Lab Activities 29th March

Dear students,

Today's session will consist of the following.

Part 1: Creation and setting of your blog. 

1. Create your blog. 
1. Please ensure it is set in English.
2. Remember to use your first and given name in the web address and your name in the title. You may then add your personal touch to it.
3. Make sure that the time zone is adjusted to Santiago. 
2. Post your first entry with a brief presentation of yourself. You can include the things you like to do in your free time, music or movies you like it, etc.
3. Write your address on the board, so you can start following your classmates' blogs. The idea is to have everyone linked with each other.

Part 2: Writing

1. On our Thursday class, we started to create a paragraph by brainstorming, classifying ideas by topics and/or similarity. 
2. In your blog entry, include the ideas you brainstormed in your groups, and how you titled them.
3. Write your paragraph. 

Part 3: Interacting with your classmates' blogs

1. Post your observations, comments and opinions about your classmates' paragraphs in their comment boxes. Please be respectful. Feedback from peers has to be concentrated on content. 
2. What should/can I say about my classmates' paragraph? Follow these steps!
1. Content / Coherence / Cohesion: Does the text flow? Are there choppy sentences?
2. Can it be understood by any audience? Does it provide a clear and straightforward context? 
3. Look at the Inverted Pyramid Writing picture. Does it follow the example?
4. Another way to think of a paragraph is as a hamburger. In order to make a delicious one, everything has to be in the right place!

(If there is enough time!) Part 4: Sharing links with your classmates
Google websites with reading comprehension exercises. Explore them and try them out.
Post one link to virtual. Say why that particular link was useful to you (colourful, interactive, user-friendly, etc...)

Homework:
Please don't forget to fill out the survey posted in the blog. It is really important for us!

Good websites to practice Reading & Writing

Check this websites out!

Reading

Ghost stories (different levels)

News from 2008 with help for new words

Online PET (B1) quiz:

FCE (B2) reading tests

Writing

PET (B1) practice

PET (B1) writing: sentence transformation

A WONDERFUL site that lets you practice good paragraph writing

Course expectation survey

Dear all,

In our first class, we discussed about what reading and writing was for you all.
It is very important for us to have your personal impressions about it.

Please fill out this survey to know your opinions and feelings and especially your expectations for this semester about this course.

Thank you!

Welcome you all

Dear Language I - Section 3 students,

Welcome you all to our Reading and Writing blog!

First of all, create your own blog by accessing your gmail account, and opening www.blogspot.com, and follow the steps.

Start following this blog. It is important that your blog has your name in it in both the title and the presentation, so we know who is who.
Please make sure that both your gmail and your blog are in English.

In this blog, you will find our lab activities published every week, and extra features you need for improving your reading and writing skills.

Why having a course blog?


Reading and writing are related to technology very much. Most of the things we read and write are in front of a screen and a keyboard. A blog, then, allows you to interact and learn from others.

Formative assessment and evidence of your learning.
Also, a blog keeps track of your own learning, and others can give you feedback about how your reading and writing skills are making progress. These require a lot of time and patience, so you will see how you are improving, little by little, by seeing your entries along time.
You will then be able to look at your blog at the end of the semester, of your first year or at the end of your training and be surprised of your learning!


Once again, feel welcome and make the most of this site for your own learning!