Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Whispering Palms and Paragraphs

I. Listening

Friday I'm in Love (English Lyrics/ Chinese Subs, 2, Chinese Video)

II. Grammar

Be vs. Have Got

Got is commonly used incorrectly by native speakers of English and by those learning English. Correctly used, got is the past tense of the verb (to) get.

Had is the past tense of the verb (to) have.

Main Verb: Base Form	Simple Present Tense	SIMPLE PAST TENSE
原形 (infinitive)
(to) get	GET (don't get) GETS (doesn't get)	GOT (didn't get)
(to) have	HAVE (don't have) HAS (doesn't have)	HAD (didn't have)

Have + object + past participle 過去分詞 (have something done)

I had my car washed.
John will have his house painted.

Get + object + past participle 過去分詞 (get something done)

The students get their essays checked.
I'll get my hair cut next week.
He got his washing machine fixed.

Have someone do something (have + person + infinitive 原形)

I had the electrician look at my broken light.
The doctor will have the nurse call the patients.
The teacher had the students write the answers on the whiteboard.

Get someone to do something (get + person + to + infinitive原形)

She gets her son to do his homework by promising him ice cream when he's finished.
I got the cleaner to clean under the cupboards.

WRONG: We really got fun with our friends and we really like Friday night.

RIGHT: We really have fun with our friends and we really like Friday night.

What about: At 7 pm, every other Friday, we got this family meeting where we talk about our problems.

Extra Practice, Forming Have Got questions,

III. Conversation: Present Perfect Tense 現在完成式

When to use the present perfect 現在完成式 (video)
Extra Explanation

Intro Conversation: VOA's "Have you ever been?"
Class Activity: Conversation page 1, page 2

IV. Writing a Paragraph

Closing Sentence : Restates the main idea, summarizes the paragraph, gives an opinion, makes a prediction

Activity 1: Focus on rewording topic sentence,

Key Words: All in all, As you can see, Clearly, In conclusion, To sum it up, Thus, Therefore, In summary, Indeed, As a result, Finally ....

Extra Practice,

Planning a Paragraph
Narrative Paragraph
Persuasive Paragraph
Expository Paragraph
Personal Letter

V. Reading

The Whispering Palms ( PDF/ Video)
Vocabulary:

coconut
grove
balance (v.)
drag (v.)
collect (v.)
bring up [a child] (v.)
weave (v.)
puzzled (adj.)
pluck (v.)
jasmine
fiber
carve (v.)

Extra: All the uses of the coconut

RESOURCES:

http://www.eslhelpdesk.com/Grammar_Help_Handbook_Online/Troublesome_Verbs_Got_versus_Have.html

https://www.thoughtco.com/have-and-have-got-for-beginners-1208968
http://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/causatives-have-get.html

Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Postcards and Topic Sentences

Review: What makes a complete sentence, parts of a sentence, basic punctuation and subject/verb agreement

Grammar:

Adjectives: Identify, game
Articles (the, a, an)

Writing: Students will be taught to write topic sentences , supporting sentences , and an introductory or summary paragraph that contains an introduction , supporting details , and a conclusion. 学生将学习如何写主题句、支持句，以及文章中的段落（包含介绍主题、支援主题的细节及结论）。

Topic Sentences: Main Idea (More exercises, activity). Summarizes the main point of a paragraph and tells the reader the main idea.

Exercise: Look at the picture and write a topic sentence.

Writing Problems: TOPIC + MAIN POINT

WRONG: I will tell you about fast food.

RIGHT: Fast food is bad for your health.

Topic/Subject	Television's effects on children
Topic sentences:	Ex 1. Television hurts children because it teaches them violence.
	Ex 2. Television can improve a child's knowledge.

Write a topic sentence for each subject.

Smoking cigarettes
Foreign travel
Space exploration
Rock music (or rock musicians)
Studying a foreign language

2. Theme vs. Main Idea

3. Supporting Sentences (signal words, video, practice, 2, 3, )

Writing a Postcard 明信片:

Standard postcards have five simple parts.

The greeting 問候；招呼；迎接
A sentence about WHERE you are
One or two sentences about WHAT you are doing or have done
A closing 結束的，結尾的，收結的
A signature 簽名

When students follow this formula, their postcard will look like the following.

Dear _____,
I am in _________. We are having a great time. Yesterday we __________. Monday we ___________. Wish you were here.
Love, _________

A Class:

Reading Comprehension: Class Field Trip

Reading Skills:

Classifying
Analogies
Following Directions (Recipes)
Recalling Details

B Class:

Reading Comprehension:

A. Sojourner Truth 索傑納·特魯思

Vocabulary: slavery, owner, separate, slave, remain

Video: Women on US $

B. Spiders

Vocabulary: creepy, eight-legged, creature, sticky, strand, lab, cable, bridge

C. Venus 金星 (維納斯)

Vocabulary: twin, degrees, surface, atmosphere, through, trap (v.)

D. Dogs

Vocabulary: wild, ancestors, wolf, pack (of animals), behave (v.)

[-F to -V in the plural click here for list:]

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Winter Week: Nuclear Weapons

What was Einstein's role? 他在這個工程中負責甚麽？

Why do countries have nuclear weapons?

When have they been used?

Are nuclear weapons really a deterrent?

Was it wrong for the US to drop atomic bombs on Japan?

Warm Up: NUCLEAR CLUB: With your partner(s), talk about these nuclear (or soon-to-be) powers. How dangerous is each one. Agree on a rank for them: 10 = very dangerous; 1 = very safe. Change partners and tell each other your rankings.

