Music Monday: Christmas Carols

Jingle Bells............... Can you finish the line?   How about this one? Silent night..........  You can sing these Christmas carols this holiday season, or maybe you prefer to listen to recordings of them. Also, it's always a treat to hear choirs singing the Christmas carols.


 Here is my favourite, The Christmas Song, by Nat King Cole. He did several versions of this song from the forties, fifties and the early 1960's. Unfortunately he was a smoker and died young, but his song continues on each Christmas.


I'm not the only person who loves this song. In 2004, The Christmas Song was the most popular holiday song with women age 30 to 49.*  So, why is it my favourite? My father loved to play this song, and I guess the next generation can't help but enjoy this gifted singer's voice and his wonderful song.



Listen again and follow the words. It's full of Christmas tradition.



How much do you know about holiday traditions?
 True=T   False=F


1.   Many people roast nuts called chestnuts in the fireplace.   T/ F


2.   Jack Frost is ice cold, but he is not a real person.   T/F


3.   Goose is more popular than turkey for Christmas dinner.   T/F


4.   The mistletoe plant is hung at a door for people to kiss under.  T/ F


5.   The young children believe in Santa Claus.      T/F


6.   Santa brings toys and candies to the good boys and girls.      T/F


7.  The excited children look in the sky for Santa and Mrs. Claus.   T/F


8.   Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays are popular greetings.    T/F




* From Edison Media Research: What we learned from testing Christmas music in 2004

Music Monday: The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a popular song because it easy for people of all ages to sing. It starts, 

"The first day of Christmas, 

my true love gave to me....." 

Each day for twelve days this lucky woman receives a special gift. The words are easy, but it is difficult to remember all twelve gifts and the order of the gifts. Listen to the song, then see if you can remember the twelve gifts.



1.   On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   a pair of pear trees
b)   a partridge in a pair tree
c)   a  piper piping


2.    On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   two turtle drums
b)   two French hens
c)   two turtle doves


3.   On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   three French hens
b)   three free chickens
c)   three Lords a leaping


4.   On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   four French birds 
b)    four cawing birds
c)    four calling birds


5.   On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   five olden rings
b)   five gold rings
c)   five golden rings


6.    On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)    six maids a milking
b)    six geese a laying
c)    six geese swimming


7.    On the seventh day of  Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)    seven swans a laying
b)    seven swans a swimming
c)    seven geese a swimming


8.   On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   eight ladies singing
b)   eight maidens leaping
c)   eight maids a milking


9.   On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   nine ladies leaping
b)   nine ladies dancing
c)   nine lads a leaping


10.  On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)   ten lads a leaping
b)   ten ladies  a singing
c)   ten lords a leaping


11.  On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)  eleven pipers playing
b)  eleven pipers piping
c)   eleven piping pipers


12.  On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me


a)  twelve runners running
b)  twelve pipers piping
c)  twelve drummers drumming


****lords and laidies are part of the high society of England

Scavenger Hunt: Remembrance Day

How good are you at surfing the net?  Start by going to Google Search.


1.    What day is Remembrance Day this year?  Next year?




2.   Name a place in Toronto where there is a Remembrance Day Ceremony.




3.   Write the first two lines of the famous poem, In Flanders Fields.




4.   The author of  Flanders Fields is John McCrae. Tell me something about this man.




5.  What is an important symbol for Remembrance Day? Draw a picture.








6.   Find a Remembrance Day photo you like with a caption. Write the caption or the words under the photo.






7.   Ottawa has one of the largest gatherings on Remembrance Day. Find a video of the parade or ceremony on youtube.






Finished?  Type the title of your video in "comments".

Music Monday: Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day  is  a song by a Canadian singer and song writer,  Bryan Adams.  Remembrance Day is a memorial day that is observed on the eleventh day on the eleventh month at the eleventh hour or November 11th at 11:00 a.m.


Enjoy the song and try the quiz. Don't forget to "see how you did".

Trick or Treat

Trick or treat? Only children go out for candy on Hallowe'en. High school kids are too old. The kids go door to door in the neighbourhood. Sometimes they say, "Trick or treat" and then they are given a wrapped candy or chocolate bars. They do not get sweets like cake or cookies.


