Dear Teacher:We have something we want to say:We don’t want to sit her on this bright, sunny day.May we PLEASE have a lesson out in the sun,or even in the park? THAT would be fun!You can tell us a story, or maybe even two.Won’t that be something different to do?We can sit in a circle; we’ll be as quiet as mice.PLEASE take us outside. We promise to be nice.
To All Of My Students: I’ve read your letter.Your idea is great. I’d like nothing better.Take your lunches and something to drink.Hurry! Hurry, before I have time to think.I know exactly what we’ll do.We’ll sit in a circle instead of walking and practice English, practice talkingand maybe even sing a song.If we only use English, it can’t be wrong.
Lesson plan:Read the first part to the class and then ask them what they think the teacher’s reply will be. Ask them which of their teachers would/wouldn’t agree and why.Then read part two.Written assignment:The principal found out about the unusual lesson.Write his/her letter either to this teacher or to this class.Use the following: Not only// In my opinion// In addition// than//As a result// In conclusionThe length of the principal’s letter will be determined by the level of your class.
ENGLISH IS EASY….YEAH….SURE……
English is easy…………….if you were born in L.A.We Hebrew speakers have to suffer each day.
Full name: class: date:but in the in the word ‘one’, it’s not sounded the same?If I live in a ‘house’, well the ‘h’ is a good sign,but the ‘h’ in ‘hour’ is silent and does NOT tell the time.
Why are ‘bought’ and ‘caught’ sounded the same way.but for ‘laugh’ and ‘dough’ we have something different to say?Why is there a ‘w’ at the beginning of ‘write’?What is a ‘gh’ doing in the middle of ‘night’?
Don’t tell me that English comes from Latin and French,when I’m sitting here suffering, trying to make senseof pronouncing letters of which I can’t make heads or tails.No wonder everyone in my English class either gives up or fails!
Signed, A Student
Lesson Plan :**Before reading the poem aloud, write the words in bold on the board:ONLY – ONEHOUSE – HOURBOUGHT/CAUGHT – LAUGH/DOUGHWRITENIGHTThen ask students to pronounce them. Ask them HOW they know or learned what the correct pronunciation is.** Written assignment: [descriptive essay] Write about their first experiences in reading and/or writing English.
A [SCARY] STORY I’ m going to tell you a story that you’ve never heard before.
Full name: class: date:Don’t be afraid……BUT, be sure you close the door………………..…..and lock all the windows……… and turn on every light………………….and sit in the corner, so nothing can come and bite.
It’s a VERY scary story and I’m sure it’ll frighten you.When you hear this story, I don’t know what you’ll do!
Lesson Plan:Before reading, ask various students to say what frightens them and put the list on the board. Don’t ask the reason why.Next, read the poem aloud.Finally, ask them to retell OR make up a scary story. They must use only the past tenses and no direct quotes.about 100+ words.
Petrazillia: Use and underline the following:In my opinion//As a result//after//Not only//than// In conclusion
Why is it almost every time I bathe or take a showerand I’m alone in the house, we lose electric power?I stand there dripping wet, afraid that I will fall,with no one there to help me and no one there to call.I’m not sure where the towel is or where to find my clothes, but I need to dry myself, from my hair down to my toes.
The power’s off. I’m in the dark and THEN what’s that I hear?Is someone at the front door? I now shake with fear.
Lesson plan:1. pre-reading vocabulary: Discuss the different between taking a bath [to bathe] and taking a shower Write on the board: dripping wet// a towel// shake with fear//from my head down to my toes = [name 5 parts of the head/of the leg2. Decide who the narrator is: age, etc.3. Retell the story in your own words up to the point the narrator stopped talking. Next: YOU are either a member of this narrator’s family OR a burglar. Explain what brought you to the narrator’s front door at this time. Then go on with the story/Make your own ending. Use and underline: In my opinion//stop//Not only//then//than
I went to the doctor……
I went to the doctor because my cough was really bad.I waited for over an hour and that really made me mad.When my name was called, I knocked at the nearest door.
