Class Rules from the Corleone Family

16th July 2023

We are the Robots ! Found art and latent imagination

15th July 2023

Today’s subject was life-changing inventions. I had previously introduced the class to early C20th collages, mixing paint with newspaper headlines, as well as ‘found art’ – items of rubbish (trash, garbage) that could be utilisied in an artistic manner.

Let’s take that a step further. I searched my house for items that could be used to create three robots.

First, a main body: I used a detergent bottle, a hard-plastic container and a rectangular cardboard box.

As can be seen, I found cotton, hard plastic, buttons, bangles, empty medicine blisters, food jars, adhesive handles, incense sticks, bits of old plumbing … etc, etc, etc.

Some good old sticky tape and glue sticks, markers, scissors and crayons:

Et puis …

Maybe we have a future worker at Lucasfilm here ?

The Perfect Penguin Quiz

14th July 2023

image from: https://www.animalspot.net/penguin

A fun classroom activity for ages 9 – 12

Students are put into small teams and given this questionnaire.

The teacher will place information cards around the room, possibly even outside the classroom depending on school layout.

One student from each group will look for the answer, then report back to the group. The answer is written down.

Repeat with a new student each time, then return to the original student.

Pedagogic benefits:

Reading questions and finding the correct answer.

Reporting back to the team.

Writing the answer.

Presenting the answer to the whole class, speaking clearly and loudly.

The Perfect Penguin Quiz

1) We say a herd of sheep and a pride of lions – but what is the collective nouns for penguins ?

2) Why are penguins black and white ?

3) Why do penguins huddle together ?

4) Penguins have solid, heavy bones but other birds have hollow, light bones … why ?

5) How does a penguin keep warm ?

6) Apart from Antarctica, where do penguins live ?

7) How many types of penguins are there ?

8) Why will you never see a penguin with a polar bear in the wild ?

9) Are penguins good walkers ?

10) What does a man penguin give to a lady penguin if he likes her ?

The Answers

1) A group of penguins is called a raft (in water) or a waddle (on land).

2) The black and white is camouflage – they look like waves from above, and sunlight from underneath.

3) Penguins huddle together for protection and to keep warm

4) Penguins don’t fly. Heavy bones are better for swimming.

5) Penguins make oil. They cover their feathers to keep warm.

6) Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, South Africa, New Zealand & Australia.

7) There are 18 types of penguin.

8) Polar bears live in the Arctic, in the northern hemisphere.

9) Some penguins can walk 60 miles on ice.

10) A man penguin gives a lady penguin a rock if he likes her. The man shows he wants to build a nest together and start a family. The stones will protect eggs.

NOW … write and draw a story

A penguin goes on holiday to the Arctic and meets a polar bear for the first time. What happens ?

You can find a lot more information, tips and pictures on this previous blog: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/06/28/the-teleporting-penguin-a-summer-school-project/

Good luck … learn and have fun !

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Thank you, Penny (knock, knock), Penny (knock, knock), Penny (knock, knock)

12th July 2023

Another lovely and much appreciated gift from a great young student.

Penny was in one of my weekend classes, and is now one of the leading students in the Summer School.

The seaweed snack was delicious !

Thank you, Penny

1968 Rock Classics: Post-psychedelic, back to basics

July 2023

The year began with The Beatles suffering their first critical backlash after December 67’s ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ although a certain 7″ single in summer would return them to the top. However, both The Beatles and The Rolling Stones were slowing down, while bands that would dominate the 70s began to emerge: Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, T-Rex and Deep Purple. Meanwhile the stirrings of what would be termed Krautrock were brewing in Germany, and what a strange brew it would prove to be.

Yet, maybe it was the politics that overshadowed the music. We witness the assassinations of Dr Martin Luther King Jr and Robert Kennedy. President LBJ steps down and Nixon is elected. Police brutality is caught on camera in Chicago, riots in dozens of US cities, protests across Europe, the Tet Offensive in Sai Gon and Russian tanks crush the Prague Spring in the former Czechoslovakia.

James Brown was ‘Black and Proud,’ while The Band retired to upstate New York to delve into the musical heritage of the US. Then in December, the king was back; but the times were certainly a-changing. .

