tentative syllabus ENGL301 Writing & The Teaching of Writing
Need to be in touch with me?
LEE TORDA 310 Tillinghast Hall Bridgewater State University 508.531.2436 ltorda@bridgew.edu www.leetorda.com |
Fall 2019 Office Hours:
W 9:00-10:00 R 2:00-3:00 F 1:30-2:30 Need to make an appointment? Click here: https://goo.gl/3CqLf |
WEEK ONE
4 SEPTEMBER 2019
W Introduction to the course. IN-CLASS: What does your gut tell you is a great class experience look like?
WEEK TWO
9 SEPTEMBER 2019
M DUE: locate, read, and bring to class any article written in the past year about education in the US or MA--teaching, ELA, teaching writing, the US classroom. Whatever you can find. IN-CLASS: Overview of Reading Journals assignment. In class practice.
W READ: “Why Johnny Can’t Write” available here:
4 SEPTEMBER 2019
W Introduction to the course. IN-CLASS: What does your gut tell you is a great class experience look like?
WEEK TWO
9 SEPTEMBER 2019
M DUE: locate, read, and bring to class any article written in the past year about education in the US or MA--teaching, ELA, teaching writing, the US classroom. Whatever you can find. IN-CLASS: Overview of Reading Journals assignment. In class practice.
W READ: “Why Johnny Can’t Write” available here:

why_johnny_cant_write__newsweek_1975___1_.pdf | |
File Size: | 753 kb |
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DUE: Reading Journal on “Why Johnny Can’t Write.” Also, locate, read, and bring to class any version of “Why Johnny Can’t” (Why Jane Can’t, Why the American College student Can’t). Be ready to share and discuss.
NOTE: TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO DROP OR ADD A CLASS.
WEEK THREE
16 SEPTEMBER 2019
M READ: Chapters 1-3 in Constance Weaver’s Grammar to Enrich & Enhance Writing. Available here:
NOTE: TODAY IS THE LAST DAY TO DROP OR ADD A CLASS.
WEEK THREE
16 SEPTEMBER 2019
M READ: Chapters 1-3 in Constance Weaver’s Grammar to Enrich & Enhance Writing. Available here:
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DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: work on grammar lust & loathing. Overview of Book Club assignment.
W READ: Chapters 1-3 of Lives on the Boundary. DUE: Reading Journal on Chapters 1-3 of LOTB. IN-CLASS: Discussion of Interview with a Teacher Assignment. Alumni Teacher match ups.
WEEK FOUR
23 SEPTEMBER 2019
M READ: Chapters 4, 5, & 6 of Lives on the Boundary. DUE: Reading Journal. Also, have made initial contact with your alumni teacher via email; come to class ready to talk about the kinds of questions you think we should be asking our alums who teach. IN-CLASS: Designing good questions for our alums, finalizing our list of questions, specifics on sending them out and when they need to answer back.
W READ: Chapters 7 & 8 of Lives on the Boundary. DUE: Reading Journal.
WEEK FIVE
30 SEPTEMBER 2019
M I'm out of town. Class will not meet face-to-face. READ: Read the Prologue and the chapter "Spic in English" from Victor Villanueva's Bootstraps. Available the entire book is available as a .pdf here, you will need to scroll and print to get only the prologue and "Spic in English". DUE: modified Reading Journal posted to our class discussion board. Complete instructions for how and what to post to the blog is available on the discussion board. Also, have made initial contact with your alumni teacher via email. SECOND POST TO CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD: What questions should we be asking our alum teachers? Complete instructions for this second post will be available by Monday 30 September 2019 (if not sooner) on the discussion board.
W LISTEN: To this Podcast on a Chicago area High School "Harper High School Part I" on the radio program This American Life. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Preliminary discussion about what you are hearing from your alumni teachers.
WEEK SIX
7 OCTOBER 2019
M WATCH: This TED talk, this TED talk, and this TED talk. DUE: Reading Journal. You don't need to do a separate journal for each talk, just one journal that touches on all three.
W IN-CLASS: Work with material we are getting from our teachers.
WEEK SEVEN
14 OCTOBER 2019
M All classes canceled for Columbus Day Holiday
W DUE: Draft of Interview with a Teacher for workshopping.
WEEK EIGHT
21 OCTOBER 2019
M DUE: Draft of Interview with a Teacher to turn in to me. IN-CLASS: Creating a thematic tree of what we learned from our teachers. READ: Ray Bradbury's essay "Take Me Home" available here. NO READING JOURNAL DUE. Discussion of Mentor-Text Flash Memoir.