Full name: class: date:There was a lady in the room I’d never seen before.“Where is Dr. X?” I asked her in alarm.“Oh, she’s on vacation, but I’ll do you no harm.”“Are YOU a doctor?” I asked, looking at the door.“No, I’m the cleaner. My job’s to wash the floor.”“What are you doing HERE, in the doctor’s room?Where is my doctor? Why are you holding a broom?”“You’ve made a big mistake,” she said. The room you’re in is mine.Now, go back into the waiting room…………and stop talking in rhyme!”
1. Pre-reading vocabulary: cough//in alarm/to do harm// to make a mistake2. Name three reasons YOU might go to a doctor: 1. _________________ 2. __________________ 3. _________________ Why did the narrator go? _______________________________________3. Who is telling the story? Male/Female age: _____ Reason: __________________________4. What mistake did the narrator make? _______________________________ _____________________________________________________________5. Copy the 5 questions from the poem and answer them logically.6. Write the conversation you think this narrator would have had with the doctor. Each will ‘speak’ three times.7. Rewrite [retell] the story from your own point of view. Do NOT use any direct quotes or rhymes.]
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
I read about it yesterday AND saw it on the news.I KNEW that it would happen! There were so many clues.NOW that it has happened, nothing will be the same.Think of all that fortune! Think of all that fame!
Go on with the story. What is it that you read about? [It can be earth-shattering or silly.] What fortune? What fame? For whom?Add any details you wish. Try to answer the questions: who/what/where/when/why.
Two students came into the class, way after the bell had rung.Teacher X threw them out, because the lesson had begun.They were only sorry that they hadn’t brought a ball.Then one pushed the other, who shouted as he started to fall.
When the principal heard the shouting, he ordered them inside.They didn’t have a chance; there was nowhere they could hide!They explained that they had come late to class which made their teacher mad.The principal called their parents;………………………….the end was very sad.
Full name: class: date:Lesson Plan:1. Read the poem aloud once. During the reading, have the students explain the sentences in past perfect. Explain this usage again to the class.2. Discuss: Should/Shouldn’t students be allowed into the classroom
after the bell has rung? 3. Written assignment: YOU are one of these two students. Retell the story from YOUR [innocent] point of view. DON’T copy any of the sentences in the story. Use: Not only//As a result//In my opinion and one sentence each of: future past, past progressive and past perfect. ****Add any details you’d like to.
This is a good introduction for the module E listening comprehension.
Write the following sentences on the board and have the students copy them on a paper to hand in. Tell then you are going to read the story twice and they will have to fill in logical missing information based on the story/poem using the correct grammatical structures. After the first reading, give them time to fill in any missing information they can at this point. After the second reading, they must quickly finish and then turn in their papers [with their names at the top] to be graded [10 points per sentence.]
There is an additional exercise on following page ……………………………….
Retell the story from the student’s point of view within the following framework:1. I came into class late, after _______________________________________.2. The teacher got angry despite _____________________________________.3. Not only ___________________________, but_______________________.4. As a result, ___________________________________________________.5. While I _______________________________________, the principal saw me.6. He told me to stop ______________________________________________.7. After ______________________________, he told me to come into his office.8. Then he told me that he __________________________________________.9. He told me to take my books and go home after he _______________________.
10. In my opinion, _________________________________________________.
WEAR[There are many ways in Hebrew to say ‘wear’ depending on the action, but only one way in English.]
I wear glasses so I can see much better.If it’s very cold, then I’ll wear a sweater.I wear shoes or sandals, so my feet won’t be cold.My grandma wears a hat on her head, because she is so old.I always wear a sock inside each shoe.In winter I wear gloves, so my fingers won’t turn blue.
My grandma wears a on her head, because she is so old.
I always wear a inside each shoe.
In winter I wear , so my fingers won’t turn blue.
Sorry: couldn’t find the appropriate pictures, so add your own instead of the lines.
