Lay Down the Lie

There are so many misused words in our crazy language.  This pair is one of the most confusing because the past tense of one is the same as the present tense of the other.  ⇒ ⇒

Lay vs. Lie 

 

Lay means “to place something down.” It is something you do to something else.

Incorrect: Lie the coat on the chair.

Correct: Lay the coat on the chair.
(It is being done to something else.)

Lie means “to recline” or “be placed.” It does NOT act on anything or anyone else.

Incorrect: Lay down on the hammock.

Correct: Lie down on the hammock.

(It is not being done to anything else.)

But . . . the real reason lay and lie are confusing is their past tenses:

The past tense of lay is laid. (remember, to lay is to put something else down)

The past tense of lie is lay. (remember, to lie is to recline yourself)  THIS IS THE CONFUSING PART!!

Incorrect: I lay the box down here yesterday.

Correct: I laid the box down here yesterday.
(It is being done to something else.)

Incorrect: Last night I couldn’t sleep and laid awake in bed.

Correct: Last night I couldn’t sleep and lay awake in bed.
(It is not being done to anything else.)

And to add to the confusion . . . We use the past participle of verbs when we are indicating a timeline during which no specific date is given.

The past participle of lie is lain.

The past participle of lay is like the past tense, laid.

Correct: On Sunday, I could have lain in bed all day.  (indicating the action, in this case lying in bed, will be complete at some point in the future, but you don’t know when)  I KNOW THIS SOUNDS WEIRD . . . I MEAN, WHO TALKS LIKE THIS, RIGHT?!  WE SHOULD BECAUSE IT’S CORRECT!!

Correct: They have laid an average of 500 feet of sandbags a day.  (indicating the action, in this case laying sandbags, was finished at some point each day)

BTW . . . Layed is a misspelling and does not exist. Use laid!!

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Bringing Blogging to The Classroom #1

As I embark on a new semester, I’m planning a unit in which my reading students create and utilize their own blogs.  I’m hoping this facilitates motivation and fluidity with students’ reading and writing skills.  The blogs will provide a place for students to publish their work and feel a sense of an audience other than me.  I’m piloting this with WordPress.com and will incorporate this into other class curriculums if it proves somewhat successful with this group.

**I will update with more activities as I administer them along with the successes and tribulations as they come!***

Activity #1:  This will spark the initial discussion on blogging.  →  →  →

TECHNOLOGY ANTICIPATION GUIDE

Directions: Next to each statement, please put an A if you agree with the statement or a D if you disagree with the statement.  We will discuss these issues together!

_____1. Computers are necessary.

_____2. Email is better than the telephone.

_____3. Text is better than email.

_____4. IM is better than text.

_____5. We would be nowhere without advancements in science and technology.

______6. We need weapons of mass destruction.

______7. The only people who are responsible for weapons of mass destruction are the people who use them.

_____8. I would like to have a clone.

_____9. To cook = to microwave.

____10. When I was little, playing with my friends meant playing outside.

____11.. When I was little, playing with my friends meant playing video games together.

____12. Friends and family are more important than anything money can buy.

____13. Man has power over technology.

____14. Technology is more powerful than man.

____15. My social life would not be as fulfilling if it wasn’t for social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace.

____16. Blogging is a productive way to read and/or share information.

Activity #2:  To provide a baseline for writing skills at the opening of the semester, the course requires students write a five-paragraph opinion paper.  I’ve slanted the requirement to the blogging project.  →  →  →

Technology = Friend or Enemy?

Believe it or not, when your incredibly young, hip, stylish teacher was your age, the Internet or World Wide Web was just getting off the ground; we certainly did not have it available in school.  There were no cell phones.  Oh, there were those lovely, large car phones that could not be removed from the car and that only worked when the car was on.  So, at least, if one had an emergency while the car running, it was all good.  One of my favorite video games was Kaboom, which was an Atari game – I’ll be shocked if any of you remember that awesomely addicting game!  You know, I thought that in the year 2010 we’d be living like the Jetsons by now. (wait . . . that cartoon is way before your time too!)

