Discussion questions for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Hi Bookclubbers!
Our next book club meeting is round the corner so here you have a link to a worksheet to some activities that will help us make the most of our discussion.

See you next Friday!

Virtual meeting to discuss TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

Dear Bookworms,

As you know, the COVID-19 crisis has forced us to cancel the meeting scheduled for April, 17. The education authorities have made available the Webex technology, which enables us to hold virtual meetings, so we will be using it for our discussion of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.

If you want to join the meeting but don't have the book with you, there are many websites from which you can legally download the full text for free (here) or where you can read it online (here)

You may also want to listen to the author's only recorded interview about the novel:

Participation is limited to the first 12 students who sign up. If you want to join the virtual meeting, sign up here.

Once you've signed up, go to https://eduxunta.webex.com/meet/alosada and you will have access to our meeting room.

Friday, May 29, at 6:00pm

Save the date!

I will soon upload some discussion questions that may guide your reading. Stay tuned!

World Book Day

Hi Bookworms!

I hope this post finds you well.

It's World Book Day today and, apart from reading a book, I cannot think of a better way of celebrating this commemoration than by sharing your favourite book with us.

How can you do this? Very easy! Take part in "Cuéntanos", a multilingual initiative by the School of Languages of Pamplona.

The idea is to choose a story/novel/play/poem you like and record yourself reading its first lines. I've already done so!

Follow these steps:

1) Record yourself! Say who you are, where you study English and the title and the author of the book you've chosen.

2) Click this link

3) Click the green icon 

4) Log in to Flipggrid with a Gmail account

5) Upload your video

6) Enter a title, click share et voilà! It will be posted to the Grid. 

Looking forward to seeing your contributions.

Happy Book Day!

7 lighthearted (and free) reads that will cheer you up during the quarantine

There are a lot of books about pandemics out there these days. Rather than serious stories about devastating events, we would like to recommend 7 light-hearted books that offer hope and especially humour. "Laughter is the best medicine" or so they say and although it is not a cure to Corona on its own, it can certainly cheer us up and take our mind off of quarantine.

Ready to start reading?

Emma

One of my favourite books ever, Jane Austen's novel is a true delight to read: sparkling, moving and wonderfully optimistic (and supremely English – in style, sensibility and wit :-)

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

One of Mark Twain's most compelling examples of satire, this short story tells us about a town that prides itself on its reputation for being "honest and upright" when in reality, the first time they are given the opportunity or temptation to do wrong, they don't miss it!

An Ideal Husband

Oscar Wilde's text is a must read for anyone who loves irony and sarcasm. Its witty treatment of marital politics still stings today.

Three Men in a Boat

A comic gem by Jerome K Jerome about his boat trip along the Thames with his two friends Harris and George and their dog  Montmorency - crossing the absurdities and traditions of the late 19th c. England.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Magic realism at its best. Both funny and moving, García Marquez's novel will make you reflect on the inexorable march of time.

Catch 22

Described as "a masterclass in the weird art of unjoking the joke", Joseph Heller's novel is one of the weirdest and most hilarious texts I've ever read.

This Book Is The Milk

Not a book of fiction itself, Alberto Alonso's text is good fun. Download it here and find out about the English you don't know you know.

Free books for your quarantine

Well-known publishing houses have announced that some of their works are now posted for free on their website! 

Here's a list of free books you can access online to enrich your mind and take away your Coronavirus worries.

Scribd

Digital library Scribd is giving free 30-day access to its wide collection of eBooks and audiobooks.

Alberto Alonso's This Book Is The Meal
A book in Spanish about the English you don't know you know. Good Fun!

Paulo Coelho

Paulo Coelho's novels are now posted for free on his blog.

Project Gutemberg

Click here to access this online library with almost 60,000 free eBooks and educational materials.

Audible Stories
A collection of audible stories, including titles across six different languages. Mainly for kids though it also includes literary classics. Click here to learn how to use the site.

Lit2Go 
Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in mp3 format.

Open Culture
This site includes hundreds of free audiobooks in mp3!

Oxford University Press

OUP offers free access to Resources for students and teachers.

Cambridge University Press

Cambridge University Press has made higher education textbooks free to access in HTML format

Project Muse

Over 20 publishers on Project Muse have decided to make their contents freely available.

Scholastic                                                

Do you have kids? The editors of Scholastic Classroom Magazines have also launched a collection of kid-friendly resources for learning about coronavirus.

Stay safe!

World Poetry Day

March 21 marks World Poetry Day (WPD). Created by UNESCO in 1999, WPD encourages us to return to the tradition of poetry readings and to place poetry within other literary genres such as novels, short stories and theatre plays. Poetry shouldn't be considered an outdated form of art, but "one which enables society as a whole to regain and assert its identity". Poetry, in other words, has been one of the most powerful forms of expression to convey our most profound feelings and to inspire social change and progress.

To celebrate the greatness of poetry, watch this stimulating talk by Stephen Hurt on why we need poetry.

Poetry, you will see, has many great uses yet one that hasn't been mentioned by Stephen Hurt is its potential to help us perfect a skill that ESL learners find quite challenging: pronunciation. Carla Dechant, one of our English teachers, has very kindly shared with us a Crazy English Pronunciation Poem and some related activities that will help you practice the pronunciation of some of the most difficult spellings in English. Click here to download the worksheet.

Thanks a million, Carla!

Happy Poetry Day to all!

#StayAtHome with To Kill A Mockingbird

Dear bookworms,

I hope this post finds you well.
As you all know, classes are cancelled for the next two weeks but that does not mean that your reading has to be put on hold. Quite the contrary, we hope that you spend this time reading in English, learning new things and, of course, taking care of yourselves.

Fourteen days can feel like a very long time when stuck in quarantine so why don't you give To Kill A Mockingbird a chance?

There are many websites from which you can legally download the full text for free (here) or where you can read it online (here)

You may also want to listen to the author's only recorded interview about the novel:

Our next book club meeting will probably have to be postponed but we'll figure out a way to share our reading of Harper Lee's novel!

Take care of yourselves!