Vivid Verbs & Regular Past Tense Verbs.

     Today we are going to combine reviewing vivid verbs with regular past tense verbs.

   Let's start by defining what is a Vivid Verb.
   A vivid verb, is a verb that is really descriptive. When using vivid verbs in a story, the person reading it will be able to visualize it in their own mind, because they add interest and imagery to one's writing.
For example:   touch = graze, caress, stroke.
                          cry = whimper, blubber, bawl.
                          see = glare, gaze, glimpse.
                          like = adore, admire, cherish.
                          dislike = loathe, despise, scorn.

                          eat = gorge, nibble, gobble.

     I think when most of these verbs are mastered, we can say we have an English vocabulary large enough to communicate easily and transmit in great detail what we mean. So, we must practice a lot both reading and talking with friends and teachers. Thus, little by little, we will setting new words in our minds.

 Using Word Unscramble to encourage students to rearrange letters to correctly spell words on their lists, can be a great choice to remember those words.

1. Rocks that collided with the moon left craters./Las rocas que colisionaron con la Luna dejaron cráteres.
2. I examined the intrincate detail of the coin./Examiné el detalle intrincado de la moneda.
3.They scrambled to find more players./ Ellos se apresuraron a encontrar más jugadores.
4.The jelly oozed out of the donut./ La jalea brotó de la dona.
5.The snake slithered in the grass./La serpiente se deslizó en la hierba.
6.The dog munched loudly on a crunchy treat./El perro masticaba ruidosamente la delicia crujiente.
7.The kitten snuggled up against its mother./El gatito se acurrucó contra su madre.
8. A small fly was captured in the spider's web./Una pequeña mosca fue capturada en la tela de araña
9. I clutched my mother's hand with mine./Agarré la mano de mi madre con la mía.
10.The dog darted suddenly into the street./El perro se lanzó de repente en la calle.

    Here I leave the link for more word lists about vivid verbs in VocabularySpellingCity.

    The next image is from my class notes, but I find it very useful to summarize the grammatical structure in Past Tense: affirmative, negative and interrogative forms.

    But, how the "ed" is added in the affirmative form of the simple past?
a) verbs ending in "e", add "d"
 shave -- shaved   live -- lived
b) monosyllabic verbs ending in "consonant + vowel + consonant", double the final consonant and add "ed"
rub -- rubbed   stop -- stopped 
c) verbs ending in  "consonant + y", change the y"" to "i" and add "ed"
hurry -- hurried    study -- studied
d) verbs ending in  "vowel + y" add "ed"
stay -- stayed   play -- played
e) verbs with two or more syllables ending in  "consonant + vowel + consonant", double the final
consonant if the accent falls on the last syllable
submit -- submitted    refer -- referred
f) verbs ending in " vowel + L", double the "L", and then add "ed", except in American English
travel -- travelled 
      
    VocabularySpellingCity offers video lessons, interactive games, and printable activities to enhance verb tense learning at four grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12). The variety of user-friendly tools helps both teachers and students reach their goals effortlessly.

PS - Are you interested in having your children get a solid American-style homeschool education?

Tienen preguntas sobre Educación en el hogar?

It is an American English-based interactive online animated curriculum, a great way to both build English fluency and to prepare for entry to an American school with an American curriculum. Highly recommended!!!

Long Vowel Sound

     A long vowel sound is a sound which is the same as, or very similar to the letter name of one of the vowels.
    When a single vowel letter is in the end of a word (or syllable), it usually says its long sound (or its name), as in go and be. When two vowels go hand in hand in the same word (or syllable), the first vowel is usually long, and the second vowel is usually silent. e.g., bake makes the /ay/ sound (long a) and the e is silent; goal makes the /oh/ sound (long o) and the a is silent. However, there are many exceptions to this rule, such as with irregular vowels.
    When there are two adjacent vowels in a word, the first one is long and the second one is silent. The first vowel is marked with a long line and second one is crossed out. Examples of this rule are in coat, ride, and read.
    There is both a long and short sound to “oo”. The long sound appears as in the words boo, food, smooth, and moose.

     
     In this video you can see many examples of words with long vowel sounds.
     You can also find very useful word lists about long vowel sounds on the website of  Vocabulary Spelling City.

         I want to talk about three of these sounds specifically:

Long o (long o) is the middle sound of the word home. (h sound, long o, m sound). The long o sound ends in a brief w sound. Listen again. (long o) home. Many of my students don't say this sound with the w sound at the end, and it can cause miscommunication. Meanwhile, the Long i sounds like (long i) and is the middle sound of the word bike. (b sound, long i, k sound). The long i is also a 2-sound vowel that end in a brief y sound. Listen again. (long i, bike).
-I will invite you to my birthday party.

