Do we have class? 703 658-1274
AM Class: What’s the homework? (Click and Write if the homework is good or not good for you-I want it to take less than 20 minutes. I want it to be easy and useful.)
Homework for Monday, March 10 -- Do the worksheet to practice "how long." Study was vs. were. If the Kahoots were difficult today, try them again: Kahoot: Prepositions of movement and Kahoot: How long vs. How often Study Class vocabulary 3 and your reading group vocabulary: red-and-blue reading vocabulary. or green group
3-7 Today, we continued to talk about travel. We answered "How was the weather?" and "How was the hotel?" Registration for new classes will start on Monday so Naydu came to talk about that. We practiced wasn't and weren't. We did two Kahoots: Kahoot: Prepositions of movement and Kahoot: How long vs. How often.
Homework for Friday, March 7, 2025 Check out the exercises on EasyESOLgrammar -- Simple past. Study Class vocabulary 3 and your reading group vocabulary: red-and-blue reading vocabulary. or green group
3-7 Today, we practiced using simple past with irregular verbs. I tried to be clear and super strict about using a base verb with did or didn't. Was--were is its own thing. NO DID or DIDN'T with the verb "to be." We wrote about a trip.
Homework for Thursday, March 6, 2025 Do WB p. 64. if you didn't do WB p. 63 today, do it tonight. Study how to do present tense and past tense. Study Class vocabulary 3 and your reading group vocabulary: red-and-blue reading vocabulary. or green group
3-5-25 Today, we did reading groups. My group practiced reading chants with stresses. B&R group read about Sacagawea. Both groups did Unit 5 readings.
Homework for Wednesday, March 5, 2025 Do WB p. 59 & 62. Study Class vocabulary 3 and your reading group vocabulary: red-and-blue reading vocabulary. or green group vocabulary
3-4-25 Today, students showed each other good places to go sightseeing. We talked about Ramadan and Mardi Gras. We read about Mardi Gras. We practiced using frequency adverbs before action verbs and after the verb "to be." Liborio usually works. He is usually busy. Aziza always cooks. Her family is always happy to eat. Cindi never sleeps. She is always very tired. Use simple present tense verbs with frequency adverbs.
Homework for Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Do WB p. 58. Use your phone and the QR code to watch the video on SB p. 62. Study Class vocabulary 3
Today, we quickly reviewed Unit 5 vocabulary. We practiced using was/were with adjectives. We went over WB 54,55, & 56. We danced Cupid to practice right and left. We read about two people who traveled.
Homework for Monday, March 3, 2025: Do WB p. 56. Do #2 on p. 57. Study Class vocabulary 3
(One of my Quizlet champions played the matching game (which often takes less than 2 minutes) every time she unplugged or plugged in her phone. I sometimes play Quizlet matching while I'm waiting for someone.
2-28-24 Today, we practiced "How did you get here?"(What transportation did you use to come to this location) How long does/did it take to ________(base verb) (What is the duration of time to ______(base verb) and How often do you ____/does he ______(Simple present verb) (How many times per day, week, month, year, or century do you/does he ______(simple present verb)
How did you get here? I drove./I took the bus./My husband dropped me off./My friend brought me./I walked./I rode my bicycle.
How long does it take to get here? I live nearby. It takes me five or ten minutes to get here depending on whether the light at Edsall and Montgomery is red or green. It takes Delmira five or ten minutes too. It takes Yeworkwuha almost an hour because she comes from Woodbridge. If Maryam takes the bus from the Rose Hill neighborhood, it takes more than an hour because she needs to take three different buses. It took Teresita a long time on the bus too, but now she rides with Olga.
How was your commute? My commute is always easy because I live within walking distance. Aziza's commute was easy today because traffic was light. Her commute was long yesterday because there was a traffic jam on Backlick Rd.
How often do you cook? When my children were little, I cooked dinner five or six times a week. These days, I cook about twice a month. Jessica usually cooks every day. She cooks at work and at home. Aziza cooks every day. Jorge often cooks. My mother never cooks.
How often do you do laundry. When my children were little, I did laundry six days a week. Nowadays, I do laundry once a week. Tamani does laundry once a week too. My husband rarely does laundry.
How long does it take to do the dishes? It takes me about twelve minutes to unload and load a dishwasher. My dishwasher runs for more than two hours.
