On Thursday, Nov. 1st, we well meet at 10:00 a.m. at the lodge at Black Hawk State Park, 1510 46th Ave., in Rock Island. We will tour the Hauberg Indian museum (located inside the lodge). This is a fantastic little museum with life-size models of homes and seasonal activities of the Native America tribes (the Sauk and Fox) that once lived in the very area where the museum is located. Here is a map to show you how to get there:

LINK: Map to Black Hawk State Park, 1510 46th Ave., Rock Island, IL

Here is a picture of the map:

And below is a closeup map that shows the drive into the park and the parking lot:

Here is a link to the online closeup map shown above:

LINK: Closeup map of drive into park and parking lot

English Sentence Patterns

Sometimes students have difficulty picking out the subject and verb of a sentence. Reviewing basic English sentence patterns can help you recognize subjects and verbs. Below is a link to a page at the website eslgold.com with many useful charts that show different sentence patterns.

My suggestion: Click on the link below and study the English sentence patterns shown in the first chart. Below the first chart are examples of sentences that follow each pattern. Every day, choose one of the patterns and write five sentences that follow that pattern.

LINK: Sentence patterns at eslgold.com

Quiz on Do, Does, or Did

This week we practiced asking questions with do, does (present tense), and did (past tense). Today's quiz at the Daily Page for ESL students gives you practice in using these words correctly, but in statements, not in questions.

My Suggestion: Try the quiz at this link--

LINK: Quiz for the Day: Do, Does, or Did

Links to Websites for Information on U.S. Presidents

DO NOT GO TO WIKIPEDIA FOR INFORMATION ON YOUR PRESIDENT FOR YOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION!

The Wikipedia articles are several pages long. They have a lot of information you don't need to make your PowerPoint. Don't spend your time reading through 10 pages about your president on Wikipedia.

Click on one of the links below. Each link will take you to a website that has basic facts about American presidents in simpler English. 

When you click on one of these links, scroll down to find your president and click on your president.

Look for the basic pieces of information from the outline (date and place of birth and death, years as president, etc.)

LINK: Lessons on American Presidents

LINK: Learning English at VOA News--America's Presidents

LINK: YouTube Biographies of American Presidents for Kids

Subject-Verb Agreement

Click on the link below to practice choosing the correct verb (the one that agrees with the subject in person and number):

LINK: Practice subject-verb agreement

Practice finding topic sentences in paragraphs

Reading and writing English both require you to recognize the main idea of a paragraph. Usually a topic sentence tells what the paragraph is about. The other sentences show detailed evidence for whatever the topic sentence says is true. The sentences that provide details are called supporting sentences.

My suggestion: Click on the link below to practice finding the topic sentence in a paragraph.

LINK: Find the topic sentence

Review: Negative Statements and Questions in the Past Tense

This week we galloped (look it up, galloped) through some review exercises on forming questions and negative statements. Here is a link to my post from last year on practicing negative statements and questions in the past tense:

My suggestion: Click on the link below, read the post, then click on the links provided and do the suggested exercises.

LINK: Practice Simple Past Tense: Negatives and Questions

Practice Simple Past Tense--Negatives and Questions

Recently we have worked on the simple past tense. We use did as a helping verb to make a negative statement in the past tense (in the present tense, we use do or does). You have a handout on forming statements, negative statements, yes/no questions, and short answers in the past tense. Please practice asking questions in the past tense, both by writing them and saying them aloud.

My Suggestions: Practice writing sentences and questions in the past tense by clicking the first link below. Each question gives you words for a sentence, with only the simple base form of the verb. If it is a positive statement, you have to change the base form of the verb to the simple past form.. If the word not is next to the verb you are given, make the sentence negative, whether it is a statement or a question. If the sentence is a question or is negative, you have to add the helping verb (did) and use the BASE form of the verb. When you type the sentence, be sure to put the words in the correct order, capitalize the first word, and put the correct punctuation mark at the end. Read the directions carefully--do not include extra spaces in your answer, or the computer will read it as incorrect:

LINK: Practice making simple past sentences at Englishlearner.com 

Here are 25 practice exercises on making questions in the past tense:

LINK: 25 Practice Exercises on Questions in the Simple Past Tense
  
For "listen and repeat" practice in making questions in several verb tenses (present continuous, past, present, and future), click on this link:

LINK: Listen to Questions and Answers in 4 Verb Tenses 

Simple Past Tense--Links to Lessons and Exercises

This week we began studying the simple past tense. If you missed class, I have handouts and exercises for you, but below are some links to websites with good lessons on the simple past tense of verbs. There are also links to grammar exercises and quizzes on the simple past. You should study the past form of irregular verbs to prepare for the exercises. I gave you lists of irregular verbs in class, but you can also click on the tab for "Irregular Verbs" at the top of this blog and explore the posts that come up. They all have links to websites with more information about (or practice with) irregular verb forms.

