Happy New Year!

What does "auld lang syne" mean?

What are you looking forward to in 2026?  Do you set goals/make resolutions? Write about a small goal.

Merry Christmas!!

I hope you are enjoying December.  


Professional Light Displays (Be prepared for SLOW traffic!)

In the USA, different people celebrate Christmas in really different ways.  Some people celebrate it because it is a really important Christian holiday -- the day to remember when Jesus was born.

Religious Christmas Song Lyric Videos

Virtual Handel's Messiah Sing-a-long

Many people celebrate Christmas by giving money to their church or to charities.  (Some local charities.)  Some people celebrate Christmas by volunteering (working for no pay) to help people.
Volunteer Fairfax -- links volunteers to no-pay jobs (Can be a great way to meet people and practice English!)

Many non-religious and religious-but-not-Christian people in the USA celebrate Christmas as a great time to celebrate love, friendship, and family -- they shop, party, spend time with family, go to parties with friends, send cards, and give presents.

Lyrics Videos:  Christmas Songs (NOT religious)

Do you like to shop?  Where?

Love to shop in person? Example Conversation  Challenging examples of English conversations you may have.

 Sales at Tyson's Corner,  Sales at Fair Oaks,  Sales at Springfield Town Center,
Sales at Potomac Mills


Do you celebrate Christmas?  What do you usually do?  What did you do this year?

Are you studying for US Citizenship? Today is Bill of Rights Day!

Do you know the rights in the Bill of Rights?  Should any of them change?  Which are most important?

Happy Hannukah

Do you celebrate Hannukah?  What do you do?

חנוכה commemorates the re-dedication of the holy temple in Jerusalem.  In the US, Jewish people get together, light candles, and give gifts for eight days.  In the USA, Hannukah is a big holiday, partly because it gets commercialized in a similar way to Christmas.

Are you Buddhist? Do you celebrate Bodhi Day?

 

Challenge Listening:  The Enlightenment that led to Buddhism

If you celebrate Bodhi Day, describe what you do.

If you are not Buddhist, describe a time you felt peaceful.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

 

I usually do this unit after unit 7 because I like to use comparative and superlative adjectives when I make recommendations.  How do you recommend I make this class better next session?

What was your favorite activity when you were a child?

Let's Stay Together

Did you ever get back together with an ex?  Did it work out well?

Are there any little things couples should do to make it easy to stay together no matter what?  What are they?

Is your English better?

 

Is your English better than it was last September?  How can I make this class better?

Our House

This song pronounces vase as olive-sock vase -- that's British English.

In the US, we say gray-day vase.

House Vocabulary Practice with Learning Chocolate (cupboard and cabinet are interchangeable words -.not for top and bottom.)

Language Guide House Vocabulary

Learning Chocolate: Kitchen 1

Kitchen Vocabulary from Language Guide

Kitchen 2

What do you like about your home?  What don't you like?  What do you plan to change?

Going to the dentist

 

There are three mistakes in the next video.  They wrote ger when they meant get, and filing when they meant filling.  The young man says his mum tells him off.  He should say that his mom tells him not to eat sweets.  Telling someone off can mean yelling and cursing at them because they made you very angry.

Learning Chocolate:  practice dental vocabulary

Learning Chocolate: Practice words for dental problems

Learning Chocolate: Practice words for dental procedures

How often do you go to the dentist?  Did you get any procedures recently?

You don't have to

"Would" has many meanings.  In my level, we usually use it with requests.

Would you like some water? 

"Would" in this song is past for "will."

I said I would give a vocabulary quiz on Monday.

Today at 11:30 AM: Laurie: "I will give a quiz on Monday."

After Laurie finishes speaking, you can say "Laurie said she would give a quiz on Monday."

Is this the worst Elvis song?  It's a good example of "don't have to.'  What do you have to do?  What are some things you don't have to do?

