Reading Charts and Graphs Quiz at Quia.com

 Click the link below to practice answering questions about charts and graphs!

LINK: READING CHARTS AND GRAPHS QUIZ

Below are some pictures of sample questions from the quiz (clicking on these pictures will do nothing--click the link above to take the quiz):

Practice Map-Reading Skills While Relaxing!

Do maps on the TABE reading tests scare you? Maybe you haven't spent a lot of time looking at different kinds of maps or studying how to interpret them. However, here is a fun and relaxing way to get used to working with maps and answering questions about what they show.
 

My suggestion: Do you like to color? Some adults get out colored pencils and color their own pictures while their children play with crayons and coloring books. It's very relaxing, and your kids may even want to join you. If you click on the link below, you will see many images that can help you practice reading and understanding maps, keys (legends), and distance scales. Click on a few map pictures and study them, or print them out, get some colored pencils, and try doing the activities and answering the questions. I have lots of colored pencils in my classroom in you want to try it!

LINK: Click on this link to print a map activity sheet or view it online

Below are some examples of map learning activities you will see when you click on the link above:

Reading Skills Practice: Strategies for Better Reading

Reading tests have a time limit. They try to find out whether you read English well enough to quickly understand the meaning, of what you read. We call this skill reading comprehension (comprehension means understanding). To read well, you have to improve your vocabulary, but you also have to work on other reading skills: inferring, predicting, and identifying the main idea.

If you read well enough to understand what the author intends, you should be able to draw conclusions about what you are reading, or to predict what will probably happen next. Sometimes we call this skill "reading between the lines," or inference. To infer means to use what the author directly says to conclude or predict something that he author doesn't actually state.

My suggestion: Click on the link below to practice inferring, predicting, and identifying the main idea.

LINK: Strategies for Better Reading: Understanding, Predicting, Inferring 

Here is a sample question from this activity:

Making Inferences

Making inferences is an important reading skill. An inference is a guess you make based on what is stated and on logic. An inference isn't something that is stated directly in what you read. You have to make a logical guess or conclusion that isn't stated based on information that is stated in what you read. Here's an example from the quiz below:

     Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair. (Why would someone give this advice?)

My suggestion: Click on the link below to take a quick quiz on making inferences based on advice given by children. You have to infer the reason for the advice.

LINK: Quiz on Making Inferences

Reading Skill Practice: Summarizing and Finding the Main Idea

Finding the main idea in what you read takes practice. You have to learn to tell the difference between main idea statements and detail statements. You often have to recognize a summary (a brief statement of what the reading is mainly about) or a paraphrase (a statement that says the same thing, but with different words). You also have to learn to group details into categories by identifying what they have in common. Seeing what statements have in common helps you to identify the main idea of what you are reading, or to summarize it with different words..

My suggestion: Click on the link below to learn how to summarize and how to tell the difference between the main idea and the details that support the main idea.

LINK: Finding the Main Idea and Summarizing

Friday, May 8, 2020--Announcements and Assignments

Friday, 4/8/20

Announcements

1. Remember to send me your vote on whether you would like to work in unit 10 or unit 11 next week.

2. I will post the answers to Wednesday (5/3/20)'s homework this weekend, in the "Homework Answers" section of this blog.

3. Our last day of class is Friday, May 15th. Because of the virus situation, the ESL program will not have any summer school classes this summer. However, Ann O'Leary will be scheduling the usual testing/registration dates, beginning in early July (more information later). 

4. You will be able to use your Burlington English account at least through the end of June.

5. At this time, fall classes are scheduled to begin on Monday, August 17th. Of course, we do not yet know whether we will be able to meet back in our building. I will email you with more information when the college has made decisions about the fall semester.

6. I recently sent you a message by email about Teacher Linda, who is retiring after 25 years of teaching. If you were in Teacher Linda's class in the past, we would like to collect your memories or thank yous to give to her. Teacher Theresa is in charge of collecting them. Here is what the email said:

Teacher Linda is retiring after teaching ESL at Black Hawk College for 25 years!