My Suggestion: If you want more lessons on the simple past tense, try the links below.

If you want to practice listening and repeating verbs and sentences in the simple past tense, click on this link:

LINK: Practice saying past tense verbs in questions and answers

We can use the past tense with today to talk about what we did EARLIER in the day: "Today I went to school and then rode the bus home."

LINK: Practice saying what you did today

If you want exercises or quizzes, click on the link below. Remember--don't type extra spaces in your answer, or the computer will read it as the wrong answer, even if you typed the correct word.

LINK: Simple Past Tense Exercises

Here is an exercise that gives you two sentences and asks you to click on the sentence that is written in past tense (the other sentence is written in either present tense or in future tense with will--will eat, will go, etc.).

LINK: Choose the sentence in past tense

"Garbage Patch" Vocabulary at Studystack.com

Click the link to study these ten vocabulary words from the reading on ocean garbage:

          garbage              patch                spin                   current         manufactured   
          material             pollution          dangerous         cargo            recycle

LINK: Vocabulary from "Garbage Patch" Reading

Service Dog Vocabulary at Studystack.com

Click the link next to the pictures to study the meaning of these vocabulary words from the "Hero Dogs" reading:

    disability    service dog    training    volunteer    task    command    healthy    veteran

LINK: Service Dog Vocabulary Words

Review and Practice--Spelling Rules for adding -ed and -ing to verbs

Click on the link below to review spelling rules for adding -ed (for simple past tense) and -ing (for progressive tenses) to verbs:

LINK:Review and practice adding -ed and -ing endings

Wow! Bilingual Sentence Pairs!

I didn't know that Manythings.org had a page where you can read sentence pairs in English AND the translation in any language you choose. However, these sentences are written by volunteers in something called the Tatoeba project. Many of them are students, and the sentences have not been checked by their teachers for grammar errors or awkward expressions.

Nevertheless, reading sentences in your language and English at the same time may help reinforce vocabulary. Over 50 languages are represented (unfortunately, there are no Burmese sentences at this time). Here is what the first part of the page looks like:

The Sentence Pairs

• English - Afrikaans (716)
• English - Algerian Arabic (157)
• English - Arabic (10734)
• English - Basque (569)
• English - Belarusian 

Click on the link below, then click on the language pair you want to read. Then you can click on one of the pages to read bilingual sentence pairs.

LINK: Choose a Language Pair

Noun Plurals Practice

Welcome to the Fall 2018 semester! We will be reviewing noun plurals, so here are some websites where you can practice your knowledge of nouns:

My suggestion: Click on the links below to practice using the correct form of nouns.

LINK: Rules for making singular nouns plural

LINK: Plural forms and irregular nouns

LINK: Common and proper nouns 

LINK: Practice spelling plural form of nouns in sentences 

LINK: More practice with singular or plural nouns in sentences

LINK: Lesson on Countable/Uncountable Nouns (scroll down)

LINK: Use the correct form--count and noncount nouns in sentences 

Bilingual Poems and Folk Tales in Various Languages

The website interlinearbooks.com sells bilingual books, but it also has some free parallel text poems and stories. There is a word-for-word translation into English right below the foreign language text (this is called an interlinear translation). Unfortunately, there are no Arabic-English texts, and Japanese is the only standard Asian language represented.

The translations from other languages into English are very word-for-word and literal--the English is not changed to sound natural to a native English speaker. Here are the beginning lines of a poem, "La Barca Milagrosa" ("The Wonderful Boat"), with a Spanish-English interlinear text:   

La    barca        milagrosa

The   boat          wonderful     by Delmira Agustini     

Preparadme   una      barca  como   un        gran    pensamiento . . .

Build for me     a           boat     like      a          great    thought . . .

La llamarán                           «La Sombra»             unos,

It will call (by the name of)     “The Shadow”             some,

otros                                       «La Estrella».

others (will call it by the name of)       “The Star.”

