Unit 4: Chapter 3 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 4: Chapter 3 of Urban Reader for College Writers, answer the following questions:

1. What do you think is the relationship between modern living and childhood obesity?
2. What could we do as a society to change these problems?

You must post a comment answering this question before Friday, November 15th, and you must reply to at least one post by a classmate before class on Monday. You may feel free to post as many times and as much as you like beyond the minimum requirement. Remember, this counts as class participation and a homework grade. Have fun with it!

--------

I will give you a printout with this information in class next week, but here is the information for your research project: 

Research Project

You are required to complete a research project for this course. This will be a group project. You may choose any of the themes in Urban Reader for College Writers to research, even if we have not covered the topic in class. You will be responsible for doing the research, composing a summary, and practicing with your groupmates both in and outside of class. Your group will be giving a presentation in front of the class about your findings. Each member needs to put an equal amount of effort into the project and speak and equal amount in front of class for the presentation.

You need to choose a theme from the book and find three outside sources on this topic. You then must summarize your findings, giving credit to your sources with in-text citations. You must also list your sources at the end of your summary. Your presentation must be 7-10 minutes long and your summary must be at least one and a half typed pages, excluding the source list.

  

DUE DECEMBER 2ND

Unit 4: Chapter 2 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 4: Chapter 2 of Urban Reader for College Writers, answer the following question:

What is your reaction to the issues being discussed in this chapter? Do you think sodas should be taxed or restricted for children? What about for adults? Why or why not?

You must post a comment answering this question before Friday, November 8th, and you must reply to at least one post by a classmate before class on Monday. You may feel free to post as many times and as much as you like beyond the minimum requirement. Remember, this counts as class participation and a homework grade. Have fun with it!

Unit 4: Chapter 1 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 4: Chapter 1 of Urban Reader for College Writers, answer the following question:

In your view, who is personally responsible for helping children grow up healthy? Why do you feel that way? At what point should children be responsible for their own health?

You must post a comment answering this question Friday, November 1st and you must reply to at least one post by a classmate before class on Monday. You may feel free to post as many times and as much as you like beyond the minimum requirement. Remember, this counts as class participation and a homework grade. Have fun with it!

Unit 3: Chapter 3 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 3: Chapter 3 of Urban Reader for College Writers, answer the following question:

Do you think Mesa Verde's food initiative will develop and spread to other neighborhoods? What makes you think it will or will not?

You must post a comment answering this question by Friday, October 25th, and you must reply to at least one post by a classmate before class on Monday. You may feel free to post as many times and as much as you like beyond the minimum requirement. Remember, this counts as class participation and a homework grade. Have fun with it!

Unit 3: Chapter 2 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 3: Chapter 2 of Urban Reader for College Writers, complete the following activities:

1. Answer: What do you think it would take to have sustainable agriculture in the city? (Blog)

2. Research: One movement toward sustainable agriculture here in NYC. It can be a rooftop garden, a community garden, or another project you find. Include a brief summary of what you learned and link the source in your comment. (Blog)

3. Complete the On Campus survey section (pg. 104). Ask two people the questions listed and include your own answers to the questions as well. On your paper, mention who you asked and what each of their responses were, including your own. See my example below. (Paper)

You must post a comment answering questions 1 and 2 by Friday, October 18th, and you must reply to at least one post by a classmate before class on Monday. You may feel free to post as many times and as much as you like beyond the minimum requirement. Remember, this counts as class participation and a homework grade. Have fun with it!

Question 3 will be turned in in class on Monday. Below, I've included the questions from the book and I gave examples on two of them of how this should be completed. Be prepared to share your findings on Monday.

Survey Questions 

I interviewed my friend Marshall and my roommate Ashley.

1. Have you heard of urban farms?

Marshall: No
Ashley: Yes
Me: Yes

2. Where can people create urban farms?
Marshall: I guess in empty lots or in parks
Ashley: I know people have them on their roofs and sometimes there are community gardens
Me: Community gardens or their yards if they have space

3. What types of food can one grow on urban farms?

4. Would you buy fruits and vegetables from a farm on a rooftop in your neighborhood? 

5. Would you consider making a small farm on your rooftop?

6. What can the government do to help the urban farm initiative?

Unit 6: Chapter 3 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 6: Chapter 3 of Urban Reader for College Writers, answer these question:

1. Why do you think children bully their peers?
2. What do you think schools should do to cut back on bullying on school buses? (This is where you can discuss whether you think the options mentioned in the chapter are effective and why, or you can discuss some things you think might be more effective.)
3. Why do you think they aren't doing these things already?

You must post a comment answering these questions Friday, October 11th. You should reply to another student's post by class time on Tuesday.

*** NOTE: We do not have class next Monday. Instead, we have class on Tuesday. The entire college is putting Tuesday on a Monday schedule next week, meaning you will have all your Monday classes on Tuesday, October 15th.


*** NOTE: The dates for the ACT this semester are December 9th and 10th. You must not take the test during class time. Schedule it for a time when you have no classes.

