Wednesday, 3/30

Announcements

• The third book fair has been moved to Friday, April 8 from 11:00 to 12:00.
• Your book reports will be due on Thursday, April 7 by 9:30 a.m.
• The fourth reading test has been moved to Monday, April 11 in class.

Classwork

• Reviewed the answers to TOEFL Ex. R14.
• Reviewed the vocabulary homework in NorthStar and discussed vocabulary.
• Completed NorthStar, Ex. B, pg. 180.
• Discussed the differences between modern medicine and alternative medicine.
• Previewed "What Is Alternative Medicine?"

Homework

• TOEFL packet, Ex. R12, pgs. 186-188 (This will help you to better identify synonyms and restatements.)
• Read "What Is Alternative Medicine?" Identify the main pattern of organization and take notes that reflect that pattern.

Tuesday, 3/29

Classwork

• Finished test.
• Got this week's News for You.
• Discussed Mark Zuckerberg lecture.
• Listened to Jiny's news report.
• Reviewed answers from Ex. R13 in TOEFL packet.

Homework

• Ex. R14, pgs. 191-192 in TOEFL packet
• NorthStar, Ex. C Background and Vocabulary, Parts 1 and 2, pgs. 180-182

Monday, 3/28

Announcements

You can put in my box any late summaries of the Zuckerberg lecture.

Classwork

Took test. It was a little too long. You will have 10 minutes to finish the test tomorrow. Please do not look up any vocabulary words that you remember from the test. That would be cheating.

Homework

• Personal Reading Logs
• News Reports (Jiny presents)
• TOEFL Packet, Exercise R13

Thursday, 3/24

Announcements

• Your reading test will be on Monday, March 28 IN CLASS. You should review Units 6, 7, and 8 for reading comprehension. You should also review patterns of organization. For longer sections of reading, I will ask you to identify the pattern of organization (cause/effect, etc.) and the main idea (a complete sentence). These two answers should be similar. I will also ask you to explain your answer. For example, if you said the pattern was compare/contrast, you would list signal words from the paragraph, such as while, likewise. You could also say Sentences 1-5 show similarities. Sentences 6-8 show differences.
• Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, will speak in the Marriott Center at 11:00 tomorrow. I will give you extra points if you attend and turn in notes or a summary on Monday. Get there early to get a good seat.

Classwork

• Compared notes for "Getting Around Green Style." Some students preferred short, key phrases with pictures or charts to show relationships. Others preferred complete sentences to show relationships.
• Practiced vocabulary on pg. 169 in NorthStar.
• Practiced detail questions with TOEFL packet. Focused on paraphrase questions and synonyms.

Homework

Monday

• Study for test. (See above.)
• Notes from Zuckerberg lecture (not required).

Tuesday

• Personal Reading Logs
• News Reports (Jiny presents)
• Exercise R-13, pgs. 188-190 in the TOEFL packet.

Wednesday, 3/23

Classwork

• Found answers to the detail questions from last night's homework.
• Did a speedreading drill with "Earth-Friendly Transportation" from More Reading Power, pgs. 239-240.

1. Previewed. Compared the information to "Getting Around in Green Style" to identify new or different information. (20 seconds)
2. Read for good comprehension. (Students timed themselves individually.)
3. Recorded reading speed using the chart on pg. 188.
4. Scanned the questions for key words.
5. Scanned the article for the answers. (3 minutes)
6. Recorded comprehension score on the chart.

Homework

Write notes for "Getting Around in Green Style." You do NOT have to type them. Use section titles for organization. Include main ideas AND details.

Tuesday, 3/22

Classwork

Learned new reading strategy from Amy.

1. Preview: Study key vocabulary words and titles.
2. Read for main ideas: Read quickly for the main ideas. Don't worry if you don't understand all the details.
3. Listen to the teacher in lecture: Identify important points. Ask questions.
4. Read for details: Take your time. Understand the concepts in detail. Take notes. Focus on the most important sections as identified by your teacher. Study the diagrams and charts.

Reviewed the homework in groups with the answer key. If you were absent and want to check your answers, please ask me for the answer key.

Read "The Global Crisis" on pg. 231 of More Reading Power.

1. Previewed (20 seconds).
2. Read for main ideas (1 minute 30 seconds).
3. Answered questions 1 and 2 on pg. 232.
4. Identified key words in questions 3 to 8 on pg. 232.
5. Scanned for the answers (3 minutes)

Previewed "Getting Around in Green Style." Then read for main ideas.

Homework

Read "Getting Around in Green Style" for details. Write five detail questions.

Monday, 3/21

Classwork

Began Unit 8 in NorthStar.

1. Discussed ideas and vocabulary related to global warming. For instance, we discussed whether it is man-made and thereby preventable or a natural phenomenon and thus inevitable. We also discussed some of the causes and effects.
2. Answered the questions on pg. 155.
3. Studied the vocabulary on pgs. 157-159. Completed the activity on pg. 159.
4. Previewed "The Climate Train" by answering the question at the top of pg. 160.
5. Read "The Climate Train" on pgs. 160-161. Answered the main idea questions on pg. 161.
6. Read "The Climate Train" again to improve speed. Answered the detail questions on pg. 162.

