creative composition by Aslett Michael

be verb: Present Tense 1

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Theme-based Discussion

Read each topic below. Make sure you understand the questions. Work in groups of four to discuss the first topic. Then choose one person to report the group’s answers to the class. Next, move to another group to discuss the next topic. A. The picture below shows how one artist sees fear. Everyone is afraid sometimes, but some people have

strong, unreasonable fears of certain things. These kinds of fears are called phobias. There are people who are afraid of heights, enclosed spaces, animals, or even other people. People are afraid of snakes, spiders, and insects. What are you afraid of? Why are you scared of it?

B. Some people are very afraid of bad weather. Look at the chart below. Work with a partner. Use the newspaper

or the Internet to find out what the weather is like in some major cities in the United States. Complete the chart and exchange your work with another pair. Describe the weather in each city. Use the following adjectives to describe the weather: sunny, windy, rainy, snowy, foggy, cloudy, cool, cold, warm, hot, humid, dry, pleasant, perfect. Example: Today in New York, it is partly cloudy. The temperature is 71 degrees. It is a cool, pleasant day.

Cities

New York

Today

71 ° F

Creative Composition

Tampa

Denver

Minneapolis Nashville

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Baltimore New Orleans Your City

be Verb: Present Tense

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Sentence Writing

Identification and Classification A. Write four sentences using be to tell about yourself. Write two affirmative and two negative statements.

Use contractions if you wish. Example: I am a student. I’m not a professor.

1. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Write four sentences using be to tell about your family. Write two affirmative and two negative statements.

Use contractions if you wish. Example: My mother is a good cook. My brothers aren’t students.

5. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Description C. Write four sentences using be to tell about your friends. Write at least one negative statement.

Example: Maria and Wei-Ping are very pretty. They’re not shy.

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10. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Location D. Write three sentences using be to tell where some of your friends and family are now. Write at least one

negative statement. Example: My aunt is in China. My brother isn’t in China.

13. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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be Verb: Present Tense

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Description of the Photographs

A. Analyze each photograph. Think about words to describe the people in the pictures. Use a bilingual dictionary

if you need to find an English word. Write at least 12 words on the lines below.

Photo A

Photo B

__________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________ __________________ ___________________ B. Use be and the words you wrote for Exercise A to write sentences about each photograph.

Example: In Photo A, the girl is about 10 years old. In Photo B, the children are many different ages.

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be Verb: Present Tense

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The Writing Page

A. Think of three friends and use forms of be to write three sentences about them.

Example: M aribel Garcia is a good student. She is 23 years old. Maia Simon and Halima Rahim are very interesting. They are from Egypt.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Now use be to write sentences telling where each friend from Exercise A is today. Write one negative

sentence. Example: Maribel Garcia is at the library. Maia and Halima aren’t with her. They are at home.

4. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

C. Work with a partner. Use your sentences from Exercises A and B to tell your partner about your friends.

Your partner will tell the class about them.

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be Verb: Present Tense

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Directed Writing

Task: Write a paragraph about you and your class.

Prewriting Who are you? What are you like? Where are you right now—in class? At home? What is that place like? Who is with you? What are they like? Ask a friend some questions if you need more information about your class or the place where you are. In your notebook, make notes about yourself and the place. Use a chart like the one below.

from Thailand

quiet, friendly

“you”

teacher

my class/home

Kirana, Pavel, Ines

First Draft Use your cluster chart and notes to write a first draft of your paragraph. Use be in the present tense. Write affirmative and negative sentences, and use contractions to describe yourself and your class. Here are some nouns and adjectives you may want to use. Nouns: student, teacher, friend, classmate. Adjectives: friendly, nice, interesting, boring, tough, easy.

Model My name is Sopal. I’m from Thailand. I’m in an English class in Sacramento, California. Kirana, Pavel, and Ines are some of my classmates. They’re friendly and nice. They are from different countries, but we are all friends. Our teacher is Dan Peters. He is very interesting. The class isn’t easy, but it is fun.

