Wednesday's Assignment

Do you have many neighbours who are hungry? Do they come knocking on your door for bread or rice? Do they carry a sign at the traffic intersection asking for donations or for food?

For more such amazing signs in North America, check these out!

Here are your tasks:

1. Listen to this news report, first by clicking the Listen Button and later by watching the video.
1. Write down at least 5 words that you corrected the pronunciation for.
2. Practise saying them in new sentences to a partner.
2. Record only the first 60 seconds of your reading of the news report twice, checking on pronunciation between the 2 recordings.
3. Using at least 5 new words you just learnt, create a 30-second radio advertisement for the nearest food bank.
1. Think about who you are targeting.
2. Consider what might be keeping them from coming.
3. What do you want them to do today? Or next week? Or at some future time?
4. What bits of information must you include?
5. Do you need any special effects?

Tuesday's Assignment

Good morning! Before our special workshop this morning on Self-Care, here are your vocabulary words from which to make sentences (five examples given free of charge):

Word	Sentence
Stress	Stress that is good will make you stronger, but bad stress can cause distress and mental illness.
Distress
Mental Health
Depression
Mood
Self-care
Equity and Equality	Equity and equality have to do with the perception and actuality of fairness in a given situation.
Diversity
Culture
Migration
Discrimination
Mutli-tasking
Pressure
Myth
Fact
Breathe
Concept
Managing Stress
Stress out
Stressor	In many families, the in-laws can be a stressor that raises one's blood pressure.
Physical reaction
Emotional reaction
Behavioral reaction
Hormone
Coping skills
Socially acceptable
Socially unacceptable
Social
Stereotype
Prejudice
Humour
Situation
Avoid
Alter
Adapt
Accept
Support system	Does your support system include a rich uncle or your Ward Councillor when you are faced with a life crisis?
Attitude
Hobby
Pledge
Promise
Handouts
Purpose
Embrace
Warm
Feeling grounded
Relaxed
Adapted
Circle
Feelings
Meditation
Yoga
Mindfulness
Low mood
Sadness
Frustration
Hopelessness
Helplessness
Anxiety
Anxious
Sleepless
Anger
Spiritual
Environmental
Occupational
Employment
Housing
Financial
Social
Economical
Racism/Race	Is it racism when some people demand more rights than others, or that their lives matter more than others, e.g. "Blue Lives Matter"?
Religion
Gender
Ethnicity
Geographical

Monday's Assignment

Did you know that there are lots of government and community resources in your neighbourhood? Did you know it's possible to learn painting, sculpting, guitar, and other artistic skills? What about skating and skiing, or biking and other rec skills? Or, perhaps, you might want to try out line dancing, yoga, or zumba. Or some resume-glamming courses in computers or languages.

How can you access these programs? Or, better yet, access them for free?

How to find and share community resources is an essential skill as these folk found out some 2,500 years ago.

Here are your tasks:

1. Google for arts, recreational, social, and adult education programs in Toronto.
1. List 1 program suitable for you and 1 program for a friend, giving brief reasons for each.
2. Give directions to a program venue, and make a chirbit.com recording of it.
2. Listen to a classmate’s recording of directions, and post a hand-drawn map of it.
3. Write an FB invite to your program, including key details. Then respond to a classmate’s invitation.

Friday's Assignment

Tell a partner what this picture is about.

What we are doing this morning before the 10 a.m. meeting is to do our final exercise from Wednesday. One partner will ask questions looking at the handout, and the other partner will respond without looking. The difference is getting it recorded. So:

1. Have your handouts ready, and practise a few times until you are pretty familiar with the conversation.
2. Go to chirbit.com and click on the record button, giving permission to record when asked. If unsure, ask around.
3. Record the exercise both ways, sometimes with a partner as A and sometimes as B.
4. Publish the audio links on your blog together with a picture of the handout.
5. Write about what went well and what didn't go so well in this assignment. Then give your comments on your classmates' blogs.

Hmm, what would be the purpose of your recording this assignment?

Thursday's Assignment

When you have the right skills, you can move around between jobs. You could even move vertically.

Here are your tasks:

1. Please give feedback on yesterday's exercise on openers, "Bling, Buzz, and Bravos." Write your comments below. How was the jumping exercise? What about the last one, where only one partner had the paper?
2. Role play: Losing Employees to Competitors
3. Write down what skills you think are missing in your resume, and compare these with 2 partners.
1. What hard skills are you missing?
2. What soft skills?
4. Explore this website.
1. Discuss the content with your partners.
2. List what you agree with, what you disagree with, and what you are unsure about.

