Books I enjoy!

Three Fantasy Books and I

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unoridnary… Naomi’s photos

So, what better way to escape reality and dive into a fantasy book? Makes sense, doesn’t it?
Well…

I began with a book that got good reviews                                                    “Empire of Wild” by Cherie Dimaline.
I found the book to be engrossing from page one and very well written. The combination of reality and fantasy is clever. But I had to stop reading at a fairly early stage. Once I realized that the plot was basically about a woman whose husband was kidnapped by an evil mythical/fantastical shape-shifting creature and felt the depths of the heroine’s misery, I was unable to continue reading. While I believe she rescues him in the end,  I simply can’t deal with such a topic now.

A second life?    Naomi’s photos

The next book I took up was “Three Parts Dead” by Max Gladstone. This is a fast-paced book, clever and often funny, with surprises along the way. Think of a courtroom drama murder-mystery  (Grisham style) set in a fantasy world with the courageous young female lawyer saving the day against all odds, told in a style that sometimes reminded me of the beloved Terry Pratchett.

I enjoyed the book, despite having a slight crisis when realizing the book was a “ whodunnit”. As a rule, I do not like the genre, but I’m glad I read this book!

As I was returning “Three Parts Dead” my Libby app pinged – a book I had reserved a few months ago was now ready for lending:

Mansplaining…
Naomi’s Photos

“This is How You Lose The Time War“ by Amal  El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.

While I am truly full of compliments for this book, I stopped reading sixty percent through ( yes, I’ve become quite difficult!).

The book is written in a format of letters, a style I enjoy. The two authors actually wrote their characters’ letters separately and surprised each other with details (they had agreed on the plotline and other main things) which must have added to the sense of authentic enthusiasm and emotion. The writing is excellent and the whole setting and the points the two authors convey are powerful.

However…

Two things bothered me the more I read. For one, I felt too old for this tale of the stirrings of first love and even “coming of age” (though the main characters are adults). I know you are never supposed to be too old for such a thing but honestly,  there that feeling was.

In addition, the fact that people’s lives and deaths are being controlled like pawns in a war between forces that we cannot influence is depressing. The book is NOT in favor of waging war, but by the time I got to sixty percent of the book I couldn’t go on the journey with the characters to get to the more optimistic parts.

It’s a good book – give it a try! You might love it!

Books I enjoy!

Time for a Book: “Happiness” by Aminatta Forna

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New beginnings
Naomi’s Photos

I finished reading this book three weeks ago and I’m still thinking about it.

For me, that’s an excellent sign.

I found “Happiness” to be a book that was very readable, yet had the  sort of combination I like:

  • a plot that moves forward, interesting characters (there’s some romance too), and historical connections
  • There’s so much else going on too. Some of which was apparent to me as I read, while other connections I realized after I had completed it.
One way of protecting nature
Naomi’s Photos

I don’t want to say much about the plot – I knew nothing about the book except that it was warmly recommended, and I’m glad for it. I’d be delighted to correspond about it after you’ve read it!

Most of the story takes place in London, some In New England, while Sierra Leon and other locations come up as well.

While the locations are interesting, the book is about people, animals and people, people and people, trauma and resilience, hope, and, of course,

happiness.

 

Day by Day in the Classroom

When a Narrator of a Story “CHATS” with Students – The latest “Visual Lesson” is up!

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Cover picture of the original slideshow

“I was prepared to dislike Max Kelada even before I knew him”.

W. Somerset Maugham’s opening sentence of the story “Mr. Know All’ is clear.

However, in the  early years, when I still didn’t have a good pre-reading slideshow, my students would run into trouble understanding the story by the second sentence:

“The war had just finished and the passenger traffic in the ocean-going liners was heavy”.

The war in question is World War 1.

You may think that it doesn’t really matter that my Deaf and hard-of-hearing high school students haven’t a clue as to when that war ended (some are a bit surprised that there was a WW1 even though the numbering should have been a clue…) but it actually matters a great deal.

For starters, if I don’t emphasize the time frame my students cannot fathom why the characters are spending two weeks on a ship instead of hopping on a plane, spending their time ignoring the other passengers.

