Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Agenda, September 30

Due Dates:

  • Due Now: Bring your Language of Composition Text
  • Due Thursday: "None of This is Fair," by Richard Rodriguez (handout). Before you read, you should skim this online article to familiarize yourself with the concept of affirmative action. (A note about the article: I didn't particularly like the website and I'd certainly avoid clicking on any of the ads, but the content was solid.)
  • Due Friday: Education Narrative about a time when you struggled to learn something. 
  • Due Monday, October 5: Common Place #2 based on an editorial that addresses an issue from our education discussion on the first day of class. For Common Place #2 only, you may use an editorial that is up to one year old.   
Agenda
  1. Education Essay Questions
  2. Are you appositive about that?
  3. A Visual Argument About Education

Monday, September 28, 2015

Agenda, September 29

Due Dates:
  • Due Now: "'I Just Wanna Be Average'," by Mike Rose (handout) 
  • Due Wednesday: Bring your Language of Composition Text
  • Due Thursday: "None of This is Fair," by Richard Rodriguez (handout). Before you read, you should skim this article to familiarize yourself with the concept of affirmative action. (A note about the article: I didn't particularly like the website and I'd certainly avoid clicking on any of the ads, but the content was solid.)
  • Due Friday: Education Narrative about a time when you struggled to learn something. 
  • Due Monday, October 5: Common Place #2 based on an editorial that addresses an issue from our education discussion on the first day of class. For Common Place #2 only, you may use an editorial that is up to one year old.   
Agenda

  1. Education Essay Questions
  2. SOAPSTone / Rhetorical Devices Search and Destroy
  3. An "Average" whole class discussion
  4. An "Average" Structure

Friday, September 25, 2015

Agenda, September 28

Due Dates:
  • Due Now: "'I Just Wanna Be Average'," by Mike Rose (handout) 
  • Due Now: Synthesis Paragraph in which you support your opinion with quotations from two different sources that we've read. Typed. Double spaced. (I didn't say this in class, but you should be used to this by now. When you read this note, pass this info along to your "guy."
  • Due Thursday: "None of This is Fair," by Richard Rodriguez (handout). Before you read, you should skim this article to familiarize yourself with the concept of affirmative action. (A note about the article: I didn't particularly like the website and I'd certainly avoid clicking on any of the ads, but the content was solid.)
  • Due Friday: Education Narrative about a time when you struggled to learn something. 
  • Due Monday, October 5: Common Place #2 based on an editorial that addresses an issue from our education discussion on the first day of class. For Common Place #2 only, you may use an editorial that is up to one year old.   
Agenda

  1. Education Essay Questions
  2. Show, Don't Tell
  3. Urgent questions about "'Average'"
  4. SOAPSTone
  5. An "Average" Structure

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Agenda, September 24

Due Dates:
  • Due Now: "Me Talk Pretty One Day," by David Sedaris, in The Language of Composition 
  • Due Monday: "'I Just Wanna Be Average'," by Mike Rose (handout) 
  • Due Monday: Synthesis Paragraph in which you support your opinion with quotations from two different sources that we've read. 
  • Due Friday, October 2: Education Narrative about a time when you struggled to learn something.   
Agenda

  1. TEP Review / Synthesis Questions
  2. Education Brainstorm
  3. "Talk Pretty" in small groups
  4. "Talk Pretty" as a whole class

Education Narrative

Education Narrative
Due Friday, October 2

Write a three – five page narrative about a time when you struggled to master something difficult. This learning may be small or significant, in school or out. You may have learned an idea or a skill. It’s not important whether you were successful in your learning; your essay is about the process, not the result.

Typed. Double Spaced. Twelve point. No blank lines between paragraphs, except to indicate a major shift in tone or setting. Three – five pages. Don’t forget a title.

Required: One intentionally, effectively placed appositive. Underlined.

Required: A header with your name and the page of the essay in the upper right hand corner.

Suggested: Three possible structures. 1) Begin at the end, then explain how you got there. 2) Alternate narration of the action with reflection on the action. 3) Traditional beginning, middle, end narration.

Audience: 1) An educated reader. 2) Yourself.

