I have a range of short videos that I like to show my students to illustrate points and make the class more fun. This clip from Friends is particularly good for demonstrating why using the appropriate style is important, and why they should aim for clarity and simplicity in their own writing.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Thematic Exercise: Picture Books
I like to do this exercise in the first week of class, when we are first beginning to explore the theme. It's simple and fun, and it gets the students thinking and talking.
Time Required:
45 minutes
Materials Required:
1) Picture books (Enough to have 1 book between 3-4 people)
2) Worksheets with questions.
Set-Up:
1) Draw up worksheets with questions. I recommend that the first prompt ask them to summarise the plot of the book in two or three sentences. It's good, low-pressure practice in summary, and it makes sure that they focus on the story.
I would then have two or three specific questions for them to answer, which require them to think about how the book presents your theme. For instance, when my course theme was the technology of daily life, I asked them what the books were teaching children about technology, and whether they presented it as benign or dangerous. When it was foodways, I asked them how the book used food to reflect on people's cultures and lifestyles. The questions do not need to be fancy; it's better if they're straightforward.
2) When you bring out the children's books, expect some odd looks. Your students will wonder why you are giving them books intended for kindergarteners, and you need to begin by addressing this unspoken question if you want them to take the exercise seriously. I find it helps to treat them as cultural/anthropological artifacts, and to talk about the process of socialisation. As children, we are all taught the values, attitudes and beliefs of our society in both implicit and explicit ways. Children's books function as instruments of socialisation, and thus they are an excellent place to discover how a society feels about a particular topic.
Exercise:
1) After the initial talk, divide your class into groups of 3-4.
2) Give each group a children's book and a worksheet.
3) Tell them that they will present back on their findings to the class.
4) Give them 15-20 minutes to read the book and discuss the questions.
5) Give them 5 minutes each to present on their book. Get them to write down the main points on the board.
6) Wrap up by discussing any commonalities or differences that you notice.
Time Required:
45 minutes
Materials Required:
1) Picture books (Enough to have 1 book between 3-4 people)
2) Worksheets with questions.
Set-Up:
1) Draw up worksheets with questions. I recommend that the first prompt ask them to summarise the plot of the book in two or three sentences. It's good, low-pressure practice in summary, and it makes sure that they focus on the story.
I would then have two or three specific questions for them to answer, which require them to think about how the book presents your theme. For instance, when my course theme was the technology of daily life, I asked them what the books were teaching children about technology, and whether they presented it as benign or dangerous. When it was foodways, I asked them how the book used food to reflect on people's cultures and lifestyles. The questions do not need to be fancy; it's better if they're straightforward.
2) When you bring out the children's books, expect some odd looks. Your students will wonder why you are giving them books intended for kindergarteners, and you need to begin by addressing this unspoken question if you want them to take the exercise seriously. I find it helps to treat them as cultural/anthropological artifacts, and to talk about the process of socialisation. As children, we are all taught the values, attitudes and beliefs of our society in both implicit and explicit ways. Children's books function as instruments of socialisation, and thus they are an excellent place to discover how a society feels about a particular topic.
Exercise:
1) After the initial talk, divide your class into groups of 3-4.
2) Give each group a children's book and a worksheet.
3) Tell them that they will present back on their findings to the class.
4) Give them 15-20 minutes to read the book and discuss the questions.
5) Give them 5 minutes each to present on their book. Get them to write down the main points on the board.
6) Wrap up by discussing any commonalities or differences that you notice.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Commonplace Anonymous Peer Review Workshop
In teaching Commonplace, I've learnt that my own opinions on my students' papers are not particularly valuable, at least when it comes to what their peer reviewers will like and hate. I've often made suggestions about "problems" that I see in the papers and that I think need to be fixed, only to discover in the peer review feedback that the reviewers would have preferred it to stay as it was! So, this quarter, I decided to come up with a workshop that would provide my students with feedback on their Commonplace papers from their perspective of their peers, and that would give them an opportunity to see how other people had handled the assignment.
Materials:
- Students need to bring in a draft of their CP paper. Ideally, it should not have their names or any other identifying information on it.
- Peer Review Response Sheet (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MV2DZK27).
Time:
- 60-90 minutes.
Workshop:
1. Explain to the students that you are doing a peer review workshop today, since their peers will be the ones to decide whether or not their essays will appear on Commonplace, and therefore it will be more helpful for them to have feedback from their fellow students than from you. Tell them that they will look at two of their classmate's papers, and provide feedback on them. They will have half an hour for each paper.
2. Collect the drafts from your students, and shuffle them together.
3. Distribute the drafts throughout the class, making sure that no-one gets their own paper!
4. Hand out the peer review worksheets. I like to attach paper clips to the first set of copies, so that they are able to put them together at the end. You can bring a stapler into class as well.
