Webquest: Christmas

Part 1. The history of Christmas

Look for the answers to the following questions and share your answers with your partner.

1.      What did Saturnalia celebrate?  

Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated.

2.      How did Roman society change during Saturnalia?

Slaves became masters, peasants controlled the city and businesses and schools were

closed.

3.      In what century did the church decide to make the birth of Christ a holiday?

In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a   holiday.

4.      What was the problem with choosing the date of Christ’s birth?

Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention the date of his birth.

5.      Why was 25^th December chosen?

In order to adopt and absorb the traditions of the Pagan Saturnalia festival.

6.      Why do some churches celebrate Christmas on 6^th January?

This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.

7.      What was the main disadvantage for church leaders of holding Christmas at the same time as other winter festival?

By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated.

8.      In what way were Christmas celebrations during the Middle Ages similar to those of Roman times?

The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined “debt” to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens.

Twenty Christmas traditions from around the world

11. Presents are brought by Jesus instead of Santa Claus. Colombia

12. Neighborhoods get together for night festivals where children play with skateboards, rollerblades and bicycles. Venezuela

13. On the 6^th December, Saint Nicholas puts goodies in children’s shoes. Germany

14. Rice pudding is traditionally served with whipped cream and lashings of black cherry sauce. Denmark

15. Electric candles and glowing stars are placed in almost every window during the month of December. Sweden

16. A traditional meal includes herring, beetroot soup with ravioli. Poland

17. It is a tradition for children to leave a glass of milk and plate of cookies for Santa. United States

18. At midnight on 24^th December, churches celebrate “the Rooster’s Mass”. Brazil

19. Children are visited by “Old Man Christmas” on Christmas Eve and must sing songs or recite Christmas poems. Estonia

20. Children celebrate Christmas by playing with firecrackers and sparklers. El Salvador

Feeling Intelligent

1.- Choose the best answer according to the text.

• This article is mainly about

               - Patrick's and Harold's careers.
               - How people deal with their emotions.
               - The importance of emotional intelligence.
               - The importance of a good education.

•  Compared to Patrick, Harold was

               - Less happy in secondary shool.
               - Less happy as an adult.
               - More successful in secondary school
               - More successful as an adult

•  According to Daniel Goleman,

               - Academic abilities are the key to success.
               - People with academic abilities are not likely to succeed.
               - Maths is the most important academic ability.
               - Academic abilities are not the only factor in succeed.

•  People with emotional intelligence

               - Are aware of their own feelings but not others'.
               - Often feel guilty if things go wrong.
               - Have got a positive feeling about life.
               - Are usually academically successful.

•  People with high EQs

               - Are less likely to feel angry.
               - Can control their anger.
               - Are more likely to shout than become violent.
               - Act according to their emotions.

• In the experiment, some children

               - Did not eat and go another marshmallow.
               - Ate at first marshwall and got another.
               - Were given two marshmallows and told to wait.
               - Left the room before the researcher returned.

•  
•  

Germán

Now I am going to write a terrorific story.

It happens one year ago more or less. It is about a family that it lives in a city, Mexicali. And this family went to Puerto Vallarta on holiday so, the father talked with his brother and he told that if he can take care of the dog and his brother accepted. The brother slept that night with the family. the next the family left and he was alone in the house. At night he went to slept and at 2pm more or less he saw a siluet, but he was continued sleeping and he got up at 1pm, too late. He couldn't work and he notified at chief. He went to put some food at the dog but i wasn't there... He was searching the dog all the day, but he didn't have any answer of it. So, he decided go to sleep, but he listened some noise, he thought that this noise could be the dog. He went down stairesand he saw a siluet, he ran away and he visited his neighbors. The next day his brother phoned at him and, he, the brother who was in the house, told at his brother that the dog desapeared, the brother told that the dog was with him, with his family. The brother who was in the house was so scared! Because his niece told at him "be careful with Germán" and he thought that she was talking about her dog, but she was talking about the ghost. The brother didn't came to the house any more time.

 

Interview

-Hello

-I’m Judit I have come for a job interview for an entertainer in a cruise. Can you tell me what my time table is?

-Yes,  you will work on holiday. You will entertain the people every day at lunchtime and for dinner and sometimes you will entertain them in the afternoon.

