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Sample Lesson Plan #1 Date: week two, class two of ten-week quarter Title/theme of lesson: technical definitions and how to incorporate them into your analytical report Purpose: The purpose of this lesson is to introduce to students early in the quarter the genre of technical definitions and discuss how they could incorporate them into their final analytical report project, which is due during week 11/finals week. Rationale: Technical definitions are a very visible genre of technical communication, and they are further complicated beyond the various types of definitionsparenthetical, extended, sentence when written for cross-cultural audiences. Writing technical definitions can become even more challenging given this cross-cultural consideration, as the importance on writing in plain, simple, Standard American English becomes even more important. Additionally, I've chosen to cover technical definitions early in the quarter because students will be able to begin to brainstorm different ways of defining content related to their final projects and subsequently learn how to incorporate these definitions effectively into their documentsor, alternatively, learn how to define content appropriately for their users, based on their needs or the appropriate rhetoric and discourse of the document. Aims: 1) differentiate to students the types of technical definitions: parenthetical, extended, sentence 2) show students the importance of using SAE in technical definitions, especially when writing for cross-cultural audiences 3) provide sufficient examples and direction on the topic so that students are able to incorporate definitions effectively into their subsequent writing assignments, particularly the final analytical report, for this class 4) teach students to learn how to define content appropriately for their users, based on their needs or the appropriate rhetoric and discourse of the document (tie-in to user analysis we'll later formally discuss) Terms: 1) parenthetical definition: definition that provides an aside to clarify a term 2) sentence definition: definition that uses a full sentence to define a term; typically places device or process in a larger class, then specifies it by distinguishing it from other members of the class (term, class, feature) 3) extended definition: definition that goes beyond term-class-feature form of a sentence definition; used when simple sentence definition is not sufficient for the audience to understand the term. Also sometimes referred to as expanded definition. Class Activity: 1) Ask if anyone had any outstanding questions from the first class 2) After quick review of assigned reading for the day, ask students to define, in their words, different types of technical definitions 3) Provide definitions of terms (above) 4) Discuss how, when, and why different types of definitions exist and the strategies that communicators ought to consider when using them, such as mixing and matching definitions to

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5) 6) 7) 8)

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provide information based on the audience's needs and how some strategies might be more useful than others, depending on the context Ask students to get in small groups (fewer than 4 people) and ask them to brainstorm different contexts they've seen the various definitions in. Also ask groups to have a group recorder/reporter who will share the group's answers with the class Next, ask students to brainstorm ways that definitions might be complicated when writing for cross-cultural audiences, paying particular attention to issues of Standard American English and culture-specific knowledge Have each group's reporter share the group's findings and discuss/challenge answers where applicable Ask each group to share their homework assignment (defining content using the various definition types) with each other. Ask students to give feedback to each other, when appropriate. Circulate throughout the classroom to check-in with each group and answer questions. While seated with their small groups, ask students to complete the exercise below individually and then report back to their groups:

Situation: You work as a writer and document planner for the Policy Analysis department of UNICEF. UNICEF has recently undertaken an initiative for educating young college students, ages 18-20, about the plight of other college students around the world, particularly in the Middle East, who have been affected by the recent governmental uprisings and regime collapses. The MacArthur Foundation just conducted a study that determined that most young college students outside the Middle East aren't aware of the uprisings and collapses and don't care to learn, though. Thus, UNICEF is asking you to write a web page that puts the context into understandable terms for non-Middle Eastern young college students, focusing primarily on how these young teens' lives have been affected by their government's uprisings or collapses. You are tasked with writing expended definitions for two terms, culture and standard of living, as they relate to the plight of Middle Eastern college students. 10) Check-in with the class to find out how they defined culture and standard of living. Discuss what similarities and differences existed among the definition types and why? Ask students how their considerations of cross-cultural contexts affected how they defined the abstract contexts. 11) Gather any final questions/comments from students and remind them of next week's readings and writing assignments (see below) Next Steps: 1) due for week three, class 1: Appendix A & B, Chapter 6, Chapter 9 readings 2) due for week three, class 2: Chapter 22 (pgs. 636-638 white papers, 652-654); Chapter 23 (694695) readings; Chapter 6, exercise 5 (pg. 138) writing assignment

