Dear Abby

Dear Abby, 

I don't know what to do! My boyfriend and I have been dating for over two years, but I feel like he doesn't really love me. He rarely asks me out anymore: We don't go to restaurants, or shows. He doesn't buy me even the smallest of presents. I love him, but I think he's taking me for granted. What should I do?

 -Worried About Love

Response

Dear Worried About Love:

I think it's clear from your description that your boyfriend doesn't really love you. Two years is not such a long time to be dating, and the fact that he treats you like a toy he can ignore speaks volumes about his true feelings. Get out of the relationship as fast as you can! There are many more wonderful men out there who will appreciate, and treasure your love - don't waste it on an oaf who clearly has no clue as to your worth!

• The letters have a common structure

1. They begin with a salutation, greeting(Dear Abby, Classmate etc.).
2. The writer provides a brief background to set up his/her problem.
3. The writer briefly describes the dilemma s/he faces.
4. The writer asks a question of the columnist. (What should I do?)
5. The letter is often signed with some sort of anonymous, catchy phrase rather than the person's name. (Worried About Love)

a.Dear Abby, 

b. I don't know what to do! My boyfriend and I have been dating for over two years, but I feel like he doesn't really love me.

c.He rarely asks me out anymore: We don't go to restaurants, or shows. He doesn't buy me even the smallest of presents. I love him, but I think he's taking me for granted.

d.What should I do?

e. Worried About Love

Idiom Review

What is the idiom that means:

1. To interfere

2. To get information direct from the source

3. To relax

4. To say something you shouldn't have said

5. To think it over














1. To stick your nose into something

2. Straight from the horse's mouth

3. Take it easy

4. To put your foot in your mouth

5. To sleep on it.

Fortune Telling

· What do fortunetellers do?

· Why do people go to see fortunetellers?

· Do you believe most fortunetellers are accurate?

· What methods do fortunetellers use to predict the future?

· Can a fortuneteller really see into the future?

· Have you ever had your fortune told? What did it say?

· What good things do you think will happen to you in the future?

· Are you usually more scientific or more superstitious? Why?

Extremely Amazing Chicago Presentation!!

You have a mission!! Go out and explore the city this weekend!!

You should take 3-5 pictures and you can email them me at stathopo@gmail.com. Find and describe 5 examples of city life to the class using modifiers. 

You can explain these photos using HAVE TO, MUST, SHOULD, CAN and any negative forms.

Or you can explain 5 examples you saw of city life using modifiers.

For example: It was an extremely hot day and I saw a very old man yelling at a pigeon.
For example: When you are in Chicago you must see The Bean - it is a really famous Chicago landmark.

Remember the most important part is your speaking!

Getting to know you

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN …?

1. You can’t get to sleep?

2. Somebody pushes in front of you in line?

3. You fight with a friend?

4. You are served food you don’t like?

5. You’re late for a meeting?

6. You see someone hitting an animal?

7. You see a fight on the street?

8. You haven’t done your homework?

Comparatives and Superlatives

1. Swimming in the ocean or swimming in a pool? WHY?

2. A vacation with family or vacation with friends? WHY?

3. Watching a movie in your language or with subtitles? WHY?

4. Watching a movie in the theater or at home? WHY?

5. Communicating by email or by text? WHY?

6. Watching sports or playing sports? WHY?

7. Reading an ebook or reading a regular book? WHY?

8. Doing English homework or doing housework? WHY?

9. Listening to music with headphones or listening to music without headphones? WHY?

10. Going clothes shopping alone or going clothes shopping with another person? WHY?

**Think of 2 of your own to ask your partner! WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

Comparatives and Superlatives

Read the sentences below and then give the comparative form for each of the adjectives listed.​

• Tennis is a more difficult sport than Rugby.
• I think John is happier now than a year ago.
• Could you open the window, please? It's getting hotter in this room by the minute.

• interesting ___________
• weak ___________
• funny ___________
• important ___________
• careful ___________
• big ___________
• small ___________
• polluted ___________
• boring ___________
• angry ___________

Read the sentences below and then give the superlative form for each of the adjectives listed.

• New York has got to be the most exciting city in the world.
• His biggest desire is to return home.
• She is probably the angriest person I know.

• interesting ___________
• weak ___________
• funny ___________
• important ___________
• careful ___________
• big ___________
• small ___________
• polluted ___________
• boring ___________
• angry ___________

Famous For

When people think of Chicago they think of Michael Jordan, Deep-dish pizza and Gangsters.

What do people think of when they think of your hometown?

For this presentation you will describe a couple of things your hometown is famous for. These can be buildings, food or scenery.

For this presentation your focus should be on using new vocabulary. There is plenty of vocabulary on pages 156, 157. You can also use important prepositional phrases from page 49.  Try to use 6-10 vocabulary words.


You can show a photo of a famous location, building, site etc...


You should make a small PowerPoint with 3-5 images of things your hometown is famous for.

Can you Persuade us to Buy!

You are a hip, new designer. You need to sell the hottest product. The only problem is...it is a little strange. Your job is to make it sound amazing!!

Use the language from your LANGUAGE KEY!

In addition to language, there are many techniques to help influence people. Use the two together to sell your product. Try to make it sound amazing!!

5 Persuasive Techniques:


Bandwagon: Everyone is doing it - so should you!


Facts:9/10 doctors agree. 90% of people say...


Testimony: I tried it and I love it! 


Geek to Chic: I used to be unpopular. Look at me now! 


Celebrity: Michael Jordan uses this shampoo!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Identify: Who is your target audience?

Does that change your language/approach? 

Price range?

Present the Pitch: 5 min each 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was most effective in each pitch? Would you buy the product? 

What are they selling?

What techniques did they use?

What target language did they use?

Price point?

Would you buy it?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


ONLY LOOK AT YOUR CLOTHING ITEM!
Clothing 1

Footwear

Coat

Jewelry

Clothing 2

Clothing 3

Clothing 4

Accessory

Colin Kaepernick

1. What are people protesting?

2. Why are people angry?

3. Why do you think this has become such a controversial issue?

4. Would this happen in your country? Why or why not?

5. Which of the 3 camps do you side with?

Coffee Shop Wars

First, we will compare the coffee shops to each other.

Then, we will choose THE BEST coffee shop.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
What makes a good coffee shop??

Price? Atmosphere? Coffee Quality? Customer Service?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other things to consider:

• Seating?

  Accepts Credit Cards 

  Good For 

  Parking 

  Bike Parking 

  Wheelchair Accessible 

  Good for Kids 

  Good for Groups 

  Attire 

  Ambience 

  Noise Level 

  Music 

  Outdoor Seating 

  Wi-Fi 

  Has Art

  Waiter Service 

  Drive-Thru 

  Gender Neutral Restrooms 

  ----------------------------------------------------------------

  Goddess and The Baker - 33 S Wabash            Depaul Bookstore
  
  
  Pickwick Coffee                  Dollop
  
  
  Hero Coffee Bar                   Starbucks

  
  

  
  

Guinness Book of World Records

Since the beginning of time, people have wanted to do the best and biggest things:

World's Largest

There is even a book to documents who has the best, biggest, longest, smallest, tallest things in the world.

Your job is to research a record you think is interesting and present it to the class. You should answer the following questions:

What is it?
Why did you choose it?
What is the normal size/length of this object?
What the the record? Who is the second best? Can you compare them?

You should use at least 6 comparative or superlative sentences.

Be sure to include pictures or videos! I encourage you to make a short PowerPoint Presentation to go with your research. You can work alone or with a partner. If you are alone your presentation should be 3-5 minutes and with a partner 6-8. I want to hear everyone speak so I can give you feedback.

You can use this link to help you get started Guinness World Records

Writing

Writing

Choose only 1

1. Comparative essay:

I think that ________ is better than _____ because...

Ex. I think that Beyonce is better than Rihanna because...

OR

2. Superlative essay:

What is the biggest lie you ever told someone and why? What happened? Did you ever have to confess your lie?

Animal Trivia

1. What is the fastest land animal? 

2. What is the largest land animal? 

3. What is the largest animal?

4. How many legs does a butterfly have? 

5. Does a zebra have spots or stripes? 

6. Does a leopard have spots or stripes? 

7. How many legs does an octopus have?

8. What is the lightest bird in the world? 

9. What is the biggest snake? 

10. What animal has four legs, eats grass and makes milk? 

11. How many legs do 2 spiders have? 

12. What color are skunks? 

1. Cheetah

2. African Elephant

3. Blue Whale

4. 6

5. Stripes

6. Spots

7. 8

8. Humming Bird

9. Anaconda

10. Cow

11. 16 

12. Black and White

Vocabulary

1. What is the difference between Patient (noun)  and  Patient (adjective)?

2. Make a sentence using a 'time' expression from yesterday

3. Give an example of someone who is Impatient

4. Mealtimes - give 3 examples with a verb

5. Dwarf - write the plural

6. What is 'road rage'?

7. How can you explain the word 'irritable'

8. Write down 1 example from the book on how to slow down, 1 example from your classmates on how to waste time and how to save time.

9. Write down as many time expressions as you can remember from yesterday's reading.

10. Give one example of a comparative in this room.

Which do you prefer and WHY?

1. Swimming in the ocean or swimming in a pool? WHY?

2. A vacation with family or vacation with friends? WHY?

3. Watching a movie in your language or with subtitles? WHY?

4. Watching a movie in the theater or at home? WHY?

5. Communicating by email or by text? WHY?

6. Watching sports or playing sports? WHY?

7. Reading an ebook or reading a regular book? WHY?

8. Doing English homework or doing housework? WHY?

9. Listening to music with headphones or listening to music without headphones? WHY?

10. Going clothes shopping alone or going clothes shopping with another person? WHY?

**Think of 2 of your own to ask your partner! WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY?

Proofreading

Proofreading means examining your text carefully to find and correct typographical errors and mistakes in grammar, style, and spelling. Here are some tips.

• Before You Proofread
• When You Proofread
• When You Want to Learn More

Before You Proofread

• Be sure you've revised the larger aspects of your text. Don't make corrections at the sentence and word level if you still need to work on the focus, organization, and development of the whole paper, of sections, or of paragraphs.
• Set your text aside for a while (15 minutes, a day, a week) between writing and proofing.Some distance from the text will help you see mistakes more easily.
• Eliminate unnecessary words before looking for mistakes. See the writing center handout how to write clear, concise, direct sentences.
• Know what to look for. From the comments of your professors or a writing center instructor on past papers, make a list of mistakes you need to watch for.

When You Proofread

• Work from a printout, not the computer screen. (But see below for computer functions that can help you find some kinds of mistakes.)
• Read out loud. This is especially helpful for spotting run-on sentences, but you'll also hear other problems that you may not see when reading silently.
• Use a blank sheet of paper to cover up the lines below the one you're reading. This technique keeps you from skipping ahead of possible mistakes.
• Use the search function of the computer to find mistakes you're likely to make. Search for "it," for instance, if you confuse "its" and "it's;" for "-ing" if dangling modifiers are a problem; for opening parentheses or quote marks if you tend to leave out the closing ones.
• If you tend to make many mistakes, check separately for each kind of error, moving from the most to the least important, and following whatever technique works best for you to identify that kind of mistake.
  For instance, read through once (backwards, sentence by sentence) to check for fragments; read through again (forward) to be sure subjects and verbs agree, and again (perhaps using a computer search for "this," "it," and "they") to trace pronouns to antecedents.
• End with a spelling check, using a computer spelling checker or reading backwards word by word.
  But remember that a spelling checker won't catch mistakes with homonyms (e.g., "they're," "their," "there") or certain typos (like "he" for "the").

Interview With a Classmate

You are a journalist for Stafford House News! You need to Interview your classmates for the latest edition which will be put on display in the hallway.


Make a magazine interview like pg. 30

Follow the following steps:

1. Brainstorm Questions (on a separate sheet of paper!)

2. Interview your Partner

3. Take notes on their answers

4. Edit - best questions, grammar, etc..

5. Publish - write on the magazine pages

6. Present/Read Magazine

Sports Idioms Review

1. Make a big mistake

2. Cooperate, work together

3. Be in a dangerous position

4. A presentation, proposal

5. Beating the opponent, winning

6. Go forward and make progress

7. Be in charge, make the decisions

8. A very general number

9. Do a successful job

10. Lose completely

11. List 4 synonyms for defeat



1. drop the ball

2. play ball

3. 2 strikes against them

4. a pitch

5. against the ropes

6. run with it

7. call the shots/play

8. ballpark figure

9. knock it out of the park

10. strike out

11. clobber, beat, hammer, slaughter etc...

Sports v. Business

1. What are you top 3 sports teams and why?

2. What are your top 3 products/companies and why?

3. What are the pro/cons of competition?

4. How are sports and business similar and how are they different?

Travel Agency Fair

It is the big Travel Agent Convention at Stafford House Chicago!!

Your Travel Agency is offering a special deal to attract customers.

You and your partner must put together a travel package that includes:

The name of your Agency
Destination(s)
Departure and Arrival Dates
Number of Cities
Accommodations
Excursions/Activities
Sites
Restaurants
Extras: City tour? Famous places?
And of course the Price!

Your goal is to use the Present Perfect, Prepositions, Travel Vocabulary and Going To with Future Plans!

To influence potential customers you can make a PowerPoint or feature an image of your destination on the screen. You can also use a video clip (no more than 30 seconds).

At the end the customers will vote on the package that is the most attractive and you will win the Convention and you and your partner will receive promotions!!

Formal Email

Follow these five simple steps to make sure your English emails are perfectly professional.

1. Begin with a greeting
2. Thank the recipient
3. State your purpose
4. Add your closing remarks
5. End with a closing

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Begin with a greeting

   Always open your email with a greeting, such as “Dear Lillian”. If your relationship with the reader is formal, use their family name (eg. “Dear Mrs. Price”). If the relationship is more casual, you can simply say, “Hi Kelly”. If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, use: “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam”.

2. Thank the recipient

   If you are replying to a client’s inquiry, you should begin with a line of thanks. For example, if someone has a question about your company, you can say, “Thank you for contacting ABC Company”. If someone has replied to one of your emails, be sure to say, “Thank you for your prompt reply” or “Thanks for getting back to me”. Thanking the reader puts him or her at ease, and it will make you appear more polite.

3. State your purpose

   If you are starting the email communication, it may be impossible to include a line of thanks. Instead, begin by stating your purpose. For example, “I am writing to enquire about …” or “I am writing in reference to …”.
   Make your purpose clear early on in the email, and then move into the main text of your email. Remember, people want to read emails quickly, so keep your sentences short and clear. You’ll also need to pay careful attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation so that you present a professional image of yourself and your company.

4. Add your closing remarks

   Before you end your email, it’s polite to thank your reader one more time and add some polite closing remarks. You might start with “Thank you for your patience and cooperation” or “Thank you for your consideration” and then follow up with, “If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know” and “I look forward to hearing from you”.

5. End with a closing

   The last step is to include an appropriate closing with your name. “Best regards”, “Sincerely”, and “Thank you” are all professional. Avoid closings such as “Best wishes” or “Cheers” unless you are good friends with the reader. Finally, before you hit the send button, review and spell check your email one more time to make sure it’s truly perfect!

Source