Please help us honor Teacher Linda. How? Write 2-3 sentences about a memory. Record yourself speaking the memory or speaking a thank you. Videos should be short because many videos will be put together to make a gift for Teacher Linda.

Here are some ideas:

I’ll always remember you because_______________.

In your class, I learned ________________________.

The best thing about your class was _______________.

Thank you for ________________________________.

Send your videos to Theresa Bries at briest@bhc.edu. Put “teacher Linda” in the subject line.

Thank you so much!

Theresa

To Teacher Linda!

Assignments (due Monday, 5/11/20)

1. Future English 3 Textbook, p. 177--complete sentences in the middle of the page (#1-4)

2. Future English 3 Textbook, pp. 178-179

Read p. 178 and then do Ex. A and B
Do Ex. A on p. 179

Please send me your answers to both of the above assignments by text or email.

3. Burlington English Lower Intermediate Core

• Do Lesson 3: "Getting a job"--section 4: "Grammar: Gerunds and Infinitives"

• Then do all sections of Lesson 6-"In the Workplace."

NOTE: As usual, I will be able to see what you have completed in Burlington English by looking in my teacher's account progress reports.

4. Choose a book from the "Readers" section of Burlington English. Read it and write four sentences about what you read. Tell the title and author of the story, and then tell a few things you liked (or didn't like) about the book.

Here is an example (the book I'm using is not on BE):

     I read Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. My favorite person in the book is Elizabeth Bennet. She is smart and funny, and she has high standards for the person she chooses to marry. Although Mr. Darcy was rich, she wouldn't marry him until he changed his proud and insulting behavior.

This was assigned earlier in the week, but you have until Monday to send me your four sentences about what you read, by text or email.

Thursday, May 7, 2020 Announcements and Assignments

Thursday, 5/7/20

1. I have posted the answers to the homework assigned Monday, 5/4/20, in the "Homework Answers" section of this blog. You can check your answers there, and let me know if you have any questions.

2. I am late posting Wednesday's assignments for those who did not attend class that morning (5/6/20). I apologize. If you need the weekend to finish them, that's OK, but I will be giving some additional homework in Friday's class (5/8/20).

3. Please look through the contents of unit 10 and unit 11 in the FER3 textbook. Send me a message by text or email with your vote on which unit you prefer the class to study next week (it's the last week of class, so we only have time to do one of these units).  

Assignments given Wednesday, 5/6/20

1) Future English 3 Textbook, p. 176

Study the Grammar section at the top of the page, then do Ex. A and B. You do not have to send me this assignment.

NOTE: The grammar box at the top does not give much explanation. Therefore I will assign a section of Burlington English on Friday, to give you additional practice on using gerunds vs. using infinitives after certain verbs. Log into BE and click the "Courses" box. Then click "3. Getting a Job" and complete Lesson 4--"Grammar: Gerunds and Infinitives." You may have all weekend to finish this lesson--it is due on Monday, 5/11/20.

2. Future English 3 Workbook, pp. 101-103

p. 101--Do exercises D and E (on indefinite pronouns)

pp. 102-103--Skim and then read the article "Succeeding in Management" on p. 102.
Then complete Exercises A, B, C, and D on p. 103.

If you attend the online class on Friday, 5/8/20, we will go over the answers then. If you are not able to attend Friday's class, please send me your answers to the exercises on p. 103 by text or e-mail.

3. On Burlington English, in the "Readers" section, pick a story (if you have not already done so) to read. Please finish reading the story by Monday, 5/11/20. 

Then write four sentences about the story you read, telling the name of the book, who wrote it, and what you liked about the story. Send me your sentences by text or email, by Monday, 5/11/20.


4. Please look through the contents of unit 10 and unit 11 in the Future English 3 textbook. Send me a message by text or email with your vote on whether you prefer the class to study unit 10 or unit 11 next week (it's the last week of class, so we only have time to do one of these units).