W DUE: Draft of Mentor-Text Flash Memoir. due for workshopping.
WEEK NINE
28 OCTOBER 2019
M DUE: Draft of Mentor-Text Flash Memoir. to turn in to me, include your workshop drafts with your revision. IN-CLASS: Gertrude Stein exercise.
W READ: Frank Smith and Louise Rosenblatt handouts available here. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: First book club meeting.
W READ: Chapters 1-3 of Lives on the Boundary. DUE: Reading Journal on Chapters 1-3 of LOTB. IN-CLASS: Discussion of Interview with a Teacher Assignment. Alumni Teacher match ups.
WEEK FOUR
23 SEPTEMBER 2019
M READ: Chapters 4, 5, & 6 of Lives on the Boundary. DUE: Reading Journal. Also, have made initial contact with your alumni teacher via email; come to class ready to talk about the kinds of questions you think we should be asking our alums who teach. IN-CLASS: Designing good questions for our alums, finalizing our list of questions, specifics on sending them out and when they need to answer back.
W READ: Chapters 7 & 8 of Lives on the Boundary. DUE: Reading Journal.
WEEK FIVE
30 SEPTEMBER 2019
M I'm out of town. Class will not meet face-to-face. READ: Read the Prologue and the chapter "Spic in English" from Victor Villanueva's Bootstraps. Available the entire book is available as a .pdf here, you will need to scroll and print to get only the prologue and "Spic in English". DUE: modified Reading Journal posted to our class discussion board. Complete instructions for how and what to post to the blog is available on the discussion board. Also, have made initial contact with your alumni teacher via email. SECOND POST TO CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD: What questions should we be asking our alum teachers? Complete instructions for this second post will be available by Monday 30 September 2019 (if not sooner) on the discussion board.
W LISTEN: To this Podcast on a Chicago area High School "Harper High School Part I" on the radio program This American Life. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Preliminary discussion about what you are hearing from your alumni teachers.
WEEK SIX
7 OCTOBER 2019
M WATCH: This TED talk, this TED talk, and this TED talk. DUE: Reading Journal. You don't need to do a separate journal for each talk, just one journal that touches on all three.
W IN-CLASS: Work with material we are getting from our teachers.
WEEK SEVEN
14 OCTOBER 2019
M All classes canceled for Columbus Day Holiday
W DUE: Draft of Interview with a Teacher for workshopping.
WEEK EIGHT
21 OCTOBER 2019
M DUE: Draft of Interview with a Teacher to turn in to me. IN-CLASS: Creating a thematic tree of what we learned from our teachers. READ: Ray Bradbury's essay "Take Me Home" available here. NO READING JOURNAL DUE. Discussion of Mentor-Text Flash Memoir.
W DUE: Draft of Mentor-Text Flash Memoir. due for workshopping.
WEEK NINE
28 OCTOBER 2019
M DUE: Draft of Mentor-Text Flash Memoir. to turn in to me, include your workshop drafts with your revision. IN-CLASS: Gertrude Stein exercise.
W READ: Frank Smith and Louise Rosenblatt handouts available here. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: First book club meeting.
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wolfgang_iser.pdf | |
File Size: | 3966 kb |
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paulofreire.readingtheword-world.pdf | |
File Size: | 1381 kb |
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WEEK ELEVEN
11 NOVEMBER 2019
M All classes canceled for Veteran’s Day Holiday POST BY CLASS TIME ON WEDNESDAY: participate in the online book club available here. Specific directions for what and how to post are available there.
W IN-CLASS: Last book club. Also, overview of Research in Teaching Diverse Populations.
NOTE: WEDNESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2019 is a MONDAY schedule of classes.
NOTE: FRIDAY, 15 NOVEMBER 2019, IS THE LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW WITHOUT PENALTY FROM A CLASS FOR THE SEMESTER.
WEEK TWELVE
18 NOVEMBER 2019
M Library Research Day. MEET IN OUR REGULAR CLASSROOM. NOTE: this is the only day in class you'll have to work in the library in your groups. DUE: Book Club Final Reflection. DUE, Also: Midterm Check-in Reflection due to me.
W READ: Part 1 and 6 in Kittle's Write Beside Them and the introduction to Delpit's Other People's Children available here. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Overview of Assignment Design.
11 NOVEMBER 2019
M All classes canceled for Veteran’s Day Holiday POST BY CLASS TIME ON WEDNESDAY: participate in the online book club available here. Specific directions for what and how to post are available there.
W IN-CLASS: Last book club. Also, overview of Research in Teaching Diverse Populations.
