ASSIGNMENTS

Below each date is is the assignment that you should have completed before you come to class on that date.

December 11

I guess you didn't want to see the rest of the movie. You will get your portfolio results at the regular class time. Bring your folder if you haven't turned it in already.

December 6

1. We will finish watching the movie on Wednesday. No assignment.

December 4

1. Bring your folder with all of your writing that isn't in your portfolio.

November 29

You will be completing your reflective essay and finalizing your portfolio. Here are a few suggestions of things that you can work on before Wednesday:

• Revise either of the essays that will be in your portfolio, if you think it needs revision.
• Prepare the items on the "Finalizing Portfolio" handout. (The template for the table of contents is on the disk I will be returning to you, so you can just note the titles and dates and finish the table of contents in class if you think you will have time.)
• Make notes about ways you might revise your reflective essay.
• Get any information off the website you might need, such as the "Format for Assignments."

November 27

Prepare to work on your portfolio:

• Choose the essays you will include in the portfolio, and start making notes about why you made these choices.
• Revise the chosen essays if you want.
• Spend some time working on one or two important grammatical problems that persisted in your writing after many drafts. Use the interactive exercises to which there are links on my website.

Click here for the handout on portfolio preparation.

November 20

1. Remember to revise your reflective essay in your practice portfolio before your meeting with me.
2. Revise your essay on The Da Vinci Code. Work on my suggestions, and make sure what you write about would be clear to someone who hasn't read the novel.
3. Revise your "This I Believe Essay."

November 15

1. Revise your "This I Believe" essay.
2. Revise your reflective essay and put your practice portfolio together properly before meeting with me.

3. Consider drafting an essay about why you would (or would not) recommend The Da Vinci Code. If you hand one in, I will give you feedback. (This would give you another essay to choose from for your exit portfolio. This might be very helpful if you are not happy with how your current essay on The Da Vinci Code is going.)

November 13

1. Write the first draft of Essay #3. Click here for a copy of the handout describing the assignment.
2. Begin making grammar corrections on your first essay.

Click here for a link to "Always Go to the Funeral"

Click here for a link to the essay writing instructions for "This I Believe" on the NPR site.

November 8

Have your essay on The Da Vinci Code complete and ready to turn in for feedback.

• Revise your body paragraphs so that they are clear and flow together well.
• Write an introductory paragraph as follows:
  • Write two sentences that introduce the reader to the source: Identify the author and title, and provide a relevant overview of the book.

  Sample source intros:

  “In The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown . . . .” or

  “The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown . . . “

  Follow that introductory phrase with an active verb, such as tells, describes, etc.

  • Write a sentence or two that introduces the topic of your essay—the characters or the idea. Tell the reader what he/she needs to know about your topic that will lead them to your thesis.
  • End the introduction with your thesis.
• Write a 2-3 sentence concluding paragraph. One of those sentences should restate your thesis idea.
  

November 6

1. Complete 3 body paragraphs for your essay on The Da Vinci Code. Revise them until you think they are starting to sound good. (If your essay will have more than 3 topics, draft the additional topics, too.)
2. Write a thesis sentence that fits your body paragraphs. (Type it as a separate paragraph above the body paragraphs.

November 1

1. Write good drafts of two of the body paragraphs for your essay on The Da Vinci Code.

October 30

1. Find information that you need to develop the topics for your essay on The Da Vinci Code. For each possible topic of your essay, find pages that contain relevant information. Write down the pages and a brief summary of what relevant information is contained there.
2. Beging revising the essay I returned today. You will finish this last revision by next Wednesday. Focus on my specific comments mainly and try to make it as clean of errors as you can.

October 25

1. Complete three paragraphs, two of which are based on the two paragraphs you chose for Monday's assignment. (See number 3 for October 23 below.) Click here for the handout with the description of the three paragraphs.
2. Choose a paragraph that you have written as the basis for an essay on The Da Vinci Code:

• The paragraph might be expanded into an essay (as we did with your first essay)—it contains multiple topics within it
• The paragraph might be one body paragraph of an essay. (You might even have two paragraphs that fit together and could be two body paragraphs.)
  

October 23

1. Be caught up on your postings. You should have a paragraph posted for each of the five groups of topics. Complete all of the peer reviews that it is possible for you to do.
2. Organize your 10 paragraphs on The Da Vinci Code. Paper clip or staple together all of the drafts of a paragraph, along with any notes, freewriting, etc. related to that paragraph.
3. From those 10 paragraphs select two as follows: one that represents what you think is the best paragraph of the 10 and a second that includes the most successful revision of the 10.
4. Revise the essay you got back on Oct. 16.

October 18

There will be no class on October 18, but I recommend using the class time to complete the assigned postings and other computer-related work if you don't have easy access to a computer or the Internet. Complete the following by Wednesday night and then move on to the assignment for October 23.

1. Complete your final two paragraph assignments on the last chapters of The Da Vinci Code. Complete a rough draft and revised draft of each. Then post one and e-mail the other one to me.
2. Revise any of the first 8 paragraphs on The Da Vinci Code that you have written and e-mail the revision to me.
3. Start catching up on your Da Vinci Code postings: paragraphs and peer reviews.

October 4

1. Revise your two paragraphs. Be prepared to post one and turn the other one in (word processed).
2. Revise your first posted paragraph. Use the peer review feedback if it is helpful, but also revise based on your growing understanding of a good paragraph.
3. Finish The Da Vinci Code. Be prepared to turn in your journal.
   

