Preparing for the national tests - things to have a look at before the tests

Click HERE for preparation material for the national tests. 

In the material you will find 1. Reporting verbs 2. Linking words and phrases (sentence connectors) and 3. Useful phrases for oral interaction - giving and asking for opinions. Have a look at all of them as they will be useful for the writing and speaking tests. There will be more preparation in class when we meet. 

Asking for opinions + giving opinions - phrases for oral interaction

In English 5 we have focused on oral interaction - discussions - for a couple of lessons. Often we have taken a look at a short film and then discussed the content, characters, theme and/or message of the film. The discussions have been good and generally students have been very proficient in stating their own opinions. However, I see a need of getting the students more engaged when it comes to interacting, asking for other people's opinions and ideas. Consequently, I put together a list of phrases (with linkings to the source) that will come in handy before we have our next session with oral interaction.

Students as teachers - instructional grammar videos

During two weeks my students have worked on making instructional grammar videos for the target group: year 6/7 in school. Here is a taste of some of them...more will come: 

Year 8 - a new Quizlet

Quizlet - verbs LAY-SIT

Grammar galore and popular proverbs - year 8

Link to list of idioms.

Take a look here to avoid making grammar mistakes

Do you know how to avoid these grammar goofs? Check yourself.... :)

Irregular verbs - grammar rap song

Irregular verbs - either you love them or hate them, I guess. Since I'm on the more affectionate side of the verbs -- I think I knew the most common ones at the tender age of 14 -- I wanted to learn them all and I did. I worked hard for it though and posted notes all around my bedroom with different tenses... Whenever I saw a note I repeated what it said: "teach taught taught" or "go went gone" until they were stuck solid in my brain. However it is not easy to learn them all so if YOU find it hard to learn the tenses of some of the most common verbs here's a wonderful video, in the shape of a verb rap song, to help you along. :)

Preliminary plan for year 9

Year 8 - There is/are/It is - give this a try

The coming week we will finish the work with Human Rights and we will also go through the pages in the workbook to make sure you have understood everything. Here is an exercise where you can test your knowledge:

"It" and "There"