Presentation about Poland

The full presentation about Poland can be found under this link:

Poland - introduction

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Revision:
What information from the presentation are these pictures connected to?

Questions:

1. What does „no” mean in colloquia Polish?
2. What are the elements of the Polish coat of arms?
3. What are the three biggest cities in Poland?
4. What currency do we use in Poland?
5. What happened at the end of the 18th century? (2 important events)
6. What were the “Round Table talks”, when and what was the result of it?
7. Which day is the most important for Poles during Christmas? Can you name any of the Christmas customs?
8. What do we do on Easter Monday?
9. What is primaeval forest? In which part of Poland it is?
10. What is “Żubrówka”?
11. Write the names of Polish famous people:
- astronomer:
- composer:
- 2 Nobel Prize winners (peace and physics and chemistry):
- film director:
12. Poland has once been a very large country that stretched from one sea to another. What seas were those? Which sea do we still have the access to?

Łódź - a place where Polanski learned cinematography

Today I´ve come across an interesting article about  my city - Łódź - in a Spanish magazine! "A place where Polanski studied cinematography" - states the title. Indeed,  Łódź is a city of cinema. To learn why, read the article at the link below:
"Donde Polanski aprendió cine" 

Saying goodbye

The time has come - this is my last week at IES Cornelio Balbo. For that reason we prepared a special "goodbye breakfast" with plenty of delicous home made food.

The thing I prepared is the most traditional Polish dish: pierogi. Pierogi are stuffed dumplings with different kinds o filling: potatos, cheese, onion, minced meat, cabbage, mushrooms, seasonal fruits etc. I have prepared the most "Polish" pierogi - despite its name - pierogi ruskie. The filling of it contains potatos, white cheese and onion.

Pierogi recipe:

Potato-Cheese Filling:

• 1 medium chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2-3 large pureed potatoes (e. g. boiled soft and broken with a fork)
• 300g of white cheese (I used "queso fresco")
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt 
• 1 teaspoon of pepper

Saute onion in butter until carmelized. Combine with potatoes, cheese, salt and pepper. 

Dough:

• 2 cups of flour (~400g)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• ~1 cup of lukewarm water

In a medium bowl, combine egg, salt and water, and gradually add the flour. Knead until dough is firm and well mixed. Cover with an overturned bowl or loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 10 minutes to 1 hour. Devide the dough into 3 parts. Roll out one part until it's 3 mm thick and cut out circle-shaped pieces using a glass, a cup or a small bowl.

Fill in each circle-shaped piece of dough with a teaspoon of filling and close it by pressing well its edges (you can use a fork for that). Boil a big pot of water with a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of oil. When the water boils, put 10-15 dumpling into the pot. After they immerge, let them boil for about 2 minutes more and take them out from water.

Do the same with the other two parts of the dough.

Boiled pierogi are ready to eat, but the best are when lightly fried with the chopped onion afterwards (that's what I did with my pierogi).

Pierogi at the preparation phase

Cadiz tour and churros :)

This time I was a student and the students taught me about Cadiz. At the end of the city tour we ate churros :)

The climate of Andalusia

Location of the principal Andalusian climate types:

The climate of Andalusia

Andalusia sits at latitude between 36° and 38° 44' N, in the warm-temperate region. In general, it experiences a Mediterranean climate, with dry summers influenced by the Azores High, but subject to occasional torrential rains and extremely hot temperatures.

Within Andalusia there is considerable climatic variety. From the extensive coastal plains one may pass to the valley of the Guadalquivir, barely above sea level, then to the highest altitudes in the Iberian peninsula in the peaks of the Sierra Nevada. In a mere 50 kilometres (31 mi) one can pass from the subtropical coast of the province of Granada to the snowy peaks of Mulhacén. Andalusia also includes both the dry Tabernas Desert in the province of Almería and the Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park in the province of Cádiz, which experiences Spain's greatest rainfall.

Annual rainfall in the Sierra de Grazalema has been measured as high as 4,346 millimetres (171.1 in) in 1963, the highest ever recorded for any location in Iberia. Andalusia is also home to the driest place in continental Europe, the Cabo de Gata, with only 117 millimetres (4.6 in) of rain per year.

In general, as one goes from west to east, away from the Atlantic, there is less precipitation. "Wet Andalusia" includes most of the highest points in the region, above all the Sierra de Grazalema but also the Serranía de Ronda in western Málaga. The valley of the Guadalquivir has moderate rainfall. The Tabernas Desert in Almería, Europe's only true desert, has less than 75 days with any measurable precipitation, and some particular places in the desert have as few as 50 such days. Much of "dry Andalusia" has more than 300 "sunny" days a year.

The average temperature in Andalusia throughout the year is over 16 °C (61°F). Average temperature in the cities ranges from 15.1°C (59.2°F) in Baeza to 18.5°C (65.3°F) in Málaga. Much of the Guadalquivir valley and the Mediterranean coast has an average of about 18°C (64°F). The coldest month is January when Granada at the foot of the Sierra Nevada experiences an average temperature of 6.4°C (43.5°F). The hottest are July and August, with an average temperature of 28.5°C (83.3°F) for Andalusia as a whole. Córdoba is the hottest provincial capital, followed by Seville.

