Ugly Sweater Day!

 

Patriot Day

Patriot Day in the USA is the comemoration of the terrorists attacks on the World Trade Center on 11th September 2001. Two planes crashed into the Twin Towers, and 2,977 people died in the attacks.

President Obama and his wife on September 11th, 2009

On this day, people in the United States observe a moment of silence, starting at 8:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time (2:46 AM in France), the time when the first plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. The American flag is flown at half-staff to indicate the presence of death.

The American flag at half-staff

However, Patriot Day is not a federal holiday, so the schools, shops and businesses do not close.

People usually refer to this day as "9/11" (nine eleven) or simply "September 11th".

Burns' Night

Burns' Night is a Scottish celebration. It commemorates the birth and life of the Scottish poet Robert Burns who was born on 25th January 1759.

Robert Burns

On the occasion, people have a special dinner, where haggis, a traditional Scottish dish, must be served while listening to pipes. People also read some of the texts written by R. Burns.

Piping in the haggis

 Learn more about the celebration on the BBC site.

A Scot playing pipes

Haggis, neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes)

In this video, you can see the haggis arriving with the pipes, then someone recites Burns' famous poem "Address to a haggis":

Memory Challenge: My Word Selfie

Semaine du 26 au 30 avril

 Good morning students!

J'espère que vous avez passé de bonnes vacances et que vous êtes prêts pour cette rentrée un peu spéciale!

J'ai préparé un plan de travail pour chaque séance, comme la semaine avant les vacances, que je mettrai en ligne sur l'ENT dès qu'il sera finalisé. J'ai pensé à le mettre dans le travail à faire plutôt que dans le contenu de séance pour que ce soir plus accessible pour vous, j'espère que ce sera le cas. 

Si vous rencontrez le moindre problème n'hésitez pas à me contacter.

Je ne vais pas vous demander de m'envoyer des photos de votre travail cette semaine, si tout se passe comme prévu nous nous retrouverons lundi prochain et je vérifierai votre travail à ce moment là. 

Je vous souhaite de passer une bonne semaine, et travaillez bien!

See you soon!

Cours à distance - fonctionnement

 Chers élèves, 

Voici le fonctionnement que je vous propose pour cette nouvelle période d'enseignement à distance.

Pour chaque classe, je publierais un plan de travail correspondant à chaque séance de la semaine. Ce document vous indiquera le travail à faire ainsi que les différentes étapes à suivre pour réussir. A la fin de chaque "séance", je vous demande de m'envoyer une photo de votre cahier à jour sur l'ENT.

Vous pouvez vous organiser comme vous le voulez, travailler à votre rythme, et n'êtes pas obligé de suivre votre emploi du temps à la lettre. Vous avez jusqu'à la fin des vacances pour m'envoyer les photos de vos cahiers.

N'hésitez pas à me contacter via l'ENT ou sur mon mail (missbalbin@orange.fr) si vous rencontrez des difficultés ou si vous avez des questions.

Pour les 3èmes: je n'ai pas encore finalisé votre plan de travail, mais il devrait arriver dans la journée.

Bon courage pour cette période pas toujours simple, profitez en aussi pour vous reposer!

A bientôt,

Miss Balbin

Kamala Harris and Ruby Bridges

 

Kamala Harris is the fist afro-american woman to become vice president of the United Staes of America.

Ruby Bridges was the first little girl to go to a desegregated school.

Selfie - Let's think!

 

Selfie - Read and write

In India, it's ten to two PM.

Selfie - What time is it?

It's 10:28 AM (US)

It's 28 past 10 (UK)

It's 4:30 AM in the USA.

It's half past 4 in the USA

Excuses - Look and find!

 

MrsW · Hello, My Name is Madison, by Kenn Nesbitt

Selfie - About Madison - part 2

 She goes to Eisenhower School. Her parents drive a Ford.

She wishes to be the president.

How to pronounce Eisenhower:

Revise personal pronouns:

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Today Irish people around the world are celebrating St Patrick's Day.

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He was born around 385 AD, and he died on March 17th, 461 AD.
According to the legend, he delivered Ireland from the snakes. This means that he converted the Irish people to christianity. The snakes represent the evil pagans.






On this day, people wear green clothes and parade in the streets. They also wear some of the symbols of Ireland, such as the shamrock or a leprechaun's top hat, and they wave Irish flags.

Parade in Dublin

People at the parade in Dublin

Parade in New York

They drink Irish beer like Guiness and they eat the traditional meal of bacon and cabbage.

2 pints of Guiness

Bacon and cabbage

    



In Dublin (the capital of Ireland), the festival lasts for 5 days!
In Chicago, they colour the river in green for the occasion!

The Chicago River dyed green

Watch how they colour the river with food colouring in this video:


But the biggest St Patrick's Day parade is in New York.
You can watch this video of last year's parade. Be warned, it's quite long!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is on 31st October.

Here are 2 songs about Halloween, enjoy! You can sing along and play in your booklet!




And here is another one, from the film The Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Tim Burton:


Learn how they celebrate halloween in Great Britain:


This is a fun memory game to play to learn Halloween vocabulary! And this is another fun memory game.

To finish, there is a Halloween Webquest you can do on The Webquest Website, for year 7 pupils (6ème) but everyone can do it!

Have fun, and have a happy and spooky Halloween!!

The first day of Autumn

Fall is here!
Today is the first day of Autumn.

Americans say fall, but Britons say Autumn. Why does this season have two names?
Watch this video for the answer.


And just for the pleasure, admire the magnificent colors of the season in the USA:

Roald Dahl Day

Today, people in Great Britain celebrate the birthday of one of their favourite authors:  
Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl was born on 13th September 1916 in Llandaff, in Wales (near Cardiff); but his parents were Norwegian. He died on 23rd November 1990 in Oxford, England.

Map of LLandaff, Wales

He wrote many books for childen and adults, as well as plays and short-stories. He is very well known around the world and a favourite author for many children.

His most famous works include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches and The BFG. Some of his books were adapted into movies or musicals.
He also wrote the scenario of a James Bond movie, You Only Live Twice.

Coronation Day in the UK

Today is Coronation Day in the UK. 

It is the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II Coronation on 2nd June 1953.
Elizabeth II has been Queen for 67 years. She is the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom!

This is Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on Elizabeth's Coronation Day (1953)

There will be celebrations everywhere in the UK, and the  guns at Buckingham Palace will fire.

Watch the coronation ceremony:

Welcome Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, Earl of Dumbarton!

May the 4th be with you!

Any Star Wars fans out there?
May 4th is Star Wars Day all over the planet! How will you celebrate?

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. 

It celebrates love and lovers! It's a romantic day.
People go to the restaurant for a romantic meal, and give each other presents, chocolates or flowers.
It is also a day to celebrate friendship.

A bunch of flowers

A present

In the United Kingdom and the United States, people send each other cards, but they don't sign them!
You receive many cards, and you try to guess who they are from. It's fun!

 

A Valentine card

Learn more about the customs and history of Valentine's Day here and here.