Super Duper Resolutions

Super Duper has made a few resolutions for 2015.

He's going to LOSE THE CAPE. 

He's going to STUDY REALLY HARD

 

He's going to EAT VEGETABLES. 

He's going to DO CHARITY.

He's going to remember to FEED HIS PETS.

He's going to STOP EATING so much sugar.

He's going to have the courage and GO TO THE DENTIST's. 

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Resolutions 2015

Ok, here we go again! It's time to think about our resolutions for 2015. Have you made your list yet? I usually don't bother, but I'm putting my foot down. I'm going to lose weight starting on Monday. My plan is to lose 11 pounds in the next 6 months. How about you? 

"I'm going to lose weight."

Ooops! It just dawned on me that I have two more resolutions for 2015 besides LOSING WEIGHT.  I have a thing that annoys me very much and sometimes causes me trouble. My mouth has a mind of its own. I don't think it's funny at all, therefore,  I'm going to watch it and AVOID BEING IMPULSIVE. I'm also going to learn SIGN LANGUAGE. There's no particular reason. I just think it's a beautiful thing to learn.

My Super Duper Family

Super Duper is a teenager and he lives with his parents, who are loving parents and who are always there for him.

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Elections 2014

Last october, Brazilians voted for president and unlike previous elections, this one was marked by  fearce and really nasty comments of the candidates about their opponents' character. Instead of talking about their platform, they attacked each other trying to make them look unreliable to the voters (which explains the opening remark in the video). Thus,  I took this opportunity to assign a project for my teen students. Since they were learning the first conditional, they were supposed to pretend they were running for president and create a political platform in which they stated what they would do in case they won. They were supposed to use the possible starters below:

1) If you vote for me, I will...
2) If I win this election, I will...
3) If I have your vote/ support, I will...
4) If you give me a chance, I will...

When they finished writing their platforms, I proofread them and provided them with comments and suggestions. After that, the students used the school's IPads to design a poster, in which they would draw a symbol for their campaign, think of an "imaginary" party/number and come up with a catch phrase. The drawing app they used was DRAWP because it's super user friendly.

Once their posters were done, we filmed their platforms. I projected their posters on the data show screen and they stood before it. The videos are time consuming, therefore, I suggest that you assign this project to only one group of few students. I had 8 students In this class.

To wrap things up, we had an election in school. We set up a room with the video on, a ballot and voting slips displayed on a desk. Everyone going past the room was invited to go inside, watch the video and vote for one of the candidates.

My students enjoyed the project very much and took it very seriously every step of the way. In the end, the winner got a token.

Idioms 4

Super Duper still has feelings for that girl Melissa. 

Everyday, he rehearses to ask her out but every time he gets close to her, he has BUTTERFLIES IN HIS STOMACH.

He got sick and tired of keeping it to himself so one day after lunch he GOT IT OFF HIS CHEST.

They started seeing each other and Super Duper is fascinated because they SEE EYE TO EYE on almost everything. 

They went out one day and Super Duper GOT A LUMP IN HIS THROAT when Melissa told him she didn't like his cape.

Super Duper's cape has been a reason for mocking among his friends. They are always PULLING HIS LEG.

He screams AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, so that they knock it off…

… and the next thing he knows they are AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS.

He GIVES them A COLD SHOULDER as well.

Eventually, the cape resulted in BAD BLOOD between Super Duper and Melissa, so they broke up.

At the end of the day, Super Duper realized he's better off alone. He'll KEEP HIS CHIN UP and LET HIS HAIR DOWN!

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Resolutions

My teen students learned how to talk about resolutions by using GOING TO. To wrap things up, they were asked to illustrate a song. I apologize for the rough sketches, but this particular group was not very into drawing. However, I haven't showed them the video yet, so I hope that when I do, they feel motivated to finish them up, so I can edit it eventually. Nevertheless, I wanted to give you an idea of what the video could look like, so here's the result:

 

February in Brazil

In Brazil, the number one holiday in February is Carnaval, which is deemed the largest collective party in the entire world. It´s a five-day holiday, that´s right, a five-day holiday in which people go away, relax and have fun. A traditional activity during this period is getting together to sing and dance. In different parts of Brazil, the musical style during carnaval ranges from regional folk music to the carioca samba.  " Foliões", which is how the people who participate in the celebration are called, either travel to the coast or go to Rio and Sao Paulo to see the samba schools´ parades. Each school presents a theme and parade accordingly and during the parade, a group of jurors analyse and grade every aspect of it, from the clothes they wear to the music they play. The parades officially start out in São Paulo on Friday and Saturday. The two parades take place in Anhembi and are broadcast live to all viewers. On Sunday and Monday, it´s Rio´s schools' turn to astonish the viewers with their costumes, props and ornamented cars. Sapucaí is the place chosen for such monumental event, which is also broadcast live to anyone who´s willing to see it. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the results come out and Rio and Sao Paulo´s winning schools celebrate their victory with the Winners´ Parade, also broadcast live. Every year, carnaval is held in February. However, this year it´s from March 1st to March 5th, which is pretty unusual. Still, brazilians love it because any reason is a reason to sing and dance, even when the date is not right.   

Super Duper Worth it

Boo hoo! Vacation is over and we're on our way back to Brazil. Although many people think traveling is more exhausting than relaxing, I think otherwise. Traveling and being able to meet different people  and see different places is totally worth it! It's worth the twelve-hour flight and other little inconveniences such as the freezing weather.  I'll have wonderful memories and stories to tell.


The activities below have as a final outcome 'writing about your last vacation'. 