-Will I work overtime?

-No, you won’t. You will work 8 hours for day.

-How much paid holiday will I get?

-You get 4-6 weeks.

-Will I have sick paid?

-Yes, You will, but you will have to have a doctor’s report. That’s all?

-Yes, thank you for your attention. Bye.

-You are welcome. Bye.

Celebrities

Álex González

He is an actor, he did the first season of "El Príncipe", it is an interesting TV series. He is from Spain. He is 34 years old. He is tall and he is about 1 meter 80. He is so handsome and slim with some very broad shoulders. He has got brown short hair. He has very dark skin. He has got brown eyes. And he has perfect teeth.

He hasn't got a girl friend. I think that he is an interesting person,
                                                                                                    funny and a simple person.

Rihanna

She is singer. She is from United States. She is 26 years old. She is medium height and midium weight. She is muscular. She has got black short straight hair. she has very dark skin. She has got green eyes. And she has a big mouth.

She has got a boyfriend, his name is Drake and he is a rapper. I think that she is a honest person because one day she gave 50$ to everyone who went to a supermarket.

Chicote

Profile Expressions

• I am fond of... + ING : Tinc aficció a ...
• I am interested in... + ING : Estic interessat en...
• I am keen on... + ING : M'agrada molt...
• Such as (per exemple)...
• I don't mind... + ING/. I hate... + ING
• First, let me tell you about myself : deixa'm que et parli de mi.
• I am into... : estic posat en...
• My real passion is...
• As you can see... : Com pots veure...
• I love/like/hate/ + ING 
• So, do I sound interesting to you?
• Well, check out my blog again...  

Hi, welcome to my blog! I'm Judith. First, let me tell you about myself. I'm from Barcelona, Spain, I'm 15. I'm very sporty but I hate running - I love ballet. (I dance 7 hours in a week.) I also like riding a horse and drawing. I'm into a fashion blog. My favourite magazine is VOGUE and my favourite fashion designer is Coco Chanel. At the moment, I'm in the school classwriting this blog.

My real passion is helping animals. In the future I will be a vet. Sometimes when my cat has to go to the veterinary, I go with my mum. When I will be older than now I will  save a lot of animals lives.

As you can see, I'm so funny. I don't like being too serious about life. I love going to Barcelona with my best friends, such as Judit, Sergio and Kevin. Every Saturday night, I go out with all my friends.

So do I sound interesting to you? Well, check out my blog again tomorrow because I've got much more to say ... .

Judith

People's Apparence

• He's a short, elderly man. He's about 75 and he's bald. He's wearing glasses and he's standing with his arms folded. He's formally-dressed in a dark suit and a checked shirt. His trousers are well-pressed and he's wearing well-polished shoes. 

• He 's a strongly-built man. Hes probably in his thirties, maybe 34 or 35. He has dark, straight hair. He has a bracalet on his wirst and he's standing with his hands on his hips. He's casually-dressed in a striped shirt and patched jeans. He's wearing trainers.

• She's a slim, middle-aged woman of about 50. She has long, wavy hair. She's wearing a necklace and she has her hands clasped in front of her. She is neatly-dressed in a black and white spotted blouse and smart skirt. She's wearing black high-heeled shoes.

• She's average height. She's a teenage girls of, perhaps, 18. She has fair, curly hair with a bow in it. She has her hands by her sides. She's untidily-dressed. She's wearing a dirty, plain tee-shirt,old, baggy trousers and a pair of sandals.

• She's a everage height, young woman of about 25. She has short, straight hair. She's wearing a necklace and glasses and she has her hands on her hips. She's casually-dressed in a striped dress. She's wearing white high-heeled shoes. 

• He's a teenage boy of 18. He has wavy hair. He's standing with his arms folded. He's untidily-dressed. He's wearing a spotted T-shirt and patched trousers. He's wearing trainers.

• He's a tall and slim man. He's probably in his fifty and he's bald. He's standing with his hands clasped in front of him. He's formally dressed in a dark suit and a checked shirt. His trousers are well-pressed and he's wearing well-polished shoes. 

• She's a short elderly woman. She has a bracelet on her wirst. She has short, curly hair with a bow in it. She has her hands by her sides. She's neatky dressed. She's wearing a plaind shirt and smart skirt. He's wearing a pair of sandals.

