Then, there's this

Chinese dust over LA (and of course in China)

and this

Day 8

English 101 Day 8

1. Discuss Chapter 12 and 16
   
1. Best dialogue (spoken words)
   
2. Best statistic
   
3. Ugliest detail
   
4. Similarity to New Orleans?
   
2. The writing process
   
1. Hacker
   
3. Rubric
   
1. High/Low ends
   
2. Sample Essay?
   
   

H/W Quiz over Intro, Chapters 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 16, 17, 18

Look over your notes. Look over the book.

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

Day 7

English 101 Day 7

Finish discussion of 7, 8, 9

In same groups using overhead.

Discuss Chapter 12

Detailed essay requirements

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

Good places to start:

NYTimes

Times-Picayune

Essay 1 Description

English 101 Fall 2007

Essay 1: Why Now?

In a 3-5 page essay, explain the similarities between the Dust Bowl era and our time.

Rough Draft Due: Wednesday October 10^th

Bring 4 copies.

This will be graded for completion, not quality.

However, it's worth 20 points and part of your 60% grade.

Final Draft Due: Monday October 15^th.

Bring two copies.

100 points, graded using the rubric. Also part of your 60% grade.

Timothy Egan's book, The Worst Hard Time won the national book award in 2005. He's big time on the lecture circuit and in book clubs around the country. It's a book lots of people have read and recommended to their friends. Our question is Why Now? Why are people interested in this subject again?

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

Your primary source on the Dust Bowl will be The Worst Hard Time, but there are others, lots of them.

Your primary source for our era will probably be newspaper reports from the NYTimes, The Times-Picayune and possibly library databases such as Proquest. Google might help, but beware bogus science, conspiracy theories, crackpots etc. There are enough credible sources available that you shouldn't need to stretch to find support. I'd suggest at least two sources outside WHT.

For a description of what I'm looking for in excellent papers (and what to avoid) refer to the rubric in your class syllabus.

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

Egan gives us the thesis. You can go your own way, too.

We've got to connect the dots and find support.

You may also consider a short "digression" into the differences between now and then. This can be done within paragraphs, or could be a separate section.

We did a pretty good job yesterday with the broad areas of similarity, but you'll want to get more specific.

Here's what Egan said in an interview. He's handing us a thesis statement. We have to connect the dots and fill in the support.

Why a book on the Dust Bowl now?


The story of the people who lived through the nation's hardest economic depression and its worst weather event is one of the great untold stories of the Greatest Generation. To me, there was an urgency to get this story now because the last of the people who lived through those dark years are in their final days. It's their story, and I didn't want them to take this narrative of horror and persistence to the grave. At the same time, this part of America — the rural counties of the Great Plains — looks like it's dying. Our rural past seems so distant, like Dorothy's Kansas in the Wizard of Oz. Yet it was within the lifetime of people living today that nearly one in three Americans worked on a farm. Now, the site of the old Dust Bowl — which covers parts of five states — is largely devoid of young families and emptying out by the day. It's flyover country to most Americans. But it holds this remarkable tale that should be a larger part of our shared national story.

Do you see any parallels between the Dust Bowl and Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster of our time?


There are so many echoes of what happened in the 1930s and the hurricane that hit the Gulf Coast in the summer of 2005. For starters, there were ample warnings that a large part of the United States could be rendered uninhabitable if people continued to live as they did — in this case, ripping up all the grass that held the earth in place. In one sense, the prairie grass was like the levees around New Orleans; the grass protected the land against ferocious winds, cycles of drought, and storms. Then after the big dusters hit, you had a massive exodus: more than a quarter million people left their homes and fled. Never before or since had so many Americans been on the move because of a single weather event — until Hurricane Katrina. And finally there was the whole restoration effort: President Franklin Roosevelt thought he could restore the land to grass, plant trees, and maybe bring it back.

Beyond the hurricane, what is the relevance of the Dust Bowl to our times?


Remember what Lincoln said: We cannot escape history. That goes for the natural world as well. The Dust Bowl story is a parable, in a way, about what happens when people push the limits of the land. Many people think what happened in the 1930s — with drought, endless hot days, white skies, plants dying and the earth blowing — is a precursor to what could happen as the climate continues to change and the earth heats up.

Day 6

English 101 Day 6

We're on the front page, twice.

