some homophones.

How to agree / half agree

Idiom: To be boiling mad.

See you later, alligator.

Hello, are you there?

Powerpoint presentation with Maringlena Fetahu

it's called FURniture, isn't it?

Idiom: To be born in a barn

Loving this blogging thing :)

OUR RUBRIC (Fatlinda Mulgeci and Maringlena Fetahu)

Independent Reading - Elementary : Reading about wild animals

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Collaboration	Student reads quietly and stays in one place in the reading area.	Student reads quietly. S/he moves around once or twice but does not distract others.	Student makes 1-2 comments or noises when reading, but stays in one place in reading area.	Student reads loudly, makes repeated comments or noises OR fidgets and moves about often, distracting others.
Follows the tasks	Student reads the entire period. This may be independent reading or done with adult or peer assistance, as assigned.	Student reads almost all (80% or more) of the period.	Student reads some (50% or more) of the time.	Student wastes a lot of reading time.
Good choice of books	Student chooses a book which s/he has not read before, which is at or above grade level, or has been previous approved by the teacher.	Student chooses a book which s/he has never read before and which is slightly below his/her reading level.	Student chooses a book s/he has read once before that is close to his/her reading level and was approved by the teacher.	Student chooses a book that s/he has read many times before or which is more than one grade below student's reading level.
Attentive	Student is lost in the story. There's no looking around or flipping through the pages.	Student seems to be enjoying and moving through the story, but takes some short breaks.	Student seems to be reading the story, but doesn't seem to be very interested. Takes a few short breaks.	Pretends to read the story. Mostly looks around or fiddles with things.
Willing to understand	Stops reading when it doesn't make sense and reads parts again. Looks up words s/he doesn't know.	Stops reading when it doesn't make sense and tries to use strategies to get through the tricky spots or to figure out new words.	Stops reading when it doesn't makes sense and asks for assistance.	Gives up entirely OR plows on without trying to understand the story.
Understand the content	Student knows the title of the story as well as the names and descriptions of the important characters. Can tell approximately when and where the story happened.	Student knows the names and descriptions of the important characters and where the story takes place.	Student knows the names OR descriptions of the important characters in the story.	Student has trouble naming and describing the characters in the story.
Reflects on the story	Student accurately describes what has happened in the story and tries to predict "what will happen next."	Student accurately describes what has happened in the story.	Student accurately describes most of what happened in the story.	Student has difficulty re-telling the story.
Analyzes the characters	Student describes how different characters might have felt at different points in the story and points out some pictures or words to support his interpretation without being asked.	Student describes how different characters might have felt at different points in the story, but does not provide support for the interpretation unless asked.	Student describes how different characters might have felt at different points in the story, but does NOT provide good support for the interpretation, even when asked	Student cannot describe how different characters might have felt at different points in the story.

Grades...?

The differences between a boss and a leader.

Effective Writing

Rule 1
Use concrete rather than vague language.

• Vague: 

The weather was of an extreme nature on the west coast.

• Concrete: 

California had very cold weather last week.


Rule 2
Use active voice whenever possible. Active voice means the subject is performing the verb.
Examples:

• Active: 

Barry hit the ball.

• Passive: 

The ball was hit.
Notice that the responsible party may not even appear when using passive voice


Rule 3
Avoid overusing there is, there are, it is, it was, and so on.

• Example:

There is a case of meningitis that was reported in the newspaper.

• Correction:

A case of meningitis was reported in the newspaper.

• Even better:

The newspaper reported a case of meningitis. (Active voice)

• Example:

It is important to signal before making a left turn.

• Correction:

Signaling before making a left turn is important.
OR
Signaling before a left turn is important.
OR
You should signal before making a left turn.(Active voice)

• Example:

There are some revisions which must be made.

• Correction:

Some revisions must be made.

• Even better:

Please make some revisions. (Active voice)


Rule 4
To avoid confusion, don't use two negatives to make a positive.

• Incorrect:

He is not unwilling to help.

• Correct:

He is willing to help.


Rule 5
Use similar grammatical form when offering several ideas. This is called parallel construction.

• Correct:

You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

• Incorrect:

You should check your spelling, grammar, and punctuating.


Rule 6
If you start a sentence with an action, place the actor immediately after or you will have created the infamous dangling modifier.

• Incorrect:

While walking across the street, the bus hit her.

• Correct:

While walking across the street, she was hit by a bus.
OR
She was hit by a bus while walking across the street.


Rule 7
Place modifiers near the words they modify.

• Incorrect:

I have some pound cake Mollie baked in my lunch bag.

• Correct:

In my lunch bag, I have some pound cake that Mollie baked


Rule 8
A sentence fragment occurs when you have only a phrase or weak clause but are missing a strong clause.

• Example of Sentence Fragment:

After the show ended.

• Example of Sentence:

After the show ended, we had coffee.

it's UNBEARABLE :)

Hello everyone! :)