Merry (Historical) Christmas!

Have you ever wondered how to make christmas crackers? British-Pathé explains how you can do it and in the 1933 way (only 4 minute video with real images). 

Enjoy the Holidays! :)

IGCSE 2016

Here you have the basic information about this year's exams (I've also included an example of each one from May/June 2015). Have a look to the examples before taking your decission.

3º British: Geography

·                     Geo. Paper 1 (Code 0460/12): Tuesday 3 May (Questions and photos). 

·                     Geo. Paper 2 (Code 0460/22): Friday 6 May (Questions and photos). 

·                     Geo. Paper 4 (Code 0460/42): Tuesday 24 May (Questions and photos). 

In the meantime, you should read the rules for the Geography's exams and have a look to all the examples explained at class that you can use on the real Igcse...

4º British: History

·                     Hist. Paper 1 (Code 0470/12): Monday 9 May (Exam). 

·                     Hist. Paper 2 (Code 0470/22): Friday 13 May (Exam). 

·                     Hist. Paper 4 (Code 0470/42): Monday 6 June (Exam). 

As in the previous case, you should read the rules for the History's exams.

GOOD LUCK! 

4º British: Suffragette

Yesterday, we explained the "Female Suffrage Movement" in UK. Today, we will complete the task by watching the official trailer of a new movie (Universal Pictures. First release in Spain: 18 December 2015... That is next week!) and by doing a small opinion activity: 

Answer the following questions, as complete as possible. When finish, send them as an attached document to blogeducativo08@gmail.com.

1.What do you think Suffragists and Suffragettes would look back on with most satisfaction?

2.What do you regard as the greatest achievement and the greatest failure of Suffragists and Suffragettes?

3.Do you think that Suffragists or Suffragettes achievements most outweight their failures? Why?

4.Do you think that Suffragettes direct actions damaged the campaign for female suffrage? Why?

5.Do you think that Feminism is still necessary? Why? Give at least 3 well-argumented reasons.

6.What do you think about the following sentence? Do you agree with it? Why?

“I call myself feminist when people ask me if I am, and of course I am, ‘cause it’s about equality, so I hope everyone is. You know you’re working in a patriarchal society when the word feminist has a weird connotation” (Ellen Page).

Go on!

By the way, if you are particulary into this topic, you can voluntary watch the BBC serie: Suffragettes forever! (3 chapters, 1 hour each).

How to be an innovate teacher

Join (and enjoy) the international trend in education: teaching, caring, innovating, creating, developing, growing in the XXI century. 

In "Aula de Adriana" we have been implicated from many years with:

• The continuous renewal of resources and methodologies in the classroom
• The real and innovative use of ICT in the classroom
• The transversal work with other teachers and institutions
• The teacher's training
• The motivation as a key element in the classroom
• The attention to diversity
• The extension of the concept of assessment (knowledge, skills, etc.)
• The evaluation of teaching practice for continuous improvement

Are you in? Welcome! J

#orangetheworld

This is the slogan for the United Nations' campaign against the gender violence. We've also mentioned in Geography class the different real (economical) benefits for the whole society of offering equal education and opportunities both to boys and girls. You can read it again in this post: "When a girl goes to school..."

4º British: French performances

After two very interesting debates impersonating the characters of the "1789 French General Estates", here you have a zip file with your photos. Remember that you need a special password if you want to download it. 

Have a nice day!

3º British: Sustainable cities

Many people are working towards trying to make cities more sustainable. A sustainable city offers a good quality of life to current residents but doesn't reduce the opportunities for future residents to enjoy. Key features of a sustainable city:

• Resources and services in the city are accessible to all
• Public transport is seen as a viable alternative to cars
• Public transport is safe and reliable
• Walking and cycling is safe
• Areas of open space are safe, accessible and enjoyable
• Wherever possible, renewable resources are used instead of non-renewableresources
• Waste is seen as a resource and is recycled wherever possible
• New homes are energy efficient
• There is access to affordable housing
• Community links are strong and communities work together to deal with issues such as crime and security
• Cultural and social amenities are accessible to all
• Inward investment is made to the CBD

A sustainable city will grow at a sustainable rate and use resources in a sustainable  way. One good example is Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. It aims to do this by:

• Ensuring a low carbon footprint during and after
• Being completely powered by renewable energy.
• Reducing waste to as near to zero as possible, through encouraging changes in behaviour and regulating materials which can be present in the city.
• Leading research and education into sustainable technology.
• Designing the city streets and buildings to help create comfortable environments reducing the need for air conditioning, heating, and artificial light.
• Educating three quarters of the 40,000 residents with 5 hours of sustainability education  each year.
• Leading research at its university to ensure the city retains its sustainable identification and leading knowledge in sustainable living.
• Full pedestrianisation within the city, without vehicles in the space. The transport network would be below ground.

You can read the urban plann and watch more details in the video 1 and video 2 from Youtube (11 minutes each)

Would you like to live in a city like this? J

1º British: Mettallica vettonica

After watching the photos of our visit to the Museum, here you have the links with the zip file: Class 1º BC and Class 1º DE. Remember that you need a special password if you want to download it. 

Have a nice day!

1º British: Gilgamesh, the first super-hero!

Gilgamesh has been called the world’s first superhero, who succeeds because of his great courage, intelligence, and strength, as well as help from the gods and immortals. Stories like his set the pattern for countless epics through the ages, including the heroic stories of today.

Let’s read one of his aventures... Gilgamesh and the Cedar Forest.

Link from the British Museum of London

3º British: And the winner is...

POPULAR ACTION! Congratulations to the winners and also to the other teams, because all of you completed really good performances. 

Now you can download the .zip file with your photos, both Class 3º BC and Class 3º DE. Remember to enter the password correctly to open them.

Have a nice day :-)

4º British: Napoleon Bonaparte

Here you have a new task. This time it is about explaining and comparing two primary sources. Read carefully both texts and follow the instructions:

Text A. Extract from the Act od abdication of Napoleon. 11 April 1814. Palace of Fontainebleau, France (Juridical text, primary source)

“The Allied Powers having declared that Napoleon was the sole obstacle to the restoration of Peace in Europe […], Napoleon faithful to his oath, declares that she renounces, for himself and his heirs, the throne”

Text B. Letter from Napoleon to the Legislative office of France before the Battle of Jena: 1806

“Weakness in the executive office is the greatest of all misfortunes to the people.  Soldier, or First Consul, or even Emperor... I have only one target: the prosperity of France”. 

Task: There is a double activity:

Write a full comment of text A: classification, comment (causes and consequences. Maybe you should also mention the posterior Congress of Vienna) and conclusion.

Compare both sources and also use your own knowledge to answer the following questions:

• How did Napoleon become the dictator and then emperor of France? Summarise in few lines.
• What positive things/laws he promulged?
• How did Napoleon influence European institutions (them and now)?
• Was he an honest visionary or just a selfish ambitious? Express your opinion giving always reasons in favour or against it.

As usual, when finish send an email with your document as attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. I will answer you back with the corrections a.s.a.p. The deadline for this activity would be Thursday 29 October.

Good luck!

1º British: Catal Huyuck, a Neolithic city

Read the following text and them answer the questions as complete as possible:

Catal Huyuck was a Neolithic city. It was constructed near Konya, in south-central Turkey from about 6700 BC to 5650 BC.

These people lived in mud-brick houses that were rectangular in shape, and typically entered from roof level by a wooden latter. Most houses had platforms for sleeping, sitting, or working, along with a hearth and an oven.

The rooftops were the most common area for activity, especially considering that the interiors of the houses had poor light and ventilation. Because the plans and sizings of all the buildings are so similar, it is uncertain which ones were ordinary places and which ones were sacred.

Many houses had wall paintings (hunting scenes, people dancing, etc.) and some small “figurines” (sculptures) of women. Archeologist has also found many utilitarian objects including obsidian tools (the base of its economy), pottery, clay balls, bone tools...

There are the questions; Copy them in a word document and add the answers; when finish, send it as attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. I will answer you back with the corrections as soon as possible.

-         In which modern-day country is Catal Huyuk?

-         In which stage did they were living in?

-         Which material was important in its economy?

-         What did people use for building houses at Catal Huyuk?
-         Which examples of art did they have?

