HELLO EVERYONE!

The other day the 5^th year pupils were so interested in looking up all of the information about Big Ben and the Titanic. The reason they chose these topics was because of two of their classmates. Two children had models of the Titanic and Big Ben.  We decided to spilt up into groups and to give presentations in English about the two models.

First all of the students of the 5^th year looked up information on internet about these two models.  “For example the year when they were built, the use of them nowadays, some parts/materials… “.  Some groups were preparing the Titanic topic and the others were working on the Big Ben one.

After that, by working in cooperative groups, the children had 12 minutes to collaborate about the ideas and information they researched about the topics. Then they had to choose the best information and share it with the rest of the class by giving a presentation.

At the end, one child from each group explained to all of us what their ideas were about these models. Another child would then point at the model, for example if the first classmate was talking about the deck (Titanic) the second child would point to the deck.

CINEMA!

Today the bilingual team of the school prepared some films about Halloween and the children watched them. They also decorated the classrooms and prepared Halloween activities. We decorated by colouring pumpkins and hanging them on the wall. The children enjoyed all the activities a lot and at the same time they have learned more about this English tradition.

Each year watched a different film.

Now in the photos you can see that the children brought their own candy and that they really enjoyed it. 

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3:

Year 4:

It was a success!

We are looking forward to the last Friday in November.

 Which film do you think we will watch?

CINEMA AT MARÍA INMACULADA SCHOOL

Do you remember the last time you laughed until your sides split, while watching a movie?

Well that’s what a good comedy does to you and what we want our pupils to experience.

The benefits of watching movies are immense. For example, you´re sitting in a class with your friends eating popcorn and sipping your favourite soft drink while watching your favourite film. You get a sense of enjoyment and are able to connect with your friends after the movie by discussing what you did and didn´t like about the film.

Teachers at María Inmaculada want their students to feel excited, scared, emotional and happy during that one and a half hour. We also want them to be swept away to a world full of imagination and to enjoy every moment of it.

One of the best benefits of watching a movie is that it inspires you. Biographies and movies on historical figures often give you a glimpse into the simple truths of life. You get to see through your own eyes the transformation of ordinary men and women into heroes in times of need. It also motivates you to look at life in a different way. They realize a regular person like them is capable of doing great things and they learn that they can do these things too.

We are certain that the principal reason people watch films is to be entertained. We will watch a film on the last Friday of every month in English. This is to help improve the English level of the pupils. It will also teach them how to differentiate the different accents of English speakers.

We hope that this is a time where the pupils can relax and have some fun while learning new things.

 : )

NATIONAL APPLE MONTH AND… APPLE CRUMBLE!

Apple crumble is great to make on a rainy day and everyone enjoys it! I will teach you how to bake this tasty dessert later on in the post.

; )

Did you know that…?

October is National Apple Month!  It is the only national, generic apple promotion in the United States. In 1904 it originally started out as National Apple Week. Then it expanded to the entire month of October in 1996. National Apple Month´s mission is to increase apple industry sales and to enhance consumer awareness and the usage of apples and apple products. 

Its goal is to increase the apple industry sales through a fall retail display contest, foodservice promotional contest, to recognize outstanding retailers for their apple merchandising and to develop strong relations with retail, foodservice and apple industry members.  (1)

                                       (Citied Sources: (1) http://nationaldaycalendar.com/)

Apple Crumble

·         3-4 Bramley cooking apples

·         100g granulated sugar

·         150g plain flour (also works well with gluten-free flour)

·         75g salted butter, softened

Method

1          .  If you're planning to cook it straight after preparing, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas 4. If you want, however, you can make the crumble beforehand, and cook it later.

2         .  First, you need to prepare the apples. Half fill a large saucepan with water, and peel, core and chop the apples into 1-2cm chunks. Place them in the saucepan to stop them from ruining.

3         .  Drain all of the water from the saucepan, add another 2 tbsp(table spoon) of water and 50g of the sugar, and place on a medium heat on the hob. Stew until the apples become mushy. Once mushy, put the apples into an ovenproof dish.

4        .  Place the flour and the remaining sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and use your hands to mix everything together until the mixture resembles large breadcrumbs. Pour this evenly on top of the stewed apples.

         .If you are making the crumble in advance, cover it with cling film and allow to cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge. When ready to cook, place the crumble in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes. Don't worry if the crumble doesn't looked cooked properly, it most likely is! Eat hot from the oven.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT IRELAND? ( 4th and 5th grade classes )

           As you know English is taught in our school. For that reason we want to design different activities to improve our pupil’s level of English. This year Denis is going to help us to do just that.

Denis is a native English speaker from Ireland. He will live in Zamora this year and will work with us. He will also have the amazing experience of living abroad.

Denis comes every Monday to María Inmaculada and helps our students to learn English in the most effective way.

Last Monday, 19^th of October, he was working with the 4^th and 5^th grade classes.

To break the ice we began the lesson asking some QUESTIONS ABOUT THEM SELVES i.e. Name, age, hobbies…

The second part of the session was… GEOGRAPHY TIME!

What´s the capital of Spain?

What’s the second biggest city in Spain?

Do you know the capital of Ireland?

After drawing a map on the board Denis started asking if they knew some well-known UK and Ireland cities.

   I.E what is the name of city number 1? 

... Game:  GUESS THE WORD!

The first player chooses an item and writes the word in a notebook. After that a clue is given 

(e.g. It is something you can find in…   

It is something you can buy at…   

It is something made of…).  

Players take turns guessing what the object is. The player who guesses the right answer becomes the next person to choose an object.

Now our students know what the Spire, Irish stew, the Liffey river and the Irish flag are.

The Spire of Dublin

An Irish stew

Liffey river

Ireland flag

Do you know it ?

WELCOME!

We wish you a warm welcome to Maria Inmaculada´s - Zamora English blog. We are a group of kids who are active, smart, fun, loving and enjoy learning many things. Some of our favourite activites are playing football, basketball and various games. Our teachers help us learn by being hardworkers, creative, loving and giving us the motivation to do our best. One of our favourite subjects is English.

English is an international language spoken by many. For that reason we want to help our students learn the language and at the same time have fun! During the year we will post different activities that the children can do in their free time at home. We will also write about what we have been doing at school and about the different cultures and customs from different English speaking countries. We are excited for you to join us on our scholastic journey and we hope that you learn a lot of new things this year.