Language



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|(1) Writing in your subject: Students learn to write by writing. Research indicates that students write more when using a computer |

|than when writing by hand. |

| |

|Develop a computer-based writing assignment relevant to the theme of your portfolio. |

|Explain how this assignment will promote writing skills through the use of computer based resources. |

Typically there are no writing assignments given in Secondary Physical Education classes. For this portion on language I worked with my peer tutor Christian on his writing assignments because his area is history which requires lots of writing. I asked all of my master teachers about writing assignments and none of them had given writing assignments to their students.

Sample Instruction Set to Students:

Directions – “Tear Down this Wall” is a line from a famous speech by President Reagan. Listen to this clip and answer the following questions:

1. Who is President Reagan speaking to? Provide a screen capture of a map, illustrating the country in which President Reagan is speaking.

2. What country is President Reagan speaking about? Provide a screen capture of a map illustrating this country from the year this speech was delivered in 1987.

3. What did President Reagan mean by saying “Tear Down this Wall”? To what wall is he referring? Find an image of this region in 1987 and today. Take a screenshot and discuss, in two paragraphs. Were President Reagan’s demands fulfilled? Why or why not?

This sample assignment blends basic computing skills with historical relevancy. It asks students to listen to a short speech clip by President Reagan regarding the decline and fall of the Soviet Union, to geographically map the region, and analyze the significance of the impending consequences. Students must be familiar with the use of screen capture software, basic internet search engines to pinpoint required information, the ability to utilize online reference resources to adequately answer the questions, and present their findings with a word processor. A traditional assignment would have differed significantly, relying on a written transcript of the speech, printed reference material such as maps and encyclopedias, and a handwritten analysis. This traditional assignment would have been more costly, requiring physical references, more time consuming due to the lack of streamlined internet based content, and perhaps less entertaining for students. Watching a video excerpt of a famous speech visualizes the dramatic content and provides students with a more accurate depiction of the original event. These factors combine to present students with a template that can enrich their capacity to research and present material relevant to their academic pursuits, thus promoting the development of essential skills necessary to literary competence.

|(2) Editing: Research indicates that students edit and revise more when writing on a computer than when writing by hand. |

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|Use the footnote feature to identify all of the mistakes you can find in this document without the aid of a grammar checker, and |

|repeat with the aid of a grammar checker. |

Errors I found without the use of a grammar checker.

The causes of the Revolutionary Warr[1] was that the the[2] English put tacks[3] in[4] their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. During the War[5]. the Red Coats and Paul Revere was throwing balls over stone walls[6]. The dogs were barking and peacocks crowing.[7] Finally the colonists won and no longer had too[8] pay for taxis .[9] delgats[10] from the original 13 states formed an Contented Congress[11]. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were towo[12] singers of the Declaration of Independence. Frankin declared "A horse divided against itself cannot stand."[13] Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.[14] Soon the Constitiion[15] of the united states[16] was adopted to secure domestic hostility[17]. Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent.[18] Lincoln's mother died in infancy[19], and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands.[20] Lincoln said,: "in onion there is great strength."[21][22]

Errors I found with the use of a grammar checker.

The cause of the Revolutionary War was that the English put tacks in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without stamps. During the War. the Red Coats and Paul Revere was throwing balls over stone walls. The dogs were barking and peacocks crowing. Finally the colonists won and no longer had too pay for taxis. Delegates from the original 13 states formed a Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were two singers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin declared "A horse divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead. Soon the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic hostility. Abraham Lincoln became America's greatest Precedent. Lincoln's mother died in infancy, and he was born in a log cabin which he built with his own hands. Lincoln said, "In onion there is great strength."

|What kinds of errors are generally not detected by the software? Give examples. Would you encourage your students to use a |

|grammar/style checker? If so, explain how it might be best employed. If not, explain why not. |

Identifying and correcting factual data regarding contextual subject matter remains beyond the scope of existing software devised to check for errors contained within the parameters of the document text. In short, the software itself cannot yet estimate the accuracy of the data, other than the manner in which it is presented, such as basic spell checking and grammar usage.

A program to perform this task would have to be linked to, at the very least, an encyclopedic database or a web crawling application, whereupon the incorrect information in the document would have to be recognized upon association with the source deemed to be “true”. The problem with this approach is that it is difficult to contextually identify “incorrect” information, due to the abundance of possible means to express the data. This complicates recognition, as the variations capable of presenting essentially the same content though language expression vastly expands the complexity of requisite coding instructions. A system capable of performing this function would likely demand a language sourcing program that could trace the root of expressed verbiage to more easily identifiable patterns.

