September 30, 2016 -- Friday


On the board at the beginning of class

1. Warm-up -- vocabulary handout
2. Toms Shoes article
3. Powers    interesting words
4. Mme. C.J. Walker article

Handout

READ 097-6           2016.09.30      Friday         Try to write each of these words in a sentence. 

Entrepreneur                                                       Bolstered

Philanthropist                                                       Undaunted

Menial                                                                      Affluent

Regimen                                                                  Bequeathing

Salves                                                                     Legacy

People had a hard time using any of the words in the sentence, other than "entrepreneur."    "My brother wants to be an entrepreneur."

We went through some of the exercises following the article about Toms Shoes in Chapter 3 of Bridging the Gap

(Extra) Words on the board:

infer

deduce

There are times when we need to read between the lines and infer more information from the information that is written there.

Class as a whole discussed what they knew about Mme. C.J. Walker before reading the article.  In other words, as a class, what schemata (prior knowledge) did the students have?

schemata --

   hair care products

   real name was Saray _____

   had a child, in other words, was a mother

   was an entrepreneur

Homework:

Read the article about Mme. C.J. Walker and find each of the words (from the handout) in the article.  Then write out each of those sentences to hand in at the next  class.

Example:

"ventured"  (This is not one of the words, but just to show you how it's done...)

"Walker continued to expand her market and ventured beyond the United States to Cuba, Jamaica, Haita, Panama, and Costa Rica." 

 page 113, lines 64 and 65

Students do NOT have to do the exercises on pages 114, 115, 116, or 117

September 28, 2016 -- Wednesday

Mrs. Kimmel email address is
c-kimmel@neiu.edu


After the class was over, I sent out the following email:

"Hi, Dear Students,
       "Some of you had already left when I changed the assignment that will be due on Friday.  You are supposed to read B. the G. pages 126 through 133 and do the exercises.  But not ALL the exercises.
       "Please DO NOT DO the "write about the selection" task on page 130.  You don't have to do that.  You do have to do everything else in pages 126 through 133.
       "See you Friday.
"CR Kimmel"


On the board:
1. writing about the novel (see handout)
2. B. the G. pages 126-133 --- vocabulary and questions --- due Friday
3. NY Times article about college costs  -- assignment is 6 bullet points
4. graph paper -- see vocabulary on pages 111, 118, and 126 of B. the G.    This is the target vocabulary for Chapter 3.


Discussion of paragraph on 1st two chapters of Powers that was handed in on Monday.  There were three groups of students
Diligent                       Observant                       Nice
did the reading            did not do                        did not do
                                        the reading                       the reading
added own                   used board notes             didn't use board notes
     details                                                             wrote kindly things
                                                                                  "I like the book"

If you can't be Diligent on a particular assignment, at least be Observant.  Nice makes you a nice person, but I can't give you a good grade.  "Diligent" got 5 points;  "Observant" 4 points;  "Nice" got 3 points (out of 5).


Handout:   Reader's Journal

Beginning Wednesday of Week 5 and continuing for ten consecutive weeks you will turn in a short journal entry to document your reading and thinking on your book, according to suggestions given in Bridging the Gap, pp. 585-591.  (10 points each)    As part of our class, you will be required to read the novel, Powers, by Ursula LeGuin, and keep a journal.

a.       Your journal entries are not expected to be lengthy (about 300 words each; about one page typed, double spaced) or to take away from your reading enjoyment. They are designed to give you practice reflecting on what you read and to give you practice making real-world connections as well as connections with your own personal background knowledge (schema), while you build on your schema.

b.      You will have one vocabulary list for all the journal entries. You should select 3 to 5 words for each entry, for a total of 30 to 50 words for the entire vocabulary list. When you select a word, please copy the sentence in which the word was used.  Then look the word up in an online dictionary of your choice and copy the relevant information.  

Discussion of the above handout, including the fact that Monday's in-class writing has satisfied your first week's assignment -- emphasis that this is supposed to be reader's response, NOT a retelling of the plot.  How do you feel about something that has happened in the story?  How do you feel about the characters, at this point?

Handout of graph paper so that people (in their groups) can create a crossword puzzle using (as much as possible) all thirty words in a crossword, with definitions/clues.

Example: 

             1. f                      Across                     Down

                 l

                 u                    1. a kind of               1. a musical

                 t                         Zero                          instrument

1.  absolute

     n

     t       2.                                                        2. Rambo was

     i nterval                                                          like this

     a       i

     i       o

     r       l

     c       e

     r       n

     a       t

     f

     t

Homework for Friday:

1. Complete all the exercises after reading pages 126-133, but NOT "write the selection" on page 130

2. Working in your groups, create a crossword puzzle, with clues/meanings, using the 30 words from pages 111, 118, and 126 in B. the G.   Each person in the group must hand in his or her own copy of the puzzle, even though the puzzles will be the same for each person.   You must use graph paper.

