Lesson Plan Über Alles

Article to Supplement The New Jim Crow

This article could complement Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow.

Possible Assignment for Jesmyn Ward's Men We Reaped

We read in the Amazon book description of Jesmyn Ward's Men We Reaped that "These young men died because of who they were and the place they were from, because certain disadvantages breed a certain kind of bad luck."

Support, refute, or complicate the above assertion.

Updated Grading Template for English 1A and 1C

English 1A

Four in-class writing exam essays 50 each for 200

Two 1,200-word typed essays 100 each for 200

Final typed essay for 200

600 total points

English 1C

Four in class writing exam essays 50 for 200

Three typed 1,000-word essays 100 for 300

Final typed 1,200-word essay for 200

Total: 700 points

English 1A Syllabus for Spring 2015 In Progress

Reading and Writing Schedule Spring 2015: Based on 600 Point Total

Four in-class writing exam essays 50 each for 200

Two 1,200-word typed essays 100 each for 200

Final typed essay for 200

600 total points

January 19 Holiday

January 21 Syllabus, requirements, grading

January 26 From Our Story Begins: “The Rich Brother”; "The Other Miller"; crafting a thesis, prewriting

January 28 “Desert Breakdown,” “The Liar”; writing introductions, prewriting and thesis

February 2 “Say Yes, “Mortals”; prewriting, thesis, Toulmin model; signal phrases

February 4 “Firelight,” “Deep Kiss”; paraphrase, summary, quotations, critical reading

February 9 In-class exam (open-book; bring blue book) 50 points

February 11 Typed 5-Page Essay One is due for 100 points; Chapter 2 199-222; fragments

February 16 Holiday

February 18 Chapter 2 222-245; comma splices and run-ons

February 23 Chapter 2 245-269; consider men’s “definition” mags; pronoun errors

February 25 Chapter 2 245-269; phrases and clauses

March 2 In-class Exam 2 for 50 points (open-book; bring blue book)

March 4 conducting research and citing sources 65-71; Chapter 1 81-96; Essay Options: 96 Reading the Signs 1, 3, and 5; essential and nonessential clauses

March 9 Chapter 1 97-110; Essay Options: 104 Reading the Signs 1 and 4; parallelism

March 11 Chapter 1 111-127; Essay Options: 116 Reading the Signs 1 and 2; 127 Reading the Signs 5; dangling modifiers

March 23 Chapter 1 128-141; Essay Options 141 Reading the Signs 1 and 3; subordination and coordination

March 25 Chapter 1 142-158; Essay Options 151 Reading the Signs 3, 4, and 5; 158 Reading the Signs 3 and 5; mixed sentence structure

March 30 Chapter 1 159-169; Essay Options 163 Reading the Signs 2; 168 Reading the Signs 3; comma rules

April 1 Typed 5-Page Essay 2 Due for 100 points; Chapter 4 271-304

April 6 Chapter 4 305-321

April 8 Chapter 4 322-331

April 13 Chapter 4 349-363

April 15 In-Class Exam 3 (open-book, bring blue book)

April 20 Chapter 5 445-469; Essay Options: 469 Reading the Signs 3 and 5

April 22 Chapter 5 469-487; Essay Options: 474 Reading the Signs 1; 482 Reading the Signs 1; 487 Reading the Signs 4

April 27 Chapter 6 513-532; Essay Options: 532 Reading the Signs 4

April 29 Chapter 6 532-552; Essay Options: 541 Reading the Signs 3 and 4; 552 Reading the Signs 1 and 2

May 4 Chapter 6 580-598, 386-395; Essay Options 586 Reading the Signs 586 Reading the Signs 2; 598 Reading the Signs 4; go over peer edit, outline, thesis checklist and mla essay checklist to use for next meeting (another mla checklist here): Homework: Bring your thesis to next class.

