Figurative language

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The following are the six (6) steps for writing a summary

1.

Find the main idea of the passage:

Read the passage the first time for understanding.

(So you can get a sense of what point they are trying to make.)

Ask yourself, “ What was the passage about?”

(You should answer yourself with a sentence or a phrase)

Hint: If you are having problems, scan the passage to see which 'topic' word appears most often. This is likely the topic of the passage.
Now you have to figure out what is being said about the topic.


Read the passage a second time.

What is the overall point being made about the topic word?
You need to be able to see the "big picture" being presented by the passage. This is the main idea of the whole passage; Write it down.

Never start writing a summary before you read the passage for a second time.


2.

Find the supporting ideas in the passage:

(Supporting ideas are used to develop, explain or expand on the main idea.)

While "skimming" (reading through quickly) the passage for
the third time, look for the supporting ideas by reading over
the opening sentences of the paragraphs.

(A paragraph expresses and develops one main idea or point)

Underline topic sentences in the paragraphs and the key
ideas in them.


3.

After reading the passage for the third time, write one or two summary sentences for each paragraph describing the main idea that you see expressed by the paragraph.

If you see yourself repeating the same ideas, you will need to read the passage again to get a clearer picture and then revise your summary sentences.


4.

Join together the main idea of the passage and your paragraph summary sentences by using transitional words and/or phrases.
These transitional words/phrases do three things:

1) They give your summary a sense of being a "whole" - not just a group of unconnected sentences.

2) They also make your summary "flow" smoothly when reading

3) They reinforce and support the main idea being expressed in the passage.


5.

Reread (and edit if necessary) the summary to make sure it clear and to-the-point.
Eliminate repetitive words, too many descriptive words (adjectives and adverbs)and non-essential sentences.
The final version should read like a whole, sensible piece of writing.

**Check your spelling and grammar.


6.

Finally, check your summary against the author’s original. Have you correctly described the author’s main idea and the essential supporting points?

Make any necessary adjustments or changes to your summary.

This is a visual representation of what you do when you summarize a written passage

summary. Click on the highlighted word





What is a Summary?



A summary is a brief restatement--in your own words--of the contents of a passage.



Why do we need to make summaries?

Sometimes someone may ask us to tell them what a movie or a class was about. At that point, they don’t expect us to tell them every word that was said in the movie or every word that the teacher said. Instead, they expect us to give them the main plot of the movie or the main topic of the class and the major points of interest that help us to understand what happened in the movie or the class.



In the same way, a summary is the way in which we are asked questions such as,|

“what was the movie about?”

“how did the game go?” and

“what did I miss in class today?”

you must be able to summarize.

Your questioner doesn't want to know every word and action in the movie, every play in the game, or every word from class; the questioner is asking you to select the most important details and summarize them.

Similarly, when you summarize a reading you need to be able to find the important data and then present it as clearly and concisely as possible.

This 1) Introduction

Persuasive essay

The introduction of a persuasive essay presents the writer's position on a topic and lists the points that he will use to support his position on the essay topic.

The introduction of a 300 word (CXC length) persuasuve essay is one paragraph long.



Short story

The introduction of a short story introduces the characters, setting and plot of the story. Since a short story has a main plot or event that it is talking about and since it is short, then the short story will introduce the plot of the story immediately- in the introduction.

The introduction of an approximately 450 word (CXC length) short story is usually one paragraph long.



Descriptive essay

The introduction of a descriptive essay begins the description of a scene, character/s or an event. A descriptive essay may take the 'point-of-view' of a character in the scene. 'Point-of-view' means that the description is being told through their eyes.

The introduction of a 300 word (CXC length) descriptive essay is one paragraph long.



2) The Body

Persuasive essay

The body of a persuasive essay develops and expands on the points presented in the introduction. It expands on points supporting the writer's position or statement. Points against the writer's position may also be presented and dismissed in the body of the persuasive essay.

