Return to Unit One:MWF

Class Plan -- Unit One, Day 13

• Connect key issues in the readings with personal experience/observations

Activities:
Daily - Make a list of terms that could be used to describe you. Then go back over your list and for as many of these words as possible identify a negative term that could be substituted. Be prepared to explain why these terms would be offensive ways of describing you, e.g. if you listed "male," a negative term might be "boy" because it connotes immaturity.

Discussion - Talk about the daily. Focus on discussing why some descriptions are more negative than another. Concentrate on where the negative descriptions come from , who uses them and in which situations, and what control we have over how we are labeled, named, or marked.

Then talk about some of the implications for such naming: discrimination, access to education, power, etc.

Look at the other issues addressed in the questions (continue to encourage students to come up with their own questions which they can respond to under the "create your own question" option for this paper).

Have students generate some questions or collecting activities they could use to tap their personal experience. This could be a small group, individual, or whole class activity. If you use small groups or individual writing time, be sure to come together as a class to share ideas.

Now students will have some choices for collecting their personal experience.

Remind students that at the next class meeting they will need to have chosen their essay question, done some collecting, and done a freewrite answer.