English

May

However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. Stephen Hawking

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. Winston Churchill

Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure. Confucius

English - May 2024 Assignment Calendar

MacDonald/Blackburn English Class Overview
Please be sure to let teachers know when your child is absent. Remember that students will be responsible for classwork missed, along with homework. It is important for students to check with teachers prior to, when possible, and following an absence.

Tips for studying vocabulary
Visuwords - Visual Thesaurus
Kids.Wordsmyth - Easy dictionary with many useful features for exploring unfamiliar words.

Learning Ally - Recorded books library
Bookshare - Recorded books library
Media Bias Checker - Great tool for assessing the point of view of online sources.
NoodleTools - Web app for research
Natural Reader - A screen reader for both Windows and Mac that will read text on your computer screen to you and allows you to adjust voice and speed.
Rewordify - Simplify difficult text

Google Calendar - Use this to plot important events, appointments and assignments
Google To Do List - Use this to keep track of what you need to do.
Google Keep - Google's answer to post it notes. Use this as a way to keep track of things you need to do.

Be Timeful - Helps you stop accessing social media while you are working.
Focusable
Forest - Helps you stay focused and not get distracted by other websites.
Noisli - Create background noise to your liking that will help you block out distractions.
Pomofocus - Based on the Pomodoro technique, you set a list of tasks and it sets a timer for each task and then a 5 minute break between each task. (Not a Chrome Extension.) A similar tool is Focus To-Do.
PostLight Reader - Distracted by all the "junk" on a webpage? Use this extension to help you focus on the "meat" of the article you are trying to read. (Also great when you want to print an article on a webpage.)
Procrastinator - Another extension that helps you block websites you find distracting.
Stay Focused - A Chrome extension that lets you set a timer for how long you allow yourself access to particular sites.
TimeWarp - Helps you stay focused and not get distracted on the web. You create "wormholes" that can do one of the following:
- - Redirect - Takes you to a more productive site which you specify
  - Quote - Shows your most motivative quote
  - Timer - Displays the time you've spent on the site today
- Study With Me Study Buddies - A series of videos that can be used to help you focus while studying.