Halloween is just around the corner, and there’s no better way to put you in the mood than with some scary horror movies. Below are some of the best Blu-ray movies available. They range from the truly horrifying (Carrie, Halloween, and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre), to the somewhat lighter side (Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn and The Nightmare Before Christmas). But all these movies are sure to frighten and entertain you and your friends this Halloween.

The Shining [Blu-ray]
Many consider this to be THE greatest horror film ever made. Writer Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, becomes the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel in a secluded part of Colorado. Jack brings along his family. His wife, played by Shelly Duvall and their young son stay with him at the hotel. The hotel is abandoned during the winter, Jack will have only his family for company. Strange and eerie things begin to happen during their stay at the hotel. Danny, Jack’s son, is able to envisions brutally graphic images by a force called ‘the shining’. Jack is soon affected by this. With a serious case of writer’s block and the evil demons of the hotel tormenting him, Jack has a mental breakdown and begins his own version of family bonding fun.

Video Quality:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanlish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Special Features:
- The Making of “The Shining”
- View from the Overlook: Crafting “The Shining”
- Wendy Carlos, Composer
- The Visions of Stanley Kubrick

Bram Stoker’s Dracula [Blu-ray]

The often told story of Dracula takes on new life, in this extravagant and lavish production. With outstanding performances from Gary Oldman as the Count and Winona Rydar as Mina Murray. They play star-crossed lovers, who’s turbulent romance transcends the centuries. Mina is engaged to another man and the Count feeds off the living. The cast also includes Anthony Hopkins, who is Van Helsing, the vampire slayer. Who plays the part with the perfect amount of gusto. As does Tom Waits as Renfield, the hapless slave Of Count Dracula, who has a fondness for the blood of cats and insects. Sadie Frost makes for a vibrant Lucy Westenra. And then there is Keanu Reeves, who plays Jonathon Harker; fiance to Mina Murray. In his version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula; Francis Ford Coppola has made a film that has a bit of everything; blood and gore, high-speed horseback chases, lots of passion and longing. What more can you ask for Halloween.

Video Quality:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Hungarian: Dolby Digital 5.1
Czech: Dolby Digital 5.1
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Russian: Dolby Digital 4.0
Special Features:
- Introduction by FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
- Audio Commentary by FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA
- Deleted Scenes
- The Blood is the Life: The Making of Dracula
- The Costumes are the Sets: The Design of Eiko Ishioka, In-Camera: The Naive Visual Effects of Dracula
- Method and Madness: Visualizing Dracula)
- Youth Without Youth Trailer

An American Werewolf in London (Full Moon Edition) [Blu-ray]

Simply put An American Werewolf in London is a cult classic, featuring groundbreaking make-up effects by Academy Award winner Rick Baker. Its combination of the macabre and biting sense of humor make it one the most astonishing horror movies ever made. Directed by John Landis, of National Lampoon’s Animal House; he puts his own spin on the classic werewolf tale. Set in London, it is about two American tourists who venture out for a stroll on the Moors one night during a full moon. One violent wolf attack later and their lives are changed forever. Also included in this digitally remastered Full Moon Edition is the new feature-length documentary Beware the Moon.

Video Quality:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS 2.0 Mono
German: DTS 2.0 Mono
Italian: DTS 2.0 Mono
Spanish: DTS 5.1
Special Features:
- Beware the Moon (SD, 1:37:37)
- I Walked with a Werewolf (1080i, 7:31)
- Making An American Werewolf in London: An Original Featurette (SD, 5:15)
- An Interview with John Landis (SD, 18:20)
- Makeup Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London (SD, 11:14)
- Casting of the Hand (SD, 10:59)
- Outtakes (SD, 3:08)
- Storyboards (SD, 2:28)
- Photograph Montage (SD, 3:45)
- Feature Commentary with Cast Members David Naughton and Griffin Dunne
- BD-Live Functionality

Carrie [Blu-ray]

It “catches the mind, shakes it and refuses to let it go”; this is what Time magazine said about Carrie, the movie based on the best-selling Stephen King novel. Other critics like Robert Ebert; “absolutely spellbinding” and the Los Angeles Times “outrageously witty” agree. Making this one of the all time great classic horror movies. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie give Academy Awarded nominated performances, in this quintessential revenge story. The story revolves around a girl named Carrie (Spacek), who is cruelly and often picked on in high school. A misfit with out any friends or confidence, and who is unaware of her extraordinary telekinesis powers. But with the help of her deranged mother and masochistic schoolmates who push her to the breaking point, she unleashes her wrath onto anyone who gets in her way. She leaves in her wake a cinematic flurry of blood, fire and brimstone.

