Coursework

Kosana, Dunja, Ivana, Emilija & Nikolina, VII4

My older pupils, mostly girls, have taken part in the state contest organised by Klett, Belgrade. Their task was to make a guidebook-presentation in English, following the model from Messages 3 student's book. 

They all got their diplomas for taking part in this interesting contest.

Cold and Windy

This is the last song we've learned this school year. It also involves a lot of acting, snapping fingers and things like that.  It's great for revising clothes and practising WAS/WERE.

I first focused my pupils on the pictures illustrating the song. I told them the song was in the past and then asked them a few questions about the pictures (What can you see? Was it a nice day? What was the weather like? Were grandpa and grandson happy?) Since there were a few pictures in the song instead of words, I asked my pupils to match them with the given words. Then, they listened and checked their answers and finally I asked them to stand up, show and repeat the song.

Here are the lyrics:

Chorus: 

Hat, coat, sweater and scarf,

It was cold and windy in the park, cold and windy...

It was grey and cloudy,

There wasn't any sun,

There weren't many children,

It wasn't much fun.

Chorus

There wasn't a rainbow,

There wasn't any snow,

Grandpa and I were ready to go.

Chorus

Back at home,

It was much better,

With a hot drink,

And my big red sweater.

Chorus

III1

III4

III5

What can I see?

Here's another song with a lot of movements invented on the spot. It's great for practising comparative adjectives. 

As for the introduction, we played a guessing game to name the animals in the pictures around the text. Then, I asked my pupils to pretend that they were in the jungle and mime different actions, including their reaction when they faced wild animals.

And the lyrics are as follows:

I'm walking,

I'm walking.

What can I see?

I can see a lion and it's bigger than me.

I'm swimming,

I'm swimming.

What can I see?

I can see a shark and it's uglier than me.

I'm standing,

I'm standing.

What can I see?

I can see a snake and it's thinner than me.

I'm hiding,

I'm hiding.

What can I see?

I can see a bat and it's smaller than me.

I'm sitting,

I'm sitting.

What can I see?

I can see a monkey and it's naughtier than me.

 III1

III2

III3

III4

 III5

My Favourite Restaurant

Think about your favourite restaurant. Why do you like going there? 

P1: name, location, frequency of visits

P2: outside/inside description

P3: service, staff, dishes, prices

P4: recommendation (atmosphere, food...)

My favourite restaurant is 'Belavila'. It is in the centre of our town. I usually go there with my mum when she feels lazy and doesn't want to cook. 

This restaurant is modern and furnished really nice. It is small, the tables are big, and on the left side of the restaurant there's the kids' play area. 

I love going there because people who work there are kind to their guests, always smile and think positive. The dishes are always different. It depends on the day of the week, so it's always different. My favourite meal there is pasta with meat in mushroom sauce. The prices are sometimes low or high, which depends on how much the food costs. 

My mum is not a really good cook, so I love going there. The food is so tasty, the atmosphere is great and people smile all the time. It's the most perfect restaurant I have ever been to.

Ninoslava Marinkov, VII1, 13 May 2015

My favourite restaurant is the 'Big ship'. It is located in Koper, on the Adriatic coast. I go there with my family every time I am in Koper.

The restaurant is designed as a ship, inside and outside. The waiters and all the staff are dressed like sailors. They smile and they are kind. The food is delicious. I have tasted a lot of tasty dishes, but the most beautiful ones are seafood and calamari.

The atmosphere is beautiful and relaxing at the 'Big ship'.

Teodora Volarov, VII1, 13 May 2015

The place where I often go with my family is called Slap in Serbian. In English, we can call it Waterfall. It is a pizza house, located in Nikola Francuski Street.

I really like going there so much because both the interior and exterior are well-decorated. Inside, there are a lot of leather dining boots and mirrors, so it looks more spacious than it really is. Outside, there is a  wonderful garden with beautiful flowers. 

The service is fine. The staff are kind and hospitable. The dishes are tasty and the portions are large enough. The prices are acceptable.

I gladly recommend visiting Slap because it is the best pizza house in our town. 

Emilija Mijandžić, VII4, 20 May 2015

My favourite restaurant is Twenty. The restaurant is located at the square of Kikinda. Every day a lot of people visit the restaurant. Lots of tourists and celebrities visit it when they come to Kikinda.
Outside the restaurant is a large garden full of flowers with tables and chairs. The garden overlooks the square full of various plants, birds and smiling children. Inside the restaurant, there are beautifully set tables of different sizes and shapes with decorations on them.
The dishes are always tasty and interestingly served. The staff are friendly and polite to guests. The dishes are delicious and the prices low.
I recommend that you go to this restaurant and try all of the dishes but pizza is a must!

