Monday evening, December 6

Greetings. Below is a copy of the take home exam on The Unwanted, for your reference.
Also, a few more last minute items and reminders...
1. Take home final on The Unwanted due Wednesday in class.
2. For Wednesday, please bring ALL your graded work that I asked you to hold on to during the course of the semester, along with your grade worksheet.
3. Friday is our last day of the course. This is the day you will be giving a brief description of what you "chose" to represent the significance of home for YOU. Re-visit the original prompt posted on this blog if you are unsure of the details and requirements of this assignment. Ask questions SOON if you have any...:)
4. Out of class essays were returned today...that is, if you chose to drop by the classroom and pick it up. If you have NOT revised any of your out of class essays yet, and choose to revise this one, it is due to me no later than Monday of next week, December 13th. I cannot consider your revision UNLESS the original graded one is attached.
5. Since I will not be on campus on the 13th, nor we will be meeting during finals week, if you choose to submit a revision, please do the following...
* email me and let me know that you have placed a revision in my dept. mailbox.
* my dept mailbox is located in Calaveras, in the English Dept, Room 103. Ask a secretary if you cannot locate the mailboxes.


Name___________________________________________English 1A, Section_____

THE UNWANTED 100 points possible
IT IS NOT REQUIRED THAT THIS EXAM BE TYPED.
Please SKIP every other line. Thanks!

1. On separate sheets of lined paper, please respond in essay format to the following prompts:

SELECT A ‘CHARACTER’ FROM THE MEMOIR, THE UNWANTED. IN YOUR OPINION, WHAT CHARACTERISTICS 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. (50 POINTS)

2. WHICH SCENE IN THE BOOK AFFECTED YOU MOST DEEPLY? EXPLAIN HOW IT AFFECTED YOU AND WHY. (20 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. (3O POINTS)


EXTRA CREDIT (OPTIONAL)
1. 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)

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

Saturday, December 4th

I hope your weekend is going well!
Here is an update for Monday.
There will be no formal class held.
I will be in the classroom during the regular class time, though, so you can come by and pick up your essay 3 and Quiz 5.
On Wednesday, please come to class with your grade worksheets filled out.
Friday is our last class day and also the day we will be featuring oral presentations.

Friday, December 3rd

Hello everyone,

Just a quick reminder...
I have read through your Quiz 5 submissions and I really enjoyed hearing what many of you felt about reading The Unwanted. However, there were numerous unacceptable errors that I spotted. I did not deduct points; however, remember that the paper you write that accompanies your oral presentation next week will not be returned to you. You will earn the 100 points when you conduct your presentation and submit your essay, UNLESS there is an unacceptable error found in the paper. If so, you will receive no credit at all for the oral presentation.

Soooooo....
edit and proofread very carefully.

Tuesday, November 30th

Greetings...
Below you will find quiz 5, our last quiz of the semester. Please complete it out of class, typed. It is due on Friday, Dec. 3rd.

Quiz 5 (50 points)

In a brief but well supported and concise response, address the following question:
WOULD YOU RECOMMEND THE MEMOIR, THE UNWANTED, TO A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER? WHY OR WHY NOT? YOUR RESPONSE, OBVIOUSLY, WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER YOU FOUND THE BOOK OF ANY VALUE TO READ.

Wednesday, November 17

Greetings.
As you know, there will be our second in class essay happening on Friday.
Remember to bring a blue book and any notes you wish.
You will have the full 50 minutes to complete the essay.
Review your notes on how to write an in class essay that we discussed before our Daughter from Danang in class essay.
You will have three prompts to select from--and you will write on ONE.
The prompts will focus on these three things:
1. how would you complete the sentence...The film, Frozen River, is less about_______________and more about___________.
Explain thoroughly and specifically why you would fill in the blanks in that way.
2. is the film, Frozen River, a genuine, authentic film? Do Lila and Ray, the main characters, strike you as real and believable? Why or why not? Explain specifically.
3. write about a few of the symbols that appear in the film and seem to represent some of the possible themes in the film. One example might be the frozen St. Lawrence River. Another might be Lila's eye glasses. And...?

