Visual Assessment Observation

I observed my 10 year old son who does display what his teacher's describe as ADD type behavior; however, he doesn't display all of the typical symptoms and I have always doubted  the idea as well.  He has always passed vision tests at the pediatrician's office and school screenings.  After completing the checklist for possible referral to vision evaluation, I found he scored an 18.  I also recognized he has issues with math and a lot of those problems do seem to be related to the problem of the numbers being located too close together.  Typically, when we do math homework, I have him copy the problem onto a blank piece of paper first.  This seems to alleviate some of the tension and frustration he has with math problems.  I never thought of it as being related to vision though!

Library Visit

I visited the Anastasia Island Public Library.  Currently, this branch is servicing both it's regular patrons, as well as the main St. John's County Public Library located in downtown St. Augustine because the main branch is undergoing renovations.

 

 

I visited the library midafternoon on a weekday.  This library is located within a neighborhood and a small retail area.  There were several patrons utilizing different features of the library during my visit.  Three or four people were using the library's desk top computers.  One couple appeared to be paying bills or doing their taxes.  One man was reading the news online and another lady was watching a movie.  The library has a small young adult/teen area and there was one teen studying and taking notes from a book in this area.  There were several people who appeared to be on their lunch breaks reading newsprint newspaper and a few on their own personal laptops.

 

 

The printed book section in the general library section was quite small (only about 8 aisles).  The only person I saw in the aisles was actually looking at DVDs. There was a sign stating that the library would be hosting tax preparation and filing services.  The library has 2 or 3 separate meeting/conference rooms for classes and community events.

 

The children's section was surf themed.  There were two children in the library at the time of my visit.  One child was sitting on a bean bag chair reading a book and the other was playing a aviation computer game on one of the 4 computers dedicated to the children's section.  There was a toddler/infant play area.  This was a good idea I thought so that parents could assist older children in finding books while the younger ones played.

 

Overall, the children's section was very inviting and seemed to have a wide selection of traditional books available for children.

 

 

I looked up the utilization numbers for the St. John's county library system.  They report that there were a total of 1,037,328 library visits county wide in 2012-2013.  There were 156,987 computer usages and an average circulation of 1,704,138 books annually or 142,012 books per month.  I was surprised to find that there were only half the number of website visits (516,082) than actual library visits.  The library had a wide variety of ebooks available for all ages, as well as audiobooks.  There were 21,257 Ebooks available for patrons and 405,961 print items. Additionally, there were nearly 3 times as many audiovisual materials than ebooks available for patrons to check out. 

 



Ebook Reading Review

I read Llama Llama Misses Mama by Anna Dewdney via the www.wegivebooks.org website.

This is a wonderful, rhyming story that follows a little llama on his first day of school.  This book would be perfect for preschoolers and kindergartners because it helps allay anxiety about being away from parents.  The rhythmic rhyming pattern of the text also encourages developing readers to guess at new words that they may not already recognize. 

The www.wegivebooks.org website allows users to register for free and has a good variety of high quality children's books available to read for free.  I liked that the book could be enlarged to full screen - this made the pictures and words clearly visible.  An internet connection and Adobe Flashplayer are necessary to view books, so you can't read the books on iPADs.  This would be a drawback for some, but you can also buy the book in a Kindle or NOOK format. 

I was actually surprised that I liked reading this ebook with my kindergartener as much as a traditional book. We weren't slowed down or distracted by turning pages or seeing how close we were to the end of the book.  One thing that would be nice would be adding audio to the book.  I think I will record us reading a book like this with my iPhone and then he can play the recording when he rereads the book alone.  We will definitely be reading more ebooks in the future!!

Ebook Set - Dinosaurs

 

http://freekidsbooks.org/filter/Children/date/DESC?page=2

 

A good chapter book for emergent readers - find out why being different can be a good thing!

Read online or download PDF version for free.

 

http://freekidsbooks.org/view/80

 

Another chapter book for emergent readers - doubles as a coloring book.  Read online and download PDF version for free.

 

 

http://www.kidsdinos.com/

Website features interactive, maps, flashcards, games, and time lines for dinosaurs.

 

 

 

 

http://www.tooter4kids.com/DinosaurIndex/acrostic_poetry.htm

 

Printable acrostic poem layout for kids to come up with descriptive words related to dinosaurs. 

 

 

http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/skippyjon-jones-and-the-big-bones/reader

 

Available through Pearson's wegivebooks.org website as an online book.  You must register for the site, but it is free.  Good read aloud story for group reading times.

