Miss Lingva, Autumn 2015

ISSUE10 / AUTUMN 2015

My Wedding Day

El Sistema Educativo en Espa単a

three weeks in Artek Interesting facts about Scotland

FROM THE EDITOR Hello everyone “Miss Lingva” as a kind of scientific reporting on language and linguistics, increasing students’ motivation for learning foreign languages and my first international project experience.

Well, what is a linguistic magazine? It is a magazine with articles on linguistics- and language-based theory, news, application, findings, and field reports.

It is committed to diversity in its scope of reporting, covering both the scientific and applied sides of linguistics, while maintaining a neutral stance towards debates occurring within the field.

Let me introduce myself, I’m Christina. I study at Moscow State Region University. I’m going to be a teacher. I love English. I think, it’s a wonderful language. When I knew about “Miss Lingva”, I was happy, because it’s my chance to improve my English and communicate with people who speak this language. “Miss Lingva” is a perfect chance for me to make my life more multifarious.

Finally, I hope that our magazine will be very interesting to you. We will try to provide you with a lot of curious information and will be glad for your assistance in the development of our international project “Miss Lingva”. Read our magazine and enjoy one.

missLINGVA Chief editor KOLOCHEVA CHRISTINA Editors DARIA POLUKHANOVA CHERNOKLINOVA OLGA TOMILINA VALENTINA Creative Director YANA BURMISTROVA Producer ELENA BURMISTROVA Designer LEONID NIKULIN Editorial board OLGA CHERNOKLINOVA MARIA ZIMATKINA ANASTASIA PODZAREY POLINA RYABOVA MUKHAMETSHINA ALYONA MUKHAMETSHINA IRINA

KOLOCHEVA CHRISTINA

Questions and feedback: Phone: 8-906-081-20-90 Email: burmistrova1@yandex.ru Online: www.vk.com/misslingva

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6 24 FEATURES

travel

Weddings

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Three weeks in Artek

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My Wedding Day

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Honeymoon in italy

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Interesting facts about Scotland

Project Ideas

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school matters El Sistema Educativo en Espa単a 5th Graders

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Everybody wants to speak English

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FEATURES

Weddings

In the UK people get married either in a church or a registry office (a local government building). In the US people often get married in a house , a park, a hotel, or wedding chapel, as well as in a church. The traditional wedding, called a white wedding as the bride wears a white dress, takes place in a church.

The Main People at a Wedding The bride is the woman who is getting married.

Traditionally she wears a long white dress and a veil, and carries a bouquet of flowers. She also wears «something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue» to bring her luck. The bridegroom (also called the groom) is the man who is getting married. He wears a suit, or something a tuxedo in the US, or a morning suit in the UK.

away (to walk to the front of the church with her and formally give permission for her to marry). The bride and her farther walk slowly up to the aisle and the bridesmaids follow. When the bride and bridegroom are together at the altar, the priest begins the wedding service. He or she asks if there is anyone present who knows of any legal reason why the couple should not get married. Then the bride and groom exchange the traditional vows. It is sometimes possible to change the vows or even white your own. «I, Jane Smith, take thee, David Jones, to be my lawful wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forth, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish forsaking all others, until death do us part.»

The couple then give each other a gold ring and say, Before the Ceremony “With this ring I thee wed” (I marry you).

It is considered bad luck if the bridegroom sees the At the end of the ceremony, the priest says, “I bride on the morning of the wedding. The bridegroom pronounce you man and wife,” which means that they arrives first at the church and waits at the altar with the are officially married. The husband and wife then sign best man. The best man is responsible for bringing the the register (the official record of their marriage). wedding ring, and there are many jokes about him loosing or forgetting it. The bride arrives at the church There’s a big difference between falling in love with in a car with her father. There are often jokes about the someone and falling in love with someone and getting bride being late, and the groom being very nervous as married. Usually, after you get married, you fall in love he waits and worries that she may not come. with the person even more.

