English week 50

This week, children and grown ups across Sweden are preparing for Friday when we celebrate "Lucia".

The Swedish celebration is very sweet on the surface, but the slow procession, red ribbons and candles hint at something deep, solemn and horrifying.

See what you think as we work on a text that attempts to recreate Santa Lucia's life and death: Lucia: Refusing to be moved or silenced

There are a lot of questions to help you identify details in the text, but I hope it also sets you thinking about people like Lucia and how much has changed in today's society.

English week 43

This week we're continuing to look at great women in history AND experimenting with some shared online English work with students in Sophie-Scholl-Schule Leutkirch.

We're using Twinspace to communicate, writing blogs, sharing our experiences and ideas and learning about one another. There's quite a lot to do there, so when you get the chance, log in, fix your profile and take a look at the project area - particularly the "My generation" project which we'll be working on next.

Many thanks for the class presentations so far on Coco Chanel, Cleopatra, Hypatia and Florence Nightingale. It's been really interesting to glimpse the different worlds that these women inhabited and see what they had in common. Looking forward to learning about more great women after the holiday!

Next week we have a half term break. So make the most of it. I mean, it's not like you're going to get another one before Christmas is it?

Whatever you do, don't swallow any musical instruments.