Aside from the few prehistoric items I mentioned above, think about the many technological innovations we have today:  the vast array of communication tools, medical advances, entertainment breakthroughs, space exploration and other transportation, weapons technology, and more.  We have come a long way in the short time since I was in your position — sitting in my freshman English class wondering, “What are we doing today, and why do I even care?”  Well, today you should care.  This assignment is a chance for you to finally voice your views.  All I want you to do is think about one question:  Is technology our friend or our enemy?

I’m not talking about just you or just the people in this class.  I am talking about the entire human race.  Based on what you do or don’t know about the colossal world in which you play a significant role, write a five-paragraph essay on why you think technology is or is not the enemy.  In this age of IPod and IPhone and portable DVD and Flip movie camera, etc. . . this question is more important than ever!

YOU MUST CHOOSE A SIDE!  EITHER IT IS FRIEND OR IT IS FOE, AND YOU MUST BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY!  EITHER YOU FEAR IT OR YOU EMBRACE IT.  NO RIDING THE FENCE HERE!!!

Yes, this is an opinion paper, but you must use support.  Your support can be from your own life experiences, experiences of others, what you have seen on the news, what you read about in the papers, etc.  The point is that you must make your reader understand why you feel the way you do, and you must try to make the reader agree with you based on your support.

Paragraph 1—Introduction, which contains a thesis statement.  This statement is your main opinion statement; it is the basis for the whole paper.  It is your statement about whether technology is our friend or our enemy.

Paragraph 2—First body paragraph, first reason why technology is friend or foe and why (support).

Paragraph 3-Second body paragraph, second reason why technology is friend or foe and why (support).

Paragraph 4-Third body paragraph, third reason why technology is friend or foe and why.

Paragraph 5—Conclusion, which restates the thesis in different words, and summarizes the whole paper.

This paper is worth 45 Points.  Due end of hour!!!  Cannot be completed for homework!

-  BLUE/BLACK INK ONLY

-  ONE SIDE OF THE PAGE

-   LOOSELEAF NOTEBOOK PAPER/NO RAGGEDY EDGES

Focus and Organization (15 Points)              Content/Support (15 Points)

*Thesis is clearly stated.                                *Concrete Details

*Thesis is maintained throughout.              *Specific Examples for Support/Persuasion

*No tangential issues.                                    *Each paragraph supports thesis

*Style requirements are met.

*Appropriate Paragraphing                       Grammar/Usage (15 Points) *spelling, punctuation, diction,

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One Word Riddle

Here is a brain teaser for you!

What if this was the only question on the exam to pass high school English and earn your diploma. Would you graduate?!?!?!?!?  Hmmm . . . let’s see . . .

What nine letter word in the English language is still a word when one of the nine letters is removed one by one?

Take a few minutes to try and come up with a nine-letter word that fits the bill, then scroll down for the answer → → →

HEY, NO PEEKING until you try to come up with the word! 

 

 

GIVE UP?!

 

 

 

 

Okay, here it is!  Drum roll please ♦ ♦ ♦

 

 

STARTLING

Look at how this word changes from one to the next:

STARTING 

STARING

STRING

STING

SING

SIN

IN

I

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Some Advice on Advise

I previously posted about using advisor vs. adviser, but I neglected to share the tricky difference between advice vs. advise.  Let me advise you, shall I? 

Advice vs. Advise

Parents give the best advice they can to their children.

advice = an opinion about how to solve a problem; guidance (noun)

advise = to offer advice; to counsel (verb) pronounced advize

EXAMPLES:

Please give me some advice about what to do.

Please advise me about what to do. (The act of advising is an action or verb.) 

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Toast a Boast!

 

Here’s a way to introduce English Literature in the classroom:

Anglo-Saxon Boasts

We’re going to do a little old-fashioned chest-thumping Anglo-Saxon style.

