Abstract: An apparatus and methods are disclosed that provide a self-help electronic study aid and practice aid for academic subjects. Key components include: an integrated electronic student desktop (30), an interactive web page based electronic student workbook (40), a template-driven method for on-demand generation and display of an electronic student workbook web page (28), an integrated multi-lingual multi-media dictionary reference(68), an integrated electronic grammar reference (66), an integrated library of grade-level specific electronic books and stories (70), an integrated library of educational games and puzzles (80), a multi-media avatar window (44) for continuous feedback to the student user; and a server-side data storage and retrieval means (22) that provides consistent and fresh data to all of the system components. (end of abstract)
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Not Applicable STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT [0002] Not Applicable MATERIAL SUBMITTED SEPARATELY ON COMPACT DISK [0003] Not Applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] 1. Field of the Invention [0005] The currently disclosed invention relates generally to education, and particularly to that class of computer-assisted devices for presenting information and questions, soliciting responses, and providing continuous feedback to the user. [0006] 2. The Need for Study Aids and Practice Aids [0007] Not all students learn at the same rate or in the same way. Within almost all academic situations, even with the best of teachers and tutors and materials and methods, some students will advance according to expectations, but others will want to advance more rapidly and still others will begin to fall behind. Study aids and practice aids exist to help the faster learner to advance more quickly. Study aids and practice aids exist to help the slower learner to keep up with the class. [0008] 3. Discussion of Prior Art--Non-Computer Based Study Aids and Practice Aids [0009] Paper-based workbooks and CD-ROM courses are widely available as study aids and practice aids. However, they have limited or no interactive intelligence. They cannot remember and recall student work. They are not comprehensive, typically lacking collateral reference materials and practice materials. They cannot be easily modified and updated without the publisher going through an expensive and time-consuming re-authoring, manufacturing, and re-distribution business cycle. [0010] 4. Discussion of Prior Art--Computer Based Study Aids and Practice Aids [0011] U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,129 by Wood, et al. (2004) discloses an electronic portable study aid apparatus with the ability to download instructional materials from a server. However, the Wood patent is not a complete and comprehensive study aid and practice aid, since it is missing coordinated collateral reference materials. The Wood patent makes no provision for retained data storage of student inputs and makes no provision for the automated generation and assembly of the downloadable materials. [0012] U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,148 by Stuppy (2000) discloses a method for generating and delivering an electronic student workbook. The present invention is an improvement on the Stuppy patent. The electronic student workbook disclosed in the Stuppy patent is structured as a teaching aid and contains lesson teaching material and testing exercises for a student to perform. A teacher oversees the delivery of teaching material and oversees student responses to testing exercises. The present invention is an improvement because it is structured as a self-help study aid and practice aid and contains self-help lesson review material and practice exercises for a student to perform without the aid of a teacher or tutor. A programmatic method oversees the delivery of study material and oversees student responses to practice exercises. [0013] The electronic student workbook disclosed in the Stuppy patent is generated by selecting materials from a library of pre-authored teaching lesson materials and testing exercise materials, according to a profile of student skill gaps. The electronic workbook in the present invention is an improvement because it is generated programmatically from standardized web page templates and obtains its content from a relational database of reusable web page components comprising multi-media study materials and practice exercises suitable for all students. [0014] The electronic student workbook disclosed in the Stuppy patent is delivered through a system comprising a student computer and a teacher computer and a networking session between the student computer and the teacher computer for the exchange of information. The electronic workbook in the present invention is an improvement because it is delivered through a system comprising a student computer only. The electronic workbook in the present invention is a further improvement because it is generated on demand, one page at a time, and delivered through an integrated electronic student desktop that contains everything a student needs for independent, self-service study and practice. No such electronic desktop is disclosed in the Stuppy patent. [0015] The present invention is a further improvement because it integrates the content and use of electronic student workbook pages with the content and use of various online collateral study-aid and practice-aid reference materials which all draw their content from a common database--to assure that such contents are always fresh and always consistent. [0016] U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,592,379 and 6,666,687 and 6,733,295 and 6,749,434 by Stuppy disclose continued improvements in the basic design first disclosed in the '148 patent. They do not, however, depart from the core principle of a teacher-student interaction and workbook containing teaching and testing materials based on a student skill profile. The present disclosed invention does not require or include a teacher. The present invention delivers standardized and graduated self-study and practice materials, not skill-gap specific teaching and testing materials. [0017] U.S. Pat. No. 6,898,411 by Ziv-el, et al. discloses a method and system for online teaching using teachers, teacher computers, student computers, and web page based electronic workbooks in which web pages are retrieved according to their uniform resource locators (URL). The present invention is an improvement because the web pages in the present invention are generated on-demand and are not pre-stored and retrieved according to static URLs. BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0018] In accordance with the present invention an apparatus and methods are disclosed that in combination provide an electronic study aid and practice aid for independent learners of academic subjects. The present invention has the following objects and advantages: [0019] (a) Self-service features and functions, eliminating the need and cost for teachers, classrooms, transportation, paper-based reference materials, teacher workbooks, and teacher computers; [0020] (b) Study and practice features and functions that are interactive and constructive, with a means for programmatically understanding user inputs, retaining those inputs in a persistent data store, and responding programmatically in real-time to those inputs; [0021] (c) A comprehensive and fully integrated study and practice environment including not only web page based study and practice materials, but coordinated online reference materials as well, all drawing their content from a common data store; [0022] (d) Automated study aid and practice aid content management whereby workbook pages are generated on-demand from executable program scripts that will retrieve their content objects from a common data store. [0023] Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING [0024] FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting major method, data, and output components of one embodiment of the present invention. [0025] FIG. 2 depicts a preferred client/server apparatus for the present invention. [0026] FIG. 3 depicts the preferred hierarchical structure of a workbook web page template. [0027] FIG. 4 depicts details of data components of one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 [0028] FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting major method, data, and output components of one embodiment of the present invention. The embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 is an actual commercial implementation of the present invention that specifically delivers a web page based study aid and a practice aid for students learning the English language. Alternate embodiments are anticipated. [0029] Data components are stored in a server-side data storage and retrieval means of a type widely known in the art. The data storage and retrieval means in the depicted embodiment includes a multi-media bi-lingual dictionary (68), a glossary of English language grammar terms and their definitions (66), a library of graphical images (74), a library of playable sounds (76), a library of electronic books and stories for reading practice (70), a library of educational games and puzzles for reinforcement of subject matter(80), a library of reusable workbook web page templates (72), a library of client-side scripts for web page interactivity(78), and a record of current and completed study and practice assignments (56) with each record cross-referenced to its corresponding web page template (72). [0030] A server-side script processing method (28) of a type widely known in the art is a method that assembles components contained in or referenced by the pre-authored workbook web page templates (72), which templates must be in the form of server-side scripts that are coded in a prescribed scripting language format and grammar. From the assembled components, the server-side script processing method (28) generates a workbook web page (40) with embedded intelligence and interactivity functions according to the desires of the web page author. [0031] A method of the present invention displays a generated interactive electronic student workbook web page (40) in an integrated electronic student desktop (30) on a client-side student computer (10). The electronic student desktop is comprised of a web page frameset which contains a plurality of windows and their content. FIG. 2 [0032] FIG. 2 depicts a preferred client/server apparatus for the present invention. A client-side student computer (10), of a type widely known in the art, is comprised of a memory and a stored instruction processing unit, and a web page browser (16), an input device selected from the group consisting of keyboards and handwriting recognition devices, a pointing device, a graphical visual display means (14), an output sounding means (15) selected from the group consisting of speakers and headphones, and a client-side network connection means (18) for communicating with other computer systems connected to a network. [0033] A server-side computer system (20), of a type widely known in the art, is comprised of a memory and a stored instruction processor, and a server-side data storage and retrieval means (22), a server-side network connection means (24) for communicating with other computer systems connected to a network, a web page server method (26) that listens to the network and responds to requests that come in the form of Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) and which web server method retrieves web pages from the data storage and retrieval means (22) and directs them to the network connection means (24), and a server-side script processing method (28) that interprets and executes programmatic instructions encoded in certain files stored in the data storage and retrieval means (22) and generates web pages formatted with Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) for the web page server method (26), which web pages also contain embedded client-side scripts for execution in the client-side student computer (10) when the web page is delivered. FIG. 3 [0034] FIG. 3 depicts the preferred hierarchical structure of a workbook web page template. Each workbook page template (72) begins with a statement to start a server-side script. Each workbook page template ends with a statement to end a server-side script. Between the start server-side script statement and the end server-side script statement, are placed a pair of HTML tags to begin a web page and end a web page. [0035] Between the beginning and ending HTML web page document tags are one or more blocks of server-side script code, one for each subject area. In the commercial implementation of the present invention depicted in FIG. 1, the subject areas are: phonics, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, reading comprehension, and writing. [0036] The detailed content of all such server-side scripting code and client-side scripting code will depend on the particular server-side and client-side scripting languages used for implementation. The detailed content of all such server-side scripting code and client-side scripting code is omitted from this specification, for the sake of brevity, but will be obvious from the specification to anyone skilled in the art of computer programming. [0037] Each subject area block of server-side script code begins with an HTML header tag. Each subject area block of server-side script code is organized into the following sub-blocks of server-side script code: [0038] (d) Retrieve and Display Subject Study Materials--text, graphics and sound files for student study within a subject area are retrieved from the server-side data storage and retrieval means (22) and formatted for display; [0039] (e) Retrieve and Display Subject Practice Materials--text, graphics and sound files for student practice within a subject area are retrieved from the server-side data storage and retrieval means (22) and formatted for display; [0040] (f) Code and Display Input Forms for Student Use--text and graphic input boxes and lists of selectable choices are coded as named HTML elements; [0041] (g) Client-Side Scripts--scripts within a subject area that are intended to be executed on the student computer are included between a start client-side script tag and an end client-side script tag and include the following; [0042] (h) Include Answers--answer arrays containing answers to questions, [0043] (i) Check student work--functions, or methods, for checking a students work, by comparing a students input with a correct answer in an answer array, and for displaying a correct answer from an answer array in the named field of the named input form used by the student. [0044] (j) Display Avatar Response--a function that, when called by another client-side script function, will programmatically determine whether the students answer was correct or not and then programmatically generate a multi-media avatar response, with text, images, and sounds in a pop-up window, [0045] FIG. 4 [0046] FIG. 4 depicts details of the data tables and files comprising the embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG. 1. Assignments Table (56) [0047] Each entry in the students table will have associated with it one or more records in an assignments table. Each such record in the assignments table contains a pointer to a specific workbook template in a lessons table (72) for a unit of lessons assigned to a specific student. A student may have one such assignments record if the student is working on their first assignment. The student will have multiple records in the assignments table if the student has completed at least one such assignment. One record in the assignments