OSCAR NOMINEES 2014

 I guess if you like films and the cinema you will love your assignment this week. As you might know on January 16th the nominations for the Oscars 2014 were announced.







You must watch the announcement of the nominees and the 9 trailers in the link below:

Once you have watched the trailers for the nine nominees for The Best Picture (around 2 minutes each trailer) I want you to fill in the quizz below

PHONETICS I

This is the first in a series of post about phonetics, which we didn't work on last year but I definitely intend to do throughout this school term. We will learn the phonetic symbols and their sound to help you improve your pronunciation in English.

Have you ever wondered what those strange symbols are that appear next to words in the dictionary?

They are a guide to pronounciation called Phonetics. Those symbols represent sounds, of which there are roughly 44 in the English language. Since there are only 26 letters in the alphabet, 44 characters are used to represent them all. Phonics should be a part of every student's tools for learning a language.
There is no end to our study of grammar and vocabulary but phonemic symbols are limited, visual and physical. They may seem challenging at first but it is like learning to swim or ride a bicycle. Once you can do it, it is easy and you never forget.





Watch the following videos from the site we will be using to practice phonetics, BBC Learning English, to know the hows and whys of what we are going to learn about.




Why should you learn the different English sounds? Why should you learn the symbols? Watch the next video to find out:





Notice the interactive phonemic chart below.


Let's become familiar with the sounds of English by clicking on the different symbols. Click on each symbol to go to the video with the explanations: Sounds of English 


Start by clicking on the sound /i/ and doing the activities in Unit 1. Then write a comment about the different exercises you have done.
Then go to the Minimal Pair Website and go through the activities there.

A JIGSAW STORY

Time for sorting out a story! Below you have the QR codes for a well known story by Roald Dahl called Lamb to Slaughter.




Each one of you will scan and read one QR code which contains 10 different extracts of the story and you must try to figure out how the story goes all together by telling the others what your extract is about.
If you don't have a QR reader, download QR Droid for Android or QR Reader for iPhone.

Have fun!



Now that you've come with the story, let's watch the short film based on it by Hitchcock: 

LEARN CODE!

Last year I wrote a post about coding and asked some of you if you would be interested in taking this subject were it to be taught at your High School. Obama himself has made a recent call on the importance of learning to code for American students and for America itself. Watch the video below:

 

Well, now it seems that what we thought as a long term future subject may not be so and that education authorities in Spain are along the same lines and techonological high schools might be in the lead in this subject. I can't read more... 
Anyway, if you are interested, I got an invitation from Khan Academy (I guess you're familiar with the site; you don't know what you're missing, otherwise) to take one hour lesson on coding I'm sharing with you. It all seems to be part of a movement to get people of all ages to give coding a try: www.hourofcode.com

Welcome to our Hour of Code!: Pamela welcomes you to our programming community here.  

I still haven't given it a go, but some of you may be interested and can devote some time during the holidays. I hope some of you, girls, find it interesting too, since we're dealing with gender gap and women don't seem to be so fond of computer science.

As Sal Khan, Founder of Khan Academy, says: "you'll be part of creating our technology future, not just living in it! If you can type, you can code!" and who knows... I may even get a greeting card soon...    Start coding your holiday card

NELSON MANDELA

As you all know by now, Nelson Mandela died on December 5th. He was a man that really made a difference.







Obama pays tribute to him in the following public announcement:

 Let's pay tribute by doing some activities about him.

The three assignments are due on December 13th.

First, watch the speech by Obama and send me a Speakpipe with the main headlines in it.

Second, do the following listening activity in your virtual classroom so that I get your grades for your final marks this term.

Watch and listen to the poem “His Day is Done: A Tribute Poem for Nelson Mandela by Maya Angelou,” which was produced by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs in December 2013.

Third, watch the video about Mandela's story in your virtual classroom and answer the questions below it. 

The listening assignments will help you upgrade your grades for the listening skill this term.

GENDER GAP

After learning about Malala Yousasfai, we'll go deeper into the issue of gender gap in the following days.

"The first step to solving a problem is recognizing there is one"

In a powerful video project, Brown University (New England) student Emma Hall asked some of her classmates to read out statements generated by Google autofill searches for phrases like "women want" and "men should." Some of the examples? "Women want money" and "men should be able to hit women."

Watch what they came up with:



In groups you're going to do some research on Gender Gap in the world in aspects such as education, politics, economy, science, society....

Below you have different links to focus your study on. Try to get the most important information to later present to the rest of the groups what you learnt.

GROUP 1:

• Study the following interactive map and draw some conclusions:

Watch the video by the World Economic Forum and comment on the initiatives they're carrying out to try to close the Gender Gap.

GROUP 2: 

• Saudi Arabian ban on women driving. Read some posts in this blog and share the different point of views expressed on it. What does Bob Marley have to do with it?

GROUP 3: 

• Gender Pay Gap: Study the following infographic and draw conclusions to share with the whole class. You can do further research.

Explore more infographics like this one on  Visually.

 GROUP 4:

• The Gender Gap in Computer Science. Study the infographic below and explain the reason for the gap and the latest tendency.

Source: Best Computer Science Schools

GROUP 5: 

• Watch the video below with a summary of the report carried out by the World Economic Forum on Global Gender Gap and share what you understood. Don't forget to mention the reasons why Gender Gap does not benefit any country.

GROUP 6: 

• Are men and women planets apart? Study the infographic below and share your findings with the class:

.
Explore more infographics like this one on the web's largest information design community - Visually.

THE GIRL THEY COULDN'T SILENCE

Last October was International Day of the Girl, and The Daily Show was able to interview Malala Yousafzai, a courageous young advocate for girls’ education from Pakistan’s Swat Valley. 

But first, let's remember her story.





Study this interactive timeline and get the information needed to retell her story.


Watch the following video about the story of Malala Yousafzai:





Last year, Malala was targeted and shot by radical Taliban militants while on her school bus. She was a youth blogger for the BBC advocating girls education in her native Pakistan, and continued to go to school despite a Taliban ban outlawing women’s education. Malala made a full recovery, and has since used her newfound fame to highlight the discrimination that girls often face when seeking an education in the developing world, and why girls’ education is so essential to the health of a society. 

Because of her courage in the face of great opposition, Mala was nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Although she didn't win the prize, she continues to speak out and raise money to promote education, despite renewed death threats against her...
At least one group was pleased with the decision not to reward her with the Nobel Prize. Find out more.
Let's do some reading aloud about her story. Now you can watch the amazing interview. Take some notes for later discussion.

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook

She spoke at the UN Youth Assembly on her 16th birthday.





Watch her speech and do the following taks: 

• Send me an oral report with the best headlines in it. 

Answer the following questions in your report:

• What were the Taliban's two goals in attacking Malala? How have their actions toward these goals backfired?
• What role has technology played in Malala’s crusade?
• What are the characteristics of a hero? Is Malala Yousafzai a hero? Find adjectives to describe her.
• Malala's story teaches us that one person can make a big difference. In your own words, explian how Malala has made a difference in the world.

Deadline: 23rd November 


Despite the importance of the subject, let's finish the post with a smile. 
Watch the following short film "Pipas" (sunflower seeds) awarded with the best screenplay and best director in the 9th edtion of Notodofilmfest 

Corto PIPAS from Manuela Moreno on Vimeo.

How does the video relate to the education gender gap topic?