The Ceremony It is traditional for the bride’s farther to give her Dave Grohl 4 missLINGVA / Autumn, 2015

My Wedding Day I think about the time, Not so long ago, That when I needed a helping hand, You where the first to know I think about the memories, The good times we’ve shared, I think about all you’ve taught me, And how my broken heart you always repaired Now as I stand here today, And reminisce on the past, I think about how hard this day is for you, How fast the years have surpassed But as you walk me down the aisle, Daddy, please don’t cry, You know how much I love you, And this is not good-bye As I spread my wings and fly, Look at me and know, That you will forever be in my heart, Even as the years grow I think of today as a new beginning, But my love for you will stay, So walk me down the aisle Daddy, It’s my Wedding Day Lacey D. Karlek

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FEATURES

honeymoon in italy

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FEATURES

Honeymoon is an incredible period for just married people.

When we planned our honeymoon, we understood that the better place is Italy, because we can rent a car and see many beautifull cities, as Venice, Verona, Florence and others.

And the plan of our honeymoon to visit: lake Garda - Venice, Florence, Pisa, Liguria and Verona.

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 382,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1,520,000 in the metropolitan area. Florence is famous for its history: a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of the time, it is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called «the Athens of the Middle Lake Garda Ages». A turbulent political history includes periods of rule by the powerful Medici family, and Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy. It is a numerous religious and republican revolutions. popular holiday location and is located in northern From 1865 to 1871 the city was the capital of the Italy, about half-way between Brescia and Verona, recently established Kingdom of Italy. and between Venice and Milan. Glaciers formed this alpine region at the end of the last Ice Age. Pisa Given the intense colour of its water with a marked shade of blue and matchless transparency, Lake Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling Garda is a unique spot where visitors and guests the River Arno just before it empties into the can enjoy a holiday full of relaxation, sports, fun Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province and the thrill of discovering new places. of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower (the bell tower of the city’s cathedral), Venice the city of over 89,523 residents (around 200,000 with the metropolitan area) contains more than 20 Venice is one of the most interesting and lovely other historic churches, several medieval palaces places in the world. and various bridges across the River Arno. Much of This sanctuary on a lagoon is virtually the same the city’s architecture was financed from its history as it was six hundred years ago, which adds to the as one of the Italian maritime republics. The city fascinating character. Venice has decayed since its is also home of the University of Pisa, which has a heyday and is heavily touristed (there are 56000 history going back to the 12th century and also has residents and 20 million tourists per year), but the the mythic Napoleonic Scuola Normale Superiore romantic charm remains. di Pisa and Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies Florence as the best sanctioned Superior Graduate Schools in Italy.

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PHOTO BY YANA BURMISTROVA 2015, April / missLINGVA 2015, Autumn / missLINGVA

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Liguria Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, with capital Genoa. The region is popular with tourists for its beaches, towns, and cuisine.

Liguria is in north-western Italy, bordering with France. The region features impressive mountains and lovely rolling hills, colored by the green Mediterranean turf and overlooking the Ligurian Sea. The two are divided by a high, indented coastline.

Liguria is a multi-faceted sliver of the Peninsula, where differences weave together to create a wide array of things to do and see during a visit here.

Verona Verona is a city straddling the Adige river in Veneto, northern Italy, with approximately 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of northeast Italy. It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy, owing to its artistic heritage, several annual fairs, shows, and operas, such as the lyrical season in the Arena, the ancient amphitheatre built by the Romans. Three of Shakespeare’s plays are set in Verona: Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Taming of the Shrew. The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status

by UNESCO because of its urban structure and architecture.

FEATURES

Project 1. Advertisements: create an advertising campaign to sell a product. The product can be real or imaginary. Try using this to teach persuasion, as an assignment for speech class, or to reinforce skills learned in a consumer class.

2. Album Covers: create artwork for an album. The album may be connected to a skill (such a multiplication) and should demonstrate or explain how that skill is used. Or the album cover may be connected to a novel and the art work might present a relevant theme in the story. Another use would be to have students create natural disaster album covers in a science class where the cover would depict and explain the event.

3. Autobiographies: write the story of your life.

This assignment may help you teach autobiography or reinforce a broad range of writing skills.

4. Awards: create awards to present to historical figures, scientists, mathematicians, authors, or characters from a novel.

5. Banners: create an informational banner.

Students could create time lines of the American civil war or the Spanish alphabet.