 

http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/lets-look-dinosaurs

 

Preschool/Kindergarten level book with large words and vibrant pictures.  Introduces dinosaur facts and has an I SPY activity as well.

 

 

Etextbooks for 5th Grade

http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/catalog/editions/mcleanbuseng-business-english-for-success-1-0

This textbook would be appropriate for either a college freshman level Intro English class or College Prep Level 10th-12th graders.  Provides student access to the e-textbook for a basic price of only $24.

http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/d/dickens/charles/d54ch/

Available in many formats (EPUB, web, Kindle)for free.  Appropriate as supplemental text for 4th-8th grades for British history review.  Chapters follow the timeline of British history from Roman times through King James II.

 

http://www.davidpetersstudio.com/books.htm

 

Free e-textbook that covers dinosaurs and early reptiles.  Easily accessible for downloads.  Colorful illustrations along with timeline and detailed descriptions of the dinosaurs and relevant time periods would supplement any elementary level class learning unit on dinosaurs.

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Wikijunior:Big_Book_of_Fun_Science_Experiments

A wikibook of science experiments.  Great textbook and resource tool for STEM experiments, etc.  Elementary and Middle School level.


CK US History SourceBook Basic - http://www.ck12.org/book/U.S.-History-Sourcebook---Basic/ -
Comprehensive overview of American History from Colonial Times to WWI.  Great, free textbook for all K-12 educators depending on time period of American history being covered.

UDL Book Builder

I created a book that I would use with beginner level ESL students related to weather.  I plan on still editing the book to add audio for the correct pronunciation of the vocabulary words; however, the microphone on laptop wasn't working.  The UDL Book Builder is a good tool for creating your own ebook.  I like that it promotes digital citizenship by having easy to fill source citing  so you can copy and paste sources for images and content.  I also like the coaching idea.  It would be neat to create different, consistent voices or characters for each coach (a thoughtful provoking coach, a practical teaching coach, and maybe a silly, motivating coach) to keep students engaged. 

http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=view&book=90005&page=1

Story Bird

I really liked this website and can think of so many great applications!  I especially liked the option to add a collaborator.  This function could allow two or more students to blend their ideas together and create a unique finished story.  One thing that I found a bit frustrating was that I couldn't choose from a variety of illustrations after choosing the initial image - I only had the option to choose from the images Storybird had as suggested images.  I understand the concept is to let the image drive the direction of the story, but I had wanted to write a story related to weather initially.  I found several great images on the first page, but once I made my choice to begin with one image there were only one or two "weather related" images that appeared within the story.

http://storybird.com/books/eli-the-adventurer/

This is the link to the story I created.

Low tech literacy toolkit

Baumgartens PenAgain Twist n a Write Pencil -Walmart.com - $2.49

Bic Wite-Out - Pack of 3 - Walmart.com - $4.79

BIC Brite Liner Fluorescent - Walmart.com - $4.49

 

 

The Pencil Grip - MultiPack (Sizes sm. - lg) - Staples.com - $40.09 - pack of 36

 

 

Pencil Grip Crossover - Staples.com - $17.29 - pack of 12

 

LEE Tippi Micro-Gel Fingertip Grips - Target.com - $11.99 - pack of 10

 

 

 

Animoto Booktalk - Mr. Popper's Penguins

Mr. Popper's Penguins

Comicstrip Creations

I tried out 2 comic strip creation web tools with my 10 year old son.  First, we tried the Scholastic comic strip creator with Captain Underpants.  This was a major hit with my son.  We have been reading these books since he was 5 and they have remained a fun bonding book series between him and his younger brother (who is now 6).  I initially called my son over behind me while I had the "reins" at the computer and told him I needed to create a comic strip based on a book that would encourage other kids to read the series.  We built the first comic page together, with me navigating through the tools at the top and him directing me behind my shoulder.  Midway through the 2nd screen, he had butted me out of the "driver's seat" and was completely creating the strip himself.  After he had finished, he called each family member over to watch his final product and talked us through what was happening in each scene.  Of course, my 6 year old then wanted to create his own comic strip and went off to find 1 of the books for inspiration!



**My only gripe with the Scholastic site is that we couldn't get the "Share" function to work.  We tried it out 3 separate times with no luck.*  http://www.scholastic.ca/captainunderpants/comic.htm



We also tried out www.bitstrips.com.  Where we created this (Yes, the potty humor is a bit outrageous, but I think it would actually be quite compelling for elementary school boys!)



