Threadneedle Street was the home of London tailoring in the 16th and 17th centuries. Tailors worked with assistants - the assistant would cut out the cloth and the tailor would sew it. If the tailor didn’t work quickly enough, the pile of cloth would get bigger and messier. Because his work was cut out for him, he could clearly see that there was a lot to do and his work was jumbled up in a mess. In other words, he had a really difficult, complicated job to do.
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
Monday, January 27, 2025
The Backwards Brain Bicycle
Do you agree or disagree?
1. “You can’t forget how to
ride a bike.”
2. “The faster you ride a
bike, the more control you gain”
3. “Knowledge =
understanding”
4. “Sometimes you can’t
change the way you think, even if you want to.”
Try separating these into
different words or phrases:
backstorywelderdemonstrateconquerattemptfrustratedrevelationinarutuncoordinatedalgorithmdefinitivestatementpowerthroughpeddlepathwaybrainpaycloseattentionsmalldistractiongeneticallyneuralplasticityunlearnsetouttoprovecognitivebiasredesignaterigidclickbackintofakeitarticulateT / F
T / F
1. "Just like riding a bike" means "impossible to forget how to do".
2. Dustin only recently learned how to ride a bike.
3. The engineers changed two things on the backwards bicycle.
4. Dustin thought it would be easy to ride the backwards bicycle.
5. Dustin thing understanding and knowledge are the same thing.
6. Only one person managed to win the money.
7. Dustin had only one accident when he was learning to ride the backwards bicycle.
8. Dustin's son was able to learn how to ride the backwards bicycle faster than Dustin.
9. Amsterdam has more people than bicycles.
10. Dustin no longer knows how to ride a normal bicycle.
11. Dustin is from Amsterdam
12. Dustin learns to ride the normal bicycle after thirty minutes.
13. Dusting
thinks we need to know that our brains can easily get into habits.
Watch:
The Backwards Brain Cycle
B_ckstory
w_lder
dem_nstrate
con_uer
attem_t
frustr_ted
rev_lation
in a r_t
unc_ordinated
alg_rithm
defin_tive statement
power throu_h peddle
pathwa_
br_in
pay close att_ntion
small d_straction
gen_tically
neur_l plasticity
u_learn
set out to p_ove
cogn_tive bias
r_designate
rig_d
cl_ck back into
f_ke it
artic_late
backstory
welder
demonstrate
conquer
attempt
frustrated
revelation
in a rut
uncoordinated
algorithm
definitive statement
power through peddle
pathway
brain
pay close attention
small distraction
genetically
neural plasticity
unlearn
set out to prove
cognitive bias
redesignate
rigid
click back into
fake it
articulate
3A Learning to learn (Empower Upper-Int Reading)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1. Bodies and brains need time to w_ _ _ u _
2. Research is beginning to s_ _ _ that we're all quite similar in the way our minds and bodies behave at different times of the day.
3. Understanding these rhythms h_ _ _ _ us f_ _ _ _ _ o_ _ the best time to learn.
4. Our body temperature slowly r_ _ _ _ from the time we wake up.
5. Between 2 pm and 6 pm, our muscle strength is at its p_ _ _.
6. To remember new information, it helps if we a_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ it with something else.
7. For example, a new word we learn might make us t_ _ _ _ _ of a picture.
8. Some skills seem to c_ _ _ naturally to some people.
9. Some people simply p_ _ _ u_ a violin and begin to make music.
10.Those who became exceptional were more competitive and p_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ for 2000 hours more than others.
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Federer on Success and failure
Federer on Clarity, intensity and focus
What does Federer say about winning and losing "points" in a game of tennis? How does this translate to our lives?
What are other words for
Clarity
intensity
focus
How do these principles reinforce one another?
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
How Wolves Change Rivers
When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable "trophic cascade" occurred. What is a trophic cascade and how exactly do wolves change rivers? George Monbiot explains.
What does it eat?
Wolf
Antelope
Fox
Bear
Beaver
Raven
Song bird
Bald eagle
Muskrat
Mice
Elk
Deer
Salmon
Coyote
Learn 12 words:
12 terms
Watch:
True or False
1. A trophic cascade is an ecological disaster.
2. Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone after not being there for a long time..
