Friday's Assignment

How many other famous college dropouts do your know?

Here are your tasks for this afternoon:

1. Write about your field trip yesterday. Check each other’s work using the editing checklist before publishing.
2. Read point number 8 in this article. Discuss with a partner.

Brrrrrutal Field Trip

What a field trip it was!

Braving winds of about minus 20 degrees C and heading in the direction of the UofT's Visitor Centre, we began our cycles of hot and cold, in and out of buildings in one college or another in different parts of the city, led by our indefatigable guide, Stephanie.

All smiles despite the challenges

Amazing survivors Yang, Chang, Teresa, Rui, Feng,  Ling, Haider, Li, Salim, Hamidreza, Mehran, Fahimeh, Aswathi,  Esmail, someone hiding behind Esmail (shh, it's Harpreet), and Yasmin (with Mohammadali on the way!)

Wednesday's Assignment & Thursday's Instruction

BRR ... IT'S EXTREMELY COLD AND ONLY GETTING COLDER--SO BUNDLE UP!!

Departing Thursday morning from the Southbound Platform of Sheppard Yonge Subway Station at 10 a.m. Please get there 10 minutes ahead of time. The guided tour of St. George Campus starts at 11 a.m.

Tuesday's Assignment

Welcome to another day learning about post-secondary education in Ontario.



Here are your tasks:

1. Take dictation of the following audio:

Audio and voice recording >>

1. Then write your answers next to the questions. Check with two partners before publishing on your blog.
2. Listen to this conversation on intelligence. Take notes and practise, first by yourself and then with a partner. Finally, record your conversation with your partner on audioboo.fm.

Check the answers to number 1 below:

Monday Afternoon's Assignment

 

1. Listen to the following: Starting a new school year. Take notes. Practise the conversation with a partner. Then record your conversation with your partner on audioboo.fm and embed or post the link on your blog.
2. Blog: Post in point form the educational planning options you learnt from this morning. Peer check before posting. If you have the time, write about the ski trip or what you did last week and check before posting. Include some pictures!

Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Day ... Happy Valentine's Day!

Feeling sore this morning? Anyway, hope everyone had a great time! And look forward to seeing you on Feb 24th all rested up!

Who's that in snowshoes?

Somebody just baked a big pizza!

Yay! Energy levels still high!

Friday's Field Trip Is On!

So get into some snowpants (I'll bring some along just in case), bundle up, bring some snacks and a good camera (since Chang may be too busy to take pictures!), drive safely, and--God willing--we'll have a great time there! It may even snow!

See you at Earl Bales Ski and Snowboard Centre, off Bathurst St at the end of Raoul Wallenberg Rd.

View Larger Map

Thank you, Nina, for the JSW!

Nina has ably conducted a customized version of the Job Search Workshop, which we hope would be very useful to us all. Wouldn't you want to record your thanks and comments below (under Comments)?

In addition to the classroom work, Nina has requested that the following resources be shared:

1. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3366112/LINC/Nina%20-%20making%20the%20connection.doc
2. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3366112/LINC/Nina%20-%20master%20inventory.doc
3. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3366112/LINC/Nina%20-%20My%20Occupation%20Research.doc

Thank you very much, Nina!

T.G.I.T. and Today's Assignment

1. There's a lot more than job search, resume writing, interview acing, and landing that great job. There's still the big challenge of keeping the job after you've landed it. Listen to this lesson on Learning Work Rules and Routines. Practise and record the conversation with a partner, and post the link on your blog. Comment on three classmates’ postings.
2. Check out MOOEC. What do you like best about this learning site? How does it differ from LINC Home Study? Share your thoughts with three partners.

And don't forget to put up the chairs for the weekend ahead of our ski/snowboarding trip tomorrow! Woohoo!

Can't wait? Click below to get a lead on snow sports vocabulary:

Wednesday's Assignment

Welcome to another day of Job Search Workshop! This morning's assignment concerns the job skills you have.

Different skill levels

1. Complete your work for Nina for the Job Search Workshop. The three questions--what you are proud of, are passionate about, and something else--were written on the whiteboard. Post the details on your blog. Be sure to be nice and comment on all your classmates' posts as well!
2. Complete your work from yesterday morning. including the audioboo.com recording if you're able to find a working microphone.
3. How would you describe your skill levels for your different abilities? Listen and practise with this lesson and then find a partner to role play the conversation. An audioboo.com recording would be welcome but not mandatory.

