Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Generating Ideas Essay 2

The writing process.
    1. Generate Ideas
    2. Plan
    3. Draft
    4. Revise
    5. Edit/Proofread
    6. Final Draft
    7. Present/Publish
Personal Experience
    1. Rites of passage? When did you know you were an adult? (or not a child…)
    2. Road trips.
    3. Vacations.
    4. Moves.
    5. Hikes.
    6. Camps.
    7. How did you arrive in Yakima?
    8. Illness/injury.
    9. Accidents.
    10. Addiction.
    11. Depression/psychological.
    12. Divorce/relationship.
    13. Friendships.
    14. Moments of sudden growth
Observation (Second hand experiences)
    1. How did your family arrive in Yakima?
    2. Grandparents/parents/siblings/relatives/friends.
    3. Where have you been a mentor/helper to another’s journey?
Imagination
  1. Invent your own hero.
  2. go with one of the characters left behind in GoW

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Day 22

English 101 Day 22


IT’S NOT WHERE YOU START, IT’S WHERE YOU FINISH.

Handing back essays.

Yancy Yore and William Peckman

Questions? Handwriting? See me’s.

Comments explained.

Remember, for many of you, this is your first college level essay. React with thick skin and a determination to improve.

From last week:

Themes: One Big Soul, Unity in Family (Nuclear and of Man), Big guy v. Little Guy, Agrarianism, The evils of Capitalism

8—Meet the Joads 67-74; 75-80; 81-85
10—Leaving the Land 90-97; 98-105; 106-114
11—The house returns to nature
12—Route 66

Six Groups
Each group: A passage to read aloud—pick parts if you have them.
An discussion question, based on your passage.


H/W: Read chapter 13

Rough draft of essay 2 due TUESDAY 25th of October (this is a change). We'll start working on the essay part of this in the next day or two.

Final Draft Due in two weeks (November 1st)

Monday, October 17, 2011

If they can do this

Maybe they can pick fruit?

Day 21

English 101 Day 21


From last week—let’s see if we can get a conversation going.

Chapter 5: How Do You Shoot the Monster?

a. Tenant farmers

b. Tractor driver muzzled and goggled by…

c. Who is taking it?

d. Why?

e. What happens to the small farmer once it’s gone

i. Jefferson Agrarianism—this is an essay option.

2. This weekend in “Occupy”

3. NYTimes Occupy Wall Street.

4. How did we get here? Does anyone know the history?

5. How has it impacted you?

6. Who do you blame? What did the small farmer do wrong? What did the real estate agents or banks do wrong?

7. What’s been done about it? What should we do about it?

From last week:

Themes: One Big Soul, Unity in Family (Nuclear and of Man), Big guy v. Little Guy, Agrarianism, The evils of Capitalism

7—Car salesman.
8—Meet the Joads 67-74; 75-80; 81-85
9—Selling your life’s work
10—Leaving the Land 90-97; 98-105; 106-114

Six Groups

Each group: A passage to read aloud—pick parts if you have them.

An essay question to ask the class about the passage.

Some of this conversation will be continued Tuesday.

H/W: Read Chapter 11 and 12


Quiz Ch. 1-12 Tuesday

Friday, October 14, 2011

Occupy Portland

Down Twinkles! I think we should adopt these in class. Twinkles, anyone?

I hope this doesn't distract from the real debate, but for a Friday, it's pretty good stuff.

This should work.

Essay 3

Essay 3: Why Here?


In a 3-5 page essay, explain the similarities between the Grapes of Wrath and our valley.

Rough Draft Due: Tuesday November

Bring 4 copies.

Double spaced. 12 point font. MLA paper format and citations.

20 points. This will be graded for completion, not quality. Part of 30% grade.

Final Draft Due: Friday November

Bring two copies.

100 points, graded using the rubric. Part of your 70% grade.

Background and Tips:

Why was this book a popular and appropriate choice for the Yakima Valley Reads Project? What challenges are shared by the people, places and times of both the Grapes of Wrath and the Yakima Valley?

Your first source will be Grapes of Wrath.

Your sources for our valley will probably be newspaper reports from the Yakima-Herald, internet searches and possibly library databases such as Proquest.

NOTE: FINDING SOURCES ON THE YAKIMA VALLEY WILL BE ONE OF THE HARDEST PARTS OF THIS ESSAY. START EARLY. SHARE YOUR SOURCES. CHANGE YOUR DIRECTION IF YOU HIT DEAD ENDS.

For a description of what I'm looking for in excellent papers (and what to avoid) refer to the rubric we used for your first essay.

Your organization should be something like:

• Intro—Hook, background, title of book, author's name, brief summary, thesis

• Body paragraphs—each dealing with a single idea, in this case, a similarity.

• Conclusion







1. Okies/Mexicans (or SE Asians or Chinese or…)

1. Reasons for leaving

2. Difficulty of the journey

3. Treatment upon arrival

4. Housing

5. 2005 protests as sign of Grapes of Wrath ready to be picked?

2. Farmworker Housing

1. Tent camps

2. Farmer provided

3. Subsidized permanent homes

3. Farm labor contractors

1. Coyotes

2. Global Horizons

3. Express Personnel

4. Book “Nobodies”

4. Machines taking Over

1. Robots in the orchards

2. Robots in the sheds

3. Robots in the parlors.

4. Robots till I’m dead.

If you’d rather do an essay that does not require research, you may pick from one of the “literary analysis” choices presented in essay 2 choices.

Then who do we shoot?

Brother I don't know.

GoW Revisited

This is very cool.

Chris McGreal retraces the route of Steinbeck's epic depression era novel along Route 66 from Sallisaw, Oklahoma to Weedpatch, California


Day 20

English 101 Day 20 Fall 11


Chapters 2 and 4. Find quotes to show the following.

a) Tom Joad’s appearance and actions.

b) Tom Joad’s thoughts and speech.

c) The reaction of others to Tom Joad—what they say and think about him.


d) Jim Casey’s appearance and actions.

e) Jim Casey’s thoughts and speech.

f) The reaction of others to Jim Casey—what they say and think about him.


Interchapters

They’re a lot like an essay: Topic sentences for the Joad family experience.

Let’s look at chapter 5.

What’s the answer?

Can somebody give us a background on what you know about our current crisis?

When did it start?

Who do we blame? Who’s at fault?