The body of a 300 word (CXC length) persuasive essay is usually three (3) to five (5) paragraphs long.



Short story

The body of a short story develops the plot of the story that was presented in the introduction. It is important that the body of a short story moves the "action" of the story along quickly to a conclusion. The body of the short story uses the 'action' of the story plot to develop the characters in the story. That is, it shows the personality of the characters by describing their actions in the plot of the story.

The body of an approximately 450 word (CXC length) short story is usually five (5) to six (6) paragraphs long. Please check the CXC annual best short stories to verify.



Descriptive essay

The body of a descriptive essay develops the description of scenes, events or characters by providing more details, and using literary devices to capture the imagination. Literary devices used may include metaphors, figurative language, and imagery.

The body of a 300 word (CXC length) descriptive essay is usually about three (3) to five (5) paragraphs long.


3) The Conclusion

Persuasive essay

The conclusion of a persuasive essay restates the writer's position and sums up the relationship between the supporting points and the writer's position statement.

The conclusion of a 300 word (CXC length) persuasive essay is one paragraph long.



Short story

The conclusion of a short story describes how the story’s plot issue is settled or resolved.

The conclusion of an approximately 450 word (CXC length) short story is usually one paragraph long.



Descriptive essay

The conclusion of a descriptive essay sums up the 'picture' created by the writer's description. It may offer a summary from a particular 'point-of view'.

The conclusion of a 300 word (CXC length) descriptive essay is one paragraph long.

offers information on the different types of writing and essays expected.

Part 2: Introduction to Reading Passages : The SAT: Critical Reading : : Careers And Colleges .com

Part 2: Introduction to Reading Passages : The SAT: Critical Reading : : Careers And Colleges .com

Journal Writing Response lesson 4

After having viewed the web page with the life of Anne frank i am curious as to how she survived in hiding for so long. Wouldn't she have wanted to go out doors, speak to new people, just be free.It was as if she had imprisoned herself. She had done nothing wrong but she was locked up and all the wicked persons were running free, tormenting her life. I would go crazy, with nothing to do but write, i would miss all the deices I have now and most especially going on face book. if you think about it, facebook is my diary is some sense, i can do a nit more than write though.
Anne was really a very strong and determined person. She had lots of ideas and I guess she got rid of her frustration by writing in her journal. She has one advantage though, she did not have to go to school.

Mr. Mc Arthur

In this story the teacher, Mr. Mc Arthur, seems to be very frustrated by his class. There are several unruly boys who have on many occasions tempted his patience. He has become tired and worn out from trying t teach the class. He goes home gloomily and from his haggard appearance he seems very stressed with his class. He changes from a weak and depressed person to one who fights back. He is very crafty and brave. He choose an unusual way to deal with the situation. Imagine waiting to catch that animal for his spell. I think many teachers would wish that children like this would disappear but he choose to turn them into pigs, probable based on their behavior. I do wonder if he thought about the consequences of placing that spell. I thought he would have given them detention. I wonder where he is and if he will have to do the same again, I mean children are the same everywhere. I think i will be paying more attention to my teachers, being turned into a pig is not so amusing, well at least not for me.

School is the same everywhere

Animation: Educated Fish


Animation: Educated Fish

Schools is the same everywhere.

Virtual Field Trip

Have you ever considered going on a Virtual field trip? It's cost effective, saves time , you can do it in the privacy of your classroom, so much more manageable and of course your class will want to go again and again. In many of our schools students come to us disadvantaged wither because of family situations or income.Many of them have a little pre-knowledge beyond home and what they experience at school, an outing is like a vacation. The only way we can expose them to culture and the many experiences life has to offer is to take them on Virtual Field trips.This wealth of information that they can gain from visiting museums, or even virtual exhibits can create in them a desire to want to know more about the world and lead them to navigate going on these field trips on their own time. It lends to student motivation and can be transferred later when the formal lesson beings in class, they will now have information on which they can draw on for discussions and more important for writing assignments. My English teacher always tools us, to write what we knew, what we were familiar with. If we do not give them the experiences, what would they draw upon?
Check out this site.

