sparkles #22
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So, it's April already. One
of my favourite months. First
of all, this is the part of the
year when true spring
begins. And that is a
fantastic season - it's warm
enough to sit outside and
sip endless coffees with
your friends, to walk your
dog or just wander around
the forest or the city,
whichever you prefer.
On the other hand, April is
one of those months with a
number of strange holidays
and observances; there are
more than 70 so everyone
can find something to enjoy
and celebrate. Starting with
April Fool's Day which, as
Mark Twain put it, is the
day reminding us of what
we are on the other 364
days, and then moving on to
Tweed Day, Tell a Lie Day,
Plan Your Epitaph Day, or
some even stranger days
like Blah, Blah, Blah Day,
High Five Day or Pretzel
Day.
Of course, we haven't had
enough space in this issue of
Sparkles© to write about all
of them, but that doesn't
mean we won't do it next
year. For this issue we
decided to celebrate spring
and give you a nudge to go
outside and see nature
awakening. And while
doing that you can also
observe International
Moment of Laughter Day,
Look up at the Sky Day and
two of my favourites:
Lover's Day and Kiss Your
Mate Day.
Whatever you do, don't
miss out on the latest issue
of Sparkles© - we hope
you'll like it. ▪ I.P.
Once upon a time in APRIL 02/04/1982 - The beginning of the ten-week Falkland Islands War as troops from Argentina invaded and occupied the
British colony located near the tip of South America.
03/04/1948 - President Harry S. Truman signed the European Recovery Program (the Marshall Plan) intended to stop the
spread of Communism and restore the economies devastated by WWII.
04/04/1949 - Twelve nations signed the treaty creating NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
04/04/1968 - Civil Rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was killed by a sniper in Memphis, Tennessee.
06/04/1896 - After a 1500 years break, the first modern Olympics was held in Athens, Greece.
11/04/1970 - Apollo 13 was launched from Cape Kennedy. Fifty-six hours into the flight an oxygen tank exploded in the
service module. Astronauts managed to return to Earth safely.
12/04/1961 - Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.
14/04/1865 - President Abraham Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded while watching a performance at Ford's Theatre
in Washington. He died the following morning.
23/04/1564 - William Shakespeare was born at Stratford-on-Avon, England.
30/04/1789 - George Washington became the first U.S. President.
Nature Awakening
Nature 2
All about the plants 4
Effective presentations 6
English is weird pt.1 8
Inside this issue:
Did you know? - HENRY JAMES
Henry James (15 April 1843 – 28 February 1916) was an American-British writer who spent most
of his writing career in Britain. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary
realism. James alternated between America and Europe but eventually settled in England,
becoming a British subject one year before his death. He is best known for a number of novels
showing Americans encountering Europe and Europeans. His method of writing from the point of
view of a character within a tale allows him to explore issues related to consciousness and
perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting.
In addition to his voluminous works of fiction, he published articles and books of travel,
biography, autobiography, and criticism, and wrote plays. Some of his best known works are
The Portrait of a Lady, The Golden Bowl, The Ambassadors, Washington Square,
The Turn of the Screw and many more.
Monthly newsletter for and by English learners and teachers
Editors:
Maja Ivanović, prof. Komercijalna i trgovačka škola Bjelovar
Irena Pavlović, prof. mentor Srednja škola Čazma
email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Sparkles.newsletter
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE:
Antonela Gelenđir
Agricultural school Zagreb
Ivona Ivančić, Paula Novaković &
Dominik Piskor
class 2B at
Commercial and trade school
Bjelovar
April is here and with it comes beautiful springtime
weather. April is officially recognized as American
National Lawn and Garden Month in honour of the
beautiful weather throughout the United States.
Public gardens and parks are popular destinations
for tourists, locals and everyone in between
throughout April, since they both are green and
blooming with flowers. Of course, you should also
celebrate it by sprucing up your own front yard
with fresh flowers, green grass and all the fixings of
a perfect springtime garden.
Why are we suggesting this? Because we know how
much you love your laptop, TV and your
smartphone.
Because we are more than aware that sometimes
the only natural landscape you see is the one on
your desktop and, although you probably have an
app telling you which plants and animals can be
seen in your area, you haven't actually checked if it
works. So, AccuWeather keeps saying it is sunny
and warm outside, why not go and see it for
yourself?