Suggestions for Activities

What do they look like?

After my students learned how to describe themselves and their peers, we did a wrap up coloring activity. Each student was given a piece of brown paper, colored pencils and markers. First, they drew and colored themselves. After that, as they taped their drawings to the board, they described themselves using the structure learned, which is "I am… / I have….". During their description, make any necessary corrections in pronunciation. Then, they played a guessing game. I arranged them in two groups (boys X girls) and allowed them to practice the structure by referring to the drawings. For instance, a student from the boys' group said to a student in the girls' group "This student is.../has…, who is that?" After discussing with her team, if the girl answers the question correctly, the girls get the point. They take turns for awhile until they have practiced enough. The team with more points is the winner. Students can also ask "What does ____ look like?" (Make sure that they answer the questions by using "He is.../He has…")

 Optional: Tic Tac Toe

In case there are 9 students or more, tape their drawings on the board as in a tic tac toe grid (three columns of three drawings each). As students describe the drawings correctly, tape cut outs of Xs or Os on them. 

Happy New Year!!!

"The year is finally coming to an end and I'm super duper excited about the festivities tonight."

In Brazil, we celebrate New Year's by wearing white clothes and having a delicious meal at the strike of midnight. At midnight, we also gather to see the fireworks on the street and the fireworks the mainstream TV stations broadcast from different parts of the world. We stay up until the crack of dawn playing games, talking, drinking and eating a lot. The next day, we wake up very late and eat the left overs for lunch. 

Idioms 3

Super Duper is in love. He has his HEAD IN THE CLOUDS. He just can't concentrate in class or do his homework right. 

Her name is Melissa and she's from the United States. Super Duper is HEAD OVER HEELS!!!

Yeah…it's official. Super Duper definitely HAS A THING for that girl. You can tell he really FELL FOR her.

My Super Duper Friends

After practicing the use of the third person in the Simple Present, students are to draw and write about their best friend.


Just like any other teenager, Super Duper also has his gang. They hang out and have fun together. Let's meet them:

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Merry Christmas!!!

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Board Game Project

Despite all the technology available in the classrooms (iPads, data show equipment, computer labs, etc…) I still think that drawing, coloring and cutting out are fun. Also, the project below promotes collaboration/ cooperation among students. My Junior students were learning the affirmative, negative and interrogative forms of the verb THERE TO BE. After some significant practice and in order to wrap the lesson up, students were arranged in small groups (3 or 4 tops) and I assigned a different task for each member.

BOARD GAME

MATERIAL NEEDED: Brown paper, magazines, glue, markers, colored pencils and scissors.

FOCUS: Any Grammar Point or Vocabulary Practice.

Student A: Selects and cuts out pictures from the magazines.
Student B: Draws and colors a START/FINISH track on the brown paper.
Student C: Creates the tasks to be performed in the game. (Assisted by the teacher/peers.)
Student D: Pastes the cut outs. (In case the group has three students, student A selects, cuts out and pastes the pictures.)

Possible tasks to be performed when playing the game:

1) Fill in a blank:

(For instance, in one of the squares, you see the picture of a cat on the couch and you read:  Is there a cat on the couch? Yes, ________. Or: ____________a cat on the couch? Yes, there is.)

2) Answer a question:

What is there in the picture?________________________. 
Are there any cars in the picture?__________________________.

3) Ask a question:

__________________________? Yes, there is.
________________________? No, there aren´t.

4) Correct the mistake.

There is three children in the picture.
There is a dog in the picture?

The teacher has to make sure (and students should be told that) that during the entire time that they are performing their tasks, they should discuss every decision they make with their peers and collaborate with each other whenever necessary. After they finish making the game, they play it.

In the end, the teacher can have the board games laminated for future classes.

A Special Present

issuu.com/cleidoca/docs/meu_pai_-_meu_melhor_que_amigo?e=1893448/5983295

My dear friend Fernanda Barboza asked me to make a set of drawings to celebrate her daughter's  birthday. In the set, we could see the trajectory of the lives of Luisa and her dad. It was hard work because it took me long hours but I made it. I don't want to brag but the result was beautiful.

We started dating.

He couldn't have children.

The shock: I got pregnant! 

We got married.

Luisa was born on September 7th.

He trembled with the baby in his arms.

She learned to say DADDY when she was one.

They became best pals.

He picked her up at school.

They played together.

They traveled to Brasília alone.

They've been to Itiquira.

When she was four, we moved to Brasília and she missed her dad.

Daddy came to Brasília. What a joy!

She turned seven.

In 2011, they became scouts.

Getting Ready For Christmas: A Family Night

I celebrate Christmas with my parents. It's great to be together on such night because it's a family night in which we exchange gifts and have a delicious meal. We say a prayer, sing Christmas songs and eat  when the clock strikes midnight. We talk, play games and then we go to bed very late. It's so great because the next day we can stay in bed and relax. Because we get up late, we eat the previous night´s left overs. I love Christmas!!!!

Getting Ready For Christmas: Cooking a Feast

In Brazil, we usually have a feast that is prepared throughout the day and served at eleven o'clock p.m. However, some families wait until midnight, so they can eat. Turkey is a must on Christmas night. Traditionally, we also have "farofa" (toasted manioc flour), rice and potato salad. 

MENU FOR CHRISTMAS NIGHT:

STARTER: 

A Cold Buffet & Shrimp Cocktail

MAIN COURSE: 

Roast Turkey with Gravy & Rice with Raisins

SIDE DISHES: 

Farofa & Potato Salad

DESSERT: 

Milk Pudding