Low-Stakes and In-Class Assignments
Rose Library instruction sessions are most effective when students have an assignment to complete in relation to their visit. Some instructors choose to assign major papers or projects; however, more often, instructors assign short writings, in-class presentations, or worksheets to help structure their students' experience. Below are some frequently-used low-stakes and in-class assignments for Rose Library sessions.
Developed by Emory English Professor James Morey, this worksheet helps students to connect terms they've been learning in class with books and other materials they examine in the Rose Library.
This brief writing assignment requires students to visit an exhibition of Rose Library materials and reflect creatively on their experience.
Developed by Emory English Professor James Morey, please see the assignment below.
Your paper this week requires a trip to the Rose Library on the tenth floor of Woodruff Library where you will find an exhibit of items connected to the work and influence of William Shakespeare (other items are also on display, which I hope you will look at, but for this assignment stick to the Shakespeare items). Budget your time. The space closes at 5:00, and is not open weekends, so this assignment cannot be completed the night before. Under "files" here on Canvas, you will also find a brief guide to the exhibit.
Pretend that you own all of the Shakespeare items on display. Pick one item that you would give to Emory's library. Describe it and explain why this particular item is the right gift.
Before you leave the tenth floor, make sure you take a stroll on the balcony.
Instructors using blogs as a medium for course writing can have students write a blog post about their experience in their Rose Library session. These posts will be especially effective when students are asked to think critically about what they saw and learned during the session. For instructors not using blogs, this can instead be adapted as a short writing assignment to be handed in.
Below, see an assignment developed by Shanna Early, PhD Candidate in the Department of English at Emory.
At the Rose Library, we had an opportunity to look at rare, limited editions of poetry. Write a blog post about your experience in the archive. What did you notice about the book you examined? What details about the publication and design stood out to you? How is the experience of reading poems out of these editions different from reading them out of an anthology or on a webpage? What about the experience do you want to convey to your blog readers?