Lesson plan: Print out the bottom half for the students. Then read the poem to them and have them fill in the word over the picture.//OR//Write the poem with the items missing on the board. Have them copy the poem. Then find the missing items. Discuss the USE of ‘wear’ in Hebrew, where other verbs are used instead. Voc. Quiz = new words. [This is for weak students.]
HELP??????
Though no one came to help, lots of people saw him fallas he was going down the stairs in the shopping mall.They all stood in a circle, looking at him lying therebut no one went up to him; they just stood to stare.“What are you looking at?” he asked as he tried to stand.“Won’t anyone here please help me up? My fall wasn’t planned.”
GO ON WITH THE STORY ABOVE BY COMPLETING THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES.1. I went up to him and _______________________________________.2. After _____________________________, the man ______________.3. Not only __________________________, but __________________.4 As a result, ______________________________________________.5. He said he ______________________________________________.
Full name: class: date:6. I went home after ________________________________________.7. The next day the newspaper _________________________________.8. They wrote that __________________________________________.9. My family told me that _____________________________________.
10, In the end ______________________________________________.
1. STUDENT: Retell the story aloud to the class as the person who helped the
man stand up. Begin: ‘One day, as I was shopping in the Mall,…….”
2. AND/OR: Have each student rewrite the story from his point of view as the person who helped the man in the mall.
NOT AGAIN!
Sit down! Open your book!Where is your homework? Don’t give me that look!Copy from the board! Take out your pen!Why must I tell you again and AGAIN?
Pay attention! Listen to me!Is that an SMS message on your phone that I see?
Full name: class: date:Turn off your cell phone and put it away!Hurry, hurry, I don’t have all day!
Lesson plan: Read aloud to the class; pick one student to direct your voice to. Then have a student pretend that s/he is the teacher and you are the student and have him/her reenact the above.
Written assignment: Write your answer to your teacher, based on what s/he has said to you above.
FUN….
“School is FUN,” thought the teacher, “if I can torture each kid.I don’t care if he’s quiet; I don’t care what he did!Where is his homework? Did he talk to a friend?I want to have FUN, so his _______________ must end!”
Lesson Plan:
1. Fill in the missing noun; example ‘CONFIDENCE’, in the blank space above.2. Then rewrite the story from this student’s point of view, using this word in your composition.Petrazillia: not only // as a result // in my opinion // stop [followed by past simple or verb+ing].
Full name: class: date:Have his/her friend answer him/her by answering all the eight questions above. The teacher can write the poem on the board.
? ? ?
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT When I came into the classroom, I didn’t say a word.Nobody else but ME sat down. Oh, the NOISE that could be heard.Things were flying through the air. Something almost hit my ear.The bell had run minutes before, but no one seemed to care.A bee flew in the window and some girls started to scream.This HAD to be a nightmare! It COULDN’T be a dream!
What do YOU think happened next and why?
HEY, it’s MY story. Let ME go on with it!What happened to the students? Did they finally calm down at all?Well, I came into the classroom, but I didn’t say one word.I simply wrote: QUIET OR QUIZ on the board. Then not another sound was heard!
Pre-reading exercise: 1. discuss: whisper/talk/shout/scream 2. discuss: a dream/ a daydream/ a nightmare
Full name: class: date:After reading the poem aloud to the class: discuss CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT.**Make them answer what they would do or how they would manage a class such as the above, using the temporals [write them on the board]: When/If/Before/After/As soon as/ As long as. Try to elicit one answer from each student. You can ask the students to write one answer [beginning with a temporal] before you ask for volunteers to answer orally. I work on the double V system = Volunteers and Victims.First I ask for volunteers. If there aren’t enough, I call on ‘victims’.
TEST
“SMILE!” said the as she gave me the .“Now we’ll see if you studied. This is the part that I like best!”
“SMILE!” said the dentist. “Open your mouth wide.” I looked around his office, but there was no place I could hide.
“SMILE!” said the as he prepared to give me a shot.
I felt like a before it’s put in the . “SMILE!” said the photographer, “and the picture will be great.
Full name: class: date:“We’ll put your picture on J-Net and maybe you’ll find a mate.
