Homework for Monday, Nov. 5th

Your next presentation will involve sharing your observations of the university class you observed.  For this assignment, you conducted primary research by observing a class and taking notes on the behavior of the students and the instructor and the interactions between the participants.

This four-minute presentation should include the following information:

1. Describe what you did - what class did you observe? What was the topic of the lecture? How many students were in the class?
2. Describe your observations - How do the students behave in class? How do the students and instructor interact?  Use the questions on the classroom observation form to guide your discussion.
3. Interpret what you learned - What did you learn about acceptable classroom behavior at the university?  Do you think this is normal? Did it surprise you? How is it different from classroom behavior at a university in your country?

Your presentation should also:

• have an introduction, body, and conclusion (just like a good essay)
• make use of appropriate transitional expressions

Finally, don't forget to practice your presentation, so that you can look at your audience while giving your speech. Avoid reading your presentation!

Homework for Thursday, Nov. 1st

Class Observation Reports due!  Your report should include answers to the questions about your observations of student and teacher behavior in the class you observed.  You will also need to include a page of notes from the class.

Videos from Friday's Class

Video 1: Russell Means, Native American activist, dies (CBSNewsOnline)  

•  http://youtu.be/-ko5JdatZCs

Video 2: Interview with Russell Means

Homework Assignment due in class on Monday, Oct. 29th

Use your composition book to summarize one current news story that really interests you from the NPR (National Public Radio) broadcast news show, All Things Considered. To find a story to summarize, go to

• Go to http://www.npr.org/
• Click on Programs
• Under News, click on All Things Considered.
• Scroll down and choose the story you'd like to hear.
• You can listen to the story directly in NPR's media player, or you can download the podcast and save it to your computer to listen using iTunes. Listen to the story as many times as you need in order to write your summary.

The entry in your composition book should follow the outline below:

1. Summarize the story in your own words. Who or what is the story about? Where, when, and how did it take place? Why is it important enough to be on the news?
2. Voice your opinion about what happened. What might be wrong with the situation and how might you change it?
3. Write two discussion questions about the story for your classmates. Try to write open-ended questions that will generate discussion and debate; avoid yes/no questions.

I will check your composition books with your news story in class on Monday. Be prepared to share your story!

Homework for Monday, October 22nd

Prepare an outline of your visual aid presentation and be ready to share your presentation with a classmate.

Presentation Requirements:

1. Between four (4) and five (5) minutes long – no more, no less
2. Prepare a visual aid that will be shown to the class – if you plan to use handouts for your visual aid, then prepare enough for the entire class, including me.
3. Use appropriate discourse markers and vocabulary terms in your presentation.
4. Explain all the relevant parts of the visual aid: title, symbols, what is being measured, etc.
5. Describe the purpose of the visual aid. What is it meant to show or demonstrate?

Homework for Thursday, October 18th

1. Do a graph analysis of your visual aid by answering the questions on page 87 on a separate sheet of paper.
2. Study for the Unit 5 vocabulary quiz.

The vocabulary for the quiz comes from the graph-related and math-related words we've been practicing with in class.  Words to know for the quiz are:

• correspond
• series
• statistics
• data
• subsequent
• vertical
• horizontal
• axis
• trend
• fraction
• percentage
• hypothesis
• analysis
• synopsis

Discussing Graphs

In class on Friday (October 12th), we looked at three short videos that discussed three common graphs: the line graph, the bar graph, and the pie graph.  These videos introduce vocabulary that are often used to discuss graphs. 

Click the play button to view each of the videos.  What words or expressions are used to discuss the graphs?

Bar Graphs

Line Graphs

Pie Charts

Homework Assignment due in class on Monday, Oct. 8

Use your composition book to summarize one current news story that really interest you from the NPR (National Public Radio) broadcast news show, All Things Considered.  To find a story to summarize, go to

• Go to http://www.npr.org/
• Click on Programs
• Under News, click on All Things Considered.
• Scroll down and choose the story you'd like to hear.
• You can listen to the story directly in NPR's media player, or you can download the podcast and save it to your computer to listen using iTunes. Listen to the story as many times as you need in order to write your summary. 

The entry in your composition book should follow the outline below:

1. Summarize the story in your own words. Who or what is the story about? Where, when, and how did it take place? Why is it important enough to be on the news?
2. Voice your opinion about what happened. What might be wrong with the situation and how might you change it?
3. Write two discussion questions about the story for your classmates. Try to write open-ended questions that will generate discussion and debate; avoid yes/no questions.

I will check your composition books with your news story in class on Monday. Be prepared to share your story!