9/11 Memorial

We were not really sure about going, because we had already visited Saint Paul's chapel and you get the idea of all the suffering that New Yorkers went through those months after the attacks, it was hard to visit the actual place where the attacks took place.

You have to get a visitor's pass (you can do it at their website and print it or print it at the Preview Site) because they make you fill in a form; there are still a lot of security measures but they have tried to build a haven of peace in the middle of Manhattan.

As you probably know, they have built two deep pools surrounded by wide bronze banister in which the names of the people who died in both the attacks of 1993 and 2001. They have followed indications from surviving relatives to arrange them next to the names of their husbands, wives, friends... but most of them are arranged taking into account where they were when the events happened.

What I liked most of the visit is the fact that they are willing to overcome this disgrace, so they have built a place in which they can remember what happened; but they also look to the future and  are building a new World Trade Centre. When they were cleaning up the zone, they found an almost dead pear tree, known as the Survivor Tree, that was the only tree that survived, they have taken care of it and have recently replanted in the middle of the new square. I think this story can be used as a metaphor to explain what has happened in this place.

I was sad!!!

What do you think? Leave your comments!!!

Learning vocabulary: the family.

I like to teach and review family vocabulary with my students through a genealogical tree, as the one you can see in the image. When they understand the diagram (it may be difficult for those on 1st ESO), it is easier for them to remember the names of family members. We see this diagran and then I ask them to draw their families and we see what their families are like, this usually makes them feel well and it is a good activity to do in the first days.

We also see other famous family trees, like that of The Simpsons and we make sentences of the type: "Bart is Lisa's brother", so we  revise the Saxon genitive too.

We also play other games like this one I found at English Flash Games to Learn Vocabulary, with three different levels. My students like it very much. We do this in class with the help of WIBs.

Have you tried doing these things? Do you learn vocabulary better this way?
Leave your comments and tell us!!

Times Square, where there is always light!

Times Square

 New York is not all lights as it may seem if you look at Times Square, but once, the Theatre District, where Times Square is, had its lights inside its theatres: great or not so great buildings which housed performances with great artists such as Judy Garland. Nowadays it is illegal not to have lights in the outside of the theatres and walls in Times Square if you want to make an ad there, but there are still great artists performing there. If you want to go to the theatre, you should come to this part of town, especially if it is a musical.

Some photos of the legendary theatres around:

Hudson theatre

Foxwood theatre

Lyceum, the oldest one.

    and many more.....

Belasco theatre

Near here, we wanted to visit the hotel Le Parker Meridien, because we had been told that there were great hamburgers there, and it is true!! In a luxury hotel, behind a red curtain there is what they call The Joint Burger, a fantastic place, though quite small that has great hamburgers, short of variety. There is so many people, that in order to go faster, they give you a paper with what they have (barely two types of hamburgers and the drinks) so that you tick what you want and hand it to the cashier and wait till you are called by your name. I show the photo of the entrance of the hotel, we kind of got lost :)

entrance to Le Parker Meridien

To end up the day, since it was Friday afternoon, we visited the MOMA, great museum with activities for kids, you should visit their workshop. I'm leaving you a photo of a part of a picture, do you know what technique is it? My 2nd of ESO students of last year should, leave your comments!!!

Who painted it???

"Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield.

At the beginning of the course, I like my students to listen to this song, which for me, is a hymn of how a person can do whatever they want, starting whenever they want. It also helps me and inspires me to be myself, trust myself and makes me make an effort to work exactly as I think I can; for each person is unique, has an only voice and, for me, should work hard for what she or he wants in life.

Here are the lyrics:

I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned.

CHORUS: Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window  Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find Reaching for something in the distance So close you can almost taste it, Release your inhibitions. Feel the rain on your skin No one else can feel it for you, Only you can let it in, No one else, no one else Can speak the words on your lips, Drench yourself in words unspoken, Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes,  but I can't live that way

CHORUS (x3)

Do you have any other reading of the lyrics of the song? Do you like it? Does it inspire you the way it inspires me? Leave your comments!!!

Welcome back!!

Marina de Cudeyo's Corner

Hello my dear students!!! I am looking forward to tomorrow, to have you in class and start a new course together. This year I am very happy because I continue at the same High School and I am going to have some of my students from last year for sure! ;) If nothing happens I will be tutoring a 2nd year group, so I may have some of my students from last year and others as well as I will be teaching in, at least, three 2nd year groups. I will also have my dear 4th year students of last year in English as 3rd language in 1st Bachillerato!! I am excited because of all of this.

However I am also a bit sad because I will be teaching more time and will have less time to prepare classes and correct at home. I will also be teaching French (which I love and have also studied hard) but I will need more time to prepare these classes too. I say this, because I will probably have less time to write to you here in the blog, but remember: I love your comments and will try to solve your questions, comments or demands as soon as I can.

Ready for tomorrow?? I hope you are. Here is a sentence that may inspire you at the beginning of the course:

I invite you to enter!!!