Wednesday's Assignment

Sometimes you just have to learn a new skill for a new job. Is that easy to do? Tell a classmate about one time when you had to do that.

What idiom in English are in these cartoons?

Here are your tasks:

1. Role play: Learning a Skilled Trade
1. Write down 3 previous skills/jobs you had.
2. Write down 3 future skills/jobs you would like to have.
2. Read the headers and graphics in this article. Discuss with 2 partners.
3. Think about your future in Canada. Write down for yourself what you’d like to stop doing, start doing, and continue doing. Write comments on each other's blogs.

Tuesday's Assignment

So you have some useful job skills. Can you write them down in a list? How about putting "Novice," "Mediocre," or "Expert" beside each of those skills, and sharing your list with a partner? So your list might look like:

1. Typing - Mediocre
2. Managing a team - Expert
3. Big data - Novice
4. Java - Expert
5. Thai cuisine - Mediocre
6. TENS acupuncture - novice

Is it important to describe accurately one's skill level for the job? What difference does it make?

Which one's the expert? It's costly not to master the art of the educated guess.

Here are your tasks:

1. Role play: Describing One’s Skill Level
1. Find vocabulary words that could replace those on your skill list.
2. Practise, as usual, by yourself, with a partner, and then together with an audio/video program.
2. Browse this LinkedIn page.
1. Identify 5 skills you see and indicate the level: B, I, A (beginner, intermediate, advanced).
2. Add 5 skills you have that were not listed there, with their respective skill levels.
3. Post comments on 3 of your classmates’ posts.

Monday's Assignment

Welcome back to school! Are you glad or sad to be back?

This week we start with a new theme. Look at the picture below and guess what it is:

If you guessed job skills, you're right!

Here are your tasks:

1. Vocabulary: Diverse Skills
1. Identify at least 5 news words/terms.
2. Learn their pronunciation and meaning.
2. Role play: Upgrading Job Skills
3. Take this Skills Assessment Test.
1. Post your results and comments.
2. Post your comments on 3 of your classmates’ results.

Field Trip: Centre Island Picnic, June 24 ... See You Back on July 4!

It's a little cooler on the Island!

On Friday June 24, our last day before the July 1 Break, we're headed to Centre Island for a picnic with the rest of the school. Those leaving from Don Mills should be at the coffee shop inside the TTC subway station by 9:30 a.m., and those meeting at the Jack Layton Ferry Terminal should be there no later than 11 a.m. Ferries leave every 30 minutes for Centre Island; be sure you're not on the ferry to Hanlan's Point or Ward's Island. Ferry tickets are $7.50 for adults, with a 10% discount if you buy 10 online.

After the picnic, if you still have the energy, you could join the Global Village Festival at Mel Lastman Square in North York Centre running 10 a.m. through 10 p.m., Friday-Saturday, June 24-25.

On Sunday June 26, there's an Arts and Music Festival at Earl Bales Park if anyone is interested.

On Tuesday June 28, there's a talk at MicroSkills East on "My Path to Harvard." Check out the details on the poster!

On Friday, Canada Day, there's more fun at North York Centre. Who's going for an outing there?

On Monday, July 4, we'll be back in class!

Wednesday's Program

Today we're having the following presentations by Lisa Ward of the Toronto Region Conservation Authority:

1. AM Presentation: Introduction to First Nations 
2. PM Presentation: The Contact Period Language

Make sure to review your vocabulary words here.
You might like to check out your classmates' crossword puzzles, too:

1. Shui's
2. Cheng's
3. Olivia's
4. Sally's

Tuesday's Assignment

How are the natives doing in Canada? Can you think of some issues they may be facing? Are they receiving any financial assistance?

What else can be done to help them? Discuss with a partner.

Here are a list of 8 issues facing Aboriginal people in Canada.

Here are your tasks:

1. Scan this report for 5 minutes, and then discuss with a partner before class take up.
1. What is the huge problem mentioned?
2. What are some things the author's grandmother learnt?
3. Compare the report to these others: 1, 2, 3, 4.
2. Watch this video and write down 5 sentences on what you just learnt about Aboriginals.
3. Visit the BCPP website. Plan 5 places there to take photos.