course syllabus

course schedule

editorial assignment sheet

research guide

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Tuesday, December 5

Today is our last regular class together. Our party at Polk will be Monday, December 11 at 1:30; your final portfolios are due when you come to the party (I'll have a box to put them in). Then, you are free to enjoy your holiday! Thanks for a great semester.

Tuesday, November 28

Only 2 more regular class meetings after today! Here's what to expect: On Thursday, we'll work on your final reflection portfolio -- prewriting, brainstorming, discussing. On Tuesday, the Favorites will lead us in our last ever large-group reflection, and we'll do course evaluations (please bring a pencil). Thursday will be our party at Polk (time to be determined). Your reflection portfolio is due in my office on Monday, December 11 by noon.

Tuesday, November 21

Essays due next Tuesday, November 28. To class, you should bring: 

• a hard copy of your final essay and works cited page
• the copies and feedback you received in the peer workshop

Tuesday, November 14

As you finish up drafting, here's a guide to creating your Works Cited page and some examples of good in-text citation. Don't forget to bring enough copies of your draft for everyone in your group and for me to class on Thursday. This will be your only chance to receive feedback for this essay--don't miss out on that opportunity.

Thursday, November 9

Slight change in schedule; thanks for being flexible! Because of my not-so-great math skills, I miscalculated the amount of time it would take to do our presentations. So a few of you finish up on Tuesday, and for the rest of the class period, we'll work on the writing part of the essay. That means that the Free Birds' discussion-leading will be pushed back to Thursday. Your draft still won't be due until Thursday, but we'll exchange them in class and then you'll spend time over the weekend responding. In class on Tuesday, we'll get into groups and discuss your comments on the essays and we'll talk about documentation and Works Cited. I'll be available to answer last questions. So, here's what you'll need:

For Tuesday: Print this writing guide and bring it to class. Send responses to presentations to the two people you were assigned. *If you're responding to someone who is presenting today, please send your response no later than Wed. morning. 

For Thursday: Bring enough printed copies of your draft for everyone in your group plus one for me. We won't post drafts to the blog this time--they're so long, and I want us to be able to make in-text comments about documentation. You can single-space and change your font size to reduce the number of copies if you'd like. NO REFLECTION THIS TIME; you'll get your last prompt when you get your reflection portfolio assignment (after you've turned in you're research paper).

Thursday, November 2

On Tuesday, we'll begin our oral presentations. You'll have between 8 and 10 minutes to give your presentation, and on the day you aren't presenting, you'll be responsible for responding to two of the presentations your classmates give. Don't forget to have your visual aid ready --- if you'd like to put it up on the projector, make sure you email it to me well before class so I can have everyone's pulled up before presentations begin. Hard copies are fine too; bring 19 copies.

Tuesday, October 31

For Thursday, print and read these handouts on Paraphrasing and Quoting. These are for your reference; you're responsible for using paraphrase and quotation correctly in your essay. For class Thursday, please bring a draft of an outline (it can be rough) of points you hope to make in your presentation. Also bring in a draft of one body paragraph, printed with one sentence per line, double-spaced (enter twice at the end of each sentence). These can be very rough --- we'll do some things with them in class Thursday.

 

Thursday, October 26

Before Tuesday, please email me the three topics you brought to class, with an indication of which one you're leaning towards. For class Tuesday, bring 3 usable articles about the topic you've decided to research. Also, if you want to use delicious as a way to keep track of your sources, sign up for an account and add me to your network (profwest). As you're researching, you might check out this guide, that links to some of the sites we discussed in class.

Tuesday, October 17

On Thursday, instead of having a regular class meeting, I'll meet with each of you individually for midterm conferences. I'll have a grade sheet with your current average for the course and will answer any questions you have about the editorial essay. Final drafts of that essay are due no later than 8 pm Thursday, October 19, emailed to me as Word attachments.

Thursday, October 12

As we discussed in class today, drafts of your editorial should be posted to your group's blog by Friday at 5 pm. Your homework for the weekend is to read and respond to your group's drafts---you'll meet with them in class on Tuesday to discuss your responses---and to respond to Allison and Jasmine's draft if you're in the Discussers' group, Blake's draft if you're in the Favorites, and Kristi's if you're part of the Tag Team. Their drafts can be found on their blog.

Tuesday, October 10

For Thursday: Turn the brainstorming we did in class today into a first draft. Post it to the blog, and bring 2 copies with you to class on Thursday. 

Tuesday, October 3

Your responsibility over the holiday is to decide what you'd like to write your editorial essay about. I've posted a list of topics and articles; you need to choose an issue as represented in a particular article that you'd like to respond to in your essay. You aren't bound to this list; you're welcome to find an article yourself, and anything that we've read in class so far is fair game too. But you do need to make sure that the issue is current and narrow enough to tackle in a short essay. Bring the article(s) you'd like to work with to class next Tuesday.

Thursday, September 28

Essays due by noon tomorrow in my inbox as a Microsoft Word attachment (or an .rtf file). If I don't have your essay by noon, I'll send you an email, so if you don't hear from me, that means I got it!

Homework: Read "Testing, Testing" , "Why Segregation Matters: Poverty and Educational Inequality," and " Meritocracy - Used, Misused, and Abused Chaos"

Thursday, September 21

Your responsibility for the weekend is to read and respond to your peer group's essays. Links to the blogs are posted to the left, and I've posted the guide for responding on each of your group's sites. You are also to be familiar with The Favorites' Essays and be prepared to offer suggestions as they lead us in a discussion of each other's essays on Tuesday: Tag Team, you guys pay particular attention to Courtney and T. Scott's essays; Discussers, you be prepared to offer suggestions to Nikki and Becky; and Free Birds, y'all read Ross's with an eye for what he can improve.

Essays will be due in their final form as emailed Microsoft Word attachments by Friday at noon; that should give you enough time to digest your group's responses and work at revising.

Tuesday, September 19

First group-led reflection on service learning is Thursday! In preparation, your job is to write your first reflective report. In your reflection, I'd like for you to explore your intial impressions of service-learning and compare them to where you are in your thinking about service and education now, after at least a week of tutoring. You might consider how your past experiences shaped your initial attitudes and what experiences at the tutoring site, in our class discussions, or in your reading have either changed or confirmed those intial ideas. Bring your reflection as a typed, single-space page with you to class (as a hard copy.)  Also due: your signed Service-Learning Partnership Agreement.

Thursday, September 14

Check your email for an announcement about extra credit opportunities; the first one is tonight! On Tuesday, a first draft of your educational autobiography is due. We'll discuss format in class today. Due Thursday: your Service-Learning Partnership Agreement signed by you and your teacher.

Tuesday, September 5

Thursday we will meet in the parking lot of Polk Elementary School at 10:50. Two things: please abide by the dress code we discussed in class, and do not be late! We'll walk in together to meet with Mrs. Carter. You also have a writing assignment to do and bring with you; check the course schedule for the prompt.

Thursday, August 31

I've posted the course schedule to the left; from now on, that's where you can find all of the links to your reading and your homework assignments. For Tuesday, you have some reading to do (what, you ask? Go check the links on the schedule!) Also, please bring back your completed schedule form if you haven't already turned it in.

Tuesday, August 29

Welcome to English 1002, section 3. Here is the place where you will find most everything you need for the course, so take some time to look around. Links to our class information are listed on the left; I'll add to them frequently. I will post announcements and due dates here in this column, so you should get used to checking this page frequently.