Day 13: Welcome to the Food Unit!

A. Reading "XXXL: Why Are We So Fat?" on pages 26-27 of the packet.

B. Help the professor summarize each of the four readings in 1-2 sentences per reading.

C. Open a MSWord document and create a header and heading. Change the spacing of your document to double. Now create an introductory paragraph by

1. Using a question as hook and introducing the readings:

Why are so many Americans overweight? In her article for The New Yorker, Elizabeth Kolbert reviews the answers given by four recent books on weight gain.

2. Adding the four summaries.

3. Creating a thesis that positions you in reference to the four readings:

While X and Y gave some compelling reasons for why Americans are overweight, the argument by Z makes the most sense because Reason 1 and Reason 2 (and Reason 3?).
Complete the rest of the essay as if it were a CAT-W response. This will be Print Piece #10. Your complete response should

• expand the claim or thesis in at least two body paragraphs

• the body paragraphs must refer back to the reading you think is correct at least once
• one of these body paragraphs must use evidence from ONE OF THE OTHER four reviews (don't forget to introduce this reading with a signal phrase--see page 12 of the class packet) and REFUTE IT
• one of the body paragraphs must include evidence from your personal experience

•  end with a conclusion that does something other than summarize (see page 18 of the class packet)

If you do not get done today, that is okay--just continue writing at home and turn the final draft on Wednesday.

LAB: Please begin working on your To Do Lists. Your individual assignments are HERE.

Next class we will have a CAT-W Practice Test, so please be on time!

Days 11 and 12: Midterm Portfolio Meetings

This week I meet with you individually to see how your writing has been progressing and to make plans for what is left of the semester. For the day you do NOT meet with me, please complete a CAT-W of choice from the four I gave you last class.

My office is M 109 H What to bring to the meeting: Your Print Pieces 1-7.
A print copy of your Midterm Portfolio Reflection

Midterm Portfolio Reflection questions HERE. This will be Print Portfolio Piece #8.  Submit your answers to THIS FORM

Day 11: Putting together the Portfolio and Midterm Reflection

Please go down the list of items. What does not get done in class becomes lab and then homework.

1. Summarizing The Truman Show HERE. Answers to the summary  HERE.

2. Truman and Me HERE. Form for Truman and You HERE.

3. Assembling Pieces 1-7 of the Print Portfolio. Unsure of what these are? Check the schedule HERE.

4. Reviewing your online work. Check this list here:

1. Thinking about “Hype” Form
2. Identifying a Summary Form
3. Identifying a Thesis Form
4.  “The Allegory of the Cave and You” Form
5. “Truman and You” Form

5. Writing the Midterm Portfolio Reflection. Questions HERE. This will be Print Portfolio Piece #8.  have a print copy AND submit your answers to THIS FORM

What to bring to the meeting: Your Print Pieces 1-7.
A print copy of your Midterm Portfolio Reflection

Day 10: The Truman Show

1. Screening The Truman Show. 

2. Summarizing The Truman Show HERE. Answers to the summary  HERE.

3. Truman and Me HERE. Form for Truman and You HERE.

Day 9: CAT-W Retest and the Death of the American University

Today we will read, annotate, summarize, and research Noam Chomsky's remarks on why American universities are struggling to do their work properly.

For the reading, see HERE

Write a reaction to we have just read. This will be Print Piece #7

Day 8: Plato's Allegory of the Cave

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”--Socrates (from the Apology)

1. Before reading: brainstorming. Fill out THIS FORM.
2. Reading out loud: "The Allegory of the Cave," pages 21-23 of the class packet. We will stop to make clarifications, answer questions, and stress important ideas. Then you will read the piece again and annotate the reading to your satisfaction. Please consult your dictionaries for any words you do not understand.
3. Watch: "The Allegory of the Cave"

      

1. Click on the scrambled summary of "The Allegory of the Cave" HERE. Answers to the summary HERE.
2. Working in groups, match each symbolic element of the story with its philosophic meaning HERE. Answers HERE.
3.  Using only the symbolic meanings of the story, help me and your classmates summarize the meaning of Socrates’ story—what is he trying to explain to Glaucon about reality? Let's begin the summary with  this signal phrase: In Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave,” Socrates tells a story to his student Glaucon to explain ...

Homework:
In an MS document, answer TWO of the four questions below related to Plato's Allegory*. Each answer should be at least 250 words long. Paste your answers into THIS FORM:

1. In our world, what is like Plato's cave ? 
2. How is the way you understand the world, your ideas and beliefs, shaped by the actions of others? 
3. Who has the power to shape your ideas and beliefs? In what ways is this good and in what ways is it not so good? 
4. Are there things you know to be true? What are they, and how do you know them?

                        *With my thanks to University of Washington Center for Philosophy for Children for the questions. 

Next Class: CAT-W Practice Test 2--do not be late!

Day 7: Understanding the CAT-W

A. Understanding how your responses are scored (page 22 of the packet).

• Rubric for CAT-W's HERE.
• Examples for category 4 and 5 errors HERE.
• Evaluation of Sample Responses to "Hype" HERE.

B. Begin Print Portfolio Piece # 6 (continue during lab): Complete a second Connecting, Generating and Outlining form for the following readings:

1. Steinem. "A Balance between Nature and Nurture."
2. Weiler Gerber. "It's All in the Details."
3. Holliday. "I Am My Mother's Daughter."
4. Reinert. "Now That's Service."
5. Green. "Considering Adoption."