Goodbye!

 

 

 

HAVE A GREAT

!!!

 

 

 

 

The results of the blogs' questionnaire

If you're interested about the results you can have  a look at the pie charts on this page.

You can also drop a line about them (I mean, comment on them).

Questionnaire about blogs

After this first attempt to include the use of a blog in our classroom, I found it necessary to learn more about your views about it and distributed the Blog Questionnaire.
Remember?
You can find it here (Blogs' Questionnaire).

Please do NOT answer again because then some of you will have submitted the same questionnaire twice!! As I remember you were all present on the day of the questionnaire's distribution, is that right?

Well, the results are still being processed...........

Exams!

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR EXAMS!

Great stories!

More and more stories are arriving and are being uploaded!
I hope that all of you will read them and enjoy yourselves.

They are all excellent and I could say they could compile a great short story book!

Announcement

This is an announcement to remind you that I'm waiting for your sending me the stories you had written before Easter.
We had agreed that you would send them during the Easter holidays but only a few had done so.
Their stories are already uploaded in the 'our stories' tab next to 'home' as well as the poems in the 'our poems' tab.

For those of you that may use the excuse of losing my e-mail address ;-)  it is: theo.paschali@gmail.com.      

HAPPY EASTER

We are approaching the end of the Holy week and Lent. I hope everyone is fine and relaxing.

I would like to share with you the Easter Story (the arrest, trial and crucifixion of Christ). It's a good reminder of what this school holiday is about.

An old but great film - not really a film, rather a tv mini series- is Jesus of Nazareth. It's almost a custom for the Greek TV channels to screen it every year during the Holy Week!

Vocabulary game

I found a great vocabulary game where you match words to their synonyms/definitions and at the same time you help to fight world hunger.

For every correct answer you offer 10 rice grains! It seems too little but it can make a lot of difference to some people's lives. And of course you can keep on playing for more!!

HERE is the link.

Vikings

Following the reading and listening we did about the Vikings, you can watch this cartoon video about a Viking sixteen-year old boy's experience in his first voyage and answer the questions
.
If you are into the Viking history, you can check THIS link from the BBC history for kids-easy and fun, or THAT with loads of information.

Finally, why do you think the history of the Vikings may be of interest to us?

April Fool's Day today!

As you all know today is April Fool's Day.
And guess what? It happens all over the world!

Do you know anything more about it? When did it all began and why?
Those of you who know other languages can write how we call this day in French or German, for example.

Here is a link where you can read more about it from the interesting site HowStuffWorks.

A relevant video you can also watch is the following.

Join the blog

For those of you who have a google account (that is, a google e-mail address) or want to create one later, you can also become a member of our blog just by pressing the 'join the blog' button on the right under 'Followers' and then press 'follow this blog'.

Of course, you can always take part in the blog without a google account. You can just write your comment, click 'comment as...', choose' name/url', write only your first name (no surname or url) and click 'publish'.
If you want to be notified about comments that follow you, you can click 'notify me' BEFORE publishing your comment.

And if you have any question, just... ask!

A fun game! Suggested by Giorgos Mpar.

There is a tab above next to "home" called 'students' suggestions". You can write whatever suggestions you have for the blog there.

Giorgos suggested a game.

It's fun and easy and I liked it a lot because it is adaptable so that anyone can play it and gain something. It's called WORDSHAKE and it's from the British Council kids site. Well, I won't reveal more about it.

You can try it in your free time here.

HaVe FuN!

and write your score if you want in the comments' area.

Boy meets world

Do you remember the episode from Boy Meets World series?
I've uploaded it so that you can watch it again if you want and enjoy it in the comfort of your home!

A questionnaire for students

Would you like to take part in a survey - anonymously of course - to help a teacher with his research?

The research focuses on students' beliefs about native and non-native speaking Teachers of  English, a very interesting topic in my opinion.

It will not take you long and you will also practise your English!
You will find the questionnaire here.

We will probably do a similar survey about something else later on but I won't tell you about it now.

If you decide to complete the questionnaire, just write a comment that you did so.

March 21st, Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

March, 21st is the International Day For the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
That may be too long to grasp but it's almost the same as saying Day Against Racial Discrimination or Equal Rights Day.

 

 

And of course for those of you who took part in the workshop on Friday, it was made clear how easily people can discriminate with no reason at all and behave unfairly even to their friends.

 

Just imagine, then,  how easier this is with people you don't know well and are different from you in colour, race, religion, age.... and how hurtful it can be. So, next time you are about to behave in such a way, stop and think:

 

'I could be in their shoes'

 

If you want to watch "A class divided" documentary again here it is (the first 2-3 parts).

And the presentation with the thought-provoking questions is here.

