II CAMP MOMENTS

Here, some of the great moments our students enjoyed at the Second Pedagogical Campsite held  at the school last November the first. If you want to see all details of this event, please visit the photo gallery on  the website www.colsam.edu.co . 

USING DICTIONARIES (STEP 7)

LEARN HOW TO USE AN ONLINE DICTIONARY

Online dictionaries are easy to use. First, choose an online dictionary resource you like the most. Many of them are free and, others require subscription. The only thing you have to do is to type the word you are looking for. The web engine of that page will return the word with the definition. In that definition you can find many elements we talked in the previous steps. Keep in mind that free services can not be as comprehensive as subcription service is.

• Use the audio-content provided with online dictionaries. This will help you to pronunciate the word correctly.
• When using "Google" to find online definitions, type "define:(the word or words)". The search engine will only look for definitons.

HAVE A NICE HALLOWEEN!

Halloween is a holiday celebrated in many parts of the world on October 31st evening. The word is sometimes meant for "hallows evening".

People usually celebrate this holiday by doing traditional activities like "trick or treating", costume parties or visiting "haunted places". Irish and Scottish people brought some traditions to the USA in the nineteenth century and then, in the twentieth century; other countries embraced the holiday.

Watch the following video and try to understand some important facts about this holiday that maybe you didn't know.

SECOND CAMPSITE: MITOS Y LEYENDAS

This is a special  to those who have been invited to our II Pedagogical Campsite, this time titled "Mitos y Leyendas" in order to reinforce the oral tradition of our country. Please, get ready to enjoy this wonderful experience where the most important element is you. 

SOME SUGGESTIONS:

- Be on time.
- Take all the necessary elements.
- Wear the uniform.
- Always show a good behavior.
- HAVE FUN!!!

WHERE WERE YOU...? (REINFORCEMENT 8°)

ORAL PAIR WORK

In pairs, make a conversation by asking and answering about where you were and who you were with at these times:

a. yesterday morning /afternoon

b. last Sunday

c. on January 1st

d. your last vacations

e. last night

Example:

A:-  Where were you yesterday afternoon?

B:-  I was at school with my friend.

A:- Where were you your last vacations?

B:- I was at my grandparents' house.

A:- Were you with your friends, too?

B:- No, I wasn't. I was with my family.

REMEMBER: Use at least three expressions above (from a to e) in your conversation.

COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES (7°)

Look at the picture and the chart below and write at least 4 sentences using comparative and superlative forms of the adjectives on lesson 5A.

	SILVER	WHITE	BLUE	RED
YEAR	2014	2013	2012	2011
TOP SPEED	150 KM/H	120 KM/H	180 KM/H	140 KM/H
PRICE	$ 56 MILLIONS	$ 43 MILLIONS	$ 38 MILLIONS	$ 35 MILLIONS
CAPACITY	8 PEOPLE	5 PEOPLE	6 PEOPLE	5 PEOPLE
EASY TO USE	5/5	4/5	3/5	4/5

MAKE COMPARISONS

Example:

- The white car is easier to use than the blue car.

USING DICTIONARIES (STEP 6)

USE YOUR DICTIONARY FOR OTHER PURPOSES THAN LOOKING UP A WORD

Many dictionaries come with an array of other useful information. 

Some of the information that you might find in your dictionary includes:

• o    Standard letters for jobs, RSVPs, filing complaints, official writing, etc.
• o    Maps and geographical information.
• o    Statistics on population.
• o    Weights, volume and measurements.
• o    Lists of countries, cities, capitals, etc.
• o    Flags of countries, states, provinces, regions, etc.
• o    Lists of famous or historical people.
• o    Lists of facts.

II CAMPSITE (COMING SOON!)

THE SPANISH AND ENGLISH SCHOOL CLUB PRESENTS:

II PEDAGOGICAL CAMPSITE

"LEGENDS AROUND THE WORLD"

DATE: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 01st 2013
TIME: FROM 6:30 P.M TO 6:00 AM

GET READY TO ENJOY THIS WONDERFUL CHANCE TO IMPROVE YOUR LANGUAGE SKILLS.

WAIT FOR MORE INFORMATION!!!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF...? (11°)

Use the conditional mode to answer the following questions. 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF...

1. you found a wallet?

2. your parents get divorced?

3. you saw a ghost?

4. you won the lottery?

5.  your best friend moved to another country?

CELL PHONES FACTS (7°)

Answer these questions and then complete  the chart about what you think  the most popular cell phones (model) are. Focus on general and specific features on them.

1. Do you have a cell phone?

2. What kind of cell phone do you have?

3. What can your cell phone do?

4. What are the most popular cell phones?

	MODEL
	1	2	3
Price ($)
Size (cms)
Weight
Camera Resolution
Good potos 1 to 5
Easy to use 1 to 5
Other feature

USING DICTIONARIES (STEP 5)

THINK ABOUT HOW RELATED THE WORD IS...

• Think about how the information you've found relates to the word as you encountered it. If there are multiple definitions, decide which one matches your source or context for the word and notice how the different definitions are related to one another. In an English dictionary, the most common meaning is usually placed first where there are multiple meanings.

• Try using your new word in a sentence. If it's difficult to spell, write it a few times to help yourself.

• Use a picture dictionary to broaden your technical or specific knowledge.

MAKING A CREATIVE CALENDAR (6°)

After reviewing the Days of the week and the Months of the year, practice them by making a calendar 2014 with a specific theme. Highlight the special dates for you in every month. Decorate it as you want and use the material you like the most.

