Happy Holidays 2018

We wrapped up 2018 with a class potluck, speeches, games, song, and breaking bread together. I hope to see everyone again in the new year.

Indigenous Peoples (Continued)

Hello, students.

Please log into Spelling City to practice ten new sentences and words.

There are many short films on NFB that you can watch.

Enjoy!

Aboriginal Peoples of Canada

Hello, students.

Sign in HERE to practice spelling and sentences.

This week we are taking a short break from the theme of law / police. We are learning about the Indigenous Peoples of this land, the people who were on this continent before the Europeans.

We are learning about the legacy of Canada's residential schools.

We heard about a child named Chanie Wenjack. This is a short film about him. It is animated.

Interactive map of Aboriginal Peoples:
https://native-land.ca/

Together we will watch Waking Up the Nakota Language. It's from the National Film Board of Canada (NFB).

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On another note, some of you said you would like to have a link to the Health Unit's Supervised Injection Services (SIS) Community Consultation

Crime and Punishment

Hello, students!

We have begun our module on LAW. We have started by learning some legal vocabulary.

Here is a picture dictionary page of "law and order" words you can listen to.

Your spelling list is HERE. You have to log in with your username and password.

Naturopathy

Hello, students!
This week we are preparing for a guest speaker's visit. It's Dr. Harrison Oake, ND.

Here you can practice spelling and play games with our words.

Dr Benjamin Snider, Naturopathic Doctor, talks about his practice.

If you want to practice grammar, I recommend English with Jennifer.

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello, students!

This week we gave our brains a break from the theme of health. We will return to it. That is called interleaving; it helps us get language into long-term memory--or so say the cognitive scientists!

We wove in a topic in the theme of Canadian culture, and that is the topic of thanksgiving.

If you wish to practice spelling, word meanings, syntax, etc., then log into SpellingCity. You have an assignment waiting. After you do the spelling test, play a game like Sentence Unscramble or Match-it Sentences.

Here is a video that relates to our topic.

Native Americans Share their Associations with Thanksgiving



In our morning news review and in talking about topics under the theme of LAW that we may wish to explore, the subject of the new cannabis legislation came up. Here is information on that.

If you want to practice causative verbs, try this quiz:
Causative Verb Practice Exercise

Have a great LONG weekend!

Kelly

Our Heroes, Our Videos

Hello, students!

Our video is not searchable on YouTube.

Let me know if you are not able to view it using this link.

A Pleasant Day

We had good weather for our field trip.

Dr. Peng made a slide show from the pictures she took. It is HERE.

We took more pictures after that.

I told everyone about an assignment I'd been given to do a 'random act of kindness' before midnight Friday. I chose to give some of our chocolates to the city park workers who were in the hot sun preparing the flower beds. Bushra said SHE wanted to do the act of kindness in my stead.

And she did.

Here is a link to our Flipgrid for talking about our heroes.

Who Are Our Heroes?

Hello, students of the seniors' class!

We are gearing up to visit Jackson Park with all of its war memorials and other monuments. This is a good time for us to share with others who our heroes are.

We will start with the story of Viola Desmond and how she came to be considered a Canadian hero. Then we will create our own tributes to the heroes in our lives.

You and the Police

See if your phone is Alert Ready here.

In May we will go to the Police Training Centre in Sandwich to see a mock rescue and enjoy our annual ESINC Day.

This video was made in London, but the same rules apply here in Windsor.


Listen to these conversations:

Being pulled over

Reporting a break-in

The Library

Two years ago, the seniors' class visited the library and were given a tour by the librarian.

After the tour, students went on a scavenger hunt and proved to me that they could use the self-check machine. Actually, they showed me that they could not use it and that we should have done more practice runs in class. Ha!

Scavenger hunt

new library card

Hamdi can use the self-check.

at the information desk

Here is a wonderful collection of library dialogues for you to listen to.

Listen to this tour of a big library, then answer the questions.

Our Field Trip to Windsor Sculpture Park

Hello, students of the seniors' class!

photo - Legacy.com

Next week, weather permitting, we will take a field trip to Windsor Sculpture Park. This open-air art museum started life as Odette Sculpture Park, named after the generous benefactors who established the collection with commissioned and purchased works of sculpture, Louis and Patricia Odette and the L and P Odette Foundation.

I have created a little book to help us prepare for our adventure.

Watch this video about washing Tembo.

To continue with our study of articles, let Jennifer teach you about articles with geographical names.

When you finish, check out some of the links in the sidebar or watch more videos with Jennifer.

The First Europeans in Canada

Good morning, class!

If you choose to, you can watch this 30-minute documentary about L'Anse aux Meadows. Don't worry if you can't understand all the words. Just relax and watch. When you finish, ask me for the worksheet. I have five questions for you. Don't worry; I will tell you exactly where to find the answers.

Also here are some photos of the historic site as it is today.

This week we are learning about the first settlers in Canada and in this area. We know that the French settled Windsor first. This Thursday we will visit The Francois Baby House and Museum. We will study a bit about the foundation of Windsor and also a bit about the War of 1812 before we go. This may help us appreciate the historic site more.

