Project Term 2: A Podcast

ORAL PART OF YOUR EXAM: SECOND TERM

PRODUCING A PODCAST

The best podcasts will participate in a contest organised in the school!!!

 THE AUTOBIOGRAHY OF A RELEVANT PERSON IN HISTORY

The final product will be a (5 minutes approx.) podcast in which a relevant person in history talks about his/her life, or about some important aspects of it and his/her achievements. It should be a monologue emphasizing the human aspect of this person and trying to avoid a mere list of events/facts just copied from the Internet.

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1- Listen to the model example of podcast about “Santa Teresa” – which you can find in the blog-. This way you will have a clearer idea of what you are expected to do.

2- Choose a person you find interesting: a writer, a politician, an activist (Nobel Peace Prize, for example), ...etc. He/She should preferably come from an English speaking country in order to make your monologue in English more believable.

You might like to choose some relevant people like:

British historical figures: Guy Fawkes, Queen Victoria, Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth II.

Worldwide Icons: Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, John Lennon, Marilyn Monroe, Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks, Florence Nightingale, Anna Frank.

Here are some writers you might find interesting: Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Mary Shelley, Emily Dickinson, J.K .Rowling, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, George Orwell, Oscar Wilde, Aldous Huxley.

3- Do some serious research about the person you choose. Try to get and contrast information from different sources. Focus on the person’s human side: his/her personality, his/her family, important events, hardships, obstacles overcome...

4- Write your own script. Type your final version and send it to your teacher BEFORE 17TH FEBRUARY. Mention the sources you have taken the information from.

5- Select some background music which you can add to your recording. Make sure the music volume doesn’t interfere with your voice.

6- Read your text aloud. Pay careful attention to your pronunciation and intonation. Check the pronunciation of difficult words on the internet.

7- Rehearse reading your text as many times as you need to make it sound fluent and natural: You might find these tips useful:

-underline the key words and phrases

-decide where to breathe / plan where you will pause

- enunciate clearly

- change the pitch and tone of your voice as appropriate

-focus on dramatic pauses and emphasis

-practise your reading in from of a friend

- record your reading on your mobile phone and listen to it.

8- Use “Audacity” (audio editor) to record and edit your podcast.

9- Send the podcast and your final script to your teacher.

DEADLINE TO MEET: 3^rd of March

ASSESSING YOUR WORK:

The following aspects will be taken into account to assess your work:

-Content (Grammar accuracy / extensive vocabulary / organization of ideas)

-Pronunciation / intonation   (Very important!!!!!)

-Technical aspects (quality of sound..etc)

-Originality / work

* IMPORTANT: No more than three students should record their podcasts about the same “person”. You will find a paper sheet on your class notice board: please write down your name and the figure you have decided to create your podcast about. 

Do not leave your work for the very last minute!!!

Good luck!! 

Revision over Christmas

It is important to keep revising before it is too late. You should do a few exercises every day if you need to consolidate your grammar.
Here are some links to the grammar studied so far. New exercises (especially rephrasing exercises) have been added. But if you have not completed the previous exercises, it is highly advisable to do them.

Link to connectors

Link to past tenses

Link to future tenses

You will find exercises on verb tenses (with explanations in Spanish and solution) at "Reprographics.

Reader for Term 2:
Decide which one is more suitable for you, depending on your level (and what type of books  you prefer)

Brave New World
Burlington Books 2 Bachillerato
Jane Eyre
Burlington Books 1 Bachillerato

Exams
Reader: 31st January
Half term: 14th February*
End of term: 27th March*
*Grammar, Vocabulary and Reading comprehension/Listening
Dates for Writing will be decided later on.

SOLUTION TO REVISION WORKSHEETS UNITS 1 AND 2

GRAMMAR UNIT 1
1. I'm meeting 2. Julia hs been walking the dog for 3 hours.  3. ...hasn't finished...yet  4. I moved...in 2002. 5. We probably won't go... 6. I have been working ...lately  7. ...has stopped working at... 8. I was tired after I had done... 9. We had coffee while we were waiting... 10. We have already told you...

VOCABULARY UNIT 1
1. It's harmless 2. I was thrilled to hear that. 3. That poor man is homeless
4. ...is very useful. 5. ...felt embarrassed when she saw him again. 6. That was an amusing film. 7. I was shocked to hear that Bill had broken... 8. ...I find it very challenging.

VOCABULARY UNIT 1
1. expression 2. popularity 3. disappointment  4. punctuation  5. loneliness
6. sadness 7. description  8. improvement  9. happiness 10. combination

GRAMMAR UNIT 2
1. By the time he arrives, we will have finished. 2. At 8:00 he will be studying French. 3. Soon everybody will be working from home. 4. Do you think it will have snowed by the weekend? 5. We will have doubled.... 6. Their plane will be flying.... 7. This time next week I will be working... 8. I will have painted/I will have finished painting.... before we start living here.

