Hello 400's,
This is your last writing topic! So make sure that its good :)
Focus: Descriptive Writing. Choose one of the following topics to describe. Be sure to consider your five senses, specifically sight, hear, taste, touch, and smell.
Describe a famous park or recreation area in your home country.
Describe an interesting neighbor you have had.
Describe something you could never give away.
Describe a place you will never forget.
Describe a sporting event you attended recently.
Describe a memorable birthday celebration.
Describe a place you go for recreation or exercise.
Describe your childhood home.
Describe someone you respect deeply.
Describe the nightlife in a city you are familiar with.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Writing Topic #5
This weekend I went to my friend's wedding on Saturday, April 14th, 2012. It was a very special event and I had so much fun. Her decorations were beautiful. She had many flowers and candles which made it feel very romantic. I am so happy for her and I wish her all the best with her new husband.
In Canada, it is common to have two parts to your wedding, specifically a ceremony and a reception.
A ceremony can take place anywhere, but it is common to have the ceremony in a church. Inside the church it is common to have two sides of chairs or pews (benches inside a church) The left side is for the bride's family and friends and the right side is for the groom's family and friends. Often a ceremony will start with the groom's friends (called groomsmen) walking down the church aisle ( a walkway between or along sections of seats)and then the groom walks down the aisle. Next, the bride's friends (called bridesmaids) will walk down the aisle and the bride is last. The bride can choose to walk alone, with her father, with her mother, with both parents, basically anything she wants! It is most common to have the bride's father walk her down the aisle. Once everyone is inside the church, the ceremony begins. Usually, the pastor/priest/ justice of the peace will speak about the meaning of the ceremony and marriage. Also, some people choose to have one of their friend's read a special poem or sing a song. And of course the bride and groom exchange vows. These are promises that the couple makes to each other. When the ceremony is finished, the bride and groom seal their promises with a kiss! It is very romantic and a special time.
After the ceremony, the guests of the wedding go to the reception. The reception can also be anywhere the couple likes. The most common location for a reception is a hotel. At the reception, people eat dinner, drink alcohol, dance and of course listen to many speeches! It is common for the parents of the bride and groom to make a speech. Also the bride's best friend (maid of honour) and the groom's best friend (best man) will make a speech. Of course, the bride and groom usually give their speech last thanking everyone for their help and for coming to their wedding. A new trend a wedding is to have a slide show presentation. This includes pictures of the bride and groom growing up and there is usually music to go along with the pictures. This is my favourite part of the wedding since I love pictures so much! Many weddings have free alcohol for their guests and a great dance party. Dancing is also a very fun and exciting part of any wedding.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about Canadian weddings but please remember, this is just my opinion. Many people will do different things and have different ideas for what they would like for their wedding. I have simply given you some information about what is most common based on the weddings I have been to.
I would be interested to know about wedding traditions in your own country.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Writing Topic #4
Hello 400 students!
Now that our friend in level 450 have returned to Japan, we are now only a level 400 class.
Here is your writing focus for this week: Process Analysis Writing.
This means, you will practice writing instructions to tell or inform someone how to do something.
Please choose one of the following topics for this week's writing practice.
1.How to lose weight without losing your mind
2.How to choose a major
3.How to find the perfect roommate
4.How to succeed in university
5.How to plan the perfect party
6.How to survive a night of babysitting
7.How to housebreak your dog
8.How to kick a bad habit
9.How to rent your first apartment
10.How to enjoy the weekend for under $20
11.How to keep peace with a spouse or a roommate
12.How to bathe a cat
13.How to develop self-confidence
14.How to use Facebook
15.How to build a great music collection--cheaply and legally
16.How to get along with an instructor without sucking up
17.How to give yourself a haircut
18.How to plan the perfect class schedule
19.How to end a relationship
20.How to save money while saving the environment
Now that our friend in level 450 have returned to Japan, we are now only a level 400 class.
Here is your writing focus for this week: Process Analysis Writing.
This means, you will practice writing instructions to tell or inform someone how to do something.
Please choose one of the following topics for this week's writing practice.