Homework for Friday, February 28 Workbook p. 54. Study vocabulary.
2-27 We learned and practiced a lot of vocabulary for traveling. We practiced "Did you ever ____" and "What do you like to do?" We started unit 5. We used present continuous verbs to talk about activities in the pictures. We had a discussion about where we live and wrote about the street where we live.
Homework for Thursday, February 27. Do this handout: Page 1, page 2 Study vocabulary. If you don't know Irregular Verbs set 1, study and learn them.
Bonus: Repeat the listening activity Write about and practice speaking basic facts about your life.
2-26 We started the class by reviewing milestones. Students turned in homework in which they described one important event in their life. They talked about their event with a classmate who wrote it down. One table practiced "before" and "after" and put the cards in chronological order on the wall. We did a challenging listening practice. I wanted you to hear good answers to "tell me about yourself." I want you to be able to talk about yourself in a similar way. We practiced good academic reading habits by reading and doing questions about a man that went to Antarctica and posted his trip on the internet. We reviewed identifying and pronouncing past tense verbs. I talked a little about spelling: double the final consonant when a words ends with a strong syllable that ends with one consonant and one vowel. Never double x, v, or y. In the US, traveling has one L because we stress the first syllable. Travelling has two Ls in British English because they stress that last syllable. We did a dictation to conversation about traveling. We went over vocabulary for vacations, and students will write about it for homework.
Homework for Wednesday, February 26-- Write about one important event in your life to turn in to me (Laurie). A milestone is an important event.
2-25 Today was reading day. Red and blue group read about musicians. Green group read about activities some people like, reading strategies, and some caverns in Chile
Homework for Tuesday, February 25: Study irregular verbs. Study your reading vocabulary:
red-and-blue reading vocabulary. or green group vocabulary
2-24 Today, we reviewed indefinite pronouns. We had a past tense and a Unit 6 quiz. Milestones are important events in your life. I want you to be able to talk about your milestones. (I was born on January 1, 1996. I moved to Colorado in August, 2002. I got my first job in 2010. I graduated from high school in 2014. I took an amazing trip to the Dominican Republic in 2015.)
Homework for Monday, February 24: Do WB p. 77. Study past tense and Unit 6. Study irregular verbs from p. 72, p.5 and have, do, be, think, and tell. We will probably have a quiz.
2-21-25 We worked hard today. We learned about indefinite pronouns for people. (SB p. 81) We practiced when to use some and any. Some=any= 2+ when we don't know or want to say the exact number (countable) or amount (non-count). Positive (YES)- use some. I have some books. She has some pencils. Some students worked very hard. Negative (NO), use any. There wasn't any coffee. I don't have any money. She doesn't have any erasers. Please don't take any pictures. Never use some or any for one thing. Use a or an. Do you have a car?
someone - 1 specific person, but we don't know or want to say who. Someone broke the table.
anyone - 1 person, but who it is probably doesn't matter. Use in negative sentences and in questions. Does anyone have an eraser? I don't know anyone in Abu Dhabi. You can also use anyone in positive sentences to show that who it is doesn't matter. Anyone can do that job. My dog likes anyone who gives her food.
Everyone is one group with all the people. One English-is-crazy rule is that Everyone always takes the 3rd person singular verb -- the verb for it (or he). Everyone likes Tamani. Everyone has a book. Everyone who came today understands.
Homework for Friday, February 21 Do p. 80 in your student book. Study II Winter Low Intermediate at Plum set 2, LI Common Verbs 1, and irregular verbs from p. 98. What are your questions for Unit 6?
Homework for Thursday, February 20: Do Workbook p. 76. Finish Workbook p. 74-75 if you didn't finish them yesterday. Study II Winter Low Intermediate at Plum set 2, LI Common Verbs 1, and irregular verbs from p. 98. What are your questions for Unit 6?
Homework for Wednesday, February 9 -Do Workbook p. 74-75 Study irregular verbs from p. 98. and LI Common Verbs 1. Study red-and-blue reading vocabulary. or green group vocabulary
2-18 Today, we talked about syllables and the placement of time phrases. A syllable is a part of a word with one vowel sound. You only pronounce ed as an extra syllable after a base word final sound of t or d. Time phrases can be first or last, but never in the middle. If the time phrase is first, follow it with a comma. Don't use a comma if the time phrase is last. We talked about our lives so far with conversation questions.