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be Verb: Present Tense

Revision Read through your paragraph and check for correct forms of be, clear statements, logical order, and correct punctuation. Ask a partner to read your paragraph. Your partner should be able to answer the following questions about your paragraph: • What is your name? • What are you like? • Where are you? • Who is with you and what are they like? • Did you use correct forms of be? • Do you have any errors in contractions? • Does the paragraph need any more information?

Final Draft Make any changes or additions that are needed in your paragraph. Then write or type a final copy. You may want to include your final paragraph in a portfolio of your writing.

Evaluation Your teacher will grade your paragraph. You will be evaluated on: • the detail level describing yourself and your class; • the correct use and forms of be; • the variety of affirmative and negative sentences; and • the correct forms of contractions.

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be Verb: Present Tense

The Simple Present Tense 1

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Theme-based Discussion

Read each topic below. Make sure you understand the questions. Work in groups of four to discuss the first topic. Write your notes on the next page and choose one person to report the group’s answers to the class. Then move to another group to discuss the next topic. Repeat this process until all the topics are discussed. A. It’s summer vacation time! Everyone has a favorite place to vacation: the beach, the mountains, or the city. Some people like to go swimming. Others like to walk in nature in the mountains. Others like to travel to big cities like the one in the picture to experience all the excitement and nightlife. What kind of a person are you? Do you prefer to vacation at the beach, in the mountains, or in a city? Why?

B. Even though most people take vacations just once a year, every working person looks forward to weekends. At the end of the work week, many Americans say T.G.I.F. (“Thank goodness it’s Friday!”) There is even a restaurant chain called TGIFridays®. Why are Fridays so important? Why do people get so excited on Friday? C. One possible answer to the questions in Exercise B is that many people do not like their job. Describe a bad job. Present as many characteristics of a terrible position as you can.

D. Look at the picture below. Do you think the man is happy? Probably not. People who don’t like their jobs often have stress. They need to relax and calm down. What do you do to relax? How do you calm down?

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The Simple Present Tense

A. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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B. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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C. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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D. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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The Simple Present Tense

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Sentence Writing

General Facts A. Use present tense to write one sentence about your favorite actor and one sentence about your favorite actress. Example: Jim Carrey always makes me laugh. I never miss a movie starring Catherine Zeta-Jones.

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2. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

B. Use present tense to write two sentences about your favorite city in the world. Example: Tokyo is the capital of Japan. It is a beautiful, clean city.

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4. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Habitual Activities C. Use present tense to write two sentences describing your tasks at work or school. Example: I use a computer all day. I make a lot of phone calls.

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Feelings D. Use present tense to write two sentences telling how you feel when you get a bad grade on a test. Example: I feel really bad. I worry about my grades.

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E. You see an old friend. Use present tense to write two sentences telling how you feel. Example: I am surprised and happy. I want to talk with my friend.

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Adverbs of Frequency F. U se adverbs of frequency to write four sentences about your weekend activities. Example: I never go bowling. I often go to the park.

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12. _ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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The Simple Present Tense

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Description of the Photograph

Look at the photograph below. Use it to complete the activities.

A. T hese people meet every Saturday afternoon. Analyze the photograph with a partner. Who are these people? Where are they? What do they talk about every week? Where are they? What is the relationship among the people? B. O n the next page, write sentences telling what happens when this group meets every week. Use simple present tense because this is a habitual activity. C. W ork in groups of four or five. Choose the most interesting sentences from Exercise B. Have the author read them aloud to the class.

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The Simple Present Tense

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The Writing Page

Look at the photograph below. Use it to complete the activities.

A. First, study the photograph closely. Then, make a list on the next page of all the nouns that you find. Example: sofa, dog, coffee table, television B. U se your list of nouns to write 10 sentences on the next page about the picture. Include these prepositions: next to, between, under, on top of, in, on, in front of, behind, near, close to. Example: The sofa is near the television. C. N ow think about your home. Does it look like this? On the lines below, write 10 sentences about the things in your home. Use present tense and prepositions like you did in Exercise B. Example: In my home, the television is next to the window.