Every neighbourhood has decorated houses. Some of the houses have jack-o-lanterns near their doors. Decorations include scary images such as skeletons, monsters, ghosts, coffins, graveyards or spiders in cobwebs. Some houses have scary noises coming from inside. The children are not afraid of the scary decorations because it is all part of the fun.


The costumes are important to the children. They choose who they want to be for Hallowe'en. The child can be good or bad. For example, a girl might choose to be a witch or a princess. Animals, heroes and scary characters are popular.


 Try this word game. These are popular costumes for the children. The vowels are missing. Complete the  words.


1.   D__v__l                            9.    W__tch
2.   Ang__l                             10.   P__r__t__
3.   S__p__rm__n                  11.   Bl__ck  c__t
4.   B__tm__n                        12.   Gh__st
5.   Sp__ d __ rm__n             13.    Pr__nc__ss
6.   Cl__wn                            14.    Z__mb__ __
7.   L__ __n                           15.     V__mp__r__
8.   Sk__l__t__n                    16.     M__nst__r  

How to Make a Jack-o-lantern

     Thanksgiving and Hallowe'en are the two celebrations in the fall. Hallowe'en is always the last day of October or October 31st. Before Hallowe'en, there are many orange pumpkins in the groceries stores. Many people like to buy them to decorate their homes on Hallowe'en night. But first, you must carve them into a face or cut out a picture on the pumpkin. After, you put a candle inside and it becomes a lantern to place outside the front door. How do you make a jack-o-lantern? Today, we have a guest writer, Munirah. She will explain step by step.

It is easy to make a jack-o-lantern. First, pick up a pumpkin and cut the stem like a lid. Then clean the pumpkin and take out the seeds. Next, carve the eyes, nose and mouth. After that, take one candle and light it and melt the wax into the the pumpkin. Finally, put the candle on the wax in the pumpkin and cover the pumpkin with the lid. Lastly, put the pumpkin in the window. Also, don't forget to use the broom and dust pan to clean up.

Happy Hallowe'en!

     

Fall in Ottawa

It's fall or autumn. Can you answer these questions about fall?


1.  When is the first day of fall?


2.  What month do you think I took these photos?


3.  Last fall, I was in Ottawa for a Canadian holiday. Do you know what holiday?


4.  Do you know any good places to visit in Ontario during the fall season? Where?


5.  Can you think of any areas in Toronto that will be pretty in the fall? Where?


6.  What is the name of the leaf on the Canadian flag?


7.   Do you know the name of 2 kinds of popular trees?


8.   Do you know the name of a tree that doesn't change colours?


9.   Do you like the fall? Why or why not?


10. What does "autumn years" mean? What do you want to do in the autumn years of your life?

At the Movies:E.T.,1982

E.T. is almost thirty years old. Here is an advertisement for when the movie became twenty years old. Steven Speilberg is the director and the young girl in the movie, Drew Barrymore, has become a famous American actress.


 Movies are a part of our culture. We talk about the movies we watch and two generations have seen E.T.. I saw the movie and so did my kids. Also, movies show the behaviour of people. For example, you see a family in this movie, a separated mother and her three children. The kids order pizza, and ride bikes. The mother reads a child's story, Peter Pan, to her young daughter before she goes to bed. In this movie, the family enjoy a popular celebration in October called Hallowe'en. Understanding the culture makes learning English easier.


The movie, E.T., won awards for its music, sound and visual effects. The actor, E.T.,  was a robot which was a big deal back in 1982. It cost 1.5 million to make the robot. It couldn't walk, so a person was used sometimes. They did not want to pay an additional one million to make the robot walk (1)  Enjoy the advertisement which is called a movie trailer




Talking about movies. Answer the questions.


1.    What kind of movie is E.T? (horror, romance, comedy, sci-fi, action movie)


2.    Who is the director?


3.    Where does the story take place?


4.    What is about?   


5.    E.T. talks. What does he say in the movie trailer?


6.    How does the movie end?


7.    What is your favourite English movie?


8.    Who is your favourite Canadian or American actor or actress?


9.    What kind of movie do you like to watch?


10.  How often do you watch movies?






(1)  www.fiftiesweb.com

Action Verbs: Simon's Cat

Simon and his cat are sleeping in an armchair. Then a fly arrives and wakes up Simon's cat. His cat chases the fly and makes a big mess. Answer the seven questions.

