E-Portfolio Requirements

Layout: professional with appropriate graphics

Profile: appropriate information and photo

Writing: HD level 1 quality

Posts:
1. Procedure: How to Fail the Portfolio
2. Procedure: The Hajj
3. Narration: Accident in the Desert
4. Narration: Ramadan Story
5. Process: Your choice
6. Process: Your choice
7. Comparison/Contrast: Your choice
8. Comparison/ Contrast: Your choice
9. Reflective Essay

Comments: Useful suggestions for all team members’ posts except the Reflective Essay.

Reflections on English 125

Introduction: Describe your overall experience with this course this term, especially as it relates to your writing, your blog/e-portfolio and your participation as a blog team member.

Body Paragraph 1: What was best for your writing in this course? What helped you the most? What did you do that contributed to your improving as a writer?

Body Paragraph 2: What was the most challenging for you in the writing portion of this course? What do you need to work on the most? What did you do to help yourself through these challenges?

Conclusion: Assess your performance in this course. What could you do in the future to help yourself be even more successful? What do you want to achieve in the future related to your writing?

Team Effort

Comparison contrast essays are due today! Please post comments on your team members' essays. You should cover:

* introduction on appropriate topics (topics given on HD1 site)
* 3 similarities given for comp paragraph
* 3 differences given for contrast paragraph
* general conclusion
* comparison & contrast vocab (see HD1 site)
* appropriate word length (200)
* grammar & spelling

Progress Test

Exciting opportunity to display your command of English! Come one; come all to the ADMC auditorium from 1:45 -5:15pm, Monday, Nov. 2. Bring ID, pencil and eraser to demonstrate your reading, writing: narration and procedure, and listening skills. See you there!

Processing...

Well done! To those of you who have completed your procedure posts and commented on your team members posts. Those of you who submitted your posts on time have received my feedback on your narrative writing. You now have the procedure criteria and my narration writing comments. You are expected to edit your posts appropriately for the portfolio grade.

We are launching into process writing next. All of the criteria for procedure are also true for process except that instead of using the imperative verb tense, the passive voice is used. On the HD1 website under 125, you will find: “Describing a Process…” Under the introduction, please read: 1. Layout… 2. More… 4. Using a computer… 9. Expanding…; please do exercise 6. Exercise sentences. Choose two topics from the list provided, click on the link(s), read or watch information about your topics, then write your process essays – one for each topic. Both posts are due November 17.

Blog Team Checklist

Please read your team members posts and give them feedback in the comments section of each post. Be sure to give your name, so that you get the credit. Comments should note what your partners have done well, as well as provide constructive criticism. Please make suggestions for editing and give your reasons.

Procedure Essays:

1. Length (150 words)
2. Organization: 3 paragraphs including introduction, body and conclusion
3. Verb Tense: modals & imperative
4. Linking Words
5. Grammar, Spelling and punctuation

Meet at the Movies

Monday, October 12^th our class will not meet. Instead during our class time those of you who have Maurice will meet with him in our classroom. On Tuesday we will meet at our usual time for the reading test. After class we will have an extra session, instead of Maurice’s class. We will meet at Cinestar 2 at 4:15 for the MEIFF movie “Earth Whisperers” . I suggest you purchase your tickets in advance on the MEIFF website, 10AED. See you there!

Good Teamwork

"Well done!" to those who have completed their profiles and procedure posts, uploaded their photos and linked to my blog. By now you have received your first blog feedback.

Next week your narrative post on Ramadan is due and teams will evaluate your procedure posts. Blog teams: 1= Talal, Abu Baker & Salem, 2= Ali, Mohammed A & S., 3= Basel, Yousef & Hamza, 4= Hamad Y, Alqam & Omar Eid, 5 = Eid, Omar A & M., 6 = Saeed & Zayad M. Please let me know if your name does not appear on a team.

Note the Venue

To maximize student success, we will have regularly scheduled class time in the ILC. Our time will be 16:10-18:10 every Wednesday beginning this week! I will be available to help students get started. Your ongoing work will be tracked in a log.

Off and posting!

Congratulations to those who have created a blog and successfully sent me their links! Please check out yours and classmates' blogs in the student links section.

The next step is to post the procedure essays. Enter your dashboard and select new post. Copy and paste your essays from word docs. Always save a back up until your portfolio has been graded.The title for the first procedure essay should be: Procedure Essay: How to Fail the Portfolio. The title for your second post: Procedure Essay: The Hajj. Remember all procedure essays should be written using the imperative form of the verb and utilizing organizational words: first, next, then, after that, etc. Elizabeth is available in the ALZ to proofread assignments. Once again, I encourage you to make use of this resource. I will be commenting on your posts in the comments section. You may then edit your essays. They will not be graded until the portfolio deadline. This will be our drafting system; please do not send assignments through email.

If you are missing any assignment hand outs, there will be a sign up sheet available in the classroom today, so that I may get more printed.

I appreciate all your enthusiasm for a successful term.

Fresh Start

Greetings 125 Students,

Eid Mubarek! I hope you all have had a good holiday and are ready for the regular class schedule.

We have had a bumpy start in this class. With new students joining us throughout the weeks our class has grown dramatically.

To meet this challenge, we will take several steps to help everyone maximize opportunities for success. If you are a new student, please partner with one of the original students to ensure you have gotten all the information you need. Please see me if you are missing any handouts. I encourage everyone who has not yet registered in the ALZ to do so as soon as possible and to make use of the facility for extra help with writing process. Please also utilize the ILC IELTS programs for extra listening, reading and writing practice. Finally, we will be transferring from a binder style portfolio to an electronic portfolio. Your writings will be saved on a blog you create and linked to my blog. You may access future information about the class at this blogsite to remain up to date with assignments.

I look forward to getting to know you all in further detail as you develop your profiles and begin posting. Blog on!

Light at the End of the Tunnel

We still have some important and powerful information to cover before we reach the end of our time together. However, we are going to begin looking at how to synthesize and present your learning through the blog project.

First, view the critical thinking PowerPoint under options. Your oral presentation will be based on your applying critical thinking to the tasks you have completed for your blog. Please include evidence of the following in your presentations supported by your own PowerPoint:

• Summarize your learning about the issues
• Explain the application to your own life

Any changes you’ve already made

Any changes you plan to make

Anyone with whom you’ve shared this information

• Describe your response

How you have felt about the changes

How you feel about making them

Others’ reactions to your sharing

• Evaluate the meaning for your life and the future of the planet