Senin, 17 Mei 2010

This is about ATTICUS CLOTHING
History
Los Angeles based Atticus Clothing is the original music inspired streetwear brand. For nearly ten years Atticus has been the brand of choice for today’s youth and the bands they love.
Story
Atticus Clothing started in the spring of 2001 on the back lot of a music video shoot in Southern California. The idea had been tossed around for a while of starting a clothing line. But it was on that day, just before having to go out in front of the cameras in someone else’s clothing that represented someone else’s ideas, that the idea was set in motion, and Atticus was born.
Name
The name Atticus came from several places. The literary classic “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, (which also influenced the bird logo), and patron of the arts Herodes Atticus, who spent the bulk of his fortune supporting the arts, building theaters for music and plays in ancient Greece.
Philosophy
The intention was to create a clothing line that didn’t label the wearer as anything but an individual that you couldn’t just look at the person and write them off without even talking to them. The same can be said about music, music can transcend all genres, ages, and races.
Macbeth Footwear

Macbeth Footwear is a Southern Californian brand of footwear, apparel and accessories, including vegan and organic products. One of its founders is Tom DeLonge, member of bands Blink-182 and Angels & Airwaves, who was also associated with Atticus Clothing.

History
Macbeth Footwear (previously known as "Macbeth Athletics") is a company founded by Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182. They founded the company in 2002-2003. The company sells primarily footwear, but also sells t-shirts, sweatshirts, and sunglasses (among other accessories). Macbeth is a mostly vegan company and is heavily influenced by music and other creative arts. It has two logos, one is the signature Macbeth Pennant as well as a Griffin (a lion with wings). Macbeths main online source is Loserkids.com, which was also founded by Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus. They had also previously founded Atticus Clothing.
Mark Hoppus sold his share in all three companies after the indefinite hiatus of Blink-182.
What is global warming?
Global warming is when the earth heats up (the temperature rises). It happens when greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, water vapor, nitrous oxide, and methane) trap heat and light from the sun in the earth’s atmosphere, which increases the temperature. This hurts many people, animals, and plants. Many cannot take the change, so they die.
What is the greenhouse effect?
The greenhouse effect is when the temperature rises because the sun’s heat and light is trapped in the earth’s atmosphere. This is like when heat is trapped in a car. On a very hot day, the car gets hotter when it is out in the parking lot. This is because the heat and light from the sun can get into the car, by going through the windows, but it can’t get back out. This is what the greenhouse effect does to the earth. The heat and light can get through the atmosphere, but it can’t get out. As a result, the temperature rises.
The sun’s heat can get into the car through the windows but is then trapped. This makes what ever the place might be, a greenhouse, a car, a building, or the earth’s atmosphere, hotter. This diagram shows the heat coming into a car as visible light (light you can see) and infrared light (heat). Once the light is inside the car, it is trapped and the heat builds up, just like it does in the earth’s atmosphere.
Sometimes the temperature can change in a way that helps us. The greenhouse effect makes the earth appropriate for people to live on. Without it, the earth would be freezing, or on the other hand it would be burning hot. It would be freezing at night because the sun would be down. We would not get the sun’s heat and light to make the night somewhat warm. During the day, especially during the summer, it would be burning because the sun would be up with no atmosphere to filter it, so people, plants, and animals would be exposed to all the light and heat.
Although the greenhouse effect makes the earth able to have people living on it, if there gets to be too many gases, the earth can get unusually warmer, and many plants, animals, and people will die. They would die because there would be less food (plants like corn, wheat, and other vegetables and fruits). This would happen because the plants would not be able to take the heat. This would cause us to have less food to eat, but it would also limit the food that animals have. With less food, like grass, for the animals that we need to survive (like cows) we would even have less food. Gradually, people, plants, and animals would all die of hunger.
What are greenhouse gasses?
Greenhouse gasses are gasses are in the earth’s atmosphere that collect heat and light from the sun. With too many greenhouse gasses in the air, the earth’s atmosphere will trap too much heat and the earth will get too hot. As a result people, animals, and plants would die because the heat would be too strong.
What is global warming doing to the environment?
Global warming is affecting many parts of the world. Global warming makes the sea rise, and when the sea rises, the water covers many low land islands. This is a big problem for many of the plants, animals, and people on islands. The water covers the plants and causes some of them to die. When they die, the animals lose a source of food, along with their habitat. Although animals have a better ability to adapt to what happens than plants do, they may die also. When the plants and animals die, people lose two sources of food, plant food and animal food. They may also lose their homes. As a result, they would also have to leave the area or die. This would be called a break in the food chain, or a chain reaction, one thing happening that leads to another and so on.
The oceans are affected by global warming in other ways, as well. Many things that are happening to the ocean are linked to global warming. One thing that is happening is warm water, caused from global warming, is harming and killing algae in the ocean.
Algae is a producer that you can see floating on the top of the water. (A producer is something that makes food for other animals through photosynthesis, like grass.) This floating green algae is food to many consumers in the ocean. (A consumer is something that eats the producers.) One kind of a consumer is small fish. There are many others like crabs, some whales, and many other animals. Fewer algae is a problem because there is less food for us and many animals in the sea.
Global warming is doing many things to people as well as animals and plants. It is killing algae, but it is also destroying many huge forests. The pollution that causes global warming is linked to acid rain. Acid rain gradually destroys almost everything it touches. Global warming is also causing many more fires that wipe out whole forests. This happens because global warming can make the earth very hot. In forests, some plants and trees leaves can be so dry that they catch on fire.
What causes global warming?
Many things cause global warming. One thing that causes global warming is electrical pollution. Electricity causes pollution in many ways, some worse than others. In most cases, fossil fuels are burned to create electricity. Fossil fuels are made of dead plants and animals. Some examples of fossil fuels are oil and petroleum. Many pollutants (chemicals that pollute the air, water, and land) are sent into the air when fossil fuels are burned. Some of these chemicals are called greenhouse gasses.
We use these sources of energy much more than the sources that give off less pollution. Petroleum, one of the sources of energy, is used a lot. It is used for transportation, making electricity, and making many other things. Although this source of energy gives off a lot of pollution, it is used for 38% of the United States’ energy.

