Halloween Performance / Representación de Halloween de alumnos Bilingüismo, IES María Zambrano curso 2008-2009

Alumnos 1 ESO B representando la 'Historia de Halloween' / The Story of Halloween 30/10/08

Halloween stories

Attention: Reading these stories alone may be very scary!
Her Mother’s Hands
by B.D.. Knox

Frankie sat in the kitchen, listening to her mother rattle on, as always. She looked down at her hands, they always seemed to have a life of their own and it frightened her. They were always crawling into places they didn’t belong, always touching things that they shouldn’t and always hurting her, pinching her, digging their sharp little nails into her flesh.

She watched as her mother spoke to her, not hearing what she said but watching her mother’s hands as they moved, using a sharp chef’s knife to cut the meat for stew that was to be dinner. The hands rose and fell, the knife glinted with the sun light coming in through the kitchen window. Rich red stained the blade, as the blood from the meat ran along it’s edge and dripped on to the cutting board, poling and running over the edge to the counter top.

Frankie looked at her own hands again, they lay silently in her lap for a change. They looked just like her mother’s hands but younger and much more vicious. Her mother’s hands could hurt, too, a slap to the face, a punch in the stomach occasionally but Frankie knew that her own hands could do far worse.
"Frankie! Pay attention when I speak to you! You doing that staring thing again, you have to snap out of this! You don’t want to go back to that nut house again, do you?"
"No, mother."
"Then stop acting like this, are you taking your medication when I give it to you?"
"Yes, mother." Frankie lied, she was hiding the pills in a drawer in her room. Saving them up for a rainy day .......... or a sunny one for that matter.
As her mother's voice droned on, Frankie still stared at her hands. They seemed to be speaking to each other, the fingers tangled together, caressing each other, her fingers and hands were friends. She, herself, had no friends as her mother loved to point out to her daily. Frankie thought about just exactly how she felt about her mother dispite what she told her doctor when she saw him. Looking back down at her hands, she watched as they started to move, like snakes, towards the back of her mother’s apron. She jerked them back as she noticed her mother turning around to look at her again.
"Are you listening to me, Frankie? I said that I’m having a friend, Mrs. Luth from thye senior center, over for dinner tonight, so you take your food to your room and stay there till I say you can come back out! Is that clear?"
"Yes, mother, it’s very clear. It's crystal clear ....... "
Frankie's voice faded off as her hands started to reach for the back of mother’s apron strings again. Frankie had no idea what they were going to do, she just sat and watched, an innocent by-stander at the mercy of her hands. She watched her mother’s hands, they, too, seemed to live on their own. Mother kept talking, her hands kept doing there work like good little soldiers.
Mother turned to look at Frankie. Frankie was mesmerized by the look of her own hands as they moved towards her mother. Mother dropped the knife and backed away from Frankie. Her hands went up to her face in surprise. The last time Frankie touched her, she sent Frankie packing, in a straight jacket for a nice vacation at Mescatonic Asylum. It took almost as long as Frankie's visit for her own brusies to go away.
"Frankie! What are you doing? Don’t you dare touch me! You know what will happen! I swear I'll call Dr. West right now!"
"Sorry, Mother. I didn’t mean to do it, you know how my hands are, they just "do" things."
"Talk like that will get you right back to the hospital again, do you want me to call Dr. West?"
"Don’t threaten me, mother, I don’t care anymore anyway."
"Look at your hands! You’ve been scrubbing them again! Why, they are beet red and bleeding! Let me see your palms!"
Frankie’s hands turned themselves over to show the palms, deep gouges in them, an ugly red with blood drying at the edges. Suddenly, the hands balled up into fists and struck out, hitting mother in the nose.
"Frankie!" her mother cried out, shocked and backing away, wiping the suddenly spurting blood away from her broken nose and on to her apron.
"Mother! It wasn’t me, the hands did it! I didn’t hit you!"
"Oh! That’s it, young lady! I’m calling Dr. West, he can come and get you and take you back to that institution again! I’m washing my hands of you!"

Frankie could only hear a high pitched screeching in her head, her mother's words were lost to her. Her hands had started to claw at her face, leaving rivers of blood flowing running down her already scared cheeks. The buzzing screech in her head was getting louder but the pain in har face started to ground her again.

Suddenly, her mother’s screams snapped her out of her little world of pain and buzzing, her hands suddenly in front of her, bloody fingers grasping something that she couldn't see. She looked at her mother only to see her mothers hands clawing at mother's throat, trying to pull themsleves away. Mother had four hands. But that couldn't be, that was silly. Looking again, she saw her mothers' own fingers digging into her own flesh, cutting off breath and blood in a crushing grip.