Health Access Week

Hello, students!

This Tuesday is Health Access Day. Our bus trip to Fogolar Furlan Club fits in nicely with our current topic of nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections and staying safer in hospital.

If you would like me to make you an emergency info card for your wallet, you can enter your information in this survey. Don't worry. Once you hit SUBMIT at then end, nobody will be able to see the information but me. Only I have the password, and this blog is a secure website.

The link to the questionnaire is HERE.

If you would like to copy my template over to your own Google Drive, click THIS LINK.

To practice spelling and syntax with our words, log into Spelling City. Your assignment is waiting.

Otherwise, here are some links to activities that support our module on staying safer in hospital.

Explore these steps for avoiding hospital-acquired infections.

Study vocabulary with sound.

For level 6/7 students, here is a fascinating story on America's National Public Radio about the human microbiome.

You could also watch this TED Talk about the human microbiome with subtitles in your first language. In the picture below, you see how to turn on subtitles in many languages. Hover your mouse over the bottom toolbar to see the subtitles icon.

Rebecca, here is the audio file.

Where is Fogolar Furlan Club?

Since the government is boycotting Caboto Club (as am I, but don't tell my partner that), Health Access Day has been moved to Fogolar Furlan Club this year.

You have asked me to post the link to the map here on our classroom blog.

Voila!

https://goo.gl/maps/huckpsnCiR72

For those who love the city bus more than our school bus, here is the transit map.

link https://goo.gl/maps/XDSCbP4Ef8q

If you wish to play some language games with our vocabulary terms relating to Google Draw, log into Spelling City. I have an assignment waiting for you there.

Scroll down if you want to listen to article lessons from Jennifer. There are many other English sites in the sidebar.  -->

The English Articles System, Part 2: Indefinite or Definite?

Hello, students!

This week we began to talk about when to use the indefinite articles (a/an, some/0/any). It got a little confusing on Tuesday. We found out that we can use 'a' to make a generalization about a singular count noun.

A child should not be left alone all day.

We can also make a generalization with a non-count noun and with the plural form of a count noun by using no article at all!

Children should not be left alone all day.
Water is necessary for life.

I think that this lack of an article should not be confused with zero article that is interchangeable with "some" when we are talking about indefinite plural count nouns and non-count nouns. Perhaps we should give them different names.

Let's see if Jennifer can simplify things for us. She has a knack for explaining English. Enjoy your long Easter weekend!

The English Articles System - Part 1: Count or Non-count?

Hello, class!

You have requested a series of modules covering the English articles system. I would love to teach you this. It is a very deep and complex subject and will take a few weeks to explore. Even then, we won't have mastered every aspect of this topic. That's okay. We will have some very helpful rules of thumb that will help us out 90% of the time to determine which article to use. Another 5% will come from memorization of exceptions or specialized rules (a cold, the flu, geographic locations). The last 5% even native speakers do not always agree on. I hope you can be happy with less than 100% perfection since familiarization with article use is a lifelong journey.

We will start with the very basics: count nouns, non-count nouns, and nouns that can be both count and non-count, depending upon the intended meaning. Jennifer (English with Jennifer, JenniferESL on YouTube) has some wonderful videos on this topic to which I would like to direct your attention.

7 Things You Should Know about Uncountable Nouns

More Practice with Uncountable Nouns

The worksheets we'll be using during our first week or two can be downloaded from my website, www.kellymorrissey.com, under FREE - GRAMMAR.

Cheers!

The Rights and Responsibilities of a Citizen

Hello, students!

Here are this week's helpful links.

Discover Canada - Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship (with option to listen to chapter)

Settlement.org - What are my rights and responsibilities as a Canadian citizen?

Enable Flash and explore the virtual Charter in your language.

Here is Discover Canada in LARGE PRINT.

Steps to Justice

Refugee Rights in Ontario

YouTube has many videos about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

For our pronunciation topic, watch Rachel's English.

New Cohort, New Priorities

Hello, students of the seniors' class.

We have a new mix of students, and our recent needs assessment shows that we as a group have new priorities. The survey results show that the most popular topics were, in this order:

1.  The English articles system
2.  Canada and citizenship (rights and duties, anthem)
3.  Legal Aid
4.  How to use an ATM
5.  Hospital Safety

As for activities, I got a surprise! Eighty percent of you want to use iPads weekly. The majority of you want to go to the computer lab either weekly or now and then. What would you say to going to the lab (for one hour) on weeks when we have a Friday class and using the iPads during weeks when there will not be a Friday class?

We've said in the past that we all like field trips in good weather and we like occasional guest speakers, so I will continue with those. Let me know if you have ideas for places to visit. We have to limit these trips to places within walking distance unless everyone has a bus pass.

Cheers!

P.S. Here is a little clip that expands on what we were talking about in class regarding gun laws in the U.S.

Let's Get Cracking!

Enough dithering, let's tally the votes! Create your own user feedback survey.

Here is the link.