ESL Intermediate Low at Pacoima Skills Center

Safety at Home Assignment

2009-03-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

What do you think of this picture of a man riding a motorcycle with his children?
Do you think this picture was taken in the United States? Why or why not? Do you think this could happen in your home country?
Send me an email message with your answer!

What is on the bee's back?

2008-07-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

This is a real picture of a real bee. There is something on its back. Discuss the picture with other students at your table. Try to think of answers for the following questions:

What is the object on the bee's back?

What is the purpose of the object on the bee's back?

Be prepared to discuss your answers with the rest of the class!

Cell Phones and Driving: New Laws in California!

2008-06-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

Do you know about the two new laws that deal with the use of wireless telephones (cell phones) that will go into effect July 1, 2008? It's important to know the new laws, especially if you have teenagers under the age of 18 who drive. The California Highway Patrol has information about the new laws at http://www.chp.ca.gov/pdf/media/cell_phone_faq.pdf Read the information about the two new laws and decide if the statements are TRUE or FALSE. If they are TRUE, write TRUE. If they are FALSE, explain WHY they are FALSE.

1) No one can use any wireless telephone or cell phone in a car anymore.

2) Drivers who are 18 years old or older can use a wireless telephone or cell phone while they are driving if they use a "hands-free" device.

3) Drivers who are younger than 18 are prohibited from using a wireless telephone even if they use a "hands-free" device or speaker phone except in the case of an emergency.

4) A law enforcement officer can pull you over if he or she sees you using a handheld wireless phone (no "hands-free" device).

5) A driver can use a handheld wireless telephone to make emergency calls to a law enforcement agency, a medical provider, the fire department, or other emergency services agency.

6) The total amount that you will pay for your first offense is $20.

7) A driver who is 18 years old or over can dial their handheld wireless phone while driving, as long as they don't talk on it.

8) The new law prohibits (makes it illegal) for drivers who are 18 years old and over to "text message" while driving.

9) You can drive and use a "hands-free" wireless phone if you wear a headset or earpiece that covers both your ears so you can hear well.

10)Older drivers are more likely to be involved in crashes than teen drivers because they can't see as well and they have slower reaction times.

Trying out MyStudyio.com

2008-04-24T12:00:00.000-07:00

Try out this quiz about Xinrong!

Beijing and Shenandoah

Comparing Shenandoah and Beijing

2008-04-21T07:49:00.000-07:00

The first two pictures on the left are of Shendandoah. The last two pictures on the bottom are of Beijing.

We have started to read Xinrong's story. In the first part of the story, we learned that Xinrong (Cindy) moved to Shenandoah, Iowa from Beijing, China. Look at the pictures of Shenandoah and Beijing and then some websites about the two cities by clicking on the link below.

The official website for the Beijing Olympics: http://en.beijing2008.cn/spectators/beijing/

An article about recent political unrest in Tibet and China.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-03-27-voa8.cfm

The official website for Shenandoah
http://www.simplyshenandoah.com/

Use the websites to help you write your paragraph comparing Shendandoah and Beijing.

Photos from New York City

2008-04-03T10:32:00.000-07:00

The first photo is of me participating in a workshop and learning more activities for you to do when I get back! The last few photos are from the famous Times Square of New York City.

Simple Past Affirmative Questions!

2008-01-31T07:35:00.000-08:00

Look at the pictures. Write simple past affirmative questions about the pictures in an email to ANOTHER STUDENT IN THE CLASS (not me). The other student will answer your questions and send the answers back to you AND to me (bbakin@gaggle.net) You should have at least one question from each of the four types of questions you learned about in class: Affirmative Question Action Verb, Affirmative Question To Be Noun Phrase, Affirmative Question To Be Adjective Phrase, and Affirmative Question To Be Prepositional Phrase.

Vocabulary hint: A "scaffold" is a platform that workers stand on. Most stand on the ground and go up. Some are suspended (hang) from the top of a building. You can see read a story and see pictures of another "window washer" at work at http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/08/13/BU53607.DTL
(Click on the small pictures to enlarge them)

Write Simple Past Declarations (Action Verb and To Be; Affirmative and Negative) about the picture

2008-01-16T08:09:00.000-08:00

ASSIGNMENT 1)
Look at the picture and write sentences about what happened.
Write simple past affirmative declarations about this picture. Answer the following questions about the picture and send them to me in an email message or as a Word document on your USB flash drive. You can also write them in your notebook and show them to me.

