2nd posting on Friday, May 6th

oops...one more reminder...
Please bring your Grade Sheet and all your returned/graded work to class on Monday....
along with a device to calculate your grade.
Thanks!

Friday evening, May 6th

Hello!
Just a reminder...
if you choose to revise essay 3, it is due no later than Wednesday, May 11th.
if you choose to re-revise an essay you have revised previously, that is also due no later than May 11th.
Have a great weekend, be safe, and I will see you on Monday.

Thursday, April 28th

Greetings...!
I have decided to cancel class on Monday to give you more time to complete the take home test on The Unwanted.
Below is the test. Use your time wisely.


English 1A, Spring 2011, Professor Fraga

TAKE HOME TEST ON THE UNWANTED (200 POINTS)

DIRECTIONS: Please respond to the following questions. All questions must be numbered and typed, double-spaced. This test is due on Wednesday, May 4.



1. SELECT A ‘CHARACTER’ FROM THE MEMOIR, THE UNWANTED. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT CHARACTERISTICS (at least two) ACCURATELY DESCRIBE THIS PERSON? FOR EVERY ASSERTION YOU MAKE ABOUT THIS PERSON, YOU MUST SUPPORT IT WITH AT LEAST THREE VERY SPECIFIC SUPPORTS FROM THE BOOK. THIS RESPONSE WILL BE EVALUATED ON YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE AN ASSERTION AND SUPPORT IT LOGICALLY AND ARTICULATELY. (100 POINTS)



2. WHICH SCENE IN THE BOOK AFFECTED YOU MOST DEEPLY? EXPLAIN HOW IT AFFECTED YOU AND WHY. (40 POINTS



3. THIS MEMOIR REFLECTS A WEALTH OF VARIOUS THEMES/TOPICS, INCLUDING OUR SEMESTER-LONG THEME OF HOME. SELECT ONE THEME THAT THE MEMOIR SUGGESTS AND OFFER EXAMPLES FROM THE BOOK TO SUPPORT YOUR ASSERTION. (6O POINTS)





EXTRA CREDIT (OPTIONAL)

Kien Nguyen suggests several books to readers for further reading; one of
these books is by Wallace Stegner. What is the title of this book? (2
points)



Nguyen wrote a novel based on his grandfather’s life. What is the name of
this novel? (1 point)

Friday evening, April 22, 2011

Greetings...

A few reminders--but nothing that is not already on the course outline.
1. Be sure to have completed reading The Unwanted by Monday's class.
2. Essay 3 is due on Wednesday.

Have a wonderful and safe weekend.
See you Monday.

Sunday afternoon, April 17, 2011

Hello,
Here is the assignment for Reading Packet 5 and 6. Check your course outline for due date, etc.
There are two items...one is an audio (about 15 minutes) to view and the other is a short short story. I provide you with the story below.

"Boots to Books: The Rough Road Home"
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=8c310eacfeb08aba2e7f1e29411543e9

The following is a short short story titled "The Wig."

THE WIG

By Brady Udall
(First Prize: Story’s Short Short Competition)

My eight-year-old son found a wig in the garbage Dumpster this morning. I walked into the kitchen, highly irritated that I couldn’t make a respectable knot in my green paisley tie, and there he was at the table, eating cereal and reading the funnies, the wig pulled tightly over his head like a football helmet. The wig was a dirty bush of curly blond hair, the kind you might see on a prostitute or someone who is trying to imitate Marilyn Monroe.

I asked where he got the wig and he told me, his mouth full of cereal. When I advised him that we don’t wear things we find in the garbage, he simply continued eating and reading as if he didn’t hear me.

I wanted him to take that wig off but I couldn’t ask him to do it. I forgot all about my tie and going to work. I looked out the window where mist fell slowly on the street. I paced into the living room and back, trying not to look at my son. He ignored me. I could hear him munching cereal and rustling paper.

There was a picture, or a memory, real or imagined, that I couldn’t get out of my mind: Last fall, before the accident, my wife was sitting in the chair where now my son always sits. She was reading the paper to see how the Blackhawks did the night before, and her sleep-mussed hair was only slightly longer and darker than the hair of my son’s wig.

I wondered if my son had a similar picture in his head, or if he had a picture at all. I watched him and he finally looked up at me but his face was blank. He went back to his reading. I walked around the table, picked him up, and held him against my chest. I pressed my nose into that wig and it smelled not like the clean shampoo scent I might have been hoping for, but like old lettuce. I suppose it didn’t matter at that point. My son put his smooth arms around my neck and for maybe a few seconds we were together again, the three of us.

Thursday evening, April 14, 2011

Greetings.
I do hate to interrupt you as you work furiously on your marriage essay...:-)
but here are a few things you need to know for Monday.
First, remember to bring a blue or green book to class and please make an extra effort to be on time. Students will want to get started right away and it is often annoying to have students arrive late after everyone has begun.

As we briefly discussed after viewing the film, Arranged, it is a film that suggests many significant topics for discussion.
Home, of course, is just one of them.

Other main ideas/scenarios to consider in preparation for the in class writing:

1. After viewing the film, weigh some of the pros and cons of having a marriage arranged. Make an argument which supports or rejects this tradition as perhaps a possible solution to lowering America's divorce rate. Be specific.

2. Each of the main characters--Rochel and Nasira-- experience a rite of passage. In other words, both women appear to have gained a lot of insight and maturity by going through the arranged marriage "process." Select one of the women and discuss her rite of passage...who she was prior, during and after the "arranging" and what did she seem to gain as a result of her experience?

3. What do you think was the screenwriter's purpose for including the following characters in the film: the school principal and the young boy that Rochel tutors? Be specific. What do they contribute to the film and its many topics?

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Greetings...
Below is a copy of the out of class assignment #3 that was distributed on Monday.
There are other handouts concerning this assignment that were also distributed.
If you have not been in class, you will need to ask me for those.
And speaking of being in class...
I am more than a little concerned that a few of you did not attend class at all last week...??!!


English 1A, Spring 2011
C. Fraga, Instructor
Course Theme: The Significance of Home

Out of Class Essay Assignment #3

Assigned: Monday, April 4
Rough Draft due (optional) no later than Wednesday, April 20
Due: Wednesday, April 27
(you have over three weeks to complete this essay)

TOPIC: What are the ‘ingredients’ for a successful marriage?


A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. (Mignon Mclaughlin)

Marriage is not just spiritual communion, it is also remembering to take out the trash. (Joyce Brothers)

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong admit it;
Whenever you're right shut up. (Ogden Nash)

Assignment: Even with the current high divorce rate in the United States, couples continue to choose marriage as a way of life. Most couples marry with the intention and confidence that their marriage will be successful and will last forever.

Write an essay in which you explore the ingredients (or elements) required for a marriage to be successful and long lasting. Focus on a minimum of four ingredients/elements.

Conduct research and talk/interview those who you feel might have some helpful, interesting and relevant opinions and experience with this topic.

The most important thing to remember about this essay is that you will need to be very SPECIFIC. Avoid rambling and using mostly vague terms. Your essay will benefit from specific examples from professionals as well as interviewees.

Suggestions for people to interview: your parents; your grandparents; relatives; siblings; teachers; neighbors; marriage counselors, etc.

