Homework and Composition 3

- Worksheets: more practice on comparatives & superlatives; more on preopisitons; finish listening practice

- Online Quizzes - to practice vocabulary on "transport and travel" (optional - if you want to do more practice)
. Phrasal verbs (travel): http://a4esl.org/q/h/lb/pvtravel.html
. Transportation words: http://a4esl.org/q/h/vc-transnouns-lb.html

- Composition 3. Telling a story

Write a story about a nightmare journey you’ve had (or invent one). You can have a look at the story in p. 33 as an example (but be original and explain your own one!). Remember to use linking words and time expressions that will help the reader to follow the chronological order of the story.
Planning:
Paragraph 1 – When was the journey? Where were you doing? Who were you with? 

Paragraph 2 – What went wrong? What happened?

Paragraph 3 – How did you feel? What solutions did you think about?
Paragraph 4 -  Ending and conclusion

Extension: 120-150 words
DEADLINE: 15th December
Remember to check grammar and spelling before you hand in your composition.

22nd to 26th November (Summary)

- Grammar: Comparatives and Superlatives (p.30, p.132)
Comparing adjectives:
. when we want to say "more": -er / more than
. when we want to say "equal": as (adjective) as
. when we want to say "less": less (adjective) than

Emphasizing comparions (when we say more):
molt més: much / a lot more comfortable  - much / a lot more happier
una mica més: a bit more comfortable - a bit happier

Comparing adverbs:
. when expressing comparatives with adverbs, the structure is more + adverb: more quietly / more comfotably / etc.
. remember there are six adverbs we always use with -er: soon (sooner), late (later), hard (harder), near (nearer), fast (faster)

Remember there are some irregular adjectives/adverbs:
good/well - better -best
bad/badly - worse - worst
far - further/farther - furthest
little - less / least
a lot / much - more

- Practise: 2C (p.133) and copies

- Oral practice in pairs and in groups: using adjectives / adverbs as comparatives and superlative

- Video Listening: Bus Fares (News from BBC).

 

Watch the video and answer the question or choose the best option:

First Piece of News - Public Transport Rise Price:
 

1.      What is the famous bus station in London mentioned by the reporter?

2.      According to the reporter, passengers

a)     are paying a 12% more for their tickets

b)     are paying a 17.2% more for their tickets

c)     are paying a 12.7% more for their tickets

3.      Who is the people who will pay more with this increase in bus tickets:

a)     those who use an annual season ticket

b)     those who have to travel with young children and teenagers

c)     those who use the single ticket option

4.      According to the government, why is this price rise necessary

a)     to keep the service up to standards

b)     to provide the service to a wider population

c)     to make sure passengers are not cold in winter

Second Piece of News: A Woman Builder:

            a) A lady from South London has been ranked as one of the best builders in the country.

b) According to Sarah, working as a job is similar to be training at the gym.

c) She used to have a lot of work in the past, but she is waiting for some new clients at the moment.

d) Women usually see this job as a heavy dirty job in which you have to spend a lot of hours outdoors.

e) Sarah hopes that not many women get into the job.

Third Piece of News: Weather forecast:

a)      There could be some clouds over the night.

b)      Sunday morning won’t be bright and shinny.

c)       Slight snow is forecast for Sunday morning.

d)      The lowest temperature over the weekend will be minus 5 Celsius.


- Vocabulary: Transport and Travel (p.30 & p.148)

- Listening  & Speaking (p.31)
"Which of these things is the most dangerous when you're driving a car?"
. making a call on your mobile
. listening to your favourite music
. listening to music you don't know
. opening a packet of crisps or a can of drink
. picking up a specific CD from the passenger seat
. talking to other passengers

- Oral practice in groups: revision
. present perfect continuous: guessing a sentence with mime
. going to the restaurant: useful expressions to use in a restaurant

- Video Listening: Desperate Housewives (season 1, chapter 1)

15th to 19th November (Summary & Homework)

- check homework: present perfect continuous worksheet

- Reading p. 26: "It was just a holiday, but it changed my life" - comment on text

- Vocabulary: Strong adjectives - "tiny, delicious, furious, terrified, exhausted, boiling, starving, enormous, freezing, filthy, great, awful" (p.27)

- Communication: pair work - are you hungry? Yes, I'm starving (p.116, 119)

- Reviewing adverbs with present perfect and present perfect continuous (copy)

. already, yet, just

already: "sooner than expected" - used in positive sentences before the main verb
yet: when you are expecting something to happen - used in negative sentences and questions, at the very end of the sentence
just: "a short time ago" - used in positive sentences, before the main verb

. for, since

for: to express how long the period is - Sarah has lived in Tarragona for 3 years.
since: to express when the period started - Sarah has lived in Tarragona since 2007.