2001 A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick

A selection of music from 1968. Release dates differed, so I’ve usually given the UK date

January

5th Status Quo ‘Pictures of Matchstick Men’ single

8th Manfred Mann ‘Mighty Quinn’ single

8th Otis Redding ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ single

15th the Byrds ‘The Notorious Byrd Brothers LP. David Crosby’s last record in the original Byrds.

22nd Canned Heat ‘Boggie with Canned Heat’ LP

29th Steppenwolf ‘Steppenwolf’ debut LP

30th Velvet Underground ‘White Light/White Heat’ LP

Bee Gees ‘Horizontal’ LP

The Electric Prunes ‘Mass in F Minor’ LP

Aretha Franklin ‘Lady Soul’ LP

Kaleidoscope ‘A Beacon from Mars’ LP

30th Start of the Tet Offensive: North Vietnamese and VC troops attack targets in South Vietnam including the US Embassy.

February

17th The Monkees ‘Valleri’ single

23rd Manfred Mann ‘Up the Junction’ soundtrack LP

24th Fleetwood Mac ‘Fleetwood Mac’ LP

Vanilla Fudge ‘ The Beat Goes on’ LP

March

4th Frank Zappa ‘We’re Only in it for the Money’ LP

13th Laura Nyro ‘Eli and the Thirteenth Confession’ LP

15th The Beatles ‘Lady Madonna’ single

15th Cliff Richard ‘Congratulations’ single

22nd the Hollies ‘Jennifer Eccles’ single

23rd Joni Mitchell ‘Song to Seagull’ debut LP

23rd Dionne Warwick ‘Valley of the Dolls’ LP

The Doors ‘The Unknown Soldier’ single

Gary Puckett & The Union Gap ‘Young Girl’ single

The Zombies ‘Time of the Season’ single

Ray Charles ‘A Portrait of Ray’ LP

April

3rd Simon & Garfunkel ‘Bookends’ LP

4th Death of Martin Luther King Jr

5th Simon & Garfunkel ‘Mrs Robinson’ single

5th Small Faces ‘Lazy Sunday’ single

8th The Beach Boys ‘Friends’ single

19th the Zombies ‘Odessey and Oracle’ LP

22nd The Monkees ‘The Birds, the Bees & the Monkees’ LP

24th Canned Heat ‘I’m on the Road Again’ single

The Move ‘The Move’ LP

Sly and the Family Stone ‘Dance to the Music’ LP

Scott Walker ‘Scott 2’ LP

Dionne Warwick ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose’ single

Mason Williams ‘Classical Gas’ single

May

1st The Equals ‘Baby Come Back’ single

6th Manfred Mann ‘Mighty Garvey’ LP

14th The Delfonics ‘La La Means I Love You’ LP

24th The Rolling Stones ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’ single

24th Small Faces ‘Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake’ LP

28th Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Creedence Clearwater Revival’ debut LP

Steppenwolf ‘Born to be Wild’ single

Quicksilver Messenger Service ‘Quicksilver Messenger Service’ LP

The Seeds ‘Raw & Alive: The Seeds in Concert at Merlin’s Music Box’ LP

June

6th Death of Robert F. Kennedy

7th Manfred Mann ‘My Name is Jack’ single

11th The Doors ‘Hello, I Love You’ single

14th Aretha Franklin ‘Aretha Now’ LP featuring ‘Say a Little Prayer for You’

15th Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Suzie Q’ single

21st Deep Purple ‘Hush’ single

21st John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers ‘Bare Wires’ LP with Mick Taylor

24th The Beach Boys ‘Friends’ LP

25th Elvis ‘Speedway’ soundtrack LP

28th the Kinks ‘Days

28th Pink Floyd ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’ LP – the last LP to feature a contribution from Syd Barret

‘The Crazy World of Arthur Brown’ LP featuring the hit ‘Fire’

Silver Apples ‘Silver Apples’ LP – regarded as an important blend of rock and electronic music.

Joan Baez ‘Baptism: A Journey Through Our Time’ LP – a mix of poetry and music

Serge Gainsbourg ‘Initials B.B’ LP featuring ‘Bonnie and Clyde’

Strawberry Alarm Clock ‘Wake Up … It’s Tomorrow’ LP

July

1st The Band ‘Music from Big Pink’ LP

3rd The Doors ‘Waiting for the Sun’ LP

8th The Beach Boys ‘Do It Again’ single

14th Vanilla Fudge ‘Renaissance’ LP

14th The Yardbirds final gig at Luton, UK. Jimmy Page and Chris Dreja completed a Scandinavian tour as the New Yardbirds, with Robert Plant and John Bonham.

