Additional Activities: September 28th-October 9th

1. Click on the BBC Learning link below. It will directly take you to the Vocabulary Reference Section.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/english/course/lower-intermediate/unit-1/tab/vocabulary

• There notice the different ways in which you can say "Hello", Words from Unit 1.
• Learn the general vocabulary for Unit 1.
• Read Six Minute Vocabulary Unit 1: Suffixes. Find some examples using dictionaries online and write at least three examples per suffix.

2. Click on the link  Learning English below, and read the explanations provided in the section Tenses for the simple past and past continuous.

http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/

• Check the grammar section in Waylink-English for simple past and past progressive.

http://www.waylink-english.co.uk

• Check the Verb Tenses section in the English Page for simple past and past progressive and do the activities.

http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

3. Cick on the link for 5 Minute Biographies:

http://www.5minutebiographies.com/

• You have to listen and read two biographies: Alexander Fleming and Michael Faraday. Make sure you read and listen to them at least 4 times.
• Print the texts and underline the words you do not know.
• Choose 25 words you think will be useful or are related to your field of study.
• Write 5 questions and their answers for each text. Check your grammar and spelling (Review BBC Learning: Unit 1, Session 2).

4. Listen to Ted Talks: Arianna Huffington's "The Power of Sleep," and answer the questions. Please, listen to it and read the captions several times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6EdRPMUqJM

- How does Ms. Huffington discover the importance of sleep?
- Why does she say women are going to lead change?
- Why men brag about sleep deprivation?
- How does she describe a leader?
- What will be the outcome of sleeping well?

Additional Activities from September 7th to September 18th

A. From BBC Learning English

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/

• Click on Courses, then Lower Intermediate.

Do sessions 4 'Dear Sir' or 'Hey, folks'? (4 activities)  and 5 'The Race' and a Quiz (5 activities). You may print them or write them down in your notebook

B. From English Page

http://www.englishpage.com

• Click on the Grammar Book → Verb Tenses → Do Exercises 1 & 2 Simple Present and Present Continuous
• Click on the Listening Lounge → BBC Online Radio 4 →  You can listen to one audio from Highlights: 'Natural Histories: Bears' (How bears have influenced art, literature, and belief), 'Ask Stephen Hawking,' or 'Book of the Week: Maggie Smith: A Biography'. Listen to the selected audio as many times as necessary, so that you identify key words and ideas and possibly provide important ideas from the listening. Write them down in your notebook
• Click on the Reading Room → Choose an article from The Economist, Newsweek, Popular Science, or Scientific American. Copy the text and paste it in a Word Document. Save it in your computer. Read the chosen article several times.

Happy Holidays!

The homework is due on September 18th, 2015.

Welcome Back!

Dear Six Graders,

Welcome back to school!

This year you will be working on reading skills and vocabulary learning strategies.

In case you are feeling a little insecure about your English, you can improve it.

The following links will help you with your grammar.

Grammar sites:

- Learning English BBC

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/

- English Page.com (lessons, grammar, reading room, listening lounge, etc.)http://www.englishpage.com

- Learn English Guide (vocabulary, grammar, chat, fun, network)http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar

- Waylink English  with mp3 audio pronunciation http://www.waylink-english.co.uk

    

Dictionaries in English

Oxford Learner’s Dictionary       http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/

Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/learner-english/

Merriam-Webster Learner’s Dictionary  http://www.learnersdictionary.com

Merriam-Webster: http://www.merriam-webster.com

It is a good idea to read newspaper articles at least once a week and to listen to podcasts.

Dear students,

For those of you who found Chris De Bourgh's interview extremely difficult, you can listen to a podcast and read the transcript in the following address:

http://www.listen-to-english.com

Remember to listen to the podcast at least three times, you may read along the transcript. Then, underline the key words which may lead you to the main ideas of the text. Finally, write five questions that can be answered by reading or listening to the text.

Dear Students,

Since we haven't had the opportunity to see much of each other, you have to take the time to do the following activities:

1. Listen to the podcast 02 November 2014 Chris de Burgh. You may have to listen to the interview several times and then write down in your notebook the answers to the following questions:

a. When was Chris de Burgh introduced to music?
b. What do Clare Balding and Chris de Burgh say about the healing power of music?
c. Do you think Chris de Burgh could be considered an environmentalist?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/gms

2. Choose two newspaper articles from any of these newspapers:

The Washington Post  http://www.washingtonpost.com/

The New York Times  http://www.washingtonpost.com/

The Guardian   http://www.theguardian.com/uk

NOTICE: Remember the articles must be related to any subject, except sports or entertainment.

a. Preview the text. Don't forget to follow the guidelines provided in your text, p. 120, and to write down the information in your notebook.

b.Choose the vocabulary (words and phrases) you want to learn (20 words or phrases). Follow the guidelines we talked about (page 45). Once the words have been chosen, you have to do both the strategies we learned at the beginning of the course and the ones suggested in the book in your notebook.
For example, you chose several words (20) from your texts: deride, notice, etc.
- Look them up in the dictionary and write the information in your notebook:

 notice /ˈnəʊtɪs/ noun

1. an announcement or intimation of something impeding; warning: "a day's notice".
2. a note, placard, or the like conveying information or a warning:

"to post a notice about the fire laws".

3. information or warning of something, especially for wide attention: "to give notice

of one's departure".

 

Synonyms: sign, poster, advice, news, notification, announcement

 

 

notice /ˈnəʊtɪs/ verb (used with object), noticed, noticing.

9. to pay attention to or take notice of: "Did you notice her hat?"

10. to perceive; become aware of: "Did you notice the anger in his voice?"

"Did you notice the anger in his voice?"

11.to acknowledge acquaintance with: "She noticed him merely with a nod."

 

Synonyms: note, comment, mention, remark

Random House Dictionary

 

Once you have all the information, follow the steps to learn new vocabulary. For the letter soup or criss-cross, use Discovery Education http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/

 

Next Friday the new activities will be posted.

Digital Citizenship

1. Watch the video “Internet Danger: Everyone Knows Sarah.”

http://youtu.be/ThxmgXMBpoM

What situation is presented?

What do you think happened?

2. Watch the video Digital Footprint: What Digital Footprint are you Leaving Online?

http://youtu.be/4P_gj3oRn8s

What is a Digital Footprint?

Why is your Digital Footprint relevant according to the video?

3. Watch the video “Digital Citizenship” http://youtu.be/oCkTmZ0bF5Q  as many times as necessary, and answer the following questions:

What is Digital Citizenship?

Why is Digital Citizenship important?

What are the main features of Digital Citizenship?

English VI Syllabus

In case, you did not attend the session where a photocopy of the syllabus was handed out, here you can get a PDF of the full version.