Here is where you should reply to the activities in the Weekly PowerPoint or if you are Synchronous but for cannot actively participate due to technology challenges, in order to receive attendance/ participation credit:
- Either reply to this original Week 1 Assignment Tuesday post or create a new post (my preference is for you to reply to the original post!)
- Write a general response to the PowerPoint (what did you think, what did you learn, what questions do you have, etc.) AND a response to ALL of the activities in the PowerPoint.
HERE is where you should write your Introductory Post
Use the questions the questions here as a guide! You don’t have to answer every question, just let them help you get the writing juices flowing! Introduce yourself to us!
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- Tell us about yourself!
- What are your favorite hobbies, activities or things to do?
- What do you like about reading? What is hard for you when you read? Be specific.
- How long do you usually read before you stop or lose your focus?
- What genres do you prefer to read (mysteries, adventure, science fiction, humor, informational texts, magazines, newspapers, etc.). Explain.
- Who is an author you have enjoyed reading?
- What language to you prefer to read in?
- Where is your favorite place to read (bed, floor, chair, subway, etc)?What is your favorite reading environment (quiet, music, etc)?
- What is your favorite genre to write in? (Poetry, journals, songs, notes, letters, essays, stories, mysteries, etc). Is there a new genre you would like to try to write in?
- What language do you prefer to write in?
- What are your favorite writing utensils (pen/pencil and paper, computer, tablet, phone)?What is your favorite writing environment (quiet, music, etc)?
- What is your favorite place to write (desk, floor, table, bed, etc)?
- What do you like about writing? What is hard for you when you write? Be specific.
- How long do you usually write before you stop or lose your focus?
- Tell us about yourself!
Make sure to check back in on the class website and see what other people are saying, and to receive full credit reply to a couple of people. It’s nice to know we’re not alone!
My name is Hamely Jose Taveras and this my second semester at city tech. I am from the Dominican Republic and Im 17 years old. My major is Btech Computer information system. My favorite hobbies are drawing, painting, and writing poems. My favorite activity is playing volleyball with my friend and my team. I love to spend time with loved ones and meeting new people. I love to read poetry, love stories, and some history. The hardest for me when reading is focusing on something understanding some texts. For example book with very big words or a lot of metaphors can confuse me because English is not my first language and I feel like im still earning new words. A lot of time I start new books and never finish them. I can usually read for and an hour depending on where I am because sometimes home can be very distracting. Depending on how im feeling like if im very tired I lose focus. The genres I prefer to read are love stories, poetry, adventures, and mysteries. Ever since I learned English I hate reading but my 9-grade teacher Mr. Riveras encouraged e to read and we gave me a couple of books and they were mostly poetry and love stories. For example one of the books he gave me turn into my favorite book and is called “Dizzy In Your Eyes Poems about love” by Pat Mora. I enjoyed this book a lot and I reread it very often. I enjoy reading books from Elizabeth Acevedo. Acevedo is a former Dominican author that I was able to meet a couple of times. I usually read in English cause I feel like I will more English if I read more but I really like reading in Spanish because I’m able to understand more. I love to read while im in bed right before I go to sleep. I enjoy reading in the park while I listen to coffee jazz or some slow R&B music. My favorite genre to write in is poetry because I get to express myself. I would like to try and write in journals or mysteries genre. I prefer to write in both English and Spanish. My favorite writing utensil is pen and pencil and very cute journals. My favorite environment to right is a late-night quiet place playing some soft music. I love to write will im in bed or sometimes at my desk. I love to write about what im feeling and just some thought that cross my mind. SOmetimes it very hard for me to write because I make a lot of grammar and spelling mistakes while writing in English. A lot of time im thinking in Spanish and when I write in English I tend to write the word as I hear them because in Spanish you write exactly the sound you hear but English is a little tricky. I tend to struggle while writing essays because I write a lot of long sentences and I repeat myself in essays. I would write for 2 hours and I just need a break. I lose focus depending on what is surrounding me. I’m very excited to learn and to meet everyone. Everyone good luck in this spring semester.
Hey, nice to meet you Hamely. My mother is also from the Dominican Republic. I have never heard of the author Elizabeth Acevedo and now I am interested in looking into her work thanks to you. I think its awesome you were able to meet her in person multiple times.
