Edublog is requesting nominations for the 2009 Edublog Awards for such categories as Best Individual Blog, Best New Blog and Best Teacher Blog. In all, there are 19 categories, and you may nominate for any of the categories. Nominations close on 8th December, and the final results will be announced on 18th December. Their homepage has detailed instructions on the nominations procedure. Good luck to all nominees!
From the clues at the bottom of the document, guess these famous landmarks in the world. To help you further, coded words are given for each place, and a decoder is also provided at the top of the document.
Here's a simple animal word search for the elementary learners. The words can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal. When you've found them, write them in the comments section below and I'll tell you if they're all correct.
It was very sweet of you all to make those paper flowers as a sign of apology. Apology accepted, of course. A great big bear hug to each and everyone of you! Work hard and be good, and I'll see you all next week!
Continuing with the parts of our body series, this one tests your knowledge on the muscular system. To play the game, click on the icon below.
Speed (time) and accuracy (percentage of correct answers) are the two important factors here. Before you start the game, try to identify what the parts are first. Don't give up until you've achieved 100% success. After you've played the game, don't forget to post your name (full name or at least your first name and the initials of your surname), your school, your class, and your scores - the % and the time - in the comments section below.
If you like this or the other games in this blog, please link to them by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:
First and foremost, let me thank everyone. Let me thank those who had expressed enough interest to have voted, but let me also thank those who had not voted because they made me realise that some students were thinking they could switch off while their classmates would have to slog their guts out for a month or so.
So, as everyone now knows, or should know, this debate project will be graded for the 2nd evaluation.
The debate will be held on 15th December 2009. The motion is: Abortion should be made legal on demand through the 12th week.
The tasks, to be handed in on or before 21st Dec, are as follows:
The speakers will submit their speeches (not their original, but rather what they finally ended up giving in the debate). They can, if they wish, include a short summary of their opinion on the proceedings.
The judges' report is based on their justification for the points awarded. They will review each speaker's performance. They will also be expected to mention something with regards to their fellow judges' decisions, such as any disagreements and how they were resolved.
The chairperson is required to hand in a report which includes his introductory speech and a review of the proceedings (problems, timings, vote count, judges' decisions, etc). He is also expected to give his opinion on the whole debate, on his classmates' performance and recommendations on possible improvements.
The rest of the class have two tasks:
1. They will have to prepare a short text on their opinion of the motion. They could speak for or against the motion, or take a neutral stance. Just a few lines will suffice. The chairperson will call upon each of them to speak during the floor debate session(s).
2. In addition to that, they will act as reporters for a fictitious school newspaper/magazine. They are to write an article about the debate. This will include how the idea of this debate came to fruition, how the motion was decided, the names of the participants, their performance, and the judges' decision. As a reporter, they are also expected to give their own opinions on the proceedings and the outcome of the debate.
Post your doubts or queries in the comments section below, and I'll try to help.
Do you know your body? Put yourself to the test and and play this labelling game by clicking on the icon below.
Speed (time) and accuracy (percentage of correct answers) are the two important factors here. Before you start the game, try to identify what the parts are first. Don't give up until you've achieved 100% success. After you've played the game, don't forget to post your name (full name or at least your first name and the initials of your surname), your school, your class, and your scores - the % and the time - in the comments section below.
If you like this or the other games in this blog, please link to them by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:
It is perhaps something we all have taken for granted, and perhaps some of us think it has got something to do with the distance of the sun from the Earth at different times of the year.
Well, actually, the reason why we have seasons is because the Earth is tilted. What this basically means is this: imagine a stick stuck right through the Earth from the North Pole to the South Pole, and another through the Sun. This is called the axis. If you put the Earth beside the Sun, these two sticks are not parallel. As it revolves around the Sun, the Earth's stick is at an angle of 23.5º to that of the Sun.
