Friday's Assignment

Yay, T.G.I.F.! Are you glad to have made it to the end of the first week of school? How would you celebrate? Break out the chocolates and candies and reward yourself?

Like this cartoon? What is it about? Check out the rest on Google Images.

Here are your tasks:

1. A few of you have yet to complete the writing task from Monday describing your Christmas vacation in answer to WH questions like Who, Why, What, etc. Please do so right away! You may wish to organize them in 3 to 5 paragraphs. Try not to exceed 150 words.
2. Listening and role play: Going on a Diet
3. Take notes from this video and post them, with embedded video, to your blog.
4. For extra practice, take dictation of the first 25 seconds of the video, and check it with the CC.
5. Role Play with a partner from a different country of origin from yours: Checking Blood Pressure
6. Record yourself saying the three long words on Monday's assignment, beginning each with, "Me? I'm fine, thank you. I don't have __(name of disease)__." Practise with a partner before posting your Vocaroo.com link on your blog.

Thursday's Assignment

1. What do you think of someone who has these symptoms? Can you identify the disease?

• Tremor (shaking)• Slowness of movement• Rigidity (stiffness)• Difficulty with balance• Small, cramped handwriting
• Stiff facial expression• Shuffling walk• Muffled speech• Depression

1. Read the following two paragraphs: 

Japanese researchers have published a study in the Journal of Clinical Investigation reporting a major breakthrough that might pave the way for a possible cure of Parkinson disease. This brain disorder occurs when certain nerve cells (neurons) in a part of the brain die or become impaired. Normally, these cells produce a vital chemical known as dopamine, which allows smooth, coordinated function of the body's muscles and movement. When approximately 80% of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged, the symptoms of Parkinson disease (shaking, difficulty with balance, paralysis) appear. Parkinson disease affects both men and women in almost equal numbers. It shows no social, ethnic, economic or geographic boundaries. In the US, 60,000 new cases are reported each year.

The team from Kyoto University said experiments have shown that embryonic cells transplanted into monkey brains can reverse the debilitating effects of the degenerative disease, for which there is currently no cure. Tests on humans may occur within five years. Doctor Nobuo Hashimoto said, “There are many approaches to curing the disease, such as strong drugs or destruction of troubled cells in the brain, but use of embryonic stem cells is seen as an ideal and fundamental therapy for the disease.” The study suggests that stem cells taken from embryos can be used to replace damaged tissues in a whole variety of other diseases. Opponents of stem cell research, including US President George W. Bush, who has frozen all federal spending on its research, say using a human embryo for such research or even treatment is unethical.

1. Answer the following T/F Questions:

(a)  A cure has been found for Parkinson disease.  T / F(b)  A major breakthrough might pave the way for a possible cure of Parkinson disease.  T / F(c)  Parkinson disease is a neurological disorder.  T / F(d)  Our brains need a chemical called dopamine to allow it to function smoothly.  T / F(e)  Parkinson disease affects men much more than women.  T / F(f)  Tests on humans may occur within five months. T / F(g)  The use of embryonic stem cells can only cure Parkinson disease.  T / F(h)  US President George W. Bush has greatly increased spending on stem cell research.  T / F 

1. Discuss your answers with a partner. Then check your answers here.
1. Role Play: Physical Checkup

Wednesday's Assignment

Today, we consider a modern disease that afflicts and frightens many people.

1. Remember our exercise on gum disease yesterday? Do the following exercises:
1. Click on this exercise to Listen and complete dictation and other tasks.
2. Do this Preposition exercise.
3. Complete this Word Order exercise.
4. Then practise Speed Reading with this exercise. Click on Next Activity for a faster exercise.
2. Find out the scope and phone number for Ontario Telehealth.
1. With a partner, call the service with a legitimate question.
2. Post the answer on your blog.

Tuesday's Assignment

Good morning! What do you think of the following cartoon?

Here are your tasks this morning:

1. Speaking and role play: Seeing an Eye Doctor
1. Practise speaking by yourself.
2. With a partner, practise the roles of Dr. Olho and Virginia.
3. Record your conversation on Vocaroo.com, and publish it on your blog.
2. Listening and vocabulary: Cancer Treatment
3. Go back to yesterday's work, and make sure you finish it if you haven't done so already.