Kai Loves Captain Underpants!

Literature Circle

I participated in a literature "circle" with my 10 year old son and one of his friends for several chapters of the book, Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson.  I took on 3 different roles - Vocabulary Elaborator, Media Hunter, and Mapper.  I personally had a lot of fun with this activity and the boys seemed to enjoy expanding and relating the story outside of the book.  We all especially enjoyed the related media content and we really talked about elements of the story like characters, plot development, genre, use of dialogue and setting quite comfortably thanks to these role prompts.

 

 

Vocabulary Elaborator^(tech)

 

Assignment:

Your job is to develop a list of words for your group to define in the context of this book or part of book. Your task is to help define these words from the reading and share with the others.  The words you should select to define should be words that you or other members of your group cannot pronounce, define, or understand in the way they are presented. To find your words:

1.   First, point to the unexplained word and then underline or highlight it. 

2.   Next, read the sentence containing the unexplained word. 

a.   If you cannot comprehend the meaning of the word, read the preceding sentence to try to figure out the definition. 

b.   If you still don’t have a definition for the marked word, then read the next sentence after the marked word. 

3.   Lastly, use a dictionary to check the definition of the word.  Use either an interactive dictionary that occurs when you highlight the word or visit an online dictionary site such as:

·                 The Internet Picture Dictionary http://www.pdictionary.com/

·                 The Online Rhyming Dictionary http://www.writeexpress.com/online2.html

·                 Different types of dictionaries http://directory.google.com/Top/Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/Reference_Tools/Dictionaries/

·                 Commonly-Used American Slang http://www.manythings.org/slang/

·                 American Heritage Dictionary (online) - Bartleby: http://www.bartleby.com/

Usually dictionaries will give several meanings for a word, and it is important to look at each numbered definition and decide which one coincides with the marked word.

 

Words I have never heard before:

Words I don’t know what they mean:

Words I have seen before, but never used this way:

 

Word               Page/Paragraph/Line  Definition

1 plausible                 | p.140/2/12                 | possible

2 cynical                     |p.147/3/1                    | believing that people are generally selfish and dishonest

3 unperturbed           |p. 161/last line           |not bothered

4 plumes                     |p. 181/2/3^rd line         |something that rises into the air in a tall, thin shape

 

Media Hunter^(tech)

 

Name: Kimberly

Book: Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark

Author: Ridley Pearson

 

Reading Assignment: page 140 to page 185

 

Assignment:

 

The media hunter reads and identifies from the text interesting aspects included in the text and then locates associated media to share with the other literature circle group members. Your task is to identify some aspect from the reading and then search and find either images, sound files, or video related to that topic, time, or location. You can search to find media on a topic of interest that happened in that specific time period or location of the setting. If the book is not story based, then identify a fact from the reading and search for associated media concerning that fact. In the list below identify from the readings at least three statements that indicate the historical or locational (or factual) setting. Then go online and use media search tools to find associated images, sound files, or videos from Websites. You can use the media search tools listed below or others you may know of. These media files should be ones that you find interesting concerning that fact, time, or location.  Share your findings and their Websites’ URLs by either copying and pasting the images into a document and printing it or by playing sound and/or video files with your discussion members. Make sure you explain to your group members how the media relates to the reading and be sure to give the source URL.

 

Search tools

·                 Google Image Search: http://images.google.com/

·                 Lycos Multimedia Search: http://multimedia.lycos.com/

·                 Search Engine Watch listing of media search engines: http://searchenginewatch.com/links/article.php/2156251

·                 National Archives media tools: http://www.archives.gov/research_room/research_paths.html

 

Page/Paragraph/Line  Year/Location             Sentence

 

1. p.141/1/2     |Magic Kingdom – Orlando – It’s a small world ride| “The ride had references to the sun.  One, in its theme song: ‘There is just one moon and one golden sun’ Two: the ride’s Central American section included a blazing Mayan sun, the biggest sun in the Magic Kingdom.”

 

2          p.162/1-3/       |Splash Mountain – Disney World     | “Finn and Philby climbed into Splash Mountain’s waterway carefully…They slogged their way through the first part of the ride, around some turns, and soon encountered a rubber conveyor incline that proved a tough climb.

