HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Have a great break and a happy new year, everybody! 

Journal Question #7

If you could design your perfect school, what would it look like?  Think about daily schedule and yearly schedule.  When should the school day start and end?  How many classes should you have every day?  How long should each class period be?  How about curriculum: what kinds of subjects should students take?  What about online classes?  Should sports teams be a part of or separate from school?  How about clubs and other extracurricular activities?  Is your perfect school residential or day, or a combination?  Share your ideas!
 

Journal Question #6

The cold weather is coming, and many people love to curl up with a good book when it's cold outside.  Today, of course, you can read on digital devices - iPhone, iPad, Laptop, Kindle... - so instead of books printed on paper and bound by cloth covers, you have your personal device and turn on your ebook.  What's your opinion of ebooks and digital reading compared to traditional paper, cloth and ink books?  What are some advantages and disadvantages of both types of reading?  Of course, maybe you don't read anyway so you don't care one way or another!  Share your thoughts.

Journal Question #5

 

November is a month for eating well.  The weather is getting colder, all the crops have been harvested, and America's greatest food celebration - Thanksgiving - occurs.  So it's a good time to think about the food we eat: What's your favorite food?  Have your tastes changed over the years?  Is there a food you like because it reminds you of someone or some place?  While you are here in America, is there a food you can't get that you miss a lot?

Journal Question #4

  

Do you like to be scared?  For example, do you watch scary movies and TV shows, go to haunted houses, listen or tell ghost stories, go on scary rides at amusement parks, or take walks at night in scary places (e.g., cemeteries)?  If you do any or all of these things, why?  Is it fun to scream out loud?  As Halloween approaches, there's lot of opportunity to scare and be scared.  Will you participate in the scary stuff, or sit it out?   

Journal Question #3

I hope you have noticed that the leaves have turned color in the last few weeks in Maine, especially maple leaves like the ones pictured above.  Have you taken a walk in the woods, or on a road with lots of beautiful trees on it?  I know many of you spend your free time indoors, catching up on sleep and homework and playing video games, but I urge you all to get outside.  There are all sorts of benefits from taking a walk, from getting fresh air to seeing wonderful sights to exercising your body. Do you enjoy the outdoors?  Is there a walk you have discovered since coming to Saco that you can share with others?  How about at your home - do you have some favorite walks there?

Journal Question #2

The Homecoming Dance is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I am encouraging students to go and "cut the rug" (slang for dance).  It's true that High School is about classes and tests and getting ready for college.  But it's also true that High School is about socializing with your peers (friends and acquaintances your age) and having a good time.  For that reason, I'm offering extra credit on a coming quiz to any student who shows me a picture of themselves dancing at the Homecoming Dance.  So, get out your dancing shoes and cha-cha-cha!  In the meantime, what do you think about high school dances and parties?  Are they important to you?  Why or why not?

Journal Question #1

Three goals that I have for this school year is to 1) Learn how to use the iPad to help students practice and use English structures, vocabulary, and texts, 2) Lead fun, surprising, and productive ELL II and III classes, and 3) Get to know my teaching colleagues  better and increase my collaboration with them.  How about you?  What are three goals that you have as you start the school year at TA?  (They don't all have to be academic.)  Share them with your classmates. Ms. Englund, and me.

Journal # 18

 

This is a painting by the American artist Edward Hopper, called "Rooms by the Sea."  I put it on the ELL Journal a couple of years ago at the end of the year, and it seems appropriate to have it illustrate this year's final journal.  For me, the work looks ahead and behind at the same time, and that's what I want you to do: look ahead to your summer vacation, but also look behind to the year you have spent at TA.  What will you remember from the school year, 2013-2014?  What are you looking forward to as you get ready to go home?  Write whatever comes to mind: the good, the bad, the interesting, the scary... 

