Saturday, December 27, 2008
Winter Vacation!!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
BR2-18: THE LAST PHOTO
The last photo which Pam took in Cambridge is the key of this story. A man walked between Pam and Martin at the moment Pam took Martin's picture. It was the end of the film and they are complained and angry. They thought the picture is the worst. However, the man was a thief of money in a bank. The last photo was helpful for police to catch the man. Pam and Martin got a thousand pounds. Then, they thought the last photo was not bad at all.
I wonder why the bank thief camped in the mountains. The man was caught by police too easily. What did he want to do? This story did not refer to that point, but I think it is so questionable. Besides, what would Pam and Martin use the money for? I think Pam would use it for her new camera and films, or traveling. I think taking photo is one of arts and good hobbies.
This story is "THE LAST PHOTO", and this post is my last book review!! Ha ha!!
Saturday, December 20, 2008
BR2-17: The Big Bag Mistake
[156 words]
Thursday, December 18, 2008
BR2-16: In the Frame
BR2-15:Shooting Stars
BR2-14: Photo Finish
I thought what an unusual start of holiday it is. I agree with her that it was so frightening. I was really pleased that everything ended being OK. Now they are ready for their holiday! They are expecting something exciting will happen. I can understand their feeling. It is because I always get exciting too before my trips too.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
BR2-13: The Barcelona Game
The heroine is a English girl named Holly. She wears glasses and seems to be serious. She loves reading books. She is still 12 years old and has two older brothers, Trev. and Kev, and they are twins. They are really active guys and contrastive to Holly. One day, one of them got the tickets for the Barcelona Game. It is a famous football game. He had three tickets. Kev., Trev. and their father were planning to go to see the game and bought three tickets for an airplane. However, their father could not go with them because of a sick. They decided to take Holly with them.
Before the game, they had a lot of time. They enjoyed the rides in a kind of amusement park until a time. On the other hand, Holly decided to stay at a cafe and read a book about Barcelona until then. She imagined the sights of Barcelona and hoped she could see it. Then, she noticed a man who was sitting at the table next to her took her bag away. His bag was left instead. He made a mistake, because his bag is same as hers. She became pale, because the passports of two brothers and her were in her lost bag!
At last, she could reach the man and exchange their bags. It was because of a kind Spanish boy named Paul. He looked her be in trouble and gave her a ride on his motor bike. He ran in high speed in the town of Barcelona. It was great time for her, now that she could see every sights that she saw in the photo book. Besides, she could be in time of promise with her brothers. They did never know she had a more exciting time than them.
It was so exciting story! I felt the speed of Paul's bike and the winds in Barcelona. I can imagine the sight of there with old history. I thought Holly had a great experience. I had been to Barcelona, when I was about 11 years old. I remember the memories. I think that she took the good choice. Traveling in other countries are really interesting and a lot of fun. I love to see the famous, but especially normal sights in the counties!
I notice the number of book reviews that I have posted on this blog is not enough. Today, I came to know we need 18 book reviews! What an emergency! I will try hard to read more books and post the review!
Portfolio: Second Semester
Until December 22
Section 1a
(See: Note 1, below)
0.0. Overview
Reviews, Posts, Words, and More
(See: Note 2, below.)
1.0. Essays
(See: Note 3, below.)Please complete this table with data gathered from essays on your blog. See the Key (below) for definitions of the symbols in row one, and complete columns four through nine with numerical values (0, 1, 2, 3, ...).
