Have fun!

Snakes and Ladders ( Past tenses )

http://www.englishmedialab.com/GrammarGames/New_Snakes_%20Ladders/Past_tenses.html

A football game ( Present vs Past Tenses )

http://www.englishmedialab.com/GrammarGames/football/present%20vs.%20past/present%20vs.%20past.html

Happy May Day!!!

                                                   Aleka Kotopouli

Adjectives ending in -ed and -ing

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-exercises/adjectives-ending-ed-and-%E2%80%93ing

Final exams - May 2012

Thursday 10/5 Interview, Listening
Tuesday 15/5 Dictation, Vocabulary, Reading
Thursday 17/5 Grammar Composition
  

                                      

Joining sentences together

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ks2bitesize/english/spelling_grammar/language_structure/play.shtml

Cannonball Express ( putting words in the correct order )

              http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/buildsent.htm

A basketball game ( prepositions )

http://www.marks-english-school.com/games/b_prepmed.html

Modals ( may - can't - must )

Have some practice on modals !!!


http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-exercises/modals-%E2%80%93-deduction-present

Survive the savage sea

The Robertson family

Survive the savage sea is the true exciting  story of the Robertson family who decide to travel around the world.The family live on a farm near Leek in North Staffordshire, England. One Sunday morning the family listen to the news. There is a report about travelling round the world. They think that it is a lovely idea. So two years later they buy a boat which they call  “Lucette”. The adventure starts...

     Lucette at sunset

At first everything seems to be OK but suddenly something hits the schooner and water comes up through the floorboards. Unfortunately, Dougal sees some whales that have made holes through the boat. He advises his children to put on their lifejackets but Dougal and his wife  have no time to put their lifejackets on. He helps his son Douglas to throw the dinghy and the yellow self-inflatable raft into the sea. They put some things into the dinghy and they all climb into it. Some minutes later the boat sinks.

 On the 6th day Dougal tries to catch a fish but a shark takes his line. After 7 days in the sea the family's password is Survival. On the 8th day they cut up a female turtle and they eat its eggs and its meat. They try to make a fish spear. When Dougal tries to catch a fish, he hits the spear against the mast and breaks it. 

On the 26th day they lose the sea anchor. Perhaps  a shark has taken it. On the 29th day they realize that they have to kill in order to eat. The sea is quite calm. Dougal tries to catch a Mako shark. He puts a small flying fish on the large fish hook, holds the line and throws it down. Dougal feels a pull on the line. The shark bites and  Dougal pulls it in. The shark fights hard but in the end Dougal pulls it to the dinghy. Lyn puts the paddle into the shark’s jaw. After that, Dougal kills it with the knife and cuts off its head.

The 38th day is their last day on the raft. It has not rained much in the night. They hang up pieces of meat to dry. That afternoon  Dougal sees a ship so they start screaming. The ship sails towards them. Dougal puts his arms round Lyn and there are tears in his eyes...

              

http://www.survivethesavagesea.com/SSS.html

 Mary Diakona


                             

A basketball game ( passive voice )

http://eslgamesworld.com/members/games/grammar/basketball/active%20vs.%20passive%20voice/active%20vs.%20passive%20voice.html

                                                                   Have fun  and practise passive voice !!!

with love,

your teacher

Aleka Kotopouli

Prisoner in the jungle

The plot

Karen and John Wilson live with their father in a small town which is called Rouali. Their father has been missing for two weeks. When they receive a letter from him, they realize that he’s in great danger and they decide to rescue him. They look at the map and they find the town where their father is. This town is called Golatta.To get there they use the help of Billy Baily, one of their father’s friends.  He agrees to fly to Golatta with them. Ten minutes after they have taken off, a bad storm breaks out.

All of a sudden, Billy realizes that he has made a mistake and he does not fly over the town of Golatta. Some people shoot and kill him so it is Karen’s turn to fly the plane. Unfortunately, the plane runs out of fuel and Karen and John have to use parachutes. Karen’s parachute is torn but she manages to open another parachute. When they land, they find their father’s diary. Karen opens it and reads a secret code which John uses to open the door of the room where their father is. They both get into the room and there is their father….