There would be no drama without the journey on the ship.

From the new video lesson
Not a ship. Let’s imagine a slow horse and buggy, ok? Naomi’s Photos

Then my students get confused by the whole issue of nationalities.

“… I should have looked upon it with less dismay if my fellow passenger’s name had been Smith or Brown.”

Those surnames do not indicate any nationality at all to my students…

There is so much background knowledge that comes up in the first paragraph of the story!

The narrator was traveling from San Francisco to Yokohama

My students assume the narrator was American (once we ensure everyone knows where these cities are located…) because who else travels from San Francisco?

After my students have already jumped to conclusions it’s much harder for them to internalize the information about the British Empire and who is or isn’t a real “British Gentleman”.

At least someone is sure of himself! Naomi’s Photos

 

In short, a pre-reading task to set the stage was crucial. The old slideshow was helpful, but the new video version is much more attractive to teenagers.

In this Visual Lesson (Visual Lesson = See, Read & Listen), the students get to “chat” with the narrator of the story “Mr. Know All”. As in every Visual Lesson, you will find the use of visuals, alongside texts to read and listen to.

I’m so grateful to the amazing Dorit Renov, who brought the video to life by narrating the dialogue while using different voices for the various characters that appear in the video.

Here is the link to the Visual Lesson:

Mr. Know All – A Conversation with the Narrator

Day by Day in the Classroom

Encouraging Our EFL Students Not to be “Hares” on Exams – A New Visual Lesson!

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3 distractors on a multiple choice question  Naomi’s Photos

 

Remember that story about the hare and the tortoise?

I usually dislike that story in the context of an EFL classroom, since it often doesn’t reflect reality.

However, when it comes to taking reading comprehension exams, particularly those including multiple-choice type questions, the students who behave like tortoises (“slow and steady) generally avoid the “Look-Alike” traps, even if they are weaker students than some of the “hares”.

Who are the “hares” that so blithely choose an answer to a multiple-choice question just because it includes words that appear in the relevant part of the text?

  •  smart, over-confident students who are fooled by how easily they understand the text and barely read the questions
  • students whose top priority is their social status – leaving the exam room as quickly as possible, perhaps coughing loudly as they exit so that everyone will see…
  • students who think they have mastered all the tricks to taking reading comprehension exams without  actually reading the text

I’m sure you know students who behave in this manner!

Who, me?  Naomi’s Photos

 

On my journey to review  decades’ worth of materials that have served me well, and then renew them by turning them into Visual Lessons ( = See/ Listen / Read) on my YouTube channel, I found that I could not link my beloved worksheet to the latest video lesson: The “Look-Alike” Trap

The worksheet is simply not designed for self-study, and cannot be self-checked. That format worked well for the Visual Lesson on “Where will the Answer Be”

In short – while the students will find the video lesson designed for clarity and self-study, they need a teacher to benefit from the worksheet. Which is why I am offering it to the readers of this blog.

On the worksheet, the teacher and the students examine eight sentences, which I have modified from actual national exams (I had to modify the sentences to make them clear when being read out of context) and corresponding incorrect answers chosen by unknown students who had forgotten about the “look-alike traps”. The teacher supplies any glosses for vocabulary items, as needed. The students lead the activity.

I have found that almost all of my students were able to explain why the distractor chosen was incorrect, as they were focused on the challenge of outsmarting whoever set the traps. They felt empowered!

**** That’s why I used the image of a trap – the students respond to that!

Naturally, many of my students claim, while doing the worksheet they would never fall into such a trap….

Eh… Hmm…

Here is the Visual Lesson:

 

Here is the worksheet I used. The downloadable document contains two versions  – one with the “critical” words underlined, and the other with no hints whatsoever. I used the version without any words underlined.

***Remember – this is not a worksheet for self-study. It is the discussion that matters!

the look alike trap-2nwne8w

 

Day by Day in the Classroom

“Naomi’s Visual Lessons” – A New YouTube Channel!

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There.

I’ve finally done it.

I launched a YouTube Channel, called “Naomi’s Visual Lessons“.

What’s a “Visual Lesson” you ask?