Thus, the correction tools utilized by modern office software perform a rudimentary check, prone to omission of minor and especially systemic user mistakes. Additionally, obscure or less than popular proper names are frequently highlighted as incorrect spellings because the dictionary reference used to spot misspellings contains a minimum number of words in the English language as a consequence of the limited nature of the program.

Regardless, this function can serve beginning and intermediate students well in identifying obvious errors. Students who rely upon this service should always recheck and specifically approve any recommended changes. To not do so would be adsorb and rediculous[23].

|(3) Analysis of your textbook: Readability is a measure of the comprehensibility or understandability of written text. There are |

|many methods and formulas for determining readability and the related reading age. Teachers should be aware of the readability |

|level of their text as well as the reading level of their students. |

| |

|Scan three or more paragraphs from your textbook into a word processor file using OCR software. Perform a document check and |

|readability estimate on the text and include the results in your portfolio. |

“The Scarlet Letter” Excerpt:

A throng of bearded men, in sad-colored garments and gray, steeple-crowned hats, intermixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.

The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison. In accordance with this rule, it may safely be assumed that the forefathers of Boston had built the first prison-house, somewhere in the vicinity of Cornhill, almost as seasonably as they marked out the first burial-ground, on Isaac Johnson's lot, and round about his grave, which subsequently became the nucleus of all the congregated sepulchres in the old church-yard of King's Chapel. Certain it is, that, some fifteen or twenty years after the settlement of the town, the wooden jail was already marked with weather-stains and other indications of age, which gave a yet darker aspect to its beetle-browed and gloomy front. The rust on the ponderous iron-work of its oaken door looked more antique than any thing else in the new world. Like all that pertains to crime, it seemed never to have known a youthful era. Before this ugly edifice, and between it and the wheel-track of the street, was a grass-plot, much overgrown with burdock, pig-weed, apple-peru, and such unsightly vegetation, which evidently found something congenial in the soil that had so early borne the black flower of civilized society, a prison. But, on one side of the portal, and rooted almost at the threshold, was a wild rose-bush, covered, in this month of June, with its delicate gems, which might be imagined to offer their fragrance and fragile beauty to the prisoner as he went in, and to the condemned criminal as he came forth to his doom, in token that the deep heart of Nature could pity and be kind to him.

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THE AMERICAN JOURNEY – US HISTORY, 8TH GRADE:

The Virginia Colony

The first permanent English settlement in North America was at Jamestown.

Reading Connection Would you be willing to stay in a community with few jobs and where many of the residents were starving? Read to find out what happened to the people of Jamestown and what discovery saved the town.

In 1587 a group of English colonists financed by Sir Walter Raleigh sailed for North

America. There, they founded a colony on Roanoke (RO•uh• nohk) Island off the coast of present-day North Carolina. After six years, however, the colonists disappeared. No one knows for certain what happened to them. For this reason, Roanoke Island became known as the “Lost Colony.”

Virginia For a time, the failure of the Roanoke colony discouraged further plans for English colonies in North America. However, in 1606 the idea emerged again. The Virginia Company, an English joint-stock company, received a charter, or the right to organize a settlement. With the backing of the company, more than 100 people braved an Atlantic crossing and set up the first permanent English settlement in North America in 1607. The settlers named it Jamestown after King James I. Jamestown was the first town of a new colony called Virginia. Life in Virginia was very hard. The colonists had come hoping to find gold or silver. Instead, they could barely find enough to eat. Many settlers died from starvation and the cold winters, and others were killed in clashes with Native Americans. The colony survived under the leadership of Captain John Smith, a soldier and explorer. Smith forced the settlers to farm and managed to get corn from the Native Americans. During those first years, the colony made no money for the merchants who had invested in it. It might have collapsed had not one of its settlers, John Rolfe, discovered that tobacco could grow in Virginia’s soil. Tobacco became the first cash crop of the English colonies. A cash crop is grown in large quantities to sell for profit.

|According to the computer-generated readability estimates, does this text appear to be appropriate for your students? Explain. |

|(Note: In some programs, document analysis appears at the end of a grammar check). |

