Final day to practice

Tomorrow will be your last opportunity to practice your presentation in front of an audience and receive feedback. Your final exam is on Thursday and we will present in front of the school on Friday. Make sure that you are ready to practice tomorrow morning.

Finals Week!

This is the last week of the quarter! For some of you, there is a lot to do to complete your presentation and prepare to give it in front of the whole school. We have a final exam on Thursday. That means that you have tomorrow and Wednesday to prepare your presentation. Remember, I will help you with any question that you have, you just have to ask me.

Also, remember that you should continue to write in your blogs this week. I look forward to reading about your experiences during finals week.

Good luck!

Happy Eid al Adha!

Enjoy your day off tomorrow! Be safe and come back to school on Friday, ready to practice your presentations.

I found out when Eid al Adha is by going to this website.

FINAL ESSAY DUE TOMORROW!

For tomorrow, you have to have an essay turned in. If you do not have a final draft of an essay turned in, I will take off 10% per day that it is late. We have to move on to the Prezis. Please click on the link to set up an account if you do not have one yet. Please come to class with your complete essay, ready to start making a prezi. If you do not complete the essay, you cannot present with the class.

Thursday: 17September2015

Today we reviewed our outlines, and worked on rough drafts for the final essay. Rough Drafts are Due Tomorrow before 8:00 am. Final drafts will be due before 8:00 am on Monday, September 21st.

Read:

http://spokanehistorical.org/items/show/565?tour=19&index=5

Essay Outline

You must have your outline completed by tomorrow morning at 8 am. Come to class tomorrow prepared to write a rough draft of your essay. As you know, when you have completed an outline, making a rough draft is a lot easier than making a rough draft without an outline.

For your outline:

 - make sure that you have 1 - 2 sentences for each point that says Support 1 or Support 2. Support 1 is your topic sentence for the paragraph and Support 2 is a second idea or statement that reinforces Support 1.

- make sure that you have 1 - 2 sentences for each point that says Details. This is where you use quotations or information from your sources.

- make sure that you have 2-4 sentences for each point that says Analysis. This is where you discuss why your quotations or information are important to the Support sentence that you wrote previously.  

At this point, the Introduction and the Summary aren't critical. If you come up with something before tomorrow, good. If not, don't worry about it, we'll work on it together in class.

Also, read this article:
https://blog.bufferapp.com/6-of-the-most-important-aspects-of-successful-writing

Homework

Now that you have completed some research, you should begin to put that information into an order resembling your essay structure. For those of you who were here today, you have a strong understanding of what I mean.

Please, watch this video.

Here are some tips on presentation skills.

You might want to take notes on this.

Study Tips

This video is full of great information for you. Watch it, learn it, know it.

It's Friday!

Happy Friday, everyone. Hopefully, you enjoyed the week as much as I did. On Monday we are going to start on our Final Essay / Presentation project. Over the weekend, I want you to think about your major and what people are doing today who have the same degree that you want to get. I will help you choose a topic and we will begin writing Monday.

Homework: Read the following article and be prepared to journal about it on Monday. http://www.iflscience.com/environment/el-ni-o-what-it-will-bring-year-and-how-it-could-change-global-warming

Homework for Thursday 09/10/2015

For homework, please read the following article and be prepared to journal about it in the morning.  http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/newly-discovered-human-ancestor-likely-ritualistically-disposed-its-dead

Also, please complete exercise #5 and exercise #2 for homework. We will have a quiz tomorrow covering the topic of Deforestation.

For Thursday, 9/10/15

For homework, please take this very short survey and be prepared to write about your results tomorrow in your journal.

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/18/this-easy-test-will-tell-you-what-career-you-should-choose-based-on-your-skills/


Also, I want you to finish your essay about where you see yourself in 10 years.

Tuesday, September 8th

We have a short week this week, which is cool. For homework, please read the following article, and be prepared to journal about it tomorrow. 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/08/30/436125678/obama-renaming-continents-highest-peak-from-mt-mckinley-to-denali


Tomorrow, we are going to start our discussion about topics for our final essays and presentations. We are getting close to the end of the quarter!

Homework for Wednesday Night

HW: Read pages 31-50 of The Old Man and The Sea and answer the questions on the worksheets that I have emailed to you.

First Day of September!

Today: We covered some of the main themes and ideas of The Old Man and The Sea. Remember, we are going to focus on the relationships between Santiago and Manolin and between Santiago and the fish.

As you read, write notes for each relationship when you read some words that strongly discuss each relationship.

Homework: Read pages 11-30 for tomorrow, complete all of the questions on the worksheet for pages 1-24 and answer as many as you can on the other document. 

https://drive.google.com/a/usa-english.com/file/d/0B8xlAVmXr2uLbXJWRWstZ1hndE0/edit

AUDIO BOOK

Monday 31Aug2015

Today:
Journal's
Listening Practice Quiz
7-3a #2,5,&6

Homework:

• Read: https://drive.google.com/a/usa-english.com/file/d/0B8xlAVmXr2uLbXJWRWstZ1hndE0/edit
• pages 1-10
• Audio Book
• 7-3a #2,5,&6

Author's bio

WEEKLY WRITING:
http://www.ted.com/talks/john_green_the_nerd_s_guide_to_learning_everything_online

Tell me how you did on the quiz? How were your notes? What are you grateful you did do, and what could you have done better?

