A Trivia game. 5th grade.

I've just found this online game. I think it can be funny. Today we try it:

Triva. Christmas.

A Chrismtas Story. Abandoned puppy I

My name is Rod, and I am not human. I am a dog. You may ask yourself: "And how is that a dog can write?" Well. Keep reading and you'll know.

The first thing I remember in my life is darkness and stinky air. And cold. I do not have memmories of my mother, nor brothers or sisters. Only darkness, chilly cold and bad smell. I felt so bad, so scared and so lonely that I cried. I cried like dogs do. Wailing. I wailed a lot. I could not say how much time. Maybe hours. Maybe a whole night. Finally I surrended. Nobody was comming for me. Almost before birth, I was going to die...

"Mum, mum... Look!!! There is a puppy inside the dumpster!!! I think it is still alive!!!"

"Oh, dear!!! Let's pick it home. Poor puppy. Someone abandoned him in the garbage."

My next memmory is the smell of Bill. Bill is everything for me. He picked me from the dumpster. He smells like cookies and hot milk. I remember how Bill and mum took me home. The set a basket close to the fireplace for me, letting me softly on it. Then they phoned the vet, who came home quickly. "Another abandoned puppy!" he said. "How they dare. Well, the thing is that this puppy is now safe."

"How are we going to feed him?" Asked my mum.

"This is not a problem" answered the vet. "You have to give him this special milk" He picked a bottle of powder milk from his briefcase. "It's a substitutive of dog's milk. Feed the puppy every two or three hours. Seven or eight meals a day. In a week I'll be here again, for checking his progress"

The week passed calm and quiet. Bill, mum and dad took turns for feeding me. 

Christmas passwords. 6th grades and... 4th grades?

Alphabetic wheel I

Alphabetic wheel II

Christmas. All grades.

We are going to watch this video. It's about Christmas. There are some questions we will answer.

Videoquiz (6th grades)

Also a story. This is only for 4th grade:

Christmas story

A song:

And its Karaoke version:

"All I want for Christmas is you" lyrics:

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need
I don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree
I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you
Yeah

I don't want a lot for Christmas
There is just one thing I need (and I)
Don't care about the presents underneath the Christmas tree
I don't need to hang my stocking there upon the fireplace
Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas Day

I just want you for my own
More than you could ever know
Make my wish come true
All I want for Christmas is you

Ancient Egypt. 4th grade A.

Some stuff for studying the exam:

Ancient Egypt I

Ancient Egypt drag and drop

Mummification process (Text)

And a video:

Things at home. 6th grade A.

Here we go with the typical online activity: drag and drop. Simple but effective. Study!

Things at home

Clothing. 5th grades A and B.

Here I select some of the best activities we have in the blog:

Clothing game (to dress the boy and the girl)

Worksheet I

Worksheet II

Tiny tap clothing

Descriptions of people.

What are they wearing. Boxes.

What am I wearing?

Pirates video.

 This is the video we will watch at class:

Unfortunately, we have no subtitles. Here I let the full transcription:

Blackbeard.

One of the blood thirstiest to have ever sailed the seas was so ruthless and terrifying that his nick name is still recognizible 300 years after his death. His name was Edward Teach; but he was known has Blackbeard. Records from that era are not very reliable, so his name may have also been Zach or Zack. However, pirates for known never to use their real names, so it could have been a variation of that.

He is believed to have been born in Bristol, Britain, some time around 1680, and History confirms that he could read and write, which means that possibly he grow up in a wealthy family. He is described as a terrifying looking man with a huge black beard that was braided, and he used to put slow lit matches in battle to give the appearence of a demon on fire. He was known to carry several pistols into battle, along with his cutlass (sword). His days as a privateer (the oficial term of pirate) began some time around 1716 when he joined the crew of captain Benjamin Hornigold as a second in command and they attacked the merchant ships of Bahamas around 1717. Their ship was called "The Ranger", and was one of the most heavily armed on the seas. 