http://www.theteachersguide.com/virtualtours.html#Museums

CellPhone Classroom

In all our discussions on using Technology in the classroom I must admit that I have not seen anyone Blog about using the Cellphone to conduct assignments and for during the class time. Yes I know that the MOE has regulations concerning having and use of the cellphone , but we know that as soon as miss/sir steps out of the classroom the hands start texting and for the students with a blackberry e-mails are on the go. It has even gotten to the stage where one Cellular service provided has included the ability to check facebook and twitter updates form their cellphones. We can use this to our advantage, I have successfully used the cellphone for vocabulary and spelling quizes, for creating sentences and in the instance where I have written a sentence using the text writing on the board and have students text the sentence in the Re-corrected Standard English format.It can be used in science to capture picture data of experiments for data to show progress and even the event in Social studies where the students used the camera to capture picture of cultural events, festivals and school activities for their coursework portfolio. In this case I may not need the use of the laptop to create short stories, the students can capture photos from which they can write.

http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com/
This site shows how the Cell Phone can be changed from Toy to Tool.

I have listed here from the site some ways students think that the cellphone can be useful.
* Look up information on Internet
* Record or take notes
* Work on projects with classmates
* Access digital textbooks
* Take videos of class presentations or experiments
* Play educational games
* Communicate with classmates
* Receive reminders and alerts
* Organize schoolwork
* Communicate with teacher
* Learn about school activities
* Access social networks
* Create and share documents/media
* Upload assignments and work to portals
* Coordinate calendars
* Share/edit bookmarks

The article by McKenna and Walpole from the International reading association, How well does assessment inform our reading instruction, 84-86, was very significant as I am faced in my institution with teachers who do not take time to ensure that their students are authentically assessed.

The article looks at assessment and the impact that it has on classroom instruction. They looked at teacher practice where there was a planned and structured form of assessment and one in which the teacher has no formal training to deal with assessment.

In the school where there was no formal plan of action the teacher who does not have school or district support is constrained by time and experience in the field of assessment. In the situations when assessment was administered, the teacher was also unable to adequately analyze the information. As such they were not able to identify specifically which students needed instruction and what format it should take. The teacher here operated on a trial by error basis, thus many students were not receiving the instruction needed. In contrast the teacher who was trained and followed a Reading First model supported by all the stakeholders involved was able to successfully use the diagnostic tests and gauge for the data collected whether instruction and intervention methods were working. Despite the success in gathering the data, there was no continuous support provided in the form of extensive professional development for the instructors involved.

It is important to note that schools which adopt a Reading First model are able to gather valuable data to determine instruction. It is not enough however to simply collect data. What is important in these schools and those without such a program is the fact that teachers who are experts in reading will be successful in meeting the needs of struggling reading if they are continually supported in the form of professional development. As such schools must have a formalized Reading program and the Intervention and Assessment methods to ensure the best for their students.

Illiteracy in the Content Area Classroom

L Alger the article Engaging student teachers’ hearts and minds in the struggle to address (ill) literacy in content area classrooms examines the use of the Literature Circle format as an avenue for creating awareness of the social issues with pre-service teachers. It takes into consideration that many content area teachers are not trained in the techniques of content area literacy. They see themselves as being specifically responsible for delivering content and that learning to read was a task that students would have mastered at the elementary school level. Alger notes that many content area teachers employed comprehension as a teaching/learning task but did not strategically teach comprehension skills. The article lists several obstacles to literacy instruction in the content area classes which include the view held by teachers that literacy is a method that is “apolitical”. Additionally the socio-economic characteristics on many teachers made them far removed from the situations faced by the struggling reader. As such these teachers held no priority for the necessity of integrating literacy into their content area.

