Week 2-- Day 7

Our idiom/slang of the day was hand-me-downs. Ex. Since I'm the oldest in my family, my youngers sister had to wear my hand-me-downs. Other words and phrases from today's class include: Many moons ago (a long time ago), kids (baby goats), tend (likely to; probably).

We did it-- we got through probably the most complicated grammar lesson of the quarter. We took the basic noun clause rules that we've been discussing for over a week and applied them to reported speech. I introduced the lesson with the dictation to once again give you focused spelling practice. This time I purposefully used some difficult sounds (th, can/can't). We talked about direct/quoted speech. These punctuation rules are especially important if you will continue on at Clark College and take English composition classes. The focus for our class is the reported speech. The tricky thing to remember is changing the tenses to the past forms in most cases (except might/should/ought to/past perfect/general truth/immediate reporting or when the reporting verb is in the present/future/present perfect).

We voted for guest speakers again, too. We'll have to talk about it again. It looks like it might be a good idea to have 3 speakers if possible: personal safety, green cleaning & health insurance.

We got started on group projects. I gave you lots of choices, so you are more likely to find something that interests you. Remember, you can take advantage of the opportunities even if you it's not part of your group project. I have already e-mailed 9-1-1 to set up a sit along for 3 of our students.

We also (finally) got back to essays. We will go over the format by filling in an outline based on the sample essay. We will also brainstorm topics.

See you in the morning!

Week 2-- Day 6

Today we began class by talking about all the different meanings of green-- "good for the environment; being environmentally conscious", "inexperienced" or "green with envy-- jealous".

Then, we worked on noun clauses starting with that. We started with a dictation to focus your listening and spelling. In that exercise, some of you got a new word: chamomile tea. The main point of today's grammar lesson is to remember that "that" is necessary when the noun clause begins the sentence. Otherwise, it is optional and more often used in writing.

I thought we had some good discussion on the similarities and differences in schools (U.S. vs. your native country). I showed the pictures of schoolchildren, so we all had an image of unforms in our mind. We started the sample essay by doing a vocabulary exercise. I gave you another clue for your vocabulary quiz: Remember that "a" tells you that the next word begins with a consonant and "an" tells you that it will begin with a vowel. I will give you the answers to the vocabulary right away, so we can get started with essay form right away.

I've decided to have one more vote to choose guest speakers. This will be in addition to a conversation with American students.

It looks like the clouds have returned-- hopefully the sunshine will be back in the morning!

Week 2-- Day 5

Today was another good day. We didn't goof off :) and completed the next section of grammar-- using infinitives (to + simple form of verb) in noun clauses. They have the meaning of "can/could & should". You seem to recognize this grammar in your own speaking. Tomorrow's grammar should be a piece of cake. The confusing grammar will start on Wednesday.


We voted for our guest speaker--results to come. Depending on the results, we may have a 3rd vote. Or we can add campus security as a 3rd opportunity. We'll have to see what happens.


As I said in class, I wasn't planning to use the "water" reading in class this spring, but changed my mind because the focus of your environmental topics (from your 4-minute quick write) was water for many of you. We went over the vocabulary and questions carefully to prepare you for the next GED reading we'll have this week. I will still time the questions to add pressure for you to answer them quickly. We'll also do the questions before the vocabulary to see how you do with a reading that you don't get to see first.


We also had some new vocabulary throughout today's class:

• It's raining cats and dogs.: It's raining hard.
• to be in a pickle: to have a dilemma
• desert (dry land: stress on 1st syllable); dessert (ice cream: stress on 2nd syllable)
• wedding reception: party after the wedding ceremony
• wedding ceremony: when the bride & groom say their vows
• wedding party: bride, bridesmaids, maid/matron of honor, flower girl & groom, groomsmen, groom, ring bearer.
• to be tongue-tied
• Cat got your tongue?

Here's the link to the article on the New York shooting: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/nyregion/04hostage.html?emc=eta1
How do you get your news? If you want to try something new, I suggest suscribing to the New York Times (on-line edition) via your e-mail. It's free! You can sign up to get the headlines sent to your inbox. Then, if you want to read the whole article, you can click on the headline. The New York Times is a credible news source.-- it's not sensational like the nightly news can be. Go to: http://www.nytimes.com/gst/regi.html

Have a good night!