6: A Secret Identity [Teacher Model: What ◯◯ did over the summer]

This is Matsuko Deluxe, and I know what she did this summer.  Many people see her on TV every day, but I think that is just a cover--she filmed the TV shows in advance.  She probably started training for a long time before summer to become the pilot of a rocket ship.  The rocket launched earlier in the summer, and now she is living on Mars.  I think she will charm many aliens on Mars with her sharp wig and cute face.

5) My iPhone is dying! [Teacher Model: Free choice]

I think my iPhone is dying. I have several reasons for thinking this.

Only one of the speakers works, the other is broken so it doesn't ring very loudly. Sometimes when my mother calls me, I don't hear the phone and then we get annoyed because we missed each other.

The biggest problem is that the home button is very sticky. I can press the home button many times, but it doesn't go back to HOME. It's tiresome pressing the button so many times when nothing happens.

It would be difficult to fix these problems so I want to get a new phone. I guess I'll just get a new iPhone because my current one is quite old now, it's a 4S. I hope I'll get it soon. Maybe I'll get it as a birthday present?

4) On Top of The World [Teacher Model: About a Photo]

Last year I lived in Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture.  There is a big mountain there that borders Yamagata prefecture called Zao. In winter, many people go skiing on the mountain but in the summer when there is no snow, a lot of people go hiking there.

I love to hike.  This is a picture I took when I hiked with 3 other friends.  We started in the morning and made it to the top of the mountain by lunchtime.  I took this picture while we were resting on the rocks after lunch.  We were over 1800 meters from the ground!

3) Summer in Japan - A Season I Love to Hate! [Teacher Model: A season you love or hate]

I can't decide whether I like summer in Japan or not. When the weather gets warmer, I start to get excited about things such as summer food like snow cones and ice cream. I also look forward to fireworks displays, going to the beach and enjoying nature. Those are the reasons I love summer in Japan.

However, there are many things about summer in Japan that I dislike. It's so hot that sometimes it's unbearable. I don't enjoy sweating. It's hard to sleep at night and the sun rises really early. And the mosquitoes - I don't like them at all!

That's why I say that I have a love/hate relationship with summer in this country. What about you?

This is a photo I took in Hokkaido last summer - so many sunflowers!

TEACHER TIP:

Change the title of your blog post to something personal. This week's topic is A Season You Like or Dislike. But if your blog title is A Season I Like or I Like Summer, that's boring. If your blog is boring, who will want to read it?

For my title, I chose: Summer in Japan - A Season I Love to Hate!

Here are two other ideas for great titles. Can you think of any more?

• Season of Snow
• 10 Things I Hate About Spring

2) They Were Not Rocks [Teacher Model: A Train Story]

Many years ago, I was on the train in Hong Kong.  I was standing in front of an old man, who was sitting down with a newspaper.

Suddenly, something like a little rock hit my arm.  I was confused, and wondered what hit me.  Then, something small hit me again, this time, on my cheek.

I looked down, and saw that the old man was clipping his toenails.  He had opened his newspaper to catch the toenail clippings, but they had bounced off of me, instead.

I was not happy.

Picture source: Wikipedia

Teacher Tip: 

Below, each sentence is on a new line. This isn't good writing style. Only skip a line and start a new for a new idea.

1) In the Mood for Love [Teacher Model: Movie Review]

The Best Film I've Ever Seen

In The Mood for Love, a Wong Kar-wai film

I wonder if teenagers would like this movie? It's my favorite movie ever. I like this movie because it is like a poem. The rain, the dark lighting, the soundtrack and the costumes are very moody. It is a sad story, but not too sad and it's very beautiful. 

The movie is about a man and a woman who live next door together in two rooms owned by a family in Hong Kong. The man's wife is always out. The woman's husband is never at home, either. So, the man and the woman are very lonely. They start a friendship after meeting at the same noodle shop many times.

What's going to happen? Will they fall in love? Watch the movie to find out!

It's PGR so any high school student can watch it, but you will need the subtitles - it's in Chinese and French!

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TEACHER TIP: always rewrite your freewriting.

Here, you can see the freewriting I did before I wrote this movie review. Of course, I don't type my freewriting just like that! I rewrite it, fix spelling and grammar errors and put my ideas into paragraphs.

Example #3 - What's wrong?

My favorite animal is the alpaca. 
An alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. It resembles a small llama in appearance.

There are two breeds of alpaca; the Suri alpaca and the Huacaya alpaca.

Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level, throughout the year.^[1]Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, they were not bred to be beasts of burden, but were bred specifically for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, similar to wool. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States.

In the textile industry, "alpaca" primarily refers to the hair of Peruvian alpacas, but more broadly it refers to a style of fabric originally made from alpaca hair, but now often made from similar fibers, such as mohair, Icelandic sheep wool, or even high-quality English wool.^{[citation needed]} In trade, distinctions are made between alpacas and the several styles of mohair and luster.

An adult alpaca generally is between 81 and 99 cm in height at the withers. They usually weigh between 48 and 84 kg (106 and 185 lbs).

(I drew this picture)