-anti-vaxers-set-/2761753/">Childcare Centre for anti-vaxxers (Northern Rivers News, Australia)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elijah-wolfson-/vaccines-debate_b_3916421.html">The True Cost of Not Vaccinating (The Huffington Post)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/25-facts-about-the-pharmaceutical-industry-vaccines-and-anti-vaxers/5433260">Evidence that anti-vaxxers may not be to blame. (Global Research)</a><br />
<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3020809/Sunrise-panellists-Sally-Obermeder-Elka-Whalan-come-fire-supporting-anti-vaxers.html">Public support for anti-vaxxers (The Daily Mail)</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaccination">Vaccination on Wikipedia</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Authors note: I have tried to be impartial and represent both side equally, as well as give further reading to support both sides. As a mother of two vaccinated children who have unvaccinated friends, it is a subject on ongoing interest for me and your comments will be of great interest.</span><br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-12320510614561902952016-03-23T00:20:00.000+02:002016-03-23T00:23:14.893+02:00WATCH AND LEARN <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Watching documentaries is one of the best ways to improve your English. Now you can surf the Net and look for things that interest you, but I thought I might help you out by adding 10 films I've found on-line. Each one is no more than 20 minutes long. I might add another 10 next month if you like these, so be looking out for them!<br />
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HOW TO WATCH AND LEARN<br />
When you are watching a documentary turn on your English learning skills. What do I mean?<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Have a pen and paper beside you to write notes - facts you like or think will be useful, unknown words etc. </li>
<li>Think about the basic points raised in what you are watching. If someone was to ask you what the documentary was about, what information would they need to know? Could you tell them?</li>
<li>If you really enjoyed the documentary, would you recommend it to a friend? Which friend, and why?</li>
<li>If you thought the documentary was awful, what were the precise reasons for this?</li>
</ul>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhS8BBf1puE">15 Richest YouTubers</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vP3pbh_-pu8">Air, Land, Water Pollution</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Icl9akLqkuk">Sustainable Tourism (In New Zealand)</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLlrn3_G1ZQ">Unemployment</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVVS1Bqg6Zw">Homeless Teenagers</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wky9cLHTc7g">20 Self-made Teenage Millionaires</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4_asvGWRsc">Cosplay</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJc53KhtrUo">Music Piracy</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SajkMTrqzVE">Teenage Gambling</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qEbjw_I0-o">Why Are We Addicted to Extreme Sports?</a></div>
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If you know any good short documentaries to share, add them in the comments below.</div>
N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-46705019560673241652016-02-10T01:45:00.002+02:002016-02-16T18:16:56.522+02:00LOOKING FOR LOVE?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #cc0000;">So you may be hoping that you'll be on the receiving end of a little love this coming Sunday. Valentine's Day is a day of joy for those who do get something and a day of sadness for those who don't, but were expecting it! Most of us recognise that in reality it's a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hallmark_holiday">Hallmark holiday</a> (it is the second most popular for sending cards after Christmas) and it is true that most do not know the origins of the day.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"></span><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-23jRxT0ZOIg/Vrp5cAkrJJI/AAAAAAAAAqo/KSHFBEZp9-E/s1600/valentines-day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-23jRxT0ZOIg/Vrp5cAkrJJI/AAAAAAAAAqo/KSHFBEZp9-E/s320/valentines-day.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<strong><span style="color: magenta;">Who was Saint Valentine?</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">There are three saints in the Catholic church who go by the name Valentine. One was a priest during the reign of the Emperor Claudius II, who married young lovers in secret, although the the Emperor had ruled that soldiers should remain unmarried. He was decapitated for this. Another was supposed to have freed prisoners from Roman prisons and the last is claimed to have fallen in love with the prison guard's daughter.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: magenta;">No saint at all?</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">There are even suggestions that the origins lie with the pagan festival of Lupercalia, an ancient Roman fertility festival, which was held on the 15th of February and supposed to bring fertility and a good harvest to all those who were blessed during this celebration.