Reading will set you free

We will analyse Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen according to the setting, the character´s points of view and the tone in which the phrases are expressed. Setting. Where events took place:  Netherfieldd Park (Bingley´s residence) Pemberly House (Darcy´s estate) The Derbyshire countryside Rosings (Lady Catherine´s home) Other settings may be include Longbourn, Hansford and Meryton. Narration. The novel is told in third person with limited omniscience and we are connected with Elizabeth´s perspective and experiences all the time. Characterization. Austen provides details about their physical characteristics and their personality too. Fine, eyes, pretty, woman, tolerable, tall person, handsome features, etc.  Tone. If you want to understand the story, you need to focus on the tone whenever a character is expressing an idea. For instance, Mr. Bennet´s reaction to Elizabeth´s refusal to marry Collins. Interesting video: http...

Storytelling. Its power must not be forgotten. The telling of stories has been a vital mechanism ever since humans developed language – perhaps the most vital in transferring knowledge of all sorts. The invention of writing, then printing, word processing and home computers means that we now have many other methods. But storytelling remains a powerful and appealing tool. Reasons for using storybooks  Children enjoy listening to stories in their mother tongue and are familiar with narrative conventions. For example, as soon as they hear the formula Once upon a time… they can make predictions about what to expect next. For this reason, storybooks can provide an ideal introduction to the foreign language as they present language in a repetitive and memorable context. Storybooks can also provide the starting point or act as a springboard for a wide variety of related language and learning activities, which are described in the accompanying notes.   Below are some furth...

How to develop children´s imagination? Rodari wrote 44 chapters to explain this question. The idea of the book is to help children to play with their imagination through games.  He wrote about different techniques to hvae fun while learning and developing creativity, for instance, "el binomio fantástico", which means that you cannot write a story with one word, you need two.   A word has different meaning and interpretation and he developed this idea during the first chapters. What words hide behind the letters?  It is possible to have an education with creativity and the teacher must encourage students to create.  You can use binomio fantastico, el juego del cuentacuentos, etc, different resources. Any situation related to each child must be an excuse to invent and create a story.

British Empire , a worldwide system of dependencies— colonies,  protectorates, and other territories—that over a span of some three centuries was brought under the  s overeignty  of the crown of Great Britain  and the administration of the British government. This episode of Ten Minute History covers the birth and rise of the British Empire from the reign of Henry VII all the way to the American Revolution. The first part deals with the Tudors and their response to empire in Spain (as well as the Spanish Armada). The second part deals with England's (and later Britain's) establishment of its own empire in North America and India. It then concludes with the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQktE-YKlJg Another interesting link to learn more about the british empire: Have the British really invaded 90% of the countries in the world? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t86J_zZjjq4

Vladimir Propp dedicate his life to study the fantastic story and how it is created. In 1928, he published "Morfología del cuento" Morphology of the folk tales in which he develops 31 functions that may appeared in a story, actions that we can find in a narration.   Common narrative structure: Beginning Conflict End The 31 functions: I.   ALEJAMIENTO.  Uno de los miembros de la familia se aleja de casa. II.   PROHIBICIÓN.   Sobre el protagonista recae una prohibición. III.  TRANSGRESIÓN.  Se transgrede o rompe la prohibición. IV.   INTERROGATORIO.  El agresor o antagonista intenta obtener noticias. V.  I NFORMACIÓN.  El agresor o antagonista recibe información sobre la víctima. VI.   ENGAÑO.  El agresor o antagonista intenta engañar a su víctima para apoderarse de ella o de sus bienes. VII.  COMPLICIDAD.  La víctima se deja engañar y ayuda así a su enemigo, a su pesar....

In January 1940, the British government introduced food rationing. The scheme was designed to ensure fair shares for all at a time of national shortage. The Ministry of Food was responsible for overseeing rationing. Every man, woman and child was given a ration book with coupons. These were required before rationed goods could be purchased. Basic foodstuffs such as sugar, meat, fats, bacon and cheese were directly rationed by an allowance of coupons. Housewives had to register with particular retailers. A number of other items, such as tinned goods, dried fruit, cereals and biscuits, were rationed using a points system. The number of points allocated changed according to availability and consumer demand. Priority allowances of milk and eggs were given to those most in need, including children and expectant mothers. As shortages increased, long queues became commonplace. It was common for someone to reach the front of a long queue, only to find out that the item they had be...

  India's national cinema  industry has another name: Bollywood.  The name is obviously a play on the word Hollywood. The “B" comes from the Indian city of Bombay, which is now called Mumbai. In addition to Bollywood,  India's national move industry  is also often referred to as Hindi  cinema.        Bollywood   refers specifically to those films that feature the   Hindi   language. Although some people use the term to refer to Indian  cinema in general , there are actually many other locations in India with large  film production   centers that focus on other languages and subcultures. The name  Bollywood  became popular in the 1970s.  Today, people don't think of  Bollywood  as a place as much as it is a style of  film . When people hear the name  Bollywood , they think of  lavish  movies filmed in  exotic  locations starring beautiful people...

A refreshing and hilarious read... When they were first written, the stories on which the following tales are based certainly served their purpose – to entrench the patriarchy, to estrange people from their own natural impulses, to demonize “evil” and to “reward” an “objective” “good”.   It is a sexist, ages and racist remark, it has another optic, it changes your point of view of the typical stories that you may have read when you were young, This book allows you to go deep in the vocabulary analysis and to make a reflection on those passages that refers to feminism, sexism and racism.