Jumat, 14 Mei 2010

How To Teach Speaking
The first thing to keep in mind is that when we are helping our language students learn to speak English, we are not actually teaching them to speak. Unless they are infants, they already know how to do that. What we are really helping them with falls into three categories
1. improving fluency (speaking smoothly)
2. improving pronunciation (saying words properly)
3. improving enunciation (Saying words/phrases clearly - I think this includes word and sentence intonation)
Some would say that vocabulary, grammar, and cultural usage also fall into how we teach speaking, but I'd say that while they are critical, they are not only in the domain of speaking. Speaking is about using our mouth and vocal cords to make sounds that people understand as language. It certainly involves other elements like grammar and vocabulary, but they aren't the core of it.
So, back to the main question of how to teach speaking. Let's look at each of the three elements I mentioned above
Improving Fluency
Fluency comes from practice - plain and simple. However it needs to be practice that involves extended use of the language and use of extended sentences. You can not build fluency by repeating single words or short phrases. Fluency at its heart relates to being able to speak for longer periods of time in a smooth way. Broadly speaking, here are a few things that can help build fluency:
1. speeches or presentations
2. group discussions
3. role plays
4. negotiations and debates
5. interviews and meetings
6. chatting in small groups
Improving Pronunciation
Pronunciation is the ability to say words properly with the correct sounds in the correct places. This is a skill that can take a VERY long to develop, but with consistent work and practice, it can be done. There are two keys to proper pronunciation 1) tons of native speaker input and 2) tons of speaking by the learner with native speakers. However, practice and lessons that target specific trouble areas can make a huge difference in a student's ability to deal with issues in pronunciation.
1. working on specific vowels
2. working on trouble consonants (e.g. th for French speakers)
3. working on understanding movement and location of mouth and tongue when making sounds
Improving Enunciation
Enunciation is speaking clearly - perhaps better understood by its opposite which is mumbling or slurring words. Enunciation is a very important aspect of speaking in that poor enunciation can make someone almost impossible to understand. Again improvements in enunciation come from exposure to native speakers, and plenty of natural practice. Of course focused work targeting problem areas can help a great deal as well. Things that can be done to help with enunciation include:
1. focused work on trouble word combinations
2. working on reductions (want to –> wanna)
3. working on sentence level stress points
4. working on word level stress points (e.g. differences between noun/verb forms of same word record/record)
5. working on sentence level intonation patterns
As you may have noticed I haven't provided any specific lesson ideas on how to teach speaking. There are literally hundreds of different activities that you can use in myraid different situations. There isn't one right way, or even one right sequence. Just be sure to give your students plenty of time for talking freely, supplement this with targeted exercises and practice, and actively encourage your students to listen to and speak with as many native speakers as they possibly can on a regular basis.
How to Teach Reading
Step 1
Increase vocabulary. Refer to "The Reading Teacher's Book of Lists" for a list of the 1000 most common words in the English language. A person only needs to see a word approximately 10-20 times before it is committed to memory. Teach these high frequency words by using flashcards or an overhead projector. Teach 100 at a time. Once the students have mastered the first 100, then move on to the next batch.
Step 2
Enhance reading comprehension by teaching students pre-reading strategies. Show them how to use highlighters to mark important main points, how to annotate text with a question and comment in the margin (or on a separate piece of paper), and how to stop reading when they are confused.
Step 3
Model effective reading strategies. It is important to read aloud to the students. As you read, be sure to stop now and then to ask questions about the text or comment on a particular narrative moment. Point out main points and use an overhead projector to model how to highlight and annotate a text.
Step 4
Put the students into groups. Give each student control over what text she will read and allow her the opportunity to work in a team in order to increase reading comprehension. Give each student in the group a responsibility - one is in charge of vocabulary, the other asking questions about the text, another summarizing the text, and another presenting all those topics to the class.
Step 5
Use charts, lists, and reading response logs. These are useful tools for students when they are struggling to read correctly. A reading response log will allow a student the opportunity to engage with the text on a personal level and increase his comprehension.