1) What did the driver do before the police officer stopped him? (Why did the police officer stop the driver?) He drove fast. (simple past affirmative declaration action verb)

2) What did the police officer do after he stopped the driver?

3) Where was the driver of the car?

4) Where was the police officer when he was talking to the driver?

5) How did the driver feel after he received the ticket? (Start your sentence with "He was...")

6) Was it day or night when the Police Officer stopped the driver?

The Twenty "Worst" Foods in American Restaurants!

2007-12-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

Look at the list of twenty “worst” foods at American restaurants. What makes them bad for you? Were you surprised by any of the foods on the list? What do you think about choosing these foods? Do you think you would pick these foods now that you know about the fat and calories in them?

Read the list at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/21838237/?GT1=10547&pg=21#TDY_20WorstFoods

Can this happen to you?

2007-11-21T16:15:00.000-08:00

Watch this video about a professor who researches what people think about the food they eat. In this case, he is asking them about the number of calories they think the food they are eating has. He's at a Subway restaurant and the people have all chosen a combination that includes a 12" sandwich with a drink and potato chips.

How many calories do the people guess the meal has?

How many calories does it actually have?

What have YOU learned in Mr. Bakin's class that would have helped you answer the question about the calories in the meal correctly?

What do you think will happen when...?

2007-10-04T08:09:00.001-07:00

Write sentences about the pictures using future time clauses with "when". Write at least one sentence using "will" and one sentence using "be + going to" for each picture. Send your sentences to me using email or by using Word and saving them on your flash drive.

What happened?

2007-09-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

ASSIGNMENT 1)
Look at the picture and write sentences about what happened.
Write simple past affirmative declarations about this picture. Answer the following questions about the picture and send them to me in an email message or as a Word document. You can also write them in your notebook and show them to me.

1) What did the driver do before the police officer stopped him? (Why did the police officer stop the driver?)

2) What did the police officer do after he stopped the driver?

3) Where was the driver of the car?

4) Where was the police officer when he was talking to the driver?

5) How did the driver feel after he received the ticket?

ASSIGNMENT 2)
Look at the picture. Write questions about the picture using Simple Past Tense.
Write one question using an action verb and three questions using "to be" like we did in class. Write your questions on a piece of paper and give them to another student to answer. Bring the questions and the answers to me. Write your name and the name of the student who wrote the answers on the paper.

Learn more about Gandhi

2007-09-06T11:02:00.000-07:00

This month's Easy English Times featured a quote from Gandhi about non-violence. Some students did not know who Gandhi was. Who was Gandhi?

Gandhi’s complete name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. He is also known as Mahatma Gandhi. He was born in 1869 in India and got married when he was 13 years old to a girl who was also 13 years old. Her name was Kasturba Makhanji. When Gandhi was 18, he went to college and became a lawyer. Gandhi became famous throughout the world when he became a leader in the Indian movement to gain independence from England. He believed in non-violence and taught his supporters to work for freedom using non-violent methods. Gandhi was assassinated (killed for political reasons) in 1948.

Read more about Gandhi and see more photographs from his life at http://www.mkgandhi.org/ (The photo you see above is from this collection of photos.)

You can see a very short video of Gandhi and listen to him speak at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8335892845268297097

Child Labor in the United States before Child Labor Laws

2007-08-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

The reading passage on page 91 of our textbook discussed teenage workers and safety. Did you know that at one time in the United States, many young teenagers and very young children worked in very dangerous factories and jobs? Here's a picture of a factory in Georgia in 1909. You can see many pictures that were taken by the same photographer (Lewis Hine) from all over the United States at http://www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/index.html

Click on the small pictures to make them larger. Use the "back arrow" to go back to the list of photos.

You can see more pictures taken during the 1930s and 1940s by the U.S. Farm Security Administration at http://www.uncfsu.edu/tlc/stolen_childhoods.htm
Click on "Farm Security Administration Photos."

Look at all of the pictures and read the explanations. List the different types of jobs where children worked. Remember the stories of Maria Cardenas and of Juan Angel and how they started working when they were children. Do you think that it's a good idea for children to work when they are very young? How old do you think children should be before they start to work? Do you think it's ok for older teenagers to work? Did you work when you were a young child? Did you work when you were a teenager? Do you have any teenagers in your family that work? What do they do?