The readability estimate appears to suggest that the material from the current 8th Grade US History text, The American Journey”, exceeds the intended difficulty level. At 9.6 on the Flesch-Kincaide Grade Level readout, this material seems to be better suited for High School students approaching 10th Grade.

|(4) Equations: Many teachers have the need to incorporate equations into handouts, tests and notes. Equation editors allow you to |

|make equations and then export them as graphics to word processors. |

| |

|Use an Equation Editor to create two or more complex equations from your discipline. If your discipline does not use many |

|equations, you may select from the following list. |

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|(5) Word relationships : English dictionaries contain more than 250,000 words, while Spanish dictionaries contain approximately |

|100,000 words, and most other languages have far fewer. English has an extensive vocabulary and many synonyms. This can cause |

|difficulties for English learners. An electronic thesaurus may be used to help students understand the complex relationship within |

|the English lexicon. |

| |

|Using a thesaurus, paraphrase the preamble of the Constitution. Include at least ten logical substitutions for the original words. |

|You may use the built-in thesaurus (Tools/Language/Thesaurus) in Word or internet resources such as Merriam Webster's Dictionary & |

|Thesaurus, or Roget's Thesaurus. Describe (with an example) how you can use a thesaurus when tring to explain the meanings of |

|difficult words to your students |

Preamble

Original: We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Modified: We, the Citizenry of the United States, in Order to create a more ideal Nation, bestow Justice, guarantee domestic Tranquility, secure the common defense, elevate the general Welfare, and assure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Descendants, do erect and proclaim this Constitution for the United States of America.

|(6) Mastering Content Vocabulary: Although modern English has the largest and most complex lexicon of any language in history, the |

|meanings of many words can be determined if one knows the common prefixes, suffixes and root words. Knowledge of such morphemes is |

|particularly useful for English learners who face the formidable challenge of mastering English vocabulary, with all of its many |

|nuances. According to Richard E. Hodges of the University of Puget Sound ("Improving Spelling and Vocabulary in the Secondary |

|School; 1982, p 30) ,“If you were to examine the 20,000 most used English words, you would find that about 5,000 of them contain |

|prefixes and that 82 percent (about 4,100) of those words use one of only fourteen different prefixes out of all the available |

|prefixes in the language.” Thus, if students master these prefixes, they will know clues to the meanings of thousands of words." |

|*TPE-tip. TPE 7 requires teachers to "implement an instructional program that facilitates English language development, including |

|reading, writing, listening and speaking skills" You may wish to develop a root-word bank for the subject you teach and show how it|

|facilitates vocabulary development (TPE-7) |

| |

|Identify five words commonly used in your subject. Identify one or more prefixes, suffixes or roots from each. Use an online |

|dictionary to identify 5 or more other words in the English language that use these morphemes as per the example. When searching, |

|you will need to use standard wildcards: *=multiple characters; ?=single character. |

|Root |Meaning |Five or more related words that share this root |

|dict- |tell, pronounce |dictator (one whose word is law), diction (enunciation), edict (a formal |

|(from dictionary) | |pronouncement or command.), dictum (an authoritative, often formal |

| | |pronouncement), dictate (to say or read aloud to be recorded or written by |

| | |another) |

|poli- |city |political, police, policlinic, policy, polity |

|dem- |people |democracy, demographic, demagogue, demonstrate, demographer |

|com- |with, jointly |community, , common, combat, comfort, command |

|gen- |produce |general, gene, gender, genre, genesis |

|liber- |free, book |liberty, liberate, libertine, liberal, libertarian |



|English has acquired words from many languages as seen in this story. It is helpful to show students these foreign words and |

|cognates so they can better understand the historical relationship between English and other languages and look for cognates when |

|learning new terms. Translate 5 or more words from your discipline into each of four languages using Sherlock, Logos or other |

|resources. Include the translations in your portfolio. Identify cognates and explain how you can use them to help students master |

|English. |

Cognates are a linguistic terminology for words that have a common root. Many words in the English language can be traced back to such roots, meaning that knowing major cognates will allow one to comprehend an unfamiliar word if correctly able to identify the cognate. This is particularly useful for English language learners, as knowledge of words and their roots can dramatically expand one’s familiarity with the English lexicon.