Homework for Tuesday, February 18: Do workbook p. 71-72. Study II Winter Low Intermediate at Plum set 2 and irregular verbs from p. 98.
2-14 Today, we practiced using prepositions of time (SB 74-75 + Kahoot) and irregular verbs. We read and talked about Valentines Day and the story of George Washington and the Cherry Tree. We did a fill-in-the-blank listening to McCartney's "My Valentine"
Homework for Friday, February 14: Write the answers for the top of SB p. 75. Do WB P. 70. Study II Winter Low Intermediate at Plum set 2. Study irregular verbs from p. 98. If you have children in elementary school, look for a class list and help them make little paper valentines for everyone in the class. Many young girls will wear red to school tomorrow.
2-12 Today we reviewed and practiced using some past tense irregular verbs . (WB p. 68) We talked about time phrases with different prepositions of time (SB 74). IN a year: In 2024, In 1999. IN a month: In February, in March. ON a day: on Saturday, on Friday, on the day we met, on the first day of class. AT a time: at noon, at 9:00, at midnight. In the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening, at night. We read about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War after break.
We didn't have school on Wednesday. It was a snow day!
Homework for Wednesday, February 12: Check this blog or call 703 658-1274 before you come to class. Do WB p. 68. If there's no school, make sure WB p. 72 and 73 are finished. On Friday, we are NOT going to have talks about people we admire.
I also pay for you to have readings that read out loud to you. They are on Ellii.com. You don't need to pay anything to use this service, but you need to sign up.
Green Group Blue Group Red Group Phonics (sounds)
2-11-25 Today, we did SB p. 72-73 in the student book. We talked about forming past tense questions. I talked about the three ways to pronounce ed. We had conversation questions and a find-someone-who in which we practiced using past form for positive statements, but base form with did or didn't. We did a fill-in-the-blank exercise with the song "How did you know?"
Homework for Tuesday, February 11: Do workbook p. 73. On Friday, I want you to tell me about a person you admire. Choose the person on Tuesday. Study II Winter Low Intermediate at Plum set 2. Study irregular verbs from p. 98.
Study green group vocabulary or red-and-blue vocabulary.
I also pay for you to have readings that read out loud to you. They are on Ellii.com. They want you to sign up, but you don't need to pay anything.
Green Group Blue Group Red Group Phonics (sounds)
Homework for Monday, February 10: Write 6 events from your life in order. You can use this timeline. Go to www.fcps.edu and search on the webpage for Pebble Go biographies. Do you like any of these people? Who looks like an interesting person to talk about? If anyone looks interesting to you, write that person's name to give to me. Please don't skip the FCPS part and go to Pebble Go biographies. Our school system pays for students to have access. Please don't spend your $$ on this activity. Study vocabulary.
I also pay for you to have readings that read out loud to you. They are on Ellii.com. They want you to sign up, but you don't need to pay anything.
Green Group Blue Group Red Group Phonics (sounds)
2-7 Today, we practiced using past tense verbs to talk about milestones - important events in lives.
We did listening in the student book, p. 71. We had a lot of vocabulary today.
Homework for Friday, February 7: WB 66 and study our new vocabulary group: II Winter Low Intermediate at Plum set 2. Study Irregular verbs: irregular verbs from p. 5. and irregular verbs from p. 98.
2-6 Today, we did p. 70 in the student book. We reviewed present continuous with a Kahoot. Spelling: if there's an e at the end (take, make, freeze, bite, hope) take it off before you write ing. (taking, making, freezing, biting, hoping) If your base verb ends with a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern, (sit, run, let, hop) double the last consonant before you add ing. (sitting, running, letting, hopping)
Homework for Thursday, February 6: Finish the worksheet we started in class. Study irregular verbs from p. 5. and irregular verbs from p. 98.
2-5 Today, we practiced speaking and listening in past tense English with irregular verbs. We went over WB p. 5. Use present verbs with usually, and every. He reads is present. He read is past. Pronounce the past form read like the color red. Pronounce base form read like green tea. We did a quick quiz on the irregular verbs from page 5: Click here to do it.
