I know, I know ... the last thing you want right now is doing anything that has to do with English, but keep this in mind: a little bit of reading harms nobody!!! ... consider it will help your brains keep fit as you are hanging out at the swimming pool or sunbathing in Benidorm ... ;-)
There you go!, these are recommended readings for your well-deserved off-school days (click on each entry to check details on the publishers):
We have seen the award-winning movie "Dracula" of the director Francis Ford Coppola (1992). Now see the trailer of an older version, "Horror of Dracula" (1958), starred by Christopher Lee. Which one have frightened you most?
DIRECTIONS FOR YOUR READER ESSAY
READING ADVICE
üDo not translate every word nor look its meaning up in the dictionary.
üRead two or three pages on one go.
üTry to get general ideas. Do not worry if you do not understand all details.
üCheck only the words that you consider useful to understand what happens.
üJot them down in your `vocab booklet´ so that you can use them in your summary.
üMake some notes on the teacher’s explanations (they will help you to draft your essay later).
LAYOUT
ØUse blank pages.
ØCover (book’s title and author). Write your name and class below.
ØHand-writing (never edit your paper on your PC, spell checks and translator gadgets prevent your English from a quick advance).
ØMake sure all the titles in bold, upper case below are in your paper.
Use "Britannica" search gadget on the right-hand side of the blog and find out who the following people were (write three or four lines for each):
>Bram Stoker
>Vlad the Impaler
I. SUMMARY
Make a list of all the chapters’ titles. Translate them into Spanish and write five or six sentences giving a brief description of the main events at each chapter. (Try making simple sentences. Do not translate directly from Spanish. Avoid using translation tools and spell-checks from your computer.)
II. CHARACTERS
Choose one character. Draw it or write his/her name and make a word tree with details of his/her appearance, personality, problems, experiences, fears, etc. Now use the words in the tree to write a full paragraph about that character. (70-80 words approx.)
III. VOCABULARY
Choose one chapter. Pick out 15 words that you consider relevant and necessary for a complete understanding of the events. Make a glossary including the word, page, word class (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, etc.), translation and a phrase sample.
IV. GRAMMAR
Choose a different chapter. Write 10 samples of grammar structures studied at class (including the page where they can be found). i.e. Present/Continuous, Past Simple/Continuous, Present Perfect, Subject/Object Questions, like/prefer/hate/enjoy + gerund, comparative/superlative adjectives, so/such a(n) + adjective, etc.
V. BOOK REVIEW
vTITLE
vAUTHOR
vBOOK TYPE (adventure, mystery, crime, romance, historical, suspense, etc.)
·The story happens in…………………………………………………………………… (place, time).
·The characters in this book are…………………………….………..(names, brief description).
·My favourite character is……………………………………………………….. I like him/her because…………………………………………………………………… (justify your choice).
·My favourite part of the story is when…………………………………………
·I like/don’t like the book because…………………………………………………
·I recommend/don’t recommend this book because………………………
I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one wish to lay it.
