RT: #octubre 2014

English — [STORY] Butterflies ~ by Patricia Grace - MP3 [Analysis/Activities]

<blockquote>A great story about perspective. The theme of the story is the difference between how we view something depending on our background. <br /><br />Patricia Frances Grace, DCNZM, QSO, (born in Wellington, New Zealand in 1937) is a notable Māori writer of novels, short stories, and children's books. Her first published work, Waiariki (1975) was the first collection of short stories by a Māori woman writer. She has been described as "A key figure in contemporary world literature and in Maori literature in English"</blockquote><br />

<div itemscope> <div style="text-align: center"> <a class="highlightJBM" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/2014/10/butterflies-patricia-grace.html"> <img alt="Butterflies by Patricia Grace - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" border="0" height="199px" itemprop="photo" oncontextmenu="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" oncopy="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVMGGkdahR8BL3PsZeAOTmm-8Sa_nxoO3CzHEE3pFyFg8MNNrZxLrKA34tnDOYuRDw5ZTvq7wxVpbUB8GoBGPDozIC3fG1ZAE6bJO3MxCmMLF8g-wdw_Z0zKAeGh4C7VYfOZJYWYHeWX0G/s600/butterflies-BenjaminMadeira-com.jpg" title="Butterflies by Patricia Grace - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" width="320px" /> </a><br />
<span>Butterflies by Patricia Grace - Photo: illustration</span> </div> </div> <br />

<center><font color="#301CE2"><strong> University studies | <a href="https://plus.google.com/111394417792438554096/about" rel="author" target="_blank"> — Madeirinha — </a> 
<a href="https://plus.google.com/111394417792438554096/posts" rel="publisher" target="_blank"> Benjamin Madeira — </a></strong></font></CENTER> <br /><br />

Prepare an oral presentation where you, in some detail, describe how you would work with this text, focusing on: <br /><br />
 language learning <br />
 ways of reading <br />
 or other perspectives that you find relevant <br /><br />

<h2>Tasks for 'Butterflies' by Patricia Grace </h2><br /><br />

<b>Text chosen:</b> 'Butterflies' by Patricia Grace<br /><br />

<b>Class:</b> Lower secondary school (ungdomsskole) 10th-grade students<br /><br />

<b>Time estimate:</b>  Two two-hour/double class lesson and some homework<br /><br />

<h2>About the author, Patricia Grace: </h2><br /> 
A New Zealand maori writer, Patricia Grace, wrote a very short story about a teacher's response to a Maori child's writing. The teacher is presumably white - "pakeha" as Maori refer to New Zealanders of European (mostly British) descent. <br /><br />

<h2>Summary of ‘Butterflies’ by Patricia Grace </h2> <br /> 
In the story ‘Butterflies’ a young Maori girl living with her grandparents goes to a school where she is taught by a Pakeha teacher. The girl writes a story at school about killing all the butterflies but the teacher tells her "butterflies are beautiful creatures." What the teacher doesn't know is that the girl is killing the butterflies to protect the cabbages her family is growing. When the little girl tells her grandfather what the teacher said, he tells her "your teacher, she buy all her cabbages from the super market, that's why." This symbolizes how Maori and Pakeha are different in their values. This shows a different idea on what it means to them to be Maori. Although this short-story is written in the third person, the story is in the voice of the little girl. <br /><br />

<b>MAIN IDEA:</b><br /> 
The short story "Butterflies" is a thought-provoking piece. In this short-story, “Butterflies”, we are invited to see an aspect of New Zealand in a grain of sand. Patricia Grace's presents different aspects of what it means to be Maori in her stories. An idea she portrays is that Maori are different in their way of doing things and their values. Careful 10th-grade readers will notice that this selection involves a clash of cultures: rural and city, even black and white. Butterflies, to a farmer, are pests that destroy crops, but to a city dweller, they have a romantic quality that symbolizes beauty and change. Topics are familiar to both child and teacher but that have different values to child and teacher. <br /><br />

<h2>Competence aims after grade 10 </h2><br />
Students will be informed why we will be reading this short-story and what the students aim to get out of the reading (see competence aims). The teacher will start by writing the competence aims on the whiteboard. <br /><br />

Competence aims from LK06 for lower secondary school (10th-grade) that are covered by this reading activity are: <br /><br />

<h4>Language learning </h4><br /> 
• use various situations, work methods and strategies to learn English <br /><br />

<h4>Communication </h4><br /> 
• understand spoken and written texts on a variety of topics <br /> 
• read and understand texts of different lengths and genres  <br /><br />

<h4>Culture, society and literature </h4><br /> 
• discuss the way young people live, how they socialise, their views on life and values in (...) English-speaking countries and Norway <br /> 
• describe the situation for some indigenous peoples in English-speaking countries <br />
• read and discuss a representative selection of literary texts from the genres (...) short stories, (...) from the English-speaking world <br />
• prepare and discuss his/her own oral or written texts inspired by literature and art <br /><br />

<h2>Task 1: Pre-reading activity or warm-up </h2><br /><br />

<b>Some ideas:</b> <br /><br />

<h2>BUTTERFLIES PICTURES </h2><br /><br />
Students are asked to study some pictures of various kinds of butterflies and tell what they think of butterflies, and then they can decide what they would do with those butterflies. Each decision must be accompanied by an explanation in English. Students are grouped to compare decisions briefly.  <br /><br />

<h2>SPECULATING ABOUT THE TITLE </h2><br /><br />
Students are told that they are going to read a story called ‘Butterflies’. Can they think what the story is about? They are asked to draw a mind-map when speculating about the title. All suggestions are accepted at this stage. The teacher puts them on the board, while students jot them down in their notebooks. Students’ thinking can be developed when they collaboratively construct meaning during discussions. <br /><br />

<h2>Task 2: Reading or listening in sections </h2><br />

Students read or listen to the first three lines of the story (ending ‘You come straight back after school, straight home here.’). The grandmother has told her granddaughter to hurry up home after school.  The class is asked to recall whether they have read or heard a similar story. It resembles a fairy tale such as ‘Little Red Riding Hood’, in which a little girl goes out of the safety of her home into the big, wild world. Here, a Maori girl goes into the Pakeha world. <br /><br />

<h2>Task 3: Reading or listening in sections </h2><br />
Students keep reading or listening. Now they read the next two lines of the story (ending ‘"Listen to the teacher," she said. "Do what she say"’). The grandmother has told her granddaughter to do whatever her teacher says, and her grandfather will also tell her to obey her teacher.  The class is asked to recall whether they have been given the same advice by a relative in their lives before going to school. It might be that a student points out that the grandmother feels that by advising her granddaughter so, she is less likely to have problems fitting in at school. <br /><br />

<h2>Task 4: Reading or listening in sections </h2><br /> 
Students keep reading or listening stopping at the point at which the little girl will start reading her story written at school. (ending ‘The granddaughter took her book from her schoolbag and opened it’). Each group is asked to discuss a likely ending (that is, they try to work out that the girl’s story is about butterflies). Once an ending has been deduced, students are asked to write it using approximately 130 words. They are advised to study the writer’s style (English dialect) and to bear it in mind. Finally, they read the original ending and compare it with their own efforts. <br /><br />

<h2>Task 5: Follow-up, after reading or listening </h2><br /> 
The end section of the story describes the written story of the girl (ending ‘your teacher, she buy all her cabbages from the supermarket and that's why.’). A response activity is appropriate here in a second lesson class: <br /><br />

Students are put into pairs for an improvised role play. The teacher gives each pair a story-related situation to think about and then act out. Situations include the following: <br /><br />

– Girl and teacher meet in a supermarket shortly after school the same day; she is buying vegetables. <br /> 
– The next-door neighbor talks to the girl when she comes back from school;  the girl tells their neighbor about the story she wrote at school, what is the neighbor’s answer? <br /> 
– The girl’s grandparents meet the teacher downtown; they all talk about the girl’s story; how do they deal with the butterflies’ issue? <br /> 
– Some days later the girl is asked again by her teacher to write a story about butterflies; do students think that she will write the same ending again, why or why not? <br /> 
– Do students think that the next day the girl’s grandparents will ask their granddaughter again to do what her teacher says? <br /><br />

Students prepare their respective sketches and each situation is performed for the rest of the class by volunteering pairs. The teacher monitors for later language repair work, as necessary. <br /><br />

<h2>Task 6: Re-reading the short-story – better comprehension</h2> <br />

All students read the short story again knowing all vocabulary and how it ends, and why it ends that way. <br /><br />

<h2>Conclusion:</h2> <br /> 
One of the many immediate and striking advantages of reading "Butterflies" is that:
It offers a practical length. Patricia Grace has encapsulated experience with a masterly economy of language in her short-story.  It can be read entirely within one class lesson, but if students are going to respond to it on an emotional level we need two class lessons because we need some time for preparation, discussion, and follow-up activities (Collie, p. 167). <br /><br />

I expect my 10th-grade students to read this short-story without stopping to look up every unknown word. In fact, it has few unknown word for their level.
Efferent reading:  we will NOT be reading this short-story to “take away” particular bits of information. In the classroom we will not be interested in this short-story as a butterfly guide to learn more about how butterflies are born, live and die.
With this short-story we will focus on aesthetic reading, which is used to explore the work and oneself. Here, students will be engaged in the experience of reading, itself. I expect the students to be aware of how the ‘qualities of the text’ affect their understanding, appreciation and interpretation of the literature they read and discussed. <br /><br />

It might be that students argued that when the little girl shares her butterfly story in class, she undergoes a moment of awakening as to one's true situation or the transition from innocence to experience, and then students can be asked if it also could be true that her teacher reflects as well on why her student has written her story that way and learn how life is in other parts of the country.<br /> <br /><br />

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<audio preload="auto"></audio>
    <CENTER><div class="track-details"> Patricia Grace: "Butterflies."</div> </CENTER>

<ol>
<li class="playing">
<a alt="Patricia Grace, short-story" data-src="https://archive.org/download/Maripositas/Maripositas.mp3" href="#" title="Patricia Grace, short-story">[Audio] (mp3 file) Patricia Grace, short-story: "Butterflies", 1987 - 3min</a> </li> </ol> </span> </strong> </ul> </div>

<br /> <br />

<div class="citajbm"> The Grandmother plaited her granddaughter's hair and then she said, "Get your lunch. Put it in your bag. Get your apple. You come straight back after school, straight home here. Listen to the teacher," she said. "Do what she say." <br /><br />

Her grandfather was out on the step. He walked down the path with her and out onto the footpath. He said to a neighbor, "Our granddaughter goes to school. She lives with us now." <br /><br />

"She’s fine," the neighbor said. "She's terrific with her two plaits in her hair." <br /><br />

"And clever," the grandfather said. "Writes every day in her book." <br /><br />

"She's fine," the neighbor said. <br /><br />

The grandfather waited with his granddaughter by the crossing and then he said, "Go to school. Listen to the teacher. Do what she say." <br /><br />

When the granddaughter came home from school her grandfather was hoeing around the cabbages. Her grandmother was picking beans. They stopped their work. <br /><br />

"You bring your book home?" the grandmother asked. <br /><br />

"Yes." <br /><br />

"You write your story?" <br /><br />

"Yes." <br /><br />

"What's your story?" <br /><br />

"About the butterflies." <br /><br />

"Get your book then. Read your story." <br /><br />

The granddaughter took her book from her schoolbag and opened it. "I killed all the butterflies," she read. "This is me and this is all the butterflies." <br /><br />

"And your teacher like your story, did she?" <br /><br />

"I don't know." <br /><br />

"What your teacher say?" <br /><br />

"She said butterflies are beautiful creatures. They hatch out and fly in the sun. The butterflies visit all the pretty flowers, she said. They lay their eggs and then they die. You don’t kill butterflies, that’s what she said." <br /><br />

The grandmother and the grandfather were quiet for a long time, and their granddaughter, holding the book, stood quite still in the warm garden. <br /><br />

"Because you see," the grandfather said, "your teacher, she buy all her cabbages from the supermarket and that's why." </div> <br /><br />

<audio preload="auto"></audio>
    <CENTER><div class="track-details"> Patricia Grace: "Electric City and Other Stories."</div> </CENTER>

<ol>
<li class="playing">
<a alt="Patricia Grace, Electric City and Other Stories" data-src="https://archive.org/download/Electric-City/Patricia Grace-Electric-City.mp3" href="#" title="Patricia Grace, Electric City and Other Stories">[Audio] (mp3 file) Patricia Grace, Electric City and Other Stories, 1987 - 133min</a> </li> </ol> </span> </strong> </ul> </div>

<br /> <br />

<div class="JBMCode"> 
<h2>REFERENCES - further reading:</h2><br/><br/>

Collie, Joanne and Stephen Slater (1987) <a alt="Literature in the language classroom" href="http://forum.portal.edu.ro/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=1981556" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Literature in the language classroom"><font color="#FF4000">Literature in the language classroom</font></a>. Cambridge University Press. <br/><br/>

• Grace, Patricia (1987). <a alt="Butterflies. In Electric city and other stories" href="https://chipbruce.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/butterflies.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Butterflies. In Electric city and other stories"><font color="#FF4000">Butterflies. In Electric city and other stories</font></a>. New Zealand: Penguin.  <br /> <br />

• Grace, Patricia. "Kahawai." Electric City and Other Stories (1987) in Collected Stories. Auckland: Penguin, 2001. <br /> <br />

• Iversen, Anniken Telnes (2013) Reading Novels and Short Stories. Anna Birketveit and Gweno Williams (eds.) Literature for the English classroom : theory into practice. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget <br/><br/>

• Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, English Subject Curriculum
<a alt="The Norwegian LK06, in English" href="http://www.udir.no/upload/larerplaner/fastsatte_lareplaner_for_kunnskapsloeftet/english/5/english_subject_curriculum.doc" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Norwegian LK06, in English"><font color="#FF4000">The Norwegian LK06, in English</font></a>; <a alt="The Norwegian LK06, in Norwegian" href="http://data.udir.no/kl06/ENG1-03.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Norwegian LK06, in Norwegian"><font color="#FF4000">The Norwegian LK06, in Norwegian</font></a>  <br/><br/>

• <a alt="An Interview with Patricia Grace" href="http://www.atlantisjournal.org/papers/25_1/109-120_fresno.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="An Interview with Patricia Grace"><font color="#FF4000">An Interview with Patricia Grace</font></a> <br /> <br />

• <a alt="Patricia Grace visits Cannons Creek School" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFs5KaB35ko" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Patricia Grace visits Cannons Creek School"><font color="#FF4000">Patricia Grace visits Cannons Creek School</font></a> (1989)   <br /> <br />

• <a alt="The NZ Transport Agency to appeal ruling on Patricia Grace" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhQEqifJxyA" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The NZ Transport Agency to appeal ruling on Patricia Grace"><font color="#FF4000">The NZ Transport Agency to appeal ruling on Patricia Grace's ancestral land </font></a> <br /><br />

</div>

<div style="text-align: center"><span style="color: #301ce2"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height:15pt"> <a alt="BenjaminMadeira - Videos, mp4, literatura, filosofia, idiomas, pedagogia, musica, mp3, Online" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/search/label/study-notes" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> RT: #Butterflies #ShortStory #English #Literature </font></a> ✔ #Society — #Culture #Education #Children </span></span></div><br/>

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Reading #Butterflies<BR/>
Short Story by Patricia Grace <BR/><BR/>

Assignment Questions:<BR/>
Respond to the following questions in complete sentences.<BR/><BR/>

1.  How do the young girl and her grandparents view butterflies?  How does the teacher view butterflies? <BR/><BR/>

2.  What is the reason for the opposing points of view? <BR/><BR/>

3.  Identify an example of irony in the story.  Discuss how it contributes to the story's meaning. <BR/><BR/>

4.  Is there room for compromise between the teacher's and the grandparents' viewpoints on butterflies? What information would both sides need to come to a resolution? <BR/><BR/>

5.  The grandparents in the story use non-standard grammar. What might this suggest about their background? Why has the author chosen to have them speak this way? How does your understanding of their language usage affect your reading of the story? Do you ever use non-standard grammar in your writing? Why do you use it and what is its effect? <BR/><BR/>

Irony: when a statement or situation means something different from (or even the opposite of) what is expected.<BR/><BR/>

"Butterflies" is a thought-provoking piece. Careful readers will notice that this selection involves a clash of cultures: rural and city, even black and white. Butterflies, to a farmer, are pests that destroy crops, but to a city dweller, they have a romantic quality that symbolizes beauty and change.

Butterflies, by Patricia Grace, told by Riwia Brown
Storytime on Sunday 8 August 2010
http://www.radionz.co.nz/collections/storytime-treasure-chest

Chapter and Verse: Patricia Grace
Originally aired on Arts on Sunday, Sunday 8 November 2009 
An extended interview with novelist and short story writer Patricia Grace.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/player/2121758

http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/art/art-20091108-1440-Chapter_and_Verse_Patricia_Grace-048.mp3 16min

http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/art/art-20091108-1440-Chapter_and_Verse_Patricia_Grace.ogg

"Butterflies" is a short story written by the Maori author Patricia Grace in 1987. The theme of the story is how people with different backgrounds may view things in different ways. Here, people from rural and urban areas have diverse opinions on killing butterflies....

HW #1 -- Personal Butterflies <BR/>
http://profdamato11.blogspot.no/2012/02/hw-1-personal-butterflies.html

Please respond to the following prompt by posting a reply below. <BR/> <BR/>

—Review main idea (too broad, too narrow, just right). Main idea can be, “the thing that gets talked about the most,” or it can be, “the meaning the author wants to communicate.” —Display Think-Along, “Butterflies.”

Main Idea: The point of the story; what the author wants you to learn. Main idea can also be the dominant idea, the subject matter that is most often repeated or developed.

Main ideas can be too broad, too narrow, or just right.

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'Butterflies' by Patricia Grace

COMPARING LIFESTYLES
This is designed to elicit students’ attitude to the central situation in the short story.
Students are asked to think about what life is like for a very poor, illiterate man in a small rural village. What differences would there be between that person’s life and the life of someone who has been educated and lives and works in an urban environment
(their own lives, if that is the case)? This can be done as a general class discussion,
although working in groups often ensures a more evenly distributed participation.

Reading is a process which involves decoding of words and letters (bottom-up processing) as well as construction of meaning (top-down processing).
Various approaches can be used to develop students’ reading skills, such as making predictions, skimming, scanning, interpreting the text, deducing meaning from the content etc. Several of these approaches can be used with both extensive and intensive reading, and might additionally involve both top-down and bottom-up approaches to reading.

both reader and text act upon each other, each mutually contributing to and defining a reciprocal relationship.

In aesthetic reading, a reader ‘adopts an attitude of readiness to attend to what is 
being lived through during the reading event’ (Rosenblatt, 1988, p. 74).

In efferent reading, a reader’s 'attention is focused primarily on what will remain as the residue after the reading' (Rosenblatt, 1978, p.  23), and thus he/she focuses mostly on the public referents of meaning.

Collie, p.167
Rosenblatt, L. (1985). Viewpoints: Transaction versus interaction – a terminological rescue operation. Research in the Teaching of English, 19(1) 96–107.
Rosenblatt, L. (1986). The aesthetic transaction. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 20(4), 122–127.
Rosenblatt, L. (1988). The literary transaction. In P. Demers  (Ed.), The creating word(pp. 66–85). Edmonton, AB:  University of Alberta Press.
Rosenblatt, L. (1994). The transactional theory of reading and writing. I n R. Ruddell, M. Ruddell, & H. Singer (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading(4th ed., pp. 1057–1092). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Rosenblatt states,  “In aesthetic reading, the reader’s attention is centered directly on what he is living through during his relationship with that particular text.” [110, p. 25] 
Extensive reading is related to quantity, to reading for pleasure and enjoyment and to silent reading.
I did this with the book “The dog”.
Now with this short-story “Butterflies” by Patricia Grace it is intended to do Intensive reading which allows more attention to detail, both of language and content. This way of reading is often associated with teacher led reading in the classroom as well as with teacher chosen material. It can be used when studying a course book text or when working on additional material in various genres.

Reading aloud – 
The whole short story, or parts of it, can be read aloud by the teacher and the students can follow the text on print. This kind of shared reading is a way to focus as a group on the text and can be a good way to introduce a short story.

Short Story: ‘Butterflies’
Author: Patricia Grace
 Different views. Butterflies are pests or beautiful.
 "Butterflies are beautiful creatures." 
 "Your teacher, she buy all her cabbages from the super market, that's why."

http://www.vocabulary.com/lists/61693#view=notes

https://soundcloud.com/ubudwritersfest/oct05-0900-lb-the-storytellers-clarrie-cameronishacksonlayjaredthomaspatriciagracechairmargaret-w

Audials One Tunebite Platinum 9.1 Build 1600 [RG-DF]
Audials One 9.0.1600 Portable.rar
116mb
http://dfiles.eu/files/grg6q8wid

http://www.gratisprogramas.org/descargar/audials-one-tunebite-platinum-9-1-build-1600-rg-df/

V9
http://audials.com/forum/index.php?page=Thread&threadID=12227

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The OA presentation on <b>Adobe Connect</b> was a new, but an enriching experience. First of all, I learned a lot from my classmates when sharing their presentations, and also when the feedback-time came. Despite some minor technical issues, it all worked well with all of us, three participans and our wise teacher, <a href="https://takecredit.hf.ntnu.no/user/view.php?id=5&course=21" title="Anja Angelsen" alt="Anja Angelsen" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#FF4000">Anja</font></a>. I never had heard that much about homophony in a single session before. I learned alot about homophones by <a href="https://takecredit.hf.ntnu.no/user/view.php?id=206&course=21" title="Veronica" alt="Veronica" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#FF4000">Veronica</font></a> and <a href="https://takecredit.hf.ntnu.no/user/view.php?id=209&course=21" title="Vidar Letho" alt="Vidar Letho" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#FF4000">Vidar</font></a>. I learned a lot about homophony, and now I have to more webpages I can add to my favorites: <a href="http://www.singularis.ltd.uk/bifroest/misc/homophones-list.html" title="British-English homophones" alt="British-English homophones" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#FF4000">a list of British-English homophones</font></a>, <a href="http://homophonesweakly.blogspot.com/atom.xml?max-results=50" title="Homophones, Weakly" alt="Homophones, Weakly" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#FF4000">Homophones, Weakly</font></a>. If you ever need to learn more about this interesting field, these are the people you have to consult. Their presentation was easy to follow. Their pronunciation was <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSD6RlqHwOk" title="Awesome" alt="Awesome" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#FF4000">awesome</font></a>. <br /><br />

I was the first participant to start our fun and educational assignment. I had eight minutes to share all my findings on the screen. It's like the time you use to watch a short-movie. My presentation was about the topic 'vocabulary'; it was about the word "uncritically". I felt that I was well prepared as I had been working <b>critically</b> with my assignment. <br /><br />

There were a couple of things that did not go as I had planned. When I logged in to Adobe connect and used my mic the other participants got an echo, so I had to mute my microphone each time I stopped talking. That was my disadvantage. The other thing that did not go well was that I had mixed up "derivational morphemes" with "inflectional morphemes", which is now in the right place. Thanks Anja for correcting me. <br /><br />

Despite the technical issue, which was the only thing I found difficult, it was very easy to interact with the rest of participants. I would have liked to have at least 12 minutes so I could show more pics to illustrate my findings. <br /><br />

I have learned two new sentences: "Merry Christmas, Mary. Marry me merrily." <br /><br />

http://www.ucl.ac.uk/internet-grammar/wordclas/open.htm
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English — [STORY] Butterflies ~ by Patricia Grace - MP3 [Analysis/Activities]

A great story about perspective. The theme of the story is the difference between how we view something depending on our background. Patric...

Más información / read more »

English — Morphology - Word derivation: CONSTITUTION

<blockquote>Morphology: Rules on complex word formation.</blockquote><br />

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<div itemscope> <div style="text-align: center"> <a class="highlightJBM" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/2014/09/phonetics-tomayto-tomahto.html"> <img alt="Morphology - English Pronunciation - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" border="0" height="199px" itemprop="photo" oncontextmenu="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" oncopy="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIymVZZ_6ze3TahzTtcN1Zb24R86LdJELWWFP7D007wr4OcCC1GKuqSoyQPkc2hcQyqhe-OGY8VZ4gdUOKujauMjaUwmup4wAsjTQ6E0MM7XYi5NF6xpyqX2BKQckS5AzvSUxHswYMJ2M-/s600/Drawing-BenjaminMadeira-com.jpg" title="Morphology - English Pronunciation - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" width="320px" /> </a><br />
<span>Phonetics, Linguistics - Photo: illustration</span> </div> </div> <br />

• <h2>Write a few words about why/how you chose this particular word </h2> <br />

As I was writing my task on "Power of and Restraints on US President and UK Prime Minister", I went on reading the US Constitution, and that is the reason I chose this noun. My chosen word falls into the category "word derivation" (affixational process) contrary to "word compounding" and "inflection" (grammatical information). <br /> <br />

• <h2>Write the word itself (it should consists of at least four syllables) </h2> <br />

"Constitution" which consists of four syllables (cons-ti-tu-tion). According to the International Phonetic Alphabet, it is pronounced as follows /ˌkɒnstɪ'tju:ʃən/ (GB) and /ˌkɑ:nstə'tu:ʃən/ (US) respectively. <br /> <br />

• <h2>Provide a note on the stress in the word. Where is it placed? </h2> <br />

The stress in the word is on the third syllable "cons-ti-<b>tu</b>-tion", /'tju:/ /'tu:/ <br /> <br />

• <h2>Provide an explanation of the word's meaning </h2><br />

The two main definitions of "constitution" are as follows: <br /> <br />

1) the way in which a thing is composed or made up; makeup; composition<br />
2) the physical character of the body as to strength, health, etc.<br /> <br />

Furthermore, the words "constitution" and "structure" are considered synonyms. <br /> <br />

Additionally: A vigorous person has a strong constitution, but never a "strong structure". A well-built bunker has a strong structure, but never a "strong constitution". <br /> <br />

• <h2>Give a brief account of the origin of the word (etymology) </h2> <br />

The origin of the word dates back to 1350-1400; Middle English: "constitucion" 'law, regulation, edict, ordinance'. It stems also from Latin "constitūtiō". <br /> <br />

The word "constitution" is made up of the verb "to constitute" which means, "to cause to stand together", "to establish","to set up", "to shape" "to create", "to form", "to compose". <br /> <br />

We can use "constitute" as an active verb without preposition. In the US context: "Section I to Section X constitute Article 1", meaning "Section I to Section X are set together to make Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America". <br /> <br />

• <h2>Provide an account of the morphemes that the word consists of, i.e. you should identify the root of the word and the affixes. Also, you should comment on whether the affixes are derivational or inflectional. </h2> <br />

The morphemes (the minimal units of linguistic form) of the word "constitution" is as follows: <br /> <br />

The word <b>"constitution"</b> is built from a free morpheme: <b>"constitute"</b> which is the stem, root, or base, the affix <b>"-tion"</b> and since it follows the stem is suffix. <br /> <br />

<b>"constitute":</b> verb; root, free. <br /> <br />

<b>-tion:</b> (affix) <b>suffix</b> making the verb "constitute" into a noun; <b>bound morpheme</b>, an add-on, meaning that it is a grammatical unit that never occurs by itself, but is always attached to some other morpheme, in this case it is attached to the base morpheme. Furthermore, it is an <b>inflectional morpheme</b>. An <b>inflectional morpheme</b> creates a change in the function of the word. <br /> <br />

<div style="text-align: center"><span style="color: #301ce2"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height:15pt"> <a alt="BenjaminMadeira - Videos, mp4, literatura, filosofia, idiomas, pedagogia, musica, mp3, Online" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/search/label/study-notes" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> RT: #English #Morphology </font></a> ✔ #WordDerivation — #Etymology #Constitute #Constitution </span></span></div><br/>

<div class="JBMCode"> 
<h2>REFERENCES - further reading:</h2><br/><br/>

• Collins English Dictionary (2012) William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986. HarperCollins Publishers <br /> <br />

• Skeat, Walter William (1882) A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, Oxford University Press <br /> <br />

• <a alt="US Constitution" href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CDOC-110hdoc50/pdf/CDOC-110hdoc50.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="US Constitution"><font color="#301ce2">U.S. CONSTITUTION </font></a>. Retrieved from www.gpo.gov on October 2014 <br />

</div>

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OA2, blogpost

Obligatory Assignment 2

OA2 is a blog post. Additionally, you are required to respond to/comment on one of your peers' posts. Your own post should be approximately 200 words. Deadline for your blog post is 15 October. Deadline for the peer comment is 22 October. See the submission instructions below for details on the submission.
Derived words

One of my favourite English words is the adjective abominable.  I do not like it for its meaning, but for the way it sounds.

For Obligatory Assignment 2 (OA2) you should find a derived English word and find out as much as possible about this word. These points should be included in your blog post:

•    The word itself (it should consists of at least four syllables)
•    An explanation of the word’s meaning
•    An account of the morphemes that the word consists of, i.e. you should identify the root of the word and the affixes. Also, you should comment on whether the affixes are derivational or inflectional.
•    A note on the stress in the word. Where is it placed?

You may also want to include:

•    A brief account of the origin of the word (etymology)
•    A few words about why/how you chose this particular word

The post should be presented in full sentences.
Submission instructions

You first submit the blog post and the comment to the course blog, and then, on the 22 October, both blogpost and comment should be submitted as the OA2 . (Just cut and paste the text from one to the other.) Before you submit, take the time to proofread your writing, to check for coherency issues, and to be sure you have clearly addressed the assignment. NB! When you submit the assignment to the blog, please be sure to post it under the topic "OA2" and clearly title your post in order to make finding those posts easier.

"X and Y constitute Z" meaning "X and Y are set together to make Z".

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English — Morphology - Word derivation: CONSTITUTION

Morphology: Rules on complex word formation. Phonetics, Linguistics - Photo: illustration University studies | — Madeirinha ...

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Power of — and Restraints on Presidents and Prime Ministers

<blockquote>Economy: Sir Geoffrey Howe speech draft on trade unions (MT: "the press will crucify you for this").</blockquote><br />

<center><font color="#301CE2"><strong>University | <a href="https://plus.google.com/111394417792438554096/about" rel="author" target="_blank"> — Madeirinha — </a> 
<a href="https://plus.google.com/111394417792438554096/posts" rel="publisher" target="_blank"> Benjamin Madeira — </a></strong></font></CENTER><br /><br />

<div itemscope> <div style="text-align: center"> <a class="highlightJBM" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/2014/10/prime-minister-vs-president.html"> <img alt="UK Prime Minister vs the US President - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" border="0" height="199px" itemprop="photo" oncontextmenu="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" oncopy="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjItpABMRQPe4-Ol6LYZrwaQzuuEDIWTeeY0C9uV8Jxmb4oYs7xpAorbXRLvsWQ_-XAOeYf8EvZM_8DgrU-0f7g1lQdGqKuAqLL46e7qrKDhQG3vn4ZoIIH6YofaRCCsv1xJevglpYTh0mQ/s600/cameron-obama-BenjaminMadeira-com.jpg" title="UK Prime Minister vs the US President - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" width="320px" /> </a><br />
<span>UK Prime Minister vs the US President - Photo: The Guardian UK</span> </div> </div> <br />

'The Iron Lady', <b>Margaret Thatcher</b>, who had won all her three elections, fell from power in 1990 when her Cabinet colleagues lost confidence in her ability to lead them (<b>Howe, 1990</b>). The main quarrels with Thatcher's Cabinet, it is said, were due to an unpopular or hated local tax which she decided to introduce as well as her increasingly anti-European approach. The independent resources or Powers that a UK Prime Minister has, lies in his or her combined role as a <b>Member of Parliament</b>, <b>chief legislator</b>, and <b>commander of a majority</b> within the <b>House of Commons</b> (the lower house of the legislature) (Watts, 2003:83). Indeed, if Margaret Thatcher had not been in this incredibly strong position, she would not have been Prime Minister longer than anyone else in the 20th century. (<b>Watts 2003:68,76</b>; <b>Burns, 1992:10,116-118</b>; <b>Troitiño:Thatcher and the EU</b>; <b>Moore, 2010:The Telegraph</b>; <b>Pearce, 2012:historytoday.com</b>). Both the Prime Minister and President have similar roles within their domestic systems (being "chief executive"). Beyond their executive function, however, the UK Prime Minister's domestic Powers appear to extend further and further ahead of those of the US President. <br /><br />

<h2>Introductory paragraph:</h2><br/>
The introductory paragraph includes a worldwide famous UK Prime Minister in order to get the reader's attention (Margaret Thatcher). The second sentence leads up to the thesis statement ("to have an incredible legislative strength") which is the third sentence. The thesis statement (sentence 3) presents topic of the paper to the reader and provides a mini- outline (Parliament, legislator, House of Commons). The topic is who is more powerful, the UK Prime Minister or the US President? (Watts 2003:82,83) The mini- outline tells the reader that this paper will present a UK Prime Minister stronger than his or her US colleague: (1) UK PM is a member of Parliament, he or she leads the Cabinet (the Executive) which means that the incumbent UK PM wields executive powers. The Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories; (2) the incumbent UK PM wields legislative powers; and (3) the incumbent UK PM commands a majority in the House of Commons, which means that he or she guides the law-making process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The fourth sentence supports the thesis statement of third sentence. The last sentence of the introductory paragraph uses the words "Prime Minister" and "US President" as transitional hooks and at the same time it looks back to the thesis statement of third sentence. <br /><br />

In the <b>British parliamentary system</b>, the executive include the Prime Minister and the Cabinet whom the prime minister picks <b>from Members of Parliament</b>, all of whom are responsible to Parliament. Thus, the Prime Minister is part of the legislature and has party supporters who will usually support the measures he or she introduces. The Prime Minister does not only appoint his or her Cabinet. He or she has patronage elsewhere such as the appointment of junior ministers. Powers of patronage are particularly important, as they provide a carrot for a Prime Minister to dangle before potentially rebellious the House of Commons (<b>Watts, 2003:95</b>). <br /><br />

As the constitution states, "the executive power shall be vested in a President" (<b>U.S. CONST. art. II, § 1, cl. 1</b>), not a President and his cabinet. Even so, the President uses a cabinet, which is narrowly provided for by the US constitution (<b>U.S. CONST. art. II, § 2</b>). In the <b>US presidential systems</b> the President acts as a single executive. In the United States the President appoints Cabinet members to work with him, practically anyone they like (as long as they are approved by the US Senate). In the US <b>neither the President nor his Cabinet officers are members of congress</b> (<b>Watts, 2003:68,83</b>). The President makes Supreme Court nominations, subject to approval by the Senate. The President can sign treaties, subject to ratification by the Senate (<b>Watts, 2003:84</b>). The President is 'Commander in Chief' of the armed forces, whose funding comes from Congress. The president is also chief legislator - Presidents can recommend measures to Congress – and increasingly put forward packages of proposals to Congress, but any legislation must be passed by Congress. Consequently, the President has very little independence, despite being Head of State. <br /><br />

The UK Prime Minister has indeed great political power, but this power is balanced by the fact that there are important constraints on Prime Ministerial power. As we have seen, Margaret Thatcher's case, ironically, the most significant restraint comes from the party he/she represents. Apart from being restrained by his/her own political party, there other factors that weaken the power of a UK Prime Minister, such as work overload, the public opinion, the Media support. <br /><br /> 
 
The Prime Minister's Powers of appointment are limited by the need to provide a balance of party views. The Cabinet must be representative; therefore, when the Prime Minister picks his or her Cabinet he or she must ensure that it contains cross-section of opinion. There must be women, ethnic minorities and people with support amongst wider party (<b>Holmes 2008:435</b>). <br /><br />

There are also constraints placed upon the Prime Minister in his appointment and chairing of Cabinet meetings. The Prime Minister due to his workload is only able to chair a few committees, so Senior Ministerial Colleagues chair the rest, thus reducing the Prime Ministers input in other departments greatly. In this way he or she limits his or her power (<b>Holmes 2008:422</b>).  <br /><br />

One factor which may limit the powers of the Prime Minister is when the public begins to have the opinion that he or she looks weak. Then it takes a lot for his or her reputation to be built again. Another limitation is the media. When a leader loses the confidence of the public and of the media they can become an electoral liability (<b>Holmes 2008:425</b>). <br /><br />

An issue with British politics for the Prime minister is that it has no fixed terms (<b>Watts, 2003:84</b>). This means that the opposition can pressure the Prime Minister to call for a general election at any point they wish, either through the media or by calling a vote of no confidence, where defeat for the government would give an automatic general election. <br /><br />

"The President of the United States of America", may be the quick answer when we ask who is more powerful, a UK Prime Minister or the US President. Even though a UK Prime Minister has unlimited Powers in a number of significant ways, it is he or she who has less restraints within the two political systems. In practice, this means that a Prime Minister can force through almost any legislation, and therefore control British statute. Therefore, any UK Prime Minister can be in a position of incredible legislative strength compared to the US President. Under the British political system there is a unity of powers (<b>Walter, 1867:68</b>) whereas in the United States there is separation of powers. Both Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair were able to push through a welfare reform programme, while Bill Clinton during his presidential terms was not able to do the same in health policy. By comparison, <b>White House powers are more constrained</b> than those from Downing Street. <br /><br />

<div style="text-align: center"><span style="color: #301ce2"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height:15pt"> <a alt="BenjaminMadeira - Videos, mp4, literatura, filosofia, idiomas, pedagogia, musica, mp3, Online" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/search/label/politics" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> RT: #Power #Politics #UnitedStates #UnitedKingdom </font></a> ✔ #PrimeMinister — #President #Culture #Society #BritishPolitics #USApolitics </span></span></div><br/>

<div class="JBMCode"> 
<h2>REFERENCES - further reading:</h2><br/><br/>

• Burns, Danny (1992) <a alt="Poll Tax rebellion" href="https://libcom.org/files/poll-tax-rebellion.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Poll Tax rebellion"><font color="#301ce2">"Poll Tax rebellion".</font></a>  AK Press and Attack 1992.<br /><br />

• Bagehot, Walter (1867) - The English Constitution  (C. A.  Watts and Co Ltd, London, 1964) <br/><br/>

• Holmes, Peter (2008) <a alt="Introducing Politics" href="http://www.polity.co.uk/holmes/chapter/summaries/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Introducing Politics"><font color="#301ce2">Introducing Politics for AS Level </font></a>. Retrieved from polity.co.uk/holmes/chapter/summaries/ on October 2014<br /><br />

• Howe, Geoffrey (1990) <a alt="Resignation speech, House of Commons" href="http://www.newstatesman.com/uk-politics/2010/02/geoffrey-howe-1990-speech" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Resignation speech, House of Commons"><font color="#301ce2">Resignation speech, House of Commons, November 1990. </font></a>. Retrieved from newstatesman.com on October 2014<br /><br />

• Howe, Geoffrey (1990) <a alt="Sir Geoffrey Howe speech draft on trade unions" href="http://fc95d419f4478b3b6e5f-3f71d0fe2b653c4f00f32175760e96e7.r87.cf1.rackcdn.com/C0D51B1CC30C4900940475EA064D5B5E.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Sir Geoffrey Howe speech draft on trade unions"><font color="#301ce2">Economy: Sir Geoffrey Howe speech draft on trade unions. </font></a>. Retrieved from margaretthatcher.org on October 2014<br /><br />

• Moore, Charles (2010) <a alt="A career that did not die in vain" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/8150464/Margaret-Thatchers-resignation-A-career-that-did-not-die-in-vain.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="A career that did not die in vain"><font color="#301ce2">Margaret Thatcher's resignation: A career that did not die in vain.</font></a> The Telegraph. Retrieved from www.telegraph.co.uk on October 2014.<br /><br />

• Pearce, Robert (2012) <a alt="Margaret Thatcher Rise to Power" href="http://www.historytoday.com/robert-pearce/margaret-thatchers-rise-power" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Margaret Thatcher Rise to Power"><font color="#301ce2">Margaret Thatcher's Rise to Power. </font></a> Retrieved from www.historytoday.com on October 2014<br /><br />

• Prakash, Saikrishna (2003) <a alt="The Essential Meaning of Executive Power" href="http://illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/ilr-content/articles/2003/Prakash.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Essential Meaning of Executive Power"><font color="#301ce2">The Essential Meaning of Executive Power. </font></a>. Professor of Law, University of San Diego School of Law. Retrieved from illinoislawreview.org on October 2014<br /><br />

• Troitiño, David Ramiro <a alt="Margaret Thatcher and the EU, Single European Acts" href="http://www.ies.ee/iesp/No6/articles/iesp_no6_pp124-150.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Margaret Thatcher and the EU, Single European Act"><font color="#301ce2">Margaret Thatcher and the EU, Single European Act </font></a> <br /><br />

• <a alt="US Constitution" href="http://www.usconstitution.net/const.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="US Constitution"><font color="#301ce2">U.S. CONST.</font></a>. Retrieved from usconstitution.net on October 2014<br /><br />

• WATTS, Duncan (2003) <a alt="Understanding US/UK government and politics" href="http://www.untag-smd.ac.id/files/Perpustakaan_Digital_2/POLITICS%20AND%20GOVERNMENT%20Understanding%20US-UK%20government%20and%20politics%20a%20comparative%20guide.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Understanding US/UK government and politics"><font color="#301ce2">Understanding US/UK government and politics. A comparative guide </font></a> Manchester University Press.<br /><br />

</div>
 
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http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/five_par.htm

ENG6011 H2014: Kulturkunnskap

Assignment

OA2

Write a short academic text, using course material on power, on the following question:

Does a US president or a UK prime minister have the best chance of dominating the government agenda?

Your answer should pay attention to the power of and restraints (limitations) on presidents and prime ministers within the two political systems.

Formal requirements:

The text needs to critically examine the topic and tackle the question directly.
    The text will be roughly 800 words long.
    The text needs a thoughtful structure throughout, and using the 5-paragraph essay is recommended.
    Any material borrowed from another source, needs to be cited in accordance with an acknowledged citation model and conventions for proper handling of sources within academic writing. (See Citing sources for more information.)
    The text will be written in in academic language, avoiding informal aspects such as contractions, casual vocabulary and personal pronouns as seen in "I think", "we will see" or "in my opinion". (See Academic writing for more information.)

OA2 can be considered a first draft for your exam portfolio, where you will expand this into an academic essay of roughly 1000 words after receiving feedback from your teachers.

Along with the file containing your text for OA2, you will submit a self-assessment checklist (to be published later in the semester), which will serve as the basis for the feedback you will receive.

OAs for ENG6011 will be evaluated as either approved or not approved (godkjent/ikke godkjent), and students will be given a chance to rework and resubmit their assignment should the OA not meet the formal requirements.

Let us the term "Executive". The term "Executive" comes from the verb "to execute", that means "to carry out (tasks)". In politics we use two terms: 1) <b>Political Executive</b>, referred to the government of the day (the politicians: the head of state and members of the government), which means the small body of decision-makers which takes responsibility for the direction and form of government policy. 2) <b>Official Executive</b> (the civil servants: the bureaucracy), referring to people who administer the policies that ministers have laid down. Having those two terms in mind, we can continue with the thoughtful structure academic text and learn more about who is more powerful, the UK Prime Minister or the US President?

SUBJECT 
Who is more powerful, the UK Prime Minister or the US President?

President vs Prime Minister

Who is more powerful, a US president or a UK prime minister?

President vs Prime Minister
http://vestnes.pedit.no/web/PageND.aspx?id=806807

The President and Congress
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/pres2.htm

The Prime Minister and British Politics
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/prime_minister_british_politics.htm

The powers of the American President
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/pres1.htm

the federal structure of America has put restraints on the power of the president that do not occur in Great Britain, lead by a Prime Minister.
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/president_versus_prime_minister.htm

Limits to the powers of a Prime Minister
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/limits_powers_of_a_prime_minister.htm

The Power of the President Versus Other Institutions
http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/apgov_presidency.htm

The Presidential v. The Parliamentary System
http://www.hank-edmondson.com/amgovchapt4/the-presidential-v-the.html

Compare and contrast the powers of US presidents and UK prime ministers
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Power of — and Restraints on Presidents and Prime Ministers

Economy: Sir Geoffrey Howe speech draft on trade unions (MT: "the press will crucify you for this"). University | — Madeirinh...

Más información / read more »

English — Students Convince each Other of What to Read

<blockquote>When students convince each other of what to read.</blockquote><br />

<div itemscope> <div style="text-align: center"> <a class="highlightJBM" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/2014/10/students-reading-english.html"> <img alt="Teaching English reading - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" border="0" height="199px" itemprop="photo" oncontextmenu="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" oncopy="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTK9iU0ygYRT7gV0aPECkQsVk1_mAUcaMO-aLggqclD26FjpTKFWzqR506MoegNrkuLUMsShAYT9aFAn6-mCQ6HEZgDxqmqao18mluqqGpuJ0irpGUiOu5XBGeaprNzqCwNY9g9Z0sqtbT/s1600/couple-reading-books.jpg" title="Teaching English reading - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" width="320px" /> </a><br />
<span>Teaching English reading - Photo: illustration</span> </div> </div> <br />

As I did not grow up in Norway, I lack the experience of being a student at an elementary level. I can reflect however on my experience as a teacher at Lower Secondary School. <br /><br />

If learning a foreign language opens doors, then reading texts opens windows on the world seen through different eyes, especially when we would agree that these lower-level processes partially form the basis for Reading (Arnsby, 2013:13) <br /><br />

<h2><b>Insufficient time at school and at home</b></h2>
It seems that students' weaknesses in English reading proficiency is due to different factors. It seems that Norwegian teenagers have a lot of extracurricular activities nowadays and they only have enough time to get their homework done, or go to their sport training, music/dance rehearsals, and when they finally have a break or even while they eat something before going to bed, instead of reading a book or a text, an app installed on a screen is more interesting. This is not only a local phenomenon but worldwide. <br /><br />

<h2><b>The Internet culture</b></h2>
How can reading a piece of paper compete with electronic diversions? Or is it Game Over? <br /><br />

I have students who love reading literature both in Norwegian and in English. These students come from families that have a reading culture. Reading is one of their priorities. These are students that are motivated in all aspects of their studies, not only because of the motivation they get from their teachers at school, but also from their parents. I have no problems in recommending them a difficult-reading text in English. The challenge teachers face in the classrom is how to deal with students who have little motivation in reading both in Norwegian and in English or those students that have some kind of disability when it comes to reading. I always provide the latter with easy reading material. <br /><br />

<h2><b>Teachers find it impossible to stop teaching?</b></h2>
I always get students to decide for themselves what their difficult level of the reading material will be by choosing what they are interested in learning. <br /><br />

When we read in the English class, we have different reading projects. Only once in a while I choose the reading material for our reading projects, and we all work on that chosen material. I will name shortly another reading project we have in our English class which motivates them in reading literature or texts in English. <br /><br />

There are a lot of students that have preconceived notions about reading literature. It seems that many students have decided before they grab a book that reading literature is boring. My job in that case is to convince them that reading literature can be actually fun. <br /><br />

We have created groups (actually, 4 groups) for each grade (8th to 10th). Their tasks are to read texts we can label under literature, such as novels, short-stories, poems, <a alt="Reading movie scripts in class" href="http://www.simplyscripts.com/year/" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Reading movie scripts in class"><font color="#301ce2">movie scripts</font></a>, song lyrics, comic books, literary magazines, and so on. All of the literature reading and the reading difficulty (skimming; scanning; careful reading) is up to them to choose. My goal as their English teacher is to establish a reading habit in them. <br /><br />

We measure their reading not by how many pages they have read in a given period, but how many minutes the different groups have read. On a Thursday all students have to stick on a wall a favorite quote from their reading during the previous weekend or the last three days. Obligatory assignments for all students are follow-up activities based on their reading, for example being prepared to tell (in English) their classmates about their favorite quotes based on their reading experience. <br /><br />

<b>Finding an effective way to develop learner autonomy</b>
Another favorite English pre-reading activity is to choose a book we will have for a reading project and four groups of students choose the material reading each. Then, these four groups have to convince each other about reading the texts they have chosen. They have to present their arguments clearly and convincingly in class. Students love this kind of activity and they engage themselves in deciding what reading materal we are going to have in the next four weeks. <br /><br />

<div class="JBMCode"> 
<h2>REFERENCES - further reading:</h2><br/><br/>

• Arnsby, Elise Sivertsen (2013). <a alt="Norwegian beginner students experience the reading of English" href="https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/10852/38373/EliseArnsby_master.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Norwegian beginner students experience the reading of English"><font color="#301ce2"> How do Norwegian beginner students experience the reading of English course material at university? A mixed-methods study</font></a>. (Master), University of Oslo, Oslo. (Read on September 2014) <br /><br />

• Day, Richard; Bamford, Julian (2002) <a alt="Top Ten Principles for Teaching Extensive Reading" href="http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/October2002/day/day.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Top Ten Principles for Teaching Extensive Readingt"><font color="#301ce2">Top Ten Principles for Teaching Extensive Reading</font></a> , <a alt="Reading in a Foreign Language" href="http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/October2002/day/day.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Reading in a Foreign Language"><font color="#301ce2">Reading in a Foreign Language</font></a>, Volume 14, Number 2, October 2002 <br /><br />

• Hellekjær, Glenn Ole (2005). <a alt="Does Upper Secondary EFL Instruction Effectively Prepare Norwegian Students" href="http://www.uv.uio.no/ils/forskning/publikasjoner/rapporter-og-avhandlinge/HellekjaerAvhandling[1].pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Does Upper Secondary EFL Instruction Effectively Prepare Norwegian Students"><font color="#301ce2">The Acid Test: Does Upper Secondary EFL Instruction Effectively Prepare Norwegian Students for the Reading of English Textbooks at Colleges and Universities</font></a>. University of Oslo, Oslo. <br /><br />

• Hellekjær, Glenn Ole (2012). Fra Reform 94 til Kunnskapsløftet: en sammenligning av leseferdigheter på engelsk blant avgangselever i den videregående skolen i 2002 og 2011. In T. N. Hopfenbeck, M. Kjærnsli & R. V. Olsen (Eds.), Kvalitet i norsk skole (pp. 153-171). Oslo: Universitetsforlaget. <br /><br />

• Hellekjær, Glenn Ole (2008). <a alt="Lesing som grunnleggende ferdighet" href="http://www.fremmedspraksenteret.no/nor/fremmedspraksenteret/larings---ressurser/leseveiledning-i-engelsk/reading-in-english-_-a-basic-skill/reading-as-a-basic-skill-_-a-challenge&PHPSESSID=mhok1bmhj9puh1sai1hm7jlqb0" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Lesing som grunnleggende ferdighet"><font color="#301ce2">Lesing som grunnleggende ferdighet: En utfordring for engelskfaget. Språk og språkundervisning</font></a>.  ISSN 0038-8521.  (4), s 10- 15 <br /><br />

• Hellekjær, Glenn Ole (2008). <a alt="A Case for Improved Reading Instruction for Academic English Reading Proficiency" href="http://adno.no/index.php/adno/article/download/55/85" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="A Case for Improved Reading Instruction for Academic English Reading Proficiency"><font color="#301ce2">A Case for Improved Reading Instruction for Academic English Reading Proficiency</font></a>. Acta Didactica Norge - tidsskrift for fagdidaktisk forsknings- og utviklingsarbeid i Norge. Vol. 2 Nr. 1 Art. 3 <br /><br />

• Richards, Cameron (2000) <a alt="Language Teaching and Technology" href="http://www.llt.msu.edu/vol4num2/richards/default.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Language Teaching and Technology"><font color="#301ce2">'Hypermedia, Internet communication and the challenge of re-defining literacy in the electronic age.'</font></a> Language Teaching and Technology.  4  (2,) 59-77.<br />
</div>

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English — Students Convince each Other of What to Read

When students convince each other of what to read. University | — Madeirinha — Benjamin Madeira — Teaching English reading - Ph...

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Humanities — Atheist Experience - 2014 episodes - Youtube, Videos

<blockquote>If the dark is just a thought / Then the light is in your mind / The lies we tell ourselves / Will ruin the world with time / Did you feel the way I felt / Did you kneel the way I knelt / Or did you look up and stare / Waiting for your acts or prayer / Won't you listen to reason. / Will you open your eyes / It's a wonder what you'll find with an open mind / You might be surprised / Gotta get away from this illusion / For the sake of the world, this delusion / When is it enough / When will we all wake up / So look around / And see what's right before your eyes / No control beyond these skies / Gotta get away from this illusion / For the sake of the world, this delusion </blockquote>

<div class="citajbm"> • ✔ <b> <a href="#video" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2">Atheist Experience - 2014 episodes</font></a> - <a href="#clips" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> Youtube, videos </font></a>, <a href="#youtube" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> Videoclipss, The Atheist Experience </font></a>. </b> </div><br />

<center><font color="#301CE2"><strong>Austin, Texas, USA, via Youtube's API | <a href="https://plus.google.com/111394417792438554096/about" rel="author" target="_blank"> — Madeirinha — </a> 
<a href="https://plus.google.com/111394417792438554096/posts" rel="publisher" target="_blank"> Benjamin Madeira — </a></strong></font></CENTER><br /><br />

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<H2> <div style="text-align: center"> <span style="color: rgb(180, 95, 6); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The Atheist Experience is a weekly webcast and cable access television show in Austin, Texas, for a general audience.</span> </div> </H2> <br /><br />

<H4> <div style="text-align: center"> <span style="color: rgb(180, 95, 6); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It is broadcast by the Atheist Community of Austin (ACA), an educational non-profit organization. The central goals of the ACA are to promote positive atheism and the separation of church and state. It was first aired on October 19, 1997.</span> </div> </H4> <br /><br />

<H3> <div style="text-align: center"> <span style="color: rgb(180, 95, 6); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Frequent topics are religious dogma, morality, ethics and application of the scientific method. The co-host often opens with a theme or current event, after which live calls are taken. Although debate about all theist and atheist-related views are welcome, because of the large number of Christians in the United States, the emphasis is mostly on Christianity.</span> </div> </H3> <br />

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Humanities — Atheist Experience - 2014 episodes - Youtube, Videos

If the dark is just a thought / Then the light is in your mind / The lies we tell ourselves / Will ruin the world with time / Did you feel...

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Humanities — Atheist Experience - 2013 episodes - Youtube, Videos

<div class="citajbm"> • ✔ <b> <a href="#video" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2">Atheist Experience - 2013 episodes</font></a> - <a href="#clips" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> Youtube, videos </font></a>, <a href="#youtube" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> Videoclipss, The Atheist Experience </font></a>. </b> </div><br />

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English — Teaching 10th-Grade Students, Lower Secondary School

<h3>A fantastically unusual detective story written from the perspective of a 15-year-old autistic boy, who is obsessed with maths, science and Sherlock Holmes but finds it hard to understand other people. When he discovers a dead dog on a neighbour’s lawn he decides to solve the mystery; as in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets.</h3>

<div itemscope> <div style="text-align: center"> <a class="highlightJBM" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/2014/10/teaching-english.html"> <img alt="Teaching English - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" border="0" height="199px" itemprop="photo" oncontextmenu="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" oncopy="alert('BenjaminMadeira.com - Official Website');return false" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheC72s4lQ8PsLXeMx_caMqlDjvrBwfln-k86ahDLqYCMX_mPBcUf-yGnzYeByNIPP56Au609-ydkNdGsY2bW5coXLu60DLORR9mLQ0Wsd5eYfCOkQ2zvU3Sbqp8gxyNNtcnZtIn1vkK3XC/s600/dog-night-time-BenjaminMadeira-com.jpg" title="Teaching English - Official Website - BenjaminMadeira" width="320px" /> </a><br />
<span>Teaching English - Photo: Mark Haddon</span> </div> </div> <br />

<CENTER>
<h2>Reading Project (RP), Reading a Book</h2><br/>
<h4>"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"</h4><br/>
<h5>First term, 10th grade, lower secondary school</h5></CENTER><br/>

This is an obligatory task but there will be no test after our reading project. I am interested in your own personal experience of what was read, for example, if you think it was an interested reading, I am interested in knowing why or why not.<br/><br/>

The aims of this Reading Project (RP) are to cover 3 main areas in learning the English language. We will 1) discuss/debate in class (oral communication, being able to listen, speak and interact, using the English language clearly and use the correct intonation), 2) you will answer questions related to our main book (written communication, being able to express ideas and opinions in well structured and coherent texts), and 3) literature.<br/><br/>

<b>Enable you to:</b><br/><br/>

Identify and use different situations and learning strategies to expand your English-language skills<br/><br/>

Describe your own work in learning English<br/><br/>

Identify some linguistic similarities and differences between English and your native language<br/><br/>

Use digital resources and other aids in your own language learning<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Choose the fiction text ("The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon" and create your own set of tasks (2-3) aimed at your present or future students.</b><br/><br/>

I asked our school librarian to buy the book, which they have done, and I have made it available for the students on It's learning. They can read it in PDF format or if they prefer they can listen to it as audiobook, narrated by Jeff Woodman.<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
Year/level of students <br/><br/>

I have twenty one 10th-grade students, in lower secondary school (ungdomsskole)<br/><br/>

I call my learners "students", not "pupils" out of etymological reasons. I call all learners of all ages "students". The word "student" was defined in its first sense in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a person who is engaged in or addicted to study".<br/><br/>

Christopher Boone, the main character of the "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time", is obsessed with details, he is what we would call "a real student", a researcher, a young boy who is looking for the truth.<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
Number of lessons required to carry out the tasks. <br/><br/>

4 weeks of lessons required to carry out the tasks. The students will use 1-2 week(s) of reading or/and listening to the book at home. After 2 weeks period-time, they will get the tasks we are going to work with in class.<br/><br/>

<h3>Reading Project: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"</h3><br/><br/>

<b>Table of Contents</b><br/>
1. Reading Schedule (Monday Oct., 6th/week 41, begin to read or/and listen to the book/homework)<br/>
2. <b>Part 1:</b> (week 41) Curious Incident/Autism/disability or difference, pre-reading<br/>
3. <b>Part 2:</b> (week 42) (Monday Oct., 13th/week 42, cont. read or/and listen to the book/homework) Chapter Questions in class<br/>
4. <b>Part 3:</b> (week 43) (Monday Oct., 20th/week 43, Tasks / (3) groups / work in class with the given tasks<br/>
5. <b>Part 4:</b> (week 44) (beginning on Monday Oct., 27th) Presentation in (3) groups<br/><br/>

1. Reading Schedule * While this Reading Project requires a substantial time-commitment to nightly reading, other homework for this class will be very light this month. It is important you remember that READING means having the ability to understand the text, explore, discuss or create meaning, and reflect on a given text; not skimming the book.<br/><br/>

<h2>Mention briefly what you assume to be done in class already, before carrying out your suggested tasks. </h2><br/>
Before we carry out our tasks, we will discuss briefly what a novel is (go through a novel's characteristics). The very first day, in class, before they begin to read or listen to the book, I will ask the students if they have read the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time". If there is a student or students that have already read it, I will ask them to just sit and wait for the second part of my questions. The rest of the students will be presented with the title of the novel and will be asked what they think the book is about, who they think the protagonist is, its author, the major themes of the book. Then, if there is a student or students that have already read it, I will ask them if they can answer my previous questions about the book. All students will be presented with a keyword for our reading project: "true".<br/><br/>

<b>Monday, Oct., 6th</b><br/>
<i>Reading Project HANDED OUT</i><br/><br/>

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, in Class Assignment <br/>
<b>Part 1</b> – Curious Incident/Autism/disability or difference, pre-reading<br/>
•  We read an article/articles about Autism spectrum disorder and discuss in class whether introverted, socially awkward, autistic persons should be treated by society as sick people or just as different people, and why. We discuss also in class whether you recognize yourselves in the main character (Christopher Boone), and in which characteristics.<br/><br/>

On the week about Chapter Questions, you will get a list of questions related to each chapter of the book. You will get at least two questions about each chapter. Your assignment is to provide complete answers to the all questions. Remember that simple, one-word answers are insufficient; most questions require 2 to 4 sentences at minimum in order to be answered completely and in depth. Do not forget that a good answer is the one which is not adressed to me as your teacher, but rather adressed to an unknown reader of your task. You should always inform your reader what you are writing about. Make sure you answer all aspects of each question. your answers should reflect your knowledge/understanding (complete, thorough, detailed answers to all questions) and ability to communicate (effective grammar, language, and conventions of the English language).<br/><br/>

<b>Monday, Oct., 13th</b><br/>
Reading Project: "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time": Chapter Questions<br/>

I won't list all the questions I have prepared for my students, due to space. <br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
Describe the HOW of various tasks.<br/><br/>

<b>Monday, Oct., 20th</b> (week 43, Tasks / (3) groups / work in class with the given tasks<br/><br/>
Each group (7 students in each group) will work this week with the following tasks each:<br/><br/>

The reading project presentation can be given by students in any creative form, such as:<br/>
-Writing (creative, narrative, research, poems, etc.)<br/>
-Visual art (paintings, drawings, etc.)<br/>
-Multimedia (videos, photographs, etc.)<br/>
-Performance (acting, singing, dancing, etc.)<br/><br/>

The only condition is that your presentation must have English audio and all groups' participants must use their own voice. <br/>

<b>TASK #1 (first group)</b><br/>
A) How does Christopher Boone in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' <b>justify his investigation</b> into how Wellington died, even though his father had told him to <b>stay out of other people's business</b>?<br/><br/>

B) <b>Why</b> does Christopher Boone in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' <b>likes detective stories</b>? What <b>appeals</b> to Christopher about detective stories? <b>Explain</b>.<br/><br/>

Sherlock Holmes (/ˈʃɜrlɒk ˈhoʊmz/) is a fictional detective created by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A London-based "consulting detective" whose abilities border on the fantastic. Sherlock Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science to solve difficult cases.<br/><br/>

C) Why do you think that Christopher Boone in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' is a <b>fan of Sherlock Holmes</b>?<br/><br/>

D) Christopher Boone in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' <b>does not like</b> Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories. <b>Explain why not</b>?<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
Comment on the WHY of the suggested tasks. <br/>
Purpose of task A), B) and C) is to show students that curiosity or wish to investigate/research guides you to learn more. <br/><br/>

Purpose of task D) is to show students that the author of Sherlock Holmes is not curious.<br/><br/>

<b>TASK #2 (second group)</b><br/>
How can you all refute my following statement?<br/>
"Is Christopher an autistic teenager?" "Asperger syndrome or Asperger disorder is not mentioned in the book. Suffers Christopher really of Asperger disorder?" "Is not this some other form of slight learning difficulty or disability?" I have met people who live in those conditions (Autism, Aspergers), and it is a real struggle all the time. Then these people pop up in literature and/or movies and they're sort of brilliant, and they on some levels almost offer false hope for the people who are going through the reality of it". <b>Debate</b> whether it is Asperger syndrome or just another form of learning difficulty.<br/><br/>

<b>According to your conclusion</b> of the previous debate, <b>provide</b> a police profile of Christopher Boone in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time'.<br/><br/>

C) It is often believed that people with Asperger syndrome are <b>completely different to other people</b>. Yet, can you <b>see any personality traits</b> that you have <b>in common</b> with Christopher Boone?<br/><br/>

D) Writers use too many adverbs, too many adjectives when they write their books, why do you think that one of the most used words in the book 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time' is the coordinating conjunction "and"?<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
Comment on the WHY of the suggested tasks. <br/>
Purpose of task A), B) and C) is that students find out that we treat people different when we label them. If we conclude that Christopher only is different than us, then we can come closer to him, and treat him more as the human being he is. <br/><br/>

Purpose of task D) is that students can conclude that is possible to describe the world around us in a simple way.<br/><br/>

<b>TASK #3 (third group)</b><br/>
A) Do you think that the author of the book did a lot of research about Asperger syndrome? Debate Mr Haddon's quote: "'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time' is not a novel about disability, but a novel about difference", Mark Haddon (Interview video online).<br/><br/>

B) [Statament] The cover of the book now is boring, [refute] but recognizable. Why do you think the cover was designed that way. Redesign the book cover for a new release of the novel [Give solid arguments why you want to redesign the book cover in order to convince me as an editor].<br/><br/>

C) Christopher Boone says on page 40 of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time': "[...] sometimes people want to be stupid and they do not want to know the 
truth". Do you <b>agree</b>? Why or why not? <b>Explain</b>.<br/><br/>

D) Christopher Boone quotes in 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time':
"Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem. No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary". pags, 40,41 -- William of Ockham (Occam's razor [Law]) -- (in Norwegian: "flere ting enn nødvendig bør ikke brukes".) Explain this quote with your own simplified English so other people about your age or younger can understand it.<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
Comment on the WHY of the suggested tasks. <br/>
Purpose of task A) is to find out if students agree whether the book is about disability of just difference. <br/><br/>

Purpose of task B) is that students can give good arguments why we should redesign the book cover according to its content. <br/><br/>

Purpose of task C) is to get students into a debate about what "to be stupid" means.<br/><br/>

Purpose of task D) is that students can connect task C with task D, whether they see any correlation there or not.<br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
Reflect on how interesting these tasks would be and on their ability to motivate young learners.<br/>
Our reading project should be attractive because there will be no stress when it comes to a final-project test as they are not getting grades (it is to say, explicit evaluation) at the end of their work, even though I evaluate my students on every task they carry out (my implicit evaluation). In second place, the book is about a teenager, just like them and furthermore, it is about 'being a detective', and the reading process is not only self-reading but they can choose to listen to the audiobook which can be more pleasent for some students who does not like or have difficulties in reading.<br/><br/>
  
At the end of our reading project, we will watch an interview with Mark Haddon, the author of 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time'.<br/><br/>

<h2>REFERENCES:</h2><br/><br/>

<a alt="What is Asperger Syndrome" href="http://psyc.jmu.edu/school/documents/ASPERGERS%20DISORDER.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="What is Asperger Syndrome"><font color="#FF4000">What is Asperger Syndrome?</font></a> <br/><br/>

Collie, J. and S. Slater (1987) <a alt="Literature in the language classroom" href="http://forum.portal.edu.ro/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=1981556" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Literature in the language classroom"><font color="#FF4000">Literature in the language classroom</font></a>. Cambridge University Press. <br/><br/>

Doyle, Arthur Conan, <a alt="The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" href="https://sherlock-holm.es/stories/pdf/a4/1-sided/advs.pdf
" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"><font color="#FF4000">"The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes"</font></a>, 1892<br/><br/>

Haddon, Mark, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time', 2003, DOUBLEDAY, Random House, Inc <br/><br/>

<a alt="Haddon, Mark, Interview video" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvpESDINMTU" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Haddon, Mark, Interview video"><font color="#FF4000">Haddon, Mark, Interview video</font></a>
watched on Oct., 1st, 2014 <br/><br/>

Iversen, Anniken Telnes (2013) Reading Novels and Short Stories. Anna Birketveit and Gweno Williams (eds.) Literature for the English classroom : theory into practice. Bergen: Fagbokforlaget <br/><br/>

LK06, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, English Subject Curriculum
<a alt="The Norwegian LK06, in English" href="http://www.udir.no/upload/larerplaner/fastsatte_lareplaner_for_kunnskapsloeftet/english/5/english_subject_curriculum.doc" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Norwegian LK06, in English"><font color="#FF4000">The Norwegian LK06, in English</font></a>; <a alt="The Norwegian LK06, in Norwegian" href="http://data.udir.no/kl06/ENG1-03.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="The Norwegian LK06, in Norwegian"><font color="#FF4000">The Norwegian LK06, in Norwegian</font></a>  <br/><br/>

NTNU, ENG6024, Compendium, 2014 <br/><br/>

<a alt="Sherlock Holmes" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="Sherlock Holmes"><font color="#FF4000">Sherlock Holmes / Wikipedia</font></a>, read on Sept. 2014. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org<br/><br/>

Savvidou, Christine (2004) <a alt="An Integrated Approach to Teaching Literature" href="http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Savvidou-Literature.html" style="text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" title="An Integrated Approach to Teaching Literature"><font color="#FF4000">An Integrated Approach to Teaching Literature in the EFL Classroom</font></a>. The Internet TESL Journal. Retrieved from http://iteslj.org <br/><br/>

<div style="text-align: center"><span style="color: #301ce2"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height:15pt"> <a alt="BenjaminMadeira - Videos, mp4, literatura, filosofia, idiomas, pedagogia, musica, mp3, Online" href="http://www.benjaminmadeira.com/search/label/study-notes" style="text-decoration: none;"><font color="#301ce2"> RT: #LearningEnglish #Reading #MarkHaddon #CuriousIncidentDogInTheNightTime #DogNightTime </font></a> ✔ #Book — #LearnEnglish </span></span></div><br/>

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OA1
ENG6024 H2014: Litteratur med fagdidaktikk

So far you have been working with two types of longer texts; one novel and one play. As your first obligatory assignment, we ask you to choose one of the fiction texts (“The Curious Incident…” or “Skellig”), and more specifically to create your own  set of tasks (2-3) aimed at your present or future pupils/students.

Relate the tasks to competence aims in LK-06, and show how you will break down these competence aims to specific learning objectives for your present or future learners. Remember to specify which fiction text you have chosen, and also year/level of students as well as  number of lessons required to carry out the tasks. 
    If relevant, mention briefly what you assume to be done in class already, before carrying out your suggested tasks.
    Describe the HOW of various tasks, but without becoming too detailed.
    Comment on the WHY of the suggested tasks (i.e. purpose and aims). Bring in relevant aspects and / or terminology from the course books and the Compendium to support your comments.
    Reflect on how interesting these tasks would be and on their ability to motivate young learners. Bring in relevant aspects and / or terminology from the course books and the Compendium to support your reflections.
    Include the critera for assessment (see below) at the end of your assignment.

Your assignment should be a total of 800–1000 words. The reference list comes in addition. Your text must be submitted to the Take Credit Moodle platform at latest on Sunday, 5th October, before midnight.

Criteria for assessment:
Briefly evaluate your own text based on the criteria below. Copy the criteria and add the descriptor that you find to best describe your text.

Criteria

Ability to create and present interesting and inspiring ways of working

Descriptors
Fair

Good
 
Excellent

Clear description of purpose and aims of the suggested activities

Didactic reflections

Written competence (including spelling and punctuation)

http://hsc.csu.edu.au/english/standard/close_study/3772/dog.htm

http://curious-incident-assignments.tumblr.com/

http://www.gradesaver.com/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/study-guide/major-themes/

Vi vet allerede at vår hjerne kan spille oss mange puss. Vi vet at hjernen lurer oss til å tro på ting som ikke finnes. Vi vet at hjernen ser sammenhenger som ikke finnes. Vi vet at hjernen kan frembringe følelser som oppleve som religiøse. Vi vet at drømmer og virkelighet kan forveksles. Vi vet at falske minner oppstår ganske lett. Vi vet altså at det finnes myriader av helt naturlige ting som kan forårsake uforklarlige opplevelser. Den enkleste forklaringen på det uforklarlige er dermed å tro at hjernen vår har spillt oss et puss. Å innføre et overnaturlig element/entitet, slik som for eksempel Gud, det er å komplisere forklaringen mer enn nødvendig.

Occam´s razor: "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem". (Oversatt: "flere ting enn nødvendig bør ikke brukes". Sagt på en annen måte: "Gjør ting så enkelt som overhode mulig", eller forenklet: Velg den løsningen med færrest kompliserende elementer. 'Keep it simple'.

PRE-READING

The very first thing the English teacher should do before carrying out the reading project is provide the students with the competence aims when learning English as a Second Language. Students should get acquainted with the English Subject Curriculum in a simplified language. What are the goals of the reading project in simple words but accordingly to LK06? The goals should be clearly written on the blackboard as well as handed out to all students before class starts. Students should know and reflect why they are going to read a book and not only a short passage in their textbook (Norwegian LK06, 2006:5).

The very first day, in class, before students begin to read or listen to the book, I would ask them if they have read the book named "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time". If there were a student or students that have already read it, I would ask them to just sit and wait for the second part of my questions. The rest of the students would be presented with the title of the novel and its actual red illustration, why they think the cover was designed that way. They would be asked what they think the book is about, who they think the protagonist is, who they think its author is (a man? a woman?). Then, if there were a student or students that have already read it, I would ask them if they could contribute with some comments about the book.

Then, in my case, I have decided that this is an obligatory task, but there will be no written test after our reading project. They will only enjoy the reading but learn while they enjoy. This does not mean that our reading project is some kind of "vacation". I test my students all the time without giving them exams or tests. I give my students feedback all the time so we all know (parents, students, teachers) what their current level is. This time, I would tell them: "I am interested in your own personal experience of what was read, for example, if you think it was an interested reading, I am interested in knowing why or why not."

Here is an example of our reading project schedule or table of contents
1. Reading Schedule (Monday Oct., 6th/week 41, begin to read or/and listen to the book/homework)
2. Part 1: (week 41) Curious Incident Sherlock/Autism/disability or difference, pre-reading
3. Part 2: (week 42) (Monday Oct., 13th/week 42, cont. read or/and listen to the book/homework) Chapter Questions in class
4. Part 3: (week 43) (Monday Oct., 20th/week 43, Tasks / (3) groups / work in class with the given tasks
5. Part 4: (week 44) (beginning on Monday Oct., 27th) Presentation in (3) groups

The very first day we would discuss briefly three issues in the classroom prior to our reading project: 1) Asperger disorder, 2) Sherlock Holmes, and 3) they would be provided with the characteristics of this specific novel. This is important in our context because it will help students to better enjoy their reading and increase their comprehension by having relevant background knowledge, also known as a methodological element (Savvidou, 2004).

We would read an article/articles about Autism spectrum disorder and discuss in class whether introverted, socially awkward, autistic persons should be treated by society as sick people or just as different people, and why.

Two days later we would also discuss in class whether they recognize themselves in the main character (Christopher Boone), and in which characteristics.

Prior to our reading we would also read about Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created by Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Doyle, 1892). “Sherlock is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to adopt almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science to solve difficult cases.” (Wikipedia, English version)
REFERENCES and further reading:

Doyle, Arthur Conan, "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes", 1892

Haddon, Mark, 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time', 2003, DOUBLEDAY, Random House, Inc

Haddon, Mark, Interview video watched on Oct., 1st, 2014

Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, English Subject Curriculum The Norwegian LK06, in English; The Norwegian LK06, in Norwegian

Savvidou, Christine (2004) An Integrated Approach to Teaching Literature in the EFL Classroom. The Internet TESL Journal. Retrieved from http://iteslj.org

sherlock
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/32/the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes/345/adventure-1-a-scandal-in-bohemia/

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<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Choose ("The Curious Incident" & create your own set of tasks (2-3) aimed at your students.</b><br/><br/>

"<b>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</b>"<br/>
Students can read the book whether in PDF-format or listening to the audiobook, narrated by Jeff Woodman.<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Year/level of students</b> <br/><br/>

First term, 10th-grade students, lower secondary school<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Relate the tasks to competence aims in LK-06</b><br/><br/>

<b>This Reading Project Enables students to:</b><br/>
1) Identify and use different situations and learning strategies to expand their English-language skills, 2) Describe their own work in learning English, 3) Identify some linguistic similarities and differences between English and their native language use digital resources and other aids in their own language learning.<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Number of lessons required to carry out the tasks.</b> <br/><br/>

4 weeks of lessons required to carry out the tasks. The students will use 1-2 week(s) of reading or/and listening to the book at home. After 2 weeks period-time, they will get different tasks or follow-up activities.<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Mention briefly what you assume to be done in class already, before carrying out your suggested tasks.</b><br/><br/>

Before we carry out our reading project, students should be remained in class of the competence aims when learning English as a Second Language. <br/><br/>

Competence aims that apply this reading project should be clearly written on the blackboard as well as handed out to all students before class starts.<br/><br/>

The Norwegian curriculum (Norwegian LK06, 2006:5) highlights the importance of speaking, reading, writing skills and strategies, understanding and knowledge about different types of texts as well as cultural awareness, understanding and reflection.<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Describe the HOW of various tasks and the WHY of the suggested tasks.</b><br/><br/>

There will be essentially <b>two tasks</b>. On the second week of our reading project, students will get a couple of questions related to each chapter of the book. Their assignment is to provide complete oral answers in class to all questions. <br/><br/>

Some of the questions students should work with while reading the book or in their presentation are such as: how Christopher justify his investigation into how Wellington died, even though his father had told him to stay out of other people's business? Why Christopher likes detective stories? Why they think Christopher is a fan of Sherlock Holmes but he does not like its author (Doyle, 1892).<br/><br/>

Students can redesign the book cover for a new release of the novel and give solid arguments why. If they agree with Christopher on page 40: "[...] sometimes people want to be stupid and they do not want to know the truth". Why or why not. Christopher says: "No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary". Pags., 40,41. They should explain this quote in simplified English.<br/><br/>

Students should also be encouraged to debate whether Christopher really suffers of Asperger disorder or just another form of learning difficulty. They can provide a police profile of Christopher. They can express whether they see any personality traits that they have in common with Christopher.<br/><br/>

<b>The second task</b> is a ten-minute presentation which can be given in any form, such as: 
narrative, research, poems, paintings, drawings, videos, photographs, acting, singing, dancing, and in other creative ways.<br/><br/>

<b>The purpose of our reading project</b> is that students 1) "use various work methods and strategies to learn English", are able to 2) communicate by reading and understanding "texts of different lengths and genres" and 3) get both language and cultural enrichment (Collie and Slater, 1987:6). Students will also get knowledge about society and literature from the English-speaking world by reading and discussing "a representative selection of literary texts" as mentioned in the competence aims by the Norwegian Ministry of Education (Norwegian LK06, 2006:5). By reading the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" we are providing students with authentic English language literature as classroom material, a linguistic element (Savvidou, 2004). Collie and Slater (1987:6) state in their 'Resource Book of ideas and activities' when 'Reading literature in the language classroom' that: "most works of literature are not fashioned for the specific purpose of teaching a language".<br/><br/>

<h2>University assignment</h2><br/>
<b>Reflect on how interesting these tasks would be and on their ability to motivate young learners.</b><br/><br/>

Students should know that reading a wide range of texts or stories in English will enable them to "understand the cultural expressions that surround us, and construct a meaningful narrative for our own lives" (Iversen, 2013).<br/><br/>

The tasks provided early in this paper should be interesting and easy for 10th-grade students because we will discuss briefly three issues in the classroom prior to our reading project: 1) Asperger disorder, 2) Sherlock Holmes, and 3) they will be provided with the characteristics of this specific novel (see Anniken Telnes Iversen, "Reading novels and short stories"). This is important in our context because it will help students to better enjoy their reading and increase their comprehension by having relevant background knowledge, also known as a methodological element (Savvidou, 2004). <br/><br/>

Students should know that reading English literature is more than just mechanical aspects of the English grammar (Collie and Slater, 1987:7) and that it is more than just reading the texts that they find in their coursebook. As English teachers we should teach our students that reading literature beyond their textbook can help them to get to know better other cultures from English-speaking areas. It also can help them to learn better their native language by comparing both language systems. Students should get acquainted with the English Subject Curriculum in a simplified language which is not always the case. In my experience, students not always know what the purpose of a given class is.<br/><br/>

Some students panic when the English class assignment is to read a whole book because they erroneously think that the only valid argument is what their teacher says at the end. Learners who are poor readers in their native language or are not specialists in literature should bear in mind that a novel can be interpreted in many different ways.
The different tasks about "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time" should take away tedium from the classroom because of the variety of follow-up activities, such as role play, improvisation, creative writing, and discussions. It will also be able to stimulate a personal involvement in students (Collie and Slater, 1987:7, 8) partly because of its main character, Christopher. On the other hand, detective fiction stories have always captivated us. It still captivates people today in books, on television, and at the movies. It can captivate students in the classroom.<br/><br/>
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