What have we done about it?

What should we do about it?

Does it upset you? Does your age matter? Does your income level matter?

What effect has the crisis had on you?

For starters: Tuition is up 50% at UW in three years. Don’t pay tuition?

76 classes cut at YVCC this year. YVCC has lost a third of the budget.

“With the increase, full-time YVCC students will pay 13 percent more in tuition -- or $407 more than the $3,850 they paid for the 2010-2011 academic year. Part-time students will pay an additional 11 percent.

Next spring, the board will decide whether to approve another 12 percent increase for the 2012-13 school year. The rate reflects the maximum allowed by the Legislature in the 2011-13 operating budget.

The budget also includes a two-year, 3 percent pay cut for staff.” YHR online

What else? Jobs? Housing?

Homework: Chapters 7-10 in GoW. Read looking for connections to essay topics.
Do some quick googling on essay three topics to see a broad overview of what's out there. Start prewriting on Essay 2.

Foreclosure Alley, Who's to Blame and The Credit Crisis Visualized

Here's what it looks like in SoCal

Factcheck gives a run down of what caused the crisis.

25 "People to Blame" for crisis. (Time)

and here's a video I've already posted on the subject:

Occupy Wall Street

Here's the coverage from the New York Times

Here's the coverage from the Wall Street Journal

The city of New York has asked the protestors to leave, which means this may be coming to a head this weekend.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

My notes for 1-4 chapters

My notes (you might consider doing this as you go)




1. Chapter 1 Notes: The Dust Storms

a. Setting

i. Apocalyptic

ii. Reverse lifecycle

b. Unity and Human dignity

c. Survival

d. Interchapter



2. Chapter 2 Notes: Tom Get’s a Ride

a. Character

i. Tom Joad

1. Quick to anger, independent, solitary, smart

b. Plot

c. Tension between haves and have nots with Trucker/Owners

d. Setting

i. Roadside Diner

3. Chapter 3 Notes: The Turtle

a. Symbolic in every sentence.

4. Chapter 4 Notes: Tom Meets Casey

a. Character

i. Jim Casey

1. Reborn, Seeker, Man of Thought, Philosopher—Oversoul, Holy Spirit is Human Spirit

Day 19

English 101 Day 19 Fall 11


1030 class: Your experience in agriculture.

Essay three assignment.

Setting=Time and Place

Chapter 1

Time

1. Year

2. Season

3. Month

4. Day of Week

5. Time of Day

6. General Era

Place (physical environment)

1. Country

2. State

3. City

4. Landscape

5. Climate

6. House

7. Yard/Surroundings

In groups of two. Chapters 2 and 4. Find quotes to show the following.

a) Tom Joad’s appearance and actions.

b) Tom Joad’s thoughts and speech.

c) The reaction of others to Tom Joad—what they say and think about him.


d) Jim Casey’s appearance and actions.

e) Jim Casey’s thoughts and speech.

f) The reaction of others to Jim Casey—what they say and think about him.

Egan on Yakima and Food Safety

Here's a piece he wrote about our hometown.

Grapes of Wrath Trailer

Redneck Secrets continued

An article about the Tea Party and the Occupy Wall Street tension that seems to illustrate the redneck secret. Two out of power groups fighting each other. See venn diagram above.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Essay 2 Options

Essay Two: Rough Draft Due October 24th Final Draft Due November 1st. 3-5 pages.


Here is a list of “literary analysis” essay options for your second essay.

1. How does the following definition apply to GoW?

a. In his introduction to Agrarianism in American Literature, M. Thomas Inge defines "agrarianism" by the following basic tenets:

• Cultivation of the soil "has within it a positive spiritual good" and from it the cultivator acquires the virtues of "honor, manliness, self-reliance, courage, moral integrity, and hospitality." These result from a direct contact with nature, and through nature a closer relationship to God. The agrarian is blessed in that he follows the example of God in creating order out of chaos.

• The farmer has a solid, stable position in the world order. He "has a sense of identity, a sense of historical and religious tradition, a feeling of belonging to a concrete family, place, and region, which are psychologically and culturally beneficial." The harmony of his life checks the encroachments of a fragmented, alienated modern society.

• Urban life, capitalism, and technology destroy independence and dignity while fostering vice and weakness.

• The agricultural community, with its fellowship of labor and cooperation is the model society.



2. The critic Lee Burress states, “In fact the four major characters, Ma, Tom, Casy and Rose of Sharon represent Steinbeck’s efforts to dramatize Biblical and Christian values in a realistic way.”



Choose one (or several) of these characters to show how Steinbeck attempted to “dramatize(s)… Christian values.”

3. Explain how The Grapes of Wrath illustrates this “Redneck Secret”:

“Nobody is claiming certain Rednecks are gorgeous about their ways of resolving the pain of their frustrations. Some of them will indeed get drunk in honktonks and raise hell and harass young men with long hair and golden earring. These are the bad Rednecks.

Why bad? Because they are betraying themselves. Out-of-power groups keep fighting each other instead of what they really resent: power itself. A redneck pounding a hippie in a dark barroom is embarrassing because we see the cowardice. What he wants to hit is a banker in broad daylight.”

–William Kittredge “Redneck Secrets”

4. Explain which quotes best summarize the philosophy of The Grapes of Wrath

An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.

Thomas Paine

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Thomas Paine

The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.

Thomas Paine

If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.

Thomas Paine

My mind is my own church.

Thomas Paine

The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.

Thomas Paine

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.

Thomas Jefferson

Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.

Thomas Jefferson

No occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.

Thomas Jefferson

Capitalist production, therefore, develops technology, and the combining together of various processes into a social whole, only by sapping the original sources of all wealth - the soil and the labourer.

Karl Marx





Narrative Option for essay two

Essay 2: Departure, Journey and Arrival

Follow a third-person narrator’s migration from the departure, through the journey, to the arrival.

Your story should convey a theme, or main idea, to the reader.

The details of the story, events as well as descriptions, will support this main idea.

Your primary sources for the ideas and details will be experience, observation and imagination.

Like a traditional thesis, your theme will be clear to the reader upon completion of the story.

Unlike a traditional thesis, your main point, or theme, may be either implied or stated directly.

Your organization using the following “Chapter” titles:

• Departure: Why leave? What is the motivation? What do you take? What is left behind?