NEW SAFETY PROCEDURE -- WALK THROUGH THE BUILDING BEFORE YOU COME TO CLASS

When you get out of your car (or off the bus), don't come to our class in Trailer 4.  Go to the front door -- door #1 of the big Plum Center building. 

Walk through the front door of the big building at Plum Center, walk past room 100 - the ESOL office -- and walk out the back door.  Then come to our class in Trailer 4.

If you can read and understand this, please text the information to your friends in my class.

The Moon

Did you see the moon last night?

Do you have any good memories about the moon?  I worked at at my university's planetarium when I was in college.  I was happy that I could move (the projection of) the stars and the moon.

Doctor Doctor

Dialog -- Making an appointment    Going to the doctor
Vocabulary: symptoms  Vocabulary: Medicine  Vocabulary: Types of Medication

Do you have a good doctor in this area?  Do you usually speak to your doctor in English?

Don't forget to turn back time! (Fall back one hour)

Most people in the United States turn the time backwards one hour before bed on Saturday.

We are returning to Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Practice can, could, & be able to

If you went back in time, what part of history would you want to see?

What people or stories from history do you like?

Far from the Shallow

 NEVER dive in shallow water...

Many students in our class said they don't like Halloween.  If you want to see a Halloween post, click here.

Today, a student asked me why falling was spelled fallin'. 

Many songs do that to show that the pronunciation of the ing sounds more like silver pin "in" 

rather than green tea ing.  You should always write the full word: falling with the g.

(warning: in the next link, men are only wearing small bathing suits)

Video about diving history for anyone that says, "What is dive?" 

Do you like to swim?  How often do you go swimming?  Do you like to watch diving at the Olympics?

Ellii Videos: Conversations -- Going to a doctor

Health Problem Vocabulary

 

Words about ailments

Words about the body and medical equipment

Practice using a few words about symptoms on Learning Chocolate

Intermediate symptoms on Learning Chocolate

Do you work as a caregiver?  Study Vocabulary for Medical Reports and reading practice for CNAs

Election Day is soon!

Most of these videos are very challenging.  You may want to turn on CC-closed captioning and change playback speed to .75 

Long Challenging Video:  Virginia Decides

Quizlet: Political Vocabulary

Quizlet Vocabulary 

Quizlet: Political Terms

If you want to vote by issue or candidate rather than by party, you can get information about who's on the ballot from  Ballotpedia.  If you don't want to enter your home address, put in the address of the closest elementary school, and you can still get your information.  Once you have the names on the ballot, you can google the names and read their websites.  

Can you vote? Is voting in your country similar to voting here?

What issues (ideas that people argue about) are important to you?

Did politics affect your life? How?

Happy Halloween! Trick or Treat Customs

Introducing Halloween for ESL

Unite for Literacy:  Puppies in Costumes!

Rules and Customs for Trick or Treating

                                            

  Video: Tips for fun Jack O Lanterns

Do you enjoy Halloween?  What do you do?

http://www.elcivics.com/halloween.html

Halloween Vocabulary

Halloween Vocabulary Matching Game from www.esolcourses!

Halloween reading and gap-fill

I'm Alive

When do you feel happy?

Picking a costume for Halloween

 

I don't like the way these teens think so many costumes are boring, but it's good conversation practice.

Halloween Vocabulary

Do you celebrate Halloween?  What do you do?  Are you taking your children trick or treating?  What are they going to be?

Giving Directions in a car

 

Practice basic directions with Learning Chocolate Vocabulary

Listening Challenge:  The traffic ticket

Please stick with me!  Don't follow the advertising for Steve...

Where are your favorite places in Northern Virginia?  Are they easy to get to from Plum Center?

CHALLENGE: Cars

Are you learning to drive?  Here are some resources for English and driving!

Car Parts -- Use language guide to practice vocabulary!

Learning Chocolate Basic Vocabulary inside a car

Car Interior vocabulary practice with Learning Chocolate

Taking the Behind-the-Wheel Test

During COVID -- The driver is quite slow.

