Writing Tip of the Week -- Organized Writing

Essays are like sandwiches. The main idea is the meat; there should be a little bit in every bite. The supporting ideas are like condiments; they should spice up the essay without overpowering the main idea. The opening and closing paragraphs are the two slices of bread that hold it all together.



Paragraphs are like mini-essays. Again, the main idea is the meat. The supporting details are condiments, and the topic sentences and conclusions are the bread.



Take a look at this opening paragraph:

This Week's Online Classroom Sessions

Tuesday, August 31, 7:00-8:00 PM: ESOL Conversation Community
Instuctor: Shannon Mischler
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/smischler

Thursday, September 2, 7:00 PM: Passing the GED Science Test
Instructor: Bethany Lezanic-Smith
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/tcapouillez

Friday, September 3, 9:00-10:30 AM: ESOL Live Online Class
Instructor: Shannon Mischler
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/smischler

Friday, September 3, 2:00 PM: DLP Book Club
Instructor: Staci Van Art
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/svanart

Fall 1 Session Begins

Hello, Distance Learners!

The DLP Fall 1 Session begins today and ends Oct. 8. Our mailings were sent out on Thursday, so you should receive your materials by today. If you have not received your Fall 1 materials by tomorrow, please contact us.

Reading Tip of the Week: DLP Online Book Club

Whether we are reading the latest novel, a newspaper article, or a birthday card, reading is an important part of life. Think about all of the things we read every day: street signs, instructions, recipes, shopping lists, websites, etc.

Reading is not only a practical skill that helps us through our everyday lives; it is also a way to broaden our horizons, to learn about things we may never get to see with our own eyes, and to expand our imaginations.

If you could read about anything you wanted, what would it be? A science fiction novel? A romance? A biography of your favorite singer or an historical figure you wish you could have met? Maybe you're interested in learning more about your ethnic heritage or maybe you'd like to learn more about collecting coins.

Reading is the door to endless possibilities! That's why we've created the DLP Online Book Club. Each session, a new story will be posted. Just read the story and answer the questions. Feel free to read and respond to each other's posts. Discussion is encouraged! In the future, you might even want to recommend stories, books, or articles that you have read that other people might enjoy!

We've moved the book club from it's old site at freeforums.org to the DLP Moodle site. All online students have automatically been registered for the club. Your Moodle user name and password are all you need! Please join me in my online classroom this Friday at 2:00 PM, for a preview of the club and how it works! You will receive a flyer with your Fall 1 materials, that will include more information about both the book club and the webinar.

Math Tip of the Week -- Area and Perimeter

Think of the perimeter as the fence around the yard, and the area as the part you have to mow.

In this example, the perimeter is represented by the border of trees. We find the perimeter by adding the lengths of all of the sides together. In this example, if our yard is 12 feet long by 12 feet wide, we would do this: 12 + 12 + 12 + 12 = 48 ft.

We find the area, or the part in the middle by multiplying the length by the width. Area is represented in square feet. In our example, our yard is 12 feet long by 12 feet wide, we would do this: 12 x 12 = 144 sq. ft.

Science Tip of the Week -- States of Matter

All matter has three states: solids, liquids, and gases.


If we take a look at H2O, for example. In its solid form, we call it ice. In its liquid form, it is water. In it's gaseous form, it is steam.






The freezing point of H2O is 32 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the point at which it turns from a liquid (water) to a solid (ice).









The boiling point, or the point at which it turns from a liquid (water) to a gas (steam), is 212 degrees Fahrenheit.









H2O is in it's liquid form at between 32 and 212 degrees F.









Think about these things the next time you reach for the ice cubes, drink a glass of water, or boil water on the stove.

Social Studies Tip of the Week - Military Statues

Have you ever been to a place like Valley Forge, Gettysburg, or Washington, D.C., that have a lot of statues of soldiers on horseback? Did you know that you can read those statues?

If both the horse's front feet are off the ground, it means that the rider was killed in battle.