The Literature circle format was thus developed for pre-service teachers to alter their perceptions with regards to literacy and it s importance in their classroom. They were thus sensitized into understanding the challenges. The activities led to teachers reading literature connect to the themes of literacy and social justice. They were exposed to literature circles and the methods which they would use to implement them into their classrooms later on. This experience led to the teachers reflecting on the need for literacy and the connections for life and the role it performs in their specific content area. The responses at the end of the program seemed sincere but it may be that the teachers gave the expected response within the experience of the Literature circle necessary to complete the course.

Seven Principles

In the article Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever, Chickering and Ehrman discuss Seven guiding principles when implementing the use of Technology into the classroom and Educational Process.

1. Encourages Contact Between Staff and Students

The frequent the interaction between students and the staff in and out of the classroom, the more motivated and involved some students become. They are more likely to share resources and ideas, especially those who are reluctant to ask questions. The time for response between assignment and questions answered is also dramatically reduced. According to the article, participation and contribution become more equitable and widespread.

2. Develops reciprocity and Cooperation Among Students.

Learning through technology now becomes a collaborative effort. This cooperative style increases learning and deepens understanding. It teaches skills such as problem solving and being able to synthesize large pieces of information.

3. Uses Active Learning Techniques.

The Web-2.0 technologies encourage active learning. The transfer of information and activity has shifted from teacher to student.

4. Gives Prompt Feedback.

It allows both the teacher and the student to identify what they know and don’t know. The technology can also be used to record students writing process/ journey for a budding writer or even help an athlete to look at video and criticize technique.

5. Emphasizes Time on Task.

The technology can save time with editing or have classes via pod casting or video conferencing. It can allow for easy data retrieval.

6. Communicates High Expectations.

When students are expected to deliver excellence, the technology allows the student to feel a level of creativity and accomplishment when their work is published.

7. Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning

Our students come with varied talents and pre-knowledge, the technology caters for their diverse learning styles and allows for dynamic forms of assessment.

Students as Lifelong Readers and Writers

As an educator it is our duty to ensure that our children become capable and even expert readers and writers. These skills are necessary for them to become literate citizens to survive in the 21st century. They are expected to be literate in areas other that the standard print writing and it is only when they can navigate print successfully can they weave through the other types of literacies which they will face later on. The challenge thus is for us to use engaging instructional strategies to capture the interest of the disengaged as well as the students who loose interest as they go into higher grades. As such motivation becomes an intrinsic part of creating Lifelong readers and writers. It is this motivation which makes the student want to know more to develop a sense of curiosity, to want to figure out what happens next. We can change our student’s attitudes through Reading and Writing Workshops which are authentic and where students have a choice about what they read and what they choose to writer about.
The Reading workshop allows for time, where the student has extensive time to read and write. Secondly it offers the atmosphere of choice and thirdly the response, whether it is a blog or a wiki or a journal. This workshop journeys the writing and reading process and the student and teacher can monitor their progress. The reading workshop is unconventional in that the student has choice over what they read and how they will present to the class. It is more individual in nature and because students read books of their own choosing their fluency is sustained and they enjoy what they are reading. This level of self efficacy encourages them to peruse more texts and over time challenge themselves to read books about their comfort level. As an English Teacher, I have adopted this approach in my Form one class, and I have found that it allows my students to feel more comfortable to discuss what they read and when they write they have a relationship with the text they choose and the writing they produce is sustained and descriptive. They are now excited as they want to share with their peers about the exciting books they are reading.

So You Have Computers: What you should know and be able to do.

