Travel stories

Today we will be talking about journeys or trips that have gone wrong and your own experiences of travelling. We will also be practising using the Past Tense in our writing.

Resources

These are some of the resouces we will be using in today's class:

Dave's email about his nightmare journey
Travel stories - reading activity
Putting travel events in order - activity

Here are the answers for those of you completing the activities outside class:

Email activity - answers
Putting travel events in order - answers

Videos - two short videos by an American teacher you might find useful

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5E9SWg6_fw – The Simple Past Tense (Part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttjAMb3II_Q – The Simple Past Tense (Part 2)

BBC SkillswiseYou can access the BBC Skillswise worksheets on using the Past Tense by clicking on the following link:  Getting the tense right

Here is the link to National Rail Enquires for the Planning a Rail Journey Activity
http://ojp.nationalrail.co.uk/en/s/planjourney/query


Homework activity

Write a short paragraph about what you did at the weekend

or if you want to practice your writing skills further

Write 3 or 4 paragraphs about a journey or trip you have made in the past.

Remember to proofread your work and correct any errors in your punctuation (capital letters, full stops e.t.c) and also check you are using the correct tense and subject-verb agreement.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Internet

This week we will be talking about the different ways we can use the Internet.  In this session we will be discussing, not only the ways the Internet can be helpful, but also some of the disadvantages as well.

Here are the links to some of the resources we will be using

Advantages and Disadvantages of Online Shopping
Internet Chat Danger

Proofreading skills

We will be recapping some of the skills you need to proofread your work.  You may find it useful to look at these BBC Skillswise factsheets.

Proofreading factsheet
Five common mistakes to look for when proofreading
More proofreading worksheets

Activities to help with spelling
Excellent Interactive Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check Game

Activity - At the end of today's session write down one advantage and one disadvantage of using the Internet and post these in the Comments section below.

Do you read food labels? Do you trust what you read?

Picture Credit

There is a lot of of information to be found on food packaging, but do you ever take the time to read any of it?  Why is all that information there?  What types of information might shoppers need or might like to have shown clearly on foodl labels?  Today we will be taking a closer look at the information on food packaging and see how they are designed to tempt us to buy!

Do you know what the symbols on product labels mean?
Test your knowledge with this quiz What do the symbols mean? 
Answer sheet

We will also be doing some work, looking at adverbs and how they are used in writing recipes.  For additional actitivities on adverbs click on this link BBC Skillswise activities - adverbs

Activity - Write down some of the different types of information that shoppers might need or might like to have shown clearly on food labels.  Write your suggestions in the comments box below.

Traditional Foods and Healthy Eating

Here are some traditional British meals.  Can you name them?

Hello Everyone

Today we are going to have another look at a popular topic when we were discussing New Year Resolutions - food!  We all have our favourites, but do we eat heathily?  You can try this online quiz to find out.  http://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/HealthyEating.aspx You will also have the opportunity to share your favourite recipes, find new recipes on the Internet and also search for more information on healthy eating.

Do you like to cook at home or eat out?  We will be reading about Coronation Street's Roy and Hayley's visit to the college, although Roy's Rolls can't be compared to our excellent canteen of course.  Read about the visit here Coronation Street stars visit our college

Another issue we will be talking about, is whether celebrities should be allowed to advertise food such as crisps and coke. 

Read this article Celebrity ban urged on junk food ads.

Does this encourage children to eat unhealthy food because they see these people as role models?  What do you think?  Answer the class poll to record your answer. (The poll is at the top of this page, on the right-hand side).

Visit the BBC Skillswise website to find more activities based around  Hospitablity and Catering


Your comments
Tell us about your favourite foods or recipes by typing in the comments box below.

Did you do well in the Healthy Eating quiz?

Writing Letters of Complaint

You may have tried going back to the shop with your defective goods, but still feel your complaint has not been sorted out.

You may then need to take further action and put your complaint in writing.

Today we will look at some of the more formal words and phrases used in letter writing, the layout of formal letters and try some of the letter templates available from the Consumer Direct website.

 Activity 1 - Match the formal words with their meaning

 Worksheet for matching formal words to their meanings
Answers for matching formal words worksheet

  Activity 2 - Number the parts of the letter, to put them in the right order.

Worksheet for numbering the parts of the letter in the right order
Answer sheet for number the different parts of the letter in the right order

  Activity 3  - Using letter templates from the Consumer Direct website

1. Click on the link below to open up a letter template from the Consumer Direct website
2. Click and then type into the different text boxes to create your own letter
3. Print out your letter
4. Ask your tutor if you need help

Template letter to be used when attempting to resolve issues with faulty goods.

Visit the BBC Skillswise website for more activities based on working in the retail industry,

New Year Resolutions

Welcome back everyone and Happy New Year!

Well, it's that time of year again. Having eaten far too much over the holidays and spent too much money, many people think the New Year is a good time to make positive changes for the better.

Some people start by making a list of New Year Resolutions such as giving up smoking, losing weight or getting fit. The problem is that it is easy to have good intentions, but how long do they usually last? Is there a good way to make resolutions and stick to them? What do you think?. Tell me what resolutions you are going to make for 2011 and how you plan to stick to them and get the results you want.

Post your New Year Resolutions by clicking on the comments link below.

Well done everyone for posting your resolutions.  This is recognised as one of the best ways of helping you stick to your resolutions.  If you would like to look at some other steps you can take to help keep to your resolutions, click this link - Steps to help you keep to your New Year Resolutions

Know Your Rights

Christmas is a time when we do a lot of shopping.  Perhaps you have bought things in the January sales.  But what do you do if you are unhappy about the quality or performance of the goods you have bought?  Today we will look at your rights under the Sale of Goods Act and look at the advantages and disadvantages of the different methods of making a complaint.

Know Your Rights - Introduction to the Sale of Goods Act = short PowerPoint to view

Click on the links below to see short vidoes telling you about your consumer rights.



YouTube - Buying shoes and clothes

Going back to the shop

Make a list of the tips you would give to someone who would like to be more confident in going back to a shop to complain.  think about:

• How to prepare yourself before you go in;
• How you begin;
• How to keep calm;
• How you end the conversation.

Post your list in the comments box below.