Video Quality:
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English Mono
Spanish Mono
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Special Features:
- 1080p Trailers for:
Carrie
The Amityville Horror
The Terminator

Evil Dead II: Dead by Dawn [Blu-ray]
Evil Dead II is more of a remake than a sequel. Armed with a higher budget, writer-director Sam Rami was able to bring more decapitations, zombies, supernatural monsters and bloodshed. Even with these elements involved, the movie itself is a hilarious, finely tuned slapstick satire of horror films. Rami takes ever horror cliche and amplifies it with extraordinary special effects, along with jeering juvenile humor. The plot is a simple one, several teenagers go to the country for a holiday. They stay in a broken down cabin in the woods, miles from anywhere. There they discover the Book of the Dead. Soon the accidentally unleash a supernatural evil being that kill everyone. All except the character Ash. Played by Bruce Campbell, in one of the greatest frenzied feats of physical comedy every seen on film. He spend most of the film getting his body brutalized while fighting this supernatural evil. While mainly unseen in theaters, this film has become a hugely influential cult video.

Video Quality:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: LPCM 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Special Features:
- Commentary featuring writer/director Sam Raimi, actor Bruce Campbell, co-writer Scott Spiegel, and make-up artist Greg Nicotero.
- “Film Fast Facts.”
- Evil Dead 2: Behind-The-Screams (480p, 17 minutes)
- The Gore the Merrier (480p, 32 minutes)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army [Blu-ray]

The sequel to Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy, The Golden Army continues the stroy of the red demon superhero and his friends. An ancient treaty between humans and creatures is broken by an evil elf. He declares war against humanity and he attempts to revive The Golden Army to help him wage this war. The Golden Army is a group of deadly fighting machines who can bring the human race to its end. It is up to Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his crew, Liz (Selma Blair), Abe (Doug Jones) and protoplasmic mystic Johann, to stop the evil elf before The Golden Army can destroys them all.

Video Quality:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Special Features:
- 2 Audio Commentaries
- Documentary
- Featurettes
- Deleted Scenes
- Still Galleries
- Digital Copy

Halloween [Blu-ray]

One chilly Halloween night in Haddonfield, Illinois in 1963, a six year old child named Micheal Myers viciously killed his teenage sister after she had sex with her boyfriend. Micheal is taken to Smith’s Grove Warren County Sanitarium and locked up under the care of Dr. Simon Loomis. The doctor is the only one who truly see the evil that is within Micheal Myers. Michael is able to escape the sanitarium on October 1978. Dr. Loomis is witness to the escape and travels to Haddonfield, Illinois where he knows Michael will murder again once Halloween night arrives. Michael soon stakes three teenage girls, Laurie Strode, Annie and Lynda. Along with the local sheriff, Dr. Loomis tries to track down Michael and stop him from his savage killings.

Video Quality:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audio Quality:
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Digital Mono
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary
- Documentary
- Theatrical Trailer

Halloween Starter Pack (Land of the Dead / Dawn of the Dead / The Thing) [Blu-ray]

This box set includes three blu-ray movies ‘The Thing (1982),’ ‘Land of the Dead’ and ‘Dawn of the Dead (2004).’ Each is on an individual disc, and identical as the previously-released stand-alone editions.

The Thing: John Carpenter is at his terrifying best with this sci-fi thriller. A 12 man research team gets standard in the Antarctica and stumbles upon an alien being that has been buried there for over 100,000 years.

Land of the Dead: In a modern day world where the walking dead roam the streets, the remaining living people try to eke out a normal life behind the walls of a fortified city. Quickly, a new socity emerges built by a few merciless opportunist. They dwell in the high skyscrapers high above the mean and deadly streets. However, beyond the city walls, the army of the dead is slowly evolving and soon treating the city’s survival. Mercenaries are hired to fight this threat.

Dawn of the Dead: Zombies have taken over, resulting in chaos and carnage. Four frighten survivors seek refuse inside a shopping mall. The barricade themselves there and fight the ever relentless zombie horde. This classic horror film still remains as a landmark in make-up effects (Tom Savini), and is truly one of the most important films in the horror genre.

Video Quality:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audio Quality:
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
French: DTS 5.1
Special Features:
Land of the Dead
- The Remaining Bits (480p, 2:56)
- When Shaun Met George (480p, 12:59)
- Land of the Dead. Scenes of Carnage (480p, 1:43)
- Zombie Effects: From Green Screen to Finished Scene (480p, 3:18)
- Bringing the Storyboards to Life (480p, 7:55)
- Scream Tests: Zombie Casting Call (480p, 1:04)

Interview with the Vampire [Blu-ray]

Horror Author Anne Rice’s much beloved cult classic from 1976 is brought to the screen in this 1994 adaptation. The movie chronicles the life of a 18th-century nobleman Louis de Pointe du Lac, played by Brad Pitt. One night he is bitten by a powerful vampire named Lestat de Lioncourt. Though initially captivated with the life of the undead, Louis is unable to come to grips with the lifestyle. Especially the killing of humans. He soon gets despairing about being undead. To help him, Lestat creates yet another vampire, played by Kirsten Dunst. She is turned when she is a young girl, so therefore will never age. Also, staring in the movie is Antonio Banderas, who plays a 400 year old vampire Armand. Christian Slater plays the radio producer who interviews Louis. Directed by Neil Jordan, the film is able to create the decadence and erotic passion of the novel. While never forgetting its rich darker tones.

