Final Reminders

1 & 7 will have the AP Lang final on Wednesday; 2 & 4 will have the AP Lang final on Thursday.

While each section will have different multiple choice passages, the final will include these three sections: a rhetorical analysis prompt, 3 multiple choice passages, and a toolbox term test. You will be given the final packet at the beginning of the hour, and you will have until the bell rings to complete the exam. You will be able to choose the order of the sections for completion.

During Tuesday's class, we completed the second multiple choice passage. You have 48 hours to make up this passage if you were absent.

Lastly, you have one more item to complete: the Lucy Grealy argumentative essay. The deadline for this assignment is Friday, December 18, at 11:00 a.m. This will be in hard copy format and will not be accepted via digital means. If the essay is not turned in by this time, the result will be a zero. Turn in the essay as soon as it is complete!

MC & Lucy

First up today, we completed a multiple choice passage. Each hour's passage was different. If you missed the passage, you have to make this up in the next 48 hours for points. 

For the remainder of the hour, you worked on the Lucy argument. 

If you are using the "highly suggested" pre-writing steps, here are the remaining ones to complete.

1. Write a warrant for each of your evidence groupings. The warrant is the explanation of the claim and evidence or, in math terms, claim + evidence = warrant.

2. Write a counterclaim, which a secondary position for the topic. A counterclaim is not the opposite of the claim nor is it wrong. You may construct the counterclaim from scratch or choose one of the discarded claims from the initial brainstorming session.

3. List at least 3 examples of evidence for the counterclaim.

4. Write your rebuttal statement. A rebuttal exists to show how the original claim is superior to the counterclaim. A rebuttal does not "trash" the counterclaim. 

5. List evidence for the rebuttal. If you have 3 evidence groupings, you can take one of these groups and use for the rebuttal evidence.

6. Write a concluding statement.

As for organization of the essay, there are several means to constructing an argument. Here are the 2 most popular.

Option 1:

Paragraph 1: Hook/claim

Paragraph 2: Body Paragraph Evidence Grouping 1

Paragraph 3: Body Paragraph Evidence Grouping 2

Paragraph 4: Counterclaim 

Paragraph 5: Rebuttal (possible incorporation of evidence grouping 3)

Paragraph 6: Conclusion

Option 2:

Paragraph 1: Hook/claim

Paragraph 2: Body Paragraph for Evidence Grouping 1

Paragraph 3: Body Paragraph for Evidence Grouping 2

Paragraph 4 (or more): Counterclaim evidence 1 with Rebuttal evidence 1

                                      Counterclaim evidence 2 with Rebuttal evidence 2

                                      Counterclaim evidence 3 with Rebuttal evidence 3

Last Paragraph: Conclusion

The deadline for Ms. Lucy will be Friday, December 18, at 11:00 a.m. in hard copy only. 

Rhetorical Analysis Prompt Review for Final

Since we will be working on your Lucy argument during the majority of the class time, the blog will be the venue for review tips. Before commencing, I would like to remind you that on November 15, there were 2 blogs with reminders of how to improve distractions and write stronger essays. There were also links on those blogs to rules and practices to help you improve your writing. As this is a college-level and AP-level course, you need to take the initiative to improve any weaknesses via personal study, requested tutoring assistance or conference, and other proactive means.