• The Journey: What challenges are overcome? What skills are acquired? What dragons faced? What is the low point?

• Arrival: How does the trip change the way you see things? What lessons are learned? How do you bring the lessons to your new place? Are you accepted in the new place?



We also want to work on Setting, Characterization, Conflict, Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution.

Sources for this story in order of preference:

1. Experience.

2. Observation.

3. Imagination.



Tips: Limit number of characters; limit time period; limit settings. I’d suggest AT MOST one setting for each section, anywhere from an hour to a day for the time period and 2-5 characters TOTAL for the essay. Any more and we’ll get lost.



Also, focus on TELLING DETAILS. The more specific the better. Instead of blue car, try 1971 midnight blue Plymouth Valiant he inherited from his grandmother.



Finally, there are the facts and then there’s the truth.

Day 18

English 101 Day 18 Fall 11


1. 1030 class: Set point levels for rubric.

2. Essays returned in about a week. Don’t ask earlier, please.

3. Quiz over 1-4/Correct.

4. Your experience in agriculture

a. Mine: Pallet and Bin; grew up with Zirkles, Roches, Lancasters, Munsons; Dad wrote the articles of incorporation for Tree Top co-op; picked strawberries for one crappy day. U-Pick blueberries.

b. Yours?

5. Essay two options explained.

For second essay

a. Experience

i. Moves, roadtrips, psychological?

b. Observation

i. Your parents/grandparents coming to the valley, state, country

ii. Other

c. Imagination

i. Muley, Willy Feely, Ivy Wilson, Connie, Noah, One Eyed Man,

ii. Now?

iii. Future? What if GW plays out like Gore says? I’d like to keep it on Earth, and without wizards, I’d say.


Characterization is the method used by a writer to develop a character.

The method includes

(1) showing the character's appearance,
(2) displaying the character's actions,
(3) revealing the character's thoughts,
(4) letting the character speak, and
(5) getting the reactions of others
(6) their names

Steinbeck Quick Bio

FEW NOTES ABOUT THE AUTHOR


JOHN STEINBECK

STEINBECK, John (1902-68). Winner of the 1962 Nobel prize for literature, the American author John
Steinbeck is best remembered for his novel 'The Grapes of Wrath'. Steinbeck's story of a family of farm
workers migrating from Oklahoma to California describes the hopelessness of the Great Depression era.
John Ernst Steinbeck was born on Feb. 27, 1902, in Salinas, Calif. He took classes at Stanford University for several years but left without a degree. He worked as a laborer to support himself while he wrote. Steinbeck's first novel was published in 1929, but it was not until the publication of 'Tortilla Flat' in 1935 that he attained critical and popular acclaim.

He followed this success with 'In Dubious Battle' (1936) and 'Of Mice and Men' (1937). 'The Grapes of
Wrath' (1939) earned for Steinbeck a Pulitzer prize. In these works Steinbeck's proletarian themes are
expressed through his portrayal of the inarticulate, dispossessed laborers who populate his American
landscape. Both 'Of Mice and Men' and 'The Grapes of Wrath' were made into motion pictures.
In 1943 Steinbeck traveled to North Africa and Italy as a war correspondent. Some of his later works
include 'Cannery Row' (1945), 'The Pearl' (1947), 'East of Eden' (1952), 'The Winter of Our Discontent'
(1961), and 'Travels with Charley' (1962). He also wrote several motion-picture scripts, including
adaptations of two of his shorter works-'The Pearl' and 'The Red Pony'. Steinbeck died in New York City on Dec. 20, 1968

Steinbeck on GoW

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Day 17

Fall 11 English 101 Day 17



1. Bonus Points?

2. Hand in Peer Review Review.

3. Hand in copy of final draft and self assessment cover sheet.

4. O/R Y/N?

a. Y=+2pts on final score

b. N=-2pts on final score

c. Y=intro and conclusion

d. N=silent attention and polite applause

Essays returned in about a week. Don't bug me about them until next tuesday, please.

5. Read through chapter 4 of GoW for homework for tomorrow.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Day 16

Fall 11 English 101 Day 16




1. Bonus Points?

2. Final Drafts Due Tuesday—bring copy of intro and conclusion, too.

3. Complete peer editing.

4. Grade sample essay.

5. Grade your essay. (use the rubric you picked up last week).

6. For homework: Read to chapter 5 by Wednesday in GoW.

7. Complete Peer Review, Review for Tomorrow.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Daily Show on Occupy Wall Street

These protests are something like the protests in WHT against the bankers (remember Black Jack and Bonnie and Clyde and the dime auctions?) and a little like the strikes we'll see in GoW.
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Parks and Demonstration
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Wall Street Occupied
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook

The New Hard Times

Video of those who have lived through both:

http://yvccenglish101.blogspot.com/2009/10/new-hard-times.html

The Plow that Broke the Plains

Here's a link to a documentary from the period:
http://yvccenglish101.blogspot.com/2009/10/plow-broke-plains.html

BO visits NO

Here's a link from last year. Some information on reconstruction/restoration efforts in the political coverage.

http://yvccenglish101.blogspot.com/2009/10/obama-visits-no.html

Day 15

Continue Peer Editing from yesterday.
For Monday--work on final drafts (due Tuesday)
and begin reading GoW (first four chapters due by Wednesday).

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Recovery Efforts

Restoration in Katrina today (ok, last year):
http://www.nola.com/hurricane/index.ssf/2010/03/hurricane_katrina_recovery_pro.html

Day 13

Fall 11 English 101 Day 13


1. Bonus Points?

2. Final Drafts Due Tuesday.

3. For Monday—a volunteer to have their essay graded by the class? Two?

4. We are starting GoW next week if you want to get a start on it this weekend. (we’ll have our first conversation about it on Wednesday where you’ll be asked about the first four chapters.

Peer Editing Process

Students learn from each other.

Students learn by teaching.

Kind honesty.

You have my permission to tear my paper to shreds

Thick skin.


Number the paragraphs on your essays.

Write two questions you'd like answered by your peers.

