Merry Christmas!

What do you do for Christmas?

Wednesday, December 11-- WE START ON TIME

Our kids have a two-hour delayed start, but WE DON"T.  See you at 9.  If you have to stay with your children, come as soon as you can.

There's NO SCHOOL Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Plum students don't have school tomorrow because the class is finished.  I'll put up pictures soon.  Pimmit students don't have school tomorrow because it was cancelled because of the weather.

No School Tomorrow Lyrics for people who like to read and listen  Print so you can see them and play the video at the same time--if you like the music.

When I lived in Colorado, we never had snow days.  I walked to school even if it snowed more than two feet.  I was astounded by snow days when I moved to Virginia.  Do you have snow days where you are from?  Did your school ever get canceled because of the weather?  Do you have any snow day stories?

Grammar Post--Count/Non-Count Nouns

Recently, my morning class at Pimmit practiced using count/non-count nouns.  Many students remember singular and plural, but not everybody had practiced with non-count.

Powerpoint showing countable vs. non-count

Side by Side Video with Conversational Examples

Spanish-language explanation

University of Victoria Explanation and Exercises

Great game using articles. Don't use a or an with a non-count!

English Zone's more comprehensive list of non-count categories and nouns

Side by Side Video-- Much vs. Many/Little vs. Few -- Conversations

We only use a or an with single count nouns. Use the if your listener knows which noun you are talking about Here's a game to practice!

Tell me about your worst shopping experience!

Tell me about a time you went to a terrible business.  What happened?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!  What are you doing?

What are you happy about?  What do you like to eat? 

Happy Hannukah!

Do you celebrate Hannukah?  What do you do?

חנוכה commemmorates the re-dedication of the holy temple in Jerusalem.  In the US, jewish people get together, light candles, and give gifts for eight days.

Is eating important to you? Is it important to your family?

Our Pimmit class is a lot of fun because people bring in delicious food.  I enjoy eating together.

Need Food Vocabulary?

Do you like to eat with your family?  Do you like to cook?  Are you a picky eater?  Are you going to celebrate Thanksgiving this year?  What are you going to eat?  Are there any foods that are special to you or to your family?

Grammar Post -- Comparative and Superlative

Explanation and song excerpts

Tutorial from eflnet.com--More explanation!

Comparative/Superlative drag and drop game -- may have to scroll down

(THE) Superlative vs. Comparative (than)

Comparative (compares 2) vs. Superlative (most distinctive in the group)

more practice!

A difficult multiple choice that I think you can do

Click on Ventures, Level 2, Unit 7

Can you use these adjectives to compare any people?

Practice/type comparatives and superlatives

Side by Side Video Comparing People

"Things Will Get Better" Music Video

Do you think the recommendations this website makes are good? I don't know...


These pictures are from Juan.  How do they compare?

This picture is from Mori.

These pictures are from Ester.

  

Should/Shouldn't

Explanation of should/shouldn't-- The grammar exercise is tricky-- we don't like to have more than one negative in English

Side by Side Video--should vs.must in conversations

This project looks like fun to me.  Would you enjoy taking similar pictures?

Ayda cracked me up when she decisively said, "GO, GO!"

after listening to the next song.

What should we do before the class ends?

Longer Than...

I hope this song helps you remember to always say "than" after longer, higher, etc...

Where can you get a good deal?

Where do you like to shop?  What do you like to buy?  Pick three things you often buy, and research where to get the best deal.  When you write about it, use English comparatives.

For example, the grapes at SPW are cheaper than the grapes at Safeway.
The package at __________ is bigger than the package at ____________.
Brand X is more expensive, but it's more delicious than Brand Y.

Here are some links with some grocery sales.

Giant Food Specials

Safeway Weekly Specials

http://www.shoppersfood.com/savings/view-ads/view-circular.html

Harris Teeter Specials

Walmart

Target

Costco

Thank You, Veterans

Today is a day to recognize everyone who joins the military and serves.

Juan suggested this next song.  I like it a lot.

