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
elevant Toolkit item and (2) respond to the “Think Outside the Box” section. There will
e one Reaction Paper Assignment for each chapter. For each assignment, students will
e graded on their ability to address the purpose and answer the “Think Outside the
Box” section AND writing and formatting abilities (see Ru
ic 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
etween 400 and 600 words (strictly enforced).
• I will not accept URL to shared documents (e.g., as a *.gdoc). Documents must
e 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: Ru
ic
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
i
elevant responses
to reaction
questions.
Demonstrates
limited
comprehension of
content and/or
offers inadequate
esponses to
eaction questions.
Demonstrates
comprehension of
core content and/or
offers complete
esponses to reaction
questions.
Demonstrates
mastery of core
content and offers
thoughtful
esponses to
eaction questions.
Poor
0-points
Fair
1-points
Good
2-points
Excellent
3-points
Format &
Writing
(0-3
points)
E
ors in grammar,
spelling, and
mechanics cause
eader to frequently
stop reading; and/or
did not follow
formatting
instructions.
E
ors 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
e
ors 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