No ha de         estar                al                     capricho         de        una            mano

It should not     be          (subject) to the             whim             of          a                hand

o          de        un        viento:

or         of          a          wind:

Yo       la quiero         consciente,     indominable    y          bella!

I           want it              sensitive,         indomitable,     and       beautiful!

To read the rest of the poem, click on the first link below. To go to the list of free interlinear texts at interlinearbooks.com, click on the second link below.

LINK: "La Barca Milagrosa"--"The Wonderful Boat"

LINK: The Interlinear Texts Library

Online Parallel Bilingual Stories in English, French, and Spanish

Reading the same story in two languages, side by side, is a good way to develop your English language and translation skills. It is called a bilingual story because it is written in two languages, and it is called a parallel text story because the two language versions are printed next to each other.

Here is an example--the beginning of a children's story in French and English, from the website www.thefrenchexperiment.com (a link to the website is below the story sample):

Les Trois Petits Cochons

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Il était une fois une maman cochon qui avait trois petits cochons. Elle les aimait beaucoup, mais comme il n'y avait pas assez de nourriture pour qu'ils puissent tous manger à leur faim, elle les a envoyé tenter leur chance dans le vaste monde.

Once upon a time there was a mama pig who had three little pigs. She loved them very much, but there was not enough food for all of them to eat, so she sent them out into the big world to seek their fortunes.

LINK: Bilingual Children's Stories in French and English at thefrenchexperiment.com

If you want a more advanced reading level with parallel translation, try the link below, where someone has posted classic stories in parallel French, English, and Spanish versions (you can also listen to recordings of the stories in these different languages).

(NOTE: The translation is not always word-for-word and there may be mistakes, but parallel clauses are highlighted in the same color in each language.)

LINK: Stories with side-by-side translations in French, English, and Spanish

Here is an example from the above-linked website--the beginning of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth :

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH by Jules Verne

French PARAGRAPH 1 Le 24 mai 1863, un dimanche, mon oncle, le professeur Lidenbrock, revint précipitamment vers sa petite maison située au numéro 19 de Königstrasse, l’une des plus anciennes rues du vieux quartier de Hambourg. ................................	English PARAGRAPH 1 On Sunday, the 24th of May, 1863, my uncle, Professor Liedenbrock, rushed into his little house, No. 19 Königstrasse, one of the oldest streets in the oldest portion of the city of Hamburg.	Spanish PARAGRAPH 1 El domingo 24 de mayo de 1863, mi tío, el profesor Lidenbrock, regresó precipitadamente a su casa, situada en el número 19 de la König-strasse, una de las calles más antiguas del barrio viejo de Hamburgo.
PARAGRAPH 2 La bonne Marthe dut se croire fort en retard, car le dîner commençait à peine à chanter sur le fourneau de la cuisine. ..........................................	PARAGRAPH 2 Martha, his excellent maid, must have concluded that she was very much behindhand, for the dinner had only just been put into the oven.	PARAGRAPH 2 Marta, su excelente criada, se azaró de un modo extraordinario, creyendo que se había retrasado, pues apenas si empezaba a cocer la comida en el hornillo.

Summer Reading and Listening Practice--Children's Storybooks Online

A good book is a good book, whether it's a children's picture story book or a book written for adults. One of the best ways to improve your reading skills is by following along in the book while someone else reads it to you. Children's books are a good place to begin--if you have young children, they can listen and follow along with you. Then you can take them to the library to check out the same books and read them together. Click on the link below to see and hear some children's books read on YouTube:

LINK: Read and Listen to Children's Books on YouTube

Try reading along as some one reads Forrest Gump's favorite book, Curious George, by clicking the link below:

LINK: Curious George on YouTube 

More Online Reading at Rock Island Public Library Website

If you live in Rock Island, get a Rock Island public library card so that you can read and listen to children's books online at the Rock Island public library website. An online book is also called an ebook (meaning, an electronic or digital book). You must register your Rock Island public library card at their website (I'm not sure if a Moline public library card will work). If the website asks for your library card number, enter the number on  the back of your card (under the bar code) to read the books. If it asks for a PIN, the PIN is the last four numbers of your library card number. Once you've registered your card, you can go into your account and choose a different ID and PIN. Here is a link to the RIPL website to register your card:

LINK: Enter Your RIPL card number and PIN (last four digits of the card number)

Below is a link to Bookflix children's books online, at the Rock Island Public Library website:

LINK: Bookflix Ebooks at Rock Island Public Library

The Rock Island library website also gives you access to the TumbleBook online library. The link below takes you to a place to enter your R. I. Library card number. Once you get into TumbleBooks, you will find books for both younger and older children, including nonfiction books, graphic novels, videos, and games:

LINK: TumbleBooks at the R.I. Public Library

Books found under the Story Books and Read Alongs tabs include audio (you can listen to someone read the book as you follow along).

