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Ritsumeikan Core Class

Welcome to the Ritsumeikan Core Class!

 

 

ETAW = English The American Way.

handout = photocopy

pp. = pages

 

Here are the homework assignments:

 

Friday, March 7:

Be ready to do a class performance of your chosen song on Friday.

 

Thursday, March 6:

Finish working on the posters about Japanese and English, and bring them to CELOP.

Class visit to the State House–leaving CELOP at 9:45 AM

 

Wednesday, March 5:

Journal entry:  Write about any aspect of Japanese culture that you choose–something that you would like to share information about (1/2-2 pages).  I am looking forward to learning more about Japan in your journals.

No additional homework.

Don’t stay up too late since the ITP/PBT TOEFL will be on Wednesday morning.

Meet in Fuller 133 for the PBT TOEFL, at 9;00 AM.

 

Tuesday, March 4:

1) Listen to Bruno Mars’ “Talking to the Moon,” and think about how it is similar to or different from Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I love You.”

2) ETAW:  Read pp. 201-210–“Gadgets Central.”

 

Monday, March 3:

1) Be ready to give your capstone project oral presentation:  5-10 minutes long, with a question-and-answer period afterwards.  Practice it!  Use a mirror if you need to.  Speak clearly and loudly enough, with a lot of eye contact with the audience.

2) Read pp. 81-90 in ETAW.
3) Think and talk with classmates about what kind of performance you would like to do on Friday, March 7.

 

 

Friday, Feb. 28:

1) Be prepared to turn in your final draft of the capstone summary, and email it as an attachment to your teacher.  It must be typed, double-spaced, with a word count of 175-200 words.  

2) Review for another quiz on these areas–20-30 questions.

For A-C, refer to the detailed list of things below to study for the quiz under the assignment for Monday, Feb. 24.

a) phrasal verbs using two and three-word verbs (handout)

b) vocabulary  from ETAW

c) 13 sites on the Freedom Trail.

d) New:  Classroom idioms (yellow page)

3) Prepare a 1-3 speech about being a famous person (I, my, …).

Refer to the emailed attachment for details that has been emailed to you.

 

For Thursday, Feb. 27:

1) Capstone Project:  Turn in your PPT slides for your capstone project presentation.

2) Choose about a famous person you would to “be” or “become” for a presentation–speaking from the first person perspective (I, me, myself).

3) Grammar–Do the grammar exercises on the gold sheet:

a) correct the mistakes

b) make questions matching the answers

 

 For Wednesday, Feb. 26:

1) Be ready to give your news team reports–30 seconds to 2 minutes per person.  Practice your part of the report.

Be sure to segué smoothly to the next reporter, for example:   “And now X (name) is going to give us the sports report…”

or:    “And now we’re going to hear from Y (name) about local news.”

2) Keep working on your capstone project:

a) revising the written summary

b) creating your PowerPoint slides

3) Journal entry–Using the second page of the handout on “evaluating commercials,” write a journal entry about some of the commercials.  You might want to compare Japanese commercials with your favorite ones that you viewed on Monday.  The questions on the second page are only suggestions, but you are not required to answer all of them.

4) Classroom Bingo–Find out the meanings of the 25 idioms on the yellow board (paper).  You can work with classmates and may ask a native  English speaker (except for me) if you need help.

 

For Tuesday, Feb. 25:

1) In ETAW:  Read pp. 41-50

Listen to dialogs #1 (pp. 42) and #2 (p. 45), and check the vocabulary after each one.

2) News teams:

Assigned groups:  Start preparing your news team report for Wednesday, Feb. 26.

Each student will be talking about a different aspect of the news:

For example:  international, national, local (Boston or Kyoto), sports, the arts (music,

theater, dance, art)

Your team can choose to do all true news or all unreal (fantasy) news.

Each student should plan on talking for about 30 seconds to 2 minutes long.