6. Bar Graphs: create illustrated bar graphs. These may be used to explore data sets, use statistics to support a point, or illustrate a growth or change in a market.

7. Biographies: write the life story of someone else.

It could be a friend, family member, historical figure, or a fictional character.

8. Blogs: create blogs for literary characters or historical figures. Create an actual blog for free at blogger.com or just have students write and organize articles on white printer paper if the internet is not available.

9. Blueprints: create blueprints or floor plans of a scene described in a novel, an historic setting, or an 12

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earthquake proof bridge or structure.

10. Boardgames: create boardgames where students review course concepts. Game play should be based around answering review questions correctly.

11. Book Clubs: Students read either novels or selections from the text book and discuss the readings in small groups. Students might be required to take notes about the discussion or provide an audio recording of the discussion as the artifact to be evaluated. Students might also create discussion questions beforehand and have these approved by the instructor. This activity may be applied to reading selections in any subject.

12. Booklets: create an informational booklet. In the past I’ve had students create booklets showing comma rules, narrator’s perspective, genre, figurative language, and more. Booklets can be applied to almost any unit of study and all they require to make are some blank white printer paper folded in half, one of my favorites.

13. Bookmarks: create illustrated bookmarks with relevant information. A bookmark might summarize previous chapters or contain the definitions of challenging vocabulary words.

14. Brochures: brochures can be made as either tri-fold or bi-folds. Students can create informational brochure’s about geographic locations, a story’s setting, or a natural event such as how a tidal wave is formed or how the food chain works.

15. Calendars: create a calendar charting the dates of key events. This can be applied to an historical event (like a famous battle), a scientific event (such a the path of Hurricane Katrina), or the sequence of events in story.

16. Casting Calls: select people (fictional, famous, or otherwise) to play the role in a movie version of story or historic event. Explain which character traits were considered in each selection.

Ideas 17. Cheers: create a cheer explaining a scientific or mathematical process. Alternately, a cheer could summarize the events of a novel or an historic episode.

18. Classified Ads: create classified type ads as seen in newspapers. It could be a wanted ad or a M4F type ad depending on the age of your students. Update the concept and have students create Craigslist ads or Ebay listings. Example applications include covering vocabulary words, introducing multiple characters in a drama, examining figures in an historical event, or studying endangered and extinct plants and animals.

19. Coat of Arms: create a family coat of arms for a character from a novel or a person from history. A good activity for teaching symbolism.

20. Collages: create a collage or collection of images related to a topic. Images can be hand drawn, printed, or clipped from a magazine or newspaper. These work best with large thematic ideas that give students the ability to maneuver, like a collage representing slavery, the 1920s, or an entire story.

21. Comic Strips or Books: create an illustrated comic strip or book representing events from history or a work of fiction.

22. Crossword Puzzles: create a crossword puzzle to review definitions of challenging vocabulary words.

Great for science, social studies, reading, and even math terms.

23. Diary Entries: create a diary entries for a person from history or a fictional character who experienced an historic event. Can also be applied to characters in a story or survivors of a disaster.

24. Dramas: create a play. Students might adapt an existing story or create original works and plays can be centered around any event in history.

25. Editorials: provide an opinion about a hot topic in history or science. Should the space program be

reduced? Is US military intervention in current conflicts appropriate? Is global warming a concern?

26. Fables: create fables that teach a lesson.

Students may create illustrated story boards of their original fables or even dramatic adaptations which they then perform. A good character building activity.

27. Flags: create a flag representing either an actual county (like Libya) or fictitious place (like Narnia).

This project should be accompanied by a brief report explaining what ideas the colors and images on the flags represent.

28. Flash Cards: create cards helpful for study and review. Flash cards can be created for any subject and topic.

29.

Flowcharts: students create flowcharts analyzing and representing a mathematical process, a natural event, or an event in history or literature.

30. Glossaries: If students need to understand a large array of vocabulary words, consider having them construct glossaries to help them study and review.

31. Hieroglyphics: create pictures that represent vocabulary words. Alternately, students could retell the events of a story or historical episode in simple pictures.

32. ID Badges: create identification cards for characters from a work of literature or for people involved in an historical event. Include relevant details on the badges.