Characters 

 

* John -> he’s especially good at maths

* Karen -> she’s able to solve puzzles and riddles…

   Both children are courageous, they are close to each other and they care about
   their father.

* Bill -> he’s stupid and ignorant.

* The kids’ father ->l he loves adventures.

   The most important event

My opinion is that the most important event is when Billy Baily is killed  and Karen is forced to fly the plane… She is too young to do it and the reader wonders whether she will make it or not.

Anna-Maria Sorotou

Kidnapped

 

 Summary

Kidnapped  takes place in the Scottish Highlands in 1751. It tells the story of David Balfour, an orphan whose uncle deceives him, tries to kill him and later, kidnaps him. Young David escapes with the help of his friend Alan Stewart. Together they have a lot of exciting adventures.

The plot

After his parents’ death David  Balfour lives with his parents’ friends,  Mr and Mrs Robertson.  When David is 17 years old,  Mr Robertson gives him a letter from his father, which he has to take to his uncle.  David takes it to his uncle, a violent man that actually wants to kill him.  He stays at his uncle’s house for a while and one day  when both David and his uncle go to an inn to meet the captain of a ship, David finds out that his uncle has killed his father.

David feels scared but he doesn’t  have much choice. When he goes  with the captain and his uncle to see a ship, he is informed that he is on his way to America to be sold as a slave to a plantation.  He is worried and desperate   until  he  makes friends with Alan Steward,  a man that the sailors save from a boat on a foggy night.  David offers to help him fight against the captain and the crew who want his money.  They manage to kill the captain and make the sailors run away. Alan gives David one silver button  to remind  him of his first battle.

Suddenly, the ship hits a big rock and they all fall into the sea. David sees land and swims towards it. Then, he starts looking for his friend Alan, who hides from the English soldiers that hate him because he supports the English king’s enemy. Alan helps David find his father’s family lawyer who tells him that the house where his uncle lives belongs to David. They make a plan and convince David’s uncle to give him every year two thirds of the money that he earns from the House of Shaws.

The main  characters

   My favourite character is Alan  Stewart, a member of the French army  who          is not afraid of the English soldiers when he is in Scotland.

Another important character of the story is David Balfour, a brave young boy.     

The most important event

I think that the most important event is when David Balfour helps Alan Stewart and saves him from the captain and the crew. They both become best friends and start supporting each other.    

My  opinion

This book is awesome! You feel that you can’t stop  reading it since you want to find out what is going to happen next.

Angel Tsitsiridakis

Strange Disappearances

The Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle is an area of the Atlantic Ocean near the coast of Florida. This area is famous for the disappearance of hundreds of ships and planes.

- On 5th December 1945 five military planes were flying near the coast of Florida. Suddenly, the pilots did not know where they were. One of the pilots phoned with these words " We seem to be lost ... Everything is wrong ... We can't be sure of anything ... Our equipment has stopped working ... " Then, the phone went dead. The planes were never seen again.

- On 11th June 1986 Martin Caidin was flying in good weather. Suddenly, the sky became very cloudy. Then, it changed to bright yellow and the plane's equipment stopped working. Above the plane there was a hole and below the plane there was another hole. Caidin could see the ocean at the end of it. He stayed calm and flew the plane for a few hours. When he finally got into blue sky, the plane's equipment started working again.

Are these disappearances ordinary? Why haven't searchers ever found any pieces of the planes and ships?

People have tried to explain the mystery but they have different opinions. Here are some of them:

* The weather is unusual there.

* These disappearances are ordinary accidents.

* The lost city of Atlantis pulls these ships and planes down under the sea.

( Information taken from the book  Mysteries of the Unexplained by Kathy Burke - Penguin Active Reading)

 Aggelika Karystinou - Anthony Drougas

A Dream Come True

MY OPINION

It’s a great book!!! The plot is very interesting and the characters are amazing!

