Week 5 Syllabus: September 16
HAVING FINISHED ALL THE ADMINISTRIVIA of classroom expectations, the academic integrity policy, and the STAR reading assessment, and having covered our classroom routines in respect to classroom discussions, submitting, discussing and revising our writing, we can get into our short story unit. We are starting with a 100+ year old science-fiction story by the great English author E.M. Forster, author of A Passage to India. We will examine the story through the lens of Campbell’s hero journey, while practicing our annotation techniques: a) circling vocabulary, b) writing our questions, and c) taking written notes on the HJ and its parts in margins. Later we will read “Chelkash” by the Russian author Gorky, LeGuin’s classic “Those Who Walk Away from Omelas,” and others.
MONDAY, September 16
Lecture on annotating, carefully re-reading the last two pages of part one. What are the allusions to “blind”ness, humanity’s cultural history, and the grandeur of nature?
Re-reading part one with the audio and annotating together.
In small groups, students will begin working on the study guide questions.
HW: Finish the study guide questions for part one on your own, typing them up. These will be submitted on Canvas once we are done with the entire story.
WEDNESDAY, September 18
Students will listen to part two of the story, “The Machine Stops.”
In small groups (or individually), students will begin working on the study guide for part two.
On the passage, “man is the measure of all things…”
HW: Finish the study guide questions on part two.
Spend 45 minutes this weekend working on the crossword. No more time, no less. You MAY work with other scholars (or those not enrolled in our class)
THURSDAY, September 19
As we did with part one, we will examine a selection from part two for close reading and analysis.
Q&A around parts one and two. Something you didn’t understand? Want to know more about?
Moving into part three. Once done, we will work on the study guides.
HW: Study guide is due in Canvas on Monday.