On this page, you will see assignments for the days we are in the computer lab.
Friday March 28th
1. Type a summary of the Doris Duke article we read yesterday. It should be similar to the Hetty Green summary you wrote. It should be about 8 sentences. Try to include all the main points. Try to exclude unnecessary details. When you finish, you should save it and print it.
Watch a video and read more about Doris Duke.
2. Read the handout about summer activities in Middletown. Type 10 regular questions. Some should be wh questions and some should be yes/no questions. Then write 10 embedded questions using the expressions we learned this week such as Can you tel me.... I would like to know..... Do you know.....
3. Submit a response to the question on our blog. Ranju and Linda already responded! You can comment on what they wrote.
Friday March 21st
1. Type a review of the "book" you chose.
2. Read about spring on the EL Civics website.
3. Submit a response on our blog.
4. Check out pictures of the places you learned about yesterday. Use google.com to search for images of the place.
Monday March 17th
Think about a place that you have visited or lived in. It must be a place that you know. It can be anywhere in the world. Write a paragraph or a few paragraphs to describe this place. You should include lots of nouns and quantifiers like we have been practicing. Your goal is to tell your classmates why they should visit this place. Be specific when you write. For example, don't just say there are a lot of museums. Write some examples of specific museums. Describe the landscape. How is the weather? What would I see if was standing on a main street there. You will share this with the class on Tuesday. This should be similar to the resort activity you did in class last week, but this time you are talking about a real place (city or town) to visit.
If you finish that activity you can:
1. Use the reading websites below.
2. Read about St. Patrick's Day on the EL Civics Website and do the crossword puzzle.
Friday March 14th
Today you will check out some websites for practicing reading. Look at all three websites.
News in Levels: This site includes news stories that are written in three different levels. They include audio and video too.
The Times in Plain English: This site has news stories from the New York Times and other newspapers that are easier for language learners to read.
California Distance Learning Project: This is a good site for reading and listening with stories on a variety of useful topics.
Thursday March 6th
Today, you will be in the lab because I have a meeting. I'll be back Friday and we will meet in the classroom.
Today, you should
1. Complete your chapter summaries for each chapter of the Pearl. Print your work when you finish. (pay attention to verb tense)
2. Type a response to the Pearl. A response includes your opinion of the book. You can also answer the question. "Was Kino greedy?" explain your answer. We talked about this in class a lot, but now you can try to write your answer.
3. If you finish the Pearl work, you can type a paragraph about our trip to the Capitol Building on Tuesday. What did we see? What did we learn? What was interesting for you? I will choose a few to post on our website.
If you didn't come to the trip on Tuesday, you can read about the people we met.
Matthew Lesser
Paul Doyle
Pamela Sawyer
Friday February 28th
1. Write a summary of each chapter we have read. Try to include only the most important information from each chapter. Each chapter summary should only be a paragraph- about 10 sentences at the most.
Please read chapter 6 (the ending) by Monday if you can. You can read it today in class or over the weekend. We will discuss it next week.
You can listen to the chapters by clicking the links below.
Chapter 4 part 1
Chapter 4 part 2
Chapter 5 part 1
Chapter 5 part 2
Chapter 6 part 1
Chapter 6 part 2
Chapter 6 part 3
2. On Tuesday we are supposed to go to the Capitol Building. Below you will find a link with information about Connecticut.
ConneCT Kids- Read about Connecticut's government structure and Captiol Building. Please read this before our trip on Tuesday.
The Connecticut Museum of History- We will have a little time to visit this museum after our tour of the Capitol Building.
The Pearl Assignment for February vacation
During February vacation you can read chapters 2 and 3 (up to page 39). Don't read more! You should read the chapters several times and you can listen and read too.
As you read, put a ? next to parts you don't understand.
Put a * next to parts you like.
Mark the words you look up.
Listen to chapter 2
Listen to chapter 3 This is a link to chapter 3 part 1. You have to search for chapter 3 parts 2 and 3.
Here is a link to the text of the Pearl. You can use this if you don't have a book.
