Classroom Contributions RW5
Use the Search or Find function of your browser to look for keywords.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal
Task
Core Task = Achievement Portfolio
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The Achievement Portfolio described below follows the format developed
at the Valpo Center. During the course of the term, students work on creating
Achievement Portfolios. This includes an introduction essay, a reflective essay,
cover notes for the work included, classmates' evaluations, and a self-evaluation.
Students include work from their previous levels at INTERLINK for the purpose
of demonstrating progress. They have included such items as essays, tests, presentation
notes, listening notes, and personal artwork. The portfolios have many purposes.
One, they cause students to reflect on their own work and progress during their
time at INTERLINK. Two, they allow students the opportunity to express themselves
in their own words. Finally, they allow students to view their classmates' work
and reflect on it. They have been very successful since I have done them. Students
enjoy the work and they appreciate being given the opportunity to create such
a pr! oject. The teachers at this center have enjoyed reading the portfolios to
see a reflective, thoughtful side of the students that are often not visible,
to learn more about what some of the other teachers do in class, and to observe
how the students view their previous assignments. A sample timeline would be:
Week 3: Introduction Essay due, Week 5: Portfolio samples due, Week 7: Reflective
Essay due, Week 9: Portfolios due, reading of other portfolios and writing evaluations.
I would caution others against showing previous portfolios to the students early
in the process, since it could inhibit the creative process. Students need discover
what a portfolio is on their own, and to create portfolios that are their own,
in their own styles.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = Journal entries
Center = VU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Rachel Parroquin
E-Mail =
Report Text = We are using BECOMING A MASTER STUDENT as our main text. The book has a number of journal entries and action entries where the students reflect on what they are learning in the text. The assignments coordinate very well with what we are to do in the reflective journal.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-Mail Journals
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students were asked to write three e-mail journals a week, sending copies to all other students and instructor. I stressed beforehand why I was not going to correct them: that these were for practice expressing oneself in English, building the English brain muscles. Included in the three were responses to other students’ e-mails, so it became a kind of discussion. I read them and responded to some. Topics were to be less concrete and more abstract, less physical and more mental/emotional, as suggested in the curriculum. I gave a list of possible topics to get them started. I posted an e-mail of the week, which we discussed. Students were given 3 points for each e-mail, regardless of length or correctness. Some students participated much more than others. Most students had at least satisfactory participation, although one student chose not to send more than one. There were several lively and interesting discussions that were started. Most students seemed to enjoy the interaction, though at times the e-mails devolved into chatty letters. A satisfactory task.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = learning journal
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Elise Harbin
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Because our numbers were quite large for RW5 this term, I was collaborating with another instructor (Noel Evans) and in the past, she had used an e-mail discussion group as the journal task. Having felt overwhelmed by the paper journals created in the previous term and feeling the need to provide my students with other forms of feedback to their writing, we adapted this idea to our particular context. I had eight students and I divided them into two groups of four. I tried to divide them based on abilities, interests, and first languages. The students were required to write at least two e-mails each week and they had to send the e-mail to each member of their group and to their instructor. The e-mail could be on a topic that s/he initiated or it could be in response to something another student had written. While Noel and I never designated topics (unless it was in response to a field trip), we often encouraged students to respond to the topics that came up in class discussion or that were mentioned in their text (Becoming a Master Student). We also encouraged students to treat the e-mail as a forum for discussion and to respond actively to the writing of the other students in their group. I planned on reading each e-mail and then responding both to the content and to at least one issue (either expression or grammar, usually) and then depending on both my response and the issue deciding on whether or not it went just to the individual or to the entire e-mail group.
What actually happened was that while some of the students tried to initiate discussion with their e-mail journals, most of them waited until the end of the week and wrote two entirely unrelated e-mails. Another difficulty was that the e-mail journals tended to be quite short and the lack of typing skills, as well as the structure of the e-mail (i.e., lack of punctuation, e-mail lingo and spelling, lack of capitalization), sometimes made it difficult to recognize the true meaning of the writing and the true skill of the student. I responded to the e-mails as I planned and I also tried to ask questions or provoke discussion among the groups with my responses. Mostly (although there were two students who tried to use their e-mail journals as thoughtful responses to the class and to the other students’ writings) the students did not actively respond to my questions or to the discussion topics I tried to initiate. I also felt rather overwhelmed with the e-mail and with trying to respond to each e-mail by the end of each week, especially when they came all in one day.
I really like the idea of a discussion forum and as using journals as that forum. I also like to use e-mail in order to cut down on paper. However, in the future, I would possibly designate a topic and a specific time (rather than just saying 2 before Saturday) that each journal should be due. I would also put a stricter focus on length and on structure and I would perhaps require one of the e-mail journals to be in response to someone else’s e-mail journal. While the e-mail journal discussion groups did not go as I planned, some of the students really flourished in this format and produced some thoughtful writing on a variety of subjects and really began to develop their abilities of self-expression.
Another component of the course that I would consider a learning journal was the portfolio. This activity is a journal, reading, and writing task because it was cumulative of the entire term, but I think of it as more of a journal task because it was a reflective portfolio. Students were asked to choose at least three pieces of work from the term and were asked to revise at least one of these pieces. [They were also allowed to include and revise pieces of work from previous terms.] They were also asked to include a discovery wheel (from Becoming a Master Student), a reflective essay concerning their progress as a language learner and as a student in this past term, in their time at INTERLINK, and in general, and anything else they thought reflected their progress as a reader and writer of English. The students also had to attach cover notes to each piece that they included. The cover note needed to include the purpose of the assignment, why the student chose that particular piece, and what it showed about the student and his/her abilities. The portfolio also included a peer review from another student and a self-assessment of the student’s portfolio. I think this assignment helps to end the course on a positive and reflective note and it helps to remind students that the term was spent on more than just the research paper. Many of the students really enjoyed this part of the course and some of the portfolios were really reflective and insightful. I highly recommend having the students complete some kind of a portfolio.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task =
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Kara Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = We formed an egroup at egroups.com and I gave specific topics for each week. Various topics were successful in generating responses, others were not. Ss were not entirely engaged in this task for the following reasons; 1/3 of the class left to return to their countries, 1/3 were already overwhelmed CSM students, and the other 1/3 were close, inseparable friends who thought it was odd to e-mail each other. In hindsight, this task would have benefited more from in-class journal partner writing due to fragmented out-of-class realities.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = E-mail Journals
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = John B. House
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The students were assigned the task of writing three e-mail entries each week to their classmates and their instructor. The idea here was to provide them numerous opportunities to write in English about a variety of topics, and for the most part, it was successful. A couple of students had computer problems which hindered their participation at times, but generally the entries were interesting and relevant to what we had discussed in class that day or to the materials we had covered in their textbook, Becoming a Master Student. Most of the time I provided them with general topic ideas, such as to write about how their research was going for their research paper. Early in the term I asked them to write about the most or least interesting parts of chapters in the textbook that they had been assigned to summarize. I encouraged them to ask for advice from their classmates if they were having problems with any aspect of the course, such as gathering sources for t! heir research papers, and it worked well. They used the journals to question or comment on items we had discussed in class, and we discussed many of the entries in class later. Periodically I printed entries out and corrected them, but could not do it for all of them, as it would have been simply overwhelming. The students seemed to enjoy discussing what their classmates had written, and they were happy to write three e-mails a week. I believe that to be the ideal number of entries for them.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = Electronic Web Portfolios
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = Year = 2001
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term instead of paper-based achievement portfolios, the student created their portfolios on a web site and published them. First, I learned how to use MS FrontPage to create web pages. This is a very easy to use program, especially for those already familiar with MS programs. I created a template for the students to use to create their personal web pages. I intended to give the students the template on a disk, but it turned out that it was too big for a regular floppy, so the students purchased zip disks (about $10) to save their work. The students then began creating their web pages using the software. We had a couple of classes in the computer lab where they were able to work on their own pages and I could help them with problems. The students used the university scanners to scan their previous work onto their web pages. Once we all figured out how that worked, it was an easy task. The students were required to finish and publish their web pages du! ring the final week of the term, and then view and evaluate classmates web pages. However, there were a few problems: 1. One student who was not at all techno-savvy had a great deal of difficulty completing this project. 2. I needed to spend a lot of time in the computer lab both creating the templates for the students and helping them along the way because the staff computers did not have the software or the memory capability to run this kind of project. 3. The support staff at the university was not really able to help us with many of the problems that we encountered. It turned out that the students and I could figure out the answer faster on our own. Overall, I think this was successful for the first attempt at this project. Two students were really excited about creating their own web pages and made creative and interesting web pages. The fact that the web server limits the size of the web page made the students choose what to include very carefully, so the portfol! ios were better than in the past. In addition, the student! s were able to share their portfolios immediately with friends and family around the world, which brought them immense satisfaction.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = Learning Journal
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Julie Dean Jones
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I used our academic non-fiction book (Ellis, Dave. Becoming a Master Student. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. ISBN: 0-395-98149-2) to supply most of the journal topics. The text includes many prompts which encourage students to reflect on their learning. Other prompts came from specific issues that arose in class. Assignment on syllabus: The purpose of the Learning Journal is to provide an opportunity for you to reflect on some of your most significant thoughts, realizations, and insights about your learning experiences. In addition to intellectual growth, this is an opportunity to improve your writing skills. The emphasis is on developing fluency and ease in writing, rather than grammatical accuracy or structure and organization. You will write in your Journal 2-4 times per week. Most of the topics will come from Becoming a Master Student (see pages 10-13). Your entries may be handwritten or typed, but they must be collected together in some kind of notebook or folder. You will turn in your entire Journal twice—once before the midterm exam and again at the end of the term. It will be evaluated in terms of completeness and the degree of thoughtfulness and reflection in your writing. Evaluation: I graded the journals according to the system below, with a maximum of 4 points per entry. I also wrote comments and questions on post-it notes on the actual journal entries. Sometimes I suggested that students develop certain entries further and include them in their portfolios. 4 points--The entry showed outstanding insight and creativity. The meaning was clear. 3 points--The entry showed satisfactory consideration of the topic. The meaning was clear. 2 points--The entry answered the question(s) completely but did not demonstrate engagement with the writing, and/or the meaning was not always clear. 1 point--The entry did not follow instructions or answered questions only on a superficial level, and/or the meaning was not always clear. 0 points--The entry was missing.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Journal Task
Core Task = Learning Portfolio
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Nadine Nicholson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This term the RW5 students worked on expanding their web-based portfolios from level 4, which contained mostly personal information, by adding an achievement and reflection section about their English-language and INTERLINK learning experiences. I began the task by handing out and discussing an outline of the overall content of the project and specific guidelines for the introduction essay, reflective essay, and cover note sections. Students were given an overnight assignment to look at at least five other former students' websites from a list provided, and answer the following 3 questions in essay form: 1. After looking at these online portfolios, what do you think the purpose of the portfolio is? What are the different parts of the portfolio? 2. What are some things students did well in their portfolios? 3. What are some things you would like to do better in your portfolio? This activity clearly introduced the project to students, showed them a variety of formats, encouraged them by seeing previous students' work, and highlighted areas to use or avoid themselves. The essays were then collected and students discussed their findings and opinions in class, followed by a survey about their current knowledge and understanding of the different parts of the project and of their level of specific computer skills. According to student response, I organized and set up a computer skills class specifically for their needs with the Indiana State University computer training staff which focused on refreshing and furthering their FrontPage skills from level 4, by teaching them how to: 1. Open and edit their existing web pages 2. Add new pages and rename them 3. Use a scanner, put images into web pages, and modify them 4. Create hyperlinks between pages and to sample documents 5. Alter/edit backgrounds and text or font styles This workshop was very highly received and gained very positive feedback from students. Throughout the term students continued to work on and develop their own sites, a grading rubric was given and gone over, and two class periods were held in the computer lab to cover specific individual questions about formatting and content. Students were required to submit paper copies of their introduction essays and one sample section from either a CS or an RW class for peer review and comment, and then to me for comments on content, spelling, and grammar. During the second computer lab session, students were paired with a partner and continued to self-edit and peer-edit for content and form. I found the students were very receptive to the peer interaction when working a partner (who had been chosen by me as having complementary skills) and made marked improvement. Students were allowed to turn in other sections of their portfolios to me on a voluntary basis for assistance in editing; however, specific deadlines for other portions of the project were not given in order to encourage students to develop time management, organizational, and self-editing skills. After receiving final grades and comments on their work, students answered a final reflective survey with the following questions: 1. What have you learned from completing this portfolio project? 2. What skills that you learned do you think you will need to use again in the future? 3. If you had to do this project over again, what would you do differently? 4. What suggestions do you have for your teacher to do differently next time? After writing their answers, students discussed their ideas in a large group and agreed that they had learned many valuable skills about computers, self-reflection, their own linguistic progress and weaknesses, and the value of completing several drafts and of self-editing. Some learned the final lesson by the contrast of the more strict structure they had in completing the research paper where many specific drafts and deadlines were given. Sample portfolios (with varying areas of strength): http://sapphire.indstate.edu/~il-wchen http://sapphire.indstate.edu/~il-nalao http://sapphire.indstate.edu/~il-okuwa
course: RW
level: 5
category: Journal Task
core+task: Learning Journal
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2004
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Here at VU, we are using Newsweek for the RW 5 Reading Task (see previous cyber reports for details). This term, I connected the Learning Journal with the reading assignments and I think this was effective. It developed the students� fluency in writing, encouraged reflective writing about �ideas and abstractions,� and facilitated their reading comprehension. I based this assignment on the �Reading Response� journal suggested in Newsweek�s supplemental ESL materials, although I modified it to better suit our curriculum. Students wrote responses to the ideas they read in Newsweek. At the top of the page, they gave wrote an MLA-format citation for the article. Then, on the left side of the paper, they copied quotations that they selected from the article, with the page number in parentheses. On the right side, opposite the quotation, they wrote their reflections on the ideas. Students could respond either to the quotation�s content or writing style, or both. I asked them to respond to at least five quotations, from at least two different articles, each week. Sometimes students would take an article that we had discussed in class and continue the discussion. Sometimes they would choose an article that was not assigned but that they wanted to explore further.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Journal Task
core+task: Journal
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2005
instructor: Elizabeth Ito
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: The journal core task for RW5 is similar to the other levels, with the exception that at this level the students are encouraged to move from more concrete, �what-I-did-today� entries to more abstract topics. The bookstore that stocks our textbooks gives away free �blue books� (simple notebooks usually used for writing exams). I have the student pick one up at the beginning of the term to use as a journal. I remind the students that journal-writing emphasizes fluency over mechanical accuracy and in that way differs from the more formal writing done in the course. The students usually write in their journals for 20 minutes twice a week in class, and I also use journaling as an out-of-class make-up assignment.
