Week One: Feb 2 – Feb 8

class meeting Wednesday Feb 2

Introduction to the class. Getting around. Using Padlet. Getting to know each other. How this will all work.

due by Saturday Feb 5 end of day

  1. Perusall: Read and annotate the Syllabus.
  2. Create an avatar that you put on your Zoom account.
  3. Join Slack and leave a hello.
  4. Padlet: Be sure you’ve left a little something.

due by Tuesday Feb 8 end of day

  1. Perusall: Read and annotate assignment “Abdurraqib and Hassan” (be sure to scroll down to make sure you see both things).
  2. OpenLab post: Create a new post (the tutorial is here) and respond to the two pieces you looked at on Perusall (the video and the article). You can do it in whatever way you want!
    • You can talk about how your name or your language makes you who you are, or gives people “permission” to treat you a certain way even though that’s so wrong!
    • You can talk about how school has made you the writer or thinker or student or professional you’re becoming.
    • You can talk about your family’s influence on your literacy — your education, your goals, your belief in yourself, your attitude toward the world.
    • You can also think through how a group has helped define you.
    • As part of it, you can add images or links to videos… whatever you think will help us get to know you and your experiences better. You can even add a link to a video. Or record an audio file and link to it. Or draw something and upload the image. Whatever you want.
    • Remember: we’re all about composing in the 21st century, so feel free to do what you think would be interesting for us to see/hear/learn about. The idea is to get you thinking about how those issues affect you. How they’ve helped shape who you are and who you’re becoming.
    • CATEGORY: Introductions

Week Two: Feb 9 – Feb 15

class meeting Wednesday Feb 9

What do we value? What do we find useful? Introduction to Portrait of a Word assignment. What’s a discourse community.

due by Saturday Feb 12 end of day

  • OpenLab or Google Drive: Post what you wrote during class. It doesn’t matter where: leave it on the class Google Drive with your name in the title, or create a new OpenLab post and copy/paste your paragraphs or add a file. If you create an OpenLab post, the category is: What matters.
  • Perusall: Read and annotate the Junot Diaz Oscar Wao excerpt. Highlight something that catches your eye — a place you’re confused, something that reminds you of something in your own life, a connection to something you learned somewhere. Then write a comment or question about it when the conversation pane pops open. Reply to each other, add links or images, whatever! Let’s get involved with the text and each other.

due by Tuesday Feb 15 end of day

  • OpenLab post: Write a post of at least 300 words about this text. What do you find difficult or confusing? Be specific! Point out particular passages that confused you and explain why you were confused.  What do you think the writer may have been trying to do?  Find a particular passage that was difficult and explain specifically where you got caught up and why. I get it. This seems like a really strange thing to do– but there’s a point to it!  The places you have difficulty are where you’re doing your best thinking.  The places you struggle are the places PhD students struggle too.  Difficulties aren’t walls to stop you but obstacles that you can (and will) overcome!
    • CATEGORY: Diaz

Week Three: Feb 16 – Feb 22

class meeting Wednesday Feb 16

Listening versus reading. How to do a KWL+ on a question. What’s a discourse community? What kinds are there? What part does language play in one?

due by Saturday Feb 19 end of day

  • Perusall: Read and annotate Perri Klass essay. While you are reading, please mark places in the text that caught your eye, where you wanted to know more, where you were confused or where you related!

due by Tuesday Feb 22 end of day

  • OpenLab post: Write a post of at least 300 words. In Perri Klass’ essay article, she paints a portrait, not of a particular word, but of a whole new language she had to learn in order to fit in with her new profession. What are some communities that you are a part of? (hint: we’re all a part of multiple communities!) What “languages” have you had to learn to engage with these communities—and how did you learn these languages? Are there particular words or phrases that stick out to you as helping you feel like you were part of the in-crowd?
    • CATEGORY: Klass
  • Padlet: Create a new post on this Padlet. Put your name in the Subject line. Then tell us what discourse community you’re going to talk about and explain what word or phrase you’re going to use for your Portrait. Add an image that shows us something about that discourse community.

Week Four: Feb 23 – Mar 1

class meeting Wednesday Feb 23

What’s the point of language in a discourse community? How does it work? How can we show other people how it works? Writing good descriptions. Shitty First Drafts. Reviewer’s Memos.

due by Saturday Feb 26 end of day

  • Perusall: The Intros and Conclusions video presentation is uploaded as an assignment, although it isn’t. Take a look at it, ask questions about introductions and conclusions if you have some. Or try out an idea about how to introduce your Portrait and I’ll give you feedback on it.
  • Perusall: Anne Lamott’s “Shitty First Drafts” is also uploaded for you to look at. You do NOT have to annotate it.

due by Tuesday Mar 1 end of day

  • Google Drive: Upload your first draft of the Portrait of a Word to the folder in our class Google Drive labeled “Portrait of a Word.” Be sure to attach a Reviewer’s Memo on the bottom of your draft. The Reviewer’s Memo is simply a note to whoever is going to be reading it that includes these three bullet points:
  • This is what I intended to do: Here’s why I wrote it. This is what I want people to take away from it.
  • This is how I feel about it so far: This is what I think is working.
  • This is what I think I need help with: for example, does it make sense? Does each paragraph address a single idea? Do I wander all over the place? Does the introduction hook the reader? Does the conclusion make a point or does it just stop?

