Thursday, July 31, 2014

Thursday's Assignment

Welcome to the day before our field trip day!



Here are your tasks:
  1. Role Play with a Partner: Going Green
  2. Read through the bus instructions to get to the Ribfest tomorrow. Can you speak it in sentences (e.g. "At 10:15 a.m., board bus 190 in Don Mills Station and get off, 8 stops later, at Scarborough Town Centre.")?
  3. Check out the Scarborough Ribfest website. Write down 5 facts about the ribfest and create an FAQ for it on your blog. Add pictures.
  4. Visit your classmates’ blogs to comment.
  5. At 9:45 a.m., the following are to go to the 9th floor for professional job and resume mentoring:

  1. Mahsa Payandenia                                          Level 4/5
  2. Ying Sun                                                               Level 4/5
  3. Mandana Pirhaditavandashti                      Level 4/5
  4. Mahsan Mashhadifarahani                          Level 4/5
  5. Lily LiYi Yu                                                            Level 4/5
  6. John Zhi Zhong Chen                                      Level 4/5
  7. Brenna Yi Bin Zhang                                        Level 4/5             
  8. Max Yin Mao                                                      Level 4/5             
  9. Kevin Tacho Kwon                                           Level 4/5

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Wednesday's Assignment

Save the earth, but stretch your dollar, too!


Here are your tasks for today:
  1. Read the information and listen to these videos on Goodwill stores. What lessons did you learn? Tell a partner.
  2. Do this listening exercise on A Greener World. Practise your pronunciation with the audio.
  3. With a partner, create a radio ad on SpeakPipe online for this store, and embed the audio on both of your blogs. Emphasize three good reasons why people should visit the store.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Tuesday's Assignment

This morning, we continue on our theme of Canada's environment. What are some ways to reduce the amount of carbon in the air?

This Friday, we'll be carpooling on our field trip. So let's check out some of these tasks:


  1. Role play by yourself, and then with a partner: Riding in a Carpool.
  2. Listen to this podcast on Commuting. Then get together with 3 or 4 partners and discuss your experiences in commuting.
  3. Another way to connect with people without starting the car is to use the Internet. Are you friends with this FB individual yet?

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Monday's Assignment

Welcome back! This afternoon, we'll be working on the following:
Is this cartoon funny? Why or why not?


  1. Make sure to update posts on blogs ahead of editing.
  2. Find a partner and role play the following: Trash and Recycling. Practise a couple of times, record your role play on this Online Voice Recorder, and put the link on your blog.

Good morning! Did you enjoy the air, the birds tweeting, the rain, the light, the grass, and everything around you? Welcome to a week on Canada's environment.
Can you guess where the words above came from? Ready for the answer? Click here.
Here are your tasks for this morning:
  1. Listening and Vocabulary 1: Saving the Earth
  2. Listening and Vocabulary 2: I Love Trees
  3. Learn, practise, and role play with a partner: Enjoying Nature

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Friday's Assignment


This afternoon, we continue with a very important task: to publish your experience and business ideas from yesterday’s field trip on your blog. Have a partner read your writing before publishing. Do your best! Your writing will be used for editing next week.

If you were not there yesterday, make sure to interview a classmate who was. Then write the story like a reporter.



  1. Watch this video, and then click on Transcript and Subtitles and watch it again. 
  2. Write down 3 lessons you learnt, share your lessons with 3 partners, and record your findings on Vocaroo.com. 
  3. Then put the audio link on your blog.


Thursday's Field Trip: An Appetite for Business?

A bit of both business and pleasure, hopefully, was what we all got on today's field trip to City Hall.

Here are some pictures of the visit, but feel free to tag yourselves on our FB album.

Halin Ying, Lily, Joyce, Linda, Max, John, Richard, Fottimah, Mariam, Mahsan, Sara, and Sutharsan get ready for lunch.
All set for  Tasty Tuesdays! 

 
Checking out the protest outside Mayor Ford's office

Native Canadian artist Norval Morrisseau looms large.


Falungung displaying their art.

Has everybody Eaton yet?


Shh, some lucrative business deals coming up ... I have the feeling I'm gonna get offered a fulltime position in that new company ... as a junior janitor.





Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Wednesday's Assignment

Welcome to class today! This morning, we will prepare ourselves for tomorrow's field trip by looking at the business and pleasure aspects of our visit downtown. Check out the downtown map below. What do you think we'll be seeing and doing there?


