Writing Skill: Moving from Old Information to New Information. Beyond the Sentence

(TESOL Worksheets--Writing)

Google Drive Folder HERE

Worksheet: docs, pub

Slideshow: slides, pub

This is a worksheet and slideshow based on the sample text from Beyond the Sentence by Scott Thornbury.  

Ever since I first read that book, I was very impressed by Scott Thornbury's demonstration of how coherence is created in a text by putting old information at the beginning of a sentence, and new information at the end of the sentence.  But I've struggled finding a way to convey this same information to students.  So in the end, I've resorted to just copying Scott Thornbury's explanation.  (Scott Thornbury himself was borrowing the model text on genetics, so hopefully my borrowing from his borrowing is forgivable.)

Procedure:

Prediction task: Ask the students what they know already know about genetics.  Students discuss in groups.  A list is generated on the board.  Then students are given the text, and read to check to see which of their predictions were in the text.

Detailed Comprehension: Students are then given the list of questions about the text, and answer them.

Reference words: students are then given the worksheet with reference words, and identify them.  Feedback as a class.

I then briefly give the students time to discuss in their groups how the text is connected, but my expectations for this part are low.  Basically I just want to try to get them thinking a bit.

Then, I go through the slideshow to show them how the text is connected.

I regret that I wasn't able to think of a way to make this section more student centered.  Like all of my worksheets, this one was produced on a deadline.  (I was rushing to get this ready in the couple hours I had before class.)  If I had more time, or if I ever come back to this activity again, I might try to think of a way to make it more of a guided discovery.

However, as it was, I elicited as much as possible during the slideshow--the sentences come up on animation, so I got my students to tell me how the old information becomes the new information before I showed them on the slideshow.

It worked okay.  My students stuck with me for the most part.

As for follow up activities--there are two follow up activities to this that can be found in the appendixes of Beyond the Sentence--in the photocopiable worksheets section at the end of the book.  If you can get your hands on a copy of the book.

Genetics

The science of genetics explains why living things look and behave as they do.  Advanced animals have two sexes: male and female. Each individual produces sex cells.  If a male and female sex cell join, the female cell grows into a new individual.  Each parent passes on certain characteristics to its offspring.  This process is called heredity.

Heredity works in an amazing way.  Inside every cell are tiny chromosomes, largely made up of a chemical called DNA.  Different parts of each chromosome carry different coded messages.  Each part is called a gene.  The genes carry all the information needed to make a new plant or animal.  They decide its sex and also what characteristics it inherits.

Some inherited characteristics are stronger than others.  They are dominant.  Weaker ones are recessive.  Genes for brown eyes, for example, dominate over the weaker genes for blue eyes.

1. What do we call the science of why living things look and behave as they do?

2. Which kind of animals have 2 sexes?

3. What does each parent pass on to its offspring?

4. What are the chromosomes largely made up of?

5. What are the different parts of the chromosome called?

6. What do we call strong inherited characteristics?

7. What do we call weak inherited characteristics?

Genetics

The science of genetics explains why living things look and behave as (1)they do.  Advanced animals have two sexes: male and female. (2)Each individual produces sex cells.  If a male and female sex cell join, the female cell grows into a new individual.  (3)Each parent passes on certain characteristics to its offspring.  (4)This process is called heredity.

Heredity works in an amazing (5)way.  Inside every cell are tiny chromosomes, largely made up of a chemical called DNA.  Different parts of each chromosome carry different coded messages.  Each part is called a gene.  The genes carry all the information needed to make a new plant or animal.  (6)They decide (7)its sex and also what characteristics (8)it inherits.

Some inherited characteristics are stronger than (9)others.  (10)They are dominant.  Weaker (11)ones are recessive.  Genes for brown eyes, for example, dominate over the weaker genes for blue eyes.

What do the reference words refer to in these sentences?

1. they:

2. Each:

3. Each:

4. This process:

5. way:

6. they:

7. its:

8. it:

9. others:

10. they:

11. ones:

How do each of these sentences connect to each other?

(1)Genetics

(2)The science of genetics explains why living things look and behave as they do.  (3)Advanced animals have two sexes: male and female. (4)Each individual produces sex cells.  (5)If a male and female sex cell join, the female cell grows into a new individual.  (6)Each parent passes on certain characteristics to its offspring.  (7)This process is called heredity.

(8)Heredity works in an amazing way.  (9)Inside every cell are tiny chromosomes, largely made up of a chemical called DNA.  (10)Different parts of each chromosome carry different coded messages. (11)Each part is called a gene.  (12)The genes carry all the information needed to make a new plant or animal.  (13)They decide its sex and also what characteristics it inherits.

(14)Some inherited characteristics are stronger than others.  (15)They are dominant.  (16)Weaker ones are recessive.  (17)Genes for brown eyes, for example, dominate over the weaker genes for blue eyes.

How do each of these sentences connect to each other?

(1)Genetics

(2)The science of genetics explains why living things look and behave as they do.  (3)Advanced animals have two sexes: male and female. (4)Each individual produces sex cells.  (5)If a male and female sex cell join, the female cell grows into a new individual.  (6)Each parent passes on certain characteristics to its offspring.  (7)This process is called heredity.

(8)Heredity works in an amazing way.  (9)Inside every cell are tiny chromosomes, largely made up of a chemical called DNA.  (10)Different parts of each chromosome carry different coded messages. (11)Each part is called a gene.  (12)The genes carry all the information needed to make a new plant or animal.  (13)They decide its sex and also what characteristics it inherits.

(14)Some inherited characteristics are stronger than others.  (15)They are dominant.  (16)Weaker ones are recessive.  (17)Genes for brown eyes, for example, dominate over the weaker genes for blue eyes.

Using Waist Deep In The Big Muddy by Pete Seeger for Verb Complements

(TESOL Worksheets--Word Patterns, Using Songs to Teach Grammar, Transitive and Intransitive)

Google Drive Folder HERE

* Worksheet: docs, pub

* Youtube Video HERE

I used this to supplement the lesson on verb complements for Q Skills 5 Reading and Writing p.146-148.  I'm not entirely happy with this, but like a lot of my worksheets, it was done on a deadline.  (I was rushing to get this done right before class.)  I wanted some sort of context to put the verbs in.  (None was provided by the textbook.)  I thought a short song that told a story might work.  I ended up settling on this song.  

I don't know... I might come back to this someday and see if I can fix it up any.  For the moment, though, here it is.

It was back in nineteen forty-two, I was a member of a good platoon.

We were on maneuvers in Louisiana one night by the light of the moon.

The captain told us to ford a river, That's how it all begun.

We were knee deep in the Big Muddy, the big fool says to push on.

The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure this is the best way back to the base?"

"Sergeant, go on! I forded this river about a mile above this place.

It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging. We'll soon be on dry ground."

We were waist deep in the Big Muddy. The big fool says to push on.

While the Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment, no man will be able to swim."

"Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie," The Captain said to him.

"All we need is a little determination; Men, follow me, I'll lead on."

We were neck deep in the Big Muddy. The big fool says to push on.

All at once, the moon clouded over, We heard a gurgling cry.

A few seconds later, the captain's helmet was all that floated by.

The Sergeant said, "Turn around men! I'm in charge from now on."

And we just made it out of the Big Muddy with the captain dead and gone.

We stripped and dived and found his body stuck in the old quicksand.

I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper than the place he'd once before been.

Another stream had joined the Big Muddy about a half mile from where we'd gone.

We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy when the big fool said to push on.

Well, I'm not going to point any moral, I'll leave that for yourself

Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking, you'd like to keep your health.

But every time I read the papers them old feeling comes on;

We're waist deep in the Big Muddy, the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy, the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep in the Big Muddy, the big fool says to push on.

Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a Tall man will be over his head, 

We're waist deep in the Big Muddy! The big fool says to push on!

Sort these verbs into categories

Verbs followed by an object (transitive)	Verbs followed by 2 objects (ditransitive)	verbs without an object (intransitive)	Verbs followed by a prepositional phrase	Verbs followed by Ving form	other patterns

Sort these verbs into categories

Verbs followed by an object (transitive)	Verbs followed by 2 objects (ditransitive)	verbs without an object (intransitive)	Verbs followed by a prepositional phrase	Verbs followed by Ving form	other patterns

Prefixes (Crossword and Quizlet)

(TESOL Worksheets--Prefixes, Suffixes and Root Words)

Google Drive Folder HERE

* Crossword Puzzle

* Crossword Puzzle Answers

* Quizlet

The crossword and quizlet here uses the prefixes and sample words from Q Skills 5 Reading and Writing p. 114-116, but it could perhaps also be used as a general purpose activity on prefixes.

Books I've Read by Women

If you've been on Twitter, you've probably seen this controversy about men discussing books by women.  (I think it started with this Guardian article: Books by women that every man should read).  The whole discussion is silly, of course.  I think even on Twitter, most of the people discussing it are discussing it ironically.  

The comments are perfection. https://t.co/Ni7ekTPaoM

— Erin Bryant Petty (@ebryantpetty) May 29, 2022

...but, it did get me genuinely curious--what does my percentage look like?  So I thought it would be a fun excuse to go back through my reading list and see.  

For the sake of simplicity, I've included all genres.  (I have a feeling the Twitter discussion is mostly geared towards novels, and not technical books, but it was simpler just to include everything.)  Also for the sake of simplicity, I only counted books that were written by a single author.  (Books that were co-authored by a man and a woman, or even books that were co-authored by 2 women, I didn't count.)

With those caveats, it looks like since I started my book review project, I've read 44 books by women. That's out of (as of this writing) a total of 383 books.  So 9% of my reading.

I'm also ashamed to say a lot of the reviews I've written for these books are somewhat sexist in nature.  (e.g. something along the lines of "the book was pretty sappy and emotional.  I wonder if that was because it was written by a woman.")  I will try to be better in the future.

Below is my list:

A Framework for Task-Based Learning by Jane Willis ,
A World on Fire by Amanda Foreman,
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min
Beloved by Toni Morrison,--Addendum
Caesar by Colleen McCullough

Conspirator: Lenin in Exile by Helen Rappaport,
DC Universe: Inheritance by Devin Grayson
Designing Language Courses: A Guide for Teachers by Kathleen Graves ,

Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault ,
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley ,

Free-Born John by Pauline Gregg,

Funeral Games by Mary Renault,

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling ,
Harry Potter And the Goblet of Fire By J.K. Rowlings
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke ,

Learning One-to-One by Ingrid Wisniewska

Louise Michel by Edith Thomas ,
Napoleon by Leslie McGuire ,

Queen Victoria by Deirdre Sherman ,
Rebels and Traitors by Lindsey Davis, 
Revolutions of 1848 by Priscilla Robertson ,

Shanghai Baby by Zhou Wei Hui

Teaching English as an International Language by Sandra Lee McKay,
Teaching Young Language Learners by Annamaria Pinter,
Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching by Diane Larsen-Freeman [Second Edition]--Revisited ,  

The Butterfly in Amber by Kate Forsyth ,

The Enchanted Castle by Edith Nesbit ,

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay,

The Mousetrap by Agatha Christie,
The October Horse by Colleen McCullough
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, Addendum 

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault, 
The Plum-Rain Scroll by Ruth Manley ,

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy ,
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks ,

The Time of the Dragons by Alice Ekert-Rotholz ,

The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb,

Understanding Second Language Acquisition by Lourdes Ortega

That's been attempted already with Herostratus.

— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) May 30, 2022

For more on Herostratus, see HERE.

In case I'm being opaque, my intended point is that it's impossibly to enforce a ban on mentioning someone's name.  That being said, theoretically Jordan Peterson might be right.  If we could theoretically wave a magic wand so that the shooter's name and identity would be forgotten, perhaps that would stop the malevolent narcissists.  

Now here's a question: When was the last time you heard someone use "second world"?

— Joel Swagman (@JoelswagmanJoel) May 30, 2022

My high school social studies teacher taught us that "first world" and "third world" dates back to Cold War terminology in which the Communist countries were the "second world". But how many people actually know that?

Weekly Reading Vlog #62: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas p.1-6. Plus some graphic novels

(Weekly Reading Vlog)    

Books (14 pages this week)

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass (finished) 2nd Reading: Publisher's Introduction p.i-ix, p.1-6 (14)

Podcasts and Audiobooks: (Not mentioned in the video)

Revolutions Podcast (New Episodes): 10.98- The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: Forward in the USSR

For more information about what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE.

Another episode of Revolutions Podcast out this week: 10.98- The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics: Forward in the USSR

This is another episode in which Mike Duncan includes a lot of different stuff (some episodes can be like that).  There's the international socialist scene, the post World War I diplomatic scene, the final fate of Nestor Makhno, and the political wrangling about the formation of the USSR.

I don't really have a lot to say about this episode other than my usual comments--it was really interesting, and I learned a lot from it.

Other notes:

* Mike compares Stalin to Ben Franklin.  I thought this was interesting.  It adds some balance to the view that the integration of the smaller SSRs into the USSR was Russian hegemony.  

* Mike mentions in this episode that Kerensky was an SR.  I hadn't realized that before I started listening to this podcast.  (Like a lot of people, I had thought Kerensky was one of the liberals, not one of the socialists.)  Although I remember Kerensky being an SR had popped up in the comments section on an episode several months back.  I don't remember Mike himself really making a big deal of Kerensky being an SR during his narrative, however.

Weekly Reading Vlog #61: Book Haul, The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass p.26-44

(Weekly Reading Vlog)    

Books (18 pages this week)

The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass p.26-44 (18)

Podcasts and Audiobooks: (Not mentioned in the video)

Revolutions Podcast (New Episodes): 10.97- The Trial of the SRs: There's no business like show business.

Links to the videos I mentioned:

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon https://youtu.be/t8PInP4oPLg

Walking Street https://youtu.be/1hEpYC6K-G0

Book Street https://youtu.be/2bmHRkV8p_U

For more information about what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE.

Once again, I'm a few days linking to it, but a new episode of Revolutions Podcast came out this week: 10.97- The Trial of the SRs: There's no business like show business.

It's another fascinating episode.  And once again, something I knew almost nothing about.

I had known in vague terms that the SRs had been persecuted by the  Bolsheviks.  (And in fact, I used to bring up the treatment of the SRs as a frequent debating point back in the days lived in Melbourne and used to debate with Trotskyists a lot.)

But I had never known about the details.  And the details of the whole thing were fascinating to learn about.

A point which Mike Duncan really drives home at the end is that these are exactly the kind of show trials that we normally associate with Stalin, but the trial of the SRs occurred in the days of Lenin and Trotsky. 

 

(Although... if I had to make a criticism of this episode, it's that we don't get to hear much about Lenin and Trotsky's involvement.  Everything is just "the Bolsheviks did this or that" instead of mentioning individuals.  Lenin and Trotsky are barely mentioned.  It would have been interesting to hear more about individual names.  How involved was Trotsky in all this?)

Another thing I thought was interesting was when Mike Duncan mentioned that there were 3 competing organizations for the mantle of the 3rd International.  I hadn't known that.  Interesting stuff.  (Mike said he'd get more into it next week, so I'm looking forward to that.)

Other Odds and Ends:

* In the opening add for Audible, Mike Duncan mentioned he is trying to get The Brothers Karamazov finished off his list of books to read before he dies.  I'm happy to say that this is a rare occasion when I'm one step ahead of Mike Duncan.  I read the book (and reviewed) that book back in 2017.

* On the homepage for the podcast, I actually chimed in on the comments this week.

Somebody was pleading with Mike to do the Spanish Civil War next.  He had posted the same comment 3 times (HERE, HERE and HERE).  So I thought maybe somebody better help him out, or he would just keep posting.  So I put into the comments: 

Hi Ashley, here is (to the best of my knowledge) Mike's latest statement on the Spanish Civil War.

https://twitter.com/mikeduncan/status/1502046061308915722

No, but also...yes. https://t.co/LuoNsalRTx

— Mike Duncan (@mikeduncan) March 10, 2022

Revolutions is ending with Russia. But the model is such that in five or ten years I can always just up and decide to do another series. And Spanish Civil War is high on that list.

— Mike Duncan (@mikeduncan) March 10, 2022

I found this video interesting.

File this under:

1)  Yet more evidence that religious belief (or unbelief) is more about your community than it is about logic--see HERE

2) Why humans are so slow to act on global warming, even though the evidence that we are approaching catastrophe is overwhelming.

We’re wired for conformity. That’s why we have to practice dissent. | Todd Rose for Big Think

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon (Nhà thờ chính tòa Đức Bà Sài Gòn), District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

(Travelogues--Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City)

(For more information about these videos, see HERE)

Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon (Nhà thờ chính tòa Đức Bà Sài Gòn), District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Links to other videos mentioned:

My tour of book street: https://youtu.be/2bmHRkV8p_U

My tour of Turtle Lake: https://youtu.be/jrzUXmr81sY

My tour of walking street: https://youtu.be/1hEpYC6K-G0

My reviews of books on the Paris Commune: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOY-0V_l_9x5Le39NkF8-UqDOZM2t0xxk

Weekly Reading Vlog #60: The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass p.1-26

(Weekly Reading Vlog)    

Books (26 pages this week)

The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass p.1-26 (26)

Podcasts and Audiobooks: (Not mentioned in the video)

Revolutions Podcast (New Episodes): 10.96- Starving To Death: You know we're covering an upbeat period of history when the title of the episode is "Starving To Death"

Links to stuff I mentioned in the video:

Links to my started video for this book: https://youtu.be/3SIRWXPqaM4

From William's Library: Original Tag: Fictional Universes Tag (rabbit hole tag?) https://youtu.be/fKvFaRcVqu0

For more information about what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE.

Once again, I'm a few days late on this (it's been another busy week), but there's a new episode of Revolutions Podcast out: 10.96- Starving To Death: You know we're covering an upbeat period of history when the title of the episode is "Starving To Death"

As the subtitle indicates, it's a depressing episode of history.  And yet, as always, I learned so many things from this episode that I found it interesting in spite of its grim subject matter.

As Mike Duncan emphasizes at the end of this episode, the really fascinating thing about all of this is how it was ultimately Herbert Hoover and the Americans who saved the Soviet Union!  That's something that seems to have been forgotten about during the decades of enmity during the cold war.

Other Random Thoughts:

* The description of the horror of famine in this episode scares me a bit.  Especially since I've been reading a lot about the speculation of crop failures in my own lifetime due to Climate Change.  (I really hope it never comes to that, but from everything I've been reading, it seems like it's a possibility if humanity doesn't get its act together.)

* Mike Duncan repeats in this episode something that he said last episode--there are only a few more episodes left in this series.  But based on what he outlined, the remaining episodes sound like they're going to be really fascinating.  Sounds like he's going to cover everything I hoped he would cover, but just pick up the pace a little bit.  

* Mike Duncan was a few days late in getting this episode out this week, as he explained about HERE and HERE 

Hey friends, had a Personal Thing unexpectedly hit this week that consumed way more of my mental bandwidth than allowed for making a good episode on time. All is well, nothing grave, but fair warning I'm looking at the state of things and Ep. 10.96 aint gonna be out on time.

— Mike Duncan (@mikeduncan) May 6, 2022

Started: The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass

Started: The Wayfarer Redemption by Sara Douglass

The previous video(Weekly Reading Vlog): https://youtu.be/SJbwQapIvkY

The vlog in which I talked about buying this book: https://youtu.be/ENezhABKhWo

My video tour of Book Street (where I bought this book): https://youtu.be/2bmHRkV8p_U

Weekly Reading Vlog #59: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass p.50-122, The Magic of Oz

(Weekly Reading Vlog)

    

Books (132 pages this week)

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass p.50-122 (finished) (72)

The Magic of Oz by L. Frank Baum p.1336-1396 (finished) (from The Complete Stories of Oz) (60) 

Podcasts and Audiobooks: (Not mentioned in the video)

Revolutions Season 3: The French Revolution 3rd Listening From: The Insurrection of August 10th To: 3.25- The National Convention (from Revolutions Podcast)

Links to stuff I mentioned in the video:

My video review of 300: https://youtu.be/uRIbT4_VKfE

My written review of The Little Prince: http://joelswagman.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-little-prince-by-antoine-de-saint.html

Dane's review of The Magic of Oz: https://youtu.be/vh7Wnr72H80

For more information about what this is and why I'm doing it, see HERE.