(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. Students will create a paper that compares the effects of Plessy v Fergusen and Brown v the Board of Education. Students will be required to research their information from SIRS, the website that the school pays for. I will provide time during our block day to use the laptops in the room, so that all students will have equal access to information. At this time, I will also be able to monitor the sites used by the students to obtain their information. Students will relate these court rulings to the case of Rosa Parks, and how her situation would have been different if Plessy v Fergusen had already been overturned. Students will acquire a data base that includes past issues of magazines, newspapers, and reliable sources for both text and pictures. Students will include an image of Rosa Parks taken off the computer. They will use spell check and grammar check to help proofread their paper. Students will use the website < to help them with the works cited page. They will also submit their paper to < and they will submit their originality report with their hard copy. By using this feature, it helps students to think critically, since they must think on their own rather than using someone else's ideas. This service also helps the students to prepare for life, by making them better citizens. They should come away with the realization that ethical practices are expected in their work, and that honesty is a valued trait.Since students at this stage of learning often are terrified of the idea of the format for the Works Cited page, the fact that they can submit their information and have a template assist them takes away a source of fear and lost points because of improper formatting.
(2) Editing: Research indicates that students edit and revise more when writing on a computer than when writing by hand. 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.

One of the causes of the Revolutionary War was that the English put tax on the colonists’ tea. Also, the colonists had to have a tax stamp on much of their printed material. During the War, the Red Coats and Paul Revere were throwing balls over stone walls. The dogs were barking, and the peacocks were crowing. Finally, the colonists won and no longer had to pay taxes.

Delegates from the original 13 states formed a Contented Congress. Among them were Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin, two signers of the Declaration of Independence. Franklin declared, "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Franklin died in 1790. Soon the Constitution of the United States was adopted to secure domestic tranquility.
Abraham Lincoln became the United States’ greatest President. Lincoln's mother died giving birth to him. He was raised in a log cabin, which he built with his own hands. Lincoln said, "In union there is great strength."

Errors I found with the use of a grammar checker.

The causes of the Revolutionary War were 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 stalls. The dogs were barking and peacocks crowing. Finally, the colonists won and no longer had too paid 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.

Errors that may not be detected by the software are:
Homographs (to/two/too) or words that are correctly spelled, but are the wrong words, i.e. “Contented Congress,” “horse divided,” “onion” instead of “union.”
Improperly spelled proper names, i.e. if it was “Pal Revere”
Wrong numbers, i.e. if it was “original 15 states”
Logic errors

(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.
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).
(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.

EMBED Equation.3
EMBED Equation.3 EMBED Equation.3
EMBED Equation.3

(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: 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.

We, the People of the United States, in Order to make this a better united Country, establish fair treatment, insure peace at home, guard all of our citizens, promote the general wellbeing for, and protect all of the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves and our future generations, do lay down and approve 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-
(from dictionary) / tell, pronounce / 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)
Fore-
(from “foreshadow”)
prefix / Latin: “before” / forebode ("a feeling of danger"); foretell (“know beforehand”); forethought (“think about before acting”); foreshorten (“to make shorter, reduce”); forefather ("ancestor")
person
(from “personification”)
root / Latin: “human being” (from Etruscan phersu meaning "mask" / personify (“to embody, typify”); personable ("pleasing in one's person"); chairperson (“one who is in charge of a meeting”); impersonate (“assume the character of another person”); personage (“an outstanding or illustrious person”)
junct-
(from “conjunction”)
root / Latin: “to join” / junction (“a place where to things connect”); juncture (“at this point in time”); adjunct (“some added”); disjuncted (“disjointed or separated”); conjunctivitis (“inflammation of the mucous membrane that lines the eyeball and surface of the eyelids”); jugular comes from the same root!
meta-
(from “metaphor”) prefix / Greek: "changed, altered," / metathesis (“"rhetorical transposition of words,"”); metastasis ("transference, removal, change,"); HYPERLINK "metonymy (“a change of name”); metamorphosis (“a change of body”); metaphysics (“"branch of speculation which deals with the first causes of things,")
pos-
(from “expository”) root / “reveal, explain, set/put forth” / expose (“lay open, set forth”); exposition (“explanation, public display"); posit (“to lay down or assume as a fact or principle”); expound (“put forth, explain”); impose (“to put a burden on”); others: oppose, purpose; propose, depose

Sources: HYPERLINK " HYPERLINK "

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.