Monday's Assignment

For this afternoon, write a post describing your Christmas vacation in answer to WH questions like Who, Why, What, etc.
If you have the time, you may finish the work from this morning, below:

===============

Welcome back, and Happy New Year! How are you doing?

Hope everybody's doing okay and nobody has (try saying them aloud to a partner!):

1. pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism,
2. lymphangioleiomyomatosis, or
3. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

So, this week, Guess what we're looking at! We are taking a closer look at some modern diseases. As an ancient prayer goes, "Dear friend, I pray you may prosper concerning everything and be healthy, just as your soul prospers."

Here are your tasks for this morning:

1. Listening and Role Play: Is Obesity a Modern Disease?
2. Write a post on your blog about three other modern diseases. Check and edit it with a partner before publishing it.
3. With a partner and speaking aloud, role play as doctor and patient this Form Filling Exercise.

Field Trip Tuesday: Indoor Skiing in Mississauga

The photos are now ready at our FB photo album and other friends' pages. Be sure to make new FB friends and share the fun! And don't forget to tag yourselves in the pictures.

Monday Morning's Assignment

This week we will consider the theme of Skills for Life. Just a quick announcement, though: at 10 a.m. we're going back to our classroom for a workshop on Employment Rights. Also, please pay your $16 fee for tomorrow's field trip activity to your instructor before lunch.



Here are the tasks:

1. What do you think the most important skills are for your new life in Canada? Is it to pick up the phone? Is it to express your disagreement to an officer about a parking ticket? Is it to understand a letter from CRA? Or to email your local councillor?
1. Think of the top 3 tasks for each of the four language skills (LSRW).
2. Talk to a partner about your total list of 12 tasks, and compare your lists.
3. Publish your partner's list on your blog and say why you agree or disagree with it.
2. Make corrections on the printout of your blog writing using the editing checklist, and update your blog with the corrected version. Make sure the before and after versions are clearly seen.
3. Bonus Activity: Only when you've completed all of the above, you may take this survey. A four-step guide is available. If asked, the class name and class code are: LINC 4-5 and ON-00060-1.

Friday Afternoon's Assignment

So, you can get stuff in the brick-and-mortar library, and you can download stuff from the online library. What else can you get from your public library? Welcome back for the final assignment of this week:

1. Read the rules for the MAP.
2. In an email to a friend overseas, list 3 great things and 3 frustrating things about the MAP.
1. Then compare the Toronto Public Library to a public library system of another country. This could be the country you came from.
2. Have two partners check your work using the editing checklist, and post the email on your blog.
3. Complete any unfinished assignments from earlier this week.

Friday Morning's Assignment

Let's step back and have a look again at our city's public library. Do you recognize this place:

Drawing reproduced in Toronto Daily Star, 1922 (a clipping of which is in Toronto Public Library, Scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings, photographs, etc. relating to the Toronto Public Library, p.108, 1922). See also X 71-8. TEC 391.02. Date Created year approximate for 1922?

Here are your tasks for this morning:

1. Listen to this text using Natural Readers. Practise reading and pronouncing the words, and then post a recording of your reading on your blog.
2. Using your editing checklist and printouts from yesterday afternoon, update your posts with the corrections. Did you make any improvements to your writing? Make sure to show the writing BEFORE and the writing AFTER editing.

Thursday's Assignment

What are libraries made of? What kind of materials are used in building one? What's the opposite of online or web-based? What do you like or not like about "brick-and-mortar" places?


Here are your tasks:

1. Listening and vocabulary: A Taped Tour
2. Check out the programs at the 3 branch libraries nearest to your home. How did you find your answers? Did you arrive at your answers the same way as your classmates?
3. Listen to a few sample radio ads. Create a radio ad on Vocaroo.com for your neighbourhood branch library. What information would you include? Discuss with a partner. Leave comments on your classmates’ ads, too!

Tuesday's Assignment

Do you have a library card? What do you know about the online resources of Toronto Public Library?

Do you know what "pick-up lines" are? Do you know any examples in your first language? Tell a partner.

Check out the following tasks:

1. How many of the 16 public library resources here can you access? Comment on your favourite.
2. Can you really learn grammar online? Check this out: 7. Tense Buster > Access Online > Option 2 > Intermediate > Relative Clauses