Purpose: 1) To explore the nature and process of acquiring knowledge 2) To explore your role in learning 3) To identify effective or ineffective strategies for learning 4) To tell a good story.

Excellent topics are not limited to major epiphanies. Sometimes great wisdom lies in exploring the little details. Write about an experience you remember vividly and can describe honestly, even if you weren’t successful in your endeavors.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Agenda, September 23

Due Dates:
  • Due Now: "Learning to Read," by Malcolm X (handout). Be sure to look up the allusions in addition to the vocab.
  • Due Now: TEP Paragraph about any strategy in any text we've read as a class so far. Typed. Double spaced. MLA header. 
  • Due Thursday: "Me Talk Pretty One Day," by David Sedaris, in The Language of Composition 
  • Due Monday: "'I Just Wanna Be Average'," by Mike Rose (handout) 
  • Due Monday: Synthesis Paragraph in which you support your opinion with quotations from two different sources that we've read.   
Agenda

  1. TEP Topic Sentences 
  2. More to say about "Learning to Read"?
  3. Allusions in "Learning to Read"
  4. SOAPSTone

Monday, September 21, 2015

Agenda, September 22

Due Dates:
  • Due Now: "Learning to Read," by Malcolm X (handout). Be sure to look up the allusions in addition to the vocab.
  • Due Tomorrow: TEP Paragraph about any strategy in any text we've read as a class so far. Typed. Double spaced. MLA header. 
  • Due Thursday: "Me Talk Pretty One Day," by David Sedaris, in The Language of Composition   
Agenda

  1. It's okay to write badly 
  2. Common Place Review
  3. Open discussion on "Learning to Read"
  4. Allusions in "Learning to Read"
  5. Note check

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Agenda, September 21

Due Dates:
  • Due Now: "Learning to Read and Write," by Frederick Douglass (handout)
  • Due Now: "Learning to Read," by Malcolm X (handout). Be sure to look up the allusions in addition to the vocab.
  • Due Now: Common Place #1
  • Due Wednesday: TEP Paragraph about any strategy in any text we've read as a class so far. Typed. Double spaced. MLA header. 
  • Due Thursday: "Me Talk Pretty One Day," by David Sedaris, in The Language of Composition   
Agenda
  1. Common Place Discussion
  2. An essay about race or an essay about education?
  3. Open discussion on "Learning to Read"
  4. Allusions in "Learning to Read"

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Agenda, September 18

Due Dates:
  • Due Now: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition
  • Due Friday: "Learning to Read and Write," by Frederick Douglass (handout)
  • Due Monday: "Learning to Read," by Malcolm X (handout). Be sure to look up the allusions in addition to the vocab.
  • Due Monday: Common Place #1
  • Due Wednesday: TEP Paragraph about any strategy in any text we've read so far. Typed. Double spaced. MLA header.   
Agenda
  1. Learning v. Education
  2. What's an allusion?
  3. Say / Does Analysis
  4. Urgent Questions about "Learning to Read and Write"
  5. An essay about race or an essay about education?

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Agenda, September 17

Due Dates:
Agenda
  1. Three things I need to say about "Superman and Me ..."
  2. Search and Destroy Rhetorical Devices
  3. Say / Does Analysis

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Agenda, September 16

Due Dates:
  • Now: "Education," by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in The Language of Composition 
  • Due Now: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition
  • Due Friday: "Learning to Read and Write," by Frederick Douglass (handout)
  • Due Monday, September 21: Common Place #1  
Agenda
  1. What does Emerson have to do with you?
  2. Why does Emerson contradict himself?
  3. Search and Destroy Rhetorical Devices
  4. Three things I need to say about "Superman and Me ..."

