Week 4 syllabus: September 16 forward
OUR SHORT STORY UNIT of study is next on our academic agenda. We have already read the first story twice, Le Guin’s, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.” In class this week, we will complete a baseline writing assignment on the summer reading, writing an essay that addresses the question, “Is Ged a good student?” We will also review the paragraphs on the door poem, looking for stylistic issues and body paragraph structural problems, and we will close the week by discussing “Omelas”,” practicing Great Books discussion format.
MONDAY
No class for the purpose of late start.
HW: Spend another 30 minutes—but no more than that—working on the Le Guin crossword.
TUESDAY
Prewriting for the inc-class, timed essay on Ged and The Wizard of Earthsea.
HW: If you have not done so, finish the crossword from Friday’s class. Due on Thursday.
WEDNESDAY
Writing the essay. Due by the end of class.
HW: Read through the paragraphs posted on “Revised Door Paragraph” entry. Select your three favorite by posting YOUR NAME, and only your name, as a comment to those three paragraphs. We will start class by looking at the ones both classes identify as quality examples.
THURSDAY
Lecture on body paragraph style and structure. Identify one sentence that deserves revision in your paragraph, specifically one that contains “to be” helping verb(s): is, am, are, was, were, have, has, had, should, could, would, be, being, been, do, doing, does. Copy and paste it as a comment to your paragraph revision. Then revise the sentence, posting the revision with at least one specific noun and one active verb (in class).
HW: Revisit your annotations on “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.” What makes for a good society? Why do some choose to walk away?
FRIDAY
Large group discussion of Omelas.
HW: Reading, “The Machine Stops,” by E.M. Forester. Annotate by circling vocabulary, writing your questions (theme is your target, over plot), and annotate for this question: What makes for a good society?