ESL 96-1803 Intensive Reading and Writing/ Spring 2023 with Prof. Barnes
A BMCC OpenLab course site
ESL 96-1803 Intensive Reading and Writing/ Spring 2023 with Prof. Barnes

Unit 1: Your story, Jan 26-Feb 2

In class Tuesday 1/26:

  • Let’s get to know each other
  • Course site on the OpenLab
  • In-class essay practice
  • Student information forms

Asynchronous/ on your own–complete before we meet on Tuesday, 1/31.

  1. Sign up for BMCC OpenLab (see instructions here) if you haven’t done so yet. Once you are a member, either accept my invitation to join this course or request membership to the course (whichever option you see).
  2. Introduce yourself on the course site. Click here. Next, check out what your classmates have posted.
  3. Who Are You? What is your life story? Would you need to write a memoir to explain everything, or would you be able to select one event from your life that helped shape you as a person? For your introductory post, you are going to write a memoir of your life, but there is a catch–you only have six words to portray yourself however you wish to get a message across. Here is a 3-minute video with examples, and a resource site if you’d like to learn more about the 6 word memoir and see more examples. Post your memoir in Conversation/ Who Are You? by replying to my prompt. Next, check out what your classmates have posted, and comment on their memoirs.
  4. How to succeed in this course? What do you think? Please explore our course site. Can you locate the following: course syllabus, announcements, my Let’s Chat Hours?
  5. Check out our course site on Blackboard + take the Orientation on Blackboard
  6. Watch this two 2-minute videos: Student Success- Time Management
  7. Watch another 2-minute video: How to Write a Professional Email For Students by Students
  8. Finish in-class work from 1/27 if you need extra time or were absent: go to Blackboard/ submit here and take the essay practice + submit the student information form.

In class Tuesday, 1/31:

  • Show and Tell
  • Communal quiz: Create and take the How to be successful in this class quiz/ Quiz 1.
  • Brainstorm class topics

Asynchronous/ on your own–complete before we meet on 2/2:

  1. Find a source on one of the topics you selected in class on 1/31.
  2. Post a link to the article and summarize it. Post your work here.
  3. Be ready to tell us about your article in class on 2/2.

Week 2: Feb 2

In class on 2/2:

  • Class rules (create as a class)
  • Vote on best topics for the class
  • Review HW
  • Introduction to Perusall + annotating

Asynchronous/ On your own before 2/7

  1. Conversation 1 on the OpenLab. This will be your answer to the following question: Is Zoom crushing students’ spirits?