0-Unit-1-Global

Unit 1 Who on earth do you think you are?

Unit 1

Who on earth do you think

you are?

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UNIT 1

Who on earth do you think you are?

He querido comenzar el primer bloque de contenidos, el que corresponde a las tres primeras unidades y que gira en torno al YO siguiendo las líneas que aparecen en unos materiales de trabajo editados por el Gobierno de Navarra en 1995 titulados Guía de salud y desarrollo personal para trabajar con adolescentes, los cuales han inspirado algunos de los cuestionarios incluidos en esta unidad y a los cuales pertenece también el esquema que sigue a

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continuación.

Siguiendo la introducción que aparece en estos materiales, las cuatro líneas de trabajo fundamentales para abordar la idea de QUIÉN SOY son1:

Quién soy yo en la adolescencia

La autoestima

Sentirse bien consigo mismo/a

1 Ideas extraídas de las pp. 20-42 del mencionado documento.

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El autoconocimiento

La adolescencia es uno de los momentos más complejos de la vida por los grandes cambios físicos, psicológicos e intelectuales que se dan en las personas y que las llevan, por una parte, a experimentar determinados sentimientos respecto a su propio desarrollo y a los cambios que sufren y, por otra, a una búsqueda de identidad personal y la necesidad de relaciones personales enriquecedoras. Por todo esto es muy importante ayudarles en esta etapa a conocerse mejor para encontrar su identidad.

El autoconocimiento, el tomar conciencia y prestarse atención a sí mism@, reconocer los valores, opiniones, etc. propios, es de vital importancia para el desarrollo personal y para establecer relaciones con los demás.

Es también fundamental ayudarles a mejorar su autoestima a través de la autoevaluación y autoaceptación, de la no idealización de los demás, del aprendizaje de los errores, de la atención a las propias necesidades, etc.

Y también es muy importe el concepto de bienestar que se deriva de una buena autoestima, de la sensación de pertenencia a una comunidad o grupo y está íntimamente relacionado con el desarrollo personal.

Las formas en que yo he querido en esta unidad de autoconocimiento concretar las ideas de arriba son las que expongo a continuación.

1. El autoconocimiento

Actitudes y valores:

i. L@s alumn@s van a trabajar con algunos cuestionarios que les van a permitir conocerse y aceptarse mejor, entender quiénes son y lo que opinan.

ii. También van a ver y comentar la película Crash, que les hará replantearse sus opiniones respecto a algunas cuestiones.

iii. Y finalmente se leerán y discutirán algunos documentos sobre acoso escolar o bullying, lo que les hará también cuestionarse algunas cosas o adoptar posiciones.

Intereses académicos y profesionales:

i. De manera contraria a lo que la gente piensa, las personas no son más o menos inteligentes, sino que son inteligentes de distinta manera. El cuestionario sobre las inteligencias múltiples les permitirá conocerse mejor y ver que tod@s somos inteligentes, aunque sea de forma distinta.

2. La autoestima

Ese mejor autoconocimiento descrito arriba, saber que no sólo son inteligentes las personas que sacan buenas notas en matemáticas, por ejemplo, o la constatación de sus valores o códigos morales redundarán también en una mayor autoestima.

3. Sentirse bien

También creo que el hecho de conocerse mejor como adolescentes y como miembros de un grupo, por una parte, y la realización de muchas tareas de forma conjunta –en parejas o pequeños grupos, por otra, redundarán en un mayor bienestar del alumnado.

Por otro lado, en lo que se refiere al desarrollo de la competencia lingüística,

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la literacy, me ha parecido oportuno comenzar a construir desde abajo las destrezas y subdestrezas de Reading y Writing.

En lo que respecto a la comprensión escrita, siempre desde la perspectiva de que el proceso de lectura empieza mucho antes incluso de mirar el papel, en esta unidad se trabaja la consciencia de la existencia de esquemas genéricos que l@s alumn@s pueden reconocer puesto que ya los conocen en su propia lengua. Y también se trabaja sobre la importancia de la predicción en el proceso de lectura.

En cuanto a la expresión escrita, en primer lugar se introduce el concepto de authoring, o sea tomar conciencia de quién escribe, para quién y con qué propósito. También se trata la importancia de que profesor/a y alumn@s compartan un código de corrección que haga la tarea de la corrección de la producción escrita más sencilla para la profesora y más eficaz para el alumnado.

Además de unos contenidos propios de la tutoría, otros bloques de contenido de otras áreas que se trabajan en esta unidad son:

Educación para la ciudadanía

Bloque 1. Contenidos comunes

Exposición de opiniones y juicios propios con argumentos razonados y capacidad para aceptar las opiniones de los otros.