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Sample Lesson Plan #2 Date: week one, class two of ten-week quarter Title/theme of lesson: What is technical communication, its process, and its ethics? How to learn your readers. Special considerations for cross-cultural audiences. Major project (analytical reports) description. Purpose: The purpose of today's lesson is to continue the discussion from the first day of class, when we began to lay the foundation of the class and discuss the basics of technical communicationwhat it is, what it isn't, and how technical communicators ought to think about cross-cultural contexts when writing for diverse audiences, as they surely will in today's highly globalized, inter-connected world. We will also talk for a short time about the ethics involved in technical communication, and we will continue this discussion in the next class session. Most of today's discussion will be on cross-cultural considerations, given our class's focus on these elements, so students can begin to think about how their documents need to be written in ways appropriate to their specific or targeted audiences. These considerations include familiarity with Standard American English, differences in values systems, and different interpretations of icons and images, for example. We will also begin to informally cover aspects of user analysis and discourse strategies so students can learn how to first understand and read their readers before beginning their more extensive writing assignments. Rationale: Technical communicators need to understand their audiences in order to write effectively for them and, perhaps more importantly, meet their needs. This is especially important in cross-cultural contexts, in that if writers use a diction or style that is foreign to their users, or they use icons or images that are unfamiliar or, worse yet, offensive, they have failed to reach their users. Aims: 1) show students how different contexts communicate differently and how they, as writers, need to consider this 2) learn how to read their readers 3) begin to talk about how cross-cultural considerations will be a large focus of our class 4) begin to describe the course major project, the final analytical report Class Activity: 1) Ask if anyone had any outstanding questions following the first class 2) Review the day's readings and ask students if they had any initial thoughts or comments about it 3) Introduce the idea of user analysis and discourse strategies, explaining how it will be important for students to learn how to first understand and read their readers and their needs in order to effectively reach or connect with them 1. Remind students that as a follow-up to today's class, they will be asked to complete their first writing assignment, wherein they will be doing an analysis on a country or culture and their differences/similarities in texts, compared to the writer's own community or expectations for the community under study 4) Present Kaplan's idea of contrastive rhetorics and give context for itwhen it was established and what subsequent research has challenged or agreed with it 1. Ask students for feedback: is Kaplan right? What are his limitations? What are his argument's strengths?

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5) In class, using Kaplan's contrastive rhetoric discussion as a springboard, pull-up various media outlet's webpages and their coverage of the Osama bin Laden killing. Find different media outlets that represent different parts of the world, such as the New York Times, Al-Jazeera, the Times of India, the Daily Nation (Kenya), etc. 1. Ask students to get in small groups (fewer than four people) and ask them to discuss how/why various media cover stories differently, in terms of their writing flow, content, and website design/aesthetics. Ask for each group to assign a group recorder/reporter who will share discussion highlights with the entire class. 2. Circulate throughout the class to ensure that each group is staying on topic. 3. Ask students to reconvene with entire class and share findings. Challenge/discuss them as appropriate. 6) Prior to class, the instructor should find a document that was written in several languages, such as an instruction guide, and ask a native speaker of one of the featured languages to translate it for the class and, if applicable, explain why some icons or images differ (or are the same) as those featured in the English edition. If possible, invite speaker to attend class to co-lead the discussion. 1. Share document with class and lead discussion about the similarities and differences 2. Connect the discussion with the issue of user analysis and how students can learn to read their readersand what consequences might occur if they fail to consider the cross-cultural contexts (issues of translation/misinterpretation, being offensive, etc.) 3. Remind students that this type of analysis is what is expected of them for their subsequent assignments and that their first assignment (due the following week) also asks them to consider differences in the texts' content, organization, style, and design 7) Introduce preliminary information about the major course project, the analytical report, due during week 11/finals week. Inform students that they will be working on elements of the report all quarter long and will have three opportunities to workshop their writing assignments during class time. 1. Stress that peer workshops are important and that if students fail to actively participate in them, they will receive a zero for their attendance/participation grade for the course. 8) Gather any final questions/comments from students and remind them of next week's readings and writing assignments (see below) Next Steps: 1) due for week 2, day 1: Chapters 5 (pgs. 92-95, 108-113 only), 17 (pgs. 451-461, 469-472, 480) readings; Chapter 3, exercise 4 (page 60) writing assignment 2) due for week 2, day 2: Chapter 18 reading; bring list of definable content that you plan to incorporate into your analytical report or that ties into your topic. Include at least 5 concepts and 2 different definitions for each (combination of parenthetical, sentence, extended)