Well, I must say your tests were better than expected. I'm glad, I know you are bright kids.

Remember we did not prepare anything to show your parents so if they ask, say No, they don't have to come today.

Well, the summer is coming, you must be happy and excited. Some of you will be taking the Trinity test tomorrow, good luck!

I am no giving you homework this time, after all, most of you are not going to bother. Today we'll have to do some singing. We will also join the other group to share their games and activities.

See you later,

Last Wednesday we finished doing exercises with the Present Perfect and the Simple Past tenses.

Remember:  we used the Simple Past when the action is finished and it was done sometime in the past. Very often it is clear when: yesterday, last year, 6 months ego, etc.

Example: Last year I cycled 60 kilometers in one day.

We used the Present Perfect when the action started in the past but it is not finished  ( perhaps it will continue) or it is not important weather it is finished or not. Some signal words may appear in the sentence: already, just, yet, ever, never.

Example: I have already cycled 50 km. ( Perhaps I will cycle some more kilometers).

We read a text about  complaints that some parents have about their teanage children and students had to complete it with some verbs: change, tidy, make, do, clean, leave, take.

The complaints were things like:

They never tidy their room.
They leave wet towels on the floor.
They never make their bed.
They always do their homework at the last minute.
They always change the TV channel ...
They never take the dog out.
They are not careful when I am cleaning the floor.

The verb leave can have a different meaning: I leave home at 8 o´clock every day.

Another word we discussed in class is the word rude. Rude is the opposite of polite.
If you leave without saying goodbye, for example, you are being rude. If you tell a  classmate he or she has a ridiculous haircut, you are being rude. If somebody asks you a question and you don´t answer, you´re being rude
When you say thank you and please or when you ask for permission to leave the classroom, you are being polite.

Here is an exercise for homework:

1. Fill in the gaps with the right word or expression:

complaint    leave    turn off   worst   put away    advice    hiking

on purpose   chores   fun

1.     When you do something intentionally you do it ____ ___________.

2.     When you go away from your country, you ____________ Spain.

3.     Mr Jacks is the ________ math teacher I have ever had. Nobody understands him.

4.     I am afraid I have to make a _______________.

5.     We really enjoyed our trip. It was so much ________.

6.     What shall we do next weekend? Let´s go _____________.

7.     You must ______________ your mobile phone before the lesson.

8.     Please, _______________ your notebook and pencil case. We don´t need them any more.

9.     My children never listen to my _____________.

      My parents are always nagging about ___________ and homework.

Hi! I hope I see everybody in class next Wednesday.

Last Wednesday we were working on the Present Perfect tense. We used it with the signal words with have studied:

ever
never
already
yet
just

And here is a little writing exercise as HOMEWORK

You are going on a holiday to Florida. Write about the trip, what you are going to do to prepare for the trip, what clothes you are going to take, when you are going to leave, who you are going with, how you are getting there, where you are going to stay, what places you are going to visit ( you can go to Disney World in Orlando, you can go to the beach in Miami, go snorkeling in the Keys, go to the Everglades to see the crocodiles ) how long you are going to spend in Florida, what presents or souvenirs  you are going to buy and when you are coming back.

Do it as well as you can.

Hi!

Last Wednesday we studied the Present Perfect tense  of verbs. This is not the first time, we have practiced questions with this tense before, but now we studying it closer.

How do we make it?

Present Simple To have     +     Past Participle of verb (3rd column)

I have                                        written                          Write  wrote  written

You have                                  arrived                           Arrive arrived arrived

He/she/it has                             seen                               See     saw    seen

Those are the singular forms. You can check your notebooks if you have doubts about the plural forms.

When we use the Past Simple (2nd column) it is because we are talking about an action that is completely finished, very often we say exactly when.
Example: Yesterday I had rice and chicken for lunch.

The Present Perfect, on the opposite is the tense we use when we are talking about action that started in the past but that perhaps is not finished
Students know some key words we may find the Present Perfect with:

Ever: Have you ever eaten crocodile meat?

Just: I have just seen your brother.

Already: they have already arrived.

Yet (negative verb): I haven't done my homework yet.

We continued working on the complaints worksheet. This time we practiced making requests. After a complaint, we usually make a request, that is, we ask somebody to do something to make things better for us.

We can start or request in different ways:

Could you please... ( turn down the radio)

I would be grateful if you could give me back my pen.

I would appreciate it if you could stop making noise.