Nature in spring is a very exciting time
with many things happening. Spring is a
time when everything grows and bursts
into life. It is a time of birth, rebirth and
renewal, a literal change from brown to
green. Birds are singing, leaves are
unfolding, butterflies are starting to be
seen and mammals are beginning to wake
from their winter sleep.
Lawn and Garden Month in the States —
This season is a time of days getting longer
and the spring sunshine bringing growth
and greenery everywhere with buds
bursting and leaves unfolding. Birdsong
reaches a peak and many flowers appear, in
turn attracting insect-life, including bees
and butterflies. Animals which have
hibernated over winter appear on the first
warm days of spring so keep an eye out in
early spring for hedgehogs, newly emerged
queen bees, frogs, toads, grass snakes,
lizards and adders. Other animals such as
squirrels become more active and are easier
to spot. Millions of migrant birds arrive,
with storks, chiffchaffs, and sand martins
amongst the first to appear in March and
swallows, swifts, cuckoos, nightingales and
many warblers in April and May. Nature is
at its most busy in spring, every day brings
changes, the sap is rising, and for many
species finding a mate and successfully
breeding is top priority.▪ I.P.
Page 2
~ THIS MONTH’S BUZZ ~
— Nature Month in Sparkles©
TOP THREE THINGS TO LOOK FOR
Budburst – watch the progress of spring in a
hedge. The buds of hawthorn burst and new
fresh green leaves appear followed by creamy
white flowers in late April or May. The
blossom was once known as ‘May’ but in many
places flowers now appear in April, perhaps
an indication that climate change is making
spring come earlier.
Queen bumblebees – look out for the first
bumblebees on warm days in April. These will
be queens which have successfully survived
the winter and are now seeking nectar and
pollen from Spring flowers.
Frogs and toads on the move – one of the
first signs of spring is the spawning of frogs
and toads. Look for masses of jelly-like frog
spawn in local ponds and ditches. Toads often
travel long distances to suitable ponds to
breed in and sadly often get killed crossing
roads. They travel at night when it's cooler
and damper. ▪ I.P.
TOP THREE THINGS TO DO
Visit a bird colony – though birdwatching is
considered to be a British hobby (which is no
wonder - Britain has some of the most
important bird colonies in Europe), it is only
recently gaining in popularity in Croatia, too.
Did you know that there are 371 bird species
in Croatia, an exceptionally high number for a
country of this size? There are 228 nesting
species, of which 78 are registered as
endangered species in Europe. There are 19
bird reserves and 40 areas important for bird
life. Definitely an amazing experience.
Learn bird songs – spring is when bird song
is at its best. Take a dawn chorus walk and
listen to the music of nature - early morning
is the best time for listening to bird song. So,
why not get up early and start by learning
bird songs in your own garden?
Become an agriculturalist and sow some
seeds – read the article on page 8 and
give it a try. ▪ I.P.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT PHENOLOGY IS?
If you are interested in science and are
thinking about a career as an agriculturalist
or a biologist, consider keeping a chart of the
blooming sequence of the plants, trees and
shrubs in your area. Observation of the
relationship between climate and the life
cycles of plants and animals is called
phenology and it may be an excellent
introduction to your future career and provide
some valuable experience. Spring, being a
new beginning, is a good time to start
observing those relationships.▪ I.P.
Page 3
~ THIS MONTH’S BUZZ ~
In 1973 Peter Tompkins and
Christopher Bird published
The Secret Life of Plants, a
book documenting controversial
experiments that reveal
unusual phenomena regarding
plants such as plant sentience,
discovered through
experimentation. It also
discusses alternative
philosophy, practice on soil and
soil health, as well as on
progressive farming methods
together with pseudoscientific
topics such as magnetotropism,
bio-electrics, aura,
psychophysics, orgone energy,
radionics, kirlian photography,
and dowsing.
The book was the basis for the
1979 documentary of the same
name, directed by Walon
Green. The film made use of
time-lapse photography where
plants are seen growing in a
few seconds, creepers reach out
to other plants and tug on
them, mushrooms and flowers
open. The film was originally
distributed by Paramount
Pictures and can be found on
Youtube (https://
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=dFYgue5VfGk).
This intriguing film features
soundtrack by Stevie Wonder,
later released as Journey
through the Secret Life of
Plants. The soundtrack is also
available on Youtube (https://
www.youtube.com/watch?
v=GBLp8BedZgE). ▪ I.P.