1. Exchange essays with another person at your table.

2. Apologize as needed

3. Read silently and comment as you go

4. Complete peer editing forms

5. Have a CONVERSATION--explain what you wrote on the Peer edit forms.

6. Finally, writer asks questions not answered

7. Repeat

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Son of Citation Machine

here's a site that might help with MLA documentation:
http://citationmachine.net/index2.php

Day 11

Fall 11 English 101 Day 11




1. Bonus Points?

a. You can turn blog posts in tomorrow.

b. Library.

c. Three more: October 5th, 1130am MLK Room (sustainable communities); November 3rd 7pm, Parker Room: The Mexican Village Faces the Global Economy; and November 10th 7pm, Parker Room, Native Peoples and Sustainable Communities

2. Thesis statement due Wednesday—5 points.

3. Today: Work time on rough drafts, questions for me.

4. BP TODAY: 750 words=5 BP; 1000 words=10 BP

Friday, September 30, 2011

Sample Outlines

Sample outline using five paragraph style. Probably best to split the DB and Kat. into different paragraphs (so something like 8 paragraphs?)
Rabbits in Flint Michigan. Not for the squeamish, but another example of cruelity in hard times.

Day 10

Fall 11 English 101 Day 10


1. Bonus Points?

2. No class Monday.

3. Read the remaining chapters listed in your schedule for Tuesday.

4. Meet in lab on Tuesday. If you have a good start on the rough draft we can talk about the essay during class.

5. Rough Draft Due Thursday.

6. Thesis statement due Wednesday.

7. Evacuation/Exodus in the chapters 16, 17 and 18?

8. Restoration in chapters 17 and 18?

9. Intro and Conclusions.

10. So far, we’ve done:

a. some pre-writing, (discussion, research, reading, listing)

b. We’ve talked about working thesis statements.

c. We’ve discussed outlines and intros and conclusions.

d. Now it’s time to work on rough drafts.

e. Next week, Thursday and Friday, we’ll work on revision.

f. Final drafts/presentation due on Monday October 10th.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Drought Monitor

Here's the official US Drought Monitor site with scary maps.

Here's another article with pictures and a theory on global warming having an impact.

Day 9

Fall 11 English 101 Day 9



Quiz WHT Sections 1 and 2

Slides on Outline WHT Essay

(Whole to Whole or Point to Point?)

Here’s my pitch for Katrina (as opposed to the other choices, except maybe Chinese dust storms). How my son was working on his numbers yesterday.


Reading schedule: 17-18 tonight, 21, 23 Friday night. Chapter 25 Saturday. Epilogue Sunday.

No class on Monday.
Meet in lab on Tuesday to work on Rough Draft.
Not sure about class on Wednesday.
Rough Draft Due THURSDAY. Final still due Monday.


Time for looking at the links.

Links, lots and lots of links

Links for Katrina, Climate Change, China, Credit Crisis.
Enough to write a paper about each topic.


Climate Change and Dust Bowls, from TODAY'S PAPER

Complete coverage at NYTimes of Credit Crisis

A One Year Anniversary Report on the Bank Crisis from NYTimes

ABC News: Dust Bowl and Katrina


Teaching Tolerance Lesson Plan


NPR Katrina and Dust Bowl

NPR WHT and Dust Bowl

NYTimes on comparing the exodus

New Dust Bowl in AZ? Washington Post, also

New Dust Bowl in South Dakota? Big Time Drought.

From GW Bush's Katrina Speech:


In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is an awesome force and that all life is fragile. We're the heirs of men and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown and Plymouth, who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire and San Francisco after a great earthquake, who reclaimed the prairie from the dust bowl of the 1930's. Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood and storm to build anew, and to build better than what we had before. Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature and we will not start now.


Pine Beetle & Grasshopper plague

Amazon.com search inside feature

Katrina on Wikipedia

Dust Bowl on Wikipedia

Don't use Wikipedia for academic research?

Whole entry here.

Cashmere bubble bursts

Is this good for the air?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Day 8

Fall 2011 English 101 Day 8


Quiz Thursday over sections 1 and 2 (Promise and Betrayal)

Bonus Points?

Information Literacy Workshops


Reading Schedule Change—Tonight, Read chapter 16—Black Sunday

Consider 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).

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

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

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

Complete the Good, the Bad and the Ugly from “Betrayal”



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

Drought

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

Hopes & Dreams

BLOWUP

The Long Darkness

Find the best, most startling statistic.

Information about the Exodus/Evacuation

Similarities to New Orleans

Ideas of Hugh Bennett



Showdown in Dalhart

Find the best, most startling statistic

Explain the showdown—who is it between?


Reading: Tonight Ch 16

Quiz Thursday over Sections 1 and 2 and chapters 12 and 14.

If you’ve read the book with a pencil/pen you’ll do fine.

Page 168 WHT

Here's another link
and another.



Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Bridge to Gretna

Bridge to Gretna


Watch CBS News Videos Online

What Caused Katrina

Here's the big write up about it AFTER the storm from New Orleans paper.

Day 7

Fall 2011 English 101 Day 7


Quiz Thursday over sections 1 and 2 (Promise and Betrayal)

Bonus Points?

Information Literacy Workshops


Draft a working thesis

a. Katrina

b. Credit Crisis

c. China/Australia/Texas/Southwest Dust storms and? Global Warming/Climate change

Thesis: Main idea. 1-3 sentences. Arguable. Usually at end of introduction. Narrow and specific. Roadmap? (often three points work well in a 3-6 page essay, but you could slice it lots of ways).

We might change some of these terms. You could substitute/add climate change or race into the conversation about Katrina and WHT, for example.

Let’s try to find evidence of the “massive exodus” in WHT 6-10.

Now, more generally, “Betrayal” Notes in groups of four

Chapters 6, 7

Chapters 7, 8

Chapters 8, 9

Chapters 9, 10

Look for examples of the GOOD:
the Human Spirit
Self reliance

Community building
Connection to the land
Resilience & Persistence (tough, tough mothers)
Hopes & Dreams


Look for examples of the BAD:
Foolishness
Neglect,
Warnings,
Hype,
Overconfidence,
Greed
Racism/prejudice

And the UGLY:
Violence from the people
and
the brutality of Nature


SO:

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 Ch 14

Monday, September 26, 2011

Arizona Dust Storms and Climate Change?

This guy says no.
This site says yes.

Chinese Dust Storms and Climate Change?

Here's a link

Australia's Dust Bowls and Global Warming?

NYTimes article here--differing views.

Dust Bowls are Here





Day 6

Fall 2011 English 101 Day 6


Bonus Points?

