Intermediate: Lab 2 (Family & neighborhood issues)

Watch the following short videos and answer the questions about what  you see and hear.

Video 1: The Cosby Show – Babysitting (“The Juicer”)

“Babysitting” – minding or taking care of a child or other person for a short time. A babysitter is responsible while the parents are gone.

The Huxtable Family:

• Vanessa – older sister
• Rudy – younger sister
• Peter – Rudy’s friend
• Cliff – father
• Clair – mother

1. Polite request: Vanessa is babysitting her sister and her sister’s friend. Mother (Clair) asked her to do this. Write what Clair might have said to make the request. Use “Would you mind….?” (p 39 in your textbook)

“Vanessa, I have to go out. ______________________________________________________”

2. Vanessa and Rudy both do some things that are wrong. What family rules or guidelines did they break? (Example: In class, a student who does not bring a pen or pencil has broken the class guideline “Always bring a pen or pencil to class.”)

Vanessa:
Rudy:

3. What was Vanessa’s excuse for not watching Rudy and Peter? (p 40 in your textbook)

 

Video 2: The Cosby Show – “Where did this cake come from?”

4. Cliff (the father) gives Olivia (the little girl) some cake. Then he acts guilty. He tries to “cover up” his action. How does he do this?

5. Clair (the mother) comes in. She knows something is wrong. Write her reaction. Circle the word she stresses.

Olivia: “He did it!”

Clair: “______________________________________________________”

6. Imagine what happened before this scene. What did Clair probably tell Cliff about the cake?
Video 3: The Cosby Show – Clean Your Plate

7. Rudy is not following a family rule. What is the rule?
Video 4: Local news – Neighborhood Feud

8. What is the problem in this neighborhood?

9. One neighbor is being stubborn. How?

10. Imagine that you live in this neighborhood. What will you do to help solve the problem?

Foundations: Vocabulary quiz 3

Our next vocabulary/spelling quizzes will be over 2 chapters. Here are the flash cards for you to study:

Foundations A

• Headway Starter vocabulary Chapter 11 http://quizlet.com/6631442/headway-starter-chapter-11-vocabulary-flash-cards/
• Headway Starter vocabulary Chapter 13 http://quizlet.com/6836519/headway-starter-chapter-13-vocabulary-flash-cards/

Foundations C

• Headway Starter vocabulary Chapter 12 http://quizlet.com/6631886/headway-starter-chapter-12-vocabulary-flash-cards/
• Headway Starter vocabulary Chapter 14 http://quizlet.com/6865109/headway-starter-chapter-14-vocabulary-flash-cards/

The password is still foundations.

Foundations: example sentences about a city

On Friday, you will give a short presentation about a city. You answered some questions about your city. Now you need to write sentences with the information. In your presentation, you should use sentences.

Here are some examples (about Little Rock):

	Question	Sentence
Facts	Where is it?	Little Rock is in Arkansas, in the United States.
	Who lives there?	200,000 people live there. Most people are American. Some people are from other countries.
	What language do they speak?	They speak English.
When to go	What season has the best weather?	The best weather is in spring. (You should visit in spring or fall.)
What to do	What places do you like? Where should people visit?	I like Pinnacle Mountain. You can go hiking.
		You can visit the Clinton Library Museum.
		You can visit the zoo and see animals.
What to eat	What is the best food?	You can go to the River Market.
	Is it expensive or cheap?	The food is pretty cheap.
How to travel	Is there an airport?	There is an airport.
	How do people get around in the city?	In the city, most people drive cars. Some people walk.
Conclusion	Why do you like the city?	I like Little Rock because it is a small city. It has a river and many trees. I like nature.

 

 

Pre-University: Lab 3 (This I Believe listening)

This I Believe essay from NPR

“Failure Is a Good Thing” by Jon Carroll

Lab 3 – due June 24

Part 1: Listen to the essay linked above and answer the questions.