Queen Anna's revenge.

At one point Hornigold and Blackbeard had a total of 4 ships under their command. Eventually though Hornigold crew got tired of avoiding all British ships and he was voted out of power, taking his ships and leaving. He later received a pardon of King Geroge I, and he started hunting pirates himself.

Teach (Blackbeard) used whatever crew and resources he had left to capture a french slave ship known as "La Concorde", which he renamed "Queen Anne's Revenge". At one point the ship had a pirate crew of over 300 men, and in 1718 he was at the height of his power. He made his base at North Carolina inland and was notorious in the areas of Virginia and North Carolina coasts. 

Final battle betwen Blackbear and Maynard.

The lieutenant governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood,  sent British ships under the command of lieutenant Robert Maynard to kill Blackbeard and bring his tyranny of the seas to an end. Their ships came into contact at Ocracoke island, off the coast of North Carolina on November 21st 1718, and the two groups went to war. Edward Teach was shot 5 times, and he received 20 sword wounds when his body fell to the deck of the ship and the rest of his crew surrendered. His corpse was thrown overboard after he have been decapitated and his head was hung from Maynard ship. Blackbeard was between 35 and 40 years old when he died. The "Queen Anna's Revenge" (Blackbeard ship) was discovered in the mid 1990s and you can view pictures of the historical artifacts, including cannons and sword hilts, online.

Blackbeard: the most famous pirate ever. 6th grade B.

On this link we will read about Blackbeard: one of the most famous pirates ever:

Blackbeard

Treasure Island. 6th grade B.

This week we will listen / read this classic pirates story:

Pirates. 6th grade B.

This is the online activity about pirates, for learning the vocabulary:

Pirates.

Very soon I will upload a story about pirates.

Physical appearance. 5th grades A and B.

After Halloween we start our new topic: physical appearance. In this unit we will learn how to describe a person physically. These are resources we will use:

Online worksheet.

Matching activity

Physical appearance total training.

Harry Potter physical appearance activities.

Tiny tap describing people.

Crossword

Describing people matching activity

Froggy jumps There is a programming mistake on this activity. When you click on the girl with curly hair, the program considers it as wrong. But you can still win, because the game permits one error.

Training for the exam. 5th grade.

Here we go with a compilation of activities about Halloween. Study with them:

Worksheet I

Worksheet II

Worksheet III

Worksheet IV

Too much Candy link

Halloween crossword. 5th grades A and B.

I let here this crossword for Halloween. Many of the definitions you will find are going to appear at the exam.

Crossword Halloween.

Halloween listening. Halloween in America.

Squeeze your mind I.

Why the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is special? 

Hint: All is about letters.

Halloween vocabulary II. Different grades.

Here we have the last worksheet I have prepared. Learn it!

Halloween vocabulary II

Amalia's Halloween story. Green Bank Mistery. Part I

In a small town, Green Bank, with only 143 population, Halloween is a very well-known holiday. The first of october, people begin to prepare the decorations. Every year they exceed, even the cementeries are decorated. A girl, Rose, was wondering why this tradition was so important, it was stupid. The Friday Rose helped her mother decorating. There were skeletons, pumpkims, vampires… She had to decorate the bathroom, her room and the hall. It ended three hours later, she was so tired... 

That night, something strange happened in bed. Her dog stared at her starting to bark, until her brother arrived. The animal didn’t stop barking. It was so strange, it had never happened before. Next morning the school was overly decorated. So much so, that the teachers were dressed up, everything was ridiculous, she didn’t like it. In the afternoon, she went out with her friends for a walk, but friends began to look at her until she was terrified. That night, in the kitchen she began to see shadows. Rose fell and fainted. When she woke up, she was in a hospital. She saw her family, worried, looking at her. Telling everything that happened, her relatives told her that it was all a dream. Once she had recovered she began to think. she realized it wast’t a dream. Everything had happened but she didn’t know why her family lied her. It was all so strange...