table will always be designated as the current assignment. The other records will be designated as completed assignments. Grammar Table (66) [0048] A grammar table contains one or more records, with one record for each defined term of language grammar. Each record in the grammar table contains the grammar term to be defined, and examples of correct usage. Each record in the grammar table may also contain one or more hyperlinks to other related grammar terms. Students have direct access to the grammar through their electronic desktop. Workbook web page templates in the lessons table (72) have access to the grammar through a programmatic SQL retrieve. Dictionary Table (68) [0049] A dictionary table contains one or more records, with one or more records for each defined word in the dictionary. Each record in the dictionary table contains the language word to be defined, a definition number if there are multiple definitions for the same word, the part of speech, the definition, an example of correct usage, a reference to a graphic image file for the purpose of producing an illustrated, a reference to a sound file representing the defined word as spoken, and none or one or more equivalent words or characters representing the defined word translated into none or one or more other languages. Students have direct access to the dictionary table through their electronic desktop. Workbook web page templates in the lessons table (72) have access to the dictionary through a programmatic SQL retrieve. Stories Table (70) [0050] A stories table contains a text record for each story contained in the stories table. Each story in the stories table may contain none or one or more references to graphic files stored in an images file directory. Stories in the stories table may be incorporated by reference into workbook page templates stored in the templates file directory. Stories may also contain references to sound files. Students have direct access to stories through their electronic desktop. Templates (72) [0051] A plurality of templates are stored in a templates file directory, one for one each page of an interactive multi-media electronic student workbook. In the one embodiment of the present invention depicted in FIG. 1, each lesson template file is a text file stored on a server-side computer system. Each record in the lesson template file directory is a combination of native HTML code, cascading style sheet (CCS) code, embedded client-side JavaScript, and embedded server-side PHP script. Alternate scripting languages are anticipated. [0052] Each such file in the templates directory contains one or more references to external graphic files stored in an images file directory and external sound files stored in a sounds file directory. Each file in the templates file directory may also contain one or more references to stories in the stories table, and definitions of words in the dictionary table, and grammar terms in the glossary table. [0053] Each template, with embedded scripts and external references, must be coded and stored in the format described herein, such that they may be assembled programmatically into web pages by the server-side script processing method (28). Images File Directory (74) [0054] An images file directory contains a binary encoded record for each digital image contained in the images file directory. Such images are incorporated by HTML reference into lesson units, stories, and the dictionary. Sounds File Directory (76) [0055] A sounds file directory contains a binary encoded record for each digital sound contained in the sounds file directory. Such sounds are incorporated by HTML or JavaScript object reference into workbook lesson units, stories, the online dictionary, and each programmatically generated avatar window. Such sounds are played back through the client-side computer system. Scripts Library (78) [0056] A scripts library file directory contains reusable client-side scripts, which may be retrieved by the server-side script processing method (28) and thereby included in workbook web pages. Games Library (80) [0057] A games file directory contains a link to each game available to the student. Each game may contain none or one or more references to graphic files stored in an images file directory. Games may be incorporated by reference into workbook page templates stored in the templates file directory. Games may also contain references to sound files. Students also have direct access to games through their electronic desktop. Description--Administrative Application Software Methods [0058] Administrative application software methods that are typical in commercial web-based membership-based applications, including such methods as enrollment, registration, login, logout, session management, and payment processing will be obvious to anyone skilled in the art of computer programming, and are omitted herein for the sake of brevity. Description--Student Operation [0059] Reference is made again to the embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, which is a commercial implementation of the present invention that delivers a web page based study aid and a practice aid for independent learners of the English language. Alternate embodiments are anticipated. [0060] Referring to FIG. 1, an enrolled student first logs in to a general administrative web application login method. A method in the present invention recognizes the individual student from the login name and creates an electronic desktop customized and personalized for that specific student. From that student desktop, the student may click on and choose from a variety of menu items. [0061] The student may click on an electronic dictionary menu item to look up a word in the electronic dictionary (68). The student may type in the word to be looked up using a keyboard, or the student my select the desired word from on-screen text by using a pointing and selecting device. The invention will retrieve and display the desired word and its definition, an example of correct usage, the correct part of speech, an illustration of the word when such an illustration exists in the data storage and retrieval means, and a translation of the word into another language when such a translation exists in the data storage and retrieval means. [0062] The student may click on an electronic glossary of grammar terms menu item to look up a term in the electronic grammar (66). The student may type in the term to be looked up using a keyboard, or the student my select the desired term from on-screen text by using a pointing and selecting device. The invention will retrieve and display the desired term and its definition, and an example of correct usage from the data storage and retrieval means. [0063] The student may click on an electronic book and electronic stories menu item to display a list of available electronic books and stories (70) suitable for the students current grade level. [0064] The student may click on an educational-games and educational-puzzles menu item to display a list of available electronic games and puzzles (80) suitable for the students current grade level. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, such educational games and puzzles are authored in such a way as to correlate with lesson content in the electronic student workbook pages (40). For example, a crossword puzzle may be authored and stored in the games table of the present invention where such a crossword puzzle is designed specifically to use the same words that are used in a workbook vocabulary lesson, and where such words are defined in the electronic dictionary of the present invention. [0065] The student may click on an assignments menu item to view a list of links to the current and all completed workbook assignments. The student may click on the current assignment link to cause a method of the present invention to look up the corresponding web page template identification number and to pass that web page template identification number to a server-side script processing method (28) which will generate a web page and send it to a client-side browser for display on the student electronic desktop on the student computer. [0066] The student may interact directly with a study aid and practice aid workbook web page as follows. The student may click on buttons and links in the displayed workbook web page to invoke executable embedded scripts containing pre-authored intelligence. Those scripts will create and display dynamic text, images, and sounds in response to the student's actions. The student may enter data into text boxes or select text or images from arrays of text and image choices. [0067] In response to student's actions, a method of the present invention, using scripts embedded in the workbook web page, creates and displays a temporary multi-media avatar. The avatar will contain specific in situ communication for the student. [0068] Each study aid and practice aid workbook web page also has an indicia on it which, when clicked, will be passed to a method of the present invention to mark the current assignment in the assignments table as complete, and create a new assignment in the assignments table. The new assignment will be linked to the next web page template in a predetermined sequence. Each workbook web page template in the data storage and retrieval means is calibrated to a specific skill level, from beginner to advanced. [0069] The student may click on a link in a list of completed assignments in order to generate and display that assignments associated web page, so that the student may review the lesson content and exercises again, whenever he or she wishes. Description and Operation--Alternative Embodiments [0070] Many alternative embodiments are possible while maintaining the overall objects and advantages of the presently disclosed invention, including these alternative embodiments: [0071] (a) the client-side computer system and the server-side computer system may be combined and implemented in a single computer without an inter-computer network connection; [0072] (b) where there are two separate computers, the communications between the computers may be accomplished by a private network means or a public network means; [0073] (c) the student self-study and practice computer may be situated anywhere: in a kiosk or other dedicated area within a school classroom or school library, or possibly situated within a public library; [0074] (d) where the present invention stores some data in database tables and some data in flat files, an alternative embodiment may store all data in database tables, or store all data in flat files; [0075] (e) in addition to providing a language student with a study aid and practice aid for reading and writing, the present interactive electronic workbooks could easily be expanded to include study material and practice material for speaking and listening skills; and, (f) the present invention could easily be adapted and used to provide self-service study aid and practice aid activities and content for other academic subjects, such as mathematics. [0076] Although the description above contains much specificity, the description should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiment and alternative embodiments of this invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Abstracts
Educational Patent Abstracts
Abstract: An email-based promotional message delivery system. The system may append targeted promotional messages to outgoing emails. The system may use the profiles of senders as a means of targeting the recipients. The system may use a recipient profile supplied by one sender as a means of targeting the same recipient when that recipient is sent a message by a different sender. A two-tier spam blocking system may be offered as an inducement to allowing promotional messages to be added to outgoing emails. Other features and processes are disclosed. (end of abstract)
Interactive presentation system
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Top of Form 1
Abstract: A computerized educational presentation system is provided. The system may include a presentation application program. The presentation application program may include a presentation module that is operable in an author mode to create an educational presentation having a plurality of educational resources. The educational resources may include at least a poll. Further, the presentation module may be operable in a presentation mode to make the educational presentation accessible for viewing at a plurality of student computing devices. The presentation application program further may include an interaction module. During the author mode, the interaction module may update one or more educational resources of the educational presentation in response to receiving user edits via an author tool. During the presentation mode, the interaction module may receive student feedback at a teacher computing device in response to presentation of the poll at the plurality of student computing devices. (end of abstract)
In an educational environment, a teacher may teach a lesson by presenting educational content to students in a classroom setting. The educational content may be organized into a presentation, such as a slide deck, which may be displayed by a display device, such as a projector or interactive whiteboard, so that the presentation may be viewed by all of the students in the classroom. During presentation of the slide deck, the teacher may lecture about each slide and the students may take notes about the lecture via notepads. The teacher may ask questions of the class, and one or more students may respond orally. Although many interesting ideas may emerge as a result of such class discussion, it is difficult for teachers to create a record of the ideas for students to refer to later after class using current presentation technologies. Further, some students may feel intimidated about speaking in class, or the sheer size of the class may preclude having each student speak on a topic. In addition, since the order of the presentation is prearranged, it is often difficult for the teacher to change the presentation dynamically to address topics that have arisen during the discussion. Current presentation technologies do not adequately address these concerns.
SUMMARY
A computerized educational presentation system is provided. The system may include a presentation application program. The presentation application program may include a presentation module operable in an author mode to create an educational presentation having a plurality of educational resources. The educational resources may include at least a poll. Further, the presentation module may be operable in a presentation mode to make the educational presentation accessible for viewing at a plurality of student computing devices. The presentation application program further may include an interaction module. During the author mode, the interaction module may update one or more educational resources of the educational presentation in response to receiving user edits via an author tool. During the presentation mode, the interaction module may receive student feedback at a teacher computing device in response to presentation of the poll at the plurality of student computing devices.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a computerized educational presentation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a graphical user interface presenting a teacher view of an educational presentation of the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a graphical user interface presenting a student view of an educational presentation of the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a graphical user interface presenting a class view of an educational presentation of the system of Fig. 1.