If the horse has one foot off the ground, it means that the rider died from injuries received in battle.

If all four of the horse's feet are firmly on the ground, it means that the rider lived to a ripe old age and died of natural causes.

Writing Tip of the Week -- Journaling

Whether you are learning a new skill or just sharpening the skills you have, practice is important.

A good way to practice writing is to keep a journal. Some people carry a notebook with them and when they have a few minutes, they write. Some people prefer to write for long periods at a time, when they wake up or just before they fall asleep.

A journal can be as plain or as fancy as you want it to be. It's yours, so you can make it any way you like. You can also write about anything you want. It's yours, and only yours. You never have to share it with anyone.

The purpose of journaling is to get your thoughts on paper. It's not about spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Rather than just listing what you did today, write about the places you've been and the people you've met, and most importantly, what you think and how you feel about them. Write about yourself and the decisions you've made, or that you will need to make in the future. Write about your childhood and how it has affected you as an adult. Because you never have to share it, allow yourself to be completely honest. And don't think too hard -- just write!

Transition Week

The DLP Summer Session is over, and the Fall Session will start on Monday, August 30. Students may be taking the week off, but DLP teachers and staff are hard at work enrolling students and preparing materials for the upcoming session.

Because this is Transition Week, there will be no online classrooms this week.

I will make an effort to keep the blog updated this week.

Have a great week off!

Paragraphs

Yes, I know!! The previous post looks like one long paragraph. I tried several times to separate the paragraphs, but the program automatically changed it back to the form you see.

Apologies!

Reading Tip of the Week: Reading Between the Lines

When we are reading, we must be detectives.

While it's important to pay attention to what's written on the page, it's just as important to read what's not written on the page!

Consider the following reading:

Jim bundled up in his down jacket and pulled his hat over his ears. As he reach for his dented metal lunchbox, he scratched old Fido behind the ear. He grabbed the keys off the table by the door and headed out to his truck.

As he yanked the truck door open, he hoped the old Chevy would start. He slid the lunchbox across the duct taped seat and climbed in, blowing on his hands to warm them. He shifted to neutral, pushed in the clutch and turned the key. Nothing happened. He tried again. Still nothing.

He sighed heavily. He was not looking forward to walking two miles to the mill in this weather. He'd be late and his pay would be docked. Still, he didn't have much choice. He needed this job. It's expensive to get sick, he thought. He glanced up at the bedroom window, noticing the peeling paint on the shutters. He slammed the truck door and trudged toward the street.

Now think about Jim. How old do you think he is? Where is he going? Why is he going there? What time of year is it? What is the weather like on this day? Where does he work? How old is Jim's truck? What is its condition? Who is sick? Is Jim responsible or irresponsible?

We can gather that it is very cold because Jim is bundled up and not looking forward to walking to work because of the weather. It's probably winter.

His dog is old (old Fido), his lunchbox appears to be old (dented, metal), the truck is old (the seat is duct taped, it's got a manual transmission, and it won't start), and his house is old (peeling paint), so it's a safe bet the Jim is older, too.

He's got his lunchbox, and he's concerned about being late and being docked, so he must be going to work. The passage mentions a mill, and that is usually some kind of factory -- perhaps a steel mill.

We know that Jim has to keep working to pay someone's medical bills. That person is probably his wife. Since he glances up at the bedroom window while he is thinking about this, we can infer that she is probably in bed.

We can conclude that Jim is a responsible person because he is willing to walk two miles in the cold winter weather, even though he will be late and have his pay docked, so that he will be able to pay for his sick wife's medical bills.

Remember to be a detective when you are reading!

Last Day of Summer Session!!

We made it!! Today is the last day of the DLP Summer Session. Next week, DLP staff will be busy getting ready for the Fall 2 session.

The Fall 1 Session begins August 30.

