planning for fall

I'll be teaching composition this fall, and I'm trying to decide what my course will look like. I'm a big fan of analysis, particularly rhetorical analysis, so the big thing is figuring out a final project and then sequencing my course to lead to that. What I'm thinking I might do is...I don't know yet. Maybe design a superhero? I think that would be fun. But is it final project worthy?

So far, I have one major assignment planned: Rhetorical Analysis of a Space. I've been wanting to do that for a while, so now is the time. But that's all I have! I know the first three assignments should be analyses and the last two or three should be creating/designing arguments, but...what? Ugh. This is the part that's both frustrating and fun. Frustrating because right now I have NOTHING. Fun because the lightbulb moment will be worth it.

Options so far:

Identifying Arguments - Summary
Understanding Arguments - Rhetorical Analysis of a Speech? (I've done this before, and it's safe. But surely there is some other thing that can be analyzed successfully here.)
Understanding Arguments - Rhetorical Analysis of a Movie
Understanding Arguments - Rhetorical Analysis of a Space
Creating Arguments - Peer Interview (The basic idea is to interview a classmate, do a profile page based on the interview, and then create a magazine the interview would appear in)
Creating Arguments - Design a Superhero???? Sounds cool but might be confusing. Only because I would have to figure out how to plan it.

ARGH. I am also out of practice with teaching comp, so it's going to take some time. I'd also like to do a photo essay, which would be interesting.

So, yes. That leaves me with two definites for assignments: Summary and Rhetorical Analysis of a Space. Lovely. I only need to fill in three more assignments and twelve to thirteen more weeks of the semester.

trio of book reviews

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: I liked this book, but not as much as I wanted to. Mostly because (a) it feels like a set up for the next book [which it most certainly is] and (b) I really wished it had been told in multiple POVs. Because I really, really wanted to know what some of the other characters were thinking, and it frustrated me that I couldn't! Also, in that way, the outcome becomes kind of predictable with the first person narration and all. Anyway, I am interested in reading the next book [out in September!]. Plus, shipper alert! As you do.

Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure: "Revenge is living well, without you." -- Joyce Carol Oates. As you can guess, the memoirs range from the supremely awesome, like the Oates' one there, or kind of lame. It made me think about how I would describe myself/life in six words (it's hard), and I think I'll use that as a revision/writing concisely assignment. Oh, and it also made me think of using Twitter in the classroom. EDIT, STUDENTS. EDIT LIKE THE WIND.

My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison: Hey, so I liked this one way more than I thought I would! It is really kind of awesome because it surprised me by doing some unexpected things with the story. There are two main threads to the story: (a) Be careful what you wish for and (b) Don't underestimate yourself. LOVE. It features a surprisingly strong heroine--okay, three strong female characters, actually--and is kind of fun. Great for the beach. I had started it, set it aside, and then picked up again and read it in two days. I would've finished it in one except I was tired. Good times. It also seems like there could be another book featuring the same fair godmother, so it'd be interesting if the author did that. The book also offers a unique way of looking at/rewriting/retelling fairy tales, which would also make an awesome assignment and give students a different way to think about it.

Quotes!

Fairy's side note: Adults are constantly telling teenagers that it's what's on the inside that matters. It's always painful to find out that adults have lied to you.

Fairy's side note: Guys can smell desperation. It triggers an instinct in them to run far and fast so they aren't around when a woman starts peeling apart her heart. They know she'll ask for help in putting it back together the right way--intact and beating correctly--and they dread the thought of puzzling over layers that they can't understand, let alone rebuild. They'd rather just not get blood on their hands.

But sharks are different. They smell the blood of desperation and circle in. They whisper into a girl's ear, "I'll make it better. I'll make you forget all about your pain."

Sharks do this by eating your heart, but they never mention this beforehand. That is the thing about sharks.

TELL ME ABOUT IT.