Homework

• Read "On the Road with John Madden" on pgs. 163-164.
• Answer the 3 questions on pgs. 164.
• Complete the chart on pg. 165.
• Complete all the vocabulary activities on pgs. 167-168 (Review 1, Review 2, and Expand).

Tuesday, 3/15

Classwork

Book Fair!

Homework

• News Report
• Personal Reading Log

Monday, 3/14

Classwork

Students worked on their Personal Reading Reports in the lab.

Homework

• Personal Reading Report 2, including a 2-3 page summary, 1/2 page evaluation, and 15 vocabulary words with the definition, part of speech, word family, example sentence from the book, and a sentence that you created.
• Poster for the Book Fair

Thursday, 3/10

Classwork

• Studied example Expository Personal Reading Report. Remember, use your book's table of contents to help you organize the information. Your paragraphs will usually contain the author's main point plus one short example. If your book is short, you will need to include more details to fill 2 pages. If your book is long, you need to be more general.
• Reviewed homework.

Homework

• News Report
• Personal Reading Log
• Draft of your Personal Reading Report 2

Wednesday, 3/9

Announcements

The first expository book fair has been moved from Friday, March 11 at 11:00 to Tuesday, March 15 in class.

Your second personal reading report is now due on Tuesday, March 15 at the beginning of class. In class on Thursday, we will study examples and practice writing expository summaries. On Monday, we will go to the lab so that you can work on your reports and get individual help.

Classwork

Students

• Reviewed paragraph 6 on the white handout. The pattern was cause/effect. The main idea was The example of the Kong Mountains shows that ignorance about African geography often led to inaccuracies on maps.
• Formed questions from the titles in Chapter 10, "Big Organic." For example, from the title "Once upon a Time," you could create the question "How is big organic like a fairy tale?"
• Using the questions formed from the titles, found the main idea of each section. We only looked up vocabulary words if we needed them to find the main idea.

Homework

• For your section of Ch. 11 in the Omnivore's Dilemma, write a question from the title. Then read the section in order to find the answer to your question. Write both the question and answer on the handout. Remember, look up only the vocabulary words that you need for the main idea and supporting details.
• Read NorthStar, pg. 140. Answer the questions on pg. 141.
• Complete the vocabulary exercises in NorthStar, pgs. 144-146.

Tuesday, 3/8

Announcements

The first expository book fair has been moved from Friday, March 11 at 11:00 to Tuesday, March 15 in class.

Your second personal reading report is now due on Tuesday, March 15 at the beginning of class. In class this Wednesday and Thursday, we will study examples and practice writing expository summaries. On Monday, we will go to the lab so that you can work on your reports and get individual help.

Classwork

Reviewed homework.

Identified the part of speech of each vocabulary word.

Previewed tonight's homework.

Homework

Read Chapter 10, "Big Organic," pgs. 111-126, from The Omnivore's Dilemma.

Tomorrow in class, you will tell me how much you read, how long it took, what you liked best, and what you didn't understand.

You can post any questions you have to the blog.

Monday, 3/7

Warning: Classwork from and homework due on Monday, 2/28 expire tonight at midnight. I will not accept them after that time.

Classwork

Students

• Received a new copy of the Honor Code.
• Completed Exercise 22 (pgs. 137-138) in More Reading Power.
• Reviewed Problem 6 (about Hans Christian Andersen) on the white handout from last week.
• Started Unit 7 by answering the questions on pg. 133 in NorthStar.

Homework

Students should complete the following exercises in NorthStar:

• Exercise B on pg. 134
• Exercise C on pgs. 135-136
• Exercise A on pgs. 136-139, including the questions on pg. 136, reading for main ideas on pg. 138, reading for details on pgs. 138-139, making inferences on pg. 139, and the first column ("Your Opinion") of expressing opinions on pg. 139. You do not need to complete the column for "Your Partner's Opinion.

Thursday, 3/3

Classwork

Practiced patterns of organization.

Reviewed the honor code.

Distributed citizenship grades.

Homework

News Report Presentations: Suleiman & Eva

News Reports

Personal Reading Logs

Optional Homework

Revise Test 1 (Due 3/7)

Revise Test 2 (Due 3/8)

Wednesday, 3/2

Classwork

Reviewed homework.

Reviewed tests. Discussed patterns of organization.

Homework

White handout with two paragraphs.

For each paragraph, identify the pattern of organization, the signal words and the main idea.

Optional Homework

Revise Test 2. (Due 3/8)

Tuesday, 3/1

Classwork

Read NorthStar, pgs. 119-120, "Saving the World with Computer Games"

Complete the exercises on pgs. 120 and 121.

Homework

Read the email in NorthStar, pg. 121.

Write a response on pg. 122.

Complete the vocabulary review on pg. 123.

Study the new vocabulary words on pg. 124.

Complete the exercises on pgs. 125 and 126.