Parent-Teacher Interview

Task 1:

 Watch a video about parent-teacher interviews. Listen to a parent-teacher interview at:

www.settlementdownloads.org/downloads/video/parentteacher/PT_EN.html

While you are listening, identify the expressions that are used to:

Begin the interview:	Welcome, you’re very glad you can make here this
Make transitions from one topic to another:	Just give you an idea what his be doing. It’s funny you mention that because you actually. We are happy to hear that, but we also concern about the home work. That is understandable, we normally do…  we’re worrying about if …
End the interview:	Thank you welcome to

 Answer the questions below about the interview.

1.     Is Richard progressing well in school?

Yes

2.     What specific comments about Richard’s performance does the teacher make?

Richard  is a strong and sociable student got lots of  progressing and friends,

3.     What four questions did the parents ask?

1)        How does Richard do in the school?

2)        In China like to write story in Chinese, is that a big problem to trans to English?

3)        Concern about the homework, didn’t see Richard bring a lot of  homework, why?

4)        Is Richard making new friends here?

5)        What other any program should Richard play after school?

6)        What does the part of learning skill mean?

4.     What information do the parents give the teacher about their son?

Richard likes to write story.

5.     What suggestions does the teacher give to help Richard do better in school?

Reading more books including English

6.     How does the meeting end?

Good.

Take 2:

Accordingly, children in Ontario receive a report card three times during the school year. The report card has grades and written comments about the child’s performance in each subject. The comments usually include next steps – actions the child is encouraged to take to improve his/her mark in a particular subject.

The list below contains terms from an Ontario report card. Write the correct letter on each line to match the terms with their meanings. Use a dictionary if needed.

1. exceeds (the provincial standards) .....d...	a) a text with a graph or some other visual display
2. remediation ............j	b) longer
3. literary text ..............h	c) standard ways of doing something
4. graphic text ...............a	d) goes beyond what is expected
5. cite .................i	e) at a constant level (of success)
6. extended ...............b	f) very good performance
7. considerable effectiveness ..............f	g) a figure with four or more sides and angles
8. conventions ............... c	h) a story
9. consistently ................... e	i) to mention, refer to
10. emerging .................k	j) an action taken to correct or improve a skill
11. polygon ......................g	k) beginning, starting to happen

Meeting

Monday's assignment

Preparing an Agenda

An agenda is an important element of a productive meeting. It is a written outline of the planned meeting proceedings and it communicates the topics for discussion. It can also list the people who will lead the discussion or present topics, and the time allotted for each topic. An agenda is usually sent to meeting participants in advance so they can confirm participation or send regrets (apologies for not participating) and prepare for the meeting. The agenda is usually written in point form. All items on the agenda are listed chronologically and relate to the objective of the meeting.

Read the sample agenda below and answer the questions.

MEETING AGENDA

Sunny Grove Elementary School Parent Association

When: Monday, June 15, 7:00 p.m.

Where: Library

Objective: To plan fundraising activities for spring term

1.     Presentation about school activities in need of funding

2.     Brainstorming: fundraising activities

3.     Select most effective fundraising activities: discussion and vote

4.     Set up committees and assign responsibilities

Task 1:

 Now answer the following questions:

1. What type of meeting is the agenda for?

    Community group meeting

2. Who are the participants?

    Parents on the School Parents Association

3. What is the purpose of the meeting?

    to plan fundraising activities for spring tern

4. How long do you think it is going to be?

    2~3 hours

5. How can the participants prepare for the meeting?

    Prepare some ideas about activities how to plan fundraising by your experiences or

    anyway else, for example, researching on the web site.

Task 2:

Listen to this phone conversation between two managers who decide on a meeting.

1.     Write a memo to the participants of the meeting to inform them about the time 

     and place of the meeting.

    Orientation Session Agenda

When: Next Monday, 9:00~11:00 a.m.

Where: Conference room

Objective: Punctuality and polices and procedures of the custom service 

Chair: Sheren Bing

Human resource: Rular, Jenna, Rafael

Attendees: New staffs hired recently

1.     Presentation on complain procedures and return polices (Jaona and Rafiel)

2.     Discuss issues about punctuality (Rular)

3.     Q and A

2.     Include an agenda with possible items for discussion. 

    Orientation Session Agenda

When: Next Monday, 9:00~11:00 a.m.