Also, if you wish to submit a rough draft for essay 3, I will accept them via email until 9 pm tomorrow evening.

Wednesday, November 10

Greetings!
Below is a copy of the out of class essay 3 assignment distributed today in class.




English 1A, Fall 2010
C. Fraga, Instructor
Course Theme: The Significance of Home

Out of Class Essay Assignment #3

Assigned: Wednesday November 10
Rough Draft due (optional) no later than Wednesday, Nov. 17
{please note: if you choose to submit a rough draft, it is due by next Wednesday. That allows you one week only. This is due to the Thanksgiving week holiday)
Due: Wednesday, Dec. 1

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 and 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, November 3--2nd posting for today

Hello,
Here is the assignment for Reading Packet #5, due to be completed on Friday.
Remember, there is a Q and C due for this assignment.

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.

Tuesday, November 2 -- around 530 pm

Greetings...
As you know, we are a bit behind due to my unforeseen absence from class last Friday.
So for tomorrow, Wednesday, November 3rd, we will be discussing Reading Packet #3 (which was assigned for Monday) and we will be discussing more of the handout about how to read an essay. Be sure to bring both items--Reading Packet #3 and the handout--to class tomorrow.
See you then!

Sunday, October 31st

Hello,
Packet #4 information below. This is due to be completed by Wednesday.
This is actually a video to view...it 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

Also, since class had to be cancelled on Friday, we will, as I mentioned in the blog from Friday, complete what was planned for Friday, tomorrow. That means Packet #2 is due to be read and we will have Journal #2.

Friday, October 29, 2010

Reading Packet #3, due to be read by Monday, November 1st

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

Happy Halloween...

I will post Reading Packets 4 and 5 over the weekend.

645 am...Friday, October 29, 2010

Good morning,
I truly apologize for such late notice. I realize most of you will not read this until it is too late.
I am going to have to cancel class today, Friday, October 29th.
I am having some unexpected transportation issues. :-)
We will complete what is scheduled for today...on Monday.
Have a safe weekend.

Thursday, October 28

Greetings,
below is a copy of the handout I distributed awhile ago--How to Critically Read an Essay.
Be sure to bring your copy to class tomorrow and/or until we complete our discussion regarding it.
See you tomorrow.


English 1A , College Composition I
C. 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, October 26th

Hello!

Here is the link for Reading Packet #2, due to be read by Friday, October 29th.

"Down & Out in Fresno and San Francisco"

http://www.esquire.com/print-this/down-and-out-0709?page=all

Be sure to print out the article and bring to class on Friday.

See you tomorrow!

Monday evening, October 25th

Good evening!
Just a few reminders...
1. Remember to write out or type out your working thesis statement and bring to class on Wednesday, Oct. 27th.
2. Be sure to bring the handout that we started to discuss in class today (How to Read an Essay) with you to class until we finish the discussion.
3. Check the blog every day for updates, assignments, changes, etc.
Have a wonderful and safe Tuesday.

Saturday evening, October 23

Good evening.

Reading Packet #1 is due to be read by Wednesday, the 27th.

Below is the title of the article to be read and the link to the article. 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

And of course, remember to print a copy of the article and bring it to class on Wednesday, the day it is due to be read.

Monday evening, October 18th, 830 pm

Hello,
I apologize, again, for the assumption this morning that you had already completed a journal assignment.
:-)

Also, I am including below a copy of the handout we discussed in class today.
See you Wednesday.

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).

Saturday, October 16

Hello, hope your weekend is going well.
Reminder...have the topic for essay 2 decided by Monday. To help you decide, be sure to do a bit of preliminary research to be sure there is adequate information available.