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="color: magenta;">Give a little love!</span></strong><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">Write a poem telling the world, or at least your love, how you feel - be brave! Bare your heart! Here's how:</span><br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><span style="color: #cc0000;">Think of all the reasons why you love this person.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #cc0000;">Choose your favourites and write them down.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #cc0000;">Use similes and metaphor.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #cc0000;">Avoid 'very' and adverbs - use strong adjectives and verbs instead.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #cc0000;">Order your ideas in way that sounds great when you read it aloud - your poem doesn't have to rhyme.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: #cc0000;">Write an acronym using you lover's name or the words LOVE or ROMANCE, or something just for you.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="color: magenta;"><strong>A little love goes a long way!</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">The saying goes that 'To give, is to receive.' so why not show your love this year! Don't just think about romantic love. How about showing your friends or your family how much you appreciate them? Give a little love to an elderly relative or neighbour who may live alone. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;">More importantly, remember Valentine's Day is only one of 365other days; you have to love your love the other 364 days of the year as well! (+1 this year as it's a leap year!)</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: xx-small;">Sources: Wikipedia,Wikihow,The History Channel</span></div>
N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-69805248314564308472016-01-20T09:38:00.003+02:002016-01-20T09:45:57.181+02:00Playing Up! Acting Out!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Bored? Hate English because it's an endless stream of exercises and learning vocabulary? I know kids who feel just like this, but <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqNasjUIN6c">it doesn't have to be this way</a>!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vUyApFJyzn8/Vp82J9W6GkI/AAAAAAAAApA/5nhHR4UymQs/s1600/ID-10078959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vUyApFJyzn8/Vp82J9W6GkI/AAAAAAAAApA/5nhHR4UymQs/s320/ID-10078959.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of scottchan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Drama is something which can make your learning come alive and you can use it with or without a teacher, in or out of class, and it will help you gets to grips with speaking the language. I remember that actually speaking, which when it comes down to is the reason most of us learn a second language, was the hardest part. I felt like I was lying, in some strange way. So make it fake. Invent a scenario and find the language for it. Just as you think through what you would say in a difficult situation in your own language, do the same in English.<br />
<br />
In the classroom, drama has the benefit of giving weaker students the opportunity to speak with confidence - they can rehearse their lines. Those who are (hyper) active can get up and move around. If the students write their own script then there's communication and writing involved. Giving and receiving instructions are also necessary, so many skills are put to good use!<br />
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You can also use drama to introduce and discuss a theme. It doesn't have to be Shakespeare, far from it, just get an issue out there for discussion. Last week, one of my colleagues was absent and at short notice I had to teach her class. By mistake I'd left my emergency bag of tricks at home. Armed with no more than a CD from my car for inspiration (I had been listening to Monica Richard's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkgnQxBMSW4">'A Good Thing'</a>.) we had a very successful lesson on bullying.<br />
<br />
We discussed the problem: <em>What makes people bully others? How do the victims feel? What should we do if we see someone being bullied?</em> Then we assigned roles and wrote a script up on the board. If your class is big and your play is small split into groups and do the sketch a couple of times. Or if it's small, take it in turns reading different roles.<br />
<br />
Our basic idea was a bullying situation that was resolved with the intervention of a teacher (thus not fighting violence with violence). Also, that the bully realise the error of his/her ways.<br />
Scene 1: The bully in action. <br />
Scene 2: Friends/passers-by intervene. <br />
Scene 3: Teacher is called and punishment is given.<br />
Extra if time:<br />
Scene 4: Bully needs help with whatever it was he was bullying the victim for.<br />
Scene 5: Victim is the only person who can provide the help needed.<br />
<br />
Not only did the students speak English, but everone also had fun!<br />
<br />
Don't forget that Role Play is an integral part of most oral examinations (part 4 of the PTE General, all of the ECPE, part 3 of FCE and ECCE spring to mind) so dramatise everyday situations! See the <strong>Role Play Dialogues</strong> to the right of this post for more ideas!<br />