1.How to lose weight without losing your mind
2.How to choose a major
3.How to find the perfect roommate
4.How to succeed in university
5.How to plan the perfect party
6.How to survive a night of babysitting
7.How to housebreak your dog
8.How to kick a bad habit
9.How to rent your first apartment
10.How to enjoy the weekend for under $20
11.How to keep peace with a spouse or a roommate
12.How to bathe a cat
13.How to develop self-confidence
14.How to use Facebook
15.How to build a great music collection--cheaply and legally
16.How to get along with an instructor without sucking up
17.How to give yourself a haircut
18.How to plan the perfect class schedule
19.How to end a relationship
20.How to save money while saving the environment
Philadelphia
Greetings from Philadelphia!
Here is a brief summary of my experiences from the trip I recently took to Philadelphia for the 2012 TESOL Conference.
Tuesday
Today I spent most of the day travelling! My first flight left Winnipeg at around 8:30am and was just over two hours long. Thankfully, I was able to watch a movie to help the time pass. I watched, “New Years Eve” which is a romantic comedy that has about 10 different stories that are all connected into one story about what people in New York City do for New Years. After a brief stop in the Toronto airport I was off to Philadelphia. This flight was a lot shorter so I just read a magazine and listened to some music. After arriving at my hotel and unpacking my things, I met my director and co-worker for an Italian dinner. The food was fabulous! And the company was great too :)
Wednesday
Today was my first day at the conference and I have learned so much already. The course I took today focused on how to teach pronunciation. There were three different presenters including the author of the textbook we often use an IEP titled, "Well Said". Most of the presentation focused on the theory behind pronunciation instead of practical activities within the classroom. As a teacher I always need to think about both the theory and practice so this was a great reminder.
Some fun activities I did today include going to Starbucks, walking the streets of Philadelphia, and some shopping as well! Included is a picture of my Philadelphia Starbucks mug. Whenever I travel I buy 1 Starbucks mug from the city and add it to my collection! This is my favourite souvenir. My hotel room is clean, comfortable, and is a very nice place to come home to at the end of the day to relax and prepare for my next session.
Thursday
Today I went to many different sessions about teaching English to international students. In the morning I went to a session about Grammar Games and Business English Communication skills. In the afternoon I learned about icebreaker games to use on the first day of class to help build community and make students feel more comfortable. I also attended a session about a program that allows students to write about an interesting or exciting experience and then the computer program will animate your story for you with sound, text and images. It looked very interesting! I hope that in the future I can teach a writing course where I could use some of these ideas.
In the evening, I went on a walk around the city to explore some of the beautiful architecture! I felt as though I was in a European city. Here is a picture of Philadelphia's city hall.
Friday
Today was the final day of the conference. There were so many interesting sessions that it was hard to choose which ones I wanted to attend. I decided to go to a workshop on different activities to use in the classroom to help students with academic writing and also an interactive workshop demonstrating how to use cell phones within the classroom! Texting your friends and speaking in your first language were NOT on the list! Instead, the presenter showed teachers different programs, applications and uses for a cell phone within an English classroom. I found this presentation very interesting especially because students often want to use their cell phone in the classroom. In the afternoon I chose to attend three sessions which were: understanding verb forms, helping students increase their listening comprehension using the website “TedTalks”, and how to use word cards to help increase vocabulary in the classroom. It was a very full day with lots of information!
After my sessions were done I decided to go on a bus tour to see all of the famous sights in Philadelphia. This bus had 21 different stops and it allowed passengers to hop off the bus at any of the stops, walk around, explore the location and then in 30 minutes a different bus would pick you up. Since it was later in the day and I was somewhat tired, I decided to just relax and stay on the bus for the entire tour. The city of Philadelphia has a great history and I was very lucky to experience everything this city had to offer.
Of course, I could not go to Philadelphia without trying the famous, “Cheese Steaks”. My boss was kind enough to let me borrow her travel guide so I picked one of the top restaurants that served Philly cheese steaks to try. I walked about 10-12 blocks from my hotel down a beautiful, historic street called, “Pine Street” and then came to “Jim’s Steaks”. I had to stand in line for about 45 minutes before I was served but it was well worth the wait! The cheese steak was amazing! It is definitely not something I could eat every day since it was very greasy, but I enjoyed the treat very much!
