New Year is coming. Let's have a look at the horoscope!

Who among us has never peeked the horoscope? Whether we believe it or not, at the beginning of a new year we always have a look at the astrological predictions.

In this lesson you will reflect on yourself, you will improve your personality adjectives vocabulary and you will revise English grammar about making predictions.

What's your astrological sign?

Star signs

The Western Zodiac

The Chineese Zodiac

The Chineese Horoscope:

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-43375.php

 Zodiac Signs

A list of personality adjectives:

http://www.englishlanguageterminology.org/parts-of-speech/personality-adjectives.htm

Positive and negative personalty adjectives for each star sign:
http://esl.about.com/od/vocabularyadvanced/ig/Zodiac-Personality.--Ho/

STUDENTS' TASK

What's your personality like? Describe some positive and some negative traits of you character. Is your zodiac sign description right in your opinion?

Which animal are you in the Chineese horoscope? Describe your personality according to this horoscope.

What will  your future be like?

2015 Horoscope:
http://astrology.horoscope.com/horoscope/year/2015-horoscope.aspx

Making predictions:
http://www.grammaring.com/future-simple-for-predictions

Future tenses:
http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/future.htm

Talking about probability:
http://www.english-at-home.com/speaking/talking-about-probability-in-english/

STUDENTS' TASK

What does you horoscope say about the 2015? What do you think will happen next year? Talk about your expectations, predictions and resolutions for the new year.

Some worksheets and printables for teachers:
http://busyteacher.org/classroom_activities-vocabulary/horoscopeszodiac_signs-worksheets/
http://www.eslprintables.com/vocabulary_worksheets/describing_people/zodiac_signs/

A Christmas Carol: a flipped lesson.

Every year at Christmas time I talk about A Christmas Carol in my classes for many different reasons. It is a wonderful Christmas tale and it allows to study some aspects of British literature, as well. We usually watch the last Disney movie and we read some excerpts from the book.
This year I thought of a flipped lesson. Students have to gather information and do some research about the tale before watching the movie or reading the book. Then, they will discuss the topics concerning the novella, the author and the Victorian Era in their classroom. As a teacher, I will just provide the learning material, suggest the websites to surf outside the classroom and guide my students to apply their knowledge during class activities.
As usual, I prepared a lesson with the help of some digital tools. I created a mindmap with Cacoo and I made it interactive with Thinglink.
If you move the cursor over the image below, some icons will appear. Click on them to open the links. You will find some information about Charles Dickens, the main characters of his novella and some fun activities.

The following is a deepening on the Victorian Era for more advanced students. I prepared this mindmap with Popplet. You will find some videos, links and a PowerPoint presentation. 

Click on the following symbol on the image to enlarge:

Inside the classroom the students will discuss what they have learned outside the classroom. They will actively and interactively apply their knowledge.

Some ideas for class discussion:

• What are the moral lessons in this story?
• Describe how Scrooge changes during the night of Christmas Eve.
• Would a visit from the three spirits of the tale impact your life? How?
• How would you describe the Victorian Era?
• Can we see any typical aspects of the Victorian Age in the novella? 
• What is Dickens' position towards the social problems of his era?