Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States today. It is celebrated on the last thursday of November (25 Nov this year). No matter what Americans are giving thanks for , it’s a great opportunity to spend time with family and friends, share stories and relax.
More about thanksgiving at history.com

How to make an oral presentation

Oral Presentations: Basics

The Big Rule: Tell them what you're going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you told them.
In other words, your presentation should have three parts: an introduction, body, and conclusion. Let's look at these three parts and see what you should include in each.

The Introduction
The purpose of the introduction is not only to introduce your topic, but also to interest your audience in the topic.

1. Grab the audience's attention by somehow involving them in your topic. You can do this by asking a question, offering an interesting fact, using a quotation or telling a short story. (The question "How many people here have a home computer?" is a lot more interesting than "Today I'm going to tell you about the Internet.")
2. You should preview the content of your presentation by offering a brief outline of what you will be discussing. You may also want to include why you choose this topic to present on.

The Body
The body of your presentation should support your introduction by offering facts, opinions, and reasons to support your topic. It should contain at least three ideas with supporting details to illustrate your point.

The Conclusion
The conclusion should restate the main points without giving examples. Think of it as a brief summary which emphasizes what you want the audience to remember. You can finish with a recommendation, a personal thought, an observation, or a question. Your closing statement (the last statement) should pull your presentation together.

Some tips:

1. Write notes based on keywords.
2. Rehearse your presentation several times and modify it as necessary.
3. Make use of  visual aids.
4. Use clear, simple language.
5. Use active verbs and concrete facts.
6. Explain the structure of your presentation at the beginning so that your listeners know what to expect.
7. Establish audience rapport.

The song I Got Love by the King Blues was featured in the programme we watched in class, My School Prom. I'm posting it here because I really like it and I thought you may like it too. Also, I love the (working class) London accent: pay attention to it.

Here's the lyrics to the song:

Well I'm gonna dance like nobody's watchin
I'm gonna sing like no-one's listenin
I'm gonna kiss you like we're all alone
Cause this world is ours
We're the have not but the have all's
At twice the speed of lightning I travel.
Through the universe i will runt
to write your name in the stars.
Cos some truths will last forever.
Music can bring the world together
I got life man, I will use it til they lay me down to rest
So let’s party in the supermarkets
Move to the rhythm of my heartbeat
I’ll take my tie right off my neck
and wear it tied up round my head

Chorus
I got love, I got so much love
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go
I got love, I got so much love
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go

Mountains crumble as I pass
This life’s too beautiful to last
I feel a spirit rise inside me
Something’s happening in the air,
With my feet right on the ground
And my head up in the clouds
We are one people, we are equal
You are wonderful and rare

Chorus
I got love, I got so much love,
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go
I got love, I got so much love
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go

Though we try so hard, they disdain us
But these walls they can’t contain us

I laugh right in the face of death,
I’ll fight this fight til my last breath,
For the frightened fall as often yet far closer than the brave,
We only got one life, let’s use it,
You can’t stop the movement,
So choke on that, you can quote that
You can write it on my grave,

"I got love", I got so much love
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go
I got love I got so much love
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go
I got love I got so much love
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go
I got love, I got so much love
Love in my heart and this feeling I can’t let it go

UK education system

There are 4 stages to the UK education system. Students are assessed at the end of each stage:
The first significant assessment occurs at the end of Secondary level with GCSE exams (General Certificate of Secondary Education). Students are then able to progress to Sixth Form. On completion of their Sixth Form studies, most students can progress straight to University.

Secondary Education

UK students usually begin a 2-year GCSE programme at age 14, with exams that test knowledge and skill. In secondary schools, GCSE courses are taken in a variety of subjects, which are usually decided by the students themselves in Year 9 (age 14). Typically, study of chosen subjects begins at the start of Year 10 (age 15), and final examinations are then taken at the end of Year 11 (age 16). The number of subjects a student studies at GCSE level can vary. Usually somewhere between eight and ten subjects are studied, though it is not uncommon for more, or fewer, subjects to be studied. Virtually all students take GCSEs in English, mathematics and science. In many subjects, there are two different 'tiers' of examination offered:

• Higher, where students can achieve grades A*–D
• Foundation, where they can achieve grades C–G

Further education

Receiving five or more A*–C grades, including English and Maths, is often a requirement for taking A-levels in the school sixth form, at a sixth form college or at a further education college after leaving secondary school. An A-level consists of six modules studied over two years. Normally, three modules are assessed at the end of the first year, and make up a stand-alone qualification called the "AS-level". Another three modules are assessed at the end of the second year, which make up the "A2". A2 modules do not form a qualification in their own right; the satisfactory completion of the AS and A2 modules in the same subject is required to constitute a complete A-level.
Modules are assessed by exam papers marked by national organisations and internally-assessed coursework. The number of A-level exams taken by students can vary. A typical route is to study four subjects at AS-level and then drop down to three at A2 level, although some students continue with their fourth subject. Three is usually the minimum number of A-levels required for university entrance, with some universities specifying the need for a fourth AS subject.

University admissions

Because A-level students often apply to universities before they have taken their final exams, British universities consider predicted A-level results when deciding whether applicants should be offered places. The predictions are made by students' teachers and can be unreliable. Thus, the acceptance of a student onto a course will normally be conditional on him or her actually achieving a minimum set of grades (for example, conditional offer of three A-levels at grades B-B-C). Universities may specify which subjects they wish these grades to be in (for example, conditional offer of grades A-A-B with a grade A in Mathematics).