Information/opinions about what constitutes a successful marriage is quite simple to locate. I spent only 20 minutes doing a cursory search on the Internet and found many intriguing articles.

Your Game Plan:
1. Research and read read read as much as you can about the topic.
2. Interview at least three people about this topic.
3. From your research, reading and interviews, select the four elements YOU feel are the MOST ideal and necessary ingredients for a successful, lasting marriage.
4. Write your thesis statement—an assertion based on your findings.
5. Plan the organization of your essay.
6. Write your essay.
7. Proofread and edit very carefully and thoroughly.


Reminders:
• Follow MLA format.
• Double space entire essay.
• Must have in text citations and a Works Cited page.
• Use 12 pt., Times New Roman
• Use at LEAST three outside resources plus at LEAST information from three interviews. In other words, these six minimum resources will be found on your Works Cited page as well as cited within your essay.

Wednesday, April 6

Hello!
I just noticed that there is an error on the course outline. Next week it indicates that there is an in class essay in response to the film we will be viewing on FRIDAY...obviously that is not true since we do not meet on Fridays! The following week, Monday the 18th, it also indicates we will have the in class essay, and that IS correct! :-)

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Group discussion 4, which is not listed in the course outline, will take place tomorrow in class, Wednesday, April 6th.
See you then!

Friday evening, April 1, 2011

Greetings!

Below is the information that you need for Packet 3 and 4. As you will note, Packet 3 is a reading from the Internet that you will read and print out and bring to class on Wednesday. Packet 4 is a video to view online before you come to class on Wednesday.

PACKET 3
"War Revisited"
By Nick Miller & Kel Munger
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=928683


PACKET 4
This video is approximately 17 minutes long.
You may want to jot down a few notes about the video so you can recall it during class discussion.
http://www.ted.com/talks/deborah_scranton_on_her_war_tapes.html


Have a most lovely weekend and be safe. See you Monday.

Tuesday, March 29th, 11 am

Greetings.
For those who missed class on Monday, you will need to print out the handout below. We began discussion of its contents and got through only Step One, Pre Reading. Please bring this handout to class until we complete our discussion. You will want to get notes from a student who was present on Monday.

English
CSUS
Prof. Fraga

How to Critically Read an Essay

Educated adults exist in a delusional state, thinking we can read.

In a most basic sense, we can.

However, odds are, some of us cannot read, at least not as well as we would like.

Too many college students are capable of only some types of reading and that becomes painfully clear when they read a difficult text and must respond critically about it.

Intelligence and a keen memory are excellent traits and most students have learned to read in a certain way that is only useful for extracting information. Thus, students are often fairly well skilled in providing summary.

However, the act of reading to extract information and to read critically are vastly different!

The current educational system in American primary schools (and many colleges) heavily emphasizes the first type of reading and de-emphasizes the latter.

In many ways, THIS MAKES SENSE.

Reading to extract information allows a student to absorb the raw materials of factual information as quickly as possible. It is a type of reading we all must engage in frequently. However, each type of reading calls for different mental habits. If we do not learn to adjust from one type of reading to another when necessary, we cripple our intellectual abilities to read critically.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN READING TO EXTRACT INFORMATION AND READING CRITICALLY.

1. They have different goals. When students read to extract information, usually they seek facts and presume the source is accurate. No argument is required. On the other hand, when students read critically, they try to determine the quality of the argument. The reader must be open-minded and skeptical all at once, constantly adjusting the degree of personal belief in relation to the quality of the essay’s argument.
2. They require different types of discipline. If students read to learn raw data, the most efficient way to learn is repetition. If students read critically, the most effective technique may be to break the essay up into logical subdivisions and analyze each section’s argument, to restate the argument in other words, and then to expand upon or question the findings.
3. They require different mental activity. If a student reads to gain information, a certain degree of absorption, memorization and passivity is necessary. If a student is engaged in reading critically, that student must be active!!! He or she must be prepared to pre-read the essay, then read it closely for content, and re-read it if it isn’t clear how the author is reaching the conclusion in the argument.
4. They create different results. Passive reading to absorb information can create a student who (if not precisely well read) has read a great many books. It creates what many call “book-smarts.” However, critical reading involves original, innovative thinking.
5. They differ in the degree of understanding they require. Reading for information is more basic, and reading critically is the more advanced of the two because only critical reading equates with full understanding.

ULTIMATELY, WHAT WE WANT IS THE CONSCIOUS CONTROL OF OUR READING SKILLS, SO WE CAN MOVE BACK AND FORTH AMIDST THE VARIOUS TYPES OF READING.

FIVE GENERAL STAGES OF READING

1. Pre-Reading—examining the text and preparing to read it effectively (5 minutes)




2. Interpretive Reading—understanding what the author argues, what the author concludes, and exactly how he or she reached that conclusion.




3. Critical Reading—questioning, examining and expanding upon what the author says with your own arguments. Skeptical reading does not mean doubting everything your read.



4. Synoptic Reading—putting the author’s argument in a larger context by considering a synopsis of that reading or argument in conjunction with synopses of other readings or arguments.



5. Post-Reading—ensuring that you won’t forget your new insights.

Tuesday evening, March 22, 2011

Greetings...

I hope the break from classes this week is going wonderfully for you.

As you will note on your course outline, Reading Packets 1 & 2 are due to be read by Wednesday of next week, March 30th.

Packet One is an article titled "The Magic of the Family Meal." It can be found at the link below. Be sure to read the entire article...it is four pages long.

"The Magic of the Family Meal"
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html


Packet Two is an article titled "Down & Out in Fresno and San Francisco" and can be found at the link below.

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

Be sure to print out both articles and bring to class on Wednesday.

Sunday, March 13, 2011--- 12 noon

Greetings,

below are copies of two handouts I distributed and discussed last week in class.
1. A sample paragraph illustrating how MLA in-text citations work in an essay.
2. An explanation of how one paraphrases research and weaves that information into an essay.

Also, please be prepared to share your essay topic with the class tomorrow. In other words, you should definitely have made a decision on your essay topic for Out of Class Essay 2 by tomorrow in class.

See you then!
***********************************************
MLA In-text citations

Sample paragraph from an English 1A research essay:

The history of the debutante ball and a young girl’s coming out to society dates back as far as the early 1800s (McCormick 18). Daughters of very wealthy parents who were between the ages of sixteen and eighteen were introduced into the world of dating when their parents planned a party focused just on their daughter. It was a way to inform everyone in their circle of socially ‘acceptable’ people that their daughters were eligible to be courted (Samson 21-22). Daughters had no choice; they were obligated to go along with their parents’ wishes for a coming out party, even if they had no interest or desire (McCormick 42). According to a journal entry published in the book, The Journals of Emily St. Clare, 1875 – 1899, and edited by Rosemary Sparks, many girls begged their parents not to put them through such a social ordeal: “For weeks, I pleaded with father not to spend the time or money on such a frivolous event. I would much rather he spent more money on books for my personal library” (64). Certainly the ritual of coming out has a long tradition, yet in the past as well as currently, some young women gravitate towards the celebration and some despise it.