Abstract: A literacy system provides teaching for reading and writing skills. In one embodiment, the literacy system may include exercises for teaching visual sequencing, motor skills, phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The literacy system may have a pre-reading section, which includes exercises for developing visual sequencing skills and motor skills prior to teaching the skills of reading and writing words. Also, the literacy system may have a language skills section that includes exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. (end of abstract)Literacy system description/claims
The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070048696, Literacy system.Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/350,849 entitled "Literacy System," filed on Jan. 24, 2003, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/362,749 entitled "Literacy System," filed on Mar. 7, 2002. The complete disclosures of these previous applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This document relates to a system of literacy education, including methods and systems for teaching reading and writing skills. BACKGROUND [0003] Literacy is a skill often taken for granted even though mastery of that skill eludes millions of people from all age groups. For those that are literate, an intricate set of skills enable reading and writing to be smooth and automatic processes. This set of skills, referred to as "hidden abilities," generally appear first at a young age when a person begins to comprehend the speech of others and when that person begins to speak. For example, even a young child may know that the statement "I am looking at she" is incorrect while the statement "I am looking at her" is proper. Generally, any individual does not know the technical reason behind the proper version, but instead, may offer the rationale that "it just sounds right." (The technical reason is that when a pronoun referring to a feminine individual is used as the object of a preposition, the correct form of the pronoun is "her," not "she.") This example illustrates the essence of the hidden abilities that allow a literate person to do amazingly intricate constructions with language without knowing why. These same abilities are constantly operating in written language as well. For example, in a sentence such as The soldier decided to desert in the desert. a skilled reader automatically uses different pronunciations for the two instances of the identically spelled word. For people who are not literate, and especially for young children, these hidden abilities must be developed via literacy education. However, modern systems for teaching literacy fail to address the full range of necessary skills to promote the development of hidden abilities. [0004] In general, two major systems dominate the literacy education field: phonics and whole language. Phonics emphasizes the skill of converting the letters on a page into sounds that become real words (i.e. teaching children to read a word by "sounding out" each letter so that c-a-t becomes "cat"). The processing of sounds falls under a language category known as phonology. The phonics system seems logical because phonology is a significant element in reading, but in practice, phonics teaching is hindered by the complexities of the English language. Phonics relies on teaching that each letter makes a single, distinctive sound. The reality, however, is that this concept holds true for only a tiny fraction of English words. Indeed, of the seventeen words in the preceding sentence, not a single one meets this criterion. The problem is illustrated by the fact that, under the phonics system of teaching, the word "phonics" itself should be spelled "foniks." In order to overcome this problem, the system relies on children memorizing hundreds of rules, such as the "silent e" rule, the double vowel rule, and the consonant combination rules. However, the memorization of these rules and "sounding out" individual letters may cause reading and writing to be a laborious process and may discourage individual students. The whole language system of teaching literacy focuses on complete stories or groups of words to form meaningful messages, which is different from the phonics system that concentrates on the dissection of individual words. However, children in early stages of reading may encounter a wider range of words that they can mange. As such, the situation may appear overwhelming to the student. [0005] The prevailing assumption is that these two systems, in combination, address all of the skills necessary to literacy. Unfortunately, these two systems, alone or in combination, cover only a portion of the skills that reading requires. The skills that are not addressed by these systems may leave gaps in the literacy education that many students are able to overcome. For those students who are not able to overcome the gaps of the current literacy systems, reading and writing may become a frustrating activity that is to be avoided. [0006] Among the components needed for an effective literacy system are ones that develop the pre-reading skills of visual sequencing and fine motor abilities. In addition, other components needed for an effective literacy system are ones that collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. SUMMARY [0007] In some embodiments, a system for teaching skills associated with literacy can include a pre-reading section that includes exercises selected from a group consisting of sequencing exercises and letter writing exercises. The system may also include a language skills section that includes language exercises viewable on a display apparatus to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The language skills section may include a first level of exercises that introduce a first set of content words and non-content words in a first combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The language skills section may also include a second level of exercises that integrate the first set of content words and non-content words with a second set of content words and non-content words in a second combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The language skills section may further include a third level of exercises that integrate the first and second sets of content words and non-content words with a third set of content words and non-content words in a third combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. [0008] In particular embodiments, a method of presenting exercises of a literacy system may include presenting to a student a set of pre-reading exercises selected from a group consisting sequencing exercises and letter writing exercises. The method may also include presenting to the student a first level of language skills exercises that introduce a first set of content words and non-content words in a first combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The method may further include presenting to the student a second level of language skills exercises that integrate the first set of content words and non-content words with a second set of content words and non-content words in a second combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The method may also include presenting to the student a third level of language skills exercises that integrate the first and second sets of content words and non-content words with a third set of content words and non-content words in a third combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. [0009] In other embodiments, a method of practicing exercises in a literacy system may include performing a set of pre-reading exercises selected from a group consisting sequencing exercises and letter writing exercises. The method may also include performing a first level of language skills exercises viewable on a first display apparatus. The first level of exercises may introduce a first set of content words and non-content words in a first combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The method may also include performing a second level of language skills exercises viewable on the first or a second display apparatus. The second level of exercises may integrate the first set of content words and non-content words with a second set of content words and non-content words in a second combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. [0010] In some embodiments, a series of exercise books and story books in a literacy system can collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. Each exercise book may include a plurality of sheets with a set of language skills exercises introducing a targeted set of content words and non-content words. Each exercise book in the series may be followed by an associated story book. Each story book may include a plurality of pages with text that provides a story and with one or more images related to the story. The text of each story book may consist only of those content words and non-content words that were introduced by earlier exercise books in the series of books such that the reader of the story book is exposed only to those content words and non-contents words that were previously introduced with the language skills exercises of the earlier exercise books in the series. [0011] The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0012] FIG. 1 is a chart depicting aspects of one embodiment of a literacy system in accordance with the invention. [0013] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the literacy system of FIG. 1. [0014] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a computer system that may be used to operate the literacy system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0015] FIG. 4 is an image of a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0016] FIGS. 5A-C is a series of images showing another visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0017] FIG. 6 is an image of a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0018] FIG. 7A-C is a series of images of a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0019] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of instructions for a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY [0001] The present invention relates to learning aids and, more particularly, to learning aids for teaching and learning spelling and reading. [0002] It is often difficult for beginning and low-level readers to understand how series of letters can be associated to form a word. For such readers, visual images may be more easily understood and retained than series of letters. Visual images presented in a sequence to illustrate a sentence or a story can also be understood and retained better than series of letters. [0003] According to an aspect of the present invention, a learning aid includes a tangible medium of expression, an image fixed on the medium, the image being at least partially formed of letters making up a spelling word, and at least one sentence illustrated by the image and associated with the medium, the sentence including at least one use of the spelling word. [0004] According to another aspect of the present invention, a teaching method includes reading a sentence containing a use of a spelling word to a student, showing the student an image that is at least partially formed of letters making up the spelling word, the image illustrating the sentence, and having the student spell the spelling word while viewing the image. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] The features and advantages of the present invention are well understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which like numerals indicate similar elements and in which: [0006] FIGS. 1A-1B, 2A-2B, 3A-3B, and 4A-4B show front and rear sides of learning aids according to embodiments of the present invention; and [0007] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating steps in a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0008] Embodiments of learning aids 21a-b, 23a-b, 25a-b, and 27a-b are seen in FIGS. 1A-4B, respectively. The learning aids include a tangible medium of expression 29, such as printed paper. The phrase tangible medium of expression 29 is intended to be broadly construed and may be any medium upon which an image can be fixed such that the image is capable of being perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. For example, the medium 29 may be any material upon which an image can be printed, transparency or film, and any other suitable analog recording media or digital recording media, such as magnetic or optical recording media, such as storage tapes or disks, or an internet web-site. [0009] The learning aids also include an image 31 fixed on the medium 29. The image 31 is at least partially formed of letters 33 making up a spelling word 35. As seen in the learning aid 21a-21b of FIGS. 1A-1B, for example, the spelling word "or" 35 is formed of the letter "o" 33o that forms part of an image of an object, the lamp 37, and the letter "r" 33r that forms part of an image of another object, the table 39 upon which the lamp 37 sits. [0010] The learning aids also include at least one sentence 41 illustrated by the image 31 and associated with the medium 29. While the sentence 41 will ordinarily be fixed on the medium 29 in the same or substantially the same manner as the image 31, the sentence 41 may be otherwise associated with the image, such as by being provided separately from the image, such as by providing the image on a card, and providing the sentence on a discrete medium such as a teacher's manual. [0011] The sentence 41 includes at least one use of the spelling word 35. In FIG. 1A, for example, the sentence 41 