Her mother's hands seemed to be out of control, mother couldn’t get them away from her own throat. Frankie and her mother suddenly fell to the floor, mothers' face swollen and gone purple, tongue bulging out of her mouth. Her body flopped like a fish out of water, jerking, trying to get a last gasp of air to save her. But the hands held on even tighter. The hand’s knuckles had gone white from the intense pressure they had on her throat, digging in deep into mother’s soft, fleshy neck.

Then mother lay still, all life gone out of her. The hands released their prey and a last dead gasp of breath rushed from the body. Frankie just sat there next to her on the floor, absorbing all that she had seen, her own hands now softly stroking her own face. She was suddenly very tired, more tired then she had ever been before. As she started to doze off, a panic grabbed her, adrenalin hit her stomach in a burning flash, her head started to spin.

She always knew she had her mother's hands and look what mother's hands had just done to her mother. All this time she thought she was insane. Maybe she wasn't at all. Her hands did have a life of their own, just like mothers. She now knew what she had to do. Getting up, she walked to the sink. She looked down and saw the open maw of the garbage disposal, black and deep, staring back at her.

Frankie started to ram both hands into the disposal but the fingers hung on to the edges, not letting her carry out her task. She knew she would have to do something before her hands took control of themselves completely and did to her what they had just done to her mother.

Wait, what had she just thought? Her hands didn't kill her mother, did they? Her mothers own hands did it. Didn't they? But she had her mothers' hands. She turned to look at her mother, now quiet and cooling on the floor. Frankie wasn't sure of anything anymore. She started thinking that maybe she should have been taking her pills after all. But first, she had to deal with her hands.

Frankie walked to the door from the kitchen into the garage. An old fashioned heavy wooden garage door that had to be lifted manually still remained even after Frankie's constant picking that they needed to get one of those light weight motorized ones. Now she was glad that mother never listened.

She opened the door half way, putting the rope pull in her teeth and biting down hard. Her fingers were now on the cement floor, right in the path of the door. Frankie yanked down hard and the door came sailing down, crushing her offending hands. Frankie passed out.

She awoke when she heard a noise outside, someone was knocking on the front door and calling out to her mother. Frankie remembered her mother was having a friend over for dinner. Quickly, she got up, ignoring the throbbing pain of her hands. Frankie ran for the kitchen sink. Remembering to turn the water on, like mother always told her to do, she used her mouth to grasp the knob. She used her nose to flip the "On" switch for the disposal.
Slowly, she started to make her hands go into that hole, feeling her finger tips hit the blades, a blinding flash of pain as the blades started to cut through bone, tearing flesh. Further, she stuffed her hands into the running disposal.

The last thing she heard was a far off scream as Mrs. Luth ran into the kitchen and took in the scene before her. As loss of blood started to make her vision fade to a comforting shade of red, she knew this was the right thing to do. After all, she had her mother’s hands, didn't she?
© 1997 B.D. Knox

More Terror Stories:

The Girl in the New Dress.
Laura gazed longingly at the ocean blue floral print dress displayed in Tilly’s Boutique window. It’s just perfect, she thought.She went in the store and strode over to the counter. On a shelf above the cash register a portable radio played a song that tugged her heart string. When the lady behind the counter asked Laura if she could help her, she said that she would like to try on the blue dress in the window... (read the complete story pressing the title)
The Skeleton
At the end of a long corridor under a forgotten Philadelphia basement, Jeremiah opened his eyes and sat up. For the first time since the Middle Ages, he awoke without precise knowledge of why he had been roused. He knew he had to open The Shop--that went without saying. The question was: Which of the many items above wanted to go out into the world?... (press the title)
Magicians of Night
Wicked Dreams
The Halloween feast

PLANS for HALLOWEEN NIGHT

Some of you asked me what can I do in Halloween?, Here you are some examples:
(Cosas que hacer en Halloween, algunos consejos para pasarlo bien)

1. Having teen rally that night and teach the dangers of Halloween.

2.Inviting friends over and watch a terror movie. (Halloween, Saw, white noise, the Eye...)

3.Play the game bobbing for apples.

4. We dress up as a monster or witch and play 'Truck or treat' with friends.

5.Halloween Sinister and Haunted City Tour. We can take a walk in a cemetery in our village.

travelling around UK and USA

This post is addressed to my students in 4 ESO D, in order to ease their Project about touristic destinations in the UK and USA. Here you are some useful Webs:
Esta entrada es para los alumnos de 4 ESO y su proyecto cultural acerca de destinos turísticos en Inglaterra y Estados Unidos.
LONDON

www. visitlondon.es
www.londontown.com
NEW YORK

www.nycvisit.com

Some useful expressions...

