Winter Quarter 2014

I hope everyone had a nice break from class!  
Winter quarter begins on Monday, January 6th, 2014.
See you soon!

Fall Quarter 2013!!

Fall quarter begins on Thursday, September 19th.  This quarter, we will continue to practice our English and computer skills.  Click on the links on the right to see class information, helpful websites to practice English, and classmate blogs.  
I am looking forward to seeing you this quarter!

Summer quarter 2013

This summer we are continuing to improve our English.  One new thing we are practicing is blogging.  Click on "student blogs" to read the blogs your classmates have made.  

Our last day of summer quarter is Thursday, August 29th.  We will take a summer break, and return to class for fall quarter on Thursday, September 19th.  

Spring Break!!

Spring Break is from March 28th to April 7th.  There will be no classes this week. 
Spring quarter classes begin on Monday, April 8th.  See you then!  Have a good break!

Week 11: March 18-21

Week 11 spelling words:  Common adjectives (words that describe someone or something)

clean

dirty

beautiful

ugly

talkative

quiet

thirsty

hungry

intelligent

hardworking

lazy

tired

awake

heavy

light

dangerous

safe

friendly

unfriendly

relaxed

nervous

young

old

easy

difficult

Remember, you can always practice these words at www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie

Week 10: March 11-14

Week 10 spelling words:  Occupations

occupation

volunteer

busboy

electrician

waitress

receptionist

secretary

cashier

nurse

office worker

truck driver

mechanic

chef

babysitter

architect

lawyer

engineer

hairstylist

factory worker

custodian

pharmacist

housekeeper 

Remember, you can always practice these words at www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie

BLOG #3: My Daily Schedule

Please share your third writing assignment with each other.  Tell us about your daily schedule and what you usually do everyday.  Click "comment" to type and publish your writing.

Week 9: March 4-7

Week 9 spelling words:  Grocery shopping

shopping

store

market

price

package

carton

bottle

dozen

silverware

groceries

fruit

vegetable

dairy

bakery

beverage

florist

coffee

juice

bread

sugar

meat

water

Remember, you can always practice these words at www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie

Week 8: February 25-28

A couple of great websites to help with ALL verb tenses!! 
http://www.learn-english-today.com/lessons/lessons_list.html
http://www.englishpage.com/verbpage/verbtenseintro.html

Also, a website to help translate basic English phrases into many different languages:
http://www.omniglot.com/language/phrases/index.htm

Week 9 spelling words:  Employment
job

position

personnel

 applicant

interview

recommendation

promotion

available

benefits

experience

employee

employer

training

salary

vacation

retirement

wage

minimum

maximum

overtime

Remember, you can always practice these words at www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie 

Week 7: February 19-21

No school on Monday, February 18th for President's Day holiday!!

On Thursday we watched an episode from "We Are New York."  The website has other video episodes available for you to watch.  There are nine total.  Yesterday we watched "Love and Money."  Feel free to watch as many as you want, as well as download the video script to read along while you are watching!
http://www.nyc.gov/html/weareny/html/episodes/episodes.shtml
(click on an episode on the left side to start the video)

Week 7 spelling words: Personal Information
telephone

number

nationality

what

where

city

state

middle

name

first

last

address

street

zip code

area code

language

country

alphabet 

You can practice these words at http://www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie.  Remember, we have a short week this week because of the holiday!

Week 6: February 11-14

Valentine's Day is this Thursday, February 14th!

If you want to learn more about the history of Valentine's Day, love, or relationships, you can visit these websites:

http://www.elcivics.com/valentines_day_esl.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RudHRLUpKlQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foDIwGHV3V0

Spelling words this week are words related to our health.  You have probably been to the doctor before because you were sick, so you may know many of these words!
Week 6 spelling words: Health

health

doctor

appointment

cough

headache

earache

sore throat

broken bone

backache

toothache

fever

stomachache

sprained ankle

cold

flu

bandage

cough drops

aspirin

vitamin

confirmation

cancellation

insurance

There are some very big words here, so it may help to practice them at www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie ! 

Week 5: February 4-7

Spelling words this week are members of the family.  You can practice them more at www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie

Week 5 spelling words: "Family"

family

parents

children

mother

father

daughter

son

brother

sister

cousin

uncle

aunt

grandmother

grandfather

grandparent

niece

nephew

husband

wife

in-law

stepchildren 

BLOG #2: My Neighborhood

Please share your second writing assignment with each other.  Tell us about your neighborhood.  Click "comment" to type and publish your writing.

Week 4: January 28-31

The spelling words this week are common words and and actions that you probably see and do almost everyday!   You can practice them more at http://www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie.