A lesson that includes words to read, an audio narration of the written words appearing in the video, and LOTS of visuals that help clarify what is being explained.

See/ Listen / Read

Designed for clarity!

Note: Some lessons include a link to a practice worksheet after the student watches the lesson.

Hmmm, I wrote “lessons” in the plural form.

I have several lessons in preparation, and decades (quite literally!) of materials waiting their turn to be upgraded, but currently there is one Visual Lesson online:

Where will I find the answer?

Line numbers can confuse you if you aren’t careful! This video will show you which details to pay attention to!

Here’s the link to the worksheet to practice what you learned. https://shorturl.at/achk6 

Watch this space, more to come!

 

 

Books I enjoy!

Time for a Book – The Adventures of a “Random” Button

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Who shall enter? Naomi’s Photos

If someone came up to me today and said “I’d like to buy you a few books, which would you like?” I wouldn’t know how to answer.

In fact, I would get a bit stressed by the question.

In recent months I have had no idea which books would suit my mood. I would hate for money to be wasted on a book that I dislike and abandon quickly!

Yet I absolutely NEED to read.

The “Libby” library system harbors no ill will towards me even if  I return a book the next day and immediately take another.

No murmured complaint even when I quickly return the next book as well.

More importantly, “Libby has a  RANDOM search option!

Now that I’ve been experimenting with reading books I have never heard of (for the most part) using the random search option for quite a while, I’d like to share some “lows” and “highs” of my reading adventure.

Perhaps you might be interested in some of the books!

A surprise inside each one, all connected…
Naomi’s Photos
“Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President” by Candice Millard

I was a bit dubious about the chances of me finding a book about President Garfield interesting when I saw the option that popped up on my results page.. I have to admit that the only thing I knew about Garfield was that he was assassinated. However, it seemed somewhat encouraging that Alexander Graham Bell was a character in the story as well, so I clicked on the “BORROW” button.

The book was fascinating!

Did you know that President Garfield didn’t even run for the presidency when he was nominated by the party?

Or that Bell nearly returned home from the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 without anyone noticing that invention in the dark far corner of an upper floor we know as the telephone?

Perhaps you knew that The White House in 1880 was a sagging, damp, rat-infested building that was making its residents ill, but I certainly didn’t.

And that the United States had THREE presidents assassinated before realizing they had to protect their presidents?

Though President Garfield didn’t actually die because of the assassin’s bullet…

I should stop here – elaborating would mean spoilers.

The book is a readable, engaging, and fascinating description of a period, with revelations related to medicine, politics, and law.

Who is the star? Naomi’s Photos

“Robin” by Dave Itzkoff  vs. “I Was Better Last Night” By Harvey Fierstein

I adored the actor Robin Williams and can remember how shocked and saddened I was by his untimely death. As I knew nothing about his life, I was quite pleased when this biography popped up as a suggestion written by a serious author.

Too serious.

I stopped reading when Robin Williams was in his mid-twenties. I was very interested in his childhood but beyond that period in William’s life, I found the writing uninspiring and sagging under the weight of too many details.

I also realized I didn’t want to see his life dissected by another in such a clinical manner. I’ll always remember him as Mork!

On the other hand, I found Harvey Fierstein’s autobiography to be quite interesting even though the name meant nothing to me when I began the book. A kid from Brooklyn that went far…

Fierstein narrates the audiobook itself which adds to the interest! He knows how to tell a story!

I hadn’t known that Robin Williams chose Fierstein to play his brother in “Mrs. Doubtfire” after seeing him “bomb” one night at an event!

When nature sends you some LOVE Naomi’s Photos
“The Authenticity Project” by Claire Pooley

This is a “feel-good” book that is well written, with relatable characters. It was both amusing and touching. While it is no spoiler if I tell you there will be a happy ending, there are lots of unexpected turns along the way.  I enjoyed it!

” Choose Your Own Autobiography” by Neil Patrick Harris

I tried this on as an audiobook, narrated by the author, and returned it very quickly. The concept sounded intriguing but I found it distracting and uninteresting.

Harris IS a good narrator though, and I believe he has narrated several books.

