I have created this blog to help my students learn and improve their English.
In this blog, they can find some interesting articles, grammar suggestions, exercises and assignments, pictures and videos.
This blog will help students practice their speaking and listening, and do some grammar exercises.
Yesterday we learned phrases "there is" and " there are". Here is some more information for you to review this grammar. Read everything carefully, memorize information, do exercises, practice and watch videos.
Irena
As we talked about this yesterday, "there is" and "there are"are common phrase in English. We use them to indicate that something "exists" or something is in a certain location. The main subject goes after "there is" and "there are”.
Examples:
There is an apple on the table.
There are some apples on the table.
In other words, we use phrases "there is" and "there are" to state the existence or presence of something or someone.
Examples:
There is a clock on the wall.
There's a clock on the wall. (short form)
There are six desks in the classroom.
There are four students in the class.
There are two whiteboards in the classroom. (no short form for "there are")
Here are Patterns for questions.
Singular:
Is there a ___________ (something singular) in the classroom? Is there some __________ (something non-count) in the kitchen?
Examples: Is there a TV in the classroom? Is there some coffee in the kitchen?
Short answers:
Positive - Yes, there is.
Negative - No, there isn't.
And plural:
Are there (any) ___________(s) in the classroom?
Short answers:
Positive - Yes, there are.
Negative - No, there aren't.
Here are Patterns for sentences.
Singular:
There is a ___________ in the classroom.
There's a ___________ in the classroom. (short)
There is some _________ in the kitchen. There's some _________ in the kitchen. (short)
And plural:
There are ___________(s) in the classroom.
Now, look around the classroom and write 5 "there is" sentences and 5 "there are" sentences. We will check them later.
Now watch this video.
Please, read information about how to ask questions.
We start the "Yes/No" Questions with a verb.
"Is there..?" and "Are there..?"
Verb Be+ there+ subject?
Example:
Question (Singular):
Is there a map in the classroom?
Question (Plural):
Are there any maps in the classroom?
How do you answer "yes" to these questions?
Yes, there is.
Yes, there are.
Example:
Short answer (Singular):
Yes, there is.
Short answer (Plural):
Yes, there are.
How do you answer "no" to these questions?
No, there is not.
No, there isn't. (short)
No, there are not.
No, there aren't. (short)
Short answer (Singular):
No, there isn't.
Short answer (Plural):
No, there aren't.
Please, rewrite the following sentences into questions:
1. There is a new job at the factory.
2. There is an airport in this city.
3. There are many people living in this city.
4. There is a new post office in city.
5. There are many computers in the classroom.
Please, read information about how to ask "How many..?" questions.
We start questions with "how many..?" and use a plural subject.
How many + subject + are there + location?
Example:
Question:
How many states are there on Virgina’s borders?
Please, rewrite the following sentences into questions:
1. There are 50 states in the United States.
2. There are 15 states in the South.
3. Forty-nine percent of this city residents are 25-40 years old.
Here is a picture by a famous Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh. Please, look carefully at the picture and describe the bedroom writing sentences with "there is" and "there are".
Now, here is a video. Please, watch it.
To help Spanish speaking students understand the grammar, here is a video in Spanish.
There is a summary of the grammar in Spanish.
Now, look at this picture. To describe this picture, please, write sentences with "there is" and "there are".
Now, here is a funny site. Click on this link, go there, read everything and memorize, play some games.
Dear students, Here is a post about Thanksgiving. One part of this post is for Low-Level students, and the other one is for High-Level students.
Please, read this post, watch the animated story about Pilgrims and their first Thanksgiving, try to understand everything. If you see or hear any new words, ask about them. I'll be happy to explain them to you. Enjoy watching the video and have fun!
Irena
Thanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays in the United States of America. Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a holiday that Americans spend together with their families and enjoy a Thanksgiving meal - the traditional Thanksgiving turkey and some vegetables.
We celebrate this holiday on the fourth Thursday in November. We give thanks for everything we have.
For Low Level Students
In 1620 a group of people from England came to North America. They wanted to pray to their God, but the King of England controlled them. They didn't have religious freedom in England, so they came to Plymouth to be free to have their own religion. They came on the ship called "The Mayflower".
Life was difficult in Plymouth. People were sick and hungry. Many of them died. They worked hard. The Native Americans or Indians helped them a lot. They gave the Pilgrims food, showed them how to hunt wild animals and plant food like corn.