. for, during, while

The difference between for and during is the following:
for: followed by a period - My grandfather lived in Segovia for three years, from 1936 to 1939.
during: it mean when - My grandfather lived in Segovia during the Civil War.

The difference between during and while is the following:
during: it's a preposition and it's followed by a noun - During the journey, the little boy felt sick.
while: it's a conjunction and it`s followed by a sentence - While they were driving to Tarragona, the little boy felt sick.

 - More activities on numbers: listening to number details and dates (copy)

- 2C. Race to the Sun (p. 28-29)
Three jounalists decide to go from London to Avignon by car, by bus and by train in order to compare prices, time, comfotability and convenience of each means of transport. (Reading, listening and oral activity)

- Song: "Big Girls don't Cry"
Check the right and wrong words in this link:

And, have a good weekend!

8th to 12th November (Summary & Homework)

- Check homework: present perfect

- More practice on present perfect: Oral activity in pairs - "Haven't we met before?" (link)

- Reading (p.22): "My life without money"
Interesting vocabulary - phrasal verbs: throw away, give away, throw away, set up, look after, turn up

Oral comment with the class: Which of these sentences describes your attitude to money?
. All I want is enough money to enjoy life?
. Money is very important to me. I'd like to earn as much as possible
. I would be happy to live with less money and fewer possessions

- Vocabulary and pronunciation: saying numbers (p.23 - activities a and b)

- Listening: News bulletin (p.23)

- 2B. Changing your life
. Oral practice: if you could choose to spend a year abroad, where would you choose to go?
. Listening (p.24): Listen to Karen, a primary school teacher who is spending one year off in Beirut

- Grammar point: present perfect continuous (p. 132) - theory and activities
. We use it to emphasise "how long..." a recent action or an action that hasn't finished yet.
. Thus, we usually find it with the expression "how long...?" and the time adverbs for/since.
. Present perfect continuous can't be used with non-action verbs

- Song: "Hot and cold" by Katy Perry (link to song)

- Video Listening: "Taxi" from Headway Intermediate (cabs in London)

- Review worksheet: present perfect simple and continuous

- Oral activity with the class: present perfect continuous

- Written and oral activity in pairs: more on present pefect...: writing a story

- Reading and oral activity: psychological test (revision on adjectives)


HOMEWORK:
- Worksheet on present perfect continuous
- Reading p. 26: "It was just a holiday, but it changed my life" (activity e)
- Reading from Speak up: "Globalisation: United fruit goes bananas"

2nd to 5th November (Summary & Homework)

- Check homework: "both, neither, either" / future worksheet / prepositions

 UNIT 2. Money, Money   
 - Listening: Shania Twain's "Ka-ching" (p. 20) - What's the meaning of the song?
Useful vocabulary: broke, mortgage, loan, mall, greedy, blow

-  Speaking "the money questionnaire": consider these questions
. have you ever wasted money on something you've never used?
. have you ever been robbed?
. have you ever lent money to someone who didn't pay you back?
. have you recently taken money out of a cash machine?

- Grammar: present perfect and past simple (p. 132) (theory + activities)
Time adverbs usually found with
. present perfect: yet, alreay, for, since, just
. past simple: last..., ago, yesterday

- Oral activity with class: present perfect or continuous? (slidesheet)

- Oral activity in groups of 4: role play - explain your bad economic situation to your partners and provide useful advice
Useful collocations:  get a loan, poorly paid, highly paid, to have a steady income, to have an overdraft


HOMEWORK:
- Complete worksheet on present perfect simple and past simple