1.1. Showcase | Short titles with links | Dates yy.mm.dd | ¶ | W | C | L | P | M |
Website review 08.09.29 (375+ words) | Website Review: Let's take in Fresh English! | 08.09.27 | 6 | 380 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Favorite place(-s) 08.10.20 (450+ words) | Essay: ~~ my second home ~~ | 08.10.11 | 4 | 493 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mrs. Doubtfire 08.11.04 (500+ words) | MR2-01: "Mrs. Doubt" ― Live with Love and Humor ☆ | 08.11.01 | 5 | 452 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Community life 08.11.17 (default length*) | Essay2-02: ~Walk in line~ (Community life) | 08.11.16 | 6 | 610 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kumamoto's best-kept secrets 08.12.01 (5+ ¶¶) | Essay2-03: ○●Secret of Kumamoto●○ | 08.11.30 | 4 | 434 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Learning with computers 2008.12.15 (6+ ¶¶) | Essay: Learning with computers! | 08.12.12 | 7 | 503 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | --- | --- | 32 | 2872 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Key:
M: number of other media included in post
*: "long enough to cover the ... [communities] you choose," Writing Studio Blog, Preparation for Next Essays, 2008.10.29)
1.2. Best Essay
Selection and Assessment: Which of those six assigned essays do you feel is the best that you've written this semester, and why? Remember that a complete answer is better than a short answer, focus on your writing, and give at least two reasons to support your assessment.- I think the best essay in this semester is "Essay2-02: ~Walk in line~ (Community life)". It is because it shows the main points so clearly. Besides, it has a good conclusion paragraph. The readers can feel the march of time.
2.0. Comments
Showcase | Titles of posts with links | Dates of comments yy.mm.dd | Numbers of words in comments | Qualities of comments** |
2.1. Your first comment on your instructor's blog* | 0 | - | - | - |
2.2. Your best comment on a classmate's blog* | Mrs.doubt fire essay | 08.11.04 | 88 | "You share a great analysis especially in the third paragraph!" Specific praise |
2.3. Best comment by a classmate on your blog* | MR2-01: "Mrs. Doubt" ― Live with Love and Humor ☆ | 08.11.05 | 88 | "Which is more important for you, humor or love?" An interesting question. |
2.4. Most comments on: | Titles of posts with link | Dates of posts yy.mm.dd | Total number of words in comments | Qualities of comments** |
2.4.1. Any one of your essays* | Website Review: Let's take in Fresh English! | 08.09.27 | 131 | "The BBC site you elected is good and it's one of way to build up our English skill.It's nice idea,jam!" Friendly! |
2.4.1.1. When did you respond to those comments? | --- | 08.10.01 | --- | --- |
2.4.1.2. How did you respond to those comments? | --- | --- | 97 | "Thank you for your all comments!" and answered all questions. Thankful and informative |
2.4.2. Any of your other posts* | MR2-01: "Mrs. Doubt" ― Live with Love and Humor ☆ | 08.11.01 | 154 | "your essay is really easy to read because first paragraph tells me what you want to write below paragraphs." So specific comment |
2.4.2.1. When did you respond to those comments? | --- | 08.11.12 | --- | --- |
2.4.2.2. How did you respond to those comments? | --- | --- | 46 | "I...think...love is more important. Everything does have no meaning without love!" (answered a question and shared my opinion) Informative and thankful |
----------
* Current semester comments on essays and other posts
** Please list the most important qualities of comments on each type of blog post. That is, explain briefly what makes them good comments.
2.5. Recent comments display
Does your blog display recent comments from blog visitors in a prominent location, for example, in a sidebar, header, or footer widget? Where, or why not? Please explain.- My blog displays them at the top in a sidebar. It is because I want them to be encouragements for me that others look into my blog!
2.6. Additional reflections on comments
- I appreciated the comments which shows specific advice.
- The comments which refer to good points concretely became encouragements for me.
