Lesson Review          1 ASE Morning                 February 2005

Monday, February 28, 2005          14 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --  Recognize and use appropriate formats and genres (Writing)      WRITING - Communicate thoughts, ideas

& information in writing; Create documents (letters, directions, reports, graphs) (Basic Skills)

Writing a Cover Letter

Nina made a presentation where people were offered the opportunity to think about "voice" (tone,

style, and especially "word usage") when it came to writing a professional cover letter.  Many learners

took the opportunity to craft letters and then type them up with feedback and assistance from

instructors and volunteers.

 

(We also looked at an article printed about The Literacy Project in the Springfield Republican.  It had

pictures taken in this class.  AND, today was Maryann's 20th anniversary of being in the United

States. She brought donuts for the entire class which was really appreciated.)

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Thursday, February 24, 2005       9 Learners present.                                                  3.25 hours

  --   Development of comprehension strategies (Reading)    Explore scientific or technology content areas

using methods of inquiry & information technology () READING - Locate, understand & interpret written

information in prose and documents (manuals, graphs, and schedules) (Basic Skills)

Electrical Energy

Tried to review what we already knew about different forms of energy and electrical energy in a kind

of a brainstorm.

One form of energy can be converted into another form of energy. Electricity is related to magnetism.

  It has to do with moving electrons.  It can be created through friction or through spinning a magnet

around a wire.

Then we started a Cloze Reading exercise about electricity from the Sierra Pacific Power Company.

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Wednesday, February 23, 2005   11 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --      Represent and use numbers in a variety of equivalent forms and in order relations (Number Relationships

 & Computation)  WORK WITH DIVERSITY- Work well with others from diverse backgrounds (Interpersonal

Skills (Working with Others))

Converting Percents to Decimals

Did a lot of examples before agreeing that the rules for converting percents to decimals are to

1) Move the decimal point TWO places to the RIGHT

2) Add Zeros IF necessary.

Some people also converted the percents to fractions by always using 100 as the denominator.  Some

of those people knew how to reduce a fraction to lowest terms.

We also had a long discussion about how to make sure the class is working for everyone, young and

old.  Some people thought this discussion was not necessary, but it was very important.  One person

had the courage to make a strong but sensitive appeal to think about what is important in a working

classroom -and what is distracting.

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Tuesday, February 22, 2005          6 Learners present.                                                  3.25 hours

  --Forces affecting continuity and change (Continuity & Change)   Development of comprehension strategies

(Reading)     READING - Locate, understand & interpret written information in prose and documents

(manuals, graphs, and schedules) (Basic Skills)

Alien and Sedition Act/Federal Period Quiz

 . . . By popular demand!

The quiz was a series of readings and multiple choice in the GED style although many of the items

were based on the class discussions and activities as much as on the readings.

After people had a chance to do their best on their own, we went over the whole thing as a group

paying especial attention to using the process of elimination when applicable.

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Thursday, February 17, 2005       11 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --How individuals and groups interact with and impact systems (Systems)  Awareness of rules for grammar

and mechanics (Writing)     How everything is made up of a small number of building blocks (Similarity and

Diversity) Participate as a TEAM MEMBER - Contribute to group effort (Interpersonal Skills (Working with

Review of Atoms and Subatomic Parts

We reviewed the material by analyzing and comparing the sentences written by the class in last week's

 sentence combining exercise. All the sentences were about atoms and subatomic parts.

Then we reviewed the "Building Blocks" Framework giving examples of subatomic parts, elements,

small compounds, large compounds, organelles, and cells.

 

Marguerite made a nice presentation about team work which apparently was not well understood by

some because there were some complaints about some teens' behaviors while Joe was busy at the

computer.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005   8 Learners present.                                                  3.25 hours

  --Means and varieties of civic participation (Power, Authority, & Participation)        WRITING - Communicate

 thoughts, ideas & information in writing; Create documents (letters, directions, reports, graphs) (Basic Skills)

Letters to our Senators and Congressmen

Most people wrote letter out longhand and then read them to a teacher who typed them out.  Then we

looked them over for changes or corrections.

When not working on letters, people did TABES or Individual Math.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2005          11 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --Dynamics among power, authority, and participation (Power, Authority, & Participation)  Awareness of

rules for grammar and mechanics (Writing) Strategic Reading (Reading)     UNDERSTANDS SYSTEMS - 

Social, organizational & technical systems - and operating effectively with them (Systems (Understanding

Complex Relationships)

Evaluating Sentences

We reviewed some of the combined sentences that learners wrote about the Alien & Sedition acts and

 compared them on criteria like brevity, information, logic and clarity.  Some people really had to work

hard to explain why one sentence was more effective than another.

We talked about how to move on to the next section of our Freedom of Speech Unit: the Civil War. 

Most people wanted a quiz - and they did not want an open book quiz.

We also reviewed some of the priorities in the budget the president submitted to Congress.  We will

have to be writing letters soon.

Amber presented a Profit/Loss statement for the Fresh Flower Fundraiser yesterday.  We made

almost $500 profit!   Many of the participants earned certificates, but only those who have completed

resumes received them. The others will receive their certificates once they have finished their resume.