HOMEWORK
Go to this link and do the exercises. http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=9617  Do B before A and write down the sentences in your notebook.
When you do C, look at the blue pictures, not at the body behind. Write those sentences in the notebook too.

Yesterday we worked on the topic complaints.

A complaint is what we say when we don't like something: something somebody did or does often, something we want to be different, something we think it is wrong.

When parents complain about their children, for instance, they say things such as:

He/she doesn't do anything around the house.

He spends too much time playing video games.

He/she doesn't make his/her bed.

When children complain about their parents, they say things like:

They never listen to my opinion.

They don't respect my privacy.

They nag me about chores and homework.

In the lesson students wrote their own complaints. Well, not everybody, there was one student who could not think of a single complaint, he is so immensely happy.

New words we studied: 

Complaint (noun)
Complain (verb)
Advice 
Chores
Nag
Criticize
The most

HOMEWORK

1. Write a sentence using each one of the words above. Example: Cleaning the bathroom is what  I hate the most. 

2. Write:

2 complaints about your school.
2 complaints about your classmates.
2 complaints about your friends.

In our last class we tried to learn a little about bullying so students could come up with ideas to do something about it.

We wrote down some of the words that were new for most of the students and as HOMEWORK students will be using those new words in sentences.

One of the expressions we learned was on purpose.
To do something on purpose means that we do it intentionally, because we want to.

An example of what you have to do is:

A.You forgot to close the door. 
B. I did it on purpose, it's too hot in here.

 Here is an interesting video on preventing bullying: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynTuA_tlZDE I know it's difficult to understand but there are parts of it that are very clear because of the graphics. Now, I want you to do this part. 
 1. Find out the exact meaning of the sentences and stop to think about all those great qualities you have.

Write down all the great qualities that make you stand out from the crowd.

2. What animal is a bully like (according to the video)? And how should you react to it?

Enjoy it!

I hope you all have a nice long weekend, and you all rest. And you read this blog and try to learn some of the words and expressions I'll point out.

Yesterday students  worked on a questionnaire. Its purpose was to find out what it is like to be 12 or 13 years old and what's most important for somebody this age.

There was a question which started:

What's the worst thing that can happen to ...?

Somebody asked the meaning of the worst. 

The worst is a superlative. Remember? Bad Worse The worst

The opposite is The best, the superlative of  Good. Good, Better, The Best.

Somebody asked the meaning of I am afraid of. I hope you remember now. You can be afraid of spiders, you can also be afraid of giving your opinion.
If you use a verb after afraid of you need to use the -ing form.

Later we continued practicing the future forms, this time we used will. We talked about the Year 2050 and what we think it will be like. We made predictions such as:

In the Year 2015 people won't travel to the moon on Holiday.
or
In the Year 2050 there will be more pollution than now.

What we know is that in the Year 2050 you guys will probably be 48 or 49 years old.


Finally students answered some questions about going on a trip and then asked each other the questions.

Remember your HOMEWORK, this time you got it in hand and have to do it. No excuse.

See you next week.

Hi!

We had a small group last Wednesday. As talkative as usual, though. We did do a little more work though.

First students read possible ways to prepare to do something. Example: You are going to bake a cake. What are you going to do to prepare for this plan?

I am going to buy some eggs.
I am going to put on an apron.
I am going to mix the eggs with the sugar.

After that students had to write down similar sentences saying what they were going to do in preparation for a plan. They each were given a couple of plans, eg. I'm going to go to a party, and they wrote 3 clues such as the ones above.

After that we played a guessing game. A student took a card and gave a clue about the plan on the card. Classmates had to guess the plan.

We also listened to the video you had to watch for homework.

HOMEWORK

Listen to the conversation again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhAaiamabQo


Now, write your own conversation: You and a friend talking, 2 imaginary friends making plans for the weekend... Something like that.

Include the following expressions: Let's..... (go, play, make... any verb)
I will (meet, buy, call.... any verb)
Do you want to (go, watch, eat... any verb) ?

HOMEWORK

Go to the next link and watch the video. Watch it 2 or 3 times. Then, answer the questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhAaiamabQo

A
1. What are they going to do?

2. What is the girl going to buy?

3. How long are they going to stay away from the city?

4. What will they do while they are camping? (Say 2 things.)

B
Ask 4 questions about the video in the future form. Remember: when we make questions we say the auxiliary first, then the subject, then the verb with the meaning. Examples: What is the girl going to buy? and What will they do?

Welcome back! 

