| Week One:
Intro to writing as process-brainstorming, prewriting, revision rough drafts, editing drafts, definition of the basic sentence, and paragraph.
Diagnostic writing to assess students’ strengths and weaknesses
Assign a high-interest reading in Patterns and Themes to summarize and discuss
Week Two:
Mechanics: Finding Subjects and Verbs, Correcting Fragments, and Correcting Run-on Sentences; review nouns, pronouns, and verbs
Writing: Explain the required weekly journaling assignment which will be due in week three and all weeks until the end of the course. Writing assignment: First journal due next week.
Reading: Reading-to-write assignment for week two: Read “Goals” in Patterns and Themes, pages 8-10. Respond to “Ideas for Writing” on page 10.
Weeks Three and Four:
Mechanics: Locating Prepositional Phrases and Understanding Dependent Clauses
and Comma Rules 1, 2, and 3
Review of prepositions and conjunctions.
Writing: Writing assignment: second journal due next week.
Reading: Reading-to-write assignment-“Becoming Helpless” pages 36-39 in Patterns. Respond to all six “Reflecting” questions on page 39.
Week Five:
Mechanics: Grammar test-Identification of sentence structures, correction of fragments and run-on sentences, proper use and punctuation of phrases and clauses.
Writing: Essay test-students will write a basic paragraph in response to a visual prompt provided by the instructor. Paragraph will be evaluated based on grammar elements taught in class during weeks 1-4.
Reading: Continue assignments in Patterns and Themes
Week Six:
Mechanics: Using Regular and Irregular Verbs and Maintaining Subject-Verb Agreement
Writing: Writing assignment-Third journal due next week.
Reading: Reading-to-write assignment: select any current event item from either a newspaper or magazine. Write a basic paragraph expressing your feelings/reactions to the article selected. Attach the article to your paragraph.
Week Seven:
Mechanics: Identifying Verb Phrases
Writing: Part 4, Writing: The structure of the formal paragraph.
Writing: Interviewing-During class time the students, will pair up and perform an interview with a classmate based on an assigned format. They will organize that data into the structure of the formal paragraph discussed in class and will present their final paragraph to the entire group the following class day.
Fourth journal due next week.
Reading: Assignments from Patterns
Week Eight:
Mechanics: Grammar test-selection of correct verb for person/tense, maintaining subject/verb agreement, identification of verbals and verb phrases, identification of the components of the formal paragraph.
Writing: Essay test-students will respond to a visual prompt provided by the instructor and will write a formal paragraph of at least eight sentences based on the given prompt. The papers will be evaluated based on all grammar elements covered in class from weeks 1-8.
Reading: Assignments from Patterns.
Week Nine:
Mechanics: Review adjectives and adverbs. Have students do the “M is for
Modifiers” exercise provided by instructor (begin in class and finish as a homework assignment).
Writing: Strong descriptive writing-using adjectives and adverbs. Recommended assignment: Writing assignment-Fifth journal due next week.
Reading: Patterns selection.
Week Ten:
Mechanics: Vocabulary building-Word Choice and Spelling
Class interactive “spelling bee” –Students will be given a list of words and will work in pairs to construct sentences using the proper spelling of the assigned words. This will be a timed activity.
Writing: Writing assignment: Sixth journal due next week.
Reading: Reading-to-write assignment-“Pranks for the Memory” pages 19-21 in Patterns. Respond to all four “Reflecting” questions on pages 21-22.
Week Eleven:
Mechanics: Recognizing and correcting common errors in grammar and usage-
Using Pronouns and Avoiding Shifts in Person and Avoiding Shifts in Time.
Review the definitions and functions of pronouns and verbs.
Writing: Writing assignment: Seventh journal due next week.
Reading: Reading-to-write assignment—“For My Indian Daughter” pages 100-103 in Patterns. Respond to item one under “Ideas for Writing” page 104.
Week Twelve:
Mechanics: Common Errors Continued: Correcting Misplace or Dangling Modifiers and Correcting for Parallel Structure. Review of the definition and function of adjectives and adverbs.
Writing: Writing assignment—During class the students will be asked to write four to five strongly descriptive sentences based on sensory stimuli that will involve visual, taste, auditory, and tactile components. They will describe the sensory experience and any reaction they might have had to that experience. The prompts will be provided by the instructor.
Writing assignment: Eighth journal due next week.
Reading: Selection from Patterns
Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen:
Mechanics: Punctuation, pages 172-202 and review of elements covered between weeks 9-14.
Writing: Writing assignment: Final journal due
Writing assignment: Write a paragraph describing your development as a writer during this course. How has your confidence level changed? Are you more comfortable putting your thoughts in writing now than you were at the beginning of the semester? Have you noticed any change in your word choice/usage both in speaking and in writing? What has become clearer to you in terms of the writing process? What is still somewhat
unclear?
Reading: Selection from Patterns.
Week Fifteen/Finals
Grammar test-Editing exercise based on materials covered during course.
Writing test-The students will be given a current events article and will respond with their thoughts, feelings, and observations regarding the selected topic. They must produce a formal paragraph of at least eight sentences in length, using a variety of sentence structure combinations, and correct punctuation and spelling. The paragraph will be evaluated based on elements of grammar covered during this course. |