Cyber-Assignment

Post 5 signal phrases and 3 block quotes from Half the Sky. Indicate the page numbers and list the members of the group who participated.

Re: the signal phrases group them, the same for the block quote. If students want to practice using ellipses marks for the block quote, you can. Just make certain the intention of the writer remains consistent. You don't want to get sued (smile).

Students can include the signal phrase with the block quote as well. Do not forget the page numbers.

We spent time in class reviewing Pronoun Case in SPHE. We'll write the essay in class on Thursday and take the 50 question Grammar Exam 1. Email the templates to yourself once completed for Thursday.

I tossed out the idea of having an International Woman's Day party next week, March 8. It will be the 100th anniversary of this day. I was thinking food, music, poetry sharing stories. Let me know.

Let us know of any community gatherings or activities/programs for Woman's History Month/Day and activities/programs reflecting on war/peace. Perhaps we can go on a field trip.

Character Profiles Cyber-Assignment
Post your Lit Circle Profiles (min 3) here.

Don't forget to include page numbers. You don't have to list the characteristics in complete sentences. This is a list.

For homework comment individually on the similarities between the characters or subjects.

The question is what is an empowered woman look like? I am being both figurative and literal. Are empowered women born or do circumstances make this choice inevitable?

In Half the Sky, some women profiled do not live up to their own and others in the community, such as family, Nick or other supporters, expectations.

What does that say to you about these women? Do you think they are weak? What do the authors say? Is the opposite of empowered, "weak" or is the contrast between the two more complex? Why or why not?

The profile assignment was started in class a couple of days ago. If you were absent check with a classmate for notes.

Today in both classes we read a bit from Alice Walker's We Are the Ones, We've Been Waiting For. In the early class we completed peer reviews and proofreading exercises. We also completed the Pronoun AGR Quiz in Pidd. The essays are due in the morning. Students shared feedback regarding the closing Black History Month program Tuesday. Remember, if any student attends a College Hour event on Tuesday, 12:30-1:30 PM and writes about it, he or she gets extra credit.

Pronoun Case or Synthetica is an in-class essay. We'll plan to complete it next Thursday. Students will type the templates in advance and email them as an essay so that all you have to do is write the introduction and conclusion.

There is also a 50-question exam. We complete both in the same class.

Homework in both classes is to come prepared to complete the character profiles and perhaps write a short essay as a group about the women spotlighted. Both of these assignments will be cyber-assignments.

Students are also to continue in Pidd--verb phrases and pronoun cases. Don't forget the ellipsis assignment in the axillary. We'll complete the Ellipses Quiz Monday-Tuesday.

Today in class we reviewed SPHE, Essay 2: Pronoun Agreement. We also completed the exercises for incorporating citations into text. Check Error 1 and complete (330-332), if you were not here.

Bring in a typed copy of Essay 2: Pronoun Agreement if you have completed the essay templates (early class). Everyone needs to bring in a typed copy for the second class (9-9:50 AM). We will have the Pronoun AGR Quiz in both classes and a peer review in the ENG 1A 9-9:50 on Tuesday and the peer review in ENG 1A 8-8:50 on Wednesday. The essays will be due by email on Thursday before class.

In the second class we finished the Pidd review quickly and got into Lit Circles to discuss chapters 4-5. Students were to note: signal phrases, citations, especially the smooth transitions. Be prepared to share three (3). Also note the block quotes.

Free Theatre Production at Laney College Feb. 19, 2011

On Saturday at Laney College there is a free theatre performance, I think at 2 PM. the play is currently on stage at the Magic Theatre in San Francisco and is for mature audience only. If you attend and write a short response or review, you can have extra credit. Visit http://magictheatre.org/ to read about the play.


Saturday is also the 26th Annual Empowering Women of Color Conference at UC Berkeley in the MLK Jr. Student Center. Visit http://ewocc.berkeley.edu/ There is a cost for this event which begins at 9:30 AM and goes until about 7 PM, which includes a reception.

Also this weekend, Saturday-Sunday, February 19-20, 2011, is a People's Tribunal on Racism and Police Violence at Edna Brewer Middle School. Visit http://www.eastsideartsalliance.com/ This is free and lunch will be provided.

