February, 1999 
The January 29th General Meeting: the objective of getting teachers talking - communicating seemed to have been accomplished. Once again we proved that there is never enough time when teachers get together to discuss teaching but many doors were opened and hopefully we will have a chance to keep up the dialogue and find common paths. For me it was also a welcome opportunity to meet and learn more about you all. The specific requests that were made are being processed and will follow.
RREALS: (Regroupement des responsables de l'enseignement de l'anglais langue seconde) held its three day "perfectionnement" session the ninth to the eleventh of February. We were presented a two-day workshop on project-based learning by Suzanne Francoeur-Bellavance and a one-day workshop by Jacquelyne Lord called a pot-pourri of activities for the classroom. I have included some of Jacquelyne's activities that I am sure you and the students will find worthwhile at the end of Reach-Out however I won't be putting them up on the Internet site. Many activities are " déclencheurs" and may be adapted to different levels and types of students. We all did the activities in the workshop so if you would like more details I should be able to respond.
The project-based learning workshop eventually brought us to better understand and experiment the 4 steps the presenter outlined and the processes involved.
I have included some of the handouts we received from this workshop. Please contact me if you would like more information or if you would like to make it the subject of a future discussion or workshop. There are Internet links to various resources on project-based learning in the LINKS section.
Keep in mind that the RREALS "perfectionnement" session in February of each year is open to all teachers of school boards who are members and whose school's "plan de perfectionnement" will pay for a replacement and expenses.
The next meeting will be in April when the mandates of the members will be shared. (All members must complete mandates such as: "examens au primaire et secondaire, recherche et développement, activités d’apprentissage en salle de classe.") The region 05 collaborated on a secondary 3 exam.
ESL-LA: A Consortium meeting was held February 4th in Montreal. New modules will be available in June. There was a presentation on Media Literacy, particularly on recognising violence and stereotyping on television.
Expressions - Impressions the newsletter of students' work that can be used in the ESL-LA classroom should be published in March and up on a web site soon after. Participating teachers are asked to correct texts before submitting them to the committee.
Intensive: Reminder: Meetings by the SPEAQ Intensive SIG (special interest group) are planned in Quebec (May 21) and Montreal (April 15 or 16) this spring. I will pass on any new information as I receive it.
The NEW-TEACHER kit is an idea that we discussed in the primary group. Basically it would be a series of documents with information that teachers new to the schools could consult for basic information about ESL. It could include guidelines on the program, methods, marking, omega, etc. Your suggestions and participation in defining such a kit would be essential. Could you take a few minutes to write down and send in your contribution?
The ESL cassette library including the BIM tapes, the RREALS tapes and MEQ exam tapes is in the process of being catalogued by the AV technician Lorraine Veronneau at Le Tournesol (845-2728). The goal is to set up a central depot and catalogue where schools may order ($)1 cassettes and certain documents.
Your school should have copies of the BIM CD so that you can choose exams, print them out and order through me or directly from Lorraine, the cassette that corresponds to that exam. The Responsable en APO in your school should be able to help you if you are not familiar with using BIM. If there is a problem, give me a call (e-mail) or we could even form a small group to be initiated. BIM for ESL is not very complicated since you choose an exam from the list and can make only minor changes in a word processor since the cassette is done and the content of the exam follows a specific theme. (In math and the sciences, BIM allows for building exams based on objectives and criteria).
At the January 29th General Meeting we discussed the backlog of material at the school board office. The ESL cassette library is part of the solution but there is other material that we suggested certain groups could administer themselves. The idea of a small committee per group (primary, 1c and 2c secondary) who would manage the resources emerged. The committee would receive copies of documents, evaluate and catalogue them and distribute them by sending out an order form ($). If you are interested in being on such a committee contact me.
1 The ($) comment indicates that the school that orders resources pays for the reproductions.(Decentralisation!!)
CP News………………………………1
Guide ………………………………2
Meetings ………….…………………3
Ours ………………………………4
Links
Hockey project! *
Project-based learning sites *
Suggestions on using pop songs *
Games and activities for young learners: *
A written Conversation Exercise *
The Snake Game *
Pass the story *
Scrambled sentences *
Follow-on questions. *
Scrambled sentences *
A warm-up activity *
Describing things *
Teaching family relationships *
Re: Bored High-Level Students *
Discussion Forms: Internet *
2-minute Mysteries: *
Free English lessons *
The Case of the Alley Murder *
The Case of the Santa Claus *
The Case of the Cave Death *
The Case of the Gardener *
Project-Based Learning *
An Example? *
Sommets ESL E-mail directory *
Highlighting OUR own teachers, their original ideas and activities.
Bringing English Alive!
This is how I've been doing my project:
1) See the person in charge of the teams for the tournament (1 month before).Get the names of two or three American (or any English-speaking) hockey team.
2) Contact the coach or manager by phone or e-mail. Ask him or her if they would accept to hand out letters to their players.(They always are very happy to do so)
3) Pair each of your students with an English -speaking player and prepare a short letter or e-mail.
4) Send the letters or e-mail a week before they leave to come to the tournament.
5) Check the tournament's schedule and plan to go see the team play. If your are lucky they will play during school hours!
6) Before or after their games, have the players and your students meet in the arena. (This is the best part of the project)
7) Usually the players and students exchange pins or small souvenirs.
8) To my surprise every year the students make friends and return to see other games during the tournament. Many of my students and hockey players still (after 3 years) continue writing letters to each other.
What a great project!