Homework, ongoing:

Keep reading Powers

September 26, 2016 -- Monday
Week 5

On the board at the beginning of class --
1. handouts
       a.  test-taking (an art/skill in itself)
       b.  Sandra Cisneros
                 biography.com    
                                  http://www.biography.com/people/sandra-cisneros-185853 
                  Sun-Times   
                                  "Sandra Cisneros Among National Medal of the Arts Recipients"
             Why is she important?
                   The House on Mango Street   her most famous book, a memoir
                   a Chicago writer
                   a writer from the Latino community
                   She's in her early 60s
2. we'll be talking about
       B. the G. Chapter 3  readings
       Powers, pages 1-60

Test-taking (an art/skill in itself)

Hints:

If at all possible, get some rest before the test.

Eat something beforehand, preferably something with protein.

Drink something beforehand; caffeine is good, if your stomach can take it.

Write your name (I know, but you’d  be amazed how many people are so tense that they forget).  This goes for everything you hand in, actually.

Read the WHOLE TEST before you start.

After you finish, but before you hand it in, reread the test.

After you finish, but before you hand it in, check your answers.

Breathe a sigh of relief, because you showed up and DID IT!

Discussion of the homework assignment, 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 in Chapter 3 of Bridging the Gap
     **metacognition
     **shemata
     use title, headings & subheadings, italics, introductory material
         visual aids, and conclusion/summary
     don't forget to predict, question, active schemata,
         and establish purpose

Above homework collected


Discussion of the first two chapters of Powers, pages 1-60
1. enslavement in this House -- 11 year old boy Gavin and 13 year old girl Sallo, brother and sister
2. education, in this House only (not other Houses)
3. Hoby, Master's Pet
4. the Father, the Mother
5. soldiers were well-born or free men
6. technique is flashback -- adult Gavin is telling/writing the story for his wife
7. Torm -- son of the Father  (and of the Mother?  unsure)
8. fiction that seems like an autobiography
9.  do any of these categories fit?
          novel of education
          journey novel
          novel of romantic love


After generating the information above and seeing it written on the board, students were given 5 minutes to write about the novel, as they know about it so far, and the writing was collected.


Homework:
Due Friday -- read pages 126-133 in B. the G. Use reading techniques like making a diagram of the information. Write about the selection, as explained on page 130.  Paragraphs!  Double space! Typed.  Hopefully 2 pages!  Write a feature article.  Include 1-paragraph summary and 1-paragraph reaction, and go on to write more.

September 23, 2016 -- Friday

On the board:

Warm-up 

1. Using the Bridging the Gap, find out what the following words       mean:  schemata, metacognition  (without using your phone or a     dictionary)
2. Look at pages 35, 134, and 45 -- what is on those pages?
3. Look at the colorful boxes on pages 96, 101, and 103 in 
     Chapter 3 of Bridging the Gap



Note the following very important sentence on page 96:
"Like public speakers, textbook authors follow this rule: 'Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you've told them.' "


Note these important pages are you try to find out what words mean:
Glossary   page  593
Index        page 598
(These are very useful, along with the detailed Table of Contents at the beginning of the book)


Discussion of the organization of the article on Mme. C.J. Walker, the history selection for Chapter 3 of Bridging the Gap, on page 111.


By the way, who is Sandra Cisneros?  Nobody knew.  Try to find out!


Discussion of mnemonics and acronyms, how they are similar and how they are different.
Mnemonic, example:   FACE and Every Good Boy Does Fine for leaning to read the treeble clef in music
Acronym:  NATO for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and NEA for National Endowment for the Arts


Visualization of information:  the food group pyramid


Remember that exercises 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 in Chapter 3 will be due on Monday


The class started to work on Powers, by Ursula LeGuin.  

We began by looking at the cover to see what information it might give us.

Then we looked at the maps inside -- unknown territory -- no Seattle, no Portland

Mrs. Kimmel read from pages 1-4.  Tyson wrote the following notes, showing how we should take notes as we read --

Forest, isolation teenager
location.  Rivers, mountains cities
Chapter 1
1. Sallo -- Sister      Brother -- Gavir
2. invasion?  soldiers?
3. other names -- Tib, Gammy, Yaven-di
4. Marsh people, fearsome?

If we put the book down at this point and come back to it later, we have notes to re-orient us to the story and remind us what has already happened.

Assignment is to read the first two chapters by Monday, pages 1 - 60 in Powers


Homework:
1.  exercises 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 in Chapter 3 of Bridging the Gap will be due on Monday
2. read the first two chapters of Powers by Monday, pages 1 - 60 in Powers

September 21, 2016 -- Wednesday


1. Handout on confusing word pairs

2. Test on Chapter 1 of Bridging the Gap

3. Take back your graded papers from the pile on the front desk

4. pp. 94 and 95 in Bridging the Gap, 
                        especially the chart on page 95

5.  Start Powers (?)


Sentences on the board (you should memorize them so that you can remember how these words-that-sound-the-same [homophones] are used:

Two cups of coffee are not too many to have each day.