• When you are given a rhetorical analysis prompt, you are focusing on the author's overall purpose and the strategies that the author selects. Even if "tone" is the emphasized strategy in the prompt, the author still uses exemplification, character diction, alliteration (slaveholders and savages connected, which creates a "s" sound or a snake-like representation of evil that connects to the religious elements), anaphora, hypophora, water and fountain motif, and dialogue to create her point. The above strategies were noted in my first read of the prompt.
• In addition, you are not summarizing the prompt. In a few essays, students began to review the relationship of Dr. Flint with Linda instead of emphasizing why Jacobs would use this anecdote to exemplify her master's hypocritical nature.
• The introduction should include the author and the title, which should be appropriately punctuated. Looking over the Jacobs prompt, there are still many of you using quotation marks for italicized titles, which is not helpful in the beginning of the essay. 
• The thesis directly answers the prompt and, in the majority of cases, indicates the specific strategies and the overall purpose of the text. 
• The body paragraphs rely on structure. In regards to structure, the topic sentence should indicate an author's strategy and explicate it purpose. As the focus is on the author's strategies, it is not the opportunity to ruminate on the given topic or paint background imagery. Start with the author and end with the author.
• The best supporting details slowly introduce each idea. Yes, you can dump all of your evidence into one sentence, but then your explanation will only be able to cover all those elements as a whole. Instead, bring in a piece (or two) at a time, explain the "why" factor, and then bring in another example of evidence to further support your original idea.
• The concluding sentence should reaffirm the strategy and purpose without regurgitating everything before. Instead, you could reaffirm the strategy's role and how this connects to the next strategy.
• Evidence-wise, the majority of you have improved immensely by using select words and phrases in your sentences and transitioning evidence into your writing. Reminders, though, are warranted. Do not use ellipses, do not use random commas, and do not use full sentences from the prompt. 
• Spelling is still a dodgy subject. A few suggestions for those who find this to be a weakness in their writing: practice spelling key rhetorical strategies and common tricky words, learn common spelling rules (http://www.zaneeducation.com/education/literary-arts/spelling-rules.php), and make sure you spell words from the prompt correctly.
• Words to learn how to spell to avoid further distractions: imagery, repetition, hypocrisy, derogatory, develop, separation, parallelism.
• As discussed in class and on earlier blogs, you must have control over apostrophes. 
• Be aware of what tone words you use for a writing. For example, several people felt that Jacobs had a "sarcastic" tone when discussing her  master and other white men's hypocrisy. However, "sarcastic" connotes that her attitude is insincere and attempting to create some type of biting humor. (It also reads like Jacobs is at fault in this circumstance.) Perhaps, she is disparaging, denouncing, or condemning their acts, which adds to her purpose in exhibiting slavery's wrongs.
• Do not use second person, which is directed to the audience's response and is a technique for persuasive writing and not rhetorical analysis writing.
• Active verbs provide a better sense of a writer's maturity. To be verbs are less mature and create passive or wordy constructions.
• Do not use rhetorical questions, which in my AP handbook is one of the "commandments" of AP writing. A rhetorical question requires your audience to do the work for you.
• An allusion is a reference to something well-known. A Biblical allusion is a form that references a specific Bible story, symbol, or well-known attribute. If one is writing about religion in general, there are not allusions present.  http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-allusion.html

A Brief Tutorial of Punctuation Rules (you need to know the difference between independent and dependent clauses):

1. If you start a sentence with a dependent clause, you follow with a comma prior to introducing the independent clause.

2. Independent clauses do not need a comma before a dependent clause as it is unnecessary.

3. Commas are needed, however, surrounding any transitional expressions.

4. Semicolons join 2 independent clauses; they do not belong in place of a comma.

5. A comma used between 2 independent clauses is a comma splice, this sentence is an example of how not to punctuate a sentence.

6. A colon is a technique to announce an explanation: it is another means of varying syntax.
7. When you list items, examples, or strategies, use commas to indicate that you have a list.

The Next Phase of Argumentation

All hours followed the same agenda today.

1. In 3 groups, you discussed the Suellen Grealy essay and what you noted from homework reading.
2. We discussed counterclaims and rebuttals and their purpose in an argumentative essay. Remember, a counterclaim is a second position that you take on the given topic. It is not the direct opposite. As a result, you must treat you counterclaim as a viable, logos-based claim that will have evidence for support. With the rebuttal, you are explaining why the original claim is the stronger option of the two. You are not trashing the counterclaim or finding faulty logic in it --- if that is the case, you have created a straw man.
3. To practice claim, counterclaim, and rebuttal, we used the topic of the holidays. The following pictures shows a claim with evidence (note that we "grouped" our evidence together with numbers 1, 2, 3 to create organization), a counterclaim with evidence, and a rebuttal with included evidence. For all stages, you need evidence to validate your argument.

4. Following our holiday happiness and stress, you were assigned the Lucy argument in which you will be constructing an argument around this prompt: Who is the real Lucy Grealy?