TALKING ABOUT THINGS' PROBLEMS(9°)

PAIR WORK

Follow these steps to do a conversation in which you talk about some problems you have with your things.

1. State a problem

2. Ask about it

3. Describe the problem

4. Offer to help

5. Say thank you

Look at this example:

A: Dad, I have a problem with my cell phone.

B: What's the matter with it?

A: The battery is dead.

B: I'll charge it for you.

A: That would be great. Thanks.

REMEMBER: both students in the conversation must state a problem. Help yourselves with the expressions and vocabulary on page 33.

USING DICTIONARIES (STEP 4)

KNOW HOW TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR FINDING

Once you have found the word, take into account some elements that can be useful from the dictionary entry. The first thing you have to do is reading the information given for the entry, may you´ll find thing like these:

- The definition(s) of the word.

- Pronunciation: for this, you will have to look at the section that helps people interpret the  written pronunciation. The stress marks are also found in  many dictionaries just into the specific syllable.

- Capitalization if it is the case.

- Prepositions when the word can be used with some of them and their meanings.

- Irreegular endings or forms for verbs/words.

- Synonyms or antonyms.

- Etimology of the words ( for special dictionaries).

- Examples of using the word to add it  to a specific context.

- Idioms or slangs associated with the word.

- Plural of nouns.

- Neighbor words, that may be related.

- Spellings for other forms of English (American, British, Australian, etc).

HOW LONG AGO?

Complete the chart and then make sentences using the past simple and the expression "ago".

HOW LONG AGO DID YOU ...?

Finish elementary school?	In 2011
Visit the zoo?
Watch a good movie?
Go to the doctor?
Have breakfast?
Play video games, soccer …?

Example:

-          "I finished elementary school two years ago".

TOURIST GUIDE (10°)

Imagine you are a tourist guide in Barranquilla, make some notes of different places in it, for example; museums, famous buildings or places, transportation, etc. Use vocabulary from lesson "4B" and the example on page 101 from your Workbook.

You can post it or write it down in your notebook.

USING DICTIONARIES (STEP 3)

KNOW HOW TO LOOK UP A WORD

Here, I present you some steps you should follow to look up the meaning of a word:

_ Go to the letter of the alphabet that your word begins with. Pay attention to those words that may get you confused because of its pronunciation, for example: "knowledge" begins with a "k" not with "n".

- Most dictionaries have guide words on the top corner of each page. These words help you find more quickly your word by indicating how close you are according to an alphabetical order. 

- Once you are close to the first letter guide yourself by the second, third and so on letter of your word.

- Scan the list of word with the same features or entry words that have similar spellings until you get the word exactly the way it is written. Remember, you will not find out conjugated verbs (just the basic forms of each one) or regular plural of nouns.

REPORTING STATEMENTS (11°)

Reporting commands, statements and questions is a way to describe  what other people said before. Listen to these instructions to change statements from direct to indirect speech.

Now, click on the following links and practice.

Commands

Commands 2 

Statements 

Mixed

WHAT ABOUT THE FUTURE? (9°)

Don't forget to write a paragraph describing what you think about the school in the future. Use "Will" as much as you can (affirmative and negative form).

Now, look at the following list of things, choose two of them and write your description for the future.

CELL PHONES	MUSIC
COMPUTERS	CLOTHES
BUILDINGS	VIDEO GAMES
MOVIES	MEDICINE/ DOCTORS

UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS (7°)

Think about a very special moment in your life (it can be a vacation, a bitrhday party, a trip, etc) that you remember so well and make a paragraph using the simple past when writing the actions. Use regular and irregular verbs (at least 8 verbs).

The following questions can help you make your description.

- Where did you go? / Where were you?

- When was it?

- What did you do?

- Who did you go with?

- What did you eat?

You can start this way:

"It was December 2010. I went with my friends at the beach. We had a good time. We did a lot of funny things. We swam all day. We played beach volleyball. We ate a special sea-food. I enjoyed this day a lot. I took a lot of photos and posted them on Facebook."

APPEARANCES (6°)

Use the vocabulary on page 33 from your student books about psysical appearance adjectives and make descriptions of two people in your family and your favorite artist. Follow the example:

"My brother's name is Pedro. He is medium-height. He is good looking. He wears eyeglasses. He has short dark brown hair and brown eyes. He is young. He doesn't have a beard"

USING DICTIONARIES (STEP 2)

FAMILIARIZE WITH THE DICTIONARY YOU HAVE:

Dictionaries vary according to its brand, style, source or editing house. The first thing you have to do is to read the first part of its or introductory section. This way you´ll learn how to to use it properly and effectively. In this, you will also find the way entries are arranged and things like explanations about important information such as abbreviations or pronunciation symbols used through the entries. Many dictionaries contain some information about pronunciation of words with similar spellings that is very useful if you, for example, have heard a word and you are not sure of its spelling. 

ARE YOU TALLER THAN ME? (8°)

FILL IN THE CHART BELOW BY COMPLETING WITH YOUR AND YOUR FRIEND INFORMATION  AND MAKE SENTENCES USING COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS.

FEATURE	MIKE	YOU	A FRIEND
AGE	15
HEIGHT	1,50 m
WEIGHT	52 kg
NUMBER OF FRIENDS	24
SCHOOL AVERAGE	3,8
FREE TIME ACTIVITIES	Soccer, karate, gymnastics

SOME ADJECTIVES TO MAKE THE SENTENCES

short         athletic         intelligent          sociable     

   tall        heavy       lazy      young        boring   

 slim              short           old      responsible      shy     

Follow the examples:

- I am more sociable than Mike but  my friend ( name) is the most sociable.

- Mike is shorter than my friend (name).