Original Instructional Plan

The Future Letter

Instructional Plan: The Future Letter

Level: English as a Foreign Language (EFL); College/University; General Requirements: About Publishing "Teaching Requirements of College English Courses" by General Office of Ministry of Education of China
Written Expression: Be able to accomplish general writing tasks, common practical writings, describe personal experiences, impressions, feelings and events, complete short essays of general topics with more than 120 words in half an hour. Have complete contents, clear main ideas, appropriate word usages, coherent sentences. Master basic writing skills.

Performance Objectives:
Content Objective 1. To write a future letter to a friend, a family member, a stranger or self
Language Objective 2. To learn the form of letter writing
Learning-Strategy Objective 3. To use graphic organizer to extend thinking

Warm-Up: Instructor says, “What do you wish to tell but you have no chance or courage to tell? An apology? A penitence? A secret love? Or an appreciation? Whatever you wish, now you have a good chance to release yourself and tell anything hidden in your heart. Today you will write a future letter to your friends, your family, yourself or any strangers you want to tell, keep the letter by yourself and post it after one year.”

Task Chain 1: Learn the Form of Letter Writing
1. Students choose their favorite color pencils, letter papers and envelopes given by instructor.
2. Instructor lectures how to write a letter by using heading, greeting or salutation, body, closing and signature and how to write an envelope.
3. Students follow instructor’s lecture to write envelopes and heading, greeting or salutation of letters.

Task Chain 2: Use Graphic Organizer to Extend Thinking
1. Instructor illustrates elements of graphic organizers and briefly lectures some basic graphic organizers to extend thinking in letter writing, such as mind maps, brainstorming webs and spider maps.
2. Students create their own graphic organizers according to their learning styles by following elements of graphic organizers to extend thinking on Work Sheet 1.

Task Chain 3: Write a Future Letter
1. Students use graphic organizers they create to begin to write future letters.
2. After finishing writing, students put letters into envelopes, keep future letter by themselves and post letters after one year.

Final Assessment: Students write letters to instructor for feedback to evaluate their letter writing, which include detailed answers to open-ended questions, “Did you express yourself clearly? Do you think the receiver will understand what you wrote? Did you feel released after writing this letter? Did it help you? Do you like writing letters? Describe this experience of writing a future letter.”

Teacher Interview on Grading Practices

Describe the Program/Site Visited
Advanced Reading is offered by San Bernardino Adult School as English as a Second Language (ESL) program for local adult students to enhance students' vocabularies, comprehension and speed, as well as other reading-related skills. San Bernardino Adult School was established in 1920 as a part of San Bernardino City Unified School District to provide quality, lifelong educational opportunities and support services that address the unique and changing needs of individuals in diverse multicultural community to local students. Shuping Wang is the instructor of this program, who has taught English in this school for seven years since 1997 she got her master degree of Teaching English to Speaker of Other Languages (TESOL) in California State University, San Bernardino. Before that, she had taught English in Taiyuan Technical Secondary School for five years since she got her bachelor degree of English in China.