It is all well and good to say that you have technology in your school. Computers alone cannot cause change in your school, it has to be integrated into the schools structure. The schools, students, teachers and administrators alike must all be willing to deal with the consequences and or possibilities of using technology. it can bring about a much desire change in the classroom. The transfer and delivery of knowledge changes from teacher to student; learning now comes from student inquiry, critical thinking and through problem solving.It is not only the quantity of computers that is important in the classroom, the key is to how the computer is being used by the teacher. The instructor must also have at their disposal high quality educational software. There is also the opinion for teachers to use programming to create their own personal creative instructional applications. One also has to consider the issue of time and I refer to setting a considerable amount of the teachers time to develop and customize lessons with the guided use of the computer as a multipurpose teaching tool.

In short:
1. Use software to facilitate instruction.
2. Use the Computer for instruction as an instructional medium and as a problem solving tool.
3. Use computer software to individualize instruction and increase student learning.
4. Use the technology to develop higher-order thinking skills.
5. Plan methods to integrate computer awareness and literacy into your existing curriculum.
6. Assess students needs for speific computer based instructiona applications.
7. Safeguard

Teachers Taking Action

The Ministry of Education is of the view that Teachers Educations is essential. Teachers must be masters of their content area in order to achieve the best results and give the best to their students. As professionals we cannot simply choose to be called professional because we have a Bachelors . We must make a conscious decision to take action and attend the many workshops and seminars being offered by the MOE. We complained that the workshops are for the new members to the service, that it took up too much school time and we lost time with our students. they have solved these problems by now offering them during the vacation period and yet we see it as an impingement on our time. Are we really concerned with learning what is new, the best practice?
Teacher training is essential in order to become experts in our areas. we must become Masters of our subject matter to be effective teachers. As (Wellglinski, 2000) has stated, teachers content knowledge is an important factor in student achievement. It is disheartening when there are teachers within the system who choose not to be educated. They are afraid of the restructuring of the system that now looks at ICT as integral in being a professional within the classroom. They hold the belief that they are already competent, they are on the way out, why bother to go through so much trouble. Some even express anxiety and fear that their lack of expertise will be embarrassing and undermine their classroom authority.
However one must take into consideration that the MOE does not compensate the teacher who make the effort to acquire additional qualifications, only those in administrative posts are meagerly offered a pittance. Which professional then wants to do the extra work? Should the MOE take legal action? What is there to sustain those who are already taking action? These are questions that face the teacher in search of professionalism.

Teaching For Diversity

As educators we must be cognizant of the fact that our classrooms are very diverse. No two students come with the same values, reading abilities, prior knowledge or even attitude to our specific Content Area. It is imperative that we ignore these differences when planning classroom instruction. We must become aware of the "ways of knowing", so that we can adequately present material using a variety of mediums with specific reference to the thechnology we have available to us. The method of presentation, delivery and assessment can allow us to capture the attention of the "bored" student.
The use of ICT can cater to the differing learners and the way in which they absorb information. the power point can be used to condense larg volumes of information into precise, succinct, statements. Added to which hypermedia can help create visual and interactive links to engage our demotivated and struggling students to become curious and want to investigate into the subject matter. As educators we must also give serious thought to not only our methods of delivery but our assessment procedures as well. We can no longer afford to be linear in our methodology as Reading Specialists.

Why Become A Reading Teacher

I will be honest in stating that this was not my original career path. I have always been comfortable in explaining that I became an English teacher, because i wanted to help all the children i knew who were having problems reading. They were additionally disadvantaged in that they did not have the support of the home. I came out of UWI and was placed in a school where I thought that i had the skills to help them become literate. This was simply doing more and more exercises and actually finishing an literature text. I failed to realize that my efforts were futile. I had not grasped what the concept of being literate in today's world really meant. I had not really helped them, i was only fostering the ability of those who had some skills.

My methodology needed to change. I needed to become literate in the concept and recognized the importance of the "Fabulous Five"; Vocabulary, Phonics, Morphology, Comprehension and Fluency. Teacher training and education was a must and as such I made the hard but conscious decision to sign up for the Masters in Reading Program.

It is essential that i become a technologically literate citizen for the 21st century.