Examples of Double-Entry Journals from Level 50

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Here are some examples of double-entry journal entries from various Level 50 students for two different Maclean's magazine articles. Notice how even when the students chose the same sentences, their comments were quite different.

Artilce #1

Sentences from Article Student's thoughts.

We teach kids how to think about their thinking. I really agree with this method. The society we have today, children gain too much pressure from their parents. Since early age, children start to compare with one the other. In a long term, they feel depress in their mind if they fail some of the competitions. So, teaching kids how to think about their thinking is also a way to teach them how to respect themselves.

A girl who fails a French test, for example, may feel bad not simply because she didn't do well but because she believes her failure means she is stupid, a disappointment to her parents. I had like this situation in my life. When I got a very low mark even though I studied, I felt upset and I felt I was stupid. I think I can lose my motivation, too.

With an estimated one in 10 Canadian children experiencing emotional and behavioural problems serious enough to interfere with daily living, . . . I think that's true. Because when children experience any emotional or behavioural hurt, the children will keep this hurt in their brain very firm. Maybe sometimes it is the reason which causes children to close their mind. They might not want to face life and experience anything in order to defend themselves.

We teach kids how to think about their thinking . . . A girl who fails a French test, for example, may feel bad not simply because she didn't do well but because she believes her failure means she is stupid, a disappointment to her parents, and that she will never master French. It tells us that we should catch what we are thinking when we encounter the failure. For instance, a girl who failed French test might cause a chain reaction, like quicksand. Everything just keeps going down, and the result is all fail.

A girl who fails a French test, for example, may feel bad not simply because she didn't do well but because she believes her failure means she is stupid, a disappointment to her parents It reminds me of some Chinese students who fail some so-called important exams, and then they choose suicide. They shouldn't feel so depressed. They're just some exams.

a psychologist working with the program, "we teach kids how to think about their thinking." It is great, but I think it is more abstract to young kids. Probably, most of them are unable to do this, but it is a good trail.

Article #2

Cities are the nation's economic heart. I like this sentence. Rural areas are the nation's economic body. They are gathered with economic factors in cities.

Cities are the nation's economic heart. I agree to this point. I have some reasons to support it. First, the economy is generally divided into three aspects, which are agriculture, industry, and services. Two of the three are developed in cities, only agriculture is in countryside. Second, nowadays, people judge a nation's economy whether it is prosperous or not mainly by checking how its industry and services are developed. Third, in most countries, most of their population live in cities.

There is no longer a national economy: city-regions are essentially the economic units. It might be right. At the beginning of the 21 century, or since 1990, our society has really had surprising changes. In fact, in my country, many young people leave their home - rural area - in order to get a job and go to a city. Like this article, the economy of cities is almost leading the economy of a nation. However, it can lead to a state of economic unbalance, I think, because of difference in life quality between rural area and urban area.

Today the economic powerhouses are located within urban areas, they employ people who are highly trained - and highly mobile. Nowadays, more and more people move to big cities, especially highly trained people. They want to get a higher level of life. They move first following their jobs while more powerful companies locate in big cities. That's why more and more people move to cities

When Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman petulantly demanded provincial status two years ago, . . . From the picture in the middle of this article, we can see that he is a petulant man. He looks very confident.

Located within urban cores, they employ people who are highly trained - highly mobile. I am wondering about the grammatical structure. Why does the author use "located" at the beginning of the sentence. And what does "highly mobile" mean?

After amalgamation next January, Montreal's population will exceed that of the Maritimes. Amalgamation is a mixture of two or more things. What's the meaning of "amalgamation" here? Is that a kind of meeting?

Cities are in a financial strait-jacket. This is a simile that means the provincial government controls the city too much and the city now has a difficult financial situation.

Sentences from Article	Student's thoughts.
We teach kids how to think about their thinking.	I really agree with this method. The society we have today, children gain too much pressure from their parents. Since early age, children start to compare with one the other. In a long term, they feel depress in their mind if they fail some of the competitions. So, teaching kids how to think about their thinking is also a way to teach them how to respect themselves.
A girl who fails a French test, for example, may feel bad not simply because she didn't do well but because she believes her failure means she is stupid, a disappointment to her parents.	I had like this situation in my life. When I got a very low mark even though I studied, I felt upset and I felt I was stupid. I think I can lose my motivation, too.
With an estimated one in 10 Canadian children experiencing emotional and behavioural problems serious enough to interfere with daily living, . . .	I think that's true. Because when children experience any emotional or behavioural hurt, the children will keep this hurt in their brain very firm. Maybe sometimes it is the reason which causes children to close their mind. They might not want to face life and experience anything in order to defend themselves.
We teach kids how to think about their thinking . . . A girl who fails a French test, for example, may feel bad not simply because she didn't do well but because she believes her failure means she is stupid, a disappointment to her parents, and that she will never master French.	It tells us that we should catch what we are thinking when we encounter the failure. For instance, a girl who failed French test might cause a chain reaction, like quicksand. Everything just keeps going down, and the result is all fail.
A girl who fails a French test, for example, may feel bad not simply because she didn't do well but because she believes her failure means she is stupid, a disappointment to her parents	It reminds me of some Chinese students who fail some so-called important exams, and then they choose suicide. They shouldn't feel so depressed. They're just some exams.
a psychologist working with the program, "we teach kids how to think about their thinking."	It is great, but I think it is more abstract to young kids. Probably, most of them are unable to do this, but it is a good trail.

Cities are the nation's economic heart.	I like this sentence. Rural areas are the nation's economic body. They are gathered with economic factors in cities.
Cities are the nation's economic heart.	I agree to this point. I have some reasons to support it. First, the economy is generally divided into three aspects, which are agriculture, industry, and services. Two of the three are developed in cities, only agriculture is in countryside. Second, nowadays, people judge a nation's economy whether it is prosperous or not mainly by checking how its industry and services are developed. Third, in most countries, most of their population live in cities.
There is no longer a national economy: city-regions are essentially the economic units.	It might be right. At the beginning of the 21 century, or since 1990, our society has really had surprising changes. In fact, in my country, many young people leave their home - rural area - in order to get a job and go to a city. Like this article, the economy of cities is almost leading the economy of a nation. However, it can lead to a state of economic unbalance, I think, because of difference in life quality between rural area and urban area.
Today the economic powerhouses are located within urban areas, they employ people who are highly trained - and highly mobile.	Nowadays, more and more people move to big cities, especially highly trained people. They want to get a higher level of life. They move first following their jobs while more powerful companies locate in big cities. That's why more and more people move to cities
When Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman petulantly demanded provincial status two years ago, . . .	From the picture in the middle of this article, we can see that he is a petulant man. He looks very confident.
Located within urban cores, they employ people who are highly trained - highly mobile.	I am wondering about the grammatical structure. Why does the author use "located" at the beginning of the sentence. And what does "highly mobile" mean?
After amalgamation next January, Montreal's population will exceed that of the Maritimes.	Amalgamation is a mixture of two or more things. What's the meaning of "amalgamation" here? Is that a kind of meeting?
Cities are in a financial strait-jacket.	This is a simile that means the provincial government controls the city too much and the city now has a difficult financial situation.