1. What does Simon's cat spill?
2. What does this pet knock over?
3. What does Simon's cat drop on the floor?
4. What does this cat tear?
5. What does this cat rip in several places?
6. What does Simon's cat finally kill?
7. What does poor Simon swallow?

Past time: When was the last time you .....

1. spilled something? What did you spill?
2. knocked over something? What did you knock over?
3. dropped something? What did you drop?
4. tore something? What did you tear?
5. ripped something? What did you rip?
6. killed something? What did you kill?
7. swallowed something terrible? What did you swallow?

How old is Canada?

By Green Wellies

Happy Canada Day!
Originally uploaded by Green Welliesa

Canada Day is July 1st. That means this Friday is the start of a long weekend. This weekend there will be lots of celebrating around Toronto. There will be free music at all the city squares and some of the parks..........and don't forget the fireworks! Some people buy fireworks and have private parties. Others go to public fireworks at different locations in the city.


Here's a quick quiz to see what you know about Canada. Do you know which ones are true or false?


1. Canada became a country in 1867.

2. The first prime minister was John A MacDonald.


3. Canada started with ten provinces.


4. The last province to join Canada was British Columbia.


5. The first immigrants in Canada were from Britain and Spain.


How did you do? Ask your teacher about the last one.  Would you like to know the  other answers and more about Canada? Go to an earlier post, Happy Canada Day .  




Related Posts:

• Happy Canada Day
• What is Canada?

Where in the World?

Last May, I left Canada for another continent. Perhaps you will recognize where these videos were taken.

1. The first video was taken at night. This city has a huge population, so it has streets full of high rises on busy streets. In Toronto, I live in a house and beside me are other houses. There are no high rises on my street. There are no buildings over two or three stories high.

It was very different for me to stay on the 37th floor and walk down a street with tall apartment buildings beside each other. Also, at night, this city is full of lights. In Toronto, my street only has street lights beside the sidewalks and some neighbours leave on their front door light.

2. This is further south in the same country. Again, this city has a large population. This is Saturday night in an area full of restaurants and a bizarre. Look at all the lights! It must be expensive to pay for all this electricity. Bright signs and people are everywhere.

3. This video is in a smaller city in the south. At night, many people joined activities in the parks and other open spaces. Here, couples are dancing outside. I also saw people participating in exercise classes. One exercise class met under a bridge and there were hundreds of people exercising together.

So, did you decide what country I visited? China? The first place is Shanghai, then Hong Kong and finally, Meizhou.

When you think of your native country, is it different than Canada? How is it different than Canada? How do the people live? What do they do?

Ontario:Trivia and Facts

Yes, it's spring and I am a gardener, but these are wild flowers. In fact, this is Ontario's official flower, the trillium. It grows at the edge of the woodlands in May. These photos are from High Park near Grenadine Pond. If you are in any big parks or in the Ontario countryside, look into the forest. You will see these small white flowers scattered under the trees. If you are really lucky, you will see a dark red trillium which is rare. One warning! Please don't pick the trilliums. It is illegal to pick our provincial flower.

To celebrate this Ontario flower, here is a trivia quiz about the province. Are you an Ontarian? Then you should know the answers to most of these questions.

Remember, if you do not understand a word, double click the word. Then you will get the meaning and more information.

1. The capital of Ontario is

a) Toronto b) Ottawa c) Kingston

2. Ontario is between

a) Alberta and Quebec

b) Nunavut and Manitoba

c) Quebec and Manitoba

3. Ontario is beautiful, but is does not have

a) Niagara Falls b) Rocky Mountains c) Algonquin Park

4. Toronto is the biggest city. Tourists will not find

a) CN Tower b) Casa Loma c) Banff

5. The premier of Ontario is

a) Dalton McGuinty b) Stephen Harper c) Jack Layton

6. The large body of water to the south is Lake Ontario and to the north is

a) Atlantic Ocean b) Lake Erie c) Hudson Bay

7. Which Canadian singer was not born in Ontario

a) Shania Twain b) Celine Dion c) Justin Bieber

8. This Canadian actor or actress was not born in Ontario

a) Jim Carrey (The Mask, Dumb and Dumber)

b) Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future, Stuart Little)

c) Ellen Page (Juno, Inception)

9. The official bird of Ontario is the

a) Canadian Goose b) Loon c) Blue Jay

I have lived most of my life in Ontario, so the first questions are easy for me to pull from my head. The next questions are Ontario statistics and I got some help from "Ontario Travel". Try these questions. Then check your answers below.