I usually assign them a topic that is related to what we are studying but is open-ended enough to allow them to go in many different directions. Because we focus on argumentation in this level, one of their early topics is to describe a time that they tried to persuade someone. Another is to have them do prewriting strategies (e.g., brainstorming, free writing, clustering) in order to generate ideas for an essay or to narrow their essay topic. During their research project, I have them write about the topics that the other students have chosen for their papers. The purpose is both to emphasize that thinking and writing are iterative and dialectical and to highlight the communal aspects of academic research. And finally, another possible journal assignment is to have them respond to a text they have read either in or out of class
When they finish, I either collect the journals to read and write a very short response or at the next journal-writing session, they switch journals with a classmate, who writes a response. I tell the students that part of their response should include questions they might have about unclear passages, e.g., �What did you mean by �blahblahblah�? Did you mean blahblahblah or blahblahblah?�
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task =
Academic reading and Reading Discussion Group Leader
Center = ISU
Semester
= Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail
= [email protected]
Report Text = In addition to reading articles and
book chapters for the research paper, each student was required to be reading
discussion leader three times during the term. They were given a grade for the
final time. Students chose articles that were related to their research paper
topic and were responsible for either copying the article or emailing it to their
classmates the day before the reading discussion. On the day of the reading discussion,
the leader gave a summary of the article, the key points, and explained some difficult
vocabulary. After that the leader asked questions to the rest of the class. Questions
were both factual and thought questions. Following the reading discussion class,
each student wrote a summary of the article. While this was an effective project
overall, I believe having the leader write an outline for the class beforehand
would help the other students comprehend the article. I would also suggest the
teacher preview the article to avoid! having students choose one that is excessively
difficult. In addition, having them lead three times was possible with a small
group, but would not work if the class size were bigger than five. I would suggest
two times (one for practice and one for real) for a larger class size.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Academic non-fiction
Center = VU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Rachel Parroquin
E-Mail =
Report Text = There are 3 types of reading that we do for this.
1)Text: BECOMING A MASTER STUDENT, an excellent text for study skills, academic prep., time management, goal setting, reading/ writing, etc. I highly recommend the book. We work through the text, taking advantage of the web links and interactive nature of the assignments. The students have had very positive feedback.
2)RADs: Research Article Discussion groups. Students do initial research for their research papers and then lead a seminar type class where they prepare the materials (with the teacher's approval on the topic, questions, etc.) and then lead the class. All students must read and think about the material ahead of time. As a follow up, students write summary reaction essays about the article. See
3) Research for the research paper. Student do fairly extensive research on a topic from their area of study or their profession and write an 8-10 page paper based on their research.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Academic Non-Fiction
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I was reluctant to assign much reading in addition to that the students were doing for their research papers. For academic reading skills, we practiced reviewing a table of contents, finding the main topic and important information quickly. Together we read several short magazine articles of interest to all students (hopefully) and discussed both form and content. We also read three short editorials about international affairs. Time available after the obviously needed writing skills practice seemed extremely short. I would like to do more reading skills development, using on-line resources as much as possible.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Reading Discussion Group
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The RW 5 students led reading discussion groups as they have done in the past. This time, however, I required students to prepare an outline of the article and a typed vocabulary list to give to classmates before the discussion.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Academic Non-Fiction
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Kara Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Non-Academic Fiction/Discussion Each student took turns choosing an article and preparing questions for it. We met every Tuesday at a local coffee shop to discuss the article and the questions. The results were mixed. The relaxed atmosphere brought out students’ ideas and leadership skills, but the scientific articles brought by CSM students were largely unintelligible and irrelevant to the non CSM-bound students, and vice-versa.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Non-Fiction Reading Task
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Haeseler
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = RW 5 students still need practice in reading, summarizing and paraphrasing.My students buy The New York Times every Monday, skim the summary page and then select as a class the three articles which they will read, summarize in one paragraph and write a response to for that coming week. They are expected to take their summaries to the Writing Center before filing them into their portfolio. They do this every week until the last two weeks of the term when the research paper crunch occurs. Sometimes I take a look at the portfolios midterm to make sure they are keeping up. The last week they hand in their portfolio for which they receive an overall grade. In the beginning, students find this task difficult due to the complexity and sophistication of the language in the NY Times; however, with time and practice students get better and faster. They told me it is good preparation for writing the 10-page research paper. Further, by reading the news, they get ideas for possible research paper topics.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Academic Non-Fiction
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The Reading Discussion Group was a very successful project. For this activity, I began by modeling what I wanted the students to do. I selected an article on the general topic of their research papers (disasters) and asked them to read it. In class the next day, I pointed out important vocabulary, summarized the article orally, and asked discussion questions. This took about one half of the class. During the second half, each student wrote a 200 to 300 word summary. Then each of the students chose either an article for their research paper or any article of interest to them, and followed the same procedure. Each student was the teacher for a day. The leader also wrote a summary. There are many advantages to this format. First, the student who is leading the discussion develops responsibility and presentation skills. Second, the students in the audience learn to ask very good questions because they know they need certain information to write a good summar! y. Third, the repetition of the task (eight times if you have eight students, for example) really improves their summary writing skill. Several of the students commented that this was a valuable learning experience for them.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Research Article Discussions
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = John B. House
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = We spent approximately the first half of the term working on the textbook, Becoming a Master Student, and students were assigned chapters to read and then told to pick out interesting and important information from their chapters, summarize it, and present it orally to the class. Those activities were helpful preparation for the Research Article Discussions which followed. The students were told to choose an article they had found while doing research for their research paper; read it thoroughly; write a summary of it; prepare a list of important vocabulary, which included writing the part of speech and a definition; and a list of discussion/thought questions. Models of this task were copied and passed out beforehand to familiarize students with what the written form should look like, and articles were cleared with me for length and difficulty before the student was allowed to begin working on it. Two class days before their scheduled discussion, the students! had to submit copies of their article and all the corresponding written work to all their classmates in order to allow everyone time to prepare for the discussions. This task went very well overall, and supplied us with some fascinating discussions about several interesting topics. Each student was responsible for leading one discussion, and in effect was the teacher of the class for that day. I provided some coaching at times, such as to help the discussion leader better involve all his/her classmates, but was able to sit back and listen most of the time. The students put a lot of time into preparing their materials for the discussions, and I was pleased with their efforts.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Reading Article Discussions
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = In addition to reading and studying the academic preparation text, Becoming a Master Student, and reading other academic texts, the students led and participated in Research Article Discussions (RADs). The RAD is a discussion in which the students are the leaders, not the teacher. This is similar to a common type of course in college called a "seminar," which is a common format in university and graduate school courses in the U.S. More specifically, in a Research Article Discussion, students research a topic, summarize their findings, and lead an organized class discussion on the topic. The topics for the RADs in RW5 were determined by the topics of their research papers; the students incorporated the articles for their RADs into their research papers. The students wrote two essays which incorporated outside research, a 3-4 page Argumentative Essay and a 6-8 page I-Search paper. In the Argumentative Essay, they must choose issues that interest them and write an essay supporting their positions on these issues. Furthermore, they must support their positions with clear objective reasoning and outside evidence, statistics, data, and quotes from experts. They needed a minimum of three cited sources, and they were required to use the MLA format for their Works Cited page and in-text citations. The I-Search Essay is an investigative process during which the students attempt to satisfy a curiosity, answer questions that they raise, and come to conclusions about their topics. In this 6-8 page paper, they explore a possible future major, field, career, occupation, profession, vocation, or business opportunity. Their papers must depend heavily on the critical evaluation of primary and secondary sources; they need a minimum of six cited sources, including at least two personal interviews and at least four traditional sources (e.g., books, magazines, and/or articles from research databases); furthermore, they are required to use the MLA format for their Works Cited page and in-text citations.