Same song, but with lyrics rather than pictures from the military.  It's easier to read along, but not identifiable as for Veterans Day.

This next song is a great example of a south-eastern country accent.  Many soldiers come from small towns.  "Ain't" is an "uneducated" way to say "aren't."  Do you make XXXX to mean kisses, and OOO to mean hugs in your letters?

Tell me a real life example....

This week we spent a lot of time contrasting present tense with past tense.  Please listen to people and watch TV in English.  Tell me one example you hear of past tense and one example of present tense.

For example:  When I was at work, my manager asked me, "Did you finish that?" (PAST)

or
My neighbor said, "My husband always watches football on Sundays." (PRESENT)

or

I watched the news.  They said that the OMB reported that the Parks Service lost a lot of money because of the government shut down.  (PAST)

The woman in the commercial said that ________ always makes her happy.  (PRESENT)

Were you surprised?

Today, we talked about what we do when we feel different emotions.  Did any of your classmates surprise you?  (You don't need to say who.)  What did they say?  I was surprised when I heard that several people drink coffee when they feel worried.

What do you do when you feel bored?

First Student Photo!

I asked my Plum class to send me pictures for beautiful, autumn, and checked.  I just got the first one.   Thank you Hirsia!

She wrote:  The weather is beautiful today.

It really was.  My morning class had a fire drill, and I was actually happy to spend a little time outside!
Thanks for the picture!

Occupations

What job did you want when you were a child?  I wanted to be a doctor, a mother, a movie star, and a teacher.  Do you like the job you have now?

Happy Memory

Write about a time you felt really happy.  What happened?

Election Day!

I voted today!  Did you?  Can you tell me a story about voting in an election?

Grammar Practice--Past Tense

A Slideshow Review about Past Tense-Press the bottom right arrow for the next slide
(We don't have the boardgame.  Can you make one?)

Another Slideshow Review
("Did you play sport" should be "Did you play any sports?" or "Did you play a sport..."

We started practicing irregular past verbs.  Don't forget to use the base form with did or didn't.

Jeapardy Game for irregular verbs

Memory Game with Some Irregular Verb Forms

Monkey Game--Irregular Verbs

english.com quiz. Use the down arrow to choose your answer than check

was or were?

This video starts with a lot of present continuous/progressive questions.  If you can get past that segment, there are some slowly spoken conversational examples of past tense.

The following video is childish, but I think it's a relatively painless way to learn some irregular verbs.  I also like that it explains subject, noun, and predicate.

The next video has many easy verbs.  I like that you repeatedly hear the question, and that it has both regular and irregular verbs.  I think it's too long.  You can start three minutes into it without really missing anything.

How to pronounce the most common irregular verbs

Do you already know these?  I think most of you do....

A short video with some examples of past tense in song

Broken Down Car

Did your car or bus ever break down?  One time, I was on a bus that broke down next to a huge blueberry patch.  All the passengers enjoyed fresh blueberries while we waited for another bus to come.  I actually enjoyed it.  Do you have a story about a broken down car or bus?

All Saints Day

November 1 is All Saint's Day.  November 3 is All Saint's Sunday.  Many christians in the United States think about good, christian people.  In the Catholic Church, Saints must perform miracles and be confirmed by the leadership of the church.  Many catholic children choose a special saint's name when they get confirmed.  In the (protestant) methodist church, any real christian can be called 'saint.'

"When the Saints Go Marching In" is a very famous example of American Jazz music.  It's often played at funerals in New Orleans, LA.

Do you have a favorite saint?  Who do you think of when you want to think about good people?

It takes a lot of patience to learn English quickly.  When else is it really hard to be patient?  Do you have a lot of patience?

What do you like to do on a beautiful day?

Today is cool and sunny.  Yesterday was also cool and sunny.  Yesterday, I went for a long hike and looked at the colorful leaves and the Potomac River.  This week we are going to work hard in class.  My younger children are going to dress up and "trick or treat" for Halloween.  My older son will be in a scary play on Friday.