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Don't play up - act it out!<br />
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-55859971914803715822015-11-25T08:58:00.001+02:002015-11-26T09:18:48.052+02:00Talking Turkey!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Turkey phrases and expressions!</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dsqEK6eyBrQ/VlVb_bE_F2I/AAAAAAAAAnA/xlx-0Qye2Sk/s1600/atis-fruit-clipart-outline-turkey-feather-turkey-clip-art---vector-clip-art-online-royalty-free-public-domain-hfcdh2dd.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dsqEK6eyBrQ/VlVb_bE_F2I/AAAAAAAAAnA/xlx-0Qye2Sk/s1600/atis-fruit-clipart-outline-turkey-feather-turkey-clip-art---vector-clip-art-online-royalty-free-public-domain-hfcdh2dd.png" /></a></div>
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Thanksgiving falls on the 26th of November this year, in the United States. It is always the fourth Thursday in November and the food of choice is a turkey. So I thought it would be a good idea to <b>talk turkey </b>about turkey idioms and expressions in relation to the events that take place for this celebration.<br />
<br />
I sincerely hope you are not <b>as poor as Job's turkey</b> or <b>doing cold turkey</b>, if the latter then perhaps you ought to see a <b>couch turkey</b> in relation to your problem. To avoid spending the holiday with <b>jive turkeys</b> it is good advice to hire a <b>turkey bacon</b> to keep them away from your House. For those of you watching that all-important ball game, I hope it's not <b>a turkey shoot</b> for your favourite team; if you've placed a bet on them and it is, that would be <b>like turkeys voting for Christmas.</b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b>Match the expressions to their meanings:</b><br />
<b></b><br />
<b>1 </b>accept a difficult situation<br />
<b>2 </b>psychiatrist/therapist<br />
<b>3 </b>policemen/security officers<br />
<b>4 </b>easily lost (or won) situation<br />
<b>5 </b>suddenly stop doing something addictive e.g. give up smoking<br />
<b>6 </b>speak bluntly/ honestly; to talk business<br />
<b>7 </b>have no money<br />
<b>8 </b>stupid/ignorant people<br />
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You will find the answers <a href="http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/turkey">here</a><br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3cF1IV0WSE3WWJuYnk3TlVURVk/view?usp=sharing">Printable Version</a></div>
N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-75157962557319487462015-10-22T01:55:00.000+03:002015-10-27T13:11:18.078+02:00Q: What is an acrostic?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A. A means of learning new words?<br />
B. A poem?<br />
C. A means of remembering how to spell difficult words?<br />
D. A type of crossword?<br />
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If you answered all of the above then you got the right answer! The word acrostic comes from two Greek words ἄκρος (akros) meaning highest and στίχος (styhos) meaning verse.<br />
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You have probably filled in <a href="http://203.144.22.84/viewfeature.php_id_325">puzzles</a> in languages lessons which are acrostic; you know the ones that when you have all the right answers a word or phrase is spelled out.<br />
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It's a great way to remember the spelling of difficult words. Think of something humorous!<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue;">P</span></b>eople <br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>E</b></span>at<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>O</b></span>melettes<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>P</b></span>eople<br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>L</b></span>ike <br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b>E</b></span>ggs<br />
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(This came from the <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jolly-Phonics-Workbooks-Books-1-7/dp/1870946502">Jolly Phonics</a> books)<br />
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I think this is a super way to remember vocabulary for a theme too.<br />
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<strong><span style="color: lime;">E</span></strong>ndangered species<br />
<span style="color: lime;"><b>N</b></span>arwhals<br />
<span style="color: lime;"><b>V</b></span>egetation depletion<br />
<b><span style="color: lime;">I</span></b>cecaps melting<br />
<span style="color: lime;"><b>R</b></span>ecycling<br />
<strong><span style="color: lime;">O</span></strong>zone layer/hole<br />
<b><span style="color: lime;">N</span></b>on-toxic materials<br />
<span style="color: lime;"><b>M</b></span>ake a difference<br />
<b><span style="color: lime;">E</span></b>nergy alternatives<br />
<b><span style="color: lime;">N</span></b>atural resources<br />
<b><span style="color: lime;">T</span></b>ropical rainforests<br />
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If you fancy stretching your writing skills why not be adventurous and make up a poem on a theme? Start with a word and then write the lines of the poem along that theme but don't forget, the first (or last etc.) letter must be the next letter in the word you have chosen. It might take a while to do and be frustrating at first. Search in a <a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/">dictionary</a> or a <a href="http://www.collinsdictionary.com/english-thesaurus">thesaurus</a> for words that suit your needs. I'd love to see anything you have written. Why not post it in the comments below?<br />