Many people recommend using turn signals even in the parking lot for the driving test.

documentation=paper.  You should bring your  insurance card.  You shouldn't bring your cell phone.

Be sure  = make certain = be careful to do

turn signal:   = 

Emergency flashers=hazard lights:  

The next video was made in Canada, but it has good advice for Virginia too!!

Quizlet Car Vocabulary (made by another teacher)

Practice Car Vocabulary with Learning Chocolate


Do you know how to drive?  If yes, when did you learn?  If no, how do you get to school?  

You're Beautiful!!

What do you wear when you want to be comfortable?

Do you have an outfit that makes you feel beautiful or handsome?

What does it look like? 

Practice Speaking and Listening Vocabulary for Women's Clothing
Speaking and Listening Vocabulary for Men's Clothing

Practice Vocabulary for Clothes and Accessories

Quiz on Common Vocabulary for Clothes and Accessories

"Flying high" can mean on drugs.  It can also mean be very happy.

1. Write about a beautiful person in your life.  How did you meet?  What does that person do?  

2. Write about a beautiful person you admire.  Why do you respect that person?

NO SCHOOL MONDAY, October 20 It's Diwali!

 

Did you ever see a Diwali celebration?  What did it look like?

 

What's your favorite holiday?  Do you usually go shopping before that holiday?  What do you buy?

What do you like to wear on your favorite holiday?

What are you wearing?

 

(Jumper has a different meaning in US English)

Basic Vocabulary Review and Listening Practice: Women's Clothing   men's clothing

LOTS of clothing vocabulary practice

What are you wearing now?

What do you like to wear in the winter?

What do you like to wear in the summer?

What do you usually wear to a party?

I seldom do that, but I'm doing it today!

 

What are you doing now?

What do you usually do on _______(this day of the week)?

Did you ever have to change your routine?  What happened?

Lady in Red-- Describe people with adjectives in the correct order (1. Opinion 2. Size 3. Color 4. Pattern 5. noun that you are describing)

When you describe clothing, use the adjective order: opinion, size, color, pattern.

(If there isn't a pattern, the word "plain" goes before the color.)

She's wearing a dramatic, long red sparkly dress.  I'm wearing a comfortable, large, plain blue tee-shirt.

Basic Vocabulary Review and Listening Practice: Women's Clothing   men's clothing

Basic Shopping Conversations (Despite American accents, this video uses a few British terms. Instead of lift, use elevator. Instead of trial room, we say fitting room  Instead of "make a bill," say, "ring this up.")  Most of the phrases are common in the USA too.

Challenge:  Explanations of Adjective Order and Difficult practice using all the categories

(NO SAS-C POMP= number, opinion, size, age, shape, color, pattern, origin, material, purpose)

Intermediate Level Shopping Conversation (Turn on CC if it's too fast...)

What is your favorite color?  What is your favorite season?  What's your favorite outfit?  

Describe what you wore when you looked really good.

What do you look like?

2 Minute English -- Descriptions in (Slow) Conversation

For this class, you only need Opinion--Size--Color--Pattern

It's difficult to find internet resources on adjective order that only have these categories.

It's also easy to find internet resources that are totally wrong about the order.

Advanced Class adjective order is NO SASC POMP -- Number Opinion Size Age Shape Color Pattern Origin Material Purpose  (I think numbers often replace articles and that an article (a-the-an) isn't an adjective)  Practice Adjective Order -- Advanced, but the easiest I found

Describe a good friend, a relative, and/or an outfit that you like to wear

Happy Indigenous Peoples Day ! We HAVE SCHOOL MONDAY! (Children don't.)

Government offices, banks, and libraries usually close today.  Restaurants and stores usually don't.  They are often crowded with people who don't have to work!  Sometimes, they offer good deals.

Sometimes schools close, sometimes they don't.