USA
Russia
China
India
Iran

Great Britain
Israel
France
North Korea
Pakistan

Nuclear Fallout

Vocabulary:

nuclear weapon
Manhattan Project 曼哈頓計劃
nuclear fallout 輻射落塵
radiation （核）輻射
nuclear winter 核子冬天（科學家認為在巨大核爆炸後出現的一段寒冷黑暗，生物滅絕的時期）
strategic arms reduction talks 削減戰略核武器會談

Nuclear Winter

What exactly is a nuclear weapon?

There are different types of nuclear weapon – the atom bomb 原子彈, the hydrogen bomb 氫彈 and the neutron bomb 中子彈. All of them are designed to cause destruction 破壞 by releasing 釋放 huge amounts of energy at a specific time and place. The strength力量 of these weapons is measured測量 by comparing the force of the explosion 爆炸 to the weight重量 of TNT黃色炸藥 which would be needed to create the same effect影響力: for example, "25,000 tonnes".

What exactly happens when a nuclear weapon explodes?

Generally, a nuclear explosion will release about 50% of its energy in the form of a blast炸毀. 30% of the force of the explosion will be in the form of heat and the remainder (20%) will be released as radiation. The blast will damage and destroy property, creating the problem of flying debris碎片, for example, bricks and broken glass.

What happens after a nuclear explosion?

This depends on the amount of dust灰塵 and smoke released into the atmosphere大氣. Obviously, a nuclear explosion can cause immediate casualties傷亡– the blast, heat and radiation are deadly. In the longer term, radiation can continue to be dangerous when it falls back to us in the form of nuclear fallout 輻射落塵. It is alleged that after a nuclear war, there would be so much dust in the atmosphere that the sun would be blocked out and a nuclear winter would ensue接著發生, causing phenomenal damage to the planet's ecosystem生態系統 and jeopardizing危及 the survival存活 of all life forms, including humans.

Who invented nuclear weapons?

In the USA during World War Two, nuclear weapons were designed and developed using the code name "the Manhattan Project". The first ever atomic bomb was tried out in July 1945 in New Mexico. The results of the test were considered encouraging and so just one month later two atomic bombs (one uranium鈾 bomb and one plutonium鈽 bomb) were dropped by the USA in Japan, in an effort to end the conflict (war) between the two countries. The two flattened cities (Hiroshima 廣島市 and Nagasaki 長崎市) lost more than 100,000 citizens.

In what ways are modern nuclear bombs different from past ones?

There are three types of nuclear weapon: "strategic" weapons which have a range of nearly 3,500 miles (5632 km), "intermediate" weapons which can hit targets between 600 (965 km) and 3,500 miles away, and "short-range" weapons which would be used for targets up to 620 miles (997 km) away.

The neutron bomb, developed less than 30 years ago in the USA, is a special type of fission核裂變-fusion 核聚變 bomb and has been specifically enhanced提高 to injure or kill people with radiation, while leaving buildings largely intact完整無缺的.

China Warns Trump To "Back-Off" or Nuclear War

Quick Quiz:

1. There are different types of nuclear weapon – the __________ bomb, the hydrogen bomb and the neutron bomb.

2. The blast will damage and destroy property, creating the problem of __________ debris.

3. There would be so much dust in the atmosphere that the sun would be blocked __________.

4. A nuclear winter would ensue, causing phenomenal damage to the planet's ecosystem and jeopardizing the survival of all __________ forms.

5. In the USA during World War Two, nuclear weapons were designed and developed __________ the code name "the Manhattan Project".

6. "Short-range" weapons would be used for __________ up to 620 miles away.

7. The neutron bomb has been specifically enhanced to injure or kill people with radiation while __________ buildings largely intact.

TED: We Don't Need Nuclear Weapons

Look at the questions choose 5 then survey your classmates. Write down their answers.

Questions	Student #1	Student #2	Student #3
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

RESOURCES:
http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/0705/070526-nuclear_weapons.html

http://www.esldiscussions.com/n/nuclear_weapons.html

https://www.englishclub.com/esl-forums/viewtopic.php?t=40923

Monday, January 16, 2017

Cult of Personality: Mao in Color

“China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world.” ― Napoléon Bonaparte

I was going to teach this for winter school, and then after spending all morning making it, changed my mind. I might end the new semester with a Cult of Personality Unit instead.

My daughter and I recently watched a fascinating documentary on Chairman Mao on Discovery World. They used CIA footage and color film not previously seen. My daughter was mesmerized, so I thought my 7th and 8th graders might be too. I made a corresponding handout that has vocabulary, fill in the blank, and a space to write some questions of their own. (Handout Here)

China is the most prosperous country in the world, has overtaken the US as the world’s largest economy and is second to the US in terms of military spending. Throughout these last 70 years Mao has been at the heart of all these dramatic changes. He led the Chinese communist party to victory in both Wars, ruling them with an iron fist. Even though he's being dead for 40 years his name is still writ large in Chinese consciousness.

Discussion questions:

1. Mao wanted to free China from it’s past, but in many ways he repeated the worst aspects of Chinese history. Explain.

2. What were some of Mao’s personal peculiarities?

3. How was Mao a personal hypocrite to the communist principles?

4. How did Mao’s “Great Leap Forward” become one great leap backward?

5. Why did US president Nixon reach out to China?

6. Do you agree with many Chinese people that Mao’s ruthlessness was a “necessary evil”? Explain.

7. How is Chiang Kai-Shek like Mao? How are they different?

8. Would you agree that Taiwan’s White Terror years were a necessary evil for Taiwan to have democracy today?

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Sex Ed for ESL

Introduction Discussion

1.	How do you want parents to address sex issues with you?
	2. How is talking about sex with your parents different from talking about sex with your friends?
3.	What do you think it means to be sexually responsible?
4.	Is being sexually responsible cool or not cool?
5.	Why do some teens have sex?