Where: Conference room

Objective: Punctuality and polices and procedures of the custom service 

Chair: Sheren Bing

Human resource: Rular, Jenna, Rafael

Attendees: New staffs hired recently

1.     Presentation on complain procedures and return polices (Jaona and Rafiel)

2.     Discuss issues about punctuality (Rular)

3.     Q and A

Blizzard

''Blizzard in Birmingham''

The Turner kids were not accustomed to snow. The most they ever got in their southern city of Birmingham was an inch or so per year. Even that was quite infrequent—it never snowed more than once or twice each winter. And on the few occasions that it did snow, it was always too warm for the snow to accumulate. The temperature almost never got below freezing.

What was funny was that even the slightest bit of snow was enough to cancel school and close businesses. No one knew how to drive in the stuff. It was never enough for young Lily Mae Turner, though, because the snow that came was always too sparse to build a snowman or to go sledding.

But one night, in March of 1993, something magical happened. An unexpected blast of cold air from Canada and moist air from the Caribbean converged on the eastern part of the United States to create the “Storm of the Century.”

All that the Turner kids knew was that when they woke up Saturday morning, there was 17 inches of unbelievable snow on their front lawn and as far as the eye could see.

The Turner parents were in shock. Most folks in town were ill-prepared for such a storm. They had no shovels to dig their way out and no salt to keep from slipping. They had no idea what to do.

While the adults seemed paralyzed with disbelief, the Turner kids set about having the time of their lives. Lily Mae discovered that a rope tied to a metal trash can lid made a perfect sled. John Henry figured out that if he put his feet in plastic grocery bags before putting on his rain boots, his feet stayed warm for a longer time. Rachel made snow angels in every part of the yard. Together, all the kids made a huge snowman and dressed it in their dad’s hat and jacket. (Mr. Turner didn’t own a scarf!)

For three straight days, the Turner kids had a splendid time. On Tuesday, the temperature hit 70 degrees, and life for these Southerners went back to normal.

Questions:
1) As used at the beginning of the story, what does accustomed mean? A. used to B. aware of C. scared of D. interested in A	2) As used at the beginning of the story, which is the best antonym for infrequent? A. common B. long C. rare D. surprising C
3) Which other title would best fit this passage? A. “1993” B. “A Cold March” C. “Magical Snow” D. “Ill-Prepared Parents” C 4) The author may have described the storm as magical because A. Lily Mae believed the snow was magic B. it was such an unusual thing to happen that it felt like magic C. there was no other explanation for why the storm occurred D. the author wanted to cast doubt on whether the storm actually took place B 6) What conclusions can be drawn about what the weather is typically like in Birmingham during the month of March? I. It is warm. II. It does not snow. III. It is windy. A. I only B. I and II C. II and III D. I, II, and III B 8) "What was funny was that even the slightest bit of snow was enough to cancel school and close businesses." "No one knew how to drive in the stuff." Which of the following punctuation marks could best be used to combine the above sentences? A. a comma ( , ) B. a semicolon ( ; ) C. an ellipsis ( … ) D. a hyphen ( - ) D 10) As used at the end of the story, which is the best antonym for splendid? A. great B. perfect C. happy D. terrible B 12) Pick one of these two situations, and write a paragraph to describe what would you do and why if you were in the same shoes as: 1-Turner kids                            2- the Turner parents You can start off by saying: If I were the Turner kids/parent, I would ……………………………………… If I were in the same shoes as Turner parents, I would play Games with my children. I would make a simple sled with my kids and go out to play with them and make several different size snowmen in behalf of our family and dress them in their own clothing. If possible, I would like to take our family to go skiing.	5) How are the children different than the adults in this passage? A. The kids stayed warm, while the adults were very cold. B. The kids knew the storm was coming, while the adults did not. C. The kids went out and had fun, while the adults did not know what to do. D. The adults still had to go to work, while the kids stayed home. C 7) What can be said about the Turner kids' ideas for playing in the snow without the usual snow gear? I. They were creative. II. They were effective. III. They were complicated. A. I only B. I and II C. II and III D. I, II, and III B 9) What was going on outside of Birmingham during the snowstorm? A. The rest of the country was also dealing with snow. B. Nothing—Birmingham was the only area affected by the storm. C. The Eastern United States was also hit by the storm. D. The passage does not provide enough information to say. C 11) Find synonyms for all the underlined words in the passage and then use them in sentences of your own. accustomed infrequent sledding blast ill-prepared paralyzed  I still get accustomed to live in Canadian winter. The city traffic will be paralyzed for the ill-prepared, though it is infrequent when the blast happens. But it is also a great chance to go sledding. 13) Click on this link and record one to two minutes of a personal experienced that you had once and you felt "ill-prepared" for it. Then save the link and add it on your blog. You need to include the following points: ·                     When and where this event happened? ·                     What was the situation? ·                     Why were you ill-prepared for it? ·                     What did you do? ·                     How did it end?