Hamely,
It is so wonderful to “meet” you! Thank you for sharing all of this information! I love hearing about how you write your words in Eng. and in Spanish. We are going to work a lot on different writing strategies this semester. Can’t wait to get to know you better.
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Mustapha Jangana and I am 21 years old. I am under my 2nd year of college. I like to play basketball, video games, and I also like to work out. The genre of stories I like to read are science fiction as well as fantasy. I am usually able to read for significant amount of time I also like to read documentaries that are usually about crime. I do like to write because I feel like when you’re writing you are able to express yourself in a way that you may not be able to with words it is also just really easier to just get it off your chest compared to talking because some people aren’t really a wall or a custom to expressing their emotions. As for my favorite genre of writing that would have to be biography because I am able to express and show my truth.
Hello, Mustapha Jangan nice to meet you. I see that we have a lot of things in common I also like to work out and play basketball. I also like writing because I find that writing is a way to express emotions. I write a lot to express myself in a way I can’t express myself while speaking. I hope you having a great time at city tech. It is very nice meeting you.
Hi, Mustapha. I also like to work out on my free time. Writing is a good way to express your feelings. Which sometime i do as well and I listen to music that helps me focus or get in a better mood.
Hello Mustapha nice to meet you. I also think that when you write you are able to let out your own thoughts, your own ideas, and just express the way you feel.
Dear Mustapha,
Thank you for sharing this introduction! I loved hearing about your interests! I too love reading for long periods of time. We are going to be able to write a little in the genre of biography this semester! Can’t wait to get to know you better.
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Kevin Yu this is my First Year at City Tech I’m 18 years old and majoring in mechanical engineering my hobbies are drawing, reading webcomics such as webtoons things that I really like to read are history books mainly about war since I like the history of war. Genres I like to read are fiction and non-fiction, fantasy, one author that I enjoyed reading was Tim O’ Brien “The Things They Carried” is about a squad of men who carry specific items that characterize them during the Vietnam War and I like how the author describes the horrors of war in very specific detail. Things that I struggle with reading are when there are complex words that I don’t understand and reading for too long stresses my eyes from time to time. I tend to lose my focus when I read an hour or an hour and a half but I do take short breaks to help me refocus on reading, whenever I am under stress I do tend to listen to music to ease the stress and focus on the things that I need to do such as reading or doing other things especially homework.
Hey Kevin, its cool to see we have something in common which is that we both like to listen to music as of a mean to relax and unwind.
Dear Kevin,
I just went and looked up “The Things They Carried” it looks like such a wonderful book. I also love reading historical books. You can learn so much. Thank you for sharing this information about yourself, it was so nice to “meet” you!
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Arian Qosaj and I am a sophomore here at City Tech. I am majoring in Nursing and my hobbies are painting, drawing, and playing soccer. I like to read fiction and non-fiction books. My favorite place to read is on my bed in my room since it’s quiet. My favorite genre to write in is stories and essays. My favorite writing utensils are pens, pencils, paper, and a laptop. My favorite writing environment is when it’s quiet. I prefer to write on my desk since its easier. I like writing because it’s where you get to let out your ideas and thoughts and just focus on what comes to mind. Something that I find hard when writing is that sometimes there isn’t much to say and you get stuck and don’t know what to write anymore. I usually write for about an hour to an hour and a half and then sometimes I stop to think and take a little break.
Hello Arian my name is Mustapha and I also like writing because I’m able to express myself in a way that I can’t verbally. We are similar in that regard.
Hi Arian,
What do you like to paint and draw? Do you take classes? We are going to do a multimodal project in the 3rd unit and you might be able to paint/ draw part of the project! We are going to learn lots of writing strategies this semester, especially ones for when you get stuck or need help adding more ideas! So nice to “meet” you!