For 2025, our children don't have school, but we do.

Knowing that Native Americans were here before the English colonists and naming a few North American tribes is on the citizenship exam.  Most common tribes named include: ▪ Cherokee ▪ Navajo ▪ Sioux ▪ Chippewa ▪ Choctaw ▪ Pueblo ▪ Apache ▪ Iroquois ▪ Creek ▪ Blackfeet ▪ Seminole ▪ Cheyenne ▪ Arawak ▪ Shawnee ▪ Mohegan ▪ Huron ▪ Oneida ▪ Lakota ▪ Crow ▪ Teton ▪ Hopi ▪ Inuit

Did you celebrate Columbus Day or Indigenous People's Day?

What did you do?

What did you wear?

We have school on Monday

 Fairfax County children don't have school, but we have school.  I'm going to be here.

Do you have a favorite day of the week?  Do you have a favorite season?  Write about it!

What are you going to do this week?

 

Practice future with going to

What do you want to do this weekend?

What do you have to do this weekend?

What are you going to do this weekend?

Happy Chuseok! (Korean holiday during the Autumnal Equinox)

 

Challenge: Ellii handout that I might use in class

Did you do anything special today?  What did you eat?  Did you ever celebrate a holiday about the moon, about harvest, or about the Equinox?

NO SCHOOL ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2-- It's Yom Kippur!

Fairfax County Schools are off for a religious holiday.  I think this Children's book has a nice explanation for our level, but some of the activities are hard to see.  Is it easy for you to understand?

Do you celebrate Yom Kippur?  If yes, what are you doing today?

If not, do you have any traditions that involve fasting?  How often do you fast?  Do you have any traditions that involve saying, "I'm sorry?"  Do you have any traditions that involve praying?

Great job on the repeat Kahoot!

I was very worried that I might keep you late on a Friday.  I'm sorry I didn't show who won the second Kahoot in class!  Here's a screen shot of the winners! 

Explanation and practice: conjunctions

Practice sorting regular past tense verbs by the sound of ed

Do you like to play Kahoot?   Do want to try this one at home?  Kahoot about and, but, or.  

Here's a link to the other Kahoots we did!   Kahoot for pronouncing ed.

On the night shift

 Shift can mean move a little.  Shift can be a simple dress or a slip.  In our book, shift is a set of hours.  Businesses that are open 24 hours per day -- hospitals, factories, 7 11-- have shift workers.

Shift work is typically morning shift from 7AM-3PM.  Afternoon shift is 3PM-11PM.  Night shift is from 11PM - 7AM.  When I did shift work, night shift workers got extra pay.

When I hear "night shift," I think of this song.  This song was popular right after Martin Gaye died.  I think that night shift might mean heaven in this song.

Did you ever work the night shift?  What did you do?

Where do you want to go?

 

Practice future with will

Where will you go this weekend?  

Where are the most beautiful places in the world?  Where do you want to travel to?   

When is a good time (season) to go to the places you like?  (I like Florida because I visited it in the winter.  My husband doesn't like Florida because he lived there during a very hot August.)

Happy New Year/Rosh Hashanah

 Do you celebrate Rosh Hashanah?  More than 30,000 people in Fairfax county will pray, reflect, and plan for a better year today.  

What do you usually do for New Years?  What can make this year better than last year?

Fall 2025 list of Kahoots

 Kahoot: Household Problems 

 Kahoot Verb tenses

Kahoot - future with be going to

Kahoot about kitchen vocabulary

Kahoot about health problems.

Prepositions of Time

have-has Kahoot.

Frequency adverb Kahoot

Identify present continuous vs. simple present

adjective order with a Kahoot.

Future with be going to

Sort by sound: Pronouncing ed

Conjunctions: and, but, or or

ID past or present.

Simple Past: Contrast positive and negative.