What do you think this is?

2007-08-01T15:38:00.001-07:00

Send me an email with your idea! After I get your idea. I will show you what it is!

Improving your English: Another Teacher's Ideas

2007-07-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

Dave Kees is an ESL teacher in China. In this podcast (listening selection on the Internet), he talks about some ideas about learning English. He talks about research in language learning done by a linguist (a scientist who studies language) named Steven Krashen. He speaks slowly and uses simple language.

Listen to his speech. It's only 10 minutes long. What do you think about his ideas and the ideas of Steven Krashen for learning a language? Did you think that the speech was too easy or too difficult for you? What happened to Lisa? What does Dave Kees think about what happened to Lisa?

Listen to the podcast by clicking here! http://www.gcast.com/user/davekees/podcast/main. The one I want you to listen to is titled "For Students - Understandable Input & Story of Lisa" It's at the bottom of the list.

NOTE: When you first click on the link, you'll hear someone talking. That's Dave Kees, but it's not the selection I want you to listen to yet. Click on the "PAUSE" button and scroll down to the story at the bottom of the list. Click on the green arrow to listen.

When you grow rice, you can create art!

2007-07-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

Farmers in Japan have found that they can create huge works of art as they grow rice. Not all rice plants have the same color leaves. Some rice plants have dark green leaves. Other varieties have purple or yellow leaves. By planting the seeds in a pattern, farmers can create art that you see when the plants grow.

See examples of the art at http://www.pinktentacle.com/2007/07/pimp-my-rice-paddy/

See a sequence of photos that show how the rice grows over a period of time.

http://www.vill.inakadate.aomori.jp/ricecroptour/html/ricecroptour_progress_h18.html

What do you think about this art? Do you like it? Have you ever seen art like this before? Have you ever seen photos of art like this using other crops? Send me your answers in an email or as a word document!

Learn about a hazardous product

2007-07-20T15:53:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately, many products that are sold in the United States (and in other countries too of course) can be dangerous to both adults and children. Sometimes, they're inherently dangerous. That means that by their very nature they're dangerous. For example, guns, knifes, electrical saws, gas stoves, and cigarettes are dangerous or potentially harmful at all times and you must be careful how you use them and where you keep them.

Some products are dangerous if you use them in the wrong way. For example, the Purell sanitizer lotion in the classroom is a product that is meant to kill germs, but if it swallowed by a child in even small amounts it can be very dangerous since it contains about 62% alchohol! (See http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/sanitizer.asp for more information about this)

Other products are dangerous because of the way they were made or some part of them is dangerous. A toy, for example, can have a small piece that a child can swallow and choke on. One government agency that helps warn the public about dangerous products is the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission can also tell manufacturers that they need to recall a dangerous product. When a manufacturer recalls a product, they stop selling that product and they tell everyone who ever purchased it to return it to the store and get there money back, or they give them instructions on how to get the product fixed. Read about one product that was just recalled this week at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07237.html and answer the questions below. Send Mr. Bakin your answers in an email message or as a document on your USB flash drive.

What is the product that is being recalled?
What is the part of the product that is dangerous?
What can happen to the product?
Has anybody been hurt by this product?
What should you do if you bought this product?
Define these words (Tell me what they mean): counterfeit, overheat, rupture.

Find more products that have been recalled because they are dangerous at the Consumer Product Safety Commission website by clicking on the "Recalls and Product Safety News" link.

Click on these links to read more information about a very dangerous crib (bed for children) and a very dangerous popular toy.

Learn about the nutritional content of food at different fast food restaurants

2007-07-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

We have been learning about health issues in the current unit in the textbook. One health issue is good nutrition. We have compared labels on the packages of different foods to see which food has more calories, more fat, more sugar and more salt. What about food that you buy at different fast food restaurants? You can also find out information about those foods too. One way to find out is to go to each restaurant and ask for the information. You can get a pamphlet or brochure in the restaurant that lists the calories and other nutritional information for everything that is sold in the restaurant. Another way to find out is to visit the website for that restaurant. Here are the websites of three popular fast food restaurants. Go to each website and find out about the foods that you can buy! Compare the nutritional content of your favorite foods!

McDonald’s http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat.html
Click on the nutrition FAQ – Does McDonald’s think that it’s food can be part of a healthy diet? What do you think?
Click on “Bag a McMeal”- Choose items and see how many calories and how much fat you will be eating!

