* Students shared the ridiculous projects they found and wrote about for Minor Writing 7. I liked that students brought in pictures or pulled up online images of their products. This sharing spawned a discussion about why people buy things like this and what these projects say about consumerism in the U.S.
* Karen wrote the following topic on the board: smokers' surcharge. She then read part of a New York Times article about employers requiring some employees (like those who smoke or are overweight) to pay more for health care.
* Students were then required to do the following for Minor Writing 8 (an in-class writing assignment):
1. Write your first thoughts.
2. Write (as clear as you can) your initial impulse about this topic. Are you for or against it? Fence-sitting is not permitted.
3. Pose questions. What questions come to mind about the topic? What else would you need to know in order to write intelligently about this topic?
4. Where would you go or what resources would you use to find answers to your questions? Place a star next to what you would do first.
5. Create "yes" list and a "no" list for this topic: Employers should be permitted to charge smokers (etc.) more for health insurances. Doing so helps you figure out what you already know about this topic.
* Karen spent the remainder of class sharing images of old Youngstown postcards she found on eBay (like those depicted in "Steeltown USA"). This led into the unofficial assigning of Minor Writing 9, which requires students to nominate and argue for the adoption of a postcard that brags about something in the greater Youngstown area (but NOT YSU).
2. Class analysis:
During today's class, Karen and I passed out graded/evaluated papers (Minor Writing assignments and rough drafts of argumentative essays). Although I was nervous to start writing on student papers (I've discovered that I prefer hand-commenting with a non-red pen.), it came pretty easily to me once I just jumped in and began. Thanks, three years of Writing Center experience! Surprisingly, I paid very little attention to grammar issues, even though I occasionally marked repeated problems (and supplied some relevant page numbers in the handbook). I suppose this is a good thing, though, as paying too much attention to grammar was one of my fears. I did, however, mark a variety of other things on student papers. For instance, I made several comments noting sentences or ideas I liked, any issues with APA style (since that's what Karen is requiring for this paper), things to work on, etc.
I had a MUCH harder time actually grading the minor writing assignments, which are worth a possible 15 points. I eventually just created a rubric/scoring system in an attempt to be fair, but I found myself still wavering on points. Tricky, tricky.
3. Class implementation:
I really, really like Karen's assignments and activities, particularly Minor Writing 9 (arguing for the adoption of a new postcard for Youngstown). It somehow manages to be a fun activity (I even wanted to do it!) but still teaches students something (effective techniques for argument). Along those same lines, students also had fun presenting and talking about Minor Writing 7 (the ridiculous product). As I try to figure out some of the "non-major" assignments I'd like to use in my course, I'll definitely keep her assignments in mind.
NOTE: Because of Thanksgiving break, I was unable to attend Nikki's English 1539 class this week.
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