Page 4
HAVE YOU READ, SEEN AND HEARD IT?
THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS
~ STUDENTS’ CORNER ~
nip in the bud If you nip a problem or an
unacceptable situation in the bud, you stop it at an early stage, before
it develops or becomes worse.
beat around the bush This expression is used to tell someone to say what
they have to say, clearly and directly, even if it is
unpleasant.
fresh as a daisy Someone who is (as)
fresh as a daisy is lively and attractive, in a clean
and fresh way.
pushing up the daisies To say that someone is
pushing up the daisies means that they are dead.
lead up the garden path If someone leads you up the
garden path, they deceive you by making you believe
something which is not true.
make hay while the sun shines This expression is used as an
encouragement to take advantage of a good situation which may not last.
grass roots The term grass roots refers to the ordinary people who form the
main body of an organization.
green fingers To have green fingers means to be good at
gardening.
shake like a leaf If you shake like a leaf, you
tremble with fear or nervousness.
turn over a new leaf If a person turns over a new leaf, they decide to change their behaviour
and lead a better life.
come up roses If things come up roses, the end result is successful or
positive, even if there were difficult times.
grasp at straws If you are in a desperate
situation and you grasp at straws, you try any method, even if it has little chance of
success, in an attempt to find a solution.
thorn in your side If you say that someone is a
thorn in your side, you mean that they continually
irritate or annoy you.
barking up the wrong tree A person who is barking up the wrong tree
is doing the wrong thing, because their beliefs or ideas are incorrect or mistaken.
can't see the wood for the trees If someone can't see the wood for the trees, they are so concentrated on the
details that they can't see the situation as a whole.
IDIOMS RELATED TO PLANTS
The naked earth is warm with Spring,
And with green grass and bursting trees
Leans to the sun’s kiss glorying,
And quivers in the sunny breeze.
~Julian Grenfell~
When April scatters charms of primrose gold
Among the copper leaves in thickets old,
And singing skylarks from the meadows rise,
To twinkle like black stars in sunny skies;
When I can hear the small woodpecker ring
Time on a tree for all the birds that sing;
And hear the pleasant cuckoo, loud and long --
The simple bird that thinks two notes a song.
~William Henry Davies, April's Charms ~
Page 5
~ STUDENTS’ CORNER ~
Plants good for the house Since many of us spend most of our free time at home, it is very
important to have good indoor air quality. The well known fact
is that plants produce oxygen which to us is the source of life,
but it is also very important to know that at night plants take
oxygen, so when we sleep it is recommended to be in a room with
few or no plants. I would say that all plants are good for the
house, but there are always good and better options.
Spider plant is a resilient
plant with lots of rich foliage
and tiny white flowers, this
plant is also considered a
safe houseplant if you have
pets in the house. It is used
in the leather, rubber and
printing industries.
Peace lily is a very beautiful plant
with a beutiful white flower shaped
like a feather and all that it needs is
weekly watering and some shade to
produce blooms.
Weeping fig is a ficus which, if
put in your living room, can help
filter out pollutants that
typically accompany carpeting
and furniture. Caring for a ficus
can be tricky, but once you get the watering and light conditions
right, they will last a long time. ▪ I.I.
Carnivorous plants - specialized for
trapping and digestion of animals
There are 630 known different carnivorous plants
throughout the world and the greatest variety of those
can be seen in North America. They
inhabit bogs, rocky areas and other
types of soils that lack nutrients. They
can survive on different altitudes and
various climates, but they do not
tolerate dry
habitats. Diet
based on animal
flesh provides
nutrients that
other plants
normally absorb
from the ground. Carnivorous
plants differ in size, shape and
mechanisms used to attract the
prey. These plants have very
interesting morphology and unusual eating habits,
which makes them popular, so they are often
cultivated. Just like all other plants, they obtain energy
in the process of photosynthesis. They absorb sunlight
and carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere to create food.
Most species of carnivorous
plants are small herbaceous
plants that can reach 30
centimeters in height. Some
look like bushy vines. They
can grow to the height of 90
centimeters and are often very
colorful, have beautiful smell and
produce large quantities of nectar. The lifespan of these
plants depends on the species, but some can survive up
to 50 years in the wild. ▪ P.N.