uses the spelling word "or" and reads, "We can turn on the light to see what was making the strange noise or we can stay hidden under the bed." The image 31 includes the letters "o" and "r" as part of the image illustrating the sentence 41. Ordinarily, all of the letters 33 in the spelling word 35 are used in forming the image 31, however, some letters may not be part of the image and characters and objects in an image need not be referred to in the sentence 41 and need not be partially formed of letters 33 in the spelling word 35. [0012] The sentence 41 can include at least one other word 43 beginning with at least one letter 33 of the spelling word 35. For example, in the learning aid 23a-23b of FIGS. 2A-2B, the sentence 241 reads, "First, Ed made a snowman and then he helped Ned build a cool fort." In the image 231 depicting the sentence 241, the letter "e" 233e of the word "then" is represented by the character "Ed" 43e, and the letter "n" 233n of the spelling word "then" is represented by the character "Ned" 43n. The letters of a given spelling word will ordinarily depict objects, such as, in the learning aid 21a-21b of FIGS. 1A-1B, the "o" 33o forming part of the lamp 37 and the 33r "r" forming part of the table 39, or characters, such as, in FIGS. 2A-2B, the "e" 233e forming part of the character "Ed" and the "n" 233n forming part of the character "Ned". [0013] Some or all of the letters 33 of the spelling word 35 may depict an object or character having a name beginning with the letter. The object or character does not, however, have to be an object or character used in the sentence. For example, in the learning aid 23a-23b of FIGS. 2A-2B, the sentence 241 reads, "First, Ed made a snowman and then he helped Ned build a cool fort." In the image 231, the letter "t" in the spelling word "then" depicts a tree 45, i.e., a word beginning with the letter "t", and the letter "h" in the word "then" depicts a house 47, i.e., a word beginning with the letter "h". The sentence 241 does not refer to a tree or a house. [0014] The learning aid can also include a text passage 49 associated with the medium 29 and explaining how the letters 33 in the image 31 are used. The text passage 49 will ordinarily be fixed on the medium 29 in the same or substantially the same manner as the image 31, however, the text passage 49 may be otherwise associated with the image, such as by being provided separately from the image, such as by providing the image on a card, and providing the sentence on a discrete medium such as a teacher's manual. Ordinarily, the text passage 49 will not be visible to one viewing the image 31. For example, when the image is on one side 21a of a learning aid in the form of, e.g., a card as in the learning aid of FIG. 1A, the text passage 49 will ordinarily be on the opposite side 21b of the card. [0015] The text passage 49 will typically clarify or explain the use of the letters 33 in the image 31 in an order in which the letters appear in the spelling word 35. For example, in FIG. 1B, where the spelling word "or" is illustrated by a lamp 37 partially formed of the "o" and a table 39 partially formed of the "r", the text passage 49 reads "`o` is the lamp sitting on the table `r.`" By providing this text passage 49, teachers can be assured that their interpretations of the image 31 on a medium 29 are consistent from teaching session to teaching session. [0016] The learning aid will ordinarily comprise a plurality of images 31, 231, 331, 431, etc. corresponding to a corresponding plurality of spelling words 35, 235, 335, 435, etc., fixed on the medium 29. All of the images need not be fixed on a single element of the medium, i.e., all on a single card. The images may be fixed on the medium in the sense that they are on the same type of medium, although the particular elements of the medium are discrete. For example, the images may be fixed on a corresponding plurality of surfaces of the medium, such as by fixing different images on separate sheets of paper or cards. The spelling words depicted by the images will ordinarily be words selected from known word groups that are considered suitable for students of various ages or abilities. One such list is the so-called "Dolch List" of words identified in Dolch, Edward William, Problems in Reading (The Garrard Press, 1948). [0017] The images 31, 231, 331, 431, etc. are each at least partially formed of letters 33, 233, 333, 433, etc. making up a corresponding plurality of spelling words 35, 235, 335, 435, etc. A corresponding plurality of sentences 41, 241, 341, 441, etc., illustrated by the images 31, 231, 331, 431, etc. are also associated with the medium 29 upon which the images are fixed. Each of the plurality of sentences 41, 241, 341, 441, etc. includes at least one use of a corresponding one of the plurality of spelling words 35, 235, 335, 435, etc. [0018] Each sentence 41, 241, 341, 441, etc. will ordinarily be complete and tell the story of the image to which it corresponds. However, some of the plurality of sentences can, together, comprise a larger story. For example, the sentences 241 and 341 can be part of a larger story involving the character "Ed". Some of the letters in a spelling word, the letters at least partially forming each of the plurality of images, depict objects or characters. Particular objects or characters depicted by particular letters can be the same in different sentences. For example, the character "Ed" can be used for a letter "e" in the spelling words "then" and "were" in sentences 241 and 341. Another example of using the same object or character for the same letter is shown in FIGS. 4A-4B, wherein two lions illustrate the letters 4330 "o" and "o" in the spelling word 435 "zoo". Of course, different characters or objects can also be used for the same letter, such as in FIGS. 3A-3B, where the first letter "e" and the second letter "e" in the spelling word 335 "were" are different characters referred to as "Ed" and "Eric". [0019] Steps of a teaching method according to the present invention are shown in FIG. 5. Steps that are ordinarily performed in connection with the method are illustrated in the flow chart as boxes formed of solid lines, while more optional steps are illustrated as boxes formed of dotted lines. Referring to the learning aid 31 shown in FIG. 1, as seen in FIG. 5, the teaching method comprises a step identified here as step 1 comprising reading a sentence 41 containing a use of a spelling word 35 to a student. Usually while reading the sentence 41, the student is shown an image 31 that is at least partially formed of letters 33 making up the spelling word 35, shown here as step 2. In addition, the image 31 illustrates the sentence 41. The student is then requested to spell the spelling word 35 while viewing the image 31 in which the letters of the spelling word are used to at least partially form the image, shown here as step 3. [0020] In some instances, it may be helpful to explain to the student where the letters 33 making up the spelling word 35 appear in the image 31 illustrating the sentence 41 prior to having the student spell the spelling word, shown here as step 3a. After having the student spell the spelling word 35 while viewing the image 31, it may be helpful to remove the image from the student's view and have the student spell the spelling word without viewing the image, shown here as step 4. After removing the image from the student's view and prior to having the student spell the spelling word without viewing the image, it may be useful to re-read the sentence containing the use of the spelling word to the student, shown here as step 4a. A further step, shown here as step 5, can involve having the student explain where the letters 33 making up the spelling word 35 appear in the image 31 illustrating the sentence 41. [0021] While it is presently contemplated that the invention will ordinarily be in the form of a series of cards with printed matter, it will be appreciated that the subject matter that appears on the printed cards can be projected on a screen using, e.g., transparencies or film, or viewed on a television or computer-type screen. Instead of having all text be printed text, some of the text may be in audio form. Also, the image need not be a two-dimensional printed image and may be a three-dimensional structure. [0022] In the present application, the use of terms such as "including" is open-ended and is intended to have the same meaning as terms such as "comprising" and not preclude the presence of other structure, material, or acts. Similarly, though the use of terms such as "can" or "may" is intended to be open-ended and to reflect that structure, material, or acts are not necessary, the failure to use such terms is not intended to reflect that structure, material, or acts are essential. To the extent that structure, material, or acts are presently considered to be essential, they are identified as such. [0023] While this invention has been illustrated and described in accordance with a preferred embodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.
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Abstract: An email-based promotional message delivery system. The system may append targeted promotional messages to outgoing emails. The system may use the profiles of senders as a means of targeting the recipients. The system may use a recipient profile supplied by one sender as a means of targeting the same recipient when that recipient is sent a message by a different sender. A two-tier spam blocking system may be offered as an inducement to allowing promotional messages to be added to outgoing emails. Other features and processes are disclosed. (end of abstract)
Interactive presentation system
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Abstract: A computerized educational presentation system is provided. The system may include a presentation application program. The presentation application program may include a presentation module that is operable in an author mode to create an educational presentation having a plurality of educational resources. The educational resources may include at least a poll. Further, the presentation module may be operable in a presentation mode to make the educational presentation accessible for viewing at a plurality of student computing devices. The presentation application program further may include an interaction module. During the author mode, the interaction module may update one or more educational resources of the educational presentation in response to receiving user edits via an author tool. During the presentation mode, the interaction module may receive student feedback at a teacher computing device in response to presentation of the poll at the plurality of student computing devices. (end of abstract)
In an educational environment, a teacher may teach a lesson by presenting educational content to students in a classroom setting. The educational content may be organized into a presentation, such as a slide deck, which may be displayed by a display device, such as a projector or interactive whiteboard, so that the presentation may be viewed by all of the students in the classroom. During presentation of the slide deck, the teacher may lecture about each slide and the students may take notes about the lecture via notepads. The teacher may ask questions of the class, and one or more students may respond orally. Although many interesting ideas may emerge as a result of such class discussion, it is difficult for teachers to create a record of the ideas for students to refer to later after class using current presentation technologies. Further, some students may feel intimidated about speaking in class, or the sheer size of the class may preclude having each student speak on a topic. In addition, since the order of the presentation is prearranged, it is often difficult for the teacher to change the presentation dynamically to address topics that have arisen during the discussion. Current presentation technologies do not adequately address these concerns.
SUMMARY
A computerized educational presentation system is provided. The system may include a presentation application program. The presentation application program may include a presentation module operable in an author mode to create an educational presentation having a plurality of educational resources. The educational resources may include at least a poll. Further, the presentation module may be operable in a presentation mode to make the educational presentation accessible for viewing at a plurality of student computing devices. The presentation application program further may include an interaction module. During the author mode, the interaction module may update one or more educational resources of the educational presentation in response to receiving user edits via an author tool. During the presentation mode, the interaction module may receive student feedback at a teacher computing device in response to presentation of the poll at the plurality of student computing devices.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in any part of this disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a computerized educational presentation system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a graphical user interface presenting a teacher view of an educational presentation of the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a graphical user interface presenting a student view of an educational presentation of the system of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an embodiment of a graphical user interface presenting a class view of an educational presentation of the system of Fig. 1.
