back Return to Unit One:MWF
Class Plan -- Unit One, Day 6
Goals Assignment for Day 7
Reading - In PHG, "summary Shaping," pp. 179-182; "response shaping," pp. 182-184. Read one of the following essays (divide class into three groups and assign equally): Rodriquez, p. 244 or Coleman, p. 346, or Leive, p. 323 in EL

Writing - Write a 1-2 page response to the article you read. Post a brief response to the instructor's message on the Web Forum.* Be sure to bring a written copy or print out of the Web posting to class. Also, read the postings of two others from the class and respond to their postings.

Activities:
Daily - What are the elements of a good summary?

Discuss summarizing the Rose essay - Collect responses to the Daily on the board. Have students form groups of 4 and exchange their summaries of Rose. Have them read each group member's summary.

As a whole class, talk about what they think every summary of Rose should include and some of the variations they saw. Which ones are legitimate? How and why do the summaries vary? Be sure to include how purpose affects summarizing. For instance, I talk about how summarizing one's reading as a study skill will differ from doing it for research or on an essay test. This is a good time to discuss when they have had to summarize if you haven't already.

Discuss their responses to Rose - Get students to talk about what they wrote in their responses, what they thought of Rose. Help them begin categorizing their responses and connect to the categories in the PHG (which they'll read about in more detail for tomorrow).

My goal for this discussion is to focus on how their responses vary and getting them to explain their responses. Why did they like/dislike, understand/not understand, agree/disagree, etc. I'll press them to give both textual and extra-textual reasons and evidence.

Give directions for the Web forum assignment - It would be a good idea to have a handout of directions for using the Web forum made up to give students.

*You should create a prompt on language issue. One that we tried this summer asked students to recall a time when they were an outsider because of language such as when visiting a foreign country, when they had a different accent or vocabulary from a group, or when they were in a class in which the teacher seemed to be "talking over their head." Be sure to put explicit directions for responding in your prompt message.