Class 28 Feb, 2016
July 19, 2016 Comments Off on Class 28 Feb, 2016
Feb 29, 2016 2:39 PM
A beautiful and very warm day. I wore sandals today!
AGENDA ITEMS
1 Alphabet – spelling dictation
2 Grammar – pronouns
3 Review and rewrite papers
NOTES
Vocabulary
Alphabet – spelling dictation
I will say the words and I will spell them. Write the letters for each word when I spell the words.
Help
Site
Sight
Learn
Lean
Might
Scent
Sent
Simple
Trade
Tried
Made
Make
Cry
Die
Stay
Maybe
Ear
Earn
• We need to practice i and e
• Bingo?
Grammar – pronouns
1). Personal Pronouns
Pronouns can be:
• Subjects – I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they
• Direct objects – me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them
• Indirect objects – the same as Direct objects
In this context an “object” is a thing or person, an item – a noun.
• Subjects are the topic of the sentence. A subject is something or someone that is doing the action, the verb.
• Example: I drive fast.
• The subject is “I”
• Direct object is the person or thing that the verb is acting on.
• Example: I drive the car fast.
• The direct object is “the car”. I drive it fast.
Finish Indirect Objects next Monday.
• Indirect objects tell us about the person or thing that benefits from the action of the verb.
• Example: I bought a car for her. Or: I bought her a car.
• The Indirect object is “her”. The direct object is “car”.
• I bought a car. I did not buy her.
• She received the benefit of the verb “bought”.
2). Do in questions and negative statements
- Use Do or Does to form questions. “Do” changes with the subject in questions, the verb is in the base form and does not change.
- Use Don’t or Doesn’t to make verbs negative. Again, “Do” changes with the subject, the verb is in the base form.
Homework
J and L reviewed and rewrote their summaries from the articles they read last week or their papers. They will write them correctly online Wednesday.
ACTION ITEMS
[ ] Buy dry erase markers
[ ] Create exercises for subjects and direct objects online
[ ] Chapter and worksheets for personal pronouns
Class: Monday, Nov. 16, 2015
November 16, 2015 Comments Off on Class: Monday, Nov. 16, 2015
A wet day today. It rains on and off, sometimes it rains and stops. It is warm, not cold like you would expect in November. I want cold weather to come and stay. I do not like warm days in the late autumn or winter.
Reading
Our story is from: People and Places. We started to read about George Washington Carver. He was a very famous American scientist. He was black man. He was born a slave during the Civil War. His mother was a slave. They lived on a farm that belonged to a farmer named Mr. Carver. The mother and baby were slaves, they belonged to Mr. Carver.
Night riders came to the Carver farm to steal the slaves. Night riders stole shares at night, took the slaves to Texas, and sold the slaves in Texas. The night riders stole the mother, but did not take the baby. The baby lived with the farmer and his wife. The Carvers did not have children. They took care of George and raised him like a son.
George Washington Carver was a sickly child. He was weak. He could not do hard work on the farm. He made his own garden on the farm with plants from the woods. He grew his plants better than anyone else in the area. They called him the “plant doctor”.
We will continue the story…
Grammar
Simple Present Tense
Add –es 3rd person singular with:
- verbs that end in z, x, s, ss, sh, ch and o.
- verbs that end in y preceded by a consonant, change y to i and then add –es.
Negative Form
- Add do not / don't or does not / doesn't before the base form of the verb.
- Do not change the base verb form.
Question Form
Place do or does before the subject to create a question.
Posted with BlogsyClass September 28, 2015
September 28, 2015 Comments Off on Class September 28, 2015
Monday. Today is cloudy, warm and breezy. It is overcast too. The sun peeks through the clouds sometimes. When the sun comes out it gets hot.
Conversation about the past weekend.
Grammar
We talked about sleeping habits and used that for grammar work.
Positive simple present and negative, positive simple past and negative. Written. See photo below:
Vocabulary
We reviewed some translations from the list page 39, Negative To Have chapter from *……
- Whisker, facial hair on men and animals
- Mean, as an adjective
- Trunk
- Finish this list…
Class | 1 April, 2015
April 9, 2015 § Leave a comment
This is an out line of what we covered. I had more details, we worked on many examples and other things as they came up.
I asked about Monday’s class. What they did.
Verbs
We reviewed the basics of what we have long been doing: (for new student)
- Simple present, past and future
- Progressive past, present and future – stressed only To Be changes for the tense. To Be + -ing of verb.
- Regular and irregular verbs – need to start presenting irregular verbs!
- To Like: it needs an object. You should never say “I like.” – even in conversation when we know what you are referring to. You like something, someone, or at the least use ” it”.
Adjectives
We continued Comparative and Superlative.