Bonus Point Opportunities this week:

Sunday 12-2 YV Museum

Information Literacy Workshops in P177

Wednesday 3^rd, Thursday 4^th at 2:10pm Research: Topic and Thesis

Friday 5^th 9:30am Research: Information Sources

Academic Essays

Analysis of the text—some of this is summary, some of this 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)

Promise and Betrayal Notes In groups of five

Ch 5; Ch 7; Ch 8; Ch 9

What is the big picture of 1935?

What are the big themes?

Last week we saw:

Failure to learn from history

Failure to heed warnings

Environmental devastation brought on by

Overconfidence/Hubris/Hype

Greed

Technology/Machines

Exodus(ters) (um...that's ¼ million, not 14 million)

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

Schedule for next two weeks

Wednesday Oct 3^rd

Finish discussion of 5, 7, 8, 9

Discuss Chapter 12

What Egan says

Detailed essay requirements

Thursday Oct 4^th

Discuss Chapter 16

A look at the writing process.

Breaking down the rubric—what a good paper looks like.

Friday Oct 5th

Quiz WHT

Teaching Tolerance lesson plan

A good paper—looking at the rubric

(Sunday Kick-Off 12-2pm YVMuseum; free books)

Monday Oct 8th

Research for evidence for what Egan says

Tuesday Oct 9^th

Organization and support

Wednesday Oct 10th

Rough Draft of Essays due—peer edit practice This is a change.

Peer Editing

Thursday

Peer Editing

Friday

Intros and Conclusions

Monday

Final draft of essays due

Day 5

English 101 Day 5

Names—Quiz
Getting started on “Why Now?” question.

My notes on Intro

Chapter 1 and 2 at your tables—two or three interesting things for us to look at.
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?

My notes

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)

WHT Notes Intro-Ch. 2

WHT Intro Notes: Characters+Horror

2: the story of this place: how the greatest grassland in the world was turned inside out, how the crust blew away, raged up in the sky and showered down a suffocating blackness off and on for a decade.

as if a curtain were being drawn across a vast stage at the world's end.

at a time when ¼ were out of work.

2-3: an old woman burns her husband's dust bowl diary

4: dugout

land act of 1909

5: 29-39. After a big run up, prices crashed. The rains disappeared…for years on end.

A scoop shovel was needed to clean the house in the morning.

Cows "they found stomachs stuffed with fine sand"

7: over 100 degrees for 35 days, on the 36^th, 117.

Dust drills

Black Sunday—April 1935. Sky went purple. Electricity. Great pp

9 14 mil fled. Exodusters, mostly tenant farmers.

10: 2/3 stayed; now pigs and prisons

Dust bowl #1 weather event of 20^th cent. Worst prolonged environmental disaster.

After, farmers got religion…but it didn't last. But now global farm commodities era.

 

Chapter 1: Bam White + History+ Warnings

15: Pre and colonial history of plains: Coronado in 1541

Apaches in 1700's; Comanches in 1800's

16: Bison

Medicine Lodge Treaty 1867: Comanche to GP's.

17: Killed bison by the millions (7 million pounds of bison tongue). 25 million killed.

18: Red River War: killed 1k horses. (Sheridan).

19: 10 years to eliminate the bison

19: XIT Ranch—Cows and Cowboys

Grassands covered 21 percent of US. Texas it was 2/3rds.

20 Capitol Syndicate 1882: bought it for 1.23.

How to Get Rich in the Plains.

21: Barbed wire invented in 1874

22: Bison are thermal regulators, cattle are fragile.

The Great American Desert.

23: Uninhabitable by people who depend on ag.—Report of 1820

24: Turns to real estate

Dry farming/Rain Follows the Plow

Use the dust for mulch.

Steam trains helped it rain.

25: The panhandle was good for ONE THING: Growing grass.

The best side is up…don't plow it under.

Sodbusters v. cowboys

26: Miles to water, miles to wood, and only six inches to hell.

27: Growing corn for brooms killed by vacuum. Corn for booze.

 

Chapter 2: Boise City, WWI+Grain prices, tempting fate

32: Boise City (tree/city) a lie twice.

33: Hyperbole/selling

34: Five flags: Spain, French, Mexico, Texas, US

36: Northern Plains abandoned already 1910-1930

37: Windmills reach aquifer. Windmill kits. Vast lake below the surface.

"The supply (of water) is inexhaustible."

38: Fire, flood, cow dip

39: The Great War: Turn the ground…as fast as you can.

42-3: Grain price spikes during WWI ($2 a bushel Government guarantee)

43: If the farmers of the High Plains were laying the foundation for a time bomb that would shatter the natural world, any voices that implied such a thing were muted.