Abstract: A literacy system provides teaching for reading and writing skills. In one embodiment, the literacy system may include exercises for teaching visual sequencing, motor skills, phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The literacy system may have a pre-reading section, which includes exercises for developing visual sequencing skills and motor skills prior to teaching the skills of reading and writing words. Also, the literacy system may have a language skills section that includes exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. (end of abstract)Literacy system description/claims
The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070048696, Literacy system.Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/350,849 entitled "Literacy System," filed on Jan. 24, 2003, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/362,749 entitled "Literacy System," filed on Mar. 7, 2002. The complete disclosures of these previous applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This document relates to a system of literacy education, including methods and systems for teaching reading and writing skills. BACKGROUND [0003] Literacy is a skill often taken for granted even though mastery of that skill eludes millions of people from all age groups. For those that are literate, an intricate set of skills enable reading and writing to be smooth and automatic processes. This set of skills, referred to as "hidden abilities," generally appear first at a young age when a person begins to comprehend the speech of others and when that person begins to speak. For example, even a young child may know that the statement "I am looking at she" is incorrect while the statement "I am looking at her" is proper. Generally, any individual does not know the technical reason behind the proper version, but instead, may offer the rationale that "it just sounds right." (The technical reason is that when a pronoun referring to a feminine individual is used as the object of a preposition, the correct form of the pronoun is "her," not "she.") This example illustrates the essence of the hidden abilities that allow a literate person to do amazingly intricate constructions with language without knowing why. These same abilities are constantly operating in written language as well. For example, in a sentence such as The soldier decided to desert in the desert. a skilled reader automatically uses different pronunciations for the two instances of the identically spelled word. For people who are not literate, and especially for young children, these hidden abilities must be developed via literacy education. However, modern systems for teaching literacy fail to address the full range of necessary skills to promote the development of hidden abilities. [0004] In general, two major systems dominate the literacy education field: phonics and whole language. Phonics emphasizes the skill of converting the letters on a page into sounds that become real words (i.e. teaching children to read a word by "sounding out" each letter so that c-a-t becomes "cat"). The processing of sounds falls under a language category known as phonology. The phonics system seems logical because phonology is a significant element in reading, but in practice, phonics teaching is hindered by the complexities of the English language. Phonics relies on teaching that each letter makes a single, distinctive sound. The reality, however, is that this concept holds true for only a tiny fraction of English words. Indeed, of the seventeen words in the preceding sentence, not a single one meets this criterion. The problem is illustrated by the fact that, under the phonics system of teaching, the word "phonics" itself should be spelled "foniks." In order to overcome this problem, the system relies on children memorizing hundreds of rules, such as the "silent e" rule, the double vowel rule, and the consonant combination rules. However, the memorization of these rules and "sounding out" individual letters may cause reading and writing to be a laborious process and may discourage individual students. The whole language system of teaching literacy focuses on complete stories or groups of words to form meaningful messages, which is different from the phonics system that concentrates on the dissection of individual words. However, children in early stages of reading may encounter a wider range of words that they can mange. As such, the situation may appear overwhelming to the student. [0005] The prevailing assumption is that these two systems, in combination, address all of the skills necessary to literacy. Unfortunately, these two systems, alone or in combination, cover only a portion of the skills that reading requires. The skills that are not addressed by these systems may leave gaps in the literacy education that many students are able to overcome. For those students who are not able to overcome the gaps of the current literacy systems, reading and writing may become a frustrating activity that is to be avoided. [0006] Among the components needed for an effective literacy system are ones that develop the pre-reading skills of visual sequencing and fine motor abilities. In addition, other components needed for an effective literacy system are ones that collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. SUMMARY [0007] In some embodiments, a system for teaching skills associated with literacy can include a pre-reading section that includes exercises selected from a group consisting of sequencing exercises and letter writing exercises. The system may also include a language skills section that includes language exercises viewable on a display apparatus to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The language skills section may include a first level of exercises that introduce a first set of content words and non-content words in a first combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The language skills section may also include a second level of exercises that integrate the first set of content words and non-content words with a second set of content words and non-content words in a second combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The language skills section may further include a third level of exercises that integrate the first and second sets of content words and non-content words with a third set of content words and non-content words in a third combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. [0008] In particular embodiments, a method of presenting exercises of a literacy system may include presenting to a student a set of pre-reading exercises selected from a group consisting sequencing exercises and letter writing exercises. The method may also include presenting to the student a first level of language skills exercises that introduce a first set of content words and non-content words in a first combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The method may further include presenting to the student a second level of language skills exercises that integrate the first set of content words and non-content words with a second set of content words and non-content words in a second combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The method may also include presenting to the student a third level of language skills exercises that integrate the first and second sets of content words and non-content words with a third set of content words and non-content words in a third combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. [0009] In other embodiments, a method of practicing exercises in a literacy system may include performing a set of pre-reading exercises selected from a group consisting sequencing exercises and letter writing exercises. The method may also include performing a first level of language skills exercises viewable on a first display apparatus. The first level of exercises may introduce a first set of content words and non-content words in a first combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. The method may also include performing a second level of language skills exercises viewable on the first or a second display apparatus. The second level of exercises may integrate the first set of content words and non-content words with a second set of content words and non-content words in a second combination of exercises to collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. [0010] In some embodiments, a series of exercise books and story books in a literacy system can collectively teach all four of the language skills of phonology, semantics, syntax, and text. Each exercise book may include a plurality of sheets with a set of language skills exercises introducing a targeted set of content words and non-content words. Each exercise book in the series may be followed by an associated story book. Each story book may include a plurality of pages with text that provides a story and with one or more images related to the story. The text of each story book may consist only of those content words and non-content words that were introduced by earlier exercise books in the series of books such that the reader of the story book is exposed only to those content words and non-contents words that were previously introduced with the language skills exercises of the earlier exercise books in the series. [0011] The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS [0012] FIG. 1 is a chart depicting aspects of one embodiment of a literacy system in accordance with the invention. [0013] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the literacy system of FIG. 1. [0014] FIG. 3 is a diagram of a computer system that may be used to operate the literacy system in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0015] FIG. 4 is an image of a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0016] FIGS. 5A-C is a series of images showing another visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0017] FIG. 6 is an image of a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0018] FIG. 7A-C is a series of images of a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0019] FIG. 8 is a flow chart of instructions for a visual sequencing exercise in accordance with one embodiment of the invention
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY [0001] The present invention relates to learning aids and, more particularly, to learning aids for teaching and learning spelling and reading. [0002] It is often difficult for beginning and low-level readers to understand how series of letters can be associated to form a word. For such readers, visual images may be more easily understood and retained than series of letters. Visual images presented in a sequence to illustrate a sentence or a story can also be understood and retained better than series of letters. [0003] According to an aspect of the present invention, a learning aid includes a tangible medium of expression, an image fixed on the medium, the image being at least partially formed of letters making up a spelling word, and at least one sentence illustrated by the image and associated with the medium, the sentence including at least one use of the spelling word. [0004] According to another aspect of the present invention, a teaching method includes reading a sentence containing a use of a spelling word to a student, showing the student an image that is at least partially formed of letters making up the spelling word, the image illustrating the sentence, and having the student spell the spelling word while viewing the image. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0005] The features and advantages of the present invention are well understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which like numerals indicate similar elements and in which: [0006] FIGS. 1A-1B, 2A-2B, 3A-3B, and 4A-4B show front and rear sides of learning aids according to embodiments of the present invention; and [0007] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating steps in a method according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0008] Embodiments of learning aids 21a-b, 23a-b, 25a-b, and 27a-b are seen in FIGS. 1A-4B, respectively. The learning aids include a tangible medium of expression 29, such as printed paper. The phrase tangible medium of expression 29 is intended to be broadly construed and may be any medium upon which an image can be fixed such that the image is capable of being perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device. For example, the medium 29 may be any material upon which an image can be printed, transparency or film, and any other suitable analog recording media or digital recording media, such as magnetic or optical recording media, such as storage tapes or disks, or an internet web-site. [0009] The learning aids also include an image 31 fixed on the medium 29. The image 31 is at least partially formed of letters 33 making up a spelling word 35. As seen in the learning aid 21a-21b of FIGS. 1A-1B, for example, the spelling word "or" 35 is formed of the letter "o" 33o that forms part of an image of an object, the lamp 37, and the letter "r" 33r that forms part of an image of another object, the table 39 upon which the lamp 37 sits. [0010] The learning aids also include at least one sentence 41 illustrated by the image 31 and associated with the medium 29. While the sentence 41 will ordinarily be fixed on the medium 29 in the same or substantially the same manner as the image 31, the sentence 41 may be otherwise associated with the image, such as by being provided separately from the image, such as by providing the image on a card, and providing the sentence on a discrete medium such as a teacher's manual. [0011] The sentence 41 includes at least one use of the spelling word 35. In FIG. 1A, for example, the sentence 41 uses the spelling word "or" and reads, "We can turn on the light to see what was making the strange noise or we can stay hidden under the bed." The image 31 includes the letters "o" and "r" as part of the image illustrating the sentence 41. Ordinarily, all of the letters 33 in the spelling word 35 are used in forming the image 31, however, some letters may not be part of the image and characters and objects in an image need not be referred to in the sentence 41 and need not be partially formed of letters 33 in the spelling word 35. [0012] The sentence 41 can include at least one other word 43 beginning with at least one letter 33 of the spelling word 35. For example, in the learning aid 23a-23b of FIGS. 2A-2B, the sentence 241 reads, "First, Ed made a snowman and then he helped Ned build a cool fort." In the image 231 depicting the sentence 241, the letter "e" 233e of the word "then" is represented by the character "Ed" 43e, and the letter "n" 233n of the spelling word "then" is represented by the character "Ned" 43n. The letters of a given spelling word will ordinarily depict objects, such as, in the learning aid 21a-21b of FIGS. 1A-1B, the "o" 33o forming part of the lamp 37 and the 33r "r" forming part of the table 39, or characters, such as, in FIGS. 2A-2B, the "e" 233e forming part of the character "Ed" and the "n" 233n forming part of the character "Ned". [0013] Some or all of the letters 33 of the spelling word 35 may depict an object or character having a name beginning with the letter. The object or character does not, however, have to be an object or character used in the sentence. For example, in the learning aid 23a-23b of FIGS. 2A-2B, the sentence 241 reads, "First, Ed made a snowman and then he helped Ned build a cool fort." In the image 231, the letter "t" in the spelling word "then" depicts a tree 45, i.e., a word beginning with the letter "t", and the letter "h" in the word "then" depicts a house 47, i.e., a word beginning with the letter "h". The sentence 241 does not refer to a tree or a house. [0014] The learning aid can also include a text passage 49 associated with the medium 29 and explaining how the letters 33 in the image 31 are used. The text passage 49 will ordinarily be fixed on the medium 29 in the same or substantially the same manner as the image 31, however, the text passage 49 may be otherwise associated with the image, such as by being provided separately from the image, such as by providing the image on a card, and providing the sentence on a discrete medium such as a teacher's manual. Ordinarily, the text passage 49 will not be visible to one viewing the image 31. For example, when the image is on one side 21a of a learning aid in the form of, e.g., a card as in the learning aid of FIG. 1A, the text passage 49 will ordinarily be on the opposite side 21b of the card. [0015] The text passage 49 will typically clarify or explain the use of the letters 33 in the image 31 in an order in which the letters appear in the spelling word 35. For example, in FIG. 1B, where the spelling word "or" is illustrated by a lamp 37 partially formed of the "o" and a table 39 partially formed of the "r", the text passage 49 reads "`o` is the lamp sitting on the table `r.