After the holiday everybody has lots of  energy to pursue our main goal: improve your English!
In our lesson last Wednesday we practiced two future forms: going to - for plans - and will for predictions and actions that will probably  happen.
Most students are already getting the trick of it.

We listened to a conversation of two young people talking about their plans for vacation. Students practiced the dialogue and then role played it. They did a good job.


HOMEWORK

1. Make a list of things you can do for vacation. Write 10 things.

Example:   
Go hiking

2. Here is a short conversation:

A:  Do you have any plans for the weekend?

B:  I think I'll go hiking on Saturday. How about you?

A:  I’m going to relax at home.

Now write 4 short conversations like that changing the activities. Use the activities you wrote for Ex. 1.

Hi!

Remember that if you want to participate in the Flea Market, you need to bring some used things that you don't use anymore, like toys, books or anything else you were thinking of throwing away.

Cheer up!  This is our last week before the Easter Holidays, then you'll have the chance to rest and have fun.

Next class we'll correct the homework from the week before.

HOMEWORK

Listen to some young people making plans, answer 4 questions each.

Vera and Raquel: 1, 2, 3 & 4

Sandra and Nico: 5, 6, 7, 8.

Jorge and Miriam: 9, 10, 11 & 12.

Victor: 13, 1, 2 & 3.

http://esl.about.com/library/listening/bllis_plans.htm

Hi!

Are you going to do your homework?

You can answer this question in different ways. If you have plans to do it at a certain time you may answer:

Yes, I'm going to do it in the evening, after my dancing lesson. 

But if you are not sure when of if you will actually do it you may say:

Yes, I'll (I will) probably do it tonight.
Or
I think I'll do it tomorrow.


HOMEWORK

Write about 5 things you are planning to do on your next holidays. Example:

I am going to finish the painting that I started last Christmas.

Write 5 sentences about things you think that will happen in the future or that you are not completely sure about: Example:

I think I'll like that book. 

Last Wedgnesday we started a unit about travelling and activities we can do while travelling:

We can
go rafting
go skiing
take a guided tour
go backpacking
take a bus tour
go to the beach
go on a cruise

In this unit we study how to talk about future actions. When we talk about planned actions we use the form: going to + verb. Ex: I'm going to go rafting on my next holiday.

When something is not planned or completely sure but we are considering doing it, we use will + verb. We use it in sentences that start with the words I think or include the word probably.
Ex: I think I will stay home next weekend. I have a lot of homework to do.

We also use will + verb when we make a sudden decision: The movie is starting and he is not here yet. I ' ll (contraction of I will) call him.

HOMEWORK  

Go to the link: http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3135. Do both exercises. Write down the numbers and the verbs on your notebook. Example: 1. I am going to travel.

As we need to read them in class but I don't want to give you too much work, I am going to give each one of you a number of sentences to write:

Rachel and Vera: Ex 1, Sentences 1,2,3 & 4.

Miriam and Jorge: Ex 1, Sentences 5, 6, 7 & 8

Nico and Sandra: Ex 1, Sentences 9 & 10. Ex 2, Sentences a & b.

Victor: Ex 2, Sentences b, c, d & e

Hi! Anybody there?

Anyway, it is my job to keep on trying.

Last Wednesday very few students had done their homework. So we spend a lot of time working on it. It was about defining things, people, places and times using a relative clause. We introduce the relative clause with a relative: which, who, where or when.

We also talked about the kind of music each student likes. We asked: What kind of music do you like? We listened to a recording of a number of people talking about types of music they currently liked. We practiced the question: What do you think about...?  which is a question we ask when we want to know somebody's opinion about something or somebody.

Some students asked if we could spend the second hour of class talking about things that students like to talk about. That may be a good idea, although I don't know yet the kind of things students like to talk about. I'll ask you that question.

HOMEWORK

5 more words to define using relative clauses. I hope everybody does it this time.

A spoon.
A tennis court.
A wardrobe
The summer
A shop assistant.

If you want to just talk about a range of topics you 'll need to prepare yourself:

1st: What would you like to talk about?

2nd: What do you usually talk about with your friends?

3rd: How do you imagine your life when you are a grownup?

Hello!

3 students were missing last Wednesday. I guess you were all sick. I was a bit sick myself so to make life easier for everybody we were doing fun activities. Students did learn something though as they did quite well when they had to define things using a relative clause.

We've done it before but I remind you. We use a relative clause to give information about a thing: we use which or that

A knife is something which we use to cut meat.

