WR 440Dr. Cornelia Paraskevas

WR 440Dr. Cornelia Paraskevas

Fall 2008Office Hours: 12-2 T Th

1-2 W or by appt.

HSS 303

Phone: 838-8477 (office)

e-mail:

TEXTS: K. Wood Ray, What You Know by Heart

Carol Booth Olson, The Reading/Writing Connection: Strategies for Teaching and

Learning in the Secondary Classroom (2nd edition)

JSTOR—Landmark Texts (Hamersly Library)

You also need to become familiar with all of the following:

- the Oregon Writing Benchmarks and Standards ( At ODE’s homepage, click on ‘Publications’ (left hand corner) and then click on Oregon Standards Newspaper. Choose Section B (English Language Arts) and print that section. Always bring it with you to class.

- the scoring site ( Print the scoring guide and

bring it with you to class.

-NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing

(

-NCTE journals at your authorization level (Italics indicate the name of the journal)

Elementary: Language Arts

Middle: Voices from the Middle

High school: English Journal

College: College English or English in the Two-YearCollege

GOALS: The goal of the class is to give you the theoretical background and context of composition theory; the experience in designing and evaluating assignments; the ability to connect reading and writing through craft; and the practice to produce and revise written material (rich, thoughtful, polished pieces) quickly and easily.

We will devote equal time to theory and practice; be prepared to do lots of writing (in-class and out-of-class)! I expect you do be doing 2-3 hours of homework for each hour you are in class—that’s the norm for upper-division college classes. Some weeks, there will be more than 10 hours of homework, other weeks less—but the overall assumption is 9-12 hours of work per week; plan your time wisely.

Please note: LING 215 is a prerequisite for this class—that means you passed the class with (at minimum) a D-. If you didn’t, you should drop the class.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will be able to / As measured by
Situate their pedagogy within the appropriate theoretical framework / Formal writing; reading cards; article summaries
Design assignments informed by theory and standards / Out of class project “Designing Writing Assignments”
Evaluate work based on the ODE traits / In-class work; designing a writing assignment
Evaluate material based on writing craft / Out of class craft analysis
Evaluate professional articles with respect to writing issues / Reading cards
Use writing as a tool for learning / Reading cards; in-class informal writing
Develop strategies for all stages of the writing process / Drafts of out of class projects; designing a writing assignment
Become reflective practitioners / Reading cards; essays; in class writing

ATTENDANCE POLICIES: Since the class is organized as a workshop, your attendance and active participation are required. You can miss up to 2 classes --that’s one week-- no questions asked. After that, however, your grade will be reduced by 5 points for each class missed. If you miss more than 6 classes, I will ask you to drop the class because you will have missed a significant portion of the in-class work and discussion.

ACADEMIC HONESTY: Students are expected to adhere to all university guidelines concerning academic honesty and avoiding plagiarism. Sanctions for dishonesty can range from failing an assignment up to failing the course. See WOU Code of Student Responsibility, sections 574-031-0030 and -0040.

DISABILITIES ACCOMODATION: Students with any sort of documented disability should work with the Office of Disability Services [x88250/APS 405] in the first two weeks of the term to develop appropriate accommodation arrangements for this class.

ASSIGNMENTS: Please keep all work for WR 440 in a separate folder which you will always bring with you to class.

NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE MADE PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME (PRIOR MEANS A MINIMUM OF 24 HRS. BEFORE AN ASSIGNMENT IS DUE—THAT INCLUDES JOURNAL ENTRIES.

Reading Cards (4 x 6) : For each assigned reading, you need to do all of the following in order to receive full credit for the day:

1. date and number the card on the upper right hand corner

2. list 3-4 points from the reading that you found interesting (depending on the number of readings). For days when there are multiple readings assigned, do one card for all of them combined; please make sure you list points from all the readings.

3. on the back side of the card, write a short reflection reflection, using your personal experiences to connect to those key points.

Entries must be done before you come to class; we will use them to start the day’s discussion (and they will also serve as ‘evidence’ of attendance/participation)

Longer Assignments

Please note all of the following:

No paper will be accepted without in-class peer feedback on the day specifically set aside for that purpose. Drafts for peer review should be substantial—not lists but complete papers, close to length as the final piece.

When you turn in your papers, please include ALL prewriting, early draft, feedback.

For all your assignments, your audience is your peers (prospective teachers)

I. Teaching Writing: experiences and approaches

Level 2 Assignments

IN CLASS

• Teaching writing –first thoughts (in-class): what do you consider important aspects of writing? How will you teach them?
• End-of-term reflections on Teaching writing—looking into the future: Using the knowledge you have developed during the term through reading and reflecting about writing, you will need to revisit your ‘first thoughts on teaching writing; and revise the piece. Details TBA.