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Here's one I rustled up for, well, I let you guess! (Clue: An autumn celebration.)<br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">H</span></b>igh in the mountains,<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">A</span></b> lone wolf barks.<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">L</span></b>ow in the valley,<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">L</span></b>anterns light up the dark.<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">O</span></b>ver in the dale,<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">W</span></b>here the witches pass,<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">E</span></b>vening becomes night and<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">E</span></b>nchantments are cast.<br />
<b><span style="color: purple;">N</span></b>o danger will they know, where the pumpkin heads glow.<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Copyright N.O.A. Rawle 2015 All rights reserved)</span><br />
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Have a happy one! ;)</div>
N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-76375101532704603172015-08-28T10:33:00.000+03:002015-09-03T16:18:59.090+03:00EFL e-reader reviewed: Against the Night + How to write a book review.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I say<em> "Let's write something today."</em> most reactions are negative. Writing in a foreign language is the hardest thing to do as it requires so many skills: reading the task properly, vocabulary suitable for the topic, good grammar & spelling, and most of all, planning.<br />
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I had a surprising response last term to a request I made of my Proficiency students. For their holiday homework I suggested they read a book or watch a film and write a review. With nothing but a skeleton plan and a few hints and tips I left them to it. I didn't even put limits on word count so there was total freedom in the task. The reviews I got back were enthusiastically written, there was the odd Instance of Internet pilfering but plagiarism is a crime easily spotted by using <a href="http://turnitin.com/en_us/why-turnitin">Turnitin</a>!<br />
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Below you will find a similar skeleton plan to the one I gave my students and a sample review to illustrate how to put it into practice! Why don't you give it a go? Remember reviews are real writing that you can post on the Internet on sites such as <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/">Amazon</a> or <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/">Goodreads</a> and get feedback from your work. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rhsF4bDIJd4/VdXuoq3jCdI/AAAAAAAAAjc/vhq_5MWoK4I/s1600/against%2Bthe%2Bnight%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rhsF4bDIJd4/VdXuoq3jCdI/AAAAAAAAAjc/vhq_5MWoK4I/s400/against%2Bthe%2Bnight%2B2.jpg" width="258" /></a></div>
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You already know, if you read my stories, that I have a penchant for spooky, weird fiction (better known as Speculative Fiction as the writer speculates on a certain situation or the future). Generally speaking, I read this genre writing too. With that in mind, I went searching for an affordable spec.fic. graded reader (a book written or abridged to make it suitable for specific learning levels) to use in this blog post and, low and behold, I found the perfect candidate in <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Against-Night-Hippo-Graded-Reader-ebook/dp/B00ZRS0BMC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440714780&sr=8-1&keywords=Against+the+Night+hippo+books">Against the Night</a> from <a href="http://hippobooks.info/">Hippo Books</a>. </div>
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THE SKELETON:</div>
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1. <strong>Title, author/editor/contributors, publisher, edition, type of work.</strong> You may add other important information here too.</div>
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2. <strong>Summary of the story without spoilers (giving the end away).</strong> If you tell the whole story in the summary there will be no reason for the potential reader to open the book!</div>
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3. <strong>What you thought of the characters/story-telling/stories both good and bad.</strong> (This could be 2 or more separate paragraphs.) This is where your vocabulary really comes to the fore. Give reasons for your point of view and use expressive vocabulary.</div>
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4.<strong> Recommendation.</strong> Here you can give details of the audience the book is/should be aimed at, the price and availability.</div>
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NOTE: It might seem a bit more than obvious to state this, but you do have to have<em> read</em> the book you are reviewing so that you can provide some details about it in the review! I advise you to jot down a few things that you like/dislike as you read to save going back through the book searching for the bit you remember but may not be able to find again. (If you are reading an e-book you can do this automatically on the text using the features of your e-reader.)</div>