18th Grateful Dead ‘Anthem of the Sun’ LP

22nd Mike Bloomfield, Al Kooper & Stephen Stills ‘Super Session’ LP

26th The Moody Blues ‘In Search of the Lost Chord’ LP

27th the Who ‘Magic Bus’ single

29th Jeff Beck ‘Truth’ LP

30th Buffalo Springfield ‘Last Time Around’ LP

Phil Ochs ‘Tape from California’ LP

August

9th Cream ‘Wheels of Fire’ LP

12th Big Brother and the Holding Company ‘Cheap Thrills’ LP (featuring Janis Joplin on vocals)

21st Soviet-led troops invade Czechoslovakia, the Prague Spring ends along with any hope of free speech and democracy

23rd Fleetwood Mac ‘Mr Wonderful’ LP

28th Chicago riots at the Democratic National Convention

‘Hey Jude’ video first broadcast on Frost on Saturday 8th September 1968

30th The Beatles ‘Hey Jude’ single

30th Mary Hopkins ‘Those Were The Days’ single

30th the Byrds ‘Sweetheart of the Rodeo LP

Big Brother and the Holding Company ‘Piece of my Heart’ single

James Brown ‘Say it Loud (I’m Black and I’m Proud) single

The Casuals ‘Jesamine’ single

Beacon Street Union ‘The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens’ LP

Country Joe and the Fish ‘Together’ LP

Jefferson Airplane ‘Crown of Creation’ LP

September

1st Bee Gees ‘Idea’ LP

3rd Elvis ‘A Little Less Conversation’ single

Deep Purple ‘Shades of Deep Purple’ LP

October

14th Tyrannosaurus Rex ‘Prophets, Seers & Sages: The Angels of the Ages’ LP, including a new version of their debut single ‘Deborah’

16th Jimi Hendrix ‘Electric Ladyland’ LP

18th Jimi Hendrix ‘All Along the watchtower’ single

25th Jethro Tull ‘That Was’ debut LP

25th the New Yardbirds play their first gig under their new name – Led Zeppelin

30th Marvin Gaye ‘I Heard it Through the Grapevine’ single

Judy Collins ‘Both Sides Now’ single

Captain Beefheart ‘Strictly Personal’ LP

Dillard & Clark ‘The Fantastic Expedition of Dillard & Clark’ LP

Nazz ‘Nazz’ LP featuring Todd Rundgren

Steppenwolf ‘The Second’ LP

Traffic ‘Traffic’ LP

November

1st Canned Heat ‘Living the Blues’ LP

1st The Dave Clarke Five ‘5 By 5 (1964- 1969)’ LP

5th Elvis ‘If I Can Dream’ single

8th The Foundations ‘Build Me Up Buttercup’ single

8th Dusty Springfield ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ single

6th The Monkees ‘Head’ film released

12th Neil Young ‘Neil Young’ first solo LP

13th Diana Ross and The Supremes ‘Love Child’ LP

18th Jimi Hendrix ‘Crosstown Traffic’ single

22nd Fleetwood Mac ‘Albatross’ single (their first Number 1)

22nd The Beatles ‘The Beatles’ (White Album) LP

22nd the Kinks ‘The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society’ LP

28th the Move ‘Blackberry Way’ single

29th The Beach Boys ‘Bluebirds over the Mountains’ single

29th Manfred Mann ‘Fox on the Run’ single

29th John Lennon & Yoko Ono ‘Unfinished Music No 1: Two Virgins’ LP

29th Van Morrison ‘Astral Weeks’ LP

Cream ‘White Room’ single

Judy Collins ‘Who Knows Where the Time Goes’ LP

The Electric Prunes ‘Release of an Oath’ LP

The Left Banke ‘The Left Banke Too’ LP

John Mayall ‘Blues from Laurel Canyon’ LP with Mick Taylor, and Peter Green guesting on one track.

The Monkees ‘Head’ soundtrack LP

Nico ‘The Marble Index’ LP

Dionne Warwick ‘Promises, Promises’ LP

December

3rd ‘Singer presents … Elvis’ – more commonly known as the ’68 Comeback Special’, aired on the NBC network.