 

 

 

Day for the elimination of racial discrimination from Gina Paschalidou

Carnival is over but ... read this...

Yes, I know, Carnival season is over but I was thinking the other day which other countries celebrate it.
I know about Brazil, I guess you know it, too. I also know that it is celebrated in Venice, Italy, but I don't  really know what happens in other cities in Italy.

Then, I came across this article which I found very interesting. Not only did I learn what happens in that country but I also realised something that was not so clear for me until now...
Can you guess what?

After you write your guess, try to find out two more countries that also celebrate the carnival and when. Then you can post it to inform us.

Film Contest, step 6

We have all your final paragraphs complete!

After all these steps, can you still remember the purpose of the activity??
Well, it was about choosing the best film to watch depending on your justified reviews (and your comments to your classmates).

STEP 6: In the classroom
It's time to assess your paragraphs but also your comments, so that's how it goes:
          content-ideas:                             2 points
          structure-organisation:               2 points
          language-grammar-vocabulary: 2 points
          one full comment:                      2 points
          another full comment:                2 points         

Film Contest, step 5

Everybody 's written his/her first draft of the paragraph and his/her two comments.

STEP 5: Homework
Now you're going to write the second and final version of your paragraph about the film. Take into account the comments you got, read others' paragraphs, notice anything you could improve -add or cross out ideas, organise better, chech grammar and vocabulary, avoid repetition- and write it!
Post it as a comment under this post.

If you think that it is already perfect, just post it as it is.
But remember: there is always room for improvement!

Film Contest, step 4

You have already written your paragraph, right?

STEP 4: Homework
Now you have to comment on the paragraphs of two of your classmates!

How to do it?

1st rule: be specific
              (This means that you will comment on a specific aspect of his/her paragraph positively or negatively, for example: x idea could be explained more)

2nd rule: be polite
               (If you comment is not positive try to say it politely and suggest something else instead, for example: x doesn't sound very logical, you could say y...)

So, you have only two rules to follow when you write your comments and this is how they count:
               a full comment: 2 points
               a comment either only specific or polite: 1 point
               no comment: 0
When you post 2 full comments then you get 2+2 = 4 ponts! So, remember, your comments count a lot!

Note: Your comments should be posted under your classmates' paragraph. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask me.

                

Film Contest, step 3

Now, you'll have your second chance.

STEP 3: Homework
Open your work-sheets with the notes and figures we completed in class.
Have you changed your mind about your choice? Or do you still prefer the film you voted?
It's up to you!

Look at the reasons and arguments about the film you prefer. Group the similar ones together. Write your paragraph. Try to be persuasive.
And don't forget, you're making a suggestion.

Pay attention to: ideas
                           organisation
                           language

You can write it on the work-sheet first or you can write it directly on your PC as a work document or even straight away as a comment. I suggest the second one, so that you have the time to think a bit more.
After you write it on a word document, copy-paste your paragraph as a comment here.

Film Contest, step 2

Continued...

STEP 2: In the classroom
After we gather all the responses, we'll count them in class and each movie will have a total score of votes, for example A: 2, B: 6, C: 5 and D: 8.

BUT this isn't enough. We'll also count the number of the decent reasons you provided for your choice. For example, if a film gets voted by 2 and each pupil gives 3 reasons (even if they may be the same) the film gets 10 points: 2 votes + 3 from one pupil's reasons + 3 from the other = 10

          Vote: 1 point

          1 reason: 1 points.
          2 reasons: 2 points, and so on...

          No reason: 0.

Don't worry! Not all is lost!
If your film is not at the top, you'll have another chance!

Stay tuned for the third step in the next post!

Film contest!

Now it's time for our first activity! It's called Film Contest.

It will be writing about a film you haven't seen!
Don't worry, it's because you are going to watch it later!
We are going to watch the one with the most votes and the strongest justification for choosing it!

The weird thing about this activity is that it has six steps:

STEP 1:
You 'll have four different films to choose from. You will browse through them and once you choose the one you prefer, make a list of what you like about it as a comment after this post.

The film nominees are...

Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

  Freedom Writers (2007)

 Billy Elliot (2001)
 




The Blind Side (2009)






Use the links to find information. You can also use the links of all the films. Think about the theme, the plot, the actors, the characters, the rating, the reviews. You may watch the trailers, too.

What is a flipped classroom? An infographic.



an infographic is a visual representation of information

Have a quick look at the infographic. Please do NOT read everything!
What is a flipped classroom?

 

Add caption

Created by Knewton and Column Five Media

The name of our blog

Our... because it's for each and every one of us.

Flipped... like the other side of the coin, inverted, upside down.

Classroom... because it's a digital classroom with the students, the teacher and the resources.

Ok, I chose the name... But what do you think of it?
Do you have any ideas for a class blog name?