Orkhon Spelling Bee: Congratulations to the Winners

Today, we had our spelling bee.  I just want to tell everyone that I think absolutely everyone who participated did an awesome job, and I want to give a special congratulations to our winners.  And the winners are:


For grades 7a, 8b, and 8a:

Left-Right: Yanjka (2), Onon (1), Ariuna (3)

Congratulations Onon for getting first place!

Congratulations Yanjka for getting second place!

Congratulations Ariuna for getting third place!

For grades 9, 10, 11:

Left-Right: Khany (2), Urnaa (1), Beegii (3)

Congratulations Urnaa for getting first place!

 

 Congratulations Khany for getting second place!

Congratulations Beegii for getting third place! (and I'm so sorry for spelling your name wrong on your certificate!)

 

For more photos from the spelling bee and from the 80s musical chairs that followed (and from yesterday's line dancing extravaganza), see the new slideshows on the right-side bar.  

Also, as I mentioned yesterday, there are many different line dances, and there are even variations (different ways to do the same dance) among dances.  You can follow this link to see a line dance that some people did at a wedding reception, and you can follow this other link to see an instructional video about how to do another line dance..

Culture Corner: November 11th in Canada and Korea

Today is November 11th.  November 11th is a special day in both Canada and Korea, but for different reasons.

In Canada, November 11th is Remembrance Day.  People wear red poppies on their lapels and gather together at 11:00am on November 11th to remember all the Canadian soldiers who have died in various wars.

In Korea, November 11th is Pepero Day.  I heard once that it is called Pepero Day because another way to write "November 11th" is "11.11", which looks like a bunch of Pepero sticks.  Stores make big fancy displays out of boxes of Pepero, and people give many boxes of Pepero to their loved ones and to their teachers,

Thursday, 04 November, 2010: B2 Class

In this lesson, we talked about the TV show, "The Wallace Family", and we talked about some difficult words in the book:

screen --> the glass part of the TV that the picture shows up on
both --> two people (or things) together
most people --> almost everybody
of course --> definitely, obviously
patch --> like a spot
episode --> 1 TV show in a series of TV shows
lots more -->  a lot more
clever --> smart

Thursday, 04 November, 2010: B1 Class

In this lesson, we reviewed the article "School of the Air", and then we talked about some vocabulary to introduce the article about Beethove on page 14.

calm -->  free from excitement; tranquil; still or nearly still
lonely --> a depressing feeling of being alone
pessimistic --> gloomy; thinking the worst will happen
cheerful --> happy
depressed --> extremely sad
angry --> mad
sad --> unhappy
confused --> perplexed or bewildered; not know what is happening
joyful --> happy, full of joy
optimistic --> take a favourable view of events; expect good things to happen
upset --> to disturb mentally or emotionally; perturb
excited --> emotionally stirred, agitated
heroic --> something a hero does

At the end of class, we played charades using these vocabulary words, which I thought was a lot of fun.

Thursday, 04 November, 2010: A1 Class

At the beginning of class, I tried to check your homework, and discovered that not a single person had done it, which is actually fine, since this term, I'm starting to give you grades, and part of your grade will be a homework grade, so if you don't do your homework, it's actually not my problem; it's yours.

Then, we talked a little about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  He is a Scottish author who wrote Sherlock Holmes.  Then, we read a part of "Scandal in Bohemia" and talked about some of the vocabulary:

lined with -->  the material on the inside of your jacket, pants, etc (so, we can say "lined with silk", or "lined with faux fur", etc)
flame-coloured --> a very intense red
richness --> having wealth or great possessions; of great value or worth
limbs -->arms and legs
barbaric --> the quality of being a barbarian; not civil
barbarian --> a person who is not civil (remember Marie's story about the Ancient Greeks and how they didn't understand what their enemies were saying because it all sounded like "bar bar bar" to them, so they called them "the people who say 'barbar'", which is how we got out word "barbarian")
barbaric richness --> crudely rich, over-the top, too much
hid --> from "hide, hid, hidden"
over the top --> too much
straighten --> straight (Adj) + en = straighten (V), to make straight
aristocrat --> noble person, like royalty
nod -->  move your head up and down to show assent
identify --> figure out what something is
remark --> say
pace --> walk back and forth as you think about a problem
sprang --> from "spring, sprang, sprung", to jump up quickly
indeed --> certainly, in fact, for certain, definitely
your majesty --> the way to address a king or queen

Double Breasted (1)

Double Breasted (2)

Fur-lined

Collar

Cuffs

Cloak (1)

Cloak (2)

Don't forget your homework!
You don't exactly have any homework, today, but I don want you to take a look at the post titled "Conversation Topics: Clothes and Character", before class on Saturday.

Thursday, 04 November, 2010: A2 Class

In this lesson, we reviewed the article "School of the Air", and then we talked about some vocabulary to introduce the article about Beethove on page 14.

calm -->  free from excitement; tranquil; still or nearly still
lonely --> a depressing feeling of being alone
pessimistic --> gloomy; thinking the worst will happen
cheerful --> happy
depressed --> extremely sad
angry --> mad
sad --> unhappy
confused --> perplexed or bewildered; not know what is happening
joyful --> happy, full of joy
optimistic --> take a favourable view of events; expect good things to happen
upset --> to disturb mentally or emotionally; perturb
excited --> emotionally stirred, agitated
heroic --> something a hero does


Don't forget your homework!
Using three of the vocabulary words from today, write three sentences. (Due on Saturday)

Wednesday, 03 November, 2010: A2 Class

In this lesson, we read and talked about the article "School of the Air".

air --> what is all around us, what we breathe, what we need to live
the air -->the radio.  Invisible radio waves travel through air to your radio so you can hear the news and music.
You are on the air.  -> You are on the radio.