HYPERLINK "Denouement comes from the French (dénouement ) meaning "an untying" or an unraveling of the story’s plot. The students can think of the story in the beginning as a ball of twine, which the author slowly shows as one interesting thread (the theme).
Sonnet comes from the Italian meaning “little song.” As a sonnet is a 14-line poem often with meter and rhyme/rhythm, so it could be put to music.
Genre is French meaning “gender” or different kind, and a story that has a specific genre is different from another story or a straight drama. Students can examine what genres are usually considered “male” (“action”) and which are “female” (i.e. romance).
Haiku is a Japanese word for 5-7-5 syllable poems. It means “amusement sentence,” that is, a funny poem. This may help the students daunted by poetry.
Cliché is from French meaning “stereotype.” Stereotype is a printer’s term for something printed twice. (The word cliché may have come from the double-click of a printing press.) So, a cliché is something done before. It is also a shortcut to the familiar.

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.

This already was an activity in my class to illustrate how “Romeo” has become part of our lexicon. I did all their names. There was even a student named “Roman”!
BenjaminHebrewson of the right hand
TeresaGreek (fem for Terence) smooth
AngelinaRussianangel
CoreyGaelicfrom the hollow
NikkiGreek (fem for Nicholas)victory for the people
JoshHebrewJehovah saves
AndrewGreekmanly, strong
Source: HYPERLINK "

(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, 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.

ENCUESTA SOBRE LA DÍA PRIMERA

Nombre ______Fecha ______
1. ¿Qué a gusta usted ser llamado? ______
2. ¿Cuál es su postre favorito o comida rápida (y por qué)? ______
______
3. ¿Cuál es su programa (s) de televisión favorito (y por qué)? ______
______
4. ¿Cuál es la última película buena que usted vio y por qué estaba bien? ______
______
5. ¿Cuál es la última película mala que usted vio y por qué era ello mal? ______
______
6. ¿Cuál es la última cosa que usted lee, es decir historia, artículo, libro, y qué pensó usted en ello? ______
______
7. ¿A quién los grupos de cantantes/música hacen le gusta (y por qué)? ______
______
8. ¿Qué grupos de cantante/música le hacen no como (y por qué)? ______
______
9. ¿Qué los deportes hacen le gusta? ¿Juega usted algún deporte? ¿Tiene usted un equipo favorito? ______
______
10. ¿Cómo haría usted la escuela mejor, además del cierre de ello? ______
______
11. ¿Cómo haría usted la tarea mejor, además de ne pas tener alguno? ______
______
12. ¿Qué a gusta usted hacer con sus amigos? ______
______
13. ¿Qué no a gusta usted hacer con sus amigos? ______
______
14. ¿Tiene usted a algún héroe? ¿Quién y Por qué? ______
______
15. PREGUNTA GRANDE FINAL: ¿qué quisiera usted salir de esta clase?
______
______
______
______
This is the survey I hand out on the first day of class. I translated just the title--“First Day Survey”--in both AltaVista and Free Translation and came up with two different words for survey: “revisión” and “encuesta.” A friend told me the latter was closer to what I needed. Also, originally both translations put “primera” as modifying “survey” and not day, so I had to adjust it. As it is now, it reads “Survey on the First Day.”
Only one cause in this sentence; lower case “t”
War (misspelling)
Double word
Wrong word: “tacks” instead of “tax”
Wrong word: “in” instead of “on”
“Their” pronoun without antecedent
Sentence had incorrect information
Independent prepositional phrase set off by comma, not period
Subject/verb agreement
This sentence makes no sense in context
Comma to separate independent clauses
Indefinite article for new independent clause
Verb for new independent clause
This sentence makes no sense in context
Comma to separate adverbial phrase
Wrong word: “too” instead of “to”
Removed “to”
Wrong word: “taxis” instead of “taxes”
Omitted extra spaces before period
New paragraph—new thought
Need extra space after period
Capitalization at beginning of sentence
Misspelled “Delegates”
Wrong word: “an” instead of “a”
“Among them were” added for clarity
Comma separating independent clause
Misspelled “two”
Wrong word: “singers” instead of “signers”
Misspelled “Franklin”
Comma before quote
Wrong word: “horse” instead of “house”
“and is still dead” superfluous
Omitted extra spaces after period
“Constitution” misspelled
“United States” needs to be capitalized
Wrong word: “hostility” instead of “tranquility”
Added extra space after period
used “United States” instead of “America” for clarity
“President” misspelled
Omitted extra spaces after period
Mother could not have “died in infancy”
New word; Lincoln could not have been born in the a cabin he built
Comma to separate independent clause
Omitted “:”
Capitalize “In” at beginning of quote.
Wrong word: “onion” instead of “union”
Most of this passage was plagiarized from different Websites, such as HYPERLINK "
“War” misspelled
Subject/verb agreement
Double “the”
Period not comma
Wanted to change “stone walls” to a compound word, the wanted to replace that with “stalls”
Comma use
Verb form
Extra spaces before period
Misspelling and capitalization
“A” not “an”
Misspelling
Misspelling
Punctuation with commas
Misspelling
Capitalization
Which or that
Comma before quote
Capitalization

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