Weekly Post #10: Sean Doolittle (due March 19)

Not going to lie, I was thrilled to see this piece in the NYTimes about Sean Doolittle, a pitcher from the A's, last year. He's the kind of player who can safely go to the grocery store, live his life in relative obscurity, and otherwise enjoy some moderate fame but nothing too wild. So here he is in the pages of the Sunday Times, and I think it's a good read. What are your thoughts? You know you want to connect this to the American Dream and masculinity and hero worship ... or you can just read and respond. Like I said, I'm just pumped to see Doolittle in a national paper.

Day 20: One Shot (the end)

Free writing
The focus of the second to last reading was the game against Lane Tech. Notice how much longer the description was and how much more detail there was about the game. Why was that game more important? Why did Ballard move quickly over the final game? What does this tell us about the point of this story?

OR

Steve Shartzer ... 217-220. What are we to take from Steve's experiences in life and with sport? Related to larger themes of Am Dream and the course.

OR

What did you think of the closing?
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Brainstorm of major themes. With each idea give me one quote to support the idea. Craft an essay question related to theme.

Think about literary devices used in the story. Give an example of each. Craft an essay question related to a literary device.

Other questions ...

Choosing your question and beginning to write ...

Weekly Post #8: Mo'ne Davis (due Mar 12)

A great read about Mo'ne Davis, and another one about why she matters to girls in sport. While this story is a bit old, I think it's a great example of a change maker, a trendsetter. Do you think Mo'ne's performance is a sign of more girls and women playing baseball? Do you think this is just an anomaly? Share your thoughts.

I want to say that I recognize this might be a touchy subject. My intention is not to pit people against each other or set someone up to say "women don't belong." I do think accessibility at early ages is hugely important for girls, and I think this is a complicated issue.

Day 19: One Shot (up to 203)

Plot questions? Comments? Insights? How's the reading going?

Question generation for essays: Some practice
1. Questions on meaning (plot?)
2. Questions on purpose & audience (why?)
3. Questions on method and structure (how?)
4. Questions on language (tone, literary devices, style, characterization)

• Write one question for each category.
• Share w partner. Revise as needed.
• Gallery walk ... star three in each category you like.
• Put top questions on board & discuss.

Day 18: One Shot (up to 170)

Writing

"He thought about how when he hung up his uniform it would be time to go and get a job, and how some of his older friends were already talking about draft numbers for the war. And, as he had before the season, he thought of how it was, as he says, "my last time to be a kid."

Heneberry thinks this is his last hurrah. And some of you are in your last hurrah here at MA. It's your last time to be an MA student. Reflect and write on three things in your MA bucket list.

Chpt. 14 Question
1. Why does Ballard craft Shartzer and Sweet's stories in parallel? What impact does this have on the narrative? on the characterization of the men?

Larger questions on gender

Looking at the readings thus far, how does the text deal with the themes of ...
1. Father/Son dynamics
2. Masculinity
3. Adolescent males

How do these themes manifest themselves in the text and what conclusions are we to draw from the text about each theme? Use text evidence to support your ideas.

Question generation for essays
Questions on meaning (plot?)
Questions on purpose & audience (why?)
Questions on method and structure (how?)
Questions on language (tone, literary devices, style, characterization)