David's Narrated Picture Story

David spent a lot of time on his drawings. And the results are fantastic! I love the details and patterns in every scene. In his first video, David gives us a bird's-eye view of his morning commute. 

Idiom: bird's-eye view

John Bachmann [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
A bird's-eye view of New York City from 1865

View
The word view is about what you can see. When you're on a mountain, you can have a great view of the valley. If you're short, and you go to a concert, you might have a bad view of the band.

Bird's Eye 
When I walk in the city, I can see the buildings on the block. My view is limited. But birds can fly very high in the sky. When a pigeon looks at the city, it can see many blocks, and many buildings. The bird's view is very broad and wide. With a bird's-eye view, you can see the big picture.

Where can you see a bird's-eye view of the city? (respond in the comments)

-Eric, NYC, USA

Video: David's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credits

"BudsBursting 2.0" by Podington Bear
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
You can find more music and info from the artist at:
www.soundofpicture.com
www.podingtonbear.com
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/

Field Recordings from FreeSound.org

Busses.aiff: from hanstimm
NYC_bus_idle.wav: from gezortenplotz

00531 bus door opening closing.wav: Robinhood76
Horn Honk.wav: from mkoenig
Car Horn.wav: from ceberation
1964 Chrysler Horn Honk (Short): from lonemonk

Nipa's Narrated Picture Story

Nipa talks about stressful situations in her life. I think many people can relate to these difficult situations. 

Video: Nipa's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credits:

"Monkeys Spinning Monkeys"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Go to FreeMusicArchive.org to find more free, Creative Commons music.

Ygnacia's Narrated Picture Story

Ygnacia talks about her daily routines in her new video.

Video: Ygnacia's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit: By Grace by Podington Bear.

Click the link to download the song. 

By Grace (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

soundofpicture.com          podingtonbear.com

Go to FreeMusicArchive.org to find more free, Creative Commons music.

Lourdes' Narrated Picture Story

Lourdes does everything with her family. In her video, she shows all the special places she shares with her family. 

Video: Lourdes' Narrated Picture Story

Music Credits
"As They are Blown Here and There" by Protestant Work Ethic
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Protestant_Work_Ethic/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Awilda's Narrated Picture Story

Being on time can be difficult. Being on time when when you have young children---that seems impossible! 

In her video, Awilda talks about her daily routines. She made her routines personal by talking about the difficulty of morning routines with young children. Awilda's performance in this video is wonderful. I can hear how stressful morning routines can be with young children!

-Eric, NYC, USA

Video: Awilda's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit: Marie Josie by Podington Bear. 

poddingtonbear.com
soundofpicture.com

Click the link to download the song. 

Go to FreeMusicArchive.org to find more free, Creative Commons music.

Marie Josie (Podington Bear) / CC BY-NC 3.0

Jose's Narrated Picture Story

Jose is learning his first words in English. He describes his learning process: "poco a poco." This means little by little in Spanish. 

And he is correct! You can learn English in little steps.

From Pixabay.com, Creative Commons license

English is a difficult language to learn. There are many difficult sounds. And English spelling can be very confusing. But you can learn a little English every day!

-Eric, NYC, USA

Video: Jose's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit: Barranquilla Tiene Un Swing, By Frank Guerrero y Su Grupo Aché. Click the link to download the song. Go to FreeMusicArchive.org to find more free, Creative Commons music.

En Beta 0.1 (Frank Guerrero y Su Grupo Aché) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Alejandra's Narrated Picture Story

Alejandra loves her son very much. In her new video, she talks about the things they do together.

Video: Alejandra's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit:

Lee Maddeford with Les Gauchers Orchestra

leemaddeford.ch

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Iniabel's Narrated Picture Story

Iniabel talks about her daily routines in her new video.

You did it, Iniabel!

Video: Iniabel's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit:

"Quasi Motion"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Quang's Narrated Picture Story

Quang talks about his daily routines, some of the things he likes to do. For example: Quang drove a car in Vietnam.

Video: Quang's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit:
"Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Adalberto's Narrated Picture Story

Adalberto talks about his daily routines in his new video.

Great work Adalberto!

Video: Adalberto's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit:

"Early Riser"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Elizabeth's Narrated Picture Story

Let's go to Elizabeth's house!

In Elizabeth's story, she shows us her apartment in New York City, in great detail and vibrant colors. 

