Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

The Bard of Avon is turning 450 years old today! Now all the world's his stage , says an article in The Telegraph, as people all over the world celebrate his (traditionally observed) birthday with much fanfare.

William Shakespeare's date of birth is conjectured from records of his date of baptism which is on the 26th of April. If you want to know how Stratford- upon -Avon is celebrating his birthday, check their site which also has a lot of information about Shakespeare's life.

This is where Shakespeare was born:-

and this is a look at the interior...

If you are interested in listening to some in-depth criticism of the play, here's a podcast on the ways in which personal relationships are shaped by models of financial transaction, using the casket scenes as a central example in the Merchant of Venice.

And when you have some time in hand do listen in to a really interesting lecture by Dr.Vivian Rakoff at the Stratford Festival where he contextualizes the social and political framework behind one of Shakespeare's most controversial plays, The Merchant of Venice. I did enjoy listening to him deliver Shylock's memorable  speech- 'Hath not a Jew eyes?...'

So here's wishing a very happy birthday to the Bard who occupies a special place in our English classes and hoping our explanations of his well crafted language does justice to his stature.

I am posting for you a link to the full text of the play with annotations and a delightful interpretation of the plot of the play and an analysis of the characters on BBC bitesize.

Have fun discovering Shakespeare and let me know if this has been helpful.

Structure of an Atom ( Class 9)

You have already studied about the structure of an atom and the various theories associated with it.
John Dalton, Rutherford and JJ Thomson conducted experiments and gave the structure of an atom. J.J. Thomson proposed that electrons are embedded in a positive sphere.
Rutherford’s alpha-particle scattering experiment led to the discovery of the atomic nucleus. Rutherford’s model of the atom proposed that a very tiny nucleus is present inside the atom and electrons revolve around this nucleus. The stability of the atom could not be explained by this model. It was Neils Bohr who explained that stability of an atom was related to attaining the Noble gas state where all the shells of the atom were filled with electrons according to their capacity. This was the electronic configuration and to attain this state atoms either gained or lost energy.
J. Chadwick discovered the presence of neutrons in the nucleus of an atom.
So, the three sub-atomic particles of an atom are: (i) electrons, (ii) protons and (iii) neutrons.

You also know that the metallic character represents a group of chemical properties of elements called metals. Metals lose their electrons rapidly and the tendency of an element to lose electrons and form positive ions (cations) is called electropositive or metallic character. For example,alkali metals ( Na, K ) are the most electropositive elements. They are good reducing agents.

"The tendency of an element to accept electrons to form an anion is called its non-metallic or electronegative character." For example, chlorine, oxygen and phosphorous show greater electronegative or non-metallic character. They are good oxidizing agents.

As I was going through some worksheets, I found this site which gives a good understanding of the concept of bonding, equations and also has some good practice sheets.Please do not go through the sheets related to emperical formulae and mole concept. They are for the next grade.

http://crescentok.com/staff/jaskew/isr/chemistry/class12.htm

Do visit this site and practice the worksheets given in it.

Grammar & Vocabulary

We have been revising the basics of grammar as it is the beginning of the school year and what better time to focus on the foundation of language than now?

I am posting some links here for some fun practice. Hope you enjoy doing them.

Tenses:-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1618_gramchallenge33/page2.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1618_gramchallenge33/page3.shtml

This link shows you a tense chart which helps explain the tenses:- 
http://www.grammarbank.com/verb-tenses.html


Here's a passage for practice:-

COFFEE !

Read the following passage carefully. Fill in each blank with the correct form of the verb in the bracket.

Coffee is a beverage ___1___ ( drink ) by many past generations of people. What most people do not realize is that coffee is ___2___ ( make ) from beans ___3___ ( pick ) from trees.

Coffee trees ___4___ ( grow ) either from seeds or cuttings. These trees will begin to ___5___ ( bear ) crops when they are about four years old.
Workers on coffee plantations have to pick the beans by hand. After the beans ___6___ ( gather ), they are ___7___ ( roast ) at high temperatures. This process ___8___ ( give ) them their fragrance.
The best coffee is made from freshly ___9___ ( grind ) beans. There are many different ways of ___10___ (prepare)  coffee. Coffee can be served either with or without milk.

Get the original passage and answers at:-

  http://www.englishdaily626.com/verbs.php?065

Reported speech:-

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-reported-speech.php#.U1Cbp_mSyQ4

Reported questions:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/820_gramchallenge44/page2.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/820_gramchallenge44/page3.shtml

TRY THIS!

Vocabulary (source: bbc.co.uk)

What are phrasal verbs?

Phrasal verbs are very common in spoken and written English. So we need them to understand and speak English naturally.
It's the combination of a verb + a particle (preposition or adverb) resulting in a new word. The new unit is different from the two separate words. 