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Monday, February 14, 2005          8 Learners present.                                                  3.25 hours

  --  Express thoughts in writing (Writing)      WRITING - Communicate thoughts, ideas & information in

writing; Create documents (letters, directions, reports, graphs) (Basic Skills)

"Nature and Culture"

The writing prompt was "Nature and Culture". People wrote about "complexity", "deception", "work",

"religion", "family" and "pressures".

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Thursday, February 10, 2005       9 Learners present.                                                  3.25 hours

  --Means and varieties of civic participation (Power, Authority, & Participation)  Awareness of rules for

grammar and mechanics (Writing)   Recognize formal & informal systems (Critical Thinking)  

UNDERSTANDS SYSTEMS -  Social, organizational & technical systems - and operating effectively with them

(Systems (Understanding Complex Relationships)

Making a difference. . .  AND "What you don't know CAN hurt you."

The budget the president proposed to Congress endangers a lot of our basic programming.  We will

have to try to do something about this in upcoming weeks.  The first hour of class was a very

wide-open discussion about what possibilities, if any, are there for us to influence political decisions.  A

 good question that came up was "How can poverty be combated?"

 

Sentence Combining:

People also put a lot of thought into combining sentences written about Atoms and subatomic particles.

  Some people like the idea of semicolons (;) but others like using smooth connecting words like

"which" and "whose" etc.

 

Letters of Support

Ambers STEP (Supporting Transitions to Education and Professions) program needed personal

statements.  People quickly drafted statements and either typed them out themselves or had someone

else type them out (making some agreed upon changes) before signing them.

 

Bad weather today but lots of people showed up anyway - including people from far away places like

Monroe Bridge!

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Wednesday, February 09, 2005   10 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --      Represent and use numbers in a variety of equivalent forms and in order relations (Number Relationships

 & Computation)  MATHEMATICS - Perform basic computations; approach practical problems by choosing

from a variety of math techniques (Basic Skills)

Converting decimals to fractions.

The numbers after the decimal point are the numerator.

The largest place value is the denominator (10ths, 100ths, 1,000ths, 10,000ths etc).

 

Several people decided to take their learning plans home for parents (or others) to look at.

 

We needed to have a discussion because the stairs were very dirty and somebody had spit in the

elevator. (DISGUSTING!!!!!!   !!!!!    !!!!!   !!!!! !) Lots of people volunteered to help keep the place

clean.  Mika swept the stairway and Tim helped mop the stairs.   Katie brought pizza for the group.Spacer


Tuesday, February 08, 2005          14 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --  Awareness of rules for grammar and mechanics (Writing) Develop reading Vocabulary (Reading)    

WRITING - Communicate thoughts, ideas & information in writing; Create documents (letters, directions,

reports, graphs) (Basic Skills)

Sentence Combining: Alien and Sedition Acts

http://www.literacyproject.org/Charboneau/tunits/FreeSpeech/Alien%26SeditionSentenceCombining.ht

m

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Monday, February 07, 2005          14 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --  Express thoughts in writing (Writing)      WRITING - Communicate thoughts, ideas & information in

writing; Create documents (letters, directions, reports, graphs) (Basic Skills)

Writing:

Close to 40 minutes of silent writing with prompts about how the class is working and individual goals.

 

During Individual Learning Time most people continued various writing projects and some people

worked on TABEs.

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Thursday, February 03, 2005       12 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --  Develop writing vocabulary (Writing) Develop reading Vocabulary (Reading)    How models assist or

hinder us in problem solving (Measurement, Magnitude, and Models) ORGANIZE AND MAINTAIN

INFORMATION (Information (Acquiring and Using))

Attributes of Subatomic Particles: Filling out a Table

First we used our notes and memories to list the attributes of protons, neutrons, and electrons.  Then

we used a more detailed list to continue filling in the table.

Amber also presented some STEpS (Supporting Transitions to Educational and Professional Success)

opportunities and activities to the group.

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Wednesday, February 02, 2005   10 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --      Represent and use numbers in a variety of equivalent forms and in order relations (Number Relationships

 & Computation)  MATHEMATICS - Perform basic computations; approach practical problems by choosing

from a variety of math techniques (Basic Skills)

Converting Fractions to decimals. Writing out the steps and practicing.   This involved lots of practice

with long division (along with placing decimal points and zero placeholders)

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Tuesday, February 01, 2005          11 Learners present.                                                 3.25 hours

  --Where and why there is conflict (Conflict & Resolution)  Express thoughts in complete sentences (Writing)

Development of comprehension strategies (Reading)     LISTENING - Receive, attend to interpret & respond to

verbal messages and other cues (Basic Skills)

The Conflict behind the Alien and Sedition Acts

http://www.literacyproject.org/Charboneau/tunits/FreeSpeech/FirstTwoParties.htm

These laws were passed 2 years before the presidential election of 1800 when power peacefully

changed hands from the Federalists to the Jeffersonians.   The Federalists wanted the US to grow into

a trading and manufacturing giant.  The Jeffersonians did not want to pay for this.

We looked at Hamilton's plans for managing the debt, creating a national bank, and charging a

protective tariff.

We also compared the Federalists and Jeffersonians on many different points.

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