thinking about the lesson for Wed.

So, I need a lesson which I will present about a 10-15 minute segment for the class. I was wondering if it should be--well, actually I wasn't sure what it should be. How different is it than what I already do in class? I looked through the websites she provided.

http://web.indstate.edu/ctl/tips/tips.html

http://writing2.richmond.edu/wac/wtl.html

http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/pop5.cfm

I saw lists of most everything that I do in class. Cooperative/collaborative learning. Exit passes. Writing to learn. Even icebreakers. But I fear that if I use the icebreaker that I use with my classes they will think that is juvenile. I don't know why I think that because I used it with the writing project people last summer, and I think it worked well.

They are reading Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Ch. 2). Early in the semester, all I care about is helping the students to quickly generate lots of ideas. I wondered about doing loop writing. And after viewing the websites, I thought loop writing might not be a bad idea.

Here's a general brainstorming of my thoughts at this point:

Five minutes: write a short introduction. Share with a partner. Introduce each other to the class.

20-25 minutes: do a loop writing about your educational experience

0r

Private freewrite--explain--try it
Focused freewrite over educational experiences--this would probably be better and try the loop writing later when they have built up their writing endurance
Public freewrite--share with partner--share with a group of four--volunteers to share with the class
Collaborative writing

*all of these writings should be centered around education

Exit Pass: What ideas or thoughts did you come up with today that were new? Process writing over freewriting. Or--Compare your educational experiences with what Friere discusses in Chapter 2.

For homework--the would be easy--you could have them create a collage of their writings from class--no transitions--just pick out the best of what they wrote--add to it--revise negatively, as Elbow and Belanoff say, and turn that in, typed, during the next class period--on Monday you could have them share what they wrote--with different partners--at the beginning of class for about five minutes and then have them turn those in to you. They could use these papers as brainstorming for the more formal essay they will write you. I think this may help them find their voice a little bit before you throw them into writing more formally.

That's where I am so far.