Going through a master’s in education has taught me a lot about structuring courses — and it has given me an outlet for OCD tendencies (trust me, this is hyperbole-inducing awesomeness).
Lately, I’ve noticed that I tend to think of things within fives: five sentences, five paragraphs, five sources, five assignments, and the purpose of this blog: five goals.
At the beginning of the term, I sat back and decided — after having that stellar NSF experience with Dr. Woodworth — what were the most important things for students to take away from my classes. And (surprise, surprise) I came up with five ideas.
I can’t teach everything with writing. I remember my early days of teaching where I carried my Atlas burden of all things writing and grammar and essays and reading and teaching (ooo, five again). And I can’t help but wonder how in the hell I made it through.
So after all this time, I’ve decided what five components are what my students need to master in composition courses:
- Research Methods
- Correct attribution (plagiarism, citations, MLA)
- Finding resources in a library
- Grammar: The Big 5 Errors
- Subject-verb agreement, fragments, run-ons, fused sentences, and comma splices
- Visual Rhetoric
- Design rules (colors, fonts, organization)
- Writing Process
- Brainstorming, outlining, drafting, revising, and polishing
- Formal Writing Organization
- SIEL Method
- Thesis statement and supporting topics
Each assignment we work with will reinforce some aspect of these five broad goals, and I’m rather happy to have figured this out.
sarahfish(think)tank 
You think like a Hamburger.
Essay. HA! You were like ” I think like a hamburger? What?!?”