Venus flytrap
Leaf of Drosera
Nepenthes
Plants in superlatives There are a lot of different plants in the world and each is special in its own way. People are not that
interested in them because they are somehow boring, but what people don’t really know is what
strange plants exist in this world.
The smallest plant in the world is called Watermeal. This bright green plant is
found all over the planet and is about the size of a grain of rice!
The biggest plant in the world bears the name Rafflesia and it can weigh up to 4
kilograms. Its appearance and smell remind of rotten meat, it attracts flies that
pollinate it.
The tallest plant in the world is called Titan arum and it can can reach over 3
metres. It also smells badly. It is a flowering plant with the largest unbranched
inflorescence in the world.
One of the most poisonous plants in the world is called the Castor oil plant, or
Ricinus. It is used for making oil, some say that the oil is toxic and some not.
One of the rarest plants in the world is Chocolate cosmos. Native to Mexico, where it is extinct in the
wild, it survives as a single clone reproduced by vegetative propagation. During the summer, flower
lets sweet vanilla smell. ▪ D.P.
Page 6
~ TEACHERS’ CORNER ~
How to create an effective presentation?
Minimize the number of slides.
To maintain a clear message and to keep your audience
attentive and interested, keep the number of slides in your
presentation to a minimum.
Choose a font style and font size that your audience
can read from a distance.
Choosing the right font style helps to get your message
across. Avoid narrow fonts, those that are difficult to read
and fonts that include fancy edges. When it comes to font
size, don't use anything smaller than 22 points and combine
different font sizes for different parts of the presentation.
Keep your text simple by using bullet points or short
sentences.
Use bullets or short sentences, and try to keep each to one
line; that is, without text wrapping. You want your audience
to listen to you present your information, rather than read
the screen.
Use art to help convey your message.
Use graphics to help tell your story. Don't overwhelm your
audience by adding too many graphics to a slide, however.
Make labels for charts and graphs understandable.
Use only enough text to make label elements in a chart or
graph comprehensible.
Make slide backgrounds subtle and keep them
consistent.
Choose an appealing, consistent template or theme that is
not too eye-catching. You don't want the background or
design to detract from your message.
Use high contrast between background colour and text
colour.
Themes automatically set the contrast between a light
background with dark coloured text or dark background
with light coloured text. The first option is better because it
is more visible unless the room is very dark.
Check the spelling and grammar.
To earn and maintain the respect of your audience, always
check the spelling and grammar in your presentation.
Show up early and verify that your equipment works
properly.
Make sure that all equipment is connected and running.
Don't assume that your presentation will work fine
on another computer.
Disk failures, software version mismatches, lack of disk
space, low memory, and many other factors can ruin a
presentation. Turn off screen savers to keep your audience
focused on the content of your presentation, and make sure
that you have the appropriate files and versions of
software that you need.
Verify that the projector's resolution is the same as
the computer on which you created your
presentation.
If the resolutions don't match, your slides may be cropped,
or other display problems can occur.
Check all colours on a projection screen before
giving the actual presentation.
The colours may project differently than what appears on
your monitor.
Avoid moving the pointer unconsciously.
When you are not using the pointer, remove your hand
from the mouse. This helps to stop you from moving the
pointer unconsciously, which can be distracting.
Do not read the presentation.
Practice the presentation so that you can speak from
bullet points. The text should be a cue for the presenter
rather than the full message for the audience.
Stay on time.
If you plan a certain amount of time for your presentation,
do not go over. If there is no time limit, take less time
rather than more to ensure that people stay engaged.
Monitor your audience's behaviour.
Each time that you deliver a presentation, monitor your
audience's behaviour. If you observe people focusing on
your slides, the slides may contain too much data or be
confusing or distracting in some other way. Use the
information you learn each time to improve your future
presentations. ▪ I.P.
~ TEACHERS’ CORNER ~ Page 7
Have you tried...using rubrics?
Rubrics have become popular with teachers as a means of communicating
expectations for an assignment, providing focused feedback on works in
progress, and grading final products. Although educators tend to define the
word “rubric” in slightly different ways, one commonly accepted definition
says it is a document articulating the expectations for an assignment by
listing the criteria, or what counts, and describing levels of quality from
excellent to poor. They can also be used as a teaching tool; when used as
part of a formative, student-centred approach to assessment, rubrics have
the potential to help students develop understanding and skill, as well as
make dependable judgments about the quality of their own work. If you
want to know more and give it a go, visit http://rubistar.4teachers.org/
index.php - they'll give you everything you need.