5. Run through the prompts with your students, making sure they understand all of them.
6. (Optional) After half an hour, collect up the drafts with the attached worksheets, and repeat steps 3-4. I like to do it twice, since I've had occasions where some students did not take it seriously and gave poor feedback. I also think it's valuable for them to see two different papers.
7. As a class, discuss what they liked about the papers, and what they felt worked well in them. This step is important, since it gives them ideas about how they can improve their own papers.
8. Spread out the papers with attached worksheets at the front of the classroom, and let the students come and find their own.
Materials:
- Students need to bring in a draft of their CP paper. Ideally, it should not have their names or any other identifying information on it.
- Peer Review Response Sheet (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MV2DZK27).
Time:
- 60-90 minutes.
Workshop:
1. Explain to the students that you are doing a peer review workshop today, since their peers will be the ones to decide whether or not their essays will appear on Commonplace, and therefore it will be more helpful for them to have feedback from their fellow students than from you. Tell them that they will look at two of their classmate's papers, and provide feedback on them. They will have half an hour for each paper.
2. Collect the drafts from your students, and shuffle them together.
3. Distribute the drafts throughout the class, making sure that no-one gets their own paper!
4. Hand out the peer review worksheets. I like to attach paper clips to the first set of copies, so that they are able to put them together at the end. You can bring a stapler into class as well.
5. Run through the prompts with your students, making sure they understand all of them.
6. (Optional) After half an hour, collect up the drafts with the attached worksheets, and repeat steps 3-4. I like to do it twice, since I've had occasions where some students did not take it seriously and gave poor feedback. I also think it's valuable for them to see two different papers.
7. As a class, discuss what they liked about the papers, and what they felt worked well in them. This step is important, since it gives them ideas about how they can improve their own papers.
8. Spread out the papers with attached worksheets at the front of the classroom, and let the students come and find their own.
Monday, January 11, 2010
AutoCAD: Blueprint for a Thesis
John Acker shares this helpful approach to teaching thesis statements. I personally am a big fan of acronyms, as they help the students to retain information. It's even better when they're geeky!
AutoCAD: Blueprint for a Thesis
In both first- and second-year writing courses, I've had reasonable success teaching the thesis statement using the acronym CAD: Claim, Argument, and Difference. First, I tell them, any thesis-driven paper has to make a claim-- something specific about a detail or pattern of details that they've noticed. This goes beyond the all-too-common "there are similarities and differences" or "this text is interesting" generalities, but it isn't yet a working thesis. For that, they need to build on the claim to make an argument, ensuring that someone can reasonably disagree with their thesis. I use this example: "The cafeteria's fish sticks are gross" is a claim, since it identifies a detail and says something about it, but by itself it's not an argument. However, "The high concentration of fried food in the cafeteria promotes unhealthy eating habits" is an argument because someone could disagree. Once an arguable claim is in place, the final test for an effective thesis is whether it makes a difference in how we understand or interpret the topic. Some of this will vary by the assignment: a Commonplace essay will have different standards for what makes a difference than a literary analysis. But the principle is the same-- given the assignment guidelines and the purpose of the argument, does the thesis matter? At this point I often bring in the metaphor of the critical conversation, and encourage students to think of how they are contributing to it and moving it forward. Throughout the process, I emphasize that these three elements build on each other, since an argument is impossible without a claim and a claim can't make a difference unless someone can disagree with it. This helps students think of thesis formulation as a multi-step process, instead of just a one-line summary of their argument to be trumpeted in each paragraph of the essay.
AutoCAD: Blueprint for a Thesis
In both first- and second-year writing courses, I've had reasonable success teaching the thesis statement using the acronym CAD: Claim, Argument, and Difference. First, I tell them, any thesis-driven paper has to make a claim-- something specific about a detail or pattern of details that they've noticed. This goes beyond the all-too-common "there are similarities and differences" or "this text is interesting" generalities, but it isn't yet a working thesis. For that, they need to build on the claim to make an argument, ensuring that someone can reasonably disagree with their thesis. I use this example: "The cafeteria's fish sticks are gross" is a claim, since it identifies a detail and says something about it, but by itself it's not an argument. However, "The high concentration of fried food in the cafeteria promotes unhealthy eating habits" is an argument because someone could disagree. Once an arguable claim is in place, the final test for an effective thesis is whether it makes a difference in how we understand or interpret the topic. Some of this will vary by the assignment: a Commonplace essay will have different standards for what makes a difference than a literary analysis. But the principle is the same-- given the assignment guidelines and the purpose of the argument, does the thesis matter? At this point I often bring in the metaphor of the critical conversation, and encourage students to think of how they are contributing to it and moving it forward. Throughout the process, I emphasize that these three elements build on each other, since an argument is impossible without a claim and a claim can't make a difference unless someone can disagree with it. This helps students think of thesis formulation as a multi-step process, instead of just a one-line summary of their argument to be trumpeted in each paragraph of the essay.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Basic Notice and Focus Exercise
Before I do the Method with my students, I normally teach them how to do Notice and Focus, as I feel it was a more low-key, introductory approach to analysis. I begin by lecturing on the Five Analytical Moves, and then move into the following simple but effective exercise.
