An American in Asturias:A Day in an American School

American Cultural aspects

I want to thank  Elisabeth Knittel for her contribution to this blog . This article is hers and I can only hope it is not the only post she writes in this blog.

Time to wake up! Time for school! Today is the first day of high school, the first day of ninth grade. This will be my school for the next four years until I am 18 years old. Oh, how I miss middle school where I went everyday for the past 2 years, from 7th grade to 8th grade. Today I have to hurry so I don´t miss the school bus.

When I arrive, I go to my locker to get my books and supplies for my classes.

Then, I go to my homeroom,which is where the teacher takes attendance everyday and we listen to the school announcements and news over the loudspeaker.  After the principal talks about the upcoming school activities and events we all stand, face the flag, (there is one in every classroom) put our hands over our hearts and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

“I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

After the Pledge, we all go to our first class.  I will miss my friend, Mary, because we have different schedules and I will not see her until lunch.  I have 9 classes that are 40 minutes each every day and because I am a freshman, I have to take math, science, history, art, English, gym (physical education), and foreign language.  I also have a study hall, which is one free period to do homework, study, or chat with my friends.  However, when I am a sophomore, junior, and senior, I will take history, English, and gym and choose if I would like to continue the other subjects or even pick if I would like to take classes that will help me become things such as a hair stylist, accountant, hotel manager, or mechanic.

My favorite part of the day is lunch.  It is usually half way through the day and I get to see my friend Mary and many other people.  We can either bring our lunch from home or buy it in the school cafeteria for $2 and it includes the main course, fruit, vegetable, potato, dessert and milk…what a bargain!

After lunch we go back to class until 2:30.  We might even have a fire drill.  This is when we practice what to do and where to go if there is a fire in our school.  Then some of the students go home, some of them even have jobs so they have to go to work.
When school ends, I will stay after for volleyball practice.  There are many different school sports teams that students are a part of including basketball, football, soccer, and cheerleading.  Many students also stay after for choir practice or play practice.  We will probably be at school until 6:00 and then I will go home for dinner.  Well, that´s all for now!  I can´t wait for my high school career to begin!


Homeroom-group of students
Pledge of Allegiance-speech American students say everyday stating their nation’s beliefs
study hall–free time to do homework and study
freshman-1st year of high school
sophomore-2nd year of high school
junior–3rd year of high school
senior-4th year of high school
bargain-great price
fire drill-practice for a fire

Fontself: Spice up your worksheets with funny fonts

Create your own stuff, Funny Stuff,

Fontself  has got cool fonts and smileys to add a personal touch to your worksheets, emails, websites,posts or social networks. You can choose from a variety of cool fonts or you can create your own. I have just used some of these fonts in a boring worksheet I have prepared about the future. You’re welcome to do it here and find the key here.

MyBrainShark Tutorial in Spanish

Tutorial

This is the first tutorial I’ve made and the truth is that is has been a lot of fun. It’s in Spanish because it is meant for my students and while some of them are quite confident using new technologies not all of them are and I don’t want to add to them the extra burden of having to understand the tutorial in English.

I’ve posted about MyBrainshark here and here

I’ll show you some of their presentations using MyBrainshark some other time. For the time being , watch this brief tutorial if you are interested in using this useful tool to learn English.

A word on Grammar: made from/of/by/with

A word on Grammar, ,

Today the focus is on the verb “make” and  what it means when it collocates with four
different prepositions, namely” from”, “of” “by” and “with”. Choosing the right preposition can be a bit tricky sometimes. I hope the explanation below helps you understand a bit better the differences.

🙁 She claimed that the jumper was made from wool

🙂 She claimed that the jumper was made of wool

🙁 Many components are made by plastic

🙂 Many components are made of plastic

🙁 Margarine, which is made by natural ingredients, is more acceptable

🙂 Margarine, which is made from natural ingredients, is more acceptable

♥Use made from when the original materials have been completely changed and cannot be recognised. “Bread is made from flour and water”.

♥ Use made of when the original materials have not been completely changed and you can still see them. “Their dining table is made of solid oak”.

♥ Use made by when you mention the name of the company or person that has made something (NOT the names of materials). “This new razon is made by Wilkinson Sword”.

♥Use made with to talk about one of several  ingredients or materials (for example in cooking). “Paella is made with rice “

Source: Longman Dictionary of Common Errors and Practical English Usage

Now, let’s try a quiz!

Houses are made __ brick

of

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Wine is made __ grapes.

from

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His jacket is made ___leather

of

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Penicillin was discovered ___ A. Fleming

by

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Spanish omelette is made __ potatoes

with

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All our furniture is made __ wood

of

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Paper is made ___ wood

from

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This sweater was knit ___ my granny

by

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