Práctica del diálogo como estrategia para abordar los conflictos de forma no violenta.

Exposición de opiniones y juicios propios con argumentos razonados. Preparación y realización de debates sobre aspectos relevantes de la realidad, con una actitud de compromiso para mejorarla.

Bloque 2. Relaciones interpersonales y participación

Autonomía personal y relaciones interpersonales. Afectos y emociones.

Informática

Bloque 3. Publicación y difusión de contenidos

Diseño de presentaciones.

Bloque 4. Internet y redes sociales

La información y la comunicación como fuentes de comprensión y transformación del entorno social: comunidades virtuales y globalización.

Finalmente he querido introducir en esta programación el Portfolio Europeo de las Lenguas, que lamentablemente está cayendo en desuso como elemento de reflexión y aprendizaje. A lo largo de las unidades l@s alumn@s reflexionarán sobre su conocimiento no sólo de la lengua inglesa sino del hecho lingüístico, y sobre su aprendizaje, y aprenderán a describir ese conocimiento.

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WRITING

Before you write

Before you write it is very, very important that you think carefully about what you are going to write, who is going to read it, etc., because we don’t write always in the same way, just as we don’t speak always in the same way

1. Sometimes you will have to write informal letters, emails or notes to your penfriends, classmates, friends, etc2:

Other times –not so much at your age– you will have to write more formal things. Can you name at least some of the differences between the notes above and the letters below?

2 The texts below have been taken from Total English Intermediate, Pearson Longman.

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But you always have to ask yourself the same questions:

a. What am I going to write about? An opinion? My feelings? My plans? A description?

b. What kind of text is it going to be? A diary? A composition? A letter? An email? An article for the school magazine?

c. Who is going to read this? The general public? My friends? The teacher?

d. What kind of language am I going to need? Formal? Informal? Standard?

2. Well, it’s true that most times you will simply have to write compositions about a given topic in standard English as part of your English class work or homework…, but take all this into account when you write your blog entries and try to answer the questions above!

a.

b.

c.

d.

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FOUR PICTURES

To get started

1. In pairs describe the following pictures and make some guesses about the contents of the unit.

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First, describe what you can see in the picture in an objective way:

In the foreground / in the background / in the middle I can see / there is…

On the top right corner…

Then, give you opinion about it:

I think that the picture…

In my opinion…

It seems to me that…

MY SPECIFIC VOCABULARY3

How to organise vocabulary

Organising new vocabulary is crucial to learn it. There are different ways to do this. You have to choose the way you find easier or the way that will help you most in each case.

1. You can group the vocabulary into lists of topics:

FURNITURE: wardrobe, armchair, bookshelf…

2. Or organise new words in a kind of net, or mind map:

3. You can group new words into pairs of synonyms:

3 These activities, like many others in these materials, are taken from sources that will be sometimes difficult to acknowledge because foreign language teachers always tend to accumulate photocopies of “materials that work” but lose track of their reference.

Some of the ideas, however, are taken from learning strategies that are being used with CUID students at the UNED.

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incredible – unbelievable

impolite – rude

4. Or pairs of opposites:

careful – careless

liberal – conservative

5. You can explain the meaning of new words in different ways:

a. Demonstration or gesture: shout –

b. Synonym or opposite: entertaining – the opposite of boring

c. Giving examples: furniture – armchair, wardrobe, sofa

d. Definition: butcher’s – it’s the place where you buy meat

e. Situation: blush – when you are very shy or when you are embarrassed your face becomes red

6. You can also learn new vocabulary in context by memorising short sentences, paragraphs, verses, etc.:

She put the flowers in the vase and went to drink a glass of water

7. Whatever the method, writing your pairs, lists, etc. on vocabulary cards is very useful because they are small, and therefore easy to handle for revision.

And remember that practice makes perfect, so revise your vocabulary frequently… and reward yourself for that!

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MY SPECIFIC VOCABULARY

Who on earth do you think you are?

1 appearance /’prns/

2 behave /b’hev/

3 behaviour /b’hevj(r)/

4 belief /b’li:f/

5 believe /b’li:v/

6 blog /blg/

7 bullying /’bli/

8 clever /’klev(r)/

9 embarrassed /m’brst/

10 freedom /’fri:dm/

11 kinaesthetic /kns’etk/

12 personality /p:rs’nlt/

13 polite /p’lat/

14 prejudice /’predds/

15 relationship /r’lenp/

16 respect /r’spekt/

17 self-confidence /self’knfdns/

18 self-esteem /self’sti:m/

19 self-knowledge /self’nld/

20 smart /sm:t/

21 stereotype /’steritap/

22 strength /stre/

23 trendy /’trend/

24 weakness /’wi:kns/

25 well-being /wel’bi:/

QUESTIONNAIRE 1

Who am I?4

4 Adapted from (1995) Gobierno de Navarra, Guía de salud y desarrollo personal para trabajar con adolescentes (pp. 49-50).