“SMILE!” said the robber, as he robbed me of my money….,,
but I didn’t smile at all because I didn’t find it funny.
A. WRITE DOWN THE EMOTIONS WE CAN SEE ON THE FACE.B. Write/tell about one thing that makes you smile? laugh? cry? frown? There are five “SMILE!” stories above. Go on with each one, using temporals.
Begin sentence one 1. When.……, sentence two 2. As soon as… ETC.…..3. After…….4. If………5. Before
REGULAR TESTS VRS. ENGLISH COMPOSITIONS
The history test is tomorrow; math, the day after that.I have to sit and study until I get all the material down pat.A lot has to do with memory and of course, the way I study.It’s easier to study alone, but it’s much more fun when I’m with a buddy.
Some subjects are easier to learn, because there are only facts and years.Subjects like ‘compositions’ bring out all of my hidden fears.Take English, for example. My level of language needs to be high.I must use “In my opinion” and “Therefore” and also give reasons why.
I need to pay attention to tenses and to punctuation, as well.If I don’t check my spelling in the dictionary, the teacher will be able to tell.When I write a formal letter, I have to write it in the correct way,with my address and date in the upper right side or points will be taken offthat day.
Their address has to be written on the left…….. and under it ‘Dear Sir:’,[unless specifically writing to a woman, then write “Dear Madam” when it’s a her.]My composition needs to be organized, with a beginning, a middle, and an end followed by ‘Sincerely yours’ and my signature. Now it’s ready to send.
LESSON PLAN:1. Pre-reading: teach: getting material down pat//a buddy//hidden fears//upper
Full name: class: date:2. Pre-discussion: Which kinds of exams are the hardest [for you] and why? Does everyone find the same exams the hardest? Why or why
not?3. Next, read poem aloud once. 4. Write/Put the formal letter format on the board.5. Read the poem out loud to the class again. Do they agree with the narrator?6. Discuss the types of formal letters: letter to a newspaper giving your
opinion/letter of complaint/job application/application to study at a certain school, etc.
7. Discuss what information should be presented in each paragraph [‘the beginning, the middle and the end’]
8. Give them various compositions to write: both in class and as homework.[9. Add any other exercises you can think of that are appropriate…..and let me
know so I can add them to this list.]
REVIEWING PAST SIMPLE [10 VERBS] [page one]
Dear Teacher:All day long I studied……….well, at least for half an hour.It was very hard for me, you know; we had no electric power.The electric company was fixing something down the street,so there was no electricity and I had nothing hot to eat!Back to your test, dear teacher, I really, really tried.I knew I had failed, when you gave it back and sighed.
The past of ‘buy’ is ‘bought’, I know, but I mixed it up with ‘bring’.I think the past tenses should all be the same of ‘bring’ and ‘ring’ and ‘sing’.Why is ‘made’ the past of ‘make’, but ‘took’ the past of ‘take’?It’s all so very confusing with ‘baked’ the past of ‘bake’.
I’ll do better on the next grammar quiz or everyone will wonder why.I promise to study the verbs over again, so next time my grade will be high.
Lesson plan:Part 1. Fill I the missing verb in the PAST. Example: sing = sang a. eat = _________ b. drink = _________ c. sit = _________ d. give = _________ e. take = _________ f. speak = _________ g. cry = _________ h. play = _________ i. buy = _________ j. stand = _________
[***teacher: NOW is the time to review the verbs ending in Y in past simple.]
Full name: class: date:Part 2. Answer the questions below in the past. a. What did you eat? I ______________________________________________________. b. Why did the baby cry? The baby ___________ because ______________________________. c. Where did you buy that delicious bread? I ______________________________________________________. d. When did you speak to him last? I ______________________________________________________.
REVIEWING PAST SIMPLE [10 VERBS] [page one]
e. What did the thirsty boy drink? He _____________________________________________________. f. Why did you stand on the bus all the way to school? I __________________all the way because ____________________. g. Why did she sit on the floor and not the chair? She ________________ because ____________________________. h. Where did they take mom for her birthday? They __________________________________________________. i. When did you give her back the money? I _____________________________________________________. j. What game did they play in the park? They __________________________________________________.
