Teaching Materials

Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies by Linda Alder-Kassner & Elizabeth Wardle

I read this book for my Composition Theory and Pedagogy class in during the Spring 2025 semester (while creating this blog!). This book is a great introduction to composition and pedagogical theory, as it breaks down complex theories into easily, digestable threshold concepts. If you are interested in learning more about comp theory, definitely give this book a go and let me know what you think. 

"What is Contract Grading" by University of Nebraska - Lincoln 

This article is a great introduction to contract grading as it helps define what contract grading it, as well as discusses the system's benefits, limitations, and how instructors can implement it into their course. While I do not currently have a blog posts that dives into contract grading, I do mention it this blog post where I question how much feedback is too much in terms of low-stakes work. 

Techniques of Close Reading by Barry Brummett

This is a textbook that could be a great source to introduce students to close reading, showing them not only the importance of close reading, but different ways they can go about it. If you want to know more about my thoughts regarding close reading in FYC, you can read my blog post, here. 

"Close Reading Using a Rhetorical Approach" by Davidson Writer

This is a blog post that gives ideas of how close-reading can be incorporated into an FYC course with a rhetorical focus. I really like the lessons plan here because they not only teach students how to closely read, but they also help teach students the rhetorical situation. If you want to know more about my thoughts regarding close reading in FYC, you can read my blog post, here. 

"Shitty First Drafts" by Anne Lamott 

This is an article from Anne Lamott's book, Bird by Bird, and details how hard writing a first draft can be. My mentor used this article to help ease her students into writing the first draft for their Exploratory Bibliography. The students seemed to really enjoy this article and I think it eased a lot of their anxiety knowing a great writer also struggles writing first drafts. 

"Journaling in the FYC Classroom" by M. Gail Grant

This article lists the ways in which journaling can be implemented in FYC courses, such as using journals to freewrite, brainstorm, and summarizing assigned readings to help students retain information. I really like the idea of implementing journals as I believe a lot of creativity can be released from actually writing words onto a page, rather than typing them onto a computer, and at the end of the semester, students would be able to actually keep their journal and hold onto it for years to come. 

"When Writing Becomes Content" by Lisa Dush

This article helps create a definition for what content actually is and how FYC courses can prepare students for this new, content driven world. I referenced this article in my blog post, "Teaching Writng in the New Age of Digital Content," which you can find here. 

"Beyond the Frontier: Innovations in First-Year Composition" by Dr. Kim Haimes-Korn

This article discusses the importance of incorporating multimodal content as well as gives a lot of great ideas regarding low-stakes and high-stakes multimodal assignments. I referenced this article in my blog post, "Teaching Writng in the New Age of Digital Content," which you can find here. 

"Incorporating Low-Stakes Work" by Georgetown University

This article helps create a definition for what low-stakes work even is, as well as gives ideas for how FYC instructors can incorporate low-stakes assignments into their classes. If you would like to hear more of my thoughts regarding low-stakes work, you can read my blog post, here. 

Integrating Revision in FYC by Jenna Cooper

This is a really great blog posts that helps FYC instructors incorporate revision from the very beginning of the semester. What I really love about this plan is that it starts by teaching students that revision is important and creating a mindset shift. Often I find that while revision is incorporated into courses, students do not understand why they need to revise and how it is helping them in the long run. If you would like to read more about my thoughts regarding revision, you can find my blog post, here. 

"Fostering Sustainable Student Revision Practices: A Call to Reimagine Revision's Place in the Composition Classroom" by Jayne E. O. Stone

This is an article that calls for revision to be more at the center of FYC courses. While this is technically a scholarly article, I decided to put this article here as it too gives a lot of great ideas regarding how revision can be implemented in FYC courses. If you would like to read more about my thoughts regarding revision, you can find my blog post, here.