assignments ENGL301 Writing & The Teaching of Writing: Book Club
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OVERVIEW
Book club is a moment, in a class filled with theories of writing, to take a moment to understand theories of reading and the intimate connection between the two. This is valuable because ELA in K-12 is, primarily, a reading class. For each of the book clubs in class ( there are four), I'll make available to you a short piece of writing--either a piece of short fiction or a poem to read in-class, or you will have something a little longer to read for homework. The syllabus has the details under the "what you have to read" or "what we will do in class" headings.
We will use book clubs to delve in to the important connections between reading and writing. We will also consider the role conversation plays as well. Besides the journals, you will meet regularly in class with your small group of classmates to discuss what you think about the texts we read. You'll experience a variety of kinds of prompts from specific to wide-open and consider which are most useful. At the end of the club, you will write a brief analysis of the connections between reading, writing, and collaboration you made during the book club experience.To help you in this, you will have read some material on Reading Theory during the course of the book club. Finally, you will think about how being a good reader translates into being a good teacher of reading and the role writing plays in teaching reading.
WHAT TO DO DURING EACH BOOK CLUB
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH THE BOOK: BOOK CLUB REFLECTION
When we are finished reading the book, you will write a 1000 word, typed, reflection that analyzes the following:
HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED FOR BOOK CLUB
Book Club is worth 15% of you final grade for this class. In order to earn a "B" for that 15% you must:
In order to earn an "A" for the 15% of your grade that is book club, you must:
If you do not meet the requirements for a "C" grade in book club, you will earn and "F" for the 15% of your final grade that book club represents.
Book club is a moment, in a class filled with theories of writing, to take a moment to understand theories of reading and the intimate connection between the two. This is valuable because ELA in K-12 is, primarily, a reading class. For each of the book clubs in class ( there are four), I'll make available to you a short piece of writing--either a piece of short fiction or a poem to read in-class, or you will have something a little longer to read for homework. The syllabus has the details under the "what you have to read" or "what we will do in class" headings.
We will use book clubs to delve in to the important connections between reading and writing. We will also consider the role conversation plays as well. Besides the journals, you will meet regularly in class with your small group of classmates to discuss what you think about the texts we read. You'll experience a variety of kinds of prompts from specific to wide-open and consider which are most useful. At the end of the club, you will write a brief analysis of the connections between reading, writing, and collaboration you made during the book club experience.To help you in this, you will have read some material on Reading Theory during the course of the book club. Finally, you will think about how being a good reader translates into being a good teacher of reading and the role writing plays in teaching reading.
WHAT TO DO DURING EACH BOOK CLUB
- Write your book club journal. At the start of each book club (held in class, see the syllabus for dates), you will write a reading journal that will chronicle your process of making meaning for the texts you read. You can handwrite your journal or type it in a google.doc, as you do for in-class writings.
- Share your written responses. You'll meet in small groups for a group discussion where you will talk about what you have read/written about.
- Just plain talk about the text. Figure out what you don’t understand. Try to come to a group consensus about what you think the text is all about. Find proof in the text to support it. Argue a little, in a spirited but civil kind of way. Try to enjoy yourselves.
WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU ARE DONE WITH THE BOOK: BOOK CLUB REFLECTION
When we are finished reading the book, you will write a 1000 word, typed, reflection that analyzes the following:
- what you noticed about your own set of reading practices, again, considering the supplementary reading we’ll have discussed;
- what role writing played in the above;
- what you noticed about conversation and your group experience and your understanding of the text.
- what you noticed about the way the prompts shaped how you came to understand the text.
- what you feel like you've learned about how to help students be better readers of texts in a future classroom.
HOW YOU WILL BE EVALUATED FOR BOOK CLUB
Book Club is worth 15% of you final grade for this class. In order to earn a "B" for that 15% you must:
- Attend and participate in all of the book club meetings scheduled on the syllabus.
- Complete all of the book club journals required for each book club meeting in ways that demonstrates that you've read the material and that you are thinking about the texts the way an advanced English major would.
- Produce a book club final reflection that meets the requirements of the final book club reflection described above
In order to earn an "A" for the 15% of your grade that is book club, you must:
- Do all of the things outlined for the "B" grade
- Demonstrate in your book club journals that you understand what the class readings on reading theory tell you about how we make meaning (and help people make meaning) in a text.
- Demonstrate in your final book club reflection what you understand about the application of reading theory to helping students be better readers thoughtfully and with some depth.
- Attend most of the book club meetings scheduled on the syllabus, including the "online" book club.
- Produce a book club final reflection that meets the requirements of the final book club reflection described above.
If you do not meet the requirements for a "C" grade in book club, you will earn and "F" for the 15% of your final grade that book club represents.