Video Quality:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 1.0
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary
- Documentary
- Introduction
- Theatrical Trailer

The Nightmare Before Christmas [Blu-ray]

Digitally restored and remastered with state-of-the-art technology, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS becomes more glorious than ever. The story revolves around the Pumpkin King Jack Skellington, who is getting bored with the same old scary routine he is used to. Wanting to spread the joy of Christmas, his mission soon puts Santa in danger. As well as creating a nightmare for good little boys and girls. Danny Elfman provides the fantastic soundtrack to the imaginations of Tim Buton and Henry Selick film creation. With this Blu-ray edition The Nightmare Before Christmas is now more frightening and extraordinary then ever.

Video Quality:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Audio Quality:
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary
- Documentary
- Tim Burton Short Films
- Tim Burton’s Original Poem
- Featurettes
- Deleted Scenes
- Still Galleries
- Trailers
- DisneyFile Digital Copy

Poltergeist [Blu-ray]

Poltergeist, in the beginning, starts out on a playful tone. The Freeling family having moved into a new housing development, with a somewhat ‘unique’ kitchen; to say the least. But soon things turn darker. One night there is a storm, a tree attacks the family and Carol Anne Freeling is abducted into a spectral void. The family encounters horrors beyond belief in trying to bring young Carol Anne back. Produced by Steven Spielberg and Frank Marshall and directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Poltergeist is a landmark in using special effects to bring out the jaw dropping frights. Whether its floating phantasms, monsters popping out of closets, or an entire house disappearing into nothing, Poltergeist deliverers the scares.

Video Quality:
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Quality:
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: Dolby Surround Stereo
French: Dolby Surround Stereo
Spanish: Dolby Surround Stereo
Special Features:
- Featurette

Saw [Blu-ray]
In a dirty abandoned bathroom, two men wake up to find themselves chained on opposite sides of the room. Between them is a dead man lying in a pool of blood and holding a tape recorder and a revolver. Both men have a cassette tape. When played it reveals a task for both. One is to kill the other by 6:00 or his wife and child will die. Hacksaws are also found, but they are unable to saw through their chains. Both have become victims of the Jigsaw Killer. Through a series of flashbacks we learn of more victim of this killer, who actually never kills anyone. Instead he finds clever and sadistic ways for the victims to either kill themselves or each other. He is meticulous in his planning, with seemingly no way, or is there?

Video Quality:
Video codec: MPEG-2
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio Quality:
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
English: DTS-ES Matrix 6.1
Special Features:
- None

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre [Blu-ray]

Many people have tried to describe The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, calling it grisly, sick, perverse and raw. But without a doubt it is a movie that redefined the horror genre. Churches organized protested against it. Governments went as far as banning the movie. Only a few scant, brave critics dared give the movie any kind of acclaim. Audiences were astounded by it worldwide. Setting a new standard in terror. The writer-producer-director responsible was Tobe Hooper, who in 1974 brought us a story of five friends who face the ultimate nightmare at the hands of a psychotic Texas family. Regarded as one of the most frightening movies ever made, it is also a shining example of independent film-making.

Video Quality:
Video codec: TBA
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio Quality:
English: Dolby Digital 5.1 EX
English: DTS-ES Matrix 6.1
Special Features:
- Audio Commentaries
- Documentaries
- Featurettes
- Still Galleries
- Theatrical Trailers

Disney Princess Snow White was introduced to the world on Dec. 21, 1937. After years of working to produce the first full length film in animation, Walt Disney and his team of 600 talented artists created a milestone in the field of animation. Millions of people watched the first Disney Princess, Snow White.

Walt Disney, an extraordinary human being, an avid cartoonist and storyteller constantly worked for perfection in every way imaginable. He hired the best artists in the country, often recruiting talent from well known art schools and provided in house training for them. His working environment was more like a college campus, complete with guest artists as instructors.

One night, he gathered his team together and enchanted them by telling the story of Snow White, a three hour ordeal. He acted out each and every character. Although it was a long evening, he was beginning to prepare them psychologically for the two long years ahead of them. Creating the image of Snow White took months of discussions and meetings. Everything about the production took longer than expected. Over one hundred and fifty women interviewed to be the voice of Snow White. Walt would never see the person before her voice was heard so that he would not be influenced in any way with her appearance.

