Tuesday, July 7

-Ex. 2, p. 163
-Ex. 3, p. 164
-Phrasal Verb Journal: Create a section in your notebook specifically for phrasal verbs. Tonight you should add 10 phrasal verbs to this section. Include:
1) the phrasal verb
2) the meaning* (If there is more than one meaning, you may want to write them too).
3) an example sentence

Example:

• look ahead: to think about what will happen in the future. We need to look ahead and plan for next year. (From The Longman Dictionary of American English).

Portfolio Assignment (Due Monday)

-Interview at least one American/person who has lived in the US for many years about the 4th of July.
-You should not research the holiday online or in books, magazines, etc. I want you only to talk to people. You can ask them about the history of the holiday, traditions (both general American traditions and their own personal traditions), plans, etc...
-On Monday you will share what you learned with the class, using direct & indirect speech.

*Be ready to write in class on Monday :)

Have a great weekend!

Link to Seattle Gasworks Park website, where the fireworks/Seattle's celebration will take place on Saturday.

Wednesday, July 1

-Read p. 382-383 in your grammar book.
-Ex. 1, p. 383
-Ex. 2, p. 385
-Reading handout, 1-3

Tuesday, June 30

-Ex. 3, p. 373
-Ex. 4, p. 374
-Vocabulary: Choose 5 of your vocabulary words. Write one question for each word. Write this on paper that you can give to me.

Pictures from the Obstacles Activity

Wednesday, June 24

-Ex. 2, p. 95
-Ex. 3, p. 95-96
-Vocab: Write 1-2 paragraphs using at least 5 of your vocabulary words. Please write this on paper that you can give to me.

Thursday, June 4

-Ex. 2, p. 353
-Ex. 3, p. 354
-Ex. 4, p. 355
-Study vocab for quiz tomorrow.
-Get a vocab notebook (show me tomorrow or show Mark on Monday; I'll check it again after my 2-week vacation to see that you have been adding words)!

Wednesday, June 3

-Ex. 3, p. 343
-Ex. 4, p. 343-344
-Vocabulary worksheet

Tuesday, June 2

-Read Grammar Notes p. 339-340
-Ex. 1, p. 341
-Vocab: Choose 5 of your vocabulary words from this week's list. Write one question with each word. Example: Irritable. "When are you most irritable?"

Wednesday, May 27

-In the grammar packet, complete 16-25 on the second page ("p. 299)
-In your grammar book, Ex. 3, p. 131
-Vocabulary: For each of your 10 words: define, write a sentence example, and find an antonym (word/phrase with the opposite meaning)

Thursday, May 21

-Finish passive practice from the handout we started in class.
-Review vocab words.
*We'll have a short grammar quiz during the first half of class tomorrow!

Wednesday, May 20

-Ex. 4, p. 276
-Ex. 6, p. 278
-Like last night, find a current news article that is interesting to you. Be prepared to share the who, what, when, where, and why of the article in class tomorrow.

Tuesday, May 19

-Read p. 270-271 in your grammar book; answer 'After you Read' on p. 271
-Bring in a current news article that is interesting to you. Be prepared to share the who/what/when/where/why of the article in class tomorrow.

Portfolio Assignment (Due Monday)

Use your imagination. Pretend the class is made up of CEOs from a variety of technology companies (Sony, Samsung, Microsoft, Apple, etc.). You have invented a new technological product and are pitching it to us. Describe how your product will change the world. Sell it to us and make us want to produce it. Use the future, future progressive, future perfect, and future perfect progressive to describe it to us.

On Monday you will 'pitch' your product to us. You may work with a partner of this assignment, or you may work alone.

Thursday, May 14

-Ex. 2, p. 58.
-Study vocabulary- quiz tomorrow.
-Paraphrase the paragraph from the article about Bill Gates' house. We'll use these in class tomorrow.

Wednesday, May 13

-In Grammar book, complete 'Review Test' parts I and II (p. 46-48).
-Write: Describe your dream house. Where is it? How big (or how small) is it? What kinds of technology are in it? Etc...

Tuesday, May 12

-Vocabulary packet
-Read p. 28-29; answer 'After you Read,' p. 29
-Ex. 7, p. 38

Tuesday, May 5

-Read p. 9-13 in your grammar book.
-Ex. 1-3, p. 13-15.

Wednesday, April 29

-Using the handout from class as a guide, write a strong persuasive paragraph supporting your side of the debate topic: When considering a new job, money is the most important factor, or, when considering a new job, money is not the most important factor.
-Be prepared to present your viewpoints in class tomorrow (like a mini-portfolio presentation).