Monday February 10th
1. Listen to The Pearl. Listen and read along to the same pages we read in class. Then, make a summary in your own words about what we've read so far. If you are using Google Documents, create a new document and give it a title The Pearl. You should write your summary there and each time we're in the lab, we'll add to it.
2. Do a google search about John Steinbeck. Take some notes about his life.
3. Use the gerund and infinitive handout and make sentences using those verbs + gerund or infinitive. Try to use a variety of verb tenses.
Friday February 7th
Download the list of job interview questions below. Imagine you are applying for a job you would like to have. Type true answers to the questions. You do not need to answer every question. Make sure you write the type of job at the top of the page. Print the paper when you are finished.
Friday March 28th
1. Type a summary of the Doris Duke article we read yesterday. It should be similar to the Hetty Green summary you wrote. It should be about 8 sentences. Try to include all the main points. Try to exclude unnecessary details. When you finish, you should save it and print it.
Watch a video and read more about Doris Duke.
2. Read the handout about summer activities in Middletown. Type 10 regular questions. Some should be wh questions and some should be yes/no questions. Then write 10 embedded questions using the expressions we learned this week such as Can you tel me.... I would like to know..... Do you know.....
3. Submit a response to the question on our blog. Ranju and Linda already responded! You can comment on what they wrote.
Friday March 21st
1. Type a review of the "book" you chose.
2. Read about spring on the EL Civics website.
3. Submit a response on our blog.
4. Check out pictures of the places you learned about yesterday. Use google.com to search for images of the place.
Monday March 17th
Think about a place that you have visited or lived in. It must be a place that you know. It can be anywhere in the world. Write a paragraph or a few paragraphs to describe this place. You should include lots of nouns and quantifiers like we have been practicing. Your goal is to tell your classmates why they should visit this place. Be specific when you write. For example, don't just say there are a lot of museums. Write some examples of specific museums. Describe the landscape. How is the weather? What would I see if was standing on a main street there. You will share this with the class on Tuesday. This should be similar to the resort activity you did in class last week, but this time you are talking about a real place (city or town) to visit.
If you finish that activity you can:
1. Use the reading websites below.
2. Read about St. Patrick's Day on the EL Civics Website and do the crossword puzzle.
Friday March 14th
Today you will check out some websites for practicing reading. Look at all three websites.
News in Levels: This site includes news stories that are written in three different levels. They include audio and video too.
The Times in Plain English: This site has news stories from the New York Times and other newspapers that are easier for language learners to read.
California Distance Learning Project: This is a good site for reading and listening with stories on a variety of useful topics.
Thursday March 6th
Today, you will be in the lab because I have a meeting. I'll be back Friday and we will meet in the classroom.
Today, you should
1. Complete your chapter summaries for each chapter of the Pearl. Print your work when you finish. (pay attention to verb tense)
2. Type a response to the Pearl. A response includes your opinion of the book. You can also answer the question. "Was Kino greedy?" explain your answer. We talked about this in class a lot, but now you can try to write your answer.
3. If you finish the Pearl work, you can type a paragraph about our trip to the Capitol Building on Tuesday. What did we see? What did we learn? What was interesting for you? I will choose a few to post on our website.
If you didn't come to the trip on Tuesday, you can read about the people we met.
Matthew Lesser
Paul Doyle
Pamela Sawyer
Friday February 28th
1. Write a summary of each chapter we have read. Try to include only the most important information from each chapter. Each chapter summary should only be a paragraph- about 10 sentences at the most.
Please read chapter 6 (the ending) by Monday if you can. You can read it today in class or over the weekend. We will discuss it next week.
You can listen to the chapters by clicking the links below.
Chapter 4 part 1
Chapter 4 part 2
Chapter 5 part 1
Chapter 5 part 2
Chapter 6 part 1
Chapter 6 part 2
Chapter 6 part 3
2. On Tuesday we are supposed to go to the Capitol Building. Below you will find a link with information about Connecticut.
ConneCT Kids- Read about Connecticut's government structure and Captiol Building. Please read this before our trip on Tuesday.
The Connecticut Museum of History- We will have a little time to visit this museum after our tour of the Capitol Building.
