Overview:

  • Our course schedule runs weekly from midnight Wednesday through the next midnight Wednesday.
  • New weekly videos will be available on Thursday morning.
  • Assignments will generally be due on two days:
    • Sundays EOD
    • Wednesdays EOD

Week One: Jan 25-Jan 31 

Intro video and assignments

Due 1/28: 

  1. Join Slack and leave a hello in the #general channel.
  2. Join Padlet.
    • Here’s a quick video tutorial: https://www.iorad.com/player/1937046/Padlet—How-to-Sign-in-and-Join-and-Padlet#trysteps-1
    • Use any email address you want – it’s free and it won’t tell anybody else.
    • On this Padlet briefly introduce yourself. Include an image that means something to you. I’ll always provide a link to the Padlet we’re using.
    • Remember: use the big + sign on the bottom right to create a post. Once you do, you can add all kinds of things.
  3. Join Perusall
  4. In Perusal:
    • Read the Syllabus assignment. Leave comments or ask questions. 
    • Read and leave comments on the “Intro Videos” assignment. To leave a comment, you just hit pause on the video, and the comment window will open on the left.

Due 1/31:

  1. In Perusall: Do the “Active Reading” Assignment which has TWO parts:
    • Watch and annotate the video “Note Taking from Reading”
    • Scroll down after the video, then read and annotate the checklist.
  2. In Perusall: Read and annotate Bunn: “How to Read Like a Writer”(leave comments, questions, links to videos or websites) 
  3. Use this link to go to Padlet and give your overall thoughts on the questions. Keep it short!

Week Two: Feb 1 – Feb 7

Introduction to Unit 1 – Words Matter in My World

Due 2/4:

  1. In Perusall, read and annotate “Understanding Discourse Communities”
  2. In Perusall, read and annotate “Queen Latifah & Peri Klass” – what is the discourse community for each one? Do you identify with either of them? Why or why not?

Due 2/7:

  1. In Perusall, read and annotate “Fuku”
  2. In this Padlet, respond to the prompt. 

Week Three: Feb 8 – Feb 14

Concrete details, paragraphing, writing introductions and conclusions, doing a ‘shitty first draft’

Due 2/11:

  1. On this Padlet, tell us which of your discourse communities you’re going to write about and why. Add an image or video or whatever so we can get a good feel for it. 
  2. In our Google Drive → Language/Discourse Community, you’ll find an Activity Page. It has a video from Lynda Barry about writing concrete details. Pick a scene where the language of your discourse community is being used, and use Barry’s activity. Then write a paragraph based on what you did, put your name on it, and add it to the Activity Page. 
  3. In Perusall: read and annotate “Shitty First Drafts”

Due 2/14:

  1. Upload your own SFD to our Google Drive → Language/Discourse Community. It doesn’t have to be polished or even finished. But there should be at least half of it completed so we can give you feedback.

Week Four: Feb 15 – Feb 21

Workshopping, leaving feedback

Due 2/18:

  1. In Perusall: read the Assignment “How to Write Meaningful Peer Response Praise”
  2. In Perusall: leave brief responses to Practice Session 1 and Practice Session 2
  3. In the Google Drive → Language/Discourse Community folder
    • Pick two pieces by your fellow writers
    • Leave ‘meaningful peer response praise’ and perhaps a suggestion or two for each one.

Due 2/21:

  1. In the Google Drive → Language/Discourse Community folder: submit your revised Discourse Community piece.

Week 5: Feb 22 – Feb 28

Introducing Unit 2 – Finding Your Beat. Finding and evaluating sources.

Due 2/25:

  1. In Perusall: Read and review the assignment “Feature Articles to Review”
  2. Pick an article from Vox: choose one from the Science tab or from the choices under the dropdown More tab → Technology, Health, Life, Money, Climate.
  3. In the Google Drive → Find Your Beat → Vox Article Analysis folder, create a Google Doc where you analyze your article addressing these things:
    • This makes the author uniquely placed to write it (their credentials).
    • I like this part because…
    • I learned this.
    • This is how the author used research.
    • This is how the author used personal experience (either the author’s or other people’s).
    • Talk about formatting: how long the paragraphs were, how images were used, how the author led to their research (links, references at the end, etc.).
  4. If you’re stuck about what your own beat might be… answer these questions for yourself. I’m pretty sure you’ll find something you know about or want to learn more about… something that can become your own beat.
    • 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:
    • What makes me really angry is:
  5. On this Padlet, tell us about your beat – what you want to write about in an article for Vox. Add an image or gif or whatever. Give each other some suggestions if you know something about their beat.