  1. Read this page, looking for 6-7 new words to learn. Think about what the program is about. Discuss with a partner.
  2. Think of a classmate who might qualify for the program, and write an email recommending it. Or suggest a better program. Write it out on your blog using some of the new words you just learnt.
  3. Identify 3 interesting food vendors at Toronto’s Tasty Thursdays. Share with 3 partners the reason for your choices.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Tuesday's Assignment

"Hello." "Um, hello." "Hi." "Hi."
Sometimes it's hard to know how to introduce oneself or one's company. Yet that's where first impressions are made. It's as important and as scary as being thrown into a den full of dragons or a tank full of sharks.

 

  1. Listen and role play: Competing in Business
  2. Watch any five (5) episodes of Dragons’ Den/Shark Tank via streaming, taking notes with this worksheet:
    1. Dragon’s Den-CBC
    2. Shark Tank-ABC
  3. In the Shark Tank-ABC episode, take dictation from 4:18 to 4:32. Check your transcript with two classmates. Then practise speaking that business introduction and record it on Vocaroo.com. Embed the voice link on your blog, and then say something nice on your classmates' blogs.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Monday's Assignment



Have you ever thought of starting your own company? Being your own boss? This week is exciting, not only for the field trip on Thursday but also for the theme of Starting a Small Business. And we're looking ahead--way ahead--to an event in October, the Small Business Forum!

  1. Read and register for Small Business Forum
    1. Who is the organizer? What kinds of services do they provide? Where are they located?
    2. Once you have registered, forward your confirmation email to your instructor.
  2. Write about the school luncheon last Friday, and include pictures from here.
  3. Get ready to attend a useful information session on Planning Activities for Children, back in our classroom.
Thank you, Shankari, for the amazing session on children's activities this morning! 

When we have finished with the above, let's complete the rest of today's assignment:


  1. Vocabulary Building--listen and take good notes on the following: A Business Plan and Being an Entrepreneur.
  2. Watch this video on Enterprise Toronto and write down the names of three interviewees and one sentence from each of them.
  3. List 3 upcoming events by Enterprise Toronto, and explain on your blog which event interests you the most. Why should we consider going there on a class field trip?

Friday, July 18, 2014

Friday's Assignment

Congratulations! We've come to the end of a week on family roles and responsibilities!

How would you like your kids to grow up? What are your values? Would you like to talk about your family? Have a look at the following video and discuss with a partner or two.
 


Here are your tasks for this morning:
  1. Review this page on family relations in English and take the quiz.
  2. Do this listening exercise on Family Relationships.
  3. Practise the dialogue with a partner. 
    1. First, follow the original script.
    2. After that, change the details of the story, and practise aloud.
    3. Record your conversation on Vocaroo.com, and post/embed the link on your blog.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

Thursday's Assignment

Good morning, everybody!

Today, we have a special program from our student teacher, Asiah!

So please start by clicking on this link to her blog.


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Wednesday's Assignment

Husband-wife communication isn't always very romantic. Check out the cartoon below and think of what Dan could say in reply. Tell your partner what might be a great answer from the man.



Here are your tasks for this morning:
  1. Listen, and role play with a partner: Being a Stay-at-Home Dad
  2. How does doing household chores help family relationships. Discuss three ways this could happen, and record your advice on Audioboo.com.
  3. How would you handle some of the problems of parenting? Post your advice, with a couple of pictures, on your blog.
  4. Listen, and do the exercise: Camping under the stars?

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Tuesday's Assignment

Some of us are so exhausted by the lesson on camping that we need to focus on energy conservation!

In preparation for our special energy conservation lesson tomorrow, here are two tasks:

First, watch the following video and discuss with a partner two or three tips that you find useful.





Second, learn any new words in the following, placing five or six new terms on your blog in new sentences with pictures:



ESL/LINC VOCABULARY FOR PRESENTATION ON ENERGY CONSERVATION

1. Appliance: A piece of equipment, commonly powered by electricity, used to perform a particular energy driven function. Examples of common appliance are refrigerators, dishwashers, toasters, radios, televisions, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, microwave ovens

2. Battery: An energy storage device made up of one or more electrolyte cells.

3. Biofuels: Liquid fuels and blending components produced from biomass (plant) feedstock, used primarily

Biofuels
4. Biomass: Any organic (plant or animal) material which is available on a renewable basis, including agricultural crops and agricultural wastes, wood and wood wastes, animal wastes, landfill wastes and

5. Conservation: The act of protecting nature – water, plants and animals. The act of saving and reducing.

6. Energy conservation: Reducing energy consumption through using less of an energy service. Driving less is an example of energy conservation.

7. Energy: The ability to do work or the ability to move an object. Energy is any source of usable power.

8. Efficient energy use: Refers to using less energy for a constant service. Driving the same amount with a higher mileage vehicle is an example of energy efficiency.

9. Fossil fuels: Fuels (coal, oil, natural gas, etc) that result from the compression of ancient plant and animal life formed over millions of years.

