Good afternoon!
Thank you for another enjoyable class! Sometimes it's even hard for me to focus on the grammar when we have such good conversations! We had a lot of good vocabulary introduced throughout our class time today (ex. cold turkey).
I started today's class with the word, prop (from yesterday), to show you all of the different meanings. That's the really hard thing about English-- so many words have so many meanings! I decided to do the adjective clause/phrase review from the homework because it really is the best review I have. Because of the good discussion and questions, it seems to me that you have a strong understanding of the grammar. I expect to see lots of competents and exceptionals when I check your quizzes this weekend.
Ater that, we finished up the worksheet on the provisions that the pioneers needed on their journey to the end of the Oregon Trail. I think it's interesting information-- it's hard for me to imagine attempting such a trip. I had you fill in the chart with the vocabulary to see if you could figure out from the context where the words fit. Then, I said the totals very quickly to check your ability to catch the numbers.
Then, we had our second presentation of the quarter. I was really impressed how everyone was so interested in the presentation and asked so many good questions. Here is a link to the history of Earth Day: http://teacher.scholastic.com/scholasticnews/indepth/earthday/articles/index.asp?article=history&topic=0 It's from scholastic.com, so it should be a little easier to read.
Tomorrow, Selena is giving a short presentation and then we'll have our second vocabulary and grammar quizzes. Our last conversation lunch will be tomorrow. I'll have an end-of-the-term schedule for you, too.
I hope you're enjoying this beautiful evening.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Week 9-- Day 33
Good morning! I woke up at 5:00 AM, wired (without caffeine), so I am already in my office (it's around 7:15 am). I think I walked in my sleep last night. I'll tell you the funny story in class.
Yesterday's class had a few last-minute changes, but it all worked out ok! We started the class with "A picture is worth a thousand words." In a nutshell, this is my rationale for using cartoons, pictures and video when illustrating idioms/phrasal verbs/slang at the start of class.
Then, we reviewed adjective clauses/phrases again with the article on Susan Boyle. I chose the article because it is current and up-to-date. In my opinion, it was a great example of the grammar and was interesting because Susan Boyle has been in the news for a couple of months now. I think it also forces us to question society's values because Susan Boyle has been ridiculed because of her physical appearance even though we all know that "beauty is only skin deep."
I thought the exercise gave us a good chance to review the grammar rules, but also the opportunity to learn new vocabulary and discuss the bigger issues behind the story.
After the break, we returned to the Oregon Trail and did the cloz reading. I scrambled the words to give you spelling practice along with the reading skills you need to use to figure out where the words go in the passage. We began the worksheet on the provisions for the journey on the Oregon Trail. I hope to finish it it today. I will be sure to tell Hannah, my daughter's friend, that we all appreciate her loaning us her covered wagon.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Yesterday's class had a few last-minute changes, but it all worked out ok! We started the class with "A picture is worth a thousand words." In a nutshell, this is my rationale for using cartoons, pictures and video when illustrating idioms/phrasal verbs/slang at the start of class.
Then, we reviewed adjective clauses/phrases again with the article on Susan Boyle. I chose the article because it is current and up-to-date. In my opinion, it was a great example of the grammar and was interesting because Susan Boyle has been in the news for a couple of months now. I think it also forces us to question society's values because Susan Boyle has been ridiculed because of her physical appearance even though we all know that "beauty is only skin deep."
I thought the exercise gave us a good chance to review the grammar rules, but also the opportunity to learn new vocabulary and discuss the bigger issues behind the story.
After the break, we returned to the Oregon Trail and did the cloz reading. I scrambled the words to give you spelling practice along with the reading skills you need to use to figure out where the words go in the passage. We began the worksheet on the provisions for the journey on the Oregon Trail. I hope to finish it it today. I will be sure to tell Hannah, my daughter's friend, that we all appreciate her loaning us her covered wagon.
I look forward to seeing you soon!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Week 9-- Day 32
Good morning again!
Yesterday definitely wasn't a typical class. We started out with a couple of new vocabulary: reach for the stars and movie star. We also did another quick activity on run-on sentences. Then, we headed over to the commerical. What happened was that Simon started filming earlier, around 8:30, so he didn't need so many extras. He felt bad about that and made sure to use a few of you in the Gaiser Hall footage. Looking on the bright side, it was certainly a beautiful morning for a short walk.
We returned to class and began the preposition work. I'll take your sentences and use them later this week.
I decided to let you know of the program changes because most of the class was there and yesterday was Kim's last day. I wrote everything in a letter to you, so you could translate what you needed to and I know that reading is often an easier skill than listening. It has been a difficult decision for many reasons. As I wrote in the letter, I sincerely hope that many of you will stay in touch with me after summer quarter.
We'll talk more about what you will do next at your final appointments and in summer. I promise will find a good fit for each of you.
Emma has just woken up, so I must close now. See you in a couple of hours!
Yesterday definitely wasn't a typical class. We started out with a couple of new vocabulary: reach for the stars and movie star. We also did another quick activity on run-on sentences. Then, we headed over to the commerical. What happened was that Simon started filming earlier, around 8:30, so he didn't need so many extras. He felt bad about that and made sure to use a few of you in the Gaiser Hall footage. Looking on the bright side, it was certainly a beautiful morning for a short walk.
We returned to class and began the preposition work. I'll take your sentences and use them later this week.
I decided to let you know of the program changes because most of the class was there and yesterday was Kim's last day. I wrote everything in a letter to you, so you could translate what you needed to and I know that reading is often an easier skill than listening. It has been a difficult decision for many reasons. As I wrote in the letter, I sincerely hope that many of you will stay in touch with me after summer quarter.
We'll talk more about what you will do next at your final appointments and in summer. I promise will find a good fit for each of you.
Emma has just woken up, so I must close now. See you in a couple of hours!
Week 8-- Day 31
Good morning. My recap of last Thursday is long overdue. We had 'to try' meaning 'to taste' to begin class. The commercial for Life Cereal is a very famous one. Youtube is funny because you can find all sorts of surprising and interesting videos!
We continued with our review of the grammar and also did a short exercise on run-on sentences. Everyone seem prepared for the quiz in a week. I was glad to see that everyone seemed to be able to recognize where the periods are needed. The next step, if run-ons are difficult for you, is to find them in your writing. Of course, this is a hard task.
We also had a chance to finish up the scanning activity from the day before. Our classtime was cut a little short because of the class evaluations. They are now required once per year for all teachers, full-time and adjunct faculty.
Hope you're still snoozing!
We continued with our review of the grammar and also did a short exercise on run-on sentences. Everyone seem prepared for the quiz in a week. I was glad to see that everyone seemed to be able to recognize where the periods are needed. The next step, if run-ons are difficult for you, is to find them in your writing. Of course, this is a hard task.
We also had a chance to finish up the scanning activity from the day before. Our classtime was cut a little short because of the class evaluations. They are now required once per year for all teachers, full-time and adjunct faculty.
Hope you're still snoozing!
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