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Answer about the following items in as much detail as possible:

My name and surname:

My age:

My place of birth:

My present address:

My family members:

My hobbies:

My skills:

My character:

My ambitions:

My feelings:

Which of these are in my opinion good qualities and which are not so good?

Which was the happiest time of my life?

Which is my happiest memory?

What do I do well?

What do I do “not so well”?

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What would I change about myself if I could?

What am I afraid of (situations, etc.)?

Who do I tell my secrets to?

If I could be someone else, who would I like to be?

Who wouldn’t I like to be at all?

Who is similar to me in character?

If I were an animal, which animal would I like to be? Why?

If I were a tree or a plant, which one would I like to be? Why?

QUESTIONNAIRE 2

How do I perceive myself?5

1. From – to +, where would you place yourself? Tick (√) the appropriate box:

5 Adapted from (1995) Gobierno de Navarra, Guía de salud y desarrollo personal para trabajar con adolescentes (p. 51).

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

lucky

quiet

clean

honest

happy

independent

flexible

tidy

calm

ambitious

generous

sociable

confident

positive

polite

clever

good-looking

trendy

tolerant

friendly

2. Now choose the five adjectives with the highest score:

__________ __________ __________ __________ __________

3. Do you feel identified with them?

QUESTIONNAIRE 3

What do I value most?6

1. This is a list of some of the most important things in life according to most people:

health sport the truth hobbies

6 Adapted from (1995) Gobierno de Navarra, Guía de salud y desarrollo personal para trabajar con adolescentes (p. 55).

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happiness work beauty a love relationship social justice the environment loyalty freedom money religion safety family peace fame friendship education

2. Would you like to add any other ones that are not included above?

____________ ____________ ____________

____________ ____________ ____________

____________ ____________ ____________

3. Tick (√) only ten of them from section 1. and 2. together and think very carefully about your choice:

My top ten

____________ ____________

____________ ____________

____________ ____________

____________ ____________

____________ ____________

4. And finally, let’s play the desert island game. Imagine you are going to a desert island and you can only take five of these values with you in your backpack. Could you choose only five? Hard? Try:

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5. Why did you choose those five?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Which ones was it very difficult to leave out?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

QUESTIONNAIRE 4

The question is not ‘How smart am I?’ but ‘How am I smart?’7

1. Before you answer the questionnaire, name your three favourite subjects at school:

a.b.c.

2. And your three favourite hobbies:a.b.c.

3. And the three most like future jobs you could have:a.b.c.

People are not exactly “more or less” smart… What happens is that people are smart “in different ways” and you are about to see this.

4. Check the number of each statement that applies to you and add the totals at the end of each section.

7 Excerpted and adapted from Colin Rose and Malcolm J Nicholl, Accelerated Learning for the 21st

Century. This questionnaire was used for some research work carried out by the Departamento de Educación del Gobierno de Navarra on the European language Portfolio.

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Linguistic

a. You enjoy word play. Making puns, tongue-twisters, limericks.b. You read everything –books, magazines, newspapers, even product labels.c. You can easily express yourself either orally or in writing, i.e. you’re a good

story-teller or writer.d. You often talk about what you've read or heard.e. You like to do crosswords, play Scrabble or have a go at other word puzzles.f. People sometimes have to ask you to explain a word you’ve used.g. You prefer subjects such as English, history and social studies.h. You like to take part in arguments or debates.i. You like to talk about problems, explain solutions and ask questions.j. You are good at listening from the radio or audio cassettes.Total:

Logical-Mathematical

a. You enjoy working with numbers and can do mental calculations.b. You’re interested in new scientific advances.c. You use your pocket money very efficiently and manage to save if

necessary.d. You like to arrange a holiday, a school trip or a trip with your friends very

carefully.e. You enjoy the challenge of puzzles that require logical thinking.f. You tend to find the logical mistakes in things people say and do.g. Maths and science are your favourite subjects in school.h. You can find specific examples to support a general point of view.i. You are good at problem solving.j. You need to classify or make lists of things to appreciate their importance.Total:

Visual-Spatial

a. You like the arts: painting, sculpture…b. You usually take a camera with you when you go on a trip.c. You usually draw when you take notes or think about something.d. You have no problem reading maps.e. You enjoy visual games such as jigsaw puzzles and mazes.f. You’re quite good at taking things apart and putting them back together.g. You like lessons in art and prefer geometry to algebra.h. You often explain your ideas by providing a diagram or drawing.i. You can visualize how things look from a different perspective.j. You prefer reading material that is heavily illustrated. Total:

Bodily-Kinesthetica. You take part in a sport or regularly do physical exercise.b. You’re quite good at ‘do-it-yourself.’c. You like to think about your personal situation or problems while you are

walking or running.d. You like dancing.e. You like the most exciting rides at the fun fair.f. You need to physically handle or touch something to understand it.g. The most enjoyable classes are Physical Education and handicrafts lessons.

