Autobiography Poem

Line 1: Your first name only

Line 2: Four traits (adjectives) which describe you

Line 3: Son/Daughter of….Brother/Sister of…

Line 4: Lover of (3 ideas or people or a combination)

Line 5: Who feels (three sensations)

Line 6: Who finds happiness in (three items)

Line 7: Who needs (three items)

Line 8: Who gives (three items)

Line 9: Who fears (Three items)

Line 10: Who would like to see (three items)

Line 11: Who enjoys (three items)

Line 12: Who likes to wear (three colors or items)

Line 13: Resident of (your city), (your street or road name)

Line 14: You last name only

CNN assignment

2 sentences that essentially are the gist of the news item.

2-3 sentences of what you predict will happen, or what the future significance of the news item is.

CNN Link: http://www.cnn.com/videos/cnn10/2017/05/23/ten-0523c.cnn

Conclusions

In class today we went over the different conclusion strategies (pictured below).  Students then had 30 minutes to work on their papers that will be due on Friday at the end of class.

Make a prediction AND offer a solution

Introductions

We discussed the 2 style of introductions we will be using in class.  Here are 3 slides that were used.  Students were given 40 minutes in class to wok on this and should have a draft done for Wednesday.

DUE..WHAT...WHEN...HOW

Due by 9:00am Friday, is your P1, P2, and P3 (fact) for the 2 body powerboxes.  Students need to share their document with me at:

roger.thompson@mead354.org

Students will have all rotation on Friday to work on the 2nd Power 3 (the personal experience/opinion) in rotation.  That will be Monday.

Here is what is due by 9:00am:


Tomorrow, Friday, they will be working on this...which will be due Monday.


Ultimately it should turn out similar to this:

Touching up your P1s, 2s, and 3s

As discussed in class, we are adding appropriate sentence tools to the sentences in the powerboxes.  Transition words in the 1s and 2s...getting the facts correctly identified, etc. Both powerbox paragraphs are due tomorrow.

Power 1, Power 2, and Power 3

Due tomorrow is:

power 1--> Big idea (Not enough social time)
Power 2--> First Detail to support the Power 1 (Homework until 10pm)
Power 3-->Fact from article to support power 2 (In the article "Why People Are Smart," it stated, "...."
Power 2 Second detail
Power 3 Fact from article

China Paper

Due Tomorrow:

State your position-- For against the change

Come up with your 2 BIG IDEAS

Come up with 2 supporting details for the Big Ideas.

Must be done on paper and will be turned in.

China Vs. US Education systems

Here is a list of links to the videos, articles, and webs we will use for our research:

Typical School Day
http://www.ivanwalsh.com/business-development/why-chinese-kids-are-smart-but-not-creative/

Are America's students falling behind the world?
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-pisa-test-results-20131209-story.html

The child, student, parent, culture
http://www.greatschools.org/parenting/teaching-values/481-parenting-students-to-the-top.gs?page=all

Amy Chua's account of being a mother:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/books/excerpt-battle-hymn-of-the-tiger-mother.html

Chinese Flocking to US Schools
http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/31/opinion/bennett-china-us-schools/


With Video:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/education-in-china-testing-diane-sawyer_n_785016.html

Video:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/22/studentnews/sn-curriculum-thu/index.html (@2:25)

2 videos:
http://www.pisaday.org/

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Comparing U.S. and Chinese Public School Systems

by Van Schaack

TEACHING AND TEACHING STRATEGIES (US AND CHINA)

In China:

To Become a Teacher:

In order to become a teacher in Mainland China, it is necessary for senior-middle-school teachers to be graduates with two additional years of training in a professional institution [2]. Primary-school teachers need to be graduates of secondary schools [2].

Teaching Strategies:

Different teaching strategies are employed in China as compared to the United States. In China, if a student is having difficulty grasping concepts in math class, the teacher may ask the student to come in front of the class to try to solve a problem so that the teacher and other students can help the student to correct his or her mistakes. If the student needs additional help, he will stay after school and work one-on-one with the teacher. The student's parents will also be involved and will help him with his math homework when he gets home from school, and on the weekends as well.