Journal Question #17

 

Today is Mother's Day (May 11).  Also, we have been reading stories about family relationships in ELL III.  So, think about families.  First, what is a family?  Must it have two parents?  Children? A mother?  Next, why are families important, both to individuals and to society?    How do they stay the same over time and how do they change?  Can you imagine life without your family?  You can write about your own family, if you wish, or families in general.

Journal Question #16

I like to watch tennis.  More importantly, I like to play tennis.  In fact, watching tennis makes me want to play tennis.  Do you have a sport or other activity that you like to both watch and play/do?  These days, students tell me there are NBA playoffs, NHL (Hockey) playoffs, and Soccer (or Football) Championships going on.  If you like to watch those games, do they make you want to go out and play?  More generally, does watching great athletes or hearing great musicians or looking at great paintings inspire your efforts in athletics, music, and art?

Journal Question #15

Tests.  They are a fact of life for students.  In May, Juniors at TA will be taking SAT tests.  A lot of you have already taken the TOEFL test - at least once.  All Sophomores and Juniors took the PSATs in the fall.  Of course, you also take tests in your high school subjects, including ELL (though I call them quizzes).  So, here's your chance to give your opinion on tests: are they necessary?  Do they help you learn?  Do they stress you out?  Would you learn just as well without them?

Journal Question #14

 

Here's the Earth seen from space.  Seen from this perspective, the home of humans seems small, even insignificant.  All of history - its inventions, wonders, art, achievement, on the one hand; its wars, hunger, disease, and destruction, on the other - well, all of it seems somehow less important in this context.   What thoughts come to your mind when you view a picture like this?

Journal Question #13

 

Computers, cell phones, video games, iPhones, iPads, iPods...  We are constantly "connected" these days to one personal electronic device or another.  It's difficult to remember that, not that long ago, none of these devices existed!  Do you ever try to disconnect?  For example, have you tried leaving your room without any device and, say, taking a walk with a friend?  Are there any dangers to all these PEDs that take up so much of our time?  Can you imagine a life without them?

Journal Question #12

I went to an exhibit by the French artist Celeste Boursier-Mougenot called "from here to ear."  In a large room in the Peabody-Essex Museum in Salem, MA, the artist has installed 70 Zebra Finches - a small bird from Australia - and placed amplified guitars and basses around the room.  The birds land on the guitars and produce a kind of music, random and disorganized, but strangely melodic nonetheless.  The birds also chirp, contributing to the overall sound in the room.  20 people at a time are allowed into the room to experience "from here to ear."  It's visually and aurally fascinating, unlike anything I've seen and heard before.  Does this sort of exhibit interest you?  Do you think it is art in the same way that a painting by Van Gogh or a composition of Beethoven's is art?  What is your definition of art?

Journal Question 11

President's Day honors two of America's greatest presidents, both born in February: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln (pictured).  Lincoln was president during the American Civil War (1860-1865), which was fought in large part over the issue of slavery.  His Emancipation Proclamation, made during the war, freed all slaves.  Lincoln's determination to keep the United States one nation came at the cost of his own life, as he was assassinated after the Civil War ended.  What, in your opinion, makes a great leader?  Is there a leader - either from your country or another one - that you especially admire?  Why?

Journal Question #10

The Winter Olympics are about to begin.  This year, they will be held in Sochi, Russia.  Skiers, skaters, lugers, tobogganers, curlers, biathletes, and other athletes from around the world will compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals.  Do you have a favorite event that you like to watch?  Is there a particular athlete that you'll be cheering for?  Or will you pay no attention to the Olympics?  What do you think of the games - can they help make the world more peaceful?  Or do they make no difference?

Journal Question #9

On Monday, January 20th, Americans will celebrate the great civil rights leader and nonviolent activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King brought about great change in America through his eloquent words and peaceful demonstrations, proving that violence and hatred were unnecessary and  counterproductive elements in the struggle for a better world.  Do you believe that conflict can be solved peacefully in most or even all situations?  Or is war and violence a part of human nature and thus unavoidable?