May 6 553-567; Essay Options: 567 Reading the Signs 4 and 5; thesis check for revision

May 11 ; In-class Exam 4 for 50 points (open-book and bring blue book)

May 13 Final 6-Page Typed Essay for 200 Points Is Due

 

 

 

 

 

 

Texts Ordered for Spring 2015

English 1A

Signs of Life in the USA, 7th edition

Our Story Begins, Tobias Wolff

English 1C

From Critical Thinking to Argument

Man's Search for Meaning

Geography of Bliss

The Culture Code

The New Jim Crow

Need a Debatable Claim Assignment for Tobias Wolff's In Pharaoh's Army

One camp praises In Pharaoh's Army for being a justified critique of American innocence and the destruction resulting from its willed ignorance, naricissism, Manifest Destiny, and vain notion of exceptionalism.

Another camp of readers, however, counteragues that Wolff has laid out a worldview infected with postmodern pessimism and defeatest determinism, a world without free will or meaning.

What camp are you in? Defend your alliance by writing a debatable claim (thesis) and setting forth your argument in a Toulmin essay model.

Another version:

Defent, refute, or complicate the assertion that In Pharaoh's Army is a rigorous, uncompromising critique of American innocence and exceptionalism.

Possible counterarguments:

The book is nihilistic, mean-spirited, exaggerated, deterministic, fatalist, helpless, hopless, etc.

Pros and Cons of Outlining an Essay

Probably the longer the essay the more one can justify writing an outline first. Here is a link that debates the topic of outlining or not.

Revised English 1C Syllabus Spring 2015

McMahon 1C Syllabus Spring 2015

Essay One: Man's Search for Meaning

Choice 1: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that Frankl Lite is a more compelling orientation than Full Potency Frankl. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. The essay should be 1,000 words with a Works Cited page of no fewer than three sources.

Choice 2: Develop a thesis that shows how Man's Search for Meaning can be applied to an analysis of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Silver Linings Playbook in a 4-page essay. Include no fewer than 3 research sources for your Works Cited page. For a comparison essay, you may want to consult these thesis templates.

Choice 3: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that unless we can sacrifice on the scale described in Peter Singer's essay "What Should a Billionaire Give--What Should You?" we cannot live a life of true meaning as defined by Viktor Frankl. Use the Toulmin essay model.

Choice 4: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that the lifestyle described in Joseph Epstein's essay "The Perpetual Adolescent" is antithetical to the kind of meaning that Viktor Frankl defines in his book Man's Search for Meaning. Use the Toulmin essay model.

Choice 5: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that logotherapy is vastly superior than traditional psychotherapy for achieving the kind of meaning Frankl defines in his book Man's Search for Meaning.

Essay Two: The Geography of Bliss

Support, refute, or complicate the notion that The Geography of Bliss evidences a strong connection between morality and happiness. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. The essay should be 1,000 words with a Works Cited page of no fewer than three sources.

Essay Three: The Culture Code

In a 1,000-word essay, typed and double-spaced, support, refute, or complicate the assertion that The Culture Code evidences that marketing and advertising are evil agencies preying on anthropology, sociology, human psychology, the unconscious, the reptilian, and neuroscience to manipulate people into becoming helpless consumers. Be sure to use Toulmin model of argumentation and have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources.

Essay Four (Final): The New Jim Crow

Support, refute, or complicate Michelle Alexander's thesis that the current justice and prison system are perpetuating the old Jim Crow into a new Jim Crow. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. Because this is your Final, it is a bit longer than your previous typed papers. While they are four pages (1,000 words), this essay is five pages (closer to 1,200 words). Be sure to have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources.

Grading 700 Total Points

Four in-class writing exams: 50 each for 200 total

Three typed 1,000-word essays: 100 each for 300 total

One Final 1,200-word essay 200

Attendance and Class Participation Deductions of 50 for more than 4 absences or more than 3 tardies; repeated use of smart phone in class or leaving class repeatedly to "take a call." More than 5 absences or more than 4 tardies is a loss of 100 points.