Math Tip of the Week -- Exponents

Think about how fast word-of-mouth can travel. Whether it's a viral video or a rumor, telling our friends is one of the fasted ways to send information. Why? Because it spreads exponentially.


Let's say you see a funny YouTube video. You send it to two friends. Each of friends sends it to two of their friends. And each of those people send it two more people, and so on.



It would look like this:

Science Tip of the Week

Our solar system is fascinating! Did you know that our sun is really a star? It takes 8 minutes 17 seconds for light to travel from the Sun to Earth?

Here are some more interesting facts about the solar system:

Uranus rolls on its side like a barrel, while the other planets spin upright like a top.

Venus spins in the opposite direction of the other planets.

The most volcanic activity in our Solar System takes place on Io, one of Jupiter's moons.

Pluto lost its planet status in 2006. It is now considered a dwarf planet because the ratio of its mass to that of everything else within its orbit is not big enough.

Distance Learning Instructor Matt Manfred reminded me that the world would be a much bleaker place without The Peanuts Gang and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream!

Did you know that Charles Schulz, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were distance learners? It's true!

Charles Schulz learned do draw by taking correspondence courses with Art Instruction Schools. He even became a teacher there after he returned from World War II!

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield took a correspondence course in ice cream making from Penn State, and the rest is ice cream history!

Thanks for the reminder, Matt!

Social Studies Tip of the Week

The Great Depression began in 1929 with the Stock Market Crash, and lasted throughout the 1930s, ending with the beginning of World War II. During the Depression, the United States economy fell so sharply that unemployment reached 25%, and the Gross National Product dropped by 33%. This means that companies did not have money to pay their workers; one out of every four people lost their jobs, and had no money to buy things that were still being produced. Because of this, American factories produced fewer things that we could trade with other countries. The slowdown in trade cause the depression to spread around the world.

If the economic situation wasn't bad enough, there was a drought in the midwest, where most of our food crops are grown. It was so dry that, when heavy winds came along, there were massive dust storms that covered the fields, cars and even houses, like snow. The area, especially Oklahoma and nothern Texas, became known as the Dust Bowl. The drought meant that fewer crops could be produced, which meant less food.

The shortage of food meant that food was more expensive, and people couldn't afford to buy it. Many Dust Bowl farmers packed their families up and headed to California to look for work. They became migrant workers, continuously, following whatever crops were in season.

If you would like to read some novels that are set during the Great Depression, I encourage you to read The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

For a Closer Look at the Graphics on this Blog

If you are having trouble seeing the details on the charts and pictures on this blog, just click on them to get a better look!

Writing Tip of the Week - Subject-Verb Agreement

If you have a hard time remembering how to make your subjects and verbs get along with each other, this chart might be useful.

There are 6 types of subjects. Let's look at them.

The left column on the chart shows the singular subects and the column on the right shows the plural subjects.

The rows show first person, second person and third person points-of-view.

Every subject has two parts: point-of-view and singular/plural. For example, the word "I" is first person singular, while the word "they" is third person plural.

Let's take a closer look at the word "you." It's both singular and plural. For example, if I'm talking to one friend, I might say, "You are my friend." If I'm talking to two or more friends, I would still say, "You are my friends."

There are many slang ways to differentiate between the singular and plural "you." In the South, they say "you all" or "y'all." In New York, they say "yous." We Pennsylvanians usually say "you'uns or "y'uns," depending on which said of the state you live! Those are all forms of slang. You should avoid slang when writing, and use "you" whether your subject is singular or plural.

I've conjugated the regular verb "walk" on this chart so that you can see the different forms. Note how they change depending on the subject.

On this chart, I've conjugated the irregular verb "to be." Part of what makes this verb irregular none of the present tense (happening right now) forms of the verb is "be." Again, note how the verb changes with the subject.

And on this chart, I've combined the two verbs to create the infinitive verb "to be walking," so you can see how the verb changes again. The infinitive form just means "a state of being," and usually involves the verb "to be" in one of it's many forms.