Happy Friday!

We've made it through yet another week of level 6. Great work! You are all doing a great job with the rotation of teachers that are teaching you on a daily basis. This week was a great week for me in the classroom as a teacher. I saw wonderful improvement from you in your group work skills, and that makes me very happy. Your presentation skills blew me away. I was pleasantly surprised by some of you and it makes me very excited to get to work on the final presentations. I'm very proud of each of you. Keep up the good work.

Over the weekend, please read this article and be prepared to journal about it on Monday.  http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/modafinil-smart-drug-leading-charge-towards-future-neuroenhancement

Thursday August 27th

Homework for tonight: please complete 6-2b parts 2 and 3, they are due tomorrow. Tomorrow, being Friday, is a quiz day. The topic of the quiz is Poverty. Be prepared for that.

Great job on the presentations today! I wish that I could have seen more of them. Have a good evening.

Wednesday, August 26th

Today in class we worked on 6-3c. You have all made good progress in your group-work skills. Great work. Paraphrasing is difficult, but it's a terribly important skill to have in college. You should be able to use these skills when we practice our presentations and essays in the near future.

Homework:
Make a 3 minute presentation for tomorrow morning based on the two articles that you found on Tuesday. You will be graded on completeness of your presentation. You must have an introduction, at least two main ideas, and a conclusion and your presentation must be 3 minutes long. See you tomorrow.

Tuesday25Aug2015

Today:
Journals
APA Reference Summary & Analysis Review
6-4a Listening 
New Summary & Analysis for Presentations

Homework:

6-4a Exercise

2 New APA Cited Resources on a topic for presentation

Make sure that your resources are credible, then summarize and analyze your each of them in preparation for your presentation.

Read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/09/23/how-to-best-survive-a-black-bear-attack/

Monday24Aug2015

Today:

Homework:
Reference
APA Citations & Analysis (3 paragraphs)

Reading:
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/wildfire-smoke-turns-spokanes-air-hazardous/

Animal Farm Test Tomorrow!

Please, study for the exam tomorrow. It is a long quiz over the entire novel and you must finish before 10:30. Come to class prepared to begin the exam. See you in the morning.

Tuesday 18Aug2015

Today:

• Journals
• Animal Farm Ch. 9 Recap & Film
• 6-2a Reading

1. Find a credible article
2. Cite the article in APA format
3. Present the info to the class

• Study Vocabulary 6-2c 

Homework:
Read Animal Farm Chapter 10
Audio
Animal Farm Chapter 10 Exercise

Monday 17August2015

Today:

• Conferences
• Animal Farm Summary of Ch. 8 & Film
• 6-1a Reading
• 6-1b Writing (classwork)

Homework:
Read Ch. 9
Audio
Animal Farm Ch. 9 Exercise

Friday14Aug2015

Homework for the weekend: 
For Monday, you should complete through chapter 8 of Animal Farm. We are a little behind, and I want to give you a chance to catch up. If you have not completed some of the chapter exercises up to, and including chapter 8, please use this weekend to catch up on them.

The journal entry for Monday will cover the events of chapter 8.

We will read the last chapter of the story Tuesday night and we will use class time on Wednesday to review the whole book. We will then take the final Animal Farm quiz on Thursday. On Friday (21Aug2015), we will have a Reading, Listening, and Writing quiz, as usual.

Wednesday12Aug2015

Take this evening to rest, relax, complete your blog entry for the day, complete your Week 6 Weekly Writing, and sleep. Tomorrow is your Midterm Exam. I want to give you some time to refresh your body and mind so that you will be able to do your best work tomorrow. Remember to show up early so that you do not miss any of it. See you in the morning.

Tuesday11Aug2015

Today:

• I did not send you the chapter 6 exercise for Animal Farm on this blog yesterday, and for that I am sorry. I have emailed all of the exercises to you for future reference. Tonight, read chapter 7 and complete the worksheet. You are still responsible for chapter 6 worksheet before the Animal Farm quiz on Friday. 
• We will take our Midterm Exam on Thursday. DO NOT MISS IT. 
• Please, do not forget to spend time on your blog and your grammar assignment every day.

Homework:

• 5-3a parts 2,4,5, and 6
• 5-2b, whatever you didn't finish.
• Animal Farm Ch. 7 Exercise
• Reading: Animal Farm Ch. 
• Audio

Weekly Writing Week 6

Watch this video! What a crazy idea. Now, please write 150-200 words explaining how the sun impacts your life, specifically and what you might do if this actually happened to the sun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rltpH6ck2Kc

Monday10Aug2015

Today:

• Great job on group work! You will find it important to learn these skills. Make sure that you are writing on your blog four times each week.