The pictures below show a description of a non-fiction book for older children at the TumbleBooks link, and a page taken from the book. These are pictures only, not a link to the online book.

Improve Your Reading Speed

Breakingnewsenglish.com is a website that can help you improve your reading speed. Many people learning English don't do well on the TABE reading test because they read so slowly. If they had more time for the test, they could answer all the questions, but the TABE is a timed test. Reading faster (and at the same time understanding what you read) requires practice. At the BreakingNewsEnglish website, you can select a reading and practice increasing your speed.

My suggestion: Click on the link below to go to the speed reading section of the BreakingNewsEnglish.com website. Click on a story. Most stories begin at a speed of 100 or 200 words per minute. Try a slower speed, and then try a faster speed. If the first speed is 200 and you want 100, you may need to go to the homepage and change the level (1, 2, 3, etc.) of reading, then return to the speed reading section.

LINK: Speed Reading at BreakingNewsEnglish.com

Links to Videos on PowerPoint Basics and Editing Pictures

Click on the link below to watch the video on working with slides in PowerPoint (2016 version--the same that is on our computers at school).

LINK: Video on Working with PowerPoint Slides

Click on the link below to watch a video on inserting and editing pictures in your PowerPoint slides:

LINK: Inserting and Editing Pictures in PowerPoint

List of Popular Songs Heard in Forrest Gump

Click on the link below to go to a website that lists the popular songs heard in the movie Forrest Gump. Underneath each song it tells what was happening in the movie while that song was playing. You can also click a "play" arrow and listen to part of the song.   

LINK: List of Songs Heard in Forrest Gump

Websites for Researching Your Forrest Gump Topic

At the end of this post are links to websites that will give you good information on your topic. The articles are shorter and easier to read than the ones on Wikipedia.

Warning: When you do a search for your topic at ducksters.com or history.com, sometimes the first few results are marked with an upside-down triangle symbol    . The triangle means that these results are ads  Ad  or sponsored links. Clicking on one of them probably won’t take you anywhere useful, so skip these results and click one further down the list that doesn’t have a triangle. Here is an example of such an ad:

          

 Useful websites for researching your topic:

LINK: http://www.english-online.at/index.htm

LINK: www.ducksters.com

LINK: www.simple.wikipedia.org

LINK: www.history.com

LINK: www.biography.com

The following website has general information about the Forrest Gump movie itself:

LINK: http://gumpesl.blogspot.com

(Forrest Gump movie notes, timeline, movie script, and more)

How Do You Find the Main Idea?

Below is a link to a college reading center website. It outlines helpful steps for finding the main idea of a reading selection. There is a section on finding the main idea when it is stated directly, when it is contained in a "reversal" statement, and when it is not stated directly, but implied.

My suggestion: Click on the link below. Read the first page (copied below the link), which gives some general instructions for how to find the topic and the main idea of a reading selection. Then continue reading about three different ways the main idea may be found:
1) directly stated main idea, 2) reversal transitions, and 3) implied main idea.

LINK: How to Find the Main Idea of a Paragraph

Writing a story or article in simple present tense.

We normally use the simple present tense to talk about a fact (a piece of information) or a regular habit (something that happens repeatedly or regularly) For example:

     I work at a grocery store. (fact)

     I speak English and Spanish. (fact)

     I eat breakfast at 7:00 a.m. every morning. (habit)

     My brother and I play basketball every Saturday morning. (habit)

However, we can also use the simple present to tell a story or a joke. We use present tense or present progressive to tell the story or joke in an active manner, as if it is happening at the moment. We can even tell about past events using the simple present, to create the feeling we are watching events as they unfold.

My suggestion: Click on the link below and read about using present vs. past tense in narration and about telling jokes or stories with active wording. Then do Practice 1 and Practice 2.

LINK: Using present vs. past tense in narration