Texting Article

BEFORE:
What I knew before I read:
Before I read the article, "Doctors Warn Texters: Don't Text and Walk, Bike, Cook, or Drive" I knew that texting was the "new[er]" technology of today's generation, and that A LOT of people have it on their cell phone plans.
What I want to find out:
I want to find out is what doctors are really considering dangerous and what the risks are that are involved from texting.

AFTER:
What I found out after reading the article:
After reading this article, I found out that a lot of people have gotten hurt, seriously injured, and even died from not paying attention to their surroundings while texting.

My feelings towards my texting habits do not change after reading this. I know when I text to pay attention to what is going on around me and to only text when I am sitting on the train or when I am standing idle. Texting keeps conversations short as well as private.

Before and After

BEFORE
What I knew before I read:
Before I read the article, "Election 2008-The Issues", I had already known that the election was being held in November of 2008. I also knew numerous issues that are being mentioned between Obama and McCain which are the economic situation, war, and other ideas such as abortion and healthcare options.
What I want to find out:
I want to find out what candidate is fighting for which issue, as well as how the elction is going to effect me in the future.

AFTER
What I found out after I read:
After reading the article I have found out that the war in Iraq has costed the nation $550 billion dollars and is a big contribution to the nations ten trillion dollar debt.

Week Four Assigment

Narrative...

Tuesday through Friday are the most hetic days of my life. To take a car, then a train, and finally a subway to get to school is more than any other student does!
To start my morning, I have to drive my car about five miles to the Ronkonkoma train station, try to find a parking spot (which is not easy at 6:15 in the morning), and walk up and around the platforms to get to the train. Of course at 6am, all the fancy business men and women are standing and waiting for the train too, so finding a seat is very difficult. The train ride on the Long Island Railroad is nothing more than flattening my butt for an hour and a half. I usually go on with my iPod in one hand, and my phone in another; and if your lucky, I would do some homework too.
It is like a madhouse trying to get off the train. Everyone and their briefcases, pocketbooks, and art portfolios, like myself, are trying to fit through the very narrow aisle out into Penn Station. Up the stairs everyone goes into the subway vestibule. Same ole routine for everyone, step up, slide your Metrocard, finagle your bag through the gate, and step like a can of sardines into the subway car. The longest fifteen minutes of my life are on that subway. Hitting people with my portfolio in the legs, both on and off the subway isnt the best way to really start my day. Seeing 59th Ave, Columbus Circle, now its only beginning.

Week Three Assignment

The game of baseball is very easy to follow, leading the ideas to form the sport of softball. Although many of the components of baseball such as throwing, catching, and hitting are the same in softball, there are also numerous differences. First difference is that baseball is predominately a male sport, while softball may be a co-ed sport outside of the high school and college atmosphere. Softball players use a twelve inch, neon yellow ball, while those playing baseball use roughly a nine inch, solid white ball. The base paths are also different in softball versus baseball. Girls have to run only sixty feet while boys have to run an extra thirty feet, leading them to run a total of 90 feet from each bag. Lastly, girls use bats of different materials like composite and/or aluminum. Baseball players use wooded bats, which are mandatory due to the size of the ball.

Softball Baseball Similarities

-60 foot base paths -90 foot base paths -hitting

-neon, yellow -solid white -batting

12 inch ball 9 inch ball -throwing

-composite/ -wooden bats

aluminum bats

-girls -boys

Week Two Assignment

Write a topic sentence for the article.
"Residents living in single-family homes in some parts of coastal Texas face "certain death" if they do not heed orders to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Ike's arrival, the National Weather Service said Thursday night." -CNN

Those living on the Texas coastline may experience near death situations if they do not obey orders to leave before Hurrican Ike arrives.

What reading strategies are you doing to understand the hurricane article?
Some strategies I am doing to understand the article is printing out the article itself and highlighting/underlining the main ideas and makes me concentrate more on what the article is actually written about not getting caught up in other things.. After that, I read the whole article again so it makes sense. I also used the five w's (and one H =] ) to determine all the facts.

What details support the story?
Who: Neighborhoods. coastal communities, and every individual
What: Hurricane Ike
When: Thursday, September 3rd
Where: Texas and Louisiana
Why: The article is explaining that if people along the hurricanes path do not evacuate, you "better think again." Between 20-foot waves and 110 mph winds, those standing in Ike's way are not going to just "ride it out."
How: n/a

State and give your reflections on the article.
People that stayed in areas where Hurricane Ike was most likely were hit, definatally did not make the smartest choice in their lives. Given a warning prior to the storm, there is no reason why anyone should have been living in a Category 2 storm. Wanting to experience a part of history is not a good enough reason to possibly lose your life. Its the stubborn people in the world that gives us a reason to read articles like this.

My Reading Styles

Hi Professor Deforest!
As a part of this class, you are trying to figure out each students reading and writing style. Unlike most college students that are able to write down and understand notes from a lecture, I need to have visual aid. I learn well from diagrams and well-organized graphs such as this example:

TITLE
I. xxx
A. xxx
a. xxx
1. xxx
B. xxx ...

Teachers that also write notes on the blackboard as well as interact with their students is the best way I learn. Bonding with your students is also a very important key for being a teacher. Involvement and practical situations that apply to my learning abilities help me a lot.
Honestly, I do not think I have poor reading skills; it is just when then material that is presented to me is not what I enjoy to read, my concentration is poor, I began to not understand the ideas, and I can't understand what is important and not important. Concentration at home is tough for me, too. I have three younger sisters, ages 15, 7, and 4, so it is hard for me to understand the text when my sister is jabber-jawing about how her day at school was. I have a lot of other homework, or I did in high school, and seemed to do the work I enjoyed more than what needed to get done. Instead of reading an English book for 3 hours, I would concentrate on an art project for the 3 hours. I also can't read a book within a week like my teacher in high school expected me to do. I need to sit and read a book slowly so i can truly understand what I am reading.
I hope to learn a lot from this class, I really do. I want to learn how to read correctly, I want to learn how to concentrate and focus, and I want to learn how to write the way a college student should be! Thank you!

My Intro =]

Hey guys! My name is Lyandra Sica- 18 years old- from Selden, New York. Yes. I am commuting from the heart of Long Island. I am majoring in Fine Arts with a concentration in Graphic Design.