Friday, October 15, 2010--around 4 pm

Greetings!
I apologize for seemingly not allowing enough time for you to complete the quiz today in class.
In the past, 35 minutes has been sufficient, but it did not seem to be enough for many of you.
So, I am not going to even look at the quizzes this weekend.
I am going to give you time on Monday to look at your responses again and finish or at least double check your answers.
:-)

Wednesday, October 13th

Hello! Here is a copy of out of class essay assignment #2--assigned in class today.
And one more reminder...remember your Rules of Thumb textbook. If there are any of you that have not purchased this text, I highly recommend that you do immediately. :-)


English 1A, Sections 3 and 84
Fall 2010
Course Theme: The Significance of Home
Instructor: C. Fraga

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

Assigned: Wednesday, October 13
ROUGH DRAFT: If you wish to have me review a rough draft of this assignment, please submit it to me NO LATER Friday, November 5.
Due: Wednesday, November 10 (note date change on course outline)
(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.
• 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 Wikepedia 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.

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.)

Tuesday, October 12th

Greetings!
Please bring your Rules of Thumb book to class tomorrow AND Friday (October 13 and 15)
See you tomorrow!

Sunday, October 10th

Hello!
Hope your weekend has gone wonderfully.
A few things:
remember to bring your copy of Rules of Thumb to class tomorrow.
It is an open book quiz.
Also, a minor change in the schedule for this week.
We will not discuss your second out of class essay assignment until Wednesday.
See you tomorrow!

Sunday, October 3rd

Greetings! Hope your weekend is going along especially well.

A few reminders and to recap briefly what we discussed on Friday in class:

Remember a blue/or green book for Monday.
Pen or pencil is fine.
Bring along any notes you wish that you took during the movie and/or during class discussions--and from viewing any websites about the film.

You will be asked to write only on one prompt. The prompts will generally focus on the following:

1. Why did Heidi have the experience she did upon her return to Vietnam? And could it have been different?
2. Is this documentary, in your view, an effective or ineffective one?
3. What do you think Heidi's definition of "home" was before her travels to Vietnam? How do you think she would define "home" now?

Whatever prompt you choose, remember that you will want to be as specific as possible.

See you Monday!

Thursday, September 30th

Hello!
Here are the study questions for Daughter from Danang. Please print them out, read them over and consider articulate replies for each, and bring it along to class on Friday. See you then!


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?

Monday, Sept. 27th

Hello, I am posting the synopsis for "Daughter from Danang" just in case you misplace it. See you Wednesday for the second half of the film.

English 1A, C. Fraga----About the Film--Daughter from Danang (2002)
This documentary often upsets the viewers’ expectations of happily-ever-afters. It is a riveting emotional drama of longing for home, grappling with identity issues, and witnessing the personal legacy of war.
To all outward appearances, Heidi is the proverbial “all-American girl”, hailing from small town Pulaski, Tenn. But her birth name was Mai Thi Hiep. Born in Danang, Vietnam in 1968, she’s the mixed-race daughter of an American serviceman and a Vietnamese woman. Fearing for her daughter’s safety at the war’s end, Hiep’s mother sent her to the U.S. on “Operation Babylift”, a Ford administration plan to relocate orphans and mixed-race children to the U.S. for adoption before they fell victim to a frighteningly uncertain future in Vietnam after the Americans pulled out.
Mother and daughter would know nothing about each other for 22 years.
Now, as if by a miracle, they are reunited in Danang. But what seems like the cure for a happy ending is anything but. Heidi and her Vietnamese relatives find themselves caught in a confusing clash of cultures and at the mercy of conflicting emotions that will change their lives and their definition of home forever. Through intimate and sometimes excruciating moments, Daughter from Danang profoundly shows how wide the chasms of cultural difference and how deep the wounds of war can run--even within one family.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

Tuesday, Sept 21st

Hi, and happy last "official" day of summer--tomorrow is the first day of autumn!

A couple of things:
1. Reminder, no class Friday this week.
2. Since I will not be holding class on Friday to collect any rough drafts there may be, it is absolutely fine to email me your rough draft so I can review it over the weekend.

