Monday, February 28, 2011

Past Continuous Tense

EnglishPage offers a great explanation of all the ways that we use the past continuous tense.

You can also practice when to use the simple past and when to use the past continuous with these activities:

Activity #1

Activity #2

Simple Past Tense

EnglishPage offers a good description of all the ways that we use the simple past tense in English.

Workshops in the Tutoring Lab

Hi Everyone!

I hope you're having a good day! I wanted to let you know about some special, free classes (workshops) that we are offering in the tutoring lab. There is a workshop each week from now until the end of the semester. Each workshop is one hour long.

I will give you extra credit if you go to the workshops. I will give you 5 points for each workshop you attend if you write a paragraph about what you learn and bring it to me. There are 8 workshops total, so if you go to every one, you can earn 40 points of extra credit!!! :)

If you can't go to the workshops because the times are not convenient for you, you can still earn extra credit. If you go to the lab for 20 OR MORE hours during the semester, I will give you 20 points of extra credit for your grade. You must go for at least 20 hours to get these points.


If you have any questions, please let me know.



Here is the schedule for the workshops: https://sites.google.com/site/miramarbasicskillslab/workshops

Tuesday, March 1st
1:00 PM

Note-taking strategies: Why take lecture notes? Did you ever wonder why instructors make such a big deal about taking notes during a class lecture? In this workshop, learn some effective note-taking strategies that will help you find success in the classroom. Learn how to be an active listener and take purposeful notes.

Tuesday, March 8
3:30 PM

Annotation: Do you read your textbook but feel that you have not remembered the information? Annotation is a skill that helps you stay focused, remember that important information, and become a more active reader. Attend this workshop and learn strategies for annotation while actively participating in activities to hone your skill.

Monday, March 14th
5:00 PM


Vocabulary Attack Skills: This workshop will teach you specific skills that you can use while reading to help you better understand unfamiliar words and phrases. Special attention will be placed on the use of context clues and word families to help improve your reading comprehension. Hope to see you there!

Monday, March 21st (THIS IS TAMI'S WORKSHOP!)
4:30 PM


Brainstorming and Organizing Ideas for Essay Writing: Do you have problems coming up with ideas for your writing assignments? Do you have a lot of ideas, but have no idea how to organize them into an essay? Are you stuck staring at a blank page? Then this workshop is for you! We will discuss techniques for generating new topic ideas and details, and practice organizing them into logical outlines. Come to this workshop and kick writer's block to the curb!

Thursday, March 31st
10:30 AM

Outlining:Do you ever feel like your ideas are all over the place? This workshop will help you to organize those ideas by focusing on outlining. Outlining is an important tool when writing an essay; it can help you fill in the holes your essay needs, and it can help you organize your thoughts more clearly. In this workshop we will try various outlining techniques including emphatic and chronological organizing. We will also use outlining in each of the different phases of the writing process. Outlining is a great tool that will help you develop as a writer and will help you in all your college-level classes.

Monday, April 4th
1:00 PM


Supporting Your Essay with Examples: This workshop will focus on strategies for providing examples in essays. We will discuss and practice how to implement various examples such as text quotes, statistical evidence, and personal examples. You will learn how to avoid listing examples, how to avoid long and irrelevant quotes, and how to avoid going on and on about your example without coming back to your point. Please come with any questions related to this topic!

Thursday, April 7th
4:00 PM

Argumentative essay process: What should an argumentative essay consist of? This workshop will provide you an overview outline on how to organize an argumentative essay. You will also learn some Do’s and Don’ts. Many classes require this type of essay, so come and find out what an argumentative essay is about!

Tuesday, April 26th
11:00 AM

Sentences: Confused by commas splices and run-on sentences??? Not sure what they are, or more importantly, how to fix them? This workshop will show you how to identify these common student errors AND simple ways to correct them. Lots of practice will be included!!! Please join us!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Upcoming Dates

Hello Everyone!

I know you are all very busy and have a lot going on, so I wanted to remind you about the schedule. Please continue to review your "Schedule of Major Assignments" as we go. But, here are the due dates for the next couple of weeks and information about your next quiz:

Due on Tuesday, 2/22: Your revised C-2 (small car/college education paragraph) if you choose to edit it. You do NOT have to edit it, but I recommend that you do so that you can practice your skills and possibly earn a higher grade. Make sure that you bring it on Tuesday, 2/22. Editing your work is a privilege, so NO late revisions will be accepted.

Also due on Tuesday, 2/22: You will write a descriptive paragraph over the weekend and this will be due on 2/22 also. I will give you the information and directions in class on Thursday, so be sure that you come! :)

Thursday, 2/24: You will have a brief quiz on the present continuous, action/non-action verbs, sentence fragments, and comparative/superlative adjectives.

If you have any questions, please email me and I will respond to you as soon as I can.

Monday, February 14, 2011

More Simple Present and Present Continuous Quizzes

Want more practice with the simple present and present continuous? Click the links below for more online quizzes!

1. Simple Present

2. Present Continuous

Listening, Speaking, and Vocabulary Website

English Central is a fun website that let's you practice listening to real English! This is a great way to learn vocabulary! You can pick words by subject, and the program will give you time to listen and learn the vocabulary, and then practice speaking it. Come into the lab and we can show you how it works!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Simple Present Versus the Present Continuous

This is a great exercise to help you practice the simple present and the present continuous. Use the information on your G-4 ("Simple Present and Present Continuous") to help you as you try the activity.

The Present Continuous

Here is a great resource that shows all the uses of the present continuous! It even helps explain that difficult homework question about playing soccer.

Habit - Simple Present

Brian plays soccer with Joe on Tuesday.
(This means they play soccer every Tuesday).

Brian plays soccer with Joe on Tuesdays.
(Many native speakers add an "s" to the day of the week to be clear that it is a habit).

An Event that Will Happen in the Near Future

Note: Sometimes we use the present continuous to show that something will or will not happen in the NEAR future.

Brian is playing soccer with Joe on Tuesday.
(This is a plan for the near future -- they will do it this week)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Adverbs of Frequency

Here is a fun activity to help you practice adverbs of frequency. It's a board game!

And, this activity is a good way to quiz yourself on the adverbs of frequency.

Information about the ESOL Lab

Hi Everyone!

During the semester, you can go to the English/ESOL tutoring lab in room I-122. There will be tutors in there to give you individual attention and help you with your work. I do the best that I can to answer your questions in class, but sometimes you might have more questions or need more help. This is a great place to go for that extra help.

Kristin's Lab Hours:

Mondays (11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.)
Tuesday (11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.)
Thursdays (11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.)

Tami's Lab Hours:

Monday (4-6 p.m.)
Tuesdays (4-6 p.m.)
Thursdays (4-6 p.m.)

There are many other tutors available to help you also. You can meet with any tutor that you wish. Here is the website for the lab. And, you can find the tutor's hours here. You can also
go to the lab blog for more help with your grammar and writing.

We want you to feel successful and learn as much as you can this semester! So, please use these resources as much as possible. :)

-Kristin

Homework Reminder

I hope that you are having a nice day so far! I just wanted to send you a quick reminder about your assignments over the weekend.

Homework:

1) Complete your C-2 writing assignment (small cars OR college education paragraph)
2) Try some practice activities on this website
3) Organize your binder -- complete all worksheets, label and update your notes if needed
4) Review pages 12-13 in your grammar book (adverbs of frequency) & try the activities

Have a great weekend! I will see you on Tuesday!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Topic Sentences and Controlling Ideas

You can go to this website to learn more about topic sentences and controlling ideas. Then, you can quiz yourself to check your understanding.

Here's another article about how to create an effective topic sentence.