The students could use any written material they preferred for their RADs-a newspaper, magazine article, or book excerpt. They also could use an internet source, but it had to be approved by me in advance. The students had to summarize the article, study the vocabulary in it and be able to explain it to the class, and make a list of discussion questions about the topic so they could lead a discussion about it. The articles they chose had to contain complex ideas and some new vocabulary; however, they had to keep in mind that if the articles were too difficult, their classmates might have a hard time discussing their topics. The students had to turn in the completed RAD Outlines at least two days before their scheduled RAD days. I then made copies of them for everyone in the class, which I handed out the next class. Students were required to read their classmates outlines and prepare for the discussions. Students were evaluated by both the quantity and quality of their participation in these group discussions. Students must actively exchange ideas and opinions. To assist the students, I provided an example RAD for them, so they would know what format and style to use.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Academic Nonfiction
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Dean Daniel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students participated in Barnes and Noble University online course "Becoming Human." The course lasted six weeks with lessons posted twice a week. There were two textbooks, but we bought only one of them, and this caused no problem. The professor was a curator at the National Musuem of Natural History. (An earlier offering of the course was taught by the author of the textbooks. )The lessons were similar to the lectures that the professor would have given had the course been live rather than online. Since the textbook was very challenging, students found the lessons quite useful in helping them with comprehension. There were about 120 students participating in the course, and there was lively discussion on the message board. My students posed questions on the message board and received prompt, and for the most part, helpful replies. There was also a website, "Becoming Human", with a film and lots of other related information and links.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Non-Fiction Reading
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2002
Instructor = Lynn Bergschneider
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = This is really a journal/non-fiction combined core task. At the beginning of the term I took my students to a used bookstore which carries lots of non-fiction and textbooks. They were asked to select a non-fiction book on any topic but it had to be academic in focus and published after 1995. I suggested they read a few pages to see if the book was right for them (challenging/not overwhelming, specific enough/not to specific, etc.). I was there to help them decide and I did rule out mass-marketed self-help books (Who moved my cheese? ) I gave them plenty of time to look around and also tried to find books for them...knowing what their interests were. After they selected the book, they had to make a reading plan for the book over the term - at least 40 pages per week. I kept a copy of this plan on file. Each week the students wrote in their journals (a separate booklet for this purpose). In the journals, they talked about what interested or surprised them in their reading, and they had to say how it might be useful to them in the future and their academic/personal life. In addition to the two short journals (I said write for 15-20 min twice a week) they had to do a summary of the reading each week. They could choose the most interesting or useful part and summarize (i.e. not all 40 pages). During the term, each student was required to put their summary on an overhead one time and present to the class. Then the class asked questions about content and looked at the summary for accuracy. This process seemed to work really well. The students were challenged by their books but were also interested in the topic. The journals were really revealing. Most students had prior work/academic experience and they were able to articulate how it was useful. At the end of the term, I asked for feedback in the form of suggestions for students (in case I do this again). Their recommendations were as follows...1.) Don't choose a recommendation book/opinions are better, 2.) Not too specific 3.) Choose a book you h! ave basic/background knowledge about 4.) Choose a current book - the more recent the better - esp. in computer/tech field 5.) Think of what you might do last research paper on when choosing book and 6.) Argumentative books are easier to write journals about. (Some of these we did discuss before, so I would put this list on a handout with instructions and say they are from previous students..to make it stick more? or at least to carry with them when going to the store. I would definitely do it again..especially with a mature group with strong language skills.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Reading Task
Core Task = Reading Discussion Leader (& vocabulary)
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Nadine Nicholson
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Randy Green and I jointly presented this core task to our two sections of the class by first going over the format and expectations with a handout, then leading a sample reading discussion, and randomly assigning the 12 students individual dates for discussions on Tuesdays or Fridays throughout the term. Students were then allowed to select articles on their own, with teacher approval based mainly on length and academic-level vocabulary. They were required to write a summary of the article to be handed in to the teacher before their discussion. In addition, they were required to develop a discussion outline containing key points, vocabulary words, and discussion questions based on the article or personal opinions, which they also went over with the teacher beforehand to aid in clarity and accuracy. During the discussions teachers remained largely silent at the back of the room observing and taking notes, interrupting only to correct flagrant errors or aid in explanation. Vocabulary lists were prepared from a compilation of 3 student discussion articles, reviewed, and tested for student understanding of meaning and use in context. If I were to teach this class again, I would follow the same format but more closely stipulate the types of articles to be used by insisting that they be in paragraph form rather than the sentence-by-sentence form found in some news reports or internet sources, in order to increase exposure to academic-level text likely to be found at the university level. I would also supplement vocabulary with exercises from other outside sources. With a smaller class, I would allow each student to lead two reading discussions apiece to allow for further learning and skill development.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Reading Task
core+task: Academic Non-fiction
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2003
instructor: Elise Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In addition to using Becoming a Master Student as class presentation and discussion material and to reading academic texts for our research papers, each student also selected and read a textbook related to his or her field of study. The purpose of this assignment was to prepare students for the reading load and the reading assignments in their university classes. Most of the work for this assignment was done outside of class. Once a week I individually discussed each student’s progress with the reading. The original plan was for the midterm and final exams to include questions for each individual from his/her textbook. In the beginning, each student had to have the textbook and a term reading plan approved. The students were encouraged to plan at least five pages of reading per day. Each week they were to do the following:A)Read the planned pages. Take notes. B)Prepare vocabulary for each week’s reading. C) Put these vocabulary on notecards with the word on one side and the definition or example on the back. D) Prepare and/or use comprehension questions from the text. Answer these questions and give a copy of the quesitons and answers to your instructor. E)Prepare a short summary of each section or chapter. The questions, vocbulary, and summaries were due each Friday during which we had a writing workshop so there was time to meet with each student about the progress and extent of their individual reading. The students also had to be prepared to share/discuss aspects of their reading, including the content, text organization, study aides, and vocabulary, throughout the term. Originally, I thought this individualized reading program would be useful because it would help provide exposure to a variety of reading materials, meet individual needs of a student based on field of interest and skill level, help students be independent learners with self-selected short-term and long-term goals. I also thought it would help to make the assessment process more authentic for each individual. I originally planned to photocopy the questions and vocabulary that the students prepared so that it would be very easy to prepare an exam specifically for each students. Unfortunately, success was somewhat limited and really depended on the individual’s ability and desire to be an independent learner. One student exceled with the independent reading assignment and her research skills and confidence flourished because of it. Other students were not able to truly benefit because they did not make the reading a daily or even weekly activity and instead tried to “play catch up” every few weeks. I would recommend trying it again, but perhaps with an overriding skill or theme that could be directly connected to in-class work and the student’s work outside of class. I would also try to be much stricter with independent text selection.. I was able to try this assignment this term because we have collected a variety of academic texts throughout the terms. Of course, access to a variety of academic texts made attempting this individualized, independent reading much easier.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Journal Task
core+task: Learning Journal
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2004
instructor: Elise Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
Because this term coincided with Valpo Reads a Book, a community one book reading project, we read Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom) in addition to the non-fiction reading the students were doing for independent study and for their research projects. Because we were reading on a regular basis, I made the journal task have two aspects. Students were instructed to write every day. They could choose, though, to write in response to the reading they were doing, specifically Tuesdays with Morrie or an academic textbook related to their field, or to write a learning journal in response to learning experiences they were having or have had. Students needed to write a minimum of two entries for each focus; but if a student really enjoyed writing reading journals, s/he could write five reading response entries and two learning response entries and vice versa. I found that by giving the students a choice, but still having a topic focus really increased the frequency, the d aily quantity and the quality of the journals. The reading entries were particularly strong and by responding to their daily reading, students were able to do better analysis in other formal writing assignments.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Reading Task
core+task: Non-fiction
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2004
instructor: E. Harbin
e-mail: [email protected]
This term our center subscribed to Newsweek for our combined 4/5 class. While challenging for level 4, it was a good text selection for level 5 as it was generally high-interest for the students and it related to their lives. Newsweek was also a good selection because the educational subscription comes with a variety of support materials including a weekly study guide written for each new issue. In the study guide there are discussion questions, class projects, writing tasks, and activities dealing with cartoons and graphics. During the fall, the study guide includes a weekly quiz over the entire issue, though each study guide generally focuses on 4-5 articles each week. Some parts of the study guide can be accessed on newsweekeducation.com, but others come via e-mail because of our subscription.
This text worked so well in RW 5 because it allowed us to work more on paraphrasing, synthesizing material from a variety of sources, and analyzing writing for tone, quality, and hidden meanings. We were also able to do a lot of vocabulary work and to do informal and formal writing assignments connected to Newsweek. Our research project also came out of our reading of Newsweek.
The disadvantages of using this text are the large amount of weekly preparation that really has to be individual to each issue and the large amount of background knowledge many students need in order for some basic comprehension. I adapted the prepared study guide quite a bit so that it would fit our students and because it was summer there were no quizzes and I prepared individual questions each week based on our class and home work. Overall, I would consider this text a success and we plan on trying it again in the coming term.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Reading Task
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Julie Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Our RW 5 students subscribe to Newsweek for the reading project. It is a weekly magazine, so I would distribute it to students on Thursday or Friday. We would discuss selected articles Monday through Thursday (depending on our work with the research paper and on the interest/usefulness of that week�s articles). Students would use the reading as a basis for their journals, which I would collect every Friday. There would also be a quiz on Friday. In the past, I would prepare true/false, multiple choice, and short-answer questions about the articles that we had discussed in class. The problem, however, was that students would answer based on what they had gleaned from the class discussion. It often was not measuring their actual reading comprehension. This term I changed the quiz format. On Friday, I would give them a copy of one of the articles (or an excerpt from a longer article) that we had read. They then had twenty minutes to write a formal summary of it. I intentionally limited the time so that they would have to have read and understood the article prior to the quiz. Students didn�t know which article would be chosen, so that helped motivate them on all of the reading assignments. I then graded the summaries on reading comprehension, summarizing skills (paraphrasing, identifying main ideas, etc.), language use (grammar and vocabulary), and mechanics. This approach did require me to spend more time grading the quizzes over the weekend, but took much less time to prepare each week. I think that the quiz score provided a more accurate assessment of their reading comprehension and also assessed their writing ability. I am attaching the rubric that I used to grade the summaries.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Reading Task
core task: Academic Reading
center: VU
semester: Summer
year: 2007
instructor: Maria Avtgis
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: In an effort to improve the reading comprehension and vocabulary retention of our students, the three sections of our RW5 classes led weekly discussions of Newsweek articles.
The weekly cycle began by each teacher assigning three to five articles for the students to read over the weekend. On Monday, the students came to class with a list of questions and target vocabulary for each article. At the beginning of class, each of the three teachers divided their class into three groups. Each group became the �experts� for a specific article and joined the groups from the other two classes to closely read through �their� article. The teacher facilitating in his/her room was instructed not to �teach� the content of the article but to be there to talk the students through any difficult language. The students grouped themselves into dyads or small groups of three or four students. By the end of the class period, the students were expected to know the article well enough to present the content and facilitate a half-hour discussion within their �home� class on Thursday. By Thursday, each student was required to represent the content of their article in writte n form and make a copy for every student in the class.
The expert students came to class on Thursday with outlines, graphic organizers, �the ten most important statements in the article,� student-written quizzes, and lists of target vocabulary to name a few. The expert students referred to their visual periodically during the discussion but were required to take the students back into the article throughout their discussion. This requirement kept the students reading and rereading complex sentence structures and recycling targeted vocabulary during their discussion. During these student-led discussions, the teachers were instructed to remain quiet so as to make it necessary for the students to prepare sufficiently.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing
Task
Core Task = Research paper
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Rachel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Assignment: 6-8 pp. research paper with in-text citations and Works
Cited list done according to MLA style.
Week 2: Choose a topic related to
student's major or profession. Library instruction by VU librarian on research:
on-line and print. Locate an article to be used for the Research Article Discussion
which is the initial research done for the paper. In class, demonstrate the process
of working out a schedule backwards from the due date for intermediate deadlines;
at end of class, handout a schedule with dates.
Week 3: Narrow topic to a
specific focus. Continue library research; locate and evaluate a preliminary list
of at least 5 sources. Begin notecards. (Instruction on types of cards: summary,
paraphrase, quote, information, student's ideas.) Write a working thesis.
Week 4: Continue reading and making note cards. Conference with teacher on progress,
topic. Class time in library for research; meet with students, assist in searches.
Students submit a rough outline for approval.
Week 5: Complete research.
Review outlining. Students submit an outline. Finish reading sources and making
notes.
Week 6: Submit 1st draft; bring 2 copies to class. Discuss and model
peer review--purpose and method. Do peer-review with one copy while teacher reads
the other. Focus on organization of ideas--CONTENT. Use comments to revise for
2nd draft. Teach MLA citation style using on-line site.
Week 7: Submit 2nd
draft, complete with Works Cited list. Peer review again. Focus on grammar and
mechanics.
Week 8: Submit final draft.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Writing Task: Research Paper-10-15 Page library research paper
Week 1: Decide group topic of the research paper.