Comparative
- Must have at least two things, or more, to compare
- Using “than”
- Examples as a class, including -y to -ier as in tiniest
Superlative
- You can only have one, “the best” “the shortest” “the nicest”
- Using “the”
- Examples as a class, including, -y to -iest
Long Words
(New student brought this up. Excellent!). Noted that most long, multi-syllable, words do not follow this format. Instead they use words like:
- Some, many, more than, much more than, the most
Objects
Direct Objects
The subject controls the verb/action/does something, something/someone receives the action.
- He hit my dog. (Not!) Have examples of hit: hit song, hit a car, hit the ball, hit the mark, etc.
- She threw a ball.
- They play games.
Objects of Prepositions
- At, with, to
- Not sure what I did here – notes are vague. Let’s make something up…
- She played with him. She talked to him.
- The dog barked at a squirrel.
Pronouns
- When they receive the verb action, including with prepositions (see above).
- me, you, him, her, it, us, them, you
- I like her.
- She hit him. (A lot of violence today! Hit is easiest to demonstrate.)
They liked this class a lot.
Reminders
- Create online exercises for Comparative and Superlative – done.
- Remember to prepare Irregular Verbs – some learning, portable practice, format. Cards? Online cards? Both?
Class 25 March, 2015
March 25, 2015 Comments Off on Class 25 March, 2015
Sunny, breezy, and a little humid today. Full class.
Conclusion: Did not go to plan at all today. Saved original plan to repost separately.
We went through thoroughly, with each S giving examples and answering questions.
Day/Dates
When we say the date we use ordinal numbers, but we do not write them: we say March 25th, we write March 25.
When we say the year we use pairs: 2015 is 20-15 twenty fifteen, 1972 is 19-72 nineteen seventy-two.
What day is it? This means, “what day of the week is it?”.
Today is Wednesday.
What is the date? What is the date today? This is asking about the month, and day in numbers. That is the date.
Today is March 25(th). You usually do not need to say the year in conversation.
When were you born? I was born on November 25(th), 1972.
When is your birthday? My birthday is on November 25(th).
What month is your birthday? My birthday is in November.
What month were you born? I was born in November.
What year were you born? I was born in 1972.
When do you have class? I have class on Wednesdays. I have class every Wednesday.
When do you get up in the mornings?
When do you go to bed?
etc.
Grammar
Some review from Monday class: prepositions of time with in, at, on
We reviewed their homework from Monday – the first section.
We need to do this again next week as written here:
- in – (time of day, days, weeks) months and years
- on – a day or date
- at – specific time, clock times
I was born in 1972. I was born in November.
I was born on November 23. I was born on a Tuesday.
I was born in the morning.I was born at 7:30 a.m.
I was born at midnight.
Create exercises for prepositions of time next class.
Tongue Twister
“Whether the weather is warm, whether the weather is hot, we have to put up with the weather, whether we like it or not.”
Notes:
- Whether and weather pronounced the same – and are not water or wetter. Whether/weather are not related.
- Whether is similar to if. Whether is used with “or not”. Do not worry about using “whether”.
- “Put up with” – tolerate. This is the simple present, meaning in general.
I put up with traffic when I drive to class. I put up with stupid people.
Etc.
whatever else I may have forgotten.
Computer Lab
G and S:
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-games/present-simple-and-present-continuous
http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/tricky-words/football-the-moon
We added this, listen, read, word search for plural forms – do more of these: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/spell/the-birthday-party
Y: The Red Ball exercises. Cloze and sentence order.
Class 25 March, 2015 was originally published on Notes for Class
17dec. 2014 | class
December 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
Today it is gray and chilly. I am pleased about the cold. Yay! Oh, and then it rained. Just G and I today. She gave me lovely gifts! Matching necklace, earrings, and ring, and a soft, sparkly wrap. Awesome! I will take her to lunch, and we can eat and chat. Wonderful.
Grammar
To Have – intro and To Do – into
To Have
As a Main Verb
To Have as is used as a main verb to indicate possession of objects, characteristics, relationships and other qualities.
To Have is also used as a main verb to express a number of actions:
- have breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack
- have fun
- have a baby
- have a fit
- have time available
- have questions
- have a party
- have a discussion, fight, argument etc.
To Do
The verb to do is used in a number of different ways in English. To do can be used as an auxiliary verb, a verb to speak about action in general, as well as combining with many nouns to express taking care of various tasks.
Examples:
To Do – Main Verb
To do is used as a principal verb in many set phrases used with the various tasks we do around the house and at work. To do is generally used to express tasks we do, rather than things we make. Of course, there are some exceptions to the rules. Here are some of the main set phrases about tasks we do:
do good
do the dishes
do sport
do exercise
do business
do homework
do yard work
Examples:
I’ll do the dishes if you make dinner.
