DUE Thursday, December 6, 2012
There is no written homework due hencefroth in this class.
The Final Exam is on Thursday, December 13, 2012 in our classroom from 5:30 - 7:30 PM.
Come to class on Thursday with any questions you have about the Final Exam or about anything that we have covered in class this semester.
NOTE: It is common practice in college that if you want to have your Final Exam and/or papers returned to you after the semester is over, you need to give the instructor a SASE -- a self-addressed-stamped-envelope. To be safe, you should use a large, manila envelope with three stamps on it. Put your name and address in both the Sender and the Recipient locations on the envelope (if you do not know how to address an envelope, let me know, and I will explain it to you in class).
DUE Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Newspaper – Purchase the Los Angeles Times for November 30, 2012 and do an analysis of the film review, "Slick Killer."
Vocabulary - Find 10 words minimum that you need to learn with a maximum of 20 words (10 extra words for bonus points). Remember, even if you don't need the extra points, it is not in your best interest to leave words undiscovered - every new word you learn gives you more power in the real world, which, when you know how to use them, leads to more access, better jobs, more money, etc.
NOTE on the Film Review: Take note that this article is written by the same woman, Betsy Sharkey, who wrote "Bella Reborn," the film review that you did for homework and which I just handed back to you in this past Thursday's class. Notice that, while we have the same writer, and while it has only been about a week since she wrote “Bella Reborn,” the tone (the voice) in "Slick Killers" is different. In the "Bella" article she is quite playful, making up words like "vampirific" and "ab-rific;" she talks about romance, and "swooning," and how the audience will "scream" with joy/excitement over the stars and the action. The tone in “Slick Killers” is quite different. Can you tell how it is different? Can you tell where exactly -- like, what words/sentences/paragraphs -- mark the tone of the article making it different from the other? Same person, same mind, different tone. I think that her gift as a writer is that she matches her tone to the tone or style of the film she is reviewing, or at least to her experience of the film.
Also, the structure of "Slick Killer" is not the quite the same. It has the same elements as all the other film reviews that we have read (and that you will read), but the "organization of specific elements" in this case is not quite so obvious and straightforward as it is in "Bella." Here it is more complex and will require you to read the article more than once. How much more than once? Well, if you want to learn how to do something, you do it as many times as it takes to get it right.
Now, because the normal habits of students tend to be hard to change, and because I know that doing things my way will lead you to new discoveries about yourself and the native intelligence that you possess, I am going to make an offer to all of you – and some of you could really benefit from this in terms of your grade: I will give an extra 50 homework points to every student who can label the first five paragraphs 100% accurately. This will be in addition to the standard 10 points that you will earn by simply doing the assignment well. (In the article you can ignore the line “But first we meet the mess” – it is a transitional sentence that, one could argue, is also working as a Detail. That means, then, that the fifth paragraph is the paragraph after this sentence.) The only hint I will give you is that each of these paragraphs requires only one label (so there will be none of these: ID/Detail, Concept/ID, etc.). Follow my lead with this and, instead of putting this assignment together the day it is due after reading it only once (I know that that is what several of you are doing), follow the steps I have outlined below, and you will have a very good chance of getting those extra 50 points. Also, call someone in class and discuss it with them to see what they think; sometimes we learn best when sharing ideas with someone else.
Here is an easy to follow plan of attack (that you can use in any other subject or assignment as well).
Friday - Read the article completely. Take your guesses about the new vocab. Write down your guesses and, when you are done reading the article, look up each of your guesses to see how close you came to the meaning of the word as the author intended it to be understood. In other words, don't just take the first definition listed and assume that that is what the word means as used in the article – investigate the sentence with the definition; think about it and figure out each word puzzle and be stronger/smarter for doing so.
Read the article again plugging in all the new vocabulary that you just learned and see how it reads now that you know what all the words mean.
Saturday - Read the article again and start thinking about what the Lead might be. Don't mark anything. Just read and think. Do you still remember all the new vocab from the day before? Do you have an idea about what the Lead might be? Can you state out loud whether Sharkey likes the film or not; or is she on the fence about it? What does she say that supports that point of view (Details)? Just read and think!
Sunday - Read the article again. Start making decisions about each paragraph and mark each lightly, perhaps in pencil. Then let it sit.
Monday - Read the article again. Finalize your thinking for each paragraph and mark it accordingly.
Tuesday - Read it one more time and confirm your decisions. There will probably be nothing to change, but just in case you missed something, check through it this final time.