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Jorlyn Santana and Im 19 years old. This is my second year at city tech and my second English class. What I like most about reading Is that it puts your mind somewhere else. Also, it makes you empathize with characters and really helps you put situations into perspective. The hard part of reading is that sometimes my mind drifts away when it starts to get boring, or when there’s a part that isn’t as important to the plot as others. Typically, I like reading romance or science fiction. I feel as though both of these genres are the most exciting to me and captivate my attention more than the others. An author that I enjoy reading is Abby Glines, she writes romance who has a talent of making characters incomparable to many others I’ve read. I am fluent in both English and Spanish but I prefer to read and write in English, I find it that the English language is more straight forward. My favorite place to read and write is in my room whether that’s on my bed, on the floor, or at my desk. I don’t have a TV in my room which some people may think is crazy but I feel like its too distracting to get any work done. Storytelling is a genre im most comfortable with, its very free flowing and not as strict as other genres- in my opinion. A simple pen goes a long way as a writing utensil for me, its more dependable and won’t break on me like a pencil, I am heavy handed and it looks like a pen is more durable. I usually listen to music very loudly which is weird because my brain requires complete silence for e to concentrate. On the contrary, music kinda “tunnel visions” my focus into writing, which allows me to write anywhere as long as I have my notebook and pen. One thing I love about writing is that it makes the time go on really fast, you’re almost in a trance the words come all directions. Usually, deadlines and due dates are what stun me and give me writer’s block. Hopefully, this class will teach me how to navigate through my schedule with assignments and keep up with due dates.
Hi Jorlyn I agree with putting your mindset into the story because it does help immerse yourself in the story and how the characters deal with situations.
Dear Jorlyn,
Thanks for sharing this! It’s so nice to “meet” you! I, too, love reading and telling stories. There is something magical that happens when you get lost in a book and caught up in a wonderful story. We will work a lot on strategies for overcoming writer’s block and organization of ideas and time management!
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Arlene Perez, I am 29 years old and recently returned from serving eight years in the US Navy. This is my second semester at City Tech and my major is Electrical Engineering. My current favorite hobbies are working out and going to the beach with my dog, even during the cold weather. I enjoy reading mystery novels, thrillers, autobiographies and informational texts. Even though I speak English and Spanish, I prefer to read and write in English. Something I find difficult in reading is being able to concentrate if there are distractions going on around me. I occasionally do enjoy soft music playing in the background while I read but I prefer a quiet environment. I usually read for about an hour before stopping or losing focus. One of my favorite authors is Reggie Nadelson, for her Artie Cohen mystery novel series. My favorite places to read are in my bed, on my couch or on my porch if its not too loud outside. I currently do not have a favorite genre to write in, but I am open to trying different ones. My favorite writing utensils are a pen and, on my computer. I enjoy a peaceful and quiet setting to write in. I like to write while sitting at a desk or in bed. What I like about writing is that I can use different types of words from the dictionary rather than verbally speaking in simpler terms. What can be difficult for me when I write is that I can get distracted easily, causing me to lose my train of thought. I can usually write for about two hours before I need to stop to take a break and refocus.
Hi Arlene. It’s nice to meet you. I like we have in common that we both prefer to read and write on English even though we know how to speak good English and our born language. Another thing which we have in common is that we both like to have quite environment for reading and writing. Good luck!!!
Hi Arlene, Nice to meet you. I see that we have a few things in common. At one point I was interested in joining the Navy. I didn’t end up doing it because my parents didn’t like that but I am interested in Law enforcement. i also like working out and having a quiet environment.
Arlene,
Thank you for your service. I love reading about your pup and beach walks, I can’t wait until I can take my new pup for a beach walk this summer! I also love mysteries and am going to have to try the Reggie Nadelson books! Thanks for the recommendations. It was great to “meet” you and I look forward to getting to know you better this semester!
My name is Elma Kastrat. I am from Montenegro. I have been living in New York for two years. I graduated Elementary, Middle and High school in Montenegro. After that I went to college for a Math teacher. I didn’t graduate there because I moved to New York when I finished second year. Now I’m going to City Tech and this is my second semester.
I like numbers and everything that’s coming with them. I like to read books and for me it doesn’t matter which genre they are. I decide if I want to read a book or not when I see what it looks like and when I read the title. I know we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I like to do that. My favorite place to read is my room, my bed because most of the time it’s a quiet environment. When I was in Montenegro I used to read and write a lot in the Montenegrin language because that’s my born language. However, here I prefer to do that on English because it’s important for my future to know English better and better. When I’m writing I prefer to do that with pen/pencil and paper and then type it on the computer, and usually I do that on the table or bed. For me it’s hard when I write, usually I have a lot of ideas in my head before I even start to write, but after that sometimes I feel empty.