Words to Translate: political, democracy, community, general, liberty

French - politique, démocratie, la communauté, général, liberté

German - politisch, Demokratie, Gemeinschaft, General, Freiheit

Italian - politico, democrazia, Comunità, General, libertà

Portuguese - político, democracia, comunidade, general, liberdade

Spanish - político, democracia, comunidad, general, libertad

Russian - политической, демократия, община, целое свободы

Arabic - والديمقراطيه السياسية والمجتمعيه والعامة ، والحرية

Japanese - の民主主義、コミュニティ、概要の自由政治



|One way to interest students in the significance of words is to have them study the meaning of their own names. Identify the |

|meaning of five common first names of students in your class. |

Elizabeth – Hebrew, “God is my oath”

Jesse – Hebrew, “gift”

Katherine – Greek, “pure”

Matthew – English, “Gift of God”

Hannah – Hebrew, “grace”



|(8) Communicating with English Learners and their families: Southern California is home to a very diverse population, many of whom |

|are immigrants from non-English speaking countries. Translation programs can help break down some of the language barriers between |

|teachers, their students, and the families of these students. |

| |

|Use translation software (such as Sherlock, or AltaVista Translation Service) to translate a simple document |

|from your class into one or more languages spoken by students in your class. If possible, show this to someone who is fluent in |

|English and the language into which you have translated it, and explain any potential problems. |

Learning that it Learns…

The Systran engine that runs the Google translation page (also that of Yahoo! And Babel Fish) can best be described as a loose means of interpretation. Although accuracy has increased dramatically over the years with subsequent software generations, machine translations will typically give one an idea as to the contents of the material being translated, but fall far short of an exact translation. In the following example, Google translates the Sinaloa Code of Behavior into Spanish, and then reverses the translation back into English. Presumably, the English to Spanish translation more accurately captures the spirit of the original document than the retranslation into English, which has likely undergone further degeneration, being twice removed from the original source. Aside from awkward phrasing, words translated into Spanish from the reference text escape translation back into English, perhaps because the algorithm design is non transitive, and as such, cannot locate a close, direct equivalent between the two languages. Regardless, there remains great need for such an admittedly imperfect tool, which exists free for popular use. Newer versions of web browsers have begun to incorporate translation applications into their coding, automatically translating pages as directed by users.

Code of Behavior [pic]

1.  Learning

Learning is the top priority at Sinaloa Middle School. Your teachers are ready to help you have a great year of learning. Did you know that you will be required to pass the High School Exit Exam to graduate from High School? This test includes information and skills you will learn in Middle School as well as what you will learn in High School. Sometimes learning will be exciting and fun.  Sometimes learning will be hard work and not too much fun.  Your challenge at Sinaloa will be to make the most of every opportunity to learn.  Don't cheat yourself by not learning something just because it is more difficult. Give your very best effort in every class, and let your teacher know when you need some help. Sinaloa teachers truly want to help you learn!

2.  Respect

A second aspect of our Code of Behavior is Respect. We must all respect each other if Sinaloa is to remain one of the best Middle Schools in California. All adults on campus will do their best to treat you with respect. Make sure you do your part to treat adults and other students with respect at all times.  

3.  Safety

Sinaloa Middle School is a safe campus in the safest city in America.  All of us must stay committed to safety if our school and city are to remain safe.  Learn the rules and follow them.  Do yourself and your friends a favor and report any dangerous situation to an adult. Simply be a responsible citizen.

The teachers and staff are here to help you have a terrific year at Sinaloa Middle School. We will do our best to help you learn, treat you with respect and keep you safe. Follow our Code of Behavior and do your part to have a great year!

Spanish (Google Translation):