33. Illustrated Quotes: Have students choose a meaningful quote from a text that they are reading.

They should explain why the quote interests them and then write the quote on a blank sheet of paper and draw related images.

34. Instructions: write instructions on how to perform an operation or experiment, diagram a sentence, or start a World War. 2015, Autumn / missLINGVA

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FEATURES 35. Inventions: create and illustrate your new invention that address a problem in nature or society.

Address environmental or sociological issues.

36. Limericks: write limericks about events from history or scientific discoveries such as, “There once was a man named Sir Newton…”

37. Magazines: create magazines covering large units of study such as the Industrial Revolution or Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, that way many articles can be written. Images may also be drawn or printed and added to the publication.

38. Maps: create maps based on actual geographic or national boundaries and landmarks or maps illustrating the setting of a story and the journey of a character.

39. Merit Badges: create vocabulary merit badges where the term is defined in three or fewer words and a small image is drawn to represent the definition.

40. Movie Adaptations: plan a movie version of a novel, scientific discovery, or historical event. Pick who will play what role, plan scenes, write dialog, even create a soundtrack.

41. Murals: create a mural or a large drawing of many images related to a larger idea. A mural about the Harlem Renaissance might contain images of Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and W.E.B. DuBois.

42. Myths: write creation myths to account for scientific or historic events or for a creative writing assignment.

43. Newscasts: deliver important information from literature, history, science, or math in the form of a newscast. Newscast can be prerecorded or presented live.

44. Pen-pals: write letters to and from important people from history or the characters in a story.

45. Poems and Raps: write a poem or rap reviewing any topic.

46. Postcards: similar to the pen-pals assignment above, but postcards have illustrations representing thematic concepts.

47. Posters: create posters to review skills. As a bonus, many of these posters can often be displayed during state tests, so if your students create high quality posters, the posters may be a useful resource during the test.

48. Questionnaires: create a questionnaire and survey students to gather an understanding about thematic issues from a text or social problems for a speech or presentation.

49. Radio Broadcasts: create a script for a radio

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program covering any appropriate field of study.

50. Reader’s Theater: silently act out the events of a story or text alone or with a group of people while someone reads the text aloud. Students should be given time to prepare their acting.

51. Recipes: students can create recipes about how atoms combine to form molecules (H2O), or how to create events like the French Revolution or World War I (add one Arch Duke).

52. Scrapbooks: create a scrapbook of your favorite poems or important events from a decade.

53. Skits: create a short skit to bring an historical event to life.

54. Slide Shows: if you have access to enough computers and a projector, I suggest having students create PowerPoint presentations. With just a little instruction, students should be able to create pretty flashy presentations, and you can combine this project with a research paper as a culminating activity.

55. Soundtracks: create a soundtrack for a movie version of a novel or historical or natural event. Use actual songs or just describe the mood of each song if you do not know song titles. Explain why you feel that each song matches the event. A good activity to review mood.

56. Stamps: students create commemorative stamps honoring people, depicting elements from the periodic table, or challenging vocabulary terms.

57. Storyboards: create story boards summarize a short story or to plan a narrative, movie, or presentation.

58. Tests: write a test to help you review unit goals and objectives. Questions can be multiple choice, matching, and true or false. Answer keys should be provided.

59. Vocabulary Quilts: create quilts with badges representing the meanings of vocabulary terms.

Badges should have an image and a few words.

60. Websites: design websites that historical figures, scientists, mathematicians, authors, or characters from novels would have had. Also, student can create websites for historical movements, scientific theories, or literary concepts.

61. Worksheets: create review worksheets.

Worksheets can be applied to any subject and topic of study.

62. Yearbooks: create yearbooks reviewing the characters and events from several stories that the class read or containing information about many important figures from history.

El Sistema Educativo en España

La escolarización en España está financiada por el estado y es obligatoria entre las edades de seis y dieciséis años, dado que no se repiten cursos. Aunque la educación no universitaria en las escuelas públicas es gratuita en España, los padres deben pagar los libros, los materiales y a veces los uniformes de sus hijos. Una vez que la escolaridad obligatoria termina, el estudiante optará entre ir al Instituto (bachillerato) o pasar a una escuela de formación profesional (FP).

