Teaching English Methodology

What a Job!

2008-07-17T17:31:00.003-04:30

Class/Level: 8th Grade
Topic: What a job!
Objectives (Learning Goals):

Talking about jobs and professions.

Practice the verb to-be in present tense.

I. BEFORE YOU START.

1. Look at these pictures and discuss with your classmates the following questions:

1.1 What do they do?

1.2 Where do they work?

1.3 What is your father/mother job?

II. LET'S START WORKING

2. You are going to listen to a song about jobs and professions you talked about in Activity 1. To do so:

2.1. Click on the following link: http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-songs-jobs-popup.htm

2.2 Listen to the song and sing along.

2.3 Use a dictionary if you don’t know a word.

3. Complete the following sentences according to what you heard in the song: (Send the answers to your teacher’s e-mail)

a. You call this person when you’ve got a leak _________

b. This person comes to see you when it hurts _________

c. He’s got cows and pigs and sheep _________

d. This person makes trousers, suits and shirts _________

e. Minds the kids when they’re asleep _________

f. Keeps your teeth both clean and white _________

g. This person comes when there’s a fire to fight _________

4. Click on this link and practice the vocabulary about jobs. http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids-games-pelmanism-jobs.htm

III. Follow-up

5. Using the information about jobs and professions you studied previously, write a two-paragraph composition. In the first paragraph, you should answer the following two questions:

5.1 What do you think is the most dangerous job? Why?

5.2 What do you think is the least dangerous job? Why?

And in the second paragraph, you should asnwer the following question:

5.3 Do you think that children should work at early ages? Why?

Send the composition to your teacher's e-mail as in the activity number 3.

SLA Theories & FL Teaching

2007-09-07T11:12:00.001-04:00

Web 2.0 Tools in Your Classroom

2007-07-23T09:17:00.000-04:00

4 Characteristics of a Successful Reader

2007-07-03T12:47:00.000-04:00

by Jane McGivern Levine

Article provided by Sylvan Learning Center

Good readers of all ages share similar traits--four, to be exact--that not only help them to appreciate the literature in front of them, but also create an effective reader framework to improve comprehension and build critical reading skills. Does your child exhibit the following traits? If not, help him develop the secrets of successful readers.

Self-monitoring strategies
What does your child bring to the text? Does he or she draw from personal connections and prior knowledge? Successful readers engage in internal dialogue by asking questions such as "Does this make sense?" and "Does this word sound right?"

Like detectives, good readers examine the evidence, make reasonable predictions, and draw conclusions. They determine meaning by searching for context, picture, and phonetic clues. Suffixes, prefixes, and root words, like little puzzle pieces, help them to decode and understand words. Successful readers also notice signal and transition words such as first, in conclusion, and for example. These words help to provide structure, establish sequence, and introduce new thoughts or actions.

All readers become confused or lose the meaning of the text sometimes, but successful readers know when to stop and reread the passage. They might even use a stickie-note to write a thought or question to answer later. A good reader also uses sensory clues and description to visualize characters, settings, and action. Some think of it as watching a movie playing in their minds.

Structural awareness
Does your child notice how a text or novel is organized? Knowledge of structure can help provide him or her with valuable information about content. For example, when she's studying for a test, headings, subheadings, and highlighted words are easy guides to pertinent information. In novels, double-spacing within a chapter usually indicates a change of setting.

Learning to identify the genre of a book can be beneficial, too. Is it a fantasy, mystery, or biography? Maybe it is an historical or science fiction novel. Each genre has its own specific structure. Biographies often follow a time-line format, while fantasies tend to be plot driven.

Ability to choose appropriate materials
Good readers choose books they are able to read, while less adept readers often pick books that are too difficult for them. The perfect book stretches a child's capabilities without causing frustration. What is appropriate reading content for a seventh grader may not be appropriate for a third grader, even though she is able to decode the words.

Children need to experiment to find books that are a good fit for them. Many discover a particular author or series that they enjoy. Others get recommendations from their friends, teachers, or librarians. There are so many wonderful books to choose from to meet every child's particular needs. Help your child to learn how to select wisely.

Appreciation of the payoffs
Good readers live vicariously through a book's characters. They understand that distant planets, foreign cultures, and even ancient history can become readily accessible with a turn of the page. To them, books mean knowledge, adventure, and relaxation.

Taken from: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/departments/elementary/default.aspx?article=successfulreader

Total Physical Response

2007-06-25T14:06:00.000-04:00

Chat & Text Messaging Abbreviations

2007-05-16T16:18:00.000-04:00

Chat abbreviations are commonly used in e-mail, online chatting, online discussion forum postings, instant messaging, and in text messaging (SMS), especially between cell phone users. Are there any chat abbreviations that you use often and we missed? Let us know!

Chat & Text Messaging Abbreviations
Internet Slang
Internet Slang II
Chat & Messaging Abbreviations
Text Abbreviations

There are a lot of pages about Chat & Text Abbreviations, another interesting way to learn how the language works in those contexts…

HAVE FUN…

Blog World

2007-05-12T10:37:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the New Teaching English Generation...

Language Learning & Web 2.0
Graham Stanley (November, 2006)