*******************************************************************
English 1A
FROM SOURCE TO ESSAY


Topic: Joining a Girl Gang as a Rite of Passage

Thesis Statement: In the past, as a rite of passage, young girls joined gangs in order to develop self-esteem; however, most girl gangs today are less friendly and more competitive among members.

Bibliography Card (3”x5”):

Vida, Vendela. Girls on the Verge: Debutante Dips, Drive-bys, and Other Initiations.

New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999. Print.

Note Card (4”x6”):

Vida 89

Initiation into the Bentral Valley Bloods(B.V.B.), a girl gang in Central Valley of CA:
initiate gets “jumped in”
• has to walk down a line with sixteen girls on each side of her, beating her
• has to sleep with a male gang member

In Text Citation

In the Central Valley of California, there are several girl gangs, including the Bentral Valley Bloods (B.V.B.). In order to become a member, each initiate must be “jumped in.” This rite of passage initiation requires the girl to walk down a line with sixteen girls on each side of her, who beat her continuously. She must also sleep with a male gang member (Vida 89).

Friday afternoon, March 8, 2011

Greetings...
below is a copy of the take home quiz I distributed and explained on Wednesday.
I will post copies of the other handouts I distributed later this weekend. If you did miss class on Wednesday, please be sure to get notes from a fellow student. One of the handouts I do not have on my computer so I will not able to post it here. We covered a LOT of material. It was an especially bad day to miss. Be safe and enjoy your weekend.
(note: when I copied and pasted this quiz onto the blog, the example now does not indicate the second line tabbed in, but of course YOU know that second and consecutive lines are tabbed in! :-)...)


Name____________________________________________English 1A, Section_______
Quiz, 100 points, MLA Documentation

TAKE HOME QUIZ…DUE ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16

PLEASE TYPE THIS ASSIGNMENT.

DIRECTIONS: This is an open book test. YOU NEED NOT ARRANGE THESE WORKS IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER. JUST COMPLETE EACH ONE IN NUMERICAL ORDER.

EXAMPLE: An article titled “College Students Egg Professor’s House in Protest.” It is written by Joe Shmo and published in a magazine called College Life in California. It is on pages 12-15 and was published in the September 2010 issue.

Shmo, Joe. “College Students Egg Professor’s House in Protest.” College Life in California September 2010: 12-15. Print.

1. A book by Jane Lee and Thomas Soho. The title of the book is The Joy of Gardening. It was written in 2005 and published by Cookbooks, Inc. in Boston.

2. A film/DVD titled The War at Home. It was directed by Emilio Estevez and the screenplay was written by James Duff. It was produced in 2000 by Touchstone Pictures. Lead performances were by Kathy Bates, Martin Sheen, Kimberly Williams and Emilio Estevez.

3. A story titled “The Good Twin and the Bad Twin.” It is published in an anthology titled American Indian Myths and Legends and edited by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz. It is published by Pantheon Books located in New York. It was published in 1984.

4. A pamphlet published by the United States Dept. of the Interior. The title of the pamphlet is The Issue of Voter Registration in the Hawaiian Islands. It was published in Washington by GPO and there is no date given for the year of publication.

5. An advertisement for Solgar Vitamins. This advertisement is in Cooking Light magazine, in the April 1997 issue on page 77.

6. An article in the Sacramento News & Review titled “Something about Mary.” It can be found on page 15 in the November 5, 2009 issue. The author is Cosmo Garvin.




7. An article you found online (on the web) titled “The Ten Best Ways to Study for a Test.” It is written by Suzy Smarty and was found on the website College Rocks.com and was originally published in Esquire magazine, in the April-May 2008 issue. You viewed this article on the 16 of October 2009.

8. An e-mail sent to you by Catherine Fraga on the 12 of October 2009. The subject line was “You have missed WAY too many classes!”

9. An article titled “How to Eat Smart for a Healthy Heart.” It is published in Eating Well magazine and there is no author given. It is published in the January 1999 issue on pages 17-22.

10. A book titled Carolina Moon by Jill McCorkle and published by Algonquin Books in 1996, located in New York.

EXTRA CREDIT (optional) Each correct answer is worth 1 point.
A note card without a ___________________________is useless.
According to Prof. Fraga’s method of collecting research, all note cards should be on what size index card?___________
According to Prof. Fraga’s method of collecting research, all bibliography cards should be on what size index card?___________

Monday, March 7, 6 pm

Greetings...
below is a copy of the out of class essay #2 assignment that was distributed in class today.

Also, just a reminder to bring your Rules of Thumb text for Wednesday, as we will have our third and last quiz on Rules of Thumb.

Cheers!


English 1A, Section 11
Spring 2011
Course Theme: The Significance of Home
Instructor: C. Fraga

Out of Class Essay Assignment #2 (worth 200 points total)

Assigned: Monday, March 7
ROUGH DRAFT: If you wish to have me review a rough draft of this assignment, please submit it to me NO LATER Monday, March 28.
Due: Monday, April 4
(YOU HAVE FOUR WEEKS TO CONDUCT RESEARCH AND WRITE YOUR ESSAY…PLAN YOUR TIME ACCORDINGLY)

• Essay must follow MLA format exactly.
• Essay must be typed and double spaced.
• Do not write a formulaic five paragraph essay.
• Essay must have a minimum of five sources on the Works Cited page. You are welcome to use the Internet for sources, but at least one of your sources cannot be found on the Internet (for example, use a book, watch a film, conduct an interview, etc.)
• You may certainly utilize the Wikipedia website to gain background information and to locate reference sites, but you may not use it as one of your documented sources on the Works Cited page.
• You must submit the essay as instructed in class—please record the requirements during the discussion.


Essay Prompt:

• For this essay, you will first select a group of people from another culture/country that you are genuinely interested in finding out more about.
• You will then conduct research in order to discover and then write about at least three significant ways in which someone from this culture/country must adapt to life in the United States.
• You will then begin by writing a thesis that is assertive and debatable.

For example, imagine that you selected the adaptation of the Hmong once they arrive in the US. After conducting some research, you decide to present information on male and female roles in marriage, religious practices and diet as the three areas of adjustment you feel are most significant and would make the most interesting reading.

Your thesis might read something like the following:

Hundreds of Hmong people immigrate to the United States every year and face many difficult challenges, particularly in the areas of religious practices, changes in diet and male/female roles within a marriage.

(An essay that asks you to address a topic such as this one would be difficult to complete in less than five or six pages, approximately.)

Friday late afternoon, March 4, 2011

Greetings...

wishing you a very enjoyable and safe weekend.

For Monday, please remember to bring your Rules of Thumb text. The quiz will be open book.

Also for Monday, please view the following two videos on youtube. (Part 1 and Part 2) Together the viewing will take about 20 minutes. You are welcomed to take notes if you wish.

Ms. Divakaruni talks about how she became a writer as well as how she got some of her ideas for her short stories (in Arranged Marriage) and she reads from her first novel, The Mistress of Spices.

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOrmaxMUa9U&feature=related

Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONGXkY_Vf6E

Thursday, February 24, around 630 pm

Greetings!

A few reminders about the upcoming In Class Essay #1 on Monday.

1. You will have the entire class session to write and complete the essay. Use your time wisely. Spend the first five or ten minutes choosing a prompt (there will be 3 to choose from), and planning your main points and supports.