Cyber-narratives on Love

Today in class we spent the entire class reviewing SPHE Pronoun Agreement. Most students worked on exercises, but a few completed error templates for the essay. Complete the exercises and read the essay. Tomorrow we might have time to review the errors after we complete the Library Orientation with Professor Steve Gerstle. We will meet there instead of in the classroom(s).

Monday, Valentine's Day, students from both classes shared an object or story about a person that symbolized love. Please post those reflections were the link is above.

I'd planned to show students how to identify key arguments and their evidence in Half the Sky, that is, Conclusions and Premises--and show how evidence and premises are most often linked with conjunctions.

FILMS and other Extra Curricular Happenings in the Bay

Robert H. King, the only free member of the Angola 3, is in town Friday, February 11, 2011, 6 PM at 2111 Mission Street, San Francisco, as a part of The Peoples' Human Right and Hip Hop Film Festival. Screening that evening will be the film: In the Land of the Free, directed by Vadim Jean, 84 min. At 8 PM there will be a talk with Mr. King.

Saturday, February, 4 PM will be screened: Too Short--Life Is (58 min.); 5:05 The Angola 3: Black Panthers and the Last Slave Plantation ; 7 PM Operation Small Ax; 9 PM New Dead Prez Doc (16 min.) At 9:30 PM there will be a panel discussion with M1 of Dead Prez and Hajj Malcolm Shabazz (Malcolm X's grandson).

If you like dance, Black Choreographers Here and Now kick off their first weekend, I think, at Laney Friday, Feb. 11- Sunday, Feb. 13, as well.

There is a program Friday, February 18 and Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011. Visit www.sfbayview.com "Calendar of Events."

Today we began with Literature Circles. I loved walking around listening to the conversations students were engaged in. We then shifted to Pidd Essay 1: Sentence Punctuation. Students completed Peer Reviews for each other's work and then filled out a Proofreading Checklist to hand in with the Peer Review. Essays are to be emailed to me: coasabirenglish1A@gmail.com

In the Peer Review I asked students to add a narrative justifying the grade. It can be a few sentences long. Please hand in the peer reviews before you email me, so if that is today, now or Monday, on Monday.

Keep it until you are ready to submit it. Paste the essay and attach it. Indicate the assignment and the class time.

Homework is to keep reading in Half, and to keep doing exercises in Pidd. The next chapter is Pronoun Agreement.

Monday we will reflect on Love. For extra credit students can bring in an object that represents love to share.

Cyber-Assignment

This is a link to an interview with Nicholas Kristof. Listen to the interview in light of what you have read so far. What is the impact of hearing directly from an author? What did you learn about Kristof or Half the Sky that you didn't already know? What impressed you most about his comments. Try to cite it in a paraphrase.

http://www.imow.org/economica/stories/viewStory?storyId=4719

Bring headphones to class on Thursdays.

Today in class we began, in the 8-8:50 AM class with Literature Circles, then shifted to Pidd. In the second class9-9:50 AM we did the opposite, which means there was only 20 minutes to talk about the readings.

For those students in the first class, please post a response to the Lit Circle.

Homework is to complete the intrroduction and conclusion in SPHE. Bring the essay to class on Thursday typed. You can email it to yourself.

Assignment
How did the process go for you this morning? What specifically worked well? How were you intellectually challenged by the process? What if, anything, didn't work as well? What did you learn about yourself? What did you learn about others in the group? What are you looking forward to next time? Were you adequately prepared? What do you plan to do to address this?

Today in class we divided the class into Literature Circle Discussion Groups. If a student was absent then he or she can join a group on Monday, prepare the reading in advance.

For each chapter students are to develop a reading log. The log can include vocabulary students had to look up in the dictionary, questions about references, key ideas from the text like arguments. As students read the book, jot down references to the three strategies the authors mention which are ways to assist the women profiled escape the horrors associated with being a woman or a girl in the societies referenced, like education, economic opportunities and better health care.

Students swapped contact information as well.

Besides the reading, homework is also to continue in the STPH workbook. We will review the answers to exercises in groups next week and write Essay 1: Sentence Punctuation for Thursday in the lab. You will email me the essays after peer reviews.

