Enjoy your summer holiday! See you in October!

Hi my lovely and sweet students,

Today we watched a very inspiring and interesting video called "The Conditioned". We wrote the initial story by looking at the two pics of Raimundo. Than we described the characters and discussed the video, Raimundo's poem and then wrote about the the story from Raimundo's perspective.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the exam/results and see you all on June 24 at GigaIh Party, if not wish you all a great summer holiday!

PS: my address or the photos is silviasgiga@gmail.com.

Baciiiii,
Silvia

Last lesson Monday 15 June

Hello guys,

Monday is going to be our last lesson and an opportunity to say goodbye before the summer holiday.
I hope everyone will be present, not like on Thursday :/  Bravo to Andrea M. for being present! :)

I'd also like to tell you that on June 24 at 19.30 there will be a Party at GigaIh when you will be awarded Attendance certificates! Don't miss it!

See you on Monday,
Silvia

Homework for June 11

Hello everyone,

In our last lesson we checked the second mock 2 for Benedetta and Andrea M. Then we did a revision game with relative clauses - defining and non-defining and afterwards we worked on reported speech and commands p. 108-109 ex. 1-8.

For Thursday choose 1 situation from ex. 7 p. 109 and write a complete story in reported speech - use 100 words. Please also continue Vocab and grammar review Unit 11-12.

On Thursday I will not be at school, as I have an exam - an Italian language exam - CILS. So wish me good luck! Mirko will replace me.

See you next Monday - June 15 is our last lesson - we'll say goodbye before the summer!

Bye for now,
Silvia (❛‿❛✿̶̥̥)

Homework for June 8

Hi guys,

Today we practiced all of the 4 parts of the Speaking exam, in order to give the opportunity to the three courageous fellows that are going to do the exam tomorrow to revise the speaking part.

For next time, please finish Test 4 and all the exercises from Unit 11 in the workbooks!

Have a lovely weekend and Rossana, Andrea and Salvatore break a leg!!
Bye,
Silvia

Homework for June 4

Hi guys,

Today we did Listening Mock 2 and I also gave you the key. Then we moved on to Unit 12 and we discussed different types of communication. Then we did Reading Part 3 pp. 106-107.

For next time please do Vocabulary p. 108 and finish Unit 11 exercises from your Workbook.
Here there's an article about slang in the UK, where you can learn more slang words ;)

Cheers,
Silvia

PS: For Andrea B. dosh indeed means money - have a look here!

PPS: Guys, don't forget to time yourselves 1h30min for Reading&Writing Mock test!

Homework for June 1

Hello everyone,

Today we did plenty of practice of Speaking Part 4 from p. 104 and then we listened to Avril Lavigne's song Sk8er Boi in order for you to learn phrasal verbs and idioms in English.

For next time please do the Test I gave you in class last time and start working on Unit 11 exercises from your workbooks. Do as much as you can, I know you have many things to do as we are approaching the end of the school year, but still remember that some of you have an exam to take.

Have a good weekend!

PS: on Monday we are going to do the Listening Mock in class and you will receive the Reading and Writing for home.

Homework for May 28

Hello guys,

Today we did Reading Part 4 practice from p.102-103 and comparative and superlatives of adverbs from p.103-104
Then we discussed about climate change and the Climate Change Champions.

For next time please write 4 suggestion about how ppl could avoid wasting water from Speaking Part 4 p.104 and work on Test 3 Reading&Writing and Listening.

See you!
S

Homework for May 21

Hi guys,

Last time we did the 2nd Listening Mock for some of you and then we began Unit 11 and we talked about animals and their habitat.
Your homework for next time is reading a story called "The Mystery of the Stolen FA Cup Medal", do the tasks below and pay attention at the way the story is written - it's a good example for Writing Part3 (story).

That's all for now,

Best
Silvia

Homework for May 18

Hi guys,

I hope you liked the lesson with Lisa. She loved you! ;) (I knew she would! I LUV U2! blush)

Your homework for next time is: choose 1 picture from ex. 4p. 94 and describe it in written. Also please go to your Workbooks Unit 10 and do everything on pp. 40-41 and 42.