Homework:

• Animal Farm Ch. 6 Exercise
• Reading: Animal Farm Ch. 6
• Audio
• 5-1a Reading (parts 2,3,4,5,6,7)

Friady07August2015

Today:

• Michigan Exam

Homework:

• Chapter 4 & 5 Exercise

Reading: Animal Farm Ch 4 & 5
Chapter 4
Chapter 5

Thursday06August2015

Today:

• Presentations
• 4-3b Listening

Homework:

• Animal Farm Ch 3 Exercise
• 4-3b Listening #2,5,6,&7

Reading: 

• Animal Farm Ch 3
• Audio

Wednesday05August2015

Today:

• Animal Farm Ch. 2 Discussion
• 4-3a Reading
• Vocabulary Quiz

Homework:

• Animal Farm Chapter 2 Exercise
• Presentation Outline & APA Reference

Reading: Animal Farm Ch 2
Audio

Tuesday04Aug2015

Today:

• 4-2a Essay Skills 2 - APA Guidelines
• 4-2d Novel 1 - Animal Farm

Homework:

• Animal Farm Ch1 Exercise
• 4-2a APA Exercise

Reading: Animal Farm Ch 1
Audio

Monday 03Aug2015

Today:

• APA Practice
• 4-4b Presentation 2
• Reading 4-1a
• Listing 4-1b

Homework:

• APA Practice Document (5 articles + 1 of your blogs)
• 4-1b Exercise #2&3

Reading: http://uproxx.com/webculture/2015/07/donald-trump-poll-numbers/

Weekly Writing Week 5

Write 100-200 words summarizing the video, and describing how this video has or has not changed your perception of time.

Thursday06August2015

Today:

• 
  

Homework:

• 
  

Reading: 

Friday31July2015

Today:

• Vaccine Quiz

Homework:

• Complete Grammar for Week 4 (can still complete 2 & 3 as well)
• Finish any missing blogs or weekly writing assignments

Read: http://americanliterature.com/author/o-henry/short-story/the-gift-of-the-magi

Thursday30July2015

Today:

• Guest Teaching
• To Build a Fire Quiz

Homework:

• No homework, research vaccines

Read: Google "Vaccines" and research results

Wednesday29July2015

Today:

• Journals
• Presentations (5 minutes)
• Vocabulary Quiz
• 3-2b
• 3-3c

Homework:

• 3-2b #1&2
• 3-3c #2
• To Build A Fire Exercise (all)

Read: To Build A Fire (3-2c) pages 9-15.

  To Build A Fire Audio Book

Tuesday28July2015

Today:

• 3-1c &3-2a
• 3-2c To Build A Fire
• Presentation #1

Homework:

• 3-2a Listening: Note Taking Exercise #s 1,2,3
• Take notes in a Google Document titled "To Build a Fire Notes" and share the document before 8am Wednesday
• Work on your presentations, share your outline, and bring completed note cards to class

Read: To Build A Fire (3-2c) pages 1-8.

  To Build A Fire Audio Book

Monday27July2015

Today:

• 2-4c (Presentations due Wednesday) Outline & Notes
• 3-1a #1,3,4,5,6
• 3-1b #2,4,5

Homework:

• 3-1a #1,3,4,5,6
• 3-1b #2,4,5
• 
  

Read:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/simple-cooking-method-flushes-arsenic-out-of-rice/
Helpful Hint: Be sure to do a little more research than just reading the article. The prompt tomorrow will require you to have researched beyond this article.

Week 4 Weekly Writing

Watch the following video then write about the prompt below:

Write 100-200 words describing the similarities and differences between this information, and the information you have learned in class earlier. How has your opinion about cell phones changed or remained the same after learning this information?

Friday24July2015

Today:

• Journals 
• Reading | Writing | Listening Quiz for Week 3

Homework:

Read: http://www.inlander.com/spokane/shake-down/Content?oid=2518502

Remember, you can turn in any missing Blogs, Weekly Writings, or Grammar Exercises by Sunday. Anything missing after that will remain a zero in Engrade.

Thursday23July2015

Today:

• Journals
• The Rocking Horse Winner Discussion & Quiz
• 2-3b

Homework:

• 2-3b Exercise #2,4,5,6,&7

Read: http://www.iflscience.com/physics/spinning-basketball-drops-and-swerves-away-due-magnus-effect


Up to Sunday you may:
Turn in any missing blogs, weekly writings, or grammar exercises. After Sunday, any missing work will remain a zero in your Engrade.

Wednesday 22July2015

Today:

• Journals then Engrade checks
• The Rocking Horse Discussion
• Vocabulary Quiz
• Finished Author's Biography

Homework:

• Rocking Horse Winner Exercise 2-2b
• Finish Author's Biography

Read:
The Rocking Horse Winner p11-20

Audio

DO NOT FORGET:

• Write a blog entry every day
• Write your Weekly Writing for Week 3 (posted on this blog earlier)
• Complete your Grammar Exercise for Week 3

Tuesday 21/July/2015

Today we discussed further note taking strategy:

2-2a Listening Skills
We also introduced our new Short Story

Homework for today is to:
Read Pages 1-10 of the Rocking Horse Winner
You may also listen to this audio file as you read along.