Sabtu, 08 Mei 2010

How To teach Listening
Listening is the language modality that is used most frequently. It has been estimated that adults spend almost half their communication time listening, and students may receive as much as 90% of their in-school information through listening to instructors and to one another. Often, however, language learners do not recognize the level of effort that goes into developing listening ability.
Far from passively receiving and recording aural input, listeners actively involve themselves in the interpretation of what they hear, bringing their own background knowledge and linguistic knowledge to bear on the information contained in the aural text. Not all listening is the same; casual greetings, for example, require a different sort of listening capability than do academic lectures. Language learning requires intentional listening that employs strategies for identifying sounds and making meaning from them.
Listening involves a sender (a person, radio, and television), a message, and a receiver (the listener). Listeners often must process messages as they come, even if they are still processing what they have just heard, without backtracking or looking ahead. In addition, listeners must cope with the sender's choice of vocabulary, structure, and rate of delivery. The complexity of the listening process is magnified in second language contexts, where the receiver also has incomplete control of the language.
Given the importance of listening in language learning and teaching it is essential for language teachers to help their students become effective listeners. In the communicative approach to language teaching, this means modeling listening strategies and providing listening practice in authentic situations: those that learners are likely to encounter when they use the language outside the classroom.
How can you teach writing?

Below is just my simple outline of how I see the Writing process and the steps involved in teaching writing.

Of course, there are a number of ways how to teach writing and the specific writing skills and I will deal with those at the end of the page. Firstly I want to describe the general progression involved in the writing process.
1. Tracing letters and Teaching the correct letter formations.
2. Copying sentences – copying punctuation.
3. Writing from Dictation.
4. Copying larger selections.
5. Writing from Dictation of large selections.
6. Copying own narrations.
7. Writing own narrations.
8. Teach Writing with Style.
9. Teach Writing Forms.
Tracing letters and Teaching the correct letter formations.

Firstly you need to know how to teach writing prepartaion. This is the beginning step, which should be done with great care, especially emphasizing the correct pencil grip. It is harder to correct bad habits, so it is better to begin in the right way to start with.

The Light Educational Ministries Phonics Manual shows you how you can teach writing formations and lists "Three P's of Writing Preparation: Posture, Pencil Grip and Paper Position."
The LEM manual lists these important rules-
• Posture
• Sit with buttocks pushed to the back of chair.
• Have feet flat on floor (use a footstool is the chair is too high).
• Head should be held up, not drooping forward. A drooped head strains neck and back muscles.
• Back should be straight, with the trunk leaning forward from the hip joint for a comfortable writing position.

• Pencil Grip
• Use a six-sided (hexagonal) pencil. Hold it between thumb and middle finger. The pencil should be held lightly enough so that it can be pulled out of the hand easily, but firmly enough to maintain good control. Hand and finger muscles should not be tightly tensed.
• Write with the point of the pencil and hold it just above the shaven area.