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THE REVIEW:</div>
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AGAINST THE NIGHT</div>
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Ghost story anthology <em>Against the Night</em>, written by Patrick Kennedy, Cooper Baltis and Danny Weiss, is published by Hippo Books. The collection includes six spooky and traumatic tales written specifically for students from upper-intermediate level (CEFR B2+) and beyond.</div>
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The anthology opens with <em>Floating Girls</em> by Cooper Baltis. Set in Idaho, it is the chilling tale of two ghost hunters' encounters with the other side. <em>Messages</em> by Patrick Kennedy, transports the reader to Mexico City to solve a murder mystery. <em>Gone</em> by Danny Weiss investigates strange disappearances in Boston. <em>Sixteen Years</em> by Patrick Kennedy looks at the lives of three school friends and how they have changed over sixteen years of course! Danny Weiss's <em>Mr. Clean is</em> a blood curdling urban legend and in the last story, <em>Mechanical Turk</em>, Cooper Baltis explores the haunting world of antique collecting in a tale reminiscent of traditional horror.</div>
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All the stories are written in short parts and chapters so not only is <em>Against the Night</em> a versatile class reader that can be adapted to short lesson times, perhaps as an end of the lesson read, it is also suitable for home study for learners who have limited reading time or short attention spans. The stories are gripping and compelling, although <em>Gone</em> was a little confusing as there are a host of characters to keep track of. The stories take the reader across Europe and America, meeting a multicultural blend of characters without falling into stereotype traps. Such a chilling read is it that your blood will run cold but that's to be expected from an anthology of ghost stories! The recommended age range is 8-18 but some of the content such as over consumption of alcohol, may not be considered appropriate for primary ages. The overuse of dull adjectives (big) was a little grating and not to be expected of an Upper Intermediate level reader however, the majority of the vocabulary was varied enough to be educational. The e-book was missing a Contents list so I could not jump straight to the story I wanted to read first.</div>
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All in all, <em>Against the Night</em> is a thrilling introduction to ghost stories! Recommended to students of High school age and up the e-book is easily affordable at <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Against-Night-Hippo-Graded-Reader-ebook/dp/B00ZRS0BMC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1440746362&sr=8-1&keywords=against+the+night+hippo+books">2.99</a>.</div>
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This review is also on <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00ZRS0BMC/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1">Amazon</a>, where I bought the book, and on <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1376095390">Goodreads</a>. Remember you can do this too - don't think that reviewing has to be just for your teacher, you can post your reviews on these two sites easily and many others as well.</div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3063038961767627750.post-51725040402655772122015-06-25T02:43:00.000+03:002015-06-25T02:48:54.703+03:00When it comes to 'The Crunch', are you prepared?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As you know, I live and work in Greece which, just in case you have been living under a stone, is going through a crisis at the moment. The government has been given <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jK-NcRmVcw">the final countdown by Europe</a> to play their game or get out. Having seen what happened when Cyprus wouldn't play by the rules and with the images of Argentina's bankruptcy still in mind, like any mum, my concerns were feeding my family in difficult times. A <a href="http://www.babble.com/home/25-beautiful-pantries-organization-tips/">pantry</a> well stocked with basic supplies is something modern living has little need of with 24 hour shopping, so I decided to Google it and, low and behold, I found a whole subculture who live in fear of disaster. I thought I'd shared my findings with you!<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GVhTG1cVXUI/VYs655j5V2I/AAAAAAAAAhA/MrE5vqjouRw/s1600/are-you-ready-to-be-a-prepper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GVhTG1cVXUI/VYs655j5V2I/AAAAAAAAAhA/MrE5vqjouRw/s320/are-you-ready-to-be-a-prepper.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">When Robert Baden-Powel, founder of the Boy Scouts, chose
the motto “Be Prepared” he intended that a Boy Scout should be ready to face any
situation. Scouts take wilderness treks, go camping, cook on an open fire,
learn to tie knots, light fires without matches and how to communicate using <a href="http://www.britannica.com/technology/semaphore">semaphore</a>.