3. There were not enough deer in the Yellowstone Park
4. The wolves changed the behaviour of the deer.
5. The deer started to avoid the valleys because of the wolves.
6. The birds started attacking the deer
7. The height of the trees started to go down.
8. The bears started to kill each other
9. The rivers became deep and began to flow faster
10. There are now too many wolves in the park.
How Wolves Change Rivers
Fill in the gaps and then check:
Look through the text and underline or highlight examples of
Past perfect simple
Comparatives and Superlatives
How Wolves Change Rivers
One
of the most exciting scientific f___________ of the past half century
has been the discovery of widespread trophic cascades. A trophic cascade
is an ecological process
which starts at the t_____ of the food chain and tumbles a___ the way
down to the bottom. And the classic example is what happened in the
Yellowstone National Park in the United States when wolves were
r______________ in 1995.
Now,
we – we all know that wolves kill various s___________ of animals, but
perhaps we’re slightly less aware that they g______ life to many others.
Before
the wolves t________ up – they’d been absent for 70 years – the numbers
of deer (because there had been nothing to hunt them) had built up and
built up in the Yellowstone
Park and d_________ efforts by humans to control them they’d managed to
reduce much the v____________ there to almost nothing. They had just
g_________ it away.
But as soon as the wolves arrived, even though they were few in number they started to have the most remarkable e_______.
First,
of course, they killed some of the deer but that wasn’t the major
thing. Much more significantly, they r___________ changed the behavior
of the deer. The deer started
avoiding certain parts of the park – the places where they could be
trapped most easily – particularly the valleys and the g________ and
immediately those places started to r_____________. In some areas, the
height of the trees quintupled in j____ six years.
Bare valley sides quickly became forests of aspen and willow and
cottonwood. And as soon as that happened, the birds started m________
in. The number of songbirds and migratory birds started to increase
g_________. The number of beavers started to increase
because beavers like to eat the trees. And beavers, like wolves, are
ecosystem engineers. They c_______ niches for other species. And the
dams they built in the rivers provided h__________ for otters and
muscrats and ducks and fish and reptiles and amphibians.
The
wolves killed coyotes and as a r________ of that, the number rabbits
and mice began to r_____ which meant more hawks more weasels more foxes
more badgers. Ravens and
bald eagles came down to feed on the carrion that the wolves had left.
Bears f___ on it, too. And their population began to rise as well partly
also because there were more berries growing on the regenerating
shrubs. And the bears r__________ the impact of
the wolves by killing some of the calves of the deer.
But h_____ where it gets really interesting.
The
wolves changed the behavior of the rivers. They began to meander less.
There was less e_______. The channels n_________. More pools f_________.
More riffle sections.
All of which were g______ for wildlife habitats. The rivers changed in
r_________ to the wolves. And the reason was that the regenerating
forests stabilized the b______ so that they collapsed less o_____. So
the rivers became more fixed in their c_______.
S___________,
by driving the deer o____ of some places, and the vegetation recovering
on the valley side, there was less s____ erosion because the vegetation
stabilized
that as well. So the wolves, s______ in number, transformed n___ just
the ecosystem of the Yellowstone National Park – This huge area of land…
b___ also, its physical geography.
Pronunciation focus
ly
particularly
similarly
immediately
slightly
dipthongs
stabilized
trophic
erosion
Yellowstone
v
vegetation
valley
wolves
recovering
Second syllable stress
effects
regenerating
transformed
erosion
immediately
particularly
ju:
reduced
reintroduced
huge
population
Monday, January 20, 2025
Music as a Language
What do the following words mean when we are talking about music?
key
beat
bow
note
fade
scale
air guitar
string
minor
tempo
blue
harmony
solo
pitch
folk
strum
catchy
reverb
verse
chorus
jam
skin
stick
Shouting dictation
Music is a powerful communication tool - it causes us to
laugh, cry, think and question. Bassist and five-time Grammy winner, Victor
Wooten, asks us to approach music the same way we learn verbal language -
by embracing mistakes and playing as often as possible.
