Week 1: 08/11/72014 – 08/17/2014
The last week I started reading the book "Les Misérables" that is about a man that was in jail because he stole food and now that he has been freed, he tries to help all the people he can; this book is one of my favorites because of the way it is written. During this week, I tried to read between 18 and 22 pages every afternoon on my way home, and I managed to finish it on the weekend.
Reflection
I get distracted easily and because of this, I take more time to read; also I can't concentrate if there is a lot of noise around me. However, I didn't have any trouble understanding the text, I just need to practice my reading skills in different places and circumstances. At the end of the book I found a list with the meanings of some words that helped me to fully understand the story written by Victor Hugo.
Week 2: 08/18/72014 – 08/24/2014
While I was cleaning my room, I found an old magazine called "ScienceWorld" which explains all the technological advances and scientific information that experts have discovered, such as the creation of cars that don't run out of fuel and how animals survive in their habitat; I decided to read 2 or 3 articles per day.
Reflection
The magazine was quite nice because it contained a lot of images and colors, that is why it was easy for me to read it faster; unfortunately, some articles were extremely boring. I need to look for texts that really catch my attention so I can get interested in the information that I read and I can check my improvement.
Week 3: 08/25/72014 – 08/31/2014
My daddy bought a new camera but he didn't know how to use it and the instructions were in English, so it was a big problem for him because he couldn't understand everything. I read the instructions for him and helped him to put together all the pieces of the camera; I had to read the whole instructions in order to explain him how the camera works, how to use each button and how to take good care of it.
Reflection
It was very complicated to read the user's manual because I found a lot of phrasal verbs in each page; I hate them because they change the real meaning of the verb just by adding a preposition. I need to study my list of phrasal verbs and check some examples in order to be acquainted with them and don't be surprised every time I find them.
Week 4: 09/01/72014 – 09/07/2014
I read the book "Stories of Detection and Mystery" that included stories about how killers and kidnappers do their job without leaving evidence; every morning while I was waiting for the bus to arrive, I tried to read 1 or 2 chapters, and also in the nights before going to sleep I used to read 10 pages approximately.
Reflection
This book caught my complete attention, the stories were so exciting that I finished reading it in 3 days. What I liked about the book was that at the last pages, there was a glossary of words that may be new for the reader, so the reader was able to check the meanings and understand the context. I will try to look for texts about mystery because they can help me to become a better reader.
Week 5: 09/08/72014 – 09/14/2014
The Literature teacher recommended me to read Edgar Allan Poe's stories, so I did. I found a lot of stories and poems but there were 3 that I really loved.
1.- "The Black Cat" that was about an animal lover that had become insane because of his cat, so when he realized that his attitude had changed, he killed his wife and his pet.
2.- "The Raven" that was about a man that used to remember his dead wife while a raven appeared outside his window every night, then he noticed that his soul was attached to that animal and he could never get rid of it.
3.- "The Tell-tale Heart" that was about a crazy man that killed his householder and he confessed to the police that he had murdered a person.
1.- "The Black Cat" that was about an animal lover that had become insane because of his cat, so when he realized that his attitude had changed, he killed his wife and his pet.
2.- "The Raven" that was about a man that used to remember his dead wife while a raven appeared outside his window every night, then he noticed that his soul was attached to that animal and he could never get rid of it.
3.- "The Tell-tale Heart" that was about a crazy man that killed his householder and he confessed to the police that he had murdered a person.
Links
http://www.heise.de/ix/raven/Literature/Lore/TheRaven.html
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/POE/telltale.html
http://poestories.com/read/blackcat
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/POE/telltale.html
http://poestories.com/read/blackcat
Reflection
I have been improving my reading velocity, I used to read very slow and now a can read a little bit quicker but sometimes I have to return to the last pages because I can't understand the whole ideas. In addition, now I am capable to read with noise, on Wednesday and Thursday I managed to read in the cafeteria.