LIST OF GCSE SUBJECTS
LIST OF ADVANCED LEVEL SUBJECTS

VETERANS DAY

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington D.C.

I have already written about Remembrance Day in the UK (see Nov 7 post). In the USA today they also celebrate the end of the Great War and the Armistice, but there it's called Veterans Day.
Veterans Day originated as "Armistice Day" on Nov. 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and Nov. 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day--a common misunderstanding, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Memorial Day (the fourth Monday in May) honors American service members who died in service to their country or as a result of injuries incurred during battle, while Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans--living or dead--but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.

Veterans Facts

The brave men and women who serve and protect the U.S. come from all walks of life; they are parents, children and grandparents. They are friends, neighbors and coworkers, and an important part of their communities. Here are some facts about the current veteran population of the United States.

• 9.2 million veterans are over the age of 65.
• 1.9 million veterans are under the age of 35.
• 1.8 million veterans are women.
• 7.8 million veterans served during the Vietnam War era (1964-1975), which represents 33% of all living veterans.
• 5.2 million veterans served during the Gulf War (representing service from Aug. 2, 1990, to present).
• 2.6 million veterans served during World War II (1941-1945).
• 2.8 million veterans served during the Korean War (1950-1953).
• 6 million veterans served in peacetime.
• As of 2008, 2.9 million veterans received compensation for service-connected disabilities.
• 5 states have more than 1 million veterans in among their population: California (2.1 million), Florida (1.7 million), Texas (1.7 million), New York (1 million) and Pennsylvania (1 million).
• The VA health care system had 54 hospitals in 1930, since then it has expanded to include 171 medical centers; more than 350 outpatient, community, and outreach clinics; 126 nursing home care units; and 35 live-in care facilities for injured or disabled vets.

HIGH SCHOOL TRADITIONS

 Homecoming is a tradition in many universities, colleges and high schools in North America. It usually includes activities for students and alumni, such as sports and culture events and a parade through the streets of the city or town.

 Homecoming is an annual tradition of the United States. People, towns, high schools and colleges come together, usually in late September or early October, to welcome back former residents and alumni. When celebrated by schools, the activities vary widely. However, they usually consist of a football game played on a school's home football field, activities for students and alumni, a parade featuring the school's marching band and sports teams, and the coronation of a Homecoming Queen (and at many schools, a Homecoming King). A dance commonly follows the game. 
The Homecoming Dance – usually the culminating event of the week  – is a formal or informal event, either at the school or an off-campus location. The venue is decorated, and either a disc jockey or band is hired to play music. In many ways, it is a fall prom. Homecoming dances could be informal as well just like standard school dances. At high schools, the homecoming dances are sometimes held in the high school gymnasium or outside in a large field. Students generally compete by grade level in events such as the spirit days and parade floats.  Sometimes on coronation night, some schools have games that they play between classes.

PROM

In the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal (black tie) dance, or gathering of high school students. It is typically held near the end of junior and/or senior year. It figures greatly in popular culture and is a major event among high school students. High school juniors attending the prom may call it Junior Prom while high school seniors may call it Senior Prom. In practice this may be a combined junior/senior dance.
At prom, a Prom Queen and Prom King may be revealed.  Prom Queen and Prom King are honorary titles awarded to students chosen in a school-wide vote prior to the prom.

Boys usually dress in black or white formal wear, regardless of the time of the event, sometimes paired with brightly colored ties or bow-ties with vests.
Girls wear traditional dresses.

Traditionally girls will also wear a corsage, given to them by their dates, and girls give boys matching boutonnières to be worn on their lapel.

Prom attendees may be limited by their schools to be Juniors or Seniors and if guests, under age 21. Before Prom, girls will typically get their hair styled, often in groups as a social activity at a salon. Prom dates will then gather at their own and their date's houses for photographs. Prom attendees may rent limousines to transport groups of friends from their homes to the Prom venue: a banquet hall or school gymnasium. At Prom, a meal may be served. The dance itself may have a band or DJ.

YEARBOOKS

A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a book to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. High school yearbooks generally cover a wide variety of topics from academics, student life, sports and other major school events. Generally, each student is pictured with their class and each school organization is usually pictured.
On this page, you can find lots of old school yearbooks.

Poppy Day

Poppy Day - Remembrance Day - is the day when the dead of two World Wars and other armed conflicts are remembered in the UK. The Armistice at the end of the First World War of 1914 - 1918 was signed on November 11th at precisely 11 am - the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For this reason, Remembrance Day is on the 11th of November each year although church services and many parades are held on the Sunday nearest that date - in 2010 this will be on 14th November.

A national ceremony takes place at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London. The Queen lays the first wreath at the Cenotaph.

Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans. 
A poem called 'For the Fallen' is often read aloud during the ceremony; the most famous stanza of which reads:

 Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)
You can read the whole poem here
Or you can listen to it

17 year old Crawford McInally-Kier is (or was, as this video is dated last year) a pupil at Hutchesons' Grammar School in Glasgow. His great-great-grandfather served with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders, and died during the First World War, leaving behind a wife and six month old daughter.

Crawford admits that Remembrance Day was a difficult and rather distant concept for him until he visited the war cemeteries and memorials in Flanders. In this video, Crawford tells how his visit changed the way he views Remembrance Day. 

Why should young people mark Remembrance Day? - November 2009 from War Graves Commission on Vimeo.