The creation of the seven dwarfs was also a time consuming project. Each of the seven dwarfs needed their own personalities and unique characteristics. Months were spent on names, what people each dwarf would be based on and what voices they would have.

The film was completed and shown for the first time to a private group. The audience’s reaction was highly favorable. Walt Disney’s four year-old daughter Diane, had to be escorted out of the movie because she started crying in reaction to some of the scenes. Others cheered, laughed and cried during parts of the movie. Those who attended the first showing of Walt Disney’s film, Snow White, knew they had witnessed a film that would become a milestone in animation. Animation had reach an artistic level that was previously unknown.

The love for Snow White’s feature film had journalists writing things like, “It was among the genuine artistic achievements of this country.” It was the story of young people overcoming hurdles in an adult world and becoming responsible and mature. It was the story of life and its challenges. It is no wonder that so many people loved Snow White, the first Disney Princess.

Snow White, the first full length animated film brought in $6.7 million dollars by May of 1939. It was the highest grossing American film to that point, had run in over 49 countries and had been translated into 10 different languages. It truly set the stage for the birth of many new Disney Princesses to be introduced to generations of fans.

The title itself suggests the novella is related to Eclipse in some way. This is the story Bree Tanner, the newborn vampire who was killed in the war between the armies of Cullens and Victoria. The book follows the six days in the life of the newborn vampire Brees life.

Welcome Change Of Perspective

Even if you didnt expect anything from the book, you would be pleasantly surprised by the enjoyment this off-chute story provides to the readers. The change in perspective is especially likeable, especially after you have read Eclipse. Its a great feeling to be able to see in the mind of a vampire and what sort of blood lust they feel right after they are born. The description of killing and tasting human blood is also very interestingly told.

Well Developed Characters

Despite being a novella, the character of Bree Tanner is extremely well developed though you may end up feeling the ending of Eclipse could have been a bit different. People might wish to see Bree Tanner continue to live knowing well the rules and they might also like to see her as a part of the Cullen family. The other characters people enjoyed reading about include Diego, Fred, and Riley. There were tons of information covered in The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner and the insights provided into the minds of the vampires were priceless (for Twilight fans).

The Readers Are Enamored

The author doesnt expect everyone to be besotted by the book, she is only targeting the teen girls and they are enamored. Other people who didnt enjoy the book, still felt compelled to read them because they did not want to be left out (of current trends). After all, it was the best selling paranormal series of our times. The structure of the novel is different, and there is just a large chunk of text no chapters, no breaks at all.

The Story Has a Steady Pace

The development and pacing of the story is steady throughout, and lack of structure to the book doesnt hurt it at all. There is no drama or dramatic tension, but the development of the story fills all such apparent gaps. It is a readable book, and the interest in the events of the book would increase gradually. The fans would just adore the story and though the non-fans may find it a bit over the top. Bree worries about Diego just like Bella, and then comes slightly hasty vampire battle.

Introduction
Today, schools are witnessing an increased number of students in terms of racial, cultural and ethnic diversity. The classrooms are receiving a large number of students with different needs. The diverse composition of students in classroom has brought about many challenges and opportunities to teachers. Good teachers should be able to consider the individual requirements or needs of their students, formulate the necessary alterations, and tackle those needs. This is not easy to achieve and many teachers have realized that meeting the needs of a diverse class sounds easy on paper than it is practically is. Teachers needs help and support from parents, administrators, colleagues and the whole community in order to create a classroom that can meet all the diverse needs of the students in these mixed ability classrooms (Cherednichenko, 2003)
All classes can be said to have a mixed ability to one degree or another. An extreme case occurs when you have native level speaker students with beginners, this can be extremely challenging for a teacher. In such cases its imperative to remember that each one of the student will get something out of the classroom, save for it may not be necessarily the same thing, and more so not necessarily what the teacher aims to teach them! For instance, the beginners may start to get a grip of the teachers classroom language, while the stronger students may possibly start to be capable of putting a new word tense into exercise. (Bauer & Shea 1999, pp 78-85)

Formulating my own approach
In order for a teacher to effectively teach a mixed classroom, he/she can adapt teaching material through rewriting these materials. However Bauer & Shea (1999, pp 78-85) views this as time consuming and tasking and instead offers some ideas on how a teacher can support weaker students in the class and at the same time provide extension teaching activities to the strong students in the classroom. This can be carried out by the use of same teaching material. The advantage of this method is that the time involved is not a lot and also the class can still be able to work together in many of classroom works.
The table below outlines the various methods that will be used in teaching the four important skills in a mixed ability class (Bauer & Shea 1999, pp 78-85)

Extension activities for stronger studentsSupport for weaker students
readingRequest early finishers to write down new vocabularies up on the board with definitions.

Rewrite a part of the earlier text in a different tense or person.

Write their own personal opinion or a short summary of the text

Write questions concerning the text.
Pre-teach hard vocabulary and leave it written down on the board for students to refer.