Take notes as you listen to / read The Rocking Horse Winner, and be prepared to turn in your notes as a homework assignment.
Your notes will be given a score out of 10 based on the following criteria:

• Organization
• Distinguishment of Main Points from Details
• Examples included (use quotation marks)
• Use of Abbreviations
• Accuracy of Information

Week 3 Weekly Writing

Watch this video on Note Taking:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AffuwyJZTQQ

Then write to this prompt in your blog:
Which note taking method makes the most sense to you, and which method (or combination of methods do you think you will use in your own future notetaking?

Monday 20/July/2015

This morning's article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/sns-green-effective-fasting-benfits-story.html

Prompt: Based on the Article, outside of religious reasons (e.g. Ramadan), would you choose to fast? Please give at least three rationales from the discussion in the article.

2-1a (2,3,4,5)
2-1b (2,4,5,6)

Read:
http://www.iflscience.com/space/100-million-pledged-search-intelligent-extraterrestrial-life-and-you-can-help

EID POTLUCK

The potluck celebration for the end of Ramadan has been moved to Tuesday. Please, remember to bring a dish of food to share with everyone.

Homework for July 16th, 2015

Please read pages 7-11 of The Necklace and be prepared to journal about it tomorrow. Also, please complete 1-3b Listening parts 2,4,5, and 6. We will have two quizzes tomorrow, the first quiz will be over The Necklace. Then we will take our first Reading, Writing and Listening quiz.

Weekly Writing 2

Please watch the following TED talk:

Please write 100-200 words to answer the question; Based on the information in the video, what are the implications of further research into this field?

Tuesday, July 14th

Homework for tonight:

Please read pages 1-6 of The Necklace 

and be prepared to journal about it tomorrow. Here's the audio book: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4HNjNgBVs1kNVhfclljbzVSSkU/view?usp=sharing

Complete:
1-3a Parts: 2, 4, 5, & 6

Week 2 Monday

Homework for today
1. Read the following article http://www.mosherhealth.com/mosher-health-system/chinese-medicine/chinese-versus-western

2. Complete the following exercises:
1-1a #2 & #5
1-1b #2, #4 & #5

Advice:

Write one blog today and work on your grammar.

Happy Friday!

Here's what you need to accomplish this weekend:

1. Read this article

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/exxon-knew-about-climate-change

2. Make sure you've completed 4 blog entries on 4 different days

3. Complete your Weekly Writing for Week 1

4. Do something not required of you that relates to English learning

Here's a music video for your entertainment:

Homework for Today 09July2015

Please read the following article:

http://www.inlander.com/spokane/innovation-station/Content?oid=2443851

Take notes in your notebook as you read, remembering to gather all the variable information we discussed:

1. Website Name
2. Article Title
3. Author's Name
4. Date Article was Written
5. URL of website

Be prepared to answer the prompt on the board tomorrow morning in your class journals.

Weekly Writing 1

https://www.ted.com/talks/sally_kohn_don_t_like_clickbait_don_t_click#

Write 100-200 words describing the main message of the speaker and what you can do to change the culture of the internet.

Please write your weekly writing on your blogger page.

To Do: 8/July/2015

Please read this article: http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/08/pf/college/oregon-free-community-college/ . Be prepared to write about it. Tonight, you should work on your grammar assignments and your blog. See you tomorrow.

Homework for 7July2015

For tonight, go purchase two (2) notebooks, then, please read the following article.


Take good notes about the material as you read so that you can write a good journal entry for tomorrow. Also, make sure that you write the following information about the article in your notes:

1. Name of website
2. Title of article
3. Authors name
4. Date written
5. URL (website address)

University Considerations & Resources

Welcome to the First Day of Summer Quarter!

Welcome to 140! Josh and I are very excited to have you in class and we look forward to working with you. This is going to be a great class.

Happy Ramadan!

Homework for Tonight

For homework, please read this article and be prepared to journal about it in the morning.

Quiz for Tomorrow

Also, your quiz for tomorrow is due at the beginning of class. If you have forgotten, here are the instructions. When you finish, share them with Charlie, his email address is charlie.duranona@usa-english.com, and ask him to please make you one copy of your quiz.

If you do not have your quiz ready for me to take at 9:00 am tomorrow, you will receive a score of zero. This quiz is worth 20 points. If you will not be in class tomorrow, you can still send it to Charlie and have him print it and give it to a student in class.

I will not let you make-up this quiz. I am going to be gone next week, so get these finished by tomorrow. Even if you are not here tomorrow, you can share with Charlie and he will print it.

Homework for Wednesday, June 17th

Please read this article and be prepared to write about it tomorrow. Continue to add to your outline or rough draft of your essay. We will continue to work on them tomorrow.

Quiz for Friday

You will write a five question quiz about your Final Presentation topic that I will take on Friday. You will then grade it and you will have the opportunity to show me exactly how much I don't know about your topic. I will not use notes or the internet to complete each quiz.