Listen, can you hear it? Naomi’s Photos
“Nettle & Bone” T. Kingfisher

A clever fantasy book which I quite enjoyed, particularly as I listened to it as an audiobook, read by someone who could “do the voices” really well.

The author takes familiar elements from fairy tales and creates something entirely different and unexpected with these elements. The story is at times rather dark, other times amusing, always emphasizing a woman’s point of view, women’s various roles in society, and their power.

“Dear Prudence” by Daniel Lavery

Skip this one.

I thought reading about the unusual questions people sent to a newspaper “Advice Column” might be amusing so I hit the BORROW button.

However, beyond the opening one, I never made it to any more readers’ questions. The author embarked on a long autobiography which I was not interested in at all. Didn’t the editor tell him that it would be better to share his life story in bits, between the letters, perhaps related to them?

“EARLY RETURN” for that title!

Look carefully, things are not what they seem… Naomi’s Photostry
“This Time Tomorrow” by Emma Straub

This is a “What If” story of a 40-year-old daughter trying to come to terms with the impending death of her beloved father.

“What if” as in a form of “time travel” that allows her to go back in time and try different things which might lead to a different outcome, for her father and herself.

While I was less interested in the detailed descriptions of time spent as her 16-year-old self, and real life doesn’t give you chances to try out alternative realities, I could relate to the way she thought about and examined her relationship with her father, and how the death of a parent is inevitable at some point.

 “1Q84” by Haruki Murakami

I’m currently reading this one and it’s really good, I find it difficult to stop.

Things are not what they seem, unexpected twists at every turn. More “fast-paced” than what I remember of the previous Murakami books and very well written.

Thanks, Libby for suggesting this one – I’m hooked!

Let me know if you have read any of these titles!

 

Day by Day in the Classroom

When Students Jump To Conclusions – A new VISUAL LESSON

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Make the right connections… Naomi’s Photos

There are days when I think I should begin awarding  certificates for “long jumps” – some of my students excel at jumping!

Jumping to conclusions, that is.

This ability of theirs manifests itself in many varieties, but I’ve chosen  to focus on one particular issue and create a new “Visual Lesson” with a companion worksheet.

“Line numbers” in reading comprehension questions are “eye catchers” for students. They can help the students find the correct answer or lead them astray if they don’t read the entire question carefully.

Quite a few of my Deaf and hard of hearing high school students would rather practice “long jumps” than read entire questions carefully…

Some questions are easy, such as these two:

According to lines 11-12, why was David surprised?

What do we learn from paragraph 1?

The answers can be found exactly where the line numbers indicate they will be.

Students are happy.

The teacher is happy.

All tied up… Naomi’s Photos

That is, until the students encounter a question such as this one:

“According to lines 11-12, Tammy chose to work in a profession
that was different from the one she studied at the university.
Why did she do that? Base your answer on paragraph II.”

Where will the answer be?

Students don’t let the fact that the answer  cannot  be found in lines 11-12  stop them from trying to contort the words in those lines into an answer…

The same goes for  “refer to” questions, as in:

What does the word “This” (line 6) refer to?

Do you also have students blithely extracting irrelevant chunks appearing in line 6 to answer the question?

Drilling the message in… Naomi’s Photos

So…

Time to whip out a new VISUAL LESSON!

Why do I call it a visual lesson?

The students see the explanations, read and HEARS them.

Yes, you read that correctly, “hears”.

Many of my hard of hearing students like having what is written narrated. I believe that students without hearing problems will aprreciate this as well.

So here’s the link to the self paced slideshow:

Where will the answer be?

Click on the words below to download the worksheet.

Where will the Answer Be 2

I hope you find the material useful!

***** As the intial feedback to adding narration has been positive, I plan to add narration to my previous Visual Lesson, on Essay Writing,

 

Books I enjoy!

Time for a BOOK: “North Woods” by Daniel Mason+ 2 mentions

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Different points of view / Naomi’s Photos

I went through a “reading crisis” in the last three months. I had no patience for fictional characters and their fictional angst and read less than I usually do.

The only two books I read were  both non-fiction:

“Unraveling – What I Learned About Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater” by Peggy Orenstein 

Who knew thread and cloth played such an important part in the history of humankind? I didn’t… I also related to her struggles to deal with her parents aging and ultimately passing away. The author and I are more or less the same age.