Week 6: 09/15/72014 – 09/21/2014
This week I read 3 articles about Ebola (its origins, propagation and treatment), even though this disease was a trending topic a few weeks ago, I wanted to be informed about it so I entered to the BBC website and searched some news.
Links
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29256443
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29305591
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29327741
Links
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29256443
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29305591
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29327741
Reflection
I am getting used to read more and I am trying to make it an habit. I realized that I don't know what is happening in the world because I don't read, so I will try to read at least 2 news per day.
Final Reflection
I am completely sure that I read faster than I used to, and now I concentrate easier at any place. I am developing a love for reading that I didn't use to have and that makes me feel proud. I understand all the lectures and I hardly ever have problems with the meanings of some words. I have learned a lot of new words that can be used daily. My strengths are that by reading constantly I have corrected the spelling of some words that I use to write wrongly and that I am learning how to write long and difficult words. My weakness is that I still get distracted easily, it is worth mentioning that not as often as a few weeks ago, but I know that this problem can be solved by reading in noisy places and trying to focus just on my texts.
Period 2
Week 7: 09/22/72014 – 09/28/2014
The Biotechnology teacher asked me to look for a scientific article and talk about it the next class. I entered to the NBCI website, which is the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and I found a really advanced article about the regeneration of tissues in Zebrafish that involves specific cells and proteins,
Linkhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2785262/
Reflection
It was very difficult to read this article, I found words that I didn't even know that they existed in Spanish, I finished reading it in more than 2 hours and I didn't understand everything. I must practice these kind of readings because I had to read each paragraph more than 4 times.
Week 8: 09/29/2014 - 10/05/2014
I chose one of the links that the English teacher put in BlackBoard, I read 2 Science news, the first one was about how the brain works when we are learning something new, and the other one explained that the brain clasiffies all kind of sounds while we are sleeping.
Links
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/learning-rewires-brain
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/your-sleeping-brain-listening
Reflection
This website was really useful, I liked that I was able to find scientific texts with easy words, and in case you didn't understand some terms, the definitions with examples were at the end of the page. I will try to visit this link more often because I think it can help to improve in English and to learn new stuff about Science.
Week 9: 10/06/2014 - 10/12/2014
The Biology teacher uploaded to BlackBoard some information about photosynthesis, the texts were in English so while I was learning something new, also I was practicing my reading skills. The information that I read was very complete and easy to understand because it was explained with common words and real examples. Most of the paragraphs were about the benefits that photosynthesis causes in the world and the importance that it has in human life.
Link
Reflection
I liked that web page because all the information was trustworthy and it was published by renowned scientists. The organization of the paragraphs was excellent because they were divided by subtitles so you could find specific ideas easily. I understood all the words and I didn't get bored, I finished reading all the text very fast.
Week 10: 10/13/2014 - 10/19/2014
The Biotechnology teacher asked us to read a scientific magazine about the Human Genome Project, even though it had a lot of pages, I managed to finish reading it in 2 hours because it contained very interesting information. I found words that I didn't even know their meaning in Spanish but I didn't mind so I continued reading in order to understand the whole ideas so I could be able to infer the meaning of those words that I hadn't ever read. The magazine included interviews to important scientists, data bases about genes discoveries and there was explained all the progress that Biotechnology has had during the last 10 years.
Reflection
I have noticed that I enjoy these kind of readings in which I get acquainted with technical terms that I will be using my whole life; even though it is harder and it takes more time to read advanced texts, I feel very comfortable because I know that these practices will be useful in the future. Nowadays, I read even faster and I get all the ideas, this time I didn't have to read again any paragraph in order to understand certain information, I just had to look for some words in the dictionary or in a few cases I was in the need to translate them.
My Math homework was to read a text written by a notorius mathematician who used to send bombs to kill people. The article talked about the changes that the world is passing through because of the technology, it is mentioned that nowadays people have work priorities instead of worrying about becoming better humans.