Hi Elma, It’s nice to meet you. I also prefer to use pen/pencil and paper for write and then type it on the computer.
Dear Elma,
It is so lovely to “meet” you! Thank you for sharing all of this information. Math is my biggest struggle and I would love any advice you have this semester about how to make math easier! We will be working on strategies for how to get ideas from your head to the paper, there are fun tips and tricks that I can offer you!
Rebekah Coleman
Reading and writing is one of the most fundamental skills in life, because literacy is power. When it comes to reading I will often pick a book about romance or some sort of drama novel. I feel my taste in books follows after my taste in movies. When I find a interesting book I can sit in a comfortable spot and finish it in about an hour. I feel myself sometimes not able to put the book down, my eyes just keep wandering to the next page for hours. When an author has the ability to grab my attention for that long, it means something because I am completely attached to my phone. I think I like reading so much because you are able to mentally add your own images to the words, its much space for interpretation . I feel in movies everything is handed to you; characters facial expressions and body language limits the interpretation. One of my favorite books is the “Fault in Our starts”, written by John Green. The book was also a movie and I completely feel the book was so much better. I was actually quite upset to see how the movie went because it took away my own image of the book.
I feel like writing is a strength of mine and that is because how much I read, it expands my vocabulary and introduces me to different writing styles. My favorite writing assignments are narratives because of my habit of writing starting with “I”, which is not allowed in most writing formats. I feel like I am able to flaunt my voice better in narratives. I find that argumentized writings and informational writings are too strict with formatting. I also prefer writing in English because any other language would be too much of a struggle to learn. When I am writing I like to draft my ideas on paper and write a draft out. Typing is my last step in my writing process,.
Hey Shaniyah, I also really like the “Fault in Our Stars” and I agree the book was better than the movie.
Dear Shaniyah,
I am delighted to have you in my class again! I look forward to writing together this semester. I love how much joy you find from reading, I do too! There is something, almost magical, about getting lost in a story. I think we have some fun writing assignments this semester (one is even almost narrative!) and I hope you enjoy them!
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Han Ting Hu, and I from China. This is second semester in City Tech, the major is Liberal Arts, the reason is I still can not find my objective, so when I find my favorite major and I would change the Liberal Arts to another Major. I like reading the story about the myth, and the reason is we don’t know it was real or not. The reading challenge is when I read for a boring book, it is difficult to understand what I have just read and want to stop reading. It was so easy to give up for a read, will try to eat or drink something, and play my iPad. The favorite place to read is in the bed, and put some music, so it doesn’t matter for me is quiet and noisy. Most the time, I was read the Chinese book, and Chinese is first language for me, it is more easy for me understand the books, it will not have difficult word.
The favorite genre to write is stories, and I want to try write the poetry, however, it is hard for me. Writing utensils is pen and paper, it make me know what I will write on the paper, make detail to be clarity. Mostly, I write on the night, quieter, the more precise, and more excited. The hard thing part is I have a lot of detail and I want put all in to the stories, but it make the stories has no logic, chaos, and cannot find the main idea.
Dear Hanting,
It is so nice to “meet” you! I also love reading myths and would love to learn more about Chinese myths from you. I think we are going to have lots of funny writing together this semester. We are going to work on learning strategies for organization and finding the main idea!
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Pedro Flores, this is my second year at CityTech. I am 20 Years old and I like to play video games, play soccer, cooking, go for walks/runs and I like listening to music. I like reading but, I tend to loose focus if the book is not interesting. Which is a bad habit that I am working on. My favorite author is Linda Sue Park. I speak Spanish and English but, when it come to reading I really don’t mind I could do either or. If I am reading I like to read in a room and the room has to be quiet. I like writing poems because I feel like you can be creative and write about anything. I could write in Spanish or English but I prefer English. I like using, my laptop to write down notes because if there’s anything I am confused about I can search it up. I like listening to music when I write because it gets my flow going. Some challenges I face when writing is my grammar and sometime I think that my writing is not good or doesn’t make sense which causes me to lose motivation. It takes about an hour or two to completely stop writing.