Policy for Grading English Learners
The grading policy of San Bernardino Adult School is based on the evaluative grading system of Crafton Hills College. The following is the evaluative grading system used at Crafton Hills College.
1. Final Exams
The college requires final exams for students in all classes. Final exams for day classes are administered according to a final exam schedule. Final exams for evening classes are given on the last scheduled evening of classes. The final exam schedule can be found in the class schedule. Final exams at other than scheduled times are permitted only by petitioning the Office of Instruction and for circumstances clearly beyond the student's control.
2. Grade Changes
Individual course instructors are responsible for assigning grades. All grades are final. As per SBCCD Board Policy 5040, grades will not be changed for any reason or under any circumstances after 36 months from the end of the term in which the grade was assigned.
3. Grade Reporting
Students will be expected to award grades according to reasonable standards based on the requirements of the course. These requirements must be consistent with the official course outline. The evaluative grading system used at Crafton Hills College is standard:
A = Excellent
B = Good
C = Satisfactory
D = Passing, less than satisfactory
F = Failing
CR may be awarded for Credit (satisfactory or better) and NC for No Credit (less than satisfactory.) Students who request to be graded on a credit/no credit basis must file a petition to do so before the end of the fifth week for semester-length courses.
Non-evaluative symbols are also used. I is used for an Incomplete. Instructors who use this symbol must submit to Admissions and Records a course completion form indicating what assignments the student must submit to remove the "Incomplete" from his or her academic record. This form accompanies the roll sheet with final course grades submitted at the end of the semester. An “Incomplete” is assigned to allow for unforeseen circumstances, but it is not advisable to use the grade to prevent the student from receiving a low grade. The majority of students do not bother to complete the “Incomplete”. This must be completed within one year or convert to whatever grade instructors have indicated on the Incomplete Grade form.
Another non-evaluative symbol is the W, used to indicate a withdrawal from a class. Note that instructors cannot assign a W after the official drop date. Also, instructors cannot change a W to a grade after the fact.
The symbol RD (Report Delayed) may appear on a student's record to indicate that the instructor has not yet submitted his or her grades.
Instructors may record their grades on their Permanent Roster and submit it to the Admissions & Records Office or instructors may choose to submit grades on-line using Campus Central.
If a student asks for the privilege of credit by examination (granted on occasion by some departments), refer him or her to the Faculty Chair (Crafton Hills College, 2007).
4. Posting of Student Grades
The posting of student grades with easily identifiable personal indicators is in violation of the Family Rights and Privacy Act of 1974. However, there are acceptable methods by which instructors may voluntarily provide this service or benefit for groups of students without jeopardizing the student's right to privacy, including:
a. Instructors may post student grades by utilizing some derivative of a student's Social Security number - perhaps only the last three or four digits.
b. Instructors may post student grades by using their student ID.
c. Instructors may voluntarily agree to mail grades if the student provides a self-addressed stamped envelope.
d. Instructors may post grades on-line using the Gradebook program available on Campus Central. When students log onto Campus Central they will be able to access only their own grade, although they can see the class average as well. Workshops on the use of Gradebook are run periodically.
With respect to the reporting of grades, it is in the best interest of all concerned if all students in the group are treated alike.
The grading is the same to every student without exceptions, and it is not different according to ELD levels. The effectiveness of grading depends on the assessment methods. Shuping Wang tries to use varied assessment ways to make sure every student can get an equal opportunity to prove their performance. And the grades motivate the majority of students except a couple in the class (Crafton Hills College, 2007).

From Assignments to Grades
1. Connection between Individual Assignments and Grades
Students are graded largely upon their individual performance, for example, quizzes, the midterm and the final exam, short essays or projects, around 80%.
2. The Teacher’s Record-Keeping System
Shuping Wang gives quizzes to students in every class, grades them right after class and put grades on her grade book. She also checks to make sure students match the sign on sheets. So her grades are updated after each class and she does keep all the sign on sheets till the last session. She uses the computer to generate her grade sheets.
Focus Students
1. Interventions between Formative Assessments and Summative Grade Scores
Shuping Wang included both assessments: for formative assessments, she used informal observation during her presentation and student group work, quizzes, homework, teacher questions, worksheets, etc. For summative assessments, she gave unit tests, the midterm and the final exam, assign projects, term papers, etc.
2. Interventions to Improve Students’ Performance between Early Assessment and Final Grades
After students were done with the early assessment, Shuping Wang made sure she kept a copy of every student's results and was familiar with their levels, so in class she could use differentiated instruction and give more help to students whose early assessment was low. She paid attention to grouping when students worked in groups. She focused on improving the weak skills throughout the classes. Students’ final grades usually showed significant improvement.
In general, although the grading of San Bernardino Adult School is not different according to ELD levels, the instructors could adjust instruction according to students’ ELD levels. For example, teachers can provide more targeted teaching and practice by being aware of students' weak points in assessments of tests and exams.

Achievement of the Standards Reflect in the Grades of Individual Students
Based on students' entry and post assessment, almost all the students who have a high score in their final grades achieve satisfactory progress in standards. The teacher used varied assessment ways to make sure every student could get an equal opportunity to prove their real abilities.