Part 3. Write the three opposite pairs of verbs in the space below: 1. _____/_____ 2. _____/_____ 3. _____/_____
Part 4: Put the correct verb in the past in each sentence below.a. He _______ in the park with his friends.b. Mother _______ the baby a bath.c. Everybody _______ the delicious cake.d. I _______ up on the bus so an old lady could sit down.
e. The little baby _______ because he was hungry. f. I _______ a bottle of water because I was very thirsty. g. My friends _______ me balloons in the toy store for my birthday. h. When tourists came from America, I _______ English with them. i. He _______ the little ball and threw it to his dog. j. I _______ on the sofa to watch television.
[Read the poem below TWICE to your students. THEN give them the written assignment. Write it on the board.]
All day long I read and write with no time for friends. Something isn’t right!There’s rarely a free minute to go to a mallexcept on a holiday, but that’s no fun at allbecause hundreds of other people are at the mall tooand it’s so crowded; it’s worse than a zoo!
I get up so early and I’m in school most of the day,but nobody seems to listen to what I have to say.Teacher after teacher has complained to methat students today aren’t what they used to be.Although I try my best, I don’t always succeed to teach my students all the material that they need.
Oral discussion:1. When did you realize the narrator was a teacher and not a student?2. Do you agree with the teacher’s complains. Explain.3. Do you think that except for the last two lines of the poem, it could
have just as well been written by a student? Explain.
Writing assignment: Write a reply to the speaker above. Choose one: a. you are one of her students. b. you are another teacher.
ERAN EXPLAINS The bell is going to ringand I didn’t do a thingabout studying for the test.Instead I took a rest.Now the teacher enters the room.She puts aside her broomas she looks at us and all aboutbefore passing the test papers out.
I don’t know what to do,so I look down at my shoe.Then I look up and read question one.Before I know it, I am done!I go on to question two.It asks for my point of view.Next is question three:check the two correct answers that I see.
What about question four?Finished in five minutes. I look at more.It’s really going fastbecause I listened every day in classand asked questions when I didn’t know.THAT’S the way to go!No need to copy or cry.All you have to do is TRY!
1. What didn’t Eran do before the exam?_______________________________________________________________________2. Eran didn’t like his teacher. Copy the line that tells you this: ______________________________________________________________________3. What happened as Eran started answering the test questions? ______________________________________________________________________4. According to Eran, how did he know the answers to the test? a. ___________________________________________________________________ b. ____________________________________________________________________5. Would Eran’s method of studying work for YOU? Explain. ___________________________
The intertwining threadof the story that I read,while reclining in my bedWAS BORING!
The characters talked on their cell phones.Rarely were they ever at home,because everywhere they would roam.IT WAS BORING!
They hardly ever met,yet into fights they would get about idiotic things…… and yetIT WAS BORING!
Although I read it to the end,I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend,nor to a soul would this book I lend,because IT WAS BORING!
There was barely any plot.Of descriptions there were a lot,yet a headache was all I gotbecause IT WAS BORING!
Therefore, my advice about this book:for something better you should lookbecause for all the time it took,IT WAS BORING!
This really happened on my first day back at school [a new school for me and I didn’t know where to go/what to do]: THE TEACHER COMPLAINS: I came into the classroom but no-one was there.I looked in each corner and under a chair.
Full name: class: date:Room 219? I was in the right place,but I was alone and if that were the case,I turned on the air-conditioning and also the light;I took out my books. STILL no students in sight!I wrote “GOOD MORNING” on the board in large letters in blueand sat down and waited. What more could I do?Five minutes passed and then five morewhen all of a sudden, sounds at the door.It opened and 30 students piled in.“We didn’t know the room number? Can the lesson begin?”My very first day and only ten minutes have passed. Now thirty more to go. Will I ever last?