Halloween resources 2023. 4th, 5th and 6th grades.

Some stuff we will deal with today:

Halloween worksheet I

Halloween worksheet II

Alphabetic wheel

Alphabetic wheel

Halloween tiny tap game.

Halloween board game

Find the pumpkin

Memory game 18 levels

Santa Amalia Spooky stories V. The cursed tombstone II.

The discovery of the skeleton made them rich. The collar, the sword and the three rings were sold secretly in Madrid. With the money those seven workers never laboured again. They built good houses, they bought land, they raised sheep and cows, they paid servants... Everything was fine for them... Well... Everything... Perhaps not everything. The seven fortunates, as people named them now, had a sad and dark gesture. Day after day their faces were bonier; their eyes deeper, their skin paler...  They were like walking skulls. After not much time, the first of them got sick and died in one week. This worker was the one who had striked the tombstone with the pick. The others followed, and finally all those who had participated in the destruction of the burial site were dead. People scared and started to talk about "the curse of the tombstone". Mothers forbade children to play close to the white marble rock. Men didn't dare to sit on it. In Santa Amalia everybody knew that to touch that rock meant bad luck, when not sickness and death.

For this reason one of the mayors of our town, Tomás Cerezo, decided to put the stone in a high place, far from reachhand. At the beginning the stone was placed in the facade of the town hall. Later it was put inside, in its actual location, at the stairs.

So, if you go to to our town hall and you feel attracted to the tombstone which is at the stairs... If you feel desire of touching it... Be careful. Awuful things could happen.

Santa Amalia's spooky stories V. The cursed tombstone. I

If you go to our town hall I recommend you to look at a big tombstone which is in the stairs. It is a very old one, from year 600 B.C. And there is a story about it...

1827. Santa Amalia has been created recently, and people start to dig up the foundations of our houses, town hall, etc. In one of the houses at the town square a worker makes a strange discovery. Removing dirt, his shovel scratches something hard. A stone, he thinks. Looking that the rock seems big, he asks for help. Other six workers come, and all together dig. As they go on, they find that that rock is bigger than they thought. It's a perfect rectangle made of white marble, 1,5 meter long and 1 meter wide, with beautiful symbols on it. It is so big and heavy that all men there present can't move it. The thing is that they must; so an stout one brings a pick and starts to hit the stone fiercely. The stone resists. Many men take turns after him, striking during hours. Finally the rock breaks in two with a shrieking noise. They remove both parts and under them they discover a skeleton adorned with different jewels and weapons: a golden collar, a large sword and three rings. There is also an inscription in which they can read an ancient text, in Latin:

The seven workers didn't think twice. They took the treasure, dividing it into equal parts. The skeleton... Wasn't treated rightfully. A proper burial should have been set, with a priest, with a mass... But instead of this, the bones were abandoned in the middle of the square. The dogs played with them a few days, until nothing but the skull remained. A dark and somber skull, with its hollow eyes. Then, one day, even the skull dissapeared.

Text from Misselle. 4th grade A.

Look what Misselle has written!!! I like it very much; and although it is a difficult text, I think we can make a good use of it. Thank you, Misselle!!!

Two stories with Halloween ambience: Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty.

This is not for home. At class, OK?

Escape from Rulton. 4th grade B. Class text.

In 2020 I stole a Van Gogh painting, but the police caught me. I was condemned, and I have to stay in the jail 20 years and one day. Too much time for me. I remember how the judge hit the table with his hammer. My lawyer looked me and said: "I'm sorry, lad". I was jailed in Rulton, the safest prison in the world. Today I waste my time in a small and stinky cell, sharing the space with a thug and with the snitch of the jail.

