...Readings in Fiction First Paper January 28, 2014 When analyzing the cultural history of the United States, it helps to first look at the novels written from a specific time period. The first three novels read in this class, McTeague, The Great Gatsby, and The Sun Also Rises, help to demonstrate how the people of this nation reacted to the fast paced changes that spanned from the late 1890s through the 1920s. Throughout this paper I will show how each of these novels reflected the evolution of American culture through the stories they told. At the turn of the century, American culture started to see a large shift of people attempting to expand their horizons. Before this time, if your father was a farmer you would most likely be a farmer. The same goes for many other professions. When someone did take a different path than their parents, it was still in similar work. For example, the son of a miner may become a black smith. The core work is different; however it still involves some sort of manual trade labor. When the 1900s came around sons would try to break away from their family’s tradition of work. Instead of becoming a car boy, sons would become printing apprentices. Or in the case of McTeague, the son of a miner would go on to become a dentist. This was the trend of the time, people trying to create their own destinies. The Novel McTeague tells a story of this search for a new destiny, but in a way that depicts this pursuit as futile. This is because McTeague is a naturalistic...
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...Literacy: The Skill Worth Obtaining Ever since I was a tiny first grader, reading was something that was never my favorite activity in the world. Sure, we would all sit on the rug and listen to our teacher read a story, but my favorite part was when it was over. For a long time, reading was a subject that I respected, but I never had a great desire for it. The journey I’ve made from sitting on that rug with my first-grade class to now is something that I’m appreciative of, and that journey is remarkable to look back on. Expectedly, I’ve had some fond memories and some frustrating ones too. I remember in first grade, I would read so rapidly that once I had finished reading a passage, I didn’t even understand what I had just read. Of course,...
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...Discovering through Literacy Literacy has continued to expand my worldview, while allowing me to both express myself and understand my introverted brother more. I found literacy to be the key to an enriched life, full of learning new perspectives that previously I was unaware of. I feel as if reading and writing marked a turning point in my life as I developed the skills to understand myself and others in greater depths. From listening to stories from my parents, to being inspired to express my thoughts through a journal, and my brother being greatly involved with reading, people have continued to encourage my development in reading and writing. When I was younger, my mom read the book The Windigos Return to my brother and I. This book had...
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...years ago, that was something I would say on a daily basis. I despised books. The sight of thick hardbound books to an extent scared me. Whenever I saw anyone I knew picking out one of those thick books which wasn't a comic, all I did was ask them how they could go through reading the entire book without completely losing interest and getting 'bored'. While most people in around me read and discussed fantasy books such as 'Harry Potter', 'Artemis Fowl', 'Percy Jackson' etc. with such enthusiasm and zeal, all I could do was wonder how they could read hundreds of pages of printed text in tiny fonts without getting frustrated. I could not comprehend how reading hundreds of pages could in any way be more fascinating than watching a movie adaptation of the same content which saves hours of time and also allows you to live through the entire experience in a fast-paced well directed and acted version of it. It all changed completely three years ago. I have had a certain obsession to taking up as many challenges as I could possibly have from any and every person I have known. If anyone ever dared me to do an attainable task, I could never turn them down. One such challenge I received was to read an entire fiction book series of at least 6 books. After a period of discussion it was finally decided that it should be a classic series for my first and it ended up being Harry Potter on popular demand. This challenge eventually ended up being one of the few challenges I ever had to encounter...
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...National Reading Strategy February 2008 All rights reserved. You may copy material from this publication for use in non-profit education programmes if you acknowledge the source. For use in publications, please get the written permission of the Department of Education. Department of Education Sol Plaatje House 123 Schoeman Street PRETORIA Private Bag X895 PRETORIA 0001 ISBN 177018-062-1 1 Acknowledgements The Department of Education (DoE) wishes to acknowledge the following individuals and organization who contributed in the development of National Reading Strategy: 2 Contents Page numbers 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2. Why improve reading? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3. The situation in South Africa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4. Specific challenges in implementing the National Reading Strategy . . . . . 8 i) Teacher competency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ii) Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 iii) Teaching conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 iv) Print environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 v) Language issues ...
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...thing else that they can visually see. Then some people prefer it if they have its said to them for example they would rather someone else read a book to them than them read a book to themselves. Another way to keep children interested is for them to read and wright, they prefer for information to be written and then enjoy reading the news, books, magazines, etc. They also will enjoy writing a short story about something they are really into. Lastly theres people who prefer doing and always having a hands on approach. depending...
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...[pic] JPPSS ELA COURSE GUIDE 2011-2012 ENGLISH I The JPPSS Instructional Sequence Guides are aligned with the LA Comprehensive Curriculum. JPPSS Implementation of Activities in the Classroom Incorporation of activities into lesson plans is critical to the successful implementation of the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum. The Comprehensive Curriculum indicates one way to align instruction with Louisiana standards, benchmarks, and grade-level expectations. The curriculum is aligned with state content standards, as defined by grade-level expectations (GLEs), and organized into coherent, time-bound units with sample activities and classroom assessments to guide teaching and learning. The units in the curriculum have been arranged so that the content to be assessed will be taught before the state testing dates. While teachers may substitute equivalent activities and assessments based on the instructional needs, learning styles, and interests of their students, the Comprehensive Curriculum should be a primary resource when planning instruction. Grade level expectations—not the textbook—should determine the content to be taught. Textbooks and other instructional materials should be used as resource in teaching the grade level expectations...
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...Extensive Reading: Why? and How? Timothy Bell timothy [at] hsc.kuniv.edu.kw Kuwait University ------------------------------------------------- Abstract An extensive reading program was established for elementary level language learners at the British Council Language Center in Sanaa, Yemen. Research evidence for the use of such programs in EFL/ESL contexts is presented, emphasizing the benefits of this type of input for students' English language learning and skills development. Practical advice is then offered to teachers worldwide on ways to encourage learners to engage in a focused and motivating reading program with the potential to lead students along a path to independence and resourcefulness in their reading and language learning. ------------------------------------------------- Introduction: The Reading Program An extensive reading program was established at the British Council Language Center in Sanaa, Yemen. An elementary level class of government employees (age range 17-42) was exposed to a regime of graded readers, which was integrated into normal classroom teaching. Students followed a class reader, had access to a class library of graded readers, and had classes in the British Council library, which gave them access to a collection of 2000 titles. Questionnaires were used to examine students' reading interests, habits and attitudes, both prior to, and following the program. The class library contained 141 titles in the published readers of some major publishers...
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...72-76 Poor Study Habit as an Educational Problem Among University Undergraduates In The Contemporary Times And Effective Management Strategies DR.O.O.PITAN . 1, School Of Education . National Open University Of Nigeria. Lagos, Nigeria ABSTRACT :Educational problems are multifaceted and are hindering factors that inhibit the maximal realization of learners’ endowment. These problems could be leaner–resident, school–resident, home-resident or societal–resident. One of the consequences of these problems is academic underachievement and academic failure caused by poor or improper study habit. On the part of the affected students, ethological suggestions to motivate them for achievement and psycho-stimulants to develop their reading skills can be of use in reducing the effect of this educational problem, poor study habit. Studies have established the prevalence of poor study habit among the University undergraduates, which has led to poor performance in home assignments as well as in examinations. Hence, this study focuses on the factors that are capable of precipitating poor study habit which aggravate into educational problems and how they can be effectively managed to increase the level of academic achievement in the average undergraduate .The reduction effect will go a long way to build a nation where mediocrity will soon become a thing of the past. Integrity, as a value, will be further established as examination malpractice will be highly curbed in our...
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...ARTICLES Motivating and engaging students in reading Jenna Cambria John T. Guthrie LJjdvcrsLiv û", J ou can certainly ignore motivation if you choose. But if you do, you maybe neglecting the most important part of reading. There are two sides to reading. On one side are the skills which include phonemic awareness, phonics, word recognition, vocabulary, and simple comprehension. On the other side is the will to read. A good reader has both skill and will. In the "will" part, we are talking about motivation to read. This describes children's enjoyments, their wants, and their behaviors surrounding reading. A student with skill may be capable, but without will, she cannot become a reader. It is her will power that determines whether she reads widely and frequently and grows into a student who enjoys and benefits from literacy. So we think you should care about motivation because it is the other half of reading. Sadly, it is the neglected half. Y What is motivation? Many teachers think of a motivated reader as a student who is having fun while reading. This may be true, but there are many forms of motivation that might not be related to fun and excitement. What we mean by motivation are the values, beliefs, and behaviors surrounding reading for an individual. Some productive values and beliefs may lead to excitement, yet other values may lead to determined hard work. We talk about three powerful motivations that drive students' reading. They operate in school and out of school, and...