Why is the Earth tilted? When our solar system was formed about 5 billion years ago, there were lots of collisions between large celestial bodies. Due to these collisions, all the planets tilt at different angles.
This excellent video below explains how the Earth's seasons are a result of its tilt. Even though the narrator speaks very clearly and quite slowly, some of you may have difficulty understanding everything, so I have transcribed it. Try to understand the explanation just by watching the video first. Then, follow the transcript while playing the video again.
Transcript:
The axis of the Earth is an imaginary line on which the Earth rotates. It links up the two poles. Both the axis and the Earth are tilted at an angle of twenty-three and a half degrees during a revolution.
The tilting of the axis results in direct sunlight falling on different places during different seasons. This causes variations in the duration of days, nights and seasons.
Relationship between the location of the overhead sun and the seasons
Similarly, the revolution of the Earth and the tilting of the axis result in different angles of the sun during different periods. When the sun is directly overhead, we call this the overhead sun. At this time the Earth's surface and the midday sun form a ninety-degree angle. Different locations of the overhead sun results in variations in the amount of solar radiation received in different areas and at different periods.
Spring Equinox
On 21st or 22nd March, the overhead sun is over the equator. The equator receives the largest amount of solar radiation. At this time, the northern hemisphere is in the spring equinox while the southern hemisphere is in the autumn equinox. The angle of the sun decreases towards the poles. On this day, the two hemispheres receive a similar amount of solar radiation, and the length of day and night is the same at all places on the Earth.
After this day, it is spring in the northern hemisphere where the day is longer than the night. In the southern hemisphere, it becomes autumn, when the day is shorter than the night.
Summer Solstice
On 21st or 22nd June, the overhead sun is over the Tropic of Cancer. It receives the largest amount of solar radiation. At this time, the northern hemisphere is in the summer solstice while the southern hemisphere is in the winter solstice. The angle of the sun decreases towards the poles. On this day, the length of daytime of the northern hemisphere is the longest in the year while that of the southern hemisphere is the shortest in the year.
Besides, there are twenty-four hours of daylight at the Arctic Circle and twenty-four hours of darkness at the Antarctic Circle.
Autumn Equinox
On 22nd or 23rd September, the overhead sun is over the equator again. The equator receives the largest amount of solar radiation. On this day, the northern hemisphere is in the autumn equinox while the southern hemisphere is in the spring equinox. The angle of the sun decreases towards the poles. On this day, the two hemispheres receive a similar amount of solar radiation, and the length of day and night is the same at all places on the Earth.
After this day, it is autumn in the northern hemisphere where the day is shorter than the night. In the southern hemisphere, it becomes spring, when the day is longer than the night.
Winter Solstice
On 21st and 22nd December, the overhead sun is over the Tropic of Capricorn. It receives the largest amount of solar radiation. On this day, the northern hemisphere is in the winter solstice while the southern hemisphere is in the summer solstice. The angle of the sun decreases towards the poles.
On this day, the length of daytime in the northern hemisphere is the shortest in the year while that of the southern hemisphere is the longest in the year.
There are twenty-four hours of darkness at the Arctic Circle and twenty-four hours of daylight at the Antarctic Circle. (Note that at this point in the video (5:38), the Poles are labelled the wrong way around).
Now, explore space with this excellent interactive explanation from BBC Bitesize.
It too explains, among other things, how seasons and the phases of the moon are formed. For a more detailed explanation of the phases of the moon, click here. As with the previous video, try watching it without the aid of my transcript first. Then, while following my transcript, listen to it again. At the end of the video, there is an interactive quiz.
Transcript:
When you're ready for space exploration, press start.
The Universe contains billions and billions of galaxies, and this one, called The Milky Way, contains 300 billion stars. Sounds a lot, but it's kind of average for a galaxy. One of those 300 billion stars is our Sun; yes, the one you see in the sky in the daytime.
Eight planets move in orbit around the Sun. Click on the one that you're sitting on.
