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  • Read Nevil Shute’s On the Beach, chapters 1 – 4
  • Listen to Colorado Matters Book Club podcast, “Post-Apocalyptic Literature: Is It Useful? Is It Moral?” (embedded below)
  • Complete all parts of Module 10 Writing Circle (Topic: On the Beach Q&A)
  • Watch the “Visual Rhetoric” video lecture (embedded below)
  • Reread Annotated Bibliography assignment sheet
  • Review Online Librarian Research Subject Guide
  • Read the Visual Research Project assignment sheet
  • Listen to Professor Kenyon’s audio lecture on the Visual Research Project (embedded below)
  • Complete and submit Visual Research Project topic proposal

Download a printable checklist here

Module 10 Assignment Details

Complete the following assignments for this module. All assignments are due by the end of the module unless otherwise noted. Be aware that this module has portions of assignments due at different time throughout the week. Please double check those due dates.

  • Read Nevil Shute’s On the Beach, chapters 1 – 4
    • These pages cover the first half of the book. Use your active reading strategies to ruminate and annotate the important scenes and parts of the story as you read. Makes notes and references will help you return to those scenes and sections as you write about them and discuss them over the coming days and weeks.
  • Listen to Colorado Matters Book Club podcast, “Post-Apocalyptic Literature: Is It Useful? Is It Moral?” (embedded below)
    • Our culture seems to have developed an obsession for entertainment depicting a grim future. Post-apocalyptic films and television shows often have their origins in print. Award-winning Colorado authors Peter Heller, Helen Thorpe, and Lisa Jones discuss three books of the genre including Shute’s On the Beach. The discussion culminates with a discussion of the usefulness and morality of the genre.
  • Complete all parts of the Module 10 On the Beach Q&A Writing Circle
    • This discussion board prompt is broken into multiple parts with different due dates.
    • The first part is the individual response. The guidelines for this response are detailed in the prompt. Please note the mid-week due date for this portion of the assignment.
    • The second part is the sharing circle. This portion will continue throughout the week. Again, detailed guidelines are available in the prompt. Please ask immediately if you have questions as this is group work and others in the class are counting on the full participation of their peers within the groups.
  • Watch video lecture “Visual Rhetoric” (embedded below)
    • This video lecture will walk you through important strategies that will help you understand the basics of visual rhetoric and how arguments can be created with visual media.
  • Rreead Annotated Bibliography assignment sheet
    • A quick refresher will help you prepare to create the AB for the upcoming assignment. See below for details.
  • Review Online Librarian Research Subject Guide
    • Kathleen Kroll, our online class librarian, has prepared a subject guide to help you with your research, complete with examples, links, and tutorials. Review all the pages and links provided. Bring any research questions to her via chat, email, or in person at the research desk on the first floor of the Zahnow Library. NOTE: The tools, guides, and tutorials provided should be your first stop as you search for sources for your research project
  • Read the Visual Research Project assignment sheet
    • Take the time to carefully read over the assignment sheet
    • While your topic proposal is due at the end of this week, we can begin early discussions of potential topics by email or on Remind
    • You can also download and print a copy of the assignment sheet here
  • Listen to Professor Kenyon’s audio lecture on the VRP assignment (embedded below)
    • In this lecture I go over the details of the annotated bibliography assignment sheet.
  • Complete and Submit a VRP Topic Proposal
    • Work through the topic proposal freewrite prompts in the assignment sheet
    • Prepare to include in your topic proposal:
      • your chosen topic
      • possible format(s) considered for presentation
      • potential argument and rationale (A rationale will explain your reasoning behind the proposed argument — do this by developing a 150+ word summary of your topic freewrite responses.)
    • Go to the topic proposal assignment here to submit your proposal.
    • Please note the mid-week due date for this portion of the assignment.

Writing Circle Guidelines and Instructions

Individual Response

Complete your Individual Response using the prompt given below. Your IR should be written in a separate document then cut/pasted into a new thread on the discussion board. Be sure your IR follows these guidelines:

  • Will focus on the specific prompt provided below
  • Will be a minimum of 200 words in length to be considered “acceptable”
  • “Superior/Exceptional” responses will go above and beyond in detail, clarity, complexity, and thoughtfulness
  • Will directly reference the reading(s)/lecture(s) (use at least one citation from each source)
  • Will include proper MLA citation and Works Cited listing at the end
  • Will be posted by Friday at 11:59 p.m. by starting a new thread on discussion board

Sharing Circle

After the due date/time for the individual response, return to the discussion board to begin the Sharing Circle. You’ll begin this by taking the time to carefully read and consider each of your peers’ Individual Responses. The specific questions and guidelines for participating in the SC are listed below. The SC is an on-going discussion that will continue from Friday night to Sunday night when the week is over. All SC posts must follow these guidelines:

  • Create one SC post for each peer in your group
  • Will focus on the specific questions provided
  • Will be about 100 words in length
  • Will be a response that is thoughtful, respectful, but challenging
  • Upload the reaction posts by replying to each peer’s Individual Response

As a classroom courtesy and to work toward earning full credit for the Writing Circle, take some time at the very end of the week to give short replies of acknowledgement and thanks to your peers who have posted to your individual response and joined you in conversation.

Module 10 Writing Circle Prompt

Individual Response

After completing the assigned pages from the assigned novel, consider and write about the following:

Record your reactions and responses to the text so far. Look through your “active reading” notes and write about what you found memorable, noteworthy, or otherwise striking in the text. Where did you experience to strongest of emotional reactions? How do you account for those?

In your response, include details and expanded notes on characters, situations, and actions that you find important or vital to the story and our class theme. Why are these important and worth mentioning in your response?

Also, include your reaction to CPR Podcast on post-apocalyptic fiction. Be specific about how you feel this story and/or the characters connect in some way to the ideas discussed.

Sharing Circle

  • Read the Individual Responses of those in your peer group.
  • Reading others’ writing often leads us to ask questions. What point does your peer make that raises a question for you? Address that question with your peer. As part of your conversation, discuss possible answers to the question that may lead to a better understanding of the topic of the assigned material.
  • Discuss briefly in your conversation one idea in your individual response that differs from the ideas of your peer.