Essays by Shalon Sims on education, creative writing and literacy

Most frequently used words in English

Did you know that the average person uses only 2000-5000 words on a daily basis? One of the most important tools I use as an English, ESL & Literacy teacher is a most frequently-used-words list. It is possible to make countless vocabulary exercises & games from the crucial 2000 most frequently used words, and they…
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How many times should you tweet a blog post?

Well, up until today, I was only tweeting my blog posts once, but lately I have noticed that some bloggers that I am following are tweeting their posts more than once.  So, I did some research and here is what I found:

Collaborative self-publishing?

I recently read an interesting blog post about the pros and cons of self-publishing vs. regular publishing that really made me think long and hard about how self-publishing could be made more successful.   The answer that I came up with is a collaborative publishing platform.  I don’t think it has really been done yet, and…
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Book Review: The Story of B, by Daniel Quinn

During my research on spiritual fiction, I was recommended to read Daniel Quinn’s books, Ishmael and The Story of B.  At my local new-and-used bookstore, Companion Book, I found a cheap copy of The Story of B and I was pleasantly surprised while reading it. 

mindmap using xmind

Xmind: a Free Self-Exploration Tool

Xmind is a great–free–mind-mapping tool that you can use to explore yourself!

Profound Insights: Out of the Silent Planet by C.S Lewis

The best book I read in 2010 was Out of the Silent Planet, by C.S Lewis.  It is a very small book and inconspicuous.  This was the copy I picked up:

Resources for Educators

Social Media & Collaborative Education Here is a great blog about professors using Twitter in large lecture halls, to promote collaboration and discourse. History of Education This RSA Animate video is an animation of a lecture by Sir __Robinson about the history of education and the need to address education in new ways, in these…
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Long Sentence #1: Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

Reading this amazing book by Joseph Campbell, the classic, The Hero with a Thousand Faces and the first sentence just about blew me away. Not only is it extremely beautiful, it’s also incredibly long!  It’s 538 characters:

List of Online Critique Groups

List of Online Critique Groups critters.org scribophile  (sorry, will add links later 🙂 writerscafe critiquegroups.com aylad’s writer’s group Authonomy inkpop the write-brained network Writing.com Critique Circle Online Writing Workshop Nothing Binding Review Fuse Hatrack Wrters Workshop Absolute Write Water cooler BookRix The Writer’s Beat internetwritingworkshop.org This list was taken mainly from this other blog post,…
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Quantum Connections: Physics of the Impossible by Michio Kaku

Michio Kaku’s book, Physics of the Impossible, has helped me to understand a subject that I thought I never would: quantum physics.  Ever since my first year of college in 1997, when my philosophy of religion instructor, Dr.Katz, talked about atoms being mysteriously connected, I wanted to understand this process and became curious about quantum…
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Reading for Learning a New Language

If you are learning a new language, the most useful and pleasant thing you can do for your study is READ!!!  As an ESL teacher, I have noticed that my students who are regular readers, really advance more quickly than students who do not like reading.  Therefore it is important to foster the skill of…
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The Importance of Sound for Mastering a Language

When we are young, we learn the sounds of our language automatically from our parents, but when we learn a new language we need to pay special attention to the sounds. In most languages, including English, sound is made with two types of letters: 1) Consonants and 2) Vowels. The consonants are similar in many languages,…
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