Paragraphing (9/27)

9/29 Thursday: No Classes

Today we will:

• Review Claims and Thesis Statements 
• Discuss how to organize your essay around a thesis 
• Read about and discuss paragraphing 
• Review sample paragraphs in response to a CAT reading 
• Work in groups to create one paragraph for a second CAT readin
• Reflect on what we have learned
• Work individually to finish the summary and response to "I Know the Truth, So Don't Bother Me with Facts"

A. THINKING ABOUT THESIS AND ORGANIZATION (15 min)

1. For two minutes: look at the list of claims and the list of theses on page 13 of the packet. Which of these give you the most information as to what the essay will be about? Which are somewhat general or vague?
2. For two minutes: Look at outlines on pages 4 and 5: In what ways could outlines help you create a focused, organized paper? How does the "Willie Colon" thesis on page 4 help organize the ideas that follow?

B. THINKING ABOUT PARAGRAPHS (15 min)

1. Take three minutes to read and annotate pages 6-8 of the packet. Pay special attention to the section on EVIDENCE, letter B on page 6, --this is one element of the paragraph that you must learn to write well. 
2. Take two minutes  look at my development of paragraphs for a response to "How To Do One Thing at a Time" on pages 14-15 of the packet. 

C. GROUP WORK: DEVELOPING ONE PARAGRAPH FOR "IS GOOGLE MAKING US STUPID?" (30 min)

1. Read the instructions HERE.
2. Post your responses HERE.

D. REFLECTING ON PARAGRAPHING (5-7 min)
In MSWord, type a brief reflection of what you have learned about paragraphing that answers the questions below. Paste it HERE. Sign it with your first name or a pseudonym/nickname.

• What did you learn from thinking and discussing Outlining and Paragraphing?
• What did you learn from writing a paragraph with your group?
• How could paragraphing make you a better writer?

E. ON YOUR OWN: BLOG 2 (until the end of class)
Go back to Blog 2 and finish your response to "I Know the Truth, so Don't Bother me with Facts" using what you have learned about thesis statements and paragraphing. This blog entry should be at least 400 words long.

HOMEWORK

1. Complete Blog 4: Reflection on Skills
2. Check "Evaluation of Introductory Unit" (see top right) to make sure you have completed all work before my evaluation this Sunday, October 2 starting at 9:00am. 

Annotating (9/13)

TO DOs:
**New to the class? See me immediately.**
1. Take the student pre-survey HERE.

2. Pick up your class packet from the front table. 

3. Check the link to your blog (RIGHT and DOWN) to be sure it works: If it does not, see me. If you wish another name than what is showing or your name is wrong, see me. If your name does not show at all, see me.

"Highlighting and Annotating" from Skills for Open University Study

Today we will:

• Think critically about Annotation
• Review a sample annotation of a CAT reading
• Work in groups to annotate a second CAT reading
• Reflect on annotation

 I. Thinking Critically about Annotation

1. On your own, take two minutes to write down what the word "annotation" means to you.
2. With a partner, skim the texts below, examining the annotations carefully. Now make a list describing how the editors of the texts are using the annotations. Be prepared to share the list with the class. (15 minutes)

Romeo and Juliet 1 

Romeo and Juliet 2

  3. Sometimes we connect to a text because it

-touches us emotionally (it makes us happy or sad, for example), 
-reminds us of past experience, 
-teaches us something new, 
-changes our perspective on an issue, 
-helps us see the world through someone else's experience.

On your own, come up with one example of a text, movie, photo, etc. that did any of these things to you. We will share your connections with the class. (10 minutes)


II. Annotating

1. On your own, review "Annotating" on page 1 of your packet (5-7 minutes). On a piece of paper,  write down for two minutes to answer these questions: Which of the ideas makes sense to you? Which do not? Why? Which do you think you could use in your own writing? Why?
2. On your own, read the sample CAT reading "How to Do One Thing at a Time" on page 10 of the packet and then look at the annotations for it on page 11 (10-15 minutes). On the same piece of paper,  write down for two minutes to answer these questions: What in the annotations makes sense to you? What would you do differently? Why?
3. With your partner, annotate the sample CAT reading "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" on page 16 of the packet. Be prepared to share your annotations with the class. As a class, we will annotate this reading HERE.

III. Reflecting on Annotation

Look over the notes you jotted on the piece of paper. In MSWord, type a brief reflection of what you have learned about annotations that answers the questions below. Paste it HERE. Sign it with your first name or a pseudonym/nickname.

• What did you get from thinking about annotations with the class? 
• What did you get from writing annotations for "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" with your partner?
• What did you learn about the reading by annotating it?
• How may annotating make you a better writer?

HOMEWORK: On your own, annotate "I Know the Truth, so Don't Bother Me with Facts" on page 17 of the packet.

Annotating (3/9)

TO DOs:
1. Take the student pre-survey

2. Pick up your class packet from the front table. 

"Highlighting and Annotating" from Skills for Open University Study

Today we will:

• Think critically about Annotation
• Review a sample annotation of a CAT reading
• Work in groups to annotate a second CAT reading
• Work individually to annotate a third CAT reading

 I. Thinking Critically about Annotation

1. On your own, take a few minutes to write down what the word "annotation" means to you.
2. With a partner, skim the texts below, examining the annotations carefully. Now make a list describing how the editors of the texts are using the annotations. Be prepared to share the list with the class.

Romeo and Juliet 1 

Romeo and Juliet 2

  3. Sometimes we connect to a text because it

-touches us emotionally (it makes us happy or sad, for example), 
-reminds us of past experience, 
-teaches us something new, 
-changes our perspective on an issue, 
-helps us see the world through someone else's experience.

With your partner, come up with one example of a text, movie, photo, etc. that did any two of these things to you. We will share your connections with the class.


II. Annotating

1. On your own, review "Annotating" on page 1 of your packet. Now discuss with your partner: Which of the ideas makes sense to you? Which do not? Why? Which do you think you could use in your own writing? Why?
2. On your own, read the sample CAT reading "How to Do One Thing at a Time" on page 9 of the packet and then look at the annotations for it on page 10. Now discuss with your partner: What in the annotations makes sense to you? What would you do differently? Why?
3. With your partner, annotate the sample CAT reading "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" on page 11 of the packet. Be prepared to share your annotations with the class. See Group Annotation HERE
4. Now go to your blog and create Blog 2: Reflecting on Annotation. In this blog entry, please answer the following questions:

• What did you get from thinking about annotations with the class? 
• What did you get from writing annotations for "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" with your partner?
• What did you learn about the reading by annotating it?
• How may annotating make you a better writer?

5. On your own, annotate "I Know the Truth, so Don't Bother Me with Facts" on page 12 of the packet.

6. Exchange your annotations with your partner. Read your partner's annotations and write three comments in answer to these questions:

• What is one thing that I really liked in this set of annotations?
• What is one thing I found confusing , needed more explanation, etc?
• If this were my set of annotations, what is one thing I would change?

7. Review your partner's answers to the questions, open Blog 2, and finish your reflection by writing your answer to the following question: What did I learn from the exchange with my partner?

Figuring out the CATW (9/16)

NYT Cartoon from Business-Managed Democracy by Professor Sharon Beder

http://herinst.org/BusinessManagedDemocracy/education/curricula/teachtest.html

• Lecture/ Discussion: Understanding the CATW
• Evaluating CATWs (pages 7-13 of the CATW Handbook)

NO LAB this Friday! Instead, write Blog 2: “What I need to do to pass the CATW--seriously” (due by Monday)