Read on

I really like this blogging thing...

Hasn't this been a great week off? It's been so nice to get outside and enjoy the sunshine! I find it really hard to live through winter, so I can only imagine those of you who come from warmer climates! In any case, it's time for me to go back to work next week. I'll be teaching Advanced 1 and EPT 2 (prep for the CELDT).


During my week off I've been reading some good books. Ayrin, I've read Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures and actually really enjoyed it! Yes, I agree it's a different style of writing, but one to be enjoyed nonetheless...

So if you have some time before you begin your classes, pick up a good book. I've got some great recommendations for you!

Read on....

S

Seize the Moment!

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"Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and
make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; great men make them."
~Orison Swett Marden



Here are a few pictures of my trip for those of you who are interested.
Now you have reached your goals and are about to enter the university. These will be some of the best years of your life, so don't forget to seize each moment and make them all great!

Hope to see you at Starbucks!


Sherry :)

Hey, isn't that Scott's car under the troll's hand????

Friday in Seattle

Hello Graduates!

How was the graduation? I heard from Lili that it was a nice ceremony and there were many nice words said. I really wished I could have been there to celebrate with all of you. Maybe we could arrange to have a lunch for those of you who are still available and interested in seeing your classmates again....

How was Moe`s speech? Was there anyone else who spoke?

I`ve had another great day in Seattle. I started out with some conferences on how to integrate students more into the university environment to make them feel that they are part of a community. These presentations were done by two professors from the University of Tennessee. I love their accents. They sound so sweet and nice with their southern drawls...I got me thinking about how many of you are going into new environments in the university and whether or not you are prepared for what lies ahead. There are a lot of unspoken academic rules that students need to know in order to ensure their success in their studies.

Later in the day I took a bus tour and visited the city. The bus was full of teachers! We saw most of the highlights of Seattle and even visited the neighbourhood of Bill Gates. Did you know his home cost 125 million dollars? Anyhow, one needs to earn a considerable income in order to live in Seattle. So Khalid, if you do plan on working for Boeing, study really hard and get the best grades possible in order to plant yourself well. You can even buy a house boat and live on the water. There are so many boats here. I think it must be a prerequesite to live here. We visited a few marinas with some amazing vessels. People give their boats very interesting names. Saw one today called, Family Therapy. Loved that one!

We also saw the original Starbucks. Did you know that the image in their logo was altered once they became popular? It was considered indecent by most American standards. I`ll take pictures to show you.

We also went to the top of the Space Needle. That is the highest tower in Seattle with amazing views over the water and the city. It was certainly very very windy, but the view was breath taking.

Only one more day until I come home. It has been an incredible journey and I am exhausted. However, I secretly have to admit that it`s been a great and well-deserved break for me.

This will be my last blog in Seattle since I don`t think I`ll have access to a computer tomorrow. So if you are interested, we can keep blogging next week.

Tsschus,
Sherry :)

Sleepless Sherry in Seattle

Hi Class,

Another busy day in Seattle. Did you know that Seattle is the home of Starbucks? No exaggeration, but there is literally an average of 5 in a block. Everyone walks around with huge cups of coffee. Yes, Moe there is plenty of caffeine addiction here. And I think I am more addicted than ever....

The conference is great. There must be at least 10,000 teachers here. Today we gave a presentation on the A2 blogging project. We were assigned a HUGE room for 400 people. Luckily we only had 50. People were really interested in what we do at CELI and were totally impressed by the fluency of your language ability and the level of thinking in your comments.

Jin, I saw a presentation completely dedicated to writing your research paper. It was on using crime as a way to teach grammar. For example, Paris Hilton who has been arrested on DUI charges, is known for her outrageous behaviour. Which grammar point does this example show?

Gina, you should taste the great Washington wines. They are to die for...Syrah and Merlot. New world wines...with great new taste. And cheap...you can get a really nice bottle of wine for under 10 bucks.

I finally made it down to the waterfront tonight; however, I was greatly disappointed. Seattle is not directly on the ocean, so we see a lot of inlet bays. I need to take a boat cruise at some point.

I still can`t get over the number of flowers here. I keep touching them thinking they are plastic.

Graduation day tomorrow. Enjoy and celebrate- you have certainly earned it.
Congratulations!

Keep in touch,

Sherry

Spring has sprung!

Hi!

Not to rub it in your faces, but in Seattle spring is here. The trees are in bloom. You should see the magnolia trees in full bloom. I love the climate here!