P.S. This could also work with a figure- skating competition, cross-country competition, baseball or soccer tournament.
Bob Gauvin, Intensive Grade 6
Ste-Marguerite
What a day we had at the arena .The manager of one of the teams invited the students in the locker room after the game. Each student sat next to the player and exchanged gifts. Then the head coach gave his players a small but interesting task. He told his boys that they had two minutes to find out two facts about the young student from Magog sitting next to them. WoW What do you think happened ? It was awesome, all the students were answering questions about their families, hobbies and even favourite actors and singers and all in English. The coach was quite impressed with the level of English of the students. All of the students left that room not only with souvenirs but also with the name of a new friend. Every student received pins but a few even received hockey sweaters and caps from their new friends. Two students are even keeping 2 players for the weekend (this is part of the "Hébergement").What a good experience!
The grade 5 students met the players in the hallway and also exchanged gifts. Their English was not good enough yet to hold a long conversation but I think they made a few love connections. Ha ha
Most of the students will be returning to the arena to see the players again .The manger said that some of his boys were more excited about meeting their friend in Magog than playing in the tournament.
I also talked to a few parents from New Jersey and they told me they enjoyed a so warm welcome
BOB
Rosa Levesque who teaches at La Source (Greenlay) has passed along a suggestion that she finds helpful - Language Learning Strategies, What every teacher should know, by Rebecca L. Oxford, Heinle& Heinle Publishers, Boston.
Project-based learning sites
Web sites that deal with project-based learning:
http://www.irl.org/challenge2000/PBLGuide/WhyPBL.html
http://www.irl.org/challenge2000/PBLGuide/pblresch.htm
http://arundel.sancarlos.k12.ca.us/a_staff/garber/advice.html
http://www.ssc.k12.mn.us/~pbl/index.html
http://bie.org/publications/PBL/table.html
http://www.cesa12.k12.wi.us/educ/project.html
http://www.uwf.edu/~coehelp/studentaccounts/jbroughton/pbhomepage.html
http://scholar.coe.uwf.edu/pacee/steps/tutorial/projectl.htm
http://www.ualberta.ca/~schard/projects.htm
http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed368509.html
http://www.alumrock.k12.ca.us/multimedia/projects.htm
http://members.aol.com/ihseminar/pbl.htm
http://www.autodesk.com/foundation/pblnews/
http://www.autodesk.com/foundation/pbl/workbook/workbk1.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/av-search/q%3Dproject-based%2Blearning/002-2460065-7823427
Compiled by : Robert Ridyard
Éditeur recherche et développement
Langues secondes
Éditions du Renouveau Pédagogique, Inc.
Tél. : (514) 334-2690
Téléc. : (514) 334-1196
Email : ridyardr@erpi.com
Suggestions on using pop songs
From: Susan Niemeyer <jaysusan@UNITEL.CO.KR>
Subject: Summary of recent pop songs - part 1
I personally received many wonderful posts - a couple of which I forwarded to the entire list. Here are some more recommended titles:
The big favorite among those who responded was be Celine Dion’s "My Heart
Will Go On." Here’s an activity suggested by Ana de Huertas:
"I’ve recently taught a very successful (in my students’ words) lesson about feelings using the song "My heart will go on".
2) I wrote the following headings: SAD - HAPPY - (it could also have been FEELING GOOD - FEELING BAD) and I asked them to place the different feelings under one of the two headings. This was done in groups, and it resulted in really interesting negotiations.
3) I asked the groups to add at least two more words to each column, which made them consult the Dictionaries. I, personally, love Longman’s Activator. It provides not only words but expressions as well, and students like it, too.
4) We talked A LITTLE about the film (which, of course, everyone had seen) and I threw the questions: How did you feel while watching the film? In which part specifically? Why? Students resorted to the listed feelings for the answer. We held a lively discussion as not everybody agreed with some responses.
5) I asked them to close their eyes and listen to the music. I played the song. While they were listening I looked at their faces. It was amazing the diversity of reactions!
6)Then, I asked each of them to tell in just one word/expression how they felt listening to the music. Surprisingly enough, their reactions to the music not always coincided with their reactions to the movie.
7) They filled in a cloze version of the lyrics and sang it.
8)Home assignement: write a short paragraph/composition about the feelings aroused by the music and relate them to the film.
"Another activity my students went through last year and enjoyed a lot, was to listen to any song whose lyrics tells a story
- "Massachussetts" by the Bee Gees
Here are EVEN MORE suggestions about using pop songs!
I received such wonderful responses to my inquiry about using recent music in the classroom that I would like to share them with all of you. These suggestions are all from Robert J. Schalkoff.
"I don’t want to mistudents a thing" by Aerosmith from the movie "Armeggeddon":
First lesson, a pre-listening dictation of the chorus. Lyrics with the chorus blanked out were then handed out. Students (ss) listened to the song, made connection with dictation and filled in the chorus. Second lesson, using pictures, I told the plot of the movie. Students did a retell. Discussion about the relationship between lyrics and story took place. Final lesson, students watched the video from MTV and talked about how it, the song and movie fit together. In all of the lessons Students worked on singing the chorus with and without the recording.
