Video — Gangnam Style (Cover by Jayesslee on YouTube)

We watched Jayesslee's (Janice & Sonia Lee) cover of Psy's Gangnam Style. They are a talented pair of Korean-Australian women from Sydney. Enjoy it again below:

Lesson 03 – Chapter 2 (part 1)

EWr
We tried Extensive Writing (EWr) again. Could you beat your score from last week? Enter your score in your EWr Log.


Quizlet
After you enter your EWr Scores in your log, study vocabulary on Quizlet.

Textbook

We checked our answers for Chapter 1. You can check your answers for Grammar for Writing with the link below:

Chapter 1 Grammar for Writing

For homework do Chapter 2: Understanding Paragraphs in the textbook. Read, study, and do the tasks from pages 11-20. Be ready to share your answers in the next lesson.

Homework

• RTW On Your Own (p. 10). Write your answers on paper.
• RTW Pages 11-20
• Study for the Quizlet Quiz (NAWL 1)

Video — Cello Wars (Star Wars parody by The Piano Guys on YouTube)

The Piano Guys are my favorite YouTube artists. They have great music AND great videos. This one is a parody of my favorite movie from my childhood, Star Wars. Now people call it Episode IV (4) or A New Hope, but it was Star Wars to us when it came out. It wasn't until the stupid prequels (Episodes I, II & III) years later that those names were used.

The ideas of lightsabers, fighting ships flying across the screen, laser guns and The Force were all new and very cool. Star Wars was the first real blockbuster movie. If you wanted to see it when it came out, you might have had to wait hours and there were no reserved seats back then. It stayed in the cinemas for over a year.

I have included a modern trailer of the movie below the Piano Guys video. The original trailer was not very good. Enjoy!

Lesson 2 – Extensive Writing & Journals

Extensive Writing (EWr)
We tried Extensive Writing (EWr) for the first time. How many words could you write?

EWr Log

We will use Google Sheets (spreadsheet) to keep track of our progress in extensive writing (EWr). This makes it easy me to follow your progress. It also makes it easy for you to see your own progress. You can generate a line graph from the spreadsheet.

Follow the steps:

1. Sign in / log in to Google Drive.
2. Click on NEW.
3. Choose GOOGLE SHEETS. 
4. In the top left box, give your spreadsheet the title: full name + AW05 + EWr Log (e.g., Taro Suzuki AWO5 EWr Log)
5. In the top right corner, click on SHARE.
6. Share it with me. Use my email address (samuraitheologian).
7. In the A column, write the date of your first EWr.
8. In the B column, write the number of words.
9. In the C column, write the percentage (%) your partner understood.
10. Repeat for each time.

Enter in your EWr score every week.

Quizlet Sign Up

We will use Quizlet, a free flashcard app to study vocabulary. Take the following steps to join our Quizlet group and begin studying.

1. Go to http://quizlet.com and sign up. Be sure to use your real name.
2. After signing up, click on this link to join our class's group: https://quizlet.com/join/XdY5dVTR3.
3. Try the set on our class page.
4. Download the Quizlet app for your phone from your app store.
5. Practice the different tools on Quizlet this week.

Homework

Do pages 1~9 in your textbook. 

Video – Tom Sawyer by Rush

As I told you in my self-introduction, the Canadian rock trio, Rush, is my favorite band. Geddy Lee, the bass player, is also the singer and keyboardist; Alex Lifeson is the guitar player; Neil Peart is the drummer and lyricist (writer of the words).

Rush's best-known song is Tom Sawyer. Tom Sawyer is the name of a famous character is American literature. Mark Twain wrote a few novels with Tom as a character who observes human nature. Tom was a boy and had a friend named Huckleberry (Huck) Finn. Huck had his own novel in which he made a raft (small flat boat) and traveled down the Mississippi River with an escaped slave.

In the introduction part of the video there is an animation with characters from South Park (a popular TV show). The characters have their own rock group called Lil' Rush. They start to play Tom Sawyer, but stop to have an argument. It's because the singer confuses Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

In this song, Peart (the writer) thinks of himself as a "modern-day Tom Sawyer". So, this song is really about himself. I have included the lyrics (words) below the video if you would like to read them. Enjoy!






Tom Sawyer
Words: Peart    Music: Lee & Lifeson

A modern day warrior
Mean, mean stride
Today's Tom Sawyer
Mean, mean pride

Though his mind is not for rent
Don't put him down as arrogant
He reserves the quiet defense
Riding out the day's events
The river

What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
Catch the mist, catch the myth
Catch the mystery, catch the drift

The world is, the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his skies are wide

Today's Tom Sawyer
He gets high on you
And the space he invades
He gets by on you

No, his mind is not for rent
To any God or government
Always hopeful yet discontent
He knows changes aren't permanent
But change is

What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
Catch the witness, catch the wit
Catch the spirit, catch the spit

The world is, the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his eyes are wide

Exit the warrior
Today's Tom Sawyer
He gets by on you
And the energy you trade
He gets right on to the friction of the day

Lesson 1 – Welcome!

Welcome to Academic Writing 05 (Intermediate)!

In this first lesson, we introduced ourselves to each other. I also explained the outline for the course.

Next Week

1. Buy a B5 Notebook
2. Write your full name in English on the front
3. Write "Academic Writing 05" under your name
4. Write "Daniel Beck" below that.

Homework
Send me an email with a self-introduction. Write a few sentences about these topics:

1. Introduction
2. Family or Friends
3. Hometown
4. Interests (2 or more)