5. During class, we brainstormed possible claims, selected a working claim, and commenced gathering evidence. When you walk into class, you will have all of your evidence for this working claim --- you may cull it from either memoir, Suellen's essay, online interviews, or other materials relating to Lucy. Last but not least, group your evidence by number so that we may work on warrants, counterclaims, and rebuttals during class next week.

You are welcome to work ahead on this or you may wait until class time. The final draft -- typed, hard copy -- is due by Friday, December 18 at 11 a.m.

Don't forget that if you need another eye on mechanics for your Teacher of the Year nomination, you may share or e-mail a copy for feedback.

And, the competition/review for the AP Lang final will be before school on Monday and Tuesday at 7 a.m. Try your hand at the buzzers and we spend quality time with the rhetorical toolbox terms.

Choices & Lucy

1 & 7: To begin class, you completed a multiple choice on "A Modest Proposal" that was created by another hour. In first hour's class, we did throw out 2 questions for accuracy so the multiple choice will be worth 33 points. For seventh hour, the total will be out of 36 points. Next, we spent time with Lucy and her family --- which is a surprise since Lucy and Ann spend the majority of their memoirs ignoring the existence of the Grealy clan. For homework, finish up the rest of Suellen's essay, or diatribe if you will. We will discuss the last page on Friday and then move on to counterclaims, rebuttals, and conclusions, or the remainder of the argumentative cycle.

2 & 4: We finished our first drafts of the educator/employee of the year nominations. If you would like to me to help with editing -- mechanics-wise -- bring, e-mail, or share a copy. After our drafting, you completed "A Modest Proposal" multiple choice constructed by first and seventh hours. The total will be out of 37 points. Last, we turned our attention to Lucy -- in her own voice and in her sister's opinion. For homework, finish reading and annotating the Suellen Grealy essay for tomorrow's discussion.

Don't forget the deadline for educator/employee of the year nomination is Monday, December 14.

Teacher of the Year Nominations

During today's class, you worked on constructing an argument for Teacher of the Year. First and seventh hours finished the task today. Second and fourth hours will have an additional 15 minutes on Thursday to complete. Remember, my feedback during the assignment time is necessary for you to earn your points for this assignment.

While I am currently in second hour, I am quite impressed with the teacher arguments thus far. I learned a great deal about my fellow teachers and, from anecdotal evidence, feel blessed to have such a staff at this school. I hope I will hear many of these essays in January!

More CEW

Please read your specific hour's information.

1. We responded to the speaker of "His Coy Mistress," by writing a poem utilizing a claim, evidence, and warrant. Following that activity, we branched into the Educator/Employee of the Year argumentative essay. For the assignment, you will construct a written nomination that utilizes a claim (the "why" that person should be nominated), evidence (personal anecdote and also overview examples), and warrants (concluding sentences). This essay will be a one draft affair and 3-4 paragraphs. After you receive feedback, you may then redraft to construct a polished, vivid essay for official nomination - the deadline is December 14. Any nominating essays that are read during the January announcement will receive extra credit. You will have all class on Tuesday to work on this assignment and receive feedback from me. Then, we will return back to Lucy and multiple choice passages for the remainder of the week.

2. We finished examples of evidence and reviewed the function of warrants in argument. Then, you read "To His Coy Mistress" and identified the claim, evidence, and warrant of the speaker. For any remaining information, read first hour's synopsis. We will go over the requirements of the assignment, and you will write the essay during class tomorrow.

4: We reviewed claims by looking at my Advanced Composition's Honey Boo Boo argument examples. Then, we looked at how evidence and warrants help construct an argument through examples and "To His Coy Mistress." With partners, you then constructed a response utilizing claim, evidence, and warrant to show how the mistress would react to such a proposal. During our last moments of class, I introduced the Educator/Employee of the Year assignment with the expectation that you brainstorm a list of evidence for your nominee. We will go over all the requirements and time plan tomorrow. If you want a preview of the assignment, check out first hour's paragraph.

7: Read the information under first hour.

