Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
6CO2 + 6H 2O "
"# C6 H12O6 + 6O3 "
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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.
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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.
Write a brief biography of one of the French writers that we have studied. Describe the
artist’s life – when and where he/she was born, at least 3 important events in his/her life,
name at least 2 well-known works by this person, and when and where he/she died.
Remember to use correct French names for people, places, and titles of works.
This assignment will require students to revisit Web sites for information. They will also
need to use the French dictionary feature of their word processor or find the correct
French words on the Web. They can do this by using a translation website or from some
articles that respect French spelling of proper nouns.
(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 Warr1 was that the the 2English put
tacks in4 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 6 throwing
3
1
War (mis-spelling)
Repeated word
3
a tax (wrong noun)
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on (wrong preposition)
5
Fragment
6
were (conjugation)
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Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
balls over stone walls. The dogs were barking and peacocks crowing. Finally
the colonists won and no longer had too7 pay for taxis 8. delgats 9 from the
original 13 states formed an10 Contented11 Congress. Thomas Jefferson and
Benjamin Franklin were towo12 singers 13 of the Declaration of Independence.
Frankin declared "A horse14 divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in
1790 and is still dead. Soon the Constitiion15 of the united states 16was adopted
to secure domestic hostility17. 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 onion21 there is great
strength."
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to (mis-spelling)
taxes (wrong)
9
Delegates (mis-spelling)
10
a (wrong article)
11
Continental (wrong)
12
two (mis-spelling)
13
signers (mis-spelling)
14
house (wrong)
15
Constitution (mis-spelling)
16
Capitalization
17
tranquility (wrong)
18
President (mis-spelling)
19
in childbirth (wrong)
20
VERY unlikely
21
union (mis-spelling)
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Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
Errors I found with the use of a grammar checker.
The causes of the Revolutionary Warr1 was that the the2 English put tacks
in their tea. Also, the colonists would send their parcels through the post without
stamps. During the War3. 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 4. delgats 5from the original 13
states formed an Contented Congress. Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin
were towo6 singers of the Declaration of Independence. Frankin7 declared8 "A
horse divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in 1790 and is still dead.
Soon the Constitiion9 of the united states 10 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 which11he built with his
own hands. Lincoln said,:12 "in onion there is great strength."
1
War (mis-spelling)
the (repeated word)
3
Fragment
4
Space before period
5
Delegates (mis-spelling)
6
two (mis-spelling)
7
Franklin (mis-spelling)
8
missing comma
9
Constitution (mis-spelling)
10
Capitalization
11
Missing comma
12
punctuation
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Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
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.
Software often misses incorrect choices of words. For example, there was no
“contented” congress and Lincoln wasn’t a “precedent”. Since both words are spelled
correctly and the grammar is correct in both sentences, the software doesn’t find an error.
The software also misses a conjugation error twice, allowing “was” instead of “were” in
the first and third sentences. The software also misses incorrect use of the word “too” in
the fifth sentence. I find that the grammar check is usually not very helpful, so I would
strongly advise students to proofread after using it. Note that the grammar check missed
incorrect verb conjugation and wrong form of the word “to”. I find that grammar check
is very helpful for checking punctuation, however. Also, students need to be reminded
that this software doesn’t check facts!
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(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.
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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.
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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).
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Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
According to the results, the textbook is probably too advanced for most of my students,
who are almost all in 9th and 10th grade. However, the study of any foreign language
requires a good command of one’s native language, so I wouldn’t be too concerned about
the readability estimate in this case.
(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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50
y = " x3
0
6CO2 + 6H 2O "
"# C6 H12O6 + 6O2
!
!
(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.
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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: We the People of the United States, in Order to develop a more ideal
Union, institute Justice, insure domestic Harmony, provide for the public defense,
encourage the general wellbeing, and guarantee the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do proclaim and create 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
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Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
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)
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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
dict-
Meaning
tell, pronounce
(from dictionary)
Con-
with, together
Cede
to go, to yield
a-, an-
not, without
graph, gram
to write
Homo-
Same
Five or more related words that share this root
dictator (one whose word is law), diction
(enunciation), edict (a formal pronouncement or
command.), dictum (an authoritative, often formal
pronouncement), dictate (to say or read aloud to be
recorded or written by another)
contest (struggle with another), conspiracy (a plan
to do something bad), consortium (a group of
organizations working together), congress (a large
formal meeting), confluence (the place where two
rivers join together)
antecedent (something that came before what
exists now), precedent (something that happened
before that establishes a pattern), succession (a
series), recede (to move away, retreat)
amoral (without morality), aphasia (inability to
communicate with words), anagram (a word or
phrase made by rearranging letters from another
word or phrase), anarchy (lack of
organization/government), anemia (lack of blood)
grammar (rules for use of words in language),
autograph (written signature), orthography (the
accepted spelling of words), calligraphy (the art of
beautiful writing), biography (the story of a
person’s life)
Homonym (a word that sounds the same or is
spelled the same as another but has a different
meaning), homophone (a word that is pronounced
the same as another but is either spelled differently
or has a different meaning), homogenous (parts or
people of the same type), homogenized (mixed
together to be of a uniform consistency)
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Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
•
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 cogantes and explain how you
can use them to help students master English.
All of the words above are cognates. The advantage of cognates is that students can
begin to use these words with confidence because they are similar to existing native-
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Name: Scott Ellias
July 14, 2006
language vocabulary. Cognates also help demonstrate relationships between languages,
helping students to see links in the way some ideas are expressed in different languages.
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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.
Linda – Spanish for beautiful, or German (linde) for soft.
Michael – Hebrew for “who is like God?”
Sasha – Russian nickname for Alexander or Alexandra
Gabriel – Hebrew for “strong man of God”
Diana – Roman goddess of the moon
(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.
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Use translation software (such as Sherlock, FreeTranslation.com 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.
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