Reference
Crafton Hills College. (2007). Part-Time Faculty Handbook. Retrieve December 2, 2009, from http://www.craftonhills.edu/Faculty_&_Staff/Handbooks/Handbook/Part-Time%20Faculty%20Handbook%20.pdf

Download Standards/Locate Standards-Based Instructional Plan

Standards: EFL Colleges and Universities
http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/documents/englangdevstnd.pdf
Advanced ELD
1. Listening and Speaking: (1) Comprehension: Demonstrate understanding of most idiomatic expressions (e.g., “Give me a hand”) by responding to such expressions and using them appropriately. (2) Organization and Delivery of Oral Communication: Negotiate and initiate social conversations by questioning, restating, soliciting information, and paraphrasing the communication of others.
2. Reading: (1) Word Analysis, Fluency, and Systematic Vocabulary Development: a. Phonemic Awareness, Decoding and Word Recognition, Concepts About Print: Apply knowledge of sound/symbol relationships and basic word-formation rules to derive meaning from written text (e.g., basic syllabication rules, regular and irregular plurals, and basic phonics). b. Vocabulary and Concept Development: Apply knowledge of academic and social vocabulary while reading independently. Be able to use a standard dictionary to find the meanings of unfamiliar words. Interpret the meaning of unknown words by using knowledge gained from previously read text. Understand idioms, analogies, and metaphors in conversation and written text. (2) Reading Comprehension: Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text:: Read and orally respond to familiar stories and other texts by answering factual comprehension questions about cause-and-effect relation-ships. Read and orally respond to stories and texts from content areas by restating facts and details to clarify ideas. Explain how understanding of text is affected by patterns of organization, repetition of main ideas, syntax, and word choice. Write a brief summary (two or three paragraphs) of a story.
3. Writing: (1)Strategies and Applications: a. Organization and Focus: Develop a clear thesis and support it by using analogies, quotations, and facts appropriately. Write a multiparagraph essay with consistent use of standard grammatical forms. (2) English-Language Conventions: a. Capitalization: Use capitalization when writing one’s own name. Use capitalization at the beginning of a sentence and for proper nouns. b. Punctuation: Use a period at the end of a sentence and a question mark at the end of a question. c. Capitalization, Punctuation, and Spelling: Produce independent writing that includes partial consistency in the use of capitalization and periods and correct spelling. Produce independent writing with consistent use of capitalization, punctuation, and correct spelling.

Lesson Plan Provided by John Baker MAed TESL
http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/bl_baker2.htm
Working Collaboratively in the College EFL Classroom
Grade level(s) College Freshman - SeniorsLevel: Upper Intermediate - Advanced
Subject(s): EFLStudent Number: Expected Maximum 16 StudentsFacilities: Standard Language Institute Classroom: movable desks, white board, air conditioning, heatingMaterials: A4 paper, pencils, tailless sentences, cut up story, consensus cards, white board, and board markers.
Major Concepts: Critical Thinking and Reading, Dialogical Thinking, and Argumentation
Proposed Lesson Focus: The lesson focuses on a story about a medical student who was badly injured in a car accident when a drunken driver hit her. The students learn, through the course of the lesson, that many other parties may also be responsible. During the lesson, they work collaboratively in the pre and while reading stages focusing on comprehension activities surrounding the text. Then, in the post reading stage, they engage in critical reading and thinking, dialogical reasoning, and argumentation to decide which parties are at fault and how much each party should pay.
Proposed Lesson Summary: The lesson is divided into three stages, the pre, while, and post reading stage. In the prereading stage, the students begin working collaboratively to complete some conditional tailless sentences to activate their schemata about drunk driving, product liability, road conditions, and car accidents. Then, using the ideas they developed in the tailless sentence stage, the class discusses problems specific to the country they live in to further activating their schemata. Afterwards, the instructor discusses the upcoming text with them to build interest in the text. In the while reading stage, they begin a communicative jumble activity where the students work collaboratively using their knowledge of structure, lexis, and cohesion to reorder a text. Then, they collaboratively answer some follow up comprehension questions. In the post reading stage, they conduct a consensus ordering activity which utilizes critical reading and thinking, dialogical reasoning, and argumentation. Finally, the instructor conducts a closing discussion.

Proposed Lesson Plan

I. Prereading Stage
Step 1:
The instructor generates interest in the upcoming subject and text through a short tailless sentence exercise which the students complete in pairs:
If a drunk driver causes a car accident, he/she shouldIf a company makes defective cars that hurt people, it shouldIf a person drives too fast and has a car accident, he/she shouldIf a city doesn't take care of its roads and someone has a car accident, the city should
* Activity adopted from Kippel's Keep Talking
Step 2:
To further generate interest in the upcoming text, the teacher leads a discussion about the students' responses to the previous tailless sentence exercise, similar problems in the country they live in, and the upcoming text.