3.  p.182/1/entire paragraph   |Apartment in Cinderella’s castle – Magic Kingdom            | “Finn saw that Maleficent’s eyes were eerily bright.  She had surprisingly pretty, high cheekbones, with a high forehead, black hair, and a strong chin.  She wore a strange headdress, like two twisting horns that rose from the hood of her cape.”

 

Media Websites findings:

URL – Format – Description – Relation

 

1.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W83dDWlPYXU – video – shows the sun in the Central American part of ride at minute 5:36 – also has song throughout to hear lyrics

2.  http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/splash-mountain.htm - website - provides some neat details and facts about Splash Mountain ride including facts about the number of cameras, etc. mentioned in the story. 

3. http://movies.disney.com/maleficent - interactive website - Watch trailer for upcoming movie based on Malifecent, pictures.  Do these pictures and videos seem like the same character you pictured while reading this book?

 

 Mapper/Tracker^(tech)

Assignment:

Your job concerns the book’s characters or content and the location. You will create some form of map representation of the reading content. The map can be a tracking map, a comparison map, or collage or series of location maps. The question you are trying to answer is: where is the content from the reading occurring? A tracking map is one which provides a visual display that follows or shows in order where events took place. A comparison map is one that shows your actual location relative to the material in the reading. The map collage would contain a collection of various maps of locations presented in the reading. In each case you should edit the maps, such as adding marks onto the map image to specify location. Start by finding location information from the reading, noting where it occurs in the text and the locations that the text is describing. Now make your map: one way this can be done is to copy the map into a drawing or paint program and use the tools to add marks, or waypoints, trackways, and/or character or event names onto the map to identify the reading location or locations. Once you have completed your map or maps, write a descriptive paragraph that explains your map materials.

 

What type of map are you creating?    Xc Tracking    c Comparison    c Collage

·                 CIA World Fact Book: http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html

·                 Yahoo Maps: http://maps.yahoo.com/

·                 Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/

·                 Mapquest: http://www.mapquest.com/

·                 Microsoft Terraserver: http://terraserver.microsoft.com/

 

Location notes

Page/Paragraph/Line  Location statement

1 p.140/last line          | “It’s a Small World” ride

2                                  |Cinderella's Castle

3                                  |Tom Sawyer Island and Splash Mountain

 

Map Description:

I placed an X on the locations that the characters visit in Chapters 16 – 20.  You can see that much of the action took place in Frontierland and Cinderella’s castle.  In chapter 16, the DHIs explore It’s a Small World.  Later in Chapter 20, Charlene and Amanda return to the ride with 3d glasses to get a different perspective, while the others are searching for clues at the castle.  The entrance to the apartment in the castle must be on the east side because the it says the kids had their backs toward Tommorowland.

Technology Enhanced Literature Circle Application

The population I hope to teach is 4th grade.  The technology enhanced book club would be great for a class of mixed level readers (which is always the case).  My experiences thus far in the classroom have shown that students generally enjoy and are motivated by working in groups, so the social factor would be a great motivator for those kids that are either struggling or simply uninterested readers.  Additionally, incorporating technology roles increases interest for modern day students who seek out technology whenever possible.  Linking together traditional literature with concepts like digital illustration, concept mapping, etc. could expand a student's motivation to read for pleasure (or academic necessity). 

Another possibility for incorporating literature circles into adolescent education could also include building in an opportunity for greater parental engagement.  Day and Lum (2011) conducted a year long study that engaged entire family units in a literature circle.  Although families did report some struggles and stress with the project, overall analysis showed that families learned together, children were motivated and engaged with reading, and social/developmental/emotional issues were able to be discussed in a comfortable manner (Day and Lum, 2011).  This idea is super intriguing to me because I have a particular interest in parental involvement strategies!  I acknowledge that this type of literature circle may not be practical for many schools/settings; however, for some students and schools I think this would be an excellent challenge to embrace.  Specifically, I think this would be a productive endeavor for students and families in the transitional years of 5th grade and middle school.  With the correct choice of literature, many social, moral, and biological issues could be explored together.


References:

Day, D. and Lum, K.  (2011).  Lessons learned from family literature circles.  Journal of School Connections, 3(1), 3-36.

Reflections on Experience with Audiobook & DailyLit.com

I have been spending the past month or so reading Anne of Green Gables through a combination of daily short installments delivered to my email via www.dailydrip.com and audio downloads from www.booksshouldbefree.com.  I have also been sharing these files with my mom who lives over 300 miles away.  We have been able to laugh together and compare opinions about plot as we read which has increased my own interest in the plot. 