"Uninvited" by Alanis Morisette from the movie "City of Angels" ends with an instrumental. Students listened to it and were given a handout with a number of questions, e.g. What kind of person would like/hate this music, if you heard this on the radio what would you do, what kind of commercial would use this music, etc. Students answered in pairs and then reported to the group. (Adapted from an activity by Tim Murphey in Music and Song, OUP, ISBN 0-19-437055-0) Then, students listened to the whole song and talked about how they felt about it. Second lesson, one student who had seen the film told us the story. Students then read the lyrics and came up with content and vocabulary questions, e.g. Is the angel the person who is uninvited, what is uncharted territory, etc. Students answered their own questions (much like a Reader Response Theory discussion). No singing took place.
Second lesson, students were given the original English version and asked to find similarities between their translations and it.
A short discussion about the differences was held. Vocab questions were answered. Students listened to and sang the traditional version of the song. In the third class, students sang it once more and then listened to Babyface’s new version.
Susan Niemeyer, Seoul National University, jaysusan@unitel.co.kr
Another ESL site with
Games and activities for young learners:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/1979/games.html
Some of the ideas include:
A written Conversation Exercise
2. everyone must write down what is being said in a script form.
3. when someone speaks they should first write down their words even if their spelling and/or grammar are incorrect
This game is very simple, involves the entire class, and is useful for reinforcing pronunciation error correction. For the Thai student, reproducing the final ‘s’ is a recurring problem and at times, nearly impossible, as it doesn’t exist in the Thai language. After talking about the ‘s’ sound, I choose a sentence, a short paragraph or a tongue twister with emphasis on the final ‘s’. The entire class must listen to one student reading aloud. If the student reading aloud fails to pronounce the final ‘s’ sound in a word correctly, the entire class makes the ‘s’ sound loud and long and clear like a snake hissing. I called this one, " the snake game " in Thai classrooms. This activity can be modified to emphasize any sound be it initial, medial or final. A final ‘m’ could be called " the cow game " where the students moo like cows, etc. This activity worked for me, brought home the importance of the sound to be pronounced and seemed to clear up the problem for students.
This game is called " Pass a Story ". My fifth graders love it, and I love doing it with my adult friends. Every one gets a lined piece of paper. Each person will get one minute to start a story with a title or no title. Rules: no use of anyone’s name, or put downs. After one minute, call time (have a buzzer go off). Fold your paper so that only the last line is seen. Pass the story to the left (or right, you choose) and with that one line, continue the new story that you have received. Pass each minute, and then read all the stories aloud. If the students are just learning english, you may want to read them so that you can correct the grammar as you read. They all always humorous. You could give it a theme so that you get some roll playing out of it...
Here’s a group exercise for teaching listening skills and correct sentence construction.
Make a list of sentences that follow the same pattern and that can be mixed and
matched. For example:-
Bill and Sue - walked - to the museum - to see a dinosaur - on a cloudy day - in winter.
My mother - drove her car - to the supermarket - to buy dinner - on a rainy day - in autumn.
I - took a bus - to the park - to fly a kite - on a windy day - in spring.
When you first come to do this exercise you may want to introduce it as a whole class activity using flashcards. Bring along four or five different groups of flashcards representing the different parts of the sentence and line them up along the shelf of the whiteboard facing inwards. Then when you’ve told the students what they are going to do show only the cards that are to be used for the sentence and have the students make the sentence. When they start to become familiar whith that change it around a bit. Walk around the class and point to a student and say the first part of the sentence, then point to another student and say the second part of the sentence, and so on until the sentence is finished. Then say ‘go’ and the students have to each find their own particular card and then arrange them in the correct order. After you’ve done this a few times its time to move on to the cut up sentences. A word of warning though, the first time you do this exercise you’ll probably have to repeat the sentence a hundred times. That’s OK though, you can’t expect the students to be great listeners their first time out of the gate. The goal is a gradual increase in their listening abilities.
This is yet another reading exercise. After you have done all the introductory work have the students move their chairs into a circle. (Sometimes this isn’t possible due to the physical makeup of the class but its the way I like to do it.) Then have the students take out their notebooks and starting on a new page write one question from the text. Once they have written the question pass their notebooks to the student on their right, then answer the question that’s in front of them. They then have to write a new question and then pass the notebook to the student on their right again so that the notebooks are going around the circle. Of course they aren’t all going to finish writing the answer and a new question at the same time so you’re going to have to decide when its time to pass the notebooks. Don’t wait for everyone to finish, put a little pressure on them. make them pass the notebooks on when you see that about three quarters of them have finished. There are no set timelimits for this exercise, it depends on the level of the students and the length/complexity of the passage.
As a follow up to this exercise you can select random questions and answers from random notebooks and write them on the board. That way its difficult to identify which students actually wrote the question and answer so nobody will feel that they have been selected as a target. Then have the students correct the mistakes as a group.
This is a reading activity to be used after the passage has been introduced, any vocab work has been done and the students have read through the passage a couple of times. Its going to take a bit of work on your part, but the rewards are worth it. Before the class photocopy one copy of the article for each pair of students, or if its a longer passage you might want to make groups of three. Now cut the passages up individual lines. Some people like to cut it up into sentences but if you do this the students soon learn how to put it together like a jig-saw puzzle. If you cut it up into lines they can’t do that. This is going to take awhile to prepare so you may want to start doing it a couple of days ahead or time. Be careful to keep the different sets of clippings separate. Take the clippings and divide each set into two (or three) roughly equal parts. The first couple of times you do this exercise you may want to keep things simple and just have two groups. Then once the students know what’s expected of them you can branch out into three or even four divisions. The best way to keep the groups of lines together is to wrap them up with elastic bands and put each separate copy of the story into its own envelope.