10. Ontario has 250,000 lakes or

a) 20% of the world's fresh water

b) 1/3 of the world's fresh water

c) 1/10 of the world's fresh water

11. The population of Ontario is 12 million or

a) 1 in 5 Canadians

b) 1 in 10 Canadians

c) 1 in 3 Canadians

12. Spring is from March to May. The average spring temperature is 8 Celsius (46 Fahrenheit) to

a) 18 degrees Celsius (64 Fahrenheit)

b) 22 degrees Celsius (72 Fahrenheit)

c) 15 degrees Celsius (59 Fahrenheit)

Would you like to learn more about Ontario? Try these sites.

• About Ontario
• Ontario Travel
• Government of Ontario

Answers: 1a, 2c, 3b, 4c, 5a, 6c, 7b, 8a, 9b, 10b, 11c, 12a

Spring in Toronto:High Park

Picnic season is starting. One of the best places for a picnic is under a cherry tree in High Park,Toronto. Better yet, if you go at the end of the cherry blossom season, the pink flowers will fall of the tree and float down around you. Cherry blossoms fall off rather than fade away.

This photo is from the weeping cherry tree in my backyard. For a spectacular show, see the rows of mature cherry trees in bloom at High Park right now.

Where are the blossoms?

High Park Blossom Map

What's at High Park?

High Park is a huge park in the west end of Toronto. I've taken a bike on the subway to the High Park stop. You can bike in the park. There's a children's playground, a free zoo, a swimming pool, a dog park and a restaurant. In the summer, there's an outdoor theatre. Watching a play under the stars is a lot of fun. For more information, check out the official High Park site.

High Park Toronto

Related Posts:

• Spring in Toronto 3
• Spring in Toronto 2

April Buds Open

April showers bring May flowers.

Yeh! The flowers are blooming. The last photo (below) shows the buds in rainy April. Now look at the colour in May! It's just starting.

Expressions of Spring

April showers

Bring May flowers

This year, we got a lot of rain:( When you look around the world, I think our weather isn't that bad. The cloudy days affect us all, but we live in safe dry homes.

In a few days, the flowers will blossom on this bush. Maybe, I will be able to photograph this plant in bloom. It usually blooms around Mother's Day which is the second Sunday in May.

I was walking the dog in the rain and thinking of the many English expressions that use weather vocabulary. Here are ten sayings or expressions. Most of these use words from spring weather. Can you guess the meaning of these expressions?

1. I feel under the weather:(

2. Don't rain on my parade.

3. Get your head out of the clouds!

4. It's raining cats and dogs.

5. I'm going to my friend's bridal shower.

6. He showered me with gifts:)

7. He is no spring chicken.

8. It never rains but it pours.

9. Could I take a rain check?

10. The calm after the storm.

Related Post:

• Spring in Toronto 2
• Speaking: The Weather

Easter Egg Hunt

There is a fun game the children play on Easter Sunday. They go on an Easter Egg hunt. The Easter Bunny hides Easter chocolate and candies. The children look for the treats.

There are different kinds of Easter Egg hunts in Toronto. Some families have Easter Egg hunts in their homes or yards. Also, there is an Easter Egg hunt at Toronto Zoo and Centre Island. At Centennial Park, there is an Easter Egg hunt for dogs! The dogs find eggs. Inside the eggs are doggy treats.

Try this Easter hunt. Watch the first video here and then click a box. The box takes you to youtube. After, do the listening quiz here.

Related Posts:

• Happy Easter!
• Wanna be Wednesay 4/8

Spring in Toronto 4/14/11

• The first flowers are blooming.
• The grass is turning green.
• The buds are on the trees.

Related Posts:

• Spring in Toronto 2
• Netherland's Gift of Spring Flowers

Wanna be Wednesday 4/13/11

I wanna be good to the earth. Earth Day is on Good Friday this year or April 22nd. This video is called "Give Earth a Hand". The expression 'give a hand' means to help. So you can give earth a hand or help the earth. In this commercial, it shows two very different wants. What is important to you?

We can give earth a hand. We can change some of our actions. Earth Canada suggests four ways:

1. I won't watch TV.
2. I won't use toxic cleaners.
3. I won't buy it.
4. I won't eat meat.

Okay. Maybe, you are not willing to stop all these actions, but you can reduce some of these actions. What are you willing to give up?