The Guadalquivir valley has experienced the highest temperatures recorded in Europe, with a maximum of 46.6°C (115.9°F) recorded at Córdoba and Seville. The mountains of Granada and Jaén have the coldest temperatures in southern Iberia, but do not reach continental extremes (and, indeed are surpassed by some mountains in northern Spain). In the cold snap of January 2005, Santiago de la Espada (Jaén) experienced a temperature of −21°C (−6°F) and the ski resort at Sierra Nevada National Park—the southernmost ski resort in Europe—dropped to −18°C (−0°F). Sierra Nevada Natural Park has Iberia's lowest average annual temperature, (3.9°C (39.0°F) at Pradollano) and its peaks remain snowy practically year-round.

1.    Find and underline the parts of the text which contain the answers for the following questions.

a.    What is the main influence of the Andalusian climate (apart from its latitude)? (paragraph 1)

b.    What and where was the highest ever annual rainfall recorded for any location in Iberia? (paragraph 3)

c.    What is the second hottest provincial capital in Andalusia? (paragraph 5)

2.    List below the geographical names you encounter in the text and try to mark their approximate location in the map.

-      mountain ranges (3): 

-      valley: 

-      desert: 

-      peninsula: 

-      provincial capitals:

3.    Complete the sentence (paragraph 4):

In Andalusia, in general, the farther to the .…………. , the more precipitation.

4.    What are the main factors to cause a wide variety of the Andalusian climate? Compare Cadiz and Granada.

surpass - be or do something to a greater degree, pass by, go beyond, distinguish oneself

cold snap - a period of unusually cold weather

torrential rains - pouring in abundance, resembling a torrent in force and abundance, relating to or resulting from the action of a torrent

Dub FX - "Made"

Students listen to the song of Dub FX and fill in the gaps with the missing words. Before the listening starts, read all the lines with the gaps and try to figure out what kind of word (what part of speach) is the missing word. Take notes aside.

Dub FX – "Made"

I've got my eyes open wide to the ceiling
I'm lying on my back in the centre of a room
I've got a voice giving me a funny feeling
It’s telling me the world's gonna end real soon

I've gotta get a job (1)……………..  I'm unappealing
Do my little dance for the man and consume
So I let my energy build for the healing
So I can reign down with my supersonic boom

I'm held down by a fog on my way to the top
All (2)……………..  and the pressure won't rise
I'm on a mission to the sky with the stars in my eyes
Yet the weather won't compromise
Like a ball on a chain that is strapped to my brain
I'm a (3)……………..  inside of my dreams
So I will appreciate the future of a day
Where the clouds open up and scream
And I sing now

I ain't gonna spend my time wondering why I never made it
I've already made it
I ain't gonna spend my days thinking about why I never made it
I never made it, I never made it

Like the pages of a (4)……………..  at the bottom of a shelf
I grow stiff yet I keep my pride
Like the one raindrop in the centre of a rose
I'm in heaven with a world outside
Like another (5)……………..  to describe my vibe
I'm just a vessel for my conscious needs
So I will appreciate the future of a day
Where the clouds open up and scream
And I sing now

I ain't gonna spend my time… etc.

It's times like this I need to lose my inhibitions
(6)……………..  my fist and forget about decisions
Help assist in the party that I'm giving
Take on the vibe and soon you will be singing
That it's times like this ya need to lose your inhibitions
Just raise your fist and forget about decisions
I'll help assist in that party that we're giving
Take on the vibe and soon ya will be singing

I ain't gonna spend my time wondering why, I never made it

After the first listening we´re checking the words and the teacher gives the hints for those still missing.

We´re preparing for the second listening, this time with the video related to the song and the performer. After listening and watching the video students answer  additional questions (the answers can be found in the explanation he gives before starting to sing):

1. Where is Dub FX from?
2. What is he doing in his life?
3. Where is he performing?
4. Why, when and where did he write this song?
5. Try to describe the way he makes his music.

 

Discussion:

Do you like his performance? Do you find his story interesting/inspirational? Do you think his dream came true? What does it mean "to loop"? Do you regret anything in your life? What is your dream job?

Complete the tasks:

1. Write the full expressions to their abbreviations below. Find them in the llyrics and underline them.

1 gonna

2 gotta

3 ain't

4 ya

2. Check the meaning of the following words and expressions in a dictionary and write their synonym or explanation in English.

1 unappealing

2 supersonic

3 strapped

4 I grow stiff

5 vibe

6 inhibitions

Describing people - game

The classgroup is devided into 2 groups of the same number of students. All of the students from the both groups write their names on a piece of paper and put it to the hat related to their group. Each student draws one piece of paper with the name of a person from the other group and has to write 4 adjectives/expressions describing the person, whose name they have drawn out. Then they put the paper back to the hat. The teacher draws the descriptions - one from one group and one from the other - reads them aloud and the students must guess, whose desctription is read. If they guess correctly, the teacher puts the paper with the description aside. If the guess is incorrect, the teacher puts the paper back to the hat so that it can be drawn again. The group whose hat is emptied first, wins.
To start the game, one person from each group throws a dice. The group who gets the bigger number, starts first.

Tip:
Write the list of the people from the other group and cross them out once you guess their name correctly.