Alchemy. 6th grade A.

Now that we are dealing with materials, I have decided to talk you a little bit about Alchemy. Let's go.

What was Alchemy?

Alchemy was an ancient science from Medieval times and Renaissance (14th, 15th and 16th centuries, mainly). It was based on the idea that materials could be changed into another materials by applying certain procedures: heating, cooling, chemical reactions... Alchemy was also interested in the achieving of the "Philosopher's Stone": a magical artifact capable of curing illnesses, extending life, turning metals into gold and providing immortality to its owner.

Who practiced Alchemy?

Alchemy was reserved to nobles and rich people. The stuff for doing alchemy was expensive: burners, glass pots, alembics, mercury... 

Did they make gold?

Nope. It is not possible to turn pure metals into another pure metals by means of chemical reactions. And of course, they did not find a magical stone capable of curing illnesses or giving immortality.

However...

Alchemy was not completely "wrong". It has recently been demonstrated that it is possible to turn pure elements into another ones; but not chemically. The key is Nuclear Transmutation: a process in which the nucleus of an atom is changed. This process can only occur in a particle accelerator, and it takes a lot of energy. But yes: you can turn a piece of lead into a piece of gold.

Titanic Listening. 5th grade B.

Next Tuesday we will listen to this audio about Titanic. I think you'll be able to understand a great part of it. By the way: finally I made up my mind. We will do the exam, as usually. It will be after Carnival. Have a nice weekend!!!

 NOTE: Start from second 0:21.

Titanic. Text for the exam. 5th grade B.

RMS Titanic.

What was the Titanic?

It was the biggest, strongest, safest and fastest ship in its time. It was 269 meters long (three football pitches); 28 meters width (like the lenght of three of our classes); and 53 meters heigh (like two towers of our town church). Its maximum velocity: 40 km per hour (very fast for a ship) Its buliders said that it couldn't sink. They were wrong.

When and where was it built?

It was built in Belfast, Northem Ireland. It was finished in 1912 (113 years ago)

Who was travelling on it?

A lot of people: 696 were crew (sailors, cleaners, cooks...) and 2.344 passengers. There were three different classes for passengers:

• A first class for rich people.
• A second class for middle class people.
• A third class for poor people.

Titanic sinking.

What happened with it?

It sank on April, the 14th, 1912, during its first journey across the North Atlantic Ocean. At midnight the Titanic collided against an iceberg. two hours later it sunk.

How many people died?

1.517 persons died. Some of them drowned; but the majority because the hypothermia (the cold death) Furthermore, there weren't enough lifeboats for everyone. A complete dissaster. 

Ocean and sailing. 5th grade B.

Here I will let some activities for studying the vocabulary related to the last topic we have learnt: ocean and sailing:

Sailing I

Sailing II

Sailing III

And a quiz we will do at class today:

Titanic quiz game

Finally, the online game. Let's see if it works today:

Titanic online game

Materials. 6th grade A. Activities.

And here you have some online activities. These first ones are more generic:

Materials (filling the blanks)

Materials II (easy listening)

And these other two are the ones I have created. You will find some new materials. Learn them.

Materials. Teacher's worksheet I

Materials. Teacher's worksheet II

Materials. 6th grade A.

Because you voted it, we are learning about materials. First I let here all the vocabulary you need to know for the exam:

Metals:

• Gold
• Silver
• Bronze
• Copper
• Tin
• Iron
• Steel
• Brass
• Aluminium
• Lead (Carefull with the pronunciation of this word. We talk about it tomorrow)

Fabric:

• Wool
• Cotton
• Silk
• Velvet
• Linen

Construction:

• Cement
• Concrete
• Tile (Floor tile, Wall tile, Roof tile)
• Clay
• Rock
• Granite
• Slate
• Limestone
• Marble
• Wood
• Plaster

Others:

• Feather
• Leather
• Rubber
• Plastic
• Coal
• Glass
• Ivory
• Crystal
• Wax
• Reeds

I don't know if I'm forgetting something. Tomorrow we'll check it out.

Town locations. Crosswords for the exam.

Crossword I

Crossword II

Landscape. Crossword for the exam.

Landscape

Town locations. 4th grade A.

A game for studying the vocabulary related to town locations:

Town locations

And some stuff we will probably work tomorrow:

Town I

Giving directions

Online game

Finally a crossword. If I were you, I would do it several times.

Town locations crossword

More directions

More directions II

Bamboozle directions

The dogs you wanted to know about ;-)

 

Football. 3rd grade A. Crossword.

Football crossword

Countryside vocabulary and resources. 5th grade A.

Here we go with some activties about "Countryside":

Countryside.

Landscape

Landscape mutiple choice

5th Grade A. Records about landscape elements.

Caspian sea

The biggest lake: 

it is the Caspian sea. It is a sea placed between Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan... It is 1200 km long, 300 km wide and its deepest point is about 1023 meters. But its waters are salty; so, many people classify it as sea.

Caspian Sea

The biggest freshwater lake is Baikal (Russia) (It contains the 25% of all fresh water in the world; that is; one of every four fresh liters of water in Earth belongs to Baikal lake). It is also the deepest lake in the World: 1642 meters depth. And when it freezes, it shows awesome images...

Lake Baikal

The longest mountain range:

It is Los Andes. It spreads from Venezuela to Argentina, crossing countries like Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia or Chile. It is 7000 km long. Its highest peak is Aconcagua (6962 meters high)

The highest waterfall.

It is "Salto de Ángel" waterfall, in Venezuela. It is 972 meters high.

General Sherman.

The biggest tree in the world.

It is a secuoya, called "General Sherman", and it is in the American state of California. It is not the tallest ("only" 83 meters), nor the wider (a diameter of 7,7 meters); but it is the biggest in terms of wood. It is also very old; about 2.700 years old.