Use visuals aids if possible.
If there are gaps, offer students the answers in a disorderly order, with a few extras.

Draw interest to the titles, pictures etc and set the picture beforehand so that their mind is on path for the topic.

Break the text into portions and offer the option of reading only some of the text.

ListeningGive out the tape script and appoint a vocabulary master to look up difficult words or expressions in a dictionary and then explain to the rest of the group.

Put focus on the intonation or accents of the speakers and get students to copy portions.

If its a true or false class activity, follow on by asking why/why not?Pre-teach vocabulary, employ visual prompts where or when appropriate.

Allow students time to discuss their answers before giving a feed back to the class

Offer students the tape script on second listening.

If its a gap fill, provide the words with a few additional.
SpeakingProvide creative assignments that students can perform at their own level.

Show mistakes using correction code to grant students a chance to self-correct. (Gr = grammar, Sp = spelling etc.)

Increase the specified word limit.
Point out where they could use more exciting way of saying something.Correct the draft copy together before students duplicate up in neat

Reduce the amount of word limit.

Encourage use of dictionaries or vocabulary books.
Give an example portion of writing as a model, before they start writing.

Group or pair weaker students with stronger students
writingAsk students to justify or defend their own opinions.

Forbid easy words like nice to drive their vocabulary to a higher level.

Let students record themselves and self-correct.

Pair students of higher level together so as they really go for it.Offer students time to practice and collect their ideas before a discussion or role play.

Pair weak and strong together.

Allow students to create notes before the speaking activity begins. Allow for thinking time.

Rank students on the efforts they make rather than their ability.

Grant weaker students extra listening and thinking time before calling on them to answer particular questions.

Guidelines for good classroom managing with mixed ability groups
Creating a mixed ability class that will cater for the diverse requirements of the students, is particularly difficulty for those teachers who are still new and who are still learning to tackle the daily challenges of the demanding profession. A teacher can not become an all inclusive teacher at once; instead the teacher will have to take time to learn how to meet the requirement of the various diverse groups of students in the mixed ability class. A teacher should focus on all aspects of teaching to be able to benefit all the students and not only those with disabilities. For instance, some students do not have learning disabilities but have difficulties in classroom, will be able to benefit from instructional modifications and adaptations. (Salend, 1998, pp128-132) Mendieta (2004, pp 56-60) also agrees with this, by stating that, a benefit that occurs with learning to carry out adjustments is that it can be used to assist all students. This will assist the teacher to emphasize the point that students learn differently and at the same time help the teacher to show that everyone requires extra assistance once at a time. (Mendieta, 2004, pp 56-60)
In order for a teacher to meet the challenges of teaching a high number of students in a mixed ability class, teachers need to embrace a curriculum and instruction methods that connect and encourage all students. Research done on including students from diverse cultural backgrounds, students from families who do not speak English as their first language, and students with disabilities shows the significance of various interrelated teaching strategies; These strategies includes, but are not limited to:
Heterogeneous grouping of students
Developing appropriate practice
An all inclusive curriculum
Giving Instructions
Error correction
Setting goals
Extra work / homework
Proper teaching materials and environment (Mendieta, 2004, pp 56-60)

Grouping
It may appear contradictory to propose that a teacher should group stronger students together and also should group weak students with strong. Nevertheless, depending on the task of the class and the class dynamics, it is believed there are generally opportunities for both types of suggested grouping. Its will be a good initiative to experiment with mixing up the strong students and weak students at the same time also granting time for stronger students to be able to work together so as the exploit their full potential. The advantages of cooperative group learning to language minority students are;
1.Students of different levels of linguistic adeptness and content know-how work in together in a group which fosters shared learning.
2.Students get a lot of opportunities to use language authentically when working in groups
3.Students get a chance to practice with their English
4.There is a chance to incorporate (English as Second Language) ESL classes
5.Students get an opportunity to use their native language and their prior knowledge. (Mendieta, 2004, pp 56-60)
However, this cooperative group faces a challenge of creating heterogeneous balance of language and academic standards while at the same time challenging all students to enhance their language and academic content. (Mendieta, 2004, pp 56-60)

Developing appropriate practice
Developing proper practice encourages teachers to have a greater understanding of cultural diversity and be able to sensitive in tackling issues of culture. (Mercer & Mercer 1998) notes that, this type of aspect is good when each child is allowed to express share and amplify their personal differences within a classroom. He further observers that this is particularly important for language minority students since it offers them a chance to enrich their experiences. Developing proper approach also allows teacher to be able to adapt the different requirements of the various students in the class and also the teacher to be able to response appropriately to the diverse needs of the student. Mercer & Mercer (1998) note that, by teachers being able to identify and acknowledge the different cultural communications models, teachers can easily assist students in their classrooms and help them gain more confidence and become more comfortable

