Fish B Prezi Presentations

Tina's Fish B students recently created some great Prezi presentations on topics ranging from Bullying to Inventions.  Check them out below!

Zhuoran
Carl
Jimmy
Bennie
Simon
Brian

Great job, everybody!

Deer and Rooster Presentation Slides

The students from our Deer and Rooster streams recently completed presentations on their chosen topics. Here are the Prezi slides that they worked on and presented. Great job, everyone!

Emma
Ray
Fiona
Jenny
Jason
Eric
Roy
Jessica
Shun

Writing ABCs

Writing an essay is just like the ABCs. If you learn the correct way, perhaps the next moment you’ll be getting your PhD for literature! The quality of your writing is equal to what grade you get. Most people are very pessimistic about writing. The more you think about it, the less you want to write. So be positive! That is an important key to writing a successful essay. Writing an essay is real easy, believe me!

To start an essay, you must include an introduction to show what the essay is about. Imagine you reading an essay without any introduction, you would barely know what the essay is about! The introduction introduces your thesis statement. A thesis statement is the statement you want to prove. A tip is to put your thesis statement as the last sentence in your introduction. Be sure to include a good hook. The hook is used to make the reader actually want to read you essay. Just explain your topic briefly.

The body of the essay must be detailed .Include facts and statements that can supports your topic well. Try not to include any wasted words or facts that are not useful. At least 3 paragraph for an essay is expected. Each paragraph is a supporting statement, and in each paragraph, try to include at least 3 details.

At the end of the essay, which is called the conclusion  and is your last paragraph, it is used to wrap up all your ideas and supporting statement. At the conclusion, use your best language and word choice as you can, cause it’s your last chance to impress your professor or anyone you are handing your work into! Be sure to include all the facts you have mentioned before!

In your essay, never ever include the words “I” or “I Think”, it will only weaken you writing. Remember to use only informal language. Also remember not to use weak transitions such as “First”, “Second”, “Then”, ETC. Never use contractiona because that is counted as informal language. Here’s a tip: always use you best language and word choice, and the more descriptive your writing is, the better your mark will be. Remember these tips and you will impress your teacher!

Writing an Essay is as Easy as a Lay Up

Writing an Essay is as Easy as a Lay Up

 

A lay up, is the easiest way to score a basket. Writing an essay is the easiest way to get an A in your english courses. Lay ups however, are considered very hard for people to do, but if we know it correctly,it is very easy. It is same as writing an essay. If we know it correctly, it will be as easy as doing a lay up. Writing an essay is very easy.

When you start to do something, you always need to do the first things first. When you want to learn how to do a layup, you need to start sprinting. It is exactly same with writing. When you start on an essay, you need start the intro first. You need to add the statement that you are using to  trying to persuade your readers. You also need to add a little bit of shocking sentence or a interesting sentence to start with so that it hooks up the readers and make them want to continue reading your work. Writing an introduction is very very easy as doing a layup.

You always need to focus on the main things when you do a lay up. The three body paragraphs are like the footwork in doing a layup. If you do not do the main things, there is no point of doing what you are doing. It is the same with writing. You need 3 juicy and very detailed body paragraphs that explains the whole thesis statement clearly so that your reader can truly understand your writing. You need to be as creative as possible to persuade your readers and make them understand your writing easier. Get as descriptive as possible and let the reader know what you are talking about. You will need the sub topics to support your actual thesis statement. The three body paragraphs are like the triple thread footwork sequence.

Even though you did all the steps in your layup, it would all be useless without actually making the basket. If you did everything perfectly and you did not try your best in your conclusion, it would make the whole paragraph weaker. It is often that people do bad on their conclusion because everybody is tired of writing the essay and they think it’s the end so they give up, but if they do not have a very strong conclusion, the reader would think this is no persuasive enough.They might even forget about what you wrote so your conclusion must reorganize everything back so that it is easy for the readers to understand all your texts. You need to have a strong conclusion so that you can ashow the readers all your clear points. Conclusions of the essay is the last part but very important and easy as doing a layup.