What had been an anchored infinity of grassland just a generation earlier became a patchwork of broken ground.

47: Tractors speed plowing.

48: Loans to buy tractors, mortgages.

50: Maybe rain did follow the plow. The banks seldom said no.

50-51: If it was hubris, or 'tempting fat' as some of the church ladies said, well, the US gov. did not see it that way…. "The soil is the one indestructible, immutable asset that the nation posses," the Federal Bureau of Soils proclaimed as the grasslands were transformed. "It is the one resource that cannot be exhausted, that cannot be used up."

Day 4

English 101 Day 4

1. Names—Quiz Friday
   


2. Questions about the class and teacher
   


3. Getting started on "Why Now?" question.
   
   
   
   
   
   1. Intro and Chapter 1 at your tables—two or three interesting things for us to look at. (Leader, notetaker, reporter?)
      
   
   
   2. 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?
  


• 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 2

Change (get used to this) to the reading schedule: Cut chapter 3, 4 and 6 (so far) and read 5, 7 and 8 over the weekend instead. Chapter 9 for homework Monday and I'll have a revised schedule after that. I'm trying to get us all the way to the epilogue.

Day 3

English 101 Day 3

1. Names—Quiz Friday
   
2. A favor for the English Department
   
   1. Back at you—No English classes Monday.
      
3. When you're done, read.
   
4. Tomorrow, questions and getting started on "Why Now?" question.
   

And…

HW: Read WHT: Ch 1

Day 2

Engilsh 101 Day 2

1. Learning begins with questions. –Aristotle
   
2. Group the tables
   
3. YHR from Saturday
   

   What do we do about it?
   

1. One idea
   
2. But…
   
3. Oops…
4. Oh, And this, too…
   
5. Stay tuned
   
   
4. Assumptions
   
1. Right
2. Class
3. Teacher
   
5. Questions


1. Front
2. Teacher
   


6. Syllabus cont.
   
7. Rewrite questions about the class
   
8. Read WHT: Intro

Tomorrow, a favor for the English Dept.

Welcome to YVCC English 101

Why Now?
Why Here?
What About You?

The Big Read

Lesson Plan Day 1

English 101 Day 1

1. Learning begins with questions. –Aristotle
   
   

2. What is your dream for after college?
   
3. What dreams have you left behind?
   
4. What is your goal this quarter?
   
5. What do you have to get done this week?
   
6. Group the tables.
7. The Dust Bowl
   
8. YHR from Saturday
   
9. What do we do about it?
   
10. Assumptions
    
11. Right
    
12. Class
    
13. Teacher
    
14. Questions
15. Front
16. Class
17. Teacher

    
    

18. Syllabus
    
19. Rewrite questions about the class

Syllabus

Yakima Valley Community College—English Composition 101

Glenn-Anthon 121

Dan Peters, Instructor dpeters@yvcc.edu 574.6800.3194

Office Hours: Fall 2007

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 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 Mondays in the lab. Room number:

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
   

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.

Plagiarized work will be scored as a 0 and will not be eligible for revision/rescoring.

1. 
   

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 (D2).
   
   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.
      

1. The second part of your grade is your first and 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. Rubrics will be distributed at a later date.
      

      
      

2. The third part of your grade will be bonus points. Because of activities related to the Big Read, there will be a record number of bonus point opportunities this quarter.
   

   
   

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.

English 101 Rubric Essay One

Ideas and Support (AR—Supports claims with evidence) 40 points
Unacceptable	Developing	Acceptable	Proficient
The student's essay does not have a clear focus and includes little credible or relevant evidence. 0-27	The student's essay has a focus and offers some relevant supporting evidence, but also offers additional claims, evidence from questionable sources, and/or evidence of questionable relevance. 28-31	The student's essay has an identifiable claim; the student supports his or her claim with appropriate evidence that is generally relevant to that claim. 32-35	The student's essay has a unique, arguable claim; that claim is supported using appropriate, sufficient, and relevant evidence from credible and varied sources. 36-40

