Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Relationship: Good Writing and Good Reading

Would you believe me if I told you that good writers are generally good readers too? So one way that you can improve your writing skills is to practice reading! Think about it this way: when you read something, no matter if it's a book, magazine article, or even a recipe, you're coming across important vocabulary words, seeing punctuation being used, and getting ideas that expand your mind!

You (or your children) may have heard the term SSR used before. SSR stands for sustained silent reading. Everyone, no matter what age they are, should do at least 20 minutes of sustained silent reading each day. This will improve your reading skills and your writing skills too! Would you believe that even comic strips or comic books (sometimes called "graphic novels") can be used for your daily SSR time!

Here are some links that you can use for your daily SSR time. These are some of the websites that I visit daily to read about different things.

People magazine (celebrity gossip)
Sun Sentinel (Broward/Dade/Palm Beach news)
CNN (National and world news)
Food Network (Recipes, show information, and more)
The Weather Channel (Forecasts and climate information)


What have you read lately? In a few sentences, tell me about the last thing you read. Maybe it was a magazine article about a celebrity or maybe it was something in your online course.

9 comments:

Kim Gates said...

I just finished a book called "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan." It was loaned to me by another online instructor, Ms. Rowntree. This book was about ancient Chinese cultural the the lifelong friendship between two people, Lily and Snow Flower. It was very interesting to read, as I knew a bit about ancient Chinese cultural (like the cultural significance of foot binding), but this gave me a lot more information about gender roles and also history. I definitely enjoyed it!

Anonymous said...

I read an article in PEOPLE magazine about a 34 year old man named Thomas Beatie who recently gave birth to a baby girl. He was originally a female who legally got switched to a male, but still kept his female reproductive organs.This article was very interesting to me due to the nature of the situation. It was very eye-opening & mind-blowing!

Sheila W.

Archarna Jones said...

I read 1Kings in the old testament bible about elijah. God sent elijah to a poor widows house for food. The widow only had enough for her family to eat one cake and nothing would be left. God made the small supply of food for the widow to last for days because she obeyed Him. God also gave back health to the widow's dying son.

Anonymous said...

I read on a website name aujourd'hui.com an article about obesite. Obesite is one of the biggest challenges people are facing every day in the United states of America.Gyms and personal trainers are making million by helping people loose weigth. The fitness centers are never slow according to the number of over weigth person in America.I also read that being over weigth can be the cause of many deseases.

Anonymous said...

Mirlene I read in magazine, that wartermelon has the same effect like viagra.

Anonymous said...

I read that we are putting our food into the gas tank with the corn-to-ethanol subsidy. I read this in an article that was about the link of ethanol to the world's food shortage. While I do not believe ethanol is entirely responsible for the shortages, it has had a significant and direct impact. The article was very informative. I learned that corn is now primarily an energy commodity (in the form of ethanol) rather than a food commodity. What that means is that corn follows the price of oil rather than following the demand for corn as a food product. I learned that world food prices have risen by 83 percent in three years. On June 28, 2005 (3 years ago), the U.S. Senate passed the Energy Policy Act which mandated that a portion of the nation's corn supply be turned into "alternative fuel," ethanol. I also learned that ethanol emits more CO2 than conventional gasoline and that it yields about 30 percent less energy per gallon of gasoline. I find that reading can give me a better understanding of complex issues. The article was interesting and informative.

Anonymous said...

I still remember the last book that I read about "Personality" What Type Are you?
Are you the kind of person who resembles a sunflower Or are you more like a four o'clock someone who only open's up at special moments?It is amazing!

Anonymous said...

I just finished reading a book called "Omnivore's Dilemma". This book is about the three principal food chains that sustain us today. These being the industrial, the organic, and the hunter-gatherer. All three food chains are systems for doing more or less the same thing. Linking us through what we eat, to the fertility of the earth and the energy of the sun. This book has a very interesting spin on the food groups.

Anonymous said...

An article in Sun Sentinel dated October 4, 2009, is what I recently read. It is about the island of Antigua, which is located in the middle of the Lesser Antilles, in the West Indies. Antigua boasts 365 beaches which are described as picture perfect according to the writer of the article, Lauren Viera.

Deidra W