  As the British Empire began its process of decolonization and the creation of independent states from former British colonies, there arose a need for an organization of countries formerly part of the Empire.    The Commonwealth of Nations is made up of 53 countries of which a majority are former territories of Britain. Countries from across the globe, including Asia, Africa and Europe, all sign up to the same values and principles, acknowledging the shared history they have together. Follow this link to learn more about the commonwealth and its members: https://www.royal.uk/commonwealth https://thecommonwealth.org/member-countries  

  This pictures were taken from my drama classes with students in one of the school where I work. Children really enjoy acting out, getting dressed with funny items of clothes. Besides, they learn vocabulary, intonation and pronunciation. Let´s find out about some drama techniques for your lesson plan... WHY USE DRAMA GAMES OR THEATRE GAMES IN YOUR TEACHING?     They are simple, cost-effective way of accomplishing a wide variety of educational goals, not just in theatre class. The games combine elements of creative drama, improvisation, pantomime, creative movement, and storytelling. They develop foundational skills needed in theatre arts that also have tremendous positive effects on literacy development, academic success, and social interaction. The games are easy to integrate with content from other school subjects or content areas. The drama game or theatre game is a versatile teaching tool that reaches multiple learning styles, content areas, age group...

James Monroe introduced the Monroe Doctrine in 1823. The doctrine established the foreign policy of the United States regarding the Western Hemisphere for many years to come. President James Monroe by William James Hubbard What did the Monroe Doctrine say? The Monroe Doctrine had two major points. 1) That the United States would not allow European countries to start new colonies or to interfere with independent countries in the continents of North America or South America. 2) That the United States would not interfere with existing European colonies nor get involved with conflicts between European countries. Why did President Monroe establish this new doctrine? Many countries in South America had just gained their independence from European empires such as Spain and Portugal. At the same time, with the defeat of Napoleon in Europe, Madison was afraid that European nations would once again try to establish power in the Americas. Madison wanted to let Europe know ...

  Have you ever wonder why reading stories to students is the most valuable tool to develop their critical thinking? Stories help us make sense of the world, stories help us develop empathy. Why a story-based approach?  Children’s emotional & social growth   Stories help to link fantasy/imaginative world with real world, helping children make sense of their everyday life.    Listening to stories in class is a social experience and allows children to share emotions as a group and forge a deep connection with others.    Stories reflect cultural information (values, customs) which helps children understand and express‘ difference’ and develop intercultural awareness and understanding     Stories reflect universal themes, encouraging children to identify what they share in common with others. Stories consist of 3 basic elements:  Characters – protagonist /antagonist  Plot – sequence of events that build tension...

QUESTIONING  How questions can help develop thinking and learning. Why do teachers ask questions?    The common response is that teachers use questions in order to motivate, to test knowledge, and to promote reflection, analysis or enquiry. Questions are supposed to offer intellectual challenge, to encourage students to think. That is the theory. In practice many of the questions teachers use inhibit intellectual activity, and save students from the effort of having to think. Asking the right question has been called the essence of teaching in the sense that it can provide a bridge between teaching and learning. Avoid this: Unproductive questions Stupid questions Too complex questions Too closed, narrow questions  Higher and lower levels of thinking Bloom’s taxonomy can be set out as follows.  Higher order   Evaluation, e.g. ‘What do you think about ... criteria to assess or judge ... ?,   Synthesis, e.g. ‘How could w...

Georgian Era Etiquette    In the social and political history of England, the period between 1714 to 1830 is often called the Georgian Era. It is because these years mark the reign of King George I, followed by King George II, III and IV. This time period is often considered to be the gateway of transition for English society because of its rapid developments in many areas of economy and science.   The Georgian Era was also a time period of great social gap between the wealthy and the poor. As a result of his, social behavior and approval were some of the major areas that the people of this time concentrated on. This resulted in a long list of norms of social etiquettes that people used to follow at that time, which were taken very seriously by everyone in society.   Georgian Etiquettes of Dressing Dressing, during the Georgian times, had evolved massively to become highly complex. Especially for women, there were strict dressing rules that were supposed ...

Just like life, some stories are difficult to understand. Whether you are reading a novel or watching a play or film, there are times when you have to apply certain methods to better understand what you are reading or watching. Gustav Freytag, a German novelist and critic of the nineteenth century, observed the similarity of plots so he created a pictorial tool to visually illustrate dramatic structure. Called Freytag’s Pyramid, he constructed a pattern in the form of a pyramid to analyze the plot structure of dramas.    Freytag’s Pyramid : How to Analyze a Story Words You Need to Know Conflict: a problem that occurs in the story Tragedy: a story ending in death and sadness Analyze: to look at something very closely. According to Freytag, every story worth telling has the following parts: exposition (inciting incident), rising action, climax (turning point), falling action, and denouement (resolution).  Freytag’s pyramid is used to...

Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack (Handclapping Rhyme) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg5OrMRcq3w Submitted By:  Jill Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack, All dressed in black, black, black, With silver button, button, buttons, All down her back, back, back. She asked her mother, mother, mother, For fifty cent, cent, cents, To see the elephant, elephant, elephants, Jump the fence, fence, fence. They jumped so high, high, high, They touched the sky, sky, sky, And didn't come back, back, back Till the fourth of July, July, July.   Here, you have an example of a Nursery rhyme to work in class. You can have a lot of fun with your students.    Nursery rhymes are short songs and verses often read or sung to, or by, young children https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrv495corBc . These songs vary in style, subject, tone, and theme, although many are marked by a use of rhythm and rhyme that makes them easy to remember. They include nonsense rhymes, lullabies, finger-pla...