Homework for Wednesday, February 5, 2025: Do workbook p. 5. Study irregular verbs from p. 5. and irregular verbs from p. 98. If today's Kahoots were difficult, do them again. If the vocabulary on the quiz from last Friday was difficult, study Quizlet Unit 2 Smaller Study Set
Kahoot: Past tense affirmative (Practice spelling past forms)
Kahoot: Contrast past tense in negative and affirmative
Bonus: Write sentences with any of the vocabulary words. Contract positive and negative sentences if the vocabulary word is a verb.
2-4 Today, we talked about simple past tense verbs. We practiced spelling words when we add ed. Usually, just add ed. Sometimes, if the word already ends in e, just add d. (use - used, move-moved, like-liked, live-lived. When you add ed, there should not be an EE. When the base verb ends in vowel-y, add ed as usual: enjoyed, played, stayed. When the base verb ends in consonant y delete the y, write i and then add ed. Study-studied, cry-cried, try-tried, fry-fried, marry-married, empty-emptied carry-carried, apply-applied. What's a vowel? A, E, I, O, U. What's a consonant? Every other letter: b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,x,z
Homework for Tuesday, February 4: Study Unit 2 study set vocabulary. If you are in blue or red group, you can finish the "about me" page of the Jane Goodall packet to give me. Study study red-and-blue vocabulary. If you are in green group, read a children's book or read along with a song on the blog three times. Study green group vocabulary
2-3 Today, we did reading groups. Red and Blue groups read about Jane Goodall and Hedy Lamarr.
red-and-blue vocabulary. Green group repeated a chant and read about an injured songwriter that got his memory back when he heard his own song.
Homework for Friday, January 31:
- Study Unit 2 for a quiz. Can you identify verbs? Can you tell me about 1 goal and what steps you need to take to get it? Can you remember the difference between I want to go shopping and I won't go shopping?
- Study Unit 2 study set vocabulary.
- Write sentences about your classmate (or friend if you didn't come today) based on the questions on the bottom of p. 29 in the student book. Try to make the verb tense of your sentences the same as the verb tense of the questions. (Examples: What are you going to do after class? I'm going to cook. HW. 1. Aziza is going to cook after class. What are you doing tomorrow? I'm coming to English class. 2. Delmira is coming to English class tomorrow. 3. What time will you get up tomorrow? I'll get up at 7:00. 3. My will get up at 7:00 tomorrow...)
- The Unit 2 Kahoot. was difficult. If you have time, try it again.
1-30 Today we practiced using future tenses. We practiced, "Are you going to ____(base verb) questions with a line dialog. (Are you going to order take out? No, I'm not. I am going to cook.) We watched the video on SB p. 29 about the three ways to talk about the future. (Present continuous tense, simple future with will, simple future with going to) We went over the answers on WB. p. 29 - keeping the answers the same verb tense as the questions. We did the group work on p. 29. We did a long Unit 2 Kahoot.
Homework for Thursday, January 30. Study Unit 2. Study the Unit 2 study set vocabulary. Finish Unit 2 in your workbook. Do you have any questions about Unit 2? Where does a home health assistant work?
1/29 Today, we talked about Lunar New Year. We watched a video about it and wrote the actions we saw. (He's playing cymbals. They are playing drums. He's getting a haircut. He's wearing new clothes. They are cleaning their house. She is sweeping the floor. They are eating with chopsticks.) Lunar New Year Video. We reviewed future verb tenses with videos then practiced them. Present continuous is present progressive -- Video. We watched the video then played charades. (Are you crying? Yes, I am. Are you crawling? No, I'm not.) We can use present progressive/present continuous for actions now and for future actions that feel certain. We watched a video about future with will. Then, we did a SxS conversation substitution drill. Then we did a find-someone-who exercise and used maybe, probably, and definitely with will in sentences. Maybe goes first. Both probably and definitely go after will but before won't. Maybe, we'll go out to eat tonight. We won't go to Virginia Beach this afternoon. We'll probably do p. 29 in class tomorrow. She probably won't get married and have babies. We did a find-someone-who and wrote sentences.
Homework for Wednesday, January 29: Do workbook p. 29. Look and see if you have any questions about Unit 2. Think about goals you can write about. Study the Unit 2 study set vocabulary.