That's all for now,
S

PS: Salvatore and Rossana do Test 1 Reading and Writing that I gave Salvatore today and time yourself 1h30min. This will be part of your second mock, so please choose a quiet time when nobody can disturb you. Next time we will do the Listening as part of the mock.

PPS: Sabrina and Andrea M. - I'm waiting for your parents on Monday 18 May at 17 o'clock. Thank you.

Homework for May 14

Hello my lovely class,

Today we looked at the expression "have sth. done" and we discussed outrageous taste in hair cuts.
Then we did some Listening Part 1 practice.
For next time work on Worksheet 74 and do Vocal and grammar review Unit 9-10 pp. 96-97.

Remember next time I'll have Parents Meetings!

Bye for now,
S

Homework for May 11

Hello everyone,

Pay attention as the Parents Meetings changed on Thursday 14 May, at the same times given on the paper slips.

Today we moved on to Unit 10 and we talked about food, meals and restaurants. For the people who missed the lesson today please do Reading Part 2 p. 88-89, Vocabulary p. 90 and check the Commands on p. 128.
For homework, everybody please work on Vocabulary p. 92 and Writing Part 2 p. 95. Remember to bring me all the writings from Test 2: Writing Part 2 (short letter 35-45 words) and Writing Part 3: long letter and story (100 words).

Here's a story in a song that could help you write stories - it's a song by the American duo Simon & Garfunkel from the 60's, called "Richard Cory" - the lyrics are here.

Bye for now,
S

Homework for May 4

Hello everyone,

Today we look at some vocabulary related to sports  p.83-84 and we studied defining relative clauses from p.82.

For next time study non-defining clauses p. 83, Writing Part, then from your workbooks do Grammar p. 36 ex. 1, 2a,b, Vocabulary Health and Sport p. 38 ex.1, 2.

That's all for now,
Happy May Day!

S

Homework for April 30

Hello everyone,

today I gave you feedback on your Mocks, we covered Grammar from p. 76 in your book and then we moved on to Unit 9 and we did Listening Part 4.
For next time do Reading Part 5 (all exercises) p. 85, from your workbook do the Listening Part 4 p. 36 and Reading Part 5. You can have more practise on the listening Part 4 here.

As some of you know, on the 11th May you'll have individual parents meeting, when we will discuss the results in your mocks.
Sabrina: 15.45-16.00, Benedetta 16.30-16.45, Marta 16.45-17.00

See you,
s

Homework for 27 April

Hi everyone,

You did a very good job today... a little bird told me ;)
For next time work on the worksheets I gave you in class and as today it's the World Book Day, here there are two texts about books: Little Book of Dreams and Love-Hate Relationship with Reading.
Read both and take out 6 new words in total, make sentences and bring them to me on a separate sheet of paper on Monday.

Have an amazing weekend!
See you,
S

Homework for April 23

Hello everyone,

For our next lesson, which will include the Listening Mock Test and the Speaking with Patrick, go over the Speaking reference at the back of your books pp. 142-147 and revise the kind of expressions needed for all the parts of the Speaking exam.

Bye for now,
S

Homework for April 20

Hello everyone,

As you all know in the next two lessons we are going to do a mock test to see how close you are to the PET exam in June, so please do not miss any of the next week's lessons, as it will be very difficult to recoup the test after.
Today we continued to do some revision of what we have studied so far and we also revised the exam format of the Reading and Writing, Listening and Speaking.

For Monday revise Unit 1-8 from your book and also go to www.examenglish.com/PET/ and work on all the exam tasks, do as much as possible.

That's all for now.
Have a nice productive weekend :)
S

Homework for April 16

Hello everyone,

Today we studied the use of and difference between when/if/ unless from p. 73 and Listening Part 3 from p. 74. Then we started to do revision of Units 1-3 time by playing some games with place prepositions, adverbs of frequency and adjectives +prepositions (such as: proud of, satisfied with, nervous about, jealous of etc).

For next time revise Units 1-3 and please work on the pages I gave you in class: Progress tests Unit 1-3 (pages 30-32), Unit 4-6 (p. 59) and do also Vocabulary and Grammar review Unit 7 and 8 (p. 78-79) from your books.