Fill in the following tenses:THE STUDENTS COMPLAIN:1. As soon as we heard the bell, _________________________.2. Not only _______________________, but we brought our books, as well.3. In addition to ______________________, we all arrived at the same time.4. As a result, _____________________________________.5. The teacher said that she ___________________________.6. In our opinion, ____________________________-_______.7. If she doesn’t ________________, we ________________.8. While we were _________________________, the bell rang.9. Nobody ________________________________________.
10. After we had _______________________, she _________.
SEPTEMBER BEGINSSeptember begins…….and our teachers appear,yet before we know it, the Holidays are here!Then a teachers’ strike looms before our eyes,so we are swamped with homework in case one DOES arise.And,,,,,,,,,,,if it doesn’t, we’ll get even more.Isn’t THAT what all our teachers are for??????
We come into class with great expectations,but within minutes there already arise complications.Not everyone has books and notebooks and pens,although everyone is waiting till this long day ends!
Like in every class there’s a joker [or ten],but our teacher soon tells them what she has in store for them.“Don’t bite the hand that writes your grade,” she retorts.“Sit and be quiet; this isn’t a lesson in sports.”
As we sit restlessly in our seats waiting for roll-call,We know that summer vacation is over and that’s not all……
so is our freedom.
Pre-reading tasks:1. What does September 1st, the first day of school mean to you? What emotions does it arise? Explain.2. What do you do in order to prepare physically for school? emotionally?3. What expectations do you have of the first day of school? of your teachers?Exercises:1. Who is the narrator of this story? What facts do you know about him? What can you surmise? Try to prove your answers from the poem above.2. What specific complaints does the narrator have? List at least three.3. On the line at the top, write a good title for this poem.4. You are this person’s teacher. Write a note to him/her telling YOUR side of the story. [about 80+ words]Use: NOT ONLY//IN MY OPINION//IN ADDITION TO [all underlined].Pay attention to capitalization, punctuation, grammar and spelling.
DON’T MESS WITH HER!!!
When our English teacher entered our room, she closed the door……and parked her broom.She gave us THAT LOOK, as we took out books and a pen,We waited, afraid of her anger that might never endif just one person in class dared to talk----or else she’d throw him out and GLARE as he’d walkin shame to the door and out of the class, with a sigh[while some of US waved him a happy ‘good-bye’,wishing WE could be leaving, instead of him.]Tell me: is talking in class THAT big of a sin?
Oh, I wasn’t paying attention! What did she say?She’s looking at ME! Today’s just not my day!The answer to question one? I’m sure I have it right here.
Full name: class: date:[My friend e-mailed me the homework, so all the answers are clear.]Hey, she LIKED the answer; I sigh with relief.If it had been the wrong one, there would have been grief.She’ s really tough, as she walks up and down the aisles,Looking at our homework, without any smiles.
Our English teacher makes sure we’re on our toes.Who is the next VICTIM? Nobody knows!
At last the bell rings and she walks to the door, takes her ‘transportation’ and isn’t seen any more.Look! Up! Up there in the sky!!!!Is it a bird? A plane? Or………….. our English teacher flying by?
[It’s our English teacher!]
To be read aloud to the class TWICE:
“RING” went my alarm clock as it rang near my head, but I didn’t want to hear it or to leave my nice, warm bed.After thinking a minute about the long, long day ahead,I simply turned over……………. and went back to sleep instead!
Writing Assignment: 100+ words
[Write on the board the following:]Who are you?What happened next?
Full name: class: date:What were the consequences of your actions?Add interesting details.Use the following when you write:
Not only In my opinion As a result, If
ESSAYS
I graded essays yesterday and also the day before.So many papers, I can’t LOOK at anymore.The longer I sit here, the unhappier I feelMaybe I’ll finish tomorrow; [it’s really no big deal.]
The ideas in their essays are sometimes not connected.Do my students even bother to read what I’ve corrected?…..Or do they just look at the grade and toss the essay away[and go on to make the same mistakes…………………………. day after day after day?]
Although I correct and explain, most students don’t seem to care.They write the same mistakes over and over again till I’m tearing out my hair.ANSWER ME, dear students! Do you really care at all?……because instead of wasting time on your essays, I could be shopping in the mall!