6th The Rolling Stones ‘Beggars Banquet’ LP

11th – 12th The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus was filmed. Also playing were The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, and The Dirty Mac featuring John & Yoko with Eric Clapton. The Stones decided to withdraw the film, and it wasn’t shown until 1996.

20th Pretty Things ‘S.F. Sorrow’ LP

Joan Baez ‘Any Day Now’ double LP of Dylan covers

The Doors ‘Touch Me’ single

The wind in the willows, folk rock LP featuring Debbie Harry on backing vocals

BLUES

1st January Taj Mahal ‘Taj Mahal’ LP

October 5th Muddy Waters ‘Electric Mud’ LP

November Albert King Live Wire/Blues Power LP

B.B. King ‘Blues on Top of Blues’ & ‘Lucille’ LPs

Albert Collins ‘Love Can Be Found Anywhere (Even in a Guitar) LP

COUNTRY

2nd January Merle Haggard ‘Sing Me Back Home’ one of 3 LPs Merle released in ’68.

13th January Johnny Cash ‘At Folsom Prison’ Live LP

7th February Merrilee Rush & the Turnabouts ‘Angel of the Morning’ single

8th July Tammy Wynette ‘D.I.V.O.R.C.E.’ LP

20th September Tammy Wynette ‘Stand by your Man’ single

4th November Glen Campbell ‘Wichita Lineman’ (one of five LPs Glenn released in 1968)

JAZZ

January Jackie McLean ‘New and Old Gospel’ LP

May Peter Brötzmann ‘Machine Gun’ LP

March Miles Davis ‘Nefertiti’ LP

July 22nd ‘Miles in the Sky’ LP

June Lee Morgan ‘The Gigolo’ LP

Nina Simone ‘Nuff Said!’ LP

Young Person’s Guide to Music: A Summer School project

5th July 2023

Chloe Chau from Singapore

Miumiu from China

… and from Cambridge in the UK.

We do not have any instruments in our class (yet … later we shall make a xylophone !), but we all have voices and can sing !

Let’s start with a round. This is when some of the class sing a song, then the other students sing the same song BUT one verse later.

Listen to this children’s song called ‘London Burning.’ Listen and then we shall try to sing. Many points to the best singers.

Teacher’s Note: split the class into small groups depending on class size and motivation. Award points for the best performances.

First question – do you know any famous composers ?

M _ _ _ _ _

B _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

C _ _ _ _ _

B _ _ _

P _ _ _ _ _ _ _

QUESTION RUNAROUND

Teacher’s Note: Keep class in small groups. Select one student per group to run up to the board and place – not slap – their hand on number 1,2 or 3. Blank the screen so the students can’t see the answers !

Question 1: Who wrote this music

1) BlackPink 2) Paganini 3) PinkBlack

Question 2: Is this music for

1) a birth, 2) marriage or 3) death ?

Question 3: Is this music

1) Happy and joking 2) sad 3) very angry

Play from 17:02

Question 4: This music is about a planet – which one ?

1) Venus (love) 2) Jupiter (happiness) 3) Mars (war)

Question 5: This opera is set in which country ? 1) China 2) Australia 3) Spain

Last Question: Classical music is often used in films. Was this music used in a …

1) comedy 2) animation 3) space film ?

How does the music make you feel ?

What adjectives can you use ?

excited, thrilled, scared, nervous, awe-inspired

Now it’s time to learn about the orchestra and the instruments.

The number 4 is very important in music – do you know why ?

What are the four families of instruments ?

What are the four stringed instruments ?

What are the brass instruments ?

What are the percussion instruments ?

BUT … it’s not always perfect. Take a look at these:

The Teleporting Penguin – A Summer School Project.

28th June 2023

June 21st in Antarctica. The sun did not rise; it was night for 24 hours and the temperature was less than -50°C.

How do penguins keep warm ?

Percival Penguin couldn’t sleep, he had many penguin problems that kept him awake, so he went for a walk.

Penguins like walking some can walk up to _______ miles.

Really, Percival was in love with Heather Penguin and he wanted to find a lovely heart-shaped rock to give to her.

Why do male penguins give rocks to female penguins ?

However, he couldn’t see where he was and suddenly … he fell, and kept falling and falling, down and down.

