Friday, April 08, 2005

Finalization of Topic

*Attendance
*I will go over the GradingTemplate
*I will also be handing out the sign-up sheet for conferences. This will be posted on my door and filled into the wiki as a reminder (ConferenceSchedule).
*We will go over the Example essay handout and discuss what the proposal should look like when you come into conference.
*We will then work on a topic exercise in the message board. This will be a step by step process in which you and your classmates will help each other focus your topic. All notes will be put into your /ResearchIdeas page when you are done with this exercise.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Exploration of Possible Topics

*Attendance
*Exploration of possible topics in groups : I'll be putting everyone into groups of 3-4 and assigning you numbers that correspond to the Research Topics. Each group should take 5-7 minutes on 6 rotations and add what they think could work.
*We will then talk about the Focus Questions that can help you choose a topic.
*The focus questions will be due for all three of your topic choices before class on Friday. Write at least 2 sentences per question to get a good start on what you'd like to research.

Monday, April 04, 2005

Final Project Begins

*Attendance
*Discussion on grades - you can see your attendance record and major paper grades at the end of class. Also, I have hard copies of your Disney Comparison papers if you would like to see my comments - They will be in my office and we will look over it together. These were graded using the rubric I handed out a couple weeks ago. During the conferences I will have the hard copies for our use in finding weak and strong points of your writing.
*I will hand out the Research Proposal and Research Project as I cover any questions
*We will discuss the next few weeks timewise and look at what needs to be accomplished
*We will then have an exercise about the research paper and some concerns students may have.

*Also, as you may have noticed, our Enchantment Quiz is due midnight tonight. Early Tuesday morning I will begin looking at the posting dates and see if you have been keeping up or doing the work. Readability is essential - please run it through a spell check.
**A-On time
**B-Late on one or two posts
**C-Late on most
**D-Only half done
**F-Not even half done or missing
This will be a fair grading to those students who have been keeping up with the assignments.

*A reminder for absences - 4 is the most I allow before it begins to lower your final grade. It is -5 points of your final grade in the class for every day you have missed (this was covered at the beginning of the semester and is in my Syllabus).

*Through the rest of the week I will be looking for participation in the wiki-ized version of the Enchantment Book.