The prison? I can define it as a dark, sad and grey pit. High brick walls covered with razor wire; a wire fence which surrounds the yard and iron bars in every window or door. My cell is closed with bolt and lock. The wardens show me the key, making fun of me. But they don't know that I have the last laugh. I've secretly dug a tunnel under my bed, and this night I will sneak away. At 3 o'clock I'll crawl along the hole, arriving beyond the prison walls at 3.20. There, a car will pick me up. My intention is to travel to Nepal, where I'm going to hide myself some months. Later, I will start a new life in Moscow, Rusia.

Prisons and punishment. 4th grade B.

Today we have finished the picture dictionary about Prisons and crime. I let here a drag and drop activity for studying.

Prisons and crime drag and drop.

Also gap filling, which we will do at class tomorrow:

Filling gaps

Nurses, Doctors and medicine. Online resources for the exam. 5th grade.

Hi!!! I let here some stuff for studying the exam:

Medical vocabulary test.

Medical vocabulary drag and drop.

Medical vocabulary drag and drop II

Medical vocabulary crossword.

The discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. 6th grade A.

King Tut.

During life, king Tut was not one of the main pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. He ruled the kingdom from 9 to 19 years. He died very young; so he could not do great things. Besides, he was a very sickly boy: he suffered osteonecrosis (an illness which destroys bones from the inner marrow) and an awuful deformity on his left foot, which did not allow him to walk properly. Furthermore, he had scoliosis (a deviation of vertebral column) and malaria (a contagious illness produced by the biting of a mosquito). Archeologists think that was this malaria the thing that killed young Tut.

Valley of the Kings. Tombs.

The thing is that pharaoh Tut dies at the age of 19; and after his death the burial process starts. The body was mummified, carried to the Valley of the Kings and deposited in a tomb. But not inside a royal tomb. The early death of Tut had not permited to dig a proper one; so his body was laid in a smaller chamber, possibly belonging to a nobleman.

 After that, time passed. Empires arose and fell. And Tut's tomb, so small and humble, was forgotten. It wasn't so vissible as other big burial sites in the Valley of the Kings; sites which were raid one by one by tomb raiders.

Tomb's entrance.

November, the 4^th. 1922. An English archeologist, Howard Carter, has been exploring the Valley of the Kings exhaustively. He knows that Tut's tomb hasn't been already found. He has searched every corner, every crack... But nothing. That morning one of the workers of Carter has been exploring a high area, almost hidden from sight. There, he finds something which seems like a step, half buried. Carter climbs up and starts to remove sand. A complete step appears. Then, other. And other. That looked good.

Door's sealing.

At the end of the day, after a lot of digging, at the end of the steps, they found a blind door, with the royal cartridge intact: a jackal with 9 kneeling prisoners. Whoever was behind that door, he must be a very important person. Although because of the small size of the door, Carter thinks that this person could not belong to royalty.

The archeologist dug a hole in the wall and checked that the corridor was full of rubbish till the ceiling. That meant only one thing: the tomb hadn't been spoiled yet! 

Carter and his team expent two days digging and cleaning the descendent corridor. At the end of it they found a second door, like the first one, also with the royal cartridge. It was November, the 26^th. A date never forgotten in Archeology.

The treasure, as it was found in 1922.

That day Carter dug a little hole in the left upper corner of the door, and he introduced an iron bar. At the other side nothing. He widen the hole, he lighted a canddle and looked inside. All people behind him held breath. Carter would tell later:

At the beginning I could not see nothing, because the hot air from inside made the candle's flame tilted; but then my eyes adapted to the light, and details from the inner chamber appeared slowly from darkness. Strange animals, golden statues, and everywhere the shining of gold. For a moment, eternal for people behind me, I was stunned by surprise. And when my friend Lord Carnarvon asked me “Can you see anything?” all I could answer was: “yes: wonderful things”.

Tut's cartridge.