When you have introduced the story and think that the students have an understanding of the story pair the students up, tell them what you want them to do, and give each pair an envelope. With higher level students, have them put their books away before they start. You are trying to assess their understanding, not their copying abilities. Although the first time you do this activity you can do it ‘open book’ to build the student’s confidence. Then have the students recreate the passage. Once all the groups have finished the exercise you can let them open their books and let them see how well they did. One hard and fast rule that I like to follow is that one student can’t touch the other student’s lines. They can only talk about their partner’s lines all they want, after all that’s one of the reasons why you are doing it, but they can’t touch. This prevents the more able student from dominating the proceedings and the weaker student from allowing them to do so. It ensures that everybody gets something from the activity.
Your students are all used to you walking into the classroom at the beginning of a class and asking them questions about what they did today, what they ate for lunch, last week’s lessons, etc. They’re a little bored with it. Change it around a little occasionally. Walk into the classroom tomorrow and have them ask you questions. It doesn’t matter if they make any mistakes in grammar, etc. If they do just repeat the question in the correct form and then answer it.
Another good idea is to supply them with the answer and have them give you the question. Of course you have to make it obvious what it is you’re talking about. Walk up to a student, pick up their pencilcase, look at it for a second and say, " It’s blue and white. " This answer requires two keywords in the question, ‘color’ and ‘pencilcase’. Don’t accept just, " What color is it? ". Make them use the language that they know.
Prompt them for both words. They have to answer, " What color is my pencilcase? ".
Then move on to the next student and repeat the process.
It may take them a while to get used to these ideas, but once they do they get right into them. Especially if you only give them a very short time in which to respond.
For this exercise you’ll need a bag and some small objects, eg., cars, robots, bicycles, planes, etc. Its not an activity for a beginners class. I generally have the objects and the bag in a box just outside the door. When it comes time to do the exercise I go to the door and put an object in the bag, hiding what I’m doing with my body. Then I look around the room for a moment, pondering who I’m going to give the bag to. This person has to come out in front of the class and start describing what’s in the bag. The other students are allowed to ask ‘yes/no’ questions, eg., ‘Is it.....? Does it have....?’, and of course the person doing the describing is only allowed to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Of course, I demand complete sentences. I give them about 10 to 15 seconds to guess what’s in the bag. Any longer than this and it becomes too easy. If they succeed then the person doing the describing can go outside and choose the next item that has to described. If they fail I get to do the choosing. If you wanted to you could turn this into a game with teams and scoring etc., but I just like to use it as an ending when we’ve been doing adjectives or something.
Here are some example sentences for a kite.
It’s white, blue and red.
It has a long tail.
I like to fly it on a windy day.
This ideas is useful for when you are ready to teach uncle, aunt, neice, nephew, cousin and maybe son and daughter. The students will already know father mother, brother, sister and maybe son and daughter, so all you’ll need to do is identify these relationships. The students should also be familiar with the possessive, eg., John’s pen.
In a column down the left side of the board list out all the types of relationships, eg., mother, father, etc. and give a quick drill. You could add in husband - wife if you wanted to. Mentally divide the rest of the board into three horizontal sections - top, middle and bottom. Oh yes, don’t forget to leave a small space at the bottom for the dialogue later. In the top section draw a man and a woman. They don’t have to be great pictures, just stick figures will do. These will end up being the grandparents of the family. In the center section draw two sets of men and women and space them evenly across the board, eg., ......M1W1..............M2W2....... These will be the mothers and fathers of our family. And in the lower section draw two boys and two girls under each mother and father. This allows for ‘brother - brother’ and ‘sister - sister’ later.
Now, with a different color marker start, defining the family relationships. (I like to use a different colored pens for two reasons. One is to separate different kinds of information in my graphs, tables, drawings, etc., and the other is to make the presentation more colorful and therefore more attractive.) Start from the top and work down. Identify the couple at the top as father and mother. Draw a line from this couple to woman1 and elicit the relationship from the students (mother, father - daughter). Draw another line from the top couple to man2 and again elicit response (mother, father - son). Draw a line from woman1 to man2 and elicit brother, sister. Repeat this process for levels two and three. These relationships should be lines and labled.
With another colored marker (this is new stuff and therefore requires a different color) start marking in niece, nephew, uncle, aunt and cousin. Again, these relationships should be lined and labled. Now give another short drill of the words in the left hand column.
Yes, I know, so far this all sounds very ordinary and pedestrian. We’ll get to the hook now. The hook is in the naming of the people drawn on the board. With yet another colored pen name the figures on the board after the students. If you have more figures than students start naming them Bill, Bill1, etc. True, its not much of a hook but the kids seem to enjoy it.
Now its time for the practice. Begin with something simple, use a sentence like, John is Mary’s (cousin). You don’t even have to write this sentence on the board as its only four words and the students already know all but one of them. You should start off pointing to the figures on the board as you say the sentence, " John is Mary’s (pause - hoping for a student to answer) (cousin). After you’ve done this a few times, hand it over to the students and let them run with it. When they’re comfortable with this give them a more complex structure to have fun with.
Re: Bored High-Level Students
http://www.eslcafe.com/discussion/
Posted by Lori on Sunday, 24 January 1999, at 2:54 p.m., in response to Re: Bored High-Level Students, posted by
Ann Louveton on Friday, 15 January 1999, at 2:51 p.m.