A wet blanket - una aguafiestas
A hangover - una resaca
Better late than never - Más vale tarde que nunca
Bless you! - ¡Jesús! (when somebody sneezes)
Bon apetit. - Qué aproveche.
By the way - A propósito
By all means - No faltaría mas/Por supuesto
Chat someone up - Ligar con alguien
Cheers! - ¡Salud! al brindar
Cross your fingers. - Cruzando los dedos.
Get the sack - ser despedido
Hurry up - ¡Date prisa!
I must be off. - Tengo que irme.
I haven't got a clue. - No tengo ni idea
If only - Ojalá
It serves you right. - Lo mereces.
It rings a bell. - Me suena.
It's up to you. - Tú eliges.
Keep your hair on! - ¡Cálmate!
Leave me alone! - Déjame en paz!
Let the cat out of the bag - revelar un secreto
Make yourself at home -Siéntete como en tu casa
Really! - ¡De verdad!
Same here - Yo también
Talk of the devil - Hablando del rey de Roma
To pay cash - Pagar en efectivo
To my mind - En mi opinión
Touch wood. - Tocando madera
Watch out! - ¡Ten cuidado!
What a rip off. - ¡Qué timo!
What a mess! - ¡Qué lío!
What a cheek! - ¡Qué cara!
You're pulling my leg. - Me estás tomando el pelo.
You're welcome. - De nada.
You're kidding. - Estás de broma.

Profesores CAL . Curso de Adaptación Lingüística para centros Bilingües

He detectado(sus numerosas dudas así lo confirman) que muchos de nuestros compañeros, necesitan un guión para empezar, desarrollar y concluir las clases bilingües, para ello vamos a daros unas frases muy útiles para usar en la clase bilingüe. Espero que os sea de ayuda.
These expressions are addressed to those teachers who are teaching their subject( Maths, Biology, Social Science...) in the English language. I will add more expressions and tips in the following days.

Classroom Language: The beginning of the lesson

1. Good morning

Good morning, everybody.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Hello, everyone.
Hello there, James.
2. How are you?

How are you today?
How are you getting on?
How's life?
How are things with you?
Are you feeling better today, Bill?

3. Introductions

My name is Mr/Mrs/Ms Kim. I'm your new English teacher.
I'll be teaching you English this year.
I've got five lessons with you each week.
4. Time to begin

Let's begin our lesson now.
Is everybody ready to start?
I hope you are all ready for your English lesson.
I think we can start now.
Now we can get down to work.

5. Waiting to start

I'm waiting for you to be quiet.
We won't start until everyone is quiet.
Stop talking and be quiet.
Settle down now so we can start.
6. Put your things away

Close your books.
Put your books away.
Pack your things away.

7. Register

Who is absent today?.
Who isn't here today?
What's the matter with Mike today?
What's wrong with Jim today?
Why were you absent last Friday?
8. Late

Where have you been?
We started ten minutes ago. What have you been doing?.
Did you miss your bus?
Did you oversleep?
Don't let it happen again.

IDIOMS

English Idioms
Idioms are fun and useful expressions that usually cannot be understood by defining the separate words. For example, if your host mother says, "I think it's time to hit the hay", she means, "I think it's bed-time"! You would not be able to understand her by looking up the words hit and hay. Like phrasal verbs, these expressions need to be memorized as a whole. Try visualizing them or drawing pictures when you study them. For example, draw a picture of a cow sleeping in some hay. The idiom out of the blue means "unexpectedly". Your teacher or homestay family will call you one smart cookie if you come up with an idiomatic expression like that when they least expect it!

Most idioms don't seem to make any sense because their origins are so old. Some of them come from ancient literature or even classic films. Learning the background of idioms can help you to remember them. Try checking your dictionary or asking a teacher or native speaker if they know the origin. Remember, not all idioms are considered standard English. Some English-speaking regions use specific idioms that other native English speakers have never heard before. You can find information about most expressions by looking them up online.

Try studying these idioms by learning one list at a time. Or, use these lists to help you when you come across an idiom you don't understand. One important thing to remember is that the subject of the idiom doesn't usually relate to the meaning.
Animal Idioms + quiz
Body Idioms + quiz
Food Idioms + quiz
Geography and Weather Idioms + quiz
Sport Idioms + quiz

Kate Perry- I kissed the Girl

Lyrics | I Kissed A Girl lyrics



¿ Quién se atreve a traducirla?

Halloween – its Origins and Place in The World Today

It is not hard to imagine anyone reading the title above and immediately thinking of Halloween activities like “trick or treating”, pumpkins as lanterns and all sorts of costumes, especially those of the ghostly variety.

But, most of the above are creations during the relatively recent 20th Century, and to find the origins of Halloween we have to go back much further, and particularly across the seas to find the beautiful, green and verdant island, known as Ireland.

The early Irish people were Celtic tribes, similar to those found in Scotland, Wales, Breton (Northern France) and Galicia (an ancient region of N W Spain). The Celts embraced Paganism, one of many hundreds or even thousands of belief systems that were very common in the days before the three Abrahamic religions of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, and are still popular today (eg: Wiccan). The Pagan Celts all spoke Gaelic, although with some differences in each location. No one at that time, however, had yet heard of Halloween.