NOTE: WEDNESDAY, 11 NOVEMBER 2019 is a MONDAY schedule of classes.
NOTE: FRIDAY, 15 NOVEMBER 2019, IS THE LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW WITHOUT PENALTY FROM A CLASS FOR THE SEMESTER.
WEEK TWELVE
18 NOVEMBER 2019
M Library Research Day. MEET IN OUR REGULAR CLASSROOM. NOTE: this is the only day in class you'll have to work in the library in your groups. DUE: Book Club Final Reflection. DUE, Also: Midterm Check-in Reflection due to me.
W READ: Part 1 and 6 in Kittle's Write Beside Them and the introduction to Delpit's Other People's Children available here. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Overview of Assignment Design.

other.peoples.children.pdf | |
File Size: | 4276 kb |
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WEEK THIRTEEN
25 NOVEMBER 2019
M READ: Introduction to Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies available here. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Division of labor among the groups to read and report out on the rest of Antiracist Writing . . . .
W CLASS CANCELED. PLEASE READ ON FOR WORK YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IN LIEU OF CLASS. POST: To our CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD Two (2) of your annotations for your annotated bibliography for the Research in Teaching Diverse Populations.
Click here to read the guidelines for developing your annotations and a color-coded sample annotations you can download.
click here to post your two annotation drafts (ENGL 301 DAY CLASS ONLY).
NOTE: Classes officially end for the Thanksgiving break at 4:00 on Wednesday.
WEEK FOURTEEN
2 DECEMBER 2019
M READ: Your assigned chapter and Chapter 5 of Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies available here. DUE: Reading Journal.
W READ: Part 5 of Kittle's Write Beside Them and Charity-Hudley & Malinson's We Do Language available here. DUE: Last Reading Journal. Also, Sign up for group assignment design conferences here (NOTE: link won't be live until 4 December 2019).
25 NOVEMBER 2019
M READ: Introduction to Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies available here. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Division of labor among the groups to read and report out on the rest of Antiracist Writing . . . .
W CLASS CANCELED. PLEASE READ ON FOR WORK YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR IN LIEU OF CLASS. POST: To our CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD Two (2) of your annotations for your annotated bibliography for the Research in Teaching Diverse Populations.
Click here to read the guidelines for developing your annotations and a color-coded sample annotations you can download.
click here to post your two annotation drafts (ENGL 301 DAY CLASS ONLY).
NOTE: Classes officially end for the Thanksgiving break at 4:00 on Wednesday.
WEEK FOURTEEN
2 DECEMBER 2019
M READ: Your assigned chapter and Chapter 5 of Antiracist Writing Assessment Ecologies available here. DUE: Reading Journal.
W READ: Part 5 of Kittle's Write Beside Them and Charity-Hudley & Malinson's We Do Language available here. DUE: Last Reading Journal. Also, Sign up for group assignment design conferences here (NOTE: link won't be live until 4 December 2019).

we.do.language.pdf | |
File Size: | 1439 kb |
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WEEK FIFTEEN (last week of classes)
9 DECEMBER 2019
M READ: Part 2 and 3 in Kittle's Write Beside Them. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Workshop for annotated bibliography. Bring a draft of your annotations to class for workshopping. Time in class to plan your Research in Teaching Diverse Populations presentations. Evaluations. Also, time for questions about the Final Portfolio and Annotated bibliographies & Reflection, Research in Teaching Diverse Populations Presentation
W Last Day of Classes. IN-CLASS: Time in class to plan your Research in Research in Teaching Diverse Populations Presentation.
FINAL EXAM: 16 DECEMBER 2019 11:00-1:00
DUE IN-CLASS: Portfolios are due. Time in class to write your final portfolio cover letter. Also, in-class, Research in Research in Teaching Diverse Populations Presentations.
9 DECEMBER 2019
M READ: Part 2 and 3 in Kittle's Write Beside Them. DUE: Reading Journal. IN-CLASS: Workshop for annotated bibliography. Bring a draft of your annotations to class for workshopping. Time in class to plan your Research in Teaching Diverse Populations presentations. Evaluations. Also, time for questions about the Final Portfolio and Annotated bibliographies & Reflection, Research in Teaching Diverse Populations Presentation
W Last Day of Classes. IN-CLASS: Time in class to plan your Research in Research in Teaching Diverse Populations Presentation.
FINAL EXAM: 16 DECEMBER 2019 11:00-1:00
DUE IN-CLASS: Portfolios are due. Time in class to write your final portfolio cover letter. Also, in-class, Research in Research in Teaching Diverse Populations Presentations.