Due 2/28:

  1. Do the KWL+ activity for your beat/your idea. The instructions are in the Google Drive → Find Your Beat → KWL+ Activity. 
  2. When you’ve done it, upload it into the same folder. 

Week 6: Feb 29 – Mar 6

Writing a proposal. Writing resource annotations. Fieldwork.

Due 3/3:

  1. Upload your proposal into the Google Drive → Find Your Beat → Proposals folder.

Due 3/6

  1. Create your own folder in Google Drive → Find Your Beat → YOUR NAME
  2. Upload annotations for two research articles you’ve found into your folder in Google Drive → Find Your Beat → YOUR NAME

Week 7: Mar 7 – Mar 13

Revisiting structure of an article. Hook + nut graf + research + body + conclusion. Formatting using short paragraphs and images. Canva vs. Google Docs vs. ?

Due 3/10: 

  1. Go back to your Vox article and analyze it according to the structure guide.
  2. Upload what you discovered in Google Drive → Find Your Beat → Vox Article Analysis folder.

Due 3/13:

  1. Write a draft of a hook and nut graf for your article. This will very likely change as you do more research and start writing, but it’s good practice since they’re not easy!
  2. Put the draft in the Google Drive → Find Your Beat → YOUR NAME 

Week 8: Mar 14 – Mar 20

Revisit structure and formatting. SFDs revisited

Due 3/17:

  1. Upload your fieldwork into the Google Drive → Find Your Beat → YOUR NAME

Due 3/20:

  1. Upload your SFD into the Google Drive → Find Your Beat → YOUR NAME

Week 9: Mar 21 – Mar 27

Workshop revisited. 

Due 3/14:

  1. Pick two of your fellow students’ SFDs of the article.
  2. Leave each one some useful responses of praise and/or suggestions.

Due 3/27:

  1. Upload a revised draft of your article in the Google Drive → Find Your Beat → YOUR NAME
  2. On Slack, DM me a brief discussion about what you went through to get the article done – what was hard, if things changed as you went along, why they did or didn’t, what you wish you had done differently, what you’re proud of. 

Week 10: Mar 28 – Apr 3

Unit 3 – Switching Audiences. Multimodality. The writer’s reflection letter. 

Due 3/31:

  1. In Perusall: Read and annotate the Assignment “Gagich”

Due 4/3:

  1. On this Padlet blog: Give us your analysis of 2 examples of the project type you’re thinking about using. 

Week 11: Apr 4 – Apr 10

Writing the proposal. 

Due 4/7:

  1. On this Padlet: tell us what you’re going to do: what audience, why you chose that one, what you’re going to create, if you need help, and anything else you want!

Due 4/10:

  1. In the Google Drive → New Audiences folder, create a new folder with your name: in other words: Google Drive → New Audiences → YOUR NAME
  2. In your folder, upload your proposal.

Week 12: Apr 11 – Apr 17

Workshopping revisited.

Due 4/14:

  1. Browse through the Google Drive → New Audiences folders and pick two proposals that are similar to yours either because they’re addressing the same audience OR they’re using the same genre (Instagram, graphic novel, etc.). 
  2. Leave them some feedback and/or suggestions.

Due 4/17:

  1. If you haven’t started your project, get going!

Week 13: Apr 18 – Spring Break (4/30)

Keep working. DM me if you’re having trouble or want me to look at something.

Week 14: May 2 – May 8

The Writer’s Reflection Letter for the projects. Brief introduction to the Final Portfolio/Final Reflection.

Due 5/4: 

  1. Rough Draft in the Google Drive → New Audiences → YOUR NAME folder.

Due 5.8:

  1. Writer’s Reflection Letter in the Google Drive → New Audiences → YOUR NAME folder.
  2. Final version of Project (unless we’ve made arrangements otherwise) in the Google Drive → New Audiences → YOUR NAME folder.

Week 15: May 9 – May 15

Final Portfolio and Final Reflection. Finishing up the term.

Due 5/12:

  1. In Perusall: Read and annotate assignment “The Maker’s Eye”
  2. In Slack: DM me your intentions about what you want to revise as well as the first paragraph of your Final Reflection.

Due 5/15:

  1. Nothing new

Week 16: May 15 – May 22

Finishing the term!

Due 5/22: 

  1. Final project and letter
  2. Upload final revisions and Final Reflection In the Google Drive → Final Portfolio → YOUR NAME folder.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!

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