GRRReat readers: "Welcome Back to School!"

EL GRUPO LEO EN FLORIDA
Lecturas en inglés

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Hello my Grrreat Readers and Welcome Back to School!

Yes, I  said welcome back to school! I know that is still August, but what you don´t know

is that here, in the US, the school starts in August.

The teachers officially start the 13^th, but the truth is that we have to go earlier than the 13^th in order to prepare the beginning of the coming year. However, kids start the 19^th.

One curiosity that I would like to share with you is the meaning of apples in the US.

Students have been giving apples to teachers for hundreds of years. Apples started to represent teachers and education.

There are several different religious and nonreligious stories to explain this tradition.

Religious Story

The biblical book of Genesis tells the story of Adam and Eve. In the story, Eve eats an apple from the tree of knowledge. As a result of this reference, the apple has become a symbol of knowledge, and children give teachers apples to thank them for knowledge.

Nonreligious Stories

From 1700 to 1900, children gave teachers apples because they came from poor farming families that were unable to pay for school. Children also gave teachers apples because teachers didn't earn very much money and families wanted to provide them with extra food.

Present-day Explanations

Not everyone agrees with the Bible-based theory about apple-giving coming from the Genesis story. And certainly, school costs have gone down and teacher's salaries have gone up over the years. These days, children continue to give teachers apples simply as a tradition.

So if you want, in September, when you start your academic year, you can give to your English teacher an apple. She or he will appreciate your gift!

The book of this month is MISS NELSON IS MISSING by James Marshall.

READ ALOUD

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5alXPJ8t5Q8

I always read this book to my students the first day of school. I like this book because we can learn an important lesson about it and because during the reading, the book will provide you some laughs and a lot of entertainment

SYNOPSIS:

The students in Miss Nelson's class have difficulty following the rules and being respectful. One day, Miss Nelson thinks an ingenious plan and disappears, making it necessary for substitute “Viola Swamp” to take over. Soon the children are inundated with homework and have their story time taken away. Eventually, Miss Nelson comes back to a much improved class that appreciates her for the wonderful teacher she is.

Activities:

1.Character Comparison

Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the story's two main characters, Miss Nelson and Miss Viola Swamp.

2. Matching game

Cut and glue the words that describe the characters.