Reading Log & Essay due dates for Half the Sky

Week 2 Jan. 31-Feb 2 Introduction

Week 3 Feb. 7-9 Chapters 1-2; Feb. 10 Chapter 3

Week 4 Feb. 14-15 Chapters 4-5

Week 5 Feb. 22-23 Chapters 6-7; Chapter 8 Feb. 24

Week 6 Feb. 28-March 3 Chapters 9-11

Week 7 March 7-8 Chapters 12-14

The Essay Assignment due dates:

1. Essay Initial Planning Sheet due: March 9
2. Outline due: March 10
3. First draft due: March 14 (meet in A-232 for peer review)
4. Final draft due: March 16 via email

There will be a separate essay assignment sheet handed out later.

Cyber-Assignment

Post summaries of the Introduction to Half the Sky here.

We spoke earlier this week about the closing reception at Laney College this Friday and the opening exhibit at Joyce Gordon Gallery. I have posted information about the exhibit below. If you go to any event and write about it, you can have extra credit. You can write about the art, its creators, your impressions-- Read a published review to get a feel for the type of writing critics do (smile). You can also attach the program if you like.

Keep track of these extra credit assignments. Films count as well as performances, like theatre, concerts, lectures and book events.

Art Exhibit Openings and Closings

This Friday, February 4, 2011, I am going to be boppimg between two maybe three art galleries/museums and wanted to see if you wanted to join me. I am starting at the June Steingart Gallery, Tower Bldg., Laney College at 4 PM for the Eco Art Matters closing reception and then popping by the Oakland Museum across the street, ending up at Joyce Gordon Gallery, 408 14th Street, 14th and Webster Street in Oakland, for the AeroSoul 2: Urban Hieroglyphics opening, 5-11 PM. The galleries are free. If you are with me, I might be able to get you into the Oakland Museum (smile).

Visit http://www.aerosoulart.com/Artists.html

AeroSoul, which is up Feb. 4-27, 2011, is historic in its breath and vision. If you are hip hop then you can't miss this opportunity to speak to the urban creative masters of this craft and culture, most of them probably your parent's peers.

I am just blown away by the cast of artists from Los Angeles, New York and here listed on the website. I took my English 1B class to see AeroSoul 1, and we were privileged to get a private tour of the show.

Oh, if you want to connect, that is, hang with the professor, call me and we can meet up (smile).

21st Annual African American Celebration through Poetry, February 5, 1-4 PM

I forgot to mention an event I host yearly at the West Oakland Branch Library, 1801 Adeline Street, Oakland, (510) 238-7352. It is free and open to the general public.

Today in class we read, in the early class, the Introduction to Half the Sky. In the second class we discussed the introduction, as the majority of the class had done the homework. The discussion was fruitful, as we also defined and discussed key terms the authors used to define and narrow their topic. We also looked at what the authors expect from their audiences.

Homework is to summarize the introduction to Half the Sky and bring to class in the morning. Email it to yourself. If you need a general length--250 words or 1 typed page, should be adequate. Make sure the MLA is perfect.

If students in the second class completed their literal paraphrases, then you can post it here for the group or pair. Make sure you also type the original passage and indicate the page number of the page it was taken from.

Tomorrow we will continue practicing paraphrasing. We will also look at how the authors use evidence to support their claims and the smooth way their incorporate direct speech into their discourse. We will then practice doing the same in comments about the introduction to Half the Sky.

Students will practice writing reading logs and look at the concept of Literature Circles. I will also give students a reading log with dates and page numbers.

I plan to take roll at the start of class tomorrow, so try to be on time (smile). For any students in my early class, I am already at 39 students, nine more than I have to take, so if you are one of those persons I promised a permission number to, if you are late, we might have to rethink that agreement.

Other homework is to continue working in SPHE--Confused Words and Sentence Punctuation, along with Plagiarism and Paraphrasing. We will review the exercises Monday; however, if there is ever a question, please bring it up in class. I still don't have an office but I am here on campus every day except Friday, so if you want to meet with me, give me a call. I turn on my cell phone after class (sometimes before--smile).

I appreciate your patience, regarding emailed assignments. I am still under a doctor's care but feeling a whole lot better than last week.