Dear Pedro,
It is so nice to “meet” you! I loved learning about your interests. I also love Linda Sue Park, she is such a talented author. We are going to work on lots of writing strategies this semester, I think they will help us all! For our last project, you might even be able to write a poem as a part of it if you love to write poetry.
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Tenzin Namgyal and I am 18 years old and this is my second semester at city tech. My favorite hobbies/ activities are playing video games, watching you tube and working out. I’m not much of a reader but I used to be, when I was younger I used to read a lot of fictional fantasy books. For example, I have read the whole Harry Potter series and Percy Jackson series too. Nowadays I read stuff on things that I am interested in learning about. I usually read for about 30 minutes to an hour before I start to get bored or distracted by other things. My favorite genres would have to be fantasy or science. I was never good with names so I don’t really know which author to pick, I will say J.K. Rowling because she was the author of Harry Potter and I would read those books for hours as a child. I prefer to read in English and my favorite place to read is my bed because I’m comfortable and if I get tired I can just take a nap. For me my favorite reading environment has to be in the quiet. I don’t do well when there is a lot of noise around me since I get distracted very easily. My favorite genre to write in would have to be stories and a genre that I would want to try to write in is poetry. I like to write in English the most I can speak and understand three languages but I can only write in English. My favorite writing environment would have to be with music because it allows my brain to be more creative, I prefer if the music was classical music. My favorite place to write is on a table. What I like about writing is that everything that is being written is something that I thought of and seeing that being put on paper is cool to me, The hardest thing about writing is when I can’t think of anything to write it makes me get annoyed and not want to write anymore. I can usually write for about the same time that I can read which is about 30 min to an hour before I lose my focus or bored.
Dear Tenzin,
It is so wonderful to “meet” you. Thank you for sharing all of this information! I loved learning about the books you like to read, I also loved reading the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson books, they are such great series. We are going to have fun this semester writing in a variety of different genres. I can’t wait to see what you try!
Warmly,
Rebekah Coleman
Hello, my name is Brandon and I am in my second semester of college. My favorite things to do consist of playing sports, hanging out with my friends, and being with my family. When it comes to reading I enjoy reading interesting non-fiction texts however I do enjoy fiction pieces as well. An issue I have when I read is concentrating on the text. Often times I lose track of what I am reading because I lose focus. I can read for around 30 minutes before I lose focus on the text. I don’t really have a favorite author at all. I primarily just read whatever I find interesting. I prefer to read in English because it is the language I speak. Whenever I read I have to read in my room with no noises because I can easily become distracted by noises. I like to write essays more than any other genres because it is straightforward. I do not like poems at all because I never write a good one. I also like to write in English since it is my primary language. I enjoy using the computer to type my essays with music playing in the background playing at a low level. Just like reading, I enjoy typing in my room. Writing is interesting to me because you get to leave all your emotions and passions on your paper for others to read. I tend to write until I lose ideas about the topic because I don’t want to get word blocked.
Dear Brandon,
Thanks for sharing all of this information. It’s great to “meet” you! We are going to discuss lots of reading and writing strategies this semester that I think are going to really help you as a reader and a writer. We are also going to have fun with some writing projects that I think might interest you!
Rebekah Coleman
MY name is Avante i’m 19 I turn 20 in two weeks. This is my first year. my favorite thing to do is shop, play video games, design clothes, listen to music, and getting tattoos. I like reading about people real stories. the hardest thing for me when reading is trying to stay focus. It depends on what I’m reading. I prefer to read children books because the have a lot of hidden messages, biographies, and autobiography because they tell real stories. I prefer to read in English cause that the only langue I speak. I don’t have an favorite author. I don’t really like writing that much, and I don’t have a favorite place to write or way to write.
Dear Avante,
It is so nice to “meet” you! I love reading about your interests. I think they are going to help you a lot as you work to find what we call a Discourse Community in our first big unit this semester. I also love children’s books, I think they are so beautiful and the messages are so powerful.
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Kelvin Leon, I’m a sophomore in city tech. My major is construction management technology. My favorite things to do is just watch t.v shows and sleep. What I like about reading are the plots, I never expect it. I usually get distracted after reading more for than 2 hours. I prefer to read adventure type books. I prefer to read read in English. I’d prefer to read in bed while listening to music. I prefer to write in English. I like to do essays on my phone since I’m able to type quickly so it makes it easier to finish essays quicker.