Yea, that's planet Earth. Moving out from the Sun, we pass Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. All these planets are kept in orbit by powerful gravitational forces, otherwise, they'd just fly off into space.
Here is tiny Pluto; it used to be considered the ninth planet in our solar system, but in 2006, scientists decided it was too small. Now, it's known as the dwarf planet instead.
This is the Earth seen from space. As the planets move along, they spin around, too. Let's take a look from above the North Pole. From here you can see the Earth spinning anti-clockwise. Each rotation takes 24 hours, which is why each day is 24 hours long.
When you're on the light side, the side lit by the Sun, it's daytime, and when you're on the dark side, it's night. Looking at the Earth from the side now, we can see that it spins towards the East. See Britain down there, it's about to move from the shadow into light; that's from night into day. Let's look at it in a different way.
So, we're on the ground, in the dark, looking South, and waiting for the sunrise as our part of the planet moves into light.
Click where you think the Sun will appear.
Well done!
That's spot on. Because we're spinning towards the East, the Sun first appears in the Eastern sky. It's the same at night with the moon and the stars - they seem to move from East to West as the Earth spins, but don't forget that as well as spinning, we're also moving through space. It takes 365 days for the Earth to go once all the way around the Sun, and that is why a year is 365 days long, except when it is a leap year. Because the Earth takes slightly more than 365 days to orbit the Sun, we need to make a correction to the calendar. So, every four years we add an extra day to February. If you are born on Feb 29th, it's a four-year wait between birthdays.
Another thing about our planet is that it's a little bit wonky. Earth's axis, that's the line from the North Pole to the South Pole, is tilted. That gives us the seasons. How? Let's see.
Watch what happens as the Earth orbits the Sun. The UK is in the northern half of the northern hemisphere of Earth. When our half of the planet is tilted towards the Sun, it feels warmer. Days are longer and nights are shorter. People wear less - it's summertime!
Six months later, we're on the other side of the Sun, and now we're tilted away from it. Days are shorter and nights are longer. You're in your warm clothes - and it's winter! Brrr!
Here's a question. When it's winter in the UK, where on Earth is it summer?
Exactly! In Australia, they have summer in December - Christmas dinner on the beach, anyone?
We've seen that the Earth orbits the Sun. Ok, but we also have our very own satellite orbiting Earth: the Moon. The Moon is made of rock, and unlike the stars, it can't produce any light of its own. All that silvery moonlight is just reflected from the Sun. The Moon orbits the Earth, held neatly in place by gravity and it takes 28 days to go around once. You can see here how, sometimes, the Moon is in the same part of the sky as the Sun, and sometimes it's on the opposite side, and sometimes, it's halfway between.
That's why when you look up at the Moon, it looks different day by day. We call these different appearances the phases of the Moon, like the full Moon and the new Moon.
Pull the Moon around its orbit to watch it change phase.
Once in every 28 days, you can't see the Moon at all. Many people think that's because the Earth is shading the Moon, but that's not right. You can see here that's because the Moon has a shadow side facing the Earth - this is known as the New Moon. Of course, the Moon isn't the only satellite orbiting the Earth. There are thousands of human-made satellites in orbit, too. They're shot up there by rockets to do many different things: observe weather patterns, send TV and communication signals, or just to spy on other countries.
Other satellites collect information about space itself like space telescopes. Scientists use them to study things we can see in space but can't yet travel to, things in our solar system, our galaxy, and the furthest regions of deep space.
Ready for a recap?
1. Gravitational forces keep planets in orbit around the Sun and satellites in orbit around planets.
2. The Earth takes 24 hours (1 day) to complete one rotation on its axis. The Earth takes 1 year to orbit once around the sun.
3. The Earth spins at a slight angle on its orbital path. Its tilt towards or away from the Sun is what gives us seasons.
4- The Moon takes 28 days to orbit the Earth. During this time we see different phases of the Moon.