Data shows that students in Chinese schools, students perceive their classroom environments to be competitive and teacher-controlled. Students feel that this is a productive route to learning [3]. Students enjoy a friendly learning atmosphere where students and teachers work together in interesting and challenging class activities [3]. Chinese students feel that a collaborative learning environment promotes deeper and achievement-oriented approach to learning, which they prefer to other approaches to learning [3].

In the U.S.:

To Become a Teacher:

To become a teacher at an American elementary, middle or high school, it is necessary for all teachers to complete a four-year undergraduate higher education program. Undergraduate education programs exist, where after four years the student has a degree in education and only needs to take a teaching certification exam in the state that they want to teach in to become a teacher. For other students, post undergraduate education, future teachers need to complete a thirteen-month to two-year teaching certification degree (depending on the speed of the courses taken). These future teachers as well will need to take a certification examination in the state in which they want to teach and pass it to become a teacher. Many elementary, middle and high school teachers go on to get their Masters degree in education, which is an additional two years of education. A Masters degree (MA) can allow a teacher to be paid a higher salary than they would otherwise receive. In addition, it may make them a more attractive candidate when applying for a job in a school located in a higher SES area. In order to become a college or University professor, most students will need to complete an undergraduate education, as well as get their Masters degree. Depending on the University, it may be wise to go on for an additional two years to get a Doctorate degree (Dr.). In more prestigious universities, professors are usually doctors (have a doctorate degree).

Group vs. Individual (China & U.S)

Teachers in China focus on the group as opposed to on the individual. If one student is lagging behind, the class will stop and help the student, and bring him as quickly as possible to the level of the rest of the group. It is believed that every student has the ability to achieve in every subject, although some students will need to work harder than others to achieve the same results. Teachers and parents seem willing to help students who are not "naturals" at a subject to learn the tools that they need to succeed in that particular subject, even if it means working outside of school and on the weekends.

In Contrast, in America, being called in front of a class and being critiqued by not only your teacher, but also by other peers, could be downright damaging to a student's psyche. In the U.S., education focuses on the individual, and maintaining students' self-esteem is considered critical.

Further, if a U.S. student is lagging in his or her math class, we have the tendency to attribute the student's failure to him simply not being good at math. Students in this situation will often move into a lower level math class (different math levels are usually associated with middle school or high school).

PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT:

Parental involvement is a critical component to a child's educational experience. If a child's parents value education, then the child is more likely to value school as well. In China, parental involvement is higher than compared to the US. Chinese parents accept the critical role of helping their students to learn concepts if they are lagging behind in school. Chinese parents also make sure that their children complete their homework. Parents in the U.S. typically play a more passive role in the education of their children.  In China, education ethics begins with parents. Mothers in eastern Asian countries for example, will actually attend school in order to take notes for their children when they are ill and unable to attend themselves [12]. In addition, parents are actually expected to attend school to observe their children's work habits [12].

Friday's "In Class" assignment

After the DOL test today, students had 40 minutes to work on the summary questions on page 126 of their Collections book.  They are responsible for questions 1-6 and answers should be about 3 or more sentences.  This will be due on Monday.

If they did not complete their assignment, they can get on line an access the book and the questions.  If they forgot how to do that, step by step instructions have been given in class...as well as there are some directions in a prior post below.

On page 90, answer questions 1,2, and 3...completely.  Likely each will require a few (3 or more) sentences.

Remember, you can log in to your book on line at my.hrw.com

You Found It

Use the link below to answer the questions....be first...if you can.

You guys are pretty quick on the computers to get what you need...now show me that.

http://www.mrsoshouse.com/ext/jan.html

Close Reader pgs 53-60---> due tomorrow

Students had 35 minutes to work on this in class.  They need to answer all the questions on the pages other than #6, #8, and the short response at the end.  This will wrap up the Collections on "Disaster."

Page 194 in Your Collections book...question #3

If you need to access your Collections book...scroll down and it shows you how to access it.  This assignment is due Monday.  Students had 10-15 minutes to work on this in class.

Personification in Close Reader

On pages 49 and 51 of the Close Reader, underline all the examples of personification.  On page 49 circle the names of body parts.  Due tomorrow

How To Log on to Collections...and Today's Assignment

Today's assignment is questions #1 and #6 from page 182.

