Cypress Street Story

Todd-Michael St. Pierre writes poems, songs and plays for children. He is a storyteller at schools throughout the southern United States. Among his published works are 'Somewhere: As Told By Garrett The Parrot' and 'The Louisiana State Bird Beauty Pageant'. 'Cypress Street' is part of a collection, 'A Treehouse On The Moon', to be published soon, along with other works such as 'The Prince Of Nonsense: Silly Poems4Kids' and 'Put The People In A Zoo And Set The Animals Free: Poems4Kids To Read Out Loud'. St Pierre lives in St. Francisville, Louisiana, with his two Siamese twin cats.

I took a stroll down Cypress Street
The hot sidewalk beneath my feet.

The one thing that stood out the most
Where trees once stood there were lamppost.

I’d never seen so much concrete
No Cypress left on Cypress Street.

According to my Great Aunt Gem
There used to be a lot of them.

They cut them down. They took their wood
A treeless street is plum no good!

Just like a treeless neighborhood
So tell the Mayor next time they meet...
To change the name to Lamppost Street!

The Silent Passer-by Story

When I was a child, I didn't have hair on my head, just some stubs.

I liked to watch my friends play. I would join them now and then, but I preferred watching.

Every day, we would see an old man walking by our playground, carrying an umbrella. He had big ears and a bald head. The moment my friends saw him pass by, they would shout, "Hey, deaf and dumb, what's the time?" They told me that he could neither hear nor speak.

It was early evening. I was standing at the gate of my house, when I saw the old man coming. I was alone. There were no friends around to shout the usual words of 'greeting'.

But how could I let this man walk by without saying anything? So for the first time, I asked in a soft voice, "Hey deaf and dumb, what's the time?"

The old man looked at me. Then he looked at his watch and replied,"It's five thirty."

I ran inside the house and never shouted at the old man after that day.

How to Improve English Listening Comprehension

By Miki Garcia, eHow Contributor

updated: May 7, 2010

I want to do this! What's This?

You should improve English listening skills at your own pace.

girl listening to music image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com

Many English learners find improving English listening comprehension hard. When they go to an English-speaking country, and face real life English for the first time, it is normally the speed of English that makes them get overwhelmed. But don't overload yourself. The key is to practice and learn English everyday at your own pace. It takes time and effort and make sure you have fun learning English.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. 1
   Set an achievable goal. Why do you want to learn English? Is it to be relocated in a foreign country in three months, to watch "Gone with the Wind" without subtitles, or to pass an English proficiency test? Find out which area you want to focus on learning. If you don't have any specific goals, set a daily, weekly, or monthly goal -- learning five new words everyday, for instance.
   
2. 2
   Listen daily. There are countless ways to listen to English online, such as CNN, BBC World, radio stations, and so on. Voice of America has audio archives of free English listening comprehension resources. Get audio learning materials. Subscribe to podcasts and radio stations on iTunes. Try to listen attentively, take a note, and summarize what has been reported. If you didn't understand it, repeat it again. If you find real life English a little difficult, find something easier, such as conventional English study materials. If you are taking an English test, such as IELTS or TOEFL, they usually provide good listening materials and textbooks. Listening without understanding at all does not help unless you are a child.
   
3. 3
   Watch English films. If you are a beginner, watch it with English subtitles. If you are learning American English, then stick with American films. Do not translate into your native language. Try to think in English while watching by using an English dictionary. If you are into sports, watch sports in English through satellite or cable TV.
   
4. 4
   Speak English daily. Speaking, listening, writing and reading abilities go hand in hand. Increase vocabulary everyday. Set time for studying English every day -- for example 30 minutes before going to work. Try to have a conversation with English speaking people as often as possible. If you don't live in an English speaking country, make an effort and be proactive. Enroll in English classes, attend English forums, join English-speaking expat groups, volunteer to speak with English-speaking tourists, and so on. Learn about your country's culture and history, so that you can explain them to foreign tourists.

Read more: How to Improve English Listening Comprehension | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_6471930_improve-english-listening-comprehension.html#ixzz13isJCQnj

How to Improve Reading Comprehension

How to Improve Reading Comprehension

Key Point
Good reading means building frameworks for connecting words to thoughts.

