Examples of Teaching Materials
As a professor of writing and literature, I believe that students learn best when they're "getting their hands dirty," so to speak. In both my writing and literature course, classes are student-led and inquiry driven. I like a busy classroom with lots of chatting. I love to see students in small groups, debating ideas, rejecting and accepting positions, and analyzing writing (both their own and published authors).
The following exercises are examples of actual classroom assignments.
The following exercises are examples of actual classroom assignments.
Writing Between the (Translated) Lines
From ENGL 2401, Introduction to Creative Writing
Creative writing teachers and poets have been using a version of this exercise for years. Robin Behn and Chase Twichell published a variation of it in their excellent anthology of writing exercises, The Practice of Poetry. I have modified this exercise in an attempt to make the language more textured and interesting.
- Using a search engine like Google or Yahoo, locate a poem by a poet you like but with which you are unfamiliar. It's best if the poem is some thirty lines or more. Short poems resist this kind of tinkering. If you're too familiar with the poem, you're likely to stay too close to it.
- Head over to Google Translate and cut and paste the poem into the box. Translate the poem into several languages and then back into English. You can go with any pattern, but Romance languages seem to work the best. You might go from English to Spanish to French to English to Italian to Spanish and back to English.
- You will wind up with a strange document, an odd translation that probably doesn't make a lot of sense if you read it loud. Don't worry; that's a good thing.
- Cut and paste the newly-translated poem into a word processing document. Triple space it.
- You can print it if you want to work with hard copy. Otherwise, type into your word processor. If you're going to type, be sure to use a different font for your own writing. Bold face or italicize your own font, anything to differentiate your writing from the original poem.
- Beneath each line, write a response to it. Don't worry if your line is a "true" response. Try to capture something from the original line, but do not merely translate the line again. Work to talk back to the line; try to pick up the texture or the timbre of the language.
- When you are finished responding to each line, delete (or cross out) all that remains of the original poem.
- You know have what is probably a mess of disconnected lines. But, again, that's good. You also have a (very) rough draft of a poem.
- Put the new draft away for a few days. Then, come back to it and read it, seeking congruities (or incongruities) and connections. Play with the lines the way a sculptor plays with clay. Push things around; add more; cut if need be. Keep playing with the language until you are satisfied with the poem. The goal is to end with a new draft, one that reflects its own internal concerns and internal unity.
- You now have a new poem.
Paragraph Cut-Up: An Exercise in Revision
From ENGL 1101, Freshman Composition
Instructions: Working in your small groups, complete the following assignment.
Activity:
Analysis:
In your groups, read each paragraph aloud, one by one. After each paragraph, with your small group, discuss the paragraph asking the following questions:
How many points does the paragraph cover? An effective paragraph covers one point in depth. If your paragraph is covering more than one point, take scissors and cut the paragraph so that each point is on a separate slip of paper. When you revise your electronic draft, you will need to separate these points as well, making each one its own paragraph.
On the rear of each paragraph, jot down a couple of notes about it. You don’t have to write in complete sentences. You could simply write, “Add example about armadillo exercise.”
When you’re finished reading and annotating each paragraph for each group member, you can break out of your small groups and work independently. Alone, move your paragraphs around into different orders and try reading your essay in those orders. Don’t be afraid to try many different orders. For each different order, pay attention to how that order affects your reading/understanding of your own essay. More than likely, you will notice gaps in your essay, points and ideas that you only hint at. You may also discover that you need to write more paragraphs to join together ideas.
Assessment
The next time you come to class, please bring a single typed, double-spaced paragraph of some 10-15 sentences assessing this exercise. What was interesting about it? What did it teach you about your draft? What did this exercise teach you about the revision process? In what specific way(s) was it helpful to you? In what particular ways did this exercise make you re-see or rethink the structure of your essay?
Activity:
- Using scissors, cut your header and title away from the front page, and cut off all page numbers.
- Cut your essay so that each paragraph is by itself on separate pieces of paper. Use the tape I’ve provided to join any paragraphs that go from one page to another.
- Cut away any excess white space from the end of the last paragraph. Now there should be no way to tell whether a paragraph is part of the introduction, the body, or the conclusion.
- Shuffle the paragraphs.
Analysis:
In your groups, read each paragraph aloud, one by one. After each paragraph, with your small group, discuss the paragraph asking the following questions:
- What’s the point of this paragraph?
- What is its purpose in the overall draft?
- How can the writer add more examples, illustrations, or support?
How many points does the paragraph cover? An effective paragraph covers one point in depth. If your paragraph is covering more than one point, take scissors and cut the paragraph so that each point is on a separate slip of paper. When you revise your electronic draft, you will need to separate these points as well, making each one its own paragraph.
On the rear of each paragraph, jot down a couple of notes about it. You don’t have to write in complete sentences. You could simply write, “Add example about armadillo exercise.”
When you’re finished reading and annotating each paragraph for each group member, you can break out of your small groups and work independently. Alone, move your paragraphs around into different orders and try reading your essay in those orders. Don’t be afraid to try many different orders. For each different order, pay attention to how that order affects your reading/understanding of your own essay. More than likely, you will notice gaps in your essay, points and ideas that you only hint at. You may also discover that you need to write more paragraphs to join together ideas.
Assessment
The next time you come to class, please bring a single typed, double-spaced paragraph of some 10-15 sentences assessing this exercise. What was interesting about it? What did it teach you about your draft? What did this exercise teach you about the revision process? In what specific way(s) was it helpful to you? In what particular ways did this exercise make you re-see or rethink the structure of your essay?
