Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Day 8

English 101 Day 8

Where you should be right now:

1. Caught up on reading.

2. Preparing for quiz on Friday.

3. Considering essay options: Katrina (warnings, evacuation, recovery, race); Global warming (insects, desertification, current droughts); Banking crisis (boom/bust, frozen credit, no regulation, greed, bubbles); Chinese dust storms (over grazing, over use of land, booming economy, environmental crisis).

4. By Friday, you should have some idea of which broad topic you will cover.

5. If you know now, you should be combing through WHT for evidence/quotes and paying attention in class when we mention your topic.

6. For comparing to today, I'll keep posting links, but research takes time--you should plan on doing some of this over the weekend.

Discuss Chapter 8 good news bad news

Chapter 9—First 100 days

  • Recovery begins
  • Parallels to subprime banking crisis
  • A brief history
  • A video
  • Hoover and Bush? The Republican idea
  • Obama and FDR? The Democratic idea
  • Today's NYTimes editorial

Homework: Chapter 12 and 16 best quote, worst news, most powerful statistic

Reading: Wednesday Ch 16; Thursday 17-18; Friday 21; Saturday 23; Sunday Epilogue

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Rabbits in Flint Michigan

Bridge to Gretna

Bridge to Gretna


Watch CBS News Videos Online

What Caused Katrina

http://www.nola.com/speced/lastchance/multimedia/flash.ssf?flashlandloss1.swf

Great interactive graphic on Katrina that should ring some bells.

Day 7

English 101 Day 7

Bonus Points?

Finish discussion of 5

My turn on 6

Back to you for 7, 8, 9

I want to be more systematic today.

Each group—list "good things" (human spirit, determination, generosity, connection to the land etc) "bad things" (greed, failure to heed warnings, economic collapse, environmental destruction) on a single piece of paper so we can put them on the document camera.

Reading: Tuesday 12; Wednesday 16; Thursday 17-18; Friday 21; Saturday 23; Sunday Epilogue

NYTimes on Katrina and Drought

Times-Picayune on Katrina and Katrina and the Dust Bowl

Monday, September 28, 2009

Dust Storms in Australia



and

Day 6

English 101 Day 6


Bonus Points?

Information Literacy Workshops in

  1. The Writing Process
    1. Hacker C1-b Checklist
    2. Planning
      1. Talking and listening
      2. Annotating texts
      3. Listing
      4. Clustering
      5. Freewriting
      6. Asking journalists questions
    3. Form tentative thesis (C1-c)
    4. Sketch a plan (C1-d)
    5. Draft (C2)
    6. Revisinig (C3)
    7. Final Draft
    8. Publish/Present (C5)

Academic Essays

Analysis of the text—some of this is summary, a lot is reading between the lines

Original/Creative/Unique/"Risky" ideas

Use of sources to support your ideas

Talking with an audience

Eventually, argument and counter argument


What can we assume?

Grammar

MLA?

Some things about organization (Intro, body, conclusion)

Notes from Chapter 6, me.

Promise and Betrayal Notes In groups of five

Ch 5; Ch 7; Ch 8—Foolishness

Warnings,

Hype,

Overconfidence,

Greed

or

Depth of the destruction--stats?

Ch 5; Ch 7; Ch 8—Characters

The human spirit

Self reliance

Community building

Connection to the land

Resilience & Persistence (tough, tough mothers)

Hopes & Dreams

What is the big picture of 1935?

What are the big themes?

We've seen:

Failure to learn from history

Failure to heed warnings

Environmental devastation brought on by

Overconfidence/Hubris/Hype

Greed

Technology/Machines

Exodus(ters)

Indifference to the problem by Feds/Rest of us

And on the plus side:

The human spirit

Self reliance

Community building

Connection to the land

Resilience & Persistence (tough, tough mothers)

Hopes & Dreams

Reading: Tonight 9; Tuesday 12; Wednesday 16; Thursday 17-18; Friday 21; Saturday 23; Sunday Epilogue

Quiz Friday over Sections 1 and 2

Friday, September 25, 2009

Day 5

English 101 Day 5

The paper today.
and

This.

and this.