The Purpose of Reading. The purpose of reading is to connect the ideas on the page to what you already know. If you don't know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don't retain much. For example, try reading these numbers: 7516324 This is hard to read and remember. 751-6324 This is easier because of chunking. 123-4567 This is easy to read because of prior knowledge and structure. Similarly, if you like sports, then reading the sports page is easy. You have a framework in your mind for reading, understanding and storing information. Improving Comprehension. Reading comprehension requires motivation, mental frameworks for holding ideas, concentration and good study techniques. Here are some suggestions. Develop a broad background. Broaden your background knowledge by reading newspapers, magazines and books. Become interested in world events. Know the structure of paragraphs. Good writers construct paragraphs that have a beginning, middle and end. Often, the first sentence will give an overview that helps provide a framework for adding details. Also, look for transitional words, phrases or paragraphs that change the topic. Identify the type of reasoning. Does the author use cause and effect reasoning, hypothesis, model building, induction or deduction, systems thinking? See section 20 for more examples on critical thinking skills. Anticipate and predict. Really smart readers try to anticipate the author and predict future ideas and questions. If you're right, this reinforces your understanding. If you're wrong, you make adjustments quicker. Look for the method of organization. Is the material organized chronologically, serially, logically, functionally, spatially or hierarchical? See section 10 for more examples on organization. Create motivation and interest. Preview material, ask questions, discuss ideas with classmates. The stronger your interest, the greater your comprehension. Pay attention to supporting cues. Study pictures, graphs and headings. Read the first and last paragraph in a chapter, or the first sentence in each section. Highlight, summarize and review. Just reading a book once is not enough. To develop a deeper understanding, you have to highlight, summarize and review important ideas. Build a good vocabulary. For most educated people, this is a lifetime project. The best way to improve your vocabulary is to use a dictionary regularly. You might carry around a pocket dictionary and use it to look up new words. Or, you can keep a list of words to look up at the end of the day. Concentrate on roots, prefixes and endings. Use a systematic reading technique like SQR3. Develop a systematic reading style, like the SQR3 method and make adjustments to it, depending on priorities and purpose. The SQR3 steps include Survey, Question, Read, Recite and Review. See Section 14 for more details. Monitor effectiveness. Good readers monitor their attention, concentration and effectiveness. They quickly recognize if they've missed an idea and backup to reread it. Should You Vocalize Words? Yes, although it is faster to form words in your mind rather than on your lips or throat. Eye motion is also important. Frequent backtracking slows you down considerably.

Copyright 1991 Donald Martin, How to be a Successful Student

Tips on How to Become a Good Teacher

What's the difference between a good teacher and and a good educator?

A good teacher doesn't just teach a good lesson, but also aims to educate his/her students. Learning how to become a good teacher isn't only about practicing how to write interesting motivating lessons, but also about finding unique ways how to motivate the students beyond the level of the material. A good educator wants his/her students to think for himself in wasys that can be made possible beyond the level of the textbook. In order to do this successfully and on a consistent, plan at least one activity that engages the student beyond the level of the textbook.
Don't be surprised however if suddenly you find yourself spontaneously choosing a new activity. Often this is what happens to new teachers who are experimenting with new and different things.
One way to do this explicitly is to ask students their opinions of various different issues. The more interesting the questions, the better their responses. In my case, I found that I was able to ask questions when I became more spontaneous. In one lesson, I taught my students about poverty using a rap song to my ninth grade students, I told the students that the next lesson they would learn another side to the rap song beginning with vocabulary.
We focused on the social level awareness of targeted vocabulary. I was looking for ways to go beyond what the book had to offer in terms of how to teach vocabulary and thought about connecting the plight of rappers in the seventies to a social action theme?
Knowing my students, I used a graphic organizer and elicited the social action cycle.
Immigrants come → they live in slum areas → they live in poverty → they join gang members → they are controlled by the gang members (Mafia) → they live in hopelessness →together they create violence
Now came the real icing on the educator's cake:
I asked the class - what are some ways to take action against this?
One student said, "write social rap songs... it's the way to stop poverty and violence."
"What is the one thing that is going to save an immigrant from not entering this cycle of poverty and hopelessness?
The kids said: "self-awareness."
I asked them "Why?" They answered "education. When you know, you have another choice."
In this case, I tried to stimulate my students in non-academic ways in order to help them acquire the meanings of the targeted words which I wanted them to acquire. As you can see, relating to the students on a more direct personal level doesn't have to be completely innovative. Educating students is actually what good teachers are all about. They try to include opportunities to relate to content in a value-centered way.

To receive your free ebook, Taking Charge in the Classroom and other information for new teachers, visit the New Teacher Resource Center at http://www.newteacherresourcecenter.com
Dorit Sasson is a freelance writer, educator and founder and director of the New Teacher Resource Center.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dorit_Sasson

Objek Wisata di Dairi Kecamatan Sitinjo

Jikalau anda datang berkunjung ke Dairi ada banyak tempat wisata yang perlu anda kunjungi salah satunya Wisata Iman. Wisata Iman adalah salah satu objek wisata terkenal di Sitinjo yang mencerminkan bahwa negara kita Indonesia adalah negara yang majemuk salah satunya ditinjau dari aspek keagamaan.Well those who wanna go there just do it by your own way don't forget to bring your camera.if not you will miss an exciting moment.