3º British: How to comment a map in Geography?

It's time to practice your first individual map comment... You ask for something "easy" such as sports, and here you have it! 

The 6 most popular sports in the World

Obviously, it is a thematical map (analytical? synthetical? static? dynamic?) but it is incomplete because only shows 6 sports (It is not showing winter activities (Finland) or rugby (New Zealand), for example).

Now it's your turn! Remember to include the CAUSES (several options for explaining why those are the 6 most popular... and causes here are not only linked to sport) and the CONSEQUENCES of that situation (both positive and negative).

When finish, send your comment as an attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. I'll answer you back with the corrections a.s.a.p.

Good luck!

4º British: How to comment an art work? Volunteer practice

Do you want to practice a bit more how to comment an art work? Here you have a VOLUNTEER oportunity. This is the info/classification:

Death of Viriato (leader of the Iberian resistence against the Roman Empire)

Author: José de Madrazo

Place and date: 1807. Painted in Rome during an educational stay, but bring back to Madrid.

Art style: Neoclasicism

Now it’s your turn... Remember the order: 

• Definition of the art style
• Historical context
• Characteristics of the style (Madrazo just followed the general rules, didn’t aport any “Spanish touch”)
• Comment (Remember to mention the “Rule of 3 units: time, place and action)
• Conclusion (standar sentence)

In case you need some extra help, you can read the info from the Museo del Prado, where the canvas is now. But, please, try NOT to copy/paste from there! And as it’s your first individual comment, is not necessary to write something so complete.

When finish, you can send it to me as attached file to blogeducativo08@gmail.com. I’ll answer you back with the corrections a.s.a.p.

Good luck! J

Alemania, Grecia y las deudas

Durante todo el verano hemos oído noticias acerca de las deudas que Grecia tiene con Europa por su rescate durante la crisis. Pero ¿Cuál es el país más endeudado con Europa? ¿Y que además se niega, de forma sistemática, a pagar esas deudas?... Alemania.

Sí, sí. El país que actualmente lidera la UE y que impone sus exigencias a los demás, sin diálogo, Alemania es en realidad quien más dinero debe a Europa. No se trata de “rescates” por mala gestión económica, sino las indemnizaciones por haber invadido, destruido, saqueado y asesinado en dos guerras mundiales.

¿Cómo ha conseguido Alemania NO pagar esas indemnizaciones?

I Guerra Mundial. En el Tratado de Versailles (1919) Alemania fue condenada a pagar 226.000 millones de marcos de oro, una cifra imposible pensada para “ahogar” su economía y su industria armamentística y evitar más problemas en el futuro.

Entre 1924 y 1929, Alemania sobrevivió gracias a los préstamos de EEUU (más de un Billón de dólares). Un alto porcentaje de esos préstamos los dedicó a empezar a pagar las indemnizaciones.

Pero en 1929 estalla el Crack del 29, la gran crisis bursátil. La economía de EEUU se colapsó, arrastrando a sus aliados europeos. Alemania aprovechó la situación para “renegociar” su deuda (“Plan Young”) y dejarla en la mitad (112.000 millones de marcos). Aún así, en 1932 volvieron a renegociarlo, consiguiendo reducir su deuda casi por completo. Según la “Moratoria Hoover” y las “Negociaciones de Lausanne”, Alemania sólo tendría que pagar un 2% de las indemnizaciones impuestas en el Tratado de Versailles.

Es decir, que la deuda de 226.000 millones de marcos quedó reducida a apenas 4.520 millones. Por si esto fuera poco, en 1939 Hitler decide, unilateralmente, suspender los pagos de esa (ahora) mínima deuda.

II Guerra Mundial. La historia se repite: Alemania es condenada a pagar elevadísimas sumas de dinero como indemnizaciones de guerra pero, en el “Tratado de Londres” (1953) EEUU, que necesitaba una Europa fuerte y unida frente a la Unión Soviética, convence a los países europeos (incluida Grecia) para que “perdonen” temporalmente la deuda alemana, a pesar de que necesitaban dichos pagos para poder reconstruirse a sí mismos.