`" By providing this text passage 49, teachers can be assured that their interpretations of the image 31 on a medium 29 are consistent from teaching session to teaching session. [0016] The learning aid will ordinarily comprise a plurality of images 31, 231, 331, 431, etc. corresponding to a corresponding plurality of spelling words 35, 235, 335, 435, etc., fixed on the medium 29. All of the images need not be fixed on a single element of the medium, i.e., all on a single card. The images may be fixed on the medium in the sense that they are on the same type of medium, although the particular elements of the medium are discrete. For example, the images may be fixed on a corresponding plurality of surfaces of the medium, such as by fixing different images on separate sheets of paper or cards. The spelling words depicted by the images will ordinarily be words selected from known word groups that are considered suitable for students of various ages or abilities. One such list is the so-called "Dolch List" of words identified in Dolch, Edward William, Problems in Reading (The Garrard Press, 1948). [0017] The images 31, 231, 331, 431, etc. are each at least partially formed of letters 33, 233, 333, 433, etc. making up a corresponding plurality of spelling words 35, 235, 335, 435, etc. A corresponding plurality of sentences 41, 241, 341, 441, etc., illustrated by the images 31, 231, 331, 431, etc. are also associated with the medium 29 upon which the images are fixed. Each of the plurality of sentences 41, 241, 341, 441, etc. includes at least one use of a corresponding one of the plurality of spelling words 35, 235, 335, 435, etc. [0018] Each sentence 41, 241, 341, 441, etc. will ordinarily be complete and tell the story of the image to which it corresponds. However, some of the plurality of sentences can, together, comprise a larger story. For example, the sentences 241 and 341 can be part of a larger story involving the character "Ed". Some of the letters in a spelling word, the letters at least partially forming each of the plurality of images, depict objects or characters. Particular objects or characters depicted by particular letters can be the same in different sentences. For example, the character "Ed" can be used for a letter "e" in the spelling words "then" and "were" in sentences 241 and 341. Another example of using the same object or character for the same letter is shown in FIGS. 4A-4B, wherein two lions illustrate the letters 4330 "o" and "o" in the spelling word 435 "zoo". Of course, different characters or objects can also be used for the same letter, such as in FIGS. 3A-3B, where the first letter "e" and the second letter "e" in the spelling word 335 "were" are different characters referred to as "Ed" and "Eric". [0019] Steps of a teaching method according to the present invention are shown in FIG. 5. Steps that are ordinarily performed in connection with the method are illustrated in the flow chart as boxes formed of solid lines, while more optional steps are illustrated as boxes formed of dotted lines. Referring to the learning aid 31 shown in FIG. 1, as seen in FIG. 5, the teaching method comprises a step identified here as step 1 comprising reading a sentence 41 containing a use of a spelling word 35 to a student. Usually while reading the sentence 41, the student is shown an image 31 that is at least partially formed of letters 33 making up the spelling word 35, shown here as step 2. In addition, the image 31 illustrates the sentence 41. The student is then requested to spell the spelling word 35 while viewing the image 31 in which the letters of the spelling word are used to at least partially form the image, shown here as step 3. [0020] In some instances, it may be helpful to explain to the student where the letters 33 making up the spelling word 35 appear in the image 31 illustrating the sentence 41 prior to having the student spell the spelling word, shown here as step 3a. After having the student spell the spelling word 35 while viewing the image 31, it may be helpful to remove the image from the student's view and have the student spell the spelling word without viewing the image, shown here as step 4. After removing the image from the student's view and prior to having the student spell the spelling word without viewing the image, it may be useful to re-read the sentence containing the use of the spelling word to the student, shown here as step 4a. A further step, shown here as step 5, can involve having the student explain where the letters 33 making up the spelling word 35 appear in the image 31 illustrating the sentence 41. [0021] While it is presently contemplated that the invention will ordinarily be in the form of a series of cards with printed matter, it will be appreciated that the subject matter that appears on the printed cards can be projected on a screen using, e.g., transparencies or film, or viewed on a television or computer-type screen. Instead of having all text be printed text, some of the text may be in audio form. Also, the image need not be a two-dimensional printed image and may be a three-dimensional structure. [0022] In the present application, the use of terms such as "including" is open-ended and is intended to have the same meaning as terms such as "comprising" and not preclude the presence of other structure, material, or acts. Similarly, though the use of terms such as "can" or "may" is intended to be open-ended and to reflect that structure, material, or acts are not necessary, the failure to use such terms is not intended to reflect that structure, material, or acts are essential. To the extent that structure, material, or acts are presently considered to be essential, they are identified as such. [0023] While this invention has been illustrated and described in accordance with a preferred embodiment, it is recognized that variations and changes may be made therein without departing from the invention as set forth in the claims.
Bottom of Form 1
Friday, March 19, 2010
Verbs
Verbs!
Every word in the English Language is identified as a part of speech.
Like pieces to a puzzle, when put together in right order, shape sentences.
Verbs are one of the parts of speech that show action, show a state of being,
and inform us of the active voice.
the "to be" verbs:
am ,is, are, was, were, will be, being, and been
ex. i am happy when i perform on stage.
Laura is the main character
We are continuing to work hard for the playwrite.
Sheila will share her experiences in acting.
the "helping" verbs:
has, had, do, does, did, am, are, was, were, will, would ,shall, may,
mght, must, can, and could.
they combine with other verbs to form tenses.
Susan has only one scene to perform
Frank was having a stress attack
Justin shall allow my character to live
Jennifer must allow Terence to be himself
the "regular" verb
end their past and participle forms with d, ed, t, and en
the verb finish is: finished regular . . shop becomes shopped
accept becomes accepted
irregular verbs change the ending as they change tense:
there are many irregular verbs. to list a few:
awake becomes awoke or becomes awoken
bleed becomes bled
build becomes built
The active verb performs
The passive verb receives
active voice verbs are in 1st person
Please take your clothes to the cleaners - active
She took her clothes to the cleaners - passive
Linking verbs links subject to object.
Linking verbs may be transitive or intransitive
intransitive verbs do not require the subject to perform for an object.
example, fish die or Aaaron wept or Jerry laughed.
transitive verbs require an object
for example, Mr. J looks irritable
The island seems impossible to get to
I advised you to explore your options
Every word in the English Language is identified as a part of speech.
Like pieces to a puzzle, when put together in right order, shape sentences.
Verbs are one of the parts of speech that show action, show a state of being,
and inform us of the active voice.
the "to be" verbs:
am ,is, are, was, were, will be, being, and been
ex. i am happy when i perform on stage.
Laura is the main character
We are continuing to work hard for the playwrite.
Sheila will share her experiences in acting.
the "helping" verbs:
has, had, do, does, did, am, are, was, were, will, would ,shall, may,
mght, must, can, and could.
they combine with other verbs to form tenses.
Susan has only one scene to perform
Frank was having a stress attack
Justin shall allow my character to live
Jennifer must allow Terence to be himself
the "regular" verb
end their past and participle forms with d, ed, t, and en
the verb finish is: finished regular . . shop becomes shopped
accept becomes accepted
irregular verbs change the ending as they change tense:
there are many irregular verbs. to list a few:
awake becomes awoke or becomes awoken
bleed becomes bled
build becomes built
The active verb performs
The passive verb receives
active voice verbs are in 1st person
Please take your clothes to the cleaners - active
She took her clothes to the cleaners - passive
Linking verbs links subject to object.
Linking verbs may be transitive or intransitive
intransitive verbs do not require the subject to perform for an object.
example, fish die or Aaaron wept or Jerry laughed.
transitive verbs require an object
for example, Mr. J looks irritable
The island seems impossible to get to
I advised you to explore your options
A Writer's Objective
A Writer's Objective:
1. Focus on the faculty of observation through sensory awareness
2. Continually practice the inclusion of literary devices,
like figurative language, primary and secondary sources,
and attractive language.
3. Developing a strategic plan of intuition
4. actively participating in the writing process
5. enhancing passion of learning beyond regular instruction
6. Breaking down mental images into coherent thoughts
7. Controlling your impressions by intellectually responding to images
8. Developing a thesis by understanding how the cohesive nature of writing shapes our voice.
9. Extending ideas by synthesizing a combination of sources
10. Constructing a game plan by detailing the contents of your topic
Language is an interactive flowchart. It is a conscientious river that flows in a stream of consciousness.
1. Focus on the faculty of observation through sensory awareness
2. Continually practice the inclusion of literary devices,
like figurative language, primary and secondary sources,
and attractive language.
3. Developing a strategic plan of intuition
4. actively participating in the writing process
5. enhancing passion of learning beyond regular instruction
6. Breaking down mental images into coherent thoughts
7. Controlling your impressions by intellectually responding to images
8. Developing a thesis by understanding how the cohesive nature of writing shapes our voice.
9. Extending ideas by synthesizing a combination of sources
10. Constructing a game plan by detailing the contents of your topic
Language is an interactive flowchart. It is a conscientious river that flows in a stream of consciousness.
complimentary track
Grammar -
say you witnessed the most amazing soccer goal in yesterdays match of Liverpool and Cheslea, two professional English soccer teams.
sentence: a rocket exploded off the foot of Chelsea defensman, Robert Jones, as he kicked a screaming bender into the back net of the Liverpool goal!
the sentence has a subject (a rocket) it has a verb (exploded) it has a direct object (foot) indirect object (Robert Jones) a preposition
a proper noun, several modifiers, structurally parralel, and uses some figurative to enhance the theme of the sentence.
past perfect tense
3rd person narrative
Verbs are action words
nouns are placeholders
adjectives and adverbs modify
prepositions indicate time and place
interjections add character to the sentence
conjunctions/auxilliaries connect it all together.
Every sentence has a subject and a verb.
I ran to the supermarket
My tooth hurts'
The garden smells great!
My friend is an extremely brilliant singer
My friend (subject)
is (linking verb)
extremely brilliant (modifiers - adjectives)
singer (object complement (tells us about the friend.
The lazy cat impressed many at the party, as it sang "row row row your boat."
again, the lazy cat (subject)
impressed (verb)
many (adverb modifier)
at the party (prepositions)
as it sang(a verb phrase)
"row row row your boat" is the object of the subject, lazy cat.
easy! now let's talk in depth for each part of speech and discuss the relationship of voice, persona, and aesthetic qualities.
first, we know voice is the tense (past, present, or future)
we know persona will be 1st 2nd or 3rd
we know aesthetic qualities or those qualities which make writing sound more cohesive, colorful, and structurally sound.
say you witnessed the most amazing soccer goal in yesterdays match of Liverpool and Cheslea, two professional English soccer teams.
sentence: a rocket exploded off the foot of Chelsea defensman, Robert Jones, as he kicked a screaming bender into the back net of the Liverpool goal!
the sentence has a subject (a rocket) it has a verb (exploded) it has a direct object (foot) indirect object (Robert Jones) a preposition
a proper noun, several modifiers, structurally parralel, and uses some figurative to enhance the theme of the sentence.
past perfect tense
3rd person narrative
Verbs are action words
nouns are placeholders
adjectives and adverbs modify
prepositions indicate time and place
interjections add character to the sentence
conjunctions/auxilliaries connect it all together.
Every sentence has a subject and a verb.
I ran to the supermarket
My tooth hurts'
The garden smells great!
My friend is an extremely brilliant singer
My friend (subject)
is (linking verb)
extremely brilliant (modifiers - adjectives)
singer (object complement (tells us about the friend.