MLA Style (AR—Applies discipline-specific conventions) 20 points
Unacceptable	Developing	Acceptable	Proficient
The student produces an essay that does not use MLA documentation appropriately (i.e. lacks in-text documentation or lacks a reference page; paraphrases border on plagiarism, etc.). 0-11	In the essay, the student includes sources information, but does not fully integrate them; the student demonstrates some understanding MLA documentation, but struggles to consistently and correctly apply it. 12-15	The student produces an essay in which sources consistently and accurately quoted or paraphrased and are cited (in-text and on Works Cited page) according to MLA format. 16-17	The student produces an essay that complies with discipline standards: the essay is formatted correctly; sources are integrated effectively and are properly quoted/paraphrased and cited in-text; Works Cited page is complete, accurate, and correctly formatted. 18-20

Standard Written English (C — Uses contextually appropriate language and conventions; AR – Methods) 20 points
Unacceptable	Developing	Acceptable	Proficient
The student's essay includes many major errors—in grammar, syntax, and diction—that distort meaning and interrupt flow of reading. 0-11	The student's essay includes a number of distracting minor errors or some major errors that distort meaning, though overall meaning is not lost; at times, sentence structure disrupts flow, and word choices lack variety and precision. 12-15	The student's essay contains few distracting errors in syntax, diction, grammar, or mechanics, and the errors do not detract from the meaning; 16-17	The student's essay contains few or no noticeable errors in grammar or mechanics and errors do not distract reader; sentences fluency and word choice enhance the readability and "voice." 18-20

Organization (C) 20 points
Unacceptable	Developing	Acceptable	Proficient
The writing lacks a clear sense of direction. Ideas, details or events seem strung together in a loose or random fashion; there is no identifiable internal structure. No real intro or conclusion. Connections betw. ideas are confusing or missing 0-11	Problems make it hard for the reader to get a grip on the main point or story line. The paper has a recognizable intro and conclusion. The introduction may not create a strong sense of anticipation; the conclusion may not tie up all loose ends. 12-15	The organization structure is strong enough to move the reader through the text without too much confusion. Intro and conclusion grab reader's attention. Transitions often work well. 16-17	The organization enhances and showcases the central idea or theme. The order, structure, or presentation of information is compelling and moves the reader through the text. Organization flows so smoothly the reader hardly thinks about it. 18-20

Lesson Plan Day 45 English 101 Spring 07

Coherence notes (also, here and here)

1. Quiz: Writing Exercise E-ex C4-2
   
2. BP deal: dpeters@yvcc.edu
3. More absence/bp opportunities:
1. Tuesday 1130 poetry reading by Mark Halperin
2. Tuesday 730, Parker Room, Jenifer Lawrence
3. Thursday, MLK room, Prism reception/reading

5. Still need a hook? Here's one for CNW and here's one for WR
   
6. For Monday, from NPR, from YouTube
7. For Tuesday: Two copies final draft essay 3. Focus on the change the character makes. Quote from the film/script. Toss/Keep headings, but DO INCLUDE TRANSITIONS BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS. Works Cited required.
8. Also Tuesday, the final week starts. Revised essays probably due the following Tuesday, June 5^th.

Coherence
aka: Flow, strong connections, glue, holds together, the thread

Three levels

1. Within paragraphs
2. Between paragraphs
3. Between sections

• But first, it’s logic/analytical reasoning
• Second, it’s a thesis
• Third, it’s organization

Finally, there’s the direct approach

Transitional tags (35 Hacker)

• And, also, besides, for example, however, finally
• Works best within paragraph
• Can work between paragraphs
• Beware of overuse—can seem clunky, forced.

Repeating Key Words (between paragraphs)

Establish these in your thesis/intro

Ex: In the movie Whale Rider Paikea goes on a journey to become the chief of her tribe. Along the way, she encounters both challenges and assistance as she goes from confusion and fear to clarity and courage.

What are the key words we can repeat to transition between paragraphs?

Link key words in last and first sentences (between paragraphs)

Ex: [paragraph on Paikea’s being tested by her grandfather followed by the summary sentence] As you can see, Paikea sadness shows she is still being tested by her grandfather’s actions.

His actions are offset, somewhat, by the help she receives from Rawiri and her Nann

Links for Whale Rider

PDF document, good source

Another one

And another one, this one with some HJ thrown in

IMDB

Good background on the Maori

Official site

The Script

Lesson Plan Friday

Lesson Plan Day 30? Friday Lab

Complete Peer Editing?

