All you young ornithologists and photographers: check it out!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Vocabulary this Week
Anthropomorphism is the attribution of uniquely human characteristics to non-human creatures and beings, natural and supernatural phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts. Subjects for anthropomorphism commonly include animals and plants depicted as creatures with human motivation able to reason and converse, forces of nature such as winds or the sun, components in games, unseen or unknown sources of chance, etc. Almost anything can be subject to anthropomorphism.
(Taken from wikipedia)
Empathy is the capacity to recognize or understand another's state of mind or emotion. It is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or to in some way experience the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself.
It is important to note that empathy does not necessarily imply compassion. Empathy can be 'used' for compassionate or cruel behavior.
Persuasion is a form of social influence. It is the process of guiding people toward the adoption of an idea, attitude, or action by rational and symbolic (though not always logical) means. It is strategy of problem-solving relying on "appeals" rather than strength.
Scav·enge (skvnj)
v. scav·enged, scav·eng·ing, scav·eng·es
v.tr.
1. To search through for salvageable material: scavenged the garbage cans for food scraps.
2. To collect and remove refuse from: The streets are periodically scavenged.
3. To collect (salvageable material) by searching.
4.
a. To expel (exhaust gases) from a cylinder of an internal-combustion engine.
b. To expel exhaust gases from (such a cylinder).
5. Metallurgy To clean (molten metal) by chemically removing impurities.
v.intr.
1. To search through refuse for useful material.
2. To feed on dead or decaying matter.
scar·ci·ty (skârs-t)
n. pl. scar·ci·ties
1. Insufficiency of amount or supply; shortage: a scarcity of food that was caused by drought.
2. Rarity of appearance or occurrence: antiques that are valued for their scarcity.
val·ue (vly)
n.
1. An amount, as of goods, services, or money, considered to be a fair and suitable equivalent for something else; a fair price or return.
2. Monetary or material worth: the fluctuating value of gold and silver.
3. Worth in usefulness or importance to the possessor; utility or merit: the value of an education.
4. A principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable: "The speech was a summons back to the patrician values of restraint and responsibility" Jonathan Alter.
5. Precise meaning or import, as of a word.
6. Mathematics An assigned or calculated numerical quantity.
7. Music The relative duration of a tone or rest.
8. The relative darkness or lightness of a color. See Table at color.
9. Linguistics The sound quality of a letter or diphthong.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The School Year Commences
Friday, August 8, 2008
Our Community Gardens: Thematic Unit
Fall is approaching. The harvest season. A great time to see what is being reaped in our community gardens. Check out some photos taken this summer in the gardens. How have things changed?
Monday, August 4, 2008
ESL Podcast Reviews
Reviews of ESL PODCAST: Assignment #2 Part 2 for TechED/Gura
Olympic Games
This ESL Podcast is about the upcoming Olympic Games. ESL Pod offers free audio files and streams of their podcast, with a short transcript. A complete transcript, with definitions, sample sentences, comprehension question, cultural notes, extra tips, and so forth is available if you pay 10$ a month. The podcast discusses various facets of the Olympic games, including the prestige of being an Olympian, the significance of the Olympic village, and the opening ceremony. The vocabulary level targets intermediate to advanced students, though there are many scaffolding opportunities, as the pace is generally slow. A monologue at the beginning and end is broken up by a dialog in the middle.
From: http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=5650484#
The Presidential Campaign Heats Up with Less Than One Hundred Days to the Election
This podcast covers different issues surrounding the upcoming Presidential elections, comparing and contrasting Obama and McCain's experience. The enunciation, voice, and tempo of this podcast is very well done. The podcast covers the candidates stances on taxes, the War in Iraq, and the different kinds of events they have been attending. The vocabulary is not especially dificult, with many words reiterated in different sentences.
From: http://a4esl.org/podcasts/
Global Warming and Automobilies: ESL Aloud
I like the structure of this lesson. The narrator offers many details amidst a structure of sentences which outline the topic. The student listens to the whole narrative in the first part, then the student has a chance to repeat after the narrator, hopefully using the rich amount of content provided in the first monologue to enrich their own sentences as they repeat in the second part.
From: http://esl.libsyn.com/
Olympic Games
This ESL Podcast is about the upcoming Olympic Games. ESL Pod offers free audio files and streams of their podcast, with a short transcript. A complete transcript, with definitions, sample sentences, comprehension question, cultural notes, extra tips, and so forth is available if you pay 10$ a month. The podcast discusses various facets of the Olympic games, including the prestige of being an Olympian, the significance of the Olympic village, and the opening ceremony. The vocabulary level targets intermediate to advanced students, though there are many scaffolding opportunities, as the pace is generally slow. A monologue at the beginning and end is broken up by a dialog in the middle.
From: http://www.eslpod.com/website/show_podcast.php?issue_id=5650484#
The Presidential Campaign Heats Up with Less Than One Hundred Days to the Election
This podcast covers different issues surrounding the upcoming Presidential elections, comparing and contrasting Obama and McCain's experience. The enunciation, voice, and tempo of this podcast is very well done. The podcast covers the candidates stances on taxes, the War in Iraq, and the different kinds of events they have been attending. The vocabulary is not especially dificult, with many words reiterated in different sentences.
From: http://a4esl.org/podcasts/
Global Warming and Automobilies: ESL Aloud
I like the structure of this lesson. The narrator offers many details amidst a structure of sentences which outline the topic. The student listens to the whole narrative in the first part, then the student has a chance to repeat after the narrator, hopefully using the rich amount of content provided in the first monologue to enrich their own sentences as they repeat in the second part.
From: http://esl.libsyn.com/
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