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h. You use hand gestures or other kinds of body language to express yourself.i. You like playing with children.j. You need to learn something by using your hands in some way rather than

reading a manual or watching a video.Total:

Musicala. You can play a musical instrument.b. You can manage to sing on key.c. Usually, you can remember a tune after hearing it just a couple of times.d. You often listen to music at home.e. You find yourself tapping in time to music.f. You can identify different musical instruments.g. Commercial songs often pop into your head.h. You can’t imagine life without music.i. You often whistle or hum a tune.j. You like listening to music when you’re studying.Total:

Interpersonala. You enjoy working in a group.b. You like helping someone else.c. People tend to come to you for advice.d. You prefer team sports –such as basketball, softball, soccer, football– to

individual sports such as swimming and running.e. You like games involving other people –bridge, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit.f. You’re a social butterfly. You prefer to be at a party rather than home alone

watching television.g. You have several very close personal friends.h. You communicate well with people and can help to resolve disputes.i. If your classmates have any question or task to do, you tend to show them

how to do it.j. Instead of resolving a problem by yourself, you like to talk about it with

others.Total:

Intrapersonala. You keep a personal diary to record your thoughts and plans.b. You often spend ‘quiet time’ reflecting on the important issues in your life.c. You have set your own goals –you know where you’re going.d. You are an independent thinker –you make up your mind.e. You have a private hobby or interest which you don’t really share with

anyone else.f. You like to go fishing by yourself or take a solitary hike or walk. You’re happy

with your own company.g. Your idea of a good holiday is an isolated tent in the mountains.h. You have a realistic idea of your own strengths and weaknesses.i. You like to learn more about yourself by doing self-improvement exercises.j. In the future you would like to work for yourself.Total:

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Naturalist a. You keep or like pets.b. You can recognize and name many different types of trees, flowers and

plants.c. You have a good knowledge of how the body works –where the main internal

organs are, for example.d. You are conscious of tracks, nests and wildlife while on a walk and can ‘read’

weather signs.e. You would like to be a farmer or maybe you like to fish.f. You are a keen gardener.g. You have an interest in the main global environmental issues.h. You keep reasonably informed about developments in astronomy, the origins

of the universe and the evolution of life.i. You are interested in social issues, psychology and human motivations.j. You consider that conservation of resources and achieving sustainable

growth are two of the biggest issues of our times.Total:

5. And now, which are the three sections in which you score higher:

a.

b.

c.

6. Do they correspond with your interest, hobbies and possible future jobs?a.b.c.

7. Which are your final conclusions? Compare with your partner and discuss in groups of three or four.

a.b.c.

PRACTISE YOUR SKILLS

YOU CAN BEAT BULLYING

1. Before reading the text, answer the following questions:

a. What do you think the text is going to be about?

b. What made you think so?

c. What do you know about this issue?

We start reading before we start reading! Don’t you understand? Keep reading and you will: we start reading when we start to predict what

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the text can be about. Titles, pictures and things like that can help you do that. Before we actually start reading, we already know something about the text.

Nearly everyone is bullied at some time in their lives: by brothers and sisters, by neighbours, by adults or by fellow pupils. If you are being bullied, you may feel scared and vulnerable and quite alone but you must try to sort out so that the bullying stops. Remember, no one deserves to be a victim of bullying.

It is surprising that all sorts of people who are now very successful adults were bullied when they were young. It is encouraging to know that it is possible to succeed in spite of being tormented at school. Some very well-known people like David and Victoria Beckham, Jessica Alba or Barack Obama were bullied at school.

For some, the bullying went on for years; for others it wasn’t so frequent. All of them feel that bullying is wrong and that it was not their fault, but the fault of the bully who wanted a victim.

If you ever bully people, think seriously about changing your behaviour. Nobody really likes bullies. They are usually very unpopular and quite lonely. If you stop bullying people, you will find it easier to find good friends8.

2. Discuss the following issues in groups:

a. Make a list of the different ways in which some pupils can bully other pupils at school.

b. Who can you ask for help if you are a victim of bullying?

c. How can you help other pupils who are victims of bullying?