Link
Reflection
Even though the text was very long, I read the full article because it was well organized and I found many easy words. After analyzing all the paragraphs, I realized about many things that I hadn't considered before and my viewpoint changed in a good way. The text had a lot of information that people must know in order to be informed a little bit more of the issues we are living nowadays.
Week 12: 10/27/2014 - 11/02/2014
I read an article posted by National Geographic that talked about bringing extinct species back to life. The text contained all the experiments that have been done in the last 10 years and the benefits they have brought, however, there are some ethical issues that must be solved before legally approving any of the methods used.
Link
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/125-species-revival/zimmer-text
Reflection
What I liked about the information that National Geographic posted, was that it contained common words that any person is able to understand, I mean that I didn't have to use a dictionary in order to catch the ideas written on the text.
Week 13: 11/03/2014 - 11/09/2014
This week I read two reviews. The first one was about the rain, it explained that raindrops have a terminal velocity, but the last few years scientists have discovered that the smallest particles of water break the speed limit. The second one was called "Recycling the dead" and it was about the importance of carbon dioxide and nitrogen because both gases are essential for life.
Links
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/recycling-dead?mode=topic&context=79
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/raindrops-break-speed-limit?mode=topic&context=6
Reflection
I liked both texts because at the end of each one I was able to find a glosssary with the meanings of unknown words, that helped me to understand the whole ideas. The website I visited was very interesting and full of innovative readings, I will surely visit it more often.
Week 14: 11/10/2014 - 11/16/2014
I read a book called "Tuesdays with Morrie" every afternoon on my way home. It was about a young man who visited his Sociology teacher in order to receive some advice because he was doing something wrong in his life, he was not happy and he was not enjoying what he had. His teacher helped him a lot to find again sense in his life, when the young man had become a great person, his teacher died.
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Week 12: 10/27/2014 - 11/02/2014
I read an article posted by National Geographic that talked about bringing extinct species back to life. The text contained all the experiments that have been done in the last 10 years and the benefits they have brought, however, there are some ethical issues that must be solved before legally approving any of the methods used.
Link
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/125-species-revival/zimmer-text
Reflection
What I liked about the information that National Geographic posted, was that it contained common words that any person is able to understand, I mean that I didn't have to use a dictionary in order to catch the ideas written on the text.
Week 13: 11/03/2014 - 11/09/2014
This week I read two reviews. The first one was about the rain, it explained that raindrops have a terminal velocity, but the last few years scientists have discovered that the smallest particles of water break the speed limit. The second one was called "Recycling the dead" and it was about the importance of carbon dioxide and nitrogen because both gases are essential for life.
Links
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/recycling-dead?mode=topic&context=79
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/raindrops-break-speed-limit?mode=topic&context=6
Reflection
I liked both texts because at the end of each one I was able to find a glosssary with the meanings of unknown words, that helped me to understand the whole ideas. The website I visited was very interesting and full of innovative readings, I will surely visit it more often.
Week 14: 11/10/2014 - 11/16/2014
I read a book called "Tuesdays with Morrie" every afternoon on my way home. It was about a young man who visited his Sociology teacher in order to receive some advice because he was doing something wrong in his life, he was not happy and he was not enjoying what he had. His teacher helped him a lot to find again sense in his life, when the young man had become a great person, his teacher died.
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Reflection
This book made me cry because the author wrote the story in a way that you feel the same as the characters. I am sure that the advice given will help me in my daily life. The book changed my perspective of life in a good way.
Final Reflection
By this time, I don't fall asleep while reading long texts anymore. My reading velocity is excellent and I have learned a lot of synonyms of common words that I can use instead of the old ones. My strength is that I understand every single paragraph because now I know the meanings of words that are not very common; in addition, I am capable to read at any place, I get distracted harder and I have managed to ignore any kind of sound so I just have to worry about my readings. My weakness is that I read at nights when I am a little bit tired and that is why I sometimes skip lines so I don't catch the complete ideas; I just have to read earlier or use my finger to follow the correct order of the lines.
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