 
Information Literacy Workshops

 
Names Quiz

The Writing Process

 
a. Planning

 
  • i. Talking and listening
  • ii. Annotating texts
  • iii. Listing
  • iv. Clustering
  • v. Freewriting
  • vi. Asking journalists questions
b. Draft a working thesis (C1-c)

 
c. Sketch a plan (C1-d)

 
d. Draft (C2)

 
e. Revisinig (C3)

 
f. Final Draft

 
g. Publish/Present (C5)


 
2. Draft a working thesis

 
a. Katrina

 
b. Credit Crisis

 
c. China/Australia/Texas/Southwest Dust storms

 
d. Global Warming/Climate change

 
Last Friday we talked about Katrina and thesis statements. (Egan interview handout to 1255 class and review with 1030 class).

  
Thesis: Main idea. 1-3 sentences. Arguable. Usually at end of introduction. Narrow and specific. Roadmap? (often three points work well in a 3-6 page essay, but you could slice it lots of ways).

 
We might change some of these terms. You could substitute/add climate change or race into the conversation about Katrina and WHT, for example.

  
For the purpose of walking us through the first essay, I’m going to use Katrina as a working thesis. Last week we found good evidence of the “ample warnings”.

  
Let’s try to find evidence of the “massive exodus” in WHT.

 
6, 7, 8, 9, 10

 
Now, more generally, “Betrayal” Notes In groups of four

 
Ch 6-10—Foolishness

 
Warnings,

 
Hype,

 
Overconfidence,

 
Greed

 
Race?

 
Ch 6-10—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 Ch 12

 
Quiz Thursday over Sections 1 and 2

Katrina "Ample Warnings"

Wikipedia has you covered.  Go to external links for actual information, but it's here.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Housing Bubble Early Warnings Missed

Credit Crisis explained

See Suitcase Farmers in WHT And The Last of the Great Plowup

Bonus Points

Professors,




I would like to invite you and your students to a special showing of the play THE CRUCIBLE at the Warehouse Theatre Company (Yakima). Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 7:30.Tickets will be $8 (a special discounted price for students this night ONLY). There will also be a special "talk back" session with the plays Director, actors and designers who will be answering any questions anyone might have about the play, the story, the era...etc.



If you or your class are interested please email me back and we can reserve tickets for you!

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Syllabus

Yakima Valley Community College—English Composition 101


Glenn-Anthon 119

Dan Peters, Instructor dpeters@yvcc.edu 574.6800.3194

Office Hours: Fall 2011

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.
Prerequisites:

ASSET placement score: 46-54

Students who complete English 75 with a minimum grade of S or ESL 102 with a minimum grade of B+ are also eligible for English 101

Course Outcomes:

Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:

01 Write clear, unified, and coherent essays that show active engagement with a topic

02 Write essays that show a developed analysis

03 Critically read texts

04 Use and articulate an effective writing process

05 Use MLA conventions accurately when integrating and documenting sources


Course Objectives

01 Generate content from personal experience, readings, class discussion or other appropriate means

02 Write essays with a thesis or central idea and develop a narrative, descriptive, or analytical essay according to organizing principles

03 Use evidence to support assertions

04 Paraphrase, summarize, and quote accurately

05 Anticipate and respond to the needs of a reading audience

06 Practice MLA documentation conventions

07 Improve writing through revising, editing, and proofreading drafts

08 Respond to peer's writing and consider feedback from readers

09 Reflect on one's own writing process, strengths and weaknesses, and progress

10 Practice critical reading strategies


Abilities:

Students will have the opportunity to practice the following Abilities as they meet course objectives:

Analytical Reasoning (AR) and Communication (C).

Required Texts/Materials

• A Writer’s Reference, Hacker 7e, recommended

• 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/or alternative essay

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.

a. This work will account for 30% of your final grade.

b. 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.

a. This work will account for the 70% of your final grade.

b. These are essays that I will read, give comments on and score from 0-100.

c. 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.

o 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.

o Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.

o Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

o 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.

Extended interview with Egan

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/wellread/2006/09/11/meet-the-author-timothy-egan/

Katrina, Tsunami, Africa and Dust Bowl


Katrina, the Tsunami, the Dust Bowl and how they relate from Chronicle Project on Vimeo.

Links for outside research

Texas today.

Lessons for Katrina survivors

Economic crisis and dust bowl

Ogallala Aquifer

NOAA on today v. 30's

Science on now and past dust bowls

SW could be next?

A Debate about global warming and Australia's dust bowl

Egan on Why Now

Here's the link:
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/readers_guides/egan_worst.shtml

Day 4




1. Names—Quiz Monday
2. Log on to computers. Be patient.

3. Online Bonus Points
  • google account required
  • One comment=2+ on topic, thoughtful sentences
  • One comment= 1 point per thread
  • Comments collected at the end of each month.
  • You copy, paste and number them for me.
  • For all bonus points—no more than 100% of the 30% grade.

5. Getting started on "Why Now?" question.

1. Try a google search.
Try a bing search?

2. How about just using our minds?

3. Chapter 1 in—two or three interesting things for us to look at.

4. As a class

5. My Notes.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Day 3

Fall 2011 English 101 Day 3


1. Names--Quiz Monday.

2. Book Preview

3. The Writing Process (Hacker C1-b Checklist)

1. Planning

  • Talking and listening
  • Annotating texts
  • Listing
  • Clustering
  • Freewriting
  • Asking journalists questions
2. Form tentative thesis (C1-c)

3. Sketch a plan (C1-d)

4. Draft (C2)

5. Revisinig (C3)

6. Final Draft

7. Publish/Present (C5)

Hand out assignment.
Answer questions on Checklist (page 6 in Hacker).
Let’s try one now

Freewrite:

Why talk about the Dust Bowl Now?

(How about in 2005-6?)

List:

As a class, what is happening today that’s like 30’s?

Quiz: Intro

HW: Read WHT: Chapter 1

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

How to Read in College

Here's a few tips.
http://yvccenglish102.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-read-in-college.html

Day 2

Fall 2011 English 101 Day 2


1. Dust Bowl Video, Complete syllabus reading (1030 clas only)

2. Bonus point opportunities

1. Library Workshops

3. Names--Quiz Monday.

4. Questions about me.

5. Questions about the class.


6. Read actively (A1)

1. Lean in—make assumptions and ask questions

2. Highlighters not good here, but ok other places

3. Not in bed

4. Establish a routine


7. 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: Introduction and Book Preview Hand out if we don't get it done in class.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Day 1

English 101 Day 1


1. Learning begins with questions. –Aristotle

2. What is your dream for after college?

a. What dream have you given up on?