-I saw the shadow of someone behind me and ran.
-My brother loves going to the restaurant to delight all the flavors which there are.
-Python is a kind of snake that has a powerful venom.
-Grandmother has cooked up a delicious meat pie.
-I was born in a remote village of Cuba called Placetas.
-We have already prepared the foam to wash dishes.
-I had breakfast milk and oatmeal yesterday.
-I like to eat both egg and bacon.
-My bed's pillow is very comfortable to rest my head.

Long u is the middle sound of the word cute. (k sound, long u, t sound). Notice that the long u sound (long u) begins with a very distinct y sound. Without that y sound, we only have (oo sound), which is a different sound that we will study later. Can you hear the different middle sounds in the words cute and rule. Cute is said with (long u) rule is said with the (oo sound) sound.
    In the following text I have written, many words appear with long vowel sounds and I've highlighted some who have long u:

  
  A few days ago, I took my little brother to buy a new backpack for school. Upon arrival, I realized he was enchanted by a backpack in particular which was made of a very cute tissue, where the main fruit of their favorite cartoon, appeared. Then I asked him if that was what he wanted to buy, but he quickly looked at me and said: - I don't want this one, I'm not a child anymore. But something in his eyes was crying that backpack , so I kept asking until he told me the cause, a little embarrassed. He told me that if he brought that bag so childish to school, he would be rejected by the other children who initiate the foolish rumor that at school there is a mama's boy who is still very small and watches cartoons on TV. I was shocked by the terrible concern but I had also gone through that stage of life when children are not kids but neither are adults, and I know how hard it can be. I explained that childhood is a very precious jewel that we all have but then many people lost. The truth is we must preserve this beautiful gift as long as we can, and kids from heart shouldn't give any excuse to others who are trying to refuse their truly existence and argue otherwise. What matters is the person inside you, and love that you are able to provide, beyond your age or your tastes.

Here's an article on how much vocabulary matters!  

Homonyms, Homophones and Homographs

    Today we will take a look at three groups of words that are very difficult to understand not only for who are studying English, but also for the natives, but if we study hard we can get it.

 
   "Homonymy" is the relationship between the concept and the name that occurs when multiple meanings share the same word, but the concepts to which it refers have no similarity. The fact that the name and spelling are the same  is mere coincidence, since they generally have very distant origins.
   "Homophones" belong to this group of  dificult words. Their spelling do not match  and have also different meaning, but the phonology is always the same.
   "Homographs" are words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings and are often pronounced differently as well.
    The last two include Heterograph and Heteronym respectively as special cases.
  
    The next picture pretty much sums up the distinctive characteristics of each group.

      I consider very effective and useful the exercises that Spelling City chose related  with the words's list to better understand the definitions. I mean: Audio Word Match,  a traditional memory match game that increases familiarity with terms by allowing students to match words they both see and hear read aloud; and Word Videos, in which students choose from a variety of options to create their own word video for their spelling and vocabulary words. Finally everything learned is tested in a fun exercise against the clock: Speedy Speller.
     
      Now I leave another picture with some representative examples, so that you can realize better the differences.  I also invite you access the link and consult as regards homonyms, homophones and homographs in Vocabulary Spelling City, paying particular attention to the homophones (sound alike words) 
 

 

Signs of Improvement

Hi guys!!!
    Sorry!  I have not posted for a long time , but the fact is that I have been very busy getting ready to go to college. Lately, I have had many tests and I had to study for all subjects. But I realized that my grades improved a lot in one subject in particular: Inglés. I wonder why. Certainly, by the help of Vocabulary Spelling City and the lessons of the first course.

    The teacher noticed that my writings in English had improved considerably and asked me how I had gotten. I told him about Spelling City and blog; then told me that I should continue writing because my vocabulary and, in general, my English has reached a higher level with the help of word lists, educational games and all the theory I should be reviewed to write to the blog.

    So, I come with new strength to learn because Spelling City will help me not only to learn English but also to get a good grade on the exam I am going to have in May.
    For now, here is the paragraph that I had to write this lesson, using the words from the list.

      English teacher asks to write a brief paragraph in which I must include all the list words. It is a hard work to me because I am afraid when I have to write in English. Although I can´t explain this feeling but I think I can handle the tasks that weigh on my shoulders. You must try too; choosing between not learning English or know it in depth. Doesn´t matter if you need to erase the paragraph again and again, the important part is your desire to learn. There is no reason to give up! Maybe you will not do it bad at all. Look! I have used eight words from the list, but surely my notes decay because I have not used all of them. Oh, wait a minute! Yes, I did it!

   These words represent two very important vowel sounds:  Long /a/ sound & Long /e/ sound, whose sounds are summarized in these videos.
   For these irregular sounds SpellingCity has a very effective method by which to establish sound-symbol correspondences . See the next link for tips if you also want to Improve Your Writing Skills