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...Rodriguez (2007) and Mikulecky (2011) are intensive advocates of the effectiveness of extensive reading. As Mikulecky describes, extensive reading involves reading large amounts of texts outside the class. The objective is to get students to enjoy them and develop a long-term desire to read. Because reading should be a pleasurable activity, capturing the students’ interest is key. Students should choose their books, and these should be at a level appropriate to their reading ability. The focus of attention is on the meaning and not on the form. Both Rodriguez and Mikulecky agree on the multifold gains of extensive reading. They both agree that students improve their reading comprehension and fluency, in addition to their writing, vocabulary...
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... These dates are designed to acknowledge that some applicants are also pursuing other options for further study, and may need to make decisions early in the academic cycle, while other mature students may prefer to complete a prior course of study in 2012/13, such as the English Department’s Reading English Literature course, before applying to the degree. You are advised to read the information in this pack carefully before completing your application. Please address any questions about the application process or the degree to Gareth Griffith on gareth.griffith@bristol.ac.uk Aims of the course: The undergraduate degree in English Literature and Community Engagement is offered part-time over six years and is taught one evening per week plus occasional Saturdays. It aims to develop a student’s interest in, and knowledge and understanding of, a full range of literature in English. The programme reflects the English Department’s wider commitment to maintaining a balance between established traditions of literary study and the latest developments in the subject. A variety of approaches to literature will be introduced and students will have opportunities to develop skills in reading and in critical writing. The aim is that students should acquire relevant conceptual awareness, and a sense of the history, chronological development and contexts of literature and its various phases and modes, without passively...
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...title of a book by Cris Tovani but more of that later! I want to explore why I feel that Ken Rowe’s literacy report misses the complexity of literacy development in young people– at least from my secondary perspective. Of course he covers some bases and on the surface suggests a balanced approach. He is also right that teachers need to be better educated about reading practices. However, the emphasis on phonics which has been widely reported in the media appears disproportionate to its usefulness. Some students can manage to read and spell without phonics so why do we need to occupy their brains with phonemes or phonic practices. Others need them. The informed primary teacher differentiates accordingly. What Ken Rowe does not focus on is the literacy needs of young people in secondary schools where decoding is less of a problem than comprehension. For many students reading is meaningless – particularly fiction. The Four Resource Model of Allan Luke and Peter Freebody[2] outlines what students need to do as they read: Effective literacy draws on a repertoire of practices that allow learners, as they engage in reading and writing activities, to: • break the code of texts: recognising and using the fundamental features and architecture of written texts including: alphabet, sounds in words, spelling, conventions and patterns of sentence structure and text • participate in the meanings of text: understanding and composing meaningful written, visual...
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...Students’ reading choices should not be limited by a number, a letter or a color code. How refreshing to read this in Reading Nonfiction: Notice & Note Stances, Signposts, and Strategies by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. Text selection for students is often driven by numbers or letters based on a test. The authors discussed in depth factors connected with readability, complexity and rigor. “Reducing text complexity to a formula based on sentence length and word frequency isn’t the solution. The next time someone requires that you use a Lexile number to match a child with a book, encourage a conversation about the efficacy of this as a sole measure.” Thank you for discussing text selection and the complexities that are a part of the process. Schools often strive for rigor and at times base it on the level of Lexile. “When districts tell us that they couldn’t use this text because it would be “too easy” and they must “raise the rigor,” we remind them that rigor is about relevance and not about a Lexile score.”...
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...What factors affect reading? | | | | | | * A non-encouraging reading home environment * A non-encouraging reading classroom environment * Vision problems * Lack of interest in the book * Hearing - Speech impedement, Hard of Hearing, or deafness * Lack of background knowledge * Lack of strong vocabulary base * Gender * Intelligence with the ability to 1) learn, 2) problem solve, or 3) see relationships in reading * Language differences/Dialect/Cultural difference | | In Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Snow, Burns, & Griffin (1998) presented a synthesis of research on the conditions that contribute to successful reading. The authors identified the following factors as predictors of success and failure in reading: Physical and Clinical Factors | Predictors of School Entry | Acquired Knowledge of Literacy | Family-based Risk Factors | Neighborhood, Community, and School-based Factors | Cognitive deficienciesHearing problemsEarly language impairmentAttention deficit/hyperactivity disordersVision problems | Acquired proficiency in languageVerbal memoryLexical and syntactic skillsOverall languagePhonological awarenessOral Vocabulary | Reading readinessLetter identificationConcepts of printPhonemic awareness | Family history of reading difficultiesHome literacy environmentOpportunities for verbal interactionHome language other than EnglishUse of a nonstandard dialect of English in the homeSocioeconomic status | Environmental...
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