*Not homework, but if you're interested:
-Interesting article/discussion (in the comments below the article) related to our debate topic.

Tuesday, April 28

-Ex. 2, p. 163
-Ex. 3, p. 164-165
-Research your side of the debate topic: 'When considering a job, money is the most important factor." See if you can find any statistics, stories, or examples to support your side (agree or disagree). If you can think of a personal story or a friend's story, that's great too!

Portfolio Assignment (Due Monday)

Unit 7 Portfolio: Opinion Essay

-Write an opinion essay supporting or opposing one of the following topics:
1. Intelligence can be accurately measured.
2. Each person is born with a certain amount of intelligence.
3. Scientists and mathematicians are more intelligent that artists and writers.
4. Very intelligent people do not have good “people skills” and are not good at relating to others.
5. Emotions do not help us think logically.
6. People who get good grades in school will also do well in their careers.

-Choose one of the topics and clearly agree or disagree (you cannot agree and disagree, you must choose one side)!
-Write an essay with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion.
-Include opinions from the other side of the argument and explain why they are not valid.
-Include one example of direct (quoted) speech and one example of indirect (reported) speech.
-On Monday you will present your opinion to the class (using a note card, not reading your essay).

Wednesday, April 22

-Ex. 3, p. 373
-Ex. 4, p. 374
-Write a well-constructed paragraph (clear topic sentence, clear concluding sentence) using five (or more) of your vocabulary words.

*Thanks Karam for pointing out that the page numbers were missing! (Again, whoops)!

Tuesday, April 21

-Complete the grammar exercises on the handouts from class. (Quoted/Direct & Reported/Indirect speech).
-Read the information on p. 370-371 in your textbook.

Portfolio Assignments (choose 1)

Option #1
-Choose a philanthropy that interests you.
1) Research the philanthropy:
Potential Questions:
-Who started this organization?
-What is its goal/purpose?
-How does it work?
-etc...

2) How can we get involved?
Potential Questions
-Does this organization exist in Seattle?
-What does it do in Seattle?
-Who should you contact if you want to get involved? (Or, where should you go)?

3) Why is the purpose/mission of this organization important?
-This section should be your opinion/personal belief.
-Explain to us/convince us that this organization and its goals are important!

*Please write a well-organized report on this information. On Monday, you'll present what you found to your classmates, using one note card.


Option #2
-Participate in the "One Day Without Shoes" walk.

*Thanks to Karam for the picture!

-Write a reflection essay about your experience.

Potential Questions:
-Describe the event: who participated, where did it take place, what happened?
-How did it make you feel?
-What thoughts/feelings did you have while walking?
-How did bystanders (people who were not involved but saw you) react?
-What did you learn from the experience?
-Would you do this again? Why or why not?
-Would you encourage a friend to participate? Why or why not?

*On Monday, you will share your experience with the class, using one note card.

Thursday, April 16

-Ex. 6, p. 98 (editing).
-Study vocab (quiz tomorrow).
-Watch Sarah McLachlan's music video World on Fire:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzoNInZ2ClQ

• Create a chart/table/outline showing what $150,000 could have bought and what $150,000 did buy.
  
• In your opinion, what is the main idea of this video? (What was her purpose; what is she trying to say)?
  

Wednesday, April 15

-Ex. 4, p. 96
-Ex. 5, p. 97
-Visit the website below and watch the short video. Find answers to the following questions: What event is happening tomorrow (April 16)? What is it's purpose? What are the 5 Facts presented in the video?
http://tomsshoes.phpwebhosting.com/oneday/

Also, just for your information if you're curious, here are the links to the organization websites that your classmates presented about today:
-Invisible Children
-Make-A-Wish
-H20 Africa
-Relay for Life
-826 Seattle
-Save the Children
-Our World is Not For Sale
-Citizens for Adequate Housing

Tuesday, April 14

-Research the philanthropic organization you were assigned in class. Bring in some information explaining who the organization is and what they do.
-Ex. 3 in the grammar book (Unit 7).

Portfolio Assignment (Due Monday)

‘The Green Report’

-Choose a city.

-Do some research to discover how ‘green’ the city is right now. You might want to search for things related to:
-availability/popularity of organic foods
-efficiency of public transportation; availability of bike, pedestrian paths
-sustainable architecture
-green areas like parks, etc…
-and so on…

-Write a 4 or 5 paragraph essay:
1) Introduction
2) Green report (based on your research)*
3) Green suggestions (your opinion: what are the next things the city could do to improve their eco-friendliness?*
4) Conclusion.