_______ ___ __ ________ ___________ ____ - __ _______ __ __ ______,
____, _______ ____ ________. _______ ___ ____-_____ _______ ______, ______ _______,
____ ___ __ ________ _______ ___ _______ ____ __ ______ _______ __________ -
__ _________ _______ ____ _________ __ _______ ___ _________.
language
embracing
communication
approach
Music is a powerful 1.______ tool - it causes us to laugh, cry,
think and question. Bassist and five-time Grammy winner, Victor Wooten,
asks us to 2.______ music the same way we learn verbal 3.______ - by 4. ______mistakes and playing as often as possible.
Vocab:
regiment
tutelage
proficient
to carry on a proper conversation
to jam (improvise)
air guitar (pretending to play the guitar with your hands)
accomplished
Go to Lesson:
Music as a Language
Language focus: listen (with headphones if possible) and fill the gaps
1. ___ music and verbal languages serve the ____ purpose.
2. In some ________ music works better than the spoken word because it doesn't ___ __ __ understood to be __________.
3. _________ many musicians agree that music is a language, it is rarely treated as ____.
4. ____ _____ you spoke the language incorrectly, you were allowed to make mistakes.
5. And ___ ____ mistakes you made, ___ _____ your parents smiled.
6. In the beginning, ________ mistakes ______ __ correcting them.
7. There ___ no wrong notes.
8. to play and perform with accomplished musicians ___ a _____ basis.
9. ___ _____ they play, ___ _____ they will practice on their own.
10. Remember that a language works ____ when we ____ something interesting to say.
11. ____ many rules ___ the onset will actually slow them down.
12. In my _____, the approach to music should be the same. _____ ___, music is a language too.
True or false according to Victor? Listen and check.
1. Music and language are completely different things.
2. Music has to be understood to be effective.
3. Music is often not treated the same way we treat language.
4. Music is usually taught using a very strict method.
5. Music should be taught more informally - like we teach spoken language.
6. The more mistakes you make when learning to speak, the more your parent encourage you.
7. If we learned music the same way we learn to speak, we'd learn faster and more naturally.
8. Kids who grow up in a musical family often learn music slower.
9. There are no 'wrong notes' when you just play from the heart.
10. Many music teachers don't let their students 'say' anything through their music.
Vocab:
regiment
tutelage
proficient
to carry on a proper conversation
to jam (improvise)
air guitar (pretending to play the guitar with your hands)
accomplished
Go to Lesson:
Music as a Language
Language focus: listen (with headphones if possible) and fill the gaps
1. ___ music and verbal languages serve the ____ purpose.
2. In some ________ music works better than the spoken word because it doesn't ___ __ __ understood to be __________.
3. _________ many musicians agree that music is a language, it is rarely treated as ____.
4. ____ _____ you spoke the language incorrectly, you were allowed to make mistakes.
5. And ___ ____ mistakes you made, ___ _____ your parents smiled.
6. In the beginning, ________ mistakes ______ __ correcting them.
7. There ___ no wrong notes.
8. to play and perform with accomplished musicians ___ a _____ basis.
9. ___ _____ they play, ___ _____ they will practice on their own.
10. Remember that a language works ____ when we ____ something interesting to say.
11. ____ many rules ___ the onset will actually slow them down.
12. In my _____, the approach to music should be the same. _____ ___, music is a language too.
Sunday, January 19, 2025
The Five Paragraph Essay and the Quotation
It's cold dark and rainy. But unfortunately your argument
has to be: "it's a nice day".
Think of three really good justifications for this
statement.
1. First of all,
2. Also,
3. And finally,
Which is your best justification?
Think of three follow up points to make on this one
justification.
1. In fact,
2. What’s more,
According to Tim Wilson, it's all about Paragraph 4.
Video:
How to write an essay
The 5 Paragraph Essay:
1. What do you need to do in paragraphs 2 and 3?
2. What does Tim mean when he says there's "a certain leeway" in these paragraphs?
3. What do you do with your best ideas? Why?
4. What do you add to paragraph for to give it a "crunch"?
5. What things might paragraph 4 contain?
6. Which paragraphs in an essay are usually shorter?
7. What does Tim mean when he says paragraph 5 is "exactly what it says on the bottle"?
8. what should you not do in paragraph 5?
