Week at a glance April 21 - 25, 2014

This week we will focus on revising Essay 4 and discovering research and a topic for Essay 5.

• Mon: No school
• Tues: Revise Essay 4.  Conduct research for Essay 5
• Wed: Essay 5 - Annotated Bibliography #1 due
• Thurs: Revise Essay 4.  Conduct research for Essay 5
• Fri: Essay 5 - Annotated Bibliography #2 due.  Printed final draft of Essay 4 due.

Week at a glance April 14 - 18, 2014

This week we will start the process of converting Essay 4 from MLA-style to APA-style.  Students will have the opportunity to revise their essays on Monday.  Tuesday and Wednesday, we will work with a printed copy to do peer review and make notes on the draft.  We'll wrap up the short week with a preview of Essay 5 and the Semester Portfolio -- the last assignments of the semester.

• Mon: Converting to APA-style.  Go to the library to edit and print a copy of Essay 4
• Tues: Converting to APA-style.  Begin peer review.
• Wed: Finish peer review.
• Thurs: Pass out and discuss Essay 5 and the annotated bibliographies assignment.  Discuss the requirements for the Semester Portfolio.
• Fri: No school - Professional Development Day

Week at a glance April 7 - 11, 2014

This week, we will focus on developing and shaping a rough draft of Essay 4.  I advise students to focus first on developing their ideas, using carefully-selected evidence, and creating thoughtful analysis.  We can work toward slipping into APA format later this week or early next week.

• Mon: Review topics.  Begin shaping and creating the essay.
• Tues: Meet in the library to continue shaping and creating the essay.
• Wed: Meet in the library to continue shaping and creating the essay.  Send Mr. Ritchie an electronic copy of the thesis.
• Thurs: Meet back in the classroom to review theses and outline for the essay.
• Fri: Essay 4 rough draft due by 5:00 to turnitin.com

Week at a glance March 31 - April 4, 2014

This week we will wrap up our readings for Essay 4.  The first reading, by Jonathan Kozol, analyzes the issue of inequality that persists in public schools.  Students are encouraged to relate Kozol's arguments to discussions currently happening in our own Statehouse.  The final reading of the unit is from a professor writing anonymously about teaching freshmen-level Comp classes on a university campus.  Throughout the unit, students have been thinking and rethinking their ideas about the purpose of K-12 education.  As part of our wrap up, we will have a day in the Library to type up our final revision.  We'll end the week with a discussion of our responses and a review of potential Essay 4 topics.

• Mon: Begin reading and discussing Kozol 219 - 236
• Tues: Finish reading and discussing Kozol.  For Wednesday, read Professor X 238-247.
• Wed:  Discuss and analyze Professor X.  Begin final revisions on the K-12 purpose statement.
• Thurs: Meet in the library.  Make final revisions to the K-12 purpose statement and hand in by the end of the hour.
• Fri: Meet in the classroom to discuss opinions on the K-12 purpose statement.  Review topics for Essay 4.

Week at a glance March 24 - 28, 2014

Welcome back from Spring Break.  This week we'll start off with a quick overview of Essay 3 and some general comments about the rough draft.  The final printed draft for Essay 3 will be due by the end of the hour on Friday.  Our readings for this week continue to revolve around the purpose behind compulsory K-12 education.  We'll identify and analyze various points of view: some idealistic and some quite cynical.  As we read and discuss topics, students should also be following and prepared to discuss political developments within our own state regarding school funding.

• Mon: Discuss and review Essay 3.  Discuss and review the assignment for Essay 4.  APA overview.  For Tuesday, read Mann 116-126.
• Tues: Discuss and analyze Mann.  Revise the K-12 purpose statement.
• Wed: Discuss and analyze Groening 147 and 156, and the Visual Portfolio 187-192.  For Thursday, read Malcolm X 210-218.
• Thurs: Discuss and analyze Malcom X.  Revise the K-12 purpose statement.
• Fri: Meet in the library to revise and print off a final copy of Essay 3, due by the end of the hour.

Week at a glance March 10 - 14, 2014

We will start this week with a chance to make revisions before submitting a rough draft for Essay 3.  Our first three days of the week will focus on working with Essay 3 right away through thesis evaluation and peer review.  Toward the end of the week, we will get a quick preview of Unit 4.  This second to the last unit will cover topics on education in the US.  We will also have a quick overview on the third citation style of the semester: APA.  Students will submit rough and final drafts of Essay 4 using APA-style citations.