The Pearl Assignment for February vacation
During February vacation you can read chapters 2 and 3 (up to page 39). Don't read more! You should read the chapters several times and you can listen and read too.
As you read, put a ? next to parts you don't understand.
Put a * next to parts you like.
Mark the words you look up.
Listen to chapter 2
Listen to chapter 3 This is a link to chapter 3 part 1. You have to search for chapter 3 parts 2 and 3.
Here is a link to the text of the Pearl. You can use this if you don't have a book.
Monday February 10th
1. Listen to The Pearl. Listen and read along to the same pages we read in class. Then, make a summary in your own words about what we've read so far. If you are using Google Documents, create a new document and give it a title The Pearl. You should write your summary there and each time we're in the lab, we'll add to it.
2. Do a google search about John Steinbeck. Take some notes about his life.
3. Use the gerund and infinitive handout and make sentences using those verbs + gerund or infinitive. Try to use a variety of verb tenses.
Friday February 7th
Download the list of job interview questions below. Imagine you are applying for a job you would like to have. Type true answers to the questions. You do not need to answer every question. Make sure you write the type of job at the top of the page. Print the paper when you are finished.
job interview questions | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Monday January 27th
You will spend the entire 1.5 hours writing. You can use Word or Google Documents.
Think of a person. It can be a real person or imagined.
Describe this person's current job. You should:
- Introduce the person and include a description of the person's daily job responsibilities. What does he or she do each day?
- How long has the person been working there?
- What did the person do before?
- What skills does this person have?(use the list)
- What adjectives describe this person? (use the list)
- What does this person like and dislike about his or her current job?
- What are the person's future plans.
When you finish, print your story and give it to me.
Friday January 17th
1. Listen to the story about the Maine Friendly Caller program from yesterday. Answer the questions on the handout. Write a summary of the story. Then write a response that includes your opinion. You can check out other stories on this website.
2. Work on your presentation. You should create an outline that clearly shows reasons and details/examples that support your choice. When you have a typed plan, show me.
3. Learn about African American History and Martin Luther King.
Read about Martin Luther King on the EL Civics website.
Then print the crossword puzzle and complete it.
Learn about slavery and the Underground Railroad. In the top right part of the page, click Begin the Journey.
When you finish listening and reading, you can type a summary of what you learned. If you want an extra challenge, you can try the writing assignment.
Friday January 10th
1. Listen to Temple Grandin's TED talk "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds"
First, only listen and then use the interactive transcript to listen and read.
Complete the Listening Log form and bring it to class on Monday.
Then, search for more information about her life and take some notes on the back of your listening log.
2. Grammar Practice:
a. Choose one of the mini conversations we practiced on Wednesday. Type the conversation. Use a variety of verb tenses. If you finish quickly, you can do another one.
Friday December 13th
After you finish the test, here are some things you can do: You can choose any of the following activities to do.
1. Listen to the This I Believe Story. First, listen only a few times. What can you understand? Then, listen and read to check your understanding. Write a short summary of her talk in your notebook. Circle words you don't know on the transcript.
2. Go to http://middletownesl.weebly.com and post a comment to the blog question. Write several sentences. Explain who you are, which class you are in and why you are here. Be specific!
3. Go to www.wtnh.com and try to find the weather forecast for the weekend. Write a summary of the weather in your notebook. Watch the video. Can you find some of the words we learned yesterday?
4. Check out this video from the Trash Museum we visited. www.ctrecyclomatic.org
Friday December 6th
1. Open a google document and type a dialog between a doctor and a patient- just like you practiced yesterday. Choose a situation that requires many questions. You should spend most of the time today writing, so if you do this quickly, you can do more than one dialog. The goal is to practice writing questions, modals and health vocabulary. Try to use some of the new health vocabulary we've learned this week. Share this with me when you are done. You can also do this in MIcrosoft Word and print it.
2. If you have experience using a health resources in this area (a clinic, the community health center, a dentist's office, 211, etc) you can type up some information for me and I will put it on the website.