Andrea Ružić, VII4, 20 May 2015 

My favourite restaurant is Bela Vila. It is located in the main street of Kikinda, Svetosavska.
The restaurant has a lot of visitors. The outside of Bela Vila is very beautiful. There is a small area where guests can sit during the summer. Outside, there are also a lot of flowers covering the restaurant. The inside is very big. The walls are covered with a lot of beautiful paintings. 

The service is quick. The staff are really polite and friendly. The dishes are tasty and the prices are very low.
I recommend Bela Vila to you because it is a perfect restaurant when you want to go out for lunch with your family.

Kosana Jakonić, VII4, 20 May 2015 

My favourite restaurant is called 'Santa Maria'. It is located in the Ovčar-Kablar Gorge. It is a fish restaurant.

It is an often visited place because of the delicious food and a nice view. The restaurant is placed on a wooden raft on the river side. It has a roof with a blind on the terrace. The restaurant is painted dark green and bright yellow. 

Inside the restaurant, there are a lot of flower pots with colourful flowers. There is a model of a sailing ship and stuffed fish.

The staff are friendly and polite. There are a lot of fish dishes at affordable prices. 

I would recommend this restaurant because of the good view on the mountains and tasty dishes.   

Marko Dejanović, VII4, 20 May 2015 

When I was on holiday in Sokobanja with my parents, I visited the most beautiful restaurant I've ever seen, the Cave restaurant.
It's very interesting because it's located in the suburbs, in the forest, not in the centre of the city. A lot of tourists visit this restaurant every year.
All the tables and chairs are made of wood and they are under a rock, at the entrance to the cave. A narrow shallow river flows nearby and the visitors can cross it over a wooden bridge. What a wonderful view!
People usually drink coffee and juice there. They mostly eat different types of meat, soups, salads and desserts. But, the best-selling and the tastiest dish is fresh trout. Most dishes have reasonable prices, but some are more expensive. The staff are kind and pleasant.
The Cave restaurant in Sokobanja is my favourite restaurant, because I enjoy the nature. It's beautiful and relaxing to have lunch in the forest and listen to the birds and the ripple of the river. 

Tijana Varađanin, VII2, 22 May 2015

My favourite restaurant is Macchiato. It is in the centre of the city. I went to Macchiato every day in the winter, but now I go there once a week.
It is big and you can sit downstairs, upstairs and outside. The walls outside are yellow. The inside walls are purple and it is dark.
The service is very good and the waiters are fast. The prices are very low.
The food is very tasty. Pizza is the tastiest in Macchiato. It is always full of guests and there we can listen to music or watch a match on TV.
I like eating in Macchiato.

Anja Berić, VII2, 22 May 2015

Gadgets

Write your opinion on any of the gadgets we use nowadays. You may use the following model:
P1: State the topic

P2: Advantages + examples

P3: Disadvantages + examples

P4: Summary (conclusion)

Up until now kids have had sports equipment, tape recorders and radios in their rooms, but these traditional items are gone and modern technology, like PCs, games consoles, phones and other things have come into their lives.

Computers have changed the lives for many teenagers and kids. They spend more time in their bedrooms, with the computer screen in front of their eyes rather than playing outside or hanging out with their friends.

The advantages of the computers are that they can help you with your homework. Computers can also be useful in different ways, like listening to music or video chatting. 

The disadvantages are that they can cause addiction of gaming and eye disorder. 

You have to be careful with computers and take care of your health.  

Marko Dejanović, VII4, 27 March 2015

Nowadays we cannot imagine living without a mobile phone and the internet.

The internet has both good and bad sides. What I like about the internet is that I can communicate with people whenever I want. Also, the internet allows people to play a lot of interesting games and to learn everything they want. 

However, the internet is not always so useful because not all information is accurate. We can surf the internet on our mobile phones and computers. 

Mobile phones are useful because we can use them to communicate with our friends whenever we want.

Modern technology has enabled today's society to stay up to date with the whole world and everything that happens almost anywhere on the planet. 

Emilija Mijandžić, VII4

Everybody loves spending time in front of their computer, but it is sometimes not good.
Spending a lot of time  in front of the computer screen can cause a lot of problems. Too much looking at the screen can harm your eyes and sitting in the wrong position can damage your spine.
The computer can also be good. We can send an email, listen to music and surf the internet. we can write a document, keep the pictures and much more.
The computer should be safely used in order to avoid problems.

Andrea Ružić, VII4

There are a lot of electrical items which make our life easier. One of them is a computer. 

Although computers are a very important part of our lives, there are some bad sides in using them. A lot of kids sit in front of them for many hours and that is bad for their eyes. Some of them get fatter and their health gets worse because they don't play outside, ride bikes and run. 

However, PCs have good sides too. We can watch films, listen to music, write, draw and other things. We can also keep a lot of information and pictures in a computer. We can find the news in the world thanks to the internet.

If we use PCs in a right way, we'll become smarter, but we shouldn't sit in front of them for so long, or we'll become heartless.