Your boast should include the following elements:

A. Self-identification (I am . . .)

B. Your immediate ancestry and something about your lineage

C. Boasts of at least three past achievements and/or hobbies

D. Boast of an achievement to come

E. Include at least three identifiable kennings (Identify in margin)

F. Include at least three identifiable alliterative phrases (monster-mashing, Grendel grater) (Identify in margin)

Should be 20-25 lines – approximate verse form (no need to rhyme)

***Extra Credit will be given to those souls who dress up like Anglo-Saxon Warriors and deliver the boast aloud in class

Anglo-Saxon Boast Example

Hail young thanes who gather about me –
For I am GG, dweller of the creek.
From the land of Lincoln, here in Chicago.
Daughter of the late RC, chief motivator of the crowds,
And N, seller of homes. Sister of D,
Online gamer consult & seller of homes.
From the high plains I come! I roar!
Reader of books, dancer of songs,
Scribe of stories, and essay-assigner.
Commander of the hardwood battlefield,
I approach my foes and float on them with the
Fine fin, wading through water,
Snapping waves, watching for whacks from my foes.
I speak of and boast of the victories of the
Blue and White Small Bear Warriors!
And how ‘bout those Blue and Silver Boys?!
I stretch with force forming a fine angle –
Blasting my limb-movers and walking-propellers with
Momentous endurance.  Defeating my enemies.
Flying on the human-kite at 1300 ft. above ground.
Pale-hosed, I prepare the fire feast – The great celebrations.
Under sweltering sun in the flame’s face.
I barbecue the grub –Party Host Champion I am hailed:
Planner of Surprises!   Host of many!
A challenge is decreed by my heir –
I am  healer of wounds, listener of qualms,
Helper of homework, preparing the way for
My heir to this mighty mead-hall.
I’ll make good on my boast and talk all the louder –
Poets will celebrate my actions with rousing cries,
Shaping my deeds into timeless songs.

 

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Good Readers Do This!

The ELITE EIGHT Strategies Good Readers Automatically Do When Reading:

Predict
I think that . . . ! The clues I used were . . . !
In previewing the headlines, subheads, or graphics, I believe this chapter will be about . . .

Summarize
I get the gist of the paragraph by noting the key words!
I identify the main idea by determining which details are important and which are not.
The theme of the story is . . .

Make connections
I know this about this subject!
This reminds me of something in my life, of another book, of a real world event. . .

Infer
I am inferring by using clues in the text along with what I already know about the subject!
I also use text structure to make inferences.

Ask questions
I am wondering . . .!?!
I actively search for answers to my questions as I read.

Visualize
There’s a movie playing in my head while I read!
I create images in my head when I am reading by paying attention to specific words and phrases.

Evaluate
What do I think of the text, the author’s style, ideas and/or my reading?
How is this text credible or biased?

Monitor
Does the reading make sense?
What can I fix  if I do not understand the text?

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Smart Ways to Enter and Exit a Classroom

On this relaxing Sunday afternoon, I’m writing strategy suggestions for my school’s Applied Technology department.  As their literacy coach, I meet with the department every week to discuss, share, and observe their incorporation of reading and writing in the classroom.  A shout out to these six motivated teachers!!! I thought many of my followers would be interested in some of the material I am sharing with them:

Entrance and Exit Slips

The Applied Techies are looking for a productive way to ‘wrap-up’ class and/or lab time as well as a smart way to re-group and refresh before beginning the next class:

Entrance slips (index cards, sticky notes, small slips of paper, whatever your fancy) are completed before class and students bring them in to enter the door. Exit slips are the students’ passes out of the classroom. This writing-to-learn strategy can be used for many purposes in all content areas:

• Focusing student attention on the lesson to be taught the next day

• Setting the tone for the class lesson

• Accessing background knowledge

• Troubleshooting

• Reflecting

Entrance and exit slips are a way to ease students into writing … and, in the course of writing a sentence or two, reveal what they think about a topic, materials, or teaching strategies.

EXAMPLE Entrance Slip
Woods – Fall 2009
Name ____________________ Date __________
Please write an answer to this question in 2 – 3 complete sentences:
How can a worker set up a safe workshop that will meet OSHA standards?  (provide at least three examples)

Some Other Suggestions:
~ How did you respond to last night’s reading?
~ How did yesterday’s measuring problems go?
~ What is a ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI)?
~ What worries you about today’s class?
~ Name the three most important things you learned?
~ What are you still confused about?
~ How does what we do in class relate to other things you do or experience?
~ What would you like to ask about today/tomorrow?