Sheila tries to do sport at least three times a week.
He’s done that exercise a number of times.
NOTE: To do exercise is used with a number of different types of exercise. Generally, we use ‘play’ with competitive sports, ‘go’ with activities such as walking, riding, and hiking. ‘Do’ is used with exercises such as yoga, karate, etc.
Examples:
Jennifer did yoga for two hours this morning.
I try to do some exercises like sit-ups and push-ups every morning.
James does pilates at his local gym.
To Do – Auxiliary Verb
To do is also used as an auxiliary verb in the simple tenses. Remember that the auxiliary verb takes the conjugation in English, so the verb to do will change depending on the tense. Remember that ‘to do’ is used as an auxiliary verb only in the question and negative form. Here is a quick review of the tenses that use to do as an auxiliary verb:
Examples:
She doesn’t like tofu.
Do you enjoy rock ‘n roll?
Examples:
Mary didn’t visit her aunt last week.
Did they talk about the economy?
To Do – General Use Verb
To do is used as the main verb when asking general questions about what happens, is happening, is going to happen, etc.
Examples:
What are you doing?
What will you do?
What have they done?
What do you do on Saturdays?
etc.
Do vs. Make
‘Do’ for Activities
Use the verb ‘do’ to express daily activities or jobs. Notice that these are usually activities that produce no physical object.
do homework
do housework
do the ironing
do the dishes
do a job
‘Do’ for General Ideas
Use the verb ‘do’ when speaking about things in general. In other words, when we do not exactly name an activity. This form is often used with the words ‘something, nothing, anything, everything, etc.’
I’m not doing anything today.
He does everything for his mother.
She’s doing nothing at the moment.
Important Expressions with ‘Do’
There are a number of standard expressions that take the verb ‘do’. These are standard collocations (verb + noun combinations) that are used in English.
do one’s best
do good
do harm
do a favour
do business
5Dec, 2014 | In Class
December 3, 2014 § Leave a comment
Today we had a small class. At first it was G and I. Then S joined us a little later.
We continued with Present Continuous/Progressive:
(bold texts are links)
- Very quick review of forming Continuous: to be & -ing verb. Past, present, and future.
- A simple quiz and several games on the computer.
- One game combined Present Simple and Present Continuous – the student had to decide if it is Simple or Continuous, and then pick the correct verb form. Snakes and Ladders.
- From my (burgeoning) Practice Your Engish! site, I had them read The Wind and The Sun, an Aesop’s fable.
- There are questions to answer after the reading passage. http://toni-english.com/quiz/2014/12/01/the-wind-and-the-sun-a-quiz/
Note: place a Try Again button after the questions on The Wind and The Sun
Send link to story w/quiz to L and S via email
Class 12nov, 2014
November 12, 2014 § Leave a comment
Today it was just Ye and me. I planned on doing Present Continuous/Progressive and Ye had homework of similar work. So that’s what we did.
Grammar
Present Continuous
This is for talking about what is happening right now. There are more ways to use Present Continuous – but we are working with “right now”.
We use To Be and -ing word.
Remember, I am, You are, He is…
We use To Be with an -ing verb.
Present Continuous:
To Study – studying
I am studying.
You are studying.
He, She, It is studying.
We are studying.
They are studying.
You are studying.
To Teach – teaching
I am teaching
You are teaching
and you know the rest.
Questions?
Making questions with Present Continuous
Notice that the noun and verb switch places for questions in English.
You are working. Are you working?
When you add a Question Word – like What, Who, How, When, Why and Where – you switch the noun and verb the same way.
What? Present Continuous:
We must switch the noun and verb, and then add -ing words.
Eat: What are you eating?
I am eating lunch.
Do: What are you doing?
I am studying.
Teach: What are you teaching?
I am teaching Present Continuous.
Study: What are you studying?
I am studying Present Continuous.
Where?
Eat: Where are you eating?
Teach: Where are you teaching?
Study: where are you studying?
(To Do is special in questions. We will study it more in the future.)
Why? When? How? Are used the same way. (To Do is a little different. Do not use it here right now)
Question Word + verb + noun?
Ye did a great job, without help after we practiced a little. Excellent!!
Homework
We practiced with part of Ye’s homework. She did very well.
I will send Ya and G a link to the worksheets that I prepared for today. Ye will work on it in 2 weeks.
Notes:
I need to make online exercises for Questions/Q Words Present Continuous.
We had a very good class. Ye worked hard and it paid off. Success!
via PressSync on my iPhone
nov5, 2014 In Class
November 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
Today we had Ye, G and B. We had a lot of discussion for the first part of class. G and B understood each and had to explain what one or the other was trying to to me! Usually I am the one who understands and must explain. That was crazy, and excellent.