II. While Reading Stage
Step 1:
The class is broken up into groups of three. Each group is given a jumbled paragraph and asked to put it back together in the proper order. Collaboratively, they use their knowledge of structural, lexical, and cohesive clues to put it back together. The instructor helps only where absolutely necessary.
Example of Jumbled Material:
*On the night of December 1, Ms. Melissa Brown, a 29-year-old third year medical student,
*According to the testimony at the trial, Mr. Jones' car was traveling
*15 mph over the speed limit when it went out of control and hit Ms. Brown's car on an icy poorly lit street. The resulting collision caused
*Cadillac Seville driven by Mr. James Jones, a 56-year-old millionaire vice president of a local architectural firm.
*was returning home from a New Year's eve party.
At approximately 12:45 AM, her Ford Pinto was hit from the rear by a
*completely disfiguring her from the neck down. Doctors say she will never be able to move that part of her body again unless she receives
*extensive medical help. For these reasons, Ms. Brown filed the largest civil suit in U.S history --25 million dollars.
*the Pinto' s bumper to crumple and its gas tank caught fire.
*Mrs. Brown suffered third degree burns over the top half of her body,
Example of Reconstructed Material:
On the night of December 1, Ms. Melissa Brown, a 29-year-old third year medical student, was returning home from a New Year's eve party.
At approximately 12:45 AM, her Ford Pinto was hit from the rear by a Cadillac Seville driven by Mr. James Jones, a 56-year-old millionaire vice president of a local architectural firm.
According to the testimony at the trial, Mr. Jones' car was traveling 15 mph over the speed limit when it went out of control and hit Ms. Brown's car on an icy poorly lit street. The resulting collision caused the Pinto' s bumper to crumple and its gas tank caught fire.
Mrs. Brown suffered third degree burns over the top half of her body, completely disfiguring her from the neck down. Doctors say she will never be able to move that part of her body again unless she receives extensive medical help. For these reasons, Ms. Brown filed the largest civil suit in U.S history --25 million dollars.
* Material adapted from Brook's The Non-Stop Discussion Workbook: Problems for Intermediate and Advanced Students of English.*Activity adapted from Peter Grundy's Newspapers: Resource Books for Teachers
Step 2:
The students remain in their groups and answer some comprehension questions about the text:
Who hit Ms. Browns car?How fast was Mr. Jones going?What were the road conditions?Why did Ms. Brown's car catch fire?What happened to Ms. Brown?How much money did the judge award Ms. Brown?
Step 3:
The instructor leads a short discussion about the answers in preparation for the next activity.

III. Post Reading Stage
Consensus Activity
Step 1:
The students are told they are going to read more about what happened at the trial. They need to decide which parties are most at fault and order the cards representing the parties from most at fault to least. Then, the students need to award monetary damages.
Consensus Ordering Cards
Mr. James Jones:Mr. Jones' drunkenness undoubtedly led him to exceed the speed limit and affected his ability to react to treacherous street conditions. As a result of the accident, he was found guilty in criminal court of negligent contribution to the accident.
Amount of money Mr. Jones must pay Ms. Brown:Reason (s):The Disco bar:According to California law, the owner of a bar can be held legally responsible for allowing a drunk patron to leave the premises. Mr. Jones had been drinking at the Disco bar for four hours prior to the accident. Testimony revealed that the manager of the bar knew Mr. Jones was drunk and did nothing.
Amount of money the Disco Bar must pay Mrs. Brown.Reason (s):The city of Los Angeles, Maintenance Department:At the time of the accident, though unusual, snow had been falling for six hours. According to testimony, the Department had made no attempt either to clear the streets or post warning signs.
Amount the Department must pay Ms. Brown:Reason (s):The Ford Motor Co.:Tests of all models of the Pinto revealed a critical deficiency in the structural design that made it easier for the gas tank to rupture on contact. Ford Motor Co. allegedly knew of the defect, yet did nothing. Over 500 similar accidents have been reported nationwide.
Amount Ford must pay Ms. Brown:Reason(s):The Harper Aluminum company:According to strict regulations, the bumpers of cars must be built to withstand an impact of 35 miles per hour (mph) without crumpling. Ms. Jones was gong approximately 35 mph in a 20-mph zone when the accident occurred. Nonetheless, the rear bumper crumpled immediately, allowing the gas tank to be exposed.
Amount Harper must pay Ms. BrownReason (s):The Department of Health, Education and Welfare WEH, Washington DC.:This department has the legal responsibility to verify that all car models are free from structural defects. Apparently, inspectors were negligent in checking the Pinto bumper and gas tank.
Amount the Department of Health must pay Ms. BrownReason (s):The State of California, Department of Motor Vehicles, Inspection Division:This division is authorized by the state to retest for structural defects any and every vehicle sold in the state. This was not done in the case of the Ford Pinto because of administrative error.
Amount the Department of Health must pay Ms. BrownReason (s):
* Material adapted from Brooks' The Non-Stop Discussion Workbook: Problems for Intermediate and Advanced Students of English.
Step 2:
The students begin individually and decide what parties are most at fault and what part of the 25 million dollars each should pay.
Step 3:
The individual students join in small groups and negotiate with their team members about which parties are most at fault and award monetary damages. The members of the group each give reasons for their proposal. Afterwards, the group comes to a consensus.
Step 4:
Each small group is joined with another group of equal size to form larger groups and the activity is repeated.
Step 5:
The large group is joined with another large group to form a whole class activity where the activity is again repeated.
Step 6:
The instructor leads a closing discussion about the activity, the discussion, and the conclusions.
*Activity adapted from Penny Ur's Discussions That Work