Even though lay up is the easiest way to score in basketball, there still can be mistakes happening. In essay writing too. There are things called no nos. these no nos are things you should never use in essay writing because it makes your essays weaker.Things like mistaken vocabulary could change the whole essay. Words like I, think, in my opinion, etc should never be used because it makes your readers think, why should I care about the author’s opinions?. Words like maybe, perhaps, or any words that are not making the reader think this is true should not be used because all it does is that it makes the readers wonder if this is true or not. You have to persuade your readers that your point is actually true. Weak transitions or contraction would make the essay not serious. Strong and efficient words would really help to make your essay look really serious. Not making mistakes in your essay is very important. Essay writing is as easy as doing a lay up in basketball.

Writing an Essay is as Easy as Counting to 5

Writing an Essay is as Easy as Counting to 5

    Counting to five is easy, or possibly the easiest thing to do. These basic steps, like counting to 5 or learning alphabets, are usually taught to kids at a young time of age. These steps will help your way to a well- deserved A. Counting to five is easy. If you know your steps.

    The beginning part of your essay is your introduction that introduces your topic to the reader. Catch your reader’s attention by offering a hook on the first sentence. Your hook can be an example, quote, question, or an interesting or shocking fact. After you hook your reader’s attention, you will introduce the topic, and specify it so that it is easy to understand. Then, you will end your introduction with a thesis statement. A thesis statement is the point that you want to make. You have to make the introduction very strong because it starts the whole essay; it is counting to 1.

    Counting to 2 might be a little bit harder than counting to 1, but it still is very similar. The body paragraphs, which are usually 3 paragraphs, are the arguments that supports the thesis. Each paragraphs must have at least 3 examples, facts, or points that can prove that your argument is reasonable. Also, adding strong sentences helps your reader better understand your statements. Persuade your reader by using good, supportive arguments.

    A good ending is a perfect way to end an essay. A conclusion is the last paragraph that you will leave the reader with, so you will bring all points together and restate your thesis statement, but in a different form than the introduction’s. It is your last opportunity to leave the reader with something thought provoking, meaning that it makes you think about it. Get your reader thinking, and for your last sentence, request for change or action. Remember, it’s your last chance to impress your reader.

    An essay is very easy to write, but there always are some errors that you should look out for. For example, you must never use “I” , “I think”, or tell personal stories, because personal opinion does not make your essay sound interesting. Nor does passive language, such as maybe, perhaps, kind of, probably, or sort of make a good essay, as this makes your statements sound weak and unreal. Also, contractions makes your essay sound weak. Poor transitions, like firstly, secondly, or thirdly, makes it sound obvious that you are switching to another paragraph. Instead, use  smooth transitions when you are  starting another paragraph. Essay writing can be as easy as counting to five. Understanding these five steps will help your way to an “A” on your report card.

Radio Shows from Jacqui's Class

Here are some audio clips from a radio show that was recorded by one of Jacqui's classes.  The students did a fantastic job...check them out below!

Three Wishes

Three Wishes

Written by a wonderful Spring Break Intensive student.  

She has only studied with us for four days 

and is already a highly successful writer.

Congratulations LBJ!

Everyone dreams about being granted three wishes. What if this dream became a reality? Wishes need not be for unrealistic things. In fact, wishes should be similar to goals that we work hard to reach. If I had three wishes, I would wish for a time machine, a healthy family and to act more like my father.

    Many people might wish to have a time machine.  However, I do not want a time machine for wealth or world travel.  Rather, I want a time machine to travel back in time so that I can change my poor behaviour.  If I had a time machine, I could correct my errors that I was only able to notice after the fact or in the future.  Now that I am older, I am able to realize that in the past I was so immature and did not listen to my parents suggestions.

     

I want to have a healthy family, because I think health is the most important thing in everyone’s life. You can not do anything without health. Also, illnesses always bring pain and sadness.  Sadly, I have already seen a lot of sick people around me. My heart suffered when I saw them, so I really don’t want my family to have these kinds of experiences. I feel scared of death, but I never dream that everybody will live forever. Living with my family for as long as possible is the only thing that I desire.

   The person I have the most respect for is my father and I really want to act more like him. In my heart, he is truly a good father, because he really cares about me, my sister and my brother’s growth. For example, my dad often talks to me about my school life and we share our thoughts to make sure that my thoughts are on the right track. He is also successful in my heart. Whenever he works, he always tries his best. When he is working, he never cares about the time and nothing can interrupt him.

     A time machine, a healthy family and to act more like my father are my wishes. Some people may think that I am too selfish, and don’t really care about the world. However, every change is started by some small acts that begin with yourself. These wishes are not too grand but they would enrich my life. What would you wish for?