• Paper position
• The side edge of the paper should be parallel to the arm holding the pencil. The other hand should rest above the writing to steady and move the paper up and down as needed.
• The left-handed student will do the same, but the paper will be at the opposite angle. Be sure that the left-handed student rests his pencil hand below the baseline, not above the writing.

More information can be found in the LEM Phonics Manaul.

I have found the pencil supports beneficial to teach children the correct placement of their fingers. It is good also to encourage them to write large letters either on a whiteboard, in a sand tray, or on a chalk board, or in paints etc.
The only Handwriting books I have used and enjoyed using are the “A Reason for Handwriting”. These books are based on Scripture verses. They teach correct formations over Days 1-4, copying the words in a Bible verse, and then culminating in Day five in which they write the whole Bible verse on a Scripture Border Sheet. This program covers how to teach writing concentrating on both the letter formations and words but at the same time, learning Scripture.
1. Copying words.

Once your child has begun to form their letters, let them copy some easy words.- This can be done in a variety of ways- begin an alphabet book with cut out or drawn pictures of the letter, and the child can copy the appropriate word under the picture. Number books – copying the words and drawing the correct number. Colour books. Family books – writing the names of the members of the family under photos. Journals – a drawing of their experience with your writing, out of which they copy a few words. The ideas are endless.
At this time, you can begin to enjoy the whole idea of lapbooks and very simple ideas of fold-outs for delightful projects, in which the child can write a few words here and there. These can be a very enjoyable way how you can teach writing in the context of other subjects.
2. Copying sentences – copying punctuation.

As your child becomes ready to copy more than just one word, they can copy sentences. From the beginning, a high standard must be set. The books they create must be treated as a very special keepsake, and so all their work, must be done in the best manner possible. I would write my sentence on their page and they would copy the words exactly under what I have written. Now they need to understand that each word needs its own space. The beauty of copying is that you do not need anything apart from what you are already using. Copying is an extension of whatever the child is listening to. Copywork should come from the most excellent literature, and therefore, the Bible is an excellent source. My children have always had a small Bible Copybook in which they copy the Bible verses which they are memorizing. In this way you can focus on how to teach writing at the same time as learning scripture.

Apart from our Bible Copybook, we have a Writing Treasure which is a blank notebook (Art book) into which they copy poetry and excerpts from literature.
Through the years, I have selected poems, which I would like all of my children to have in their Writing Treasures, and organized them year by year. Sometimes, we all add the same poem, but mostly the children are working on their own poems. The Literature they include in their Writing Treasures are from the books we are reading. It may be an historical fiction novel, a biography or another excellent source of literature. We copy Aesop’s fables from time to time also.

Is there a way to teach writing skills such as punctuation, correct spelling, use of quotation marks and so on in a simple approach?
Copybook is a very effortless way of teaching a number of things. It is an easy way to teach correct punctuation. The child needs to copy exactly what you have written and so they need to copy the capital letter and the fullstop. As the difficulty of the passage increases, there are other aspects of punctuation to be taught in the context of real writing- commas, quotation marks, semi-colons, colons and so on.

Another benefit of simple copying is that children are seeing words written correctly, and are copying them in correct spelling. They may not be reading fluently, yet their eyes are constantly observing how letter patterns are formed, and also subconsciously realizing that there are no patterns of d followed by b, or t followed by f and so on.
3. Writing from Dictation.

Here I have the theory, but I find it hard to put into practice. Ideally, we copy a passage on Monday and write it from dictation on Tuesday. For some reason, this theory is very hard to put into practice. I do believe in the value of it though.

Dictation is simply the teacher saying the passage out loud and the student writing it. At first, you will need to re-inforce the punctuation of a sentence and this is part of the learning process. “Remember, when we begin a sentence we begin with a capital letter. The first word I want you to write is ‘The’. ‘The’ begins with a ‘t’, so make sure your first letter is a capital.” This procedure must also take place with the introduction of every new concept. As time goes on, the child will not need your prompting and you can introduce the dictation time by saying that this will be a test to see if they know how to begin and end a sentence.

