The Solar System through our eyes!

URANUS on PhotoPeach

THE SUN on PhotoPeach

Jupiter on PhotoPeach

Venus on PhotoPeach

Mars on Photo Peach

Mercury on PhotoPeach

Our planet's Oceans - Blue Life Craddle

We have decided to call the site we are creating for the Global Classroom Project
with USA and Indian schools "BIOMES of the WORLD"
The Indian team has already started creating our site.
You can see it here.

Since we decided to take up the OCEAN BIOME, we can start collecting information with this video.

After watching the video, write down which piece of information you find most interesting/important. 

The Blue Planet

We are lucky enough to live on one of the most beautiful spots in Universe.
This BBC film is a wonderful testimony to this fact!



So what do we do with our Home?
How much do we look after it?

How does this National Geographic video make you feel?

What's your role in this? What do you, your family, your school and your country already do to save our planet?
What commitments are you willing to make?
Write your comment here.

Making the mark!

Imagine a school...

Where kids have freedom to be themselves...
Where success is not defined by academic achievement but by the child's own definition of success...
Where the whole school deals democratically with issues, with each individual having an equal right to be heard...
Where you can play all day if you want to...
And there is time and space to sit and dream......could there be such a school?YES, and it's called Summerhill 

Here's a video of the students talking about their school. 

Now, let's use our imagination a little more...Imagine you've just finished Summerhill and your friend is about to start. He's asked you for some information on what to expect at  school and advice on classes, school rules and so on. Respond to him through an email that you will post as a comment here.

Antarctica gets back to us....

Johan, the scientist we are in touch with in Amudsen-Scott Polar Station in Antarctica has replied to our questions!

> How far is the South Pole from the North Pole?

The two points are directly opposite on a globe, so
the answer is half the circumference of the earth.
The circumference is often rounded as 24,000 miles,
so we're 12,000 miles from the North Pole.  That's
about 20,000 km.



> How many people live in the South pole?

The summer population is typically around 200, while
in winter it's more like 50.  No one actually "live"
here; we all spend time here and then return to the
"real world", though a number of us keep coming back
down, eventually spending more time in Antarctica
than not.

> I like to learn about the weather in north pole.

I don't know much about weather at the North Pole,
though I know that it's a lot warmer than at the South
Pole.  The South Pole is in the middle of a continent,
and quite high (we're on top of about 3 km of ice),
while the North Pole is on the frozen ocean, at sea
level.  Since the atmosphere generally gets colder
as you go up (think snow on the mountain tops), it's
colder here than there.  Our temperatures range from
about -20C in the summer to -75C in the winter.  We
tend to have fairly steady winds, but they're generally
light, typically between 4 and 8 m/s.  The sun is up
for six months and then down for six months.

> How long time do you live there?

I've been here for about ten months.  Most people
spend only the three months of the summer, but folks
who winter are here for about ten, and the full year
is a 12-13 months commitment.

> How far is the place that you live from the sea?

It's about 850 miles, or 1400 km, to the nearest
ocean.

> What kinds of animals live under the water???

There's no water here, but in the ocean around the
continent of Antarctica there are sponges, starfish,
anemones, fish of many kinds (including some that
have no red blood cells and that have antifreeze
proteins in their blood), sea birds like penguins,
seals, and whales.

> What kind of plants exist there???

Again, none here, since we're just on ice.  On the
coasts there are mosses and lichens, and a couple of
little flowering plants.


> Do they live many people there???

Many (about 30) nations have stations (about 40) in
Antarctica, but even so, the whole population of the
continent is about 4000 in the summer and 1000 in the
winter.

> can people from hot countries for example brazil
> can they live in antarctica???

Sure.  Brazil does have an Antarctic station.  Anyone
can spend time here, you just have to be sure that you
have the right clothes if you're going outside.

> how can someone survive in a place like that?

It's not that hard.  The station that we live in has
nice facilities, and we wear warm clothes outside.  We
do have to be completely self-sufficient, because we
can't call for help if something breaks, and we can't
run to the store if we need a spare part.  So in
addition to the scientists working here, we have
carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, computer folks,
medical staff, cooks, etc.

> Could you send us some photos of you in the station
> or even a video to see what it's like where you live?

