TOM HIDDLESTON ON COMPASSION

What is compassion to you? Let's reflect on what compassion means with Tom Hiddleston, who's come to Hollywood fame as Loki, Thor's evil brother in The Avengers. 

Tom Hiddleston is a British actor, he was born in London in 1981.

Do you know that he screen tested for the title role in Thor (2011), maintaining a strict diet and gaining 20 pounds in muscle?However, Kenneth Branagh, the director,  decided he was more suitable for the role of Loki.

Below you find 2 videos  to work with. As usual   I have also prepared a worksheet that you can use and download.

You'll find the worksheet HERE or in the SHARING BOX ON THE RIGHT. The worksheet includes listening and reading comprehension activities, writing tasks .   

KAZUO ISHIGURO, THE REMAINS OF THE DAY - READING, LISTENING, WRITING ACTIVITIES (B2 - C1)

Kazuo Ishiguro won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature . Ishiguro has met incredible acclaim for his seven novels, which include Never Let Me Go and The Buried Giant. Probably Ishiguro's most beloved book is The Remains of the Day  (Man Booker Prize,  1989) which was adapted into a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson in 1993. The movie is one of the Merchant-Ivory classics with A Room with a View and Howards End. 

The story is told from a first person point of view. The narrator, Stevens, a butler, recalls his life in the form of a diary while the action progresses through to the present. Much of the novel is concerned with Stevens' professional and, above all, personal relationship with a former colleague, the housekeeper Miss Kenton.

SCHOOL & EDUCATION - SOMEONE HAS TO TELL US WHY ...

Video 1. Clip from the movie An Education

WORKSHEET

Video  2. Prince EA - I just sued the school system

   WORKSHEET 

SHORT STORY WRITING CONTEST

Drawing by Denis & Simone 2scA

In January we had a so - called Students' Week in our school,  during  which we didn't follow the regular timetable: classes were open and  students split into sub-groups or gathered into mixed groups, our lessons were based on extra activities.

To the groups of students I met in those days, I proposed a writing workshop (B1 level). The activity had been designed to prepare candidates for the ISE I exam of Trinity College. I used it to improve students' writing skills through amusing and engaging tasks. 

Introducing story frames

There are usually 6 stages to a short story:

a. Introduction: introduces characters, setting, time, weather, etc.

b. Starting action: the point of a story that starts the rising action.

c. Rising action: events leading up to the climax or turning point.

d. Climax: the most exciting part or turning point of the story.

e. Falling action: the story begins to conclude.

f. Resolution: a satisfying ending to the story

HELLO! WE ARE 1SCA

Hi, my name is  Lucrezia B. and my favourite activity is riding a horse. I love being in the outdoors. I enjoy texting with my friends on my mobile phone. I love going out late. I rarely go to the gym but I like keeping fit.

I hate being at home so, as soon as I can, I meet up with my friends in the town centre. I can't stand cooking, in fact when the people ask me to cook or help them cook my answer is always: NO. I hate watching football matches on TV but I enjoy watching films. I hate reading books.

Hi! I’m Samuele, I'm 14 and my favourite activity is the riding my mountain bike. I live in Italy and I like travelling around my country . I’ve got a lot of nice friends and I can’t stand boring people. In my free time I enjoy playing football, as I told you, riding my bike and in the summer I love swimming in my grandpa’s swimming-pool. I like watching films ,but I don’t like horror movies. I think keeping fit is very important, I keep fit doing exercise with my friends. Whenever I can, I enjoy meeting up with them.

Hi everyone, my name is Giorgia. I love reading books and swimming. My friends say I’m dreamy and funny. I enjoy spending my time listening to music, watching TV or playing video games. I like training as a way of keeping fit. I like meeting up and chatting with my friends. I hate cooking and making cakes but I enjoy eating. I can't stand acting or dancing but I love being creative.

Hi, my name is Mariano. My favourite hobby is riding my bike. I also love riding motorbikes. I sometimes invite my friends to come round. Do you know what I can't stand? When my parents reproach me! In the evening I enjoy playing clash of clans on my mobile phone. I've got a lot of friends and I love chatting with them. I hate going to school but I like swimming, especially in the summer.

TIME FOR A SONG - U2, "SONG FOR SOMEONE"

U2 formed in Dublin in the fall of 1976. Since then,  they have been one of only a few bands to achieve consistent commercial and critical success across three decades.  U2 has charted success on its own terms on both the artistic and business sides of the music industry. From the band's earliest days in Dublin, Ireland, to the present, U2 has broken free from the traditional limitations of what a rock band -- and rock music -- could and couldn't do. By combining an original sound with honest lyrics and a challenging social message, U2 has earned the respect of their peers and critics, and an almost fanatical following of fans around the world.

This is their story
Song for someone - Tasks
1. Watch the video, listen to the song and complete the lyrics  (Task 1 HERE)

SHALL I COMPARE THEE ...? SHAKESPEARE IN MUSIC

Watch the video and listen to the song. It's one of Shakespeare's sonnets sung by David Gilmour (Pink Floyd): Sonnet 18 - Shall I compare thee

Worsheet   (poem and text analysis questions) .

ENGLISH COURSE FOR TEACHERS - LESSON 1 INTRODUCE YOURSELF

Video 1 . Introducing yourself

 
Worksheet 1. Self  Introduction  (Click HERE )

THE A TEAM & THE BIG ISSUE

Ed Sheeran, the worldwide popular British singer and songwriter, wrote this beautiful ballad in 2011 after  following a last-minute performance at an event for the homeless. It tells of a crack-addicted girl (crack is known as a "class A drug"). It was written after Sheeran visited a homeless shelter and heard some of the stories of the lives people had been living. Making the song upbeat was Sheeran's way of masking the heavy subject matter. Also using the term "Class A Team" was another way of masking it a little more. Watch the video, listen to the song and complete the tasks 1 and 2 in the worksheet (HERE)

LET'S TALK ABOUT SCHOOL & LEARNING - A QUESTION FROM THE NET

Click HERE and download the worksheet related to this post

THE GENERATION GAP - FATHER & SON

  Cat Stevens, Father and Son


 

 WORKSHEET