Lessons for 23 Classes Updated on July 22, 2014 (one 1,300-word annotated bibliography for last essay)

1. January 20 Introduction to English 1C
2. January 22 Man's Search for Meaning 1-40
3. January 27 Man's Search for Meaning 41-80
4. January 29 Man's Search for Meaning 81-120
5. Feb 3 Man's Search for Meaning 121-160
6. Feb 5 Man's Search for Meaning 161-end
7. Feb 10 Reading Exam 1 for 50 points
8. Feb 12 Typed Essay 1 Due 100 pts; Geography of Bliss Chapter 1
9. Feb 17 Geography of Bliss Chapter 2
10. Feb 19 Geography of Bliss Chapter 3
11. Feb 24 Geography of Bliss Chapter 4
12.  March 3 Geography of Bliss Chapter 5
13. March 5  Geography of Bliss Chapter 6
14. March 10 Geography of Bliss Chapter 7
15. March 12 Reading Exam 2
16. March 24 Typed Essay 2 Due 100 pts; The Culture Code Chapters 1 and 2
17. March 26 The Culture Code Chapters 3 and 4
18. March 31 The Culture Code Chapters 5 and 6
19. April 2 The Culture Code Chapters 7 and 8
20. April 7 The Culture Code Chapters 9 and 10
21. April 9 The Culture Code Chapter 11
22. April 14 The Culture Code Chapter 12
23. April 16 Reading Exam 3 
24. April 21  Typed Essay 3 Due 100 pts; New Jim Crow Lesson 1
25. April 23 New Jim Crow 2
26. April  28 NJC 3
27. April 30 NJC 4
28. May 5 NJC 5
29. May 7 NJC  6 Annotated Bibliography Due
30. May 12 In-Class Essay Exam 4
    
31. May 14 Final Research Paper Due 200
    

 

Yet Another Revised Book and Assignment List for English 1C Spring 2015

Essay One: The Geography of Bliss

Support, refute, or complicate the notion that The Geography of Bliss evidences a strong connection between morality and happiness. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. The essay should be 1,000 words with a Works Cited page of no fewer than three sources.

Essay Two: Man's Search for Meaning

Choice 1: Support, refute, or complicate the assertion that Frankl Lite is a more compelling orientation than Full Potency Frankl. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. The essay should be 1,000 words with a Works Cited page of no fewer than three sources.

Choice 2: Support, refute, or complicate the argument that Arthur C. Brooks' "Love People, Not Pleasure" complements Frankl's message of meaning.

Choice 3: Support, refute, or complicate the argument that Erich Fromm's analysis of freedom and escape complements Frankl's message of meaning.

For sixth and seventh lessons, consider Arthur C. Brooks' "Love People, Not Pleasure" and Fromm's excerpt from Escape from Freedom, which you posted on your Lasdun authoritarian post. 

Essay Three: The Culture Code

In a 1,000-word essay, typed and double-spaced, support, refute, or complicate the assertion that The Culture Code evidences that marketing and advertising are evil agencies preying on anthropology, sociology, human psychology, the unconscious, the reptilian, and neuroscience to manipulate people into becoming helpless consumers. Be sure to use Toulmin model of argumentation and have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources.

Essay Four (Final): The New Jim Crow

Support, refute, or complicate Michelle Alexander's thesis that the current justice and prison system are perpetuating the old Jim Crow into a new Jim Crow. Use Toulmin or Rogerian model. Because this is your Final, it is a bit longer than your previous typed papers. While they are four pages (1,000 words), this essay is five pages (closer to 1,200 words). Be sure to have a Works Cited page with no fewer than three sources.

Grading

Four in-class writing exams: 50 each

Three typed 1,000-word essays: 100 each

One Final 1,200-word essay 200

Annotated bibliography: 50

Attendance and Class Participation: 50

800 Total Points

English 1A

Three In-Class Essays 50

Two Typed Essays 100

Attendance 50

Annotated Bibliography 50

Final Typed Essay 200

Total: 650 points

 

Seven Lessons on Autobiography of Malcolm X This Semester

With seven lessons, you'll want your classes broken down into three parts:

Part One: Analysis of the text

Part Two: Analysis of an essay that addresses Malcolm X. Show a summary of the text and an analysis.

Part Three. Steps of drafting and revising a thesis and argumentative essay using the Toulmin model.