AMERICAN PIE SONG AND STORY

WHAT IS THE STORY BEHIND "AMERICAN PIE" SONG?

FIRST, SOME EXERCISES ABOUT THE SONG

American Pie

Madonna

 

      CROSS OUT THE EXTRA WORDS

A very long, long time ago

I can still today remember

How that lovely music used to make me smile

And I didn’t knew if I had my chance

I could make those people dance happily

And maybe they'd be happy for a short while

      CROSS OUT WHAT’S WRONG

Did you WRITE/WROTE the book of love

And ARE/DO  you have faith in God above

If the BibleTELLS/TELL you so?

Now do you BELIEVE/BELIEVED  in rock and roll?

CAN’T/CAN  music save your mortal soul?

And can you teach me how to DANCING/DANCE  real slow?

      ORDER THE LINES

'Cause I saw you dancin' in the gym  (      )

But I knew I was out of luck  (      )

I was a lonely teenage broncin' buck        (      )

Man, I dig those rhythm and blues  (      )

With a pink carnation and a pickup truck    (      )

The day the music died       (      )

Well, I know that you're in love with him    (      )

You both kicked off your shoes      (      )

      FILL IN THE BLANKS

CHORUS

I ____________________________ (= BEGAN) singin’

Bye, bye Miss ____________________________  (= FROM THE USA) Pie

Drove my Chevy to the levee

But the levee was ____________________________ (= NOT WET)

Them good ol' ____________________________  (= YOUNG MEN) were drinking whiskey and rye

Singin' this'll be the ____________________________  (= NOT NIGHT) that I die

This'll be the day that I ____________________________(= NOT LIVING)

      WHERE ARE THE VERBS?

ASKED  SMILED  TURNED  WENT  HEARD  SAID MET

I ____________________________  a girl who sang the blues

And I ____________________________  her for some happy news

But she just ____________________________  and __________________________ away

Then I ____________________________  down to the sacred store

Where I’d ____________________________  the music years before

But the man there ____________________________  the music wouldn’t play

      RHYMING WORDS

SPOKEN  GHOST  COAST  SCREAMED  BROKEN  DREAMED MOST

Well now in the streets the children ___________________________

The lovers cried and the poets ____________________________

But not a word was ____________________________

The church bells all were ____________________________

And the three men I admire ____________________________

The Father, Son, and the Holy ____________________________

They caught the last train for the ____________________________

The day the music died

We started singing

CHORUS

SEE THE STORY AND LISTEN TO THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF THIS CLASSIC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Pie_(song)

ORIGINAL SONG: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAsV5-Hv-7U

EDUCATION IN BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES

What are the differences between Spanish educational system and the British one? Take a look




UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

PRONUNTIATION QUESTIONS

WATCH THE VIDEO AND PRACTISE INTONATION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVgcLVdd2Ec

Kansas

Situation: Kansas is one of the 50 states of the United States of America. It is located in the Mid West region of the country. It limits the north by the state of Nebraska, west to Colorado, south to Oklahoma and east to Missouri. The capital of Kansas is Topeka. Kansas has a population of 122.327 people. Largest city is Wichita
 Acerca de Kansas : Su idioma oficial es English.The gobernador es Sam Brownback y los senadores son Pat Roberts y Jerry Moran. Su lema es que las estrellas a través de las dificultades Su himno es Zafarrancho en el rancho Su lema es simplemente maravilloso
 Climate: Kansas has a temperate climate, with cold winters and hot summers. The average winter temperature in Kansas is -1 ° C .The average summer temperature in Kansas is 26 ° C. The average annual snowfall in Kansas is 43 centimeters.
 Religion: Proportion of the population of Kansas by religious affiliation:
 Christianity - 82%
Protestantism - 60%
Methodism - 14%
Baptism - 14%
Lutheranism - 4%
Presbyterianism - 3%
Other Protestant affiliations - 25%
 Catholic Church - 20%
Other Christian affiliations - 2%
 Other Religions - 1% No religious - 17%
 Principals citys: Wichita
Overland Park
Kansas City
Topeka
Olathe
Lawrence
 Shawnee
 Manhattan
Salina Lenexa
 Gastronomy: The tipicals foods of Kansas are: Bbq Salmorejo Miottini Christmas sweets
 States symbols: Amphibian: Barred Tiger Salamander
 Mammal: Bison
 Bird: Western Meadowlark
 Flower: Sunflower
 Bug: European Bee
 Reptile: Box Turtle
 Tree: Poplar Virginia