They're drinking their coffee over there.


After the test, there was a discussion of pages 94 and 95, especially the chart ("activate schemata" for example)


Discussion of "Concept Preps" from page 6 (I think) of the syllabus---

 Concept Preps

Throughout your textbook, ten short Concept Preps are included to introduce you to key concepts in different academic areas. You will be responsible for reading six of these independently throughout the semester and completing the questions which follow. (Choose the topics that interest you.)  You will keep your written answers to the Concept Preps in your folder/portfolio. Your folder will be turned in two weeks before the end of the semester. 

Start now!!!

Homework:

We will start Powers on Friday.  You should read chapters 1 and 2  (pages 1-60) by Monday.

September 19, 2016 -- Monday


On the board:

1. Warm-up is first part of vocabulary handout -- discussion
2. N.Y. Times about our novelist, Ursula LeGuin   "Ursula LeGuin Has Earned a Rare Honor.  Just Don't Call Her a Sci-Fi Writer"
3. discussion of homework due today (Bridging the Gap pages 60-72)


Handout:

READ 097-6.     2016.09.19

 Do you understand these words?   What do the word groups have in common?  How are they different?

intrapersonal                           interpersonal

intrastate                                 interstate

intragalactic                            intergalactic

intranational                            international

intramural                               intermural

antithetical                               antedate

antiapartheid                           antecedent

antibiotic                                 intediluvian

anticlimax                                antebellum

antiseptic                                 anteroom

there

their

they're

 Do you know about the Academic Word List?    Esldesk.com/vocabulary/academic

Assignment for this week  (see homwork list below):

Read Chapter 3, pages. 94-110 in Bridging the Gap and do the exercises 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3   --- Due Friday

Bring the Ursula LeGuin novel Powers to class on Wednesday. You should read chapters 1 and 2 by Monday of next week.

Discussion of abyss and atom -- yes, the "a" suffix means "not" in these words, but the other parts of those words (-byss and -tom) cannot stand by themselves in English,

Monogamy  monogamist         bigamy   bigamist

polygamy    polygamist

polyandry

antediluvian --- before the Flood (often used to mean "very old)

antebellum -- before the war (usually means the Civil War)

antecedent    Bill is busy.  He won't come today.

                  "Bill" is the antecedent  of "he."

Video on the old-fashioned teaching style:

https://www.facebook.com/baltimoresun/videos/10154522831964712/?hc_ref=SEARCH  

If you get a teacher/professor like this, don't take it personally!

Homework:  

1. Read Chapter 3, pages. 94-110 in Bridging the Gap and do the exercises 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3   --- Due Friday

2. Read the Ursula LeGuin article and write down 6 of the most important points in the article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/29/books/ursula-le-guin-has-earned-a-rare-honor-just-dont-call-her-a-sci-fi-writer.html?_r=0 

3. Bring the novel Powers to class on Wednesday

September 16, 2016 -- Friday


Warm-up -- prefixes meaning "not"
1. Write 2 words (each) that begin with the following prefixes;
      un-, dis-, im-, a-
     8 words total, all meaning "not something"
2. Handout (corrected from previous class)  -- NASA African-        American women mathematicians -- Students should underline items on the word list handed out last class so that they can see how the words are used, in context.
3. conspiracy theory (relevant to this election) reading from NY Times 
4. homework -- TBA (to be announced)

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/13/opinion/campaign-stops/did-you-hear-the-latest-about-hillary.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Excerpt from opinion piece in the New York Times  "Did You Hear the Latest About Hillary?"


words with prefixes meaning "not"
unimportant
unhappy
unethical
undo
unable (see also, disable)
unjustified (unjustifiable)
     indescribable
     injustice
     inhuman
          disappoint
          dissatisfied
          disagree
          disable  (see also, unable)
          disapprove
          discrepancy
          dislike
          disengage
atypical
asexual
amoral
(what about anatomy, acronym, atomic, abyss?  -- does "a" mean "not" in these words?  discussion) [see the following site http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=abyss ]  
     impractical
     impossible
     imposter
     immoral


The teacher read the conspiracy article/opinion piece out loud.  It references the current presidential election.  What is the difference between opinion and fact?  How do you find out? -- That is what this article is about.  The teacher says that this is one of the main purposes of a college education: learning the difference between opinion and fact, learning how to find out whether an item of information is opinion or fact, learning to support your own opinions with documentaion, etc.


Announcement:  Test on Chapter 1 has been postponed to Wednesday.


