Public Sphere Literacy

Enables students to

Employ critical thinking, reading, writing, speaking and listening skills
Communicate effectively as a citizen within different cultural contexts—locally, nationally and globally.

Public Sphere Discourses

Are the kinds of reading, writing, speaking, and listening that occur in public spheres such as

Advertising
News
Entertainment
Advocacy
Electoral and legislative politics
Religious institutions
Service organizations
Workplaces

Public Sphere Discourse Conventions

Are the “rules” for public sphere writing and speaking, such as

General conventions (reasoning, vocabulary, formats, and sentence styles)
Specific conventions appropriate for each context

Note 1: No one is born with public sphere literacy. It can be learned at any stage of life.

Note 2: R/C 2 cannot teach all the conventions of every public sphere community. It can, however, help students develop critical literacy, i.e., an ability to recognize, analyze, employ, and (when necessary) interrupt discourse conventions considered appropriate for each public context in which students find themselves.

Learning Goals and Grading Rubrics for English 1002

The linked rubrics define achievement levels for the primary writing units in English 2. For Unit 5, students may revise one of their first three papers.

Updated for 2011-2012

Oral Presentations -- Throughout English 1002, students prepare presentations in which they brief their classmates about the content of their unit papers (approx. 5 students for each unit)
Oral Briefing Rubric