HALLOWEEN!

HALLOWEEN WEBQUEST
Here you have different webquest about Halloween. Follow the links and get the information about different topics of Halloween.

Activity 1: Halloween’s history

Visit http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween and read the first section entitled Ancient origins of Halloween. Look for the answers to these 13 (unlucky for some) questions. Share your answers with your classmates.

1. Where is the celebration of Halloween thought to have come from?
2. The Celts occupied an area of land covering six modern-day countries. Name at least four of them.
3. Why did the Celts celebrate ’Samhain’ on the night of 31st October?
4. What did the Celts believe the ghosts of the dead would cause damage and trouble to?
5. To commemorate the event, what did the Druids build?
6. What costumes did they wear?
7. What did they re-light to help protect them from the coming winter?
8. By 43 AD, who had conquered the Celts?
9. What two other festivals were combined with ’Samhain’?
10. After many changes due to the spread of Christianity, what new celebration was created in 1000 AD?
11. What were the similarities between this day and ’Samhain’?
12. What was another name given to this celebration?
13. What was the night before called and what did this finally become?

Discussion

• Are you surprised by the history of Halloween?
• Do you know any other stories about its origins?
• Are there any celebrations in your country that have a strange and uncertain history?
• Do you agree with this type of celebration?
• Do you believe in ghosts and the supernatural?

Activity 2: Popular Halloween traditions

Jack-o’-lantern

Read the introductory paragraph at http://www.history.com/topics/jack-olantern-history and describe the Jack-o’-lantern tradition to your partner. Then, read the full article entitled The Legend of “Stingy Jack”. Look for the answers to the following questions. Share your answers with your classmates.

1. The Jack-o’-lantern tradition originated from which Irish myth?
2. What did Jack do with the coin instead? Why?
3. Under what condition did Jack free the devil?
4. What trick did Jack play the following year and how did he prevent the devil coming down from the tree?
5. What happened soon after?
6. What problem did Jack then face?
7. What did the Irish call Jack’s ghost?
8. What did the Irish then begin to make and place in their windows and doorways and why?
9. What did the vegetable become in America?

Apple-bobbing

Read the first paragraph of this website link about the rules of apple-bobbing:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_bobbing. Answer the following questions and share your answers with a partner.

1. How is the game played?
2. Why are apples used?
3. What do players use to catch the apples?
4. What part of your body are you prevented from using?

Trick-or-treating

Read the first two paragraphs of this website link about the tradition of ’trick-or-treating’:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trick-or-treating and answer the following questions, sharing your answers with a partner.

1. What do children ask for when they travel from house to house? (Note: The answer is an American word. Do you know the British English equivalent?)
2. What question do the children ask?
3. What is usually the ’trick’?
4. Since when has this tradition been practised in North America?
5. What do homeowners who wish to participate usually do to their houses?
6. In what countries did two traditions similar to trick-or-treating already exist and what were they called?
7. What did these two traditions involve?
8. Trick-or-treating has become prevalent in countries outside of America - what do the children ask for in Mexico?

