Reading, Writing and Speaking in the Real World

Students in the "Reading, Writing and Speaking in the Real World" seminar have studied and crafted various types of writing - beyond the 5-paragraph essay. The pieces shown here are modeled after the short news clips and new product ads that appear in various news, fashion, and business publications. (Submitted by Mrs. Whelan)

Gluten Free Eating Made Easy 

by Stephanie V. 

About 7 years ago, avoiding gluten was practically unheard-of, but today, about one-third of Americans claim to be “gluten-free”. Avoiding bread and wheat is one thing, but what does being truly gluten-free really entail? Well, anyone with celiac disease would be able to tell you. Celiac disease is a disease that makes the small intestine “hyper-sensitive” to gluten, resulting in extreme nausea, and scarring of the small intestine if gluten is continually eaten. So just avoid gluten right? Well, no. Making something gluten-free means it cannot even be touched by gluten, and If it is an animal product, the animal cannot have eaten gluten. Eating at a restaurant, or even having dinner at a friends house can be a nightmare.

That’s why 6SensorLabs created a portable device can test if there is gluten in a meal. Small enough to fit in a pocket, the device contains a disposable food capsule in which you put a small portion of the meal for testing. After 2-3 minutes, you will have your results by the display of a smiley or frowny face on the small screen of the device. If you see a smiley face, the food is safe to eat!

Shoe Fashion 

 by Kayli B.

When you think of high-end shoes, you probably picture shoes like stilettos or shoes with high-end labels like Michael Kors or Marc Jacobs. But what you might not know is that the shoes you probably wore when you were a kid are making a high-fashion comeback. Comfortably beautiful shoes are in and painfully beautiful heels are out! Shoes like Birkenstocks that I’m wearing on my feet right now have made a comeback and now they’re bigger than ever! Fashion stylists like Chanel, Marni, and Celine have even taken the leap out of their high heels and into what they call "normcore" footwear. Even the ‘’Duck boots’’ that had all the hype when you were a kid is still a major trend... so Birkenstocks can stick around too! These shoes have gotten great talk and they don’t look like they’re going anywhere. So try it out! Ditch the heels and slip into something that’s easy on the eye and on the feet!