• Mon: Meet in the Library to submit a rough draft online, due by midnight.  Send Mr. Ritchie a thesis statement for the new essay.  Bring a hard copy to class on Tuesday.
• Tues: Thesis evaluation and peer review.
• Wed: Finish peer review
• Thurs: Unit 4 introduction.  Essay assignment and APA overview.  For Friday, read Mackin (class handout).
• Fri: Discuss Mackin (class handout).  Response due by the end of the hour.

No school next week

Spring Break 

Week at a glance March 4 - 7, 2014

This week we will start off by reviewing potential topics for Essay 3.  With a main idea of family and gender, students should have a wide range of interests and potential ideas to develop.  As always, the main trick will be to keep the topic as specific as possible.  While researching and creating Essay 3, students should also keep in mind the need to revise Essay 2.  Students are welcome to meet with me one-on-one while we are in the library to discuss their essays.  A printed final draft for Essay 2 is due by the end of the hour on Thursday.

• Mon: Meet in the classroom to review and discuss potential essay topics.
• Tues: Meet in the library to revise Essay 2 and create Essay 3.
• Wed: Meet in the library to revise Essay 2 and create Essay 3.
• Thurs:  Essay 2 printed draft due by the end of the hour.  Essay 3 rough draft due to turnitin.com by Monday, 3/10, at midnight.
• Fri: No school - End of the 3rd quarter

Week at a glance February 24 - 28, 2014

This week we will start off by completing the Research Review over the first two readings in Unit 3.  These two readings covered two of the primary topics for the unit: definitions of family structures and how nature and nurture construct our gender roles.  We will then move on to discussing and analyzing the final readings for Unit 3.  By the end of the week, students should begin to have an idea for their Unit 3 essay topic to research and develop next week.

• Mon: Meet in the library to continue shaping and developing the Research Review.
• Tues: Meet in the library.  Research Review due by the end of the hour.  For Wednesday - read Wolfson, 89-101.
• Wed: Discuss the results of the Essay 2 rough draft.  Discuss Wolfson.  For Thursday - reading Kindlon, 618-628, and Salam, 629-636.
• Thurs: Discuss Kindlon and Salam.  Response due Friday.
• Fri: Wolfson/Kindlon/Salam response due.  Review potential topics for Essay 3.

Week at a glance February 17 - 21, 2014

This week we will begin the process of wrapping up Essay 2.  We'll start the week with time in class to finish shaping and creating Essay 2.  Students will have opportunities for peer review and one-on-one conferences through Wednesday.  We will then begin a new unit and assignment as we push forward with Unit 3.

• Mon: Send the thesis for Essay 2 to Mr. Ritchie by e-mail.  Finish shaping and creating a rough draft of Essay 2.  Essay 2 rough draft due to turnitin.com by midnight.
• Tues: Thesis evaluation for Essay 2.  Print a copy of Essay 2 for peer review.
• Wed: Essay 2 peer review. For Thurs, read 18-21.
• Thurs: Unit 3 introduction - discuss readings and Visual Portfolio 71-77.  For Fri, read Gerstel & Sarkisian 61-68 and Devor 627-635.
• Fri: Unit 3 essay assigned.  Discuss Gerstel & Sarkisian, and Devor - response due Monday.

Week at a glance February 10 - 14, 2014

This week we will begin with an overview of the Chicago/Turabian citation style required for the Unit 2 Essay.  We will then wrap up our readings for Unit 2 and review potential essay topics.  A rough draft of the Unit 2 Essay will be due Monday evening on 2/17.

• Mon: Chicago/Turabian overview.  Visual Portfolio/Ehrenreich response due.  For Tuesday, read and be prepared to discuss Kendall 330-331 and Arnold 361-365.
• Tues: Pass back assignments and essays.  Discuss current grades.  Discuss Kendall and Arnold.  Review Unit 2 essay topics and potential mistakes to avoid.
• Wed: Develop and shape the Unit 2 essay.
• Thurs: No school
• Fri: No school

Essay 2 rough draft due online to turnitin.com

Monday, 2/17 by midnight 

Week at a glance February 3 - 7, 2014

This week we will wrap up Essay 1 as we finish peer review on Monday and turn in a revised final draft on Friday.  Students are welcome to come in and see me before/after school or during Advisory.  We will also continue reading and discussing essays and the issues that come up as we continue developing ideas for Essay 2.

• Mon: Finish peer review.  For Tuesday - RA readings: Bambara 264-271 and Ehrenreich 290-303.
• Tues: Discuss Bambara and Ehrenreich. Response due Wednesday.
• Wed: Bambara and Ehrenreich response due. Discuss the Visual Portfolio 321-328.  For Thursday - RA readings: Kendall 330-331 and Arnold 361-365.
• Thurs: Discuss Kendall and Arnold. Response due Friday.
• Fri: Kendall and Arnold response due. Meet in the library for one-on-one conferences and final revisions.  Printed final draft of Essay 1 due by the end of the hour.  Continue developing Essay 2.