Week 4 spelling words:  "Daily Activities"
weekend

today

yesterday

morning

afternoon

evening

schedule

wake

eat

drink

brush

drive

leave

run

wash

watch

shave

dress

work

exercise

arrive

sleep  

Week 3: January 21-24

Here are some great websites to practice common prepostions of location:
http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Blue%20Level/B11%20Prepositions.html
http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Prepositions/Prepositions.html
http://www.rong-chang.com/book/askway.html

We will continue to work on prepositions so that we can give and understand common directions.  Here are some videos to watch with common phrases you may hear when asking for directions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5wPc_4bfbQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGDtIRNnCyQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc0Zfr3JFOA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tRvWNld_t4

This week's spelling words are days of the week and months of the year.  It is important to know the spelling of these words, since we use them so much.  Remember to capitalize the first letter of these words.  You can practice spelling them at https://www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie 

Week 3 spelling words:  "Days and months" 
day

month

year

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

BLOG #1: Student Introductions

Here is a chance to share your first blog writing assignment with each other!!

Click "comment" below to type and publish your writing.

Martin Luther King Jr. holiday

Remember:  No School on Monday, January 21st.  It is a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.   

You may want to explore one of these websites to learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. and why we celebrate this holiday.  He is a very important person in American history!

http://www.elcivics.com/martin_luther_king_jr.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6Au81aHuSg 

See you on Tuesday!

Week 2: January 14 - 17

Community Vocabulary:
ATM = automatic teller		bakery		bank		bus station
cathedral		church		city hall		courthouse
fire station		florist		movie theater		office building
park		parking lot		parking ramp		playground
police station		post office		shopping mall		strip mall
supermarket		telephone pole		theater		train station
water tower
http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/images/Vocabulary%20Images/Community/Community.html

Our spelling words this week are places that are commonly found in our city or neighborhood.  You have probably seen most of these places in Renton!  Remember, you can practice more spelling activities on https://www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie/

Week 2 spelling words:  "Our Neighborhood"
department store

supermarket

laundromat

car wash

drugstore

library

post office

police station

parking lot

bank

jewelry store

barber shop

hair salon

City Hall

restaurant

fire station

bookstore

hospital

gas station

school

theater

swimming pool

park 

Week 1: January 7-10

This week we practiced household vocabulary, including rooms of the house and common items found in each room.  We reviewed spelling words this week (see below) and had our spelling quiz on Thursday.   

I have included the spelling words here so you can continue reviewing and practicing as well as some websites to practice.  You will recognize many household items, but there are some new ones too!
Go here to learn to spell and say the words: http://www.spellingcity.com/kstenslie/

Week 1 spelling words:  “The Home” 

house

apartment

address

neighborhood

living room

kitchen

bedroom

bathroom

television

telephone

sofa

chair

table

picture

stove

sink

refrigerator

cabinets

counter

bed

dresser

night table

lamp

pillow

shower

bathtub

toilet 

Here are some websites to practice vocabulary about the home:

Speaking and listening practice:  

http://www.aasd.k12.wi.us/staff/boldtkatherine/ELLKids.htm#AT_HOME 

http://www.speakenglish.co.uk/vocab/furniture_and_household_items 

Videos: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDX9tt4zoRw&noredirect=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P4WUrOYUyk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqCEFIfXka8

http://www.tolearnenglish.com/exercises/exercise-english-2/exercise-english-53781.php

Another thing we started practicing this week was prepositions of time and place. 

There are many prepositions used in the English language.  Here are the basic ones we practiced:

Rules to remember for these common prepositions….

IN    We use “in” with:

            months – in May, in January

            seasons – in winter, in fall, in the summer

            countries – in China, in Mexico, in the United States

            city or town names – in Washington, in Renton, in Seattle

times of the day – in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening (BUT: we say “at night!”)

AT    We use “at” with:

            specific times – at 7 o’clock, at 6:30 in the morning

            at night

            specific places in a city – at the mall, at the doctor, at school, at Worksource

ON    We use “on” with:

specific days or dates – on Friday, on New Year’s Day, on January 12, on the weekend, on weekends, on Wednesday morning

TO    We use “to” with verbs that show movement (such as go and come):

            He goes to school.

            She will go to Vietnam next week.

            They come to class every day.

            Keiko will return to Japan in September. 

Also….  on a bike, on a bus, on a train, on a plane….. but in a car !

A great website to practice prepositions of location and directions on a map, like we've studied in class!!
http://www.englishlanguageworld.com/Beginning_English_Lesson13/Beginning_English_Lesson13_Grammar.html

We will continue to practice these, as well as some new ones next week!  Have a great weekend class!!

Winter quarter 2013

Welcome back to class!  Happy New Year!  I am glad to see many returning students and some new students as well.  This quarter we will continue to practice and improve our English.  I am creating a class blog so that I can share class lessons, websites, and practice activities with you.  I hope you will add your own ideas and writing to our blog also!