Reminder

We are beginning the last week of the 6-week summer session! The session ends on Friday, August 20.

This Week's Online Classroom Sessions

Monday, August 16, 7:00 PM -- Spelling
Instructor: Bethany Lezzanic-Smith
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/tcapouillez

Thursday, August 19, 7:00 PM -- Mean, Median and Mode
Instructor: Lisa Bailey
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/lbailey

Every Friday at 9:00 AM -- English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Instructor: Shannon Mischler
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/smischler

Reading Tip of the Week: Main Idea

The main idea of an essay or a news article is usually found in the first paragraph. On the same note, the main idea of a paragraph is usually in the first sentence. The main idea is what the story is about. It is the important part of the story that you will pass on when you tell someone about the story you read.

Read the following paragraph and find the main idea.

Mary had a little lamb. It's fleece was white as snow. Everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. It followed her to school one day, which was against the rules.

You are right if you thought the main idea was Mary had a little lamb. All of the othe sentences are supporting details that talk about Mary's lamb!

Math Tip of the Week - Figuring Out Interest

Did you know that you have to pay a fee to borrow money? It's called "interest," because the person or bank who loans you the money is interested in getting paid back!





How do we figure it out? Easy! Let's say you're buying a car.



Don't be afraid to dream big!!

This car is going to cost $75,000. Hey, I said, "DREAM BIG!!" :)






The rate at which the interest will accrue is 4%.

You will take 5 years to pay off the loan.


We want to find out how much actual interest you will pay on your loan.








First, we must find 4% of $75,000. We know that "of" means "multiply."

.04 x $75,000 = $3,000. This is the interest for 1 year, but we will be paying for 5 years, so we must multiply again by 5.


$3,000 x 5 = $15,000 This is how much total interest we will pay on the loan. That means that we will pay back the $75,000 we borrowed, plus we will pay an extra $15,000 fee (interest).


We can reduce the amount of interest we pay by borrowing a smaller amount, by getting a lower interest rate, or by paying the loan off in less time.

DLP Book Club Moves to Moodle

We've had an online book club for DLP students for the last two sessions, but it hasn't been very successful. We believe that may be because it was located on a separate site and it was not very easy to use. We are not giving up on the book club, though! Students who have been participating have reported that they like it, but they wish more students would participate.

The DLP Online Book Club has been moved to Moodle. We hope more of you will join the club because it is very easy to use now. Just look on the class list on the Moodle site and click on DLP Online Book Club. The story is posted there, along with the discussion questions. You may answer the questions I've posted, as well as asking your own questions.

If you were participating in the book club on the other site, please be advised that we are no longer using that site. The book club will only operate on Moodle.

Hope to see you there!

Science Tip of the Week

There is more water on Earth than there is land. About 70% of our planet's surface is covered by oceans. The Pacific Ocean alone covers about 30% of the planet.

Social Studies Tip of the Week

Because the DLP staff was out of the office yesterday, your Social Studies Tip of the Week is a little late!

We are very lucky to live in Pennsylvania. Our state is rich with American history!
If you've never visited Gettysburg, I encourage you to check it out!

The Battle of Gettysburg took place from July 1-3, 1863. It was the turning point of the American Civil War, in which Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. More American lives were lost at Gettysburg than during any other Civil War battle.

Gettysburg is located about 40 miles south of Harrisburg, near the Maryland border. There are many ways to see the battlefield. You may take a guided tour, or just explore on your own. There are bus tours available, but you may also drive around the battlefield. You may also choose to see it by bicycle or on horseback. For information about Gettysburg, go to http://www.gettysburg.com/.

Writing Tip of the Week

Did you know that commas can save lives? There is a world of difference between these two sentences:

1. Let's eat, Grandpa!

The comma in the first sentence indicates that you are speaking to Grandpa.



.


2. Let's eat Grandpa!

The lack of a comma in the second sentence indicates that Grandpa is the direct object and the eating will be done to Grandpa.