Mary Lee, Nadia and I say that it feels surreal to be here and it`s true!

I saw a great presentation today on how to use the tv show the Simpsons in our classes to facilitate taboo subjects such as homophobia or nuclear power energy....it was super entertaining and informative. I can`t wait to use it in my class.

I also saw many presentations on the importance of using proper references and citations in research papers. I guess Scott and I are not the only ones who think it`s important! SO TAKE THAT ADVICE WITH YOU TO THE UNIVERSITY!

I`ll write more tomorrow. It`s bedtime in Montreal, but dinner time in Seattle. I should go now and eat some fresh pacific salmon.

S

I'm the student!

Hi A2,

I hope you are surviving the last days of class. Be nice to Scott, I'm sure he's very tired these days....

I love Seattle. Here you can get 3 extra hours of sleep because of the time change!

The conference is going very well. I've been listening to a number of different presentations from a variety of speakers. It's exciting as a teacher because even we are still students learning of different ways to approach teaching English to our students.

Can you imagine that we are wearing shoes and light spring jackets? It hasn't rained yet today but the sky is clouding over quite a bit. Downtown Seattle is really new. The architecture is great. The shopping looks great too, but that will happen after the conference....

A big hello to you all and I'll write more tomorrow!

Sherry :)

Arrived!

Hi Y`al!

I am putting on my American accent for you! I had a safe trip to Seattle, but it was very LONG. The whole plane was full of English teachers from all over the US and Canada. Funny, but we all look a like with our funny purses and dangling earring..I guess there is some truth to stereotypes...LOL

Well...I`m starving so I`m going to look for a restaurant. It`s cold and rainy here...around 2 degrees.

Thanks to all of you for all your nice words. It means soooooo much to me.

I`ll keep u infomed on how it`s going and you do the same.

Sherry

P.S.

If you need to contact me while I'm away, please use my hotmail account at sherryblok@hotmail.com

S

Congratulations

Hi A2,

We were rushed for an offical goodbye today, so I wanted to take the time to tell you all how proud I am of you. You have all come a long way and accomplished so much over the 10 weeks. We've had many interesting discussions on a variety of topics which enriched our language abilities and opened our minds as individuals. As a teacher, I have also learned a lot from all of you. There is something to be said about what happens during language class. Many of us establish friendships for life with others who normally we would have never met otherwise. You are all so deserving of what you want out of life and I wish you all the very best. Good luck to you all in your final exams - you are in good hands. I will be thinking about you on Friday while you receive your certificates and it is with great disappointment that I won't be there to hand them to you and congratulate you offically.

All the best,

Sherry

Presentations

The presentations are almost over....congratulations to you all!!!

You've had the opportunity to make and listen to presentations on a variety of topics. Even though you've commented on your classmates presentations individually, I'd like you to blog on the experience of presenting in front of your classmates and some general comments on what you thought generally about the presentations.

Thanks!
Sherry

GM Debate

Hi Class,

I wanted to congratulate those of you who did the debate on Friday. I thought you did an excellent job attacking such a complex topic. You were passionate with your arguments! When we compare your English language skills to 9 weeks ago, you have certainly come a long way.

Sherry

P.S. Don't forget about the CELDT comps on the topic, Genetically modified technology should be banned from food production ( or something like that).

Research paper experience

Hi Everyone!

I hope you enjoyed our breakfast this morning, just as much as I did. It was a great way to relax with each other after pouring lots of blood, sweat and tears into our research projects! In your next blog, I'd like you to comment on your experience writing the research paper. How do you feel now that it's over? What was particularly difficult/easy? What did you learn? Is there anything you would do differently if you had to do it all over again?? Just some questions to get you thinking, but in no way, do I want you to limit your blog response to only these questions. I'm looking forward to your comments.

Congratulations!
Sherry

Homework

Hi Class,

Ah....what a relief! Your deadline has been extended to Monday at 10 (sharp!). I encourage you to start working on your presentations after you have submitted your papers, and not to wait until the last minute. As I mentioned in class, I'd like you to refer to pages 276-280 to give you a bit more detail about the presentations. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to blog or email.

In respect to the presentation yesterday by John Vongus, I'd like you to write a summary on your blog. You can summarize the presentation, highlight some key points and even write a short critique. It's your blog.....

Don't give up, we're almost there!