 After demolishing the blind door they could watch the amazing objects that Carter had seen: dismantled golden chariots, big beds adorned with animal heads, boxes and chests, marvelous pottery... That seemed to be important. No doubt the treasure was a pharaonic treasure. When examining the loot they found that many of the things were marked with the cartridge you can see on the right: Tut's cartridge.  

 Soon they discovered that at the end of that chamber there was another blind door, also sealed with the jackal and the nine kneeling prisoners, and flanked by two satues of human size. No doubt the mummy of the pharaoh was there.

The chamber opens.

 After a lot of work (items classification, excavation, etc) on February, the 17^th the team could reach the mortuory chamber. Carter removed stones from the blind door. The first thing he saw was a black statue of Annubis, looking him in the eye from darkness, covered by a linnen cloth, as priests had let it 3.300 years ago. Behind, four golden chapels which contained the gutters of king Tut, stored in the canopic jars. Around, a great number of chests and toy ships filled the space.

In order to reach the stone sarcophagus the team had to dismantle the golden chapels. When they could reach it and open it, they found another three sarcophagus: two made of wood, and the last one made of gold. Inside, the royal mummy. The amount of treasures was enormous: golden canes, weapons, gold statues, jewels... Today the estimated value of the treasure es about 1.000.000.000 €.

Tutankhamun's mummy.

Step by step the most important and solemn moment was comming: time to meet Tutankhamun face to face. 3.300 after his death the last sarcophagus, the golden one, would be open; and the mummy would see the light again. And so on February, the 16^th, 1923, Carter met Tut. A golden mask covered the face and the chest of the pharaoh. After the discovery, Howard Carter left the burial chamber to inform the authorities. Now was Doctor Derry's turn. Derry was expert in mummies... But he was not ready for what he found.

Carter opens the sarcophagus..

What happened?

During the burial of the pharaoh the priests had spilled, supposedly accidentally, a big amount of ointments (myrrh, resines, etc) between the last two sarcophagus and on the mummy. That substance had solidified, being like a glue. So, it was not possible to separate neither the coffins, nor the king's body. Under this circumstances, Dr. Derry decided to study the mummy inside the coffin. He removed the amulets and the bandages, which fell appart when touching them. They found a total of 143 objects: amulets, weapons, jewels, etc. Finally they could reach the body, which was badly preserved.

Tut's mortuory mask.

At this point Derry could not reach the back part of the coffin, because the mummy was firmly stuck. And Derry, who was a bizarre guy, didn't think twice. He rolled up sleeves and pull back. He tore Tut's legs and broke his body just over the hips. After removing this parts, and observing that there were already some stuck fragments, Derry did his best: with two red hot knives he scraped the upper part of the body. The vertebral column broke in the process, and the head too, remaining inside the golden mask. In all the process Derry help himself with the always effective hammer and chisel. At the end of the job, poor Tut's body was a broken puzzle of 18 pieces, which would not be composed until next year. With the macabre procedure of Dr. Derry the excavation concluded. All founded items, including the mummy, were carried to the Egiptian Museum in Cairo. However, Tut had not said his last word.

Tutankhamun's mummy.

Medieval times. Video. 4th grade A.

A video we will watch tomorrow:

Excallibur. Text for 4th grade A.

Excallibur is perhaps one of the most famous legendary swords in the world. In this entrance we will deal with it. Read it carefully, and try to understand everything. Maybe in the exam...

In accordance with tradition, in the island of Tintagel there was a sword stuck in a rock. A legend said that the man who could take it out of the stone would become king of England. Nobles from all over the country were trying to do it, with no success. Tall and strong men, trained and hardened in many batles.

Suddenly, over there, a poor and humble boy called Arthur appeared. He was very thin, pale and bonny. Some of the nobles thought it would be funny to laugh at the weak lad. So one of them said "Hey, boy!! Come and take this sword out of the rock. Be our king!!!" All nobles laughed noisily. Arthur walked towards de rock, pulled and... The sword easily came out. All nobles fell on their knees, showing respect to the boy. Some days after the boy was crowned. The legend of king Arthur had started.