An inclusive curriculum
This is another way of teaching students in a mixed ability class. Inclusive curriculum put emphasize on strengthening abilities of students and at the same time taking into account the various needs of all students. An all inclusive curriculum should be based on the following characteristics;
Should be based on good theoretical philosophies of how children develop and learn
Should be formulated to attain lasting emotional, cognitive social and physical goals
Has to include achievable and realistic expectations which permit students with diverse capabilities to work at various levels on various activities
Build on what the students ready know
Should Support individual, linguistic and cultural diversity, offering a balance between the majority culture and the minority culture
Be flexible and should be able to adapt to individual student or groups (Bauer & Shea 1999)

Collicotts model
Clearly, for a teacher to be able to meet the needs of all students in a classroom is a difficulty task that needs time and dedication. A lot of teaching techniques has to be used foe a teacher to reach this goal. For instance, the use of multi-level teaching is one teaching technique that can be used in meeting the challenges of diverse needs of students. Salend (1998, pp128-132) outlines the collicotts four step process used in designing the multi-level instructional lessons;
Step 1; identifying underlying concepts
Teachers need to identify and analyze the purposes and materials for the lesson and establish the prospective contents and the difference in the level of the skill. (Salend, 1998, pp128-132)
Step II; considering the method of presentation
Teachers need to consider the various learning approaches, cognitive and level of participation of students as well as the different presentation methods that can applies when presenting a lesson. (Salend, 1998, pp128-132)
Step III; considering ways of student performance and practice
Teachers need to put into consideration the various ways in which students can practice and demonstrate mastery of their skills and also concepts. Teachers also should use ways for teaching their students to accept the different response methods for showing skill mastery and also understanding the concept. (Salend, 1998, pp128-132)
Step IV; considering methods of evaluation
Teachers should consider different ways in which they can assess the students performance. (Salend, 1998, pp128-132)
Thus, teachers need to come up with different strategies in teaching to be able to meet the different needs of each student. For example the teacher needs to incorporate various instructions methods when teaching a diverse class. At the same time the assessment tests need to be modified accordingly depending on the particular student the teacher is assessing. Collicotts model is an important step in guiding teachers to be more responsive to the needs of different students.

Giving Instructions
Providing clear instructions is very important for the weaker students and those with language problem to be capable to follow up the class. I will use hand gestures and also words to clarify the tasks and use stronger students to counter check the instructions and even explain the assignment in their own language if required. (McDonnell, et al 1997, pp109-112)
Error correction
In correcting errors, stronger students can possibly stand extra correction. However a teacher should not over correct weak students as it may affect their self-confidence. He /she should encourage students to correct each other and stipulate a higher level of accurateness from the stronger students. (McDonnell, et al 1997, pp109-112)

Setting goals
Setting goals is important in managing the mixed class, setting goals for every class or for the entire term will assist to focus the students. The goals set can be dissimilar for each student, depending on their abilities and level, however realizing these goals will give students same sense of achievement. (McDonnell, et al 1997, pp109-112)

Extra work / homework
It is simple idea to offer different students different homework, except if it is part of a standardized testing procedure. A teacher should give weaker students extra work or homework which really does combine the class work, and at similarly give the stronger students work that will broaden their knowledge or which can put it to the test a little more. It should be understood that upon teaching mixed ability classes, the weaker students will definitely be missing some things during the lesson, or will fail to understand. Thus a teacher should use homework to deal with this issue. The stronger students might feel held back when in the class, thus homework can now actually push them, (if they are so inclined!)
Writing assignments are good for homework as a productive skill which, can be performed individually. A teacher will have to expect extra from the stronger students, and use this as a way to identify their own weaknesses, which might not be so clear during the class.

Proper teaching material and tools
Proper teaching material and tools in a mixed ability classes is important in ensuring that the teacher meets the diverse requirements of the students. Mercer & Mercer (1998, pp 89-98) points out that, classroom arrangement affects the level of students interaction in a classroom. The teacher thus has a responsibility of structuring the classroom in a way that it allows all students to get involved in different classroom activities and group activities. All children in a classroom have environmental needs such as furniture, which should be proper in size and comfortable, well and easily accessible bathrooms and sinks. Teachers need to make sure that their classrooms provide these facilities in order to provide the students needs. (Bauer & Shea 1999, pp 78-85)

Conclusion
Being a good teacher who can meet all the needs of different students is not an easy job. However, the first important step towards achieving that task is being conscious of the challenge. A teacher as a responsibility to ensure that all students in a classroom understand his/her lessons in class. It is upon the teacher to make the necessary adaptations and adjustments to be able to meet the diverse needs of the students in the mixed ability class. Proper practices, an all inclusive curriculum, a multicultural approach and extra work are some of the methods that a teacher can implement to ensure that he/she meets the diverse requirements of students in a mixed ability classes. The support of the parents and the whole community is also important in ensuring that the teacher is able to meet the diverse requirements of the student. Parents have a strong responsibility in building the students talents and abilities and offering proper care. However, as classes continuous to be more diverse in terms of race and ethnicity teachers will continue to be faced with a challenge meeting the needs of diverse students in a mixed ability class setting and the biggest challenge remains in formulating proper ways of dealing with the issue.

