Blog Prompt #2: War Stories

Spring 2015 Semester

DUE: Friday, 2/27/15, 11:59 p.m.

Vocabulary

Find three unfamiliar vocabulary words in your day-to-day reading. (Do NOT use our vocabulary lists or a dictionary site as a source) Use context clues to determine the meaning and post that process.

NEW THIS WEEK: Write an original sentence for each word. Please do not copy and paste a sentence from somewhere else. I WILL KNOW. If you are having trouble writing a sentence using the three new words, you may try the following instead:

• Go to Wordsinasentence.com and look up the word. (If that site doesn't have it, you can look up "use {insert word} in a sentence" in any search engine.
• Find an example sentence.
• "What impressed me most about the song was its juxtaposition of country and classic soul."
• Rewrite the sentence by replacing words with new words to create your own sentence.
• "What impressed the students most about the film was its juxtaposition of humor and violence."
• Write BOTH the example sentence and the new sentence in your blog post.

ALSO

Create a hyperlink, using the "Link" function in Blogger for each word to an online dictionary entry for that word.

Reflection Post

Author Tim O'Brien, known for his writings about the Vietnam War, states:

• Reflect on a story that made an impact on your life and tell why

• Think of an event in your life and how you would share that story with somebody--not in a way that shared all the facts, but in a way that would speak to the human heart.

War stories, like any good story, are finally about the human heart.  About the choices we make, or fail to make.  The forfeitures in our lives.  Stories are to console and to inspire and to help us heal... And a good war story, in my opinion, is a story that strikes you as important, not for war content, but for its heart content.

Remember that your post should be a minimum of 250 words.

Blog Prompt #5: Are you motivated?

Read 96 Blog: Entry #5

v  Reflection Post:

o   We are in the middle of our semester.  This is often the time when students lose their momentum.  I thought this would be a good time to reflect on a few things.   This week, I want you to reflect on how strong your motivation is right now.  How strong is your motivation for school right now?  Do you need to bolster it?  If so, how will you do that?  If not, what is keeping your motivation strong right now?

§  Entry should be 250 words minimum.

o   Use three vocabulary words from the class list in your reflection post.  You will get points for putting the word in bold and using the word correctly.  You may change the word form.

o   Label:  Reflection

v  Calendar/To Do List:

o   Add this week’s schedule into your Google calendar and embed into a blog post.

o   Add a “To Do” list.

o   Label: Weekly Calendar

v  Comments: 

o   Go to the class blog:  msboganreads.blogspot.com and find your blog listed in my sidebar.  Click on the blog directly underneath yours, read their reflection post, and write a 3-5 sentence comment.  Copy and paste the comment to a MS Word document and type the URL underneath.  When finished, go back to the class blog, then choose the blog 2 down from yours, click on it, read their reflection post, and write a 3-5 sentence comment.  Copy and paste the comment to a MS Word document and type the URL underneath.  Submit the MS Word document to me.

NOTE:

To "turn in" your comments, copy and paste both of them into a Word document. Include the names of the blogs you commented on. Turn in on the due date given to you by your instructor.

Blog Prompt #4: Goals

v  Reflection Post:

o   Write down your goals from the worksheet we did in class. First list these goals with the appropriate label (ie, long-term goal:  get B.A. degree).  Then, pretend at least one year has passed.  Write a letter to a friend, a family member or me (your instructor) describing the success you have experienced in achieving these goals.  Be specific and detailed about what you did.  Date this letter the day you are imagining writing from.

o   Use three vocabulary words from the class list (Semester Vocabulary Lists One through Six) in your reflection post.  You will get points for putting the word in bold and using the word correctly.  You may change the word form.

o   Label:  Reflection

v  Calendar/To Do List:

o   Add this week’s schedule into your Google calendar and embed into a blog post.

o   Add a “To Do” list.

o   Label: Weekly Calendar

v  Comments: 

o   Choose two blogs from our class list and write 3-5 sentences of comments, then post to their blog.  Type the comments in MS Word and cut and paste the URL of the student’s blog underneath the comment.  Print this page and submit on the due date given to you by your instructor.

Blog Prompt #3: Looking Backward and Forward

Read 96 Blog: Entry #3

v  Reflection Post:

o   This week’s post will ask you to look back at the past week, as well as forward to the next. What plans did you make?  Did you follow those plans?  What reading strategies and study skills did you plan to use?  Were you successful?  Now look forward to the coming week.  What adjustments do you need to make from last week to this week?

§  Entry post should be 250 words minimum.

o   Label:  Reflection

v  Vocabulary:

o   Post entries for three vocabulary words following the vocabulary picture instructions below.

o   Label: Vocab or Vocabulary

v  Calendar/To Do List:

o   Update your Google calendar for this week listing your class times by topic, your work time, your study time and any other obligations this week.  Use general labels without specific details as to location(s).  After you embed the calendar, start a new post, label it:  To Do List.  Create a To Do List for one day this week, in which you list your top three priorities for the day you are posting.

o   Label: Weekly Calendar

v  Comments: 

o   Choose two blogs from our class list and write 3-5 sentences of comments, then post to their blog.  Type the comments in a Word document and cut and paste the URL of the student’s blog underneath the comment.  Print this page and submit to the instructor in class.

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Blog #3  Vocabulary

DIRECTIONS:

1. Choose a word and find a picture that represents the meaning of the word.

2. List the word and create a hyperlink to the dictionary for that word.

3. Explain how you think the picture illustrates the word’s meaning.

4. Write an original sentence using the word.

You can also look at instructions here.

EXAMPLE:

Poise

The image shows the equilibrium or balance of the dollar signs between the slats of wood.

Gabby Douglas showed great poise on the balance beam during the Olympics.

Reflection Post

This week has been a light week. I have had two big projects, but not a lot of reading or any tests. I did, though, use outlining for a paper I had to write, in order to organize my thoughts. I used the prompt for the paper to create the outline so that I would make sure I covered all the points the professor wanted. For my other big project, there was not a lot of reading to do, but I did make sure to meet with the person who had information for me to help me complete the project. The materials she gave me helped use the right terminology for the project. I also had to schedule blocks of time where someone would have responsibility for my daughter. Although the project is not difficult, it has been time consuming. It worked out well that I scheduled all that time. Reflection prompt: In the past week, what was my most negative learning experience? My most positive one? I would say that my most negative learning experience this week had to do with a lack of motivation. Although the semester is not over, there have been a lot of breaks, some planned and some not, which make me feel as if I have lost my momentum. I have dreaded getting these last two projects done, simply because the semester feels over already. The most positive learning experience this week did come from one of my projects, though. As I continue to learn more about adult developmental education, I am excited about becoming a reading development teacher. The holistic emphasis on teaching more than just reading is exciting to me. It definitely suits my temperament. This week, I will need to stay on task more than the last couple of weeks in order to get my two projects finished. I will have more time constraints than last week, so it is very important that I make myself work, whether I feel motivated or not.