Sherry

Research Project

Just a reminder that your research projects are due on Friday March 2. You want to take advantage of this long weekend to get as much done as possible.
Those of you who are working with me, please feel free to forward your drafts to my email account in a Word attachment. I will do my best to give feedback over the weekend, Monday at the latest.

Have a great weekend ( next weekend you can celebrate!),
Sherry

Discrimination

Hi Class,

The topic of discrimination is an important one. As you have witnessed in the video, the impact of discrimination can change kind-hearted children into little monsters. This study has illustrated that in a given situation even adults can be powerless against the forces of discrimination. I'd like you to explore the notion of racism, discrimination and stereotypes in your blogs.

Peace on Earth!
Sherry

Research Project

Hi!

Just a reminder for you to bring along your books, articles, etc...this week to class because we will be giving you time to work on your papers.

Have a good evening!
Sherry

Research Feedback

Happy Valentine's Day!

Scott and I have broken up the class into two groups. One group will work with Scott for feedback on their research projects and the other with me.

Scott - Jin, Chen, Sean, Ayrin & Hani
Sherry - Gina, Khalid, Isabela, Zhiyi, Julian, Moe, Jung Won, Khloud & Ramy

Now it's time to get writing. Scott will talk to you more about the writing process of the paper on Thursday and over the weekend you'll be responsible to write a few pages.

Let the feedback begin!
Sherry

Improving Academic Performance

Hi Class,

The weeks have been flying by and we are already at our midterm exams. It's important at this time in the session to reflect on your goals and ask yourself, " Am I really doing all I can to achieve them?"

I am going to distribute a handout entitled, "Improving Academic Performance". This hand out provides strategies for students to improve their academic abilities. Please blog on this information.

Study on!
Sherry

Research Project Blog

Hello Class,

You have been researching a topic for your research project over the last week or so. Hopefully you've been able to find some interesting articles, books, etc...to help you develop your "topic" into main ideas. You need to think about how you are going to write about your topic. What type of information is important to include? It isn't until you really start to read a lot on your topic, that you'll start seeing which your direction your project is taking. Your next blog is to present your topic to your classmates and write 2 paragraphs on what you have sofar. This blog is due by Monday and yes, of course, you are expected to react to your classmates blog. I would like you to keep a copy of your blog and put it in your research portfolio.

Have a wonderful weekend reading about your topic!

Sherry

Hello Class,

Today Scott was nice enough to present a lecture he prepared on the topic of male-female communication patterns. As a blog assignment, I'd like you to react to the lecture. Feel free to blog on anything related to the lecture.

Thanks!
Sherry

Blog On Class!

Hi Class,

I've been visiting your blogsites periodically and am really impressed with some of them. Jin, Julian, Khalid and Zhiyi have really incredible sites. I'm happy to see you really getting into the blogs. By visiting your blogs, I feel like I am getting to know you all better by reading your thoughts and seeing the pictures you selected to post.

I can't express the importance of this project enough. So for those of you who haven't started blogging yet, I suggest you get into it soon so we can take our class into a very cool cyberworld!

Tell us what makes you happy. Here are two very important people in my life who make me happy!

Best,

Sherry

Happiness

Are people born happy? What contributes to our happiness? We have an expression that money can't buy happiness. Do you agree with this statement? Some people believe that a strong faith or being part of a loving community can also contribute to happiness.

I would like you to blog on happiness. The above statements and questions are just to get you thinking about happiness. Feel free to take your blog in a different direction if you so choose.

Use this opportunity as a free write. In other words, just write. Don't focus on grammar or spelling. Use the blog as a place where you take chances in writing without being bogged down by the nitty-gritty! Once you have finished your blog, I would like you to read and respond to 2 other blogs posted by classmates.

Sherry :)

Welcome to blogging!

Hello class,

Welcome to blogging! Before you scream, "Not another project, " read on to find out the benefits of blogging. Blogging is a writing/response activity which aims to get students to become more regular readers of current events and to provide a forum in which you can share your writing with a greater audience beyond the teacher as the "evaluator!" You will post your own writing, read each other's writing and respond to their blogs as part of class work.

Try choosing different members of the class as much as possible for each blog assignment.

For your first assignment, you will write a response (1-2 paragraphs) to one of the following questions and then respond to two blogs written by classmates.

1. Do you believe the teacher should be the only evaluator of your writing? How can students benefit from sharing their writing with their peers? Comment on an experience you've had sharing your writing with your peers. Was it valuable?