-*You may need to write part 2 or part 3 as more than one paragraph!
-Remember, paragraphs should have a clear topic sentence!

-On Monday you will share your findings and your suggestions with the class… you can use the note card provided, but you’ll give me your essay before you speak!

Thursday, April 9

-Ex. 3, p. 244-245
-Ex. 4, p. 246
-Study vocab (quiz tomorrow).

-Happy Birthday Tomo!

Wednesday, April 8

-Ex. 1, p. 243
-Ex. 2, p. 243-244
-Find example sentences of five or your vocabulary words. Find the sentences in magazines, posters, or by searching online. Bring your five sentences to class tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 7

-Read p. 239-240; ‘After You Read,’ on p. 241
-Vocab (define in your own words)

Portfolio Assignment (Due Monday)

Writing a Descriptive Essay

Using a picture from a newspaper or magazine for inspiration, write a descriptive essay describing the imaginary events happening in the time before, during, and/or after the picture was taken. Use adjectives and adjective clauses throughout the essay.

On Monday, bring your essay and your picture to class. Don’t forget to write your essay on two sheets of paper (not front and back of one page) if it is more than one page long!

Thursday, April 2

-Review vocab for quiz tomorrow.
-Write 1-2 descriptive paragraphs using adjective clauses about what you saw at the museum today.
-Ex. 3, p. 213-214.

Wednesday, April 1

-Ex. 3, p. 198
-Ex. 4, p. 199
-Bring in a picture from a magazine, newspaper, the Internet etc. (This can be a picture of anything, but it shouldn't be a picture of you and your friends. Also, pictures with no people or with more than one person are preferred)!

Tuesday, March 31

-Vocabulary (look up and define in your own words).
-Read p. 190-191; answer "After You Read" on p. 191.
-Ex. 2, p. 197.

Monday, March 30

Whoops, I'm sorry that I didn't update this blog last week... there should be daily posts again this week!

Tonight's homework: Write a well-constructed paragraph with supporting sentences for the topic sentence that you wrote in class. Your paragraph should give examples that support your topic sentence.

See you tomorrow!

Wednesday, March 25

-Ex. 2, p. 342
-Ex. 3, p. 343
-Write: What would you change about a) Seattle, b) yourself, and c) the world if you could change one thing about each. Why? Elaborate.

Wednesday, March 18

-Gerunds & Infinitives practice: Ex. 3, p. 131; Ex. 4, p. 132.
-Write: Write a paragraph or two using five of this week's vocabulary words.

Tuesday, March 17

-Vocabulary: Define in your own words.
-Read the handout about using gerunds and infinitives.
-Ex. 2 in the grammar book, p. 130.

Unit 1 Portfolio

Write a fictional news article.

Your article should have an interesting headline and should answer:

-Who -Where
-What -Why
-When

Use both the active voice and the passive voice; your article should be around one page long.

(Due Monday).

Wednesday, March 11

-Ex. 4, p. 276
-Ex. 5, p. 277-278
-Write short answers to the following two questions; include some of your vocabulary words:
What is good journalism? Explain.
Do you think the news is necessary? Why or why not?

Tuesday, March 10

-Complete Ex. 1 on p. 274 (8-15).
Change each sentence from passive to active or active to passive, if possible.
-Ex. 2, p. 274
-Vocabulary: Look up and define each word using your own words (as if you were explaining the word to a friend).

Unit 10 Portfolio

Write 1 page answering the following question:

Imagine you have to eliminate five technological devices from your life. What would they be? What, if anything, would you replace them with? How would your life be different without them?

(Due Monday).

Thursday, March 5

-Read, "Inside the House" and answer questions 1-3 "Reading for Main Ideas."
-Write a short paragraph describing your dream house.
-Grammar, Ex. 5 on p. 62 ("Editing').

*The vocabulary quiz will be on Monday, not tomorrow!

Wednesday, March 4, 2009.

1) Read the Grammar Notes on p. 57 of your grammar book.
2) Complete Ex. 4 on p. 60 and Ex. 5 on p. 61.
3) Write 3-5 sentences to answer the following questions:

• What are some places you have access to? What are some places you don't have access to?
• Have you ever tried to conceal something from someone important to you? Were you successful?
• What prompted you to come to Seattle and to Kaplan?