Why Read something so many times? Not only is this how things get done in any profession, it is excellent development for your mind.
So, for the first part about what I just said, about being professional in your profession: even a good carpenter lives by the rule "measure twice, cut once.” This means, read the measurement again before you cut that piece of wood so that you know you are making the right move. I have worked as a carpenter, and I can't tell you how many times I re-measured something and found that I had forgotten a calculation when I took my measurement the first time, and, if I had made my cut on that first go, I would have made a huge mistake costing me much time and money. Anyone who is smart and professional measures twice before committing to the final cut. Likewise, any student who intends to get a degree, and then use that degree to create a new life, does this with their work as well. Measure it, or, in our case, READ IT more than once.
Reading more than once also expands the power and function of your mind. The more you read, the more you become familiar with the different structures – and the variations on those structures – that exist. By reading the same thing more than once, you catch more of what the author is saying, and you develop more of your own reaction to what the author is saying, with each reading. Additionally, since you are just learning to become familiar with these literary structures, reading things more than once embeds the structure of what you are reading in your mind. This is an unconscious process, just like when you are driving in a new neighborhood that you have not been in before, or at least haven’t been in for a long time, and you “kind of remember” how to get where you want to go. You couldn’t tell someone else how to do it because you don’t remember, but you are able to follow an internal guidance system that gets you where you need to be. It is not quite conscious, but it works. Your mind recognizes the structure of where you are and sends you in the right direction. That is the kind of thing that will happen when you read more and more. Your mind quickly understands the structure it is in and takes you to the comprehension at which you need to arrive.
I want the best for each of you, but you must first learn to follow before you can lead. So, follow my lead. Then later you can lead and teach others to follow. (Huh, not a bad clincher, if I do say so myself).
DUE Thursday, November 29, 2012
Fiction – Read through to the end of Chapter 2 in Of Mice and Men using Long Smooth Underline. Do one timing of exactly one minute and have that recorded on your Timings Record with your comprehension score between one and five.
Newspaper - Be prepared to purchase the Los Angeles Times for this coming Friday, November 30th.
DUE Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Newspaper – Please purchase the Los Angeles Times for Friday, November 23, 2012 and do an analysis of the Calendar section article titled, “Psychobabble.”
Vocabulary - find 10 words (or more) and provide your guesses along with the dictionary definitions for each word.
Quiz – there will be a quiz on this day covering anything that has been covered in class thus far, but with particular emphasis on the new vocab that has been added recently as well as Chapter 8.
Prior Homework - The homework that was due on Tuesday, Nov 21, is due this day.
DUE Tuesday, November 19th, 2012
1) Newspaper: Purchase the Los Angeles Times for Friday, November 16th and then check back here to see which article I have chosen for you to analyze. The article will be in the Calendar section; hopefully there will be a good review to wrestle with.
ARTICLE: "Bella Reborn"
EXTRA CREDIT: If you feel the need to earn some catch-up points for your grade, you can also do the article "'Silver Linings' is pure gold."
2) Vocabulary: Hand in 10 new vocabulary words from "Bella Reborn" using the format of writting down your guess for each word below that word while you are reading the article, and then filling in the dictionary definition next to the word after you have finished reading the article. Please number each vocab entry on your homework so that both you and I can easily see how many you have done.
NOTE: No bonus vocab in this one. Observe that some of the vocab in this article that you might choose to add to your list are expressions with more than one word, like "swan song." Also, I noticed that at least one of your current vocab words appears in this article.
3) Textbook: Do Tests 4 - 5 in Chapter 8, pages 481 - 491.
4) QUIZ - there will be a quiz this day on Chapter 8 as well as anything else that we have covered thus far this semester, including the newest 25 words on your vocabulary list.
DUE Thursday, November 15th, 2012
1) Textbook:
a. Continuing where I left off in class, do exercise # 4 pages 451 - 453
b. Then read the next section titled "Taking Notes with Informal Outlines" and do exercise #5 pages 456 - 463. NOTE: this part of the assignment I WILL be looking over, so be sure to do a thorough job on writing these outlines.
2) Fiction: Be sure to have in class Of Mice and Men as well as the Timings Record (look under the speed reading tab).
3) Newspaper: there will be another film review for you to do from this coming Friday's Los Angeles Times (due on Tuesday, of course), so keep in mind that you will need to pick up the paper on Friday and check here to see which article I assign.
4) Quiz: There may be a quiz on Tuesday on vocabulary and Chapter 8. I will confirm this next class.