  1. Names—Quiz
  2. Getting started on "Why Now?" question.
    1. Chapter Intro and Chapter 2 at your tables—two or three interesting things for us to look at.
    2. "Ample Warnings"?
    3. As a class
  • The essay is a compare contrast, with greater emphasis on the compare. But first we have to know what to look for. What was it like in the Southern Great Plains 1930's? Look at the forest, not the trees. Look for a thread.
  • So, essay options
    • Katrina
    • Global Warming/Climate Change
    • What else?
      • Southwest/Southeast US
      • China
      • Sub-Prime Mortgages/Housing Bubble
      • Banking Crisis

  • 3-5 pages isn't that much, so we're really looking for 3-4 similarities and maybe 1-2 differences.

HW:

Read WHT: Ch 5 (Saturday Ch 7; Sunday Ch 8; Monday Ch 9; Tuesday Ch 12)

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Day 4

English 101 Day 4


 

  1. Names—Quiz Friday
  2. Log on to computers. Be patient.
  3. Online Bonus Points
    1. google account required
    2. One comment=2+ on topic, thoughtful sentences
    3. One comment= 1 point per thread
    4. Comments collected at the end of each month.
    5. You copy, paste and number them for me.
  4. For all bonus points—no more than 100% of the 40% grade.
  5. Getting started on "Why Now?" question.
    1. Try a google search.
    2. How about just using our minds?
    3. Intro and Chapter 1 at your tables—two or three interesting things for us to look at.
    4. As a class
  • The essay is a compare contrast, with greater emphasis on the compare. But first we have to know what to look for. What was it like in the Southern Great Plains 1930's? Look at the forest, not the trees. Look for a thread.
    • What is the big picture, so far?


 

HW: Read WHT: Ch 2


 

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Day 3

English 101 Day 3


  1. Bonus point opportunities
    1. Mighty Tieton Friday Night 745pm $5, Poetry Slam
    2. Library Workshops
  2. Names--Quiz Friday.
  3. Read actively (A1)
    1. Lean in
    2. Highlighters not good here, but ok other places
    3. Not in bed
    4. Establish a routine
    5. Book preview
  4. The Writing Process (this may have to wait for tomorrow)
    1. Hacker C1-b Checklist
    2. Planning (prepared summary at tables)
      1. Talking and listening
      2. Annotating texts
      3. Listing
      4. Clustering
      5. Freewriting
      6. Asking journalists questions
    3. Form tentative thesis (C1-c)
    4. Sketch a plan (C1-d)
    5. Draft (C2)
    6. Revisinig (C3)
    7. Final Draft
    8. Publish/Present (C5)

HW: Read WHT: Ch 1

Book Preview

Book Preview

  1. What does the title suggest?
  2. What does the cover art suggest?
  3. What do the blurbs say?
    1. Who said them?
  4. What can you tell from the "About the Author"?
  5. What is the genre? fiction, nonfiction, biography, essay, poetry, history etc. Usually in the upper left corner on back.
  6. What other books has the author written?
  7. Is there a dedication?
  8. Is there an epigraph?
  9. What year was it first copyrighted?
  10. How are the chapters organized?
    1. What do the names of the chapters suggest?
  11. How is the book laid out? Big or small print? Number of pages?
  12. Are there illustrations, pictures?
  13. Is there an appendix, index or introduction?
  14. What does the marginalia look like?

List three assumptions you can make about the book you are previewing

1)

2)

3)

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Day 2

English 101 Day 2


 

  1. Assumptions
    1. Class
    2. Teacher
  2. Questions
    1. Class
    2. Teacher


 

  1. What do you know about the Dust Bowl?
  2. Why now?

Read WHT: Intro

Monday, September 21, 2009

Welcome to English 101

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DEtA5fhk4k



Day 1

English 101 Day 1


Learning begins with questions. –Aristotle

  1. What is your dream for after college?

    1. What dream have you given up on?
  2. What is your goal this quarter?
  3. What do you have to get done this week?

  4. Group the tables

  5. The Dust Bowl

  1. Assumptions

    1. Right
    2. Class
    3. Teacher
  2. Questions

    1. Front
    2. Class
    3. Teacher

  3. Syllabus

4. Rewrite questions about the class

Purchase Worst Hard Time

Syllabus

Yakima Valley Community College—English Composition 101

Glenn-Anthon 121

Dan Peters, Instructor dpeters@yvcc.edu 574.6800.3194

Office Hours: Fall 2009

Course Description:

In the first of two college-level courses, English 101, students will learn to write clear, unified, coherent, and well-developed essays of increasing complexity. These essays may be about literary and nonliterary texts, or they may rely upon such texts as points of departure for the discussion at hand. Through reading, writing, and discussion, students will learn to critically examine their own assumptions and opinions and to consider the facts and reasoning of others. When documenting sources in their essays, students will use the basic citation methods of the Modern Language Association. Students successfully completing English 101 should be adequately prepared to succeed in the second college-level composition course, English 102.

Required Texts/Materials

  • A Writer's Reference, Hacker 6e
  • The Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck
  • The Worst Hard Time, Egan
  • Three Ring Binder
  • Spiral bound notebook
  • A good college-level dictionary

Suggested: highlighter pens, mini-stapler, blue & black ink pens, thumb drive

Labs and Internet:

We will meet Thursdays in the lab. Room number C216.

There is also a blog associated with this class: www.yvccenglish101.blogspot.com

This site is unofficial and updated when I can get to it. I'll try to post lesson plans, useful links and reading schedules, but you should not rely on this site for anything beyond supplementing your classroom experience. That being said, it will be a big part of this quarter in particular.

Required Work

  • Three complete assignment sequences. Sequences will center on three related topics—

    Essay 1: Why Talk About the Dust Bowl Now?

    Essay 2: A Creative Response

    Essay 2: Why Talk About the Dust Bowl Here?

  • These sequences will include various prewriting activities, a rough draft and a second draft of all three essays.
  • Reading and commenting on students' papers. Your comments on papers should help others to revise and improve their work.
  • Readings as assigned.
  • Participation in class discussions and activities.
  • Preparation for class activities.
  • Quizzes on readings
  • A final revised essay for an improved score

Attendance Policy

If you miss 5 classes for any reason, you will lose one letter grade.

If you miss 10 classes you will lose two letter grades

If you miss 12 classes, you will be withdrawn from the course.

Coming 10 minutes late is absent. Leaving 10 minutes early is absent.

Please, come on time. Turn off the electronics. Lean in.


Requirements for essays and homework

All essays and homework are due on the date assigned.

Late work will not be accepted. Don't push me on this. It works for everybody. You will be given opportunities to make up these lost points through bonus point activities.

  1. Essays are required to be between 3 complete pages and 5 pages long, double-spaced, in a normal sized (12 point) font or type comparable to Times New Roman. Essays not meeting the minimum length requirement, whether through failure to complete 3 pages, use of a larger than normal font, or crayon pictures of a house or a kitty, or large margins, will have a reduced grade. Failing to complete page 3 by a line or two won't affect your grade, but stopping your essay on the middle of page 3 certainly will. Works Cited pages, graphics, charts, etc. do not count toward the minimum page requirement.
  2. All essays must be typed or printed on a computer printer.
  3. Essays must be typed in MLA format: with your name and page number in the top right-hand corner. Double-spaced. Correct heading
  4. Keep a HARD COPY of your essay, so that you will have a back-up in case of loss, fire, flood, locust, jelly donuts, terrorists, disk crash, etc. Anyone working on computer should have a back-up copy of his/her essay on disk.
  5. Plagiarized work will be scored as a 0 and will not be eligible for revision/rescoring.

Grades

Your grade will be broken into two parts:

  1. The first will be for all the work you do prior to a second draft.
    1. This work will account for 40% of your final grade.
    2. These assignments will either be assigned a point value (ex: 7/10) or be graded on a +, \, - basis.
  2. The second part of your grade is your second drafts.
    1. This work will account for the 60% of your final grade.
    2. These are essays that I will read, give comments on and score from 0-100.
    3. See attached rubric for guidance on the scoring.

Scale:

A= 93%

A-= 90

B+= 87

B= 83

C+= 77

C= 73

C-= 70

D= 60

Course Adaptation: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, if you have emergency medical information to share, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please talk with me as soon as possible.

Take everyday actions to stay healthy.

  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. Sneeze into elbows, not hands.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
  • Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them