How do you get to page 182 you ask?  Good question.

1. go to:  my.hrw.com
2. Enter in your school email as your username and use the password associated with that.

It will take you to a tutorial, feel free to "X" out of it.

3. Then select "Student eBook"
4. Select "Contents" in the upper left corner
5. Select "Collection 3: Dealing with Disaster"
6. Select "The Banana Tree"
7. Select "Read the Text"
8.  The questions to your assignment are on page 182...#1 and #6

Cause and Effect---Due 1/12 (Thursday)

Review the following from the story.  Come up with two Cause and Effect relationships from the section.  Also, explain how they are related.

Example:

Cause: The 2015 Tsunami that ripped through Seattle

Effect: The Space Needle toppled over and crushed 2,351 people.

Relationship: The powerful tsunami wave was so strong that it pushed over the Space Needle resulting in over 1,000 deaths.

Swamped and Scared People caught in the tsunami suffered many injuries. After the waves receded, some were caught under deep piles of debris. A trapped deliveryman named Romi called and called for help but received no response. After two days, rain fell, and he was able to collect water for drinking. Mosquitoes feasted on him at night. On the third day, more people were trudging through the murky water to look for survivors. Four men tried to rescue Romi, but they failed. Finally on the fifth day, 25 men worked four hours and were finally able to haul him through miles of debris. All around, tens of thousands of corpses needed to be buried quickly. Elephants and bulldozers were brought in to help with the wreckage. 

 As survivors returned to their villages, they often found that nothing remained—no familiar landmarks, no driveway, car, or motorbike. The house was gone and everything in it, including toothbrush, comb, lipstick, and frying pan. Power was out, and phones were dead. According to one survivor, “Many people were literally left with nothing—not even coins in their pockets or clothes on their backs.” They suffered from breathing problems after swallowing mud, sand, and toxic water. Before starting to rebuild, many spent days, and then weeks, looking for lost relatives. 

On the first day, those nearest the earthquake were traumatized by 37 more tremors. During the next days, there were more earthquakes: 18 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, 7 on Wednesday, 7 on Thursday, 9 on Friday. Each time the ground trembled, people who still had shelter scampered outside, “joining the others who feared that the walls and ceiling would fall in on them,” wrote Barry Bearak. 

The tsunami left a huge problem of contaminated water. In Sri Lanka, for instance, 40,000 wells were destroyed and the freshwater aquifer[7] became toxic. In the Maldives, 16 coral reef atolls[8] lost their freshwater and may be uninhabitable until decades of monsoons can refresh the supply. Other countries had similar problems as the salty waves mixed with freshwater and sewers. Thousands of banana, rice, and mango plantations were destroyed by thick layers of salty sludge. For drinking, Spain and Australia delivered gigantic water purifying machines. Military ships from the United States and Singapore made freshwater from the sea, and several companies sent water purifiers, including one that could turn raw sewage into drinking water in seconds. Some purifiers were lightweight and could be flown in by helicopter to areas that lost all road and bridge access. 

 As people sought help for severe injuries, supplies were scarce. At one hospital only 5 of 956 health workers were available. Barry Bearak wrote, “Little in the way of supplies was kept in the emergency room—no IVs, no painkillers, few bandages. As in many poor nations, new patients were examined and then their families were sent to buy drugs, syringes, and other items needed for treatment.” When health workers ran out of anesthetic, ice cubes were used to deaden the pain. When they ran out of suture threads, wounds were wrapped in plastic snipped from seat covers or left open. The ones who had wounds cleaned but not stitched were actually lucky. After three days, those with stitches often developed fatal infections when contaminated water was trapped inside their injury. 

Relief workers from around the world eventually arrived with vaccines, antibiotics, food, blankets, tents, field hospitals, building supplies, and mosquito nets. In general, health care was well planned and prevented the outbreak of diseases, but the number of dead and wounded could be overwhelming. Sometimes tourists were treated before villagers. Villagers were treated before Burmese immigrant workers. Friends and family were treated before strangers. In India, people called Dalits, “untouchables,” traditionally judged to be “less than human,” were denied aid, even fresh drinking water. Social problems that exist before a disaster get magnified or changed afterward.