Sólo aquellos que terminan el Bachillerato pueden acceder a una universidad.

Hay tres tipos de escuelas en el sistema educativo español: las escuelas públicas, colegios concertados y colegios privados. Debido a que algunas escuelas privadas están financiadas públicamente la línea entre lo público y privado se desdibuja.

Los horarios escolares de-

penden del tipo de escuela.

Algunas pueden funcionar de 9 a 5 con un descanso de dos horas para el almuerzo. Otras escuelas pueden comenzar a las 9 y terminan a las 2, la hora de la comida en España. Algunas escuelas pueden tener sólo una hora para el almuerzo y pueden o no disponer de una cafetería para que los niños coman en el centro. Para los padres que trabajan, las escuelas ofrecen un programa matutino, de pago, a partir de las 7 y después de la jornada escolar un programa de actividades extracurriculares, gratuitas o pagadas, dependiendo de la actividad.

La tasa de alfabetización de un país, aunque no es una medida perfecta, se utiliza a menudo para clasificar los sistemas educativos en todo el mundo. En 2003, la tasa de alfabetización en España, según el CIA World Factbook, revelaba que el 97,9% de la

población española sabía leer y escribir. La cifra incluye una tasa de alfabetización en España del 98,7% en hombres y 97,2% entre las mujeres.

Alfabetización, en este caso, se define como el porcentaje de la población de más de 15 años que es capaz de leer y escribir. Otras fuentes indican que la tasa de alfabetización en España es en realidad mayor.

La estructura del sistema educativo español sigue a la Ley Fundamental de Educación, conocida como LOE en España.

Educación infantil (preescolar) El preescolar en España se divide en dos ciclos, el primero para niños entre 0 y 3 años y el segundo para niños de 3 a 6 años de edad. El primer ciclo de la educación preescolar no es gratuito, aunque hay programas de ayuda para familias necesitadas. El segundo ciclo 2015, Autumn / missLINGVA

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de preescolar en España es gratuito para todos los alumnos. Este ciclo se considera a menudo como una parte integral del sistema de enseñanza.

Normalmente, el primer ciclo de la educación preescolar se imparte en las escuelas infantiles o guarderías especiales y el segundo ciclo se imparte en las escuelas primarias. Sin embargo, cada vez más escuelas de primaria españolas empiezan a ofrecer también el primer ciclo de la educación preescolar.

Escuela de Primaria (Educación Primaria) La escuela primaria en España, a menudo denominada simplemente como “colegio”, es el comienzo de la educación obligatoria. La escuela primaria se compone de 6 cursos académicos de los 6 años a los 12. El sistema se divide en tres ciclos de 2 años cada uno. Generalmente, el primer ciclo reúne a los alumnos de 6 y 7, el segundo ciclo de 8 y 9 y el tercero de 10 y 11 años de edad.

El objetivo es dar a los estudiantes españoles una educación básica común y sólida en cultura, expresión oral, lectura, escritura y aritmética.

Los cursos incluyen: estudios sociales, educación artística, educación física, el idioma español y, si es diferente, el idioma oficial de la Comunidad Autónoma, lenguas extranjeras y matemáticas.

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za está dirigida al desarrollo de los alumnos y la integración de sus distintas experiencias y estilos de aprendizaje. La educación primaria española se centra en clases personalizadas y adaptadas en función del nivel de cada niño.

Educación Secundaria Obligatoria - ESO Después de la escuela primaria en España los estudiantes deben continuar con la Educación Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO), que generalmente dura de los 12 a los 16 años de edad. La educación secundaria en España se divide en dos ciclos de dos años de duración cada uno.

Una vez que un estudiante se gradúa de ESO, tiene tres opciones diferentes: (1) La escuela secundaria conocida como Bachillerato.

(2) La formación profesional (electricista, peluquero, etc.)