1. Hand in Peer Editing Review
2. H/B Rough Drafts (BP Opportunity: Monday Night 730 Parker Room)
3. www.costofwar.com
4. Finnegan is writing during 90’s. What has changed? How has the media changed? How has immigration changed? How have drugs changed? How have spending priorities changed? How have income disparity changed? How has the economy changed? These are all ways you can “update” his suggestions at the end.
5. Solutions: Easier Said Than Done
1. Two things: LIMIT your proposal to something less vague, more tangible.
2. Suggest SPECIFIC ideas (mass transit? flex/mommy hours? ramps on/off for mothers? On site child care? V-chips/Internet filters? Treat drug abuse as public health issue, rather than criminalize? Boycotts for media pressure? Promise scholarships? DREAM Act? Extended family leave? etc)
3. Consider, this weekend, finding sources for these with good numbers/expert testimony about what will help.

7. A few sample essays
1. Intros/Thesis
2. Outline one?

8. Time to work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/22/fashion/22mothers.html?ex=1179028800&en=f661455888688e7d&ei=5070

http://momsrising.org/

Day 10

101 Lesson Plan, Day 10

Quizzes back Monday

From your reading last night

An exercise on intros/thesis.

Theme:

• Acceptance
• Race
• Family
• Love
• Other?

Here’s how to get a good paper for Option 2:

• Take one of these subjects and ask, what do the stories SAY about them in the process of coming of age? What are their morals?
• Find three that say roughly the same thing. Put lesson they share in your own words. Avoid clichés.
• Then for each, show, using quotes, where you came up with your interpretation. This is where the money is: evidence.

Here’s how to get a good paper for Option 1:

• What stories deal with ethnic/racial heritage?
• Does having a strong heritage make it easier to come of age for this person?
• Does having a strong heritage make it harder to come of age for this person?
• Is it some of both?
  Pick 2 or 3 stories that seem to deal with this issue the most directly.
• Explain how ethnicity/race influences the protagonists of these stories.
• Quote from the stories and explain what the quotes mean.

Here’s how to get a good grade for Option 3:

• Ask: What do the characters realize? for each story.
• Which stories have “the world is kind” as a realization?
• Which stories have “the world is cruel” as a realization?
• Pick one from each side.
• How did they come to this realization? What led up to it?
• What happens after they have this realization? You may have to guess.

Here’s how to get a good grade on all options:

• Reread the stories with the question in mind.
• List quotes as you go.
• Start the paper early.
• Think like a reader. What do they need to be convinced?
• Ask for help. (Me, Writing Center, Your Friend)

Steps in the Writing Process

Prewriting (TODAY)

• Freewriting
• Listing
• Discussion
• Five W’s
• Read/Research
• Invisible Writing
• Mapping/Webbing

Scratch Outline (Homework: Due Tues)

Rough Draft (DueWed, Bring four copies)

Peer Review (Wed/Thurs)

Revise-essay level (Friday)

Edit-paragraph level (Saturday)

Proofread-sentence/word level (Sunday)

Second draft (MON 16th, bring 2 copies)

Present

Theme/Thesis

Thesis

Main idea of an essay.

Usually stated DIRECTLY within the first two paragraphs.

Subject + Idea about the subject = Thesis)

Stated in a sentence or two.

Provides a “road map” for the rest of the essay.

Practice now:

Prewriting

Freewriting (10 minutes)

Listing (10 minutes)

Discussion (groups of 4)

Homework:

For Monday, An introduction, including a good hook, naming of the authors and stories and a THESIS (main idea) statement for your essay. (/10 points)

For Tues, Scratch Outline: PARAGRAPH by PARAGRAPH topics with two-three quotes listed below each (/10 points) And, I might try something different.

For Wednesday, Rough Draft Due--Bring 4 copies

Lesson Plan Day 6 Monday

101 Lesson Plan, Day 6

1. Journal: A time you stole something.

2. Quizzes back Tuesday.

3. Essay Options and Due Dates

a. Rough Draft: Tuesday 4/10—bring 4 copies

b. Final Draft: Friday 4/13

4. Characters are revealed in the following way:

· Their Actions

· Their Choices

· Their speech

· Their Thoughts and Feelings

· Their Past

· Comments by other characters about them

5. Bastard Out of Carolina

a. Protagonist

b. Antagonist

6. Summer Water and Shirley

a. Protagonist

b. Antagonist

7. Spell of Kona Weather

a. Protagonist

b. Antagonist

By Monday: Summer Water and Shirley

“A Spell of Kona Weather”;

By Tuesday: What Means Switch,

By Wednesday: This Boy’s Life; (Quiz: Family Matters/Affairs of the Heart)

By Thursday: Eyes and Teeth; Marigolds