The lazy cat impressed many at the party, as it sang "row row row your boat."
again, the lazy cat (subject)
impressed (verb)
many (adverb modifier)
at the party (prepositions)
as it sang(a verb phrase)
"row row row your boat" is the object of the subject, lazy cat.
easy! now let's talk in depth for each part of speech and discuss the relationship of voice, persona, and aesthetic qualities.
first, we know voice is the tense (past, present, or future)
we know persona will be 1st 2nd or 3rd
we know aesthetic qualities or those qualities which make writing sound more cohesive, colorful, and structurally sound.
track two
Track Two
The active voice performs an expression
It attempts an action to communicate a point of view
It explains, advises, demands, amuses, offends, suggests, implies,
infers, projects, summarizes, implies, mocks, and can criticize.
Your active voice represents you! it is active, meaning, it is happening now.
The object is to learn to control your voice, which acts upon thought.
Control the voice; don't let it control you!
Your voice, which is part of your emotional being, can lose focus.
many times, our emotions will get in the way of our voice.
anger or hate or even jealousy can deviate from an honest intent
to clarify a situation.
Especially in writing, your voice can stray, becoming incoherent, structureless, and empty of substance.
examples of voice:
1. television is a complete waste of valuable time. Yet without it, life would be boring.
2. Domesticating an animal other than a cat or a dog should be illegal.
3. Calfornia may have great weather, but the smog is unbearable!
Your assignment - write a sentence or two by establishing a clear and active voice on the following words.
1. conceit
2. anger
3. happiness
4 concern
5. worry
6. regret
7. frustration
8. exhiliration
9. love
10. a conviction
Track three
when you write, your voice may indicate time, an action, a condition, or an event. this is called the tense. it is governed by the verb. the varb, which we will talk about later, is a word that acts or links the subject by an action.
the present tense
" I go" is simple present- tells us, simply, an action performing by the subject.
I am going" is what we call the present progressive.
progress is an action in motion. present progressive tells us specifically the action is happening now by the subject.
" i have gone" - the present perfect. it tells us action that happened in the
The active voice performs an expression
It attempts an action to communicate a point of view
It explains, advises, demands, amuses, offends, suggests, implies,
infers, projects, summarizes, implies, mocks, and can criticize.
Your active voice represents you! it is active, meaning, it is happening now.
The object is to learn to control your voice, which acts upon thought.
Control the voice; don't let it control you!
Your voice, which is part of your emotional being, can lose focus.
many times, our emotions will get in the way of our voice.
anger or hate or even jealousy can deviate from an honest intent
to clarify a situation.
Especially in writing, your voice can stray, becoming incoherent, structureless, and empty of substance.
examples of voice:
1. television is a complete waste of valuable time. Yet without it, life would be boring.
2. Domesticating an animal other than a cat or a dog should be illegal.
3. Calfornia may have great weather, but the smog is unbearable!
Your assignment - write a sentence or two by establishing a clear and active voice on the following words.
1. conceit
2. anger
3. happiness
4 concern
5. worry
6. regret
7. frustration
8. exhiliration
9. love
10. a conviction
Track three
when you write, your voice may indicate time, an action, a condition, or an event. this is called the tense. it is governed by the verb. the varb, which we will talk about later, is a word that acts or links the subject by an action.
the present tense
" I go" is simple present- tells us, simply, an action performing by the subject.
I am going" is what we call the present progressive.
progress is an action in motion. present progressive tells us specifically the action is happening now by the subject.
" i have gone" - the present perfect. it tells us action that happened in the
the table of contents
Table of Track Contents
1. An introduction to musepod
2. The goal of musepod
3. Advantages of Musepod
4. The active voice
5. Observation awareness as a literary device
6. Generating relevant questions
7. General essay fundamentals
8. A primary activity
9. Overarching goals and concerns
10. NounPhrases
11. The components of Drama
12. Verbs
13. Modifiers
14. Conjunctions
15. Prepositions
16. Object Complements
17. Sentence Patterns
18. Etymology
19. The definition of writing
20. Valuable writing essentials part one
21. The Thesis
22. Valuable writing essentials part two
23. Writing strategies
24. the intellectual essay
25. the narrative essay
26. the descriptive essay
27. the persuasive essay
28. 1st, 2nd, 3rd person point of view
29. the expository essay
30. setting up your argument
31. the mechanics of the essay
32. Final draft preparation
33. Standards
34. glossary of important terms
35. the overall picture
36. extra credit assignment
37. Instructional strategy components
38. example of a descriptive essay
39. example of a persuasive essay
40. example of the narrative essay
41. example of the expository essay
1. An introduction to musepod
2. The goal of musepod
3. Advantages of Musepod
4. The active voice
5. Observation awareness as a literary device
6. Generating relevant questions
7. General essay fundamentals
8. A primary activity
9. Overarching goals and concerns
10. NounPhrases
11. The components of Drama
12. Verbs
13. Modifiers
14. Conjunctions
15. Prepositions
16. Object Complements
17. Sentence Patterns
18. Etymology
19. The definition of writing
20. Valuable writing essentials part one
21. The Thesis
22. Valuable writing essentials part two
23. Writing strategies
24. the intellectual essay
25. the narrative essay
26. the descriptive essay
27. the persuasive essay
28. 1st, 2nd, 3rd person point of view
29. the expository essay
30. setting up your argument
31. the mechanics of the essay
32. Final draft preparation
33. Standards
34. glossary of important terms
35. the overall picture
36. extra credit assignment
37. Instructional strategy components
38. example of a descriptive essay
39. example of a persuasive essay
40. example of the narrative essay
41. example of the expository essay
track one
Track one.
writing is the end product of a thought.
It is a conscious activity
it is observing
it is having awareness.
it is a pre production of a series of collected images.
it is recollecting your thoughts and creating a cohesive framework of language.
to summarize writing is observing, collecting, recollecting, and creating;
Producing great work depends upon how you approach the writing process.
are you a conscientious observer?
do you ask questions ?
can you recall your thoughts without stumbling?
questions to ponder
Musepod is your guide.
It is a writing template which helps develop your "writing voice". Musepod is a listening device.
it is organized into 30, five minute lessons.
Each lesson, rather each track, reviews and addresses a skill related to several content areas.
Content Standards have recently become the forefront of providing english learners a framework, a guide to language instruction.
core concepts in this framework supports a rigorous model that address fundamental concepts and principals of literary knowledge.
You will learn to:
consistently engage yourself
combine writing strategies to produce a well organized essay
you will self promote your understanding as well as build an inventory of intellectual work.
You will be provided with several instructional modalities
Musepod will also:
empower you as a writer.
provide you with instant information
promote self ownership
instruct alternative approaches to writing
encourage you, the writer to develop your voice
it will make your life simpler, organzed, neat, and will save you
hundreds, if not thousands of dollars wasted on tutorial programs that are overrated and overpriced.
For teachers, class sets are encouraged.
They will provide students with valuable instruction.
They will keep the classroom from escessive waste.
And most importantly, musepod is easy to use, doesn't take up
any space, it does not weigh a ton, and it can be kept, saved, and stored for anytime, present and future.
Finally, each track will be accompanied the many sounds of life!
Enjoy!
writing is the end product of a thought.
It is a conscious activity
it is observing
it is having awareness.
it is a pre production of a series of collected images.
it is recollecting your thoughts and creating a cohesive framework of language.
to summarize writing is observing, collecting, recollecting, and creating;
Producing great work depends upon how you approach the writing process.
are you a conscientious observer?
do you ask questions ?
can you recall your thoughts without stumbling?
questions to ponder
Musepod is your guide.
It is a writing template which helps develop your "writing voice". Musepod is a listening device.
it is organized into 30, five minute lessons.
Each lesson, rather each track, reviews and addresses a skill related to several content areas.
Content Standards have recently become the forefront of providing english learners a framework, a guide to language instruction.
core concepts in this framework supports a rigorous model that address fundamental concepts and principals of literary knowledge.
You will learn to:
consistently engage yourself
combine writing strategies to produce a well organized essay
you will self promote your understanding as well as build an inventory of intellectual work.
You will be provided with several instructional modalities
Musepod will also:
empower you as a writer.
provide you with instant information
promote self ownership
instruct alternative approaches to writing
encourage you, the writer to develop your voice
it will make your life simpler, organzed, neat, and will save you
hundreds, if not thousands of dollars wasted on tutorial programs that are overrated and overpriced.
For teachers, class sets are encouraged.
They will provide students with valuable instruction.
They will keep the classroom from escessive waste.
And most importantly, musepod is easy to use, doesn't take up
any space, it does not weigh a ton, and it can be kept, saved, and stored for anytime, present and future.
Finally, each track will be accompanied the many sounds of life!
Enjoy!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
observation at starbuck's
I parked the car. noticed a few people in my peripheral talking, i walk into starbuck's, the door handle sticky of coffee spillage. i get in line; a twenty something blonde stands in front of me, next to order. with her red tennis and black shorts, she habitually orders an irish latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Looking to my left, i see a child cry for her mother as she enters the powderroom. The cash register clanks with change as the disgruntled employee opens and shuts the mechanical drawer. i am next. she smiles. I order a tall drip, nothing fancy; maybe boring but nonetheless, i am a boring coffee connoiseur. I get my coffee and walk to the stand where the half n half waits patiently to be poured. I make my round, i sit down and begin observing and asking questions. wallpaper, paintings, la times, coffee straws, two employees bickering quietly behind the counter. i ask a few questions: is it true starbuck's invests in bombs? do they spike the coffee with chemicals? it is quite tasty and addicting. i notice some kids watching me write, motivating me to write more. i read an article from the sports section of the la times. i noticed how small the paper looks these days. How they survive with the internet spewing news second by second.
past perfect scene
past perfect
Opening scene
used bookstore - a writer's hangout. Derek reads his essay.
the scene initially has only derek's voice as the camera begins to move from outside to inside of the bookstore
finally, as derek is saying his last line, the camera shows derek speaking to an audience of 10, as they sit below the
stage of the reader.
D: I am the writer. I think in the present perfect. It is my allegory; it is my voice. I am the audience, an observer, not the performer;
i am no longer the tragic figure doom; scripted metaphors full of twisting ironies. I am not scratch on scorecard, I will not tilt and lose anymore lives. I am the write now, no strings attached, no puppet master, no more fireless; i will not allow my persona to step onto the stage. i have found the crack of dawn aint so bad, only if you choose to be there. i have come to take this time. i found it
easier to be the one listening to, not being listened to; I have detached and retached my configurations.