Last amended on 15 Nov 2009 to add another matching game.
Do you have trouble making a telephone call in English? Do you get nervous when you don't understand the person on the other end? Are you familiar with most of the basic telephone language? In this post, I will try to help you improve your telephone skills by looking at the most common words and expressions used in telephone conversations followed by some practice. If you have any doubts, please don't hesitate to ask.
Watch this short video and see if you can understand some of the vocabulary used. Then, study the list below, and watch the video again, if necessary.
The problem facing learners in understanding telephone conversations, apart from a general weakness in listening skills, is that there are many ways of saying the same thing, and often, the learner gets confused. Here, I will explain some of the most common words and expressions which you should try to learn.
Then watch the video below, and try to fill in the gaps in the lyrics. After that, play the two matching games at the end. The first is a telephone conversation of someone making an appointment with her hairdresser. The second one is slightly more challenging. The conversation is in jumbled order. First, you'll have to match the dialogue, then put the conversation in the right order.
answer (to pick the phone up when it rings) answering machine (a machine that answers your telephone and records messages that people leave for you) busy (if someone's telephone is busy, they are using the phone when you try to call) call (= ring, phone, telephone; make a call) caller (the person making the call) call back / phone back (to telephone someone again) cell phone (= mobile phone) cordless phone (a phone which works without a cable connecting the phone to the electric supply) dial (to press the buttons on the phone to make a call) dial tone (the sound which the phone makes when you pick the phone up. Note that most modern phones no longer have this.) directory / telephone directory / phone book (a book containing names, addresses and phone numbers) hang up (to end a call) phone (see 'call' above) phone booth / pay phone / call box (a public telephone where you put in money to make a call) pick up (to answer the phone) receiver (the part of the phone you pick up to hear and speak, especially on an old-fashioned phone) ring (noun: the sound the phone makes, or verb: to make a call)
Answering the phone
Hello? Pizzie's Pizza, how can I help you? The English Academy, good evening, Paul speaking.
Introducing yourself
Hi Linda, it's me, George. Hello, this is Julie calling. Good morning, it's Jane from the hairdresser's here. This is him / Speaking / You're speaking to him (These are expressions used when the caller asks to speak to you, but didn't realise that you were the one he wanted to speak to)
Asking to speak to someone
Informal
Is Jane in, please? Is Jane there, please? Can I speak to your mother, please?
Formal
May I speak to Dr. Jones, please? Is the doctor available, please? Good afternoon, I'd like to make an appointment. Could you put me through to the accounts department, please?
Just a sec (=second). I'll get him. (informal) Hang on one sec / Hang on a mo (= moment) (informal) Please hold the line; I'll put you through to his office. One moment please.
Having problems understanding
Could you spell that for me, please? Could you speak a little slower, please? Could you please repeat that? I'm sorry. My English isn't so good - could you speak a little clearer, please?
Messages
Julie isn't in, I'm afraid. Who's this? (Informal) I'm sorry, but Pedro isn't available right now. Can I take a message? He's busy right now. Would you like to leave a message?
Yes, can you tell her that her husband called? No, that's all right; I'll call back. Yes, could you take my number down, please? It's José from the Jules Academy.My number is ...
ELO - Telephone Line
Hello, how are you? Have you been all right, Through all the lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely nights, That's what I'd say, I'd tell you everything, If you'd pick up that _________ .
Hey, how you feelin'? Are you still the same? Don't you realise the things we did, we did, Were all for real, not a dream, I just can't believe, They've all faded out of view
Doo wop, dooby dooby wop, Doo wop, do la la la la la, Blue Days, black nights, Doo wop, do la la la la la
I look into the sky, (The love you need ain't gonna see you through), And I wonder why, (The little things are finally coming true)
_________ line, give me some time, I'm living in twilight, Oh, _________ line, give me some time, I'm living in twilight
OK, so no one's_________, Well can't you just let it ____ a little longer, longer, longer? I'll just sit tight, through the shadows of the night, And let it ____ for evermore
Doo wop, dooby dooby wop, Doo wop, do la la la la la, Blue Days, black nights, Doo wop, do la la la la la
I look into the sky, (The love you need ain't gonna see you through), And I wonder why, (The little things are finally coming true)
_________ line, give me some time, I'm living in twilight, Oh, _________ line, give me some time, I'm living in twilight
Now, play this matching game by clicking on the icon below.