What do you like to do on a beautiful day?

What did you do yesterday?

What are you doing today?

What will you do tomorrow?

What are you going to do for Halloween?

It's going to be a great day!

Happy Birthday!

Today we welcomed Lyuda.  We sang happy birthday for Ji Hee and Lillian.
We thought about Maria -- she has an October birthday too.

We practiced future tense with "will."

A disgrace is a shame-- a bad thing that hurts the family or group that the person belongs to.

Are you planning any birthday celebrations for anyone?  What will you do?

Can you describe a wonderful birthday or holiday?

I want to hold your hand

Remember, you only write "want to" like "wanna" in dialogue and song lyrics!

For single students:

•  Is life better without a partner?  Why?
• Can you describe your boyfriend or girlfriend? 
• Can you describe a person you would like to have for a boyfriend or girlfriend?  

For married students:

• Can you describe your spouse?  
• How did you meet your spouse? 
• Can you describe the moment that you knew you wanted to marry your spouse?

Rihanna "Unfaithful"--Listen to "I don't want to __"

When you use lyrics to learn English, sometimes you'll see words that aren't real English words.
"Wanna" is not an English word.  It's how "want to" sounds.  Don't use "wanna" in formal writing, but practice saying it when you read, "want to."

This song has many examples of want to+ _________(base verb).

What did you want to do?

Tell me about a time you got something that was difficult to get because you made and followed a plan.

Bryan Adams, "Everything I do, I do it for You"

Do you have any memories that go with this song?

Who do you admire?

Do you admire anyone?  Who?  Can you describe that person?

Talking

Everyone wants to practice speaking.  What do you like to talk about?

Eid

Today is Eid.  Today muslims in the USA celebrate that Abraham sacrificed a ram instead of his son.  Many poor people will feast on meat today.

Do you celebrate Eid?  What do you do?  What's your favorite holiday?

Happy Columbus Day!

We don't have school today.  Today is Columbus day.  We remember 1492 when Christopher Columbus officially found the Americas and advertised them in Europe.

Today school is out, but stores are open.  Many stores have sales.  Some sales at Tyson's Corner Center

What are you doing today?  Are you shopping?

Describe your favorite....

What does your favorite shirt look like?  Do you have a pair of favorite earrings?  What do your nice shoes look like? What's your favorite outfit?

Describe clothes, jewelry, and accessories that you like.

Example:
I really like my white tank top tee-shirt with yellow lace bordering the neck line.

Through My Eyes

English Teacher Notes:  "theres"  should be "there's."  I also prefer writing "all right" rather than "alright."

R & E Adjective Order

Today we practiced adjective order.

What's a noun?
A person, place, thing, or idea.

My favorite noun is Jack, my husband.  I also like Boulder, Colorado very much.  I like the beach and the mountains. My daughter loves her teddy bear.  My son loves math.  Jack, husband, Boulder, daughter, teddy bear, son, and math are nouns.

Words for clothes and accessories are nouns.  Examples:  skirt, ring, earring, shirt, blouse, and dress.

Quiz on ESL vocabulary on clothes, jewelry, and accessories.

What are your favorite nouns?

What's an adjective?
An adjectives is a word that describes a noun.

Look at the picture. Click on the best description (adjective.)

Look at the picture. Click on the best adjective

Examples
I love my faithful, intelligent, sweet, witty husband.  Faithful, intelligent, sweet, and witty are adjectives.
She went to the big, purple mountains.  Big and purple are adjectives.
He went to the windy, hot, crowded  beach.  Windy, hot, and crowded are adjectives.
The cuddly, fuzzy, soft teddy bear sits on the bed.  Cuddly, fuzzy and soft are adjectives.

What adjectives do you like?

Although most native U.S. speakers do not know that they use an adjective order, you will sound wrong if you do not use it.  The order we practiced today:  1. SIZE, 2, AGE,  3. SHAPE, 4. COLOR,
 5. PATTERN.