Finally, they had enough to eat. In the fall of the next year they had a good crop of different vegetables. To celebrate a good harvest they cooked a large meal and shared it with Indians. They wanted to give thanks for their food. That was the first Thanksgiving Day.
Today people in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving Day. It is always on the fourth Thursday in November. On this day families come together to eat the traditional food of the Pilgrims and the Indians. They eat a lot and talk. They give thanks for their health, their families and friends.
Different berries - cranberries, raspberries, blueberries
Squash
Pumpkin
Beans
Yam or sweet potato
Nuts
Americans celebrate Thanksgiving to give thanks for family, friends, food and health.
For High Level Students
Long ago, in the early 1600s, a group of people in England wanted to pray and worship God in their own way. The King controlled the Church of England, and everyone was ordered to go to the same type of church. Anyone who dared to disobey would be sent to jail.
The group of people who wanted to free the Church of England from the King's rule, making it "pure", were known as the Puritans. To escape the rule of the King and his church, around 100 men, women and children left their homeland, with their dream of religious freedom.
They sailed on a ship "Mayflower" - on a pilgrimage to the New World.
These brave travelers - the Pilgrims - landed in Plymouth after their long six-week journey. It was December 11, 1620. The cold winter had set in. The land was strange to them, and nothing seemed familiar.
The winter was long, cold, and very hard for the Pilgrims. Luckily, Native Americans helped by supplying them with seeds and food, teaching them about their new home, and giving them the skills needed to survive in a strange, new land.
The first year in their new home was hard for the Pilgrims. Many died. With seeds and plants received from the Native Americans, the Pilgrims planted crops. The fall harvest was a good one. To celebrate their good fortune, the Pilgrims had a feast of thanksgiving.
Many foods were cooked for the feast - wild turkey, duck, and venison were probably served, along with fish, pumpkins, squash, corn, sweet potatoes, and cranberries. Captain Miles Standish, the leader of the Pilgrims invited all of the Native Americans who had helped them so much during their first year. Everyone had a good day of thanksgiving. The feast lasted for three days!
Here is one more story about Thanksgiving. It is also for High Level students. Difficult words are explained at the end of each paragraph. Once you have read the story, please do exercises and crossword to test your understanding of the text.
The Pilgrims, who celebrated the first thanksgiving in America, were fleeing religious persecution in their native England. In 1609 a group of Pilgrims left England for the religious freedom in Holland where they lived and prospered. After a few years their children were speaking Dutch and had become attached to the Dutch way of life. This worried the Pilgrims. They considered the Dutch frivolous and their ideas a threat to their children's education and morality.
fleeing = running away from, escaping
prospered = do well, live well
frivolous = not serious
morality = belief system
So they
decided to leave Holland and travel to the New World. Their trip was financed
by a group of English investors, the Merchant Adventurers. It was agreed that
the Pilgrims would be given passage and supplies in exchange for their working
for their backers for 7 years.
backers
= financial supporters
On Sept.
6, 1620 the Pilgrims set sail for the New World on a ship called the Mayflower.
They sailed from Plymouth, England and aboard were 44 Pilgrims, who called
themselves the "Saints", and 66 others ,whom the Pilgrims called the
"Strangers."
The
long trip was cold and damp and took 65 days. Since there was the danger of
fire on the wooden ship, the food had to be eaten cold. Many passengers became
sick and one person died by the time land was sighted on November 10th.
damp =
wetsighted = seen
The long
trip led to many disagreements between the "Saints" and the
"Strangers". After land was sighted a meeting was held and an
agreement was worked out, called the Mayflower Compact, which guaranteed
equality and unified the two groups. They joined together and named themselves
the "Pilgrims."
Although
they had first sighted land off Cape Cod they did not settle until they arrived
at Plymouth, which had been named by Captain John Smith in 1614. It was there
that the Pilgrims decide to settle. Plymouth offered an excellent harbor. A
large brook offered a resource for fish. The Pilgrims biggest concern was
attack by the local Native American Indians. But the Patuxets were a peaceful
group and did not prove to be a threat.
harbor
= protected area on the coast
threat = a danger
The first
winter was devastating to the Pilgrims. The cold, snow and sleet were
exceptionally heavy, interfering with the workers as they tried to construct
their settlement. March brought warmer weather and the health of the Pilgrims
improved, but many had died during the long winter. Of the 110 Pilgrims and
crew who left England, less that 50 survived the first winter.
devastating
= extremely difficult
interfering = preventing, making difficult
On March
16, 1621, what was to become an important event took place, an Indian brave
walked into the Plymouth settlement. The Pilgrims were frightened until the
Indian called out "Welcome" (in English!).
