Tuesday, Nov. 11th around 1 pm

Hello,

just a quick note.
I have had about four students so far ask me about the size of the envelope needed to submit your out of class essay 2 tomorrow.

It CAN be larger than 8 1/2" x 11".
It just has to be at LEAST that large...in order to fit your essay without having to fold it.

Hope this helps. :)

See you tomorrow.

Saturday, November 8, 2014--7:50 pm

Greetings,

I have made a few changes and adjustments to the syllabus for the remainder of the semester.

I have made the changes on the original syllabus I posted in the very first blog entry; it can also be found below. Be sure to note changes and follow this new version.

Hope you are enjoying a lovely, safe weekend.

See you on Monday.

Week Eleven: (11/10-11/14)

Read: Essay Packet #2 (Mon.)
Group Work #2 (Mon.)

Out of class essay #2 due today (Wed.)

Out of class essay #3 assigned (Wed.)

Group Work #3 (Wed.)

Read: pages 1-158 (first six chapters) in The Namesake(Wed.)

Week Twelve:  (11/17-11/21)

Read Essay Packet #3 (Mon.) Q & C #4 due today

Read: pages 159 to the end of the book in The Namesake(Wed.)

Read: Essay Packet #4 (Wed.)

Week Thirteen:  (11/24-11/28)
NO CLASS THIS WEEK.

Optional: ROUGH DRAFT OF OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #3 DUE NO LATER THAN TODAY, WEDNESDAY, AT MIDNIGHT. DRAFT MUST BE E-MAILED TO ME AS A WORD DOCUMENT AND I WILL E-MAIL IT BACK TO YOU WITH MY COMMENTARY (Wed.)

View the film, The Namesake, by Monday, Dec. 1st

ENJOY THE THANKSGIVING BREAK!

Week Fourteen:  (12/1-12/5)

Discuss the film, The Namesake (Mon.)

Group Work #4 (Mon.)

In class essay #2 on the film and novel, The Namesake(Wed.)
Out of class essay #3 due today (Wed.)

Week Fifteen (12/8-12/12)

Oral Presentations (Mon.)

Last class day (Wed.) Today you will bring to class your grade worksheet and all your graded work that you have saved from the semester.

Week Sixteen (12/15-12/19)  FINALS WEEK

THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM IN THIS CLASS.

please read immediately--Wednesday, Nov. 5th-- 7 am

Good morning,
although it does not appear to be such a good one for me.
I have been awake nearly all night--it appears I have managed to catch some sort of flu bug.
I am hoping it is a quick, 24 hour bug. In any case, I am going to have to cancel classes today.
I truly apologize if you do not read this blog posting in time.
(can the semester become any more challenging?!)

Wednesday, October 29th, 2014--7:10 pm

Greetings,

If you are unable to log on to the website for Packet 2's reading, "The Magic of the Family Meal," please use the link below.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_752.cfm

Also, below you will find a copy of the sample student essay response that we read and discussed in class today. We decided that its strengths were: organization; transitions between paragraphs; lack of sentence level errors; strong intro paragraph. It weaknesses were: lack of enough supportive development; issues with staying on topic; weak conclusion; insufficient analysis work.

Lessons of Home

         Much has been written about the importance of reading to young children beginning from the moment they are born. In fact, many parents insist that starting the pattern of reading aloud to one’s child should begin while the child is still in the womb. Besides for the need to expose young people to books and the joys of reading in their early years, the subject matter of these books should also be considered as significant.  Exposing children to a wide variety of topics certainly aids in feeding their imaginations. The theme of home is found in hundreds of children’s picture books and provides young audiences, when well written and illustrated, a wealth of lessons regarding home—under  roofs, in nature, and in space.

            For many young children, bedtime brings anxiety; they are often unwilling to be alone in a dark room without a parent near. Parents find that reading a story to calm a child’s bedtime fears provides comfort and encourages sleepiness. Good Night, Baby Bear, by Frank Asch, is an excellent picture book that unravels a sweet story about a Mama Bear who is very patient as her Baby Bear thinks up many reasons to extend his time with her as she attempts to say goodnight. He first asks for a drink of water. When Mama Bear brings the water, he tells her, “Thank you, Mama…maybe now I’ll sleep” (6). However, Baby Bear continues, asking for the moon and asking for a kiss. The illustrations are simple and focus mostly on facial expressions, especially those of Mama Bear. Through all of Baby Bear’s stalling, she always maintains an attentive face that suggests such affection and calm. This simple story reminds young audiences that home hopefully is a place where one can always find comfort and acceptance.