3. What is your goal this quarter?

4. What do you have to get done this week?

5. Group the tables


6. The Dust Bowl


7. Assumptions

a. Right

b. Class

c. Teacher

8. Questions

a. Front

b. Class

c. Teacher
9. Syllabus

10. Rewrite questions about the class

Monday, December 6, 2010

Another Leon!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0M1IvEuw0w

Friday, December 3, 2010

Last Day

  • 930 Class, Hand back essays and grades.

  • H/I Cover Letter
  • H/I Final, Final Draft (1030 class)
  • Return of Essays, etc

    1. First week of Winter Quarter.
    2. Grades mostly.
    3. For more feedback from me, bring your essay in and we'll go over it.
  • Grades due Next Friday, posted online under schedule that day
      1. My schedule: Winter 102 x3; Spring English 070 x2 and English 101.

        1. Also, you can ask about anything anytime.
        2. You can say hi to me on campus. Say your name and I'll say mine.
        3. You can say hi to each other.
        4. From my English 102 class: Andy Blevins' story.

          1. One in there Americans in their mid-twenties attended but did not finish college.

          2. Only 41 percent of low-income students entering a four year college managed to graduate within five years. (66% of high income did).


      1. 75 percent of students enrolling in community colleges said they hoped to transfer to a four year institution. But only 17 percent of those made the switch within five year. The rest were out working or still studying toward the two year degree.

      2. Your story has to be different.

      Now we can do this:


      Thursday, December 2, 2010

      For 930 Class Only

      For 930 Class only

      Your cover letters are due tomorrow.
      Your revised final drafts of one of your first two essays aren't due until Monday at 1030 in front of my office. At 1031, I'll move the box into my room and that, as they say, will be that.

      If you weren't in class today, I'll explain my reasons for this change again tomorrow.
      You are, of course, free to turn in your final revised drafts tomorrow.

      In all cases, you must include with the revised draft a copy of the draft with my comments.

      Wednesday, December 1, 2010

      Tuesday, November 30, 2010

      Does it Matter where you go to college?

      NYTimes debates this question.

      Small Change

      Malcom Gladwell on Why the Revolution will not be Tweeted.

      Day 45

      Fall 2010 English 101 Day 45

      1. Learn from Lindsay and Leon and the Tour De Dumb

      2. Homework: Cover Letter and Revised Final, Final Draft due Friday.

      3. Hand in Portfolio Revision Worksheet.

      4. MLADM2KX: Round 1.
      a. Put that coffee down! Coffee is for closers!

      5. Tomorrow, round two: MLADM2KX: Black Ops.

      6. Tomorrow, also, all bp from comments on the blog. Cut and paste into a document and number the comments.

      Monday, November 29, 2010

      Day 44

      Fall 2010 English 101 Day 44

      1. Narrative Rubric Point Spread

      2. Hand in Essay 3

      3. O/R: Y/N?

      a. A Plate of Peas

      4. Hand in Plot Log

      5. Homework: Portfolio Review Worksheet. Answer on your own sheet of paper.

      a. Also, MLADM2KX: Round 1 (in text citations, works cited page).

      Wednesday, November 24, 2010

      Day 43

      Fall 2010 English 101 Day 43

      1. Permission slips

      2. Plot Logs

      3. Calendar

      4. A note about final essays
      a. THE GIFT IS THE REASON YOU GO ON THE JOURNEY.

      5. Another note about the final essays
      a. If you are sure you don’t want to revise one of your first two essays, or if this third essay is looking bad so far, you can take a “0” on it for Monday and turn IT in as your revised essay on Friday for a score to replace the “0”.

      6. Revision Notes.

      Portfolio Review

      Portfolio Revision Worksheet, Due Tuesday

      Answer on your own paper

      1. Which essay do you think is strongest? Explain your answer in detail, including a quote or paraphrase from the essay.

      2. Did your peer readers agree with your assessment?

      Paraphrase or quote from a peer

      3. What did I have to say about the essay?

      Paraphrase something I wrote to support your answer.

      4. What essay do you think is your second best? Explain in detail.

      5. For the second best essay, explain what your peers had to say. Paraphrase or quote

      6. Explain what I had to say. Paraphrase or quote

      7. What is your weakest essay? Explain why you think it’s weak, using quotes or paraphrase.

      8. What do your readers have to say about this essay? Does their assessment or their comments reflect your opinion?

      9. What did I have to say about this essay? Paraphrase or quote.

      10. What revision would you need to do to submit the first assignment? List all the tasks you would need to complete below.

      11. What revision would you need to do to submit the second assignment? List all the tasks you would need to complete.

      12. What revision would you need to do to submit the third assignment? List all the tasks you would need to complete.

      Cover Letter Assignment

      Cover Letter Assignment—Due Friday December 3rd.

      20 prewriting points, based on quality and quantity.

      Your cover letter should present an evaluation of how you have performed as a student/writer this quarter.

      1-2 single spaced pages.

      Your cover letter should take the standard business letter format, (See Hacker for this). Use this for my address:

      Mr. Dan Peters
      YVCC
      Yakima, Washington
      98907-2520
      dpeters@yvcc.edu

      and formal salutation, Dear Mr. Peters is fine, and a signature line at the end.

      Ideas/Questions that might help you get started--don't answer them as a list:

      • How would you describe yourself as a writer before the class? How has this changed?

      • How did you write papers before this class? How has this class changed your process?

      • Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses as you see them in your thinking, reading, and writing for this course. Use the rubrics to help frame this response.

      • What work do you do before you begin to write a draft of an essay? How do you develop a strong main point for your essays?

      • How would you describe the peer group work as it affected your writing? Did it help you to have other readers for your papers? What sorts of comments were the most helpful to you? Did reading a peer’s paper give you any new perspectives on your own writing?

      • What have you improved on this quarter?

      • What skills do you still need to work on?

      • How about as a student overall? (Ways of Seeing the World, attendance, participation, homework etc)

      Tuesday, November 23, 2010

      Friday, November 19, 2010

      Clickers

      Here's an article about our clickers.

