ESL L5: Midterm Exam II

Monday, October 12, 2010

Midterm Exam
Please:

1. Come to class on time. We will start promptly at 9:15 a.m.
2. Come into the classroom and put all of your belongings on the wall against the blackboard. I will assign you a seat. 
3. Take your pencils, erasers, dictionary, tissues and drink/snack to your seat.
4. Sit and wait for more instructions. You may talk to your classmates before we begin.
5. Take a deep breath and relax. If you have been keeping up with all of the materials in class and studying, you should have no problems with the midterm!

Studying for the Midterm

Here are the answer keys to the worksheets you have:
Simple Past and Present Perfect Answer Key
Mixed Modals 2 Answer Key

More lessons and practice:
Simple Present, Simple Past, Future Test with Answers
Simple Past vs. Present Perfect Test with Answers
Adverbial Clauses
Overview of Adverbial Clauses
Active Voice vs. Passive Voice
Active Voice vs. Passive Voice Quiz with Answers
Slideshow on the Modals of Possibility
The Modal Can
The Modal Could

For writing the five paragraph essay information, please read this.

Homework, Monday, October 11, 2010
Study for the Midterm Exam. Review all of your notes on grammar and writing the five paragraph essay.

~Happy Studying!~

Spooky Story Time

September 1, 2010

I do hope you enjoy reading the The Monkey's Paw for homework. If you like creepy stories, you are sure to enjoy this scary tale. This tale was written by W. W. Jacobs and was published in England in 1902. As we talked about in class, horror tales were extremely popular in America and the United Kingdom at the turn of the last century. This story has been so influential in popular culture and literature that there are now many adaptations of this tale.

When speaking or writing about stories, it is very important to use the right vocabulary words. Please review the following terms. Try to write a sentence in your own words using the new vocabulary word(s) and then read it out loud so that you can practice your pronunciation. When you read The Monkey's Paw, keep in mind how these vocabulary terms relate the story. Can you identify the characters? Can you describe the action of this tale? Who (hint: or what) is the villain?

characters
hero/heroine
villain (pay extra attention to the spelling of this word as it stumps (meaning: confuses) most native English speakers!)
setting
episode
action
punch line
ghost story
bedtime story
stormy night
family
visitor
magic charm
wish
fate
karma

Good Luck/Bad Luck
People around the world believe in specific good luck objects, symbols, and traditions.

27 Popular Good Luck Charms and Symbols from around the World
List of Good Luck Charms
Symbols of Good Luck from Past to Present

A belief in bad luck that is based on ominous objects, situations, or actions is called a superstition. A person who believes in superstitions is said to be superstitious.

Superstitions around the World

Expressions to Use to Show Time when Telling or Writing a Story 
As you write or tell as story, make sure to incorporate these useful expressions. You audience will be able to understand the chronological order of your tale.

Introducing the story: I'll never forget the time.../Did I ever tell you about the time.../First...
Giving general background information: A couple of years ago.../Last summer.../It happened when.../One night.../Then...
Introducing the action: All of a sudden.../Suddenly...
Ending the story: What happened in the end was.../In the end.../Finally...
Reflecting back on the story: Looking back on it.../In reflection...

Past Perfect vs. Present Perfect
Study, study, study the differences between these two tenses!
Exercise with Corrections I
Exercise with Corrections II
Exercise with Corrections III
Exercise with Corrections IV
Exercise with Corrections V

Today's Holidays of the World
Eritrea: Start of the Armed Struggle
Libya: Evacuation Day (Italian)
Luxembourg: Luxembourg City Kermesse
Mexico: Informe Predidencial (Predident's Address)
Marshall Islands: Worker's Day
Peru: Reincorporation of Tarata
Sikhism: First Parkash (Nanakshahi)
Slovakia: Constitution Day
Syria: United Arab Republic's Day
Uzbekistan: Independence Day

Homework for Wednesday, September 1, 2010

1. Journal: Good Luck/Bad Luck (150 words)
2. Vocabulary Notebook. Start on your next ten (10) words. Due next Wednesday, September 8, 2010.
3. Read Unit 1: Lesson B p. 9 The Monkey's Paw
4. Complete hard copy Unit 1: Lesson B Worksheets. Bring to class to hand in.
5. Complete the Unit 1: Online Quiz. Remember, this is not a quiz. This is to help you test your knowledge of the chapter. 

~Happy Studying!~

Verbs! Verbs! Verbs!

Friday, August 28, 2010

Lights! Camera! ACTION!

Verbs are all about action. Without action we would not have sentences. It is absolutely essential to become comfortable with the English irregular verb tenses and past participles. Because English has so many perfect tenses (the present perfect, the present perfect progressive/continuous, the past perfect, the past perfect progressive/continuous, the future continuous, and the future perfect progressive/continuous) it is not only important to know how to form these tenses, but it is also absolutely essential to be able to recite the past participle from memory. One needs to be able to recall a past participle as second nature, without having to think about it. True, the past participles for lay, lie, and hang even trip up (definition: confuse) native English speakers, but it is a reason why you as an EFL (English as a Foreign Language) student must work so hard at memorizing this grammar aspect.

Therefore, the rest of this post will be dedicated to online worksheets and quizzes so that you can practice all of your tenses and past participles.

Simple Present
Simple Present quiz with answers

Present Progressive/Continuous
Present Progressive/Continuous quiz with answers

Simple Past
Simple Past quiz with answers

Past Progressive/Continuous
Past Progressive/Continuous quiz with answers

Simple Future
Simple Future (will) quiz with answers
Simple Future (going to) quiz with answers

Present Perfect 
Present Perfect quiz with answers

Past Participles
Test your knowledge of Past Participles with this series of flashcards.
Past Participle Flashcards 1
Past Participle Flashcards 2
Past Participle Flashcards 3
Past Participle Flashcards 4
Past Participle Flashcards 5

Tenses Mix
Simple Present, Present Progressive, Present Perfect, Simple Past Quiz with answers. Learn about the historic London Dungeon while you complete this quiz.

Active vs. Passive Voice
Active vs. Passive Voice quiz with answers. Learn about England's historic Hadrian's Wall while you complete this quiz.

This should get you started. Of course, there will be much more posted on the topic of English verbs in the days and weeks to come.

Today's Holidays of the World

Guinea: Anniversary of the Women's Revolt
Moldova: Independence Day
United States of America: Texas: Petroleum Day

Homework for Friday, August 27, 2010

1. Vocabulary Notebook - Finish your first ten (10) entries. Bring the notebook to class on Monday.
2. Journal - Writing Skills Worksheet Practice III. Minimum: Brainstorm and Outline one (1) topic. You may do three (3) if you have time. DO NOT write an essay.
3. Study Irregular Verb Past tense and Past Participles.
4. Complete Verb Review worksheets.
5. Complete Dictionary Skills worksheets.

Happy Studying!