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Sociological Tootkit Assignments 1 Sociological Toolkit – Reaction Paper Assignments Learning about Sociology should not merely be about the memorization of names, concepts, and theories. Learning Sociology is about understanding and applying them in the context of your individual lives, your community, and/or the world around you. Remember one of the goals of a liberal arts education is to develop and enhance your critical thinking skills! Writing regularly will also improve writing skills, such as structuring an argument, choosing the best textual evidence, and making inferences or connections. Finally, writing assignments offer an alternative to time-specific assessments such as tests and exams, because it involves using the content rather than simply repeating it. One of the benefits of the course textbook is its use of the Sociological Toolkit. Every chapter offers readers multiple ways to practice sociology. These include: Sociology in Practice; Sociology in my Community; Sociology in my Life; and Critical Thinking in Action. These are presented in distinct “boxes” throughout the textbook. Each assignment is worth 2% of your final grade for a total of 30% of your overall grade in the course. Under NO circumstances will late assignments be accepted. Please DO NOT ASK FOR AN EXTENSION – the answer will be NO. If you miss an assignment, you can make up your marks by doing some of the bonus assignments for extra marks. The task for the Sociological Toolkit Reaction Paper Assignments is to (1) read the relevant Toolkit item and (2) respond to the “Think Outside the Box” section. There will be one Reaction Paper Assignment for each chapter. For each assignment, students will be graded on their ability to address the purpose and answer the “Think Outside the Box” section AND writing and formatting abilities (see Rubric below). What is the purpose? • Demonstrate your comprehension of the relevant course content; • Provide your reaction to the assigned questions/concepts/issues. What is the format? • Name, date, title, Times New Roman font, double-spaced, 2 pages in length between 400 and 600 words (strictly enforced). • I will not accept URL to shared documents (e.g., as a *.gdoc). Documents must be uploaded to the UMLearn course site. Acceptable document formats are either Microsoft Word or as a PDF. If your assignment is NOT in one of these two formats, it will NOT be graded, and the Instructor will NOT notify students as such. 2 Sociological Toolkit Reaction Paper Assignments Fall Term Chapter Toolkit Item Page Due Date* 1 Sociology in my Life: The Impact of Life Chances 5 Sept. 19 2 Critical Thinking in Action: Decolonization and Indigenous Research 33 Oct. 3 3 Sociology in Practice: The Canadian Multiculturalism Act 55 Oct. 17 4 Sociology in Practice: Children’s Rights and Child Welfare in Canada 77 Oct. 24 5 Critical Thinking in Action: Blaming the Poor for their Plight 93 Nov. 7 6 Sociology in my Life: Demonstrating Media Literacy 129 Nov. 21 7 Sociology in my Life: My Gender 137 Dec. 5 * All assignments must be submitted to the DropBox in UMLearn by 4:30 pm (central time) on the specified date. NO LATE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Winter Term Chapter Toolkit Item Page Due Date* 8 Sociology in my Life: Has Racism “All but Disappeared”? 172 Jan. 16 9 Sociology in my Life: Defining my Family 183 Jan. 23 10 Sociology in my Community: People for Education 216 Feb. 6 11 Critical Thinking in Action: Deviance and Social Control on your Campus 237 Feb. 27 12 Critical Thinking in Action: Improving the Health of the Nation 258 Mar. 5 13 Sociology in Practice: Chiropractic Folk Devils 275 Mar. 12 14 Sociology in my Community: Be the Change Film Series 300 Mar. 26 15 Critical Thinking in Action: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 326 Apr. 2 3 Reaction Paper: Rubric Poor 1-point Fair 3-points Good 5-points Excellent 7-points Content (0-7 points) Does not demonstrate comprehension of content and/or offers irrelevant responses to reaction questions. Demonstrates limited comprehension of content and/or offers inadequate responses to reaction questions. Demonstrates comprehension of core content and/or offers complete responses to reaction questions. Demonstrates mastery of core content and offers thoughtful responses to reaction questions. Poor 0-points Fair 1-points Good 2-points Excellent 3-points Format & Writing (0-3 points) Errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics cause reader to frequently stop reading; and/or did not follow formatting instructions. Errors in grammar, spelling, and mechanics distract or interfere with understanding; and/or did not follow one of the formatting instructions. Followed formatting instructions, but had a small number of errors in grammar, spelling and mechanics do not distract from the overall effectiveness of the paper. Followed formatting instructions, and demonstrated mastery of grammar, spelling, and mechanics enhance the effectiveness of communication. Total Points Earned: _________________ /10 points or 2% of final grade