Sunday, November 29, 2015

Discovering Mark Twain

Unusual Mark Twain
My students have also learnt a lot of information that is usually not written in the textbooks. 
They learnt about his visit to Russia. So, there are some essays of my students:
What  couldn't Twain  know about?

Mark Twain – is an American writer, journalist and traveller. He was born in 1835 and died in 1910. Mark Twain lived during the Industrial Revolution when many inventions of Industrial Revolution gave the start for developing modern inventions.
Mark Twain didn`t know that modern inventions would go so far away. The inventions that appeared in future after his death: mobile phone, with the help of which you can connect with friends; computer, which is useful in all industries; trains and airplanes help people to travel for a long distance; space rockets deliver satellites into the orbit. Scientists have created a lot of new medicines, vaccines. There are cars that work on solar panels and electricity . Tha would be a real surprise for Twain!
Thanks to modern inventions human life has become much easier. 
Ilya



Celebrating great American author-Mark Twain

November 30 will mark the 180th anniversary of Samuel Clemens' birth. 
When his pen name, Mark Twain, is mentioned, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn come to mind so quickly that one might overlook for a moment that he was also the the author of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, creating a time-travel sub-genre that is still being mined by writers today.

Celebrating the anniversary of the writer is a part of our project. During the whole week we have had a lot of activiies with all classes. 

5 th grade students had a virtual excursion to the Mark Twain boyhood museum http://www.marktwainmuseum.org/
and they had a  Scavenger Hunt here.
They have also learnt about Tom Soyers day in Hannibal http://www.visithannibal.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4&Itemid=103&lang=en

8 -9 th graders watched the film about the author's life and had a quiz after the film. They also read and translated  Mark Twain's Brainy quotes. 

They chose one that appealed to them and wrote their thoughts and reflection. 
Here are some of them:

I like one of phrases by Mark Twain. This pharse is "Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can hear". I think Mark Twain was a great man!  I like this phrase because kindness plays a very big role in the world. If all people in the world are kind,  all people will live  happily. But unfortunately, a lot of people on our planet are evil. We can't touch kindness but it is real and we can do kind deeds. 

All people in the world need to be kinder and the world will be better. 

We can create kind things!

 Dmitriy

Kindness is the language which the deaf can her and the blind can see. I understand this quote this way -
Make kind deeds! This is the language that everyone can speak. Kindness will be appreciated by any person and even by an animal. There is no need to be good at some certain day. You can show understanding, patience and kindness every day. For a good behavior there is no specific time. Unfortunately, not everyone understands this. 
Nastya

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. I agree with Mark Twain. We always have to do only kind things for the people. Blind people can really see your kindness, they feel it. Kindness is very valuable now.

Liza

Kindness – is the best quality of a man, it helps to learn a lot. When we help people we do not demand anything in return. A good man will always help someone who needs it. Nowadays is the time when everyone thinks only about himself, people are  busy with their chores. But I think that every men should be a little bit of understading and kind.
Ilya
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
 It is a great phrase of Mark Twain. Its meaning is - if you can't sar a work you won't get the finish. Perhaps, that is why Mark Twain has achieved such great results. If you follow this rule , you can achieve a lot . And I recommend to remember this rule . I think that Mark Twain was very clever because he wrote many clever phrases which we can take as rules for life. 
Aleksey
Mark Twain said very well because the start is a very important part in a work. Many people can't start work. Somebody is lazy. Somebody can't start work because they feel difficulties. If people try, they are successful. But they are successful, if they remember the quote of Mark Twain, who said: "The secret of getting is getting started". 
I think Mark Twain was right. I always achieve success when I start work successfully.

Dima

All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.

It`s really so. It is abou the people, who envy you. They always want to spoil the life of the people whom they envy. You should strive for your goals and don`t have to tell about your plans to other people and then success will come.

Liza

Mark Twain said:"Thousands of geniuses live and die undicovered-either by themselves or by others".
I understand this phrase that every man is a genious, but many people don't develop their alants. People must develop, study in the field which they have aptitude for people.I agree with Mark Twain.People can develop their skills in sport,art,literature,sience,but many people stop and don't want to move forward.Mark Twain is a very great man, who discovered a great writer in himself. 
Danila
«Part of the secret of a success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it our inside »
Mark Twain
Every person is unique. Someone wants to do crazy activities, but he is afraid of it and doesn’t dd it. Someone does these mad actions, but then he regrets about  them. So, what is better? To make and regret later or regret because you haven’t done it?
I think, that our life is the memories of some bright moments and actions. And if you still do some crazy actions, it can’t be the fact, that you will regret later. Maybe, this action will change your life for the better.
People should make mistakes and learn from them. People should take risks. People should enjoy and feel all delights and disappointments of life. I’m living for that.
Lera
Training is everything. The peach was once a bitter almond, cauliflower is nothing but cabbage with a colledge education. 
I agree with Mark Twain. If you don’t work you don’t become a «sweet peach» or «cauliflower». You need to learn something new every day. You receive more knowledge and you know who you want to be in this world. Education is a very important thing in life. Training develops  human's personality and reveals his abilities.
Only through self-education a person can become an educated personality. It is better to be sweet, than bitter peach. I like this quote of Mark Twain.
Nastya
Humor is mankind's greatest blessing.
It’s hard to imagine the world without humor. People go with sad faces and bad mood. Humor helps to live positively and communicate with people. Humor is one of the main qualities of the person. People live better with humor. People perceive information not so serious. Humor heals internal injuries. When you feel bad, you can laugh and forget the problem. I agree with Mark Twain’s statement about  humor.
Anastasia




Mark Twain research project.

My young researchers had a videoconference with professor Dr.Terry K. Smith who had kindly accepted my invitation. He told my students about Mark Twain and some famous places in Hannibal. The question of the research is - how people of Hannibal honour Twain now. We have also learnt about Tom Soyer's Day there. Thank you Mr. Smith!!!




Global Kidlink Doves for Peace project

Every year we run the project and send doves to different countries of the world. 


Cross cultural exchange video conference with Peru school


There was a brilliant one hour conference with Peru. Children told about heir cuntries, symbols and national dishes. It was a nice sart of our friendship and collaboration. 
Our meeting was due to Global Kidlink Finish my story.

Have a look at the video http://colegioamerica.tv/video/colegio-america-callao-proyecto-de-intercambio-4-grade/


Article about the conference in Peru




Comparing schools

Collaboration with Julia Karaban's students. Mystery Skype was the first part of the conference. What a surprise for students - we live in just about 1000 km distance! The second part of the conference is comparing information about our schools. Fine experience and a good way to practise English.




Skype conference. Schools and system of education in New Zealand.

Last week videoconference with Carolyn Knight from New Zealand- an educator and librarian from Wellington, New Zealand. High school students asked questions about the sysytem of education and job opportunities whereas 6th graders asked about usual school day of New zealand students. I'm gratefull to my colleagues- great friends who makes studying English meaningful for my students.

New school year - new global projects

Jennifer Weeast and her friend Ann skyped with my high school students. They answered a lot of questions about choosing a profession, USA and South Korea. Wonderful practice!