Ancient Egypt. Video. 6th grade A.

 Watch this video. At class we will do the online activiy based on it:

Ancient Egypt online activity.

Ancient Egypt. 6th grade A. Online resources.

Review of Ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egypt online activity drag and drop.

And I want you to learn some new words:

Scribe: Person who knew the hieroglyphics, being able to write with them:

Gold: favoutire metal of ancient Egyptians. They belived it was sacred because its colour was the same that sun.

Mummification process. 4th grade A.

Mummies from Cairo Museum.

Mummies are one of the most representative symbols of ancient Egypt. Here I will tell you about them.

What is a mummy?

Basically a mummy is a dead dried body. The idea is to extract the water of the corpse in order to preserve it. 

Why ancient egyptians mummified bodies? This is about religion. Ancient egyptians belived that there was an afterlife, a paradise. And for going there, the dead person needed a preserved body. If not, the soul of the deceased would become a ghost, wandering by the desert for eternity.

Mummification process.

Every egyptian was mummified? No. mummification was a very expensive process. So, only Pharaos and rich people could afford it.

And how did they make mummies? Mummification was a long and complex process. Here I will expose some of the main steps:

1. To remove the internal organs. Internal organs have a great ammount of water; so they must be removed, because water and moisture produce the corruption of the body. Intestines, stomach, liver, kidneys... where put aside in the canopic jars. 
2. To bury the corpse in salt. Once the organs removed, the body was introduced in natron; a special salt. The salt dried the body in a span of time between 40 and 70 days (one day in salt per kilo of mass)
3. To wrap the body in linen bandages. Once the corpse was dry (cured) it was time for wrapping it. Meters and meters of linen were used for a single mummy. Amulets were inserted between the bandages in order to protect the mummy in its jounery to Heaven.

Top 5 Egypt ancient treasures. 6th grade A.

Seti I tomb. King's Valley.

In this report I will tell you about Ancient Egyptians. An awsome civilization which let us a lot of archaeological remains; also a big pile of mysteries.

Who were Ancient Egyptians?

They were an old civilization appeared 5000 years ago and finished 2000 years ago (more or less) Along its 3000 years of life they made incredible things: great and beautiful buildings, tombs with delightful wall paintings, fine jewelry and goldsmith works... Let's talk about the most significative items they created.

Tut's Treasure

Top 5. Tutankhamun treasure.

In 1923 an archaeologist called Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun; and inside there, a fabulous treasure valuated in more than 1.000.000.000 € (One thousand million euro). The archaeologist got  very rich by selling all those artifacts. Although there was a curse...

Abu Simbel temple.

Top 4. Abu simbel.

It is a great temple carved into the rock. It was built by Ramses II, one of the most important pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. As you can see in the photo, there are four sculptures of Ramesses II in the facade. Also a gate whereby you can go inside the temple (right picture).

Top 3. Luxor and Karnak temples.

Luxor temple.

They are two very big temples (And when I say big, it means big: more than 200 football pitches) These temples were like cities: they had academies, barns, houses, gardens... 

Top 2. King's Valley.

King's valley.

Pharaohs used to make tombs for their rest in the afterlife. They made many of their graves in the same place: the Valley of the Kings. Archaeologists have found 65 tombs; but they suspect that there are more, yet unexplored. Sure that many treasures are still hidden, waiting for being discovered.

Top 1. The great pyramid of Giza.

The most famous Egyptian monument. It is a special tomb built in the first era of the Egyptian Pharaohs. It is big; very big: 144 meters high on a square whose side is 230 meters. It is made with big cubes of stone, each one with an average weigh of 2,7 tones. The most amazing fact of this construction is that it was made without modern machinary (no trailers, no tractors, no cranes, not bulldozers...) All the stones were moved and placed only by means of animal and human strength.