Writing Assignment: opinionWrite an answering letter to this/your English teacher. 120 wordsGive your point of view on writing [and correcting] essays.Use: In my opinion//Not only// However//As a result//….stop… // Only after // To sum up
I’m ready for the test, as ready as I’ll ever be.I won’t have a problem with YOU sitting next to me.“Two heads are better than one!” That’s what I’ve been told.Our teacher will never know, because she is so old.Thirty going on forty? She’s 50 if she’s a day.She’ll sit and read the paper…………….. and let us have our way.
AFTER THE TEST: STUDENT TO A PARENT:Don’t ask! You won’t believe it! She didn’t sit at all.She complained of a backache and stood against the walland looked at each of us; her eyes went to and fro.I didn’t dare TRY to copy, because I was afraid where she would go.
Up and down the aisles she walked, looking at each and every one.Looking! Staring! Glaring until everyone was done.How did I do? Don’t ask me………….. BUT I did it all alone.
Full name: class: date:[Next time I’ll try to MSM my friends on my telephone!]
Writing Assignment: 120 words Retell the story from the teacher’s point of view. You may add additional information [like giving your student a name/talking about your health problems/complaining about the class, etc.]
WHY IS IT?Why is it the phone will ring the minute I get into the shower?Why is it when I’m trying to print on the computer, there is suddenly no electric power?Why is it teachers give us quizzes the day before we have a big test?Why is it there is so much homework and never enough time to rest?Why is it that the teachers return our exams the same day there is another?Why is it teachers always compare me with my older sister or brother?
Why is it when I don’t have an umbrella, it will always, BUT ALWAYS, rain?Why is it when I wait for a bus, it would have been faster going by train?Why is it when I try my best, I don’t always succeed?Why is it I can speak English okay, but find it so hard to read?Why is it that the spelling of words isn’t written the way the words sound?Why is it there are so many adjectives, but in Hebrew only one word is found?
Exercise one: Answer each of the questions in writing in a full sentence. Give YOUR opinion.Exercise two: Fill in the missing letters, based on the words above:Phone _ _ _ _ _ h _ _ _ _ w _ _ _ s _ _ _ _ r _ _ _ _ n _ _ _ r _ _ g _ _e _ _ _ _ _ _cc _ _ _ _ _e _ _ _ _ h _ _ d _ _ “ t _ _ _ _ _ _ s _ _ _ _ _ _ g _ _ _ g
Full name: class: date: Answer key: remove before printing: phone/English/Hebrew/words/sister/return/never/ring/give/electric/compare/enough/hard/don’t/teachers/spelling/ going.
LEARNING ENGLISH
Reading and writing CAN be fun.It all depends on HOW they’re done.The books you read should interest you.Don’t try one genre; try a few.If a book is boring, choose another.Ask your friend; ask your brother.The more you read, the more English you’ll knowand your vocabulary will grow and grow.You’ll learn correct grammar as you readas well as knowledge you are sure to need.Writing will come easily afterwardwith grammar, punctuation and what you have heard.
And don’t forget speaking……a useful tool. if you’re going abroad….going “l’hull”.
Exercise one: Some words have the same sound but are written differently. Look at: fun/done you/few read/needExercise two: Do you think grammar is important when you learn English? Explain. Do you think the teacher should choose a book for the whole class to read or should the students be allowed to choose their own books to read? Name three things you can learn by reading in English. What kinds of books interest you the most? Do you read in English if you are not forced to? Why or why not?
I can’t make up my mind………I can’t make up my mind whether to study or go out to a party. I can’t seem to decide, so…………………………I’ll finish my homework and THEN get dressedand go out with my friends to the place we like best.Would YOU like to come? It should be lots of funand I’ll wait for you now, till YOUR homework is done.
COMPOSITION: Describe YOUR favorite place to party and why. 120-140 words.Use ‘petrazillia’___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PANICAs our airplane circled around in the air,We thought that we would NEVER get there!Traffic control told our pilot to wait.