It all seems like an adventure and a fun thing to do if you are a kid. However, there
are people who live everyday of their lives honing their survival
skills just in case disaster strikes.</span> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z0qEdPbA_jA/VYs2HM6f4cI/AAAAAAAAAg4/9PlgL8bSRX8/s1600/be-prepared.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-z0qEdPbA_jA/VYs2HM6f4cI/AAAAAAAAAg4/9PlgL8bSRX8/s320/be-prepared.jpg" width="256" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">They are called “Preppers” or “Survivalists”. This is not a
new concept and Preppers are currently in the third wave of development. The
first were those born in the 1930s-50s who experience World War II, then there
were those of the 70s and 80s who were worried about nuclear attack more than
anything or socio-economic collapse and since the 2001 September 11<sup>th</sup>
attack in the US there is a new generation of people who see impending doom, be it natural disaster, nuclear war or even
alien or zombie invasion, <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/loom">looming</a> just around the corner! On the web there is a plethora of sites dedicated to
the Prepper Lifestyle and culture. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmaMTNBjxhA/VYs7MKEomMI/AAAAAAAAAhM/2JqIwlmX4ec/s1600/Prepper%2Bpantry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZmaMTNBjxhA/VYs7MKEomMI/AAAAAAAAAhM/2JqIwlmX4ec/s320/Prepper%2Bpantry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Preppers have lists of supplies with which to fill their
store rooms or bunkers, these include <a href="http://www.happypreppers.com/37-food-storage.html">edible products</a> and <a href="http://www.happypreppers.com/37-non-food-items-to-hoard.html">non-food items</a> that
are used in everyday life and are seem to be essential for survival. Not only
that but they keep themselves fit by hiking and working out, they are usually
skilled hunters as they will tell you that the apocalypse is no place for a
vegetarian. They have there own terminology (see below).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Sound crazy to you? Even reputable
organisations such as <a href="http://arcbrcr.org/#SITE">The American Red Cross</a> recommend having an emergency box.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> (More information on their <a href="http://www.redcross.org/prepare/nationalpreparednessmonth">site</a>.)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><o:p><strong></strong></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong><u>Survivalist terms</u></strong></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 8pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">(Adapted from Wikipedia)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Alpha strategy: </strong>Having extra supplies of consumable to swap or use to be (seen to be) charitable.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Ballistic wampum: </strong>Ammunition used for bartering. (Wampum are beads that Native Americans used in Exchange.)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>BOB: Bug-out-bag/<!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">G.O.O.D. kit</span> </strong>= an Emergency supply kit.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>BOL: Bug-out location. =</strong> a place to escape to.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>BOV: </strong></span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><strong>Bug-out vehicle = </strong>an escape Car.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Crunch</strong>: any major, long-term disaster.</span></li>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>EDC</strong>: </span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Everyday carry</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;">. The things we ordinarily carry with us in case disaster strikes, this could include a weapon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>EOTW</strong>: End of the world<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Goblin</strong>: A criminal, </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Golden horde</strong>: The people who will escape from the cities when disaster strikes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>G.O.O.D.</strong>: Get out of Dodge (city). Escaping a city in time of disaster. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>I.N.C.H. Bag</strong>: I'm Not Coming Home Bag. = a bag carried at all times so you don't have to go home and pack if disaster strikes while you out.</span></li>
<li><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><strong>Pollyanna</strong></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong> or Polly</strong>: You are probably one! Someone who doesn't believe the worst will happen.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Prepper/ survivalist/ retreater</strong>: someone prepared for disaster.</span></li>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><!--[endif]--><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>TEOTWAWKI</strong>: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsxavPANO8s">The end of the world as we know it</a> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>WROL</strong>: Without rule of law. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>YOYO</strong>: You're on your own. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Zombie</strong>: Those of us who weren't prepared and rely on other's preparedness. (Eating their brains - get it?)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><strong>Zombie apocalypse</strong>: a</span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"> metaphor for any natural or man-made disaster (and sadly in some cases it seems to be taken literally!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">FOOD FOR THOUGHT QUESTIONS:<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What situations do you need to prepare for?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Do you think people who prepare for disaster have genuine concerns or are they extremists, crazy or both?</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Would be able to survive if disaster struck?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Do you already have any of the skills/supplies that are mentioned in the text above?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If you had 24 hours to prepare for impending disaster, what would you do?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What items do you consider are essential to survival?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">If you had to escape now, what one thing would you take with you?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Where do you think a threat to our lifestyle is most likely to come from?</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Are you a Prepper? Why? If not, would you become one? Why?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Have I put you in the mood for a disaster movie? Try these ones to keep this crazy theme going!</div>
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Divergent</div>
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The Maze Runner</div>
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Waterworld</div>
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Terminator II/Salvation</div>
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The Hunger Games</div>
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The Day After Tomorrow</div>
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2012</div>
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Elysium</div>
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Alive!</div>
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Cast Away</div>
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Contagion</div>
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Outbreak</div>
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Children of Men</div>
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The Host</div>
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Dante's Peak</div>
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Mars Attack!</div>
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N.O.A. Rawlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15718721706857262161noreply@blogger.com0