Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Week 5-Tuesday

Warm Up

Reading
Writing Response
  • Appreciation (30 minutes)
Follow-Up Grammar Exam
  • Today we will take the same grammar exam we took weeks ago.  I will provide the results the following class and then go over the test carefully.  

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Week 4

Today we meet four of the Soñadores from Nicaragua.  These four children are six years old and part of a program that will guarantee them access to education from pre-k through college.  Let's spend time with them this morning and do a brainstorm regarding their future.  


Before brainstorming, we will read a UNESCO article on education that came out last year.


We will use a series of questions that come from an ancient Greek practice of finding balance.  Here are some of the areas: 

Fact

  • Did something happen?
  • What are the facts?
  • Is there a problem/issue?
  • How did it begin and what are its causes?
  • What changed to create the problem/issue?
  • Can it be changed?
Definition
  • What is the nature of the problem/issue?
  • What exactly is the problem/issue?
  • What kind of a problem/issue is it?
  • To what larger class of things or events does it belong?
  • What are its parts, and how are they related?
Quality
  • Is it a good thing or a bad thing?
  • How serious is the problem/issue?
  • Whom might it affect (stakeholders)?
  • What happens if we don't do anything?
  • What are the costs of solving the problem/issue?
Policy
  • Should action be taken?
  • Who should be involved in helping to solve the problem/address the issue?
  • What should be done about this problem?
  • What needs to happen to solve this problem/address this issue?
Source:  Purdue Writing Lab


We will use this brainstorm to write another essay in our next class.  This will also launch the service-learning effort for our class.  Please bring your completed forms to our next class.


    Tuesday, May 25, 2010

    Week 3

    Go back to the article "The Woman She Came to Be."  In groups of three, find and define the following words:
    • Ruefully
    • Juggle
    • Audit
    • Dutifully
    • Scolded
    • Wares
    • Trademark
    • Savvy
    • Berated

    In your groups, discuss the article and come up with three questions that if given the chance to speak with Dr. Quintanilla you would ask her.

    Today we will look at more closely at the use of the topic sentence and complete an exercise in MWL.

    Mapping out individual study plans.

    Homework:
    The article you read over the weekend traces Quintanilla's life focusing primarily on the challenges she experienced in school.  Write a short narrative describing your biggest challenge in school right now.  Keep it to about three paragraphs.  Bring a printed copy along with a digital copy of your text to class.

    Tuesday, May 18, 2010

    Week 2

    This morning we will work with the paragraphs that you turned in last week.  Please go to your email accounts to find the returned paragraphs with my comments.  I would like for you to list up to three errors that you think are important enough for you to work on.  Notice that for the most part I did not label the errors in your writing; I mostly provided a correction.  


    Once you identified up to three errors, find categorize them in order of importance and identify them in MyWritingLab.  Look at your diagnostic results and see if any of the errors were identified in the diagnostic exam.  

    In Class
    Write a short paragraph, about five to eight sentences long about the kinds of errors you found in your paragraph.  Explain what the errors mean, and your strategy for building your skills to avoid them in the future.

    At Home
    When you get home, go to that section of the lab and complete watch the instructional video and complete the recall and apply exercises for the three problem areas.

    Reading and Listening Activity

    We will read a New York Times article on education this morning.  As you hear the article read, I'd like for you to take notes.  This is a listening and writing activity that demands great attention.  Identify the main points of the article; pick out one or two statistics that are significant.

    Reading and Writing Activity
    Using the same article, now this time in printed form, go ahead and annotate the article.  Use your pen or pencil to mark the margins, providing useful margin notes that will help you better understand the article.  Mark unfamiliar words to look up.  Identify major points and statistical information.

    Activity
    Write a two to three-paragraph response to the article explaining how the information in the article relates to you as a college student.

    Nicaragua Project Critical Thinking
    We begin today with the Nicaragua Service-Learning Project.  This coming Thursday you will have the opportunity to staff two tables in front of the security guards by the elevator to explain the project to passersby and to also to sell any food that is donated.  

    I will be providing background information on the project.  Please take notes and let's go over what you considered were important issues to jot down and to then later explain to those who might be interested.

    To sign up for working the tables, please use this form.

    Case Study

    Watch the video and write a short response.  Pose at least two questions.