Things to complete before the new semester begins

Dear class,

Some of you have gone all out for the building of your blog and have accomplished a lot. If you are one of them, I bet you’ve learned as much as I have. However, some are far behind the schedule. Please make sure you complete the following before Feb. 12:

1. Write at least 3 writing assignments.

2. Coment on at least three pieces of news.

3. Do the online test on High Life, Low Life at IWill.

4. Please give feedback on the winter course.

5. Change the “language” of your blog to English!

The above will account for part of your grades next semester.

If you have done all the assignments, you can relax and enjoy your Chinese New Year. Congratulations, then! If not, keep working! You won’t be alone though—I’ll be checking your progress! 

IWill online test and other exercises

Dear all,

The online test at iWill on the novel High Life, Low Life  will help you with your preparation for the coming exam. Please log on to IWiLL, key in your ID (lssh+your school registration number) and code (0000), and go to the section “Tenth Reading Club” and start taking the challenge! After the test, you can go visit Writing Center NTU to test your GQ (Grammar Quotient). Good luck!

Elaine

About iEarn Learning Circle

Dear class:

Next semester, we’ll join the iEARN Learning Circle and work with students from 6-8 countries on the Places and Perspectives project. I believe you and I will both benefit a lot from the project. For you, working in a collaborative setting with peers around the world will give you a wider perspectives on issues and a greater understanding of similarities and differences. The work with others can be a powerful mirror that will help you see who you are, where you live, and who you live with in new way. The letter from iEARN (letter-for-secondary-students.doc) will give you a general idea of the project. The first thing we are going to do is to complete the Class Survey Form (the-classroom-survey.doc). Volunteers?

Make your goal with the help of 43things

To share more about yourself, you can add a categories called “MY PORTFOLIO” to your side bar, which includes your self-introduction, your hobbies, your specialties, and your goals, etc. You can make use of a social networking website, 43things to compile your goals. Here is how it works: First, apply for an account at 43things; second, write an entry; third, post it back to your blog. Your goal will then show both at 43things and in your blog. You’ll find people with the same goal(s) with you and you can give “cheers” to encourage each other to stick to your goals. We all need encouragement or even “peer pressure” to keep us moving forward, right? Please do give it a try!

Example of 43things: Learn to count my blessings

I used to be a hopeless pessimist and I was always worrying that the worst would happen. Since I became a Christian, I’ve been more positive than before. But “old habits die hard.” Negative thoughts still flash into mind from time to time. So, to get myself into the habbit of thinking positively, I’ll start to count my blessings by recording at least one thing that makes me happy every day and publish those happy moments in my blog each month. Wish me luck!Elaine

See more progress on: find at least one thing each day that makes me happy and record it everyday for a year

Review the reader with the summaries by your peers

Dear all,

Most of the assignment takers have handed in their summaries. Their works will be of great help when you review the content of the winter reader and get prepared for the exam. Check the comments attached to the post entitled “High Life, Low Life” on Jan. 27.

Elaine

Summary Assignment

Dear all,

The summary assignment takers are as follows: Chapter 2—Lilly, C 3—Cherry, C4—Alice, C5—Ruby, C6—Daniel, C7—Stephanie, C8—William, C9—Billy Paul, C10—Shamus, C11—Vincent, C12—?, C13—Donny, C14—Donney. Lilly and William have already finish their parts. Good job. But there is an inconsistency between their works: William wrote her summary using the first-person point of view, and Lilly told the story from the third-person limited (, that is, from Nat’s point of view, using he when referring to Nat). Please adopt the third-person limited so that the narration can be consistent from beginning to end.

I’m looking forward to receiving your work soon.

Elaine

Making Dumplings

Introduce a book

Can you imagine how astonished people were when something we take for granted now was first introduced to them. This film from youtube shows how shocked and confused the monk is when his colleague demonstrates how a book, an “invention” he has never seen before, “works.” Enjoy the sense of humor this film contains!

Warm Christmas