Elizabeth is an artist, and has made many beautiful illustrations of typical homes in Dominican Republic. I really hope that she will share some of those illustrations here!

Video: Elizabeth's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit:

"Rollin at 5"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

My Daily Routine: Ariel's Narrated Picture Story

Ariel is a professional dancer. In his video, we learn a little about dancing in his daily life. 

I asked Ariel to talk about his project. This is what he said:

"I recorded with my friend Mohammed. The pictures one by one. And recorded my voice for the video. It was good. I liked making the project."

Video: Ariel's Narrated Picture Story

Copyright notice:

This video uses the song Don't Cry, by Guns & Roses. We do not claim to own this music. It is used for educational purposes only.

Marie's Narrated Picture Story

This is Marie's first video! Congratulations on completing your project Marie!

Video: Marie's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit:

"Waltz de Gauchers"

by Lee Maddeford

leemaddeford.ch

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

One Day in My House: Maria's Narrated Picture Story

When I asked Maria what she enjoyed about the project, she said: the drawing. She says: it was difficult for me.

However, it is clear that Maria put a lot of time and effort in her pictures. She used color and detail to improve the pictures. 

And she rehearsed her speaking many times.

She says that her family is small. But we can see there is a lot of love!

Video: One Day in My House

Music Credit:

"Ciao"

By Lee Madeford with Les Gauchers Orchestra

leemaddeford.ch

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Luzmila's Narrated Picture Story

Luzmila has a big family. She has five brothers. She loves when her family is together.

Luzmila's project is exciting, because we used the help of five students in class to record voices. Thank you: Yuriana, Mohammed, Awilda, Silvia, and Fidel!

Video: One Day With My Family

Music Credit:
"Crossing the Divide"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Juana's Narrated Picture Story

Juana enjoyed writing about her life with her children. She teaches her children how to cook. And she is excited to share this with you!

Video: Juana's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit:

"Unity"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Alejandro's Narrated Picture Story

Alejandro has a busy day. He goes to lunch with friends. He watches TV. He plays sports. He goes to the park. Actually, these are great ways to relax, and feel less stressed!

Video: Alejandro's Narrated Picture Story

A thank you note:

When Alejandro finished his project, he and Yesenia helped other students in their group finish projects. Thank you for all your help, Alejandro!

-Eric, NYC, USA


Music Credit:
"Pixel Peeker Polka - faster"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Ismoil's Narrated Picture Story

When Ismoil started class, he only knew a few words of English. But that has never stopped him from speaking with students in class, and sharing beautiful stories about his life.

He taught the class some Uzbek expressions:

English                              Uzbek
 Good morning                         Hayrli tong
 Good afternoon                       Hayrli kun 


Ismoil is so friendly, we practiced the pronunciation of smile and Ismoil together!

In this video, Ismoil talks about the biggest moments of his life, and his favorite traditions.

Video: With My Friends and Family, 

By Ismoil

About the music:

Photo from Excavated Shellac.

Background music: Komiljon Otaniyozov and I. Abdullaev – Yashi, shared by Excavated Shellac.

You can read more about Komiljon Otaniyozov and download the music. The man behind Excavated Shellac collects rare music from around the world, and records digital files so people can hear this amazing music. Most of the music he shares is no longer printed.

-Eric, NYC, USA

Yesenia's Narrated Picture Story

Yesenia talks about her daily life. 

Video: Yesenia's Narrated Picture Story

Thank you note:

Yesenia was very helpful with this project. After she finished her project, she and Alejandro worked together to help other members in her group. Thank you for your help!

-Eric, NYC, USA


Music Credit:
"Beach Party"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Matilde's Narrated Picture Story

Let's go to Mexico!

Matilde talks about her daily life, and shows us beautiful scenes from her memories of Mexico.

Video: Matilde's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit

"Flourish #2 by Discount Fireworks

http://www.discountfireworksband.co.uk

Sonia V's Narrated Picture Story

Sonia's children are very important to her. And she has a big family! In this video, you will learn about Sonia's life at home.

She cooks. She cleans. And her children dance!

Video: Sonia V's Narrated Picture Story

Music Credit

"Quasi Motion"

Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Abdiel's Narrated Picture Story

Let's take a trip to Panama! 

Abdiel lives in the United States. Many years passed before he could travel to Panama, and see his mother, his sisters, and his beautiful country.