2. I consider this effort as I would a rough draft. I do not evaluate in class essays the same way I do out of class essays. I realize it will not be your VERY BEST writing given the time restraints. Think of it this way: if you receive an 85/100 on an in class essay, just figure that if you wrote that same exact essay having three weeks to write it out of class, your score would be about 10 to 15 points lower than what you earned on the in class essay.

3. Remember to bring a blue (or green) book to class--I do not care what size it is.

4. You may use pen or pencil.

5. Try to remember to skip every other line, but if you forget, don't spend time re-writing the essay.

6. You may write on the back side of the paper if you wish.

7. You may bring any notes you have about the film to class to use while writing your essay.

TO PREPARE FOR MONDAY:

I suggest that you have a substantial answer to all seven of the study questions.

I also suggest that you read the interview with the filmmakers, available on line. SEE LINK BELOW.

http://www.daughterfromdanang.com/about/qa.html

YOU WILL HAVE THREE PROMPTS TO CHOOSE FROM...YOU WILL WRITE ON ONLY ONE.

1. EXPLAIN SPECIFICALLY THE REASONS WHY HEIDI ULTIMATELY HAD THE EXPERIENCE SHE DID WHEN SHE RETURNED TO VIETNAM, HER FIRST HOME. BE SPECIFIC

2. AS A VIEWER OF THIS DOCUMENTARY, DO YOU FEEL IT WAS AN EFFECTIVE OR INEFFECTIVE DOCUMENTARY? WHY OR WHY NOT? BE SPECIFIC.

3. THINK ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF HOME...AND HOW IT CAN CHANGE FOR MANY PEOPLE BASED ON ONE'S EXPERIENCES. THINK ABOUT HEIDI AND HOW SHE MIGHT HAVE DEFINED HOME BEFORE HER TRIP....AND THEN AFTER HER TRIP. BE SPECIFIC.

Monday, February 12, early evening

Hello!

Due to the technical difficulties we experienced in class today...it appears we will be spending more time on Wednesday in class viewing the rest of the film than I had first anticipated. Because of that, I am including the study questions in the blog this evening.

There is no need to submit answers to these questions. They are simply questions to help you focus on some of the more significant aspects of the documentary. Furthermore, if you are able to produce answers to these questions--for your own reference--you should not have any difficulty with the in class writing next Monday.

Please print out these questions and bring a copy to class on Wednesday.


DISCUSSION QUESTIONS---THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

1. One reviewer describes the film as a “gut-wrenching examination of the way cultural differences and emotional expectations collide.” Would you agree this is an accurate description? Why or why not? Explain specifically.

2. Were there parts of the film that made you feel uncomfortable? If so, what were those parts and can you articulate why they made you feel uncomfortable?

3. Heidi acutely feels that she has been rejected by two mothers: her birth mother who gave her up and her Tennessee mother, whose cold, untouching demeanor drove a wedge between them. How does this fact impact Heidi and what she ultimately experiences when she returns to Vietnam?

4. The film is considered a very powerful one by many other small filmmakers as well as many reviewers. In your opinion, what makes this an effective or ineffective film?

5. What preconceived ideas about home are proven inaccurate after viewing the film?

6. In an interview with the filmmakers, they admit that when they decided to film Heidi’s return to Vietnam, they assumed that the reunion would be a healing story, a kind of full circle coming home. The war in Vietnam was long over and they felt they could create a film that would ease the collective pain that is still connected to the war. Instead, what they did discover?

7. Some viewers have condemned Heidi for representing an aspect of American culture that they believe is selfish and individualized. What do you think and feel about Heidi’s reaction for the family’s request for money?

Tuesday evening, 10 pm, February 15

Hello,
I apologize for informing you so late. I really was hoping I would feel a whole lot better after resting most of the day, but alas, I do not. There is no class on Wednesday, the 16th, tomorrow. I have attached information on viewing a documentary film and viewing a narrative film. Please read through this before Monday. We are watching a documentary film and you will be writing your In Class Essay 1 on this film. Have a good and safe weekend.

English 1A
Prof. Fraga

In preparation for viewing the second film for the semester
and for viewing a documentary next week.

Purpose:
Just as reading fiction, non-fiction and poetry can aid in the development of a discriminatory, critical mind—and lead to critical writing and analysis in ANY area or topic—the viewing of films can elicit the same result.

A narrative film is a work of fiction.

A documentary film is a form that purports to report on the world as it exists. The documentary filmmaker uses various well-known techniques taken from the world of news reporting:

• reporting events as they happen,
• recording interviews with participants, and
• utilizing photographs and testimony of historical figures to portray past events.

Sometimes, the distinction between narrative and documentary has to be carefully drawn.

For example, occasionally actors are used to portray characters in historical documentaries such as Ken Burns’ Jazz, usually in voice-over. On the other hand, narrative films will often borrow various documentary techniques: Steve Soderberg in Traffic used hand-held cameras and a complicated interweaving of different stories to mimic a documentary “feel.” Nevertheless, it is clear that Traffic is a narrative film, and Jazz is a documentary.

It is generally assumed that documentaries will not deliberately falsify a view of reality…however, it is true that inevitably the documentary will reflect the filmmaker’s point of view, resulting in some manipulation of the absolute truth. The main way documentaries shape the story is through

• choosing the interview subjects,
• selecting certain shots and framing devices,
• and most importantly by editing the material to support their vision as filmmakers.

To be sure, the director of a documentary may often attempt to show a balanced point of view by posing questions regarding a problem or by advancing various solutions.

But often a documentary will abandon such an attempt and use powerful evidence to advance a certain ideological argument, as in the classic Harlan County, USA, about a miners’ strike in Harlan County, Kentucky, in 1973. Here, the miners’ side in the strike is presented through emotional interviews, songs, meetings, and events on the picket line, while what little we see of the owners’ point of view is presented in a negative light. This kind of documentary that presents an argument is called a rhetorical form of documentary.

In evaluating a documentary it is important to understand what kind we are judging and thus what the filmmaker’s objectives are:

• Is the filmmaker trying to put forth his or her own point of view or attempting to show a balanced point of view?
• What techniques are being used to reveal the point of view?
• What methods are used to gather data?
• What are the criteria for choosing the people to be interviewed?
• What kind of shots are used to portray the subjects, and how does editing contribute to the ideological and emotional effect of the film?

THE NARRATIVE FILM—how to evaluate

In evaluating whether a film is “good” or not, it is important to consider a few main points that will aid in discussion and in writing a critical response.

1. Do the most important filmic elements such as photography, acting, editing and design support and complement each other? Is this unified style supportive of a strong theme? Does the film fit into a certain genre? Does it imaginatively add something to the traditions of that genre or does it merely copy them in a clichéd manner?
2. Do events flow naturally, and in this flow of action are there surprises and twists that engage an audience’s interest? Is there a strong climax and resolution? If the structure is nonlinear, do these varied elements build to some powerful emotional and/or intellectual effect? Does the dialogue seem appropriate to the style and environment of the film? If it is meant to be a realistic film, is the dialogue natural and spontaneous?
3. Do the characters and relationships seem specific and real? Do we identify with their goals and problems? Do the actors seem convincing? Do the actors present well-observed character details? Is there emotional truth in the playing? Is the acting style appropriate for the specific film genre?
4. Finally, looking at the film as a WHOLE…Common sense issues are very relevant. For example, does the film hold our interest throughout? Do we care about what happens on the screen? After the film, does it have a powerful effect on us? The answer to this last question separates the great films from the merely good ones.

