Dec 17, 2022

πŸŽ„πŸŽ… Christmas Commercials in the UK πŸ€ΆπŸŽ„

 πŸŽ„πŸŽ…These have been voted the best Christmas commercials in the UK for 2022, although some have considered them the most annoying. Which ones do you like (or dislike) the most? πŸŽ„πŸŽ…

                       
        
    


Which Christmas commercials do you think are good this year? 
Which can't you stand or are tired of seeing? 

A Christmas Carol vs How the Grinch Stole Christmas

 How do the two stories compare?      

                                    A Christmas Carol 
 by Charles Dickens (Feb. 7, 1812 - June 9, 1870)  The story  is about an elderly miser named Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and the Yet to Come. Their visits transform Scrooge into a kinder, gentler man.     

The book was first published on December 19, 1843, with the first edition sold out by Christmas Eve. By 1844, the novella had gone through 13 printings and continues to be a big seller today.  For more on Charles Dickens, click HERE 

Click on the title to go to YouTube. The story has been divided into 8 videos, for a total of about 30 minutes.


      How the Grinch Stole Christmas   
 (by Dr. Seuss, published   in December 1957) is a   story about the Grinch, a   grouchy, solitary creature   who tries to cancel     Christmas by stealing     Christmas gifts and     decorations from the   homes of the nearby town of Whoville on Christmas Eve.   Miraculously, the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not all   about money and presents.  The story is narrated by Boris   Karloff, a British actor, most famous for his roles in horror   films, especially as the Frankenstein monster. 
For more information on Dr. Seuss, see post below or click HERE
For more on Boris Karloff, click HERE

Click on the title above to see all 6 parts.
     
                      
 What themes are common to both stories? 
 How are the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge similar? 
 What about Bob Cratchit and the Grinch's pup, Max? 

 How the Grinch Stole Christmas is not the only film based  on or influenced by A Christmas Carol.  What other movies  can you think of?  

You can write your answers in the comments section below.  

Dec 13, 2022

Some Christmas Fun - Dr. Seuss

 and the classic, 
How The Grinch Stole Christmas 
First, let's learn about Dr. Seuss
The author, Theodor Seuss Geisel, wrote more than 60 books for children. His stories are famous for their nonsense words, wild rhymes, and amusing drawings of unusual creatures. 

         

We have been mispronouncing his name.  It should be pronounced Zoice (rhyming with voice).  A friend, Alexander Liang, wrote this poem about how people incorrectly pronounced Seuss. 

                            You're wrong as the deuce
                            And you shouldn't rejoice
                            If you're calling him Seuss.
                            He pronounces it Soice (or Zoice).


Everyone knows him as Dr. Seuss (Zeus), so if you were to call him Dr. "Zoice", no one would know who you were talking about. 


To read more about Dr. Seuss click HERE.
For a more detailed biography, click HERE

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Click on the title to be redirected to YouTube or start watching the video below and
the each part. 


Dec 10, 2022

ROCKETMAN

Watch the video to learn what "Rocket Man" (1972) is about: Notice Elton's reaction at the end. 

If you prefer reading:  

Lyricist Bernie Taupin, who collaborated with Elton on all his major hits explained in 2016: 

“People identify it, unfortunately, with David Bowies "Space Oddity.

It actually wasn’t inspired by that at all; it was actually inspired by a

story by Ray Bradbury (1920 - 2012), from his book of science fiction

short stories called The Illustrated Man (1951).  

“In that book, there was a story called 'The Rocket Man,' which was about how astronauts in the future would become sort of an everyday job. So I kind of took that idea and ran with that.”

Elton himself, added: “Do you know, I never knew that?” (44 years later!)

Here is the official video: 

LYRICS:


Dec 4, 2022

Books, TV series and Movies

Create a survey for the class on TV series and movies. 
Take this Sample Survey 

Which TV Series based on Books can you think of?

Check out these links. You may be surprised. 

Books that have been made into TV series on Netflix

Books becoming movies or TV shows in 2022

When you tell us about your survey results, use expressions like:
about / almost 
half of the class / half the class
4 out of 8 students
50% 
more / less than half the class
equally divided / split
an equal number of students
most of the class 
the majority of the class
a slight majority 
the most / least popular answer was___, followed by ___
just a few people 
just a couple of students 
very close 
the same as
everyone 
no one 
all but one person /   all except one
to be interested in 
to have opposite ideas 
verbs: answer, believe, choose, know, like, prefer, think

Sample Survey Results 1A/L


Verbs: Pronunciation in the past tense

Pay attention to the pronunciation of regular verbs (ending in -ed). There are 3 different types:    cooked (cookt)           lived (livd)            wanted (wantid/wanted)


-ed pronunciation exercise 1

-ed pronunciation exercise 2

Check your answers

-ed pronunciation exercise

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894) Victorian Period

 

Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer; best known for his first full-length adventure novel,  Treasure Island (1883), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886; following the example of Edgar Allan Poe's tales of mystery and terror), and Kidnapped (1886).

Born in Edinburgh, Scotland (1850). His poor respiratory health led him to travel a great deal, which influenced his writings.  Seeking just the right climate, he ended up in Vailima, Samoa, where he died of an unexpected hemorrhage in 1894. 

He was the only son of a successful civil engineer, who specialized in lighthouses. To please his father, he first studied engineering then changed to law at Edinburgh University, but his true love was literature.
He rebelled against his father's Calvinist religion.

His Scottish stories reveal him as the heir of Sir Walter Scott (1771, Edinburgh, Scotland—died 1832  Scotland), a Scottish novelist, poet, historian, and biographer who is considered the inventor of the historical novel (Romantic Period).

Study HELP: Brief presentation on Stevenson's life

For a deeper look at Stevenson and his work, watch this video:


Watch this video about The Strange Case of Drl Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


A brief summary from your book: