Mullen's Musings and More

Games for the computer lab

2011-01-27T10:17:00.001-05:00

A few games to amuse (and maybe teach) you.

What is an idiom? It's a turn of phrase like "it's raining cats and dogs." Test your knowledge of common idioms here.

Recognizing root words will help you when you encounter new words. Test your knowledge of roots here.

A hangman game to test your vocabulary in a variety of areas.

You may play these games or you may read whatever you'd like. You may also do work for another class.

This caught my eye

2010-10-08T20:57:00.000-04:00

I was on my way to meatier things, really, but a click on John's naked self around Yoko brought me here. I agree--especially about Twilight fans, excepting one that I love who is not a super fan. I hope.

Computer lab work

2010-08-18T19:01:00.001-04:00

If you're reading this, it's likely the AR system is not working. Here are links to some sites to use your time well today if you can't take the AR test or you've finished the tests you came to take.

The first is a list of books used in years past on the AP Lit test. AP students should choose at least three titles from the list to read independently this year.

I'd like for all my students to be familiar with this useful site: The OWL (Online Writing Lab) at Purdue has the best explanation of MLA style as well as useful learning exercises. Carefully work through one or two of these exercises before you move on to another activity. Choose the area in which you think you need improvement. I think these on sentence structure are especially relevant for students.

Another useful site for students is Quizlet. You can make study flash cards here or use sets that others have made. Test your knowledge of literary terms here. There are some games linked with the cards that
you may find challenging and fun.

You may choose to look at some college sites to be sure you understand their requirements for admission. Here are a few likely favorites, but feel free to find other schools you may have in mind.
UNF UF FSU FAMU UCF Stetson FIU

Finally, there are a few game sites permissable today. One is a puzzle that never loses its appeal: Setgame. If you haven't played before take the tutorial before you try it.

Another game is a vocabulary builder that purports to give rice to countries that need it when you play. While I'm not sold that it is a great act of charity, it is fun. Play at Freerice.com

Is there another sitre you think would be fun and educational? Ask me in class and you may be able to use it.

500 words could earn you a college education

2008-09-16T14:26:00.003-04:00

October is Hispanic Heritage Month and in Florida, it's a big deal. Students can get a chance at a full scholarship to any public university within Florida by writing a brief essay addressing the question: "In what ways does the foundation of Florida's Hispanic legacy help to build the future of Florida's innovation economy?" Easy, right? Somebody's going to win. Why not you? I'm happy to make comments on any drafts I receive before 9/27. Deadline for submission is 10/1.
Rules and guidelines are here.

No more free reviews this time

2008-09-10T16:49:00.002-04:00

After agreeing to read papers and send comments without grades for two days, I am nearly blind from reading student work. I'm done. The real work, the actual papers, come in tomorrow. If you're a student reading this for moral support before writing, here's my best advice. Be sure you are writing about the poems themselves, not only what the poems mean. Shift your focus away from the stories presented in the poems and consider elements and technique. Be sure every literary device you mention is interpreted. It is not enough to say: Here's a metaphor! (Whoopee!) You must say what effect the metaphor has, what it suggests and why it is important.

Sometimes I still don't know

2008-09-08T20:22:00.004-04:00

According to www.dailyliteraryquote.com, it was Faulkner who said, "I never know what I think about something until I read what I've written on it." I'd like to think I agree with this. There was a time when writing was the main sorting method for me, a kind of typed reasoning that still helps me, but I no longer find as necessary as I once did. In truth, I know I don't agree with Faulkner. As a writing teacher and much more prosaic writer than Faulkner, I prefer to know my opinion on a topic before I dive into writing about it. That doesn't mean I can't change my mind as the writing develops. And of course it does not preclude a stream of consciousness, preamble sort of writing that I give myself permission to do, (and later to cut) in order to get started on a topic when I'm having a hard time finding a way in. So, I'm wondering about my students as they write this week. Do they know how to begin? Will they give themselves permission to write a lousy first draft? Will they leave time to revise? Time will tell, but I hope so.

Happy New Year!

2008-08-13T21:17:00.002-04:00

No, I don't have the calendar wrong. To me, the year begins when school begins. Tomorrow I meet my students, future readers of this odd assortment of stuff. I'm nearly ready, with just an hour or so to spare.

A Writing Slideshow

2008-02-13T16:26:00.001-05:00

Writing

From: eslwebteacher, 1 year ago

| View | Upload your own

This is an introductory description of the steps of writing.

SlideShare Link

Word Cup, Anyone?

2008-02-04T21:05:00.000-05:00

Here's a fun vocabulary program I happened upon today. Check it out; you can win real prizes!

A quote for the day

2008-01-31T08:45:00.000-05:00

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom; justice; honor; duty; mercy; hope.--Winston Churchill

I love them all--but I choose hope for today.

Dress code becomes law?

2008-01-09T20:12:00.000-05:00

Here's a story that might make a few kids feel differently about how they dress. But I can't help but wonder what's going on in schools when this must be addressed in the state legislature.

Idioms and cliches

2007-12-12T16:14:00.000-05:00

Today in class we listened to this piece by Frank Deford about college sports. Deford uses such lively idioms, so many that it was fun to pick them out. The question we didn't get to is, "How can our knowledge of idioms, cliches, metaphors, etc. inform and improve our reading and writing?" We'll look at this and use FCAT Explorer in the computer lab Thursday and Friday (12/13 and 12/14).

Questioning

2007-12-01T09:15:00.000-05:00

This list from the contents of a fascinating book: Asking the Right Questions: A Guide to Critical Thinking, is a great help in the classroom for students of any discipline. See what you think:

-- What are the issue and the conclusion? -- What are the reasons? -- Which words or phrases are ambiguous? -- What are the value conflicts and assumptions? -- What are the description assumptions? -- Are there any fallacies in the reasoning? -- How good is the evidence: intuition, appeals to authority, and testimonials? -- How good is the evidence: personal observation, case studies, research studies, and analogies? -- Are there rival causes? -- Are the statistics deceptive? -- What significant information is omitted? -- What reasonable conclusions are possible?

A Good Quote

2007-10-09T16:17:00.000-04:00

A lovely quote from a teacher I know.
"Listen and watch the world around you. Try to understand why things happen. Don't be satisfied with answers others give you. Don't assume that because everyone believes a thing it is right or wrong. Reason things out for yourself. Work to get answers on your own. Understand why you believe things. Finally, write what you honestly feel and then learn from the criticism that will always come your way." ~Avi

My dog loves life, too.

2007-10-07T10:46:00.001-04:00

This little bone made me laugh out loud this morning. I'm trying to cultivate the same attitude.

Group dynamics

2007-10-04T05:43:00.000-04:00

This piece from Megan McArdle, along with the comments it provoked, sheds new light on the nature vs. nuture argument.

Gypsy Cab Project

2007-09-21T20:17:00.001-04:00

Here's one of the most fascinating projects I've seen in a while. Fun work and scads of money from Volkswagon and maybe Apple, too. We may take a look at this this article about the Gypsy Cab Project together in class when I get a data projector that we can read text on.

God involved in a lawsuit?

2007-09-21T05:33:00.000-04:00

It had to happen sooner or later. In our litigious society, with somebody always trying to place blame (and liability) on someone else, one party wants to go right to the top. Nice try. I'll bet he was equally surprised to get a response--from Corpus Christi!

My cats' breakfast

2007-09-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Okay, I know it's silly, but I love this clip.

Quiz fun

2007-09-16T13:57:00.001-04:00

I love quizzes. How about you? I found these two online; my results in the Personality type quiz seem contradictory, which works for me as there are so many contradictions in my personality. The multiple intelligences seems pretty straightforward. Verbal/linguistic? No surprise there. Click the logo to go to the site and take the quizzes for yourself.

New page published

2007-09-12T18:33:00.000-04:00

Here's the page I've created to park resources for our Othello study. You can also get to it from the link called "Literature Resources" on the Pre-IB page. When you find great stuff during your research, please send me the links and I'll publish a few of the best ones there for all to share.

Turnitin--If you haven't already

2007-09-06T16:58:00.000-04:00

I've changed the date on the Poetry Compare/Contrast assignment at Turnitin.com, so you should be able to still turn your papers in there. I believe I have copies of all papers with the exception of one. No names--you know who you are. I'll be starting on your papers tonight, but don't expect to have them finished until after the weekend. Some good stuff there, I can tell that already.

Poetry Compare/Contrast

2007-09-05T21:13:00.000-04:00

If you've sent your paper, I've received it. Never fear, I'll have a list in class tomorrow and we'll chase down anyone whose work I do not have. I'm having second thoughts about going all digital, but haven't completed the process yet, so won't jump to a conclusion. Here's one way to simplify the work: consistent file-naming. In the future, let's use this plan: #(Class)LastName_assignment name.doc (or .rtf). This means if I was in 2nd period my file would be named 2_Mullen_poetryessay.doc

Vocabulary

2007-09-05T13:27:00.000-04:00

I've been looking at the vocabulary site and thinking about how we will assess your learning of these words. I don't think we'll quiz every week, but will probably schedule tests with the review sections in the book. Do check out the sound files that teach these words. Here's the one for unit #1. You can right-click the sound file and save it to your computer to use on an iPod or any .mp3 player. Wish they had this when I was learning vocab.

Welcome

2007-08-30T20:09:00.000-04:00

Although you may be reading this well after I write it, this new blog will aid us in communicating about class assignments, concerns, etc. I'll also be posting interesting sites, contests and other fun stuff as I find it. Feel freee to contribute, I'd like to see what you find.