I can't express how surprised I have been that I really enjoy both of these methods! I am a self-described traditionalist when it comes to reading and literature.  I got my love of reading from Dad who himself converted to a Kindle over 5 years ago.  I had been holding out on reading books via digital format, but I also hadn't had time to read a book of my own choosing in the past 2 years.  I mainly read the DailyDrip emails in the mornings during the 5-10 minutes I sit down to drink my coffee.  This is the same time I was usually spending on various social media networks like Facebook or Instagram.  I have found that I am just as "socially connected" as I was before, but now have something else to talk about (character and plot developments and applications to real life).  I believe this would be a very effective method for breaking up an "assigned" novel or reading into digestable allotments via this method could increase student's motivation who may otherwise be resistant or anxious about tackling an entire novel.

Regarding the audio files - I have been using these to fill in when I want to read further than the short readings.  I have gotten to "read" while washing dishes, doing laundry, commuting to work, and waiting in the pick up line at school.  I grew up listening to books on tape with my mom while we commuted over 2 hours back and forth for her to attend law school, so I was accustomed to the idea of visualizing images while listening to a book; however, it had been well over 18 years since I last listened to an audiobook.  I found I still enjoy it, although I prefer to read written text.  I can see however some people would be able to take more away or better follow an audiobook because of the different voice actors for characters, use of inflection, expression, and music. 

I found supporting research for the positive effects of audiobooks on struggling readers on the American Librarians Association website.  This mixed-method study sought to find if there was a direct correlation between the use of audiobooks and improved attitudes and aptitudes in reading (Christensen, Huffman, McAllister, & Whittingham, 2013).  The study found that both the reading ability and enthusiasm increased with the participant  group!

*References
Christensen, R., Huffman, S., McAllister, T., and Whittingham, J. (2013). Use of Audiobooks in a School Library and Positive Effects of Struggling Readers’ Participation in a Library-Sponsored Audiobook Club.  School Library Research, Vol. 16.  Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/sites/ala.org.aasl/files/content/aaslpubsandjournals/slr/vol16/SLR_Use_of_AudiobooksV16.pdf.

Concordance Sticker

This is a concordance sticker I created by copying and pasting the text from Chapter 5 of Anne of Green Gables.  This could be used by students to identify main characters, potentially important themes from the chapter, and new vocabulary words.

Technology Literacy Noun Project Icons

The definition of technology literacy, like technology itself, has changed rapidly over the past decade.  I created a group of icons in relation to the current technologies that I see most necessary and/or applicable to learners in 2014.  This list is in no way comprehensive nor exhaustive.

 

Email - Technology literacy must include learning how to use email.  This would range from basic communication (sending/receiving/reading email) to more advanced email usage (sending attachments, newsletters, mass mailings, auto-organization tools, and synching accounts, etc.).

*Designed by Ben Hsu from The Noun Project

 

Texting - Learning how to send and receive text is another feature of technology literacy.  Business communications are now sent via text, schedules are created, families are connected, and youth are engaged.

 

 

*Designed by Hussain Khalil

 

 

Scanning - Scanning is the modern form of faxing.  Technology literacy should include learning how to set up scanners, scan, attach, file, send, and receive scanned documents and pictures.

 





*Designed by Luis Prado of The Noun Project

 

Tablet/iPAD - Tablets and touch screen technologies have become a key to modern day technological communication.  Use of apps has increased educational, business, and personal methods of reporting and communicating. 

 

*Designed by Edward Boatman of The Noun Project

 

Wireless - The ability to connect to and find wireless connections seems like a small matter, but it is a necessary stepping stone in technological literacy.

 

*Designed by Martha Ormiston of The Noun Project

 

Video Chat - Technology such as Skype and Facetime have changed the way that people communicate.  Businesses utilize this technology to conduct meetings across thousands of miles.  Families use this technology to connect grandparents to grandchildren and armed service members seeing their child's first steps.  Additionally, video chat is being utilized in the education field to connect students and professors, classrooms across the globe, and educators to peers or mentors outside of their home schools. 

 



 

*Designed by WARSLAB of The Noun Project

 

 

Cloud Computing - This is a must for modern day technology literacy.  Cloud computing allows users to upload/save/back up important information and then view or download on any device, anyplace, anywhere.  The possibilities are endless in the realms of business and education.  Users just need access to internet source, a username, and password.  No need for flash drives, CD ROMS, or floppy disks!