Tuesday's Assignment

Welcome back to class! First off, let's get registered for our Annual IEP Conference field trip on April 11, 2014.

2013 delegates

2012 delegates

All signed up? Great! Here are tasks for today:

1. What job fair is featured here? What do you think employers are looking for in an employee? List 4 qualities. With a partner, find out what other job fairs have been scheduled for this year.
2. Read the “What do you look for when hiring” section, and compare them to your list of qualities in Task 1 above.
3. Look at this job ad, and leave a quick Audioboo.com voice message beginning with “Hi, my name is ___, and I’d like to apply for the job of ___.” Include 3 qualities and post the job ad and audio links on your blog. Then comment on 3 classmates’ blogs. For an example, listen to this recording on Audioboo.

The Second Alex Gets His Second Gold!

Remember the two famous Canadian Alexanders?
Alexander Bilodeau, who opened the gold haul for Canada in Vancouver four years ago, recaptures gold in Sochi this afternoon.

Check out these screen captures from CBC Sports:

Alex with older brother Frederick, his inspiration!

Connect on FaceBook and discuss your thoughts as a new Canadian!

Monday's Assignment

Welcome to a week on job search tools!

1. Using this guide, correct your blogs and click on the update button. If you plagiarized, remove the parts copied and rewrite in your own words.
2. Canada has ten provinces and three territories. According to the Government, what provinces have the highest, lowest, and median rates of unemployment? Identify two companies each for Job Creations and Layoffs.
3. Then check out the employment news for Toronto. On your blog, write the news for next week, including one company for layoffs and one company for job creation. Use your imagination!

Whatever you do, don't get distracted by the Winter Olympics, Alex Bilodeau, and all that!

Yay, Congratulations, Canada! It's the gold-silver sisters!

screen grabs from CBC Sports

 

Watch sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Montreal here!

Friday's Assignment

It's here! And it's Justin time! Woohoo, TGIF!

1. Take notes on this ESL lesson.
2. Who are Justin Trudeau and Justin Bieber? See their Wikis. What does Trudeau believe about marijuana (see this video from 1:13)? What’s the news about Bieber (video)?
3. Then, on audioboo.com, record your likes and dislikes about the Justins you just watched.

Sorry for the blackout this morning! When you have finished the above, click below:

Thursday's Assignment

1. Check out this Facebook page. Click to "like" three videos (you may need to log in first), and leave a comment on one of them. You can use expressions like Yay! Ew! Oh no! That's crazy/stupid/awesome!
2. So, what happened yesterday? Did you leave your home? What did you do? Talk to your partner, and write his or her story on your blog. Include a picture.
3. What did your teacher do yesterday? Can you guess from the Facebook status update? What does the rest of Canada think about us Torontonians?

SKIING FIELD TRIP POSTPONED TO NEXT FRIDAY, FEB 14 and Today's Assignment

Bright-eyed, bushy tailed this morning

7:30 A.M. UPDATE: Please note that school is OPEN today (Wednesday).

Here's your assignment for this morning:

1. Check out these two videos and identify these two Alexanders: Clip 1 and Clip 2. What are their fields of achievement? How are those achievements similar or different from famous people from your country of origin? Tell a partner.
2. Record your thoughts on Audioboo.com about the two Alexanders and how they compare with people from your country of origin. Post the audio link to your blog.
3. Listen to your classmates' postings and comment.

Tuesday's Assignment

1. Find pictures of the following people in Google Images: Roberta Bondar and Julie Payette. What do you think they have in common?
2. Identify where they went to school and two other interesting facts about each of our female astronauts. Post these facts on your blog, and then find a partner to practise the following:
1. Begin your conversation with, "Hi, what do you think of ______________?"
2. Respond with, "I think she was pretty _(adjective)_. What do you think?"
3. Continue with, "I found it interesting that she _________________."
4. Respond with, "And one thing that really surprised me was that she ______________________."
5. Transition with, "Now, what about the other person--what's her name?"
3. Repeat the conversation with a different partner. If things go well, record the conversation on Audioboo.com and embed the link on your blog.

Monday's Assignment

Today we start a new week on the topic of Famous Canadians!

Roberta Bondar, Madeleine de Verchères, Terry Fox, Norman Bethune, and Tommy Prince

These are this afternoon's tasks:

1. What are the full names of these Canadian pop icons: Avril, Shania, and Celine? Listen to at least one song by each of them on Youtube.com, and tell a partner which song you liked the most.
2. If you have not completed your work from this morning, you may do so now.