Cohesion assignment

INSTRUCTIONS: The paragraph below does not flow well. Try rewriting each sentence (starting with sentence two, of course) to put an idea from the preceding sentence into the beginning of the sentence.

Thirty sixth-grade students wrote essays that were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of eight weeks of training to distinguish fact from opinion. That ability is an important aspect of making sound arguments of any kind. in an essay written before instruction began, the writers failed almost completely to distinguish fact from opinion. In an essay written after four weeks of instruction, the students visibly attempted to distinguish fact from opinion, but did so inconsistently. In three more essays, they distinguished fact from opinion more consistently, but never achieved the predicted level. In a final essay written six months after instruction ended, they did no better than they did in their pre-instruction essay. Their training had some effect on their writing during the instruction period, but it was inconsistent, and six months after instruction it had no measurable effect.

Memo assignment

The CEO has given her secretary this material for a memo, but it is highly un-organized. Rewrite the memo so that the main point is first, that the memo flows in a much more logical order. Delete information not relevant to the main, and as always proofread your work.

To employees at a call center

Im hoping you can send out a memo for me to all phone operators.

As you might or might not be aware of, weve had some problems lately with operators asking for breaks, or simply taking them, at all sorts of time during their shift. While we are happy to be flexible, we do have a job to do and must have a certain amount of operators manning the phones at all times. Several times the phones have rung and rung with not enough people to answer them. Several supervisors have complained to me that their people have argued with them about combining their breaks and meal break to get an hour at one time. I feel like I need to put my foot down so that each supervisor doesnt have to make their own decision. We need to remind folks of our policy on breaks and meal breaks through the day. Remind telephone operators that they should take the two 15 minute breaks allotted to them generally about halfway through a four-hour work period. If they want or need to take a break during another time, they should talk with their supervisor. But let folks know this should be under extraordinary circumstances. Stress that these should be extraordinary circumstances so we can count on enough people to be on the phones through the day.

Meal breaks should be taken roughly halfway through their shift, but they should be coordinated with their supervisor. Several times, weve lost folks we were counting on, only to find that they were on break.

Phone operators can stay at their desks and work on personal business, or simply each lunch, as long as they are not tying up resources. Wed prefer, though, that they go to the break rooms or leave their cubicles. We dont want people to create the perception that theyre doing personal tasks during work time. I often eat at my desk but of course Im not salaried employee.

Oh, and we dont want folks saving up their breaks and leaving work early. We need to staff our phones from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Our staggered schedule allows us to do that, but not if folks create their own schedules. Do people have to take their breaks? Yes, they do — federal law mandates it. So tell them they just cant skip the breaks, though why theyd want to I dont know.

By the way, it looks like well be hiring in the new fiscal year, as we go ahead with that expansion into the Southeast. Should be about 20 to 25 new phone operators.

Grading Belief

Write a three paragraph essay on (1) your beliefs about grading, (2) why you believe your views are educationally sound and (3) how this will impact your teaching. Respond to the postings of three other students in which you address the following question: Have they made a cogent argument for their beliefs about grading?

Comparing the objectives with the planned assessment. Do they align. How? EXPLAIN your answer.

Visit the website, www.LearnNC.org. Click on lesson plans.

Find a lesson plan that would be applicable to your grade/subject.

1. Summarize the lesson plan. Identify the objectives, the teacher input/activities and the assessments to be used.

EVALUATE the lesson plan by:

2. Comparing the objectives with the planned assessment. Do they align. How? EXPLAIN your answer.

3. Comparing the objectives and the activities. Do they align? If so, how? EXPLAIN your answer.

4. Comparing the activites and the assessment. Do they align? If so, how? EXPLAIN your answer.

Review the postings of three other students. What were your thoughts about the lesson they reviewed? Were they accurate in their assessment of the lesson. Carefully explain your reasoning.

Grading

Select an article on grading from Educational Leadership, Vol. 69, no. 3 (November 2011) or another peer-reviewed article. Read and summarize the main points of the article. Post your summary to Moodle. Read the article and comment of three peers.

Pashtuns

Each student is responsible for writing a profile that is their own, original work. The profile will provide a sketch of one of the major ethnic groups found within Afghanistan. Emphasis will be on the organized approach to assessing the ethnic group in the following ways: brief history over the past century, geographic location within the country, principle language, characteristics and key leaders. Your success will be based primarily upon your ability to effectively explain what impact this ethnic groups has had upon Afghanistan. Select one of the following: Aimaq; Baloch; Hazara; Nuristani; Pashtun; Tajik; or Turkmen.Length: 5-6 pages of text (not including cover, maps, figures or references page).

Maintaining Migrant Languages

Imagine that you have just moved to Edmonton from a part of the world in which English is not the dominant language. You were able to take English as a Second Language courses in your previous home, and you are fairly comfortable speaking it. You have two children, ages two and six, when you arrive. They only speak your home language. The older child will have to go to school, while the younger child will need to have care during the day while you work. You obviously want them to learn English, but you are also concerned that they maintain their ability to speak their home language. What factors might you consider in deciding where to send your children to school and choosing a care provider? What barriers and limitations would you face in making these choices? What factors do you think might lead to them losing their ability to speak and use their original language? Why is it important to you that they maintain this language?