Week at a glance Janurary 27 - 31, 2014

This week we will wrap our work over our Essay 1 media analysis.  Students will need to submit the essay online Tuesday night.  On Wednesday, we will begin working directly from our textbook.  We will begin Essay 2 and complete our first responses later in the week.  We'll wrap up the week with peer review for Essay 1.

• Mon: Thesis review and evaluation.  Essay 1 progress check.
• Tues: Meet in the Library.  Essay 1 rough draft due by midnight to turnitin.com
• Wed: Come to class with the textbook.  Assign and discuss Essay 2.  Read and discuss 254-257.  For Thursday, read Alger 255-263 and Dalton 272-277.
• Thurs: Discuss Alger and Dalton.  For Friday, complete the Alger/Dalton response.  Come to class with a printed copy of the Essay 1 rough draft.
• Fri: Alger/Dalton response due.  Essay 1 peer review

Week at a glance January 20 - 24, 2014

This week we'll wrap up our readings and discussion for Essay 1.  Students should have their topic selected early in the week.  We will review what makes a strong thesis on Wednesday.  Thursday and Friday will be workdays for the essay.  Students are welcome to have one-on-one conferences with me at any point during that time.  A rough draft of Essay 1 is due by midnight on Monday, 1/27.

• Mon: No school - MLK Day
• Tues: Chocolate chip cookie citations.  Discuss scholarly essays.  Scholarly essay analysis due Wednesday.
• Wed: Thesis review.  Scholarly sites review.  Scholarly essay analysis - discuss and hand in.
• Thurs: Meet in the back of the Library to shape and create Essay 1.
• Fri: Meet in the back of the Library to shape and create Essay 1.

Essay 1 rough draft

due to turnitin.com by Monday, 1/27 at midnight

Week at a glance Janurary 13 - 17, 2014

This week we'll go head on with our media analysis unit.  We'll start the week by discussing the results of our Johnson response.  We'll then move on to a discussion of gender roles in media and how fans react to the behaviors of male and female characters.  We'll spend a few days discussing multiple media controversies in history--how they develop and subside.  We'll use that discussion as an opportunity to analyze the structure of scholarly essays as we look at two points of view on video games and violence.  We'll wrap up the week with a fun discussion on the results of our commercial analysis.

• Mon: Johnson response due.  Commercial analysis assigned, due Friday.  For Tuesday, read Gunn - "I Have a Character Issue" class handout.
• Tues: Discuss Gunn.  Begin Media Controversies presentation and discussion.
• Wed: Continue Media Controversies presentation and discussion.
• Thurs: Wrap up Media Controversies presentation and discussion.  Scholarly Essay Analysis, due Tuesday.
• Fri: Commercial Analysis due, with discussion.  Continue working on Scholarly Essay Analysis, due Tuesday.

Week at a glance January 6 - 10, 2014

Welcome back!

Textbook: Rereading America, by Columbo, Cullen, and Lisle.  The best way for student to get the copy of the book they need to use is to use the ISBN: 0312548540.  That number will help students find the exact copy they need, either at the WU bookstore or online.  Students have about three weeks to get the textbook.

One of the questions students ask toward the end of Comp I is "How will Comp II be different?"  Whereas Comp I focused on writing structures, Comp II will bring the focus back to the writers' ideas; however, instead of doing a literary analysis to show understanding of a text, our goal this semester will be to understand and to engage the authors -- to create an ongoing conversation by synthesizing several authors' ideas with our own.  To accomplish this, we'll combine the writing strategies and structures developed during Comp I and build upon our progress from writers to critical thinkers.

This week we'll start with some short introductions and preview the expectations of the course. We'll review the basic writing structures, as well as integrating and citing quotes.  We'll wrap up the week with an introduction to our first essay unit: a research-based analysis of media.

• Mon: NO SCHOOL!  TOO COLD!
• Tues: Introductions and course overview
• Wed: Writing structures and integrating research review.  For Thursday, read "Entering the Conversation" and be prepared for discussion.
• Thurs: Discuss "Entering the Conversation."  Unit 1 Essay - introduction and assignment. For Friday, read and be prepared to discuss Johnston, "Watching TV Makes You Smarter" (class handout).
• Fri:  Discuss and analyze Johnston.  Johnston analysis and response due Monday.