1. What is the essayist’s job/career?

2. What does he believe in?

3. Which is more natural, first-time success or first-time failure?

4. What is good about failure?

a)

b)

c)

5. What did the essayist’s daughter do that he uses as an example?

6. What would he like to tell his granddaughter?

Part 2: Now go to ThisIBelieve.org and choose one other essay to listen to.

Name of essay:______________________________

Author of essay: _________________________________

Briefly summarize the essay. What is the author’s belief? How does he or she support this main idea in the essay? (Personal stories, examples, statistics?)

Part 3: Think of a core belief that you have. Can you name it in one or two sentences? Try to think of something brief, positive and personal. (Not a religious or group idea – this is about you.) Write it here.

Pre-University: listening practice test

Here is the audio for the listening practice test I handed out in class:

1. Ivan Menaces Mobile, Gulf Coast – Parts 1 and 2 of the practice test

2. Gulf Coast Residents Prepare to Outlast Storm – Parts 3 and 4 of the practice test

The end of the test says “End of Part 2.” That is a mistake; you can ignore it.

After you take the practice test, if you want to check your answers, you may email me. I will reply to you with the answers.

Good luck and thank you!

Healthy Oatmeal Cookies

Here is the recipe for the healthy cookies I made for the class and forgot to bring! Maybe you can make some for yourself. They are very easy, and they have no flour, no refined sugar, and no egg.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS
* 3 ripe bananas
* 2 cups rolled oats
* 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
* 1/3 cup vegetable oil (or a little bit of oil and the rest applesauce)
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, dates, oil, and vanilla. Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.

This recipe is from Bob Ewing here.

Oatmeal Cookies: Sugar Free recipes

70

rate or flag this page

By Bob Ewing

//

//
//

oatmeal cookies

oatmeal, organic

	Erin Baker’s Breakfast Cookies, Banana Walnut, 3-Ounce Individually Wrapped Cookies (Pack of 12) Price: $12.92 List Price: $16.80
	The Big Book of Breakfast: Serious Comfort Food for Any Time of the Day Price: $6.83 List Price: $19.95
	Erin Baker’s Breakfast Cookie Caramel Apple, 3-Ounce Individually Wrapped Cookies (Pack of 12) Price: $12.92 List Price: $16.80
	Breakfast (Williams-Sonoma Collection N.Y.) Price: $6.86 List Price: $16.95

//

//
//

Oatmeal, yes.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and there are so many great possibilities that can help you get your day off to a healthy and tasty start.

Oatmeal is one of our favourite breakfasts. We use the ten minute cooking version not the instant one. The instant oatmeal still has benefits but we have the time and prefer the taste of the longer cooking version.

I do not like to rush in the morning, it is not a time to leap out of bed, jump in the shower dress and rush out the door, grabbing a coffee and bagel at the closest drive through.

Our day’s start slowly. We get up approximately two hours before we have to leave. This allows time for 2 or 3 cups of organic fair trade coffee, conversation and a decent breakfast.

Oatmeal not only tastes delicious, it’s good for your heart. Research conducted over the past 40 years shows that eating 3g of soluble fiber daily from oatmeal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.

Oats contain soluble fiber that binds with and helps remove some of the cholesterol which can clog your arteries and lead to heart disease.

Perhaps, best of all, you can make cookies, sugar free good for you cookies. Now what could be better than that?

SUGAR FREE OATMEAL COOKIES :

Ingredients:

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. oatmeal

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground allspice

1/2 c. raisins

1 c. unsweetened applesauce

1/4 c. water

1/3 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 c. chopped nuts (optional)

1/4 tsp. sea salt

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat well. Drop by spoonfuls onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until browned. Makes 48 cookies.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies:

INGREDIENTS

• 3 ripe bananas
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mash the bananas. Stir in oats, dates, oil, and vanilla. Mix well, and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly brown.

