Assignment three was about coming up with a writing proficiency assignment. t first I thought it was really hard because I couldn't think of anything. But after a little looking around and thinking I realized that a quite simple assignment would be good. The important thing was to get the student to write and the best way to do this is to make them write about something they like. So I thought that books or movies would be a good topic since everyone has seen at least one good movie, or read a good book. The reason I choose Film review instead of book review was that it was more likely that the student had seen a good movie. Everyone doesn't like to read after all. Once I had chosen a subject it wasn't very hard. Write about a movie you like, and to get some more thought and feeling behind the written text I asked the student to consider why s/he liked it and some other help questions. I believe it is good to learn to reflect over why we like or dislike things, it will help us understand ourselves and possibly others too. It was a good exercise for us to do too as it focuses on our future jobs.
My peer wrote a nice little essay on her favourite movie. She wrote about it in a good way and had taken into account my help questions. She wrote why she liked it, a sort summary on the movie and characters, reflected on the hows and whys of the movie etc. It was also quite short, but without being constricted which was my hope. So basically she wrote the assignment as I had planned it would be written.
My own assignment that I chose to do was a review on a book. I think mine became a little too long, but I also know this is mostly because the book is very long and has many head characters and a complex story. I am aware that I can get a bit too long-winded when I write about things since I keep getting new ideas about what to write about. It just gets longer. But over all I think I did a quite good job as I mainly reflected about why I liked it so much. It was a fun/interesting assignment and one that I feel is a good one. It's always good to reflect on things and make our own thought visible to us.
söndag 23 maj 2010
måndag 17 maj 2010
Book review - A Song of Ice and Fire
I'm going to write a review of the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. The first book was published in 1996.
First I want to say that it is a fantasy book, but not fantasy in the sense that there's magic and elves and dragons all over the place. It's much more a medieval story in a fictional land. Though there are dragons and undead in it, they are only mentioned very rarely and, so far, has not had much of an impact in the books, though I believe they will before the end.
Main plot:
The Stark family's father becomes the Hand of the King to the Iron Throne. The whole family moves to the castle and there a lot of intriguing happens. The queen murders the king, best friend of of Stark. He himself is in deep trouble. A mad prince in another country to the south is on his way back home with his sister to take back the throne to the old royal family. He is brutally murdered but his sister is raising an army and slowly works her way back to a home she's never seen, gaining powerful allies on the way. These include three hatchling dragons, the only ones in the whole world. At the same time, the kingdom is under attack of an unknown enemy from the cold north and families are split up, armies gathered and sent to the frontiers. Other lands watch in fear and wonders what will happen. A lot of the characters are deeply involved in the happenings in the kingdom, but they don't see the whole picture. The only one who seems to know more than the rest is a small crippled boy that is lost in the cold north and his older sister that had to flee the land and is currently hiding under the wing of a death cult of assassins. Knights are fighting and changing sides, one king replace another in rapid succession and a lot is pure chaos. Who will win and who will take the throne in the end? Will it be the Starks or the Princess from the south? The Lannisters that has it now or someone else? No one knows yet. There are fully 10 houses in conflict and 5 kingdoms.
This book is mainly about the kingdom in war and on the brink of civil war and not about the characters so much, though the characters are of course the driving forces in the books and the ones we as readers will follow. It's a book about intrigue and nobility. One thing that is also different in this book compared to many others is that there is no good and bad side. There are just sides, actions and consequences. This makes the book feel very realistic and one reason I like it so much. The head characters themselves are many and divided into houses/households and families. As a reader you will get to know them all and get your own favourites in the different families. Even in opposing families. It's a source of constant conflicting feelings when you like characters on both sides of a conflict and you cannot choose a side because you want for both to win.
Another thing that makes these books very exciting is that you never know what will happen next. In most books you are quite secure in the knowledge that the head characters will survive, that the good side will win, that the villains will be caught or even killed. No so in this book. The first chock comes when you read the first chapters and the person that you believe is the main character suddenly dies. After that you will become vary and every time a character is in dire straights you fear for their lives. A more exciting book series is hard to find.