THE PLOT

Sam Sinclair, the manager of Lara Lane, Girl Power and  Solo is looking for talented singers and musicians to form THE band of the 21st century. Tanya and Dan want to join the new band, she as the lead singer and he as a guitarist. They both go to the audition for the band but unfortunately Tanya is chosen to be an understudy singer. Another girl, Bianca, is selected to be the lead singer. Tanya and Dan explore the factory where the audition takes place and find a pair of ancient Egyptian gold earrings which Tanya decides to keep. Jack and Damien, the two evil men who want the earrings, look for Tanya and Dan. When Tanya and Dan go to Edinburgh for their first concert, the two men follow them.

After the concert the two men take Tanya to the hotel in order to take back the earrings. Dan calls the police and they catch the two men. After that, Bianca finds out that her mother is the famous singer Lara Lane and she decides to leave the group so Tanya becomes the lead singer.

CHARACTERS

Tanya has short blond hair and she is talented and optimistic.

Dan is tall with short black hair and he is very friendly with Tanya.

Bianca has long blond hair and a good voice, not as good as Tanya’s though.

Konstantina Souroufi

How to protect our environment

Our planet is changing. We all need to help it change for the better!


Read an interesting article by clicking on http://www.ypte.org.uk/environmental/environment-how-can-you-help-protect-it-/81

You can also watch two videos.. One of them shows a solar- powered helicopter and the other one shows an eco house. They are both made by Angel Tsitsiridakis. Bravo Angel!!!

                                                   A solar- powered helicopter

An eco house

Happy Spring!!!

Watch the video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuhwwnDEDO8&feature=player_detailpage
   

Happy Spring to all of you!

With love,

your teacher

Pictures of extraordinary plants

Click on  http://www.liveoutside.co.uk/32-extraordinary-plants.html and enjoy some absolutely amazing extraordinary plants.

Reported speech ( questions )

You can have more practice on reported speech by clicking on:

http://english.specialist.hu/a3/xgg/preprt.htm

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

THE PLOT

A very long time ago, in the Italian city of Verona, there were two families: the Montagues and the Capulets. Both families were famous, rich and popular but they hated each other. Verona also had a very wise Prince who had relatives in both of the feuding families so he didn’t want them to fight.

Romeo was Signore Montague’s only son. He was so much in love with Rosaline that he could hardly think of anything else.  However, she didn’t love him back and that made him feel unhappy. One day when Romeo and a friend of his were walking, they met one of the Capulets’ servants who could not read the guest list for a costume party that his lord was having that night. Going to that party was a great opportunity for Romeo to see Rosaline.

 

The Capulets’ party was truly magnificent.  The best thing about it, though, was that everyone wore masks so that it was a kind of game to figure out who each person was. When Romeo saw Juliet, he fell in love with her and forgot all about Rosaline. It was love at first sight! That night Romeo crept over to Juliet’s balcony and gave her a rose. Juliet told him that if he was serious about loving her, he should arrange for them to get married.

Romeo and Juliet secretly got married. Friar Lawrence agreed to marry them hoping that their marriage might bring peace between their families. After the wedding, Romeo had to use force to break up a fight between Mercutio, a relative of the Prince of Verona and Tybalt, one of Capulet’s nephews. Mercutio was killed during the fight and Romeo felt guilty about what had happened. He killed Tybalt but when the Prince was informed about that, he banished Romeo from Verona. Both Romeo and Juliet were desperate as they did not have much time to enjoy their marriage.

Juliet went to Friar Lawrence for advice. He gave her a drug that was supposed to make her sleep very deeply. According to the Friar’s plan, her parents would think that she was dead. Meanwhile, the Friar would send a letter to tell Romeo who was in Mantua about the plan. Unfortunately, the letter never reached Romeo, who, like everyone else, believed Juliet had really died. He travelled to Verona, opened the door to the mausoleum where Juliet lay, he kissed her and drank the poison he had bought. When Juliet woke up, she saw that Romeo was dead. She was so sad that she took Romeo’s sword and stabbed herself. “At least we’ll be together in death,” she whispered as she fell.