3.0. Book Reviews
3.1. Showcase | Short titles with links | Dates (yy.mm.dd) | Words | Comments |
Example: | Vampire Killer | 07.05.16 | 39 | 1 |
2-01 | BR2-01: The Joke Machine | 08.08.01 | 147 | 0 |
2-02 | BR2-02: Roman Adventure | 08.08.05 | 133 | 0 |
2-03 | BR2-03: Submarine Adventure | 08.08.05 | 210 | 0 |
2-04 | BR2-04: Chinese Adventure | 08.08.08 | 161 | 0 |
2-05 | BR2-05: Flood! ) -: | 08.09.28 | 151 | 0 |
2-06 | BR2-06: The Three Little Pigs (-: | 08.09.28 | 108 | 0 |
2-07 | BR2-07: The Fox and the Crow ( -- : | 08.09.28 | 124 | 0 |
2-08 | BR2-08: The Hare and the Tortoise ( - : | 08.09.28 | 108 | 0 |
2-09 | BR2-09: The Blue Eye ( - : | 08.10.07 | 172 | 0 |
2-10 | BR2-10: Superdog | 08.10.19 | 194 | 0 |
2-11 | BR2-11: Sara Says No! | 08.11.14 | 245 | 0 |
2-12 | BR2-12: The Umbrella | 08.12.06 | 306 | 0 |
2-13 | BR2-13: The Barcelona Game | 08.12.17 | 444 | 0 |
2-14 | BR2-14: Photo Finish | 08.12.18 | 140 | 0 |
2-15 | BR2-15:Shooting Stars | 08.12.18 | 120 | 0 |
2-16 | BR2-16: In the Frame | 08.12.18 | 129 | 0 |
2-17 | BR2-17: The Big Bag Mistake | 08.12.20 | 156 | 0 |
2-18 | BR2-18: THE LAST PHOTO | 08.12.21 | 194 | 0 |
--- | --- | Totals: | 3242 | 0 |
Note
3.2. Best Book Review
Selection and Assessment: Which of those book reviews do you feel is the best that you've written this semester, and why? Remember that a complete answer is better than a short answer, focus on your writing, and give at least two reasons to support your assessment.
・I think my best book review is "BR2-18: THE LAST PHOTO ". It is because it includes my opinion and questions, instead of a long story plot. Besides, it is so easy to read.
4.0. Blog Layout, Labeling, Linking, & Media
Showcase | Yes | No |
4.1. Does your blog display an archive? | ○ | |
4.1.1. Does the archive display the titles of posts? | ○ | |
4.1.2. Is the archive organized by month? | ○ | |
4.1.3. Is the archive at or near the top of the sidebar? | ○ | |
4.2. Does your blog have labels displayed in sidebar? | ○ | |
5.2.1. Do your labels include these required labels (typed accurately): | --- | --- |
| ○ | |
| ○ | |
| ○ | |
| ○ | |
| ○ | |
| ○ | |
4.2.2. Does your sidebar display other labels? | ○ | |
| --- | --- |
| --- | --- |
4.3. Links & media | --- | --- |
4.3.1. Does your blog include photos or other graphics? | ○ | |
| ○ | |
| --- | --- |
4.3.2. Does your blog include posts with multiple links? | ○ | |
| --- | --- |
4.3.3. Does your blog include other media? | ○ | |
| --- | --- |
| --- | --- |
I'm sorry, but I produced none. | --- |
4.4. Overall presentation
What have you done to enhance the overall presentation of your blog? List and explain the three most important content, display, formatting, layout, or other presentation changes that you have made on your blog this semester.- To emphasize particular words related to the main points in each post, I changed the size and colors of those words.
- I always tried to share my own opinions on book reviews' posts.
- I included more space in each post than before, in order to make them easy to see.
5.0. Additional reflections on your blog and your writing on it
- Sudden homework(essays) was a little tough to complete by the due, after we were told about those essays just on Wednesday.
- The set number of posts in a week seemed to be too many.
- However, I was used to working on my blog in fall semester!
6.0. Advice and suggestions for yourself, your peers, and your successors
- To reach the norm of 15,000 words, the key is your efforts during summer vacation!
- You had better use easy phrases, so that others can understand what you write.
- To make your blog interesting and informative, it is a good idea to write about your opinions or the unique traditions and culture of Japan.
____________________
Notes:
- This portfolio template derives from the templates for Writing IIIc and Writing IVc portfolios (2007-08), and Writing III, §§1a & 1c (Fall, 2008).
- Please use the same code in section 0.0 that you used to embed your proto-portfolios (PPFs) in the footer of your blog, which you should already have revised to display your 2nd (fall) semester PPF first.
- The essays section (1.0. Essays, above) derives from Proto-Portfolio 2-02 (2008).
License:
This portfolio template is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please attribute to "the Writing Studio Blog" (without quotation marks).