Students handed in their 2-page papers on their own learning styles, referencing the textbook information and the online survey.  Two students sent email saying that the link didn't work, but most students were able to access the link.  The teacher was also able to access the link.  It's easier to find it through Chrome/Google than through Yahoo, Safari, or Bing
 www.literacynet.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html/

                                                                        b. Write an assessment of the results using your

                                                                        scores and the information from the chapters and

                                                                        and from class (30 points)**

Homework:
Bridging the Gap pages 69-72 -- do the exercises and bring them to class






          

September 14, 2016   --  Wednesday

1. Warm-up  --  Make a list of 4 books that have been important to you.  Explain why they have been important.  (Bullet points are OK.)  These lists will be collected.
2. New York Times article (see below) -- which includes history, biography, and film references
3. vocabulary from the article  -- extra word "roiled"
4. suggested test questions


Some books that students mentioned as important were:
Great Gatsby
Othello
Sold (about enslaved workers in India)
Macbeth
The Pigman
My Bloody Life -- autobiography about a Chicago man who was in a gang but managed to escape and survive
Harry Potter -- one student hated it!



New York Times Article (reading)
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/books/on-being-black-female-math-whizzes-during-the-space-race.html?mwrsm=Email

     "On Being a Black Female Math Whiz During the Space Race"

Two pages were accidentally omitted from the article, so I will have it duplicated again for Friday's class.

                                                                                                                           READ 097-6

                                                                        September 13, 2016

New York Times article – vocabulary finding

Look at the following words and phrases used in the above article.  Can you define them or offer synonyms for them?  Can you tell what they mean in context?  

Revolutionize          

Defied convention

Trajectories for rockets

Disorienting(ly)

Aquamarine

Sonic boom

Socialize

Solemn

Persistence

Revelation

Outwardly

Prevailed

Bungalow

Sequestration

Indignities

Resonance

List any other words from the article that you think are important or difficult.


Discussion of the word "disorientingly" -- broken up into parts -- orient means "east" which historically has been the most meaningful direction in many cultures -- east is where the sun rises -- to be oriented suggests that you know where you are -- to be disoriented means that you don't know where you are -- one synomym for "disorientingly" might be "confusingly"


Discussion of work due Friday, 2-page (double-spaced, 12 point type, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins)  --  discussion of one's own learning styles and accomplishments


Discussion of possible test questions for test next week.


Homework
1. Finish 2 page paper -- due Friday
2. Study for next week's test on Chapter 1 of Bridging the Gap

September 12, 2016 -- Monday

On the board when students came in --
1. Warm-up --   Please take a copy of the article about Alexander Hamilton (I know -- Wikipedia -- feh).  Highlight/underline the 6 most important facts and be prepared to tell the class about them
2.   Video from CBS Sunday Morning -- feature on the creation of the musical "Hamilton", by
Lin-Manuel Miranda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wboCdgzLHg
3. on-line-assisted assignment for Friday (2 typed pages)  -- 30 points
4. discussion of vocab test #1


Students mentioned the following items from the Wikipedia article on Alexander Hamilton
born in the Caribbean ... West Indies ... Nevis
out-of-wedlock
orphan
came to mainland (future U.S.) at 17
founded U.S. financial system
practice law in NY
founder of NY Post newspaper
founder of Coast Guard
killed by Aaron Burr (then Vice-President of the U.S.)
Revolutionary War and early U.S. historical figure
attended King College in NY (now Columbia University)
First Secretary of the Treasury (under Washington)

After talking about these facts, students watched the video


Discussion of upcoming assignment, due Friday, Sept. 16 -- see syllabus page 3  -- we are in the third week of the course -- use the information from the homework assignment you did for today -- review

                                       Chapter 6 pages 270-272

                                          a. Complete learning styles inventory

                                                      and multiple intelligences

                                       www.literacynet.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html/

                                           b. Write an assessment of the results using your

                                                scores and the information from the chapters 1 and 6 and

                                                  and from class (30 points)** 

                     ***Two page paper, typewritten, 1 inch margins, 12 point type***

There will be a test next week on Chapter 1 -- student thought about what should be on the test, after looking at the "Detailed Contents" of the chapter (page vi) and considering its title, "Active Learning" -- possible items and topics for test

    learning styles

    short answer questions like "how would you help an auditory learner?"

    True or False questions like "taking notes in class is helpful -- True or False"

    Assign items to a chart, for example, categorize distractions 

                                         according to whether they are internal or external

When students are preparing for a test, they should think about

1. what interests them in the material

2. what is objectively important in the material

3. what does the teacher want them to learn from the material

Homework:

1. for Wednesday, generate 5 or 6 questions you think should be on the upcoming test and write them down on a paper to be handed in

2. work on the assignment due Friday, the two page paper about the student's own learning styles, types of intelligence, and study habits