Y lo que es peor: Alemania se libró de sus deudas pero exigió a Grecia que pagase las indemnizaciones de la Guerra de los Balcanes de 1881. ¡Increíble! Lo consiguió en 1964 siendo gobernantes Georgios Papandreou y Kostas Mitsotakis, quienes incluso aceptaron añadir los cuantiosos intereses generados por el “retraso” en el pago.

En 1990 las dos Alemanias se unificaron, lo cual implicaba revisar los términos del Tratado de Londres y retomar el pago de las indemnizaciones. Pero el presidente alemán, Helmut Kohl, se negó. Y así llegamos hasta hoy…

Es decir, que el llamado “milagro alemán” no existió. La recuperación de la economía alemana se debe al IMPAGO reiterado de sus deudas por indemnizaciones de guerra y a la ventaja competitiva que supuso utilizar mano de obra esclava (los presos de los campos de concentración durante la etapa nazi) en grandes empresas como Krupp, Thyssen, Volkswagen, Bayer, Agfa, Siemens, etc.

Por lo tanto, en un mundo justo, ¿quién tendría que pagar a quién?

Muchas gracias a Friedel Hütz-Adams 

por su detallado análisis acerca del Tratado de Londres (1953)

Muchas gracias a Pedro Olalla por proporcionar las bases de este artículo

Imagen de portada

 Caricatura de 1929 que representa a Alemania como un paciente aquejado de diversos males y atendida por un perverso doctor judío. Cada vendaje hace alusión a un tratado internacional y la sangre que vierte en el cubo se refiere a reparaciones de guerra. La traducción del texto sería: "Puedo administrarle otra inyección. En el estado en que se encuentra no sentirá nada".

Time for weekly works!

It's time to start! Here you have your links for your corresponding weekly works of the academic year. Be sure you click on the right level; once you are inside, you will see the complete list of pdf.

Breathe, keep calm and... go to work!

• 1º British (History)
• 3º British
• 4º British

4º British: weekly works (2015-2016)

Just in case you missed my weekly works during Summer time, here you have a new collection of them. Remember that you have also the volunteer one for earning an extra point in June.

Work 1: Enlightment

Work 2: Period of Revolutions

Work 3: USA and Japan

Work 4: Britain under Queen Victoria / Industrialization

Work 5: I World War

Work 6: Russia

Work 7: VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY: Spain (XIX and XX centuries)

Work 8: Interwar period

Good luck!

3º British: weekly works (2015-2016)

Did you miss my weekly works? Here you have a new collection of them, enjoy! 

Work 1: Politics

Work 2: Population and settlement

Work 3: Economy A

Work 4: Economy B

Work 5: Economy C

Work 6: Topographical map

Work 7 (VOLUNTEER ACTIVITY): Review of phisical Geography

Good luck!

1º British: Weekly Works (2015-2016)

It's time to start! Here you have the weekly works for the first part of the year: History. You can download  (remember the password) and print them at home. I will give you the deadlines for doing them in advance. Good luck!

Work 1: Prehistory

Work 2: Mesopotamia and Egypt

Work 3: Ancient Greece

Work 4: Ancient Rome

British: Academic Information 2015 - 2016

We are back! In the links below, you can read the academic information for this year.

1º E.S.O. (British) LOMCE

3º E.S.O. (British) LOMCE

4º E.S.O. (British)

You can also read more details about the Assesment Criteria (Criterios de evaluación y calificación), that includes some news (please, read it carefully), and the Ring-binder criteria (Normas para el cuaderno de la clase).

Are you ready?... Let's go! Good luck!

Films for Summer time

As usual at the end of the academic year, here you have a new list of movies that you can watch if you feel boring on holidays J. This year it is a bit different because it's about teachers: how are things from "the dark side"? As you can imagine, the list also includes the film we have just watched this week in class ("Die Welle" - "La ola"), but there are more and diverse options...

Remember that in the tap "Recomendaciones" you can also read previous cinema' suggestions: 1º and 4º ESO and History of Art (2º Bachillerato). 

Enjoy your holidays! 

1º British: Would you pass the Spartan education?

In this link from the British Museum of London you can face some of the exercises that a young spartian boy should pass if he wanted to survive and become a real Spartian soldier. Think fast! Time is running out!

