| S | Survey | |
| Q | Questions | |
| 4R | Read | Read the text. Use a pencil or pen to mark the text (Do not use a highlight marker!). Underline, star, or flag vocabulary words or ideas that you think are important. |
| Respond | As you read, try to find the answers to the questions you asked. Remember, as you read, you might ask more questions. Be sure to write your answers in the margins. | |
| Review | When you finish reading, review the written text. Can you answer the questions that you asked? Do you understand everything about the written text? If the author(s) were sitting next to you, what other questions would you ask? | |
| Reflect | Close the text. Think about what your have read. Discuss the main points with someone. Do you agree or disagree with the author(s)? What surprised you about the written text? What did you find to be interesting? What did you find to be confusing? What did you learn? | |
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
SQ4R Method
Parts of Speech
n. (noun) - a name word; name of a person, place, thing, or idea
pn. (pronoun) - a word used in place of a noun
vb.(verb) - word for an action or state of being
adj. (adjective) - a describing word
adv. (adverb) - aa modigying word
prep. (preposition) - a word used to show a relation
intj. (interjection) - an interrupting word
conj. (conjunction) - a combining word
HAVE you ever heard anyone say, “I feel badly”? Of course you have, because almost everyone seems to have the mistaken idea that “I feel bad” is awkward and inelegant. In order to understand why “I feel bad” is correct, we must understand the difference between adjectives and adverbs.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
As you recall, an adjective can modify either a noun or a pronoun; whereas an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. The following chart of a sentence will enable you to fix these facts in mind. As you study the plan, remember that the subject and the object must always be nouns or other parts of speech used as nouns.
Two Positions of the Adjective
Few of us have any difficulty in identifying an adjective when it is close to the noun it modifies. In each of the four sentences at the top of Page 4, the adjective immediately precedes the noun it modifies.
pn. (pronoun) - a word used in place of a noun
vb.(verb) - word for an action or state of being
adj. (adjective) - a describing word
adv. (adverb) - aa modigying word
prep. (preposition) - a word used to show a relation
intj. (interjection) - an interrupting word
conj. (conjunction) - a combining word
HAVE you ever heard anyone say, “I feel badly”? Of course you have, because almost everyone seems to have the mistaken idea that “I feel bad” is awkward and inelegant. In order to understand why “I feel bad” is correct, we must understand the difference between adjectives and adverbs.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
As you recall, an adjective can modify either a noun or a pronoun; whereas an adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. The following chart of a sentence will enable you to fix these facts in mind. As you study the plan, remember that the subject and the object must always be nouns or other parts of speech used as nouns.
| THE SENTENCE PLAN | ||
| Subject | Verb | Object |
| Adjective | Adverb | Adjective |
| Adverb | Adverb | Adverb |
Two Positions of the Adjective
Few of us have any difficulty in identifying an adjective when it is close to the noun it modifies. In each of the four sentences at the top of Page 4, the adjective immediately precedes the noun it modifies.
Check Your Spelling, Anyone? -- from the Net
The Trouble with Spell Checkers
Pome
1
I have a spelling checker -
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
2
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it's weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.
3
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.
4
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud.
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.
5
And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know faults with in my cite,
Of nun eye am a wear.
6
Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed to bee a joule
The checker poured o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.
7
That's why aye brake in two averse
By righting wants too pleas.
Sow now ewe sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear for pea seas!
Pome
1
I have a spelling checker -
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
2
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure reel glad two no.
Its vary polished in it's weigh,
My checker tolled me sew.
3
A checker is a bless sing,
It freeze yew lodes of thyme.
It helps me right awl stiles two reed,
And aides me when aye rime.
4
To rite with care is quite a feet
Of witch won should be proud.
And wee mussed dew the best wee can,
Sew flaws are knot aloud.
5
And now bee cause my spelling
Is checked with such grate flare,
Their are know faults with in my cite,
Of nun eye am a wear.
6
Each frays come posed up on my screen
Eye trussed to bee a joule
The checker poured o'er every word
To cheque sum spelling rule.
7
That's why aye brake in two averse
By righting wants too pleas.
Sow now ewe sea why aye dew prays
Such soft wear for pea seas!
Why English is Baffling
| 1 | The bandage was wound around the wound. |
| 2 | The farm was used to produce produce. |
| 3 | The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. |
| 4 | We must polish the Polish furniture. |
| 5 | He could lead if he would get the lead out. |
| 6 | The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. |
| 7 | Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present. |
| 8 | A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum. |
| 9 | When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. |
| 10 | I did not object to the object. |
| 11 | The insurance was invalid for the invalid. |
| 12 | There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row. |
| 13 | They were too close to the door to close it. |
| 14 | The buck does funny things when the does are present. |
| 15 | A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line. |
| 16 | To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow. |
| 17 | The wind was too strong to wind the sail. |
| 18 | After a number of injections my jaw got number. |
| 19 | Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear. |
| 20 | I had to subject the subject to a series of tests. |
| 21 | How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend? |
Reading Strategies
Reading Strategies
1. Learn to read actively.
2. Understand the vocabulary in context
3. Look for basic structures in what you read
4. Make inferences
5. Appreciate the writer's craft: intros, conclusions, signal words, type of support, patterns of organization, tone, purpose, audience, signal words (connectors, time words, transitions)
6. Learn to outline or map and summarize
7. Discuss your ideas
1. Learn to read actively.
2. Understand the vocabulary in context
3. Look for basic structures in what you read
4. Make inferences
5. Appreciate the writer's craft: intros, conclusions, signal words, type of support, patterns of organization, tone, purpose, audience, signal words (connectors, time words, transitions)
6. Learn to outline or map and summarize
7. Discuss your ideas
Reading Comprehension Tips from How to be a Successful Student
How to Improve Reading Comprehension
Key Point
Good reading means building frameworks for connecting words to thoughts.