That's all for now,
S

Homework for April 13

Hello everyone,

Today we caught up with everybody's Easter holidays and I'm glad you had a great time!
Then we listened to John Legend's song "All of me" and looked at the lyrics, we got back to the book and we studied vocabulary for describing people.

For next time please do exercise 7 as a quick revision of the order of adjectives we have already studied and do all the Writing Part 2 from p. 77 (write only ex. 7 on a separate sheet of paper). Also please do Unit 8 Review p. 79.

Have a nice weekend!

Best
Silvia

Homework for April 9

Hello my sweeties,

Today we looked at two complex matters: phrasal verbs (p. 72 9 and the conditionals (zero, first and second) from pp. 73-74, and you did a good job and understood how they are used.

For next next time, which is after the blessed Easter holidays (yipeeeee!☺), work on worksheet 38 about conditionals, that I gave you at the end of the class, then from you Workbooks do ex. 2 p. 32 and Grammar ex. 1-3 p. 34.

In line with the Easter holiday, here is a text about how Easter is celebrated in Britain, chocolate eggs and more - as usual work on the tasks below the text. Relax, have fun, go to Mass on Sunday and be good! :)

Happy Easter honey-bunnies! ／(^ x ^)＼
S

Homework for March 30

Hello my lovely students,

Today we continued doing some practice on Speaking Part 2 of the exam and I'm happy about your progress! :)
Then we talked about famous families (VIPs) and we did some Reading practice of Part 3. For next time do exercise 8 p. 71 and find the parallel expressions in the text.
Go to page 78 and do all the exercises from Unit 7 Vocal and grammar review and from your Workbooks p. 32-33 do ex. 1 Vocabulary and Reading Part 3.

That's all for now.
Enjoy your weekend, hope it's going to be a sunny one! ☼ ☼ ☼ 

☻ Silvia ❤

Homework for March 26

Hi guys,

Today we did some revision activities with (non)-gradable adjectives and past simple and present perfect.  We also looked at Speaking Part 2 p. 68 and expressions for asking preferences, giving reason etc.

For next time please make sentences with the expressions from ex. 2 p.68 (one sentence each) and watch the video with Letizia and Manuel (that you already know) and write down some useful expression that they use (similar to the ones in ex. 2 p. 68).
Today I heard you talking about films you watched - here is a text about a book - it can help you with language for when you need to describe a book or a film you liked (e.g. the book/film tells the story of a girl... ). Read the text and do the tasks below.

For Rossana and Salvatore: Reminder about the Movie Night on Wed. 25 March - 19:45. Bring a friend!

That's all for now,
Silvia

Homework for March 23

Hi everyone,

Today we looked at the use of too and enough together with nouns, adjectives or adverbs on p. 64. Marta, as you missed the lesson, please do ex. 1-2 p. 64 and check them with Andrea.
Then we did some practice of Writing Part 1 p. 69 - the same Marta, please check the answers of the exercises with Andrea.

For next time everybody please write the four sentences about the climate change in Sicily in the future (ex. 4 p. 69) and refer to sea level/coasts, mountains, dry parts of Sicily and the green parts.
Also do Vocabulary Compound nouns from p. 67 ex. 1and 2 (use a dictionary to check your answers) and Writing Part 1 p. 29 from your Workbooks.

Here's a nice text about global warming, exactly what we were talking about today - read the text and choose 5 new words and bring me the sentences to school. Remember the structure of the sentence:   S + V + O - your sentences should have a context: who, where, when or why.


PS: Rossana and Salvatore, the only two "adults" in the class, remember about the Movie Night on Wedn. March 25 at 19:45.

Have a great weekend!
S

Homework for 19 March

Hi everyone,

In our lesson on Monday we looked at adverbs of degree (called mitigators), like: fairly, rather, quite, we revised some names of means of transport, the verbs that go with them and prepositions of movement.

For next time do ex. 3 p.68 from your books and Vocabulary p.30-31 and Vocabulary extra p.58 Unit7 from your Workbooks.
And here's a webpage you can read and do exercises about the adverbs called mitigators: rather. quite, fairly and some others.

ON Sunday it's going to be World Water Day. What do you know about it? Click here, watch the video and do the tasks below.