For Teachers, try : http://altern.org/rmastine/forum-CYBERSITE.html
Re: Websites for language learners
Posted by Emily Chen on Friday, 6 November 1998, at 12:22 p.m., in response to Re: Websites for language learners, posted by Peter Shea on Friday, 6 November 1998, at 7:16 a.m.
Dr. Shea,
Thanks for telling us another site that we can use for a discussion center.
The delphi site is
There is an example site (for this class) at
http://www.delphi.com/etap634/
You also asked us how we can make the best use of such a site to facilitate students to learn English. First, let’s see why we want to use a discussion center. Since a discussion center can let students and teachers post their opinions, comments, questions, or responses on the board, just like what we have done now, the biggest advantage is that everyone can share each other’s stuff.
Students can learn not only from the teacher but their peers as well. As for how to use it, I think it depends on what tasks or teaching points that the teacher wants to focus on. Next, I’ll give some examples to show how we, teachers, can use this kind of discussion center in our teaching.
(2) In a conversation or a speech class, we can ask students to write their dialogues, role plays, or speeches on the board ahead of the class meeting. In this way, they can organize their ideas first and work on the form of the language they use for their oral performance too. The purpose is to help them make better language preparations, including the content and the form, so when they do their oral work, they can be more confident and pay more attention to their pronunciation and nonverbal communication.
(3) In a reading class, the teacher can post pre-reading warm-up questions and also post-reading comprehension questions for students to discuss. Since the answers are open ended, students can express any thing related to the reading text and exchange their ideas. The more ideas they express, the better understanding they will have for their reading. So for the comprehension purpose, I think the content of students’ responses should be more cared about than the form of the language.
(4) In a grammar class, we can encourage students to ask questions about any grammatical use they are not sure about, or have them make sentences using the grammatical point they have learned from class. Some students hate grammar because they think it’s so mechanical and they are always confused with so many grammatical rules and exceptions. If they can often ask questions and learn how to use the grammar correctly by making sentences in a discussion center, I believe this way will improve both their grammar use and knowledge.
http://www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca/schools/olp/2mmclub/splve97.htm
Try the sample mysteries on the next pages, go find others on the Internet site or let the students write their own.
The Case of the Murdered Ballerina by Melanie McDougall
The Case of the Cheated Friend by Brittany Day
The Case of the War by Caroline Renaud
The Case of the Ornithologist by Philippe Jete
The Case of the Bank Robbery by Louis Lazaris
The Case of the Famous Murdered Racket-ball Player by Robin Hunter
The Case of Anna's Murder by Jason Ronci
The Case of the Bank Robber by Jonathan Mcmullen
The Case of the Escaping Animals by Kate Di Lallo
The Case of the Murdered Student by Marie-eve Poulin
The Case Of The Murder On Miami Beach by Amanda Cagliesi
The Case Of The Missing Costume by Daniel Grandmaison
The Case of the Partners by Dany Lachapelle
The Case of the Robbed Bank by Eric Roy Massicotte
The Case of the Shark Attack by Eric St-Jean.
The Case of the Disappearing Footprints by Nathalie Giguere
The Case of the Dead Gymnast by Nathalie Goral
The Case of the Framing of Joe Stanky by Stephanie Mastrogiorgio
The Case of the Stolen File by James Gremont
The Case of the Dead Man by Jephte Moreau
The Case of the Gold Diamond by Natasha Elaina Pellino
Guilty or Not? And Why?
ANSWERS TO SAMPLE MYSTERIES
The Case of the Alley Murder
Jacques said that the killer ran to the fire escape and pushed the door inwards and ran into the theatre. This could not be true because fire escape doors always open outwards.
The Case of the Santa Claus
Dawn said that her husband slipped on the ice and fell to the green grass below.
There could not be ice on the roof if the grass was green. He would have fallen to the
frozen ground or snow.
The Case of the Cave Death
Stalagmites grow on the ground not on the ceiling.
The Case of the Gardener
Tulips do not have thorns.
Free English as a Second Language lessons ready to photocopy.
User name: guest
Password: nv4588
What's Your Favorite Color?
From: http://www.english-to-go.com
Guilty or Not? And Why? Name(s) _______________________
Read these 2-minute mysteries and write your answer for each of the 4 examples.
You are looking for something in the people's stories that indicates that they are not telling the truth and therefore are guilty. (something impossible, not logical or conflicting)
Two Minute Mysteries from Our Lady of Peace School
By: Stephan Goral
Dr.Haledjian was in Inspector Winters' office waiting for the next case to solve when
Inspector Winters came in with Jacques Strap. "He's charged with murdering Frank
Buzz," snapped the Inspector.
"It's a mistake," cried Jacques.
"So then what were you doing in an alley with a gun and a dead man?" asked the
Inspector.
"It wasn't my gun , and I'll tell you the truth. I was walking past the theater when I saw
two men run past me. The second man was carrying a gun. So I followed them. They
turned into an alley and the second man fired six shots at the other. The first man
dropped dead to the floor. The murderer was about to walk away when he caught a
glimpse of me. Knowing there was no escape, he threw me his Colt 45 and ran to the
fire escape of the theater. There he pushed open the door and went inside. I was still
holding the gun when a cop came running up the alley", finished Jacques.
"I tell you I'm innocent."
"Give me a break", said Dr.Haledjian. "This story is impossible."
By: Daniel Demers
"Dr.Haledjian, did you know that the case I just completed was actually solved by the
murderer herself?", asked Inspector Winters.
"No, I did not. Could you tell me about it?", replied Dr. Haledjian."