We say:  Tall young woman, not young, tall  woman.  We say green plaid shirt, not plaid, green shirt.

Need a more detailed explanation?   Adjective Order Discussion Scroll down to 102.

Practice:  Practice from the Ventures Book  Go to BLUE, Unit 1, Personal Information.
Usingenglish.com adjective order quiz

Can you describe your favorite nouns?  Who are your favorite people?  What are your favorite places?  Where do you like to be?  What are your favorite things?  What are your favorite ideas?

What's your best dish?

My best dishes are very easy.

• I make a delicious summer pasta salad with garlic, olive oil, basil, cheese, and fresh tomatoes.  
• I make a warm pasta with a white sauce that's boiled whipping cream, garlic, white pepper, and parmesan cheese.  
• Sometimes I bake chicken pieces in orange juice. 
•  Sometimes I dip chicken legs in Italian dressing and Italian bread crumbs and then bake them.  
• Sometimes we marinate boneless chicken breasts in Italian dressing and put them on the grill
• I marinate small chunks of beef in brown mustard and brown sugar and put them on kebobs with red peppers, sweet onions, and pineapple.

My husband's best dishes are chinese-style stir fries.  He makes a delicious kung pao chicken.  He also makes wonderful pancakes.

What are your most delicious meals?

What can you do?

Today we practiced with "can + base verbs."  Verbs are action words.  Base verbs don't have "s" "ed" or "ing" at the end.  We talked about things we can and can't do.

Here's a song called "Can we talk?"  It's fast, but I think you can read to follow it and understand many of the words.

Note:  It can be bad to call women, "baby" or "girl." if you don't know them really well.  Some women hate that.  Also, "wanna" is not good Engish even though it's very common in song lyrics.  It's the way "want to" sounds when we say it.

Real English video we watched in class today

We talked about jobs/occupations--
  Language Guide Jobs Vocabulary (same as vocabulary link, but specific)

Another fast video-- this one for vocabulary.  Stop it and repeat it.

We say "mail carrier," not postperson.  Everything else works.

Do you like to shop?

Do you like to shop?  What do you like to buy?

All dressed up and no place to go

I think some of my students can write this whole song as a dictation.  Can you?

Pimmit October 2 R & E

Welcome to class!  We met each other.  We talked about goals.  We've played games like two truths and a lie and telephone tag.

We did a lyric fill-in-the-blank with

"That's My Goal."

Picky English teacher notes about this video:  "Thats" should be "That's"  (That is)  Ive should be I've (I have)

When you write, don't capitalize every word.
        ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


We reviewed "to be," "to have," and vowels.

We practiced using "s" after simple present verbs with he, she, and it.  We practiced saying the s both voiced and unvoiced. (ZZZZ and SSSS)

We used "want," "need," "have," "see," and "hear" in the present tense.

We practiced using and saying "-es" after SS and X.  You can also put an "es"  after SH.

Example:  classes, taxes, wishes.

We used will+ base form for future.

We used --ed for simple past.  We practiced saying it like "t" in worked, cooked, and stopped.

Tell me about yourself.

Who are you?  Where are you from?  Do you live with your family?  If yes, who are they?  What do you like?  What do you hate?  Can you tell me a funny story about yourself?

Welcome Pimmit Students

This song is fast, but I want you to hear how "meet you" can sound like "me chuh."

I really enjoyed meeting you.  We talked.  We wrote.  We started setting goals.  See you tomorrow!

What are you doing this weekend?

I'm working.  I'm writing.  I just talked to other teachers about how to make classes interesting.  What are you doing?

September 25 Review and Expansion

Today was goal day!  We wrote "SMART" goals

"That's My Goal" Vocabulary:

Foolish -- stupid, silly, not smart or wise
Make it Clear --say something so that it's easy to understand
Worth -- value
Giving up -- Quitting.  Stopping because it's too hard

We practiced making introductions.Real English Video
Adjectives:  Gracious, hospitable, witty, intelligent, athletic, satisfactory, loveable
An adjective is a description word.  We use adjectives to describe people, places, things, and ideas.
Schoolhouse Rock Adjective Cartoon (very fast, but the pictures show meanings)

We practiced using "can".Real English Video -- Can you....?

