History of Halloween

The origin of Halloween is the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts lived 2000 years ago in Ireland, the UK and Northern France. It was the beginning of the dark, cold winter and they believed that on that night the ghosts of the dead returned to the earth. 

Much later - by the 9th century - the influence of Christianity turned this festival of Samhain into the night before All Saints' Day (in medieval English, All Hallowed's Day) and the night before it Halloween (roughly, from hallowed + evening).

There is a link to an in-depth history of Halloween below:

History of Halloween (history.com)

And a two-minute video which tells the history of Halloween:

The Jack O' Lantern

The carved pumpkin comes from the Irish folktale of "Stingy Jack". Jack had a drink with the Devil, but he didn't want to pay. He played some tricks on the devil for years and finally died. God didn't want Jack to enter heaven and the Devil didn't want him in hell, either. The Jack O' Lantern is the representation of Jack wandering the earth ever since.

You can read the full story here:

"Stingy Jack" and the Jack O' Lantern

Grammar woksheet - answer key (2º ESO F)

1. 1 Y. has a shower at 8am
2 B&M don't  like going shopping.
3 U. lives near the beach.
4 K. watches TV in the evenings.
5 S. doesn't finish his homework before 6pm.

2. 1 Does... have? Yes, she does.
2 Do... like? No, they don't.
3 Does... live? Yes, he does.
4 Does... watch? Yes, he does.
5 Does... finish? No, he doesn't.

3. 1 do you do
2 don't get up
3 finishes
4 has
5 doesn't like
6 love
7 do you relax
8 do
9 watches
10 listen

4. 1 often
2 always
3 never
4 almost never
5 usually
6 sometimes

5. 1 H. usually listens to heavy metal music.
2 I'm never happy in math lessons.
3 F. always chats on the Internet at weekends.
4 S. often goes swimming.
5 P. is almost never late.
6 K. sometimes des her homework on the bus.

6. 1 I -- her
2 They -- We -- them -- us
3 He -- We -- him

How to introduce the "tick" symbol in a document

Hi everyone!

It's sometimes difficult to introduce  a "tick" in a Word document since not all fonts offer this possibility. I have found a way to do so - maybe you know an easier one!

First of all, you have to select "Windings" as your font:

This doesn't imply that all your document has to be written in this font.

Once you've done so, click on "Insert">"Symbol". Symbol 252 for this font is our beloved "tick". See the image below:

Now you can use it. After you've used it once, it will be saved as a frequent symbol and, therefore, you'll have quicker access to it.

I hope you've found this entry useful!

Vocabulary & Grammar reinforcement and reference books

Here you have some books which you may find helpful:

• English Grammar for ESO (1st and 2nd cycle). Burlington Books
• New English Grammar for Bachillerato. Burlington Books
• Essential Grammar In Use. Cambridge U. P. 
• English Grammar In Use. Cambridge U. P. 
• Advanced Grammar In Use. Cambridge U. P. (only if you want to extend your knowledge in English grammar!)
• English Vocabulary In Use. (Three levels: elementary/ pre-intermediate & intermediate/ upper-intermiediate & advanced). Cambridge U. P.

Most of these books have self-study editions with answer keys.

"So far away" (2º ESO F)

Here you can see the video of the song we have listened to in class:

And here is a photomontage with lyrics - and better sound!

I hope you enjoy the song. Have a good bank holiday!!