///// End of template (copy from here to "Beginning ..." [above]) /////Friday, December 12, 2008
Essay: Learning with computers!
What are problems we face? First of all, think of the complexity. When some instruction is presented on the screen, we do not always know what to do. In some cases, the computer does not work fast or properly. These can be very confusing situations. Besides, we must be cautious about the physical influence. The screen exhausts our eyes. We are likely to feel pain on our neck, shoulder and head. We should be careful about the posture.
Let’s focus on what we can do with computers. By using them, we can be connected with other people, especially through the Internet. We can use an e-mail system and Skype and communicate with our friends even overseas. This way is much easier, quicker and in low prices than other ways, like phone calls and letters. If we have our own blog on the Internet, we can post whatever we want to share with others and get comments from others.
By using the Internet, we can access so much information. When we need to write reports and make presentations, we use the Internet to get the latest info. Also, we find out the meanings or conceptions of what we don’t know. It shows people’s opinions and ideas too. Of course, we have to remember the info is sometimes incorrect.
We have so many useful applications. Especially, I use MS Word, whenever I write reports. I think it is essential in every student’s life. Besides, if we remember how to use Excel, it can be one of the really useful tools. Now that the blind typing skill is necessary, we might want to practice it. We can do it too with a computer. It is also possible to enjoy sites of typing practice and studying English for free on the Internet. Many people visit the YouTube homepage and enjoy movies and music for free.
The computer is very helpful to arrange photographs and enables us to reminisce about good memories. It is possible to set the picture on the screen and make your own space. We can charge an iPod and edit the content of it. The computers have so many functions. It is just up to you.
Now that our world is flooded with computers, we need to know what we can do with them. As I refer in this essay, computers have so many functions. Though they are really helpful, I feel the need of caution. A computer could be called ‘time thief’, don’t you think so? I want to find more ways of making the most of them, not using by computers!
[503 words]
Outline for Next Essay!
● Introduction
* Challenges
* Communication- blog, class, e-mail and Skype
* Information- Internet, research
* Useful application- Excel, PowerPoint, Typing programs and Word.
Blogs, typing practice sites, free sites, Skype, YouTube.
* Other Stuff
● Conclusion
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Keywords of next essay!
function
application
challenges
freeze
time thief
tired eyes
Internet
music
knowledge
unreliably
unsafe
virus
information
study
benefit
arrange and save info
write reports
make PowerPoint
use Excel
[words]
Free writing: Learning with computers
In fact, however, there are so many useful functions with computers. They can benefit us, when they are used in a proper way. We can be connected with other people by e-mail or skype. It is also possible to research out, get so much info, use study homepages and get music on the Internet. MS programs enable us to calcurate figures, arrange and save the info we get, make poewerpoint, make presentations and write reports for the classes.
Brainstorming: Learning with computers
Saturday, December 6, 2008
BR2-12: The Umbrella
Carla, a female student, went to a market. She found the shop with umbrellas. They had umbrellas in different colors, pink, orange, yellow. However, she liked the red one, whose design was really simple but smart. It was 10 dollars, and she did not have enough money. The female clerk sold it her at lower price, 7 dollars. "This is your lucky day", she said. However, when she dropped by a cake shop, other woman named Marisa took Carla's umbrella and left her own umbrella instead. It was a old and black umbrella with a pattern of yellow ducks. She thought this is not her lucky day, but she brought the old umbrella with her. Marisa seemed to meet with a man named Paul on that day, and he thought Carla with the umbrella was Marisa. Paul and Carla went to the cafe together and had a good time. They promised that they would meet again. On her way home, she saw Marisa with that red umbrella! Marisa got afraid and worried, but Carla said to her, "Keep my red umbrella. I like this umbrella. It's a lucky umbrella. This is my lucky day!"
I did not understand the reason why Marisa stole Carla's umbrella. Now I think she did not want to meet the man, Paul. Carla lost her smart, new, and favorite umbrella, but she could meet a good man because of Marisa's old umbrella. The looks or smartness are not the key of a lucky day. It shows us that we can find a happy thing in our normal life not in a special day. That's excellent!