Tuesday afternoon, February 15. 2011

Hello,

below is a copy of the handout I distributed in class on Monday. It is a sample intro paragraph and first supportive paragraph for out of class essay 1.

and thank you to the person who left the valentine rose on the podium yesterday!
hope all of you had a memorable day...:-)

Dave Matthews

Prof. Fraga

English 1A, 1

1 October 2010


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. For example, the theme of home is found in hundreds of children’s picture books and it is a compelling theme that invites a wide variety of approaches and sensibilities.
Beloved children’s author, Beatrix Potter, wrote about a little rabbit who ventures away from home, gets into mischief, and when he arrives back home, is exhausted and ill and falls directly to sleep. Certainly young listeners learn about right and wrong and what happens when a parent’s words are not heeded. Yet, even though Peter knows his mother will be disappointed in his behavior, he still wants to go home. Potter suggests that home is a safe place, away from Mr. McGregor. Potter writes, “Peter never stopped running or looked behind him till he got home to the big fir tree. He was so tired that he flopped down upon the nice soft sand on the floor of the rabbit-hole and shut his eyes” (27). David Jorgensen’s pastel and watercolor illustrations depict Peter as content and rather relieved as he sleeps on the floor, and later in his bed. Peter is out of harm’s way at home and he is obviously loved by his mother, who feeds him chamomile tea to soothe his upset stomach and tucks him into bed. Potter’s message about home is very clear and very comforting for children to learn: home should be a safe and forgiving place of solace and love.


THIS IS A SAMPLE ESSAY: INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH AND FIRST SUPPORTIVE PARAGRAPH ONLY.

Wednesday evening, February 9th, 9 pm

Greetings,
below is a copy of Out of Class Assignment #1 which was discussed and distributed in class today.
Have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Be sure to check the blog and stay current through the weekend.

And if you follow and read the course outline, you should easily stay on task.
Please note that you have your second Q and C due on Monday. :-)

Best, Prof. Fraga


Eng. 1A, Section 11, Spring 2011, Instructor: C. Fraga

ASSIGNMENT: OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #1
• Assigned: Wednesday, Feb. 9
• Rough Draft due, typed & dbl. spaced (optional): no later than Wednesday, Feb. 23
• Due: Wed. March 2

You have a total of three weeks to work on this essay. Your final draft should reflect this fact.
Please select one of the prompts below and write an interesting, informative, well
supported analysis response.
Requirements:
• Must be typed and double-spaced and have a title.
• Must follow MLA format (I will explain what my expectations are for this paper)

Since the purpose of this course is to strengthen your exploratory, expository and analytical writing with an emphasis on utilizing research and reading skills…AND because the theme for this course is the significance of home…I offer you a selection of three different essay prompts that each require you to carefully and deeply examine the theme of home in a particular genre. It is my intention that you will be drawn to one of the three enough so that you are motivated and even excited to conduct your research and write the essay.

Prompt #1:
For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in children’s picture books. After perusing several picture books, you will select a minimum of six to discuss, analyze and review for their success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home, through both words and illustrations. In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.

Prompt #2:
For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in song lyrics. After perusing and studying many song lyrics, you will select a minimum of six songs to discuss, analyze and review for their success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home.
In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.

Songs/Lyrics you may NOT analyze (please)! ☺:
“Home” (Chris Daughtry)
“Sweet Home Alabama” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
“Home” (Michael Buble)
“Can’t Take me Home” (Pink)

Prompt #3:
For this essay you will research the theme of home as it is found in three different films (OR at least three episodes from a television series). You will discuss, analyze and review each film (or episode) for its success (or failure) in presenting the theme of home. In your analysis, be sure to consider the intended audience.
************************************************************************
IN ORDER TO ADDRESS ANY OF THESE THREE PROMPTS FULLY AND ADEQUATELY, YOUR ESSAY SHOULD BE AT LEAST 5 PAGES IN LENGTH (approximately)

Phrases you may NOT use in your title or anywhere in your essay. Doing so will lower the overall grade you earn for the essay:

There’s no place like home.
Home sweet home.
Home is where the heart is.
Home means different things to different people.

Friday afternoon, February 4th

Hello!

As you know, there is a quiz on Monday on pages 2-60 in your Rules of Thumb textbook. As discussed in class, it is an open book quiz. Please remember to bring your book as a reference. Since you will not have the entire class session to complete the quiz, do take time over the weekend to peruse these pages and become familiar with them.

Reminder--!!!
Beginning on Monday, our classroom has changed to RIVERSIDE, ROOM 2010.

Have a great weekend, be safe, and I will see you on Monday!

Monday, January 31, 2011--around 1030 pm

Hello, below is a download link for the prose poem, "Flies." The pages are in .jpeg format inside of a folder. There are four pictures total.

http://www.mediafire.com/?qqif7b8hdr7vw3h

You can then print out the poem pages and bring them to class on Wednesday.

Sunday, January 30, 2011--around 1 pm

Hello!

Poetry Packet #2 consists of two prose poems.
We will discuss the definition of a prose poem in class on Monday. So there is no need to begin this work until after class on Monday.

There is a question and comment due for these two poems on Wednesday. Remember, this means a Q & C for EACH poem.

"Flies" by Donald Hall
(if you google the above just as it is written, you will find the complete poem--however, you may have to scroll up or down to actually find where the poem begins and ends--there are other poems that come before and after.)

"Leaving Yuba City" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
(I will provide a copy of this for you in class on Monday)

Wednesday, January 26th around 9pm

Good evening!
Below I have posted the handouts from today:
1. Unacceptable Errors
2. Oral Presentation
3. A Short Guide to Reading Poems

Within the next hour, look again for a new posting with the reading assignment for Monday.

UNACCEPTABLE ERRORS
In English 1A, students should already be very proficient in word usage. We do not have time for grammar lessons. (I will, however, provide short ‘mini’ lessons when I feel they are warranted.) The following errors that are commonly made on student papers are considered unacceptable.

For homework assignments, any unacceptable errors will result in no credit for that assignment. Please proofread and edit carefully. You will be unable to revise a homework assignment.

For out of class essays, each unacceptable error takes ten points off your final earned grade. You may correct unacceptable errors and receive the points back if you choose to revise. In class essays that have unacceptable errors CAN always be corrected to earn back the points lost.

