Advantages and Disadvantages (argumentative compositions)

My 10th formers had to account on argumentative compositions.  Not everyone had accounted till now. All in all, I corrected about 15 works. I am absolutely dissapointed. My students do not have even the slightest idea about writing. They complained that it is the first time when they are writing (this schoolyear). 

The topic was 'The Good and Bad Point of Being Rich and Famous'.

Here I quote some of the ideas from their compositions.... 'Maybe all of my'll be rich, you will have lots of friends, but friends are only due to pinigų' , ' Benefits, if you will be rich and famous, after all, will not leave you alone'paparazzi' fans', not his life.', ' But itis important for people to cash money the pros and cons.' Etc.

I can clearly see that some of my students used google translater. The major mistakes were: spelling, they didn`t bother themselves to consult dictionaries. Secondly, most of the students used informal vocabulary, shortenings...What is more, some sentences lacked logic. The order of the sentences was wrong and mamy other mistakes. Of, course, not all  works were bad, but I didn`t find any work which can worth 10 or 9. The highest mark was 8.The greatest majority got 6.

Besides, I was speaking about argumentative compostions for two lessons. I stressed the importance of linking words ( I enumerated them ), also, I told several times that language should be formal, that each argument should be proved by justifications.....that argumentative compositions consists of 4 paragraphs.... 

I felt that I was talking clearly but they missed something. My students accepted that they have difficulty in writing. And they really have. In my opinion, they have to practice more and I`ll try to practice on writing as much as I can.

Adjectives and Adverbs

On Thursday my 9th formes wrote a test on adjectives and adverbs. I`m quite satisfied about the results. Having in mind that one my class is especially weak, there were only two students who got 4. There were no negative marks. We were working on adjectives and adverbs for three lessons, but the material wasn`t absolutely new. They were familiar to adjectives and adverbs.
I made the test myself. Some tasks were taking from students` grammar books, others from the Internet, some of them I created myself. I tried to include  as many different tasks as possible. While practising we were doing alike tasks.
Here is the test:

1.Write down the correct form of the word in brackets (adjective or adverb).

1. Tom is (slow) . He works .
2. Sue is a (careful) girl. She climbed up the ladder .
3. The dog is (angry) . It barks .
4. He acted (excellent) . He's an actor.
5. They learn English (easy) . They think English is an language.
6. Max is a (good) singer. He sings .
7. It's (awful) cold today. The cold wind is .
8. Dogs rely on their noses as they can smell (good) .
9. The little boy looked (sad) . I went over to comfort him and he looked at me .
10. I tasted the soup (careful) ..

2. Fill in the correct form of the words in brackets (comparative or superlative).

1. My house is (big) than yours.
2. This flower is (beautiful)      than that one.
3. This is the (interesting)        book I have ever read.
4. Non-smokers usually live (long)        than smokers.
5. Which is the (dangerous)         animal in the world?
6. A holiday by the sea is (good)     than a holiday in the mountains.
7. It is strange but often a coke is (expensive)      than a champagne.
8. Who is the (rich)         woman on earth?
9. The weather this summer is even (bad)       than last summer.
10. He was the (clever)         thief of all.

3. Put the adjectives in order.

1. round / small / reading / lamp

2. German / old / yellow / car

3. wooden / huge / old / ship

4. German / boring / old / teacher

5. dress/red/beautiful/cotton

4. Complete the sentences using too or enough and the word in brackets.

1) The test is _______________________for students to do. (difficult)

2) We haven't got ______________________ to take holiday this year. (time)

3) He didn't take the job because the salary was __________________. (low)

4) They shouldn't get married yet. They are not __________________. (old)

5) She bought the jacket because it wasn't ________________ for her. (expensive)

6) The students didn't work ____________________. (hard)

5.  Write degress of comparison.

e.g. small  smaller  the smallest

1. good

2. little

3.fast

4. bad

5.interesting

6. Use too much or too many.

1. There are______________________________snakes in that country.

2. There is_________________________noise. I can`t hear you.

3. I have eaten_______________________biscuits. I feel sick.

7. Write the sentences in the correct order.

1.at breakfast/I/always/drink cofee..........................................................................................................................

2.for an hour/in the queue/patiently/he waited.......................................................................................................................

.................................................................................................................................

3. goes to work/by bus/never/Diego..........................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

3. goes to work/by bus/never/Diego..........................................................................

...................................................................................................................................

Also, one lesson before writing a test, Evelina prepared some tasks for preparation. Here are them:

Fill in the words in brackets as adjective or adverb like in the example.         
Example: Peter works ______ (slow).
Answer: Peter works slowly.

1.      He _______________ reads a book. (quick)

2.      Mandy is a _______________ girl. (pretty)

3.      The class is _______________ loud today. (terrible)

4.      Max is a _______________ singer. (good)

5.      You can _______________ open this tin. (easy)

6.      It’s a _______________ day today. (terrible)

7.      She sings the song _______________. (good)

8.      He is a _______________ driver. (careful)

9.      He drives the car _______________. (careful)

10.  The dog barks _______________. (loud)

Choose the correct order of the adjectives

1.      I bought a pair of (black leather/leather black) shoes.

2.      It was a (red fast/fast red) car.

3.      It’s a (big round/ round big) building.

4.      It’s (a beautiful old/ an old beautiful) film.

5.      He is (an unfriendly rich/ a rich unfriendly) man.

6.      It’s (an old lovely/ a lovely old) village.

7.      He’s got (blue big/ big blue) eyes.

8.      It’s a (cheap good/ good cheap) restaurant.

Degrees of comparison

1.      Good

2.      Beautiful

3.      Sincere

4.      Happy

5.      Fast

6.      Small

7.      Big

8.      Bad

9.      Lovely

10.  Little

Valentine`s Day

Today I had two lessons with my ten formers. One class wrote a test on linking words, the other class got their tests back and checked on mistakes.
Having in mind that today is a Valentine`s day I prepared a task for my students. I put these phrases on the board:
                                             

Live together/with sb

Fall in love

Ask sb out

Have kids

Get engaged

Go out together/with sb

Get to know sb

Get divorced

Start to argue

Meet sb

Get back together

Drift apart

Fancy sb

Split/break up

Go on honeymoon

Get married

(Evelina found these expressions, because she had done it during didactic class). The students have to put these expression into the order that they think relationship among two people develops. The opinions differed greatly especially among girls and boys.

Also, I wrote one love quote on the board.     

“In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities." Janos Arnay

The day was nice. The school was decorated with hearts, balloons, the music was playing during breaks and the mood was great!!!