 

*Designed by Petar Nikolic of The Noun Project

 

 

Digital Cameras and Pictures - The ability to share, edit, and receive digital images has grown exponentially within the last 15 years.  Becoming technologically proficient definitely involves the ability to utilize digital photography.

 



 



*Designed by Nathan Thomson of The Noun Project

 

 

Blogs - Technology literacy cannot omit blogs.  User friendly versions of blogging programs are available that require no knowledge of coding or HTML in order to create a website visible by people everywhere who are connected via the internet.  Blogs can provide either an intimate or impersonal experience - both of which may have their own advantages both for the creator and reader.  Blogging may prove to be therapeutic for some, serving as an outlet of communicating their thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

 

*Designed by Milky of The Noun Project

 

Social Media - Any training or awareness program that left out the influence, usage, power of various social media outlets in today's society would be lacking.  Technology has become extremely user focused, in large part due to the usage of social media.  As an example of this, I just received 2 different Twitter invitations from my sons' school.  The principal and school have both now officially actively joined Twitter.  Although I have never previously had an account, I don't want to miss any news so I will now be creating a Twitter account.  The same experience is felt by many others as they are first introduced to Facebook or any other social network.

 



Working Inspiration Graphic Organizer Project

This is a project I am working on with my son.  He is writing a persuasive essay with documented, supporting evidence.  My son is a highly visual learner and has challenges with organization as well as fine motor skills.  This is the original sheet he brought home to brainstorm and organize his essay.

 

As you can see, he didn't get much written on the actual page in this format.  He was also very frustrated and distracted with trying to focus on his handwriting, organizing his thoughts, and fitting it all on this paper.  Then, I introduced the Inspiration Lite app on our iPAD.  He was pretty interested and absolutely LOVED the talk to text tool on the keyboard.  He was literally brainstorming his ideas and then going back and editing what came out  in type.  Here is the initial version of his paper mapping process below:

 

I will post the final results in the next few days.  I can already say though that this tool really can reduce the level of frustration and distraction for learners that have issues with organizing their writing!

Textbook Inspiration Map

Textbook Chapter Wordle

I created  a word cloud based on the content in the first chapter of the textbook Educational Research: Fundamentals for the Consumer by J. McMillan (2012).  This was a chapter entitled - Introduction to Research in Education.  I think the Wordle I created touched on all of the main concepts and key terms from the chapter quite well.



http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7566286/Educational_Research

Word Cloud/Wordle Based on Novel

Here is the word cloud I created using www.wordle.net.  This was a word cloud based on the novel I Even Funnier by James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (2013).

I did this project with my 5th grade son after he read the novel.  He enjoyed brainstorming the words related to the story and it seemed to be good primer for him to summarize the story.  Wordle was very easy to use.  It was also fun trying out different layouts, fonts, and colors.

Pop-Up Cards

This is a fun and creative project that incorporates digital technology.  Students could use this for a book project or a mini presentation on any topic really.  For my own purposes I created a card.

Auto Summary Tools:

I was unable to utilize the autosummary tool that is available in Word programs prior to 2010; however, I did try out www.textcompactor.com.  I summarized the chapter quite effectivitely without losing too much essential meaning to about 45% of the original length of the text.  I must say that I do have some concerns utitlizing this type of autosummary tool with literature texts just because I fear much of the unique author's voice and intention would be lost.  I do see how this tool could be useful to teach students how to scan passages for the most important features, especially in preparation for test taking or other environments where students need to be able to quickly scan text to extract the essential meaning from it.  Here are the results from the compacted text of Pride and Prejudice Chapter 1.

Chapter 1
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
"My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?"
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
"But it is," returned she; "for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it."
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
"Do you not want to know who has taken it?" cried his wife impatiently.
"YOU want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."
This was invitation enough.
"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; How can it affect them?"
"My dear Mr. Bennet," replied his wife, "how can you be so tiresome! You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party."
"My dear, you flatter me. When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty."
"In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of."
"But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighborhood."
"It is more than I engage for, I assure you."
"But consider your daughters. But you are always giving HER the preference."
"They have none of them much to recommend them," replied he; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters."
"Mr. Bennet, how CAN you abuse your own children in such a way? I have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least."
Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humor, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. The business of her life was to get her daughters married;