I spent the rest of the evening walking around the city and experiencing the rich culture that Philadelphia had to offer. I had also read that there was an excellent ice cream shop close to my hotel so I couldn’t resist! After a lot of walking I finally crashed in my hotel room and packed my luggage for my trip back to Winnipeg.
Thank you Philadelphia for a wonderful experience. The food, architecture, shopping and friendly people were incredible. I would highly recommend this city to anyone who is interested :)
Here is a brief summary of my experiences from the trip I recently took to Philadelphia for the 2012 TESOL Conference.
Tuesday
Today I spent most of the day travelling! My first flight left Winnipeg at around 8:30am and was just over two hours long. Thankfully, I was able to watch a movie to help the time pass. I watched, “New Years Eve” which is a romantic comedy that has about 10 different stories that are all connected into one story about what people in New York City do for New Years. After a brief stop in the Toronto airport I was off to Philadelphia. This flight was a lot shorter so I just read a magazine and listened to some music. After arriving at my hotel and unpacking my things, I met my director and co-worker for an Italian dinner. The food was fabulous! And the company was great too :)
Wednesday
Today was my first day at the conference and I have learned so much already. The course I took today focused on how to teach pronunciation. There were three different presenters including the author of the textbook we often use an IEP titled, "Well Said". Most of the presentation focused on the theory behind pronunciation instead of practical activities within the classroom. As a teacher I always need to think about both the theory and practice so this was a great reminder.
Some fun activities I did today include going to Starbucks, walking the streets of Philadelphia, and some shopping as well! Included is a picture of my Philadelphia Starbucks mug. Whenever I travel I buy 1 Starbucks mug from the city and add it to my collection! This is my favourite souvenir. My hotel room is clean, comfortable, and is a very nice place to come home to at the end of the day to relax and prepare for my next session.
Thursday
Today I went to many different sessions about teaching English to international students. In the morning I went to a session about Grammar Games and Business English Communication skills. In the afternoon I learned about icebreaker games to use on the first day of class to help build community and make students feel more comfortable. I also attended a session about a program that allows students to write about an interesting or exciting experience and then the computer program will animate your story for you with sound, text and images. It looked very interesting! I hope that in the future I can teach a writing course where I could use some of these ideas.
In the evening, I went on a walk around the city to explore some of the beautiful architecture! I felt as though I was in a European city. Here is a picture of Philadelphia's city hall.
Friday
Today was the final day of the conference. There were so many interesting sessions that it was hard to choose which ones I wanted to attend. I decided to go to a workshop on different activities to use in the classroom to help students with academic writing and also an interactive workshop demonstrating how to use cell phones within the classroom! Texting your friends and speaking in your first language were NOT on the list! Instead, the presenter showed teachers different programs, applications and uses for a cell phone within an English classroom. I found this presentation very interesting especially because students often want to use their cell phone in the classroom. In the afternoon I chose to attend three sessions which were: understanding verb forms, helping students increase their listening comprehension using the website “TedTalks”, and how to use word cards to help increase vocabulary in the classroom. It was a very full day with lots of information!
After my sessions were done I decided to go on a bus tour to see all of the famous sights in Philadelphia. This bus had 21 different stops and it allowed passengers to hop off the bus at any of the stops, walk around, explore the location and then in 30 minutes a different bus would pick you up. Since it was later in the day and I was somewhat tired, I decided to just relax and stay on the bus for the entire tour. The city of Philadelphia has a great history and I was very lucky to experience everything this city had to offer.
Of course, I could not go to Philadelphia without trying the famous, “Cheese Steaks”. My boss was kind enough to let me borrow her travel guide so I picked one of the top restaurants that served Philly cheese steaks to try. I walked about 10-12 blocks from my hotel down a beautiful, historic street called, “Pine Street” and then came to “Jim’s Steaks”. I had to stand in line for about 45 minutes before I was served but it was well worth the wait! The cheese steak was amazing! It is definitely not something I could eat every day since it was very greasy, but I enjoyed the treat very much!
I spent the rest of the evening walking around the city and experiencing the rich culture that Philadelphia had to offer. I had also read that there was an excellent ice cream shop close to my hotel so I couldn’t resist! After a lot of walking I finally crashed in my hotel room and packed my luggage for my trip back to Winnipeg.