Can+base verb
a base verb is the simple (often present tense with I) form.  NO ING, ED, S, or TO.

Example:  I can dance.  NOT  I can dancing or I can danced. or I can to dance.

What does SMART mean?

Specific
Measurable
Attainable or Agreed upon
Reasonable
Time-limited

We talked about using articles.  "The" comes before specific nouns.  I use it when I think you know which noun I'm talking about.  We use "a" for one of many, or if we don't care which one.

Practice a vs. the Learn English Feel Good A vs. The,
                           http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/articles-a-the2.html

Please describe someone

Most people in our class are married.  Can you describe your spouse in English?  Spouse means wife or husband.  Describe means show with words.  If you prefer to describe a child or a friend, that's OK.  If you can add a picture to the description, that would be great!

Example:  My 16-year old son Peter looks like a grown man with a baby's face.  He is tall -- about six feet tall.  He has wide shoulders and muscular arms.  His hair is short and very blonde.  His skin is red from working outside most of the summer.  He has bright blue eyes.  He loves to joke around -- his face is usually smiling or twisted in a silly way.  He wants to grow a mustache, but the thin little bit of blonde hair really doesn't show unless it reflects the sun.  He usually wears blue jeans and a t-shirt.  He has a very deep bass voice now.  He loves to sing.  He sings in the shower every day.

Pictures--short and enjoyable

Can you bring or email me pictures -- LJScheible@fcps.edu--that show something short and/or something enjoyable?

How do you cook fish?

Most people in this class really like to eat fish.  How do you prepare it?

Do you like to listen to music?

Do you like to listen to music?  What's your favorite song?  Who's your favorite singer?  Do you have any favorite songs with English words?

The fill-in-the-blank cloze I gave you today was Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."  Here's the video:

What do you want to learn?

Are there any specific things in English you really want to work on?

One student said she wants to learn vocabulary about going to the hairdresser.  Another student wants to practice for citizenship.

When do you really want to speak English really well?

Can you tell me a story when you wish you had better English?

When my friend was in college, she went to the financial aid office to ask for a loan.  (A loan is money from the college or a bank or the government that you pay back with extra money called interest.) She got mad and left when the people in the office tried to give her a scholarship instead.  She was sad that she had said "no" when she learned that a scholarship is a gift of money for education that you don't have to pay back.

What do you enjoy?

I enjoyed meeting you tonight.

I often enjoy listening to music.  I usually enjoy talking.  I always enjoy listening to stories.  I enjoy eating.

What do you enjoy?  (If you say an action after "enjoy," use "ing."  Don't use "to") We enjoy eating.
I enjoyed meeting you.  (Not I enjoy to meet you or I enjoy meet you.)

Welcome to Class! (Evening, Fall 2013)

Today is the first day of fall.  It's also the first day of a new class.  My name is Laurie.  I've been teaching for more than twenty years.  I love to teach.  I hope you learn a lot of English quickly while you have fun.

We introduced ourselves.  We found people who like soccer, cook, and have spouses.  We used present tense to describe things we do every day.  (I eat every day, not I'm eating every day.)  We listened and filled in the missing lyrics for "Wonderful World."  We talked about habits that can help make learning English go faster.

Vocabulary we talked about included:  enjoyable, during, short, prefer, bloom, sacred, grow, and goal.
--What do you do?/What are you doing?/ How do you do?
--I am cold/I have a cold
--I've lived here for ten years./I've lived here since 2003

--Pronouncing A,E,I,O,U  (Difficult for some people when they spelled their names to their classmates during the "Find someone who..")

Click here to listen and practice saying abc's in English

This video shows some pretty pictures of trees in the fall with relaxing music.  There's no English content.  I want you to have a happy fall and remember what this season looks like in the USA.