Video: Pretty Panama by Abdiel

I am very proud of Abdiel's project. He put so much time and effort into this. And you can see that in his pictures, and hear it in his speaking. He practiced all the words until he could do it perfect! Great work!

-Eric, NYC, USA

Copyright notice: Abdiel requested to use Patria by Ruben Blades in his project. This music is copyrighted, and used for educational purposes only. We do not claim to own this music.

Yuriana's Narrated Picture Story

When Yuriana started in my class, she spoke no English. Zero. 

Now, she is making stories about her life, and about her family. And she reads with confidence!

Yuriana writes about the difficulty of balancing family and school. I think many people can relate to this.

Video: Yuriana's Narrated Picture Story

Copyright notice: The song is Irresistible Yvette (with Les Gauchers Quintet)  from Instrumentals 1, by Lee Maddeford. 

Irresistible Yvette (with Les Gauchers Quintet) (Lee Maddeford) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

leemaddeford.ch
http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Maddeford/

One Day: Mohammed's Narrated Picture Story

In Mohammed's narrated picture story, he talks about a variety of problems. Problems with health. Problems with a younger sibling. Problems with money!

Watch and listen to Mohammed's fantastic performance!

Video: One Day by Mohammed

Thank you note:

I want to thank Mohammed for all his hard work in class. He recorded many times, and made many drafts of his writing and drawings.

I also want to thank Mohammed for all his help in class. After he finished his project, he helped many, many students complete their projects. He helped them practice their speaking. He helped them take photos. And he helped them record and make their videos. The many videos you will see later this week would not be possible without his help. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

-Eric, NYC, USA

Copyright note: The music in the video is from Bebo Valdes, from the Chico and Rita soundtrack. It's a wonderful animated movie about Cuban musicians.

Hamida's Narrated Picture Story

Hamida shares some good times and bad times in her narrated Picture Story. 

Video: Hamida's Picture Story

The music in this video is Embellir (with Les Gauchers Quintet), by Lee Maddeford. Click the link to hear more songs, and download for free.

Instrumentals 1 (Lee Maddeford) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

leemaddeford.ch

For more free music from the Creative Commons, go to FreeMusicArchive.org.

New Cartoon Movie: Stressed Out!!!

In this post:

• Talking about STRESS
• Introducing a new art and video project

Talking about STRESS

We recently talked about stress in our class. We talked about what can cause stress. And we talked about the effects of stress on people.

Here are some causes that students talked about:

• when I don't have money
• when I have relationship problems
• when my children are sick

Here are some effects that students talked about:

• a person can feel tired
• a person can feel sad and cry a lot
• a person can feel angry and scream a lot
• a person can drink more alcohol or smoke more cigarettes
• a person can eat a lot more, or eat a lot less than usual

Personally, I believe it is healthy to talk about stress. Sometimes when you talk to friends about the stress in your life, you can feel like you are not alone with your problems. 

That was my intention with this video. I hope it doesn't stress you out too much to watch it. 

Write in the comments: 

When you feel stressed out, what do you do to feel better?

Introducing a new art and video project: 

Narrated Picture Stories

Stressed Out: An Animated Video

Later this week: new videos from students! Narrated picture stories about their lives!

-Eric, NYC, USA


Copyright notice: I did not make the drawings. I do not claim to own them. This video was made for educational purposes only, as an example for my students who are currently making similar projects.

The drawings are the copyright of Kate Singleton. You can find more picture stories and lesson plans to discuss adult health, from the Center for Applied Linguistics.

The images of the clocks are public domain.

Some of the sounds were found at FreeSounds.org.

Action Verbs! They draw.

The students in our classes love to draw. In this post you can learn about the verb draw, and see a video from Fidel, drawing a face. Soon you will see the completed flip book made from the video.


In August, Maria R drew pictures of her family at home.  

I and My Family Like to Dance

The Family Project

Fidel likes to draw. He drew a picture of me last month.

I think this is me!

Video: He draws a face.

Past Tense:       drewI drew a picture of my home.
You drew a picture of a dad.
We drew a picture of the class.
They drew a picture of the school.

She drew a picture of the family.
He drew a picture of a face.

Present Tense:  draw or draws
I draw a picture of a house.
You draw a picture of a dad.
We draw a picture of the class.
They draw a picture of the school.