"It all started on Christmas Eve", began Inspector Winters. "I was patrolling my area
and a woman ran out into the street crying for help. So I stopped my car and ran to the
crime scene. I saw a man on the ground dead. The man had a broken neck and leg.
As I was inspecting the body, the woman came beside me and said "Hi, I'm Dawn,
Dawn Maclean. That is my husband, Christopher Maclean."
"How did it happen?", I asked.
It all started about an hour ago when my husband dressed up as Santa Claus and
tried to impress me, but all he impressed was the green grass as he slipped on the ice
of the roof and fell to his death", she replied.
"Of course, you put her in jail?", asked Dr.Haledjian.
"Of course I did!", I replied.
WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By: Allan Slawik
"Two friends, Chip A. Rock and Don Kee, planned to go into the Dallas caves to
explore the inside", said Winters.
"Have they ever gone into a cave before ?", asked Haledjian.
Winters told him, "Yes, Chip A. Rock has been studying caves for five years, but Don
Kee, who is fabulously rich, is just a starter."
"What happened to Don Kee?," asked Dr. Haledjian.
"Well, we'll leave Chip A. Rock to tell us that. Here he comes," said Winters.
"Hello, Chip A. Rock", greeted Dr. Haledjian.
"Now tell us what happened?", demanded Dr. Haledjian.
"Well, I was going to explore a cave with Don Kee . It was really dark in the cave. We
had flashlights so we lit up the cave with them. We kept on walking until we found a
chamber full of stalagmites. All of a sudden, a stalagmite fell from the ceiling. It hit Don
Kee on his torso. It pierced him through his heart. The sight was horrifying. I couldn't
stand it".
"That's the story of how he died", said Chip A. Rock while sobbing.
"Well that pretty much clears it up", said Winters. "You're not guilty."
"You have a lot to learn, Winters. He is guilty", said Dr. Haledjian.
HOW DID HALEDJIAN KNOW THAT HE WAS GUILTY?
By: Candice Stella
Dr. Haledjian was just about to go out for his lunch break when the phone rang,
"Hello", answered Dr. Haledjian in an annoyed voice.
"Yes, my name is Jack Black, and I have just been injured while I was working. Could
you come and help me get cleaned up. The address is 221 Sherbrooke St. You can't
miss this mansion, its the biggest one on the block".
"I'll be right there", replied Dr. Haledjian.
Dr. Haledjian arrived at the scene 15 minutes later. "How did this happen?", asked Dr.
Haledjian.
"Well I was fixing the tulips in the garden when someone abruptedly pushed me from
behind. I fell in the tulips and all the thorns pierced my skin. Dr. Haledjian, can you call
my lawyer, I am sueing the owner of this mansion for all that they're worth?", exclaimed
Jack Black.
"You're not sueing anyone", replied Dr. Haledjian. "Arrest him".
WHY?
Did you solve these cases? Write your answers for each of the 4 cases.
Hint: You are looking for something in the people's stories that
indicate that they are not telling the truth and therefore are guilty.
What's Your Favorite Color?
Pre-Reading Activities
A: Tell someone else
Tell someone else which color or colors you associate with the feelings below:
- feeling excited
- feeling angry
- feeling energetic
- feeling depressed
- feeling peaceful
- feeling nervous
B: Short discussion
Answer the questions below and compare your answers with other students. Work out what the results are for your group or class.
- What is your favorite color? What things do you have that are that color?
- The 1960s are remembered in some countries as a decade of youth movements and social change, and the 1980s as a decade of financial excess and the end of the Cold War. What do you think the 1990s will be remembered for?
- What do you think will be important in the first decade of the new millennium?
C: Vocabulary
To help you understand today's article, read the following list of words and their meanings.
- introspection: thinking about your own thoughts and feelings
- the Millennium: the year 2000 (a millennium = a period of a thousand years)
- associate with: link two things in your mind (e.g. red = danger)
- to poll: to ask people for their opinion in a survey
- a consumer: a person who buys goods
- colleagues: people working with you, or in the same profession
- the mood of a group: the way a group feels
Reading Activities
A: Scanning
Read the questions below and then look for the answers in the article. Try to find the answers as quickly as you can without reading every word of the article, and write the answers next to the questions.
- What is blue the color of?
- What is green the color of?
- Who did Young and Rubicam poll?
- Which cola company changed the color of its cans?
- Which credit card company has chosen the color blue for its new card?
- Which color does Doug Smith think is always in fashion?
|
|
|
| By
Hester Abrams
LONDON November 17 (Reuters) - Blue jeans, blue computers, blue cola cans, blue pills.
``Though there is some debate over what color or colors consumers will most associate with the year 2000 and beyond, our research shows that the clear front-runner is blue,'' the Brand Futures group at advertising agency Young & Rubicam forecasts. The agency said it polled colleagues in 41 countries about the connection between colors and the Millennium and found those who mentioned blue consistently associated it with sky and water, a sense of limitlessness and peace. Color theorists are often involved in marketing decisions where shades and tones are essential to corporate image, packaging and product design. A mood registered in market research can be captured by a color choice in a finished product or advertising to promote a subconscious connection of feelings with a brand. Young & Rubicam's research started with an observation that, in the United States, wearing jeans to the office Fridays is regarded as normal. The agency's trend analyst Marian Salzman calls blue jeans archetypal Millennium wear. She cited a raft of manufacturers hooking up to a blue bandwagon -- from PepsiCo rebranding its red cola cans blue to ice-blue makeup to Apple's new blue iMac computer. When American Express recently launched a new charge card, it chose the name ``blue'' to distinguish it from the well-known green card and to tie in with the company's blue box logo. ``Blue is always in fashion. It's cool in terms of color and hipness,'' said American Express spokesman Doug Smith. It speaks to people aged 25-35, he said, ``who work to live rather than live to work''. Copyright © 1998 Reuters Limited. |
B: Vocabulary
The following words are also used in the article. Read the article and underline the words. Then work with a partner and match the words with their meanings. One of you should do Word List A, the other, Word List B. Then when you have finished, share your answers:
Word List A (Business words)
Match each word on the left with its meaning on the right.