3. Check out these websites: We will be talking more about these resources, but for now, you can check them out.
Community Health Center of Middletown
Velocity Urgent Care in Rocky Hill
Preferred Care Walk in Clinic
Husky Health Care
United Way of Connecticut 211 Info Line
CVS Minute Clinic
Monday November 25th
1. If you weren't here on Friday, you can do number 1 below.
2. Listen to the This I Believe Story "Rice for Thanksgiving"
Listen only and then read.
Create a new google document. On this document, you will do three things.
a. Type a short summary of the talk. Use the summaries we wrote in class as a model.
b. Make a list of at least 5 new vocabulary words on the same page.
c. Write a response (your reaction/opinion) to the story.
Friday November 22nd
1. Choose several (as many as you have time for) places/things from yesterday's list (good restaurant, place to buy shoes, place to walk in the woods, good TV shows in English, etc.) and write a short review. You should include the name of the place, type of place, what you can do there, its location, a link to its website if you can, and details about why you recommend this place. You should write these all one one document and share it with me. The title should be community places.
2. Go to our blog and add a comment. You should also comment on other people;s comments too.
3. If you want, you can write sentences with the academic word list vocabulary we've been practicing.
Monday November 18th
1. Listen to the TED talk How to Make Stress Your Friend. Answer the questions on the handout. After you listen and try to answer the questions, you can read the transcript. When you finish that, you can use the online dictionary to look up the meaning of some of the bold words.
2. Go to our blog, and post a comment.
3. Do any activities from Friday that you didn't do.
Friday November 15th
1. If you were in class on Wednesday and wrote a vocabulary story, please type it in google docs and share it with me. Make all the vocabulary words bold.
Also, you can practice writing sentences. Choose 5 to 10 verbs and make sentences:
simple present (positive and negative)
simple past (positive and negative)
past continuous
modals ( should, shouldn't, must, have to, must not, don't have to)
2. Read about the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights on the EL Civics website. Do the crossword puzzle about the First Amendment.
3. Go to the CT ESL Weebly website and answer some of the blog posts. Make sure to put you are from Middletown.
4. Choose one TED Talk to listen to. You can listen to How to Make Stress Your Friend. Or, you can listen to Kids Need Structure.
Follow this process:
a. Listen only.
b. Listen and read.
c. Listen and translate.
d. Write down some new words.
e. Write about the talk in your blue book.
The talks are a little long, so you can do it step by step.
Friday November 8th
1. Finish your writing about our trip to the Noah Webster House
2. Read about Veteran's Day on the EL Civics website. Then do the crossword puzzle.
3. If you finish that, I can give you something else to do.
Friday November 1st
1. Choose three of the situations on the handout from yesterday's class. Type the conversation between these two people. Use google docs and share your document with me.
For example:
Alex:
Friend:
Alex:
Friend
Each conversation should have at least 6 lines. If you write quickly, you should do more.
2. Learn about Halloween and Daylight Savings time. Write down new things you learn on the handout.
Halloween
a. Watch this video about the history of Halloween. When you finish, watch some of the other Halloween videos found on that page.
b. Read about Halloween on the EL Civics website.
Daylight Savings Time
a. Daylight Savings Time ends this weekend. Watch this video that provides information about Daylight Savings Time. The speaker speaks quickly, so you may need to watch it several times.
b. Read about Daylight Savings Time on the EL Civics website.
3. Write about the Noah Webster House. We will finish this on Monday. I will assign one of the following topics to you.
a. General information about how to visit the Noah Webster House and what people can do there. Use the website to help you. Make sure you do not just copy information from the website. You need to use your own words.
b. Write about our trip there. What did we do? What did we see and learn?
c. Write a review of the trip. What did you like? What did you think was interesting? This one is more about your opinion.
4. Write a response and then respond to other people's responses on the CTESL blog.
Friday October 25th
Hi Everyone, Today class will only be until 10:30. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. Things will be back to normal on Monday and I will be there bright and early as usual. Here are a few things you can do today.
1. Finish the 2 things from yesterday if you didn't do them yesterday. You can try to write a summary of the TED Talk and share it with me.