Just found a new favorite tool!  This is great for both students and educators!!  Teaches students what to look for in their own papers and also gives valuable feedback regarding norms and expectations for different styles of writing.  www.paperrater.com!!!  In this instance, the score was right on as well - I did get an A on this refection piece :)

Title:

K.Sanchelli Sample

The first section of Falk’s Defending childhood: Keeping the promise of early education (2012), explores how a children grow and develop from infancy through their early school years. I approached this book thinking that I knew a good bit about childhood growth and development for a few different reasons. First, I had previously taken an undergraduate course entitled Childhood Growth and Development which touched on a lot of development theories and field work including Piaget, Montessori, and the concept of “tabula rasa” or the blank slate. The course, however, did not delve into practical applications or classroom implementation. It was more from a historical/theoretical mindset. Additionally, I am in the process of raising two children of my own,... (only first 800 chars shown)

Analysis complete. Our feedback is listed below in printable form. Some of the items have been truncated or removed to provide better print compatibility.

Spelling

Spelling Suggestions

• Spelling: like post-partum [suggestions: postpartum]
• Spelling: with post-partum [suggestions: postpartum]
• Spelling: childproof [suggestions: ]
• Spelling: own childrens [suggestions: children, children's, childless, Childress, chaldrons]
• Spelling: I hadnt [suggestions: hadn't, hasnt, haunt, hadst, haint]
• Spelling: and manipulatives [suggestions: manipulative, manipulations, manipulates]
• Spelling: and childrens [suggestions: children, children's, childless, Childress, chaldrons]
• Spelling: interpersonal enivornment [suggestions: environment]

Grammar

Grammar Suggestions

• Possessive Ending: in a childs development [suggestions: a child's development]
• Missing apostrophe: I hadnt [suggestions: hadn't]
• Possessive Ending: on a childs development [suggestions: a child's development]

Word Choice

Word Choice Suggestions

No errors of this type found in the text.

Word Choice

Bad Phrase Score

Bad Phrase Score*: 2.705 (lower is better)
*based on the number and quality of trite or inappropriate words, phrases, and cliches found in your paper.

Great job - your score is above average! You know exactly which phrases to avoid in your writing.

Style

Transitional Phrases

Transitional Words Score*: 76
*based on quality of transitional phrases used within your paper

Good job! Your usage of transitional phrases is within an acceptable range! Nevertheless, you may still benefit from reading the info below.

One sign of an excellent writer is the use of transitional phrases. Transitional words and phrases (e.g. therefore, consequently, furthermore) contribute to the cohesiveness of a text and allow the sentences to flow smoothly. Without transitional phrases, a text will often seem disorganized and will most likely be difficult to understand. When these special words are used, they provide organization within a text and lead to greater understanding and enjoyment on the part of the reader.

These words and phrases fall under a few grammatical categories:

•  Conjunctions: but, provided, and, although

•  Prepositional phrases: in addition to, in conclusion

•  Adverbs: also, however, nevertheless

 

Transitional phrases may be used in various places in a text:

•  between paragraphs

•  between sentences

•  between sentence parts

•  within sentence parts

 

For example, you could write:

Form and function are central themes in Biology. However, knowing the structure of something does not necessarily reveal its function.

The word 'however' contributes to greater unity or cohesion between sentences.

Vocabulary Words

Vocabulary Score

Vocabulary Score: 79
Vocabulary Word Count: 25
Percentage of Vocab Words: 2.91%
Vocabulary Words in this Paper (a Subset): delve, practical, applications, historical, application, address, tactile, circuits, cognitive, check

Excellent work! Your usage of sophisticated words is on par with other well-written papers! Nevertheless, you may still wish to use our Vocab Builder to maintain your edge.

Tips
Whether you are writing for a school assignment or professionally, it is imperative that you have a vocabulary that will provide for clear communication of your ideas and thoughts. You need to know the type and level of your audience and adjust your vocabulary accordingly. It is worthwhile to constantly work at improving your knowledge of words. To help with this task, please consider using our Vocabulary Builder to improve your comprehension and usage of words.

Grade

Auto Grader

Grade: 90* -> A
*based on college grading scale

NOTE: The grade above is NOT complete! We do not actually use a crystal ball to generate your grade. Instead, this grade takes into account spelling, grammar, word choice, style, vocabulary, and more; but it does NOT examine the meaning of your words, how your ideas are structured, or how well your arguments are supported. We should also mention that our automated grader doesn't always get things right. So, please consider this grade to be one facet of your paper's overall grade.