VOCABULARY UNIT 2
1. upgrade 2. cutting-edge 3. perform 4. features 5. controversial 6. enables
7. search  8. invented  9. convenient  10. costly

VOCABULARY UNIT 2
1. saved the day 2. keeping the track of 3. keep you posted  4. saved...life  5. keeps a promise  6. keep....company  7. save energy  8. will save...the trouble 9. keep a diary

CONNECTORS
1. He is both lazy and irresponsible.
2. Neither your parents nor your teachers would approve....
3. She cooks well; she hates cleaning...., though.
4. She was not prepared....; however, she managed...
5. Alex didn't sleep....; consequently, he feels....
6. Neither Michael nor Samantha is going....
7. Although he has plenty...., he doesn't spend much.
8. Even though there was a lot of... , no trains were....
9. She has a driving license; nevertheless, she rarely....
10. In spite of feeling ill, she came....
11. Despite having....she never became...
12. Despite the fact that we had an appointment, he didn't...
13. She tries hard; however, she never manages...
14. Vicky eats a lot; however, she isn't...
15. I like travelling by...whereas my husband likes....
16. In addition to being very witty, he is resourceful.
17. The export wine as well as selling all....
      They sell all....as well as exporting....

addition and contrast

Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 4 (Grammar help and test)


Rewriting (contrast)  (NEW)
1) She has plenty of money, but she is very mean.
-Although...
2) I didn ́t buy the car, even though I had the money.
-Despite...
3) She never takes any kind of exercise, but she is quite fit and healthy.
-Even though...
4) They have a car but they rarely use it.
- Although...
5) They went out for a walk, even though the weather was bad.
- In spite of...
6) Despite being innocent, he was sent to prison.
-Although...
7) A lot of people buy those houses, even though the prices are high.
-Despite...
8) Our coach didn ́t arrive late, even though the traffic was terrible.
-In spite of...
9) People continue to smoke, even though they know the dangers.
-In spite of...
10) Despite being very tired, he stayed out late.
- Although...
11) John won the race. Nevertheless, he didn ́t feel happy.
-Despite...

(solutions underneath)

SOLUTIONS TO REWRITING
1) Although she has plenty of money, she is very mean.
2) Despite having the money, I didn't buy...
3) Even though she never takes any....., she is quite fit...
4) Although they have a car, they rarely...
5) In spite of the bad weather, they went...
6) Although he was innocent, he...
7) Despite the high prices, a lot of people...
8) In spite of the terrible traffic, our coach...
9) In spite of knowing the dangers, people...
10) Although he was very tired, he...
11) Despite winning (having won) the race, John didn't feel...

Discussion Essay

Discussion Essay by picasazahara on Scribd

Project Term 1

SPEAKING PART OF THE EXAM.

For the speaking part of your exam, you can choose to give a presentation or record a video on ONE of the following topics:

LENGTH
6 to 8 minutes (Pair work or group work)
3 to 4 minutes (Individual work)

TOPICS

• TOPICS FOR THE PRESENTATIONS:   (In pairs)

1- Social media sites (benefits and dangers).

2- Erasmus Exchange Programme for University Students.

3-The most important technological breakthrough.

4-Your favourite event in history.

5- Are we killing the Earth?

• TOPICS FOR THE VIDEO:   (In pairs, or groups of 3)

1- Choose a scene from your graded reader A Kiss Before Dying which you found specially interesting. Work in a small group (3 students) to prepare and act it out. Record it.
2- Re-create a moment in history.

3- A TV advertisement: advertise your school.   (Individual)

4- Make a book trailer: design a movie-style trailer about one of the books you compulsorily have to read this year. (Individual)

5- Record a video promoting an imaginary solidarity project created by you. Imagine you have to get as many "likes" as possible on social networks in order to get it sponsored by an important company.
                       Example

IMPORTANT TIPS
-Do some research
-Write your own script/rough draft (don’t just copy from the Internet)
- Allow yourself enough time to record and edit your video / to learn and rehearse your presentation.
- Make sure all the group members participate (ideally, each group member should spend equal time speaking)
- Hand in your script (it is compulsory!) and mention the SOURCES where you took your information from.



ASSESSMENT
-To assess your presentation/video, the following points will be taken into account:
  a) pronunciation, intonation, body language/ acting
  b) the content: creativity, grammar accuracy, extensive vocabulary
  c) quality of the video / resources used for your presentation

DEADLINES TO MEET

• VIDEOS:

If you decide to record a video, you should send the video and the script to your teacher’s email (or bring it to class in a flash drive) before Friday, 29th November

• PRESENTATIONS:

If you opt for a presentation, choose the most convenient date to you, and write down your name and the topic of your presentation. The presentations will take place during the breaks.

Dates for presentations 
Monday, 25th November
(break time)

Tuesday, 26thth November
(break time)

Wednesday, 27th  November
(break time)

Thursday, 28th November
(break time)

Friday, 29th November
(break time)

Noun Suffixes: Revision

Flashcards