Sunday, June 24, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Review Class
Dear Stdents,
Just a quick note to inform we have postponed the tests. On Monday we'll have a review class.
See you then!
Just a quick note to inform we have postponed the tests. On Monday we'll have a review class.
See you then!
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Phrasal Verbs
Last class was dedicated to phrasal verbs. Here is the link to the presentation we used to brainstorm the topic.
http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/562050/Top-Flex-4--unit-11--phrasal-verbs?pk=6742-fd96-45c3-4e67-d5e7-907e-69ee-9bb2
Look up the meaning of egregious in the dictionary!
http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/562050/Top-Flex-4--unit-11--phrasal-verbs?pk=6742-fd96-45c3-4e67-d5e7-907e-69ee-9bb2
Look up the meaning of egregious in the dictionary!
Monday, June 4, 2012
Speech Class
Last class was a special day for students to share the books and articles they had read. Everyone was excited about the activity and they all did a great job. To wrap up the class, Emerson went to the center of the class to tell the group about the wonderful book he had read:
Congratulations to everyone!
Congratulations to everyone!Special congrats to Emerson, who was brave enough to stand up and share the story with the whole group!
Monday, May 28, 2012
What if ...? Second Conditional
Dear Students,
Last week we worked on the scond conditional. Take a look at these sentences:
If I had a lot of money and time, I would travel around the world.
past would + verb
If a stranger gave me $1 million, I would travel the world.
Both situations are not real ( I don't have a lot of money or time and no stranger gave me all that money!). So to talk about unreal situations like these ones, we use the following structure:
If + subject + verb in the past ..., subject + would + verb
If Mary found my book, she would give it to me.
Last week we worked on the scond conditional. Take a look at these sentences:
If I had a lot of money and time, I would travel around the world.
past would + verb
If a stranger gave me $1 million, I would travel the world.
Both situations are not real ( I don't have a lot of money or time and no stranger gave me all that money!). So to talk about unreal situations like these ones, we use the following structure:
If + subject + verb in the past ..., subject + would + verb
If Mary found my book, she would give it to me.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Discoveries x Inventions
Last class we talked about discoveries and inventions. Everyone agreed that the internet is one of the very best inventions in all times. We worked on two brief readings about the discovery of DNA and the invention of Google. The discussion will go on next class.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Active and Passive
The last classes were dedicated to the study of the passive voice.
How is the passive voice formed?
Verb To Be + Past participle of the main verb
Present
Active voice: They speak French in Belgium.
Passive voice: French is spoken in Belgium.
To be + past part.
Past
Active voice: Someone broke the window last night.
Passive voice: The window was broken last night.
Present Perfect
Active voice: They have built a new church.
Passive voice: A new church has been built.
Future
Active voice: They will produce ten thousand cars next year.
Passive voice: Ten thousand cars will be produced next year.
Think about the use of the passive voice. When is it normally used? Why?
How is the passive voice formed?
Verb To Be + Past participle of the main verb
Present
Active voice: They speak French in Belgium.
Passive voice: French is spoken in Belgium.
To be + past part.
Past
Active voice: Someone broke the window last night.
Passive voice: The window was broken last night.
Present Perfect
Active voice: They have built a new church.
Passive voice: A new church has been built.
Future
Active voice: They will produce ten thousand cars next year.
Passive voice: Ten thousand cars will be produced next year.
Think about the use of the passive voice. When is it normally used? Why?
Thursday, April 26, 2012
We need your participation!
Hello, everyone!!!
Let's try to revive this blog! A blog is useless if it is not fed and read, so let's do something about it.
We are now in Top Flex 4 and time is just flying.
The first unit of Top Flex 4 deals with the Passive Voice. We finished the class with a talk about the invention of paper. Now you have to complete the text with the correct verb forms (page 76).
Don't forget to do the workbook exercises!
Enjoy the holiday! No class on Monday!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
First Conditional & Time Clauses
Dear Students,
Here is the presentation we worked on last class. Have fun!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Here is the presentation we worked on last class. Have fun!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Top Flex 3 Unit 9 - Time Clauses
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View more presentations or Upload your own.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Congratulations!
Dear class,
I'd like you to know that I was very proud of your performance in the speech class. It was great to see your engagement in this project as you shared your stories with your classmates. Congratulations! Now it is time to get a new book in the resource center to start preparing for the next speech class. Go for it!!! Do your best!
I was also happy to see your participation in the role-play between Evie and her poor dad. I specially liked Geivis and Cristina's solution to problem. It was a good idea to convince the father to move to New York!
Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to check your workbook. Feed your brain with motivating English exercises!
Did you know that studying a foreign language is great exercise for the brain?? It even reduces the chances one has to develop Alzeimer!! That is really true according to medical studies!!!
Don't forget to finish the letter activity on page 105!