Código del comportamiento 1. El aprender que aprende es la prioridad superior en la escuela media de Sinaloa. Tus profesores son listos ayudarte a tener un gran año de aprender. ¿Sabías que te requerirán aprobar el examen de la salida de la High School secundaria al graduado de la High School secundaria? Esta prueba incluye la información y habilidades que aprenderás en escuela media así como lo que aprenderás en High School secundaria. A veces el aprender será emocionante y diversión. A veces el aprender será trabajo duro y no demasiada diversión. Tu desafío en Sinaloa será hacer la mayor parte de la cada oportunidad de aprender. No engañarte no aprendiendo algo apenas porque es más difícil. Dar tu esfuerzo muy mejor de cada clase, y dejar a tu profesor saber cuándo necesitas una cierta ayuda. ¡Los profesores de Sinaloa desean verdad ayudarte a aprender! 2. Respetar el aspecto de A segunda de nuestro código del comportamiento es respecto. Debemos todo el respecto si Sinaloa es seguir siendo una de las mejores escuelas medias en California. Todos los adultos en campus harán su mejor para tratarte con respecto. Cerciorarte de que hagas tu parte para tratar a adultos y a otros estudiantes con respecto siempre. 3. La escuela media de Sinaloa de seguridad es un campus seguro en la ciudad más segura de América. Todos nosotros debe permanecer confiada a la seguridad si nuestra escuela y ciudad son seguir siendo seguras. Aprender las reglas y seguirlas. Hacerte y a tus amigos un favor y divulgar cualquier situación peligrosa a un adulto. Ser simplemente un ciudadano responsable. Los profesores y el personal están aquí ayudarte a tener un año fabuloso en la escuela media de Sinaloa. Haremos nuestro mejor para ayudarte a aprender, a tratarte con respecto y a mantenerte seguro. ¡Seguir nuestro código del comportamiento y hacer tu parte para tener un gran año!

Translated back into English (Google):

Code of behavior 1. Learning that it learns is the superior priority in the average school of Sinaloa. Your ready professors are ayudarte to have a great year to learn. Sabías that they will require to you pass of the exit of the High secondary School to the graduated one as the High secondary School? This test includes the information and abilities that you will learn in average school as well as what you will learn in High secondary School. Sometimes learning will be exciting and diversion. Sometimes learning will be hard work and not too much diversion. Your challenge in Sinaloa will be to make most of each opportunity learn. Engañarte not learning something hardly because it is more difficult. To give your very better effort of each class, and to let to your professor know when you need a certain aid. The professors of Sinaloa wish truth ayudarte to learn! 2. To respect the aspect of A second of our code of the behavior is respect. We must all the respect if Sinaloa is to continue being one of the best average schools in California. All the adults in campus will do the their best one for tratarte with respect. Cerciorarte about which you make your part to always deal to adults and other students with respect. 3. The average school of Sinaloa of security is a safe campus in the safest city of America. All we it must remain trusted to the security if our school and city are to continue being safe. To learn the rules and to follow them. Hacerte and to your friends a favor and to disclose any dangerous situation to an adult. To be simply a responsible citizen. The professors and the personnel are ayudarte here to have a fabulous year in the average school of Sinaloa. We will make our best one for ayudarte learn, to tratarte with respect and mantenerte surely. Seguir our code of the behavior and to make your part to have a great year!

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[1] War (mis-spelling)

[2] Duplicate word

[3] taxes

[4] on

[5] Use comma instead of period

[6] This is difficult to interpret. The author is probably referring to cannon balls. Paul Revere was an anti-British colonist who tracked Red Coat movements.

[7] Peacocks? A primary reference would help flesh this out.

[8] to

[9] taxes.

[10] Delegates

[11] a Continental Congress

[12] two

[13] Abraham Lincoln declared “A divided against itself cannot stand.” This quote does not fit the context of discussion.

[14] Redundant information. “Franklin died in 1790.”

[15] Constitution

[16] United States

[17] tranquility

[18] This is not a factual statement. Incorrect spelling. Consider “Abraham Lincoln is regarded by many as the greatest President.”

[19] “died during childbirth”

[20] Temporal conflict. Omit phrase “which he built with his own hands.”

[21] Lincoln said, “In Union, there is great strength.”

[22] Paragraph correction: One cause leading to the Revolutionary War was the British taxation of tea products marketed to colonial consumers. To circumvent the stamp tax issued by Britain, colonists would send parcels through the mail without stamps. During the war, the Red Coats attacked colonists by shooting cannons over walls. Barking dogs and crowing peacocks most likely alerted colonists to such activity. Upon winning independence, former colonists no longer had to pay taxes issued by Great Britain on products such as tea. Delegates from the newly established states formed a Continental Congress. The Declaration of Independence was signed by both Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. Benjamin Franklin died in 1790. The newly devised Constitution of the United States mentions in its preamble that its purpose exists to ensure domestic tranquility. Generations later, while speaking of slavery, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Considered by many to be the greatest American President, Lincoln was born in a log cabin, whereupon his mother died during childbirth. To quote President Lincoln, “In Union there is great strength.”

[23] This last sentence not accurately reflect the author’s spelling abilities.

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