Discovering Shakespeare

Here are some posters we did in Art for a competition about Shakespeare. You might like to read some of his plays or watch them at the theatre.

6A

6B

6C

William Shakespeare died on 23rd April 1616. To honour this, UNESCO established 23 April as the International Day of the Book. Spain had adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582, but England was still using the Julian calendar. Shakespeare's death on 23 April 1616 (Julian) was equivalent to 3 May 1616 (Gregorian). This was 10 days after Miguel de Cervantes was buried and 11 days after he died.

On the 4th Thursday of November,
the United States of America celebrate Thanksgiving Day.

To read the story, click on the picture

To do some worksheets, play games and read a little bit more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving
http://holidays.pppst.com/thanksgiving.html
http://www.kiddyhouse.com/Thanksgiving/
http://www.dltk-holidays.com/thanksgiving/index.html
http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/thanksgiving/short-stories/
http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/thanksgiving/games.php

The Story of Thanksgiving

Watch this video to understand more about Thanksgiving

Bet You Didn't Know - St Patrick's Day

Watch this video to find out the truth about St Patrick´s Day!

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St Patrick´s Day

As you probably know, on the 17th March we celebrate St Patrick's day. This presentation explains why. Watch it to learn more!

Saint Patrick's Day from profefuentesanta

Chimps go ape for their Valentine's Day gifts

Watch how the chimps at Whipsnade Zoo celebrated Valentine's Day!

Valentines Day Bookmarks

Valentines Day and William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets, a special kind of poem, and lots of these were about love. One of these, sonnet 18, is often quoted on Valentine’s Day. Notice that the underlined words are no longer used in modern day English. 'Thee' and 'thou' both mean 'you'. 'Hath' is the same as 'has/have' and 'thy' means 'your'. 

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?

Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,

And summer's lease hath all too short a date.

Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,

And often is his gold complexion dimmed;

And every fair from fair sometime declines,

By chance, or nature's changing course, untrimmed;

But thy eternal summer shall not fade,

Nor lose possession of that fair thou ow'st,

Nor shall death brag thou wand'rest in his shade,

When in eternal lines to time thou grow'st.

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

by William Shakespeare, sonnet 18

The Difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England

Watch this video to help you understand the difference between the United Kingdom, Great Britain and England. The speaker talks very fast so you'll probably have to use the subtitles!

British versus American

Here is a fun video to help you distinguish between British and American vocabulary and pronunciation...

Thanksgiving

On Thursday it is Thanksgiving, a celebration in the States that is almost as important as Christmas. Here is a presentation to help you understand more about it.

St Patrick's Day

Shakespeare's Sonnet (103)

My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
 Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
 If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
 If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
 I have seen roses damask'd, red and white,
 But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
 And in some perfumes is there more delight
 Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
 I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
 That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
 I grant I never saw a goddess go;
 My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
 And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
 As any she belied with false compare.

How much do you know about Britain?

Use the following websites to find out the information about Great Britain:

http://projectbritain.com/
www.royal.gov.uk/output

1) What is the difference between Great Britain and the United Kingdom?
2) What form of government does the UK have?
3) What are the official languages in Great Britain?
4) What is the difference between 'detached', 'semi-detached' and 'terraced' houses in Great Britain?
5) What is England's national sport? How many players does a team have?
6) Choose one of Great Britain's top ten destinations and name two attractions you can find in each place.
7) What is the London Underground called? How many lines does it have?
8) When does the changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace take place?
9) Who adopted the name Windsor as the surname of the Royal Family? Why?
10) Who was the Queen of England in Shakespeare's times?