Bye for now,
S

Homework for 16 March

Hello everyone,

Today we looked at different ways of expressing the future by using will, be going to, present simple and present continuous and we did exercises 1- 4 p. 64-65. We also did some Reading Part 1 practice from p. 65 to 66 (ex. 1-4).

For homework please do ex. 5 p.65 from your book, Reading Part 1 p. 28 and Grammar ex. 1-2 p. 29 from your workbooks. More Reading practice can be found on this website.

PS: Don't forget to bring 3 examples of notices, announcements, adverts etc. that you need to change in order to test your classmates ;)

Bye for now and have a swell weekend!
S

Homework for 12 March

Hello everyone,

Today our topic was The Weather! We watched a video about the unpredictable British weather and how a weather bulletin is made on the British Council website. We also made a weather word cloud on the whiteboard using weather words.
Afterwards we did some listening Part 2 practice from pages 62-63.

Your homework for next time is:

• use the CD ROM at the back of your books and work on Units 1-2 all exercises

• from your workbooks do Vocabulary p.31 ex. 3 (the crossword)

• from your workbooks do Listening Part 1 p. 26 (use the CD at the back of the workbook)

• listen about the weather by clicking on this link and do the tasks below.                                  You also have the glossary given - get used to making sentences with words that you want to remember (set on a max of 5 words).

Bye for now,

Silvia

Homework for 9 March

Hello my dear teens,

Today we looked at the order of adjectives by using this website (Andrea and Sabrina, do tasks 1, 2 and 4) and we practised it by playing a game board.
Then we continued working on Speaking Part 4 from p. 58 in your books.

For next time, please do the exercises from p. 59 Writing Part 2 and from your workbooks go to pages 56 - 57 and do Unit 5 and Unit 6 Vocabulary Extra.

That's all for now.
Bye bye!
S

Homework for February 5

Hi guys,

In our last lesson we learnt/revised clothing vocabulary - nouns and adjectives. We also did some listening practice of Listening Part 1 from p. 57.
We also did some Speaking part 3 practice from p. 58 and we looked at the rules of Speaking Part 4.

Your homework for next time is revision Unit 5 and 6, p. 60-61 in your books and this nice article that speak about fashion and individual style. 
Use Google Images to check the meaning of some words like: safety pins, hardware shops or fabric paints. For any other words that you can't find as pictures, use a dictionary :)

Enjoy!
See you,
S

Homework for March 2

Hello everyone,

In our last lesson on Thursday, we did a competition using past participles. Then in two groups you wrote a soap opera script based on a number of words related to a romantic dinner and used present perfect, then you role-played it. You did a great job! :)

For next time work on the two worksheets related to present perfect Worksheets 13 and 14 and watch this video and Stephen and Ashlie moving house - as you know, do the task under the video!

By for now,

Have a lovely sunny Sunday! :)

S

Homework for 26 February

Hi everyone,

In our last lesson we listen to a song by The Beatles, called "I'm looking through you" and we looked at past simple and present perfect. Then we worked on the exercises on p. 55 and 56 about present perfect. (Sabrina, do all these exercises as you missed the lesson - also go back to the back of the book and read about present perfect).
In case you want to listen to the song again, here it is:

Your homework is to do exercises 1-2 from Unit 6 (in your Workbook) and watch this video, which shows you how to use present perfect, and do the tasks below the video.

That's all for now,

See you!
S

Interesting workshops for you!

Hi guys,

I recently received this email and I thought you might find it interesting.
It's about a series of workshops which will render Catania more visible and exciting from a cultural point of view. Check this website www.cataniacittainvisibile.org and the workshops they offer! It sounds cool and it's about your city! Be active and get involved!

Bye!
S

Homework for 23 February

Hi my lovely students,

Today we started Unit 6 and we talked about TV programmes (ex. 1-3 p. 52). We also did Reading Part 2 p.52-54 and Vocabulary activity from p. 55.
At the end of the lesson we watched a video from British Council website about Royal Albert Hall and studio Soco in Southampton. The video showed an opera performance of Aida by Verdi! It looked so impressive, I wish I could see it one day! You should be proud of your cultural heritage! :)

For next time please work on p. 24-26 of your Workbooks and do Reading Part 2 and Vocabulary ex. 1and 2. Also finish the tasks related to the video and make sentences with:

• to be at the heart of
• to make a big difference
• all sorts of stuff
• to get involved in (something)
• to be passionate about (something)

Go back to the text and find the expressions. If you're not sure about the meaning of these expressions, use a dictionary or google them up.

