A blog to help secondary school students improve English. You can find mind maps, worksheets, videos and songs as well as some of the project works and activities done by the students.
Hello! My name's Liliana. I'm a teacher of English (Language and Literature) to Italian teenage stu
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
The masque
Pilgrims
Holy Pilgrims
Saints
Sin
Prayer
Holy Shrine
Faith
Devotion
What kind of love do they convey?
What ideas do they suggest?
Purity of their love
Special relationship
Undercurrents of danger
Seious tone
Italy- centre of the Catholic church
Religious imagery fits with the social and historical context
A kind of love associated with purity and passion of the divine
High quality of their love. It's not just physical attraction
PHYSICAL LOVE
Blushing
lips
tender kiss
You do wrong your hand
Tender kiss
Give me my sin again
You kiss by the book
Romeo and Juliet are moved spiritually, as well as physically, their love is pure, passionate, spiritual, but it is also chaotic, destructive, bringing death to friends, family and to themselves.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Prompts for speaking and writing
http://englishbookgeorgia.com/blogebg/over-1000-writing-prompts-for-students/
Sunday, October 6, 2019
How to Write Articles for the FCE
- Rhetorical questions:
- Have you ever…?
- Do you ever wonder…?
- What do you think about…?
- Are you a… like me?
- Are you one of those people who…?
- What would you say if I told you that…?
- Introducing new ideas:
- Firstly,
- First,
- In the first place,
- To begin with,
- The coolest thing about
- What attracts me most
- One thing to consider is
- Another consideration is
- Secondly,
- As for
- As to
- Also,
- As regards
- In addition,
- In addition to that,
- Moreover,
- Concluding the article:
- In conclusion,
- On the whole,
- To sum up,
- To conclude,
- All in all,
- … you will not regret it!
- Prompt 1:"Write an article for your school newspaper discussing the impact of social media on young people today."
- Prompt 2:"Your school is planning to introduce a new school uniform. Write an article for the school magazine discussing the advantages and disadvantages of this policy."
- Prompt 3:"Write an article for a local magazine about the benefits of learning a new language."
Should We Ban Dangerous Sports?
[I – The Introduction: Hook & Issue]
Every weekend, people do extreme sports like skydiving and jumping from high cliffs. But should governments ban these dangerous activities?
[B – Body Paragraph 1: Arguments Against]
On one hand, many people say yes, they should be banned. These dangerous sports cost a lot of money when things go wrong. Rescue teams and hospitals have to help injured people, and taxpayers pay the bill. For them, safety is more important than fun.
[B – Body Paragraph 2: Arguments For]
On the other hand, banning these sports takes away our freedom. People naturally want to test their limits and have adventures. Also, extreme sports bring money to local businesses and tourism.
[C – The Conclusion: Final Solution]
In conclusion, a total ban is a bad idea. Instead, governments should make strict safety rules and require proper training. We must keep people safe, but we should not stop them from following their passions.
Article Writing Prompt: Food, Filters, and the Mind
The Context
Today, teenagers are constantly exposed to curated images of "ideal" bodies, extreme fitness challenges, and strict "clean eating" trends on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. While some argue this encourages healthy habits, psychologists warn that it often fuels unhealthy obsessions, anxiety, and eating disorders among young people.
The Task
Write an article for your school magazine (about 200–250 words) addressing the following question:
Are social media and modern diet culture destroying our relationship with food and our bodies?
Guiding Questions to Help You Plan (using the T-I-B-C structure):
Title: Create a catchy title that grabs the reader’s attention.
Introduction (The Hook): Start with a striking fact or a question about how much time people spend looking at fitness or food trends online.
Body Paragraph 1 (The Pressure): Discuss how social media algorithms push unrealistic body standards or toxic "wellness" trends.
Body Paragraph 2 (The Solution / Counter-perspective): What can we do to change this? How can schools, friends, or individuals promote a healthier, more balanced mindset?
Conclusion: End with a strong final thought or a call to action for your peers.
Useful Vocabulary Bank for Students:
Body image
Unrealistic standards
Obsession / Compulsion
Toxic wellness culture
Mental well-being
Self-acceptance
Social media algorithms
An extraordinary mind map to talk about global warming
What's the Paris agreement?
Some examples of article on the problem of Global Warming (done by students in class 5B)
LIFE or DEATH?
Have you ever wondered how your life will change in 100 years' time?
THE FUTURE IN OUR HANDS
Have you ever seen or heard of climate change or global warming?anywhere?
Surely many of you have already heard about it on TV, newspapers and some of you know Greta Thunberg and what she is doing to focus on the problem. We all know that climate is currently changing. We also know that the main cause is human. What's more, we know that what lies ahead is an awful climate future.
What can we do, therefore to build a climate future that is instead good and eligible?
There are many problems that we should solve in order not to risk the end of the world.
Firstly, there are many environmentalists and scientists who have noticed that the summer of 2019 was the hottest across the European continent, so temperature is rising more and more and there is a continuous melting of glaciers and consequently the sea level is growing and many cities are in danger of being flooded.
Furthermore, there is the problem of deforestation-many trees are being cut down. In addition to that, many areas like the Amazon ones are on fire and that greatly damages nature. Also I want to mention Greta Thunberg who has said that 200 species are going extinct every single day. So to start saving our future all we have to do is reacting because there are so many solutions- first of all, people should turn off the lights to save energy and to recycle paper and save resources. People should also try to use less plastic, because in our world we have created real plastic islands into the seas. We should use more green ideas, that is, use bicycles and public means of transport instead of cars to reduce pollution, and stop smoking! Secondly, we need to reduce emissions and quit burning fossil fuels, like oil. One of the main solutions that Greta gives us is that we have to plant more trees because they produce oxygen.
In conclusion, to save our future we need to protect, restore and fund and again I invite you to react, so instead of looking for hope look for action. In my opinion, we have to support and follow these solutions. above all we should pollute less to make life enjoyable and healthy.
THE BEST TITLES
Alert- our world is sick
Is mankind going to extinct?
Are you ready for the end of the world?