Present Continuous Verb Practice 

ID base verbs and practice actions at school

Farmer's Markets

Many students miss fresh food.  Some food in the USA is better for shipping with no damage than for tasting fresh and delicious.  We have many Farmer's Markets in this area.  You can see the big list here or under "community."

Listening (end of class on Wednesday & the beginning of class on Friday)

 

Can you type?  Can you program a computer?  Can you draw?  Can you make jewelry?  What are your best skills?  What are your most unusual skills?

We use "can" to talk about skills

We often use  can _______(base form verb -- swim, drive, cook, run, be calm....) when we talk about skills.  People use can at work and to get a new job often.

My husband loves the movie, "Aliens"  I think it is scary and disgusting.  I like this scene and this scene shows people using can ______(base form verb)

I feel like a fifth wheel means I feel I am not necessary.
Be my guest is an old way to say yes to a request.

Practice Vocabulary with some job skills

Ripley surprises her colleagues.  Do you have skills that surprise people?  One of my students can catch fish with his hands,  and another student can make a heart with cream in her coffee.

You can do this hard thing

 

Practice can, could, & be able to

What are your favorite skills?  What hard things can you do?

Welcome!

Welcome to English Class!  

I post songs and questions.

Please write answers to the questions in the comments or on paper to turn in.

Please listen to songs. When I post a song you like, repeat listening to it until you can sing it.

Sometimes the songs are fast and challenging, and sometimes they are slow.

I also put many links to any website that looks helpful for our level.

On a phone, you need to go to the bottom of the page, and press "view web version" 

to see and use the links.  I usually update the class vocabulary after class.

If you love a helpful website, please tell me about it.

Welcome to English class!  What is your name?  When did you come to the USA?  What are your goals for this class?  How can I make this class excellent for you?

No Food in Class

 I'm very sad about this new rule.  I think eating together at breaktime and talking about it is one of the best ways to practice English.  We can only have covered drinks.  We can eat outside.

I like fajitas, chili, and kung pao chicken more than cheeseburgers and hot dogs.  

What are your favorite things to eat?  What food is good for health?  What food is good for picnics?  What food is good for holidays?  What food is not good for you?  Why?

See you in September

What are you going to do in August?  I'm going to miss you!

If you want ESOL grammar practice, click here for some options.

Check the links to the side for old-fashioned computer-based learning.  Remember that using English with real people is great!

Ships

 

Possessive Adjective Rap

 

Jimmy's Recommendation

 

May you feel at home here.

Was or were  ______ing is past continuous.  Use this verb tense when you are talking about a specific times in the past when you weren't finished with an activity. Don't use was/were as an auxiliary verb in simple past.

When I was a child, I moved a lot.  Home was where my mom was.

What makes a home feel like home?

Where are good places to live?  Why?

Challenge Listening: Reviews of the big bedrooms on the Auto Train that goes from Lorton, VA to Florida

 I rarely ride trains, but I am curious about the auto train.

Amtrak's auto train allows you to bring your car on the train to Florida.

How often do you travel?  Do you take vacations?  Where did you go on your last trip?  How long did you stay there?

Ordering at a restaurant

 

What' s your favorite food?  How often do you eat at a restaurant? What restaurant do you recommend?  Can you tell me a story about excellent or terrible service at a restaurant?

Getting a table

The instructions on the homework say, "listen."  You can listen to this video to complete the homework.

What duties does a host perform?  Did you ever work at a restaurant?

What was your job?  What did you have to do?

 

Ordering Coffee at Starbucks

 

Although I enjoy many of their products, I don't usually go to 7 11 or Starbucks because I don't like their prices. 

Starbucks has their own vocabulary in how to order.

How often do you drink coffee?  How do you like your coffee?

Talking at a restaurant

Quizlet Vocabulary: Speaking about food

Grammar: Practice using count & non-count nouns

Can you find the spelling mistake in the subtitles?

A few regional differences:  My family says "appetizer" rather than "starter." 