When he stopped falling, he stood up and saw

“Oh la la ! Where am I ?” he cried. The night was gone, it was sunny and it was really, really hot, at least 12°C. However, there was a huge white monster. Percival was scared but curious.

Just then, Percival saw another amazing sight – a bird that could fly ! That was impossible !

Penguins are birds but can’t fly – why not ?

“Upon my soul, what have we here ?” said the new friend.

“My name is Percival Penguin, please to meet you. Can you tell me where am I ? I need to meet my Heather.”

Just then a new friend appeared and asked, “Does your Heather wear leather in hot weather or only feathers ?” This was Di O’Nisiss, another strange creature.

Poor Percival was perplexed, he didn’t know where he was or who these animals were. The white bird flew down next to him.

“Hello, I am Athena. I’m a snowy owl. Di O’Nisiss is a reindeer and that,” pointing with her wing, “Is Erik Polar bear.”

Penguins never meet polar bears – why not ?

“The white monster ?”

“He isn’t white, he’s brown,” corrected Di O’Nisiss

Why are white polar bears actually brown ?

“I think Percival, you are very far from home. Welcome to the Arctic. How did you get here ?”

“I’m not sure. One minute I was walking, the next I fell and fell and fell …”

“He found a teleport,” said Di O’Nisiss. “Are you hungry ?”

“Oh, yes, I would love to eat some ______ ”

What do penguins eat ?

“Shall we go for a swim ?” Percival asked Athena.

“A swim ?” replied Athena, “Are you loco ? Birds don’t swim they fly”

Percival was very confused.

“What a crazy place ! Birds fly but don’t swim, white bears are brown, night is day, cold is hot. Everything is upside down.”

“Well,” answered Athena, “Everything IS upside down. Let’s get some lunch then we will tell you all about the Arctic … and you can tell us about the Antarctic.”

NOW … your turn

Finish the story. You may write and draw a comic if you wish. How does Percival get back to the Antarctic and does he find a rock for Heather.

First some facts you need to include:

The Arctic is sea surrounded by land.

The Antarctic is land surrounded by sea.

	North Pole	South Pole
Where?	At sea – 700km to nearest land	Inland – 1,300km to nearest sea
Height	Up to 2m above sea-level	2,835m above sea-level
21st June	Midsummer, 24hr. light	Midwinter, 24hr. dark
21st December	Midwinter, 24hr. dark	Midsummer, 24hr. light
Is there a physical marker	No, it would drift off in a few hours	Yes, moves 10m a year
Temperature	+13°C to -43°C	-12.3°C to -62°C

Source: https://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/antarctica%20environment/antarctic_arctic_comparison.php

The Arctic region contains plains, mountains, rivers and lakes, hills, and tundra. Tundra has no trees but lots of grass and plants, so has food for animals. Antarctica is 98% ice.

The Arctic has many large land animals including reindeer, musk ox, lemmings, arctic hares, snowy owls, squirrels, arctic fox and polar bears. The sea has walrus, seals and some whales.

The largest land animal in the Antarctic is an insect, a wingless midge, less than 1.3cm long. There are no flying insects. Apart from penguins, there are also seals.

About 4 million people live permanently in the Arctic region. Nobody lives permanently in Antarctica.

Thay Paul’s Video Lessons. Level 1, Video 2

9th June 2023

The second lesson for level 1 students is now available on YouTube.

Part 1 is a warm up where students shout out the letters they see.

Part 2 develops sentence-building skills. The students must say what zoo animals they see using colour adjectives

EXAMPLE

I see a black and white panda.

Some students will be able to add additional adjectives:

{angry, beautiful, big, cute, dangerous, hungry, intelligent, scary, strong}

Young Learners, Level 4. Introducing yourself

5th June 2023

The Korean actress Shin Min-an from the film ‘A Bittersweet Life’

Today’s task is to introduce yourself to your classmates. First give some basic information, then tell us what you like doing. Finally, what you would like to do in the future.

EXAMPLE

Hello, my name is John and I’m from Australia. I’m an English teacher, and I have been in Vietnam for about 2 years.

My hobbies are reading books, watching films and listening to music.

In Vietnam, I have been to Ha Noi and Hue. I was blown away by all the old buildings.

I really want to visit Hoi An and Halong Bay.