When finish, you can discover how was life inside a Greek house or you can try to build your own Greek temple. Or... become a Greek hero thanks to BBC website!

Enjoy them... and good luck! J

4º British: And the winner is...

The winners of our I Historical Short-Film Festival are...

• Most popular film: "Dictators in a minute" (13 votes) 
• Best historical film: "Nazi's experiments" (14 votes)
• Best actress: A.B.G. (9 votes)
• Best actor: M.B.G. (6 votes)

¡Congratulations to all the winners! You will be members of the "Great Jury" in next year's edition...

4º British: Berlin after the war

After studying the II World War, the following items could be interesting complements for finding out how was real life after the war:

• Video: Berlin after the war (Collage produced by Kronos Media with archive materials)
• Book: Wild continent: Europe after WWII, by Keith Lowe (Editorial: Galaxia Gutemberg)

World War II left Europe in chaos. Landscapes and cities destroyed and more than 35 million dead. Crime rates increased, economies collapsed and Europeans were on the edge of exhaustion.

In that book Keith Lowe describes a continent still shaken by violence, where much of the population had not yet accepted that the war was over. He underlines the lack of morality and the thirst for revenge of the five years following the war. Describe ethnic clashes and the establishment of a new order that finally brought a difficult stability to a continent devastated.

Based on original documents, interviews and academic studies in eight different languages, "Wild continent" radically changing the way that until now was the WWII and helps to understand the Europe of today, heir to those conflicts.

4º British: Occupation of Czechoslovakia

On September 30, 1938, Hitler, Mussolini, French Premier Daladier, and British Prime Minister Chamberlain signed the Munich Pact, which sealed the fate of Czechoslovakia, virtually handing it over to Germany in the name of peace.

Although the agreement was to give into Hitler’s hands only the Sudentenland, (that part of Czechoslovakia where 3 million ethnic Germans lived), it also handed over to the Nazi war machine 66% Czechoslovakia’s coal, 70% of its iron and steel, and 70% of its electrical power. Without those resources, the Czech nation was left vulnerable to complete German domination.

No matter what concessions the Czech government attempted to make to appease Hitler (like dissolving the Communist Party or suspending all Jewish teachers in ethnic-German majority schools), rumors continued to circulate about “the incorporation of Czechoslovakia into the Reich.”

In fact, on March 15, 1939, during a meeting with Czech President Emil Hácha (66-year-old, Hácha was an inexperienced politician with a bad heart condition) Hitler threatened a bombing raid against Prague, the Czech capital, unless he obtained free passage for German troops into Czech borders. He got it. That same day, German troops poured into Bohemia and Moravia. The two provinces offered no resistance, and they were quickly made a protectorate of Germany. By evening, Hitler made a triumphant entry into Prague. "Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist!" he announced.

Hitler's invasion of Czechoslovakia was the end of appeasement:

• It proved that Hitler had been lying at Munich.
• It showed that Hitler was not just interested in a 'Greater Germany' (the Czechs were not Germans).
• On 31st  March, Chamberlain guaranteed to defend Poland if Germany invaded. That happened on 1st September 1939. It was the beginning of the II World War...

Meanwhile, Czechs took an active resistance against the regime. In fact, high-ranking official Reinhard Heydrich was the only leading Nazi assassinated during the war: on May 27, 1942 two Czech parachutists, sent by the Czech government-in-exile in London, hurled a bomb at his car; Heydrich died several days later because of the injuries.

At the beginning of 1945, Praguers openly rebelled against the Germans, as the Soviets arrived to free Prague on May 9, setting the country on a different, though just as bleak and dismal, path that triggered 40 years of Communist terror...

You can read more details about the Czech resistance and also watch a 3-minutes video about the German occupation of Czech territory.

1ºBritish: new dioramas!

Once again (third year consecutive), here you have the pictures of your dioramas, some of them truly spectacular, such as the Roman road, the Bridge of Alcántara or the Pont du Gard...

There are also some well-known monuments, such as the Theater of the Temple of Diana, both in Mérida:

A circus, for chariot races, a Triunphal Arch, the Acueduct of Segovia... and Pompei! with its famous volcano.

They are some other more modest but also valid examples: the Column of Traian and a thermal bath.