Wednesday

Today, you need to turn in your Malcolm X essays.  Then we will be looking at Compare and Contrast essays on page 156, and reading "Shakespeare in the Bush" on page 195.

Homework: Begin to read chapter 8 in the river reader - page 193 - 537.   You will need to write a precis for each essay in this section.

Tuesday

Today you will have time to work on your Malcolm X essays.  These are due tomorrow.

Tomorrow we will be looking at Compare and Contrast essay.

For those of you leaving on Thursday - your homework is to read Chapter 8 (498-536) and write a precis for each essay.  This is only 1/2 of the chapter.   You will be working on the 2nd half on Tuesday.

Monday

Today, we are going to have a little "memorization" quiz on your poems, then we will look at "Process Analysis" in the river reader.  And, finally, I'll let you work on your Malcolm X essays.

Good luck today!

Friday

Today, we are going to review - Narration, spend some time Poetry Out Loud, and finally work, for most of the class on your Malcolm X essays (these need to be 2-3 pages).

Note, Due MONDAY - Malcolm X essays and a memorization quiz on Poetry Out Loud.

Wednesday

Today, I'm going to give you 15-20 minutes to work on Poetry Out Loud memorization.  Note, on Friday you will have a memorization quiz on them.

Then we will look at "Narration" for the Modes project and read at least one essay in The Riverside Reader.  Final, I'll give some time to begin your Malcolm X essay.

First, let's look at a video - from the news - that relates "Racism in America" as inherent in the system.

Go here

Tuesday

Today we take a quiz on Malcolm X and discuss the ending of the book.  

Then we will talk about an synthesis that will be due next Monday. 

Question: How should we think about race and racism in America?  Is there a solution?

Using The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and a least three other sources - MLK's "Letter from Birmingham Jail"; James Baldwin's "Notes of a Native Son"; Zora Neale Hurston's "How it Feels to be Colored Me"; Jamaica Kincaid's "Upon Seeing English for the First Time"; W.E.B Dubois' "Of Our Spiritual Striving"; and/or Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I A Woman"  

 PROJECT OVERVIEW

1)   Student will read “Resources for Writing” (Thematic Unit – Survival) in their Riverside Reader pages 493 – 563.

The purpose of this aspect of the assignment is to further their understanding of seven different rhetorical modes of development and to show them a model for the writing project that they will be doing.  Reading the selections, which are all on the same topic, the Internet, but which utilize the various “modes of development”.

2)   Read two additional essays of their choice of each mode and write a précis (posted on their blog) for each.  These readings should come from The Riverside Reader.  While students are doing this aspect of the project the class will be studying and working with various modes in class.

3)   Write six papers on the same topic, each in a different mode. 

Each paper should clearly demonstrate the distinct characteristics of the mode.  Before writing the student should review the different chapters for tips on purpose, audience, strategies, and in some cases, potential pitfalls.  Especially important will be the “Points to Remember” charts handed out during the writing.

Students will choose a topic that is well known and interesting to them and broad enough that they can readily adapt it to six different treatments:  1) narration, 2) analysis, 3) compare and contrast, 4) classification, 5) definition, 6) cause and effect and 7) persuasion

Topics that have be suggested include: shopping, a favorite sport, school, friends, teenagers, grades, parents, teacher, TV, movies, reading, dating, music, holidays, fashion, presidential elections, politics, religion, vegetarianism, health, food or cooking, nature, etc.

Each paper should be approximately 500-750 words, labeled with the mode of development, double-spaced, typed, have a creative title, and a word count at the end.

Total project should be approximately 3500-5000 words.

Each paper will be workshopped in a group setting and discussed 1-1 with teacher.

PROJECT will be due at SPRING BREAK.  

Other Due dates: Thematic Unit read ("Survival") by 1/22.  Test on 1/23.

Narration Essay (draft) due 1/29

Process Analysis (draft) due 2/5

Compare and Contrast (draft) due 2/12

Division and Classification (draft) due 2/19

Definition (draft) due 2/26

Cause and Effect due 3/5

Persuasion (draft) due 3/12

FINAL drafts (all revisions done) due 3/21

Monday 1/8

You need to finish (if you haven't - and some of you left your books in the classroom so I'm fairly sure you haven't) "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and then write a paragraph comparing/contrasting it with The Autobiography of Malcolm X (thematically). 

When you are finished with this you need to work on picking out a poem for Poetry Out Loud and begin to memorize it.

You can find your poems - here