9. In what way is an argumentative essay conducted like a friendly argument between friends?
Advantages and disadvantages essay practice game
Ordering
ideas
Compare
In fact, dogs are a universal symbol of loyalty - and many cultures understand immediately what is meant by "man's best friend". I like dogs. I could go on and on, but I don't need to, as most people naturally understand when it comes to these friendly, faithful beings. But they are a creature to admire for other reasons - certain qualities they share with homo sapiens. They're such loyal and naturally faithful friends. Perhaps most importantly, dogs keep us grounded, keep us honest - even if we don't realise it. Like ourselves, they are natural explorers of the world – “get a dog and discover your own neighbourhood!"
I like dogs. They're such loyal and naturally
faithful friends. In fact, dogs are a universal symbol of
loyalty - and many cultures understand immediately what is meant by "man's
best friend". But they are a creature to admire for other reasons -
certain qualities they share with homo sapiens. Like ourselves, they are
natural explorers of the world – “get a dog and discover your own
neighbourhood!". Perhaps most importantly, dogs keep us grounded,
keep us honest - even if we don't realise it. I could go on and on, but I don't
need to, as most people naturally understand when it comes to these
friendly, faithful beings.
A)"In
fact, dogs are a universal symbol of loyalty - and many cultures understand
immediately what is meant by "man's best friend".
B)"I
like dogs".
C)
I could go on and on, but I don't need to, as most people naturally understand when
it comes to these friendly, trustable beings.
D)
"But they are a creature to admire for other reasons - certain qualities
they share with homo sapiens."
E)"They're
such loyal and naturally faithful friends".
F)
Perhaps most importantly, dogs keep us grounded, keep us honest - even if we
don't realise it.
G)
"Like ourselves, they are natural explorers of the world - get a dog and
discover your own neighbourhood!"
1. A topic sentence making a
general statement.
2.
A simple sentence developing this general idea.
3.
A sentence with a further reflection or a bit more detail about it.
4.
A sentence giving another example of the general idea in the topic
sentence.
5.
A sentence to enlarge on that example.
6.
A sentence giving the strongest example of the idea expressed in the topic
sentence.
8.
A concluding sentence that ties all these ideas together simply.
Quickly describe some common health and lifestyle
issues in our modern world.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quickly write down some reasons why people get into
unhealthy habits these days.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quickly write down some deeper reasons why people
today become unhealthy and have unhealthy habits.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quickly write down some obvious things we can do to
solve these problems. Have you got maybe one really good idea?
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quickly summarise the main things you just wrote.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations - you just wrote an essay.
To what extent do you agree?
Intro
These days….
more and more….
rather than face-to-face…
has affected our relationships….
But…negative?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2
One obvious positive effect…
Enables friends and family to…
Different counties or cities
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 3
Another positive effect…
Make new friends
Reconnect with old friends
Keep up-to-date
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 4
On the other hand…
Some negative effects
Too much communication
Too much information
Misunderstanding
Misinformation
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion
Electronic media
Some problems
But in general
More positive
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Quotation:
1. Why does it require 3 sentences to use a quotation? What do the three sentences consist of?
2. Explain Tim's analogy between using a quotation and setting "a jewel in a ring"?
3. What are some alternatives to using a quotation? Why might these be useful?
More on using quotations here
- What is the purpose of the following uses of quotation?
- Historian John Doe has argued that in 1941 “almost all Americans assumed the war would end quickly” (Doe 223). Yet during the first six months of U.S. involvement, the wives and mothers of soldiers often noted in their diaries their fear that the war would drag on for years.
- Harriet Jacobs, a former slave from North Carolina, published an autobiographical slave narrative in 1861. She exposed the hardships of both male and female slaves but ultimately concluded that “slavery is terrible for men; but it is far more terrible for women.”
- President Calvin Coolidge’s tendency to fall asleep became legendary. As H. L. Mencken commented in the American Mercury in 1933, “Nero fiddled, but Coolidge only snored.”