Monday, May 4, 2020 Announcements and Assignments

Monday, 5/4/20

Announcements

1. I learned today that some of you had trouble joining the meeting from the Burlington English website calendar. I'll check and see what the problem is. Meanwhile, remember that you can also join this way:

1.   Go to the Zoom.com website
2.   Click "Join a meeting"
3.   Click "Open Zoom" if you are prompted to do so
4.   Enter the meeting ID and click "Continue" (or whatever that button says)
5.   Enter the meeting password 

2. We have our last classes this week and next week (each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 10:00 a.m.). The last day of class for the spring semester is Friday, May 15th. We will continue to work in Unit 9 ("On the Job") of the FER3 textbook and workbook this week, as well as in Burlington English (see assignments below).

3. After unit 9, there are still two units in the textbook that we have not covered. Unit 10 is called "Going to the Doctor," and unit 11 is called "Money Matters." Obviously we will not have time to cover both of these units. I would like you to vote on which unit you prefer to cover, in our last three classes next week.

Please look at the "Scope and Sequence" section at the front of your textbook, on pp. x and xi. Look over the columns that tell what units 10 and 11 cover (grammar, life skills, reading, etc.). Then send me a text or email by Friday, May 8th, to let me know which unit you vote for.


Assignments for Monday, May 4, 2020
(due Wednesday, May 6th)

NOTE: I will post the answers to homework assigned Friday, May 1st (see the previous post), on Tuesday, May 6th. /So if you missed class today (5/4/20), you can check your work there.

1. FER3 Textbook, pp. 172-173

Please skim and then read "Working the Late Shift" on p. 172. 
Then do exercises 3A, 3B, and 4 on p. 173.

2. FER3 Workbook, p. 100

Do exercises A, B, and C on p. 100.

Do not send me the two assignments above--we will go over them in class on Wednesday, May 6th, at 10 a.m.

3. Burlington English Readers

One of your assignments from last Friday, May 1st, was to choose one of the stories in the BE Readers section and read it over the weekend. Please do so if you have not yet read a story. Be sure to choose a story you find interesting, not one that bores you!

Then write four sentences about the story you chose. These sentences should tell me what story you read and what you liked or didn't like about the story. Send your sentences to me (by text or email. by Friday, May 8th.

UPDATE: The due date for this assignment has changed, to give you a little more time. Please send me your sentences by Monday, 5/11/20.

4. Burlington English Core--Lower Intermediate

This is the same course we've been working on. In section 4, lesson 6, there is a section on indefinite pronouns that will give you more practice. This is the grammar term for words such as one, ones, which one, this, that, these, and those (as shown in the FER3 Textbook, pp. 170-171, which was part of Friday's homework assignment).Like the personal pronouns (I, you, he, she, we, him, her, etc.), indefinite pronouns can take the place of a noun.

Please complete Lesson 4, "Money Matters," section 6 (Grammar: Indefinite Pronouns), by Wednesday, May 6th. There are 8 parts to this section, but each one is short and won't take you very long.

Here is the Unit 12 end of unit test!

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Remember, we have an online Zoom meeting tomorrow (Wednesday, 4/22/20) at 10:00 a.m. Use the same link and meeting information I already texted you. If you have problems connecting tomorrow, please call or text me at 309-948-9615. We will discuss Monday’s homework assignment from Unit 8, Staying Healthy, and also the Burlington English assignment on gerunds. See the post from yesterday (Monday, 4/20/20) for instructions, if you haven’t done this work yet.

Unit 12 Test Instructions

• Use a piece of notebook paper to make an answer sheet.
• Put your name in the upper right corner of the answer sheet.
• Put the title Unit 12 Test on the top line, and number the paper 7 to 33* (see an example below).
• Print the letter of the correct answer  (A, B, C, or D) beside each number. Write clearly.
• Send me your answers by next Monday, 4/27/20. You can send a picture of your completed answer sheet by text or email, or you can copy your answers into an email (not a text) and send them to me.