            Another very appealing picture book, Can’t you Sleep, Little Bear? also depicts bedtime and the common insecurities children experience at this time of evening. Again, the characters are a Mama Bear and her Baby Bear. Immediately after Mama Bear says goodnight and tucks him in, Baby Bear climbs out of bed, finds his mother, and says, “I’m scared. I don’t like the dark. The dark all around us” (Waddell 4). Mama Bear attempts to ease his fears by bringing a tiny lantern to Baby Bear’s bedside table. However, the tiny lantern does not suffice, and Baby Bear seeks out Mama Bear again. This scenario continues, and each time, Mama Bear brings a bigger lantern, and each time, Baby Bear is not satisfied. He tells Mama Bear that there is still dark outside. Of course, Mama Bear knows that there is not a large enough lantern to light up the dark outside. Smiling, she carries Baby Bear outside and says, “I’ve brought you the moon, Little Bear. The bright yellow moon and all the twinkly stars” (11). Finally, Baby Bear feels safe, and falls asleep in her arms. Any child who hears this story cannot help but sense the same fear and finally, peace, that Baby Bear does.

            A third book which follows the same theme of bedtime anxiety is Mama, Do you Love Me? written by Barbara M. Joosse. The story centers around an Eskimo (Inuit) mother and child who live the way Inuit lived many years ago in the northern part of Alaska. It is bedtime, and the young girl attempts to postpone bedtime by asking a series of questions that begin, “Mama, do you love me?” When Mama tells her yes, she persists, “How much?” (2-3). Her mother answers by using creative descriptions that personify many of the surroundings unique to the Arctic. For example, Mama replies, “I love you more than the raven loves his treasure, more than the dog loves his tail, more than the whale loves his spout” (5-6). Once her mother answers, the young child continues asking more questions, including: How long will you love me? What if I ran away? Instead of scolding her daughter for asking questions to avoid going to sleep, the mother is patient and loving, assuring her little one, “I will love you, forever and for always, because you are my Dear One” (14). The illustrations are particularly attractive and add so much to the message of love that should be present in all homes. One book critic singles out the art in her review of this book: “The illustrations are wonderful: round, stylized, full of pattern and surprise and very comforting” (Hurst).

            Besides for home lessons regarding comfort and affection, many picture books introduce young audiences to nature as a place that elicits feelings of calm. Jane Yolen’s very popular book, Owl Moon, is about a young girl’s father who takes her “owling” for the first time. It is late at night and the girl and her father walk silently into the snowy forest hoping to soon hear an owl hoot. As they walk deeper and deeper into the woods, the father calls out, “Whoo-whoo-whoo-whooo,” in hopes of baiting an owl into responding (4).  Anxiously waiting to hear an owl, they both stay silent as to not scare away any animals. The watercolor illustrations in blue, white and brown are exceptional; the wintery outdoors are masterfully painted and the detail in the Great Horned Owl is especially stunning. The coldness feels colder and the darkness feels darker with the richness of the illustrations. The young girl learns about the magic of a forest at night and the reward of staying quiet and listening. The story ends with a sighting of an owl, a lesson in patience.

 Grandfather Twilight is a picture book that utilizes nature as well, along with the vastness of space, exposing children to the idea that home can include places beyond Earth. Young listeners are easily reassured by the gentle, glowing figure of Grandfather Twilight, whose nightly walk through the woods with his animal friends, signals the onset of night and whose special task each evening is to place the moon in the sky. The moon is symbolized by a small pearl, taken from an endless strand, that grows with each step Grandfather Twilight takes. Twilight spreads behind him like mist until he releases the pearl (the moon) above the ocean and into the sky: “Gently, he gives the pearl to the silence above the sea” (Berger 8). The book features a meditative quality that is almost mysterious; there are very few words, yet they are so carefully chosen. In fact, some pages have no words, just luminous illustrations. Comfort can be found, clearly, in nature and the night sky.