3. Watch the video KidscapeAdvert and answer in pairs:

a. We can see that people speak but we don’t really understand what they say. Try to reconstruct what people say.

b. What is strange about this advert?

c. Why do you think the director made it like that?

4. Here is another chance to practice your prediction skills. Discuss in groups why you think some people bully before you read the next text.

WHY DO SOME PEOPLE BULLY?

8 Adapted from a booklet published by Kidscape, downloaded from http://www.kidscape.org.uk/

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http://www.kidscape.org.uk/


People become bullies for lots of different reasons:

they have family problems they are being bullied

themselves they are selfish and always want

to get their own way they have no friends and feel

lonely they feel bad about themselves

and want to make others feel bad too

they are projecting their own frustrations on others

they feel insecure –bullying gives them power they want to look ‘big’ in front of others they don’t understand how bad victims feel

Whatever the cause, bullying is usually a signal that the bully also needs help.

5. On the last page you are going to read an article about Cyberbullying9, but before you do:

a. What do you think Cyberbullying is?

b. In which different ways can one person cyberbully another?

6. The text mentions nine different ways! In groups of three complete this chart about the good and bad uses of the new technologies:

9 Adapted from a booklet published by Kidscape, downloaded from http://www.kidscape.org.uk/

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7. Now watch the video International Stand Up to Bullying Day, close your eyes for a minute and try to answer these questions for yourself:

a. Am I a victim of bullying?

b. Am I a bully myself?

c. How can I change this?

d. What can I do about the bullying around me?

e. What am I going to do about the bullying around me?

8. Now listen to the recording The war on Bullying10, where you are going to hear most of the ideas we have already discussed. But before you start, which of these topics do you think are going to be mentioned:

a. What bullying is

b. Accounts from victims of bullying

c. Examples of bullying

d. Cyberbullying

e. The situation of bullying in different countries

f. How to fight bullying

g. What kind of person the bully is

h. The evolution of bullying

9. While you are listening choose the right option11:

a. According to the article, bullying is a phenomenon which is

i. quite normal in British school lifeii. not very normal in British school lifeiii. only appears in literature

b. According to a survey conducted by Kidscape, how many children were bullied at least once?

i. More than one thirdii. Over two thirdsiii. Less than two thirds

c. The problem of bullying in the UK seems to be

i. getting more commonii. having more serious consequencesiii. getting less serious

d. ‘Bully courts’ (tribunals) are a new form of punishing bullies in which

i. the parents decide the appropriate punishment for bullies

10 From Speak Up, nº 22911 This activity has also been taken from the Speak Up article mentioned above and modified a little.

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ii. the teachers decide the appropriate punishment for bulliesiii. the students decide the appropriate punishment for bullies

e. Professor Smith believes that most school bullies are

i. usually stupid and aggressiveii. born leaders who need to be in poweriii. often very clever and manipulative

f. Professor Smith believes that bullies’ motivation is fundamentally

i. a combination of different factorsii. basically connected with statusiii. associated with regaining self-respect

g. According to Camilla Barber, bullying has changed recently because

i. both girls and boys can be equally considered bulliesii. the punishments are harder nowiii. there are new ways to bully people

10. And finally… do you feel like starting the BULLYING STOPS HERE CAMPAIGN? After two or three minute of brainstorming, in groups of three or four try to answer the following questions:

a. What is the main goal of the campaign?

b. Who is it addressed to?

c. What actions are you going to take?

d. Where are you going to advertise it?

e. How long is it going to last?

READING SKILLS 1

Different types of texts – predicting 1

Reading starts before we even look at the text12

We start reading before we start reading! Don’t you think so? Keep reading and you will understand. We know a lot about printed matters, we are surrounded by them, and as soon as we get anything printed (on paper, on-line, etc.) we apply this knowledge we have. We

12 Catherine Wallace, Learning to Read in a Multiculural Society, Prentice Hall, 1988.

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can easily recognise sizes, layouts or formats.

1. You may not believe this but it is true. When you open the newspaper, you know you are going to find some news; when you open a teen webpage you know you are going to find information about celebrities, advice for teenagers and stuff like that.

The previous information you have starts some thinking processes in your mind because from your life experience you already know something about what is coming next: you have read teen magazines or have browsed through newspapers before; you know how the phone directory is organised; you know what kind of commercial advertising you usually get in your mailbox, etc. So, yes, reading starts before it starts. Obvious, isn’t it? And this is very useful for us!!!

2. But there is much more than that. Look carefully at the following texts and without reading the information in them and write underneath what you think and they are and what kind of information you expect you find there.

