Summer School Drama

The last two weeks of July is our "Summer School." I would like to try a few class plays, and see if the kids can have fun on the stage in B1. The time is too short to memorize the lines, but who knows, maybe a few of them will "get into" character. 

Our plays:

205(A) East of the Sun, West of the Moon (18 parts), Rump and Ugla (6 parts)
205 (B)Hansel and Gretal Funny Version (12 parts), The Enormous Nose (8 parts)

206 (A) Hansel and Gretal Funny Version (12 parts),  The Enormous Nose (8 parts)
206 (B) East of the Sun, West of the Moon (18 parts)

EAST OF THE SUN vocabulary:

1. bounds- limits,  ("no bounds" 無限的)
2. cottage 小屋，村舍
3. rapped-knock, tap with your fingers on something
4. objection
5. persuaded
6. wealth -$
7. mend- to fix
8. rags- old, poor clothes
9. smart (looking) 整潔漂亮的，時髦的
10. chamber- room
11. dull- boring
12. sufficiently- enough
13. troll 山精，巨人，侏儒
14. wept (cried) and lamented

RUMP AND UGLA vocabulary:

1. Minister- politician, 
2. miller 磨坊主
3. unusual-strange
4. gracious
5. beg 乞求
6. thou-you, wouldest-would, hearest-hear, 
7. plainly- clearly, simply
8. buddy 老兄-buster 夥計
9. rear- butt, ass
10. miracle

HANSEL AND GRETAL vocabulary:

1. Dom Deluise
2. "hand to mouth" having just enough to live on
3. distance- space between 2 places
4. widow- woman whose husband died
5. fond of- likes
6. crickets蟋蟀 chirping 啁啾，唧唧叫，吱喳叫
7. beans 豆；豆莢；菜豆；豆科植物
8.trail
9. squirrels 松鼠
10. cholesterol 膽固醇
11. windowsill- shelf below a window
12. glutton 貪吃的人 (Glut)
13. stout- fat, solid looking
14. tremble- shake with fear
15. fireflies- night insect whose tail gives off light
16. disagreeable- not nice
17. "straw that broke the camel's back" （壓垮駱駝的）最後一根稻草；（一系列不快事件中）最終使人無法忍受的事，使人最終崩潰的一擊
18.rump- ass, roast-BBQ
19. install- put in something
20. (police) custody 監禁，拘留
21. smorgasbord 
22. sent packing- kick someone out
23. Good riddance! 總算擺脫了，終於走掉了

THE ENORMOUS NOSE vocabulary:

1. Enchantress-witch
2. curse- magic words that bring bad luck
3. regret 懊悔，遺憾；惋惜；痛惜
4. depressed-very sad
5. gorgeous- very beautiful
6. servant- paid worker who works doing housework, cooking
7. fashion statement 時尚主張；時尚宣言
8. remarks-comments
9. goldsmith 金匠
10. goofy 愚蠢的；傻的

Resources:

https://www.dramanotebook.com/plays-for-kids/fairy-tale-plays-2/
https://www.tellitmyway.org/
http://www.timelessteacherstuff.com/

Making Questions Fun

We started unit 11 with an exercise writing the questions I gave the answers to. I want to end Unit 11 with a game of making questions.

Today I showed some Ellen videos to my 203 ESL (8th grade class) to demonstrate how to play this game. After we finish up Unit 11 (hopefully by tomorrow) they can start writing the questions for the "Never Have I" game.

Questions have to be a little bit personal, but still safe, and age appropriate for example, "Have you ever had Bieber fever?" I am curious to what kind of questions they will come up with.

Props required are 5 hand signs printed with, "I have/ I have never" on either side.

Composting for ESL

I.            Root word: “Path” = Feeling or Disease

1.  Apathy無興趣，懈怠；（尤指對重要事情的）漠不關心，無動於衷

2.  Empathy同情；同感，共鳴

3.  Sociopath反社會者

4.  Sympathy同情（心），理解

5.  Psychopath精神病患者，精神變態者

II.         Idioms: Use each in a sentence.

1.     To have green fingers藝技能；種植技能

2.    Hit the hay 上床睡覺

3.    Beat around the bush（說話）轉彎抹角，兜圈子

4.    Nip in the bud…消滅在萌芽狀態，對…防患於未然\

 III. Reading: B classes will do a simplified version of the How To Make A Compost reading and "Parts of a Plant".

I will be working together with the kids' environmental science teacher to provide the English language background as they create their own gardens this semester. First things first we need some rich, black hummus.