Monday, September 14, 2015

Agenda, September 15

Due Dates:
  • Now: "Education," by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in The Language of Composition 
  • Due Wednesday: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition
  • Due Friday: "Learning to Read and Write," by Frederick Douglass (handout)
  • Due Monday, September 21: Common Place #1  
Agenda
  1. Vocabulary in Emerson
  2. Emerson and the Four A's

Common Place Assignment, 2015-16

You might want to bookmark this page: 
  1. Find an editorial or opinion article about the subject of your choice. Make sure it's interesting to you and about a significant subject. The article should have been written within the last two weeks. 
  2. Begin with a standard MLA header.
  3. Write a one paragraph summary. Your topic sentence should include the author, the title, the source, and the purpose of the piece. Follow MLA for formatting titles. 
  4. Below your summary, create a t-chart that lists the author's purpose on one side and a counterargument on the other side. You'll probably need to invent the counterargument. 
  5. For the author's purpose, list three pieces of evidence or arguments the author provides and label each as ethos, pathos, or logos. You don't need one example of each appeal; you simply need to accurately label the arguments you include.  
  6. For the counterargument, list three arguments against the author's claim and label each as ethos, pathos, or logos. These may come from the piece itself or you may need to invent them. They do not need to refute the arguments in favor directly. You don't need one example of each appeal; you simply need to accurately label the arguments you include.  
  7. At the bottom of your document, cite the article in MLA format. It's okay to put your citation on the same page as your paragraph and chart. 
  8. Type it. You may single space your summary. Be sure to double space your citation. 

Looking for a model? Click here.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Agenda, September 14

Due Dates:
  • Now: Bring both your argument and your narrative.
  • Now: 10 new words in your argument
  • Now: "Education," by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in The Language of Composition 
  • Due Wednesday: "Superman and Me," by Sherman Alexie, in The Language of Composition
  • Due Friday: "Learning to Read and Write," by Frederick Douglass (handout)
  • Due Monday, September 21: Common Place #1  
Agenda
  1. Common Place #1
  2. 10 Words
  3. Narrative Revision Task
  4. "Mixed-up" Notes
  5. Vocabulary in Emerson
  6. Emerson and the Four A's

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Agenda, September 11

Due Dates:
  • Now: Bring both your argument and your narrative.
  • Now: "Budget Mix-Up .." (Handout). Practice your "How to Read" skills
  • Now: Rhetorical Devices Quiz
  • Monday: "Education," by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in The Language of Composition 
Agenda
  1. Does anybody know what day it is?
  2. Rhetorical Devices Quiz
  3. The Return of the Justice Essay / Notes
  4. 10 Steps for Reading Archaic Texts
  5. Narrative Revision Task / Persuasive Revision Task
  6. A "Mixed-up" discussion

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Agenda, September 10

Due Dates:
  • Now: A personal narrative about an experience in nature or an experience in the city (in MLA format)
  • Now: "How To Read Essays You Must Analyze." 
  • Now: "Why Don't We Complain?" by William F. Buckley, Jr. (Handout). Apply the strategies in "
    How To Read Essays You Must Analyze" to "Why Don't We Complain?"
  • Now: Bring both your argument and your narrative.
  • Now: "Budget Mix-Up .." (Handout). Practice your "How to Read" skills
  • Tomorrow: Rhetorical Devices Quiz
  • Monday: "Education," by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in The Language of Composition 
Agenda
  1. To the Library
  2. Hyperbole, Understatement, Litotes 
  3. What is a reversal?
  4. Narrative Peer Review
  5. Narrative Revision Task
  6. A "Mixed-up" discussion
  7. Last minute questions about rhetorical strategies

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Agenda, September 9

Due Dates:
  • Now: A personal narrative about an experience in nature or an experience in the city (in MLA format)
  • Now: "How To Read Essays You Must Analyze." 
  • Now: "Why Don't We Complain?" by William F. Buckley, Jr. (Handout). Apply the strategies in "
    How To Read Essays You Must Analyze" to "Why Don't We Complain?"
  • Tomorrow: Bring both your argument and your narrative.
  • Tomorrow: "Budget Mix-Up .." (Handout). Practice your "How to Read" skills
  • Friday, September 11: Rhetorical Devices Quiz
Agenda
  1. Simile, Metaphor, Analogy
  2. "Why Don't We Complain?" Whole Class Discussion
  3. Narrative Peer Review
  4. Narrative Revision Task
  5. Hyperbole, Understatement, Litotes