Week 2: Decide individual topics and have library orientation by ISU library staff
Week 3: Continue research and have research conference with teacher
Week 4: Working thesis and outline due, 5 annotated bibliography entries due
Week 5: First section of research paper due, 5 annotated bibliography entries due
Week 6: First draft of research paper due
Week 7: Research paper conference with teacher
Week 8: Research paper due
I think the process and organization of the assignments for the project are good. The annotated bibliography replaced writing note cards, and it seems to work fairly well. However, I still find that the students are working on their citations at the last minute and often cannot remember where the information came from! I would suggest having students cite information in their bibliography entry in order to alleviate this problem.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2000
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Students were asked to choose a topic in their CSM field or if non-CSM students, a topic of interest to them. CSM students were all happy to work on something in their field. Two non-CSM topics were integrated with the CS5 independent study project (Down’s Syndrome and Unwed Mothers). The third non-CSM student was in level 4 CS and chose the topic Water in Colorado. Two of the CSM students chose a very technical topic with limited information available. I let them go ahead with it, but it gave them difficulty throughout the project. Students were asked to buy the Bedford Handbook, and also each borrowed a research paper writing book, for reference at home. After choosing topics, we worked on narrowing the topics to an appropriate scope. Students then wrote an outline. I suggested using note cards, but did not require it. Then students worked out of class on their first draft, while in class we worked on summarizing, paraphrasing, direct quotes and how to choose which of these to use when. We also worked on introductions, transitions, logical development, and supporting a topic, both at the paragraph and paper level. When I received the first drafts, I concentrated on the above points when evaluating. I focused on the big picture, not the fine grammar points. I did highlight basic grammar errors, however, but left them unidentified. When students received their first draft back, first they worked on identifying and correcting the basic grammar errors I had marked (to “clean up the noise”). Then we worked together on editing, their own work and other students’. We spent quite a bit of time on editing for clarity and conciseness, highlighting the differences between engineering style writing and more popular, literary style writing. We reviewed attributions, citations and format before they tackled the second draft. Although I had been told by the CSM Writing Center that the IEEE format was the most commonly used in the various departments, two of the three graduate students said their department did not use it. So, I gave them the choice to use another format if they were familiar with it and stressed the importance of being consistent and being able to follow a specific format, regardless of which format it is. In reviewing the second draft, I looked more closely at details. I was pleased to see that most students went way beyond my “corrections” and had improved their writing quite a bit on their own. There were still lots of little things, of course, and at this point we spent some time looking at individual sentences and discussing particular grammar points and sentence patterns, reviewing format and quotation questions and in general “fine-turning.” Overall, I was pleased with the results of this phase. Cover pages, page headings and numbers, figures and tables, bibliographies and abstracts were added for the final drafts, which were mostly clean with only minor revisions needed. I thought this procedure worked well for the most part. I kept my agenda very flexible so as to be as responsible as possible to individual student needs. It was difficult with such a mix, but it seemed manageable with the small class size. When I first taught this class I had the students write the abstracts in the beginning. This didn’t work very well, because they found it difficult to write a summary before they knew exactly what they were going to write. This time, asking for the abstract at the end, worked much better, and was also a good exercise for the students to review clearly what they had written.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2000
Instructor = Jane Blyth Warren
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = The writing project was the same as previous terms, except that students were given a choice of writing a traditional research paper, an annotated bibliography, or a case study. Only one student chose to do an annotated bibliography.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Annotated Bibliography
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Allyson Newport
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the reading core task I had my RW 5 students do annotated bibliographies. There are several benefits from doing these. First of all, it forces the students to begin reading and analyzing material for their research paper early on. Not only do they have to summarize what they have read, but they also have to examine it closely, allowing them to decide if it is an appropriate source for their paper. Also since I must grade their bibliographies, obviously I must read their articles which gives me background information on their research topic and enables me to help them more. I can also check to see if they are paraphrasing and citing correctly if they use information from these articles. To prepare the students I reviewed correct summary and critique writing. Below are the instructions I gave to my students at the beginning of the term.
Two annotated bibliographies are due on each of the following dates: Jan. 26, Feb. 2, Feb. 9 (for a total of six due for the term). To do an AB, you should choose articles of 3-5 pages that you may use for your research paper. You will read the article, summarize it, and then write a critique of the article. The heading for your AB should look like this:
Title: How the Web Destroys Student Research Papers
Author: David Rothenberg
Source: Education Digest Ann Arbor Feb. 1998
Summary and Critique
In your critique you should evaluate the validity of the author's presentation and respond to the author's view. Here are some questions for you to use as a guide.
Is the author's information accurate?
Is the information significant?
Has the author used information fairly?
Has the author argued logically?
Do you agree with the author? Or disagree?
Your AB will be around 2 pages and should generally not be any longer. When you turn in your AB, you should also include a copy of both articles you are annotating. You will be graded mainly on the clarity of your summary and your ability to critique the author's work
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Kara Andersen
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Research Paper Ss read sample research papers, brainstormed and narrowed topics in the usual way. We had a special library tour to learn how to e-mail themselves articles complete with bibliography-ready citations. Ss used their sources to lead class discussions about academic articles. They also worked extensively on paraphrasing, simplifying sentences and using varieties of sentence structure.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = ISU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For their research paper, the students chose the general topic of disasters and individual topics such as hurricanes, volcanoes, and oil spills. After reviewing the purpose of a research paper, we attended a library orientation provided by ISU. Then the students read and discussed two interesting articles - One about a plagiarism case ("The Purloined Letters") and the other about "How the Web Destroys Student Research." The next step was the Reading Discussion Groups, which I will describe in a separate report. After this, we discussed and practiced making good connections from one topic to the next in a piece of writing. We also discussed the difference between primary and secondary evidence, and practiced identifying it. This led into analyzing the logic and support used in an article and writing critiques. For the critiques, I used articles with controversial topics, such as the death penalty. I would like to have had the students critique one or more ! of the articles for their research paper to show them how to apply this skill to a real life situation. However, their topics, being for the most part factual and scientific, did not lend themselves to this. We continued the research paper by writing the working thesis and outline. Then we reviewed how to make citations in MLA style. The next step was to write one section of the paper and have an individual conference with me. At this point we started working on error correction with sentences taken from their papers. We also worked on things like parallel construction. After they had written the entire first draft, they all had conferences with me again. I knew that most students were not proofreading their papers, so the day they were due, I forced them to do this in class. The final drafts, of course, were better
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Summary writing
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 1
Year = 2001
Instructor = Cheryl Howard
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Summary writing The students kept portfolios during the term that included summaries they wrote of selected articles from the New York Times newspaper. At the beginning of each week, the students chose one article that everyone agreed on to summarize, and they also were to summarize two more articles chosen on their own. They were encouraged to visit the campus writing center to get extra help on these summaries, and sometimes these visits gave them some extra credit, which was used as an incentive to go. Two or three times during the term, the teacher and students checked the portfolios to find out if the required number of summaries were included. Sometimes the teacher checked and edited selected student summaries, but often the students edited each other’s summaries with the writer or the reader choosing the summary. They also chose which summaries to rewrite, and the rewrites were included in the portfolio next to the original. After 9/11, the newspaper was predominantly filled with articles about the attack, which began to overwhelm the students. Therefore, the students were guided to select articles that concentrated on optimism about the event and ways that people were overcoming hardships brought on by the event. This really seemed to help the students understand the event more deeply and allowed them to discuss the feelings and concerns they had with each other. The students said that they appreciated being prompted to have these kinds of discussions by the articles they read because they may not have had the opportunity to do so otherwise. The students also appreciated being able to practice their summarizing skills by using the New York Times since it is a sophisticated newspaper that challenged their reading skills and the summary writing forced them to voice their understanding of what they read.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Papers
Center = VU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2001
Instructor = Eric Stalions
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = By the end of the term, the students completed three research papers: the Argumentative Essay, the I-Search Essay, and the Gender Essay, respectively. For the Argumentative Essay, the students choose issues that interest them and write an essay supporting their positions on these issues. In this 3-4 page essay, they must support their position with clear objective reasoning and outside evidence, statistics, data, and quotes from experts. They need a minimum of three cited sources, and they are required to use the MLA format for their Works Cited page and in-text citations. Peer revision and editing workshops, instructor-student conferences, research article discussions, participation in library research days, review of sample argumentative essays, and multiple drafts are included. In their compositions, the students took either pro or con positions on the following issues: the death penalty, smoking in public places, stem cell research, and euthanasia.
Based on Ken Macrorie's 1988 book, The I-Search Paper, the I-Search Essay is an investigative process during which the students attempt to satisfy a curiosity, answer questions that they raise, and come to conclusions about their topics. In this 6-8 page paper, they explore a possible future major, field, career, occupation, profession, vocation, or business opportunity. Their choice may be the one they are already pursuing; however; it could be a topic that they are only interested in and would like to learn more about. Their papers must depend heavily on the critical evaluation of primary and secondary sources; the purpose of their research is to find out enough information about this possible future route to make some determination about whether they would like to pursue it or not. They need a minimum of six cited sources, including at least two personal interviews and at least four traditional sources (e.g., books, magazines, and/or articles from research databases); furthermore, they are required to use the MLA format for their Works Cited page and in-text citations. Because the process of writing and researching is equally as important as the final product, this assignment includes a review of sample I-Search papers, a proposed thesis statement, a proposal, research article discussions, interview transcripts, a list of sources, multiple drafts, as well as the final paper. Peer revision and editing workshops, instructor-student conferences, a workshop led by Valparaiso University's instruction librarian, and participation in library research days are also included. The students' fields of interest included the following: becoming an elementary school teacher, doctor, small business owner, gerontologist, and industrial engineer.