Basic Notice and Focus Exercise
Objectives: To practise Notice and Focus.
Materials: Any primary text of your choosing.
Time: 30-40 minutes
1. Choose a short, self-contained text, which lends itself to basic analysis. Since my theme is technology this quarter, I chose the iPod Nano Capture advert.
2. Share the text with the students. In my case, I played the advert twice.
3. Before you begin, remind the students that they should consider all the components of the piece. For instance, if it's an advert, they need to look at the video, the music, the lyrics and the text.
4. Show them the text again, and ask them to make a list of the most interesting, strange, revealing or significant aspects of it.
5. Go around the class, and have them each share one item from their list with everyone. Write these items down on the board.
6. Ask the students to look at the list on the board, choose the three most interesting etc. details from it, and then rank them.
7. Split the class into pairs and have them compare ranked lists, before coming up with a list on which they both agree.
8. Have them share their lists with the class. As they do, write the rankings next to the items. For instance, each time a student says an item is the most important, write a "1" next to it. Discuss any patterns that you see emerging.
9. Send them back into their groups, and have them discuss why they found those three details the most interesting etc.
10. Have them share their reasons with the class. If you're low on time, get them to talk about only one or two of the details.
Basic Notice and Focus Exercise
Objectives: To practise Notice and Focus.
Materials: Any primary text of your choosing.
Time: 30-40 minutes
1. Choose a short, self-contained text, which lends itself to basic analysis. Since my theme is technology this quarter, I chose the iPod Nano Capture advert.
2. Share the text with the students. In my case, I played the advert twice.
3. Before you begin, remind the students that they should consider all the components of the piece. For instance, if it's an advert, they need to look at the video, the music, the lyrics and the text.
4. Show them the text again, and ask them to make a list of the most interesting, strange, revealing or significant aspects of it.
5. Go around the class, and have them each share one item from their list with everyone. Write these items down on the board.
6. Ask the students to look at the list on the board, choose the three most interesting etc. details from it, and then rank them.
7. Split the class into pairs and have them compare ranked lists, before coming up with a list on which they both agree.
8. Have them share their lists with the class. As they do, write the rankings next to the items. For instance, each time a student says an item is the most important, write a "1" next to it. Discuss any patterns that you see emerging.
9. Send them back into their groups, and have them discuss why they found those three details the most interesting etc.
10. Have them share their reasons with the class. If you're low on time, get them to talk about only one or two of the details.
Transition Derby
It's always challenging to teach transitions to your students in a fun and engaging way, so I loved this idea that I found on OSU's old Tried and True website. I tried it with my class in the Fall quarter, and it made for a really entertaining and productive exercise.
The original suggests using pen and paper, but I had a computer lab that day, and decided to play musical chairs with my students.
The Transition Derby
Objective: To improve students' ability to use transitions effectively in their papers.
Material: Paper and pens OR computers.
Time: 20-30 minutes.
1. Tell each student to take out a sheet of paper or open a Word document on their computer.
2. Without introducing the exercise further, ask them to write a paragraph about an animal.
3. Once they have done that, tell them to pass their paper to the person to their left (if you're using pen and paper) or move one seat to their left (if you're using computers). You may make Time Warp references at this point.
4. Tell them that they need to read the piece, and then add another paragraph to it about a place. Stress that they need to transition effectively between the two paragraphs, so that they flow smoothly.
5. Once again, they need to pass their papers or move their butts to the left, and add another paragraph about an event.
6. Have the students share their final pieces with everyone else. These pieces are often very funny, and you can joke about them with the class, which is nice.
7. After that, have them make a list of all the techniques they used to transition between paragraphs, and write them down on the board. They'll pick up on repeated words and phrases, the use of transitional words, references to previous events, etc.
The original suggests using pen and paper, but I had a computer lab that day, and decided to play musical chairs with my students.
The Transition Derby
Objective: To improve students' ability to use transitions effectively in their papers.
Material: Paper and pens OR computers.
Time: 20-30 minutes.
1. Tell each student to take out a sheet of paper or open a Word document on their computer.
2. Without introducing the exercise further, ask them to write a paragraph about an animal.
3. Once they have done that, tell them to pass their paper to the person to their left (if you're using pen and paper) or move one seat to their left (if you're using computers). You may make Time Warp references at this point.
4. Tell them that they need to read the piece, and then add another paragraph to it about a place. Stress that they need to transition effectively between the two paragraphs, so that they flow smoothly.
5. Once again, they need to pass their papers or move their butts to the left, and add another paragraph about an event.
6. Have the students share their final pieces with everyone else. These pieces are often very funny, and you can joke about them with the class, which is nice.
7. After that, have them make a list of all the techniques they used to transition between paragraphs, and write them down on the board. They'll pick up on repeated words and phrases, the use of transitional words, references to previous events, etc.