We started unit 11 with an exercise writing the questions I gave the answers to. I want to end Unit 11 with a game of making questions.
Today I showed some Ellen videos to my 203 ESL (8th grade class) to demonstrate how to play this game. After we finish up Unit 11 (hopefully by tomorrow) they can start writing the questions for the "Never Have I" game.
Questions have to be a little bit personal, but still safe, and age appropriate for example, "Have you ever had Bieber fever?" I am curious to what kind of questions they will come up with.
Props required are 5 hand signs printed with, "I have/ I have never" on either side.
At the end of our unit on Colonialism I would like my 301 class to try a debate. The topic will be whether Taiwan should remove portraits of Sun Yat-sen from schools and government buildings which is currently being debated by Taiwanese legislators [read more in English here]. The classes provided their own controversial issue they feel strongly about. One class chose capital punishment and the other nuclear energy. I am looking forward to their results. We already went to the computer lab to find sources and I am surprised they never had to do this in any of their classes before. Googling information seemed insurmountably more difficult than it really is. I hope I can give them more research practice in the future.
They will use a mind map to outline their argument's points with sources.
In late February, a Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) legislator in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan proposed an amendment
with the support of twenty other lawmakers that would require the removal of
portraits of Sun Yat-sen孫中山 from government buildings and schools. The proposal may presage
future efforts within the DPP-majority legislature to remove Chinese
historical and cultural influences on the island, which could complicate
cross-Strait relations under incoming DPP president Tsai Ing-wen.
I will arrange the class into
groups of six. Each group will represent one side -- the affirmative or
negative. Each team will include
students who assume the following roles:
Speech 1: The first
affirmative speaker introduces the topic and states
the affirmative team's first argument.
Speech 2: The first
negative speaker states their first
argument.
Speech 3: The second
affirmative speaker states their second
argument.
Speech 4: The second
negative speaker states their second
argument.
Give a 5-10 minute break for each team to prepare their rebuttal speech.
Speech 5: The negative
team states two rebuttals for the
affirmative team's two arguments and summarizes their own two reasons.
Speech 6: The affirmative
team states two rebuttals for the
negative team's two arguments and summarizes their own two reasons.
I will be working together with the kids' environmental science teacher to provide the English language background as they create their own gardens this semester. First things first we need some rich, black hummus.
1.Start
with a container. Working with decomposing organic matter,
doesn’t need to be fancy. You just need some sort of way to hold everything together
so the beneficial bacteria that break down the plant matter can heat up and
work effectively.
2.Compost
bins are of two types, stationary and rotating.
Both types must be turned to combine the decaying materials and make oxygen.
Stationary bins can
be as simple as a well-ventilated cage
made from wire or wooden crates from a kit. A well-designed bin will keep
heat and moisture, allowing for quicker results. When using the stationary
bin, put the pile in a sunny location so that it has as much heat as
possible. If it’s in the shade all day, decomposition will still happen, but
it will be much slower.
Then there’s compost tumblers, easy to turn
bins that speed up the process — compost in weeks, not months or years.
3.Get
the mix right. A good pile has a mix of brown and green
plant matter, plus some moisture to keep the good bacteria alive. Shredded
newspaper, wood chips and dry leaves are best for the brown elements; kitchen
waste and grass clippings are perfect for the green part.
4.
Turn the pile with a pitchfork every week or two to
make sure that all of the materials are blended in and working together.
After you’ve mixed things up, grab a handful to see if it’s a little bit wet.
Too little moisture will slow the decomposition process and too much will
leave you with a slimy mess. In a few months, your finished product should be
a dark, crumbly soil that smells like fresh earth.
Answer
the questions.
1.What are the 2 types of compost bins? Which does Huey
Deng use?
2.How does sunlight work with compost?
3.How does water (moisture) work with the compost?
4.What is a good pile made of?
5.How must we care for the pile?
6.When do we know the pile is ready to be used for
growing?
Reading
2: Avoid Common Mistakes
It’s hard to mess up
compost, but we’re happy to offer a little direction so you get off to the best
start.
• Don’t start too small.
The breakdown process needs a critical mass in order to do its job. However,
certain bins work well for small amounts of material, so choose a product for
your specific needs.
• Keep things moist. It’s easy to walk away and
forget that there’s an active process going on, so check the pile regularly,
especially during hot, dry weather (see Managing
Moisture).
• Don’t depend on one
material. A combination of different textures and nutrients created by the
disintegration of many different plants will give your plants a gourmet diet
that helps create disease and pest resistance. Think about it — a huge clump of
grass clippings just sticks together in a huge mat that hangs around for years.
Add some leaves, stir, and natural forces like water, air and heat go to work
quickly!
• Don’t get overwhelmed.
This isn’t rocket science, so jump in and try, even if you don’t have a clue.
You’ll soon see what works and what doesn’t.