(3) Entrar en el mercado de trabajo Bachillerato El Bachillerato no forma parte de la enseñanza obligatoria, consiste en un ciclo de dos cursos académicos para estudiantes de 16-18. El Bachillerato reúne una serie de materias comunes obligatorias, asignaturas optativas y clases de especialización conocidas como “ modalidades”, de concentración en una determinada disciplina. Un estudiante debe especializarse en una de

las disciplinas que se ofrecen y si los estudiantes planean continuar en la universidad, determinadas concentraciones pueden ser imprescindibles para acceder a determinados programas universitarios.

Las asignaturas obligatorias del Bachillerato español incluyen 2 años de lengua castellana y literatura (o la lengua co-oficial), lenguas extranjeras, un año de filosofía y educación cívica, educación física, ciencia contemporánea, historia de la filosofía e historia de España.

Las materias optativas pueden incluir: una segunda lengua extranjera, tecnología de la información, la danza, el arte, teatro, música, u otras clases dependiendo de la escuela.

La parte de especialización del Bachillerato requiere que el estudiante elija una de las 4 concentraciones para las que se requieren 3-4 asignaturas por año. Cada concentración tiene clases obligatorias y clases optativas.

Concentraciones especializadas y sus correspondientes tipos de cursos: (1) Arte: Se divide en dos concentraciones: arte, imagen y diseño, o artes escénicas, música y danza.

(2) Ciencia y Tecnología: matemáticas, biología, física, química, geología, dibujo técnico, etc.

(3) Humanidades y Ciencias

Sociales: matemáticas aplicaFormación Profesional (FP) das, economía, latín, griego, Hay dos tipos de formación historia contemporánea, profesional en España: los Cigeografía, historia del arte, clos Formativos de Grado Meeconomía de la empresa, etc. dio para los que sólo tienen diploma de ESO (educación Los estudiantes que com- obligatoria) y Ciclos Formapleten con éxito el Bachille- tivos de Grado Superior para rato recibirán un diploma. A aquellos que poseen un diplocontinuación, pueden optar ma de Bachillerato. Los que por la formación profesional, completan un ciclo formativo estudios universitarios, o en superior podrán acceder de algunos casos ambos. Con el este modo a ciertos grados fin de continuar en la universi- universitarios. dad deben superar un examen Universidad y Educación Sude admisión (Prueba de Acce- perior so a la Universidad - PAU). Los Los títulos universitarios resultados de la prueba junto españoles son por lo general con el expediente académico de cuatro años de duración, del estudiante y las califica- con la excepción de los títuciones determinarán no sólo los de medicina y algunos el acceso a la universidad, sino otros que duran 6 años. Para también sus opciones para el año 2010, de acuerdo con elegir qué estudios puede re- la Comisión Europea de Edalizar. ucación y Formación, la educación superior estará forma-

da por: Licenciaturas (Grado), para programas de cuatro años, Maestrías (Master), para programas de posgrado de 2 años y Doctorados para estudios de post-maestría.

Hay muchas universidades españolas reconocidas internacionalmente, tales como la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, la Universidad de Barcelona, la Universidad de Sevilla, la Universidad de Granada y la Universidad de Valencia, entre muchas otras.

Otras universidades españolas de importancia histórica y de buena reputación incluyen la Universidad de Salamanca y la Universidad de Alcalá de Henares.

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SCHOOL MATTERS

Pair-work speaking activity at the beginning of the school year

for 5th Graders Summer is over, family vacations taken, new clothes and school supplies purchased, children ready to go back to school; and parents are ready for them to go! These are August traditions and part of our getting back into routine.

taining and fun pair work activity to get our often too silent students to express themselves!

They speak about what they did during their latest summer holiday, so this activity should take place at the beginning of the school year. Therefore, it can also be used as an ice-breaker! StuThe beginning of the school dents practise the past simple year in fifth grade is a time to allow students to get to know each other, the teachers and how the classroom will operate.

Create interactive icebreaker activities and activities that will introduce classroom rules and regulations. in questions and answers and Beginning-of-the-year activities learn to introduce themselves also help teachers discover stu- and their partners. Finally, you dent preferences, which teach- can adapt this activity after winers can then incorporate into ter, halloween or easter holidays subject lessons. of course! Have a good teaching This is a quick, lively, enter- day!

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• Using iPads for learning • Using Twitter (and in math!)

• Given a special Thinking Book • Going outside to spark our wonders and curiosity.