Each question MUST have a single, clear answer. I will take a quiz from every student in class, so I won't have time to write paragraph-long answers.

Since you will be grading this quiz, make sure that you write the answers somewhere. Keep them safe, because you don't want me to cheat!

When you finish writing your quiz, share it with Charlie, and ask him to print it. We only need one copy of each quiz. I will let him know that you will be sharing and asking for printing, so feel free to share with Charlie when you are finished so that he can print them.

Due on Wednesday!

I forgot I had decided to give the Michigan test today. All of the stuff that was due today, is now due tomorrow. Please email to me your three sources. I want everyone to title your document, "Final Presentation Resources". I want links to your websites and a quotation, or two, from each one. Now would be a good time to start making APA references for these resources, keep that in mind. Please re-read the article, check your notes, and be prepared to write for a long time in the morning. Tomorrow is our weekly conference date. I can't wait to see your awesome grades.

Please, do not forget about the potluck tomorrow. When many people bring food, many people get to share food. It will be a great party. See you tomorrow.

Due on Tuesday!

Tomorrow, please have at least three resources for your presentation topic and a quotation from each that you would use in your presentation. Also, please read about how to give a good presentation and be prepared to journal about it in the morning.

Homework for the Weekend!

Happy Friday you amazing students! I hope that you enjoy your weekend as you prepare for Ramadan. For the weekend, I want you to read this article about global climate change and be prepared to journal about it on Monday. Also, I want you to be thinking about your intended major at university, in preparation for choosing a topic for your presentations. We will begin the process Monday, so get ready to talk about current topics in your intended major.

Homework for June 10th

Please, prepare yourselves for the Old Man and The Sea quiz tomorrow morning. You will be given the book on a Kindle. You will need your laptop for class after the quiz. I recommend listening to the audiobook and reading along. Feel free to get as much information from SparkNotes or Schmoop. You will not be allowed to use any notes or anything other than the story on the quiz. Do not try to watch a movie in place of reading the book. There are too many details in the film that have been changed from the original novella that will cause you confusion on the quiz tomorrow.

Get as much sleep as you can. Good luck.

Homework for 09/June/2015

Make sure that your questions for pp. 24-43 are complete. Please continue to update your blog daily. We are finished with Grammar and Weekly Writing, so there's that. Also, please complete Reading 8-1a parts 2 and 5 for tomorrow. We will have the Old Man and The Sea quiz on Thursday and the Reading, Listening, Writing quiz on Friday. The RLW quiz will be over Deforestation. We will continue to discuss unit 8 as the week goes on.

Homework for Monday Night (06/06/2015)

Please, complete the first set of questions for Old Man and The Sea. These are due tomorrow, so hopefully you spent your class time wisely. When you finish, please begin working on the next set of questions that cover pages 24-43.

05/June/2015

Happy Friday everyone! We're one week closer to the end of the quarter, and I know you're all getting very excited (goodness knows that I am). Over the weekend, I want you to read the first 23 pages of The Old Man and The Sea. As you read, you should fill out the answers to the questions I have sent you. Your answers to the questions are due Monday. You should read a few pages each day, do not wait until Sunday to read all 23 pages. Please come to class prepared to write and talk about the reading I have assigned.

Here is a link to the novel online,
The Old Man and The Sea

And this is a link to the audiobook on YouTube. You may find it  easier to read if you listen to the audio while you read.
The Old Man and The Sea audiobook

Homework for 03June2015

The most recent news about the United States and privacy happened yesterday. There have been some changes made to the way that information is collected. Everything that we have been studying and writing about is being made important by this newest piece of American legislation. Please, read the article, take notes, and be prepared to journal about it. 

In addition to the reading assignment, you will need to complete SMRT 7-3a parts 2 and 6.

Also, tomorrow we are most likely going to EWU to observe a class. Please make sure that you have bus fare and a notebook and something to write with for note-taking. The class that we will observe will begin at 11 and end at 11:50, so we will be back in plenty of time for pm classes. 

02/June/2015

For tomorrow, please read this article about the world's oceans, take notes and be prepared to journal about it in the morning. This article isn't about Snowden, I think you guys need a bit of a break from him.

However, speaking of Snowden, please have completed a draft of your three body paragraphs and start an introduction and conclusion. We will work on peer editing tomorrow.

Have a great evening!

Homework for 06/01/2015

For tomorrow morning, read this article and be prepared to journal about it in the morning. Also, complete the exercise on 7-1a, parts 2,4, and 5.

Homework for the Weekend!

Today we took the Edward Snowden Quiz and went over the beginning of the essay.

Homework:

Read http://mashable.com/2013/06/09/edward-snowden/
Be prepared to answer a Journal Prompt on the reading.

For homework, choose your strongest of your three arguments and create one body paragraph for your essay. Be sure to cite your source.