Discussion

• Have you ever practised any of these traditions? If your answer is yes, which is your favourite? If your answer is no, what do you think would be your favourite?
• Have you ever seen a real carved-out jack-o’-lantern? Have you ever designed one yourself? Would you like to make one with your classmates?
• Do you think you would be good at apple-bobbing? Would you like to have an apple-bobbing competition with your classmates? Who do you think would win?
• Would you be interested in going trick-or-treating? If yes, what would be your costume of choice? What trick would you play?
• If you had some children knocking on your door, would you opt for giving them a treat or accept the trick?
• How do you think people from your country would respond to trick-or-treaters?

Activity 3: Halloween around the world

Although Halloween is often seen as a predominantly American celebration, you’ll be surprised to know that many countries around the world also celebrate Halloween. Many have their own unique traditions.
a. Tell your classmates if and how your country celebrates Halloween.
b. Your teacher will give you a country to research from this website link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_around_the_world. Before you begin your research, consider the following questions:

1. How long has your chosen country been celebrating Halloween?
2. What unique traditions does it have?
3. What costumes do people dress up in?
4. Why has Halloween become popular there?

Note: You may not find information on all these questions, but as you read, write down any other interesting facts you discover about your chosen country to share with your classmates. Write your answers in note form and share them with your classmates.

Activity 4: Terrifying tales

Go to the following website and find a list of titles to scary ghost stories:http://www.americanfolklore.net/spooky-stories.html. Scroll down and click on ’Hairy Toe’ and ready the story. Answer the following 13 (unlucky for some) questions below.

1. What was the woman digging up to cook for dinner?
2. What did she uncover?
3. Why did she put ’the hairy toe’ in her basket?
4. What did she cook with ’the hairy toe’?
5. Later that night, what did the voice coming from the woods say?
6. Was the voice heard in the same place or was it getting closer?
7. Where was the voice coming from when the old lady woke up?
8. What did she do when she jumped out of bed?
9. Where was the old lady when she saw the massive figure in her doorway?
10. How did the old lady respond to the figure?
11. What finally happened to the old lady?
12. What was the only clue to her disappearance?
13. What was distinct about the footprint?

Go back to the list of stories and choose one that interests you. Read it and make notes in your own language. You may need to use a dictionary or ask your teacher for help with the vocabulary. Once you’ve completed your notes, share the story with your classmates. Did you manage to scare them with yo

Detroit.

PREZI BY MªCarmen, Alberto and Irene:
http://prezi.com/z7y2eyojrzvq/detroit/


DETROIT'S ABANDONMENT BY Irene Molledo:
Detroit's decline is one of the biggest abandonment "nonviolent" suffered by a modern city during second half 20th century and beginnings 21th century.
Detroit has gone from being almost 2 million habitants in the late 1950s, and get to have 900000 habitants in 2011.
In his peck, Detroit was the third most important city in the USA, and one of the industrial center. It had skyscrapers, office buildings, hotels, and other infrastructures which served as a nerve center of many business. Detroit had became in the Engine's world capital.
During the 1950s, a lot of families go to the city center, others families go to differents American cities definitely. The habitants number starts to slowly down. Detroit had begun to be a dangerous city, crowed whith small spaces, racial stress, crime, mafia... But also, the residents were leaving to not pay high taxes.
The fact is called "the white flight" because the white families was who leave mainly, while colored population stayed in the "Paradise Valley".
Slowly black families joined to the abandonment causing also a "black flight", and in turn causing the depopulation of the city.

Detroit

The Detroit Sound by MªCarmen González

Since the middle of the 40's , peolpe usually goes to the Hasting Street pubes for listening to Blues and Rhythm & Blues music.This city was characterizing for having lots of black people made this kind of music to grow up.
At the beginning of the 50´s Berry Gordy created The record company Motown Records. Before that, Reverend C.L Franklin , medernized the Gospel music , origin of the Soul , discovering Aretha Franklin who then would belongs to The Supremes, and she also participated with Berry Gordy in the Motown Records, what made of Detroit a stars music constellation,and it was when appeared ''The Detroit Sound''
there were other records companies like Anna Records, this one was created for Anna Berry (Berry Gordy sister) and she would became into the Marvyn Gayes wife, this record company discoverd artist like Joe Tex and Barrett Strong.In the 60's other recor companies like Tamla Records, Tri-Phi and Ric-Tic were created too. This companies discovered some soul artists like The Spinners or Edwin Starr.
Then The Motwon bought this companies and merged with Tamla Records, this two companies recibed a new name : TamlaMotown.
We could say that Detroit was a very important city for the evolution of Soul music,R&B, and Modern Gospel and music also was a very important part in the economy.