1. there – place Put it over there.
2. their – possessive pronoun That is their car.
3. they’re – contraction of they are They’re going with us.
4. your – possessive pronoun Your dinner is ready.
5. you’re – contraction of you are You’re not ready.
6. it’s – contraction of it is It’s a sunny day.
7. its – possessive pronoun The dog wagged its tail.
8. a lot – always two words I liked it a lot.
9. to – a preposition or part of an
infinitive I like to proofread my essays carefully.
10. too – an intensifier, or also That is too much. I will go too.
11. two – a number Give me two folders.
12. In today’s society Instead use “Today” or “In America” or “Now” etc
13. right(s)/write(s)/rite(s) rights are a set of beliefs or values in which a person feels entitled: His rights were read to him before he was arrested for stalking Dave Matthews. Writes is a verb indicating action taken with a pen, pencil or computers to convey a message: Michelle writes love letters to Dave Matthews in her sleep. Rites are a series of steps or events which lead an individual from one phase in life to the next, or a series of traditions that should be followed: The initiate began his rite of passage ceremony at the age of thirteen.
14. definitely/defiantly This error USUALLY occurs when a writer relies solely on spell-check. You really must learn to become the final editor of your work. Definitely is an adverb and it means without a doubt. Mary will definitely miss the Dave Matthews Band concert. Defiantly means to show defiance. She was in a defiant mood. It is an adjective. Or it could be used as an adverb. She was defiantly rude and sullen towards the professor.
***********************************************************************
An accumulation of the following errors can affect your grade, but not one error, ten points down. The number depends on how serious the error is, and how often you make it. Some do not slow up the reader as much as others.
• Misuse of the word “you”. You must actually mean the reader when you use the word “you”.

• Avoid use of contractions in formal expository writing. (can’t, shouldn’t, didn’t, etc.)

• Agreement of subject and verb. Both must be either singular or plural.

• Fragmented sentences, comma splices and run-ons. Be sure to proofread your papers carefully before turning them in.

You will not pass English 1A if you cannot write an intelligent sentence in correct English.

***************************************************************************************************************************

English 1A, College Composition I
Spring 2011
Instructor: Catherine Fraga

Oral Presentation Assignment

The Significance of Home
Assigned: First week of semester

Due: The last day of course, Wednesday, May 11

For this assignment, please select an article, observation, photograph, painting, collage, film, song, poem, essay or anything else that offers some message or reflection on the theme of home. It could have a personal meaning for you, but it does not have to.
After you have selected your “item,” write a minimum of one page about the item. Include a brief description of the item and a detailed explanation of why you chose this item; include a thoughtful commentary. Proofread carefully for unacceptable errors as well as other proofreading mistakes.
On the day of presentations, please do not read your essay to the class, but simply summarize the main points aloud to the class. The presentation usually takes only a few moments. You will submit a copy of the essay only to me.
As the semester progresses, you may get ideas for your presentation from our readings, the films we will be viewing, or from class discussions.
Remember that you will not receive this short essay back nor will you receive any credit for the assignment if there are ANY unacceptable errors present.
Please do not take this assignment lightly. It is worth 100 points.


******************************************************************************************************************************

English 1A, C. Fraga

A Short Guide to Reading Poems

Look at the first few lines for how they seem to be operating (form and craft): A
poem’s form and craft will tell you a lot about how to read it in the first few lines. Don’t
worry too much if you don’t know the technical terms for what’s going on. Just take a look
at the first sentence or two: does the poem seem to be more concrete or abstract? Does it
introduce images, or ideas, or both? Does it tell a story or seem to elicit a feeling right away?
Does it operate outside of time or narrate a story inside time? What’s literally happening in
the poem? What do you notice about the poem’s shape or the way the sentences are
working? Notice anything unusual inside the way the language is working.

Let the opening lines guide further reading: Having asked and answered these
questions, you will find that the first lines of the poem set its tone and its operating mode.
That mode will either continue or it won’t—where it breaks down or changes may be an
important clue to the poem’s “turn,” the point in the poem where the poem seems to
broaden its view or become more emotional. You will be able to keep track of important
movements of ideas in the poem by isolating the poem’s initial formal patterns in these early
lines and tracking how they change during the poem’s progression.

Consider the title: Having read these initial lines and gotten your bearings inside the poem,
re-read the title. How has reading the first few lines of the poem helped you to unpack the
title? Or the opposite may be true: the title may help to answer a question you had in
reading the first few lines. If doing so doesn’t help the poem’s meaning emerge, read the
next full sentence of the poem and then reread the title. This is a technique that you can use
at any time during the reading of the poem.

Who’s speaking? In poems, the speaker is not the poet, but there’s a speaker nonetheless,
and he or she is guiding you through the poem. That speaker may not always use a personal
pronoun like “I” or “you,” but the speaker is there, moving through the poem, guiding your
reading. The speaker is just that, a guide, and you can make yourself more comfortable in
the poem just by noting who it is that’s speaking and where they seem to be headed. Is the
poem addressed to everyone, or to a specific person? Is the speaker solving a problem,
writing a letter, describing an event, or something else? Are there other actors in the poem
besides the speaker? Keep track of the pronouns being used in the poem and see how they
change during the course of the poem.

Note the type of language being used: Poems use all kinds of normal, unpoemlike
words, and they also sometimes use an elevated or formal language. Sometimes a poem will
use several different types of language, called registers of language, in the very same poem.
Take a look at where the poem is easy to understand and uses everyday language, and where
it doesn’t. This could have something to do with the “turn”.

Wednesday, January 26th around 10pm

Hello, below you will find Poetry Packet #1. There are four poems to read. Two of them are provided in full text below and the other two are to be found on the Internet. Print out all four poems and bring to class on Monday, January 31st. You will also note that NO question and comment homework is due for this packet.


POETRY READING PACKET #1 (four poems)

“Taking my Son to School”
by Eamon Grennan

(do a google search of the above poem exactly as it is written above. The first posting will be a commencement speech give by Mr. Grennan. Open this and you will see the poem right at the beginning of the speech. Focus only on the poem, not the speech)
************************************************************************************
"One Home”
By William Stafford

Mine was a Midwest home—you can keep your world.
Plain black hats rode the thoughts that made our code.
We sang hymns in the house; the roof was near God.

The light bulb that hung in the pantry made a wan light,
but we could read by it the names of preserves—
outside, the buffalo grass, and the wind in the night.

A wildcat sprang at Grandpa on the Fourth of July
when he was cutting plum bushes for fuel,
before Indians pulled the West over the edge of the sky.

To anyone who looked at us we said, “My friend”;
liking the cut of a thought, we could say “Hello.”
(But plain black hats rode the thoughts that made our code.)

The sun was over our town; it was like a blade.
Kicking cottonwood leaves we ran toward storms.
Wherever we looked the land would hold us up.

*************************************************************

“Where Children Live”
by Naomi Shihab Nye

Homes where children live exude a pleasant rumpledness,
like a bed made by a child, or a yard littered with balloons.
To be a child again one would need to shed details
till the heart found itself dressed in the coat with a hood.
Now the heart has taken on gloves and mufflers,
the heart never goes outside to find something to do.
And the house takes on a new face, dignified.
No lost shoes blooming under bushes.
No chipped trucks in the drive.
Grown-ups like swings, leafy plants, slow-motion back and forth.
While the yard of a child is strewn with the corpses
of bottle-rockets and whistles,
anything whizzing and spectacular, brilliantly short-lived.
Trees in children's yards speak in clearer tongues.
Ants have more hope. Squirrels dance as well as hide.
The fence has a reason to be there, so children can go in and out.
Even when the children are at school, the yards glow
with the leftovers of their affection,
the roots of the tiniest grasses curl toward one another
like secret smiles.