In this area, a 20% (minimum) tip is customary.  "Tip jobs" have a lower minimum wage, so servers don't get the minimum wage of $12.41/hour.  Servers usually get $2.13/hour from the restaurant, and taxes often take their whole paychecks.  Some restaurants require servers to pay some of their tips to bussers, "expo," (a person who checks the order and arranges the food in a pretty way) and bartenders.

In the conversation at the end of the video, native speakers in this area say, "chicken sandwich" rather than chicken burger.  We'd probably say we like tacos or a taco if there's only one.

English for my Job-Hospitality

Food and drink Vocabulary from English Club  (Go down to see links to vocabulary and practice)

Grammar: count vs. non-count  (same link as the top)

What is your favorite restaurant nearby?  What is the best restaurant in your native country?  What is the best restaurant you ever ate at?

7-11

For many summers, my children loved this day because they could get free Slurpees from 7-11.

Happy birthday 7 11

What do you like to drink? 

Practice "drink" vocabulary with https://www.languageguide.org/english/vocabulary/drinks/ and
learning chocolate:  tea, drinks with their containers, and fruit.

Rain on me

In this song, "on" is a preposition that shows where the rain falls.  Practice prepositions.

Do you like rain?  My daughter likes to walk in the rain.  I don't like to walk in the rain, but I like to eat. If there's no rain, there's no fresh food.

Did you ever lose power in a storm?  What did you do?  What do you usually do when it rains?

The Light We Keep On

 

Are there any small things that you do to make someone feel better?  What?

Firework!

 

Who do you admire?  Why?  What do you love to do?  What is important to get done?

Happy Fourth of July!!

This next video is super-fast for our level, but it repeats enough that it's good for training your ears. Understanding every word doesn't make the song easy to understand.

History of Independence Day -- Also fast, but clearly spoken.  Make sure you turn the closed captioning (CC) on.

ESOL Explanation of Independence day with a transcript.

Some U.S.A. patriotic songs you will probably hear today...

Read about the flag and other USA symbols...

During fireworks, you usually hear "Stars and Stripes Forever."

Listening: Interview with questions about the Fourth of July


Reading/listening practice -- press the triangle to hear the story as you read it.

funinfairfax.com:  Fireworks in Northern VA (scroll down for the 4th)


Are you enjoying the fourth of July?  What are you doing?  Does your former country have an independence day celebration?  When is it?  What do you do?

Why do you want to learn English?

 

When do you most want to be good at English?  What do you want to do with your English?

Nice to meet you!

 

Hi!  What's your name?  Do you have a big family?  Do you like to talk about your family?  Do you like to talk about your job?  Do you have any hobbies?  What do you like to do?  Do you like to travel?  Where did you go?

I think they call this love

 

How old were you when you first fell in love?

What kind of music do you like?  Slow oldies are often good for my class because students can hear them and they are more likely to have correct grammar.  Can you believe this song is new?  What is your favorite song?

Happy Summer!

 Did you enjoy your first day of summer?  When I was a child, many ice cream trucks and merry-go-rounds played this tune, but I never heard the words.

Do you like ice cream?  What's the best flavor? Are you planning to travel this summer?  Where do you want to go?  Do you like to go to the beach?  What's your favorite beach?

Happy First Day of Summer

 What are you favorite activities in the summer?

Happy Juneteenth

 

My mother grew up in Galveston Texas 
where people had beach parties to celebrate Juneteenth 

throughout the twentieth century.

Juneteenth is new as a federal holiday,
but it's an old celebration of freedom 
even though many people were still enslaved after that date.

Do you celebrate any historical events?  Which ones? How?

What are you going to do?

wanna = want to

oughta= ought to=visualized ideal (best in my mind)  Everyone ought to use the blog!