10. Fuel: Any material that can be burned to make energy.

11. Geothermal energy: Thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. It comes in either vapor-dominated or liquid-dominated forms.
Geothermal energy


12. Global energy consumption: Refers to the total energy used by all people and industry around the world.

13. Incineration: A method where industry can break down its bulk waste in a furnace by controlled burning

14. Light energy: Radiant electromagnetic energy that an observer can see.

15. Non-renewable energy sources: These natural resources often exist in a fixed amount, and are consumed much faster than nature can recreate them. Fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas are examples of non-renewable energy sources.

16. Renewable energy sources: Naturally occurring, supposedly limitless sources of energy that cannot be depleted. Examples include sun, wind, water, biomass, geothermal.

17. Solar cell: An electric cell which changes radiant energy from the sun into electrical energy by the

18. Solar energy: The radiant energy of the sun, which can be converted into other forms of energy, such as heat, light or electricity.

19. Thermostat: A device that adjusts the amount of heating and cooling produced and or distributed by automatically responding t the temperature in the environment.

Thermostat


20. Transformer: A device which concerts the generators low-voltage electricity to higher voltage levels for transmission to the load center, such as a city or factory.

21. Watt (w): The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of units (SI), named after the Scottish engineer James Watt. Its unit symbol is W. The unit measures the rate of energy consumption.

22. Wind energy: A renewable source of energy used to turn turbines to generate electricity.


Third, let's go back to camping as a family activity, sorry. The Learn-to-Camp lesson is taking place right across the corridor in the Level 3 classroom. It's time to go!


Sunday, July 13, 2014

Monday's Assignment


How did you spend your weekend? Did you have a good time with members of your family? Welcome to a fun week on the theme of Relationships: Family Roles and Responsibilities! Here are your tasks:
  1. Based on this page of EZ Camping Tips, write a list of what to pack for your family’s summer camping trip.
  2. Pick a campground, discuss with a partner, and decide on a budget.
  3. Upload the information and pictures to your blog, and comment on 3 friends’ blogs.
  4. Then learn the song below:
    1. Read the song lyrics (words) and then click on the Play button.
    2. Sing along by yourself and then with a partner.
    3. Watch the video below:


Saturday, July 12, 2014

So, how much was that stinking editing checklist worth?

Remember the pain of doing the editing checklist, dealing with anything from prepositions and SVA to proper nouns and spelling? Or, how about those snapshots of the verb tense charts on the classroom walls? How much would you have paid if you'd learnt them at a college workshop?

Feel free to contact Seneca College directly for further information or to register!

Friday, July 11, 2014

Friday's Assignment

What is an acronym? Do you know the meaning of short forms like NAFTA, NASA, NATO, CUPE, CSIS, scuba, radar, sonar, laser, ROTFL, LOL, WYSIWYG, and CAD/CAM? How about NORAD?


  1. Google for NORAD, look briefly at a few articles, click on Images, and write down its full form. Watch this video and tell a partner what NORAD is all about.
  2. Then discuss this article with your partner.
  3. Again, find a partner and practise role playing this: Getting a Visa to Travel.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Thursday's Assignment

Today, in the global village, we meet some neighbours that are friendly to Canada. Would you like to guess which country might be a very close friend to our country?

Where's the 49th Parallel (49 degrees North)?
You have three tasks this morning:
  1. Follow this video using the transcript. Pick sentences that are more difficult to pronounce and practise speaking them aloud.
  2. Then find a partner to practise on this role play: Threatening Other Countries.
  3. Is this cartoon funny? Why or why not? Check out some other cartoons here.
  4. Finally, watch this video. Discuss with a partner the difference between this video and the one you watched in No. 1.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

Wednesday's Assignment




  1. Write a report on yesterday’s field trip downtown. Make sure to include the where, what, who, when, and how (WH) questions. Feel free to share your pictures from this and other blogs.
  2. Read (or listen tothis report and summarize it on your blog in 20 words or less. Then write down what you agree with and what you disagree with. Post your comments on three of your classmates' blogs.

Monday, July 7, 2014

Tuesday: Field Trip Downtown to City Council and Caribana Launch



Here we are, Richard, John, Mandana, Mahsan, Mariam, Salma, and Firozeh, but where's Rui, Vanessa, and all the rest?


First stop: the older city hall and Bay Street

It's a "fine" building, all right.

Wheelchair-accessible taxi drivers get a boost from newcomers!


He didn't ask for our autograph!?

Where's the mayor?


The best-looking people in the chambers!






Giants of the Caribbean!










Canada's National Anthem, Caribbean style




Answer key to editing checklist appetizer

  Int excel