Tuesday 19 December 2017

General Vocabulary of Farming: Phonetics, Intonation and Pronunciation

Students revise the general vocabulary of farming, learn/revise the pronunciation of the words (stress, sounds and intonation), and practise their listening, speaking and writing skills.







GENERAL VOCABULARY OF FARMING

  1. Stress. Listen and underline the stressed syllable:
Audio exercise 1

tractor
dealership
harvest
combine harvester
forage
silage
baler
seeder
pesticide
fertilizer
manufacturer
tillage
manure




  1. Sounds. Put the words below in the right column.
Audio Exercise 2

bale
wheat
dirt
seeder
combine
pesticide
fertilizer
dealer
dealership
silage
field
tillage
wheel
hydraulic
yield

/ei/
/i:/
/i/
/ɜː/ (bird)
/ai/











  1. Sounds. Put the words above in plural and put them in the right column.

/s/
/iz/
/z/
harvests







  1. Intonation. Repeat the sentences below, then try to repeat giving at least 2 different intonations.
Audio Exercise 4

This tractor is efficient.

Fertilizers increase the yield.

Tillage is important.

Combines harvest the crop.

Balers make bales with silage.

Dealerships sell seeders and balers.

Sprayers spray fertilizers and pesticides.

Cécile Sohier 




Monday 18 December 2017

Web quest: Native Americans in North Dakota (short version)

Students learn about Native Americans and the Dakota Access Pipeline, and practise their reading, writing, and speaking skills.

This article is a shortened version of a webquest I already published in a post. You can find it here:


It is intended to take up to an hour for the students to browse the internet on flagged websites and find out the answers to the questions.





NATIVE AMERICANS WEB SEARCH



1. What Native American nation lives in North and South Dakota:
…………………………………………………………………………….

2. Name one famous leader of their tribe. Explain briefly what he is famous for.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Name a famous battle, massacre or protest of the Sioux. Explain why it is famous.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4. a. What were the boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation in
the Article 2 of the Treaty of Fort Laramie of April 29, 1868?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

   b. Are they still the same boundaries today?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Are Indian reservations independent? Justify with the mission statement and
core principles of the South Dakota Reservation
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6. How many Sioux live in South Dakota today?
……………………………………………………………….

7. What is the black snake myth for Native Americans?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8. Why is it at the heart of a controversy and protests? Do you see a link to the prophecy?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………


Answers:

NATIVE AMERICANS WEB SEARCH


Sitting Bull (1831-1890) was considered the last Sioux to surrender to the U.S. Government. He led
3,500 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors against the US Cavalry under George Custer at the Battle of
Little Bighorn on June 25, 1876, a battle won by the Indians. In later life, Sitting Bull toured with
Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, where he was a popular attraction.

The Native Americans who live in North and South Dakota are called the Sioux.

There is an old Lakota prophecy of a black snake, the zuzeca sape , that will comes across their
land, and bring great sadness and destruction.

The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek was the last major armed conflict between the Lakota and
the United States. It was described as a "massacre" by General Nelson A. Miles in a letter to the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs. On December 29, 1890, five hundred troops of the U.S. 7th
Cavalry, 25 troopers and more than 150 Lakota Sioux lay dead, including men, women, and
children. Around 150 Lakota are believed to have fled the chaos, many of whom may have died
from hypothermia.

The Battle of the Little Bighorn occurred June 25–26, 1876 near the Little Bighorn River in
eastern Montana Territory, was the most prominent Sioux victory of the Great Sioux War of 1876.
146 Indians died and 160 were wounded, while 274 Americans were killed and 49 were wounded.

Indian Reservations are independent and sovereign on their lands as stated in the core principles
of the South Dakota Reservation: “Each Tribe operates as a separate government to govern its
own citizens under its own laws”.

The boundaries of the Great Sioux Reservation were commencing on the 46th parallel of north
latitude (the South Dakota border) to the east bank of Missouri River, south along the east bank to
the Nebraska line, then west to the 104th parallel of west longitude. It was situated on 6 states :
North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.