|
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
_____
|
|
Word List B
Match each word on the left with its meaning on the right.
|
|
C: Finding Important Ideas
Here are eight sentences which summarize different ideas from the article. Only four of them contain important ideas from the article. The other ideas are in the article but they are not as important. Read them and choose the four most important ideas.
- Green is the color people associate with the environment.
- Blue is the color people associate with peace, open space and the future.
- It is normal to wear jeans to the office on Fridays in the United States.
- Young & Rubicam is an advertising agency.
- Blue is likely to be very popular for the year 2000.
- Companies are choosing the color blue for their new products.
- Marketers believe people associate certain feelings with certain colors.
- Apple has a new blue computer.
D: Thinking Carefully
Read these sentences and answer the questions below. They encourage you to think more carefully about two sentences from the article.
- "Blue -- the color of introspection, open space and the future -- will soon be everywhere, even in your wallet...." What are the words in bold referring to in the article?
- "She cited a raft of manufacturers hooking up to a blue bandwagon...." What do the words in bold mean?
Post-Reading Activities
You may do one or more of these.
A: Make a Decision
Work in small groups. You work in the marketing department of a company. Choose a product or products from the list below and then discuss which color is suitable for the product. (You can also discuss which mood this product could be associated with.)
- a new ice-cream flavor (think of a color for the ice-cream, and for the packaging)
- a canned fruit juice (think of the color of the juice and the color of the label)
- a stereo
- a toothpaste
- a lipstick
- a new note for your country's currency
B: Give an opinion
Work in pairs and talk about the questions below:
- How much do you think color influences your decision to buy something?
- People aged 25-35 ``...work to live rather than live to work''. Do you agree with this statement? Why/why not?
- "The agency said it polled colleagues in 41 countries and found those who mentioned blue consistently associated it with sky and water, a sense of limitlessness and peace." Do you have the same feelings about the color blue? What feelings do you associate with other colors?
C: Analysis
Look around your classroom or your school and find some well-known products or brands. What colors are used for these products? Think about advertising for these products. What moods are suggested in the advertisement?
TEACHERS' NOTES AND ANSWER KEY
These do not need to be photocopied.
Pre-Reading Activities
B: Short Discussion
After students have discussed this in small groups, hold a feedback session to collate their answers. For #2 and #3 you could write the suggestions on the board and then take a vote.
Reading Activities
A: Scanning - Answers
It is possible for them to do the scanning section without knowing the words in the next vocabulary section. Students should be discouraged from using a dictionary at this stage.
- Introspection, open space, the future (students could also answer sky, water, limitlessness and peace)
- Environmental friendliness
- Colleagues in 41 countries
- Pepsi
- American Express
- Blue
B: Vocabulary - Teachers' Notes
The article contains difficult words and concepts. Students should read the article and work out which meaning goes with which word.
B: Vocabulary - Answers
Word List A (Business words)
- promote: to give publicity to/support for
- registered (in a poll): recorded
- forecast: to say what is expected to happen
- a symbol: something that refers to or suggests something else
- rebranding: to change the look or style of a product or service
- logo: a printed symbol used by a company
Word List B
- adopt: to take over something as your own
- shades: different kinds of a color (e.g. dark green, lime green)
- integrated: the parts are all closely linked
- subconscious: thoughts and feelings that you are not fully aware of
- archetypal: a very typical example
- distinguish: to show the difference between
- hip: up-to-date and very fashionable
- bandwagon: a popular or fashionable activity
C: Finding Important Ideas - Teachers' Notes
Students should work on their own to do this exercise, but after they have completed it, they can compare their answers in small groups. If they disagree, encourage them to explain why and to defend their choice.
C: Finding Important Ideas - Answers
- Blue is the color people associate with peace, open space and the future.
- Blue is likely to be very popular for the year 2000.
- Companies are choosing the color blue for their new products.
- Marketers believe people associate certain feelings with certain colors.
D: Thinking Carefully - Answers
1) This introduces an idea explored later in the article: American Express's new blue credit card.
2) Companies are copying the idea of using blue for products because it is believed to be the new fashionable color. (The sentence suggests a picture of companies "joining up to" an existing and popular idea.)
© 1998 English To Go Ltd. News article ©1998 Reuters, used with permission. Not to be reproduced or stored in any way without the permission of English To Go Ltd. http://www.english-to-go.com
email: editor@english-to-go.com
From : http://scholar.coe.uwf.edu/pacee/steps/tutorial/projectl.htm
So, you're using a thematic approach to teach units. You're building on students' experiences to design your instruction. You're using achievement targets to assess progress. You're implementing Gardner's eight multiple intelligences. Does this mean you are, then, using project-based learning? Unsure? If so, read on...discover what you are and are not doing, based on educational research jargon. You may discover you are already using this approach...or you may learn a totally new technique that just may help, in the nick of time, promote your students to becoming lifelong learners! So, take that step...read on.