For the Gender Essay, the students explore how gender influences and defines the social roles of a particular society. Although the students must focus on their personal experiences, they still must incorporate outside sources. The assignment calls for a 3-5 page essay with a minimum of three cited sources. Furthermore, they are required to use the MLA format for their Works Cited page and in-text citations. Peer revision and editing workshops, instructor-student conferences, a review of relevant literary pieces and sample gender essays, and multiple drafts are included. Most of the student's analyzed the changing gender roles of men and/or women in their societies.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = CSM
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Laurie Cribb
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = RW 5 Research Paper I want to recommend a reference book that has been extremely helpful to both RW5 and RW4. Writing Researach Papers, A Complete Guide, James D. Lester, Longman ISBN# 0-321-08208-7. This book provides help in deciding on a topic, developing a thesis, plagiarism clarification, paraphrasing, documentation/citation styles, internet resources, bulletin boards and chat rooms for students working on research, and much more. Using it for two levels offsets the cost and this book can be used as a resource for university. It is not written for ESL students, but the format is user friendly and the language very accessible for our students. I spend a lot of time working with students on brainstorming, choosing a topic, finding a variety of material and sources. This book provides information and exercises which back up what is done in class. It adds validity to our teaching activities and a resource for their first experience in research. I particularly like the chapters on setting goals and organizing, writing the conclusion and editing.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Critique writing
Center = ISU
Semester = Summer
Term =
Year = 2002
Instructor = Carolyn Mayo
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = In addition to the Research Paper, I also had students write critiques this term. First we discussed different kinds of faulty reasoning (logical fallacies). Then they read and discussed a poorly written article from a tabloid type of newspaper. Together we wrote a five-paragraph essay explaining why the article was not convincing. Then I had the students work with partners to write their own critique of another article. After receiving feedback on this assignment and rewriting it, they were ready to write one on their own. I began with a news article giving background information about a current issue, and gave them comprehension questions to make sure everyone understood the problem. Then I gave them an editorial on the same issue, and asked them to critique the author's persuasiveness. In other words, did the author have good support for his/her opinion? They were to disregard their own opinion on the issue and concentrate on the way the article was written. Again they received feedback from me and rewrote their essays if they had problems. I believe this is a very good exercise for critical thinking skills. It is also an important part of choosing the best sources for a research paper. Although this introduction did not hone their skills, at least the students became aware that they should not believe everything they read.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = UNCG
Semester = Summer
Term =
Year = 2002
Instructor = Ron Engel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text =
Core task report, RW5
Because I only had 4 students in my class this past term, things seemed to go a bit more quickly than I expected. As a result, at the end of the term, we decided to put together a "group" research paper. I am sure that you have read or at least heard about mystery or detective novels that were by several "all-star" authors. The concept seems interesting enough although I am not certain that the results have been so spectacular. At any rate, that is what we did with our final research paper. We did the whole thing in a bit more than a week and I was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm, cooperation, and final product. Before describing the details of the assignment, I would like to mention that this activity might be more useful if it were undertaken at the beginning rather than the end of the term. It naturally leads to a great deal of of peer editing and assistance because all of the parties have (or, at least, should have) a great deal invested in the quality and success of the ENTIRE final product. Because of all of the consultation that is naturally required, I can picture this activity as a really good way to put all of the research paper writing issues on the table. The students were allowed to choose any topic that they all agreed upon and they were able to divide up the work load as they saw fit. For the sake of fairness and assessment, everybody had to have a more or less equal role in all aspects of the creative process (topic choice, creation of a thesis that could be argued, the research, the organization of the paper as a whole, the writing and editing of assigned sections, and the editing of the entire work). The assignment was for them to write a research paper that was 8-10 pages long with 7-10 sources. With four students involved, this assignment was possibly a bit restrictive but it did force them to be concise and precise. (Brevity and precision often seem to be two virtues that are lacking in much of the writing that I have seen). Mostly for the sake of assessment, I knew who had primary responsibility for the various sections of the paper. I made it a point that the paper be delivered to me IN ONE PIECE, rather than in sections. I felt that his would enforce greater consultation amongst the writers because we all agreed that it would be necessary to make certain that the pieces fit together seamlessly. They worked on their various sections individually and that meant a great deal of thought and effort would need to be put into making certain that transitions between sections were both smooth and meaningful with regard to the work as a whole. As the teacher, I looked very carefully at where the various pieces fit together. Oftentimes, a less than smooth or logical and meaningful transition can be improved with a bit of re-wording and the use of various transition devices (words, phrases, or sentences). Although I did not find it necessary in this particular case, it occurs to me that it might be necessary to create an entire transition paragraph in order to make a very round peg fit into a very square hole.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = ISU
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Randy Green
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = For the research project this term, students went through the following steps and worked on the following skills (not necessarily in this order): a review of the purpose of research papers (based on what they had learned in RW4) and introduction to this term's project, a two-day workshop led by a member of ISU's library on how to do research, brainstorming for topics, initial research and narrowing topics, outlining, paraphrasing, summarizing, and incoporating quotes, using index cards, citing sources and using a bibliography, and editing. This term, the students were allowed to submit two drafts before their final draft and there were two individual conferences. Students were given freedom in chosing topics, but all topics had to be approved and it was strongly recommended that each student choose a topic related to his/her major. The Beacon Handbook was used as a reference. Students were also asked to submit their sources from time to time. Copies of the final draft will be put in each student's file.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = CSM
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = LaDean Saussotte
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = RW5 - I would like to focus on the summarizing/paraphrase aspect of the Research Writing Task because it is perhaps the most difficult (and important) area for our students, and also because there are already several descriptions of the entire research writing process on the cyberarchive (including my own, see Fall I 2002). As I see it, students face three major challenges in writing a good paraphrase: 1) completely understanding the original; 2) having the variety of vocabulary and grammatical structure to say it in a new way; and 3) knowing whether they have inadvertently changed the meaning or not. I believe that these skills are challenges for native speakers as well, and that they could be practiced for years and still be improving. So, my goal for RW5 university-bound students is a thorough awareness of these skills and an ability, however small, to improve on their own. The procedure I used was straightforward, simple, student-centered and wholistic. I asked students to write a paraphrase of a non-fiction paragraph. I also wrote a paraphrase. I then retyped them all on one page (authors unidentified), copied all paragraphs onto an overhead transparency and put them up on the board. First, we read them aloud, giving students a chance to absorb the paragraphs and their differences. I then divided students into groups to work on different paragraphs. The groups were to answer the following questions: Is the paragraph clear? (If not, propose changes.) Does the paragraph have grammatical mistakes? (If so, correct them.) Does the paragraph include all of the ideas of the original? (If not, which ones are missing?) Does the paragraph change any of the original’s meaning? When the groups had gone as far as they could (which was much further by the end of the term) we rejoined and discussed. Discussions were lengthy, but I think it was worth the time. Once we finished going through each paraphrase, I asked the students to paraphrase the paragraph again, using the best parts of each example we had looked at (for homework, from notes they had taken in class). Here are some of the important benefits I saw from this exercise. In the discussions of meaning, it came out how a paraphrase could include an idea indirectly, by inference, increasing their reading comprehension beyond vocabulary. Students were also able to see examples of many ways to say the same thing, increasing their variety of vocabulary and grammatical structures, and to see why some were better than others. They developed their own sense of what “good writing” looked like, so that they could continue improving on their own. We did this exercise three times during the term, with increasingly difficult readings. In addition to the students’ reports that this seemed helpful to them at the time, their paraphrasing and self-editing skills noticeably improved.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = research paper/summarizing, paraphrasing, and reacting practice
Center = UNCG
Semester = Fall
Term = 2
Year = 2002
Instructor = Ron Engel
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text =
Fall II Core Task Report Rw5 Writing Task In order to offer the students further opportunity to work on their summarizing and paraphrasing skills, I had all of them sign up for access to the New York Times on-line. This is free and allows the students to have access to the paper without having to consume any paper. Every Monday, as a group using the in-classroom computer with the computer screen projected "large" onto the wall screen, the students selected three full-length articles that were of interest to them. As homework that was due on Wednesday, they were to write a seven to ten sentence one-paragraph summary of one of the three previously selected articles. In the meantime, I chose particularly interesting or problematic passages from any of the three articles and had them write individual or group paraphrases of these selected passages. This was done as an in-class activity on Thursdays. Finally, as a homework assignment that was due on Friday, another summary of one of the two remaining articles was due on Friday. Of the three chosen articles from the New York Times, I suggested that the students save the most interesting one for the Friday assignment because that assignment also included a 7-10 sentence reaction to the article. The purpose of all of this is probably rather obvious. In this rw5 class, my students had to write 2 research papers. Summarizing, paraphrasing, and reacting to research materials are critical skills that are important components of writing university level research papers.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Research Paper
Center = VU
Semester = Spring
Term = 2
Year = 2003
Instructor = Julie Dean Jones
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = I experimented with a "Writing Workshop" idea this term. I made a schedule in which a different step of the research paper process (general topic, research question, reaction essay to a relevant article, preliminary bibliography, thesis statement, outline, various drafts, etc.) was due each Monday throughout the term. Every Friday was designated a "Writing Workshop" day. Actually I gave a quiz at the beginning of the class, but the rest of the time was devoted to writing. Students had the choice of working on their research papers, writing in their journals, or preparing materials for their portfolios. They were not allowed to work on any other homework at this time, and I was prepared to assign an in-class essay if for some reason they were not able to work on the other tasks. Students almost invariably chose to work on their research papers, because they had a specific assignment due that Monday. While they were working, I spoke with each student individually about his or her writing. I had five students this term, and the individual conferences ranged from ten minutes to thirty minutes in length. With a larger class I would probably set time limits to make sure I could meet with everyone. I found these weekly conferences more productive than collecting papers and writing comments on them. I was able to monitor their work more closely and to address questions that arose. I like setting aside time for in-class writing because it emphasizes the importance of writing and of scheduling regular times to write. I also like that it forces students to sit down and begin work. This reduces problems caused by students procrastinating, wasting time trying to figure out where to start, or realizing too late that they don't understand the instructions.
Course = RW
Level = 5
Category = Writing Task
Core Task = Reseach Paper
Center = UNCG
Semester = Spring
Term = 1
Year = 2003
Instructor = Haeseler
E-Mail = [email protected]
Report Text = Before writing the 10 page paper, I had students write a 4-5 page argumentative essay based on 4-5 sources which they began around week 3 and finish week 5. I find this to be an effective preliminary writing exercise for the core-writing task. Before writing the argumentative paper based on researched articles (mostly online newspaper articles and magazine articles off Nexis/Lexis), students revisit essential organizational steps such as coming up with a topic, a thesis statement, a preliminary bibliography, first draft, etc. We also spend a couple classes talking about how to evaluate sources according to their relevance and reliability. I recommend the Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers which offers a comprehensive chapter on how find and select acceptable articles for an academic research paper. Students are also asked to evaluate the articles they will be using in the argumentative essay according to previously discussed guidelines. Completing an argumentative essay based on research also offers the teacher an insight into the student's difficulties, which can be discussed during the midterm conference. Students are given a grade but are still required to rewrite the paper in order that they confront and rectify its weaknesses so that such errors will be avoided as they embark on the task of writing a much longer, more involved research paper.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Nadine Nicholson
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: The research paper core task I handled this term by closely drawing from the writing process outlined in the 6th edition of the textbook, THE BEACON HANDBOOK, allowing students to first brainstorm general topics of their choice, then narrow them down to specific topics and research questions or a working thesis during the first week and a half of class. Students were encouraged to choose topics related to their proposed majors, however, were not required to do so. Students did initial research on their topics independently then attended a library orientation specifically tailored to their needs and topics, given by one of the campus librarians later in week 2. An annotated bibliography with 15 sources, at least one of each which were required to be a book, a magazine/journal article, a newspaper article, and a website, was due the end of week three with short comments on why students thought each source would be useful for them. Subsequent work focused on writing and organizational exercises from THE BEACON, which were quite effective; and a first and second draft of students' outlines were due early in weeks 4 & 5, with teacher's comments written on each, and individual conferences given to help guide students with their individual difficulties and questions. First drafts of the complete paper were due the middle of week 6, students were given time in class to self-edit, and teacher's comments and individual conferences were again given. Second drafts were due the beginning of week 8, again with student self-editing, and teachers' comments with a preliminary score were given. Final drafts of the twelve-page papers were collected the beginning of week nine, whereupon students wrote reflective answers to questions on what they had learned through the process of the project, what skills they thought they would need again in the future, what they would do differently if they could repeat the project, and any suggestions they had for the teacher for this project. This is the third time I have followed such a format for this core task in RW5 and have found it to work extremely well. Exercises in THE BEACON HANDBOOK are quite helpful for the students yet should be supplemented with further practice in paraphrasing, summarizing, and incorporating quotes. Students should also be guided to very carefully choose manageable topics to write on.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Laurie Cribb