I have read of others who copy a passage on one day, and then the child either writes the passage from memory the next day, checks and corrects it or writes it from dictation, checks and corrects it. This is continued through the week, until the passage is written correctly. By this time, the passage is mostly stored in their memory also. I have not used dictation in this way, but I am tempted to give it a go, because it works not only on good writing mechanics, but also forces precise memory skills. Each week, they would be memorizing an excellent excerpt of literature or the Bible. That’s worthwhile!
4. Copying larger selections.

You can continue to teach writing by selecting larger and more difficult passages and including different forms of writing. (letters, essays, poems, argumentative essays, speeches, sermons)
5. Writing from Dictation of large selections.

The selections of writing and the level of difficulty can increase as the child matures in their ability. It is very important that you train your child to listen very carefully to the passage being dictated and only repeat the line twice so that they must pay attention. I have also taped my dictation passages (as I do my spelling lists) and given it to them to listen to and write. This also frees you up to attend to another child.
6. Copying own narrations.

Narration is the simple tool of asking your child to “narrate” or “Tell back” to you whatever he or she has read or listened to. Narration is so simple and so effective. You can and should begin to ask your child to narrate when they are very young and continue to do so. At a young age, you can ask them what the story was about and you would physically write their words on paper for them. They may illustrate the page. Alternatively, you may decide to type it for them. As their writing skills increase they can copy their own narration. I would suggest that this is initially done by writing their own words on a paper and leaving a line for them to copy the words directly underneath. When that skill is achieved, they may be able to copy their own narration from the board, or from a separate piece of paper.

Narration is an excellent tool. It forces the child to organize their thoughts. They need to sequence ideas and construct sentences. They need to draw on their memory and learn to express their thoughts. They need to choose words carefully and a child who has listened intently will often repeat the colourful language he has just heard. This increases their own vocabulary. Not every narration needs to be written down. It is firstly an oral skill, an extremely important oral skill which is needed as a precursor for writing.
7. Writing own narrations.

Narration can be done in many ways. It is a way to teach writing across all subject areas. It is the most effectual tool to see what your child has learned after they have read (or listened to) an assigned passage from a Science book, Historical fiction novel, History Text, or Literature. However, it can be used wherever reading takes place. Your child may be reading about nouns in a grammar text. You may ask him to read the information and then tell you all the sorts of nouns there are (i.e. common, proper, abstract…) The narration can be as broad or as specific as you desire. You can ask about what happened (broad) or ask them to describe how 'Character A' felt after…..(specific). Here are some Creative Writing Prompts or Narration Starters from Literature- Questions to ask after a literature reading or whole book.

In our home, my children have narrated to me since they were very little- as soon as they can talk, they can "tell" things back to you. You can ask them to tell you about any story or poem you read – from early nursery rhymes to fairy tales. Depending on the time available, their narrations may be written out into special books or may just be an oral narration. Even when your child narrates orally, you are still teaching writing skills.

We usually begin by narrating their own Bible Story Book. As we read the Bible stories, they narrate what happened and I copy their words into their own book. I use A4 Visual Arts Diaries for most of their subject areas, and I write the narration and they illustrate it. The beauty of this is that they have their own Bible Story book written by them and a lovely keepsake for themselves. This can also be done with Aesop’s fables – and made into a book.
Most of the time a child can be prompted to narrate by just asking the child to tell what the passage was about. Sometimes, however, another prompt may be needed. There are many different creative writing prompts or narration starters which can help your child to begin a narration.
8. How to Teach Writing with Style.

Style is all about learning how to write effectively and with clarity. A child who has been taught to narrate from early on, has already learned to sequence and construct sentences and thoughts. This is a fantastic advantage.
Teaching Writing: Structure and Style is a video seminar for teachers and parents presenting a system of structural models and stylistic techniques applicable for students of all ages and aptitudes
Stylistic elements add interest to writing.Adding stylistic elements in order to teach writing are ways of enhancing your writing and adding variety. I have a specific writing lesson every week and in this time slot, I slowly build on the list of elements we can use to add interest to our writing. It is too overwhelming to deal with all the elements at once, but when they are introduced slowly and referred to each week, they can become a part of your child’s writing
Teach Writing Forms.

All the above steps deal with how to teach writing mechanics. It is also important to know how to teach writing Forms. Here children can find the type of writing in which they can shine. Writing is fun and exciting, a way to explore words, and inspire others. By teaching different forms of writing, the child can experiment with letter writing, poetry, play-writing, advertising, essays and so on.