English 1550 (Tuesday, Oct. 11)

1. Class:

* Discussed students' impressions of the steel museum.

* Talked about minor writing 4 (one-page description of object at the steel museum).

* Assigned minor writing 5 (analyze "Working at McDonald's" argument and weigh in with your opinion).

* Reviewed "Working at McDonald's."

* Reviewed "Serving in Florida."

* Watched documentary-musical clip, "Nickel and Dimed from the American Ruling Class."

* Presented PowerPoint (the argumentative essay and how to come up with a good topic).

2. Class analysis:

I think it's approaching the point in the semester where students begin to slack off on their reading assignments. Karen assigned two short essays for students to read for today ... but it was obvious that many of them hadn't even glanced over the essays before being told to open their books in class. For instance, at the beginning of the "Working at McDonald's" discussion, Karen asked students to identify some of the author's credentials for writing the piece. One student responded that the author was knowledgeable about the topic because--obviously--he had worked at McDonald's (like the title implied). This was far from reality, however, as the author was a sociologist synthesizing and analyzing studies on the topic. Karen handled the situation well, though. She commended the student for making an educated guess ... but followed up with a reminder that it's absolutely imperative for students to do the assigned reading.

Additionally, I presented my lesson on understanding/writing an argumentative essay and coming up with a good argument topic. I began by asking students about their experiences in both discussing and writing arguments. This seemed to be an effective way to start off since students actually volunteered their thoughts (!). I was pleasantly surprised, as most students had been quiet and reluctant to participate in discussion. It also helped to ask them for their thoughts (particularly by using specific, pointed questions) throughout the presentation. They seemed engaged and receptive. Especially helpful was a section of the lesson on topic examples. I put five examples on the screen; the first two were focused and specific, while the remaining three needed some work. Again, the students seemed eager to share their thoughts and possible approaches to refining the examples.

SIDE NOTE FOR FUTURE REFERENCE: I also just discovered the serious awesomeness of PowerPoint's "Notes" feature. AMAZING.

3. Class implementation:

As the semester goes on, it becomes more and more evident to me (and perhaps to students as well) how much thinking has gone into the design and structure of Karen's course. All assignments and in-class activities/discussions seem to all have a purpose in the class, and they don't seem like "busy work." Students respect this, I think.

COMMENTS:

* Guy Shebat:

Emmalee - maybe you can take a few minutes to show us the notes feature in Ppt. Some might know it -- but some might not. And use your observation of Karen's students and their mid-semester reading as a help in shaping your own schedule for next Spring. Less can be more in those busy middle weeks.