I <3 U!

Have a nice weekend!

Silvia 

Homework for 19 February

Hi everyone,

In our last lesson we revised Speaking Part 3 and 4 and we worked on expressions and questions to be used in speaking.
We also watched a video on Youtube and noticed how the candidates keep talking on the topic for 3 minutes. We also recorded two students (I'm not saying who) :) doing these two parts of the Speaking exam.

I will soon upload the two videos and you need to find 3 positive/negative things.

Here there's the second video from the Notting Hill festival and the Language Focus based on the same video and revise the adjectives ending in -ed and -ing. Watch the videos and do the tasks below - you can read the transcript anytime you need..

Stay tuned for the two videos made in class!

PS: The videos are too big to be uploaded here, so I need to find another way to share them with you...

Bye for now.
Silvia

Quote of the Day

Homework for 16 February

Hello guys,

Today we spoke about the things that make you happy and about teenagers problems. We watched the video "Two fingers", by Jake Bugg, and discussed the sequence of scenes. We looked at the language, then we listened to the song and discussed the lyrics and the message of the song.

We also did some practice of the Writing part 3, from p. 51 and you made notes for the letter at exercise 7.

For next time please write the letter from ex.7 p. 51, using your notes. Don't forget to use: strong adjectives, expressions from exercise 3 p.51, linking words like as, so, because, since...
From your Workbook also do exercises 1, 2 and 3 from p. 22.

Here's another nice song by Jake Bugg, but this time it's a love song. Enjoy it! Check the lyrics
as well!

Bye for now and remember: stay positive! Life is beautiful! ;)

S

Homework for 12 February

Hello everyone,

It was great to meet your parents the other day! You're lucky to have such amazing and supportive parents :)

Last time we did some practice on the modal verbs for obligation and prohibition, by imagining you are taking a new flatmate to share your house.

Then we looked at adjectives ending in -ed and -ing and we read a text about "Love in the air", good timing as soon there'll be Valentines day! (which all you "love") :))

For next time do the Reading Part 5, exercises 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6 from p. 48-49 and Vocabulary (Adjectives and their opposites) exercises 1-5, p. 49-50.

For extra-homework, here's a video about Speed dating. Are you familiar with "speed dating"? If not, you can find out in this video.

Bye for now,

Silvia

Homework for 9 February

Hello guys,

I hope during your short Sant'Agata holiday you will have time to relax and recharge your batteries!
Remind your parents of the Group Meeting on 9.2.15 from 15.30-15.45. I am waiting for all of them!

Last time we looked at modal verbs for ability and possibility such as can, could, may and might and we worked on the exercises from p. 45 and 46. We looked at expressions and adjectives related to "Body Talk" and adjectives used with prepositions at page 47 (remember to do exercise 4 in written - complete the questions and answer them).

For next time revise/study the modals should, shouldn't, ought to, must, mustn't, have to, don't have to from p. 46 exercises 1-6 and 7-8 from p. 47 (read the grammar part from p. 122).

Something to complement our lesson is this excellent video about adjectives with clear and straightforward explanations! Watch it and do the tasks below.

Bye for now,
Silvia

Homework for 2 February

Hi guys,

Today we finally watched the video The Mirror and we sadly saw what happened to the sweet little boy in our photo. Than we looked at the vocabulary related to the video, we did some practice on Listening Part 4 and we revised and learnt some new expressions for giving your opinion.

For next time please write about half a page imagining You in The Mirror. From your Workbook at p.21 do exercise 2 a, b and from p. 23 Writing Part 3.
Make also sentences with the verbs and phrasal verbs: to get on well with somebody, to get together, to be keen on something (doing something), to move away, to remind, to remember.

In case you want to watch the video again, here it is!

PS 1: Remember to tell your parents that on 9 February we invite them to school for a Group Parents Meeting at 15.30-15.45, to talk to me about your progress.

