Analyzing Vocabulary in Newspaper Articles

Good Evening!

Today we will continue analyzing the vocabulary in newspaper articles. Today you will create TWO posts.

Post 1:

Title: Analyzing Vocabulary of Newspaper Articles I

For this post please fill in the following chart according to the articles you analyzed last week.

Title	Topic	Key words	Topic related expressions	URL
'Humans killed off Australia's giant beasts'				http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17488447
Colombia forces 'kill 35 FARC rebels' in Meta				http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17518200
Guatemala's president urges debate on drug legalization				http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17502417
Nicaragua bids to stem deforestation with eco-soldiers				http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17062806
Susan Boyle musical opens in Newcastle				http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17532491
Titanic/ Kate Winslet and James Cameron at 3D premiere				http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17526845

Post 2

Title: Analyzing Vocabulary of Newspaper Articles II

For this post please find a Technology Newspaper article and an article of your preference (any topic) and fill in the chart of the previous post according to the articles you just read.

Title	Topic	Key words	Topic related expressions	URL

The paragraph

Create a blog with the title: The Paragraph.

Answer the following questions in your blog:

1. Please define what is a paragraph.

2. What are the three main parts of a paragraph?

3. Identify some characteristics of the topic sentence.

4. Identify some characteristics of the supporting sentences.

5. Identify some characteristics of the concluding sentence.

6. Write one topic sentence for each of the following topics:`

Your hometown

A place you would like to travel to.

(Another topic of your own choosing)

7. Choose one of the above topics and write ONE complete paragraph about it. You should use a good topic sentence and adequately detailed supporting sentences. Do not forget to write down a concluding sentence.

Biography

Please create a blog with the title: Biography of XXX (write the name of the person you chose). Write in your blog the six characteristics of the biography you will present this Wednesday in class.

1. Real person?

2. Write some of the research you have done about your character.

3. Describe the person's enviroment.

4. Write some of the accomplishments the person has done.

5. How does your character affects other people?

6. State your personal opinion about the person you chose.

The Elements of a Short Story

Welcome my dear students to another week of English excitement. Today we will have a lot of fun analyzing funny stories.

Let's start by watching this video to see what we are going to analyze:

Now let's complement this information by reading this WebPage:

Elements of a Short Story (hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/engramja/elements.html)

1. Please create a Post in your blog with the name: The Elements of a Story.

2. Now fill in the first two columns of the following chart.

Short Story Element	What is it?	Example

3. Listen and read this story:

4. Based on this story, fill in the third column of your chart (Point 2)

5. For the next class (Friday, February 15th) please read the following story:

You may Print it if you want to.

Vusi Makusi (http://www.eastoftheweb.com/cgi-bin/version_printable.pl?story_id=VusiMaku899.shtml)

Passive Voice and Conditionals

Create a new blog post with the title "Passive Voice and Conditionals".

Passive voice

Let's watch these videos where we can understand a little about the passive voice.

Complete the sentences or answer the following questions in your blog:

1. The passive tense is used because...

2. When do we use the passive voice?

3. The structure to use the passive voice in the

PRESENT TENSE is Object+To be (present)+Past Participle+(by + subject)* *If needed.

PAST TENSE is ____________________________________________________

PRESENT PROGRESSIVE is ___________________________________________

4. Go to this website (http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/passive) and do some of the exercises there. Share with us one of the exercises on your blog.

Conditionals

Let's watch this overview of conditionals.

Complete the sentences or answer the following questions in your blog:

5. Which tenses are used in the first conditional? Write an example about it.

6. What is the characteristic of the first conditional?

7. Which tenses are used in the second conditional? Write an example about it.

8. The pronoun I comes with the verb to be in the second conditional in which form?

9. Which tenses are used in the third conditional?

10. Go to this Website (http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences) Read about it clear up any questions you might have. Do this exercise: http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-sentences/exercises?05. Share in your what you have learnt about Conditionals.

First Class Upper-Intermediate

Hello Everyone!!!

Welcome to my blog. I post here many of the work I do with my students. Please carefully follow the instructions that appear after this text.

1. Create a blog and carefully follow the instructions of this webpage: http://masterzea.blogspot.com/2011/09/creating-blog.html

2. When you finish go to http://www.online-stopwatch.com/full-screen-stopwatch/ and set a countdown for 45 minutes.

3. Now go to http://englishenglish.com/englishtest.htm and start doing the test. you have 45 minutes to do it.

4. At the end of the 45 minutes, click on Grade Me! and use the information you get to do instruction 5 and 6.

5. Create a post in your blog called "Learning about my English Level".

6. Create a chart like this one (copy/paste from my example into your blog):

Number of questions I got right: xx, xx, xx.

Grade in percentage: X%

Question you got wrong	Language item	My mistake / Correction	Reflection
1 (example)	Simple past tense (example)	Did you went anywhere interesting last weekend? Did you go anywhere interesting last weekend? (example)	When I use the auxiliary did I do not use the main verb in past tense. (example)

If you do not finish the task, be sure to finish it for next Monday.

Thank you for your hard work!

Rythm and Poems

The Crocodile's Toothache

The Crocodile
Went to the dentist
And sat down in the chair,
And the dentist said, "Now tell me, sir,
Why does it hurt and where?"
And the Crocodile said, "I'll tell you the truth,
I have a terrible ache in my tooth,"
And he opened his jaws so wide, so wide,
The the dentist, he climbed right inside,
And the dentist laughed, "Oh isn't this fun?"
As he pulled the teeth out, one by one.
And the Crocodile cried, "You're hurting me so!
Please put down your pliers and let me go."
But the dentist laughed with a Ho Ho Ho,
And he said, "I still have twelve to go-
Oops, that's the wrong one, I confess,
But what's one crocodile's tooth more or less?"
Then suddenly, the jaws went SNAP,
And the dentist was gone, right off the map,
And where he went one could only guess...
To North or South or East or West...
He left no forwarding address.
But what's one dentist, more or less?

-Shel Silverstein