Full name: class: date:I had another plane to catch and I was SURE to be late.Frantically I called to the airline on the ground;as our plane circled…….around…….and around.
It was raining; there was fog and visibility was nil.Then all of a sudden, everything was STILL!I couldn’t hear the motors. Were the propellers still turning?My throat became dry and my eyes started burning.Was that SMOKE that I smelled? Were we about to CRASH?Then something hit my head and I found a big gash.
We were losing altitude, as the airbags came out.The END was near; of THAT I had no doubt.Then, not too gently we landed; someone opened the doors.We slid down the chutes as raging fires soared.Away from the plane we ran in great fear,looking for shelter, we ran here and there.Forget about the next flight and the luggage that was burned.I was still alive: such a scary lesson learned.
DESCRIBE A BAD EXPERIENCE [REAL OR IMAGINARY] YOU ONCE HAD. 120-140 words.Use ‘petrazillia’________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Full name: class: date:Reading and writing CAN be funif nobody’s there, holding a gunto your head and making you study all dayuntil you feel your mind is blowing away.
How much homework do you think I can do?You really don’t have the slightest clue,but FIVE hours a day…………… and tests in additionforce me to make this sad admissionthat TODAY I’m going to get NOTHING done,because….I’m gong to the sea and enjoy the sun!WANT TO COME?
Dear Student:Thanks for the offer, but I have absolutely no time.I have papers to mark [and I have to finish this rhyme.]Who do think prepares all the tests that you writeand sits up grading them half of each night?
You need to study, read, write and prepareinstead of that bathing suit that you now wear.Dear student, remember you have to work all day long,or else all the answers you write will be wrong!
Assignment: The above student is right before his/her matriculation exams in English.Describe how s/he SHOULD study [both for exams and doing homework.]120-140 words. Pay attention to grammar and petrazillia. Write on the back in dark blue or black ink only!
September, 2009Dear Students:
I’m writing this poem to tell you todayabout all of the homework that’s coming your way;about exams and quizzes and essays and morethat must be turned in before you go out of this door;about stories you’ll read and Read & Reports you’ll give me;about a very busy year,…………………………….. as you can all see.
Full name: class: date:If you miss an assignment, you’ll have TWO the next day!If you are absent, it’s up to YOU to find out what you’ve missed.Remember, I ALWAYS keep a long and accurate listaf things turned in and of the grades for each test,so, get busy NOW and each do your best.
Remember my rules: 1. No leaving the class.2. Turn in ALL assignments if you want to pass.3. No copying! 4. No talking! 5. No turning aroundor in the principal’s office you soon will be found.Remember: “Don’t bite the hand that writes your grade!”If you follow my rules, you’ll have it made.Not only will you get high marks, but learn many new thingsduring our English lessons before each bell rings.
WELCOME TO MY CLASS……….and good luck!
IT’S NOT MY PROBLEM!NO! Don’t tell me! I don’t want to hear!It’s not MY problem; I wasn’t even there!YOU made your decisions; you acted aloneand now when you have problems,you call ME on the phoneto whine and complain and ask what to do.to tell you the truth ---- I don’t have a clue!
The problem is: ______________________________________.Use the following ‘petrazillia’ in the order they appear to discuss your problem.In the beginning _____________________________________.As soon as _____________________, ____________________.After ____________________, _________________________.Not only __________________, but ______________________.In addition to _________________, _______________________.
Full name: class: date:While ___________________, ___________________________.As a result, __________________________________________.If __________________________, ______________________.In conclusion, _________________________________________.
CHECK THIS OUT!I’m a lot smaller than a laptop and much easier to carry, too.I need neither electricity nor updating to make me ‘feel new’.You can share me with friends or even give me awayor put me down anywhere for the next rainy day.Your grandparents and parents enjoyed me, as well.Just ask them and see how I ring a bell.
Signed: THE BOOK ESSAY: 120 words. I would rather have a computer/good book [choose one] because…………………………………………………………………………..,,________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Exercise one: write down the following:
