Young Learners, Levels 3 & 4. What is your perfect city ?

11th April 2023

Singapore, Seattle or Shanghai ?

Today, you will write about your perfect city.

What would you like in your city ?

What don’t you like ?

First, the positives (the good things). Guess what these buildings are:

parks / shops / museums / sports centres / schools / hospitals / interesting buildings / transportation /

However, not everything in a city is fantastic:

What are the problems … and what are the solutions (the answers) ? For example, in Singapore, if someone litters (throws rubbish on the street), they have to pay a fine, pay money to the police.

Now … your turn:

Write about what you want in YOUR city and why. Use amazing adjectives, and tell me why you would like these things.

Also, tell me what you DO NOT want, and why. How would you punish people who broke rules ?

You may also draw, but do the writing first.

Good luck and have fun !

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.

Young Learners, levels 3 & 4. I had a bad day … guess why.

7th April 2023

We have heard the story, Morning Glory: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/03/24/whats-the-story-morning-glory-remastered/

Written about a bad student who becomes a rich businessperson: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/03/31/young-learners-levels-3-4-tell-me-a-story/

Now it’s time to write about ourselves

I shall tell you about last Sunday – it was terrible and here’s why … but can you guess just by the pictures ?

(Grab is a taxi service accessed by phone app, similar to Uber)

(In Vietnam, wedding parties often have singers and then an open karaoke system)

Allow me to give you the plan of my day:

6.50 leave for work. Book Grab on my iPhone

7.40 – 9.40 Young Learners class, level 1 (21 students)

10.10 arrive home

10.11 – 14.30 wedding party across the street

10.30 – 12.00 prepare work online

17.00 – 21.30 another wedding party but much louder, more karaoke singers

18.00 go for coffee

BUT 23.30 Manchester United win 1- 0 so ‘All’s well that ends well.’

Now … your turn. Tell me about a terrible day. Remember to use amazing adjectives to explain how you felt and what was so awful.

To help you, maybe:

Good luck with your bad day !

Young Learners, level 1: Review.

3rd April 2023

Practice makes perfect … so let’s review !

Adjectives:

big / huge // small / tiny // clever or smart

hungry / thirsty // cold / hot

fast / slow // strong / weak

bored / excited // yummy or delicious

noisy / quiet

An elephant is very big, strong and very smart

English teaching children games – Thay Paul's Notes — Mr Paul and his elephant friend

Exercises

A mouse is very ______ and ______

Pizza is ______ and ____________

A runner is very f — and very s —–

A doctor is ______ _____

Verbs

dance / draw / drink / eat / fly / go / jump / look / play / run / sit / sleep / stand / swim / talk / walk / work / write /

verb verb + ing

I drink // I am drinking

You drink // You are drinking

He drinks // He is drinking

She drinks // She is drinking

They drink // They are drinking

What are they doing ?

They are ________

He is________

Mighty Kicks Soccer Franchise Helps Kids Learn — prREACH Viral Social VIDEO Press Release Service

She is ________

He dances in the rain. He is dancing in the rain

She is ________

He is________

He is________

The live-action GIF may be viewed here: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2020/10/10/young-learners-level-2-review/

What can you do ? What can’t you do ?

I can play guitar but I can’t play violin

She can play drums but she can’t play piano

He can speak Japanese however he can’t speak _____

A bird can ______ however a bird can’t _______

A fish can _______ however a fish can’t ______

Young Learners, levels 3 & 4. Tell me a story.

31st March 2023

Now that you have had a little time to “Wake up, wake up,” time to move on to a new story.

We have a writing activity for students to practise telling a story, using ‘signpost language’, adjectives, adverbs for the Top Cats, and to see if they can remember their grammar.

Let’s go ! Here are five pictures; what is the story ?

Time for a word bank

Signpost words

First / next / then / after / afterwards / finally

Nouns

business man / library / champagne / private jet

Adjectives

lazy / poor / bored / tired / furious / strict / hard-working / over the moon (very, very happy) / rich

Verbs

sleep / scream / study / graduate / relax

Now, start writing … and good luck !

What’s the story, Morning Glory ? Remastered

24th March 2023

A remastered cut of a previous lesson, this one aimed at lower level students.

The full, Director’s Cut, Top Cat edition may be viewed here: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2023/03/20/what-is-the-story-morning-glory-learning-english-with-the-oasis-lads/

Intro: How do you say these words ? By the end of the lesson, with the help of Oasis, you’ll be saying, singing, them like a native English-speaker.

Verse One: In English, we speak very quickly, we combine word sounds and ‘swallow’ other letters. When you hear the song, listen … these words are pronounced like this …

Needa lit’al timeta way cup,

Needa lit’al timeta way cup, way cup

In Standard English, I teach you to pronounce the ‘t’s clearly and precisely, but in natural spoken English, many people ‘swallow’ the sound. Best way, as usual, is to practise.

Verse Two: I will show you a video by the band Oasis.

Oasis were a band of five musicians. They were from Manchester in north England. First, watch this video:

Tell me a story about the video

Who is the main subject ?

Where are they ? What are they doing ?

How do they look ?

How about the other people in the video ?

How do they feel and why ?

What do they do ?

DO NOT START WITH PRONOUNS

Remember to use new, exciting adjectives.

Look at your class notes.

Chorus: Plug in, turn up the amp to 11 and Rock ‘n’ Roll !

Let’s hit the effects pedals and get some wonderful words, amazing adjectives.

First, some nouns:

a group / a band / musicians / neighbours /

guitars / bass / drums / singer

shirt / sunglasses / sari / suit

tower block (apartment building)

Second, some verbs:

playing / singing / dancing / drumming

banging / knocking / kicking / shouting / screaming

Third, some adjectives:

angry / furious / loud / noisy / selfish / cool / crazy / colourful / thoughtless / handsome / ugly / tough / glorious

Time to Rock !

Five handsome, young musicians live in a tower block. They are …

What are they doing, what are they wearing ?

What is the problem ?

Tell me about the neighbours

And don’t forget to sing,

Needa lit’al timeta way cup, way cup

Thank you, my Top Cats.

5th March 2023

What a fantastic week – two gifts from two gifted students.

First up, an incredible piece of art from Top Cat Ruby who is around ten years old. I shall certainly have this framed.

Next, a gift from a student I no longer teach but whose classroom is near to mine (so they can hear the music I play loudly). Teachers absolutely need throat pastels, and I’m always telling my students to avoid sugar so I was over the moon with this gift from Class Captain Mina.

Thank you Top Cat Ruby, thank you Captain Mina … and not forgetting my irreplaceable TA Ms Huong, and her present:

However, Ms Huong probably gave me these to shut me up ! Regardless, thank you all so much.

Young Learners, Level 4: adverbs of manner

28th February 2023

Take a look at the man in the photo. He is very happy – can you think why ? Maybe he is watching football and his team, Mexico, scored. He is shouting.

How is he shouting ? Happily ? Quietly ? Loudly ?

those three words are adverbs of manner – that just means how someone does something.

In our picture the man shouts loudly.

We take the adjective loud and add -ly

Let’s make that into a better sentence.

Are you ready Top Cats ?

I want three adjectives, a verb and then an adverb of manner. Also, give me a reason

Ça va ?

EXAMPLE: The handsome, young, Mexican man is shouting loudly because his team scored a goal.

Lets build a library of adverbs. Take these adjectives and make them adverbs. Be careful with words that end in ‘y’.

beautiful // calm // careful // easy // good // happy // honest // polite // quick

angry // bad // careless // greedy // lazy // loud // nervous // rough // selfish // stupid

dangerous // fast // furious // mysterious // rare // serious // slow

Now … time to create some brilliant sentences

The young lady is from Korea – what is the adjective ? What is she doing, where is she, and how does she feel ? Let’s move on

I don’t think this man is very happy. What do you think ?

To whom is she speaking ? Does she want us to be noisy ? Is the phone call a secret ?

The Japanese band Tricot. They play guitar so …

Do you think riding a motorbike like this is a great idea ? Be careful, Keanu.

If he did this in MY class, what would I do ?

Bye bye – see you next week.

Gods of Ancient Egypt

23rd February 2023

A revised blog, aimed at younger learners. The original blog may be accessed here: https://thaypaulsnotes.com/2022/05/12/young-learners-ancient-egyptian-gods/

An activity where you have to listen, read and collect information. Also you will learn about different cultures and legends.

Today we are going to learn about some of the gods of ancient Egypt. First, where is Egypt ?

Egypt is in Africa. The adjective is Egyptian.

What ancient buildings can you see in Egypt ?

The Pyramids: the largest one was built about 2,500 BC (about 4,500 years ago).

The creature in front is called the Sphinx. What kind of animal is the Sphinx ?

The Sphinx has the face of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird (maybe a falcon or eagle).

Animals were very important. What animals can you see in this picture ?

We are going to focus on four Gods:

Thoth // Bastet // Ra // Anubis

Vocabulary

Pharaoh / ibis / jackal / Nile River / beak

Pyramids

Sphinx

Tomb

Funeral mask of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. He lived 1341 – 1323 BC

Hieroglyphs

Write your name (English or Viet) using hieroglyphs.

Look at your handout and follow the instructions. You have to identify the four Gods and colour them.

The British Council ‘LearnEnglishKids’ page has some excellent resources and free print-outs.

Now, some music for ambience:

Young Learners, Levels 3 & 4: putting words into practice.

7th February 2023

We learnt some new adjectives before Tet Holiday; now let’s use them. First, what are the words ?

Let’s have some new words, too.

furious // intelligent // genius // calm // peaceful //

Answers

traditional // lucky // fun // funny

delicious // beautiful // colourful

loud // terrible //

Now, time to use the words

At Tet, Daddy sings karaoke. The music is very l____ and t______ and Mummy was f_______ .

At Tet, I visit my grandparents. They gave me l_____ money, and we all had f___ .

Mummy makes a lot of tr________, d________ food.

Many families walk at Tet holiday. The women wear the tr_______ dress called an a__ d____ . The dress is very c_______ and they look b________ .

My uncle comes to visit. He is a doctor, so he is very i___________ . However, he tells jokes and is f______ .

Our class captain is called Lily. She is very i______ so she is a Top Cat. She tells the boys to be quiet when they are l_____ . Lily shouts at t_____ students.

Now … let’s test your grammar.

Change these sentences from present tense (verb 1) to the past tense (verb 2).

EXAMPLE: I (go) to visit my best friend.

I went to visit my best friend.

My family (visit) my grandparents and we (eat) a lot of d_______ food.

My Mummy and my aunts (wear) the tr_______ ao dai. They all (look) so b________ .

Daddy (have) his friends to our house. They (sing) songs for many hours. I (think) it (is) t________ .

Wit my l___ money, I (buy) some c_______ and b_____ flowers for my Mummy. She was so happy, she (cry).

My brother is very in_____________ , he (read) books every day. My sister (play) video games. They had a lot of f___ at Tet.

Last night I (see) a very f____ film, I (laugh) so much. This morning I (go) to school but I (forget) my books. My teacher (is) fu______ .

Top Cats … time for creative writing

Write a short story about your Tet Holiday. Use new adjectives and the past tense (Verb 2).

At Tet I …

Please Note: All photos are taken from Google Images or free photo sites, and are used for educational purposes only. No copyright infringement or offense is intended. If I have used your photo or image, and you wish me to remove it, just ask. This site is not monetized, I run it on my own dollar. Thank you.