                                      

THE MAIN CHARACTERS

Romeo had dark hair and brown eyes. He was a very handsome and brave young man.

Juliet was a very beautiful woman with long blond hair. She had a lot of common sense since she realized that boys would sometimes say things without meaning them.

THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT

The most important event is when Juliet drinks the drug so as to avoid getting married to Paris. She decides to do it despite all the doubts that she has about the Friar’s plan.

MY OPINION

I recommend this book to my classmates, as it is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays.

If you want to find information about Shakespeare, click on '
 http://absoluteshakespeare.com/william_shakespeare.htm

Stella Vouskoudaki

 

Funny comic strips

Dangerous Game

THE PLOT

Some time after his wife’s death, William Harris, a forty-year-old writer, realizes that his bedroom is haunted. William names the ghost ‘Poldy’ from the word ‘poltergeist’. You know that a poltergeist is a playful ghost. Poldy is always in the room and he only appears when they play a game. He never appears when William Harris uses the light switch. He appears only when he pulls the plug out. When William puts the plug back in, Poldy disappears and he does not come back.

Every day William works in his usual way but his life is different now because he enjoys Poldy’s company. In the beginning they play happy games that they invent but as time goes by, the games become more and more dangerous. William is terrified and he does not want to play games any more, at least not with this evil ghost which is the ghost of his dear wife, Julie whom William murdered. ..

MAIN CHARACTERS

William Harris isn’t easy going. He is a bit boring but he is smart.

Poldy is  my favourite character. He seems to be evil, funny, kind and playful at the same time.

THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT

The most important event is when William Harris plays a strange game with the ghost Poldy. One night when the ghost appears, William pulls the plug of his lamp out of the socket and the ghost disappears. It is the most important event because the readers believe that in this way William can get rid of the ghost’s presence.

 MY OPINION

I believe that this book is amazing! I recommend it to those classmates of mine that like mysteries.

  Jim Trevizakis

                                         

Natural disasters

Watch the following video 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=oZP5odAwdKs

Imaginary plants

Amansweet

This strange-looking plant is found in Sweetland. It is named after Anna-Mariscova and Mariova, the two girls that discovered it. The plant eats sweets in order to grow, it can be up to 2 metres tall and it can live for 100 years. It is colourful ( you can see it in the picture ), it looks like a sweet and if you notice it, you will be surprised since  it has lollipops instead of leaves!!!

Anna-Maria Sorotou and Mary Diakona

The Aggrose

Our imaginary plant is called Aggrose because it gets very aggressive. It looks like a regular rose but it can be very dangerous. It has a pink flower and a green stem on which thorns appear if a human or an animal approaches  it. So be careful! If you touch it, you  may get hurt. 

Stella Vouskoudaki, Konstantina Souroufi and Aggeliki Karystinou

Trappcinno

 

Don’t get deceived by the name of the plant. It is not some kind of trap; our imagination has created it. It is a very extraordinary plant. It looks like a common cup of coffee but it can become very evil, especially when an insect goes near it. It is short and colourful and it has flowers in the middle to attract insects. 

                                    Angel Tsitsiridakis, Dimitris Trevizakis, Anthony Drougas

.

Piraeus

Piraeus is a city near the capital of Greece, Athens. It is famous for its big port and it has a population of  many thousands of people.

This city has lots of impressive and interesting sights. First of all, there is the Municipal Theatre, which is in the centre of the city. It was built in 1885 and it is one of the most famous landmarks. Another place worth visiting is the Archaeological Museum that includes a big collection of monuments and pottery. There is also the superb Municipal Gallery of Piraeus where someone can find very attractive works of artists like N. Lytras.

The tourists who visit Piraeus can also go to Kastella. It is a wonderful place with neo-classical mansions and luxurious houses.Another famous destination is Zea where one can see impressive yachts and cruisers.