October 2

1. Make sure that you have posted your paragraph for Chapters 41-60. Follow the directions.
2. Make sure you have posted at least one peer review for Paragraphs on Chapters 1-18--and at least one for Paragraphs on Chapters 19-40. Follow the directions. (If you can, post a second peer review in each group.)
3. Have your revision of your essay about a time you were scared ready to turn in. You wil turn it in in a folder with all of your revisions, brainstorming, freewriting, etc.
4. Keep reading The Da Vinci Code.

September 27

1. Begin work on a revision of your essay about a time you were scared that will be due Monday, Oct. 2. Use the details from your in-class fastwrite to improve the supporting details in one paragraph. Complete the brainstorming questions to come up with details for another body paragraph. Complete other fastwriting or brainstorming for details as needed. Organize your drafts, freewriting, brainstorming, etc. for this essay so that you can turn them in (in a folder) with the revision.
2. Revise one of the paragraphs about The Da Vinci Code for which I have given you feedback. Look for details in the book and make this paragraph as good as the paragraphs in your personal essay.
3. Revise the paragraphs that you wrote on pages 1-270 of The Da Vinci Code. Be prepared to post one of the two.

September 25

1. Draft two paragraphs based on the first 269 pages of The Da Vinci Code. Click here for the topics.
2. Continue into the next 90 pages of the novel.

September 20

1. Continue reading The Da Vinci Code. You should be to page 270 by Wednesday
2. Revise 3 paragraphs:
   • The paragraph based on pages 1-90 that you didn't post. (Many of you handed this in and I provided feedback.)
   • The two paragraphs based on pages 1-180. You will post one of these on Wednesday--and give me the other one.

In revising each of these, be sure to begin with a topic sentence and develop the paragraph to 100-200 words using details from the book. (In a couple of topics that specify that you use personal experience, you will include your personal experiences along with details from the book.)

Word process and save each of the paragraphs. Print out copies of them, double-spaced.

I also asked everyone to do some things "informally":

• Post encouraging advice for people who are expressing difficulty reading the novel in the "Let's Talk" discussion area.
• Be aware of any time you hear someone use the phrase "holy grail." You might hear it on TV or the radio, or you might run across it in reading a magazine or newspaper.
• Re-read pages 132-133 to understand what Langdon is saying about who was burned as witches.

September 18

1. Draft two paragraphs based on the first 180 pages of The Da Vinci Code. Click here for the topics.
2. Continue into the next 90 pages of the novel.

September 13

1. Write a 10-minute reflection on the group work you did. Was it helpful? Why or why not? What did you learn about your paragraph? What kind of revisions might you make as a result of the peer review?
2. Read through Chapter 40 of The Da Vinci Code.
3. Read the instructions for the KADE diversity essay contest and do some brainstorming of possible topics. This may be our second essay assignment. You can read the instructions online. On the KADE site, scroll down the buttons on the left-hand side, and click on "KADE Cultural Diversity Writing Contest." Click here to go to the KADE website.
4. Have your essay revision ready for when we meet.
5. Be ready to revise and post one of your paragraphs about The Da Vinci Code.

September 11

1. Start on the next 90 pages of The Da Vinci Code.
2. Draft two paragraphs using the choices on the handout. Spend about an hour total. (Click here if you need another copy of the handout.)
3. Revise your essay (time you were scared), using the comments I gave you: spend about 30 minutes.

September 6

1. Read the first 18 chapters of The Da Vinci Code. Write at least two pages in your reading journal about the book and your response to it. Here are some suggestions for what you might write about:

• Are you enjoying the book so far? Why or why not? What part of the story are you most interested in? What are you most interested to find out more about?
• How difficult did you find the reading? What, if anything, did you find difficult? How did you handle difficult language?
• Is the book what you expected? What has surprised you so far?
• What characters do you find interesting? Why? Do any of the characters remind you of someone you know? Why? Do you picture a particular actor or actress as you are reading about a character?
• Have you find any of the art or locations interesting so far? What has caught your attention? Why?
• There has been a lot of controversy about this book. Did anything so far upset you or seem controversial? Why?
  

August 30

1. Turn the material that came before and after your "moment" of fear into paragraphs. (See #1 and #2 for August 28.) Write at least one paragraph that comes before the one we revised about the moment of fear and one that comes afterward. Decide what the point of the information is and state that point in a topic sentence. Then provide appropriate supporting details (100-200 words, this time). If you have more than one point, you may need to have more than one paragraph. When you are done your set of paragraphs will tell the whole story from beginning to end.
2. Read the descriptions of your learning styles (handed out in class) and begin to consider what that means and how you can deal with it.

August 28

1. Look at the paragraph that you wrote about the time you were afraid, and zero in on the part of the paragraph that describes the actual moment of fear. Circle those sentences.
2. Separate these sentences from what came before and after in your paragraph by hitting the enter key before the first sentence and after the last sentence of this group. (It may, in fact, be only one sentence.)
3. Now expand that group of sentences into a new paragraph of 150-200 words.
4. Be sure to put a topic sentence at the beginning of this new paragraph that identifies the new topic. (The point is still "most scared.")
5. If you want to repeat the exercise we did in class to come up with descriptive details to use in the new paragraph, click here for a more complete version of the brainstorming questions I asked in class. (Remember to close your eyes and put yourself in the moment before answering the questions; it really works.)

August 23

1. Write one paragraph about the time you were most scared. Tell the story of what happened that time. Your paragraph should be between 150 and 200 words, no longer, no shorter.
2. Read through the course syllabus.

August 21

First day of class: show up on time with your books and writing tools.