A1: DB 5 – “Learning the Grammar of Animacy” and SMART Homework Goals for Fall 2024

“Learning the Grammar of Animacy” by Robin Wall Kimmerer

• What did you think about this reading?
  • What did you like about it?
• What is her purpose, or overall message?
  • Is there a quotation from the story you can identify as a thesis statement of sorts? 
  • Who is the primary audience for this piece?
    • Why, and can you find evidence for your answer?
• How might changing the primary audience affect the central purpose of Kimmerer’s piece?
  
  • • Imagine if Kimmerer was writing specifically to your parents; what about the piece would you expect to change? 
    •  What would be removed because your parents wouldn’t find it rhetorically effective; what might be added?
• Spend a few minutes reflecting over the “genre” of this piece
  • What characteristics from this piece make it like a Critical Literacy Narrative?
    • Find a specific example to better illustrate your comparison
  • What characteristics prevent it from being a Critical Literacy Narrative?
    
    • Find a specific example (from Kimmerer, our Rubric, or our Prompt) to better illustrate your comparison
    • Be as obvious as your like, but name something other than word limit…

Homework Practices

I had you independently begin thinking about these questions last week; please feel free to draw and refine your ideas from A1: WTL – Integrity and Homework Conditions

• Where and when do you complete your homework for this class? your other classes?
  • When (or, for what kinds of assignments) might it be beneficial to have a separate space for this class?
  • Can you draft, revise, and edit a 10 page research essay in the same conditions you complete your process work in?
• What distractions exist in your homework space?
  • How do you focus, even with these problems?
• Knowing that the work load will progressively intensify as the semester continues, can your schedule accommodate the increased work load?
• Name one challenge you experienced this weekend whilst completing homework which you can reasonably expect to persist for the semester
  • Example: “I do my homework at home, but I live with my baby sister who cries a lot. It’s distracting, and it’ll never truly be solved.”
  • The challenge could be about your homework practices, your content, your motivation, your time management, your materials, etc…
  • How were/are you accepting that challenge and moving through it?

SMART Goal for Fall 2024

Reflecting on your homework practices, please create a SMART goal (specific to this course) which will help you overcome the challenge you previously identified. We will return to these goals throughout the semester, and you may find that they will change over time. Remember, SMART Goals are:

• S – Specific
  • What HOMEWORK PRACTICE can you begin which will address your persistent, semester-long challenge
• M – Measurable
  • How can this HOMEWORK PRACTICE be quantifiably measured?
  • I recommend either units of time (hours, minutes) or a specific number of accomplishments (words written; process work completed)
• A – Attainable
  • This is a goal for the entire semester; you are creating a beneficial habit. This should be a challenge, not something you’re already doing, but it should also be realistic enough to see improvement between now and the end of the semester.
  • We will return to these goals later on, so we’ll know if we achieved our goals or if we need to adjust our expectations.
• R – Relevant
  • Make this goal a HOMEWORK PRACTICE. Something you can change, add, or remove from your current practices that will make you more successful.
• T – Timely
  • We only have until the semester’s end together, so be reasonable with how much you expect to change within that timeframe
  • As we revisit these goals, it’s okay if we have to adjust our expectations to better match the reality of our time restraints