Paganism comes from the Latin word “paganus” meaning country dweller or rustic. It is a term which, from a Western perspective, has modern connotations of spiritualist, animistic or shamanic practices or beliefs of any folk religion, and of historical and contemporary polytheistic religions in particular.

The Irish Celts had two particularly important Festival celebrations, one which celebrated the arrival of Spring, of renewal, is called Beltane and is on May First with dancing, feasting and the traditional Maypole. The other celebrates the end of the harvest, and arrival of Winter, on the 1st of November and is called Samhain. Incidentally, in the Gaelic language still in use in much of Ireland today, the word for November, is Samhain. Samhain is also generally regarded as the beginning of the Celtic New Year.

By the way, Celtic in all this is pronounced with a hard ‘c’, as in ‘car’, whereas in the famous Boston Celtics basketball team, and Glasgow Celtic soccer team it is a soft ‘c’ the same as in ‘Caesar’. Their origins are the same, just different pronunciations.

The ancient Celtic tribes believed that the dividing line between the living and the dead became dangerous for the living on 31st October, when the change in the weather had become much cooler (colder) leading to sicknesses and damage to crops. So, they tried to ward off the perceived evil spirits by lighting bonfires where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Just like at modern Halloween, at these new festivals, masks and costumes were worn, making them look like evil spirits, in an attempt to placate them and send them far away.

One of the names for these festivals (feast days) was on the eve of Samhain, 31st October, about to be the eve of All Hallows Day, and soon to be known as Halloween.

With the advent of Christianity, in the first Millenium, celebrations had begun of a Festival called All Saint’s Day, which was also known as All Hallows or Hallowmass, and was celebrated on 13th May. (Hallow means to make Holy.) The day before All Hallows was called All Hallows Even, and hence shortened to Hallowe’en, and then to the Halloween we have today.

All Saint’s Day is a feast held in honour of all saints, known and unknown. In terms of Roman Catholic theology, the feast commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. (In the RC Church, Sainthood is bestowed on a person who has died, after performing great and wonderful deeds on earth. This process is called beatification.)

The day after All Saint’s Day is known as All Soul’s Day, and commemorates those who have died, but who have not yet been purified and gone to Heaven. In many parts of the world, especially South America and other largely Catholic countries (such as The Philippines) this day is also known as the “Day of the Dead”.

Until the ninth century, when Pope Gregory IV moved All Saint’s Day to 1st November, from 13th May, it had really been a festival of Pagan traditions, held just after Beltane on 1st May.

Now that All Saint’s Day was on 1st November, it was also on the same day as Samhain. As stated above the day before All Saint’s Day (or All Hallows Day), was All Hallows Even, which became shortened to Hallowe’en and thus, Halloween. Gradually, many of the Pagan traditions of Samhain, begun to be incorporated into Halloween, particularly the attempts to ward off the evil spirits, as described earlier, with the costumes and masks.

Of course, the main modern Halloween activities for children today, especially in North America, are ‘trick or treating’, lantern lighting and dressing in often ghoulish costumes. It appears that this did not really start until the early part of the 20th Century. The first known reference to what is really ritualised begging on Halloween, was reported in 1911, in a Canadian newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, not far from the border with upstate New York. The paper reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go street guising on Halloween between 6 and 7pm, visiting shops and neighbors, to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs.

Interesting links related to Halloween:

Halloween Printables

Halloween Crafts

Halloween Games

Halloween Stories

Halloween Songs

Diferencias entre Watch,See and Look

Differences between SEE, WATCH and LOOK

1. See: stative use, the action is involuntary .

"to see" --> ver (percibir algo por el sentido de la vista)
I see very well without glasses

2. Watch: when it is an action that continues over a period of time and we do it deliberately .You can watch or look at a moving object. Watch is always related to Movement.

"to watch" --> observar/vigilar (poner nuestra atención visual en algo durante un tiempo para tomar nota de su evolución o cambio según pasa dicho tiempo
Do you have to watch me eating my supper?

3. Look deliberately and with attention . You can look at a stationary object but you can't watch it."to look" --> mirar (dirigir voluntariamente nuestra atención).
Look at this card that John's just sent.

*When talking about films, plays, television etc. watch and see are almost interchangeable...
*usos idiomático "watch" se usa con la tele y "see" con el cine.

I’m going to watch a film tonight.
I’m going to see a film tonight.


Did you watch that film last night?
Did you see that film last night?


I watched it on television.
I saw it on television.

I'm going to watch television.
XI'm going to see television.

I’ve never seen that play, have you?
XI’ve never watched that play, have you? (Actually, you could say this but it's less usual than seen).

Sometimes the differences are quite subtle...