Thursday 05/28/2015

For tomorrow, please fill out the outline for the Snowden essay as completely as you can. Please MAKE A COPY before you fill in any information. Use the research that you have already completed.

https://docs.google.com/a/usa-english.com/document/d/1rDy3E_Yih81vqUY3SdLgWDCsjdMrzbtMgKy2Knf1GUs/edit?usp=sharing

Reminder: tomorrow we will have a quiz on Edward Snowden and his actions. It will be open computer, open notes, and group work. You will find benefit in studying this person tonight.

Also, tonight, please read the following article, take notes, and be prepared to journal about it tomorrow.

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140128/08542126021/new-york-times-suffers-redaction-failure-exposes-name-nsa-agent-targeted-network-uploaded-pdf.shtml

Weekly Writing for week 8

Video - Week 8

1. Watch the video Revision and take notes. Then check the tape script.
2. Write 100-200 words explaining what was stated in the video and how it relates to the work you have done and hope to do.

http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedhandbook8e/#518572__526093__

Homework for Wednesday evening

Tonight, please complete ch. 10 worksheet for Animal Farm. Then, please find at least 3 websites (you're better off finding 5) about Edward Snowden and how he relates to your essay theme.

Nawaf - Freedom of the press
Aljamaan, Hassani - Heroes
Rights - Aldayen, Hamad, Dom        

Protecting the Internet - Shinee
Terrorism - AbuTurki
Privacy - Moody, Mustafa

These websites that you find will be a part of what you write in your journal tomorrow, so please, take good notes from each one.

Homework for the weekend

Please read chapters 9 and 10 and complete the worksheets that I have emailed to you.We will take the test for Animal Farm on Tuesday. Remember, you can use any notes that you have taken, but you will not be allowed to use your computer. If you have typed your notes, it is your responsibility to print them and bring them with you to class on Tuesday. Have a great weekend and enjoy the weather.

Homework to do Thursday night.

Here is the weekly writing for this week (in case you haven't started it yet).
http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/bedhandbook8e/#518572__526093__

1. Watch the video Revision and take notes. Then check the tape script.
2. Write 100-200 words explaining what was stated in the video and how it relates to the work you have done and hope to do.

For tomorrow, please complete the worksheet for chapter 8 of Animal Farm. You will have an RLW quiz tomorrow and I will not be at school. Please be nice to Josh and do your own, best work on the quiz. See you Tuesday, remember there is no school on Monday the 25th. I will post later about homework to do over the long weekend.

Do not forget to update your blog. We have not stopped writing on our blogs. 

Homework for Wednesday the 20th

Tonight, please read chapter 8 of Animal Farm, take great notes on it, and be prepared to discuss it in class tomorrow. If you have not, please pay Tera $4 if you would like to visit the Museum of Arts and Culture tomorrow during discussion time. Here is a link to more information about the current exhibit that you will see.

http://www.northwestmuseum.org/explore/exhibits/past-forward-contemporary-art-emirates

Also, for homework, please complete 6-1b. It's a paraphrasing exercise and it's due at 9 am tomorrow. Do your best and we'll talk about it tomorrow after lunch. Have a great evening!


P.S. - Remember, we have no school on Monday in observance of Memorial Day!

Monday, 5/18/15

Good evening! For tonight, please finish your worksheets for chapter 5 and read chapter 6. Tomorrow, I will be absent because my baby is sick. I will email you the worksheets for chapter 6, but you don't have to work on them until tomorrow morning in class. You will have Lynda as a sub. I am certain that you will all be cool and everything will go smoothly. Have a great day and I'll see you Wednesday. Make sure to check back tomorrow for more homework.

Wednesday, May 13th

For Thursday, please read and take notes on chapter 4 of Animal Farm. Fortunately this chapter is only 3 pages long. Therefore, please make sure that you have completed the worksheet for chapter 3 from today. You are also responsible for finishing SMRT 5-2b and 5-3a (parts 2 and 6).

Monday, May 11th Homework and Weekly Writing

What a beautiful day! Please read chapter 2 of Animal Farm, take good notes and be prepared to discuss it in class. Remember, this will effect your grade. Also, make sure that you finish the worksheet for chapter 1 and 5-1a part 2. Don't forget your blog and weekly writing, for which I have provided the link.

Weekly Writing for Week 6

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/low-literacy-adults-to-increase-25-by-2031-report-1.866332

Read the article Low-literacy adults to increase 25% by 2031: report from CBC News.

Write 100-200 words explaining what illiteracy is, what problems Canada is facing regarding it, and why it is important for Canada's future both economically and socially.

- For those of you who expect to graduate this week, I still expect you to complete 4 blog entries and the weekly writing. Please do not forget.

Happy Friday!

It's already the weekend. Michigan tests are over and now it's time to start our first novel, Animal Farm. We will be reading and discussing one chapter per day. You will read the first chapter this weekend and we will discuss it on Monday. Please, take good notes while you read. You will be able to use your notes on the exam, so it is worth your time to write down as much as you can. Here is a link to the novel:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8xlAVmXr2uLTWRjcDFxVmZvVzQ/view

Feel free to read ahead and take notes, just make sure that you are prepared to discuss the chapters as they are due. You will be graded on a combination of your notes and your ability to add to the discussion of the material from the chapter. This grade will take the place of your journal grade for the next two weeks. We will be taking a long, in-depth look at this novel, so please be prepared to be involved.