The Purpose of Reading.
The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you don't know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don't retain much. For example, try reading these numbers:
7516324 This is hard to read and remember.
751-6324 This is easier because of chunking.
123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure.
Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information.
Improving Comprehension.
Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques. Here are some suggestions.
Develop a broad background.
Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. Become interested in world events.
Know the structure of paragraphs.
Good writers construct paragraphs that have a beginning, middle and end. Often, the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details. Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic.
Identify the type of reasoning.
Does the author use cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building, induction or deduction, systems thinking? See section 20 for more examples on critical thinking skills.
Anticipate and predict.
Really smart readers try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and questions. If you're right, this reinforces your understanding. If you're wrong, you make adjustments quicker.
Look for the method of organization.
Is the material organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or hierarchical? See section 10 for more examples on organization.
Create motivation and interest.
Preview material, ask questions, discuss ideas with classmates. The stronger your interest, the greater your comprehension.
Pay attention to supporting cues.
Study pictures, graphs and headings. Read the first and last paragraph in a chapter, or the first sentence in each section.
Highlight, summarize and review.
Just reading a book once is not enough. To develop a deeper understanding, you have to highlight, summarize and review important ideas.
Build a good vocabulary.
For most educated people, this is a lifetime project. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings.
Use a systematic reading technique like SQR3.
Develop a systematic reading style, like the SQR3 method and make adjustments to it, depending on priorities and purpose. The SQR3 steps include Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. See Section 14 for more details.
Monitor effectiveness.
Good readers monitor their attention, concentration and effectiveness. They quickly recognize if they've missed an idea and backup to reread it.
Should You Vocalize Words?
Yes, although it is faster to form words in your mind rather than on your lips or throat. Eye motion is also important. Frequent backtracking slows you down considerably.
Copyright 1991 Donald Martin, How to be a Successful Student
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Write On, Laugh On
HOW TO WRITE GOOD [sic]*
Thanks to: Chani Silverberg for this contribution
My several years in the word game have learnt [sic] me several rules:
1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't more use words than necessary;
it's highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?
Thanks to: Chani Silverberg for this contribution
*Note: [sic] or (sic) (from Latin sic for "thus") is a bracketed expression used to indicate that an unusual spelling, phrase, or any other preceding quoted material is intended to be read or printed exactly as shown (rather than being an error) and should not be corrected.... from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIC
My several years in the word game have learnt [sic] me several rules:
1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said:
"I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't more use words than necessary;
it's highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Where do you stand
FEET: What do I stand for as a foundation of reading comprehension?
STOMACH: What upsets me about reading comprehension?
HEART: What do I love about reading comprehension?
HANDS: What do I feel about reading comprehension?
EARS: What do I hear about reading comprehension?
EYES: What do I see about reading comprehension?
BRAIN: What do I think about reading comprehension?
STOMACH: What upsets me about reading comprehension?
HEART: What do I love about reading comprehension?
HANDS: What do I feel about reading comprehension?
EARS: What do I hear about reading comprehension?
EYES: What do I see about reading comprehension?
BRAIN: What do I think about reading comprehension?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Where do you stand?
FEET: What do I stand for as a foundation of writing?
STOMACH: What upsets me about writing?
HEART: What do I love about writing?
HANDS: What do I feel about writing?
EARS: What do I hear about writing?
EYES: What do I see about writing?
BRAIN: What do I think about writing?
STOMACH: What upsets me about writing?
HEART: What do I love about writing?
HANDS: What do I feel about writing?
EARS: What do I hear about writing?
EYES: What do I see about writing?
BRAIN: What do I think about writing?
Syllabus
IEP Reading Comprehension is an intensive English course focusing on reading skills development.
Required text:
Richards, Jack C. and Samuela Eckstut-Didier. Strategic Reading 1: Building Effective Reading Skills. Los Angeles, CA: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN: 0521555809.
Required text:
Richards, Jack C. and Samuela Eckstut-Didier. Strategic Reading 1: Building Effective Reading Skills. Los Angeles, CA: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN: 0521555809.
Week Date Unit Topic
1 8/27/2009 1 Music
2 9/3/2009 2 Money
3 9/10/2009 3 Work
4 9/17/2009 4 Sports
5 9/24/2009 5 Weather
6 10/1/2009 6 Clothes
7 10/8/2009 7 Culture
8 10/15/2009 8 Outer space
9 10/22/2009 9 Animals
10 10/29/2009 10 Travel
11 11/5/2009 11 The Internet
12 11/12/2009 12 Friends
13 11/19/2009 13 Gifts
14 11/26/2009 14 Emotions
15 12/3/2009 15 Food; Sleep and dreams
16 12/10/2009 16 Post Tests
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Spelling Internet-related words -- from Dictlionary.com
From dictionary.com:
Usage Note: The transition from World Wide Web site to Web site to website seems to have progressed as rapidly as the technology itself. The development of website as a single uncapitalized word mirrors the development of other technological expressions which have tended to evolve into unhyphenated forms as they become more familiar. Thus email has recently been gaining ground over the forms E-mail and e-mail, especially in texts that are more technologically oriented. Similarly, there has been an increasing preference for closed forms like homepage, online, and printout.
(12/7/05)
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