This Week's Online Classroom Sessions

Fecha: Agosto 6, 13 y 20 (viernes) a las 9 a.m.:Inglés para personas hablantes de otros idiomas (ESOL)
Instructor: Shannon Mischler
¿Tu idioma nativo no es el Inglés? ¿Quieres practicar tu Inglés: escuchar, hablar, leer y escribir? Entonces, únete a Inglés para personas hablantes de otros Idiomas (ESOL) disfruta de las clases online! Durante la clase online los estudiantes comparten noticias del mundo, leen artículos noticiosos, amplían su vocabulario y practican estructura gramatical y pronunciación. En la clase online se utiliza Skype para el audio. Por favor descargue Skype en http://www.skype.com/download/ y envíe su usuario de Skype al correo electrónico de Shannon smischler@tiu11.org. Para unirse a las clases online en vivo diríjase al link http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/smischler/ e ingrese a las 9 am. Si desea participar puede escribirle a Shannon Mischler al correo smischler@tiu11.org para comunicarle su intención.

en Inglés/In English:

Fridays August 13, 9:00am (and every Friday) – English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)
Instructor: Shannon Mischler
Are you a non native English speaker? Would you like to practice your English listening, speaking, reading, and writing? Then join the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) live online class, every Friday at 9:00am! During the live online class students share world news, read news articles, expand their vocabulary, and practice grammatical structures and pronunciation. The live online class uses Skype for audio. Please download Skype at http://www.skype.com/download/ and email your Skype user name to Shannon at smischler@tiu11.org To join the live online class go to http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/smischler/ and login at 9 a.m. Please let Shannon Mischler know you will be participating in the live online class by emailing her at smischler@tiu11.org.

Reading Tip of the Week: Point of View

Point of view means who is telling the story. Who's point of view is it?

If the person telling the story is an actual character in the story and says "I did this" and "I said that," the story is told in first person. If that person also knows what all of the other characters are doing and thinking, the point of view is first person omnicient.If he only knows things because he saw them or because another character told him, the point of view is first person limited.

If the person telling the story is not an actual participant in the story and says "he did this" and "she said that," the story is told in third person point of view. If speaker, or narrator, knows what is happening with all of the other characters, the point of view is third person omnicient. If the narrator only follows one character, it is third person limited.

There is a second person point of view, but it is rarely used.

Week 5

We are now in Week 5 of the Summer Session. We hope everyone is well and that you are having a great summer!

Math Tip of the Week -- Place Values

It can be hard to keep your place when you are working with large numbers. This chart illustrates how place values work. It shows what the number looks like and how we say it and write it out. If you write checks, this is a good thing to know! It also shows how the number breaks down into place values. Just click on the chart to get a closer look!

New Feature

This blog is still in the experimental stage, so I'm going to try an experiment. I'm going to add a fun fact or helpful tip each day of the week, with a different topic for each day.

Monday will be Reading Day.

Tuesday will be Writing Day.

Wednesday will be Social Studies Day.

Thursday will be Science Day.

Friday will be Math Day.

Let's see how it goes!

Reminder to Referral Agencies

The Fall 1 session begins on Monday, August 30. All new student registrations are due by close of business on Friday, August 20.

Session Update

We are in the 4th week of the 6-week Summer session. If you have not begun your lessons yet, please contact your instructor as soon as you can.

This Week's Online Classroom Sessions

Mon, August 2, 12:30 PM: Reading Scientific Images: Climate Change
Instructor: Rick Searle(rsearle@tiu11.org)
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/r64531678

Tuesday, August 3, 12:30 PM: Elements of Geometry
Instructor: Rick Searle (rsearle@tiu11.org)
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/r64531678

Thursday, August 5, 7:00 PM: Understanding Main Idea and Supporting Details
Instructor: Dyan Schauer (dschauer@tiu11.org)
Online Classroom: http://adobeconx.tiu11.org/dschauer