IV. Grammar: Many or Much?  (2)

Vocabulary

Reading 1:                       How to Make a Compost 混合肥料；堆肥

1.  Start with a container. Working with decomposing organic matter, doesn’t need to be fancy. You just need some sort of way to hold everything together so the beneficial bacteria that break down the plant matter can heat up and work effectively. 2.  Compost bins are of two types, stationary and rotating. Both types must be turned to combine the decaying materials and make oxygen.  Stationary  bins can be as simple as a well-ventilated cage made from wire  or wooden crates  from a kit.  A well-designed bin will keep heat and moisture, allowing for quicker results. When using the stationary bin, put the pile in a sunny location so that it has as much heat as possible. If it’s in the shade all day, decomposition will still happen, but it will be much slower. Then there’s compost tumblers, easy to turn bins that speed up the process — compost in weeks, not months or years. 3.  Get the mix right. A good pile has a mix of brown and green plant matter, plus some moisture to keep the good bacteria alive. Shredded newspaper, wood chips and dry leaves are best for the brown elements; kitchen waste and grass clippings are perfect for the green part. 4. Turn the pile with a pitchfork every week or two to make sure that all of the materials are blended in and working together. After you’ve mixed things up, grab a handful to see if it’s a little bit wet. Too little moisture will slow the decomposition process and too much will leave you with a slimy mess. In a few months, your finished product should be a dark, crumbly soil that smells like fresh earth.

Answer the questions.

1.     What are the 2 types of compost bins? Which does Huey Deng use?

2.    How does sunlight work with compost?

3.    How does water (moisture) work with the compost?

4.    What is a good pile made of?

5.    How must we care for the pile?

6.    When do we know the pile is ready to be used for growing?

Reading 2: Avoid Common Mistakes

It’s hard to mess up compost, but we’re happy to offer a little direction so you get off to the best start.

• Don’t start too small. The breakdown process needs a critical mass in order to do its job. However, certain bins work well for small amounts of material, so choose a product for your specific needs.

• Keep things moist. It’s easy to walk away and forget that there’s an active process going on, so check the pile regularly, especially during hot, dry weather (see Managing Moisture).

• Don’t depend on one material. A combination of different textures and nutrients created by the disintegration of many different plants will give your plants a gourmet diet that helps create disease and pest resistance. Think about it — a huge clump of grass clippings just sticks together in a huge mat that hangs around for years. Add some leaves, stir, and natural forces like water, air and heat go to work quickly!

• Don’t get overwhelmed. This isn’t rocket science, so jump in and try, even if you don’t have a clue. You’ll soon see what works and what doesn’t.

Resources:

http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html

http://www.planetnatural.com/composting-101/

Freeway Chases and Drunk Drivers

I.             Root Word “OMNI”= ALL

1.     Insomnia 失眠（症）

2.     Omnivore 雜食動物

3.     Omnipotent全能的，萬能的，無所不能的

II.          Idiom:

“Put the brakes on”. 抑制，控制；制止The government has put a brake on further spending. 政府已經控制進一步的開支了。

III. Grammar

A Classes: Making questions/Confusing Vocabulary/Sentence building/ Writing a paragraph/story (Parts of Story review,)

B Classes:  To Be or To Have? (2 )/Making questions,

B Classes:  Prepositions/ Words of location (at, in, on, to) worksheet+ online game, Confusing Vocabular

IV.             Reading (A): Freeway Chase Ends at Newsstand  (Vocabulary)

Fill in the blank Robin Hood (Learn English Through Stories), Robin Hood  Kōichi Mashimo and Studio Tatsunoko . Taiwan's own Robin Hood is here.

Robin Hood was an outlaw who lived in the forest and stole from the rich to give to the poor.

 羅賓漢是個劫富濟貧的綠林好漢

Video: (A) Matrix Chase Scene, Top 10 Car Chase scenes 

Reading (B) A Drunk Driver + Vocabulary
 Activity: put the sentences in order/ fill in the blank/ Fill in the blanks song and thinking about body image, "Try" (with Chinese subs)  "Try" (original video)
EXTRA: Drunk Man Falls off Bridge Documents:
A Classes Unit 11
B Classes Unit 12

Year of the Monkey: Fun With Idioms

Students will learn 6 idioms about monkeys and then make a monkey origami. With their finished monkey they will paste it onto a bigger piece of paper and illustrate one monkey idiom of their choice.

Here are the idioms:

1. I'll be a monkey's uncle! idiom （表示驚訝）天哪！ 哎呀！used to show you are very surprised

2. make a monkey out of somebody idiom使（某人）出醜；耍弄，愚弄（某人） to make someone appear stupid

3. monkey business騙人的把戲；惡作劇 behavior which is not acceptable or is dishonest

The teacher suspected that there had been some monkey business going on in the class. 老師懷疑班裡有人搞惡作劇。

4. monkey about/around (with sth) phrasal verb胡鬧，搗蛋

to behave, or to use or move things, in a silly and careless way

The children were bored and started monkeying around. 孩子都感到厭煩了，開始胡鬧。

5. throw a monkey wrench (into something) 從中搗亂；破壞計劃 to do something that prevents a plan or activity from succeeding

The funding for the project was withdrawn so that really threw a spanner in the works. 企劃案的資金被撤回，這真的打亂了計劃。

 (Watch Foo Fighters- Monkey Wrench)

6. be cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey idiom冷得要命 to be very cold

Resources:

http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2014/12/monkey-business-and-other-phrases/

http://www.englishpractice.com/words/monkey-idioms/

http://www.submerryn.com/2016/01/cny-angpow-monkey-origami.html

http://www.chine-culture.com/en/origami/animals/origami-of-monkey.php