Examples: 

1. She brought (verb) up (preposition) the matter of the praise for my invention again!

2. They say it isn't easy to bring up children these days.

3. Maybe if you talk it over things would settle down.

Here's a simple list of phrasal verbs for students if you are interested.

Some practice:-

Think of phrasal verbs that have the same meaning as the words in bold. Write your answers in the spaces. 
1. seeing my dad off      2. touches down   3. looking around   .4 checked in  5. coming back  6. checked out of 

  1. I was browsing in the bookshop when I saw my long-lost friend, Bertie. ________________ 

 2. I hate saying goodbye to my Dad when he goes off to work. He’s in the ________________  navy and sometimes I don’t see him for months. 
  
3. I left the hotel in disgust when I saw a rat in my bedroom. ________________   

4. My husband is returning home tomorrow after a six-month business trip! ________________ 
   
5. My plane lands at 2.30, so could you meet me in the airport at 3.00? ________________ 

 6. As I handed over my ticket and luggage, my fear of flying began to grow. ________________

Here are some links for some phrasal verbs and vocabulary quizzes :-
http://www.grammarbank.com/phrasal-verbs-quizzes.html

http://www.grammarbank.com/vocabulary-quiz.html


Prepositions:
A link to a prepositions quiz:-
http://www.grammarbank.com/prepositions-quiz.html

Reading Comprehension:-

On the same site, here's a link to a host of reading passages which have multiple choice answers.

http://www.grammarbank.com/reading-comprehension-worksheets.html

Do the exercise at leisure and not all at once. The aim is to give you access to resources that will aid your understanding of the concepts and give you ample practice.

Stages Of Mitotic Cell Division

We have completed the stages of mitotic cell division in the class. I found an animated video which will give you a better understanding of the concept.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhgRhXl7w_g

What is (and is not) mitosis?

Mitosis is nuclear division plus cytokinesis, and produces two identical daughter cells during prophase, prometaphase, metaphase, anaphase, and telophase. Interphase is often included in discussions of mitosis, but interphase is technically not part of mitosis, but rather encompasses stages G1, S, and G2 of the cell cycle.

Interphase- During G1, S and G2 phase the RNA and protein increases in amount and cell gets ready for division.

Interphase	The cell is engaged in metabolic activity and performing its prepare for mitosis (the next four phases that lead up to and include nuclear division). Chromosomes are not clearly discerned in the nucleus, although a dark spot called the nucleolus may be visible. The cell may contain a pair of centrioles( animal cell)
Prophase	Chromatin in the nucleus begins to condense and becomes visible in the light microscope as chromosomes. The nucleolus disappears. Centrioles begin moving to opposite ends of the cell and fibers extend from the centromeres. Some fibers cross the cell to form the mitotic spindle.
Metaphase	Spindle fibers align the chromosomes along the middle of the cell nucleus. This line is referred to as the metaphase plate. This organization helps to ensure that in the next phase, when the chromosomes are separated, each new nucleus will receive one copy of each chromosome.
Anaphase	The paired chromosomes separate  and move to opposite sides of the cell.
Telophase	Chromatids arrive at opposite poles of cell, and new membranes form around the daughter nuclei. The chromosomes disperse and are no longer visible under the light microscope. The spindle fibers disperse, and cytokinesis or the partitioning of the cell may also begin during this stage.
Cytokinesis	In animal cells, cytokinesis results when a fiber ring composed of a protein called actin around the center of the cell contracts pinching the cell into two daughter cells, each with one nucleus. In plant cells, the rigid wall requires that a cell plate be synthesized between the two daughter cells

Kabuliwala - Rabindranath Tagore

You have been reading the classic poignant tale- Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore as part of your Literature course. Linked below is a resource on Kabuliwala by Rabindranath Tagore written by a young friend. I found his blog quite relevant. There's a podcast on the linked post that you can listen to.  

http://sydneydxb2.wordpress.com/2013/10/07/grade-9-tagores-kabuliwala-discussion-prompt/

We have also discussed who Kabuliwalas were and how much a part of the Indian society they were during Tagore's time. Here is a link to a beautifully written article that tells you more about the background of their presence.

http://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/afghanistan-in-world-literature-iii-kabuliwalas-of-the-latter-day

I am also putting up a link here to the Hindi movie based on the same story. It is of course, embellished with the director's imaginative additions but I am hoping you will find it entertaining. There is another Bengali movie of the same name and based on the story. Both cinematic versions tell the moving tale well, but of course for Tagore lovers like me, nothing is better than the craft of the written word. 

Do leave your comments here on your opinion of the potrayal of the relationship between a parent and child in the story.