I'd like you to know that I was very proud of your performance in the speech class. It was great to see your engagement in this project as you shared your stories with your classmates. Congratulations! Now it is time to get a new book in the resource center to start preparing for the next speech class. Go for it!!! Do your best!
I was also happy to see your participation in the role-play between Evie and her poor dad. I specially liked Geivis and Cristina's solution to problem. It was a good idea to convince the father to move to New York!
Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to check your workbook. Feed your brain with motivating English exercises!
Did you know that studying a foreign language is great exercise for the brain?? It even reduces the chances one has to develop Alzeimer!! That is really true according to medical studies!!!
Don't forget to finish the letter activity on page 105!
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Speech Class - MARCH 12
Are you ready for our first speech class tomorrow? You will have 2 minutes to present your book or article orally.You can take notes to use as reference, but you won't be allowed to read through them.
Procedures of the Speech class:
- Students sit in groups of 3 or 4.
- They choose who is going to be 1, 2, etc. in each group.
- When tHe teacher says: "Start", number 1 from each group starts speaking to their small group. After two minutes, the teacher says, "Stop". Everybody has to stop talking, even if he or she is in the middle of a sentence.
- The teacher repeats "Start" and "Stop" until all the students have spoken.
- After you are all finished, each group chooses one student to present the book or article to the whole class, with no time limit.
To enrich your presentation, you may use pictures. To feel better prepared, you can practice at home. Have you tried talking about your book for two minutes? Go for it!Set your timer and start talking!
I am looking forward to your presentations tomorrow! Good luck!
Procedures of the Speech class:
- Students sit in groups of 3 or 4.
- They choose who is going to be 1, 2, etc. in each group.
- When tHe teacher says: "Start", number 1 from each group starts speaking to their small group. After two minutes, the teacher says, "Stop". Everybody has to stop talking, even if he or she is in the middle of a sentence.
- The teacher repeats "Start" and "Stop" until all the students have spoken.
- After you are all finished, each group chooses one student to present the book or article to the whole class, with no time limit.
To enrich your presentation, you may use pictures. To feel better prepared, you can practice at home. Have you tried talking about your book for two minutes? Go for it!Set your timer and start talking!
I am looking forward to your presentations tomorrow! Good luck!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Unit 8 - Dos and don'ts
Last class we started unit 8, which deals with modal verbs (HAVE TO, SHOULD AND MUST. We talked about things we have to do and things we don't have to do at work. We reviewed vocabulary related to professions and discussed our obligations at work.
So don't forget: To talk about obligations, we use HAVE TO.
EX: Teachers have to assign homework.
Vets have to be patient.
My son has to wake up at 6 o'clock.
I had to study very hard last week.
So don't forget: To talk about obligations, we use HAVE TO.
EX: Teachers have to assign homework.
Vets have to be patient.
My son has to wake up at 6 o'clock.
I had to study very hard last week.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
End of Unit 7
Last class was dedicated to "word endings" and pronunciation. We covered page 56 and part of page 57.
Don't forget that to sound polite in English, don't just answer "Yes" or "No". Use short answers. And it is also good to add more information
If you just say, "Yes", it's not the same, right?
Homework: extra exercises 7D and 7E.
Here are the links to the exercises:
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=17fj_qAhEzUs8sSSpuAP5X4TjFD1Lazq6egtDPNQfF_E
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1jr9CEfshG_BXaQnCIgvVowB5di9v-QeIrKJfDrmTsFA
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Don't forget that to sound polite in English, don't just answer "Yes" or "No". Use short answers. And it is also good to add more information
If you just say, "Yes", it's not the same, right?
Homework: extra exercises 7D and 7E.
Here are the links to the exercises:
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=17fj_qAhEzUs8sSSpuAP5X4TjFD1Lazq6egtDPNQfF_E
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1jr9CEfshG_BXaQnCIgvVowB5di9v-QeIrKJfDrmTsFA
I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Looking forward to meeting you
Dear Students,
How was your holiday? Did you enjoy Carnival? Did you see the Samba schools? I thought unidos da Ticuca was fabulous, but I was so sad Mangueira was in the 7th position. I thought that was unfair. I was in Mangueira twice, so it is the school of my heart. And what about that confusion in São Paulo? Horrible, right?
What about you English? Did you have a chance to practice it over the holiday? Maybe you read a book or saw a movie? Did you remember to do some workbook exercises?
I'll see you tomorrow! Sleep tight and don't let the bad bugs bite!
How was your holiday? Did you enjoy Carnival? Did you see the Samba schools? I thought unidos da Ticuca was fabulous, but I was so sad Mangueira was in the 7th position. I thought that was unfair. I was in Mangueira twice, so it is the school of my heart. And what about that confusion in São Paulo? Horrible, right?