Week Five: Mar 2 – Mar 8

class meeting Wednesday Mar 2

How to give helpful feedback. Workshopping. Introduction to Unit 2 – Feature Article.

due by Saturday Mar 5 end of day

  • OpenLab Post: Create a new post and write a brief memo saying what you think you would like to do or feel that you need to do when you revise the Portrait. React to what your classmates and prof blain said. Be as specific as you can — point to spots that you think need help.
  • Perusall: The Assignment Sheet for Unit 2 is posted. Read and leave questions or comments.

due by Tuesday Mar 8 end of day

  • OpenLab post: You’re going to be narrowing down to your “beat” (also known as topic) for your Feature Article. To get you going, brainstorm the answers to these questions and then post it in a new OpenLab post. You can do this a couple of ways: work on a different Word or Google doc and then copy/paste the results into the OpenLab post, or you can work directly in a new OpenLab post, or you can even attach an audio file if you choose. Here are the prompts: Category: Prompts
  • What I know a lot about is:
  • What I’m passionate about is?
  • What I start Googling when I have nothing better to do is:
  • I would go crazy if someone told me I had to stop doing this:
  • What makes me really angry is:
  • Perusall: Browse through these articles and pick one to read and annotate (we’ll be using them in a couple of weeks, but this will give you an idea about different types of feature articles). I’m also including the links to the journals.
  • Sports Illustrated, “Why I’m Behind the Student Athletes’ Bill of Rights”
  • Science News, “How coronavirus stress may scramble our brains”

Week Six: Mar 9 – Mar 15

class meeting Wednesday Mar 9

Picking your article idea. What a feature article looks like. Doing some initial research. How to do annotated bibliographies and field work.

due by Saturday Mar 12 end of day

  • OpenLab post: Create a new post and write a proposal of at least 300 words for your Unit Two article.  This should include the following:
  • An explanation of your “beat.” What makes this something you have the knowledge or curiosity to write about?
  • Your research question — what do you want to know, and why?
  • Why will this story be interesting to your readers?
  • Where will you go to find the information you need to write this article (newspapers, websites, friends, family, experts — think in terms of both primary and secondary sources)?
  • If you could publish an article anywhere about this topic, where would you publish it? Why? What audience would you want to reach?

due by Tuesday Mar 14 end of day

  • Google Drive: In the class folder labeled “Feature Article,” create your own folder titled with your name. In that folder, post annotations for two sources you’re hoping to use in your article. An annotation has these things:
  • bibliographic citation
  • 1-3 sentence summary of main idea and supporting information.
  • 1-2 sentences saying how credible your source is
  • 1-2 sentences on how you think you can use this information in your article.

Week Seven: Mar 16 – Mar 22

class meeting Wednesday Mar 16

Digging into the structure of a feature article.

due by Tuesday Mar 22 end of day

  • Perusall: Go back to the article you read two weeks ago. Find and comment on the hook, the nut graf, and the conclusion. What is happening in each one? Does it work? What do you think about the author’s choice to do each one the way they did?

Week Eight: Mar 23 – Mar 29

class meeting Wednesday Mar 23

Mentor texts. Writing the nut graf. How to use a quote sandwich.

due by Tuesday Mar 22 end of day

  • OpenLab: Write up your field research: what you did, who you talked to, what information you got, how you think you might be able to use it.

due by Tuesday Mar 29 end of day

  • Google Drive: Write the hook and nut graf of your feature article and post in your folder in the “Feature Article” folder.

Week Nine: Mar 30 – Apr 5

class meeting Wednesday Mar 30

Working with your hooks and nut grafs. Practicing quote sandwich for own article.

due by Tuesday Apr 5 end of day

  • Google Drive: Upload your Feature Article into the class “Feature Article” folder.

Week Ten: Apr 6 – Apr 12

class meeting Wednesday Apr 6

Leaving feedback on articles. Introduction to Unit 3 Project.

due by Saturday Apr 9 end of day

  • Perusall: There are two things here for you to look at:
  • Unit 3 Assignment sheet: Take a look and leave comments and questions for me.
  • Multimodal Composing: read and annotate. Be sure to find the loudspeaker at the end and leave a comment. Reply to each other.

due by Tuesday Apr 12 end of day

  • Padlet: Create a post. Put your name in the Subject area. Then tell us which audience want to reach, the main idea you want them to get, and what genre you want to use (video, Instagram, comic).

Week Eleven: Apr 13 – after Spring Break

class meeting Wednesday Apr 13

Form work support groups. Look at mentor examples. Get started on the project!

nothing due —

Work on your project when/if you can.

  • Work on your project when/if you can.
  • Be sure it’s okay, but stay in touch with your support group if you need help.
  • Prof Blain is available via Slack

SPRING BREAK Friday Apr 15 – Friday Apr 22

Week Twelve: Apr 27 – May 3

class meeting Wednesday Apr 27

Support group meetings. Intro to Final Portfolio/Final Reflection and revising.

nothing due except to work on projects

Week Thirteen: May 4 – May 10

class meeting Wednesday May 4

Support group meetings. Revision conferences as needed.

due by Tuesday May 10

Google Drive: Post your project in the class folder labelled “Project.” Feel free to create a new folder within that main one if you need to upload multiple things (like mp3s and podcast covers).

Week Fourteen: May 11 – May 17

class meeting Wednesday May 11

Share the projects! The Artist’s Statement. Final Portfolio/Final Reflection.

due by Saturday May 14 end of day

  • Google Drive: Upload your Artist’s Statement to the folder labeled “Artists Statements.”

due by Tuesday May 17 end of day

  • Google Drive: Upload a SFD of your Final Reflection in the class folder labelled “Final Reflection SFD.”

Week Fifteen: May 18 – May 23

class meeting Wednesday May 18

Final Class! Checking off the boxes. A Final Padlet.

due by Monday May 23 end of day – NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!

  • Google Drive: Upload your Final Portfolio materials in the class folder labelled “Final Portfolio.” Feel free to make a new folder within that main one so you can upload individual documents.
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