Discussions
Halloween Oct. 31
Halloween is a holiday in America, Canada and Europe only. It started as a pagan holiday 2000 years ago by the Celts. They believed that on one night every year the bad spirits would come back and destroy their crops and cause big problems. So they dressed in costumes and lit big fires to scare the spirits away.
Halloween was celebrated the way we do it today in the 1800s. It is a fun holiday for children, it is not serious.
All Saints Day Nov 1
In America it is the day to celebrate all saints. Saints are very special people who are very holy. They have strong spirits and faith. They are people that do not need to tell other people what to do, or tell them if they are good people or bad people. Saints are very good people who do good things. Saints do important things, like help people, feed the poor, and die for their religion. Saints to not kill or hurt people. And they have experienced or have done miracles. (In the Catholic Church)
– I was confused here I need to look this up…
In Mexico they do not celebrate Halloween. They have 2 days that are serious. They go to church and pray. People will cry and be very sad on these days.
Dia de Muertos – Day of the Dead Nov2
Something about remembering “the dead babies” and an event?
All Saints Day – Nov.1
In Honduras there is a Dias de Muertos which is celebrated in Sept. They have parties and fun.
Saints
We discussed saints. What they are. Buddha was a good person, not a god. Even though people worship Buddha like a god. He was like a saint. He did many good things and helped many people. I suggested a Mo’mun as an Islamic saint. We learned about an Islamic saint, a Mo’mun, who sacrificed his body and life trying to bring water to children during a siege. He went to get water for the children, and they cut his arm off, he went back again – they cut off his other arm. He kept trying until they killed him.
For Catholics, the Pope and the Vatican decide if someone is a saint.
Land
A word with one meaning used in different ways. Land can mean a country or nation, “There are many different lands in the world.” Land can mean a place that is not water, like the ocean or a lake – land is the part of the earth that is not water. Land can mean a place that you own. Your house is on your land. If there is no house then it is called your land.
B went to Six Flags
Amusement park – a big place with many scary rides, like roller coasters, where you take children to have fun. Six Flags is an amusement park.
Park – a place outside with trees and places to sit. We have a big one by the lake in Austin.
Haunted house – a special house for Halloween in which there are many scary things and scary people for fun. There was one in Six Flags.
Costumes
Tricks – things people do to surprise or scare you. A haunted house is full of tricks.
Computer Lab
We discussed a photo on my website. We guessed what was happening in the photo. Link to photo Here. http://toni-english.com/blog/2014/11/05/whats-going-on-in-this-picture-nov-3-2014/Then we read about the photo. We discussed Ebola – a terrible disease that kills many people. The people get very sick very fast. They bleed from their eyes, nose and other parts of their bodies. “Ebola fight” is the work to stop Ebola.
We continued to work on To Be, Simple Present and Past with Not. B’s son joined us.
in Class 29oct 2014
October 30, 2014 § Leave a comment
Today we had Ye and B. So I changed the plan. It was a chance to review some basics. A couple of situations came up. Ye phoned G – how to say G did not answer? A question came up with “What do you do”. So I started with those. We eventually went on to the To Be exercises on the computer. I also downloaded Google Translate to Ye’s phone – she rocks it!
Grammar
The phone:
“She is not answering the phone” when you are calling and waiting for an answer. This is Present Continuous.
“She did not answer the phone.” After the call, after you hang up. This is Simple Past.
“What do you do?”
When someone asks you, “What do you do?” They usually mean – what to you do for a job, your work.
“I teach.” “I clean houses.” Use the Simple Present form meaning “in general”.
“What do you do?” Vs. “What are you doing?”
- “What do you do?” Is usually about your work. “I teach.” It is Simple Present, in general.
- “What are you doing?” This means right now, the present. While you are talking. This is Present Continuous (-ing).
A friend may call you and ask, “What are you doing?” You answer, “I am watching TV.” “I am cooking.”
There can be more words added to “What do you do…?” to be specific:
- “What do you do for fun?” You answer about something that you like to do, “I like to walk in the park.”
- “What do you do on Wednesdays?” Notice that is WednesdayS. More than one. This mean what do you do every Wednesday. “I go to class.” Simple Present Again, something you do in general, regularly – not just one special time.
- To Be
- To Want – to desire something (Went is the Past Tense of To Go)
- Regular with verbs means normal, predictable: they all work the same.
- Regular Verbs add -ed in the Simple Past Tense.
- Irregular Verbs are not normal, not predictable: they change to different words in Simple Past.
Computer Lab
- We started the Simple Present and Simple Past of To Be, plus negative – “not”.
- There are 10 pages to do. It starts simple and gets more difficult with each page.
- We got through Exercise 5. B stayed after class and kept working. I don’t know how far she finished.
Toni's ESL class 
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