1-28 Today, we practiced using formal grammar and future with be going to ____(base verb) (= gonna _____(base verb)). We played Quizlet live to review vocabulary. We identified Verbs with a Kahoot. Then we talked about verb tenses. In English we use different action words to show the time. The verb pattern (verb tense) needs to match the time. (I go home every evening. He goes home almost every night.. I went home last evening. I am going home now. I will go home this evening. I'm going to go home after I finish my work.) We did a tricky Kahoot about verb tenses.
We watched a Side x Side video for future with going to We practiced speaking questions and answers with be going to _________ (base verb)
Homework for Tuesday, January 28: Workbook p. 24, 25, 26,& 27. Study class vocabulary.
If you read with Mary Ann today, study red-and-blue vocabulary. If you read with me last Wednesday, study green group vocabulary. We are almost finished with Unit 2. Do you understand it?
Bonus: Practice talking or writing about the future, using action words with be going to, future with will, and present continuous.
Homework for Monday, January 27 -- work on workbook pages 24, 25 ,26 , & 27
If you read with Mary Ann last Wednesday, study red-and-blue vocabulary. If you read with me last Wednesday, study green group vocabulary Study class vocabulary.
1/24 Today, we practiced speaking and writing in future and present tense. We used future with going to to talk about plans for the weekend. We used “why don’t you ____(base verb)” to give advice for how to reach goals. I want to be healthier. Why don't you eat healthy food. Why don't you take walks. Why don't you drink water. Why don't you lift weights. Why don't you avoid sugar. We wrote about goals and some of the small steps we need to take to reach our goals.
Homework for Friday, January 24: DON'T DO workbook p. 29 as I wrote on the whiteboard. DO workbook p. 23. Tell your friends. Tell all your classmates. Study vocabulary. If you want, try the Future-with-will Kahoot again.
Bonus: Write sentences about your future. Use probably and maybe. Copy spelling. Speak in English as often as you can.
1/23 Today, we practiced using the verb tense, “future with will.” We practiced saying it’ll and that’ll. We used maybe, probably and most likely. Maybe goes first in a sentence. It’s before the subject. Maybe, we’ll play Quizlet Live tomorrow. Maybe, I’ll have rice for dinner. Maybe, Shagofa will come to class tomorrow. Probably goes after will, but before won't. I’ll probably visit my mother this evening. She probably won’t talk about my dad. I’ll probably come early tomorrow. I probably won’t bring salmon for snack time, but she’ll probably have salmon for dinner.
Homework for Thursday, January 23: Make sure workbook p. 4 is finished. Study vocabulary. If you read with Mary Ann today, study red-and-blue vocabulary. If you read with me today, study green group vocabulary Please finish today’s classwork to turn in tomorrow.
Bonus: Think about many things that you want to do in the future. What do you need to do to be able to do them? If our grammar is difficult, study future with will and simple present. If you are in the red group, watch TV or videos in English.
1-22 Today, we met our volunteer, Mary Ann. We read and talked about New Years. Mary Ann’s group also talked about designing cities. Laurie’s class talked about parents coming to school when their children don’t behave well.
Homework for Wednesday, January 22: Do workbook p. 4. Study vocabulary.
Bonus: Practice Present verb to be – Practice past verb to be: was or were
1/21 Today, we used the color vowel chart to say our names. (Olive sock Laurie, Blue moon Lury, White tie My, Silver Pin Yimi, Red Pepper Maryam, gray day Pedro, orange door Jorge, green tea Aziza.) We did p. 25 of the blue student book. We did the listening and verb to be on SB p. 4. We turned in writing about ourselves and wrote about a classmate.
Homework for Tuesday, January 21: Write about yourself. You can make your writing similar to the paper I gave you or make it similar to Maria’s story on p. 4 in the student book. Study vocabulary. I have a different Quizlet set for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Bonus: Finish comprehension questions about Martin Luther King Jr. Answer questions on the class webpage. Do yesterday’s bonus work!
NO SCHOOL MONDAY January 20.
1/17 Today, we read about inauguration day and about Martin Luther King. We also talked to each other with conversation questions. We had a LOT of new vocabulary.
Homework for Friday, January 17: Do workbook p. 20-21. Study vocabulary. Write some of your goals besides (not) “learn English.”