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: The Research Paper is a big task for students. The amount of reading necessary for a research paper to be done well, is overwhelming for most ESL students. Their reading skills, ability to find the main idea quickly, scanning for particular information, is crucial to their success. So, this term I did two things differently: 1) The first three weeks of the term, I gave the students short readings of various types and instruction on the �what and why� of summary writing. The students wrote 13 summaries in the first half of the term. Some were done in class, others were done at home. Summary work provided a guided opportunity for the students to increase their reading speed and ability to discern main ideas, and write concisely. I told them to write a main idea phrase in the margin of each paragraph. I also taught them how to use the highlighter effectively, for key words and ideas. They really enjoyed this process and felt very successful. For each assignment, I gave them the objective of what we were trying to achieve. With this method, they were able to build skills that were then applied to their topic and research. I used common sources of passages, such as the newspaper, Time Magazine, Newsweek, and Science News. One assignment was to choose an article (2-5 pages from National Geographic) to summarize over the weekend. Summaries were to be one paragraph containing100-200 words. 2) I provided a guide for writing the research paper, which consisted of a series of deadlines. I wanted to process each section of the paper at least twice. In order to make this manageable, I provided a time-structure to pace their work and help them focus on part at time. The students responded very well to this, especially since a couple of them had mentioned how they get lost in the research and don�t know where they are, or how to organize it. Beginning with the thesis statement, which had to include a comparison, suggestion, or analysis, we built a research paper that was well organized, focused, and completed on time. Not one student turned their paper in after 8am on the due date! The next step was the general outline and question formation and the beginning of their research, starting with the library catalogue so that at least three references were other than internet sources. We processed each section individually and with peers. While I was giving feedback on one draft, they were working on the next section. They re-cycled through the paper, developing the thesis and support, section by section. This left me free to give them each quality feedback along the way and they constantly knew where they were and where they were going. I would recommend this addition to the writing process when working with research papers for academic training.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Dean Daniel
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Students did two research papers. The second paper was on a topic of the student's choice, but the first one was on an assigned topic and all students used the same sources. The topic was "Is McDonald's a socially responsible company?" Students showed lots of interest in this topic, and it's especially good for a class with future business majors. Suggested sources include: Textbook: "America's Hamburger Helper" in Time/Reaching for Tomorrw: Authentic Readings for Language Development "The American Fast -Food Dream" in Herald Tribune/Morning Edition: Mastering Reading and Language Skills with the Newspaper Internet: "McDonald's and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Ronald McDonald Fantasy" at http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5554 "Issues that McDonald's Did Not Deal with in the Report on Corporate Social Responsibility" at http://www.foodfirst.org/media/press/2002/mcdonaldsissues.html "The McLibel Trial" at http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/trial/story.html "The Value of Virtue" at http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0304/p17s01-lehl.html Database: "Business Class Urges Social Conscience" by John McElhenney. This story ran on page C7 of the Boston Globe on 3/16/03. "Food Fight" by Nancy J. White. This story ran on L01 of the Toronto Star on 10/5/02. Video: "McLibel" videotape (available at McNutt) "Biography: Ray Kroc" (taped from A&E) Speaker: Mike Teeple (McDonald's manager) pager: 913-6067 fax 315-8798 or can be reached at the High Point Rd. McDonald's 292-0110
course: CS
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research paper
center: ISU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2003
instructor: Jose E. Sanchez
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Because writing is a task that no two people do the same way, I tried to be flexible with my students. However, for the research paper project, my students follow some logical steps: 1. discovering topic, audience and purpose, 2. gathering information which they did by going to a workshop at the ISU library, 3. reviewing and organizing information, 3. writing a working thesis, and finally 4. writing a draft. The last two steps (thesis and writing a draft were repeated several times. These steps are not exclusive of each other, and at times they overlapped. In order to follow these steps, we work in the following areas: � Brainstorming � Critical Reading � Thesis � Organization (outlining) � Paragraphing � Word-Processing � Revision � Documentation � Proofreading The students this term submitted three drafts, and after each of them they had a conference with me. We used the Beacon Handbook as a reference and it seemed to be of great help to the students.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2003
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
For the past three terms, our RW 4 and RW 5 classes have been required to purchase The Essentials of English: A Writer�s Handbook by Ann Hogue (Longman, ISBN: 0-13-030973-7). The book is written for ESL students, and our students consistently give it high evaluations. There is also a supplemental workbook but it focuses mainly on grammar exercises and I haven�t found it very useful. The handbook itself contains units on sentence structure/grammar, punctuation, mechanics, the writing process, and various forms of writing (paragraphs, essays, research papers, email, etc.) There are also reference lists of phrasal verbs, irregular verbs, transitions, etc. There are short exercises throughout, with an answer key in the back. It is useful for independent reference, but I have also had students read and prepare brief presentations on various sections. The research paper unit is probably the most useful for RW 5. The book focuses on MLA style, and a disadvantage is that while it says a lot about citing books and encyclopedias, it says very little about citing journal articles and online sources, which are the sources that our students use most frequently. Overall though, I am satisfied with it and will continue using it in the spring.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2004
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: This term, I integrated the writing and reading tasks by having students select and lead discussions of articles related to their research paper topics. Students were assigned to write an argumentative paper about a controversial issue. As students researched their topics, they chose articles to share with the class. Instead of providing copies for the other students, I asked students to submit citations of the articles, which the others used to locate and read the article. Students were on their honor to do this independently (even though it would have been more efficient for them to get the article directly from the student who chose it). This helped reinforce library skills and helped me identify who was having trouble navigating our online databases. Students later led discussions of their articles in class. I explained that one purpose of these discussions was to help the leader generate ideas for arguments and counter-arguments for use in his or her paper. I did not tell the students this in advance, but I used these same topics at the end of the term for the final writing assessment (an in-class essay). The topics were all familiar ones because of the article discussions and peer reviews of their classmates� papers. Students could choose any of the topics except that of their own research paper.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2005
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In recent terms, our center has been developing rubrics for grading assignments such as essays, journals, and presentations. The rubric lists the specific criteria for an A, B, etc. Here is the RESEARCH PAPER RUBRIC that I used to assess my level 5 students� research papers this term. This is an evolving project and I would appreciate feedback.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: research paper
center: ISU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2005
instructor: Allyson Newport
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In order to help my RW 5 students understand better how to incorporate their sources into a research paper, I did an activity taken from From Paragraph to Term Paper by Ellen Lipp. This exercise had excerpts from three different sources. The students had to read the excerpts, and then with a partner they underlined any information that might relate to this topic sentence: Television viewing negatively affects students in three ways. After they underlined what they thought would support this idea, we discussed together as a class. Then the students wrote a paragraph together inserting the information that they had underlined. They were required to use paraphrases and a quote, and they also had to use correct citation form. We also discussed how after using information from a source, it was necessary to give some kind of analysis or explanation of the information so that they didn't just write paraphrase after paraphrase. After they finished, we worked as a class to put a paragraph on the board. This exercise is very useful to help students get the idea of how to use sources to support their ideas.
course: RW level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Writing a "My Turn" Essay
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Mr. Steven Ahola
e-mail: Steven Ahola
report+text: This is a writing activity for RW 5. In RW 5, the students read Newsweek each week. In the magazine, there is a popular column called "My Turn." I have the students write a version of the "My Turn" column. I provide the following sheet: My Turn Writing Assignment Background: When we write using persuasion, we try to get the reader to take a course of action or at least to think seriously about our point of view. For this essay, you will be putting together a version of the �My Turn� column from Newsweek. The basic idea behind such an essay is simple enough: A writer says, �I am a person who has something to say and this is my chance to say it.� The Writing Assignment: You will need to pick a topic. Your essay will be 850-900 words. Your essay will have a �point,� even if that point is not bolded stated in your writing piece. The reader should be able to summarize in one or two sentences what the �main idea� or �major idea� of the essay is. Getting Started: 1. Your topic will be a topic of your choosing; just let it be your topic. Think to yourself about the following questions: What things matter most to me in the world? What things interest me in the world? How do I want to help the world? 2. Write a piece that is yours and that others will enjoy reading. Your paper will include personal examples and opinions. Conclusion: I usually spend 2-3 week prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing this paper. Some students even submit their copy to Newsweek.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Question Swapping
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Harold Samuels
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In RW 5 this term, we read a variety of articles and essays that appeared in our weekly issues of Newsweek magazine. After reading a piece, one of the tasks assigned to the students was to compose questions whose answers drew on information that appeared in the essay/article. This exercise served several purposes. First, it demonstrated whether the students had acquired a thorough understanding of what they'd read. Secondly, it gave them pratice at formulating questions which were gramatically correct and free from mechanical errors. In addition, this exercise provided them with an opportunity for expressing themselves in written communication that was logical as well as comprehensible. The instructions for this exercise appear below.
Question Swapping After reading a text, tell your students to write 5 Wh-type questions that are based on the information in the passage. Tell them to make sure to leave some space after each question, so that there is a place for another student to write the answer to the question. After they have written the five questions, have the students swap their questions with a partner. Each student must answer the questions they were given. After they have finished answering the questions, they should return them to their partners (the authors) for checking. At the end of this exercise, the teacher should collect the papers and check the questions, answers, and corrections.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Muhieddin Baddour
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: When my students finished the first draft of their research paper, which had to be argumentative, they had to pair up, trade papers, and do a peer-review. Some of them questioned the point of having a classmate with similar proficiency level review their written work. They thought only a teacher�s feedback could be helpful. Therefore, I had to remind them that we all are better readers than writers, a fact that I had emphasized every time we had evaluated an anonymous sample student essay in class. I also reminded them of how well they fared when they critiqued sample student papers. Eventually, having been enlightened on the rationale behind this activity, they all started responding positively and taking it seriously.
Below is the peer-review checklist that each student had to fill out. I tried to make this list as detailed as possible so that students would know what exactly they had to look for in their partners� papers. (Needless to say, this checklist is not perfect; it might need a little modification�changes, additions, and/or deletions.) Of course I had to discuss the checklist with the students to make sure that they were a hundred percent clear on every single item of it. To get the students to take this activity even more seriously, I told them that those whose reviews were careful, analytical, and constructive would be entitled to extra credit since good feedback would improve the quality and, consequently, the grades of their papers.
Having finished reviewing and editing their partners� papers, the students discussed the comments made on the peer-review checklists and made suggestions on how the papers could be improved. Then they had to rewrite their papers taking their partners� feedback into consideration. I requested that the peer-review sheet be attached to the second draft that I was going to grade. Later, I had individual conferences with the students to discuss both their reviews and research papers (how good their reviews were, and how seriously they had taken their partners� feedback). After that, the students had to refine their papers and submit a final copy for grading.
Here is the peer-review checklist:
Reviewer�s Name:
Author of Reviewed Paper:
Title of Reviewed Paper:
Date:
________________________________________________________________
Peer-Review Checklist
The Abstract
Does the abstract contain the following components?
1. motivation/interest/purpose
2. thesis statement
3. scope of research
4. methodology/approach
5. findings/results
6. conclusion
Comments:
The Research Paper
I. Title
a. Is the title good enough?
b. Does the title reflect precisely the topic researched?
Comments:
II. Introduction
a. Does the introduction express clearly the writer�s motivation and interest (the purpose behind his/her writing about this particular topic)?
b. Is the scope of the research narrow enough?
c. Does the thesis statement sound argumentative?
d. Is the thesis statement well constructed and clearly stated? (Is the writer�s position clearly expressed?)
e. Does the introduction catch the reader�s attention?
Comments:
III. Body
A. Argument
1. Does the author provide enough reasons to back his/her thesis?
2. Are the reasons supported by sufficient evidence? (Are there at least two or three pieces of evidence to support each reason provided?)
3. What type of evidence is used?
4. Is the evidence solid and logical enough?
5. Is the author�s line of reasoning sound enough?
6. Are there a clear counterargument and a good rebuttal?
Comments:
B. Language and Structure
1. Is the language clear enough?
2. Is the wording appropriate?
3. Are technical terms and concepts well defined?
4. Is the paper coherent and easy to follow?
5. Is the transition (flow of ideas, sentences, and paragraphs) smooth enough?
6. Are the sentences appropriately punctuated?
Comments:
C. Citation and Documentation
Bibliography
1. How many sources are used?
2. What types of sources are used?
3. Do the sources seem to be credible and reliable?
4. What documentation/citation style is used?
5. Are the sources appropriately cited/documented?
Comments:
In-Text Citation and Credits
1. Are the sources cited appropriately?
2. Is proper credit given to sources and authorities consulted?
3. Is there a combination of paraphrases, summaries, and quotations?
4. Are there enough attributive tags used?
Comments:
IV. Conclusion
1. Does the conclusion sum up the points covered in the body?
2. Is the wording of conclusion different from that of the introduction and body?
3. Is the closure smooth and graceful enough?
Comments:
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Muhieddin Baddour
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Here are some useful Web sites that I added as links to my RW5 class�s Yahoo group for my students to check out. These sites provide tips and examples on how to avoid plagiarism, how to write an abstract, and how to write a statement of purpose/intent. Needless to say, we thoroughly examined, discussed, and practiced all these skills in class.