* I left out questions 1 to 6 because they required listening to recorded conversations, which is hard to do in this situation.

This test has seven pages, but each page has only a few questions. You may use your textbook to help you as you answer the questions. Below is a guide to what each page of the test covers. I have listed pages in the textbook that cover the same material, to help you as you take the test.







UNIT 12 TEST GUIDE--with Future English 3 Textbook review pages

TEST PAGE	QUESTIONS	SUBJECT	TEXTBOOK PAGES
pages 80 and 81	7 to 10	Read a subway map	pp. 232-233
page   82	11 to 15	Superlative adjectives	pp. 230-231
page   83	16 to 20	Present passive verbs	pp. 236-237
page   84	21 to 25	Past passive verbs	p.   242
page   85	26 to 29	Vocabulary—places in Washington, DC	pp. 226-227
page   86	30 to 33	Reading skills—George Washington	None

Below are the seven pages (pp. 80-86) of the test. Write the answers on the answer sheet you made (see above instructions). Take your time, and do well!

Wednesday, April 1, 2020--Announcements and Class Assignments

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Hello again, everyone! I received texts from several of you, but there seems to be some confusion on several points. First, here are a few announcements:

• For this week, please check the blog daily for assignments and announcements. Follow the instructions for each assignment.

• I am working to set up a true online class, in which we will all be able to see and talk to one another through a meeting website. I will send more information by the weekend.

• Some of you have let me know you are not receiving my emails or texts--thank you! I believe I have responded to everyone who sent me such a message. If you are still not getting emails and texts from me, please send me your correct phone number and email address by text and/or email:
• 309-948-9615
• calderk@bhc.edu

• If you have missed any of my messages, just keep checking this blog, which contains all the information I have been sending out (see my last few posts).

• I notice that some of you respond to me using WhatsApp rather than standard texting. So I will try to set up a WhatsApp chatroom for sending out announcements, too.

I will type assignments in RED so that you can find them easily.

First, let's go over Tuesday's assignments.

1) Everyone was supposed to email or text me their answers to 3 questions. However, only one person did. Please reread Tuesday 3/31/2020 assignment #1, and send me a text or email with your answers to the 3 questions.

2) I have added a section titled "Homework Answers" on the top right side of this page, underneath the box with all the subject tabs, to the left of the Search box. The section looks like this:                                

Look for this section at the top right side of this page, and click on "Answers to Tues. 3/31/20 homework--textbook, p. 242" to check your own homework. 

3) You were to read the article on the nation's capital on p. 142 in the Future English 3 Workbook and then circle 5 words that were new vocabulary for you. Rather than have you type them in a comment on this page, I changed the instructions. Instead, please write down the 5 words and send them to me in a text or email.

Assignments for Wednesday, April 1, 2020 

(due Thursday, April 2, 2020)

1) Have you texted or emailed me your answers from yesterday's assignment, #1 (see yesterday's post)? If not, please do so today.

2) Review how to form past passive verbs (past tense, passive voice) by doing the following:

• Click the link below and read the lesson on past passive: 

LINK: Lesson on past passive at learnamericanenglishonline.com

• As you scroll down the page, you will see that the lesson includes a listening lab practice and then a video for you to view. I am also putting links to the video and listening lab below. Watch the video.

LINK: Video--How to form past passive verbs

• After watching the video, click on the link for the listening lab below. You will see a page that looks like this:

Get out paper and pencil and number 1 to 10. After clicking the link to the listening lab page--

LINK: Listening lab on past passive verbs 

--click on the arrow in the orange circle to listen to the teacher read sentences.

As you listen, fill in the missing past passive verbs for the sentences he reads (you can just write the missing words on your own paper).

When you are finished, scroll down the page a little to check your answers (don't look at them before you're finished!).

3) Reread the article "The Nation's Capital Finds a Home" on p. 142 in the Future English 3 Workbook. 

• On p. 143, review what summarizing is by reading what is in the gray box at the top right of the page.
• Answer part A--choose the best summary of the article.
• Answer the six True/False questions in part B.
• We will check your answers tomorrow.