Derek, 41,high school english teacher, begins a new life after several tragedies in his past had given him wisdom to change.
He begins to write and eventually attends poetry readings, trying to carve meaning while keeping his past in the rearview mirror.
carla, 23, young, vibrant, energetic, meets derek at a poetry reading. Coincidentally, both have incredbly similar reading, which
fascinates carla, gaining courage to meet derek. They immediately bond, share their poetry, begin to discover each other.
carla, never really felt love; derek being her first. Whereas derek, just broken up with his girlfriend of three years; a former student and young,
this time with carls, didnt let his inhibitions stop him fro pursuing carla as well. Derek jaded yet finding a new life through poetry and writing.
carla, innocent, not having been through too much, moves in with derek. As they live together, they find out the tureness of each other's souls.
derek writes a biography of his past for carls, as she weeps and is saddened of his past. Derek tells carla, when you write, you see the past
so clear, no strings attached. You become the audience, rather the performer.
Derek talks of thureau, and questions whether farheneit 451 was prophetic. he questions hamlet intentions. H cries when he reads all quiet on the
western front to his class. as the whole class weeps, class is dismissed and derek begins to notice his affection to literature.
he says, " i finally have become the teacher i dreamed of."
happy and with an air confidence, he is shocked to hear carla has terminal cancer. his life turns tragic
carla dies; he reads poetry everyday at her grave. The situation turns ugly as derek begins to smoke crystal and gamble his life into
oblivion. he takes off in his car, goes to the place carla loved to be; huntington garden; he breaks into the library and passes out. He
is found in the morning, finally goes to therapy, and must reinvent himself again, testing wisdom and will once more.
i can look into my past and see beyond it. I dont have to feel pain no more. I am just a face in the audience, wetting
my melancholic fetish. i try to find the balance now. i try to live in the present perfect. I perform without an identity. I am
a blank slate. fate has been absent for awhile now. No longer does he lurk hideously behind the smoking mirror.
he has been fired; his place has no place. my script is left to the wind;
unwritten; my freewill prevails. I retired from acting. I walked away from tragedy. Time to time, i visit its ugly visage, his ghost
ever present, hovering around, not giving, not showing, not real anymore.
my tears; they do deceive me; they real yet empty of ego. . It is all too real. I am happy now
Opening scene
used bookstore - a writer's hangout. Derek reads his essay.
the scene initially has only derek's voice as the camera begins to move from outside to inside of the bookstore
finally, as derek is saying his last line, the camera shows derek speaking to an audience of 10, as they sit below the
stage of the reader.
D: I am the writer. I think in the present perfect. It is my allegory; it is my voice. I am the audience, an observer, not the performer;
i am no longer the tragic figure doom; scripted metaphors full of twisting ironies. I am not scratch on scorecard, I will not tilt and lose anymore lives. I am the write now, no strings attached, no puppet master, no more fireless; i will not allow my persona to step onto the stage. i have found the crack of dawn aint so bad, only if you choose to be there. i have come to take this time. i found it
easier to be the one listening to, not being listened to; I have detached and retached my configurations.
Derek, 41,high school english teacher, begins a new life after several tragedies in his past had given him wisdom to change.
He begins to write and eventually attends poetry readings, trying to carve meaning while keeping his past in the rearview mirror.
carla, 23, young, vibrant, energetic, meets derek at a poetry reading. Coincidentally, both have incredbly similar reading, which
fascinates carla, gaining courage to meet derek. They immediately bond, share their poetry, begin to discover each other.
carla, never really felt love; derek being her first. Whereas derek, just broken up with his girlfriend of three years; a former student and young,
this time with carls, didnt let his inhibitions stop him fro pursuing carla as well. Derek jaded yet finding a new life through poetry and writing.
carla, innocent, not having been through too much, moves in with derek. As they live together, they find out the tureness of each other's souls.
derek writes a biography of his past for carls, as she weeps and is saddened of his past. Derek tells carla, when you write, you see the past
so clear, no strings attached. You become the audience, rather the performer.
Derek talks of thureau, and questions whether farheneit 451 was prophetic. he questions hamlet intentions. H cries when he reads all quiet on the
western front to his class. as the whole class weeps, class is dismissed and derek begins to notice his affection to literature.
he says, " i finally have become the teacher i dreamed of."
happy and with an air confidence, he is shocked to hear carla has terminal cancer. his life turns tragic
carla dies; he reads poetry everyday at her grave. The situation turns ugly as derek begins to smoke crystal and gamble his life into
oblivion. he takes off in his car, goes to the place carla loved to be; huntington garden; he breaks into the library and passes out. He
is found in the morning, finally goes to therapy, and must reinvent himself again, testing wisdom and will once more.
i can look into my past and see beyond it. I dont have to feel pain no more. I am just a face in the audience, wetting
my melancholic fetish. i try to find the balance now. i try to live in the present perfect. I perform without an identity. I am
a blank slate. fate has been absent for awhile now. No longer does he lurk hideously behind the smoking mirror.
he has been fired; his place has no place. my script is left to the wind;
unwritten; my freewill prevails. I retired from acting. I walked away from tragedy. Time to time, i visit its ugly visage, his ghost
ever present, hovering around, not giving, not showing, not real anymore.
my tears; they do deceive me; they real yet empty of ego. . It is all too real. I am happy now
past perfect
past perfect
Opening scene
used bookstore - a writer's hangout. Derek reads his essay.
the scene initially has only derek's voice as the camera begins to move from outside to inside of the bookstore
finally, as derek is saying his last line, the camera shows derek speaking to an audience of 10, as they sit below the
stage of the reader.
D: I am writer. I think in the present perfect. It is my allegory; it is my voice.
Derek, 41,high school english teacher, begins a new life after several tragedies in his past had given him wisdom to change.
He begins to write and eventually attends poetry readings, trying to carve meaning while keeping his past in the rearview mirror.
carla, 23, young, vibrant, energetic, meets derek at a poetry reading. Coincidentally, both have incredbly similar reading, which
fascinates carla, gaining courage to meet derek. They immediately bond, share their poetry, begin to discover each other.
carla, never really felt love; derek being her first. Whereas derek, just broken up with his girlfriend of three years; a former student and young,
this time with carls, didnt let his inhibitions stop him fro pursuing carla as well. Derek jaded yet finding a new life through poetry and writing.
carla, innocent, not having been through too much, moves in with derek. As they live together, they find out the tureness of each other's souls.
derek writes a biography of his past for carls, as she weeps and is saddened of his past. Derek tells carla, when you write, you see the past
so clear, no strings attached. You become the audience, rather the performer.
Derek talks of thureau, and questions whether farheneit 451 was prophetic. he questions hamlet intentions. H cries when he reads all quiet on the
western front to his class. as the whole class weeps, class is dismissed and derek begins to notice his affection to literature.
he says, " i finally have become the teacher i dreamed of."
happy and with an air confidence, he is shocked to hear carla has terminal cancer. his life turns tragic
carla dies; he reads poetry everyday at her grave. The situation turns ugly as derek begins to smoke crystal and gamble his life into
oblivion. he takes off in his car, goes to the place carla loved to be; huntington garden; he breaks into the library and passes out. He
is found in the morning, finally goes to therapy, and must reinvent himself again, testing wisdom and will once more.
i can look into my past and see beyond it. I dont have to feel pain no more. I am just a face in the audience, wetting
my melancholic fetish. i try to find the balance now. i try to live in the present perfect. I perform without an identity. I am
a blank slate. fate has been absent for awhile now. No longer does he lurk hideously behind the smoking mirror.
he has been fired; his place has no place. my script is left to the wind;
unwritten; my freewill prevails. I retired from acting. I walked away from tragedy. Time to time, i visit its ugly visage, his ghost
ever present, hovering around, not giving, not showing, not real anymore.
my tears; they do deceive me; they real yet empty of ego. . It is all too real. I am happy now
Opening scene
used bookstore - a writer's hangout. Derek reads his essay.
the scene initially has only derek's voice as the camera begins to move from outside to inside of the bookstore
finally, as derek is saying his last line, the camera shows derek speaking to an audience of 10, as they sit below the
stage of the reader.
D: I am writer. I think in the present perfect. It is my allegory; it is my voice.
Derek, 41,high school english teacher, begins a new life after several tragedies in his past had given him wisdom to change.
He begins to write and eventually attends poetry readings, trying to carve meaning while keeping his past in the rearview mirror.
carla, 23, young, vibrant, energetic, meets derek at a poetry reading. Coincidentally, both have incredbly similar reading, which
fascinates carla, gaining courage to meet derek. They immediately bond, share their poetry, begin to discover each other.
carla, never really felt love; derek being her first. Whereas derek, just broken up with his girlfriend of three years; a former student and young,
this time with carls, didnt let his inhibitions stop him fro pursuing carla as well. Derek jaded yet finding a new life through poetry and writing.
carla, innocent, not having been through too much, moves in with derek. As they live together, they find out the tureness of each other's souls.
derek writes a biography of his past for carls, as she weeps and is saddened of his past. Derek tells carla, when you write, you see the past
so clear, no strings attached. You become the audience, rather the performer.
Derek talks of thureau, and questions whether farheneit 451 was prophetic. he questions hamlet intentions. H cries when he reads all quiet on the
western front to his class. as the whole class weeps, class is dismissed and derek begins to notice his affection to literature.
he says, " i finally have become the teacher i dreamed of."
happy and with an air confidence, he is shocked to hear carla has terminal cancer. his life turns tragic
carla dies; he reads poetry everyday at her grave. The situation turns ugly as derek begins to smoke crystal and gamble his life into
oblivion. he takes off in his car, goes to the place carla loved to be; huntington garden; he breaks into the library and passes out. He
is found in the morning, finally goes to therapy, and must reinvent himself again, testing wisdom and will once more.
i can look into my past and see beyond it. I dont have to feel pain no more. I am just a face in the audience, wetting
my melancholic fetish. i try to find the balance now. i try to live in the present perfect. I perform without an identity. I am
a blank slate. fate has been absent for awhile now. No longer does he lurk hideously behind the smoking mirror.
he has been fired; his place has no place. my script is left to the wind;
unwritten; my freewill prevails. I retired from acting. I walked away from tragedy. Time to time, i visit its ugly visage, his ghost
ever present, hovering around, not giving, not showing, not real anymore.
my tears; they do deceive me; they real yet empty of ego. . It is all too real. I am happy now
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