Reference:
Bauer, A. M & Shea, T. M (1999): Inclusion 101 How to Teach All Learners. Baltimore; MD: Paul H; Brookes Publishing Co. pp 78-85

Carter, M. (1999): Mentoring and teacher professional learning: a review of the literature. Department of Education and Training, Ryde NSW, pp 60-68

Cherednichenko B. (2003). The Principles and Practices of Effective Induction of Beginning Teachers: Researching teacher learning with the Victorian Institute of Teaching; Paper presented to the Australian Teacher Education Association Conference, Melbourne; July, 2003

Mercer, C. D & Mercer, A. R (1998): Teaching Students with Learning Problems. 5th Edition; Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc, pp 89-98

McLaren, P. (2003): Life in schools: An introduction of critical pedagogy in the foundations of education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Mendieta, J. (2004): Connecting students and parents through literacy practices. Unpublished B.A. monograph, pp 56-60

Salend, S. J. (1998): Effective Mainstreaming Creating Inclusive Classrooms (3rd Ed.); Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, pp128-132

Pineda, C. (2002): Knowledge base for ESL/EFL educators: What does it mean? PROFILE Journal, 3, pp 9-14.

Norwich, B. and Weddell, K. (1994): Working Together: Inter-School Collaboration for Special Needs. London, David Fulton Publishers
Krueger, R. (1994): Focus groups; A practical guide for applied research (2nd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
McDonnell, L. M, et al (1997): Educating one and all: Students with disabilities and standards-based reform. National Research Council, Washington, DC: National Academy Press. pp 109-112
Thompson, S., & Thurlow, M. (2001): State special education outcomes: A report on state activities at the beginning of a new decade. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, National Centre on Educational Outcomes.

These are difficult times, people have lost their jobs and their income cut down and businesses being shut down. So it”s no surprise that people have been looking for alternate income streams.

Alternate income stream encompasses a broad area where you can make money through multiple resources and this can be offline and online.

When it come to online income resources then one of the leaders out there is no doubt Google”s product Adsense. Adsense is an online advertising system where websites, blogs and companies make tons of money by showing relevant ads on their pages which when clicked by the visitor result into income for the website. Another Google product is Adwords, which to make it sound extremely simple is just the opposite of adsense where individuals or companies pay google to show their ads on pages and this gets them their target audience which may buy their product.

So where does the make money part fit into all this? Well adsense is one of the most trusted ways to make money (it”s a Google product after all) specially if you want an alternate income stream, ie you don”t want to quite your day job (yet!) but would like to grab some extra cash by working at your own schedule and at your own ease.

There is much hype about earning through adsense but one thing to remember here is that its not a piece of cake for many people and for many reasons. Adsense is not about putting custom generated script on your website or blog and then expecting and waiting for visitors to click on the ad and dollars to roll in, adsense just doesn”t work this way.

Just like any other successful business adsense also needs dedication and skills. You need to try different stuff until some thing proves to be successful. It involves trial and error, Website marketing, SEO etc, and this is where things get rough since making a website and writing articles is pretty easy for most people but when you have to employ SEO to market yourself and your website then things turn bad. But this should not dampen your spirits least bit.

When you are starting out on any career path or business, you need someone to hold your hand and guide you along the rough path, and same is the case for online careers. There is so much garbage out there in the name of “online money making guides” that frankly it”s very difficult to trust anyone. So it”s a treat to find someone who would take your success as a personal matter and guide you step by step all along the way till you reach a point where you can actually start making some income online (albeit not a big one in the start but eventually you”ll get there !).

Now the BIG question is who is going to be your mentor and your guide for online success? Well have you ever heard of Jeremy Shoemaker?? If you are really serious about earning money online and you have not heard of shoemaker system then its high time that you do check out his website

What is Mass Communication?

Mass Communication is a term used to describe the academic study of several means of communication by which individuals and entities relay information to large number of the population through mass media.

What is Mass Media?

Mass media is that particular medium through which the information is communicated to a large number of the audience. Today! There are number of mediums available to transmit the information and each medium has its own merits. Print, radio and Television are some of the medium through which one can connect instantly with the masses. Internet is also an another medium which has gained huge popularity in recent years, though the media is a young medium which is gradually overtaking other mediums.

Mass Communication is the study of mass media that includes all types of medium used to convey the information to the audience. Following are the examples of mass media: magazines, newspapers, cinema films, television, radio etc. The graduates of Mass Communication programs work in various fields in news media and publishing, public relations as well as research institutes.