NOTICE: Class is canceled again this week. I know that it is heartbreaking for you to have to suffer this unscheduled break from class for an entire week, but I have been so sick that I have wished for aliens to kidnap me and take me to another reality. I expect to be back in the classroom with all of you on Tuesday. In the meantime, lest your minds get too used to having too little to do, see below for the homework that will be due when we all return to Dev Com 36A on Tuesday, Nov 13th.
DUE Tuesday, November 13th, 2012
1) Newspaper: Purchase the Los Angeles Times for Friday, November 9th and then check back here to see which article I have chosen for you to analyze. The article will be in the Calendar section; hopefully there will be a good review to wrestle with.
ARTICLE: "Monumental: History comes alive in 'Lincoln', a stunning acheivement for director and star."
2) Vocabulary: Hand in 10 new vocabulary words from "Monumental" using the format of writting down your guess for each word below that word while you are reading the article, and then filling in the dictionary definition next to the word after you have finished reading the article. Please number each vocab entry on your homework so that both you and I can easily see how many you have done. You can do up to 20 words, which would give you a potential of 10 bonus homework points (for those of you who need to do some catch-up).
3) Fiction: Bring to class Of Mice and Men.
4) Textbook: bring your textbook to class.
DUE Tuesday, November 6th, 2012
1) Newspaper: Hand in your analysis of the article titled "Cloud Bursts" from the Calendar section of the October 26th Los Angeles Times.
2) Find 10 New Vocabulary words from the above article and hand that in as well with your guesses and the dictionary definitions.
3) Be sure to have your textbook in class.
4) For Thursday's class, have:
a. Of Mice and Men
b. The Timings Record graph sheet - look in the Speed Reading tab on the left
and print and bring to class the doc called "LSU Timings Record."
NOTE: The LSU Timings Record is an MS Excel document - you will need to have this software, which is usually in Microsoft Office along with MS Word. If you do not have this software on your computer, you will need to open and print this doc on a computer that does have this software. On campus, you can use the computers and printing service in the Learning Resource Center building to print this Excel doc.
DUE Thursday, November 1st, 2012
Newspaper:
1) Bring to class the Tyler Perry article that you last did for homework.
2) Bring to class the following Calendar sections from the La Times:
October 19th, 2012
October 26th, 2012
Purchase: Of Mice and Men
DUE Tuesday, October 30th, 2012
MIDTERM: Study all of the following
Know how to find a word's meaning using context clues
Know the four types of context clues
Know your 50 word Vocabulary and the various ways that a person learns new vocabulary
Know how to identify a topic sentence in a paragraph
Know how to identify the TOPIC of a paragraph
Be able to paraphrase the topic sentence of a paragraph
Know the three Reading Techiniques (Non-Fiction Preview, Chapter Survey, Section Survey)
Define Literary Terms: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Autobiography, Biography
Know the following prefixes:
pre-
bene-
bi-
multi-
re-
mono-
mal-
circum-
sub-
anti-
im-
Reminder:
DUE THURSDAY, November 1st, 2012
1) Bring to class your Tyler Perry article that you did for homework
2) Bring to class the Calendar section from Friday October 19th (this is the same one you brought to class already - bring it again)
3) Bring to class the Calendar section from Friday October 26th
AFTER November 1st: For the following week you will need to have Of Mice and Men. If you have not purchased it yet, you will need to do so very soon.
DUE Thursday, October 25th, 2012
1. Textbook: Chapter 6, Exercises 7 - 8
Chapter 6, Exercises 3 - 6
NOTE: If you did the above exercises already and handed them in, you do not need to do this. If you did not do one or both of these assignments, you can do them now and hand them in on this due date and get full credit for both. Be sure to read everything that preceeds these exercises so that you are knowledgable when you do this work.
2a. Newspaper: In the issue of the Los Angeles Times dated Friday, October 19th, 2012, do a film review analysis of the article titled, "Tyler Perry goes far beyond Madea type" (see the Calendar section of the paper). If you missed class on Tuesday, October 23rd, you will need to obtain the notes on how to do this analysis. You can email me for the new definitions that you will need to use to do this assignment.
2b. Newspaper (cont'd): Do not throw out this section of the newspaper. Bring this section back to class on Thursday as we will continue to analyze articles in class.
3. Vocabulary: Find five new words in the Tyler Perry article and/or the article I reviewed in class titled "War upends a boy's world" (p. D7). Include your guesses and definitions. If you find more than five words, each word you find will count as extra credit toward your grade.
4. MIDTERM: October 30th. I will review for this on this day in class. Your homework over the weekend will be to prepare for this Midterm exam.