      Day 41

      Day 41

      1. Checklist for Dialogue (930 class)
      2. Checklist for Setting

      Point of View

      First Person (not to be used in our essays)

      1. Single character's point of view.

      b. Advantages of First Person
      i. maintain naivete or innocence

      ii. Narrated out loud.

      iii. Irony of narrator/Humor

      1. Also, unreliable/biased narrators

      iv. Immediacy?

      v. Disadvantages

      1. Less flexible

      2. Can be contrived

      c. Second Person

      i. Seldom used

      ii. Use of “You” as in You wake up, get out of bed, drag a comb across your head. You know there’s something you need to do. What is it?

      d. Third person

      i. Better for "hot" material.

      ii. Flexible.

      iii. Omniscient (all characters)/Limited (single character)

      iv. Objective(no thoughts or feelings)/Subjective: (thoughts and feelings)

      v. Disadvantages

      a. "Head hopping"=confusion unless handled right

      3. List of POV by novel.

      5. Quiz

      6. Graphic Organizers

      Is this Racist?


      Here's the background statement by Limbaugh:

      This guy is an utter wrecking ball all by himself on the world stage to the point now of getting embarrassing. This presidency of Obama's, it doesn't take much to irritate the left. Try this: "Barack Obama's presidency is graffiti on the walls of American history." That's what his administration is. No more than graffiti on the walls of American history. We have a juvenile delinquent for a president who has ruined so much public and private property, not even his gang is making much of an effort here to protect him. It's an utter disaster.

      Desegregation of Schools

      Wednesday, November 17, 2010

      Tuesday, November 16, 2010

      List of Novels by Point of View

      Right Here.

      Bush and Kanye

      Make up on SNL

      Alabama trooper pleads guilty

      To 1965 slaying.

      Day 39

      English 101 Day 39
      1. Essays back today, and Thursday for 930 class

      Dialogue

      i. Short
      ii. Vivid
      iii. Believable

      Tips on Dialogue

      In two's: I'm sorry but…

      1. The first writer pulls out a piece of paper and begins their dialogue with the words "I'm sorry, but…". They complete the sentence and pass the journal to their partner.

      2. The partner, after reading the sentence,writes a line (or paragraph) of dialogue which heightens the tension.

      3. Keep passing the journal back and forth, trying to throw curve balls at one another without delving into the absurd.

      Movies with great dialogue: Tarantino, Juno, Linklater, Kevin Smith, Coen Brothers, David Mamet, Casablanca, China Town, Aaron Sorkin

      Listen to how people talk to each other

      • Most of it is the weather.
      • He's like a bull in a china shop…
      • Eating out.
      • Bars.
      • Waiting rooms.
      • Cell phone jerks.
      • At the checkout.

      More notes on dialogue:

      Dialogue is not real speech, but it should sound like it.
      • Cut words and phrases that don't move things along

      Don't use dialogue to provide exposition—keep it to three sentences or less

      Break it up with action—remind us they are physical

      Vary signal phrases, but keep it simple. Don't use elaborate signal phrases (she expostulated, he interjected)

      Avoid stereotypes in dialect, but…
      • Huck Finn
      • To Kill a Mockingbird

      Don't over use slang/profanity. "Slang goes sour in a short time." --EH

      Read a lot. Note good/bad

      Punctuate correctly
      • Use quotation marks?

      Start a new paragraph when changing speakers.

      Setting

      "If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."
      –Anton Chekhov

      1. Time
      1. Year
      2. Season
      3. Month
      4. Day of Week
      5. Time of Day
      6. General Era

      1. Place (physical environment)
      1. Country
      2. State
      3. City
      4. Landscape
      5. Climate
      6. House
      7. Yard/Surroundings

      For example: Greasy Lake, Death of a Salesman, To Build a Fire, The Storm, Grapes of Wrath

      Exercise: For your first chapter--The departure, or Ordinary World

      5 w’s

      Senses/Imagery

      Point of view

      a. First Person

      1. Single character's point of view.

      b. Advantages of First Person

      i. maintain naivete or innocence
      ii. Narrated out loud.
      iii. Irony of narrator/Humor
      1. Also, unreliable/biased narrators
      iv. Immediacy?

      v. Disadvantages

      1. Less flexible
      2. Can be contrived

      c. Third person

      i. Better for "hot" material.
      ii. Flexible.
      iii. Omniscient/Limited (All characters v Single character)
      iv. Objective/Subjective: (No thoughts or feelings v. Thoughts and Feelings)

      v. Disadvantages
      a. "Head hopping"=confusion unless handled right

      Monday, November 15, 2010

      Day 38

      English 101 Day 38
      1. Essays back 1030 overview

      2. Essays back today, tomorrow and Thursday for 930 class

      3. Creating characters

      a. Gradually revealing characters—peal the onion slowly.
      b. Names—meaning and avoiding confusion.
      c. Adding depth and personality

      d. Characterization:
      i. Telling
      ii. Actions
      iii. Conversations
      iv. Feelings

      v. Names exercise?

      e. Checklist

      4. Tips on Dialogue

      In two's: I'm sorry but…

      Movies with great dialogue: Tarantino, Juno, Linklater, Kevin Smith, Coen Brothers, David Mamet, Casablanca, China Town, Aaron Sorkin

      Listen to how people talk to each other

      • Most of it is the weather.
      • He's like a bull in a china shop…
      • Eating out.
      • Waiting rooms.
      • Cell phone jerks.
      • At the checkout.

      Read page 118, 119, 120, 121
      More notes on dialogue:

      Dialogue is not real speech, but it should sound like it.
      • Cut words and phrases that don't move things along

      Don't use dialogue provide exposition—keep it to three sentences or less

      Break it up with action—remind us they are physical

      Vary signal phrases, but keep it simple. Don't use elaborate signal phrases (she expostulated, he interjected)

      Avoid stereotypes in dialect, but…
      • Huck Finn

      Don't over use slang/profanity. "Slang goes sour in a short time." --EH

      Read a lot. Note good/bad

      Punctuate correctly
      • Use quotation marks?
      • Start a new paragraph when changing speakers.

      5. Homework: Read 127-133

      Friday, November 12, 2010

      How to Write a Good Short Story

      Day 37

      English 101 Day 37

      1. Structure and Design
      a. The story: the what
      b. The plot: they why

      2. Events over time—Chronology
      a. Keep flashbacks and flashforwards to a minimum.
      b. What is the “logline” of your story? One sentence of 25 words or less that summarizes the story.

