“Loose Verses and Twisted Logic”


A poem by Frank and inspired by Serene

Anything big or small will be fine
As long as it comes from your soul
Dimensions really aren’t important
Unless they help you achieve your goal.

Raindrops beating on a window pane
Can be seen in many different ways
Restriction for all those sun worshipers
And romance for those who love rainy days.

A leaf fluttering in a stiff breeze
Can be great inspiration for a poet
But it is only more work for a road sweeper
Even if he doesn’t yet know it.

Teachers are merely life’s great messengers
Passing on the lessons they have learned
Life’s flame of knowledge torch bearers
Giving back the knowledge for which they yearned.

The meaning of life varies for each of us
No two of us are exactly the same
We’re individual snowflakes in a blizzard
Just players in life’s great game.

Ageing is just a simple sign
That the wheel of time is slowing
It will soon be time to pass on the torch
Time for us to get going.

Death is life’s only certainty
Inevitable, final and permanent
The only ones who should fear it
Are the ones who aren’t so innocent.

So anything big or small was fine
Because it came from deep in my soul
Thank you dear, for the suggestions
They helped me achieve my goal.

More poems by Frank Letras here.

Posted in Poetry | 2 Comments

Japan Earthquake

I used the following special edition of CNN Student News video as the basis for a class discussion about the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011.

Unfortunately, the video is not available on CNN and YouTube any more. However, I have saved the video in my Dropbox so you can view it there. Here is the link https://www.dropbox.com/s/yda8o8zk6fdhx7j/Japan%20Earthquake%2014-3-2011.mp4

The worksheet contains a set of comprehension questions, the links to the video and its transcript, as well as an Answer Key.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/62312753/Japan-Earthquake

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Posted in Earthquakes, Japan, Natural Disasters, Videos, Worksheets | Leave a comment

Summertime …

Enjoy your summer holiday!

Big Summer Sky
Posted in summer | 3 Comments

What I did on my holidays …

Posted in Cartoon, Holidays | Leave a comment

The Show Must Go On – Queen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ADh8Fs3YdU

This worksheet is based on the song The Show Must Go On by British rock band Queen. Before listening, the students are given a number of words from the lyrics and are asked to rewrite them in rhyming pairs. Then they try to complete the lyrics using these rhyming pairs. They listen to the song and check their answers. Finally, they do a vocabulary matching exercise so that they can understand the lyrics better.

Download:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/61257414/The-Show-Must-Go-on-Queen

Posted in Songs, Worksheets | Leave a comment

Steve Jobs´ Stanford Commencement Address (2005)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtbJM9ksxo8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLl59Q2GuC0

This worksheet is based on the video of Steve Jobs´ Stanford Commencement Address (2005). On the first page there is a set of comprehension questions for the students to discuss after watching the video. On the second page there is a brief but clear explanation of the third conditional for the students to read before they complete a number of conditional sentences about Steve Jobs´ life.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/61088712/Steve-Jobs-Stanford-Commencement-Address

Posted in Apple, Grammar, Steve Jobs, The Conditional, Videos, Worksheets | 1 Comment

Colin Firth and The King´s Speech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHTZWMr0xn8

This is a set of comprehension questions based on a short (14 min) extract from a CBS 60 Minutes TV show video. Besides the interview of Colin Firth, the video presents very interesting information about the real story behind the movie as well as some historical footage of the actual king´s speech at the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/61532114/Colin-Firth-and-the-King-s-Speech

Posted in Movies, Videos, Worksheets | 1 Comment

Brothers in Arms-Dire Straits

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhdFe3evXpk&ob=av2e

This is a worksheet on the classic anti-war song by Dire Straits. It contains a gap-fill listening activity, a vocabulary exercise and comprehension questions. Teacher´s notes with a pre-listening activity and an answer key have been included.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/61430828/Brothers-in-Arms-Dire-Straits

Posted in Songs, Worksheets | Leave a comment

Grenade – Bruno Mars

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR6iYWJxHqs&ob=av2el

This worksheet contains a variety of listening tasks (fill in the blanks, put the lines in the correct order, correct the mistakes), a vocabulary exercise, a grammar exercise on second conditional, and a set of comprehension questions.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/61458551/Grenade-Bruno-Mars

Posted in Grammar, Songs, The Conditional, Worksheets | Leave a comment

Crime and Punishment – The Death Penalty

Apart from an article based on a true story, the worksheet contains a set of comprehension questions, two vocabulary exercises, a roleplay task and some questions for class discussion.

Download: http://www.scribd.com/doc/60253812/Crime-and-Punishment-The-Death-Penalty

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Law and Justice, News stories (Reading), Speaking, The Death Penalty, Vocabulary, Worksheets | Leave a comment