2017.03.01 - Class 18

Specific details can be memorable!

Stories

Writing part 2 from last week

We talked about the stories you wrote last week, which were really good.

I reminded you that it's important to use the narrative tenses well, to use specific and more advanced vocabulary, and, perhaps most of all, to write a story with a satisfying ending that makes sense within the narrative, i.e. that gives some sense of resolution. It's also of course essential include the required details -- in this case, an address and a surprise.

If you don't have a creative idea for the story prompt that they give you on the exam, then you might just want to do a different kind of writing.

Short story from homework ('Sleeping')

We then turned to the story you had for homework. I asked you to read it again right then in class. After you read it again, I asked you to search through the first two paragraphs for vocabulary that you thought might be important to learn.

Choosing vocabulary to study is a difficult thing to learn and so we'll be working on in class over the rest of our time together this year. 

Here's some vocabulary that I chose from the first two paragraphs. Some of it you already understand, but this doesn't mean that you recall it and use it. In class, you copied these items into your notebooks and underlined them in the text. Note that many of them are phrases or combinations of words - at the level of the First, it's important to remember words together. 

1	change a diaper
2	in fact
3	be out at (the movies)
4	sound sleeper
5	no need (for someone to do something)
6	have a bottle
7	the door squeaked
8	a brief moment
9	when she was about six
10	bestowed on her (the tight little bundle)
11	her arms began to ache from the tension
12	by the time (something happened)

I then asked you to do the following exercise.

Fill in the gaps in the sentences below with vocabulary from the first two paragraphs of the story. Sometimes you need to use more than one word.

1. By __ Luca finished my homework, it was too late to do anything but go to bed.
2. For __ moment, Fernando had no idea where he was. Then he recognized his bedroom and realized he’d had a nightmare.
3. There was no __ you to bring your textbooks to class today - we’re having an exam. __, you don’t need them next week either.
4. One of the first things new parents must learn to do is to __ a diaper.
5. Jordi’s baby sister was __ asleep - not even the squeak of the __ woke her.
6. When I __ eight, we moved from Virginia to Vermont.
7. By the time he got to km 35 of the marathon, Carles’ legs __ from the effort of running.
8. Next week the director of the school will be __ on Mònica an award.
9. Judit’s baby brother was __ a bottle when she got home from school.
10. Marc was out __ on Saturday. I know because I saw him there.

Course book Unit 8 - Food

We worked through various pages and exercises in the coursebook in Unit 8, with a focus on Vocabulary, Grammar and Speaking:

1. p.93 ex 2 and 3
2. p.96 Vocab ex 1-3 - here's a Quizlet list of this vocab for you to study
3. p.97 ex 5

We then watched Chef Jamie Oliver show a group of young kids how to make chicken nuggets. Will you go home and make some?



We ended by doing the speaking exercises on p.98 (preparation for Speaking parts 3 and 4).

Vocabulary sets to study

1. Sleeping
2. Unit 8 Food
3. Jamie Oliver TED Talk vocab

Homework

1. Write 5 sentences using the vocabulary from Sleeping above. Your sentences should be similar to the ones in the exercise above. Write them on a sheet of paper that you can hand in (i.e. not in your notebook).
2. Work through this Quizlet list at least once, which will prepare you for the TED talk below.
3. Watch this TED talk by Jamie Oliver. Use English subtitles if you need them.
4. Study the vocabulary above (Vocabulary sets to study)