Assessment

Pre Reading Stage: The students are assessed on how well they participate collaboratively in each step. The tailless sentences are reviewed for grammatical accuracy in oral production, but they are not formally assessed. Instead, the results are used to evaluate the class' needs for future work.
While Reading Stage: The students are only assessed on how well they participated in the group activity. This is a collaborate activity which utilizes the students' knowledge of structure, lexis, and cohesion, and is not evaluated formally. Problem language areas are noted for future work.
Post Reading Stage: The students are only assessed on how well they performed in each step of the group activity. This is an activity which encourages language stretching, critical reading and thinking, dialogical reasoning, and argumentation. Formal assessment would not be appropriate as it might hinder the process. Problem language areas are noted for future work.

Site Visit/Program Description

Describe the Program/Site Visited

Advanced Reading is offered by San Bernardino Adult School as English as a Second Language (ESL) program for local adult students to enhance students' vocabularies, comprehension and speed, as well as other reading-related skills. San Bernardino Adult School was established in 1920 as a part of San Bernardino City Unified School District to provide quality, lifelong educational opportunities and support services that address the unique and changing needs of individuals in diverse multicultural community to local students. Shuping Wang is the instructor of this program, who has taught English in this school for seven years since 1997 she got her master degree of Teaching English to Speaker of Other Languages (TESOL) in California State University, San Bernardino. Before that, she had taught English in Taiyuan Technical Secondary School for five years since she got her bachelor degree of English in China.

The English-Language Development (ELD) Levels of Students

The students in this program are at advanced ELD level placed in college reading classes with native. Generally, placement is the result of the placement tests. There are several starting points for students to enter at the right level. The counselor will help students decide on the best class by using their placement results of Nelson-Denny Reading Test or Crafton Hills College Assessment (CHCA) Test, high school or college grades, learning skills, motivation and other factors. Score between 0-34 on the reading portion of CHCA test, or 4th, 5th, 6th grade level on Nelson-Denny Reading Test is placed into Introduction to Reading classes. Score between 35-64 on the reading portion of CHCA test, or 7th, 8th, 9th grade level on Nelson-Denny Reading Test is placed into Intermediate Reading classes. A minimum score of 65 on the reading portion of CHCA test or minimum of 10th grade level on Nelson-Denny Reading Test is placed into Advanced Reading classes.
The counselor can show students the skills needed for each class. Introduction to Reading classes are the first in a sequence of courses that introduc skills of vocabulary development, reading comprehension, phonetic awareness and usage. Practice in reading passages is at a developmental level. Intermediate Reading classes are the second in a sequence of courses that introduc the same skills of "Introduction to Reading", but practice in reading passages is at a intermediate level. Advanced Reading classes are designed to enhance students' reading skills, involving attending lectures and doing in-class assignments. Students must also complete individualized laboratory activities designed to increase vocabularies and comprehension, and based on assessed reading ability.[1]

From Placement to Instruction

Starting at the right class will let students move from class to class successfully and get to the point they need in the shortest amount of time. Teachers can have access to students' Nelson-Denny Reading Test, and use it to modify reading goals, lessons and materials. The post test is a good indicator of a student's reading progress. Teachers can see students' weak points through the performance in different sections of the test and provide well targeted teaching. Teachers put particular emphasis on students' weaknesses by teaching some skills, providing more practice, and suppling more authentic materials, activities and projects. Teachers can also know students' ELD levels according to different levels of classes and make appropriate syllabus.