What Makes for Good Education?

What do you think helps schools provide the best education? Funding? Hiring practices? Classroom subjects? School zoning rules? Longer or shorter school hours? Standardized tests? Something else?

First, explore your own opinions on this topic. Then, do some research on your own about successful education practices and share your findings.

Your post should include:
1. Your opinion about what facilitates good education in schools.
2. What information you've found online or in books that either agrees with or disagrees with what you previously thought.
3. The source where you found your information (a link or the title and author of a book)

You must post a comment answering this question by Friday, October 4th, and you must reply to at least one post by a classmate before class on Monday. You may feel free to post as many times and as much as you like beyond the minimum requirement. Remember, this counts as class participation and a homework grade. Have fun with it!

Until 2: Chapter 4 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 2: Chapter 4 of Urban Reader for College Writers, choose one of the following questions to answer. You do not need to answer both. 

Either

Imagine you are a parent in the rejected Option 3 group. Write a comment on this post in the form of a short letter to the Community Board arguing against its decision to reject Option 3. Use the information from the article to support your argument.

or

Write a comment on this post in the form of a letter to the Community Board in support of Option 2. Use the information from the article to support your argument.

You must make your post by Friday, September 27th, and post a response to at least one of your classmate's posts by class time on Monday.

REMINDER: Simply typing "I agree" is not a sufficient response. Explain why you agree (or disagree) or comment on the specific points of your classmates that you liked (or disagreed with).

Reading and Vocabulary Workbook

Dear students,

Because of the bookstore's error, I have decided that we should just purchase the Reading and Vocabulary workbook online. This is advantageous for you because the ACT is given on a computer, so you can practice working with a computer to answer ACT-like questions when we do workbook activities in class. Additionally, the e-version is cheaper than the print version.

To buy the book, follow this link: http://www.kendallhunt.com/store-product.aspx?id=83806 Be sure you click the second "add to cart" link that says:

"Electronic Delivery EBOOK ISBN: 978-1-4652-1928-2 $16.80"

If you have already purchased the book in print, that is ok. Please keep it and use that book instead (no need to buy it twice). If you do not have the book yet, be aware that you are required to purchase it, though you can spend more and buy it in print if you prefer.

You can reply to this post with questions if you have them.

Don't forget you also have homework this week. It is listed in the post below this one.

Unit 1:Chapters 1 and 3 - Blog It!

After reading Unit 1: Chapter 1 of Urban Reader for College Writers, answer the following question:

Do you support the call for more civics in the classroom? Why or why not?

Be as detailed and as opinionated as you like. You may speak about a personal experience, or just discuss the idea in general.

---

 Last week you read Unit 1: Chapter 3 of Urban Reader for College Writers. Now, answer the following question:

Some people think that young kids should not have much homework or out-of-class projects, so that they have more time to act like kids while they still can, while others think these activities help the children immensely. Do you think elementary school students should take time to volunteer in schools or in their communities? Why or why not?

You must post a comment answering both of these questions by Friday, September 20th, and you must reply to at least one post by a classmate before class on Monday. You may feel free to post as many times and as much as you like beyond the minimum requirement. Remember, this counts as class participation and a homework grade. Have fun with it!

Welcome to Class!

To create a Blogger profile, follow these steps:

1. Right-click "sign in" at the top right corner of this page and choose "open link in new tab." (This will keep this window open so that you can switch between reading directions and following them in different tabs.)

2. Create a Google account. If you already have one, you can skip this step and just sign in, or you can create a separate one just for class.

• Click "sign up" at the top right corner of the screen.
• Fill out the information
• Click "next step."
• Click "return to Blogger"
• Click "create limited Blogger profile" (or you can choose to sign up for Google+, but that is not necessary, and I won't provide directions for how to do that).
• Enter your chosen display name. If you use something other than your name, that's fine, but you will need to let me know what you have chosen so I can give you credit for your work.
• Click "continue to Blogger."

3. Click back to the original tab for this blog and refresh the page, or return to http://022reading.blogspot.com by clicking that link or typing it into the address bar at the top of the page.You may want to bookmark this page so you don't forget how to get to the blog.

Congratulations! Now you are a part of our writing class blog!

Some things to know:

• All the Blogger homework will have the directions and due dates right on the post. You will not get full credit if you don't both post and comment, and you will lose points for not submitting either on time.  
• You are encouraged to read your classmates' posts and respond to them both while that topic is being discussed in class and after we have moved on. Polite and respectful discussion here counts as class participation and could result in bonus credit if you post often enough outside of what is required.
• You may ask a classmate what they mean if they are unclear, but this is not a place to correct others' grammar or spelling. 
• You may feel free to share that you disagree with a classmate's post in your reply or discussion as long as you do it respectfully.

---

In addition to buying the book, your homework for today is to comment on this post with the following information:

- Your name
- Your favorite book or story (and why it's your favorite)
- An interesting fact about yourself
- What you expect from your experience in this class

To comment or to view other people's comments, simply click the button below which lists how many comments are currently attached to this post.