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a.

b.

a.

b.

25


a.

b.

a.

b.

26


a.

b.

27


a.

b.

a.

b.

28


a.

b.

a.

b.

29


a.

b.

a.

b.

30


a.

b

a.

b.

READING SKILLS 2

Predicting 2

We said before that we start reading before we start reading. Remember? We said that we can recognise formats, layouts and things like that and predict. But we also recognise content. What we understand when we read a text depends directly on the previous knowledge we have about it and how well we can predict what is coming.

1. In texts the written words often come accompanied of pictures, which also help us a lot in our prediction process. What do you think each of these pictures is about? Where do they come from?

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a. b. c.

d. e. f.

2. It is true that some times it is more difficult than others to predict from the picture. It’s easier to imagine that in c. they are advertising a Sony camera than it is to imagine that e. is about Saint Valentine presents. But we also have words, words in bigger print that help the prediction process: titles, headlines, captions, etc. so look very carefully at those. Below you have the six headlines and captions to match the six pictures.

a.

Day fire fell from the sky - 108 die in Australian inferno

b.

c.

¡Lo último de lo último!

d.

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Six Nations rugbyFantasy Ireland give Kidney a reason to believeIreland 30-21 France

e.

Nothing says 'I love you' like a homemade present

f.

Mummy mia! Scans reveal Egyptian secrets

3. Now it is easier to predict, isn’t it? But the process “doesn’t end at the beginning”. Predicting is an ongoing process throughout the whole reading process: we make a prediction considering, as we said before, the physical aspect of the text, our experience, our knowledge of the world, the images and bigger print that accompany the text, etc. But then, as we start reading we also start checking if our prediction was right or not. If it was right, we predict what is going to come next; if not, we change it and make a different one…, and this is repeated again and again. And believe it or not, good readers do it all the time… unconsciously!

Let’s try with the article about the mummy! Before we start reading the text, what kind of text do you think it is?

a. Historical

b. Scientific

c. Literary

d. Mystery

4. What kind of “secrets” could a mummy hide?

a.

b.

c.

d.

5. Read paragraphs 1 and 2. What kind of information are scientists looking for? How do you think they could find it?

6. Read paragraphs 3 and 4. What do you think the answer is going to be?

7. Read paragraph 5.

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8. We already have the answer to the initial question. What do you think the remaining information in the last two paragraphs is about?

a.

b.

c.

d.

9. Were you at least close in any of your predictions in 8?

Mummy mia! Scans reveal Egyptian secrets13

Matthew Weaver

The Guardian, Monday 9 February 2009

This is Meresamun, a female singer-priestess at a temple in Thebes in 800 BC, inside her coffin. The skeleton was scanned at the University of Chicago using a hi-tech hospital scanner

1Modern hospital scanning techniques reveal new details about the mummified body of a 3,000-year Egyptian female singer, without opening her casket.

2 The images, which can be seen for the first time today at Chicago’s Oriental Institute Museum, show the body of Meresamun –a singer priestess– at a temple in

13 The language has been slightly simplified.

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Thebes in 800BC. The scans may give new information to Egyptologists about the sex lives of such singers.

3Meresamun was buried in an elaborately decorated casket which has never been opened. On the casket you can read her name, her role as a singer and the inscription “she lives for Amun” (an Egyptian god).

4

Dr Emily Teeter, from the museum, said: “There is a debate among Egyptologists about whether women who were “Singers in the Interior of the Temple” (an official title) were celibate. One specific objective of the recent examination was to determine whether Meresamun had any children. The evidence was inconclusive.

5Dr Michael Vannier, professor of radiology at the University of Chicago, who examined the scans, said they show “no convincing evidence of pregnancy”.

6

In this first detailed scanner on a mummy, the scans show that Meresamun’s eyes were decorated with jewels or pottery. They also reveal that her teeth show no sign of decay. “Remarkably all the teeth are present. There is no evidence of periodontal disease (the principal cause of tooth loss in modern humans),” Vannier said.

7

Earlier attempts to carry out scans of Meresamun's caskets in 1989 and 1991 produced not very clear images. It was thought they showed a tumour on her throat that might have killed her. The new images suggest that around her neck is only the resin used by the funeral embalmers. The cause of her death, at about the age of 30, is still unknown.

WRITING

Sharing a code for correction

3. When your teacher gives you a written assignment and corrects your work, it is very important that you share a common code. Match the left and the right columns. This activity and the following will help you establish a common code, whether it is the one proposed –to which you can add other features– or another.