“Creativity Inc.” by Amy Wallace and Edwin Catmull

It was interesting to learn how Pixar came to be. I was particularly interested in the part about keeping the spark of creativity, actually high-quality creative work, alive. I abandoned the book when it became focused on the merger with Disney. I don’t run a business. I’m just a person who tries to be creative.

The land / People
Naomi’s Photos

“North Woods” by Daniel Mason has brought the joy of well-written fiction back into my life.

What a talented writer!

What a clever way to build a story!

Historical fiction with a twist.

The “constant” in the book is a place. A small house, land, woods and a river in Massachusetts.

The same place, beginning with the first white settlers in the region and then progressing in time.

Telling the story of the people who came and went, lived and died.

Telling the story of the land as it was shaped by the people AND how the land influenced the people’s lives.

You might think that having such a parade of characters would be repetitive and become tiresome.

You would be mistaken.

Mason’s characters are so vivid and convincing that I’m drawn to every single character at each phase of the historical progression toward the present.

A great book!

Day by Day in the Classroom

A Visual Study Guide – Essay Writing

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Visualise It, by Naomi Ganin Epstein

Sometimes you need to begin in the middle.

Simply hone in on the problematic zones without starting at the top every single time.

When it comes to essay writing, most of my advanced students are great at writing opening paragraphs of opinion essays. Their concluding paragraphs are coming along nicely as well, they’ve clearly grasped the principles.

However, crafting the two “body paragraphs” in between is more problematic. The students are required to present their arguments clearly and support their claims with additional information and relevant examples.  They need to be aware of such minefields as not writing two paragraphs about the same argument (just using some different words) or contradicting themselves with their examples.

Before doing all of that, the students actually have to come up with ideas to present…

Students complaining that the school system is unfairly asking them to write about things they aren’t interested in, so how could they possibly be expected to have anything to say about the topic won’t get them very far…

As a teacher of Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, I felt I needed a   guided writing sample essay based on visual explanations along with a task using visual cues for my students. Since I didn’t have a visual study guide, I created one…

Perhaps your students will find this helpful as well!

Note – it’s designed to be viewed on a cell phone, which is what my students do. If you tap on the screen, the “Canva” watermarks disappear.
It can be viewed on a computer as well.

https://www.canva.com/design/DAF2drd2hGI/3cx-vextzceMqhZ7CHhw-w/view?utm_content=DAF2drd2hGI&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor

 

 

 

Day by Day in the Classroom

Teaching in Times of War – Sharing Distance Learning Tasks

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Feeling small…
Naomi’s Photos

With a very heavy heart, we teachers must now prepare for distance learning, amid the tragic events. Supporting each other and sharing materials is crucial, as none of us are at best (to put it mildly).

Yet we have a deadline – school must resume, online.

Here is a set of links to collections organized by level. In each collection, I am uploading material of mine relevant to that level. This is a space to follow, as I will continue uploading materials next week.

There are guided reading tasks, vocabulary exercises, and some lighter activities. There are no grammar activities.

More to come.

May quieter times resume soon.

May you all be safe!

 

Basic Level

https://wakelet.com/wake/FOL4-z3i_0LYQjjAol-jr

 

Towards Module A

https://wakelet.com/wake/OIcHlEdLSNO9ForZ3-N_3

Towards Module C

https://wakelet.com/wake/5c-v1eepky1SDW_7Cc59V

Towards Module E – Vocabulary

https://wakelet.com/wake/StYEJg2z_mV2lv205WRyW

Towards Module E – Reading

https://wakelet.com/wake/vpc9M9JdqzMnDYjWU2uk0

Towards Module G

https://wakelet.com/wake/CnPVk8cS_CR8OFI6u_j7t

Literature

https://wakelet.com/wake/-J-aVbycIhgz1Vf4Z5aJd

Romance

https://wakelet.com/wake/N2Ti-A7yPYekGRxolWvPZ

Puzzles

https://wakelet.com/wake/JiSAhCDDIXlt-HotNvJtB

 

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