She draws a picture of the family.
He draws a picture of a face.

Ana sometimes draws in class. In May, Ana drew her family at the park. Ana also drew her apartment building.

You can see more art from students here: Drawing.

What do you think are the policemen dutie in NYC? DUTIES."

1.The police are first people we call when there is emergency.
2.Police officers RESCUE people from danger.
3.They find lost children.
4.They may help DELIVER babies.
5.Police control and direct traffic.
6.Police may stop drivers who are driving too fast.
7.They can ask to see the driver's license, car registration and Insurance.
8.They may check for Illegal drugs and unregistered guns.
9.The secret service are police who protect the President, vice President and other top officials and their families.
10.Criminals may attack them.

BODY: GERMS ENTER THE BODY

Wax and cilia protect the ears.
Eyelashes and blinking keep duct and germs from eyes, tears, clean eyes.
When you don't cover you mouth the germs get inside.
If you don't wash you hands the germs stay on the skin.
When the knee cut the germs inside.
When you get a cut and we don't clean it the germs get inside.

HIV/AIDS

December 1 is world AIDS DAY.This is the  day to wear your red ribbon. In support. Of those living with HIV/AIDS. It is also a day to remember. Those who have died. AIDS was IDENTIFIED in the 1980.The first world AIDS DAY was held in 1988.In canada the give a day program asks Canadians. To donate one day' s pay to an AIDS organization on December 1.In Africa soccer stars and coaches discuss AIDS PREVENTION with young athletes. About two million people die of AIDS each year. Many people think AIDS is limited to Africa. This is a myth. AIDS IS AN INTERNATIONAL EPIDEMIC. Statistic suggest that a new person is infected with HIV every 10 -15 seconds the red ribbon campaign began as a grassroots program. Grassroots programs are  key to raising funds and awareness a about GLOBAL issues. The organizations working to reserve the global epidemic of AIDS. ....

He puts on a hat: Our First Paper Movie (flipbook).

Updated with new video!

This is my example for our new project: Paper Movies! (These are also called flip-books.)

He puts on a hat.

The action here is put on. You can use put on for clothing. 

For example: 
She puts on a coat. 
They put on glasses when they read.
In the winter, I put on gloves.


-Eric, NYC, USA

Video with English Text

Video of Flipbook

This video features music from Discount Fireworks. For more information about the music, and to download the music for free, click the link below.

//\\ (Discount Fireworks) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Best Wishes for your Wedding!

On November 5th, two students from our class got married. In preparation for their party, the students in class recorded short messages. 

In this video, you can see the students' speaking their messages, their cards and art, and preparing a dance lesson at the end. 

You will also see the students having fun together practicing English. That was my favorite part. I hope you enjoy.

I will try and share photos from the class party soon. 

Eric, NYC, USA

Learn, Share, Succeed...in English! : "Found" Poems

Learn, Share, Succeed...in English! : "Found" Poems.....

Hi MY name is Maria I likes this group they make a very nice work. ....

"Found" Poems

Hi MY name is Mary Ramirez

Why do you come to school?
To study English
To write and learn more conversation.
To speak English.
To learn English.
To read and write English.

Veterans Day

November 11 is veterans Day. Veterans are people who fought in wars.
Americans first celebrated. Veterans Day to remember the end of world
War I, on November 11,1918.They wanted to honor the soldiers who fought in the war. They wanted also to celebrate peace. .
After world War I,the United State fought in other wars. So now Americans remember all veterans on this day. ......:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

Maria's Pepper Plant

Maria has a Pepper plant. It grow every day. Last week, her plant was 7 inches tall. Today, her plant is 9 and one half inches tall.

How much did her plant grow?


By: Maria A.

garden super star

                                                                    garden super star

                                   Jorge and   Ismoil                                                                                                                                                                

The basil plant

The Dolores`s plant

Dolores has a basil plant. It grows every day.

Last week, her plant was 3.8 inches tall.

Today, her plant is 4.0 inches tall. 

How much did her plant grow?

  MARIA POINT THE DAY. 

1. Maria was manager in a  hospital  for 10 years. She was a manager in a building for 2 years. How many years of management experience does she have?

2. Maria working in Puerto Rica for 5 years the seamstress. She moved to the N.Y for a job as a  seamstress for 5 years. How many years of experience  does she  have?