Michelle's+Page

=Michelle's Page =

Hello. I'm the teacher. I'll use this page for class stuff -- for in-class activities, to post useful/helpful wiki info, and for other relevant instructional things.


 * 1/10/11 **
 * First Day Activity **

 When you read the following terms, what comes to mind? What other words do you associate with the ones I’ve written here? Based on this list, add 5 more of your own words.


 * literacy
 * writing
 * rhetoric
 * new media
 * composition
 * analysis
 * argument
 * civic engagement
 * democracy
 * citizenship
 * apathy
 * attractiveness
 * political correctness
 * marketing & advertisement
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">social media
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">citizen journalism
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">public discourse
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">communication
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">distribution
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">empathy
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">expression
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">world view
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">power
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">language
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">rights and laws
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">disagreement
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">technology
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">criticism
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">action
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">critical thinking


 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">1/12/11: Freewrite Prompts in response to “Dancing With Professors: The Trouble With Academic Prose,” Patricia Limerick and “The Poison Fish,” Ken Macrorie **


 * First, respond to this (3-4 minutes): **
 * What is the “trouble with academic prose” that Limerick is talking about?


 * And then, answer one or more of the following (6 minutes): **
 * What is your reaction, response to these readings? What did you think about as you read them (one or both of them)?
 * Do you agree or disagree with these contentions about academic writing and writing instruction?
 * Did these readings give you any new ways of thinking about writing? If so, what?
 * Write about a time when you produced vague, generic writing (or used “fancy, academic language,” as Macrorie says) because that’s what you thought the teacher wanted to hear? What was that experience like for you? How did you feel about your writing process as you composed the piece? How did you feel about the final piece? Did it get the grade you expected?


 * 2/21/11 Freewrite **
 * How is your health and happiness bound up with the health and happiness of others? Of your local community? Of your country? Of the world?
 * What does it mean to be a good U.S. citizen?
 * What are our responsibilities in and to our communities? Our country? Our planet?