Schools in the UK

Here is the set of words that we discussed today when talking about schools in the UK.

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Traffic

Dear 8a students,

Today we shall begin working with the new topic - traffic!

Please go through this whole posting first to know how to plan your time. Then begin with the tasks.

First of all, look through the following words. Click on <- and -> at the sides to move on to the next or last word.

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Study these flash cards

When you have looked through all of them, click on the "Choose a Study Mode" button and click on "Scatter". After doing that exercise, you can also click on "Learn" and try writing the words :) Your goal is to get to know these words really well!


Your second task during this lesson is the following (begin it no later than 10:10).

Choose one of these locations in Tallinn: railway station, the zoo, Kumu, song festival ground or the port.

On your blog, write the directions (juhendid) how to get there from our school. These words may come handy to you: next to sth (millegi kõrval), between sth (millegi vahel), across from sth (millegi vastas), behind sth (millegi taga), in front of sth (millegi ees), turn right, turn left, go straight, cross the road.

You may begin like this: "To get there, you go out of the main door of the schoolhouse and then turn ..."

You need to use at least 5 words from the vocabulary that you just practiced with Quizlet.

NB! Do not mention the name of the final destination anywhere in your story!

The grade for your directions takes into account these things:

a) Are your directions understandable

b) Are your directions correct

c) Are you using at least 5 words from the vocabulary

If you need any help with Estonian-English or English-Estonian translation, you can use this dictionary here.


If you are done with the directions, continue playing with the words (if you have your headphones with you, you can ask teacher Hanna's help to plug them in so that you can also listen to their pronunciation, too - press on the sign of the loudspeaker. There are more opportunities for viewing the words at this page.


As homework for the next lesson, please prepare for a word test with the same words.


Looking forward to reading your work! :)

Best greetings from Leeds,
Your teacher

New York, New York

The time has come to sweep the dust* from our blogs, which we haven't used for quite some time already! :) Here is the tasks for your today's English lesson in the computer lab.

During the lesson, your goal is to choose one aspect** of New York City and write a blog posting about it, which has 

• At least 10 sentences. It should be your own text (you can use different sources, but do not do a copy-paste - reword it in your own way!)
• At least 2 pictures
• At least 1 video clip (you can use your earphones to plug into your computer; ask for teacher Hanna's help)

Here's a list of aspects that you can choose from, or you can pick your own aspect. Write this as the title of your posting. You can also narrow down*** the aspects.

• Music in New York City (Jazz in New York City, Rap in New York City, ...)
• Dance in New York City (Street dance in New York City, New York City as the dance capital of the world, ...)
• Fashion in New York City (the 5th Avenue, ...)
• Museums in New York City (the MET, MoMA, Guggenheim, ...)
• Transportation in New York City (Cabs in New York City, Grand Central Terminal, ...)
• Sports in New York City (New York Marathon, U.S. Open, New York Knicks, ...)
• Education in New York City (Universities in New York City, public schools, ...)
• Buildings in New York City (Rockefeller Centre, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty ...)
• Places in New York City (Central Park, Broadway, Wall Street, ...)
• History of New York City (you can pick any era or event in history if you wish)
• Boroughs of New York (Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, Staten Island)

Please finish your work during the lesson and be ready for it to be graded.


Use Google or any other useful pages to collect information. Wikipedia has useful details. Flickr and YouTube could be of help to you. If you need dictionaries, this could be a useful one.


Best wishes and see you on Monday!


*sweep the dust - tolmu pühkima
**aspect - aspekt, külg, tahk
***narrow down - kitsendama

Task #8 - Estonia

To get to know what people from other countries think about Estonia and to develop your English communication skills, your next task will take you to a new situation.

1. Find a visitor to Estonia that you would like to talk to. For furthering* your communication skills, it would be the best if you could have a conversation** with somebody face-to-face. For example, you could meet a person in the Old Town or the central part of Tallinn. Usually the tourists are not too busy, especially if you see them slowly walking around or perhaps even sitting in a park or cafe.

NB! You can work in pairs - why not go talk to a foreigner*** together with your classmate or any other friend! You can take turns asking the questions that you chose.


2. Ask the questions. Based on the interview plan handout you got and prepared during the class, please find out about the background of the visitor and her / his answers to your questions.


NB! Please make sure to write the visitor's answers on the handout so that you can remember them. You can write some of the comments in Estonian, too - if it takes too much time to write them in English directly.