I love it for the life like characters, the twists and turns of the plot and the unpredictability of it all. A book can never be as exciting as when you don't know if the characters you like will survive or not. Or how! The most catching book I have ever read. Situations that happen in the book are very realistic and complicated and it's hard to foresee what will happen next. Unfortunately the series is not finished so I cannot say if I like the ending or not yet. But I have my hopes and fears. My favourite characters and my antagonists, my suspicions and guesses. I can only hope that the ones I like best will survive, that the "bad" ones that I also like will find the right way and be good, that they will develop in the right direction. For people in this book does not continue to be the same way all through the book. The things that happen to them will change them, like it would change a real person. So some characters I liked in the beginning I now dislike, and some that I hated I now hope for and like. Others have gone from bad to worse and some from good to better.
I strongly recommend that you read this book series. It is very good and exciting. I have also tried to avoid to reveal anything that will ruin the surprises if you should actually read it.
First I want to say that it is a fantasy book, but not fantasy in the sense that there's magic and elves and dragons all over the place. It's much more a medieval story in a fictional land. Though there are dragons and undead in it, they are only mentioned very rarely and, so far, has not had much of an impact in the books, though I believe they will before the end.
Main plot:
The Stark family's father becomes the Hand of the King to the Iron Throne. The whole family moves to the castle and there a lot of intriguing happens. The queen murders the king, best friend of of Stark. He himself is in deep trouble. A mad prince in another country to the south is on his way back home with his sister to take back the throne to the old royal family. He is brutally murdered but his sister is raising an army and slowly works her way back to a home she's never seen, gaining powerful allies on the way. These include three hatchling dragons, the only ones in the whole world. At the same time, the kingdom is under attack of an unknown enemy from the cold north and families are split up, armies gathered and sent to the frontiers. Other lands watch in fear and wonders what will happen. A lot of the characters are deeply involved in the happenings in the kingdom, but they don't see the whole picture. The only one who seems to know more than the rest is a small crippled boy that is lost in the cold north and his older sister that had to flee the land and is currently hiding under the wing of a death cult of assassins. Knights are fighting and changing sides, one king replace another in rapid succession and a lot is pure chaos. Who will win and who will take the throne in the end? Will it be the Starks or the Princess from the south? The Lannisters that has it now or someone else? No one knows yet. There are fully 10 houses in conflict and 5 kingdoms.
This book is mainly about the kingdom in war and on the brink of civil war and not about the characters so much, though the characters are of course the driving forces in the books and the ones we as readers will follow. It's a book about intrigue and nobility. One thing that is also different in this book compared to many others is that there is no good and bad side. There are just sides, actions and consequences. This makes the book feel very realistic and one reason I like it so much. The head characters themselves are many and divided into houses/households and families. As a reader you will get to know them all and get your own favourites in the different families. Even in opposing families. It's a source of constant conflicting feelings when you like characters on both sides of a conflict and you cannot choose a side because you want for both to win.
Another thing that makes these books very exciting is that you never know what will happen next. In most books you are quite secure in the knowledge that the head characters will survive, that the good side will win, that the villains will be caught or even killed. No so in this book. The first chock comes when you read the first chapters and the person that you believe is the main character suddenly dies. After that you will become vary and every time a character is in dire straights you fear for their lives. A more exciting book series is hard to find.
I love it for the life like characters, the twists and turns of the plot and the unpredictability of it all. A book can never be as exciting as when you don't know if the characters you like will survive or not. Or how! The most catching book I have ever read. Situations that happen in the book are very realistic and complicated and it's hard to foresee what will happen next. Unfortunately the series is not finished so I cannot say if I like the ending or not yet. But I have my hopes and fears. My favourite characters and my antagonists, my suspicions and guesses. I can only hope that the ones I like best will survive, that the "bad" ones that I also like will find the right way and be good, that they will develop in the right direction. For people in this book does not continue to be the same way all through the book. The things that happen to them will change them, like it would change a real person. So some characters I liked in the beginning I now dislike, and some that I hated I now hope for and like. Others have gone from bad to worse and some from good to better.