DUE Tuesday, October 23rd, 2012
1. Textbook: Chapter 6, Exercises 4 - 6
2. Purchase the Los Angeles Times for Friday, October 19th, 2012 and bring the entire newspaper to class.
3. Quiz on all material covered so far: definitely will include all vocab recently added (as well as any of the vocab on the list
4. MIDTERM: October 30th.
DUE Thursday, October 18th, 2012
1. Textbook: Chapter 5, Tests 3 - 8
2. Purchase the Los Angeles Times for Friday, October 19th, 2012 and bring to next Tuesday's class (Tuesday, October 23rd).
3. Quiz on Tuesday October, 23
4. MIDTERM: October 30th.
DUE Tuesday, October 16th, 2012
1. Textbook: Read pages 260 – 263 (Yes, I know I read most of it out loud in class, but it won’t hurt for you to read it again yourself). Do exercises 6-8.
2. MIDTERM: October 30th.
Start studying for it now. Work on the vocabulary every day for 10 - 15 minutes using whatever techniques suit you best (see the Vocabulary Tab).
Review the exercises in the textbook. To enhance your textbook studying, you could take any other non-fiction book and analyze a paragraph to practice finding the topic sentence, the major details, and the minor details.
AND be sure you know the steps of the non-Fiction Preview and the Chapter Survey, as well as the defiinitions of autobiography and biography and any other terms you have learned so far (use the quizes as a guide).
DUE Thursday, October 11th, 2012
1. Do the article titled “Venezuelans reelect Chavez” from the Los Angeles Times dated Monday, October 8, 2012.
NOTE: If you feel you need the extra points, you can also do the article titled, “Brown Moves to Ease Price of Gas.” This second article is not required; only do it if you want to do it.
2. Vocabulary: find 10 words in the assigned article (not the one on gas prices) that you want to learn. As you have done before, list each word with your guess (in the secondary, lower position below the new word) and the actual definition right next to the new vocabulary word.
3. Textbook: Read pages 241 – 244. Do exercises 1 and 2 on pages 244 – 248.
DUE Tuesday, October 9th , 2012
1. Study for the Quiz. The quiz will include select items from the first quiz, Chapter Four in the Textbook, all of the vocabulary, and everything that we have covered so far, including the definitions of biography and autobiography, the steps of a Non-Fiction Preview, and the things you can do to learn new words.
2. TEXTBOOK: Do Tests 8 - 10 in Chapter 4 and hand this in at the beginning of class.
3. Bring to class the Los Angeles Times for Monday October 8, 2012.
DUE Thursday, October 4th , 2012
1. Bring in the biography or the autobiography that you got from the library (or store). See September 27th for full details on this assignement.
2. TEXTBOOK: Do tests 5 - 7 in Chapter 4 (PP 239 - 236).
3. Study for the next quiz, which is scheduled for October 9th.
DUE Tuesday, October 2nd , 2012
1. Hand in your structural analysis of the article “Burned Feeling in Sun Village.” Make sure that your header is correct and that you have thoughtfully identified every paragraph in the article.
2. Find five new vocabulary words in that article that you need to learn. Write down the word with your guess underneath the word, and then, when you look up the word in the dictionary to check your guess, write the actual definition next to the word.
NOTE: If you already handed in five words from this article, you do not need to do it again.
3. Textbook: Do exercises 1 – 3 on pages 165 – 178 in Chapter 4.
NOTE: Of course, read everything within those pages as well so that you have a clear understanding of the lesson at hand. Remember, taking shortcuts can help at times, but a shortcut the skips vital information is going to cost you.
4. Due on Thursday October 4th:
Go to the library and take out (or to a bookstore and purchase) a biography or an autobiography and bring that book to class on October 4th.
NOTE: Scroll down to September 25th and read what I wrote there concerning this assignment.
DUE Thursday, September 27th, 2012
1. In the Los Angeles Times for Monday, September 24th, read the article “Burned Feeling in Sun Village.” Bring it to class and be prepared to discuss the structural elements of the article.
2. Find five new vocabulary words in the article assigned above. Write down the word with your guess underneath the word, and then, when you look up the word in the dictionary to check your guess, write the actual definition next to the word.
3. Textbook: Do Tests 3 – 6 on pages 156 – 163 (for Test #6, just write down the sentence number as your answer).
DUE Tuesday, September 25th, 2012
1) Textbook: Read through pages 130 – 144, and do exercises 6 – 9.