BONUS: Talk to people in English. Read and reread English things or children’s books. Write answers to the questions on the class webpage. Study parts of speech. If our grammar is difficult, study future with will and simple present. Print out this new page and fill it out with the song: I want to know what love is. Can you do it on the first try?
1/16/25 Today, we practiced simple present tense especially when we use want to and need to. We practiced using s or does with he/she/it. I want coffee. She wants coffee. We want to learn English. They want to get a GED. We use the “to” before base form verbs. We don’t use “to” before nouns. He wants cheese. He wants to eat cheese. She likes salsa. She wants to dance salsa. He likes soccer. He wants to watch the world cup. They don’t like English, but they want to speak English very well. We did a kahoot to practice do or does. We did SB p. 20-21. We listened to I want to know what love is and filled in the blanks on the lyrics.
Homework for Thursday, January 16: Do workbook p. 18 (The workbook is the white book.) Do the worksheet with like and like to. Study vocabulary
Bonus: Put the vocabulary on the color vowel chart I gave you. Write about how you learned a skill.
1/15/25 Today, we talked about skills. Skills are abilities that you learned. What skills do you have? What skills are important? What skills do you want.?
I introduced the idea of verb tense. We change spelling and add words to show the time of an action. The patterns we use for the changes are called verb tenses. I can keyboard. I am keyboarding now. I usually keyboard six days each week. My friends never keyboards. I keyboarded yesterday. I will probably keyboard tomorrow. I can cook. I am not cooking now. I usually cook chicken or vegetarian dishes. My husband often cooks breakfast and dinner. He cooked yesterday. He will probably cook tomorrow. I am going to cook on Saturday.
We practiced using the color vowel chart. Why use a color vowel chart? What are the color vowel sounds? The color vowel sounds are the 16 vowel sounds of English. I’ll do 15 sounds in class. (I won’t use auburn dog because I and most people in this area usually sound more like olive sock when we say auburn dog category words.) We identified base forms of verbs and answered present continuous verb tense questions with a Kahoot. We talked about skills and classroom words in student book p. 18 and 19. (Some classroom words) We practiced agreeing with “I do too.” and “I don’t either.” (Example - She likes pupusas and I do too. He doesn’t like mushrooms, and I don’t either.) Disagree with “Actually I (don’t) like _______s” in speaking. Use “but” in writing. She likes mushrooms, but I don’t. “I like mushrooms.”(Actually, I don’t like mushrooms.”
Homework for Wednesday, January 15: Study vocabulary . Do white workbook p. 26. (Elena=she, Jeff=he, Marina=she, Toan=he)
Bonus Homework Possibilities: Write a list of activities you will do this week. (I will sleep late on Saturday. I will clean my kitchen. I will work tomorrow afternoon.) Write about some goals that you achieved. Answer questions on the class webpage. Copy these words for spelling: adjective, allergic, baseball, cashier, daughter, does, field, football, homemaker, neighbor, verb. Copy the words three times then write sentences that include them. (Example: daughter, daughter, daughter. My daughter likes to read. Adjective, adjective, adjective – put the adjective before the noun in English. Put the adjective after the noun in Spanish)
1-14 Today, we did dictation and we practiced some basic questions – What’s today? Today is Tuesday, January 14th. How do you get to school? I drive/I walk./I take the bus. Do you have a long commute? No, I don’t/Yes I do. Did you understand? Yes, I did/No, I didn’t. We practiced repeating question words when we answered questions. Can you swim? Yes, I can/No I can’t. Did you understand? Yes, I did/No, I didn’t. Do you like to cook? Yes, I do/No, I don’t.
Skills are things you can do. If someone asks me if I can do something that I don’t know how to do, I usually respond: “Not yet, but I’m willing to learn.”
We will use will _____(base verb) to talk about the future. Always use a base verb after will or won’t. Base verbs are simple forms - no ending like s, ed, or ing. She will go to the Serengeti. They will get new jobs. He will understand his manager. (Woodward English Explanation.) We practiced using will _______(base verb) and won’t _____(base verb)
Homework for Tuesday, January 14. Finish the goals and skills worksheet (if you didn’t do it in class.) Write: I want to ________ well in English so I can_________. Study vocabulary. Bonus: Write answers to the questions on the class webpage.
