Read and Comment on an Extra Sci-Fi Text (Absence Removal Option) NEW

To address the handful of folks with attendance problems, I am willing to erase the existence (but not lost points of) four absences in order to make sure folks don't fail the course for non-attendance. To get this extra credit, read one of the following books and then write a two-page response to it. If the text has a pairing from our reading list, your response should offer a comparison or series of connections. These responses should include quotes and a works cited page (that does not count in the two page response). Post these responses in the extra credit forum and indicate if the response is for points or for removal of absences. You will also need to show me the marked text as we do with all readings for the course. SPECIAL NOTE: Students seeking to remove absences must attend all classes from November 25th on without any absences, regardless of reason.

Book options:

• Speaker for the Dead or Ender's Shadow (Paired with Ender's Game)
• 20,0000 Leagues Under the Sea (Independent text)
• Children of Dune (Paired with Dune)
• Oryx and Crake (Paired with The Handmaid's Tale)
• Rocket Ship Galileo, Red Planet, or Stranger in a Strange Land (Paired with Starship Troopers)
• Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep? (Paired with Blade Runner)
• Brave New World (Paired with Gattica)

Possible Points: 4 Removed Absences or 10 to 30 points, depending on quality (you must indicate which option you seek)
Deadline: December 12, 2008

Do a Grammar Revision of Your First Paper NEW

See the instructions for the grammar revision here. Complete the assignment using the graded copy of Paper #1 as a guide. Turn in a typed grammar revision plus my handmarked copy of your first paper to my box by noon on Friday, December 5th.

Possible Points: 1 to 20 depending on quality and completeness of coverage.
Deadline: Noon, December 5, 2008

Go See Proof by the Montco Drama Club NEW

Montgomery County Community College’s Drama Club will present a production of “Proof” by David Auburn on Nov. 13, 14, 15, 21 and 22 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. The play will be held in the Black Box Theater, room 203 of the Physical Education Center at the College's Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. General admission tickets are $8, and tickets for senior citizens and students are $5. To reserve tickets, call the drama club at 215-641-6522. Click on the link for details. To get the extra credit, bring your playbill to me and post a page-long reaction to the play in the extra credit forum.

Possible Points: 3 to 6 points depending on quality of response.
Deadline: December 1, 2008

Give Blood

Montco is hosting a blood drive on Tuesday, November 4th and Wednesday, November 5 from 8:00 am - 2:00 PM in the Ping Pong Room on the Lower Level of College Hall. If you successfully give blood (or at least get stuck with a needle), you can get 5 points extra credit. To get it, you need to do the following: schedule an appointment by calling the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement (ext. 6581) or send an email to Diana McGuire of the Office of Student Leadership & Involvement (dmcguire@mc3.edu). Make sure you eat something beforehand. Donate blood, and then get the person who drew your blood to write you a note on a blood donation brochure stating you gave blood and then have them sign it. If you are ineligible to vote, my apologies, but don't complain. Just do another extra credit assignment.

Possible Points: 5
Deadline: November 10, 2008 to turn in note

Detail Your Voting Plan

Being registered to vote is great, but if you don't actually vote, what's the point of living in a democracy or caring about "freedom"? Unfortunately, lots of folks let the hustle and bustle of life keep them from voting because it's a pain to actually squeeze a trip to their local polling place and actually cast their vote. To help prevent that in your individual cases, I want each of you to make a plan that explains how you will fit voting into your day on November 4th. Write a paragraph that explains the following: the name and location of your polling place, the times the polling station opens and closes, the obstacles you have to overcome to get there to vote (transportation, class, work, care of a relative, etc.), and how you plan to overcome them. I want to know roughly what time you plan to vote. Don't forget to factor in the possibility of standing in line.

Possible Points: 1-4, depending on quality.
Due date: Monday, November 3, 2008 by midnight. NO EXCEPTIONS. A plan made after Election Day is pointless.

Rewrite "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" Song Lyrics for the Class

As a fan of the Smashing Pumpkins' theme song for the forthcoming Watchmen film, I've been listening to "The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning" and, I have to admit, making up my own lyrics. I'd like to challenge you to do the same, but with a catch: rewrite the words to the song using a text from the course as source materials: character names, plot lines, quotes, images, and anything else from a specific text or chain of texts. Post the lyrics in the extra credit section.

Possible points: 3-6 depending on quality (10 if you record it and put it on Youtube)
Deadline: December 10, 2006

Register to Vote

With the election coming up, part of being an active citizen is participating in the most basic right available to any citizen of democracy: voting. To get this extra credit, all you have to do is produce a photocopy of your voter registration card and give it to me. You can even redact your party affiliation: I don't care which party (if any) you choose to register with. I simply want to make sure you can exercise your right to vote should you choose to.

You can register to vote through any of the major candidates web sites or other sites online. Please note that you don't have to vote for a person if you register on his site. The deadline to register so that you can vote in the Presidential election is October 6, 2008:

• McCain's Voter Registration Web Page
• Obama's Voter Registration Web Page
• Rock the Vote
• VotePA.com (State-run site)

My apologies to anyone who cannot register to vote. More extra credit options will be made available.

Deadlines: Last day of class

Possible points: 10 points for any registration card dated before October 6, 2008. 5 points for any dated after.

Read, Mark, and Comment on an Additional Short Story (remove an absence)

Our course packet includes several stories that did not make it onto the syllabus. For this extra credit, you may read, mark, and write a two-page formal response to the story to either earn up to 10 points depending on the quality of your response OR remove one absence from my gradebook. Your response should offer a summary of the argument, three key quotes from the text, and then a personal reaction to the ideas in the essay. This response must be posted in the extra credit section.

Additionally, you may choose from the following stories:

• "Blowups Happen" by Robert A. Heinlein (Thanks, Sy, for suggestig the story)
• Original "Ender's Game" short story.
• "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut (Thanks, Sy)
• "They're Made of Meat" by Terry Bisson (Thanks, Greg) (There's a Youtube video if anyone is interested)

Deadline: Last day of class
Possible points: Either one erased absence or up to 10 points (depending on quality of response). You may read both essays for separate extra credit opportunities.

Suggest a Link for the Course

You may find material related to the course online that you think should be shared with your peers. If you do, send it to me as a link via email to my hhalbert@gmail.com email. If I like it and add it to the class web page's links section, you get 3 points. Limit 12 points for this.

Deadline: December 5, 2008
Possible points: 3 points, limit 12 total.