PS 2: I hope you like my new blog background! I'm getting ready for Saint'Agata festival! ;)

That's all for now.
See you!

S

Homework for January 29

Hello everybody,

Today we did some extensive practice on Speaking Part 3, we looked at the strategy, what to say when we don't know the word and extra language for: describing people, making guesses etc.
We also started Unit 5 about Feeling and we did exercises 1-3, including the Personality Quiz.

Today I showed you the picture of a little boy from a short-film called The Mirror, you talked about the boy's appearance and you made guesses about his age, nationality or feelings.
Here is his picture:

At home think about why the short-film is called The Mirror and what you will see in this film. We'll discuss in class.

Your homework for next time is: Workbook p.19 Writing Part 3, p.20 Reading Part 5 and make a list with other words for expressing feelings, such as: anger, happiness, jealousy etc. Use your dictionaries!

Bye for now,
Silvia

Homework for January 26

Hello everyone,

I can see that the hail today in Catania scared everybody off! Or almost everybody... I had Salvatore and a new student, Andrea! Hurray!
Today we revised Speaking Part 3 and we looked at a YouTube video of this part of the exam. Then we worked on Writing Part 3 from page 41.

For those who were absent today, please do all the exercises on this page, especially exercise 8 - the final copy of the letter. Also do Review Unit 4 from page 43.
Have you ever been to Amsterdam? Here is a nice description of this European city, the text can give you a model of how you can do Writing Part 3. Please write on your notebook the things mentioned in the text, such as: buildings, canals etc. and also the adjective used.

See you on Monday!
Have a nice weekend,
S

Homework for January 22

Hello class,

In our last lesson we talked about North Pole, Siberia and what life is like over there. We did some listening practice Part 3 and Speaking Part 3.

Your homework for next time is:

•  Review Unit 3 from page 42.

•  revise some collocations here.

• check out what a girl from Yakutia, Siberia says about her home place.

That's all for now,
Bye!

Silvia

Remember about our Yoga meeting

Bring a friend!

Homework for January 19

Hello funny bunnies,

Today we had some fun playing a boardgame, talking about gradable and non-gradable adjective and about what you like/would change about your hometown.

For Monday please extend your answers to exercise 5 p. 39 about your hometown in written and by using quite, really, very, absolutely with gradable and non-gradable adjectives.

Work also on the vocabulary exercises 1 ad 3 page 38 (from the book) and from your Workbook go to page 18 and do Vocabulary exercises 1, 2, 3 and 4.

PS: Remember to use a dictionary when you do your homework :)

Have a nice weekend!
See you on Monday!

Silvia

Homework for January 15

Hello class,

Today we talked about the meaning of words such as: travel, trip, journey and voyage and we revised the comparatives and superlatives of adjectives, stressing the importance of spelling. For those who missed the class today, please do exercises 1, 2 (Vocabulary p.36) and exercises 1-5 p. 36-37 (Grammar) and check page 122 at the back of the book for more details.

Everybody please do exercises 7-10 page 37 + check page 122 and, from your Workbooks, please do ex. 1 and 2 from Grammar p. 17-18.

Check this link about Comparing and contrasting for more expressions on how to modify comparatives and do the task below the explanations.

And then listen an audio about "The interesting most boring man in the world" and do the tasks below. Write the correct sentences in Task 3 in your notebook to show me that you did the homework and we'll check them in class :)

Bye for now
S

Summer holiday in England - kids and teens

Parents: speak to our Director and find out the news!

Verb Machine - Try it!

Homework for January 12

Hello everyone,

I was so glad to see you again today! Welcome back to school :)
Today we discussed about "our world" and the activities you can do when you go around the world, we did some listening practice and a reading about Borneo Island. I wish I could go there! :)

Your homework for next time is:
- Workbook p. 16 Reading Part 3

- Workbook p.15 Grammar and Vocabulary

- make 1 sentence with the following words: rainforest, injured, fee, sightseeing and wildlife. Put the words into context and use the dictionary! Write them on a separate sheet of paper.

- watch this video about Wild Animals and do the tasks below the video. Again please use the dictionary!

Bye for now,
Silvia