Curriculum and Instruction

The general ELD curriculums consist of Reading and Study Skills classes and English classes. There are several levels in each kind of these two types of classes. Students start at the right level of classes and move forward to the higher one. Reading and Study Skills classes are classified into three levels: Introduction to Reading, Intermediate Reading and Advanced Reading. English classes involve three levels: Basic English, Preparation for College Writing and Freshman Composition. When students finish Freshman Composition classes, they can get into Advanced Transferable Courses in English which include five levels: Intermediate Composition and Critical Thinking, Intermediate Composition and Literature, Creative Writing, Literary Magazine Production, and Literature. Literature classes are divided into many kinds: Classical Mythology, Children's Literature, Literature by Women, The Film Experience, Literature and Religion of the Bible, Fiction, Survey of American Literature, Survey of British Literature, Shakespeare and Masterworks of World Literature I/II.

Instructional Program Models

Advance Reading is a Scheduled and Pull-out ESL Class. ESL teachers follow the syllabus for instruction and they are employed to teach ESL only. Students improve their English reading skills in this class by getting out of their mainstream classes. And they are immersed in total English.

Course Content and Methods of Instruction

This course is designed to enhance students' reading skills and to focus on increasing vocabulary development and reading comprehension, as well as reading speed. It combines Cognitive and Behavioral pedagogies into instruction. It covers theory and practice of reading skills and speed needed for the performance with emphasis on oral and written evaluation of printed material, vocabulary development, comprehension skills, flexible reading rate with the application in textbook, fiction and nonfiction reading. It also enables students to fulfill the graduation requirenment for demonstrated reading proficiency. Teachers use a range of vocabulary words depending on students' abilities for vocabulary knowledge and usage, which include prefixes, suffixes and roots; context clues, synonyms and antonyms; other-than-primary meanings of words. Reading speed exercises, practice and specific instructor-selected skills related to reading are designed to increase and vary reading speeds, depending on the type of material and the reading purpose. Comprehension exercises are designed for comprehension skills. During a semester the student will complete approximately comprehension cards, ten-minute timed fictions readings, vocabulary lessons and computerized lessons according to abilities, vocabulary study, lectures on reading skills and selected readings from modern novels.
Usually, the teacher teaches reading skills and defines words and the passages meaning by PowerPoint in the class, meanwhile giving some assignments to draw students' attention. For example, posing some questions related to the lecture to let students find the answers, giving a topic related to the textbook for group discussion, such as main ideas, details, transitions and patterns of organization. And then the teacher will provide some reading selections, such as novels and movies, to extend students' knowledge of identifying the fact and opinion, cause and effect, and comparation and contrast. In the end of the class the teacher will give a quiz about vocabularies. Three hours lecture and individualized laboratory activities are needed to be completed in the lab each week. Students can do their assignments at their own paces through the software, and the teacher can check students' performance by logging on. Students will take the Nelson-Denny Reading Test again at the end of the semester, and another examination designed by the instructor will be given in the second last class. Through these tests, the instructor can know if students make progress or not and adjust the teaching plan.

Representative Texts and Instructional Materials

In general, the syllabuses of Reading classes are based on the reading textbook series by Townsendpress. Teachers make syllabuses by following two textbooks which are "Ten Steps to Improving College Reading Skills" by John Langan and "Improving Vocabulary Skills" by Nist and Mohr. The computer softwares used in the lab are Electronic Defense Laboratories (EDL) Quantum Reading Series and EDL Reading Strategies. Other materials are Special Review Assessment (SRA) Comprehension Cards, EDL Word Clues and instructor handouts on selected topics and novels.

