Tag Archives: week 1

2018 WS, Writing Strategies

WS2: WEEK 1, September 28th, 2018

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Hi, and welcome to Writing Strategies 2. I hope you enjoyed the summer vacation. I made a short trip to Lake Biwa and Nagano. How about you? You can let me know in the comments.

In this semester, we will continue reading simple stories in English. We will also focus on discussing the stories in English and writing reports of our discussions, in preparation for the final essay which will be due on the last class, Jan. 25th, 2019.

We will read new stories as well as read again some stories from last semester.

There is no textbook for this class.

Homework

  • None.

Today’s class

What is academic writing?
Why Sheffner does not count attendance when calculating students’ final grade
  • In my British university, there was
    • No attendance taken
    • no credit system, instead, there was a test/exam system:
      • a test at the end of the first year
      • “finals” at the end of the 3rd (final) year
      • no graduation certificate, but instead a degree certificate
    • Therefore I don’t put much emphasis on attendance but rather on the work that you do.
    • If you miss a class find out what we did (see this blog) and do the work
Academic writing
  • Plato’s academy
    • Not a school, more a community of learners, people who like to discuss and think about big questions, e.g. “what is a good person? How to live a good life?” etc.
  • Scientific revolution (Europe, 16th/17th centuries
    • Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, etc.
    • Questioning: is the earth really the centre? If so, there must be objective, sensory evidence.
      • I.e. looking for more than religious belief
Story
The Important Book (photocopies)
  • Read
  • Fill in the table
  • What is the meaning of “the important thing”?
  • Do you agree?
Pick 1 or 2 objects from the list that you disagree with and write what you think is the important thing about it.
Dragons and Giants (from Frog and Toad Together)
  1. Read the story and give the rough meaning in Japanese
  2. Fill in the story matrix.

Write a short comment about today’s class.

2018 AS, Academic Skills

AS2: WEEK 1, September 28th, 2018

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Hi, and welcome to Academic Skills second semester.

I hope you enjoyed the summer vacation.  I made a short trip to Lake Biwa and Nagano. How about you? You can let me know in the comments.

This semester, the theme is history of the USA, and the textbook is

This semester, we will also read some simple stories about the USA and discuss them.

There will be a presentation by all Academic Skills class representatives on Thursday December 20th  16:45 (5th period) in the Rakushinkan. We will choose one representative from this class on Friday December 14th.

Like last semester, students will do 2 presentations (before Dec. 14th) and 1 final essay (due Jan. 25th, 2019) on topics of American history.

Homework

  1. The important thing about (2 from your American list) is that ….
    1. E.g. “The important thing about New York is the Statue of Liberty”, or “The important thing about Lincoln is that he was president during the Civil War, he ended slavery and he was assassinated.”
  2. The important thing about academic writing is that…

Today’s class

What is academic writing?
What do you know about USA history?
  • People
  • Places
  • Events
Why Sheffner does not take attendance
  • In my British university, there was
    • No attendance taken
    • no credit system, instead, there was a test/exam system:
      • a test at the end of the first year
      • “finals” at the end of the 3rd (final) year
      • no graduation certificate, but instead a degree certificate
    • Therefore I don’t put much emphasis on attendance but rather on the work that you do.
    • If you miss a class find out what we did (see this blog) and do the work
Academic writing
  • Plato’s academy
    • Not a school, more a community of learners, people who like to discuss and think about big questions, e.g. “what is a good person? How to live a good life?” etc.
  • Scientific revolution (Europe, 16th/17th centuries
    • Galileo, Copernicus, Newton, etc.
    • Questioning: is the earth really the centre? If so, there must be objective, sensory evidence.
      • I.e. looking for more than religious belief
Story
The Important Book (photocopies)
  • Read
  • Fill in the table
  • What is the meaning of “the important thing”?
  • Do you agree?
Pick 1 or 2 objects from the list that you disagree with and write what you think is the important thing about it.
2017 AS, Academic Skills

AS2: week 1, September 29th, 2017

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Update: There is no textbook for this semester. I will provide handouts in class. My apologies for the mistake.

Homework

  • Send me an email introducing yourself.
  • Leave a comment on this blog, so that I know you have visited.
    Thank you.