How to Avoid Plagiarism
<http://www.guilford.edu/about_guilford/services_and_administration/writing/plagiarism/suggestions.html> <http://cambridge.cic.tsinghua.edu.cn/reading/plagiarism.html>
<http://academichonesty.unimelb.edu.au/advice.html> <http://www.library.ualberta.ca/guides/plagiarism/>
How to Write an Abstract
<http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/essays/abstract.html>
<http://www.languages.ait.ac.th/el21abst.htm>
<http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/abstracts.html>
How to Write a Statement of Purpose
<http://www.infozee.com/application-issues/essays-sop.htm>
<http://www.princetonreview.com/grad/apply/articles/application/purpose.asp>
<http://www.accepted.com/Grad/AboutGoals.aspx>
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Julie Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: For the RW 5 writing project, I had students choose topics from our library�s Contemporary World Issues series. In the past, I had asked students to choose topics from Newsweek. We use a Newsweek subscription for the reading project, and sometimes that was helpful for finding topics. However, we really need to start the research paper as soon as possible, and that doesn�t give students time to read very many magazines before choosing a topic. Our reference librarian suggested the Contemporary World Issues series. The library has 135 of these books on reserve, each one on a different topic (homelessness, human rights, consumer culture, environmental hazards, genetic engineering, organized crime, etc.). The book presents an overview of the issue and includes an extensive bibliography that students can use to find additional material. Browsing through these books helps students find interesting topics and gives them vocabulary terms relevant to that topic. A nother similar resource is the CQ Researcher, which VU�s library has available in print and also in an on-line database.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core+task: Research Paper
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Seider
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: please see attachment
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core task: Summary Writing Share
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Ellen Baumgartner
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: In order to improve summary writing, I had my students share their articles and summaries each week. Two students each week would photocopy their articles and their summaries and the other students would give their feedback. The sessions were usually very constructive and helpful to those students who were sharing their summaries. I would sit in on both groups and listen to the discussions and help where and when it was needed (but only if they needed me.) Then the groups would change over, so each student would read each of the articles. The students really thought this was beneficial because they could get immediate feedback from someone other than me. The students who shared their summaries that week would then get to go home and revise their summaries and hand them in the next day.
level: 5
center: UNCG
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Jordan Earl
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: In the interest of dovetailing the course title�s R and W, the following three texts can be used in tandem:
Diana Hacker, A Pocket Style Manual
Joyce Carole Oates, ed., The Best American Essays of the Century
Hoffmans, Adios, Strunk and White: A Handbook for the New American Essay
Students can be first consulted to ascertain whether purchasing the Hacker and the Oates would be okay, with the understanding that these texts are supplementing their academic writing and are not the text to be used in conjunction with the non-fiction component of the course. Selections from the Hoffmans� text can be photocopied and distributed at intervals.
The rationale for using these texts is that students need to know how to write both the traditional research paper and the personal essay for their academic purposes. While Hacker can assist students with form, Oates and the Hoffmans delineate and provide examples of content and style.
Hacker�s resource is an academic writer�s reference and, as such, gives guidelines to the nuts and bolts of formatting. There are activities and exercises on the accompanying website that students can complete on their own � and these can be checked or viewed by the instructor (http://dianahacker.com/pocket/). Note to instructors: you will need to set up an account with the publisher before the course begins � this account remains active indefinitely, which is helpful if you are teaching RW4 or RW5. Hacker is not a reading text. It is a writing reference tool.
For examples of contemporary essay writing, the 55 essays in the Oates collection are widely varied in both theme and style. Students of RW5 can read between 20 and 25 of the essays during the term, or more/all if a separate non-fiction book is not used. My group said they were not bothered by not reading the other essays, and that they would to continue to use the book as a source for examples of good writing.
Finally, in an effort to link the elements of the essays in the Oates collection to hands-on, applicable writing techniques, the Hoffmans� book proves very practical. Through its examples (a great many of which are excerpted from the Oates� collection � a boon for the instructor), students can familiarize themselves with longer sentences and learn to deconstruct writing styles and purposes.
After using these 3 resources in tandem, the students of RW5 spoke of the Hoffman readings as extremely helpful in dissecting academic writing. �I am no longer afraid of long sentences,� one student said.
One helpful exercise is to send students hunting through the essay from Oates that they are currently reading, looking for examples of the writing techniques they are learning about in the current Hoffman handout. These exercises are successful because students learn to ID the technique, then discuss its purpose in the context of a larger essay, and finally apply the technique in their own writing. Encouraged to practice the styles encountered, students by the end of the term will be writing using analogy, surprise arguments, imbedded quotations, stacked descriptions, and other techniques.
[In our case, these techniques were studied in RW5 in connection to, but not in place of, the research paper writing projects and the non-fiction reading project. Those were viewed as separate projects; however, the non-fiction selection, Steven Levitt�s Freakonomics, was filled with examples of the techniques being discussed (as would be any current non-fiction title). Finally, the research papers were great testing-grounds for the formatting, style and content techniques being addressed in the 3 texts.]
With these resources, it seems that students are able to break away from the notion that academic writing is a place completely lacking in creativity and individuality. While writing in compliance with accepted MLA standards, students learn that developing a personal style of argumentation, backed up by creative use of documentation and anecdotal support, creates stronger writing.
While some of the essays and the writing techniques might be beyond the language ability of the students, the fact that they are able to identify and locate examples of the techniques in the essays and then replicate the styles in their own writing demonstrates the basic �learnability� of the style concepts. Grammar and documentation can be practiced as separate entities, using the Hacker as a guide.
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2006
instructor: Steven Ahola
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: It is important for INTERLINK Language Centers to utilize the universities where they are housed. Most universities have many events scheduled throughout the year that could be weaved into our courses, especially with the higher levels. I have included three examples from this past term. For this term, Valparaiso University had Sister Helen Prejean as a special guest speaker. First, I had my classes watch the film "Dead Man Walking." Then, we discussed the issue of capital punishment before attending the presentation. After the speech, I had my students write a short comparison and contrast paper reflecting on how Sister Helen was portrayed in the film and how she was in real life. It turned out to be a fascinating project. Another example from this term connected with "Romeo and Juliet." The theater group was doing a number of performances so I had my students read the play. Then, I invited the actors who played Romeo and Juliet to visit my class. Finally, we all went as a class to see the play. Shakespeare certainly is not easy for ESL learners. However, the class discussions and watching the DVD in class helped the students tremendously. And, they were so captivated by the live performance! A third example happened as a result of Newsweek's cover story on AIDS. Newsweek is our primary text for the course. After reading the articles concerning AIDS, I invited a guest speaker from a local HIV/AIDS center talk about AIDS in northwest Indiana. The students were able to get a local perspective on this disease.
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2006
instructor: Steven Ahola
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: �Writing with Style: Two Useful Strategies for Students� Lesson Plan This lesson plan offers teachers two useful strategies dealing with word repetition and sentence variety that they can incorporate into their writing lessons. Introduction In her book Rethinking Foreign Language Writing, Scott (1996) urges the teaching of writing strategies: �Teachers need to help students develop effective strategies for each phase of the writing process� (49). During the revising and editing phases of the writing process, students have an opportunity to examine their drafts more closely. For example, they may focus on grammatical errors, vocabulary problems, or organizational issues. The time the students spend revising and editing will more than likely improve their drafts. This lesson plan offers teachers two useful strategies dealing with word repetition and sentence variety that they can incorporate into their writing lessons. Lesson Plan Levels: Intermediate and advanced Materials: two sample paragraphs illustrating the writing problems that the strategies will attempt to alleviate Preparation It might be beneficial to write some sample paragraphs showing the problems associated with word repetition and a lack of sentence variety. Strategy 1: First Word Repetition Background Information Students often have a tendency to begin their sentences with common words such as the, there, and I. When the students write papers with such repetition, their sentences may have a negative effect on the reader; the reader may find the writing immature and boring. This strategy provides an easy way for students to identify patterns of repetition in their drafts. Step 1 Introduce the strategy by providing a sample paragraph with sentences beginning with the same word. Read aloud the sample paragraph and then have the students write down the first word that begins each sentence on a piece of paper. Step 2 Instruct the students to look at the words that they have written down in order to identify something interesting about their short list of words. Hopefully, the students will identify that some words are repeated. Inform the students that such repetition can often make a writing piece boring. Step 3 Ask the students if they can think of a way to change the sentences in order to lessen the first word repetition. If the students cannot think of any ways, then you could suggest that they combine two similar sentences with a conjunction such as and or but. Another suggestion is to revise the sentences so that the sentences begin with a different word. Step 4 Allow the students time to examine their own drafts for first word repetition by writing down the first word for each of their sentences. If they discover some repetitive words, then they should revise those sentences. Strategy 2: Sentence Variety Background Information Sentence variety means the length (the number of words) of the sentences in a writing piece. Due to their limited English proficiency, some EFL writers may write only short sentences. This simple strategy will help students to determine whether their drafts include sentence variety. Step 1 Provide the students with a sample paragraph that lacks sentence variety. After reading the paragraph aloud, the students should count the number of words in each sentence and write the number above the sentence. Step 2 Ask the students if they notice any similarities between the numbers they wrote down. They should be able to determine that some of the sentences have the same word count. Explain to the students that writers often vary their sentences in order to keep their readers from getting bored. Thus, encourage the students to include a mix of both shorter and longer sentences in their drafts. Step 3 Brainstorm some ways to revise sentences that lack variety with the students. They may offer suggestions such as combining shorter sentences in order to make one longer sentence or dividing one longer sentence into two shorter sentences. Another suggestion is to add more information to the shorter sentences. Step 4 With their own drafts, the students should count the words in each of their sentences. If there are many sentences with a similar word count, then they should revise them. Conclusion The two writing strategies described above can be administered in any writing class. A major benefit of both of them is that they are able to �flesh out� problems with word repetition and sentence variety quite easily. When I have introduced these strategies in my classes, my students are usually surprised at the number of times they repeated the same words at the beginning of their sentences. Further, they are surprised when they discover their sentences lack variety. Perhaps, the students you teach will have a similar reaction. And, hopefully, they will apply these strategies in all their future writing pieces. Reference Scott, V.M. (1996). Rethinking foreign language writing. Boston, M.A.: Heinle & Heinle.
course: RW
level: 5
center: CSM
semester: Summer
year: 2006
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: VOCABULARY BUILDING is a big issue but WORD FORMS are equally important to cover in ESL classes. I have done several activities with this but the latest came from the magazine Scientific American when I noticed words like "sandwiched," "blanketed," and "monitor" (verbs) in sub headings. The activity assignment I gave was to have the students find ten words which had been used in a form different from the ordinary usage, such as the above. They shared their lists on the board, made word form charts, used the words in written and oral sentences and generally had a good time playing with words. It illustrated to the students the need to develop their vocabulary by recognizing different usages and meanings for familiar words. It was fun for me to listen to them speak and to read their new words in their written work.
course: RW
level: 5
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: To assist students in identifying the arguments in a reading, and then later to help them write their own argument essays, I came up with the following questions.
1. What is the problem? And then what are the author's supports?
2. What is the author's opinion?
3. What is the author's prediction?
4. What is the author's solution? Details
5. Is there a recommendation or a warning of what might happen if the problem is not solved?
Using editorials from the daily newspaper, the students were able to identify the answers to the five questions above and to see the arguments. This simple list of questions was of tremendous help to them.
course: RW
level: 5
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: ron engel
e-mail: [email protected]
report+text: Over a period of 3 weeks we read the book Inherit the Wind and used it as a theme for a study unit. With this book as our focal point, we worked on reading comprehension, doing library research, summary and paraphrase writing, and, finally it served as the reason for working on a controlled MLA research paper. All of this took place during the first weeks of the term.
1. Students were assigned to read the book and they had to take 2 comprehension quizzes.
2. Simultaneously, students were assigned to read academic articles that discussed the arguments between creationists and those who support evolution. Each student was assigned to bring in and lead a discussion on 2 articles that treated this topic. I kept one copy of each article.