Dear Kelvin,
It it so nice to “meet” you! Thank you for sharing this information! I loved learning about your reading interests. I also like adventure (mystery in particular) books! I am very impressed that you can write essays on your phone and are such a quick typer! Can’t wait to get to know you better this semester.
Rebekah Coleman
My name is Tony Budwah and I’m 20 years old, in my 3rd year of City Tech. Currently I’m getting my Associated in Applied Science to become a Registered Nurse, but I was in BTECH for 2 years before I switched. Things that I do outside of class are mainly: collecting items, playing/listening to music, reading fantasy/Dungeon and Dragons campaigns, and playing a lot of video games. I don’t have a particular author that I follow, since what I mainly read are lore books, rulebooks, and item lists to create a D&D game. Both me and my brother comes together to create campaigns for our friends to play through, currently making a Cyberpunk 2020 campaign. As you can figure my favorite genera is fantasy. I can spend hours on end reading, but give me a non fiction and ill read for 30 minuets and lose interest. I write and speak only English, but spend my time listening to music as I write. Music wise I listen to what I like, going from Creedence Clearwater Revival and Beach house to Death and Tommy Wright III. I cant write for long, only for an hour before I lose interest, but if I’m really invested and motivated to I can spend a day just writing. Imma stop here before I continue writing about everything I do.
Wow, Tony! I loved reading about all of your interests! You are going to have a hard time narrowing down your Discourse Community (we will talk about it a lot soon!) for the first project! You have so many wonderful interests and passions. I want to hear more about your writing and the kind of writing that you like to do. It was so nice to “meet” you. Can’t wait to get to know you better this semester.
Rebekah Coleman
Hello, my name is Jeimi Bravo, I don’t believe I am very interesting. Some hobbies that I have is draw, I am now a very well drawer but I try my best. Drawing at times helps me when I’m stressed out or very anxious. When I was younger I enjoyed swimming, it was not a professional sport for me but it was a relaxing hobby for me, because of focus and a busy schedule I have not been able to go swim. When I was younger I was not a fan of reading, but as a I got older my first favorite book was Because of Winn-Dixie By and I fell in love. I began to read different genres and it was something that I enjoyed. I notice that I don’t read as much but I can read for 30 minutes and if what I’m reading is catching my attention I’ll continue for a while. When I read I prefer to read suspense and non fiction. I know that there are many different options of me to read and it’s very exciting. I am a Spanish and English speaker, I can read in bot languages but I prefer to read in English. When I read I prefer to be comfortable, I will read on my bed or in the couch, although when I write I prefer to write on a desk because it is comfortable and I’m able to concentrate more. When I write I am able to express myself and describe what is going on in my thoughts, I have had journals because since I was very young where I would write, now that I write essays or reports I choose to change up my writing based on the tone of voice I want to use. I notice that I loose my focus easily but I’ll try my best to stay on track and get back to writing with no distracts.
Dear Jeimi,
It was so nice to “meet” you and to hear about your interests. I also loved Because of Winn Dixie, such a great book! In our last unit will be be doing a project that might let you use your skills as a drawer/ artist 🙂 It will be fun to see what you come up with. I love that you found swimming relaxing and I hope that you can swim again soon. We will work on strategies for staying focused when writing, I have a few tips you might find helpful!
Rebekah Coleman
Hi, my name is Christina Bethelmy, I am 18 yeats old and this is my first year at City Tech. I like to play tennis, go for runs/exercise, I like writing because it helps see your thoughts clearly. It is a good practice to see back on how my may have perspectives have changed. Having a place to share your ideas helps a community to grow. Writing is a fun pass time. A book that I read and liked was The Giver by Lois Lowry, because it had a very interesting plot and it’s one of my favorite books. I recommend this book because the reader follows Jonas (the protagonist) as he rebels and schemes against his community, striving to bring back memory to remind everyone that there are more important things in life. The Giver communicates an important message.
Dear Christina,
It is so nice to “meet” you! Thanks for sharing. I also love playing tennis and exercising. The Giver is such a great books with lots of lessons. Hope you like the readings we have this semester!
Rebekah Coleman