Monday, January 31, 2011

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

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 26, 2011

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.
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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”.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

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)
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"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 24, 2011

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.

*************************************************************************************************************************
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)_____
**************************************************************************************
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