Low Intermediate Grammar - Please remember and be good at these language patterns before studying any perfect tense or conditionals.  Grammar describes patterns.  If you use it well, you can learn how to say thousands of correct things in a few minutes.  Don't try to understand grammar because it's crazy-- try to remember rules and exceptions. Make examples that you can use in your life.

Review, expansion, and practice with "going to"

What are you doing tonight?
What are you going to do tomorrow?
What are you going to do this weekend?
Where are you going to go the next time you travel?
What are you going to do next summer?

Indirect Objects

 

I hope you return!

June 12 is the LAST DAY for current students to register for Summer Classes.  We'll get students from other locations because our program is only doing summer classes at a few locations.  Please register tomorrow if you want to be in the class.

I plan to teach.  We will probably focus on directions, travel, and getting jobs.  If the majority of students in the Summer class already took class this spring, we will have more opportunities to have conversations.

The shotgun seat is the passenger seat -- the seat in the front that's not the driver.

What are you going to do this summer?

What does "mean" mean?

I didn't mean to confuse you, but the most difficult thing I gave you today used "mean" as "intend."  That was new for many people.  Claribel pointed out that "mean" means many things.  Here's a video about some of things "mean" means.

Can you write three sentences using "mean" in 3 different contexts?

I'd like some count and noncount nouns, please

 

Count and noncount nouns with a LOT of examples-- scroll way down to do the quiz!

What ingredients do you need for your favorite recipes?

Count-Non-Count

My class presentation on count and non-count

Video: Some things you can count and some you can't...

Practice using a or an only with singular count nouns

Easy Partitives (In this game  fruit is count and a piece is thicker than a slice

for many US speakers, fruit is noncount and piece=slice

Similar Information -- Who Wants to be a Billionaire Style

Partitives Game (Partitives are containers or pieces that make non-count nouns countable)

Quizlet -- Count or Non-count

More Practice!!

Advanced Class List of Non-Count Nouns

Practice Directions

Some of the reading tests have maps.

Cupid Shuffle Line Dance (Dancers are wearing short skirts.) Practice right and left!

Cupid Shuffle we do in class

Do

Quick Practice: Red Level 1, Unit 5 "Around Town" (Starting with the second lesson A, not the top)

Study and Practice Prepositions and Directions

Please write some directions from Plum Center to one of your favorite places nearby!

Shopping Project

 Shopping Project

Choose two classmates to work with.  Pick three things you all want to shop for.  Bring receipts to class.  Compare prices and quality from different stores.  Use comparative and superlative sentences to report to the class.

These lyrics shouldn't be "you better." They should be "you'd better." "Had better is an even stronger "must" than "must" or "have to"

Do you think this mom gave good advice? What do you have to do this weekend? Is there anything you'd better do?

Did you understand? Were you tired?

 

Practice was or were

The verb to be is one of the most common irregular verbs.  

It has it's own pattern for simple past -- NO DID!

Don't use "did" or "do" as question words if the main verb is any form of to be.

Where were you today?

Were you okay in class today?

Was the grammar difficult?

Were you at home?  Why? Was a child sick?  Were you sick?

Are you traveling this weekend?

Memorial Day -- NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY!!

On Memorial Day, we remember people who died in military service.  We also often shop, have barbecues, and go to outdoor pools and water parks.  Many outdoor pools open on Memorial Day.

Do you like to shop?

  

Springfield Mall Sales 

Potomac Mills Sales

Pentagon City Sales

Tysons Corner Sales

Leesburg Outlet Sales

Fair Oaks Sales

Things to Do for Families with Children


At the end of the day, many military units play "Taps" at bedtime.  "Taps" is often played at military funerals.  It's rare to hear lyrics except in Boy Scouts.  "Safely Rest" (not "Bob Good Night") is usually the last line.

One of my students suggested the following song as a tribute to military families.  

Can you find which word is not spelled correctly?

Voice of America Article on Memorial Day

Online Word Search for Memorial Day

What are you doing for memorial day?  (I plan to relax!)