Keeping with the theme of the night sky, the picture book, My Place in Space, introduces young children to astronomy. The story is set in Australia, and the authors cleverly blend fact with fiction. When an arrogant bus driver asks Henry and his sister, Rosie, if they know where they live, Henry answers affirmatively, and goes on to tell the driver far more than just his address. Henry launches into a lengthy and lucid explanation of the solar system, solar neighborhood, galaxy and supercluster to which Earth belongs. Henry begins his answer by stating his home address. Much to the chagrin of the bus driver, Henry continues:

“Gumbridge is just typical country town in Australia. Australia is in the southern hemisphere of the planet Earth. The planet Earth is one of nine known planets which circle the star we call the sun. Earth is the third planet from the sun, 93 million miles away from it (Hirst 5).

As Henry continues his answer, which becomes more and more detailed, accurate and beautiful renditions of the solar system, and beyond, are seen overhead. The darkening sky contains precise, almost photographic renderings of the astral phenomena being named. This entertaining picture book introduces children to the world beyond their neighborhood, beyond the forests and mountains, and into space. It also offers them an idea of just how big the universe is.

            Ideally, children learn to love literature through joyful encounters with picture books shared with them by enthusiastic adults.  Home can be defined as a place where one is loved, accepted and safe. Those same feelings can be also found in nature and in the recognition that all of us can call the world of stars and planets our home as well.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014--3:30 pm

Greetings:

This blog post contains a lot of information, so please read carefully.

Packet #1 Reading Assignment--3 items
(due on Monday, Nov. 3rd. There is an Q & C assignment due for this packet)

"Becky Blanton: The Year I was Homeless"
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/becky_blanton_the_year_i_was_homeless.html
(this is a video which is a little over seven minutes)

"Homelessness and Hungry with No Excuses" by Rich Linberg
http://www.cdobs.com/archive/syndicated/homelessness-and-hungry-with-no-excuses/

"Down & Out in Fresno and San Francisco"
http://www.esquire.com/features/down-and-out-0709

Packet #2 Reading Assignment--1 item
(due on Monday, Nov. 10th)
"The Magic of the Family Meal" by Nancy Gibbs
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html


REMINDER:
If you have not yet started reading the novel, The Namesake, I suggest you do.
Pages 1-158 (first six chapters) is due to be read by Wednesday, Nov. 12)
Pages 159 to the end of the novel is due to be read by Wednesday, Nov. 19)


ABOUT REVISIONS...
IF YOU SUBMITTED A ROUGH DRAFT FOR OUT OF CLASS ESSAY 1, YOU MAY REVISE IT IF YOU WISH.
FOR OUT OF CLASS ESSAY 2, ALL STUDENTS WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO REVISE THIS ESSAY ONCE YOU RECEIVE IT BACK, GRADED. I AM NOT ACCEPTING ANY ROUGH DRAFTS FOR OUT OF CLASS ESSAY 2.

ALL CHANGES TO THE ORIGINAL MUST BE HIGHLIGHTED ON THE REVISION. You must submit the revision along with the original graded essay with my comments. If you are still not pleased with your earned score after receiving the revision back from me, you may continue to revise AN essay until you are pleased. Additional revisions do not have a due date—it just must be submitted by the last day of the course, Wednesday, December 10th.

Saturday, October 25th, 2014--7:50 pm

Greetings,

The Rules of Thumb, quiz 3, originally scheduled for last Wednesday, will take place this Monday, October 27th.

Everything listed for this coming week on the syllabus is the same. Complete the reading assignments as noted.

See you Monday. 

And thank you again, all of you, for your understanding and patience.
I WILL get through this semester, and it will be due in part, I am certain, because of your kindness.

READ IMMEDIATELY. Wednesday, October 22, 2014--6:34 am

I have sent all of you emails, but I want to be sure to reach as many of you as possible as soon as possible.

I awoke with a very intense migraine and a neighbor is taking me to Urgent Care in a few moments.

I am going to have to cancel my classes for today and I deeply apologize for the inconvenience.