**********************************************************************
“To a Daughter Leaving Home”
by Linda Pastan
(please google the poem and you will find it on PoemHunter.com)

Tuesday, January 25 around 130 pm

Good afternoon!
Below you will find information on a MOST awesome course Sac State offers.
If you can fit in two more units, this class is so beneficial. My friend and fabulous instructor, Lori, teaches this. Many of my students have given this rave reviews.
You have until Feb. 7th to enroll. And it only meets once a week.
If you are someone who has always wanted to work on improving your reading rate and comprehension, this just might be the class for you! Check it out!
Prof. Fraga



English 60: Reading Speed and Efficiency

English 60 is now 2 units! Class still meets only once a week.

Read with more confidence and skill!
. Improve: reading rate, comprehension, and critical reading skills
. Build vocabulary
. Refine your study skills

➢ English 60 (2 units) teaches strategies and techniques to promote greater reading efficiency, flexibility, and comprehension through text analysis and reading practice with a variety of texts.
➢ Students also work in the LSC reading lab to increase reading speed and reduce regression and other negative reading habits.
➢ Students can register through My Sac State during the first two weeks of school, through Feb. 4th . Or the class can be added through Feb. 7th with the instructor’s permission. For more information, go to the learning Skills Center (LSN 2200) or call 278-6725.

English 60, Section 1 Tuesday, 8:00-8:50 Lassen 2101 Class No.31265
English 60, Section 3 Wednesday 11:00-11:50 Mendocino 1022 Class No.31267
English 60, Section 5 Thursday 10:30-11:20 Douglas 106A Class No. 31424
We also have 1 section of 60M for Multilingual students:
Check schedule for time and place.

Monday, January 24th, 445 pm

Greetings...yay! if you are reading this, it means you found the blog! :-)
Below is a copy of the course outline that you received in class today.
You will also find a copy of the grade worksheet as well.
See you Wednesday!
Prof. Fraga


SPRING 2011, CSU SACRAMENTO
COURSE: English 1A: College Composition I
Section 11 MW, 130-245 pm, Douglass Hall 111
INSTRUCTOR: Catherine Fraga
E-mail: sacto1954@gmail.com
Office Hours: CLV 149, MWF noon-1:15 PM or by appointment

CLASS BLOG: www.English1ASpring11.blogspot.com

Prerequisites: Placement by examination OR successful completion of English 1 or its equivalent.
************************************************************************
REQUIRED TEXTS & MATERIALS
• Arranged Marriage: Stories
By Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Publisher: Anchor

• The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood
by Kien Nguyen
Publisher: Bay Back Books

• Rules of Thumb: A Guide for Writers—8th Edition
by Jay Silverman, Elaine Hughes, Diana Roberts Wienbroer
Publisher: McGraw-Hill

• 8 1/2” x 11” lined notebook paper (paper that is torn out of a notebook without a straight edge will not be accepted).

• Stapler

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
English 1A is a freshman writing course that offers students the opportunity to learn and develop the reading and writing skills that will be most useful to them during a four-year college program. The course is designed to help students improve their ability to understand and critically judge reading material and to write an essay which has a single controlling idea and which is coherently developed using idiomatically and grammatically correct English.

The heart of the course is readings that require a range of narrative, analytical, reflective and research writing skills.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:

1. Attendance and punctuality are required. I have designed this course so that it depends on your presence and participation. If you’re absent, you are still responsible for finding out what you’ve missed (including lecture notes, handouts, changes in due dates, etc.) Refer to your class phone list.

2. Having more than three absences will seriously alter your final grade. This is not because I do not consider you mature enough to make a commitment to a class; it is because if you do miss more than 3 classes, you miss group work, or in class writing, or a journal assignment, or a quiz, or an in class essay assignment, and/or a bevy of other possible events, all of which affect the grade you earn (see #8 below). Please communicate with me. I am very understanding and reasonable.

3. If you must miss a class on a day an assignment is due, you are still responsible for getting the assignment to me on time. Again, use the phone list, call your mother, or??? This is merely a fairness issue; we all have life situations that are often difficult and unexpected, and if others manage to still get their work in on time, I cannot give special exceptions to just a few. If you miss class and would like to e-mail me your work, you must first contact me for permission. Again, this is a fairness issue.

4. There will be numerous reading and writing assignments in this course. Weekly reading assignments will be given, and I expect you to complete them on time and come prepared to class. We may not get an opportunity to discuss everything we read in class, but that is inevitable in any college course.

5. You will complete a question and comment assignment for several of the reading assignments. The question is optional, but the commentary is not. Your commentary must be a minimum of six sentences in length. (I know ALL the shortcuts students may try. Be assured that if you write six very short, simple sentences you will not receive credit for the assignment. A thorough explanation of what is required for these question and comment assignments and a sample will be provided.) No late homework will be accepted.

6. An out of class essay may be handed in late, but there is a stiff penalty. For every day your essay is late, the grade for that essay will drop a full ten points. This includes weekends. Points subtracted for lateness cannot be made up during the revision process. (see note at end of this course outline regarding revision policy).

7. Journal writing assignments are assigned and completed in class and are not allowed to be made up.

8. English 1A is graded A, B, C, D, or F. Do not assume that because you have not submitted a particular essay assignment, you will still be able to pass the course. Even though you have missed the due date, and have an automatic “F” for that assignment, YOU STILL MUST WRITE AND SUBMIT THAT ESSAY TO PASS THE COURSE.

A note on classroom etiquette:
If you feel you cannot survive each class session without the use of your cell phone, iPod, or laptop computer, please do not enroll in this class. (I own all three of these devices, and value each of them, but I do not plan on using them during my classroom time with you. Simply, it is the highest degree of rudeness and disrespect.) If I see you busy texting, etc. I will not hesitate to ask you to leave until you finish your crucial business. I plan to give you my full attention and I expect the same from all my students.

About being tardy for class:
It seems that over the last few years, tardiness has REALLY escalated and become problematic in my classes. I am not sure why, but I do know that most of my colleagues deduct a percentage of the earned grade for tardiness. It is really annoying and disruptive, both to me and the rest of the class, when students enter the class late—we only meet for 75 minutes twice a week, and I begin class immediately. In the “real world”, there is even less tolerance for lateness. Plan ahead. I realize things can happen beyond your control, but looking for parking is not a good excuse. If I see that tardiness is becoming excessive, I may have to ask you to drop the class.

Theme: The Significance of Home

• We will consider home as our course-long theme. The significance of home – as a place of beginnings, as a starting point, as a place of comfort, regret, anguish, joy, personal growth, and loss – fuels a meaningful, intriguing collection of themes. Home is a base from which all of us emerge.

• Most of us have pre-conceived notions of home as a place of love, comfort, security. For millions of children, however, these definitions do not fit their reality of home as a place to escape: escape from cycles of poverty, mistrust, abuse.

• The course will explore not only home as a safety net, but also the illusions we have of home perpetuated by Madison Avenue advertising agencies.

• What are our expectations of home? Again, does our “real” home live up to the expectations society has created? How do different cultural values and priorities play a role in determining what home should and should not be? Attempting to answer these questions is the task I have set for us during this semester.

