Blog #6

Weekly Blog due Monday, Oct. 24^th by 11:00 am (Class Time!)

Task 1: Post a draft of your Languages of Power and Resistance project
This is an "early" draft, so it can take many forms (e.g., a solid draft of the first page, individual paragraphs, a synthesis of your sources, etc.) Do make it coherent enough for us to be able to understand what you're up to and for you to revise it in class on Monday. (Length: about 400-500 words.)

Task 2: Incorporate the Pattern(s)-of-the-Week
As you write or revise your early draft, ensure that you experiment with at least one of the patterns-of-the-week below. Please put your pattern-of-the-week sentence(s) in bold, followed by brackets that identify the pattern (example below). Please end (or begin) your blog by letting us know why you're experimenting with your chosen pattern(s).  Include some type of commentary on this process: how well you thought you incorporated your pattern, what you're working on, what you're learning, and/or a question for clarification.
 

Patterns-of-the-Week

Pattern 1: A conjunctive adverb used to transition between two sentences. EX: I want to take a nap.  However, I have too much homework [the conjunctive adverb “however” points back to the sentence ahead of it to help transition between ideas; here the conjunctive adverb also emphasizes the last part of the sentence]

Pattern 2: A sentence with an appositive to emphasize or clarify a noun or noun phrase.  It should be set off with commas, dashes, parentheses, or colons.    EX: My oldest son, a pitiful patient, is sick again with the Pullman Plague [an appositive phrase to give a more detailed description of my son (note: this is a sentence I’ve used in the past; he’s fine right now)].

Pattern 3: A participle phrase (the –ing form of a verb used as an adjective) to describe the subject of the sentence (ideally a participle that doesn’t dangle).  EX inspired by Justin: Gleaming with light, the shell shone in the moonlight [a participle phrase to give a sense of action to the otherwise static shell].

Response

No response this time.  We’ll give each other feedback in class on Monday.

Blog #5

Weekly Blog due Wednesday, Oct. 12^th by 11:59pm

(Due to my absences, we will also have a blog 5b this week; keep reading until the end for more information.)

Task 1: Summarize and Respond to a Research Slam Article
Write about 500 words summarizing and responding to one of the Research Slam articles on Blackboard (in the Languages of Power and Resistance folder).  Here are some guiding questions to get you thinking (that is, don't just list out the answers to all these questions):

What new information did you learn?  Which perspectives might be new to you?  How does your own identity intersect with what you learned/read?  How does what you read connect to the Language Tea Party exercise we did in class?  How can teachers help resist dominant language practices in the classroom?  What are some specific challenges that you might face and how might you address those challenges (rather than just accept them)?  How does your article help you think about the curriculum that you might teach?  And how does your article help you think about your upcoming research project?  What do you want your research project to accomplish?  Etc.

Task 2: Incorporate the Pattern(s)-of-the-Week
For this blog, I actually want you to highlight/comment on the patterns that your author uses.  You might not know the official names for these patterns, but do your best to describe one or two of their patterns and the rhetorical effect the pattern has on the writing.

Otherwise, below is one pattern that you can experiment with for your own writing.  As always, please put your pattern-of-the-week sentence(s) in bold, followed by brackets that identify the pattern (example below).

Sample Pattern: Use of the colon to provide more detailed explanation (rather than just a list):  EX: “Lamont’s sketch was stick-figure simple: A red schoolhouse with brown students entering one door and exiting as white students at the other end of the building” (Christensen, p. 208) [what follows the colon both describes the simple stick figure drawing, but also highlights the complexities of the drawing].

Response to Blogs
As always, respond to two students' blogs.  This time, you get to pick.

AND BLOG 5b!  Due by class time on Monday, Oct. 17th
Simply post the references (in MLA or APA citation) for three sources that you might use for your Languages of Power and Resistance Project.  Remember that one should be a scholarly or peer-reviewed source.