1. Provide context for each quotation.
Do not rely on quotations to tell your story for you. It is your responsibility to provide your reader with context for the quotation. The context should set the basic scene for when, possibly where, and under what circumstances the quotation was spoken or written. So, in providing context for our above example, you might write:
- When Franklin Roosevelt gave his inaugural speech on March 4, 1933, he addressed a nation weakened and demoralized by economic depression.
2. Attribute each quotation to its source.
Tell your reader who is speaking. Here is a good test: try reading your text aloud. Could your reader determine without looking at your paper where your quotations begin? If not, you need to attribute the quote more noticeably.
Avoid getting into the “he/she said” attribution rut! There are many other ways to attribute quotes besides this construction. Here are a few alternative verbs, usually followed by “that”:
| add | remark | exclaim |
| announce | reply | state |
| comment | respond | estimate |
| write | point out | predict |
| argue | suggest | propose |
| declare | criticize | proclaim |
| note | complain | opine |
| observe | think | note |
Different reporting verbs are preferred by different disciplines, so pay special attention to these in your disciplinary reading. If you’re unfamiliar with the meanings of any of these words or others you find in your reading, consult a dictionary before using them.
3. Explain the significance of the quotation.
Once you’ve inserted your quotation, along with its context and attribution, don’t stop! Your reader still needs your assessment of why the quotation holds significance for your paper. Using our Roosevelt example, if you were writing a paper on the first one-hundred days of FDR’s administration, you might follow the quotation by linking it to that topic:
- With that message of hope and confidence, the new president set the stage for his next one-hundred days in office and helped restore the faith of the American people in their government.
4. Provide a citation for the quotation.
All quotations, just like all paraphrases, require a formal citation. For more details about particular citation formats, see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial. In general, you should remember one rule of thumb: Place the parenthetical reference or footnote/endnote number after—not within—the closed quotation mark.
Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” (Roosevelt, Public Papers, 11).
Roosevelt declared, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”1
Learning Styles
Think about how you learn. Match the questions to the
learning style.
1. Do you learn better quietly on your own or by working
with others? Perhaps just by studying in the library?
2. Do you learn better by physically doing something in the
real world?
3. Do you learn through conversation?
4. Do you learn by quietly taking information and ideas in
through listening? Perhaps by listening to interesting podcasts?
5. Do you enjoy puzzles and challenging mental gams like
chess? Do you enjoy solving mathematical problems?
6. Do you learn by seeing things? Do you love colours and
patterns?
7. Are you a socially smart person – you’re at your best being
part of a social situation.
How do these words relate to the topic of education?
minor
to play up
cram
a dunce
drop out
field
to sit in on
head
middle of the pack
assessment
Grammar:
Can you draw these?
a colon
a semi colon
an inverted comma
ellipsis
a dash
a hyphen
parentheses
italics
roman
a comma
an apostrophe
quotation marks
OK - what is each one for?
Linkers
Can you think of a synonym or similar phrases for each of these linkers / sentence adverbials? Try to find the closet one you can...
Even so
Ideally
Not only that
Mind you
Obviously
Linkers and Sentence adverbials
Surprisingly
In other words
For illustrative purposes
Finally
As a rule
Moreover
Then again
In addition
Thus
For all that
All in all
Incidentally
Unfortunately
Curiously
Apparently
Naturally
Admittedly
Similarly
Thankfully
As you can imagine
As luck would have it
Strange as it may seem
Besides
In fact
In theory
Meanwhile
On the contrary
All the same
In retrospect
Likewise
What's more
In writing...
What is "cohesion"?
What is "range"?
What is "clarity"?
What is "development"?
What is "effectiveness"?
What is "task achievement"?
What is "accuracy"?
What is appropriacy?
What is "awareness of audience"?
What is "style"?
More education vocab:
prerequisite
syllabus
teacher-centred
Task-based learning
form
extra-cirricular
Cirricculm
A-levels
swat
HOD
enrol
humanities
Honours
freshman
post-doctoral
credits
learning styles
EQ
ADHD
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