3. Make a summary of what you have got to know and what you have experienced. Write a blog post (or - if you wish - a notebook entry). Please make sure to do the following.

• Write an introduction****. When, where and with whom did you talk to?
• Write about what have you got to know about her / his visit to Estonia and her / his opinion about our country. Please write at least 10 sentences. Among those sentences, please start at least 5 of them like this: "She / he told me that ...", "She / he said that ...", "She / he mentioned that ...", "She / he answered that ...", "She / he thought that ...". Use your knowledge about Reported Speech to write correct sentences.
• Write a conclusion. What did you learn from this experience? Was this task easy or difficult to you? Why? What was the most interesting thing that you found out or experienced while doing this task?
• If possible: add pictures. 

4. Present the interview plan that you have filled in to the teacher. Also, please present your notebook to the teacher if you didn't use the blog, and wrote your summary of the task into your notebook.


Please finish all the tasks by Thursday, May 19.
Every student will get written feedback and a grade for this exercise. If you have any questions, please ask me!
 


* further - edasi arendama 
** conversation - vestlus
*** foreigner - välismaalane
**** introduction - sissejuhatus
***** conclusion - kokkuvõte

Task #7 - Books

Please answer the following questions on your blog.

NB1 Please use full sentences as you write your answers.
NB2 Write at least 2 sentences to answer each question.
NB3 Use at least 5 words from the list that we discussed and wrote down during the class. Make these words bold.

1. Why do we have books - why are they necessary / important to us?
2. Do you like books? Why / why not?
3. How many books do your read every year on average  (keskmiselt)? What kind of books do you enjoy?
4. What is the latest book that you have read (please write title + author)? What was the main thing you learned from it?
5. What are the advantages (eelised) of books over computers?

What is book? 

A revolutionary product: bio optical organiced knowledge device. 

Find out about its amazing advantages! :)

7a Class Blog Magazine Issue #3 - Scotland Part 2

..continuing the previous issue of our class magazine on Scotland.

8. What is HAGGIS?

Kristo lets us know.

 

9. What is TARTAN?

 

Rigden tells us the details: "It is a pattern consisting of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Scottish kilts are using tartan patterns. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in many other materials."

To see different tartans, click here:

Rigden continues: "Until the middle of the 19th century, the highland tartans were associated with regions or districts, rather than by any specific clan. This was because tartan designs were produced by local weavers for local tastes and would tend to make use of the natural dyes available in that area. Thus, it was not until the mid-19th century that specific tartans became associated with Scottish clans or Scottish families, or simply institutions who are (or wish to be seen as) associated in some way with a Scottish heritage."

7a Class Blog Magazine Issue #2 - Scotland

As part of getting to know Scotland, we have all prepared mini-presentations on some of the things which are "especially Scottish". Here is the overview of what we have found out - part 1.


1. What is a CLAN?

Kristel explains: "A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. The word clan is derived from 'clann' meaning 'children' in the Irish and Scottish Gaelic languages."

Here is also a video with more information:

2. Who is the LOCH NESS MONSTER?

 

Daniel has it: "The Loch Ness Monster, sometimes called "Nessie" or "Ness" is a creature or group of creatures said to live in Loch Ness, a deep freshwater loch (lake) near the city of Inverness in northern Scotland. Along with Bigfoot Nessie is one of the best-known mysteries in cryptozoology though most mainstream scientists and other experts find current evidence supporting Nessie unpersuasive and regard such reports as hoaxes or misidentification of mundane creatures."

Find our more in this video:

3. What is KILT?

Jan-Bert provides the information.

4. What is EDINBURGH CASTLE?

Laura gives us the details.

5. What is SCOTS? 

Joanna shares some information: "Scots is a language that is spoken in Scotland, Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. It has more than 1.5 million speakers. Scots is often regarded as one of the varieties of English, but with its own distinct dialects."

Watch this to learn some words in Scots:

6. Who is GREYFRIARS BOBBY?

Arinda introduces this little creature to us: "Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier who became known in 19th-century Edinburgh after reportedly spending 14 years guarding the grave of his owner, John Gray, until he died himself on 14 January 1872. This statue of Bobby sits at the corner of Edinburgh's Candlemaker Row and George IV Bridge."

Bobby is so famous that even films have been made about him:

 7. What is AULD LANG SYNE?

Aleksandra prepared the overview.

To listen to Auld Lang Syne, click here:

Stay tuned! The next posting with more info about Scotland is coming soon!