2. Read about the 13 Colonies on the EL Civics website.
Answer the questions at the bottom of the page.
Print the crossword puzzle and complete it.
Watch the video about the 13 colonies. Listen to it again and read the transcript. Write down words you don't know. Can you find the past tense? Can you find the passive voice?
3. If you finish all of that and want something else to do, you can search about Noah Webster online. What can you find out?
Thursday October 24th
Hi, if you are reading this, it means I am not there and you are in the computer lab. Here are two things to do.
1. Choose an invention that has changed your life in some way. It can be Skype, email, digital cameras, google, smartphones, e-readers, facebook, amazon, or anything else. Write two paragraphs. The first should be about your life before this invention (past tense). The second should be about your life after this invention (present tense). You can talk about both positive and negative things. Write as much as you can and use some specific examples. Use your mae google account to type in google docs (click on Drive) if you know how to do this. Share the document with me. If not, type in microsoft word, save it to the desktop and print it.
2. Listen to the TED Talk.
Listen to it several times. Then, use the English transcript to read it. After that, if you need to, you can translate it. When you finish, you should take some notes about what you heard.
Monday October 21st
1. Fill in the blanks with the correct past tense form. Check your answers at the end.
Friday October 18th
1. Create a dialog alone or with a partner using the past tense. It should be similar to the one I gave you in class.
2. Use your new email address to send me an email. Tell me what you did yesterday after class. Try to use 10 past tense verbs.
3. Go to the blog and read the comments about New England. Respond to the comment I wrote to you.
Friday October 11th
1. Type a summary for "My English" using the frame on the handout.
2. Read about Christopher Columbus on the EL Civics webpage.
3. Print the crossword puzzle and complete it.
4. Watch a History Channel video about Columbus.
Tuesday October 1st
1. Work on your state project. Begin to type information in a simple way.
2. Go to the CT ESL website and post a comment on the blog.
Friday September 20th
Check out the website for Google Glass
Find information about CT. Use the state websites on the links page.
Population
Interesting Facts (state flower, nickname, major crops or products, state animal)
History (when did it become a state?)
Capitol
Places to Visit/Major Attractions
Monday September 16th
If you finish your test, you can do some writing practice. Open a Microsoft Word document or use your notebook. Write about the school system in your native country. For example, do students wear uniforms? Do they call the teacher by the first name? How many years do they study in elementary school? Is there recess? Do they eat at school or at home?
OR
Practice typing on the typing website in the links section.
Friday September 13th
1. Practice the Simple Present using these websites. As you look at the examples, identify the subjects and verbs in the sentences. Write some of the examples in your notebook, especially if you get the question wrong.
Choose the correct verb form
Choose the correct negative verb form
One more to practice sentences and questions
2.Open a Microsoft Word Document. Type your name and today's date at the top of the document.
Type at least 20 different questions that you can ask a classmate. The questions should be about your classmate's life and their native country.
Write some questions with who,what, when, where, why, how and some yes/no questions with are,is, do, does. Try to think of some unusual questions. The questions should only be present tense and they should be specific. Leave a space between each question.
For example:
Do you drink coffee every morning?
What is your favorite place to buy clothes?
Is it cold in your native country in January?
When you finish, I will check them on your computer, and then you can print your paper.
Monday September 9th
If you were not here on Friday, you can start by dong the activities listed for Friday September 6th.
If you already did those activities, you can listen to the TED talk Try Something New for 30 Days
Watch and listen first. Then, use the interactive transcript to listen and read.
Then, you can translate it to see if you understood.
When you finish, write in your journal (the blue book) a summary of what you saw and your opinion of it.
Friday September 6th
1.Go to the Blog and post a response to today's question. After you post your response, read your classmates' responses and comment on them.
2. Practice the Verb to Be on these websites.
Verb to be practice
Verb to be practice 2
Read about the uses of the verb to be
3. Go to the Russell Library website. This is Middletown's public library.
Read the information on this page. In your notebook, write at least 6 questions with the verb to be. Then write the answers.
Use who, what, when, where and yes/no questions.