I strongly recommend that you read this book series. It is very good and exciting. I have also tried to avoid to reveal anything that will ruin the surprises if you should actually read it.
söndag 9 maj 2010
Written Proficiency
This is an English assignment in written proficiency.
You are going to write a reflective text about a movie of your choice. It can be either a fictional movie, based on a true story or be any kind of action, drama etc that you like. It can be a movie you have seen a hundred times or one that you saw for the first time today. You are going to write a short summary of it and reflect about what it is in this movie that makes you like it. The movie can be in any language as long as the reflection is in English.
Help questions: What moves the plot forward in the film? Who are the head characters? Why do you think they do what they do in it? Do you think it should or could have ended in another way than it did? Why? How has this movie affected you and has it made you think of something in a new way?
Written reflection should be between 200-300 words.
Good luck!
-----------------------
The Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/
Anything you need to know about any movie, old or new.
You are going to write a reflective text about a movie of your choice. It can be either a fictional movie, based on a true story or be any kind of action, drama etc that you like. It can be a movie you have seen a hundred times or one that you saw for the first time today. You are going to write a short summary of it and reflect about what it is in this movie that makes you like it. The movie can be in any language as long as the reflection is in English.
Help questions: What moves the plot forward in the film? Who are the head characters? Why do you think they do what they do in it? Do you think it should or could have ended in another way than it did? Why? How has this movie affected you and has it made you think of something in a new way?
Written reflection should be between 200-300 words.
Good luck!
-----------------------
The Internet Movie Database: http://www.imdb.com/
Anything you need to know about any movie, old or new.
lördag 1 maj 2010
This question: Animal police. Should be the most important election issue 2010!
It is well known by the population of Sweden that animal cruelty and mistreatment is not allowed, however it is not monitored in any efficient way. Mistreated animals can be kept by their owners for years or until they die and the only retribution is a fine. A more efficient way of handling the problem and controlling the animals health should be installed. A group of specialists called the Animal Police will solve this problem.
In Sweden the issue of animal cruelty is usually handled by giving the owners of mistreated animals a fine of a larger or smaller sum. The animals themselves however are not taken from the owner. Moreover the fine is often too small to cause the individual owners any real discomfort. The mistreating of animals is usually lack of food and good shelter. This saves the owner large sums of money each year, sums that the fines rarely surpass. Another handling of the problem is sometimes to forbid the owner to have any more animals, but it is rarely monitored and they can often acquire new animals within a short time. The message these methods and their executions give to the population is that it is quite ok to mistreat animals. That it is bad, but not really serious.
We believe that the installment of a special group or police force, called the Animal Police, will give a clear message that animal cruelty is not allowed and that it will be dealt with in an efficient way to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals. The Animal Police force will be educated personnel that works closely together with veterinarians and the local police. The installment of this group will also give many opportunities for work, that is much needed in these times, since it will encompass the whole country.
The Animal Police is a very good way of handling these animal cruelty issues. They will inspect how animals are being kept in both homes and on farms based on incoming calls from the public population. A call centre will receive complaints about animal mistreatment and an inspector will go and assess the situation. If the situation is found to be bad for the animals a warning and a smaller fine will be issued as well as advice to the owner on how to solve the problem. A revisit will be made, with an accompanying veterinarian, after giving the owner time to fix the problems. If the issues are still there, there will be a final warning to the owner that if the problem is not assessed within a certain time, all the animals will be taken from them immediately and the owner will be forbidden to hold animals (or in some cases to hold more than a certain amount of animals). The owner will pay a high fine and will be added to a list and regular checkups will be made to ensure that he or she will comply to the arrangement and not get new or too many animals again. If the owner did fix the issues with the animal keeping they will be monitored for a while to ensure that he or she doesn't fall back to the old behavior of mistreating the animals. If the owner continues to behave well they will be taken off the list.