Read more on Earth Canada.

Related Posts:

• Music Monday: Disney Nature Earth
• The Next Decade: Renault Twizy
• Wanna be Wednesday 1/13/2010

Endangered Species:Polar Bears

Are polar bears endangered?

Experts in polar bear science believe they are. They predict as the Arctic continues to warm due to climate change, two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear by mid-century... hope remains if action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

How many polar bears are there?.....In 2008, scientists estimated there might be 20,000 to 25,000 of them. From Polar Bears International

How does global warming affect the polar bears?

The ice in the Arctic is melting.

1. Their population is decreasing.
2. The ice platforms are further apart. Swimming conditions are more dangerous.
3. There are fewer opportunities to hunt and food is more scarce. National Wildlife Federation

A) Here is a video from BBC. It's about polar bears and the summer melt. After you listen, try the listening quiz.

Choose the best answer.

1. You can hear the ice

a) melting

b) creaking

c) cracking

2. This season, the winter ice

a) is stronger

b) is not as thick

c) is not as thin

3. The polar bear is

a) swimming in the water

b) struggling in the water

c) floating in the water

4. The polar bear looks

a) exhausted

b) relaxed

c) tired

5. The polar bear is not able to

a) climb out easily

b) free herself easily

c) find better ice

B) Polar bears are fun to watch. Watch the mother and her cub. Then answer the questions.

Choose the best answer.

1. The cub is on the ice

a) for the fifth time

b) for the first time

2. The mother bear is looking for

a) the sea

b) seals

3.. The mother is wearing

a) a radio collar.

b) a red collar

4. The mother bear is not falling through the ice because

a) she knows how to walk quickly

b) she spreads her weight

5. The young cub is

a) having fun

b) learning to run

6. The mother will teach the baby

a) to swim for fish

b) to hunt seal

More about polar bears:

• Animal Facts
  
  
• Polar Bears International

Listening Quizzes:

• A) 1c 2b 3b 4c 5a
• B) 1b 2b 3a 4b 5a 6b

April: Earth Month

superpoop.com

A Blast From the Past

'Blast from the past' is an expression which means something or someone that returns after a period of time. When you hear an old song, you can say, "That's a blast from the past". Today, I would like to go back in time to one of my favourite posts.

Wanna be 4/1 is two years old today. I hope you enjoy it. Please press here.

April Fools!

April Fools is on April 1st. You can only play tricks on people in the morning. You can make mischief or play jokes on people on this day. Did you like the video? Is it funny?

Remember April 1st and have some fun! Be careful, someone might try to fool you!

Music Monday: Friday

Do you like it or hate it?

This video is popular because some people don't like it. It has more than 22 million views on Youtube. Some people say, "It is the worst song ever". Rebecca Black sings the song, Friday. She is thirteen years old.

What happens in the song?

The teenager, Rebecca, gets up and sings about Friday. It's the weekend. She sings with her friends in cars. At night, they go to a party. The words are simple. Maybe, the story is too simple.

Do I like the video?

I think the video is funny. Real teenagers are smarter than Rebecca.

Watch for one minute and answer these questions. This a beginner ESL quiz.

1. Why does Rebecca study on Sunday?

2. Does she take her essay to school on Thursday?

3. When does she have music practise?

4. What time does she wake up?

5. What colour is her alarm clock?

6. Is her bedroom on the first floor?

7. How does she travel to school?

8. How do Rebecca's friends go to school?

9. Rebecca travels with her friends. Where does she sit?

10 Why does Rebecca and her friends like Friday?

Here's some of the words for the song, Friday.

Rebecca Black - Verse 1

7am, waking up in the morning
Gotta be fresh, gotta go downstairs
Gotta have my bowl, gotta have cereal
Seein’ everything, the time is goin’
Tickin’ on and on, everybody’s rushin’
Gotta get down to the bus stop
Gotta catch my bus, I see my friends (My friends)

Kickin’ in the front seat
Sittin’ in the back seat
Gotta make my mind up
Which seat can I take?

It’s Friday, Friday
Gotta get down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend, weekend
Friday, Friday
Gettin’ down on Friday
Everybody’s lookin’ forward to the weekend

Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Partyin’, partyin’ (Yeah)
Fun, fun, fun, fun
Lookin’ forward to the weekend