See you in class tomorrow. Be sure to bring the sample student essay I handed out on Monday.

Thursday, September 16

Hello! below is the out of class essay assignment #1 that I distributed yesterday in class.
Also, remember to bring your text, Mixed, to class tomorrow. See you then!


Eng. 1A, Sections 3 & 84, Fall 2010, Instructor: C. Fraga

ASSIGNMENT: OUT OF CLASS ESSAY #1
• Assigned: Wednesday, Sept. 15
• Rough Draft due, typed & dbl. spaced (optional): no later than Monday, October 4
• Due: Friday, October 8

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:

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

Sunday, September 12th

Greetings...hope your weekend has been enjoyable.
Just a reminder to be sure to bring your Rules of Thumb textbook to class tomorrow since it is an open book quiz.
See you tomorrow!

Tuesday, Sept. 7th

Hello!
Poetry Packet #2 consists of two prose poems.
We will discuss the definition of a prose poem in class on Wednesday.
There is a question and comment due for these two poems. 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 in the second posting.)

"Leaving Yuba City" by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
(I will provide a copy of this for you in class on Wednesday, Sept. 8)

Thursday evening, September 2nd

Hello, below you will find Poetry Packet #1. There are four poems to read for next Wednesday, September 8th. 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.



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)

Wednesday, September 1

Hello, below you will find a copy of two handouts from today's class: Unacceptable Errors and the Oral Presentation.

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.
***********************************************************************
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—Sections 3 and 84
Fall 2010
Instructor: Catherine Fraga

Oral Presentation Assignment

The Significance of Home
Assigned: First week of semester

Due: The last day of course, Friday, December 10th

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.

Monday, August 30, 2010--2nd post for the day

Hello, here is a copy of the Grade Worksheet I handed out in class this morning. You may want to print a copy of this one, as I made some minor changes. See you Wednesday!

Name_____________________________________________________________
English 1A, Sections 3 & 84, Fall 2010, Prof. Fraga
GRADE WORKSHEET-----1975 POINTS POSSIBLE
Stapler Check (25 pts.)
Friday, Sept.3—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

Monday, August 30, 2010

Hello, below is a copy of the course outline you received in class today.


FALL 2010, CSU SACRAMENTO
COURSE: English 1A: College Composition I
Section 3, MWF, 8-8:50 AM
INSTRUCTOR: Catherine Fraga
E-mail: sacto1954@gmail.com
Office Hours: CLV 149, MWF 11-11:50 AM or by appointment

CLASS BLOG: www.english1A3.blogspot.com

Prerequisites: Placement by examination OR successful completion of English 1 or its equivalent.
************************************************************************
REQUIRED TEXTS & MATERIALS
• Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience
Edited by Chandra Prasad
Publisher: W. W. Norton

• 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.

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.

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 (August 30-Sept. 3)
• 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 (Sept. 6-10)
• MONDAY, SEPT. 6, NO CLASS, LABOR DAY, CAMPUS WIDE HOLIDAY
• Read Poetry Packet 1 (Wednesday)
• In class Journal #1 (Wednesday)
• Read Poetry Packet 2 (Friday) Q & C #1 due today

Week Three (13-17)
• Quiz based on pgs. 2-60 in Rules of Thumb (Monday)
• Out of Class Essay #1 assigned today (Wednesday)
• Discussion: Reading and Evaluating the Short Story (Wednesday)
• Read: Introduction (pgs. 13-18) & “Footnote” (83-96) & “Gift Giving” (119-131) in Mixed (Friday)

Week Four (Sept. 20-24)
• Read: “Bing-Chen” (287-295) and “Caste System” (183-201) in Mixed (Monday) Q & C #2 due today
• Group Exercise #1 (Monday)
• Discussion: How to Evaluate a Documentary Film (Wednesday)
• Read: “The Non-Babylonians” (231-251) in Mixed (Friday)