Pre-University: Lab 2

TOEFL Practice – Listening 2.2

Same instructions as last week’s lab (see here) but follow do this for #4:

Listen to the CD (Disk 1, Tracks 5 and 8-10) and answer the questions on the handout. (Exercises 2.2.A and 2.2.B are omitted from this lab. Do only 2.2.C, 2.2.D and 2.2.E for your practice.)

Pre-University: Reading nonfiction, article #4

“Living Like Weasels” by Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk

Vocabulary to discuss in class

• swivel
• fur
• inexplicably
• bias, motive
• purity, dignity, necessity
• ignobly
• will (n.)
• (vows of) poverty, chastity, obedience, silence

Vocabulary to get from context

• carcasses (para. 1)
• socketed (para. 1)
• pry
• steers (para. 4)
• water lilies – terra firma – ceiling (para. 4)
• suburbia (para. 5)
• den (para. 15)
• seize (last para.)

For each of these words,

- list the context clues that can help you determine the meaning of the word

- write what you think the word means (don’t use a dictionary!)

Things to notice while you read

• the two anecdotes/illustrations in paragraphs 1 and 2
• the setting of the story
• the main event in the story
• how the author felt about that event
• the idea about life that she took from that event

Is this a personal essay?

Figurative language

– Words and phrases that create a mental picture of something by comparing it, directly or indirectly, to something else

• Metaphor:
• Simile:
• Hyperbole:
• (Other descriptive language uses vivid verbs and adjectives.)

In the essay, to what literal things do the following phrases refer?

• “soak him off like a stubborn label”
• “a fur pendant”
• “a green horizontal plane that is terra firma to plodding blackbirds, and tremulous ceiling to black leeches, cray­fish, and carp”
• “thin as a curve, a muscled ribbon, brown as fruitwood”
• “small and pointed as a lizard’s”
• “two black eyes I didn’t see, any more than you see a window”

Variation: the following phrase is concrete, but refers to something abstract.

• “I should have gone for the throat”

Can you find other examples? Look especially in paragraphs 10 and 11.

North American Longtail Weasel (photo from U.S. National Parks Service)

 

 

 

Pre-University: Reading nonfiction, Article #1

Nonfiction Reading Series Article #1 – reading guide

“A Zero-Emissions City in the Desert” by Kevin Bullis

Vocabulary

• metropolis
• outskirts
• compost
• sewage
• ostentatious
• R&D
• Silicon Valley
• collaboration
• emissions
• net (adjective, calculations)
• insulation
• ambitious
• unheard-of
• profitable

Topics to notice while you read

• Topic sentence
• Reasons to build the city
• Problems with building the city
• Comparison of Masdar City with other low-emissions building projects
• Ways the city will generate electricity
• Inspiration for cooling city design
• Ways of increasing energy efficiency in the city
• Transportation in the city
• Problems with solar panels
• History of Abu Dhabi
• Conclusion

There will be a quiz and discussion on this article on Friday, October 30. On Thursday, October 29, you will have an opportunity to ask questions about the article.

Intermediate: Lab 4 (Short story skits)

Group project for “The Ransom of Red Chief”

In class, we read the short story “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry. (http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/redchief.html) For this lab, you will work with a group to prepare a skit (very short play) about the story.

What should your skit be about?

You have two choices:

-        Imagine a different ending for the story.

-        Imagine what will happen the next day after the end of the story. (This could be in the town of Summit, in the Driscoll house, or wherever Bill and the narrator have gone.)

What are the requirements for the skit?

• 3 to 5 minutes long
• every group member must have a speaking part
• story should be related to “The Ransom of Red Chief”
• at least one character in your skit should be from O. Henry’s story
• reading lines is okay, but you should act out the skit

How should you prepare?

With your group…

• Decide the topic of your skit. What will happen?
• Work together to write the new part of the story. You should write lines for everyone in your group to speak.
• Practice your skit together. You may want to practice your part at home, too.
• You will have some time in class to prepare, but you might need to work or meet outside of class also.
• Perform the skit in class on Friday, June 26.

If you don’t know what a “skit” is, here is an example on YouTube of an ESL class skit.