Subway http://www.subway.com Click on Menu/Nutrition – How many calories are in your favorite sandwich? Don’t forget to add in other items like cheese, dressings, drinks and potato chips!

Taco Bell http://www.tacobell.com/ Click on Nutrition Guide – Use the Nutrition Calculator to find out about your favorite menu items.

Choose one restaurant and pick your favorite meal. Use the website for that restaurant to find out how many calories your meal contains. How much fat does your meal contain? How much sugar and salt? Send your meal and the nutritional information to me in an email or save it on your USB flash drive!

Welcome Back!

2007-07-05T08:02:00.001-07:00

I hope that you had a nice 4th of July holiday break!

Listen to a story about immigration to a small town in the U.S.A.

2007-07-03T08:40:00.001-07:00

Listen to a story about Hispanic immigration to a small town in Illinois. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11688844 (Click on "Listen")

Click here to see where Beardstown is.

Click here to see a closeup photo of the region. Can you tell that Beardstown is located in a rural area?

See photos from Beardstown. Some are quite old! See some more recent photos here. (Scroll down the page to see the photos)

What do you think about this story? Do you know anyone who has moved to small towns in other parts of the United States? Would you like to live in a small town like Beardstown, Illinois? Would it be more or less expensive to live there? Would you or your husband or wife be able to find a job there? Do you think it would be a good place for children? Compare life in Beardstown to life in Pacoima!

Send me your answer in an email or save it as a Word document and give it to me on your USB flash drive.

Listen to Mr. Bakin read Juan Angel's story!

2007-06-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

I've created a new webpage where you can listen to me reading Juan Angel's story paragraph-by-paragraph. Click here to go to the webpage.

The world's smallest scissors!

2007-06-27T16:21:00.001-07:00

Read this article about the world's smallest scissors! How small are they? How do they work? Find examples of comparatives and superlatives in the story. Send your answers to me using Gaggle.net or as a word document saved on your USB flash drive.

Click here to read the story about the world's smallest scissors.

Compare Shenandoah, Iowa and Beijing, China!!!

2007-06-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

We have started to read Xinrong's story. In the first part of the story, we learned that Xinrong (Cindy) moved to Shenandoah, Iowa from Beijing, China. Look at some websites about Shenandoah and Beijing by clicking on the link below. Write a paragraph comparing the two cities. Make sure you use comparatives AND the "not as ________as" form in your response. You can send me your response using email or save it as a Word Document on your USB flash drive.

Websites about Shenandoah and Beijing

Shenandoah, Iowa and Beijing China

2007-06-22T15:39:00.000-07:00

The first two photos are of Shenandoah. The last two photos are of Beijing.

Don't forget to do the assignments on THIS page!

2007-06-22T07:44:00.001-07:00

There are assignments on this page! As you scroll down, you'll see photos and directions. Look at the photos and follow the directions! Send your responses to me using Gaggle or save your answers as a Word document and give them to me on your USB flash drive.

Simple Past Tense Affirmative Declaration Review!

2007-06-18T12:04:00.001-07:00

Look at the photos above. They were taken by Michael Corral and Mike Meadows in May of 2007 and posted on the LAFD "photostream" on flicker
Write several sentences about the photos using Simple Past Tense Affirmative Declarations! (Use both action verbs and the verb "to be") Write your sentences using Word and save them on your USB Flash drive to turn in to me, or send them to me using your Gaggle email!

A new project! - "One Word Poem"

2007-06-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

A new project was introduced this past Friday. It's called "One Word Poem". In this project, you associate an image with a word that is related to the image. You can see one example above and more examples on the wall in the classroom or at http://esl.adultinstruction.org/One_word_poems.htm.

Don't forget about the first two projects!

Project One: About Me Story
Project Two: Past Tense Sentences using "When"

Remember to check your email regularly!

First Assignment - Write a paragraph about this picture

2005-09-06T14:35:00.000-07:00

Write a paragraph about this picture. You can write it in your notebook, on the computer as a word document, or on your blog if you have one.

Write about the location. Write about what the different people in the picture are doing. Write about what they usually do. Write about what they will do later.

If you write the paragraph in your notebook, bring it to Mr. Bakin to be corrected. If you write it as a word document, save it on your floppy disk and bring it to Mr. Bakin to be printed. If you write it on your blog post a comment here on this blog when you have finished.