      3. Where to begin:
      a. In media res “in the middle of things”
      b. usually best to start as close to the end as possible.
      c. Exposition: history, characters, time and place (5 w’s).
      d. Draw your readers in.

      4. Plot structure:
      a. Exposition
      b. Rising Action
      c. Climax
      d. falling action
      e. resolution

      5. Conflict: A Character faces challenges
      a. Conflicts are often bigger than life. Stories magnify real experience.
      b. Some specific event within the story causes the conflict to arise. A character’s life is thrown out of balance and he or she is called to the Journey. Often this external event mirrors an existing internal struggle.
      c. In the beginning, the main character’s dominant personality traits dictate the character’s actions and reactions to the conflict.
      d. Complications intensify the conflict, forcing the main character to adjust and change.
      e. The main character makes several attempts to solve the conflict.
      f. By the end of the story, the main character has grown so much that he or she resolves the conflict with knowledge and skill, not trickery or artifice.

      6. Assignment: Briefly describe the conflict your character will solve in your story, and then describe the event that will call your initiate to the journey. Ask yourself, What event or situation will upset your character’s life? Is something missing, has something been taken, or ahs the initiate’s life been thrown out of harmony?

      7. Checklist

      8. Creating characters

      a. Good and bad sides, three-dimensional and round- complex.
      b. Flat, two dimensional, static characters- often single characteristic.
      c. What does your character desire?
      d. What are their quirks?
      e. Composite characters—combinations of ourselves and others.
      f. Gradually revealing characters—peal the onion slowly.
      g. Names—meaning and avoiding confusion.
      h. Character profile questions:
      i. What is a typical day for this characters before the journey?
      j. Adding depth and personality
      i. list names of characters in your story.
      ii. What are their dominant personality traits?
      iii. They were the kind of person who…x5

      k. Characterization:
      i. Telling
      ii. Actions
      iii. Conversations
      iv. Feelings
      v. Names exercise?

      l. Checklist

      Homework: Read 118-127

      Wednesday, November 10, 2010

      Day 36

      English 101 Day 35:

      Exploring Ideas, continued

      Personal Experience

      a. Rites of passage? When did you know you were an adult? (or not a child…)
      b. Road trips.
      c. Vacations.
      d. Moves.
      e. Hikes.
      f. Camps.
      g. How did you arrive in Yakima.
      h. Illness/injury.
      i. Accidents.
      j. Addiction.
      k. Depression/psychological.
      l. Divorce/relationship.
      m. Friendships.
      n. Moments of sudden growth

      4. Observation (Second hand experiences)
      a. How did your family arrive in Yakima?
      b. Grandparents/parents/siblings/relatives/friends.

      5. Imagination
      a. Invent your own hero.
      b. Take Scout, Jem, Boo or Dill on a second journey.

      Next Steps:
      A. Pick one and answer the five questions:
      Who, What, Where, When and Why?
      B. Freewrite 10 minutes

      Creative Non-fiction: Ethics and Edicts

      H/O Rubric
      Homework: Read handout: 102-117 for Friday.

      Tuesday, November 9, 2010

      Day 35

      English 101 Day 35 Fall 2010

      The writing process.

      a. Planning

      i. Assess the situation.

      1. Subject
      2. Sources
      3. Purpose and audience
      4. Length
      5. Reviewers and deadlines

      ii. Exploring ideas

      1. Talking and listening.
      2. Annotating texts
      3. Listing
      4. Clustering
      5. Freewriting
      6. Asking journalist’s questions

      iii. Formulating a tentative thesis

      iv. Sketching a plan

      b. Drafting

      i. Introductions and thesis

      ii. Body

      iii. Conclusion

      c. Revising

      i. Global

      ii. Revising and editing sentences

      2. Essay 3 Prompt and due dates (Rough 11/22; Final 11/29)

      3. Personal Experience

      a. Rites of passage? When did you know you were an adult? (or not a child…)
      b. Road trips.
      c. Vacations.
      d. Moves.
      e. Hikes.
      f. Camps.
      g. How did you arrive in Yakima.
      h. Illness/injury.
      i. Accidents.
      j. Addiction.
      k. Depression/psychological.
      l. Divorce/relationship.
      m. Friendships.
      n. Moments of sudden growth

      4. Observation (Second hand experiences)

      a. How did your family arrive in Yakima?
      b. Grandparents/parents/siblings/relatives/friends.

      5. Imagination

      a. Invent your own hero.
      b. Take Scout, Jem, Boo or Dill on a second journey.

      Friday, November 5, 2010

      Harris and Thompson's book

      b. Book (383 in Hacker)
      i. The Hero’s Journey: A Guide to Literature and Life
      ii. Reg Harris and Susan Thompson
      iii. Harris Communication
      iv. Napa, California
      v. Copyright 2005

      Thursday, November 4, 2010

      Day 32

      Meet in lab.
      Work on thesis and essays.
      Essays due MONDAY, not Friday.

      Tomorrow, we'll grade a sample essay and one of our own.

      Wednesday, November 3, 2010

      Day 31

      English 101 Fall 2010 Day 31
      1. Peer Review Review
      2. Sample Thesis statements/Introductions
      Think of it as similar to your Smoke Signals thesis, but instead of three steps (Separation, Initiation and Return) there are the 8 steps of the Hero's Journey to walk the reader through.

      3. Your thesis statements
      4. Body paragraphs—Topic sentences.
      5. Tomorrow, lab time.

      Tuesday, November 2, 2010

      Day 30

      Complete Peer Review
      Bonus Points?
      Peer Review, Review
      Final Essays Due Monday.

      Monday, November 1, 2010

      Day 29

      Rough Drafts Due Today.
      Groups of 4.
      # paragraphs
      Write 1-3 questions
      Exchange with partner
      Read and mark as you go.
      Complete the peer review worksheet
      Discuss
      hand peer review worksheet and essay back to author
      Repeat 3 x

      Hand in Rough Drafts
      Hand in Finding Themes worksheet.
      Bonus Points are closed for September/October.
      Copy/Paste into a single document and number you posts.
      Hand in posts tomorrow for Bonus Points.

      November BP begins today.