settlement
= place to live
His name
was Samoset and he was an Abenaki Indian. He had learned English from the
captains of fishing boats that had sailed off the coast. After staying the
night Samoset left the next day. He soon returned with another Indian named
Squanto who spoke better English than Samoset. Squanto told the Pilgrims of his
voyages across the ocean and his visits to England and Spain. It was in England
where he had learned English.
voyages
= travels
Squanto's
importance to the Pilgrims was enormous and it can be said that they would not
have survived without his help. It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to
tap the maple trees for sap. He taught them which plants were poisonous and
which had medicinal powers. He taught them how to plant the Indian corn by
heaping the earth into low mounds with several seeds and fish in each mound.
The decaying fish fertilized the corn. He also taught them to plant other crops
with the corn.
sap =
the juice of the maple tree
poisonous = food or liquid dangerous to the health
mounds = raising of the earth made of dirt by hand
decaying = rotting
The
harvest in October was very successful and the Pilgrims found themselves with
enough food to put away for the winter. There was corn, fruits and vegetables,
fish to be packed in salt, and meat to be cured over smoky fires.
cured =
cooked by smoke in order to keep meat a long time
The
Pilgrims had much to celebrate, they had built homes in the wilderness, they
had raised enough crops to keep them alive during the long coming winter. They
were at peace with their Indian neighbors. They had beaten the odds and it was
time to celebrate.
wilderness
= uncivilized country
crops = cultivated vegetables such as corn, wheat, etc.
beaten the odds = won something that was very difficult or against somebody
The
Pilgrim Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving to be shared
by all the colonists and the neighboring Native Americans. They invited Squanto
and the other Indians to join them in their celebration. Their chief,
Massasoit, and 90 braves came to the celebration which lasted for 3 days. They
played games, ran races, marched and played drums. The Indians demonstrated
their skills with the bow and arrow and the Pilgrims demonstrated their musket
skills. Exactly when the festival took place is uncertain, but it is believed
the celebration took place in mid-October.
proclaimed
= declared, named
colonists = original settlers who came to the North America
braves = Indian warrior
musket = type of gun or rifle used during that period in history
The
following year the Pilgrims harvest was not as bountiful, as they were still
unused to growing the corn. During the year they had also shared their stored
food with newcomers and the Pilgrims ran short of food.
bountiful
= a lot of
newcomers = people who have recently arrived
The 3rd
year brought a spring and summer that was hot and dry with the crops dying in
the fields. Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer, and it was
soon thereafter that the rain came. To celebrate - November 29th of that year
was proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. This date is believed to be the real true
beginning of the present day Thanksgiving Day.
fasting
= not eating
thereafter = after that
The custom
of an annually celebrated thanksgiving, held after the harvest, continued
through the years. During the American Revolution (late 1770's) a day of
national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress.
harvest
= collection of the crops
In 1817 New York
State had adopted Thanksgiving Day as an annual custom. By the middle of the
19th century many other states also celebrated Thanksgiving Day. In 1863
President Abraham Lincoln appointed a national day of thanksgiving. Since then
each president has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, usually designating
the fourth Thursday of each November as the holiday.
Now watch this video. Listen carefully, try to understand and remember information.
Here is a short video about the Pilgrims - Life before Thanksgiving. Please, watch it; it's interesting.
And now here is the fun part of the lesson. Here is an animated video about Thanksgiving. Please, watch it carefully. Have fun!
Here is another story about first Thanksgiving - a story
about Squanto, one of the Native
Americans who helped Pilgrims.
Now, here are some questions for discussion. Please, answer them:
1. What season is Thanksgiving Day is in?
2. What month do we celebrate Thanksgiving Day in?
3. When did the Piligrims come to America?
4. Do you celebrate Thanksgiving day?
5. What was the name of their ship?
6. Was their life easy in Plymouth?
7. Where did they come from?
8. Who helped them?
9. What did they do next fall?
10. What are you thankful for?
Here is aPumpkin Pie Recipe:
Ingredients:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1 9-inch pie shell
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, ginger, cinnamon, pumpkin purée and 3 eggs. Beat well. Add evaporated milk and combine. Set aside.
2. Fill pie shell with pumpkin mixture. Transfer to prepared baking sheet.
3. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° F and continue baking for 30 more minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Here is a funny video. Watch it.
Here is a simple Thanksgiving Poem. Read it andwrite a poem or a paragraph on what you are thankful for.
