Main Body
Getting Started With WeVideo
Learning Goals
In this chapter, you will learn to:
- Use stressed syllables to sound out unknown words
- Use commas with appositives
- Discuss and respond to the digital story Sofas
- Tell the difference between fact and opinion
- Use an atlas
- Argue for and against something in discussions and written assignments
Get Ready to Read
- How often do you use the Internet? What do you use it for?
- What are the advantages of knowing how to use the Internet?
- Do you use email?
- What are the advantages of having an email address?
Vocabulary
Scan Getting Started with WeVideo to find a bold word for each of the following.
1. A computer program used to find and look at websites
2. A group of people, organizations, or countries that have joined together for a particular purpose
3. A system on a computer that lets you do certain tasks, like typing documents, playing games, editing images, or making films
4. An area on a computer screen where files and programs can be placed, like objects on a desk
5. Something a person sets up to use the Internet services of a company
6. Part of an Internet browser where you type in the address of the website you wish to visit
7. A way of sharing art and information.
8. Copying files from a computer to the Internet
9. To release a book you wrote or something you made on the Internet to the public
10. To start a connection between a computer and some other system
Word Patterns
A syllable is a beat in a word. In words with more that one syllable, one syllable will be pronounced more strongly than another. The syllable you say more strongly is referred to as the stressed syllable.
For example, the word program has two syllables: pro-gram. The first syllable is stressed: PRO – gram.
Find the stressed syllable in these words.
11. ac-count
12. log-in
13. In-ter-net brow-ser
14. ad-dress bar
15. pub-lish
16. me-di-a
17. up-load-ing
18. desk-top
19. co-al-i-tion
Reading Strategy
Read Getting Started with WeVideo in BC Reads: Adult Literacy Fundamental English – Reader 6. After you have read through the text, complete questions 1 to 4 from Check Your Understanding (below). Then follow the instructions in Reader 6 to:
- Create a WeVideo account
- Enter your account
- Upload your visual media
Next, read about and watch the digital story Sofas. Complete questions 5 to 8 from Check Your Understanding (below). Then read Recording Your Voiceover. Follow the steps to record the voiceover for your digital story.
Check Your Understanding
1. What is WeVideo?
2. Why do you need an email address to use WeVideo?
3. Why is it important not to publish your digital story until you are sure it is finished?
4. All of the digital stories in this book were made in the United States. Sofas was made in Illinois. Grand Canyons took place in Arizona. Go Around was made in Ohio. 7th Word was made in Washington. Tanya and All the Truly Important Things were made in California. Ask your instructor for an atlas. Find a map of the United States. Use the atlas to label each of these states on the map below: Illinois, Arizona, Ohio, Washington, and California.
5. A fact is information that a person can prove to be true. An opinion is a judgment or belief that people may disagree about. Which of the statements below are facts? Which are opinions?
a. The greatest teachers of our time are Martin Luther King Jr, Gandhi, and living room sofas.
b. Wayne’s father must have been a bad person.
c. Wayne’s mother died before Wayne turned one year old.
d. Wayne was homeless.
e. The government does not do enough to help homeless people.
6. Think about how Wayne uses his voice to tell his story. What effect do his pauses have on you as a viewer?
7. What do you like about how Wayne uses his voice to tell his story?
8. How do you want to use your voice to tell your story?
Commas with Appositives
Grammar Rule
Extra information in a sentence is called an appositive. If you delete the appositive, you will still have a complete sentence.
Use a comma before and after the appositive.
| Sentence | Sentence with an appositive |
| Mel Blanc was not a fan of carrots. | Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, was not a fan of carrots. |
| The world’s tallest mountains are growing about 2.4 inches taller every year. | The world’s tallest mountains, the Himalayas, are growing about 2.4 inches taller every year. |
If the appositive comes at the end of the sentence, only use a comma before the appositive.
| Sentence | Sentence with an appositive |
| We decided to take a boat down the Nile. | We decided to take a boat down the Nile, the longest river in the world. |
| Our basement has a cellar. | Our basement has a cellar, a cool room for storing food. |
Fill in the commas in the sentences below.
1. Thomas Edison the inventor of the light bulb was afraid of the dark.
2. The Python a new type of car can drive on land and in water.
3. The sphinx which is hairless type of cat was first bred in Ontario.
4. The snack which was delicious did not fill me up.
5. The wool sweater a gift from my son was very itchy.
6. Pass me the Phillip’s head screwdriver the one with the X-shaped tip.
7. We are moving to Prince Rupert which is known as the City of Rainbows.
8. Mexico City which is 2,249 metres above the sea is one of the highest capital cities in the world.
9. This watch belonged to my great-grandfather who died in World War I.
10. Inside the wooden barn was a sow which is a female pig.
11. Her laugh which was very loud made others laugh, too.
Writing Task
The digital story Sofas is about a man named Wayne who used to be homeless. Follow the steps below to write an opinion paragraph on this topic:
The government should do more to help homeless people. Agree or disagree.
1. Think: Brainstorm as many ideas as you can for both sides of this topic. Don’t worry about grammar or whether your ideas are any good. The point of brainstorming is to come up with as many ideas as possible. When five minutes are up, look back at the ideas you came up with. Do you agree or disagree with the topic statement? Can you think of any additional sentences you should add to support your opinion?
2. Organize: Ask your instructor for the Paragraph Outline worksheet, or open and print one from the link. You will find a printable version in Appendix 1. Fill in the outline with your best ideas.
3. Write: Follow your outline as you write a first draft of your opinion paragraph. Don’t worry too much about spelling and grammar. Just get your ideas down in a way that makes sense. At this point, you may want to put your draft aside so you can look at it with fresh eyes later.
4. Edit: Use a different colour to make edits to your writing. Check to see how it sounds when you read it out loud. Is the meaning clear? Are there any details that are missing or off topic? Should you use different sentence types to make it flow more smoothly? Are there any words that you want to change to make your writing more alive? (Use a thesaurus to find more interesting vocabulary words.) Are all your sentences complete? Do you need to check the spelling of any words in a dictionary?
5. Rewrite: Write a final copy of your paragraph that includes all your edits. You may wish to type it on a computer. Finally, hand it in to your instructor.
Answer Key
Attributions
Mouse
Image by jarmoluk is in the public domain.
Map of the United States
Image by ClkerFreeVectorImages is in the public domain.