The highest is Hyperion (115 meters), also in California, not very far from Gernal Sherman. You can see a picture below these lines. The tree is alone, surrounded by oter small trees.

Football. 4th grade B.

Well, let's go. Here we have some online games for reviewing football vocabulary:

Football vocabulary I

Football vocabulary II

Also the online worksheet, based on our photocopy:

Football activity online

And finally the video. We will watch it tomorrow at class:

Dangerous jobs. 6th grade A.

Today, before games, we will read a bit. Concretely we are going to learn about the five more dangerous jobs in the world, in accordance with statistics:

5.- Venom milker.

This job consist in to get poison from venomous animals. The poison is used for making the antidote, which can save your life if, for example, a cobra has bitten you. Needless to say that this job is dangerous.

4.- Ice road trucker.

In some cold countries, like Sweden, Canada or Russia, rivers and lakes get frozen when winter comes. The ice is so thick that it can endure the weight of big trucks and trailers. However, from time to time the ice breaks, and well... In that case it is not nice to be inside a truck cabin. 

3.- Sulphur miner.

Miner is one of the most dangerous professions. And even more if you have to climb a volcano for extracting sulphur rocks. These people usually die young because of toxic gas released from hot cracks.

2.- Landmine remover.

During war it is common to bury mines for protecting determined areas. It is the so called "mine field". Then, when war is over, it is necessary to remove these mines. Here takes place the profession of "Landmine remover": a guy which, with a metal detector, goes here and fro looking for these deadly weapons.

1.- Lumberjack (woodcutter). 

In big forest areas from Brazil, USA, Canada... we find people who work as lumberjacks. Their mission: to cut down and extract from forest very big logs. Every year dozens of these workers die crushed by the weight of giant logs. They also work with very dangerous tools: axes, chainsaws, heavy machinery, cranes, stell wires...

Professions. 6th grade A. 2025.

Here I let you some stuff for preparing your exam:

Alphabetic wheel about professions

Also some worksheets:

Jobs I

Jobs II

Jobs III

And a video:

Countries and nationalities. Crossword for the exam. 6th grade B.

Countries crossword

Countries and Nationalities. 6th grade B. Video for the exam.

This video will appear in the exam. Tomorrow we will deal with it.

Main Countries in the world. 6th grade B.

When reading the title of this post, you should probably think that it is not possible to say which countries are principal and which others aren't. However, there is a way. In order to set a ranking, we must consider these four variables: wealth, cultural influence, military power and size. So, here we go with the 10 more important countries in the world.

Number 10: Italy.

Italy is a very important country, mainly because its culture, monuments, gastronomy, beautiful cities, art masterpieces, museums... Perhaps it is not the most powerful, nor the wealthiest; but it is Italy.

Number 9: Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is important because of petrol. Petrol has given them trillions of dollars, making the country one of the richest in the world. And you know: money is influence. There you can find also the city of "Mecca"; the holiest place for Islamic people. Millions of Muslims go there every year in pilgrimage.

Number 8: United Arab Emirates.

The same happens with Emirates. Petrol. Petrol moves the world: makes ships sail, makes cars move... Some of he richest individuals in the world are (or live) in United Arab Emirates. Abu Dabi or Dubai are important places you can find there.

Number 7: Japan.

Japan is a millenary country with a rich culture, History and tradition. Its influence around the World is undeniable. Besides, its economic power is important: brands like Shubaru, Mitsubishi or Yamaha are from Japan. And don't forget the amazing Manga, with titles like Dragon Ball, Naruto or Akira.

Number 6: Russia.

What can we tell about Russia? The biggest country in the world with a glorious History, a very strong army and a great variety and abundance of natural resources. One of the main nations, no doubt.

Number 5: France.

Many times we trend to consider France a not very important country. Nothing could be further from the truth. France is one of the strongest economies in the world with a great army, nuclear weapons, a great History and culture, astonishing monuments, territories all over the world... This country has also capital weight in the European Union, being one of its main engines.

Number 4: Germany.

When we listen to about Germany we all know that it is an important country, leader in the European Union. The power of Germany laids in its strong economy, mainly based in motor vehicles, chemistry and machinery in general. Also its cultural influence is beyond any criticism. And do not forget German music influence, with legendary composers such as Bach, Mozart or Beethoven.

Number 3: United Kingdom.

United Kingdom has been a principal country during the last four hundred years. It created a great empire, and its language, English, is spoken all over the world (And if you don't agree look what you are doing right now: you are reading a text in English, not being English your mother tonge). The UK has also a powerful army, a strong economy and a glorious past. For all these facts, it is in the top 3 of most important countries in the world.

Number 2: China.

China is a very big and old country, with 1.2 billion people living in there. Its economy is growing a lot, and year by year its inflluence spreads. China produces a lot of technology: smartphones, microchips, Aritifical Intelligence, robots, electric cars... China also has a very strong army and nuclear weapons. Besides, the Asian Giant has a great History; and its language, Mandarin Chinese, is the second most spoken language in the world, behind English.

Number 1: The USA.

Whether you like it or not, the USA is the most influencial country in the world: McDonalds, Hollywood, Rock and Roll, fashion, TV programs watched all over the world... American culture has spread through all corners. Besides, its army is the most powerful one, with nuclear weapons and cutting edge technology. 

Probably you are thinking in which position Spain is. Well, not too bad. On this ranking, we are number 13. We are good at producing high quality food and drinks (olive oil, cheese, wines), we have an astonishing cultural heritage (monuments like Segovian acueduct, Alhambra or Mérida roman reminds), our gastronomy is one of the best of the world (if not the best), we are a reference in the production of renewable energies...