Today’s class

  1. What do you know about US　history?
  2. What do you want to know about US history?
  3. What do you think is important to know about US history?
  4. What are “Academic Skills”?
  5. How do you want to study in this class?
  6. How do you want me to help you?
  7. Draw a map of the USA.
  8. How many states are there? List as many as you can.  Place as many as you can on your map
  9. What mountains, rivers and other natural features of the USA do you know? List as many as you can. Place them on the map.
  10. List as many cities of the USA as you can.
  11. Take a movie list　(download it here: AS2_USA_movie_list_v3 )
  12. Take a book list (easy reading list). Download it here: AS2_Easy_Reading_List
2017 WS, Writing Strategies

WS1, week 1, April 14th, 2017

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Welcome, to Sheffner’s WS1 class blog.

On this blog I will post classwork and homework assignments each week. I will update the blog at the weekend after each Friday’s class.

If you miss a class, or forget the homework, check out the blog.

Homework:

  1. Visit this class blog and leave a comment.
    1. To leave a comment, click on the words “Leave a reply”  below this blog.
    2. You need to type in your name (family name only) and an email address. Your email address will NOT be public. Your  name WILL be public.
    3. All comments are moderated. That means I must approve them. So your comment will not appear  immediately.  Please be patient.
  2. Send me an email briefly  introducing yourself and saying what you hope to learn in this class. What do you want to be able to do by the end of this course?
  3. Read chapter 1 and write a short summary of the key events.
2017 AS, Academic Skills

AS1, week 1, April 14th, 2017

18 Comments

Welcome, to Sheffner’s AS1 class blog.

On this blog I will post classwork and homework assignments each week. I will update the blog at the weekend after each Friday’s class.

If you miss a class, or forget the homework, check out the blog.

Homework:

  1. Visit this class blog and leave a comment.
    1. To leave a comment, click on the words “Leave a reply” below this blog post.
    2. You need to type in your name (family name only) and an email address. Your email address will NOT be public. Your  name WILL be public.
    3. All comments are moderated. That means I must approve them. So your comment will not appear  immediately.  Please be patient.
  2. Send me an email briefly  introducing yourself and saying what you hope to learn in this class. What do you want to be able to do by the end of this course?
  3. Read chapter 1 in the textbook.
  4. Choose EITHER a movie  OR an easy-reading book from the list and start watching it or reading it.
2015 AS

AS2, week 1, September 25, 2015

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Homework

  • Txtbk
    • p2 Timeline,
    • p5 Reading 1,
    • p6 Colonial America + comprehension questions.
  • Go to library and find easy reading  book about US history and US movies.
  • Borrow one book and one movie. Read the book, watch the movie.

Today’s class

  1. What do you know about early (pre-1776) American history?
    1. Make a list of
      1. people, and
      2. places, things, events
  2. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
    1. Translate into Japanese.
  3. Listen to my mini-lecture, take notes, and list the two reasons why I think studying history is important and interesting.
  4. Listen to my mini-lecture, take notes, and list the two reasons why I think it is a good idea to use movies to study about US history.
  5. Movies are a vital part of American culture. Certain scenes from movies have permeated the national consciousness.
  6. E.g., from “The Wizard of Oz”, we have the image of the yellow brick road (which was the title of a pop-song by British singer-songwriter Elton John), and the lines “We’re not in Kansas any more” and the image of the “man behind the curtain”.
  7. List some American movies you have seen. Check if they are related to US history.
2015 WS, Writing Strategies

Welcome! Ws1, wk1, April 10th, 2015

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IMG_7783

Today was an introductory class.

  • I asked some questions about how students feel about their English and their learning.
  • Then I explained a theory of language learning which distinguishes between learning and acquisition
  • Students introduced themselves briefly.
  • Then students answered a survey about their reading habits.
  • Finally, students identified descriptions of British towns and located them on a map of the UK.

Homework

  • Get a B5 looseleaf binder for this class
  • Find something to read in Enlgish which is easy and interesting for you. (“Easy” means you can understand 90% of it without needing a dictionary.)
  • Read it and bring it to class next Friday.
2015 AS

Welcome! As1, wk1, April 10th, 2015

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IMG_7796Today was an introductory class.

  • I asked some questions about how you feel about your English and your learning.
  • Then I explained a theory of language learning which distinguishes between learning and acquisition
  • Then students answered a survey about their reading habits.

Homework

  • Get a B5 looseleaf binder for this class
  • Find something to read in Enlgish which is easy and interesting for you. (“Easy” means you can understand 90% of it without needing a dictionary.)
  • Read it and bring it to class next Friday.