• What does it mean to leave home for the first time? What does it mean to be rootless, without a home?

• Finally, how can we reconnect to the earth as home, knowing full well that the lives we have created for ourselves impact the finite planet all of us call home?

• We view at least two films which explore the theme of home. These films will allow us to observe and witness concepts we have read about and discussed.

COURSE OUTLINE
(Please note: Bring this outline to class each session; changes could occur at a moment’s notice. Also, most reading and writing assignments are noted -- other class exercises and lectures may not be noted specifically)

ALL OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENTS (HOMEWORK, ESSAYS, ETC) MUST BE TYPED AND DOUBLE SPACED UNLESS INSTRUCTED OTHERWISE. PLEASE USE TIMES NEW ROMAN, 12 POINT FONT.

Week One (1/24-1/28)
• Introduction to the Course (course theme explained)
• Course Outline Distributed (handout)
• Question/Comment Homework Explained
• Unacceptable Errors (handout)
• Discussion: Reading and Evaluating Poetry

Week Two (1/31-2/4)
• Stapler Check (worth 25 points) (Monday)
• Read Poetry Packet 1 (Monday)
• In class Journal #1 (Monday)
• Read Poetry Packet 2 (Wednesday) Q & C #1 due today


Week Three (2/7-2/11)
• Quiz based on pgs. 2-60 in Rules of Thumb (Monday)
• Discussion: Reading and Evaluating the Short Story (Monday)
• Read: “The Bats”(1-16) & “Clothes” (17-33) in Arranged Marriage (Wednesday)
• Out of Class Essay #1 assigned today (Wednesday)

Week Four (2/14-2/18)
• Read: “Silver Pavements, Golden Roofs” (35-56) and “The Word Love” (58-71) in Arranged Marriage (Monday) Q & C #2 due today
• Group Exercise #1 (Monday)
• Discussion: How to Evaluate a Documentary Film (Wednesday)
• Read: “A Perfect Life” (73-108) in Arranged Marriage (Wednesday)

Week Five (2/21-2/25)
• View 1st half of film in class (Monday)
• View 2nd half of film in class (Wednesday)
• Preparation for in-class writing next week (Wednesday)

Week Six (2/28-March 4)
• In class essay #1 (please bring a blue book to class, 8 ½” x 11”) (Monday)
• Read: “The Maid Servant’s Story” (109-168 in Arranged Marriage (Wednesday)
• Out of Class Essay 1 due today (Wed.)
• Group Exercise #2 (Wed.)

Week Seven (Mar. 7-11)
• Out of class #2 assigned today (Monday)
• Read pgs. 112-134 in Rules of Thumb (Monday)
• Quiz on pgs. 112-134 (see above) (Monday)
• Discuss MLA Documentation in class (Mon. & Wed.)
• Read pages 136-149 in Rules of Thumb (Wed.)
• Quiz on pages 136-149 (see above) (Wed.)

Week Eight (Mar. 14-18)
• Read: “The Disappearance” (169-181) & “Doors” (183-202) in Arranged Marriage (Monday)
• In class Journal #2 (Monday)
• Read: “The Ultrasound” (203-230) and “Affair” (231-272) in Arranged Marriage--Q & C #3 due (Wednesday)
• Group Exercise #3 (Wednesday)

Week Nine (Mar. 21-25)
SPRING BREAK—no classes—enjoy and be safe.




Week Ten: (March 28-April 1 )
• Read “Meeting Mrinal” (273-300) in Arranged Marriage (Monday)
• Discussion: How to Read and Evaluate Essays (Monday)
• Read Essay Packets #1 & 2 (Wednesday)
• In class Journal #3 (Wed.)

Week Eleven: (April 4-8)
• If you have not already, begin reading The Unwanted. Please have pages 5-136 read by Wed. of this week.
• Out of class essay #2 due today (Monday)
• Out of class essay #3 assigned (Monday)
• Discuss The Unwanted, pages 5-136 (Wed.)
• Read Essay Packets # 3 & 4 (Wed.)

Week Twelve: (April 11-15)
• View film in class (Monday)
• Complete viewing of film in class & class discussion (Wednesday)
• In class essay #2 on film viewed this week (Friday)

Week Thirteen: (April 18-22)
• In class essay #2 on film viewed last week (Monday)—remember blue book, please
• Read Essay Packets # 5 & 6 (Wed.) Q & C #4 due today.

Week Fourteen: (April 25-29)
• By today you will have read the entire memoir, The Unwanted (Monday)
• Out of class essay #3 due today (Wed.)
• Discuss The Unwanted in class (Mon. & Wed.)
• Journal #4 in class (Wed.)

Week Fifteen (May 2-6)
• Take home test on The Unwanted distributed today (Monday)
• Take home test on The Unwanted due today (Wednesday)

Week Sixteen (May 9-13)
• Grade Sheet Check (Mon.)
• Oral presentations (Wed.)
• Last class day (Wed.)

Week Seventeen (May 16-20) FINALS WEEK
THERE IS NO FINAL EXAM IN THIS CLASS.

***A NOTE ABOUT REVISIONS***
Since this is a composition course, where the goal is to become a better writer and a more sophisticated thinker, you are invited to revise one of your three out of class essays. If you choose to revise an essay, the revision along with the original, is due no later than one week after you receive the graded essay back.

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Name_____________________________________________________________
English 1A, Spring 2011, Prof. Fraga
GRADE WORKSHEET-----1975 POINTS POSSIBLE
Stapler Check (25 pts.)
Monday, Jan 31—stapler in your possession!______

Oral Presentation=(100 pts.)
Oral Pres._____(100)

Out of Class Essays (400 points)
Out of Class Essay 1_____(100 pts.)
Out of Class Essay 2_____(200 pts.)
Out of Class Essay 3_____(100 pts.)

Rules of Thumb Quizzes (300 points)
Pgs. 1-60 (100)_____
Pgs. 112-134 (100)_____
Pgs 136-147 (100)_____

Unannounced Quizzes (250) (50 points each)
Quiz 1_____
Quiz 2_____
Quiz 3_____
Quiz 4_____
Quiz 5_____

Journals=(100 pts.)
Journal 1 (25) _____
Journal 2 (25)_____
Journal 3 (25)_____
Journal 4 (25)_____

Homework=(200 pts.)
Q and C #1 (50)_____
Q and C #2 (50)_____
Q and C #3 (50)_____
Q and C #4 (50)_____

In Class Group Exercises (200 pts.)
Group Work 1 (50 pts)_____
Group Work 2 (50 pts)_____
Group Work 3 (50 pts)_____
Group Work 4 (50 pts)_____

In class essay #1 (100)_____
In class essay #2 (100) _____

Take home essay on The Unwanted (200)_____
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How to assess your grade earned: Divide the points you earn by 1975 to find the percentage. Then see chart below.

100-94=A Example: 1725 pts. earned=87%=B+
93-90=A- Example: 1444 pts. earned=73%=C+
89-84=B+ Example: 1901 pts. earned=96%=A
83-80=B Example: 1808 pts. earned=91%=A-
79-74=B-
73-70=C+
69-64=C
63-60=C-
59-54=D
53-0=F