2) Newspaper: Bring to class the Los Angeles Times issued September 24th, 2012
3) Study: All the material that was on this last test will be on the next test, so review and keep fresh what you know you need to know. You must appeal to the Long-term Memory function of your mind by reviewing, repeating, and thinking about the information that you are being taught on a continual basis.
4) Upcoming Assignment: In the next week or so I will be giving you the assignment of going to a library and taking out a biography or an autobiography. The subject of the book can be any personage of your choosing. The only critical factor is that it needs to be a book written for an adult, and it needs to be of a suitable length (at least 250 pages). Preferably it should also have some sort of introduction and a table of contents. You will need to bring this book to class; I will formalize the assignment and give you a due date soon.
What could you do in the meantime? In the meantime, make sure that you know what library you want to use and be sure that you have adequate access (i.e., find out the hours that the library is open, be sure to have a valid library card, etc). Start thinking about who you would like to read about. If you feel ambitious, go get the book now, before I formally assign it.
Due Thursday, September 20th, 2012
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The quiz will be given at the beginning of class. It will cover everything that we have done in class so far, including the vocabulary list of ten words from Chapter 2 and the list of prefixes/suffixes listed below.
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News Article: Do an analysis of the article “Grocer’s plan to use E-verify stirs anger” in the Los Angeles Times issued Monday, September 17, 2012. Be sure to label each and every paragraph with the structural labels that I have taught you in class. Be sure to use the proper heading at the top of your paper.
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Have your textbook as we will probably crack into Chapter 3.
Prefix/Suffix List for the Quiz on Thursday, September 20th
this list is provided so that you can check your notes from class
bi- , poly- , omni- , -ism , -itis , -ous , chron- , derma- , gen- , anti-
Due Tuesday, September 18, 2012
- Purchase the Los Angeles Times for Monday, September 17, and bring it to class on Tuesday.
- Study for the test on Thursday. You will be assigned written homework on Tuesday that will be due on Thursday, so studying now -- over the weekend -- is going to be very important for that test since you will have written work to do the night before the test.
- See the Vocabulary tab (directly below the Homework tab) to see the 10 words selected from Chapter 2. All ten of these words will be on the test on Thursday. The test will be fill-in-the-blank, so you will need to know these definitions perfectly.
- Look at my scanned version of the article we analyzed in last Thursday’s class. You will find it in the Newspaper Articles tab along with other articles from the past.
Due Thursday, September 13, 2012
1) Textbook: read pages 81 – 87. Do TESTS 3-6 at the end of the Chapter. Hand this in.
2) Choose 10 vocabulary words from Chapter 2. Write them down along with their definitions. Hand this in along with the Textbook work.
3) Start studying for a quiz to be given one week from this date. The quiz will include everything that has been written on the board and everything that has been covered in Chapter 2 of the textbook.
4) Bring to class the September 10th Los Angeles Times that you brought to class on Tuesday.
DO NOT FORGET to use the Header on your work as well as a staple in the top left corner.
Due Tuesday, September 11, 2012
1) Do the assessment test in Reading Plus.
2) Bring to class the Los Angeles Times for Monday, September 10th, 2012.
3) TEXTBOOK: In Chapter 2, do exercises 3 & 4 -- and, of course, read the pages prior to that so that you know what you are doing.
The longest way to get a job done is to skip steps, not inform/educate yourself, and, ultimately, make a mess of it by rushing to get it done. Now you have to start all over at the beginning. Everything you did before was a total waste of time.
The easiest and shortest way to get a job done is to do it right the first time by being as informed as you can be before you start. In this way, if you do make a mistake, it is a mistake you can learn from, and make adjustments for, so that you don't do it again. When you are uninformed to begin with, you learn nothing about what went wrong because you didn't know how it was supposed to go to begin with.
Due Thursday, September 6, 2012
1) Meet for class in the LRC building, room 205.
2) TEXTBOOK: In Chapter 2
* Do the Chapter Survey as outlined on the board in last class.
* Then Read pages 69 - 73.
* Do exercises 1 & 2 on pages 74 - 76.
* Hand in this homework on Thursday.
HOW DO I DO THE HOMEWORK TO BE HANDED IN??
In an upcoming class, I will give you the header that I will want everyone to use for written homework.
In the meantime, on looseleaf type paper, write down the answers to the questions. Do not write out the entire question - I just need to see your answers. Make sure your name is on your paper and basic info like page numbers, exercise numbers, etc.
DUE Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Bring yourself and your textbook to class. Be prepared to take a lot of notes.