(a) VOC (1) problems with grammar(b) WO (2) problems with vocabulary(c) GR (3) problems with spelling(d) PR (4) problems with word order(e) (1), (2), etc. (5) problems with the use of prepositions(f) PT (6) problems with style(g) ST (7) problems with punctuation(h) SP (8) look below for an explanation / advice, etc.

4. You get your composition back from your teacher and this is what it looks like. How should you correct it? Do this with your partner. There is a lot you can learn from each other.

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GR, SP My name is Marta and I have 15 years old. I live in Tudela wiht my parents and

VOC my sister. We live in a small floor in the town centre but we want to move to

VOC, WO

other floor bigger or to a house…

WRITING

Keeping a record of your mistakes

5. We always tend to make the same mistakes when we write. That’s why it’s so important to keep a record of them and to work very hard at avoiding them.

A grid like this will be very useful…

MISTAKE EXAMPLE CORRECTION

I leave out the third person -s

He never play with his sister

He never plays with his sister

I put the adjective after the noun

Your sweater red is very beautiful

Your red sweater is very beautiful

Adjectives don’t take –s!!!

They have very bigs cars

They have very bigs big cars

… but only if you update it and revise it before handing in any written task.

6. So with the grid in the next page you can start your record right now.

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MISTAKE EXAMPLE CORRECTION

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Unit 1

Who on earth do you think

you are?

WRITING

Before you write

Before you write it is very, very important that you think carefully about what you are going to write, who is going to read it, etc., because we don’t write always in the same way, just as we don’t speak always in the same way

7. Sometimes you will have to write informal letters, emails or notes to your penfriends, classmates, friends, etc14:

14 The texts below have been taken from Total English Intermediate, Pearson Longman.

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Other times –not so much at your age– you will have to write more formal things. Can you name at least some of the differences between the notes above and the letters below?

But you always have to ask yourself the same questions:

a. What am I going to write about? An opinion? My feelings? My plans? A description?

b. What kind of text is it going to be? A diary? A composition? A letter? An email? An article for the school magazine?

c. Who is going to read this? The general public? My friends? The teacher?

d. What kind of language am I going to need? Formal? Informal? Standard?

8. Well, it’s true that most times you will simply have to write compositions about a given topic in standard English as part of your English class work or homework…, but take all this into account when you write your blog entries and try to answer the questions above!

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a.

b.

c.

d.

EXTENSION PROJECT

I blog, you blog, she blogs…

1. In pairs, answer the following questions:

a. What is a blog?

b. What do you know about blogs?

c. Have you got a blog?

d. Have you read anybody’s blog?

2. If you don’t know what a blog is read this text about blogs15:

Web logs or blogs have been a significant part of the internet since 1999.

15 Written with information from an article appeared in Speak Up nº 230 and the entry about blogs in the Wikipedia.

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Some blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject of common interest and can be an alternative to the mass media. Others function more as personal diaries where people record their lives.

The possibility for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important characteristic of many blogs.

Entries are displayed in reverse chronological order. Although most blogs are primarily textual, they can also include photos, videos, music and other audio files.

3. After reading the text, watch the video Blogs in Plain English or Blogs in Plain English with Spanish subtitles and list the main characteristics of blogs:

4. Many popular people have blogs. You can easily find them in for example in Google (http://blogsearch.google.com/):

a. http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog

b. http://www.davidbeckham.com/blog.php

c. http://blog.los40.com/laorejadevangogh/

d. http://www.rafaelnadal.com/nadal/es/blog

e. http://amaiamonteroblog.blogspot.com/

5. And now… do you feel like blogging? This is what you have to do:

a. If you don’t have a google gmail account, you’ll have to create one at www.google.com/ gmail

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http://www.google.com/gmail

http://amaiamonteroblog.blogspot.com/

http://www.rafaelnadal.com/nadal/es/blog

http://blog.los40.com/laorejadevangogh/

http://www.davidbeckham.com/blog.php

http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog

http://blogsearch.google.com/


b. Then open https://www.blogger.com/start

c. Follow the steps to create your blog by introducing first your email, password, etc.

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https://www.blogger.com/start


d. After that you will have to name your blog:

e. And choose a template:

f. And your blog is ready. You can start writing:

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g. Of course, you can personalize many things, but we’ll leave it to each of you individually to produce the nicest, neatest, most interesting blog in class.

h. And now… your first entry. Go to the teacher’s blog: http://bloggingintheenglishclass.blogspot.com/ and follow the instructions there. Good luck!