Week Five (Sept. 27-Oct. 1)
• View 1st half of film in class (Monday)
• View 2nd half of film in class (Wednesday)
• Preparation for in-class writing next week (Friday)

Week Six (Oct 4-8)
• In class essay #1 (please bring a blue book to class, 8 ½” x 11”) (Monday)
• Read: “Unacknowledged” (157-182) in Mixed (Wednesday)
• Out of Class Essay 1 due today (Fri.)
• Group Exercise #2 (Friday)

Week Seven (Oct.11-15)
• 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 (Wed.)
• Read pages 136-149 in Rules of Thumb (Wed.)
• Quiz on pages 136-149 (see above) (Friday)

Week Eight (Oct. 18-22)
• Read: “Human Mathematics” (271-286) & “Falling Sky” (223-229) in Mixed (Monday)
• In class Journal #2 (Monday)
• Read: “My Elizabeth” (97-117) in Mixed Q & C #3 due (Wednesday)
• Read: “Wayward” (203-222) & “The Lost Sparrow” (297-308) in Mixed (Friday)
• Group Exercise #3 (Friday)

Week Nine (Oct. 25-29)
• Discussion: How to Read and Evaluate Essays (Monday)
• Read Essay Packet #1 (Wednesday)
• Read Essay Packet #2 (Friday)
• In class Journal #3 (Friday)

Week Ten: (Nov.1-5 )
• Read Essay Packet #3 (Monday)
• Read Essay Packet #4 (Wed.)
• Read Essay Packet #5--Q & C #4 due today (Friday)
• Group Exercise #4 today (Friday)

Week Eleven: (Nov.8-12
• If you have not already, begin reading The Unwanted. Please have pages 5-136 read by Friday of this week.
• Out of class essay #2 due today (Monday)
• Out of class essay #3 assigned (Wednesday)
• Discuss The Unwanted, pages 5-136 (Friday)

Week Twelve: (Nov.15-19)
• View film in class (Monday)
• Complete viewing of film in class (Wednesday)
• In class essay #2 on film viewed this week (Friday)

Week Thirteen: (Nov.22-26)
• Thanksgiving Holiday, Nov. 22 and 23, no classes

Week Fourteen: (Nov. 29-Dec. 3)
• 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 (Wed.)
• Group Exercise #4 (Wed.)
• Discuss The Unwanted in class (Fri.)
• Journal #4 in class (Fri.)

Week Fifteen (Dec.6-10) LAST WEEK OF INSTRUCTION
• Take home test on The Unwanted distributed today (Monday)
• Take home test on The Unwanted due today (Wednesday)
• Grade Sheet Check (Wed.)
• Oral presentations (Friday)
• Last class day (Friday)

Week Sixteen (Dec. 12-17) 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.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Welcome to English 1A, Section 3, 8-8:50 AM, MWF!!!
We will be using this blog during the semester to stay in touch.
I will be posting links to assigned readings...and posting handouts...etc.
It will be best to get in the habit of checking the blog daily.
I look forward to meeting all of you next week.
Meanwhile, please visit the bookstore and purchase your books. I have purposely kept the cost fairly low because I very much understand the financial issues of most college bound people!
While you are at the bookstore, please pick up a small travel sized stapler if you don't already have one, as well as two blue/or green books; you will need them for two in class essay assignments during the semester.

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Mixed: An Anthology of Short Fiction on the Multiracial Experience
Edited by Chandra Prasad

The Unwanted: A Memoir of Childhood
By Kien Nguyen

Rules of Thumb: A Guide for Writers (8th edition)
By Jay Silverman, Elaine Hughes and Diana Roberts Wienbroer

REQUIRED MATERIALS;

Lined notebook paper with a clean, straight edge.
Stapler
2 blue books (or green books)

***for those of you who are unfamiliar with what a 'blue book' is, there is a picture of one at the beginning of today's blog. They also can be green and thusly named 'green book'....they are simply several lined sheets of paper stapled together and they cost under a dollar each.