Bojana Groza, VII4

Of all the gadgets, I mostly use my PC. I got that computer for my birthday. It is not new but I am satisfied with it.

A PC is very useful. You can play games on it. I mostly play action games. 

Computers have another good function, the internet. If you need to present something, you can download files from the internet. On the internet we have social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Over them we can catch up with our friends.

On the other hand, PCs, especially the internet, have bad sides. Some data can be misused. In fact, some people misuse  them. We need to be more careful when we put the information on Facebook.

In my opinion, a computer is a good thing. we just need to use it carefully.

Jožef Horvat, VII5   

There are a lot of gadgets which can help us. I usually use a mobile phone, a digital camera and a laptop.

When I want to download music I just press the download button and I can play the music. By watching TV I can see the whole world, different countries and people. I can hear the latest news on television and we can study some interesting facts.

However, if teenagers play video games for too long, they can damage their health, sight or back. Teenagers can forget to do their homework or go out with their friends. Up-to-date gadgets can also cause more stress.   

Gadgets are great for staying in touch, but we must be smart when we use them.

Aleksa Francuski, VII1, 1 April 2015

There are too many kinds of gadgets. They can be good and bad for us.

My favourite gadget is a mobile phone. It is really useful, but can also be bad.

You can make phone calls with your friends and always stay in touch with them. Also, you can send text messages. One of my favourite things is that you can listen to music, all kinds of music. Those are some of the good things about mobile phones.

Unfortunately, mobile phones have bad sides, too. They are expensive to use, especially this new generation. It can be stressful because you don't know who will send you a message and if that message will be rude or something good. Mobile phones can also go wrong in no time. 

I really like my mobile phone, and it's really nice to have one, even if there are some bad sides!

Dušan Bačkuljin, VII1, 1 April 2015

Today, gadgets are the most important things in our lives.

Mobile phones, laptops, TVs, computers are useful gadgets, but they are not always good. 

Mobile phones with too many functions can be too much for teenagers and they are also expensive. The packs for unlimited network wherever you are don't exactly do that. They give you the Internet when you pay a bill at the end of the month. 

Laptops are dangerous for our intimate body parts when we hold them in our lap. 

Teens sit all day long in front of the computer, chatting on Facebook or playing video games. 

Gadgets are also very useful for communication with family and friends. You can take your mobile phone and laptop almost everywhere you go. 

I think that gadgets are really the most important things in our lives and that after a couple of years everybody will have a mobile phone. Today, almost everything is a flat-screen gadget. We have touch-screen mobile phones, plasma TVs and also touch-screen monitors.   

There are more bad than good things about our gadgets. They are not that great as most people describe them.   

Julijan Cimerman, VII4, 2 April 2015

Mobile phones are very useful. We use them every day. 

We can call someone or send text messages wherever we are. We can also listen to music or play games. Also, we can take pictures of beautiful places or our and our friends and us. 

However, they have bad things about them too. Mobile phones are expensive to use. They are bad for our health too. If we use mobile phones too much, we will forget to do our homework and study.

I don't use my mobile phone too much, because I know that it's bad for my hearing.

Teodora Volarov, VII1, 15 April 2015

Activity Share Competition

The Macmillan Team has chosen my favourite classroom activity as the winner of their Activity Share Competition. I'm sure my pupils will enjoy reading the books they've sent.

'The Fruit Party' is just perfect for the first day of school. At least I do this activity with my pupils then. First, I ask my pupils to write the numbers from 1 to 5, one below another, in their notebooks. Then, I ask them to think of a basket with all kinds of fruit and pick one. They should write the name of that fruit next to number 1. After that I ask them to think of their favourite childhood toy. They should write its colour next to number 2. Shortly, I ask them to guess how many pencils they've got in their pencil cases and write their answer next to number 3. Later, I ask them to write where something they're wearing was made next to number 4. Then, I ask them to think of a letter and write the job starting with that letter next to number 5. Finally, I reveal my pupils what each number stands for (1 = their name, 2 = their surname, 3 = the number of pets they've got, 4 = the country they come from, 5 = their job) and ask them to pretend that they're at the party and meet the others. The activity includes all four skills, plus a lot of fun and mingling.

HIPPO 2015 Results

Here are the results of the 3rd HIPPO International Competition in English Language that took place on 14 March:

Kosana Jakonić VII4 (Reading: 40 + Listening: 18 = 67/70 points),
Petar Tesla VII3 (Reading: 40 + Listening: 18 = 67/70 points),
Lazar Turudija VII1 (Reading: 38 + Listening: 19 = 66.50/70 points).

By the way, the writing test questions were marked only for those who scored 100%.

All of my pupils competed in the HIPPO 3 (CEF A2) category this school year.

HIPPO International English Language Competition is organised by Global Input and Global Hippo Associations. The main sponsors are EDI Pearson and Swan Institute.