Horrific Histories

Now I am going to talk about the Horrirific Histories from theatre "L'AURORA". The play was very small in this theatre only can go one school because it's vary small for more people. We were very near to the characters. There were four characters: 
                                                            - The teacher.
                                                            - The inteligent girl.
                                                            - The cool boy.
                                                            - The rocker student.

My favourite actress was Tamsin. She was very funny but at the same time she was stupid, all his partners were laughing all the time about she (the intelligent girl).

My favourite actor was the teacher because all the time he was hitting all the time but at the same time was very funny because her lessons were very interesting. He was the biggest character from the play.

The show presents comedy sketches and songs representing some of the most colourful characters and classic moments in British history:

• The Romans
• The Saxons
• The Vikings
• The Norman Conquest
• The Domes Day Book
• Henry VIII
• Queen Elizabeth
• Oliver Cromwell
• Charles II
• Queen Victoria
• World War Britain

I think that this actuation was very interesting and funny because it has a musical way.

Present Perfect Practice

YET:

• I haven't finished the Secundary School yet, but my brother has.
• I haven't fished in the river yet, I have ever fished in he sea.
• I haven't slept today yet.
• Have you finished the homework yet?
• Have you had a shower yet?

ALRADY:

• I have already dance the most important competition of Spain.
• Have you alrady gone to Finland?
• My friends and I have alrady gone to Port Aventura.
• My family has alrady had an important lunch. 
• I have alrady explained something about me.

NEVER:

• I have never played football but my friends have.
• My mum has never presented me in a beauty contest.
• Have you never written a mystery novel? 
• I have never drawn an ugly painting.
• My dad has never sung in front of me.

"Zebrasno", a strange animal

Hello plevers!

Now I am going to explain about one of the most strange animals in the world that some of you don't know this animal that it called "Zebrasno". It's similar than a donky and a zebra. It's a result of a cross between a donky and a zebra. This case is very strange. It's a wild animal that it lives in the South of Africa. It's a little smaller than a zebra, its fur is brown, well arround its body its has black lines, like a zebra, it has a long grey and black ears like a donky and its legs are like a zebra, its legs have black and white lines.

Judith Galán Hinojosa

Natural Desaster

Good evening!

In Montbui there is a sea call Mediterranean. Today at 11 a.m, at this moment there was a big tsunami that it destroyed all the city, it is the most important tsunami in the world right now because it's the bggest in that moment and its the most important because there were a lot of dead and a lot of injured people too. Some o people were travelling around the world, there were in U.S.A, in France, in China and another places of Spain, for example Barcelona because there are a lot of people that work there. When the people came with their families and they saw the panoram of their city, they were sad and some of them were crying for a long time. Some children left their parents and now they were with their uncle and aunt or with their grandpa and grandma. This new and important tsuname call "The Worst" because it was the worst tsunami in the world.

Judith Galán Hinojosa

Do you want start this game? Are you ready?

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ACROBAT	ACTOR	ADVENTUROUS
BEAUTIFUL	CINEMA	COMEDIAN
COTTAGE	DANCER	DENTIST
DROUGHT	EARTHQUAKE	ERUPTION
FACTORY	FAT	FIRE
FLOOD	GRAVEYARD	HOSPITAL
HURRICANE	JUGGLER	LIBRARY
SECRETARY	SELFISH	SINGER
SNOWSTORM	SUPERMARKET	TALL
TORNADO	TSUNAMI	UGLY
WAITER

Christmas holidays!

Hi plever! 

Did you have a good Christmas? I hope you because I had a funny holidays. I stayed in Montbui during this Christmas holidays. I had a lot of importants diners and lunchs with my family. It was great because I was with my cousins, I missed they because we where separated for 5 years. I had a lot of presents, one of these presents was an ebook, it was very interesting! and the other presents were some money. All these presents I had it on January the six. It's true that I passed my Christmas holidays in Montbui, but I went three days to the Pyrenees with my friends Sergio Pérez and Judit Redondo. 

I spended this Christmas holidays very well.

I love you, thank you for all plever,

Judith Galán

PS: Here are my friends.

www.sergio-namas.blogspot.com

www.juditinga.blogspot.com

Here is a Quizlet to Practise the Past Simple!