About a person or profession using who.

A doctor is a person who cures sick people.

About a place using where:

A cinema is a place where we watch films.

About a time using when:

The spring is the season when flowers grow.

HOMEWORK

Define the following words using a relative clause: (there are different possibilities, not everybody has to come up with the same definition).

An astronaut
A camera
A nurse
A road
A hotel
The Renaissance
Christmas
A dessert
A desert
A toothbrush

Hi!

Don't forget you still have do the homework from last week. It wasn't such a great deal.

Now, we are working a a new unit. This one is about T.V. So we have studied the names in English of the most usual types of programmes (UK spelling):

News, cartoons, talk shows, game shows, sitcoms, wildlife documentaries, nature programmes, soap operas, reality shows, and more.

We also studied some adjectives that we can use to describe or give our opinion about these programmes.

HOMEWORK

Choose 3 types of programme from above and give an example of each one of them. Then make a little summary of what that programme is about and use some of the adjectives we studied last Wednesday.

I usually watch a game show called Saber y Ganar. I find it entertaining and fun to watch because sometimes I know the answers to the questions. In this game show contestants have to answer questions about all kinds of subjects: history, geography, sports, music, literature, current affairs, etc.

I noticed yesterday that some of the students had already learned all the questions we had studied to find out about a movie or film. Good for you! The rest of you should check them in the last blog and try to memorize them.

In our class yesterday we practiced a short conversation related to the same topic. The conversation was:

A. Do you feel like seeing a movie?

B. Sure. What movie would you like to see?

A. How about The Clam Takes Over? It's playing at the Royal Theater. It's about a brave clam who takes over the Earth. Johnny Hook is in it.

B. It sounds good. What time is it playing?

A. Showtimes are at 5:00 and 7:00.

New words we studied:

Feel like: it is followed by another verb in the -ing form.

Take over: take control of something.

Showtime: the time when a film or movie is played.

Clam: we eat it in paella.


Later we listened to a recording about the adventures of Pinocchio and Gepetto. We also studied a few new words:

wood: the material many tables are made of.

wooden puppet: a puppet made of wood. 

grow: plants and people grow, they become taller.


HOMEWORK

1. make 2 sentences with the words feel like.

2. Make 2 sentences with the word grow.

3. Write the opening paragraph of a fairy tale. Example: opening paragraph for Pinocchio.

Once upon a time there was an old carpenter who lived alone. He did not have any children and wished he had a son, so he made a wooden puppet and dreamed the puppet would sometime become a real boy.

In our last lesson we read about the movie Matilda. We also listened to a recording that seemed a bit difficult for most of the students.

Some new words that we studied are:

bright  (very intelligent)

taught (the past of the verb teach)

grownup ( adult)

worse  (comparative of bad)

far worse ( much, much worse)

What's wrong with...? (What's the matter with, why don't you like...?)


Students had to answer some questions about the listening.


HOMEWORK

1. Remember you need to do the homework you hadn't done last week. Think of a movie you liked and answer the questions:

What kind of movie is it?

Who is in it? or Who starred in it?

Where does it take place?

What is it about? or What happens in it?

How does it end?

What did critics say about it?

2. Write a sentence with each one of the words and expressions above:

Examples:

Matilda taught herself to write when she was 3 years old.

The film is far worse than the movie.

What's wrong with your maths teacher? It's difficult to understand him.

Welcome back!

 And Happy 2015

In our first lesson this term we were learning how to talk about films or movies.

These are the questions we used and must learn:

What kind of movie is it?

Who is in it? or Who starred in it?

Where does it take place?

What is it about? or What happens in it?

How does it end?

What did critics say about it?

We studied the passive voice of verbs.

Why do we use passive voice? When we are more interested in the action itself than in the subject.

How is a passive verb formed?

To be in the right tense + past participle (3rd column) of the verb we want.

Ex: The wall is (Present verb to be) painted (past participle verb to paint) black.

It is not important who painted the wall, only that it is painted.

HOMEWORK

Write passive sentences in  Simple Present:

Active                                           Passive

1. the documents / print 
2. the window / open 
3. the shoes / buy 
4. the car / wash 
5. the litter / throw away 
6. the letter / send 
7. the book / read / not 
8. the songs / sing / not 
9. the food / eat / not 
10. the shop / close / not 

Learn the questions about movies.

Check in the Internet for the movie There is Something About Mary and answer the questions above.