A MORNING AT THE MOVIES

CRASH16

“Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other”

16 http://www.crashfilm.com/

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http://www.crashfilm.com/

http://bloggingintheenglishclass.blogspot.com/


People are born with good hearts, but they grow up and learn prejudices. “Crash” is a movie that brings out intolerance and racial stereotypes. The movie is set in Los Angeles, a city with a cultural mix of every nationality. The story begins when several people are involved in a multi-car accident. From the moment of the accident, we are taken back to the day before and we see the lives of several characters, and the problems they have during that day. An LAPD policeman (Matt Dillon) is trying to get medical help for his father, but he is having trouble with a black employee who won't give his father permission to see another doctor. He takes out his frustration on a black couple during a traffic stop. Another couple from the high society of LA (Sandra Bullock and Brandon Fraser) is attacked at gunpoint by two black teenagers. The woman takes out her anger on a Mexican locksmith who is changing the door locks to their home… Many of the characters switch from being bad-person-to-hero in ways that may surprise you17.

1. Before watching the film read the summary of the plot and make sure you understand the bolded words.

2. Try to explain them in pairs.

3. Discuss in groups of three which examples of prejudices, intolerance or stereotypes you can observe around you.

4. After watching the film, think about the following questions and discuss them with your partner.

a. Choose three characters that you want to discuss in greater detail

b. Why is life in a city so difficult?

c. Did you feel identified with any of the situations?

d. What is the director’s message for the viewers?

e. Has this film changed your opinion in any way or given you anything to think about?

5. Now get into groups of around 5 people and prepare a poster and an oral presentation of the film. You have to choose a spokesperson for the oral presentation. The poster voted best will be displayed on the wall. You might like to split chores. Some things to include in your poster / presentation are:

17 Adapted from the website above.

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a. The filmmakers

b. The cast and their characters

c. Your own synopsis of the plot

d. Some pictures

e. Your review of the film

f. And any other things you want

Some useful vocabulary to describe a film is:

It’s called… It’s set in… It’s about… It stars… It was directed by… The main characters… The soundtrack…

Some useful vocabulary to express your opinion about the film is:

In my/our opinion… In general the film… I/we think that… I/we would recommend it because…

NOW THINK BACK

The European Language Portfolio18 and self-check18 All the Portfolio activities are taken from or inspired in the European Language Portfolio and the

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Now that we have finished unit 1, it’s time for you to think back; time to think back about everything you have done, learnt or discussed; time to think back from the perspective of a teenager who is learning new facts of life or consolidating the knowledge s/he has; and of course time to think back from the perspective of an English language student, of someone who is learning a new way to communicate about life.

In this first contact with the portfolio, we are going to introduce its three components. We’ll develop them further in the next units.

1. First, the PASSPORT, which will identify you as a learner in the same way in which a passport identifies an ordinary traveller. In your passport you will reflect your linguistic profile, your cultural and linguistic experiences and the diplomas you have got.

a. Write your name, your surname and your age below:

________________________________________________________

b. And stick a picture of yours in the space provided. You can use an original picture or scan a picture you like and print it.

2. In the second place, the BIOGRAPHY. You are going to start with a reflection about your languages: which languages do you know something about, how and where you use them and where you learnt them:

Which language? Where do I use it? What do I do with it? Where did I learn it?

didactic guide published by the Ministry of Education.

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(at home, at school, with friendfs, etc.)

(read, speak, listen to music, etc.) (at home, at school,

in a trip, etc.)

Italian At the seaside Chat with Luigi On holiday

3. And finally…, the DOSSIER. You are going to start your Portfolio dossier. It can be a folder, a box…, or something where you can keep things. Put there a couple of objects that you like and that will remind you of unit 1. Some ideas are: written work, pictures of the poster or the classroom at the end of the unit, audio recordings, something printed from the web references, etc.

4. And finally, a self-check of what you can do after unit 1. Here you will be able to analyze and reflect on what you already know, and also on what you are learning and how you are learning it. This self-check will be very useful when we have to work with some areas of the passport.

Make a list of (at least) five things that you can do in English now and you couldn’t do before, or things that you can do better now.

Understand the difference between the present simple and the present progressive

Write about myself

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And make also a list of (at least) five things that you have learnt or that you can do better that are not necessarily related to the English language, but to any other things that we have done in unit 1.

Create a blog

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TO KNOW MORE

Teen magazines:

http://www.teenmag.com/

http://www.cosmogirl.com/

http://www.allyoucanread.com/top-10-teen-magazines/

Bullying:


Crash:


Blog search:


Teen space, a website where teenagers can have their questions answered:

http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/browse/he0000/

Teenage questionnaires:

Ybarra Rubio, Ramón, Who am I?, Burlington Books

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http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/browse/he0000/




http://www.allyoucanread.com/top-10-teen-magazines/

http://www.cosmogirl.com/

http://www.teenmag.com/

Documents

0-Unit-1-Global