You can find different ways of entertainment in Piraeus. You

 can eat tasty fish in very traditional restaurants by the sea ,you can

 watch a movie or you can drink a hot cup of coffee.

In my opinion, Piraeus is a beautiful city that every person must visit. 

Stella Vouskoudaki

A fairy tale: Snow White

                                                               THE PLOT





Once upon a time there was a queen and a king in a far-away kingdom who wished they had a baby. Some years later they managed to have a little girl whose name was Snow White. Unfortunately, her mother died and when Snow White was 7 years old, her father got married to a beautiful but mean woman. The new queen didn't want Snow White in the castle.

The queen had a magic mirror which she used to ask every day if she was the most beautiful woman of all ....  

                                                                                                       

When Snow White grew up, she became a very beautiful woman whom

 everyone loved  because of her kindness, except for the evil queen. One day

 the queen told one of her servants to kill Snow White but he told her to run away instead.

Snow White ran into the forest because she was afraid. Suddenly she saw a little house.

She was tired so she got into the house where she saw seven little beds. She slept

in one of them and when she woke up, she saw seven dwarfs looking at her. She told

them everything and they told her she could stay at their home.

One day the queen, dressed up as a poor woman,went to the little house and gave Snow White an apple. When she ate it, she fell down.

One day a handsome prince saw Snow White and fell in love with her. When he kissed her, she woke up.

Some days later they got married and lived happily ever after!    

                 OUR FAVOURITE CHARACTERS

The seven dwarfs

Bashful : He has a green hat and long eyelashes

Doc: He has a brown hat and he wears glasses

Dopey: He has a purple hat and big ears

Grumpy: He has a brown hat and he often scowls at people

Happy: He has an orange headpiece and he always smiles

Sleepy: He has a blue hat and heavy eyelids

Sneezy: He has a brown jacket, an orange headpiece and a red nose

OUR OPINION

It is a book for all ages, especially for kids. We recommend this book to other people, hoping that they will love it as much as we did!!!

Anna-Maria Sorotou

Mary Diakona  

The island of Dr Moreau

THE PLOT

• While a ship was sailing in the South Pacific, it went down and the only passenger that was rescued was Edward Prendick. A passenger on another ship took care of him while they were on board. He was a short man with a hairy neck and long black hair; his name was Montgomery. Montgomery was  a famous biologist who had abandoned urban life because other scientists didn't agree with his theory and experiments.

• One day the captain of the ship sent Dr Moreau and Montgomery to an island. Prendick lived in a small house but he was not allowed to go to Moreau's laboratory. One night, while Prendick was sleeping, he heard a noise. He quickly went out and saw a puma running in the forest... He was hurt by it. Montgomery and Moreau told Prendick that they turned animals into humans! Some of them had to be killed because they were very dangerous. Some days later Prendick and Montgomery killed a lot of animals that ate meat.

• One day Prendick and Montgomery gave a party where some animal men and Moreau were invited. At the end of it some meat eaters attacked them and killed them all. Prendick was left alone with the meat eaters. A few months later some sailors from the ship Ipecacuancha arrived. They wanted to see if Montgomery and Moreau were still alive .....  

                                                

                                                     THE MAIN CHARACTERS  

               Montgomery

                    He is short. 

                    He has long black hair and a hairy neck.

                 Prendick    

                                                           

                 He is tall.           

                 He has short curly blond hair.  

                 He usually wears white shirts and baggy trousers.

                               THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT

                     

                I think that the most important event of the story is when Prendick 
                discovers that the strange creatures are animals. In my opinion,
                this part is the most important

               because from this point on the plot becomes more interesting.

                                                             MY OPINION 

               I recommend this book to my classmates because I know that they
               will enjoy it!


                IF YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE BOOK,
                CLICK ON :

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=41SuVCbnuSc#t=15s                                    

                                     

                              

            Angel Tsitsiridakis