Courses of mass communication includes various branches:

Students who are have joined courses in mass communication or programme from Management Colleges of India, can also write to us and give their reviews and feedback.

Copywriting is one of the essential elements of Internet marketing. The art and science of copywriting includes the strategic putting together of words to promote a person, product, service or simply an idea with the ultimate purpose of making a reader take a certain form of action.

Whether you are looking into selling something over the internet or in building traffic by earning links from others, you will need to tell moving stories that will grab attention and will connect with people so that they will respond in the way that you want.

There are many copywriting tutorials and great online copywriting course that you can find online. Some of these online copywriting courses and tutorials are packed with comprehensive lessons and tips in doing the job properly. Some even include intensive copywriting training with complete references and recommendations from certain professionals. An online copywriting course available online can be downloaded or bought in DVD format.

Among the many topics that are tackled in an online copywriting course are things that any aspiring copywriter must know for him to be able to write. Such topics are:

1. Print Ads

Since most copywriters land in advertising jobs, rookie copywriters should spend some time learning about print advertising. When you understand what makes a print ad effective and sellable, you can then move into learning about other medium such as flyers, yellow pages ads and newsletters. Writing print ads can also be a great way in starting samples for your own portfolio.

2. Brochures

It is not enough that you sit down and try to write to brochure. You should learn the fundamentals in writing one – how the brochure fits into the buying process, if the brochure will stand alone or be tied in with other mediums and what the selling points will be. You have to understand the different types of brochures and then start to find a niche among them.

3. Direct Mail

Writing direct mails broadens your knowledge of writing brochures. Every direct mail package is different. Some may include a sales letter or a response card. Others could have a sales letter and a brochure as well. Being familiar with direct mails helps you be exposed to a different side of advertising that some advertising agencies specialize in exclusively. This can be a great tool to have if you find out that you enjoy writing direct mails.

4. Commercials

Television commercials will help you learn how to write a matching audio and video output. Creating a 30-second TV commercial script can already be a very good exposure in the world of copywriting. Your script needs to have perfect timing. And while you incorporate audio and video, you will also learn about the use of fonts, graphics and will learn how to play with other effects in the commercial. You must also know about writing for radio commercials as well while you’re at it. You can use both TV and radio commercials as additional input in your portfolio.

5. Websites

Being able to write copy for websites is a necessity for every copywriter. Even large companies that do not sell products online need a website, so having someone maintaining the company’s website is something every company should do. And this is where you being the copywriter comes in.

In this article I am going to share a mistake that I see more Internet Marketers making everyday. This mistake is costing them hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I’m not sure if they are making the mistake because of a lack of knowledge or if they are just trying to save a few bucks.

I am going to do more than explain what mistake my fellow marketers are making, I am also going to show you how to avoid falling into the same trap. Since I am in such a great mood while writing this article I may just throw in a few other awesome tips to help you out.

If you have been online for any length-of-time knows the value of building a highly targeted responsive list. This is by far the most important task that an internet marketer could and should be doing. Seventy to seventy-five percent of your effort should be focusing on this task when your first starting out.

Without fail my heart is filled with joy every time I stumble across a website and I see that the marketer is building a list. That is an indication that he or she is on the right path. In my efforts of constant and never ending improvement I make it a habit to opt-in to every list I come across, I like to study the various techniques. I highly recommend that you setup a new account and do the same.

Anyway moving on… I was shocked to find out that the majority of my fellow Internet Marketers where using some sort of free script or blog plugin to manage their list. Although they may have good intentions the problem is they are going about it the wrong way. If you are running a script or plugin from your own sever then chances are the majority of your messages aren’t going through due to spam list filters.

Chances are you have cheap web hosting right? Chances are you are satisfied with your web hosting provider right? Have you ever asked yourself why is that web hosting so cheap? If you haven’t asked those questions you should. The hardcore truth is your web hosting is affordable because you are using what’s called a shared I.P. address. When you go to send out an email to your subscribers it appears to that you are spamming in some cases. Services like Gmail, Yahoo, etc.. have spam list filters in place that stop your email before your subscriber ever has a chance to see it.

Look at it this way… You wouldn’t go to an auto mechanic to have open heart surgery done so why would you try to do a job of a professional yourself. Use professional companies to host your list and to be in charge of sending your emails out. There are numerous advantages to you using a professional. There are to many advantages to list in this article. At least look into it – I promise you it will be the best Internet Marketing decision that you will ever make.

I really hope that you see the value in this article, and you follow my advice by allowing the professionals to do their job. If you take that sound advice I promise you that you will notice an immediate increase in your opt-in conversion ratio. For those of you who are not currently building a list all I can say is shame on you! Stop whatever your doing and start building your list today.