Lesson Materials: PowerPoint; Habits for Success
Lesson Objectives: 1) You will get to know the instructor, your classmates, understand the purpose of the course, course policies, and texts; 2) You will learn to write formal emails
Connection to First Major Paper/Project: The diagnostic writing is about a significant positive or negative experience you had that influenced your experience learning to write. This activity is related to the first major paper in which you will write the story of how you learned to read and write in English and any other languages they know.
Connection to Course Goals: Course goals are explicitly discussed. Getting started with the literacy narrative by doing the diagnostic writing activity emphasizes the point that writing is a process spanning a period of time. Looking at email writing is also an opportunity to highlight the importance of genre awareness, learning about email genre features and how they can be shaped by audience and purpose.
Activities:
- Course and Professor Introductions + Attendance + Survey: 1. The professor introduces oneself and takes attendance; View the Course Info document in Google Drive and make sure you are in the right course section. Ask questions you may have.
- Introductory Scavenger Hunt: 1. Read the instructions of this handout and begin collecting information about different classmates; Students will share the names of classmates and information learned about them; 2. Ask your partner to give you a meme that best describes their personality so you can share it with the class.
- Syllabus Review and Course Goals: 1. Go over course policies; 2. Discuss the Reader as a required textbook; 3. Engage in creating a collaborative code of engagement, identifying and negotiating what you want and what the professor wants, and find a balance. Revisit this code of engagement throughout the semester; 4. The professor will introduce the course’s technological platforms and what to use them for.
- Email Writing Handout: 1. Go over email writing etiquette; discuss differences between two email samples; 2. practice sending email using email etiquette; 3. Set up Gmail accounts and send (email or chat) the professor your address so that they have your email addresses.
- Writing Prompt: Write about a positive or negative experience you had when you were learning to write. Write using a word processor (for example, Microsoft Word) or a text editor (for example, Notepad), save your work and then paste your writing into a Google Doc in your folder on Google Drive so that you can easily use this writing in your first literacy draft.