• Given a bug catcher that you can actually bring back to class to observe things you caught! (even a toad!)

Because of this belief, I begin all classes focusing on having the students make connections between themselves and me.

I want students to learn about one another in a personal way. I want to learn about my students so my instructional strategies can be more personalized and tailored to their needs and interests. Beginning class with a focus on connections rather than content gives learners the following messages:

ities, but you will be responsible • You are the focus of the for the actual learning. class not me.

• I will get to know you as a • You are important as a learner and try to help you find learner in this class. learning activities that are of interest to you.

• You will be expected to engage in the learning activities during class time. You will be an active learner.

• You will be expected to do collaborative learning during the class time.

• I, as the class facilitator, will be just that – a facilitator. I will introduce the learning activ-

students behaviorally and academically, it’s vital to write one more letter—to your students’ parents! All parents want to know that their child is in a loving, kind, and respectful classroom where they will be safe Write a letter and cared for all year long. If to yourself. you need a place to begin, we drafted an example that you can It may sound tweak and personalize, cheesy, but when the goRead a good book. ing gets tough, it’s going to It’s easy to stay up at night be great to re- wondering if you’ve done evmember why erything you can to get ready you decided for the year. Relax. You are going to do this cra- to do great! And we’re so confizy thing called dent, we think you deserve a few t e a c h i n g . hours to yourself each of these What’s import- last days of summer, enjoying a ant to you? great read.

Why are you here? What will you remember GREAT IDEA! BACK TO SCHOOL on those days MEMORY GAME AND PUZZLES you want to pull your (or 1. On one of the first days of their) hair out? Write it now, so school - take each child’s picture. you can read and remind your2. Make double prints and self later. laminate each photograph.

3. Make a Memory Game out Write (or edit) a letter to par- of the pictures of the kids. (The ents. children would play the game of Memory just like the regular Now you know why you’re game) teaching, what values you want to teach and how you’ll invest

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SCHOOL MATTERS

Everybody wants to speak English

by Burmistrova Elena

Everybody wants to speak English. But a lot of people know that learning an English language is not easy. It is a slow process that takes a lot of time and perseverance. English is spoken by many people. We are all interested in success English is not an easy language to learn. Some people learn English because they want to communicate with people from different countries. I was in England four years ago and I was lucky to communicate with people there.

There are a lot of teaching methods of teaching foreign languages. These are my favourite.

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Communicative language teaching Communicative language teaching is the principal method on my lessons.

Communicative language teaching is an approach to the teaching of languages that emphasizes interaction and is based on the idea that the goal of learning is to gain communicative competency. My students work in small group, with ‘real-life situation’ materials and case.

Audio-Lingual Method The Silent Way I like the Audio-Lingual Method. It focuses on listening to language models and acting in everyday situations. In my opinion this method if appropriately combined with Communicative language teaching methods can effectively improve language skills.

Grammar Translation Method The Grammar Translation Method is an interesting method. It is based on teaching grammar structures and vocabulary with direct translations.

The aim of the teacher is to say as little as possible in order that the learner can be in control of what he wants to say. I often use this method on my lessons. There is a nice tradition in our school to arrange an English Club. The Russian language is prohibited, and I say as little as possible.

There is no best method of teaching a foreign language. Every teacher has to decide how to design a course, prepare teaching materials, select textbooks, and write lesson plans to create the successful time for students. The selection should be determined by the class size, students’ age, school requirements and other factors.

A teacher has to know how to teach and how to get interested in his subject. Teach a foreign language effectively!

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TRAVEL

Three weeks in Artek

Artek is an international children center on the Black Sea in the town of Hurzuf located on the Crimean peninsula, near Ayu-Dag. It was established on June 16, 1925.

The camp first hosted only 80 children but then grew rapidly. In 1969 it had an area of 3.2 km². The camp consisted of 150 buildings, including three medical facilities, a school, the film studio Artekfilm, three swimming pools, a stadium with a seating capacity of 7,000, and playgrounds for various other activities. Unlike most of the young pioneer camps, Artek was an all-year camp, due to the warm climate.

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Artek is a dream of every teenager.