*UPDATE*: I have updated the homework answers for 4/1/20 to include the answers to the Workbook, p. 143, Exercises A and B. I apologize for leaving them out at first!

4) Vocabulary words

• Don't forget to text me 5 words from the article that are new to you (3/31/2020 assignment #3)
• I have chosen some vocabulary words from the article on p. 142. Below is a vocabulary exercise for you to do on your own paper.
• In front of each word on the left, put the letter of the definition on the right that matches it. You may use a dictionary.
• We will check answers tomorrow.

Vocabulary for Future English 3 Workbook, p. 142—“The Nation’s Capital Finds a Home”

I.  Matching: Put the letter of a definition in front of the vocabulary word it matches on the left. You may look in a dictionary if you need to.

____	1.   location	A. to stay
____	2.   compromise	B.  a person in charge of a U.S. government department
____	3.   capital	C.  money that is owed
____	4.   defeated	D.  a city where the government of a state or country is
____	5.   remain	E.  a place
____	6.   debt	F.  beaten in a contest or war
____	7.   secretary	G.  an agreement in which each side gets part of what it wants

Reading Skill Practice: Using Context to Find the Meaning of Unknown Words

When you are taking a reading test and come to a word that you don't know, don't let it slow you down. Think of yourself as a reading detective. Find clues in the context (words you do know that are around the word you don't know) that help you guess the meaning of the new word. You can often answer a question about what you read, even if you don't know what every single word in the reading  means.

My suggestion: Click on the link below to practice figuring out the meaning of new words from the context.

LINK: Learn to Use Context Clues for Unknown Words

Reading Skill Practice: Scanning for Information

On the TABE test, you have to read and answer questions about what you read in a limited period of time. It's important to know how to scan a reading selection for key words so that you can find the answers you need quickly. If you read every single word, you may find the answers to the questions, but you'll run out of time and you won't finish all of the questions on a timed test. Scanning is something you have to practice a lot before you can do it well under time pressure.

My suggestion: Click on the link below to improve your skill in scanning for details (specific pieces of information), rather than slowly reading every word.

LINK: Scanning for Specific Information 

Link to Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves--Read and Listen

Below is a link to the "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" story that we watched in class (at youtube.com). When you click on the link, you can listen and read at the same time, because the words appear on the screen as the story is read. You will also see many other animated folk tales in English at this YouTube link.

LINK: Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (animated)

Below is a picture from the video, but click at the link above to watch, read, and listen to the actual story.

Tips for Multiple Choice Questions

Multiple choice tests are tricky. Click on the link below to do an exercise that gives you tips for choosing the answer on a multiple choice test.

LINK: Tips for Multiple Choice Questions

Also, click on the next link below for tips on answering different types of multiple choice questions:

LINK: Three common types of multiple choice questions

The following question isn't from the exercise at the link. It's amusing, but it's an example of how multiple choice questions can drive you crazy!

"The Lady Or the Tiger" Reading Quiz

Now that you have read Frank Stockton's story, "The Lady Or the Tiger," try taking a quiz. It is a timed reading quiz based on a section of the story (a different version from the one we read in class), but words are missing. It is similar to a Celsa grammar test, but it is also similar to using context to decide the meaning of an unknown word. Where a word is missing, you have to decide which word best fits both the grammar and the meaning of the story at that point. You will have 10 minutes to complete the quiz.

My suggestion: Click on the LINK below to take the quiz. Below the link is a sample--the first two questions from the quiz.

LINK: Reading Quiz--"The Lady Or the Tiger"

Sample Questions:

When all the people had assembled, the king, surrounded by his court, xx1xx a signal. Then a door beneath him opened, and the accused man stepped out into the arena. Directly opposite him were two doors, exactly xx2xx and side by side.

1. xx1xx
a)	give
b)	gives
c)	gave
d)	given
2. xx2xx
a)	alike
b)	different
c)	big
d)	closed