Homework for Thursday, May 7th

Tomorrow is Friday, and we will be taking the Michigan test. Remember, you will receive 20 free quiz points for showing up and taking the test. You must be here for both class periods to receive the points. For homework, please read the following article, and be prepared to journal about it.

http://www.iflscience.com/space/asteroids-might-have-delivered-water-earth

Homework for Thursday, May 6th

Please complete parts 2 and 6 for 4-3b listening. Also, read the article in the link and be prepared to journal about it before your quiz tomorrow.

http://www.buzzworthy.com/150000-year-old-pipes-might-rewrite-ancient-chinese-history/

Cinco de Mayo!

Homework for May 5th.

Tonight, please complete your APA exercise, as well as 4-3a parts 2 and 6. For tomorrow, please read the following article and be prepared to journal about it tomorrow.

http://www.buzzworthy.com/man-created-miracle-shoe-poor-children-grows-five-sizes/

For tomorrow, we will have grade checks in the morning. Have a wonderful evening!

May the Fourth be With You!

For tonight, please complete 4-1a, all. Also, please read the following article and be prepared to journal about it tomorrow.

http://www.buzzworthy.com/might-possible-store-worlds-data-teaspoon-sized-hard-drive/

For the weekend...

As most of you know, this weekend is Bloomsday. Bloomsday is the largest timed road-race in America. Many people, including myself, participate in this race and it's a lot of fun. I want you to understand the history of Bloomsday, so please read this article and be prepared to journal about it on Monday. If you finish the race and get a t-shirt, please wear it on Monday, I'll wear mine.

https://www.bloomsdayrun.org/history-stats/history

STAR WARS TODAY!

Please, come after school and enjoy one of the greatest films ever made. I will be giving 10 Extra Credit points for attending and behaving appropriately. I will also be giving 10 Extra Credit points for completing the worksheet that goes along with the film.

After that, your homework is Listening 3-3b, parts 2 and 6. Also, please read the following article and be ready to journal about it tomorrow before your Reading, Listening, Writing quiz.

http://www.buzzworthy.com/alex-medical-marijuana-used-to-combat-autistic-rage/

Also, Sean, please remember that I do not want to hear anything about the Avengers movie. 

Homework for Wednesday, April 29th

Please read the rest of To Build a Fire this evening. Hopefully you enjoyed the library today and will be able to access it as a resource. Make sure that you are taking good notes on the text because you will be able use those notes on the quiz tomorrow.

Tuesday, April 28th

Today, we studied the great American author Jack London. He is a very influential author and has many great works. We get to read his classic short story To Build A Fire. For homework this evening, you will read the first 8 pages. Here is the link:

https://docs.google.com/a/usa-english.com/file/d/0B8xlAVmXr2uLdHQ2QnZEcV95OTA/edit

Please, take notes and be prepared to journal about the first half of the story. The notes that you take tonight and tomorrow will be available for use on the quiz on Thursday, so make sure that you take your time and write good notes. Enjoy the weather!

Homework for Monday, April 27th

It's Monday again. Hopefully, you all got some rest and came back ready to go. It's going to be a glorious week, full of learning and sunshine. It was nice to see you again this morning. I really appreciate how you come into the classroom ready to write the journal entry for the day. Please remember to work on your blog, grammar, and weekly writing. You're all doing a pretty good job of it, keep it up.

For homework tonight, read the following article:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/increasing-number-doctors-are-trying-reconcile-traditional-chinese-medicine-and-western-medicine-180953246/?no-ist

and be prepared to journal about it in the morning. Also, please complete exercise 3-1b part 2 for tomorrow morning. Have a great evening.

Weekly Writing 5

1. Read the article MRI Scans: Waiting for Public Health Care vs. Paying for a Private MRI Clinic frombcliving.ca.

http://www.bcliving.ca/health/mri-scans-waiting-for-public-health-care-vs-paying-for-a-private-mri-clinic

    b.    Write 100-200 words explaining difficulties Canadians have getting special services              like MRI scans. Is this the same or different in your country?

Remember, this is due on Monday May 4th.

Happy Friday!

The weekend is upon us! We have two-and-a-half days for ourselves. Take the time to refresh yourself and find some Americans to speak English with. We have finished three weeks of level 6, and you are all doing great work. Over the weekend, please read the following article and be ready to journal about it on Monday.

http://www.healingfoundationschicago.com/blog/1128/chinese-herbs-and-western-herbs-is-there-a-difference/

Remember to complete your weekly writing for this week. I posted the link on this blog on Monday.

Have fun and be safe.

Can you smell the weekend?