I expect you could find some videos of the place on
Youtube.  And I know that Google Earth has some shots
both inside and outside of station.  I hate having my
picture taken, so there aren't any of me, but there are
lots of other people who post pictures of themselves
down here on blogs.  You could probably find those with
google, or you can start here:

http://southpolestation.com

Social Media and you!

The new generation is called generation Z and are digital natives. Children today seem to be born with a remote planted in their heads and a keyboard installed as an extension to their fingers!
Watch this video and read this text about social media.
Then do the quiz to see how much you've understood.
You can read the text as many times as you want to get all answers right!
Then write a comment on how YOU are involved with social media.

Have you seen the school's facebook page? Hit "Like" and 
share your thought there!





Today we sang along this award-winning song.

Could what the lyrics say happen between you and your friends because of social media?
Write your comment on this post,

Winners calling ANTARCTICA

Our class communicates with The Amudsen-Scott station in the South Pole!
Johan, one of the scientists working in the station is open to our questions!
Here's some of the information he has sent us so far:

.... Due to our remote

location, actual telecommunications are problematic (though not

completely impossible), but we do welcome email correspondence.

The most frequent type of interaction that we have is more of a one-off,

where classes that are studying Antarctica put together a list of

questions, which we answer......

.....We are, by the way, scheduled to "open" tomorrow, though

the weather suggest that we may be a few days behind
schedule.  The temps are warm enough, but we've got high
winds and low visibility.

...and here are some photos of the station that Johan sent us....

You can find a lot of information and amazing videos in this site about Antarctica

Let's all look up for information about Antarctica.

What more would you like to learn? Let's ask Johan!

Write your questions as a comment here.

Phrasal Verbs Rap!

Do phrasal Verbs give you a headache?
Well, here's a fun way to learn some of them!

Write a story using as many phrasal verbs as possible. The story with the most phrasals will win a prize!

Superheroes

Do you agree with the cartoon?

First take this quiz to find out which superhero you are!

So, how about YOU becoming a SUPERHERO?

Think of these questions to help you create a fictional character that feels like a real one!

Questions for Reflection

• What is your ordinary world?
• What are your challenges?
• What strengths (or superhero powers) are you using to overcome these challenges?
• Who are your helpers?
• Whom are you helping?
• How do you and others benefit from your actions?
• Are you "real" online? Are others?
• Am 
• How can we use our community online and off to prevent cyberbullying?
• What else can we create together?

Our site subject!

Jump from Space

Felix Baumgartner made history on Sunday October 14, 2012 when he jumped from a space capsule

Amazing feats like this jut leave us speechless. What do you think makes acts like this possible?
Watch this video and find out the technology behind this.


The website to the jump is here
Browse it and answer the questions:
Who is Felix?

How high above the Earth's surface did he jump?
What is that place called?
What was the speed?

What records did he break?
What hazards did he face?
How did he prepare?

Where did he land?

What other extreme sports do you know?
Read here about BASE jump
Read here about paragliding
Read here about luge

Our Digital Citizens Get an Identity Card!

Today we are going to create our personal avatars in Edmodo, an amazing, secure on line space that is used by schools worldwide to collaborate and share in a safe, protected environment.

m- learning

Have you ever heard of the term m-learning? What do you think it means?                                                    See if these pictures can help you.

Today’s mobile devices are tomorrow’s textbooks Once cellphones were viewed as a distraction — banned from many classrooms. Now they’re a teaching tool!

When 16-year-old Amanda Schuman needs help translating English to Spanish, she pulls out her iPhone.

Amanda, a junior at Vista Murrieta High School in southwest Riverside County, uses the phone to check her grades, look up homework assignments and find dictionary definitions. During a recent science lab on tissue types, a quick Internet search confirmed her findings.

Using her phone is easier than reaching for a textbook or waiting for a teacher to answer a question, Amanda said.

A few years ago, students like Amanda faced punishment for pulling out cellphones or other mobile technology in class. Today, more teachers see the devices not as distractions but as tools to help students learn. And experts say the future of education may revolve around these hand-held instruments.

“Kids today have never been without computers or social networking,” said Greg Nicholas, a science teacher at Vista Murrieta High School.