What about you English? Did you have a chance to practice it over the holiday? Maybe you read a book or saw a movie? Did you remember to do some workbook exercises?
I'll see you tomorrow! Sleep tight and don't let the bad bugs bite!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Have you ever..?
On Monday we continued working on the Present Perfect Tense and we practiced asking,
"Have you ever ...?" questions.
We use this type of question when we want to know if someone has ever done something at least once in life. So, I'd like you to answer these questions:
Have you ever eaten horse meat?
Have you ever been on television?
Have you ever gotten a very strange gift?
If your answer is affirmative, please tell us about your experience. When was that? Where? Why?
Don't forget to do your workbook exercises! See you tomorrow!
"Have you ever ...?" questions.
We use this type of question when we want to know if someone has ever done something at least once in life. So, I'd like you to answer these questions:
Have you ever eaten horse meat?
Have you ever been on television?
Have you ever gotten a very strange gift?
If your answer is affirmative, please tell us about your experience. When was that? Where? Why?
Don't forget to do your workbook exercises! See you tomorrow!
Happy Valentine's Day!!
February 14 th is a very special day in the USA. It's a time to celebrate our love for everyone, not just our boyfriend or girlfriend. Friends exchange cards and small gifts to celebrate their love and friendship.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Working on the Present Perfect
Last class we did some exercises from pages 51 and 52. Now everyone should be confident about the use of the prepositions FOR and SINCE. Check the examples:
- I have known my Top 3 Flex students for three weeks. (Period of time)
- We have been in class for one hour.(Period of time)
- We have been in class since 6:45 PM. (the moment, hour, day, month the "action" started.)
We use present perfect in various situations, one of which is to TALK ABOUT EVENTS THAT STARTED IN THE PAST AND ARE STILL GOING ON:
- Edson has lived in Brasilia since 1990. He has lived here for 12 years.
- Sheila has been a student in Thomas Jefferson for three weeks. She is new at school.
We also use the Present Perfect Tense to TALK ABOUT EVENTS THAT HAPPENED AT AN INDEFINITE TIME IN THE PAST:
- Emerson has written a comment in our blog. Have you read it?
- Adriana has chosen a book for the speech class.
Emerson has suggested that we visit a great blog for English language learners.
check it: http://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html
I liked it!!
I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Don't forget to do the extra exercise and the workbook!
- I have known my Top 3 Flex students for three weeks. (Period of time)
- We have been in class for one hour.(Period of time)
- We have been in class since 6:45 PM. (the moment, hour, day, month the "action" started.)
We use present perfect in various situations, one of which is to TALK ABOUT EVENTS THAT STARTED IN THE PAST AND ARE STILL GOING ON:
- Edson has lived in Brasilia since 1990. He has lived here for 12 years.
- Sheila has been a student in Thomas Jefferson for three weeks. She is new at school.
We also use the Present Perfect Tense to TALK ABOUT EVENTS THAT HAPPENED AT AN INDEFINITE TIME IN THE PAST:
- Emerson has written a comment in our blog. Have you read it?
- Adriana has chosen a book for the speech class.
Emerson has suggested that we visit a great blog for English language learners.
check it: http://www.eslpod.com/website/index_new.html
I liked it!!
I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Don't forget to do the extra exercise and the workbook!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Unit 7 - FAME
In the last two classes, we talked about some famous people and discussed the use of the Past Simple and the Present Perfect tenses.
Some students were surprised to learn that we use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about repeated actions in the past.Check some examples:
- I have watched Gone With The Wind five times.
- Mary has been to Rio de Janeiro three times. She was there in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
- They have driven from San Diego to Los Angeles several times.
Of course, there are other situations in which the Present Perfect Tense is used. Do the extra exercise you received last class and the workbook exercises to learn more about it!
Some students were surprised to learn that we use the Present Perfect Tense to talk about repeated actions in the past.Check some examples:
- I have watched Gone With The Wind five times.
- Mary has been to Rio de Janeiro three times. She was there in 2007, 2009 and 2010.
- They have driven from San Diego to Los Angeles several times.
Of course, there are other situations in which the Present Perfect Tense is used. Do the extra exercise you received last class and the workbook exercises to learn more about it!
Welcome to our blog!
Dear Students,
Welcome to our blog! Here you'll find important information about our course and the activities we develop. It's our space, so feel free to participate with comments, texts, videos, etc. If you miss a class, just check the blog and you'll know what's going on. Let's work hard and learn a lot! You are a great class and I am so happy to be your teacher.
Welcome to our blog! Here you'll find important information about our course and the activities we develop. It's our space, so feel free to participate with comments, texts, videos, etc. If you miss a class, just check the blog and you'll know what's going on. Let's work hard and learn a lot! You are a great class and I am so happy to be your teacher.
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