A company called Energy Transfer Partner is building the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1.900 km long
pipeline that will transport 470.000 barrels of crude oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Native
American people are strongly opposed to the project because it will put drinking water at risk of
contamination and damage sacred grounds. Lakota people believe the pipeline could be the great
black snake of the prophecy.

The Great Reservation was gradually reduced by the US Government. Today the Sioux territory is
divided into different reservations such as Standing Rock, Cheyenne River, Crow Creek, Pine
Ridge, Rosebud, Lower Brule.

Cécile Sohier 

Thursday 14 December 2017

Vehicle and Tractor Features Vocabulary Quiz

Students learn and practise general vocabulary related to vehicles and tractors through a vocabulary quiz on vehicle features.


as well as the 2017 News quiz

Find out how to create your own quiz on this post: Create a Quiz with Google Forms: Vocabulary, Writing and Reading Activity

Cécile Sohier 

Tuesday 12 December 2017

Talk about Vehicles and Tractors Using Comparative and Superlative: a Vocabulary and Grammar In Context Lesson

Students learn adjectives to talk about a vehicle, revise how to use the comparative and superlative, and practise their writing and speaking skills.



Talk about a tractor

1. Comparative/Superlative



Big

(adjectifs d’une syllabe et ceux de
deux syllabes qui finissent par
-e, -y, -ow)
Expensive

(adjectif de plus de deux syllabes et
ceux de deux syllabes qui ne
terminent pas par -e, -y, -ow)
Comparative
plus …que
moins … que
aussi … que

bigger than
less big than
as big as

more expensive than
less expensive than
as expensive as
Superlative
le plus …
le moins …

the biggest
the least big

the most expensive
the least expensive


Exceptions: good ⇒ better than / the best, bad⇒ worse than / the worst

2. Match each adjective below with either the Little Grey Fergie or the John Deere 9RX series:


reliable / robust / durable
efficient
state-of-the-art / innovative ≠ obsolete / outdated
in good condition ≠ in bad condition
heavy ≠ light
manoeuvrable / easy to manoeuvre / easy to drive
easy to use / easy to repair
safe ≠  dangerous
useful ≠ useless
customized
user-friendly
powerful, big ≠ small
expensive / costly ≠ cheap / affordable / economical
fast ≠ slow
beautiful / nice to look at ≠ ugly
polluting ≠ environmentally friendly, green
large ≠ narrow
recent ≠ old
comfortable ≠ uncomfortable
versatile, intuitive
enhanced, improved
optimal


Ferguson TE 20 (Little Grey Fergie)
John Deere 9RX Series tractor

3. ‘Easy to use / Easy to repair’. What do these expressions have in common? Can you make new ones?

4. Translate the following sentences

a. Le TE 20 est plus sympa à regarder que le JD 9RX.

b. Le JD 9RX est plus à la pointe de la technologie que le TE 20.

c. Le TE 20 est en pire état que le JD 9RX.

d. Le TE 20 est plus écologique (vert) que le JD 9RX.

e. Le JD 9RX est le moins abordable du marché.

f. Le TE 20 est aussi facile à utiliser que le JD 9RX.   



5. Write sentences using comparative and superlative about the Ferguson TE 20 and the John Deere 9RX


Ferguson TE 20
John Deere 9RX
Comparative

Il est plus …que



Il est moins … que



Il est aussi … que


Superlative

Il est le plus …



Il est le moins …




Downloadable versions of the worksheets:


Students learn adjectives to talk about a vehicle, revise how to use the comparative and superlative, and practice their writing and speaking skills.

Students learn adjectives to talk about a vehicle, revise how to use the comparative and superlative, and practice their writing and speaking skills.



More grammar in context lessons:


Talk About the News Using Past Simple: A Grammar in Context Lesson

TEDx Talk Listening, Grammar and Pronunciation Skills Lesson: How to Introduce Yourself, Present Perfect Progressive, Since and For 

Cécile Sohier