Then, we made a word web.  We brainstormed all the words we could think of that had to do with school:

SCHOOL: quiz / think / IQ / computer / cafeteria / book / notebooks / lessons / pens / pencils / eraser / bag / backpack / ruler / homework / listen / teacher / weekends / write / students / exercise / school days / tests / learn / time / secrets / security / tables / desks / toilets / gym / janitors / class / flowers / lesson planning

Finally, we read the article "School of the Air", and talked about some difficult vocabulary:


resources --> a source of supply or aid to help you accomplish something (resources include things like a computer, the internet, books, pens, pencils, paper, people, etc)
prepare --> get ready for something.  Teachers prepare lessons.  Students prepare for a test.
communicate --> talk with someone through talking, writing, etc.
fax --> like a big telephone that allows you to send documents (letters)
isolated --> very remote; far from other people.
attend --> go to
each --> every
nearest --> closest
area --> a big space of land, possibly like an aimag
kind --> type
private --> individual, personal, not public
provide --> give

We also learned the expression "I have a bone to pick with you."  If I say this to you, it means that I'm going to pick a little fight with you because something you have done troubles me.  In this instance, my bone which I have to pick with you involves the fact that nobody does their homework for my class.  However, since starting next term, I will be giving grades for my English class, and since part of your grade will be based on your homework, the fact that you don't do my homework is no longer my problem, it's yours.  Good day.

Wednesday, 03 November, 2010: A3 Class

In this lesson, we read about a TV show called "The Wallace Family".  We talked about some vocabulary wordsand we practiced some reading comprehension.  Then, we did a speaking exercise in partners.


Don't forget your homework!
Write a description of your family.  Write at least five (5) sentences.

Wednesday, 03 November, 2010: C1 Class

In this lesson, we talked about three unusual pets, we did a listening exercise, we practiced asking questions and answering in complete sentences and we practiced describing pets (what they look like, what they eat, where they live, etc).


Vocabulary:

Iguana

Glass Cage

Hedgehog

Spikes

Tarantula

Hairy Legs

Sand

Caterpillar

Worm

Tortoise

We practiced asking and answering some questions:

Whose pet is Harriet?  Harriet is Maggie's pet.
Who's got a pet iguana?  Kamal has a pet iguana.
Where does Harriet live?  Harriet lives in a box in the garden.
etc

Then, we practiced describing the pets and what they eat:

Iggy the iguana has a long green body, short legs, a small head, and a long tail.  Iggy eats leaves and fruit.
Harriet the hedgehog has a small round body with spikes on it, and white hair on her stomach.  Harriet eats worms and caterpillars.
Terry the tarantula has eight long hairly legs and eight eyes.  He eats insects.

Wednesday, 03 November, 2010: C2 Class

In this lesson, we learned some vocabulary:

Stove

Sink

Drawer

Wardrobe

Upstairs

Downstairs

Wall

Dining Room

Then, we practiced some grammar.  We learned subject pronouns, object pronouns, possessive adjectives, and possessive pronouns.  The subject pronoun goes before the verb, and the object pronoun goes after the verb:

I saw John. / John saw me.
You saw John. / John saw you.
He saw John. / John saw him.
She saw John. / John saw her.
It saw John. / John saw it.
We saw John. / John saw us.
They saw John. / John saw them.

Here are the possessive adjectives and the possessive pronouns:

That's my house.  It's mine.
That's your house  It's yours.
That's his house.  It's his.
That's her house.  It's hers.
That's its house.
That's our house.  It's ours.
That's their house.  It's theirs.

Tuesday, 02 November, 2010: Grades 2 and 3

In this lesson, we reviewed our ABCs and the sounds that each letter makes.  Then, we reviewed three-letter words that have the short /o/ sound and we practiced some dictation of some /o/-words:


god / hot / job / jot / got / lox / mob / mop / rot / sod / yop


For the last ten minutes of class, we started to practice words that have the short /u/ sound:


bud / cud / dub / gut

Tuesday, 02 November, 2010: C3 Class

In this lesson, we reviewed how to show that something belongs to someone:

It's Wendy's ball.
It's Oscar's umbrella.
It's Lin's hat.
etc.

We also learned how to answer the question: "Whose is this?":

It's Marie's.
It's John's.
It's Blake's.

Then, we had some fun with tongue twisters.  We practiced the tongue twister which was in our book and I taught the class the first two lines of "Peter Piper":

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
A peck of pickled peppers, Peter Piper picked.

At the end of class, we moved on and talked about some new vocabulary:

Bathroom

Bedroom

Dollhouse

Garden

Kitchen

Living room

Bathtub

Bed

Doll

Swing

Chair

Bookcase

 

 

At the very end of the lesson, we talked about some colour words:

brown

red

yellow

pink

blue

green

white

black