What is Project-Based Learning?
If you think project-based learning is identical to any other innovative approach being implemented in education today, then you are, in timely fashion, ready to learn more specific traits regarding this approach. While project-based learning, problem-based learning, constructivism, learner-centered classrooms, and outcome-based education all have some commonalities, each is in some way unique. So, let's find the traits that make Project-Based Learning special.
To be labeled a real project, the activity must entail an intensive study of a particular topic which may be conducted in various settings such as: cooperative learning groups, whole class, or even, individual students. A special feature of project-based learning is that it entails research that hones in on finding answers about a particular topic which may well be raised by students, as well as the teacher...or both. So, what makes it different from some other approaches? The reason for doing it. That is, project-based learning has as its goal learning more about the chosen topic, rather than just finding correct, lower-order answers to recall questions posed by the teacher.
A key goal of project-based learning is for students to become involved in topics that are real and meaningful to them, requiring activities that entail direct investigation, not just library reseach. This may include direct actions such as interviewing, observing, and touring. Another key trait of project-based learning is that a final product is a result of the investigation. This may be, for example, a multi-media presentation, a play, or a scaled model.
So, how do the goals of project-based learning contrast to the goals
of systematic instruction? Perhaps a table will help paint the picture
of project-based learning.
|
|
|
teaches ways to acquire skills |
teaches ways to apply skills |
hones in on deficiencies |
hones in on proficiencies |
uses extrinsic motivation, often |
uses intrinsic motivation, usually |
is mostly teacher directed, with specified tasks |
is both teacher and student directed, and considers students' constructivist/experiental needs and realities |
Step I
Instruct students to surf the net in small groups to find, for example, why giraffes eat leaves, why snakes frequently flick their tongues, why female lions do most of the hunting, and why chameleons change color. The purpose of this initial search is to get the students brainstorming on ways that animal (living) behavior is a response to the environment. Students share their findings with the whole class. In whole group discussion, use the students' findings as a springboard for them to then choose an animal they would like to investigate further. You may want to let students choose to work in a cooperative group based on the animal in which they are most interested. Once this is established, explain to students that they are to investigate their topic choice in the following ways:
Step II
In this step, students may view videos, surf the net, visit and observe the zoo, and/or interview veterinarians and animal owners. They may devise models of the animals to answer, and later illustrate, key traits of their animal. They may even create a dramatization of how their animal relates to its environment; or, they may do a multi-media presentation of salient features of their topic.
Step III
Finally, in this step, the cooperative learning group submits its final project which includes answering the questions previously highlighted. They may share their project with their classmates. They may present a dramatic portrayal of some points about their animal. Models, narratives, and multi-media presentations are other possibilities. Finally, they evaluate their project, using self, peer, and/or teacher assessment. They decide, based on the original questions, whether or not they met the criteria for the project.
In closing, don't be surprised if the students ask to do another project...on another animal, because they truly are fascinating.
CS des Sommets ESL E-mail directory
Primaire / Primary Send in yours!
| GAUVIN ROBERT | École Sainte-Marguerite | |
| GIGUÈRE ERIC | École Saint-Philippe | |
| LECLERC SINDY | École Sainte-Marguerite | |
| LEFEBVRE GUYLAINE | École Le Tournant | |
| MEILLEUR MARIE | École St-Gabrielle | |
| PARADIS MIREILLE | École | |
| ST-PIERRE SUZANNE | École St-Adrien | |
| WATSON CATHERINE | École Sacré-Coeur |
| BOISSEL CAROLINE | École Le Tournesol | 4 (1&2c) | Cboissel@hotmail.com |
| DUQUETTE SYLVIE | Polyvalente L'Escale Pav2 | 3 | ducky4ever@hotmail.com |
| GUILLEMETTE MARCEL | École secondaire La Ruche | 5 | famg@sympatico.ca |
| GUILLEMETTE MELANIE | École second. Le Transit | 1 | Sims4@globetrotter.net |
| MALOUIN JULIE | École Le Tournesol | 1c | juliemalouin@hotmail.com |
| MASTINE RON | École Le Tournesol | rmastine@SUNqbc.risq.qc.ca | |
| PINARD PIERRE | École Le Tournesol | 5 | ppcc@microtec.net |
| POULIOT JULIE | École L'Odyssée Pav.(2) | 4 | juliesim@interlinx.qc.ca |
| THIBAULT JOCELYNE | École Le Tournesol | 4 | flafleur@interlinx.qc.ca |
| WILLIAMS ROBERT O. | Polyvalente L'Escale Pav2 | 5 | unclebob50@hotmail.com |
To get your own free e-mail - go to www.hotmail.com, altern.org, www.moncourrier.com, or many other such sites that offer this free service that you can consult from any computer connected to the Internet.
Why? - Have you ever played telephone tag? - you call, they are out - they call back, you're in class and on it goes. Of course having an e-mail means getting into the habit of checking it regularly however it becomes a tool you won't be able to do without - exchange information, documents and pictures.
Imagine: Can't get BIM to work? Drop me a message and I will send the exam by email and you'll have it the next day. It doesn't cost $10 for faxes or a week and a half for the cs mail. Review the exam and if you'd like to order the cassette - send an e-mail and you have it the next time the cs mail delivers.
Contact:
L'icône
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http://www.adobe.fr/products/acrobat/download/readstep.html
- Site anglais :