This treatment of the animal cruelty issue will give clear messages as to how important it is to take care of our animals and it will ensure that people follow the restrictions. It will also make people think twice before acquiring animals, especially if they do not have an economical situation or the engagement for it.
Installing this group will create many new jobs for the population as well. It will take time to get the organization to run smoothly, but the sooner it is installed the sooner it will work properly.
Some will complain that installing this group will take too much time, cost too much and won't make a difference.
Of course it will take time, everything in this large scale takes time. But it will not go faster at any other time so it is better to begin now. The sooner this group is ready to begin their work, the sooner animal handling in this country will become better.
The cost will only be an initial problem as, when it runs smoothly, the taxes from the increased working population and the fines from the mistreats will in the long run be profitable. It will also lead to increased work in both the veterinaries and the police department. This is a goal worth paying for to get started. It will also make a difference. To claim that the Animal Police would not make a difference is like saying the local police force doesn't make a difference in the community. The populace will learn that their involvement and reports about animal cruelty will make an actual difference. Every action taken to prevent cruelty towards animals will make this a better country.
In Sweden the issue of animal cruelty is usually handled by giving the owners of mistreated animals a fine of a larger or smaller sum. The animals themselves however are not taken from the owner. Moreover the fine is often too small to cause the individual owners any real discomfort. The mistreating of animals is usually lack of food and good shelter. This saves the owner large sums of money each year, sums that the fines rarely surpass. Another handling of the problem is sometimes to forbid the owner to have any more animals, but it is rarely monitored and they can often acquire new animals within a short time. The message these methods and their executions give to the population is that it is quite ok to mistreat animals. That it is bad, but not really serious.
We believe that the installment of a special group or police force, called the Animal Police, will give a clear message that animal cruelty is not allowed and that it will be dealt with in an efficient way to ensure the safety and well-being of the animals. The Animal Police force will be educated personnel that works closely together with veterinarians and the local police. The installment of this group will also give many opportunities for work, that is much needed in these times, since it will encompass the whole country.
The Animal Police is a very good way of handling these animal cruelty issues. They will inspect how animals are being kept in both homes and on farms based on incoming calls from the public population. A call centre will receive complaints about animal mistreatment and an inspector will go and assess the situation. If the situation is found to be bad for the animals a warning and a smaller fine will be issued as well as advice to the owner on how to solve the problem. A revisit will be made, with an accompanying veterinarian, after giving the owner time to fix the problems. If the issues are still there, there will be a final warning to the owner that if the problem is not assessed within a certain time, all the animals will be taken from them immediately and the owner will be forbidden to hold animals (or in some cases to hold more than a certain amount of animals). The owner will pay a high fine and will be added to a list and regular checkups will be made to ensure that he or she will comply to the arrangement and not get new or too many animals again. If the owner did fix the issues with the animal keeping they will be monitored for a while to ensure that he or she doesn't fall back to the old behavior of mistreating the animals. If the owner continues to behave well they will be taken off the list.
This treatment of the animal cruelty issue will give clear messages as to how important it is to take care of our animals and it will ensure that people follow the restrictions. It will also make people think twice before acquiring animals, especially if they do not have an economical situation or the engagement for it.
Installing this group will create many new jobs for the population as well. It will take time to get the organization to run smoothly, but the sooner it is installed the sooner it will work properly.
Some will complain that installing this group will take too much time, cost too much and won't make a difference.
Of course it will take time, everything in this large scale takes time. But it will not go faster at any other time so it is better to begin now. The sooner this group is ready to begin their work, the sooner animal handling in this country will become better.
The cost will only be an initial problem as, when it runs smoothly, the taxes from the increased working population and the fines from the mistreats will in the long run be profitable. It will also lead to increased work in both the veterinaries and the police department. This is a goal worth paying for to get started. It will also make a difference. To claim that the Animal Police would not make a difference is like saying the local police force doesn't make a difference in the community. The populace will learn that their involvement and reports about animal cruelty will make an actual difference. Every action taken to prevent cruelty towards animals will make this a better country.
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