 

For Mon., Feb. 24:

1) Prepare for a quiz by studying the following:

a) The (white) handout about phrasal verbs (3 pages)

Make a list of all of the 2- and 3-word verbs and their meanings.

b) In ETAW:

Review the conversations, vocabulary, and grammar:  p. 29-39

Go over the vocabulary:  pp. 163-164;

Look over the phrasal verbs on pp. 173-174

c) The green handout on the Freedom Trail:  Review the basic content  — #1 – 13.

d) See below about the Freedom Trail:

 

Also, be sure that you know at least three facts about each of the 13 historic Freedom Trail sites that we talked about, including some information from the city tour.
Check this website:
ttp://www.aviewoncities.com/boston/freedomtrail.htm
Click on “Boston Common,” “Massachusetts State House,” “Old State House,” “Old South Meeting House,” and “Faneuil Hall” to learn more about them.
Another website that is a source of information on the Freedom Trail:
Freedom Trail Sites on the Quiz:
 
Boston Common
Mass. State House (the newer one)
Park St Church
Old Granary Burial Ground
King’s Chapel and Burying Ground–What was the first burial ground in Boston?
First Public School Site and Ben Franklin Statue
Former Site of the Old Corner Bookstore
Old South Meeting House
Old State House
Boston Massacre Site
Faneuil Hall
Paul Revere House
Old North Church
Be sure that you know answers to the following:
1) What is the oldest park in the U.S.?
2) What building was called “the cradle of liberty” in the U.S., where did many of the patriots meet to talk about taxation without representation under British rule (the British Empire), and where did Samuel Adams advocate to other patriots a revolution against British oppression?
3) Where was the Declaration of Independence first read to Bostonians on July 18, 1776?
4) Where and when did abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison give one of his first speeches against slavery?
5) Where are some of the most famous New England patriots like John Hancock and Samuel Adams buried?
6) Where and when did a terrible event that caused the deaths of several protesters and that helped lead to the American Revolution happen?
7) What was the first burial ground in Boston, and what did the British establish as a well-known church in Boston?
8) What place shows where the first public school in Boston (Boston Latin School) was located, when was the school opened, and who was one world-famous American patriot who attended it who dropped out before graduation?
9)  What famous person lived in the oldest house in downtown Boston, what was his main job, and what was he most well known for doing?
10) How many lanterns were hung in the belfry of the Old North Church, and what did they mean with regard to the method of attack by the British on patriot colonial leaders?
11) Who built the “new” Mass. State House and when?
12) In what building did patriots plan the Boston Tea Party as a protest against the British tax on tea?
13) What place was a publishing house for some of the most celebrated authors of the 19th century, like Nathaniel Hawthorne (The Scarlet Letter) and Henry David Thoreau (Walden), as well as the literary magazine The Atlantic Monthly?

 

 

 

 

For Friday, Feb. 21:

1) Bring in a first draft of your capstone summary, together with your webpages and notes about it.

Use your own words as much as possible.

2) In ETAW:

Read pp. 1-4 (top).

Start reading Unit 5:  pp. 41-46.

3) Green handout about the Freedom Trail–review questions

4) Review:  Conversations about ordering in a restaurant

5) Bring your classroom observation forms.

Be ready to talk about your class observation experience.

6) Listen to Bruno Mars’ song “Talking to the Moon.”

Think about this:  How is it different from the Stevie Wonder song that we listened to before.

 

 

 

For Thursday, Feb. 20

1) Fill out and bring your completed classroom observation form.

 

2) Continue reading about your capstone project topic, taking notes on your research, and writing your summary.

3) Read pp. 9-16 in ETAW.

4) Read about the Paul Revere House and the Old North Church in the green handout.

View this video if possible:

City of Boston video about several Freedom Trail sites

On the paper with a list of Freedom Trail sites, write 2 or 3 things that you see or hear about those sites.

5) Write a journal entry (1/2 to 2 pages) about an interesting experience  that you have had on your own (not part of a Rits tour) in the U.S.–for example, on the weekend, or with a new Japanese language class friend.

 

 

 

For Wednesday, Feb. 19:

1) Bring in some webpages about your topic.  Underline some of the main ideas–if possible, with a highlighter (like a marker).

Also, bring in some of your notes from the web article(s).  Use some of your own words!

2) Prepare a 1-3 minute speech about an experience that changed your life in some way–serious or funny.

Tell a story, and explain why the experience was so important to you.

3) Finish and practice your restaurant conversation.

4) In the book ETAW:

Read pp. 29-39.

5) Write a question about your assigned section of the green handout about the Freedom Trail.

6) Optional:  Listen to a YouTube of Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”

It will probably make your spirits fly.  🙂

 

 

For Tuesday, Feb. 18:

1) Check the schedule for capstone deadlines.

Read about your capstone topic online.  Start printing a few webpages about it.

Begin writing your summary.

For Friday, Feb. 14:

1) Chose a topic for your capstone project.  Start researching it on the Internet.

2) Read the green handout (photocopy) about the Freedom Trail.

3) Think about your choices for classroom observations, and if possible, fill out the form online.

4) Read pp. 173-175 about phrasal verbs.