I sure can. Tomorrow is Friday, just one half day away from some well earned rest. You guys are doing a wonderful job and I'm very proud of you. Keep up the good work. For tomorrow, please read the following article about one of my favorite people, Stephen Hawking, and be prepared to journal about it.
http://www.livescience.com/50302-stephen-hawking-trademark.html

Make sure that you are staying on top of your blog and your grammar work. Please take the time to get 100% on each of the grammar quizzes. I know that you can. For those of you who missed the Rocking Horse Winner quiz today, I will be giving makeup exams at 8 o'clock tomorrow. At 9 o'clock we will write in our journals and then we will take RLW quiz 2. See you then.

Wednesday, April 22nd

Please read the rest of The Rocking Horse Winner ( https://drive.google.com/a/usa-english.com/file/d/0B8xlAVmXr2uLWnBmUmo5TThOUlk/edit ) for homework tonight and be prepared to journal about it tomorrow. Remember, we will also take a test over the whole story. Have a great evening. I have included the rest of the short film. I want to restate, DO NOT watch the video and think that you can pass the quiz. You must read the story.

Tuesday, April 21st

What a beautiful day! For homework, you only have to read pages 1 - 10 of D.H. Lawrence's classic short story The Rocking Horse Winner. Hopefully, it won't take you too long. https://drive.google.com/a/usa-english.com/file/d/0B8xlAVmXr2uLWnBmUmo5TThOUlk/edit

You learned a little bit about this author this afternoon, now you get to experience his work first hand.


Please, take notes and be prepared to write in your journal about what you read this evening. I've included the first half of the video of the story; but be aware, the video is not the same as the story. You are not required to watch the video if you don't want to. If you choose to only watch the video, you will not be able to fully answer the journal prompts tomorrow or Friday. When you watch the video, note the differences between the video and the book. There are quite a few.

When you finish your homework, get out and enjoy the sunshine.

Start the week the right way!

It's Monday, which means that it's time to start a new week and build on the experiences that we had last week. By now, you should be getting into a routine of writing your blog and the reading the daily reading assignments and writing in your journal in class. It seems like most of you understand the process and are working hard to get better at writing. I really enjoy seeing your notes when you come to class to write your journals. Learning how to prepare is one of the best skills you can have.

This week we should be able to settle into the day-to-day routine of level six and focus on learning. Josh and I have come up with some reading assignments for the week that we hope will be interesting and informative. Here is the reading homework for this evening. Please read it, take notes, and be ready to write a journal entry about it in the morning.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/garlic-onions-and-cow-stomach-medieval-remedy-todays-superbugs


You also have 2-1a parts 3,4, and 5 for homework tonight. Start the week the right way, keep working hard on your grammar, continue reflecting in your blog, and watch the video to complete your weekly writing.

1. Watch the video Reading and Responding and take notes. Then check the tape script.
2. Write 100-200 words explaining what was stated in the video and how it relates to the work you have done and hope to do.

Go get busy and have a great evening. 

Happy Friday!

It's Friday! I can smell the weekend, and I'm sure you can too. The weather is supposed to be pretty great, so enjoy it. But, don't forget that Monday is our first due date for the Grammar Exercises. You need to complete all of the Week 2 exercises from the Bedford Handbook site. Also, as far as work goes, make sure your blog is complete and that you have completed the weekly writing that I have provided a link to in a previous blog entry. Here is the reading that you will complete for your journal writing on Monday, April 20th:

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/traditional-vs-western-medicine-which-one-is-easier-for-chinese-consumers-to-swallow/

Enjoy a little bit of free time this weekend and I'll see you all on Monday.

American Popular Culture Learning Opportunity

On Thursday, April 30th, I will be showing Star Wars: Episode 4 here at SCEL after school. This is an opportunity for you to see a film that is extremely important in American pop-culture. This film, and the other two that I will show, are referred to and quoted very frequently in various television programs, movies, and books.



I will give extra credit points for those students who attend and stay until the end of the film. I will show Episode 5 on May 7th, and Episode 6 on May 14th. Each showing will allow you to earn 10 extra credit points. Let me know if you have any questions.

Homework for April 16th

Happy Thursday! Tomorrow is our first RLW quiz of the quarter. I'm sure you're all very excited and ready to show me how awesome you are at English. I know that I can't wait. For this evening, please read this article and be prepared to write about it in the morning.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/head-transplant-volunteer-might-face-fate-more-terrifying-death

Also, the theme for the RLW quiz tomorrow is Longevity. Feel free to learn about this topic in advance of the quiz. Good luck tomorrow.

Wednesday April 15th

Tomorrow is our first quiz, it will be over the short story the Necklace. Here is a link to the Sparknotes page for the Necklace.

http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/the-necklace/

Feel free to read the information on this site and write down any notes that you feel will be helpful. Remember, you will only be allowed to use hand-written notes. Computer printouts will not be allowed.

As you read, you should take notes. Sparknotes and other sites that are similar do not cover every detail of the story that might be on the quiz. You should use Sparknotes in addition to reading the story on your own. Tomorrow, you will be responsible for the entire 11 pages of the story. If you did not take notes last night, go back and write notes for the whole story.

Remember to complete the weekly writing for week 2, there is a link on this blog. If you complete it before Friday, you will have a little bit better understanding of the topic of the RLW (reading, listening, writing) quiz this Friday.