domingo, 21 de novembro de 2010

Thanksgiving

The idea of Thanksgiving can be traced back to the time of Pilgrims. In 1620, the Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, Massachussets, escaping from religious persecution in Europe.
Not knowing how to survive in the wilderness and having to face an extremely cold winter, the Pilgrim colony lost about half of its members.
But new hope arose in the summer of 1621. The Indians had taught the Pilgrims how to hunt, fish and grow food; and for the first time there would be a good corn harvest. Thus, in early autumn, Governor William Brandford arranged a harvest festival to give thanks to God for the progress the colony had made. The first Thanksgiving Days in New England were, therefore, harvest festivals, or days for thanking God for plentiful crops.
Nowadays Thanksgiving is an annual legal holiday, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. It is usually a family day, celebrated with big dinners which include roast turkey and pumpkin pie. In fact, going home for Thanksgiving is a national custom. Many Americans travel long distances to spend the holiday at home.



Remember that "Thanksgiving Day" will be celebrated next Thursday - November 25 th.

"HAVE A WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING DAY!"

AMERICAN - HOLIDAYS - ARMISTICE DAY

In 1919, President Wilson established Armistice Day to commemorate the signing of the armistice (November 11, 1918), which brought World War I to an end. Originally, it was recognized as a day of tribute to the veterans and the dead of this war.
In 1954, President Eisenhower signed a bill changing the name of the holiday to Veterans Day and extending the tribute to the veterans and dead of all wars.
Veterans Day celebrations in the United States include parades, speeches and floral tributes placed on servicemen´s graves or memorials. Special services are held at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia. To Americans, the Unknown Soldier symbolizes all servicemen who have died in defense of their country.

sexta-feira, 19 de novembro de 2010

Talking about famous people.

- Who´s she?
- That´s Ivete Sangalo. She´s a singer and she´s from Bahia.
- Cool! And who´s he?
- He´s Paulo Coelho, a writer. He´s famous all around the world!
- That´s interesting! And who´s she?
- Come on, Greg, don´t you know anybody? That´s Gisele Bundchen!
- Awesome! And who are they?
- They are Brazilian beach volleyball players and they are world champions!
- That´s amazing!


* Ask your students to bring pictures of famous people and help them write about some of them.

HOW ABOUT SOME FRUIT? - 6TH/7TH GRADES - REVIEW

- Hi, Greg!
- Oh, hi Bob! Hi Lisa! Good to see you.
- It´s really hot today, isn´t it? How about a soda?
- A soda? No, thanks! Sodas have no fruit, no vitamins, no nutrients, nothing.
Just lots of sugar and salt! That´s why they´re so refreshing.
- I agree. Let´s have some fruit juice, then. We´re in Brazil, remember?
- Ok, you win. A mango juice for me, please.
- I´ll have an orange and acerola juice. It´s rich in vitamin C and it´s delicious!
- Great idea. Make it two, please. No mango, please!
- Oh, yes, please. "vou querer"! Some green coconut water. Lovely!
- A green coconut? But aren´t coconuts brown?