It's a dialogue of someone making an appointment at the hairdresser's.
Click on the icon below to play the next game.
It's also a telephone conversation, but it's in jumbled order. First, you'll have to match the dialogue, and when you've finished, put the conversation in the correct order. Post your answers in the comments section below.
If you like this and the other games on this blog, please link to them by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:
I'm sure you know what a beach is, but can you tell a cliff from a cape, or a gorge from a glacier? Put yourself to the test and try to match the descriptions to the images by clicking on the icon below.
Speed (time) and accuracy (percentage of correct answers) are the two important factors here. Before you start the game, try to identify what the images are first. After you've played the game, don't forget to post your name (full name or at least your first name and the initials of your surname, your school, your class, and your scores - the % and the time) in the comments section below.
If you like this or the other games in this blog, please link to it by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:
Click on the image below to test your vocabulary knowledge of the animal cell in this fun labelling game! Speed (time) and accuracy (percentage of correct answers) are the two keys here. When you've played the game, don't forget to post your name (full name or at least your first name and the initials of your surname, your school, your class, and your scores - the % and the time) in the comments section below.
If you like this game, please link to it by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:
The moon is Earth's only natural satellite, and is the brightest object in the sky at night. However, the moon itself has no light, but because it reflects light from the sun, it appears as though it has.
As the moon orbits around the Earth, it seems to change its shape. It appears to change from a bright full circle to a crescent, then to complete darkness, and back to a crescent again. This is because we can only see the part of the moon that is lit by the sun.
The different appearances of the moon is known as phases. The moon takes about a month to go around the Earth and, during this time, we can identify eight distinct phases. These phases are named after how much of the moon we can see, and whether the amount visible is increasing, or decreasing each day: New Moon, Waxing (increasing) Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning (decreasing) Gibbous, Last Quarter, and Waning Crescent.
Click on the image below to see the moon in all its phases.
When you've learn the different phases of the moon, test yourself in a game by clicking on the image below. Please report your score (the % you got and the time taken) in the comments section below. Don't forget to include your name and school!
If you like this game, please link to it by copying and pasting this HTML code (click anywhere inside the box, click ctrl+A, then ctrl+C) into your own blog or web template. This is the badge you'll get:
We've always repeatedly told our students, 'Don't forget the definite article when using the superlative!' so it wasn't all that surprising when one of my students, Saulo, asked me the other day, 'Isn't that sentence wrong? Isn't it missing the definite article?'
I don't remember the exact sentence in question, but it isn't important. I'll explain the rule anyway.
When we are comparing between three or more objects, we normally use the superlative with the definite article:
New York is the most exciting city in the world. (We are comparing New York with many other cities).
Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the world. (We are comparing Usain Bolt with all the other men in the world).
My boss is the most generous person I know. (I'm comparing my boss with all the other people I know).
However, when we are comparing one object with itself, we do not use the definite article, 'the'. This is best illustrated with examples:
New York is most exciting in spring. (We are comparing New York with itself, albeit at different seasons, so we DON'T say New York is the most exciting in spring).
Usain Bolt is fastestwhen he is running with very fast runners. (We are comparing Usain with himself, not with other runners: we compare him when he's running with fast runners and when he's running with slower runners).
My boss is most generous when we make a big sale. (Again, I am comparing my boss at different times, so the definite article is not used).
Well, Saulo, I hope this little explanation has clarified your doubts!
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