Please tell me at least three things about yourself.  You may want to use the three things you told your group that you love.

Example:  My name is Laurie.  I am married to a very nice man.  I love him and my children.  I have five children.  They are teens.  I also love to talk, read, eat, go outside, and listen to music.  I don't like to forget names or smell old fish.

Please Describe a Happy Memory.

8/7 R&E

Tonight some people took the CASAS reading test.  We talked about the citizenship test.  Some people read about the US Government.  We talked about the branches of government.  We talked about the constitution.  We reviewed (and some people practiced) simple past tense.  We practiced pronouncing -ed.

Speedy Spelling Past Tense Form Game

Jeapardy Style Irregular Verb Quiz Game

Bradley's irregular verb pair game 1
Bradley's Irregular Pair Game 2

What should people do to practice for the citizenship test?

Juanjo said that people should listen to a study CD for twenty to thirty minutes every day.

Hisook said that people should study U.S. History,

http://www.americanhistory.si.edu/citizenship/

Several people are studying English first.

Easy English Practice -- commands to understand

What else should people do?

July 24 R&E

Use "used to" for habits in the past that aren't true now.  We used to wash our clothes by hand, but now we use a machine.

We did an EL Civics module about finding information about Fairfax County.  We read a story about three people that needed information to solve a problem.  They needed to learn how to recycle a refrigerator, find a really cheap dentist, and find an easy computer class.

We used this website to find the answers:  http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/

We went over some adjectives that you often see on job ads and resumes.

We explored this blog.  I hope you can use it.

Tell me something you didn't use to do that you do now.

I didn't use to watch TV, but now I sometimes watch it with my children.

Tell me something you used to do that you don't do anymore.

I used to dance a lot, but now, I usually read.

Is talking to the police here different than in your country? Please name the country.

July 22 Review and Expansion

ABC News Video about stolen bikes

We read about someone who had their bike stolen.

We talked about contacting the police.
The Fairfax County Police phone number for Non-Emergencies: 703-691-2131
We practiced giving a police report

Example 911 calls:

ABC News video about a child calling 911 from under the bed during a theft

ESOL Fast listening exercise about reporting a thepress the arrow to hear

Emergency Vocabulary

Language Guide Weather Vocabulary --go to "options" for a listening quiz
Language Guide Medicine Vocabulary

Vocabulary:
Terrible--very bad
Stolen-Taken-past participle for steal
Suspicious--Looks like there may be a problem
up to something--planning mischief--wants to do something bad
theft--noun for stealing, a bandit incident
crime--any violation of the law
brand--mark of a company like Samsung or Sony
favorite--like best
gerund-- ing form (present participle) of a verb used like a noun
examples:  swimming, exercising, walking, watching TV.
noun-person, place, thing, or idea
--- Our favorite nouns include:  mother, father, family, children, wife, dinner, sleep,
verb-action word

We talked about was and were.  Use was for one; were for two +; only were for you (1 or 2)

Was or were exercise

Grammer Expansion:

Nouns:
Schoolhouse Rock is designed for U.S. Children--it's a little fast, but you can see great examples

Verbs--action words

A teacher explains passive voice

About.com active to passive voice exercise with answers

Buying a New Car--How much does a loan cost?

Alvi said that she once bought a new car, and she was surprised how much she paid when she finished the loan.

If you buy a $15,000 car with a 5-year loan with 5% interest, your payment would be $283.07/each month.
If you always pay on time, you'll pay a total of $16,984.11.

If you get a $20,000 loan at 5% interest for 60 payments, your payment will be $377.42/month, and you will pay a minimum total of $22,645.48.

If you get a $25,000 loan at 5% for 60 payments, your payment will be $471.78, and your minimum total will be $28, 306.85.

If you ever pay late, you'll pay more.

What should Hugo do?

Should Hugo buy a new car or a used car?

July 15 R & E

We talked about the difference between "where" and "wear?"  Where is for location;  wear is for clothes.