CPD in 10 minutes or less
If you feel you need some help with creating and delivering presentations
and don't feel like reading the guidelines on the previous page, you may
appreciate this 9-minute-video, the Principles of Effective Presentations,
available on Youtube https://youtu.be/XxR8lh9riFg. It describes the four
steps in the process of making effective presentations and gives some basic
tips for thinking about it.
ENGLISH IS WEIRD pt. 1
~ MISCELLANEOUS ~
The seeds should be left for a week, week and a half to
come out and they need watering every day.
When the first leaves and stalks grow for about 7cm, little
plants should be replanted into another small jar with
more distance between them in the ground. When you do
it, put the entire stalk all the way up to the first leaves
into the ground in order for the root to develop well. Then
the plant grows and with it grows the number of leaves on
the plant, and when the little plants grow about 15 cm
long, they are ready to be planted out in the open. Of
course, replant them in spring when there is enough sun
and heat. In order for your
plants to get a chance to have
fruit you have to ensure
conditions for photosynthesis .
For photosynthesis plants
need water, chlorophyll and
nitrogen from the air.
Connected, they turn into
sugar that goes into the fruits
of plants and oxygen that we,
humans, use for breathing.
In your garden you can
cultivate any agricultural
crops that thrive in your area. People here mostly grow
vegetables for their own diet, like peppers, tomatoes,
carrot, parsley, celery. They also cultivate fruit trees that
need to be cropped regularly and that bear a lot of fruits
like apples, pears, plums, cherries, etc.
If you are not interested in agricultural plants, you can try
cultivating decorative plants and plant them outside in
the flower garden or keep them in the house on the
windowsill and still enjoy beautiful greenery. Decorative
plants are not difficult to keep, there are some of them
which we keep in the house and these are mostly plants
that fail in our area. You can grow decorative plants such
as flowers outside but you still need to take care of them
so the plants are as beautiful as possible. ▪ A.G.
1. ‘E’ is the most commonly used letter in the English
language. In fact, as many as one in eight of all the letters
written in English is ‘e’.
2. More English words begin with the letter ‘S’ than any
other letter of the alphabet.
3. ‘Go!’ is the shortest complete
sentence in the English language.
4. The longest English word that can
be spelled without repeating any
letters is ‘uncopyrightable’.
5. The word "queue" is the only word
in the English language that is still
pronounced the same way when the
last four letters are removed.
6. "Almost" is the longest word in the English language with
all the letters in alphabetical order.
7. "Rhythm" is the longest English word
without a vowel.
8. The dot over the letter "i" and the letter "j"
is called a "superscript dot".
9. Do you know what is special about the
following sentence? ‘The quick brown fox
jumps over the lazy dog’. This type of sen-
tence is called a ‘pangram’ as it uses every
letter in the English language.
10. The following sentence contains seven
different spellings of the sound “ee”: ‘He believed Caesar
could see people seizing the seas’.
Have you ever asked yourself where all the food that we
eat comes from?
All that was cultivated by someone. And, have you ever
thought about cultivating something yourself? Try it,
you might get to like it because why buy vegetables and
fruit if you can produce it yourself in your own garden,
without any help. At the same time you'll feel great
because it is an indescribable feeling to produce
something with your own hands and it is much cheaper
than buying vegetables from the store which, at the
same time, are not as good as they should be.
If we look at it, out of a
small seed, the size of a few
millimetres, plants can grow
longer than one meter,
bearing a lot of fruits that
are healthy and taste great.
That is better than going to
the store and just buying
the most beautiful
vegetables that you see.
People who deal with
cultivating are called
agronomists and you can
start to be one of them and cultivate food for your diet at
home. Agronomy is the science of growing agricultural
crops and every one of you can become a novice
agronomist and cultural plant breed for food at home.
For starters, you can breed small plants on the
window in your room or in another protected place
where it is warm enough and where small plants have
enough light for the photosynthesis, which is the most
important process in the plant.
You can take seeds of any vegetable culture that you like
or love and seed them in a small jar or something that's
close at hand and you can always handle it
easily, like egg boxes.
How to become an agriculturalist