*Have students complete exit slips and entrance slips on topics such as : what I learned in class; how it relates to what I know; what is still unclear

*Students reflect on assessments: I prepared by ___; I could have ___; I would change____ if I did it again; doing this made me understand ______

*Have students reflect on the lesson; This lesson I_______; next time I will__________

Teacher challenge:  Reflect on your day or week or particular lesson.  What do you want to change?  How did you function best as a teacher?  How do you learn best – and how have you expressed that to your students?  Share what YOU write with your students as well!

As GG states . . . write it down, write it down, there’s something magical about writing it down!

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His Effect Affects Me

This mini-lesson is one I strive to drive home with my honors freshmen at the beginning of the year. It is a mistake I see consistently early on and work to diminish the confusion. It is one of those tricky pair of words that makes us stop and think.  I have made the definition of each as succinct as possible to hopefully eliminate question:

Affect vs. Effect

 

This rainbow effect at sea is wonderous!

 

Affect means “to produce a change in” or “to influence.”

EXAMPLE: Poor soil may affect the plants.

Effect means “the result.”

EXAMPLE: We won’t know the effect until the plants come up after winter.

And there you have it . . .

GG Bonus:  An easy way to remember the difference between effect and affect is to use the mnemonic device:  RAVEN  “Remember Affect is a Verb and Effect is a Noun”

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Mapping Memories with Memoirs

Mapping Memories with Memoirs

Your first day of school, that time you sprained your ankle in 8th grade, the day you won that special award, your very favorite vacation, the day you learned life is short . . . our lives are full of significant moments.  Memoirs provide a tool to bring those precious memories into clearer focus.

If you are using this in the classroom, I have suggested pieces that I use with high school students of various reading levels, but you can alter these based on the ability and maturity levels of your students.  At the end of the unit, I design a rubric and have students select a number of the pieces they’ve worked on to place into the final drafts of their memoir.  The rubric includes whatever types of figurative language or conventions we have been working on through the unit. Students design a cover and I also have them do an ‘about the author’ page with their picture and a short biography.

If you are using this for your own benefit, writing about yourself is a great tool for self-awareness.  By creating a written narrative, your past takes shape and offers you a clearer vision of who you are today.  By writing about yourself, you form a connection with each and every person who reads your words.  Writing provides the opportunity to share ideas that can help others grow along with you.  Additionally, writing helps dissolve the hard knots of loss and regret that may keep you stuck in the past.  For instance, I’ve written letters to ex-boyfriends never intending for them to be read.  Just the act of placing my thoughts on paper placed them out of my head and provided the release I needed.  Finally, writing is a challenging mental activity and research shows that challenging yourself mentally improves your mental agility and stamina.  So go ahead . . . put your pen to paper and discover yourself.  Here are some of my favorites:

Memoir Piece #1 ~ Describe someone memorable who you know personally.

Think of an ‘interesting/different’ person you know.  You may want to include the following:

• Tell something memorable this person does; write something this person always says (his/her expression) or write a short conversation between this person and someone else so we get a sense of how he/she talks.

Memoir Piece #2 ~ Write down a process you could teach to someone.  Think of a process that has symbolic meaning for you or is somehow important of who you think you are.

Memoir Piece #3 ~ Write about the first time you did something.

Memoir Piece #4 ~ Write two rules you learned as a child.  How did you learn this lesson? What is the most important lesson you would want your child to learn?

Memoir Piece #5 ~What do you remember about your first day of school?  OR What was your most memorable day at school?  Write a short description of the place; describe one incident that happened that day; include 20 lines of dialogue that occured that day.

Memoir Piece #6 ~ Write about a time you did something you didn’t want to do.

Memoir Piece #7 ~ If you could take back something you’ve done, what would it be?

What other memoir pieces would you include???

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