Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Into the Grammar Forest



Grammar can sometimes be a bit dry to teach, but it's such an interesting subject that it should be fun! I'm devising a grammar lecture involving an atmospheric story, introduced by a video. Who do you think the main character in the story should be? I have various ideas, but am interested to know how inter-cultural they are. Does everyone know the character of Little Red Riding Hood, for example? Or is a silent movie heroine more appealing? Or an Agatha Christie-style lady detective? (Yes, they're all female characters - I'm going to play the role!) I've put a poll up on the right, so do take the time to vote, or add a comment below. And of course, we'll put the finished story up on the blog too!

Monday, September 12, 2011

The Kiwis are coming!!!


Dear Grammar Gang devotees

Advance notice that a Kiwi will be landing in our Helpnest logo very soon!

You may be interested to know that New Zealand's famous national symbol and extremely cute bird, has three surviving species but is now sadly endangered due to habitat destruction and the introduction of the possum to New Zealand!

Some interesting facts: a kiwi is the size of a chicken, its egg is very large for a bird its size and kiwis are nocturnal, surviving on worms which they forage for at night.

Watch out for our new logo, which welcomes our New Zealand colleagues from Massey University to the Helpnest.

Susanna