Examples:  Where are we?  (We're at school.)  What color do you like to wear?  (I like to wear blue.)
Do you wear a uniform?  (Yes, I do/No, I don't)  Where do you wear your uniform?  (I wear it at work)

We talked about short answers.  Short answers should match the question.  Be with be.  Do with do.
(Did with did, have with have, should with should, can with can, will with will....)

Examples:
To Be:  am, are, is...
Are you happy?  Yes, I am.
Are you tall?  No, I'm not.
Is he here?  Yes, he is.
Is she here?  No, she's not
Are we learning a lot?  Yes, we are.
Are they learning a lot?  No, they aren't.  They aren't at school.  ( No, they're not.  They're not at school.  is also correct.)

Do:  do, does
Do you like to watch movies?  Yes, I do.
Do I talk too slowly?  No, you don't.
Does he like her?  Yes, he does.
Does she like him?  No, she doesn't.
Does it rain a lot?  Yes, it does.
Are we busy?  Yes, we are.
Do you like movies?  Yes, we do.
Do they have cell phones?  Yes, they do.

Short Answer Practice Exercise--Say what it is before you click on the arrow to see the answer

We talked about should.  Should is good advice.  When you do what you should do, you do the perfect, excellent deed.  We do many good things that we should do.  We do some bad things that we shouldn't do.

Use a simple, base verb with should.  No s, ed or ing.
I should give some examples.
You should practice every day.
He should come to class.
She should tell me what happened.
It should be sunny tomorrow.
We shouldn't worry.
You should speak more loudly.
They shouldn't be cruel when they tease her.

Use a simple/base form verb after should.  No to, s, ing, or ed.

"To Learn English" should/shouldn't quiz press the down arrow to change if you should change...

English Club Quiz --click on the arrow and pick the best option


Some people practiced writing and  advising each other with should.  Some people took a reading "CASAS" test.

Vocabulary:  near-close  cruel-mean, where/wear, should, tease, double-times 2, twice-two times,
once-one time,
nag-repeat advice too much,--VERY FAST example video of common advice from moms.

hiccup video CNN report--the weatherman with hiccups

Who do you know?

Can you name any other students in this class?  Can you tell me something he or she likes?

July 10 R & E

We played "Find Someone Who..."

We talked about goals.

Vocabulary:
hurry--go fast
Thought it through--think about all the options before making a clear decision
reach for -- work to get something that's not close by
goal--target, what you want
give up-- quit stop

We talked about people with goals.  The soccer player wants to kick a ball into the goal.  He wants to win the game.  He wants to win the world cup.  The driver wants to to go to California.  He reads a map.  The smoker wants to give up cigarettes.  The woman wants to lose weight.  She exercises.

We set goals for our English class.

We voted about topics to talk about.  Consumerism and Civics tied!  Some people were interested in GED practice.

Welcome! July 8 Review and Expansion (R & E)

It's nice to meet you!

Tonight, we met.

Some of us played a game.  We wrote two true and one fiction statement about ourselves and guessed which one wasn't true.

We did a quick needs assessment for writing and grammar.

We talked about when to say "have" or "having."  Never use "having" when have means possession. You can use to be + "having" for eating or experiencing.  She's having a baby means she's pregnant.
Expansion:  Using present or present progressive.  Video Example--Using present and present continuous dialog examples
Detailed explanation with examples
Quiz (Note:  We usually use simple present with always and never, but not with strong negative emotion.  Using present continuous with always and never gives it extra emphasis.)

At your requests, we talked about using present progressive for the future.
Plans: What is Jen doing this week?


At your request, we talked about to, two, and too.
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=ABC1202

Listening exercise

Some of today's vocabulary:
stood up- (past for) stand up
felt-(past for) feel
gonna-- going to-intended future--I'm gonna talk to her= I am going to talk to her.= I decided to talk to her in the future/I intend to talk to her.
cause-because
fright--fear, feeling scared
get over my fright -- recover from or control my fear
nervous-worry that something bad will happen