Daffodils

Spring is in the air, daffodils are bursting open. “Daffodils” is also one of the most famous poems in the English language. It was written by William Wordsworth, an important English Romantic poet. The official title of the poem is: “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• daffodil - a yellow flower that blooms in the spring and that has a center that is shaped like a long tube (also see picture below)
• to wander - to walk around in a relaxed way
• margin - the edge of something
• at a glance - with a quick look
• to outdo - to do better than someone or something else
• glee - joy
• jocund - happy, cheerful
• pensive - thoughtful and serious
• bliss - complete happiness

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.



You can read the poem here.

1. Can the tone of the poem be best described as: angry, comic, joyful, or sad?


2. What is the narrator’s mood in the first lines and how does it change when he/she sees the daffodils?


3. What is the connection between the daffodils and the twinkling stars?


4. In the last lines (1:20 in the video), how does the memory of the daffodils change the narrator’s mood?


5. Does the poem suggest that loneliness is a good thing or a bad thing?
   Explain your answer.

Extra words assignment

1. The cloud “floats on high o'er vales and hills”.
   Explain what the underlined expression means.


2. Wordsworth uses all sorts of “happy” words.
   Write down all the happy words you recognize.

Daylight Saving Time

In many European countries, Easter Sunday marks the start of Daylight Saving Time.
Jesse asks if it's pointless or not.

pointless = having no meaning, purpose or effect

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. According to Jesse, who invented the custom of Daylight Saving Time?


2. Why did the inventor of Daylight Saving Time want an extra hour in the summer?


3. Who were against Daylight Saving Time for a long time?


4. Does Daylight Saving Time save energy?


5. Is Daylight Saving Time pointless? What does Jesse think? What do you think?

Here's another video assignment about Daylight Saving Time.

Easter

Easter is coming up. What do you do for Easter? Get inspired by the video.

Read the following words and phrases and their definitions.

• string - a thin piece of twisted thread that you use to attach things, tie things together, or hang things
• cardboard roll - a long piece of stiff and thick kind of paper that is rolled to form the shape of a tube or ring
• individually wrapped - each item covered in a seperate piece of paper
• inflate - to become larger by being filled with air
• glue - a substance used to stick things tightly together
• squirt - to push a liquid out through a small opening by force
• lattice - a frame or structure made of crossed wood, metal strips or any other material

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.

1. Make a list of all the material you need to make a string Easter egg.


2. What can you do to make sure all the sweets fall into the balloon?


3. What can you do if the glue is too thick?


4. Why should you leave the end of the string hanging out of the bowl?


5. What do you do if the string becomes knotted?


6. How long does it take for the glue to dry?


7. How do you remove the balloon from inside the string Easter egg?


8. How do you get the chocolate out of your string Easter egg?

Extra speaking assignment
Watch the video once more.
- Listen carefully to the instructions.
- Write down the main points.
- Organize the information into 8 steps.
- Explain how to make the string Easter egg in your own words.
- Use your notes to make sure you don’t forget any of the 8 steps.

Why the Sun Really Shines

Spring has finally arrived and with it: the Sun! Why does the sun actually shine? In the 1950s, the educational song Why Does the Sun Shine? was written, based on information that was then believed to be accurate. In 1983, They Might Be Giants, an original band from Brooklyn, New York, covered this song.

Many years later, in 2008, they discovered that the information in the original song was incorrect. The band then wrote an “answer song” in which they updated the outdated information about the Sun. It is called The Sun Is A Miasma Of Incandescent Plasma. The lyrics in the new song reflect our current state of knowledge regarding the Sun.

First read the definitions of the following underlined words.

• The sun is a miasma = a heavy cloud of something unpleasant or unhealthy

• incandescent = white or glowing because of great heat

• The sun is a quagmire = an area of soft, wet ground

First read the assignment. Next watch the video. Take notes to help you do the assignment.



Answer the questions in writing or in a group discussion.

1. Listen carefully to all the things the Sun is not. Write them down. Compare your notes to those of your classmates. 


2. Which four states of matter are repeatedly mentioned in the song?


3. What state of matter exists on the surface of the Sun?


4. Complete the following lines:
   The sun is a quagmire,
   it’s .......... ........... ........... ..........


5. “That thesis has been rendered invalid.” What does the last line mean? Explain in your own words.

Discuss the following question in smaller groups or as a class:
What does the experience of They Might Be Giants teach us about how we respond to changing facts?

Extra writing exercise
Can't get enough of the song? Listen again and write out the lyrics.