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the International Children’s Center “Artek”. We even could take part in jubilee celebrations. Artek is the biggest territory of childhood in the world, it is the city of happiness.

The name of our team was “Yantarnaya”. The daily routine in Artek was as in many child`s camps: getting up, doing exercises, having breakfast .

We got up in 4 00 am and climbed in

mount Au-dag, slept in tents, visited the museum “Cosmos” and the local historical museum. We visited Yalta and Sevastopol. We did many different activities, swam in the Black sea and did boating. But the strongest impression is the jubilee celebration.

There were many people who had a rest in Artek before. The guest also was the prime D. Medvedev. Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev commemorated the 90th anniversary

of the iconic Artek, Tuesday, congratulating the International Children’s Centre on the camp’s recent makeover. The festive program was led by Alexander Oleshko.

Last campfire, many photos and many memories are with us. All our new friends have promised to come back this wonderful place for 100-years birthday of Artek.

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TRAVEL

Interesting

Today Scotland is considered to be one of the most beautiful mountainous countries in the world. It is one of the four parts of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders only with England. Its capital and cultural center is Edinburgh.

They say that Scottish towns differ from the English ones. Their distinct features are cobblestone streets, medieval style houses, green parks and plenty of historic architecture.

The financial and industrial center of the country is Glasgow. Other major cities include Perth, Aberdeen, Livingstone and Dundee.

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Every year thousands of tourists visit Scotland to see its sights and to participate in local festivals. It’s a suitable country for students as well.

Those, who study English, often participate in international exchange programs to learn more about the local peculiarities.

• Skara Brae, on the island of Orkney, is the most complete Neolithic village in Europe. It is also the oldest building in Britain, dating from 3100 BCE. • Aberdeen Harbour Board is Britain’s oldest recorded business, founded in 1136.

• The University of St Andrews, founded in 1413, is the third oldest university in the UK after Oxford and Cambridge. It welcomed Britain’s first female student in 1862. It is also here that the world’s first students’ union came into existence in 1882, while the world’s oldest students’ union building was the purpose-built Teviot Row at Edinburgh University, built in 1889.

• Established in 1498, the Shores Porters Society in Aberdeen is the world’s oldest transport company.

• Scotland was an independent country until 1603. Then the king

facts about Scotland

TRAVEL

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of Scotland became king of England (not the other way round), but the two country didn’t merge their governments until 1707, to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

• The Bank of Scotland, founded in 1695, is the oldest surviving bank in the UK. It was also the first bank in Europe to print its own banknotes, a function it still performs today.

• A Scot, William Paterson (1658-1719), was the instigator and a co-founder of the Bank of England. He later attempted, unsuccessfully, to establish Scotland’s first colony, called ‘New Caledonia’, on the Isthmus of Panama to facilitate trade with the Far East.

• The post office at Sanquhar, estab-

ing society, formed in 1774 with sixty members.

• The Encyclopædia Britannica, the world’s oldest surviving encyclopedia and one of the most scholarly of encyclopaedias, was first published between 1768 and 1771 in Edinburgh.

The first nine editions (out of fifteen so far) were all edited in Scotland.

From 1901 it was edited conjointly in New York City and London.

• In 1794 Scottish engineer William Murdoch built the first-ever house to be lit by gas.

• Henry Duncan founded the world’s first commercial savings bank at Ruthwell, near Dumfries, in 1810. It effectively founded what would become

opened by philosopher and pedagogue Robert Owen in New Lanark in 1816.

• Edinburgh was the first city in the world with its own fire brigade, in 1824.

• The Open Championship, the oldest of the four major golf championships, was first played in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, and was staged there annually for the first 12 years of its existence. The only two other golf courses that have hosted the Open Championship, Royal Troon and Turnberry, are also located in Ayrshire.

• Forbes Magazine was founded in 1917 in New York by Scottish-born journalist Bertie Charles Forbes.

lished in 1712, claims to be the oldest working post office in the world. The town also has the world’s oldest curl-

the Trustee Savings Bank (TSB), now part of Lloyds TSB Bank.

• The world’s first infant school was

• Established in 1908, RAF Leuchars in Fife is the oldest continuously operating military air base in the world.

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