Thank you Philadelphia for a wonderful experience. The food, architecture, shopping and friendly people were incredible. I would highly recommend this city to anyone who is interested :)
Monday, March 26, 2012
Writing Topic #3: Compare and Contrast
Hello students!
This week I would like you to practice your compare and contrast writing skills.
Please choose one of the following topics below to write about:
1. Two places you have visited
2. Two fast-food restaurants
3. Two pets in the same household
4. The rules set for you as a child and the rules you plan to set for your own children.
5. Two professional athletes
6. Two ways to break a bad habit
7. A real vacation and a dream vacation
8. A good boss and a bad boss
9. Two video games
10. Two ways of studying for an exam
11. Two sports fans
12. Two memorable teachers or professors
13. Two workplaces
14. Two coffee shops
15. Infatuation versus love
16. Two close friends
17. Living on campus and living off campus
This week I would like you to practice your compare and contrast writing skills.
Please choose one of the following topics below to write about:
1. Two places you have visited
2. Two fast-food restaurants
3. Two pets in the same household
4. The rules set for you as a child and the rules you plan to set for your own children.
5. Two professional athletes
6. Two ways to break a bad habit
7. A real vacation and a dream vacation
8. A good boss and a bad boss
9. Two video games
10. Two ways of studying for an exam
11. Two sports fans
12. Two memorable teachers or professors
13. Two workplaces
14. Two coffee shops
15. Infatuation versus love
16. Two close friends
17. Living on campus and living off campus
Monday, March 19, 2012
Spring 1: 2012 Writing Topic #2
Hello 400/450 students,
This week I would like you to practise your opinion writing skills.
Please be sure to carefully plan and outline what you want to say in your opinion writing piece before you start writing. This will help you sound professional and convincing.
Here are some topics to help you get started. Please choose one of the following:
What is your opinion about cellular phones?
What is your opinion about women in the military?
What is your opinion about violence on television?
What is your opinion about adults living with their parents?
What is your opinion about arranged marriages?
What is your opinion about the welfare system?
What is your opinion about Facebook?
What is your opinion about recycling?
Happy Writing :)
Ashley
This week I would like you to practise your opinion writing skills.
Please be sure to carefully plan and outline what you want to say in your opinion writing piece before you start writing. This will help you sound professional and convincing.
Here are some topics to help you get started. Please choose one of the following:
What is your opinion about cellular phones?
What is your opinion about women in the military?
What is your opinion about violence on television?
What is your opinion about adults living with their parents?
What is your opinion about arranged marriages?
What is your opinion about the welfare system?
What is your opinion about Facebook?
What is your opinion about recycling?
Happy Writing :)
Ashley
Monday, March 12, 2012
Spring 1: Writing Topic #1
This week I would like you to practice narration writing. This means writing that tells a story from your point of view.
What should you include in your narration? It's always effective to begin by identifying the who, what, when, where, why and how. However, some writers get carried away and end up including too many details to suit their readers. Instead of overcrowding your narrative with details, decide which ones are vital to your story, which ones should you put major emphasis on, and which ones are minor but significant details.
Here are some topics to help get you started. Please choose only one to write about.
- Tell about a recent interview.
- Tell about a time when you lost something.
- Tell about one of your fondest childhood memories.
- Tell about a time when you lied to your parents, boss, or teacher.
- Tell about a time when you were treated unfairly.
- Briefly tell about a movie you saw recently.
- Tell about something you made
- Tell about something you wish had never happened.
What should you include in your narration? It's always effective to begin by identifying the who, what, when, where, why and how. However, some writers get carried away and end up including too many details to suit their readers. Instead of overcrowding your narrative with details, decide which ones are vital to your story, which ones should you put major emphasis on, and which ones are minor but significant details.
Here are some topics to help get you started. Please choose only one to write about.
- Tell about a recent interview.
- Tell about a time when you lost something.
- Tell about one of your fondest childhood memories.
- Tell about a time when you lied to your parents, boss, or teacher.
- Tell about a time when you were treated unfairly.
- Briefly tell about a movie you saw recently.
- Tell about something you made
- Tell about something you wish had never happened.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)