                                    MAINE
BY: LYDIA RODRÍGUEZ ROMERO AND ESTHER SANTOS CALERO.





LOCATION
 Maine is one of the states that composes the United States. Its name comes from the French province Mine. He is placed in the North-East. His principal cities are August (the capital), Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, Auburn, South Portland and Storybrooke. Maine has a strong tradition and French-speaking presence, as in Louisiana. Maine is the biggest state of the region of New England.

 ABOUT MAINE 
 The state is called " the Pine Tree State ", because the 90 % of the territory are natural areas. Maine is divided into three regions: the low coastal lands, the high lands of New England and the White Mountains.
 Maine this one governed by a constitution since 1820. s.
 Maine possesses  numerous cultural institutions. One of the most notable museums of the condition is the Museum of Portland's Art. The Museum of Portland's Art has a center of native American art, a center of art of the northwest, a center of modern and contemporary art ,permanent exhibitions of Asian art, and a garden of sculptures outdoors public.

 His principal center of tourism is The national Park Acadia. It is located in the island Monte Desierto. The area includes mountains, an oceanic coast, forests and lakes.

 The lobster is the Maine’s symbol and there are many restaurant that serve it. Also, are famous the Oysters and the blueberry.
 The flag of Maine is a shield of weapon in a blue field. In the center of the shield a moose rests under a high green pine. A farmer and a sailor represent the traditional dependence of the agriculture and the sea for the State. The Star of the North represents the motto of the state :Dirigo

 The famous North American writer Stephen King is born, bred and resident in Bangor's city, Maine, been where there develop the majority of his novels.

 The Festival of the Lobster is celebrated every year in Rockland at the beginning of August. In the festival they do the race of capture of lobsters, the parades and the choice publicly of the ' Goddess of the sea '.

Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is officially known as the "Silver State" due to the importance of silver to its history and economy. The tourism industry remains Nevada's largest employer, with mining continuing to be a substantial sector of the economy as Nevada is the fourth largest producer of gold in the world.

State Flag

Nevada's official flag was adopted on March 26, 1929, but was revised on June 8, 1991. The flag has a deep blue background. It pictures a yellow, flowing ribbon that reads "BATTLE BORN." A five-pointed silver star and the words NEVADA are under the ribbon. These are surrounded by green sagebrush with yellow flowers.

Sagebrush is Nevada's state flower. The silver star represents the rich mineral wealth of Nevada, especially the famous Comstock lode, which is one of the largest silver and gold mines ever found. The words "Battle Born" on Nevada's flag allude to fact that Nevada bacame a state during the Civil War.

Las vegas

Satellite view showing Las Vegas, most populous and principal city of the state of Nevada in the United States, located in southwest of Nevada, near the borders of California and Arizona in the arid desert of Clark County,its surrounding environment is dominated by desert vegetation and some wildlife.

Las Vegas was established in 1905 and officially became a city in 1911, at that time the native tribes of the Southern Paiute have been vanished long time ago.Today the city is known as the "Entertainment Capital of the World", an international vacation, shopping, and gambling resort. 

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering

The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering is an annual celebration of the ranching and rural West. Through poetry, music and stories, ranch people express the beauty and challenges of a life deeply connected to the earth and its bounty. Every year, thousands travel to rural Elko, Nevada, in the heart of winter, to learn and share.