Program Critique

The program is delivering adequate instruction in reading and study skills, but a little too much. One of my suggestions is empathy. The core of empowering the ability of reading is not practice or instruction, but the passion. Reading is to widen students' views and to color their world, so empathy is a better way for a better understanding, which leads students to put themselves in the letters. Because many students are immigrants in the Advance Reading classes, teachers can use this as the feature of the classes. For example, let students share some novels, articles, poems, songs, even blogs which can reflect the values, customs and characters of their own nations. Through this way, students can not only actively extend their knowledge of reading, but also enhance the identification of themselves and their culture. It is a win-win approach to make the class more energetic and more interactive by sharing and exchanging knowledge and culture with each other between students and students, between teachers and students.
Another suggestion is motivation. Tests should be not only examinations but also motivations. Nelson-Denny Reading Test in the end of the semester is just for the self-check of students, but not for the motivation of learning. Actually, it can be part of motive power for more active, autonomic learning. Students can use their higher test results to move forward to a higher level of classes, which is a better way for themselves to save more time. And that will be the most impetus for adult students.

[1] Crafton Hills College. Crafton Hills College Course Outline. Retrieved October 20, 2009, from http://www.craftonhills.edu/Faculty_&_Staff/Curriculum/Reading/READ925.pdf

the Ideal Time-Travel Vacation

There is nothing better than space travel, isn't there?
We would take the spacecraft into space, and then float freely in a weightless condition, relax and feast our eyes on the magnificent landscapes. We could see our lovely blue planet -- the earth.
Then we would land on any planet we like, such as the moon. We would wear the helmet and the suit, and make our first space walk.
We may see UFOs and have a cup of tea with the extraterrestrials. We could talk about environmental issues of the earth with them, even TESOL.
"How do you learn other planet languages?"
"We don't have to learn. We just eat a pill, and then we can speak all the languages of the universe."
"Wow! Could you give me one?"
"Sure! Take whatever you want!"
Cool! Let's go right now!

the Trip in Northeast U.S.A.

2009-01-01
I spent the new year with a strange Chinese boy in a Prime Time on the road. So special, so weird... Ok, boy, let me tell something: too free to a girl is not OK; asking this, asking that, like a census taker is not OK; no talking does not mean it's OK. OK?
Shengsong said, "When we left, the captain said: 'Merry Christmas!'. Then we came back, the captain said: 'Happy New Year!' Just our luck! "
I joined a luxurious tour group of eight days in the northeast and approximately spent $2000. That's too expensive. But Teacher Zhang said: "What a bargain! You stayed at the five-star hotel every night!" Yeah, if I had known it, I wouldn't have done this bargain.
Edward borrowed me a padded coat, because all of my clothes I brought are just for the weather in California. But the both funny and annoying was that, I found a big tear under my arm when I took photos. So I had to wear this rag and to be very careful of not making a fool. But in fact, it's not so cold there, except the last day in the West Point. Oh, another interesting was the West Point was really called the West Point.

(Xi Dian)

It's a liittle bit disappointing that I didn't find Carrie's apartment. I love "Sex and the City", but I don't love New York. I didn't buy anything with a red heart, but I'd like a broken heart. Maybe something was a little bit exciting. I saw the NBC store of "Heroes". And I saw Tyra and Nicolas Cage, although in the waxwork museum. Some gaps still exist between movies and the reality.

(Double attacks = one ruins. -- World Trade Center)

(Wall Street's bull)

(Wall Street's twin bulls...)

(Wall Street's triplet bulls...)

(Time Square -- photoed by my broken camera...)

(Mr. & Mrs. Smith)

(Too spicy...)

(Rock Candy)

(Cool Men)

(Wax?)

(AH~~~)

(Unending kisses...)

(Manhattan)

(Freedom is just a woman holding an ice-cream cone. :)

I like Boston, not for Harvard or MIT, but for the European architecture. Yeah, I love Europe more than America. But anyway, the more I travel around, the more I love China.

(the Big Candle -- Washington Monument)

(It reminds me the Leifeng Pagoda…)

(Now I know which one is White, which one is House...)

(Don't make such a fuss about a stone, even though from the moon.)

(One war = a lot of sacrifices -- Vietnam Veterans Memorial)

(Korean War Memorial -- Why did every war need a memorial?)

(Life & Death)

($$$$$$ $$$$$$ $$$$)

(Niagara Falls)

(Canada)

(Dream in Harvard)

(Love in Boston)

Bonus:

(America's First Daughter :)

(Rich & Poor)

(Our tour guide -- Mr. Bean & Super Mario!)