He embraces technology because he knows today’s students live in that world. Using the tools students are most comfortable with keeps them interested in class, he said.

“At least at the high school level, we need to allow them to use the technology they have,” he said. “If you don’t, it’s almost like tying their hands.”

Inland schools are rapidly adding mobile devices such as iPod Touches and iPads to classrooms. Every student at Ramona High School in Riverside was issued a 7-inch Coby android tablet this year that includes the student’s textbooks, dictionaries, calculators and applications to help with homework.

Kindergarten students at Donald Graham Elementary School in Wildomar use iPod Touch devices to help with reading, math and spelling. In one application, a child will see a picture of a cat with letters T, A and C below. When they unscramble the letters and correctly spell “cat,” the animated cat meows and dances around.

“The clear vision of the future is every student with a connected device of some kind,” said Don Knezek, chief executive officer of the International Society of Technology in Education. “The devices get smaller, have multiple features and are carried around in pockets.”

Now write a comment of about 100 words on how m-learning is used in your school. In your view what other uses of technology should be included in teaching in your class?
Take this survey and let's find out how our class fares!

Click here to take survey

We are digital citizens!

Being a digital citizen means much more than having internet connection. It means being smart and alert when online. It means respect others and their work and be polite but also be confident and stand-up to cyber bullying. It means we belong to a global community of learners.

Write a comment to say which part of the pledge above is more meaningful to you

Which are your favourite songs? Share them with your class here

Travelling into ...space

Everyone in this class has chosen to learn English for a different reason.

Has it ever crossed your mind that you'd use your English to create a website?

Well, that's exactly what we've been asked to do.

Becoming part of the Global Virtual Classroom is the best way possible to develop our English!

We can collaborate with two other schools from around the world to create a webside!!!

See a presentation of the programme here.

We all love talking about ourselves and are proud for our country, aren't we?
What great chance we have this year to share all the info we want about our country with our friends from Nebraska, USA!
Let's all choose some questions and write the answer in the google document here.

Do you like travelling? Well, who doesn't?
So, which kind of holidays do you prefer?
Look at our site on Pinterest to find out!
Now, find your favourite kind of holiday and write a comment about it using all the vocabulary we've learnt!

First Awesome facts!

Each one of us is UNIQUE and we learn in completely different ways...
School practice should reflect and cover our needs....

It's essential to LEARN HOW TO LEARN so that we are the learners BEST we can!
Visual learners are those who learn through seeing things. Look over the characteristics below to see if they sound familiar. A visual learner:

• Is good at spelling but forgets names.
• Needs quiet study time.
• Has to think awhile before understanding lecture.
• Is good at spelling.
• Likes colors & fashion.
• Dreams in color.
• Understands/likes charts.
• Is good with sign language.

Auditory learners are those who learn best through hearing things. Look over these traits to see if they sound familiar to you. You may be an auditory learner if you are someone who:

• Likes to read to self out loud.
• Is not afraid to speak in class.
• Likes oral reports.
• Is good at explaining.
• Remembers names.
• Notices sound effects in movies.
• Enjoys music.
• Is good at grammar and foreign language.
• Reads slowly.
• Follows spoken directions well.
• Can't keep quiet for long periods.
• Enjoys acting, being on stage.
• Is good in study groups.

Kinesthetic learners are those who learn through experiencing/doing things. Look over these traits to see if they sound familiar to you. You may be a kinesthetic learner if you are someone who:

• Is good at sports.
• Can't sit still for long.
• Is not great at spelling.
• Does not have great handwriting.
• Likes science lab.
• Studies with loud music on.
• Likes adventure books, movies.
• Likes role playing.
• Takes breaks when studying.
• Builds models.
• Is involved in martial arts, dance.
• Is fidgety during lectures.

So, let's find out how WE learn and BOOST our learning techniques!!!
Take the quiz here to find out!

Then decide which of the STUDY TIPS in this article YOU are going to use to improve your learning!
Write your ideas as a comment.

Optimism and.... Chocolate Cakes 

What HOPE is there for our world? What's your opinion?
Being OPTIMISTIC about the FUTURE is your most important TECHNIQUE to be SUCCESSFUL!
Let's see why we should keep GRINNING!