OUT OF CLASS

• Becoming a professional-- reading in the field: Choose one NCTE article about an issue on writing at your authorization level and (see pg. one for a list of journals) and write a summary for someone who hasn’t had a chance to read that article. Then, write a short comment on why you found these articles useful. The articles you choose must have been published within the past 5 years. (Total length: 2 pages)

Level 3 assignments

Reflective Essay on Writing Experiences : According to William Strong, “[Reflective] narratives help us develop insight, discover meanings in our experience;…they allow us to revisit experience and learn from it.” For this piece,you need to choose a specific writing event from your past that has shaped your relationship to writing as a writer and learner. Specifically, you need to tell the story of a time when writing went well for you or a time when writing was a complete disaster. Alternatively, if there hasn’t been a single defining event, think back to your writing experiences and the ways they have shaped your attitude as a writer and prospective teacher of writing.

Following William Zinsser’s advice, “think small—look for small [writing] incidents that are still vivid in your memory…Take whatever memory comes calling…The biggest stories have to do with significance—not what you did in a certain situation but how the situation affected you and shaped the person you became.” In other words, you will need to balance interesting autobiographical detail with the significance—the “so what”—of the experience. (4-6 double spaced pages—narrow focus)

II. Creating a Writing Assignment (Invidivual and Group project)

Analysis of mentor texts: Choose a text for craft analysis (appropriate to your authorization level) and create a lesson about writing based on the analysis of the mentor text. The craft analysis must include details on layout, text organization, sentence craft, punctuation choices—all are necessary. Your lesson must clearly teach us something about writing. (3-4 pages, level 3)

Group part: Using a writing website (i.e. ReadWriteTHink; writingfix.com), find a writing assignment appropriate at your authorization level. First, evaluate it in terms of writing theory and pedagogy. Then, revise it order to make sure it aligns with the ODE Standards, and do the following:

-develop explicit guidelines for prewriting, drafting, peer response and revision

- create explicit, assignment-specific evaluation standards that do not copy the ODE

standards but align with them

-“list” the theory that informed your assignment

Remember that, as Wood Ray says, “fun is not a sufficient reason in itself to include something in our writing curriculum; we have to know, theoretically, why an activity makes sense in our teaching.” (level 2)

GRADING: There are 250points possible: cards 40 points; in-class level 2 assignments: 50 points (25 points each); journal summary: 15 points; reflective essay 60 points; analysis of a mentor text 40 points; group assignment 30 points; feedback (15 points)

Optional (“extra credit”): Consult with a writing tutor during the drafting of your literacy narrative; write a one-page reflection on your experience (10 points)

JSTOR Articles (Hamersly Library/Online)

Sondra Perl, “Understanding Composing”

Carolyn Matalene, “Experience as Evidence”

Connors and Lunsford, “Teachers’ Rhetorical Comments on Student Papers”

Peter Elbow, “Ranking, Evaluating and Liking”

Nancy Sommers, “Responding to Student Writing”

Nancy Sommers, “Revision Strategies of Student Writers and Experienced Adult Writers”

Larry Beason, “Ethos and Error: How Business People React to Errors”

Please have readings done on the day they are listed.

MONDAY / WEDNESDAY
Sept. 29 Introduction; writing myths (in-class writing); Teaching writing—first thoughts / Oct. 1 History of the field; approaches to writing Ch. 4 Olson
Bring ODE Benchmarks and Standards to class
Oct. 6 NCTE Beliefs about the Teaching of Writing—in class work on ‘first thoughts’; Olson ch.1
Wood Ray 1-2 / Oct. 8 Wood Ray 2-5. Olson ch. 1
Teaching Writing—first thoughts due
Oct. 13 Prewriting
Perl Guidelines
Article Summary Due / Oct. 15 Olson ch. 9
Bring prewriting for in-class work (creating a collage )
[Teaching writing—first thoughts]
Oct. 20 Matelene, Perl; Olson ch. 11
Bring collage for revision; Sommers (Revision Strategies); response strategies
[Teaching writing—first thoughts] / Oct. 22 Reflective essay draft due for in-class collaborative work
Oct. 27 Wood Ray 6-8 Appendix E. Practicing Craft Analysis in class / Oct. 29 Reflective essay due –Wood Ray 9-10, Appendices A-C
Nov. 3 WAC—Olson ch. 6; bring book for craft analysis / Nov. 5 Olson ch. 12Grammar and writing:
[Teaching writing—first thoughts]
Nov. 10 Craft analysis due for in-class work / Nov. 12 Error analysis and sentence imitation
Beason
In-class group work on developing a Designing a reading/writing unit. Olson ch. 3, 10 (Heuristics/ models of reading/writing asssignments)
17 Craft Analysis Due Writing Assessment; Elbow. Responding to writing: Olson ch. 13; Sommers “Responding …” Connors & Lunsford / Nov. 19 Assessment continued; holistic scoring
Nov. 24 Presentation and critique of writing assignments / Nov. 26 Presentations and critique continued
Dec. 1 NO CLASSWriting assignments due in my office by noon / NO CLASS

Dec. 4 (2-8 p.m.) and Dec. 5 (8:30-4) : ODE Training and scoring

Dec. 10 (10-12) : FINAL CLASS: REVISED VERSION OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY DUE