3. We used these articles in order to practice our summary and paraphrasing skills.
4. With evolution and creationism as our broad topic and with a substantial number of source materials readily available (I kept a copy of the articles, see steps 2 and 3), students were told that they would be writing an in-class MLA research paper, 4-5 pages with 3-4 sources.
5. As homework, knowing that they would be writing an in-class mini MLA research paper, students were assigned to write an argumentative thesis statement and to create a "working outline".
6. I reviewed this homework assignment and made suggestions where appropriate.
7. In class, over a period of approximately 3 hours, students wrote their research paper. They were limited to the articles that we had previously discussed and/or summarized and or/ paraphrased. Since I was already familiar with the source material, it was relatively easy for me to be able to determine how successfully they were able to integrate this material into their papers.
8. After this, students met with the teacher, revisions were discussed, and the paper was re-written using the MLA format.
This was done as a preliminary step before the students were assigned a larger MLA research paper on a topic related to their personal interests or academic major
course: RW
level: 5
center: ISU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Allyson Newport
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: At the beginning of week two in RW5, I have the students find sources that they might use for their paper. (At this point, they have already selected their topic.) They must find a book, a journal article, and an Internet source. They bring those to class, and I have them answer the questions on this handout and discuss them with a partner. Then we discuss together as a class. The purpose is to get them to see if information about their topic will be easy to find or not. Occasionally, a student will change his/her topic if he/she can see that finding information will be too difficult. We also talk about key words they can use to find sources. This is helpful because they often don't know how to search for information.
course: RW
level: 5
center: CSM
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Marcia Lane
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: Classroom contribution: RW4/5 combination
Task: outlining a technical reading
As a means of preparing students for university work, I had them read and take notes on two-age articles, without writing on the handouts. Then the students handed back the article and did one of a variety of activities, using their notes. Only one activity was used per article. The goals were to give students practice in taking notes and writing them in outline form and identifying the important ideas from a reading, and for me to check their reading comprehension of a technical article.
First activity: answer simple questions based on the reading.
Second activity: write a summary of the important points of the article. The difficulty here was in determining the main ideas and differentiating them from explanatory details.
Third activity: Have pairs of students read different articles, take notes and compare notes and then orally present the main ideas to the rest of the class.
The articles I used were handouts obtained from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden. Because CSM is a technical university, it is crucial for these students to have experience in reading technical articles; these articles are basic articles but have valuable vocabulary included.
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
semester: Summer
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Laura Underwood
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: After reading a Newsweek article about accusations against an American soldier, the class was divided into three groups. One group had to claim his innocence, one group acted as character witnesses, and the third group had to prove him guilty of the alleged crimes. With many law bound students, the students enjoyed "investigating" the crime by reading for details in the text. The classroom court activity emphasized the reading, tested their comprehension, and focused on the details of the article. This activity could be used in numerous articles at this level. The students also found different ways to interpret the same text.
course: RW
level: 5
center: ISU
semester: Summer
year: 2007
instructor: Kim Schaefer
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: To help students learn the correct format for MLA citations for bibliographic entries in a hands-on way, I first have students look over course handouts on MLA citation format for homework. When they come to class the next day, I divide the class into teams. I give each team an envelope with the type of source written on the front (book w/ 2 authors, magazine article, web page, etc.). Inside the envelope is the bibliographic entry cut into pieces so that authors, article title, publication, dates, web address, etc. are individual pieces. Using their MLA style handouts as a guide, the team then has to arrange the pieces in the correct order and record the entry so that they have examples to refer to when they work on their own works cited page. Teams compete against each other to see who can complete all of the puzzles the fastest. A team cannot move on to another puzzle until they have correctly arranged the entry they were given. I try to start the students with easier entries and end with harder ones. About 7-8 puzzles will usually take about an hour. I also recommend having a key in hand to check the formats quickly.
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
term: Summer 2007
instructor: Carl Hart
e-mail: [email protected]
In the RW5 course I just taught, I worked with students at a much higher level than I have in much of my career as well as students more motivated than has often been my experience. This was a refreshing change but also a serious challenge. In reading my students' written work, I was struck by how much more fluent some students' oral production was than their written production. If their listening comprehension corresponded to their speaking ability, I felt that they might benefit from listening to their own writing and that they might readily identify errors in grammar, sentence structure and syntax not from analysis but simply because it sounded wrong-just as native speakers with no knowledge of grammar automatically know when something is wrong. I found that in several cases when students read their work to themselves or listened to me read it, they often knew what was wrong and quite often had an idea how to correct it. If they didn't know quite how to correct it, I resisted the urge to simply tell them and instead asked leading questions, acted deliberately obtuse requiring further explanation and clarification or gave them just enough of a hint for them to find the solution themselves. In the future I intend to employ this technique more-either in class or while conferencing with students.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Reading Task
core task: Summarizing & Paraphrasing
center: CSM
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: McGinnis
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: In our RW 5 class we have been using Scientific American as our leading reading project. We cover one major article every week. Once a week the students write a summary of the main points of the article without using the actual article. However, they are allowed to use notes that they took while reading the article. (They receive a point for every pertinent item.) The purposes of the summary are several. Besides helping to motivate the students to actually read the assignment this is supposed to help them work on summarizing, paraphrasing, and identifying the principal ideas.
At first this seemed to work as intended. Then some of the more industrious students began copying larger and larger passages as part of their notes (and then recopying them into the summaries) which defeated most of the above mentioned purposes. For this reason during this last term I have asked them to take notes in their first languages while allowing them to copy out a few key words or phrases only. They then write their summaries with these notes alone. This appears to have worked well, especially in terms of improving their ability to paraphrase. It is something that I have encouraged then to do in writing their research papers when they are having difficulty avoiding plagiarism.
In order to take notes in their own language they really have to understand what they are reading. This also works to highlight misunderstandings that might not be apparent otherwise. When a student mistakenly believes that he or she understands something it often becomes very obvious when it is written back into English in the summary.
course: RW
level: 5
category: Writing Task
core task: Research Paper
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Julie Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: For the research paper project, I divided the class into teams of 4-5 students. Each student wrote an individual paper, but the teams provided ongoing support and feedback throughout the process. The teams worked together approximately one day a week. They discussed topic choices and brainstormed ideas. Returning students were mixed with new students so they could help them find things in the library. Later the teams did peer reviews of each draft of the research paper. At one point I had students write two different possible introductions for their papers. They shared them with their teams and talked about which ones were more effective. I was pleased with how well the teams worked together. They seemed to enjoy the project and gave each other good suggestions. Because they worked with the same people throughout, they were familiar with each other’s papers. The papers became more meaningful because they had an audience of several interested readers rather than just one teacher or a randomly chosen peer reviewer.
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 1
year: 2007
instructor: Laura Underwood
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: For the initilal reading diagnostic, I used Mark's article on Experiential Learning.
Linking To Mark's article on Experiential Learning, I used this as an initial writing diagnostic.
As an English Language Learner, you have certainly had the opportunity to evaluate strategies for learning a language. Write a non-personal, informative 5 paragraph essay explaining the components of an effective language program. Include the importance of student responsibilities and program strategies.
I hear and I forget
I see and
I remember
I do and I understand
Ancient Chinese Proverb
Analyze the
ancient proverb. How does this apply to learning a language? Integrate the quote
into your essay (in full or in part).
course: RW
level: 5
core task: Vocabulary Building
center: UNCG
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Carrie Castelein
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: In my RW 5 class this term, we read "The World is Flat" by Thomas Friedman. Because of student interest in increasing their vocabulary and increasing their word choices in papers, I decided to have them do a vocabulary journal. In their vocabulary journal, they were to write down words that they could not guess or figure out from context. Each week, they then brought to class ten of those words, and shared them with 2-3 group members. They were responsible for defining and using them in sentences if the other group members did not know the word. They then went home and individually created a story or game using the words from that week. As the weeks progressed, the students added more and more new vocabulary to their initial activity. To integrate this activity into their academic writing, I had them go through their final research paper and look for words such as "a lot" and replace them with words such as "vast" when appropriate. This helped them increase their vocabulary and be more diverse writers.
course: RW
level: 5BR>core task: reading; Newsweek
center: VU
semester: Fall
term: 2
year: 2007
instructor: Julie Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: As noted in previous entries, here at VU the RW 5 students have student-rate subscriptions to Newsweek for the reading project. This has worked very well for us and is popular with the students. Although it can be challenging at first, most students enjoy it and find it useful. As a teacher, I like the variety and flexibility it offers. Recently I discovered that there are some very good support materials available online. The Newsweek Education Program has offered a study guide and supplemental resources for some time, but in the past I was not very impressed with them. However, their new and improved website has a lot of material, including activities related to both content and language use. They also provide comprehension quizzes for four articles each week, which I used with minimal revision. It saved time and was a consistent way to monitor comprehension throughout the term. They only supplement a few articles in each issue (not always the same ones that we focused on in class), and some of the activities did not seem particularly relevant for my students, but overall it is a helpful resource and worth looking at each week if you’re using Newsweek. You need to subscribe in order to access everything, but you can get an idea from the website: http://school.newsweek.com/ See the e-NWTW section.
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Julie Dean Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: At the beginning of the term, I asked my students to keep a daily journal in which they would respond to the articles they read in Newsweek (our reading project). In the past, this has been effective and students generally seem to enjoy it. However, it quickly became clear that it wasn’t working this time. When I checked the journals, they were incomplete and showed minimal interest. Almost all of the students were enrolled in university classes as well as RW 5, and there were a lot of complaints about how much work and how little time they had. We talked about time management strategies, but I also changed the journal assignment. I asked them to write for fifteen minutes each day about the things they had read and discussed in their university classes. This gave them their daily writing practice, but in a way that was perceived as reinforcing their university work rather than competing against it.
keyword: reading
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Julie Jones
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: I tried something new this term with the reading project and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it worked. For our main reading text, students subscribed to Newsweek. In recent terms I have been concerned that students were not reading much in the magazine beyond what we specifically discussed in class. So I decided to give a quiz each Monday over the entire magazine before selecting 3-4 articles for detailed study. The quiz contained basic questions about the main ideas of a variety of articles, just enough to make sure that they were doing the reading. This worked, more or less, but it took a lot of time to prepare and I questioned how useful it really was. After the third week, I decided to change the plan so that the students wrote the questions instead. They would prepare questions and then form teams to quiz each other. This had several positive results. First, it added an element of competition and fun which appealed to this particular group of students. At their insistence, we kept the same teams so the rivalry continued throughout the term. Second, we spent a lot of time on the writing aspect. In the beginning the questions were awful, either way too easy or impossibly ambiguous, and the students could see this. We talked about what made a “good†question: it should make sense, be fair, focus on main ideas rather than details, etc. The students decided on their own that the questions should all be multiple choice and that they should identify which article each question came from. Writing and evaluating these questions helped them look critically at their own writing in other contexts and reminded them to look at their work from the reader’s perspective. Also, before the quiz game itself, I gave them time to prepare as a team, i.e. to compare questions, agree on the answers, and choose the best ones to ask the other team. This started as 10-15 minutes of consultation, but evolved into a more extensive and valuable discussion as they talked about the articles they had read and what they did and did not understand. I spent time with each team, answering questions, facilitating the discussions, and monitoring their progress. They would also consider which articles they wanted to discuss in more detail, and I would assign some of those for later in the week. A further advantage was that this activity required minimal preparation on my part and made for a lively and productive class each Monday.
keyword: reading project
submit: Submit Query
course: RW
level: 5
center: VU
semester: Spring
term: 2
year: 2008
instructor: Laura Underwood
e-mail: [email protected]
report text: In addition to Newsweek, the students read the book The Ultimate Gift. The students learned about the philosophy of finding and utilizing the gifts they have within themselves to better themselves and society. The class did corresponding activites to explore each of the 12 gifts. The term culminated with the movie. IF YOU'D LIKE MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE ACTIVITIES, PLEASE CONTACT ME TO ORDER SUPPLIES! [email protected]