HW for Wednesday, 9/3

1. While reading chapters 1-9 (page 1-68) of A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier:

• Highlight and be ready to discuss five sentences in the memoir that provide you with insight into humanity, or into human behavior. Your five sentences MUST come from five different chapters (so one each from five chapters). You may (and should) go beyond five.

• Write down three questions that thematically investigate a moral issue, or a cultural behavior or belief, inspired by your reading of the memoir. 

• For example, if one were to read William Stafford's "An Introduction to Literature" one may have many questions. A quick one that inspires me from the first two lines of the poem: 

• Why do so many people choose to "moan" (pity) our sufferings rather than "sing" (learn from) them?

Active Reading

All smart, perceptive, thoughtful writers take their time to study and dissect what they're reading. In short, writers learn to write well by reading how other writers construct sentences, ideas, examples, and more:

·       One must play close attention to, pose questions, and break down any text that comes one’s way!

·       How to be an active reader:

o   Highlighters can be good friends. (Consider color-coding)

o   Dictionaries can be your BFF, and help you build your vocab…"COLLECT" those words you are not sure of as you read.

o   Wikipedia is a frenemy!  (You have to be careful around Wiki, as Wiki can be very wicked. Yes, this is really goofy, but it’s a mnemonic device.)

o   Mnemonic devices: memory techniques, including use of “acronyms” (FBI or CIA or D.A.R.E.) and personal “associate value” such as “____sounds like _____” or using rhyme or creating a little song or poem…

o   Take Notes in a notebook as you read… and/or…

o   Use the margins of a text | all available white space of a page

§  Create a running commentary of emotions

§  Pose questions

§  Pull out the main concept / restate main word from a paragraph

§  Note where ideas shift at beginnings of new paragraphs (chart the author’s "progression of thesis"!)

o   Re-title the piece or its sections for your own reflective understanding

o   At end of reading text (in white space at end, or on separate sheet of paper):

§  What is the major plot point? (good in literature to ask)

§  What was the major example used?

§  What are large points that you took from your first read?

§  . . . other ideas YOU find relevant to notate.

After Reading Questions:

Thinking about our term and our texts, and our lives beyond December, here are some constant inquiries for the academic. These are broad questions with numerous and hopefully evolving answers.


1. Why is empathy important to developing intelligence?

2. Why is empathy important to reading?

3. Why is empathy important to being in the workforce?

4. How does empathy change how you write, in general? (This includes e-mails to friends and family....)

5. By reading about people and places different from you, how can you learn?

HW for 8/27

1. Both readings should be available on Canvas. Thank you to the few students who made me aware that the second reading was not showing up. Here is a link to that second read, which is a very short one.

2. The discussion questions are also up on Canvas, too.

3. As a follow up to the two required readings, there is another article from TIME magazine that I was just made aware of this past week that I will include in our discussion tomorrow, too. You do not need to read this article before class, but I'll link to it anyway: "Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter and Nicer."

Welcome!

(from page 1 of the syllabus)

Theme

Diaspora [the often forced dispersion of a group of people from its cultural origin] and general cultural evolution: we will explore how geography, time, language, and historical events impact a culture and its individuals. Specifically with regard to individual people, we will cover identity conflicts and morality conflicts, investigating cultural norms and beliefs that are challenged through various forms of diaspora.

Course Description

Intensive study of thesis-based, multi-paragraph writing, including the research paper, with stress on clarity, logical development, and solid support. Students read works of literature from a variety of genres in the context of the works' intellectual, social, and cultural backgrounds.

Required Texts: 

1. A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier
2. We, the Drowned
3. When My Brother Was An Aztec
4. Slow Lightning
5. Rules for Writers, 7^th ed.
6. course blog: http://aacc121.blogspot.com

Learning Objectives: After successfully completing this course, a student should be able to

1.                              Write clearly organized, effective essays in more advanced forms;

2.                            Use prewriting, outlining, and revising for these essays;

3.                             Consistently avoid non-standard English;

4.                            Consistently avoid major grammar and punctuation errors;

5.                            Critically analyze fiction, plays, and poetry;

6.                            Complete a major research project with source material documented according to established conventions.

Class Expectation/Instructional Hour

A minimum expectation is that for every hour spent “in class,” as defined by your instructor, you should plan to spend at least two hours “out of class” in preparation. More important than how MUCH someone should study is HOW someone should study. Studying is a skill, and if students have not developed that skill, they may still struggle regardless of how much time they study. More information about study skills, including time management techniques, can be found at http://ola2.aacc.edu/vc/timemanagement/TimeManagementWebShop/.