Discussion in the Dark

Don't forget that Lucy Logs are due by 3:45 p.m. on Friday. If you neglected the assignment, you can still turn this in for half credit on Monday.

Today was our discussion in the dark regarding Lucy, Ann, their books, and beauty in society. We will continue more with the texts next week.

Description & Argument

Some of the following may vary according to class, so make sure that you are looking at your particular hour. In the upcoming week, your first argumentative assignment will be choosing teacher or employee of the year and using specific examples to justify your claim. Start thinking about your nominee.

1: You turned in your Modest Proposal Multiple Choice passages. Then, we worked in groups to construct an image-filled description of the cafeteria. I found the additions of zeugma, juxtaposition, personification, alliteration, and other devices to create the mood of the description, something this mode of discourse requires. Next, we looked into three parts of argument: claim, evidence, and warrant. If you need a highlight package or want to look at what we read in class, go here: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/english/mwollaeger/cdw.htm. In order to work on identifying claim, evidence, and warrant, we read Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress." Euphemisms aside, this Carpe Diem poem features an argument and utilizes much imagery to do provide evidence. For Friday's class, we will be discussing Miss Lucy Grealy in a free form discussion. Then, we will continue with argumentation by replying to Marvell's speaker -- using our own claims, evidence, and warrants, of course! Logs are due by 3:45 p.m. on Friday.

7: Read everything above for first hour. In addition, you started in partners the response of the addressee to Marvell's speaker in "To His Coy Mistress." In poetry form, you will create her response by utilizing a claim, evidence, and warrant. We will finish this in class on Friday.

2: You turned in your Modest Proposal Multiple Choice passages. Then, we worked in groups to construct an image-filled description of the cafeteria. I found the additions of zeugma, juxtaposition, personification, alliteration, and other devices to create the mood of the description, something this mode of discourse requires. Next, we looked into two of the three parts of argument: claim and evidence. If you need a highlight package or want to look at what we read in class, go here: http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/english/mwollaeger/cdw.htm. Don't forget that logs are due by 3:45 p.m. on Friday.

4: Read second hour above for the highlights of what we did today. We only made it through claims today and will resume argument tomorrow.

Test Maker

You are now in the brains of the test maker, the ones we revile for creating impossible multiple choice questions that make us choose the best answer and not the correct answer. For 20 minutes of today's class and 20 minutes of the next class, you are to create 8 multiple choice questions with 5 possible answers for "A Modest Proposal." You should vary the difficulty of questions from detail-oriented to challenging, include questions for the overall passage and specific paragraphs, and provide the correct answers. Make sure you use the paragraph numbers indicated in the textbook. When you complete the task, whether via digital or hard copy means, you will turn this into me and these questions will be used for another hour's MC test.

For the last moments of the hour, we read Toomer's " Harvest Song," identified sensory imagery, and analyzed the impact on the text. We will continue with descriptive writing during the next class.

After all of the above is completed, we will be starting argumentation --- you may recall that claim, evidence, warrant scenario.

Lucy Logs are due by Friday at 3:45 p.m. You are expected to be in class to turn this in.

Eating Those Babies!

http://img.engadget.com/common/images/3060000000048643.JPG?0.9199952607797859

Three-fourths into "A Modest Proposal," Jonathan Swift reveals his true argument, a hidden list of feasible requests that could put the kibosh on Irish poverty and save women and children from starving on the streets. However, you have to find your footing through his hyperbolic exemplification to see that his satire exists as a critique of those exploiting the poor.

For our modes of discourse week, we began with satire featuring Swift and his above text. If you were absent, you should read the source material -- it can be found on multiple sites on the web. For tomorrow's class, you will create multiple choice questions using this text.

Lucy Logs Reminder

AP Langers,

For the past four weeks or so, you have spent time with Lucy Grealy in her own words and in the words of her friend. The logs for each text are due by 3:45 p.m. on Friday. If you have not picked up your second text, you should do so on Monday in order to complete this assignment. During Friday's class, we will have a discussion about these texts, their presentations of Lucy, and the idea of physical beauty in our culture. This is one of my favorite discussions all year, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Lucy and her life.

LAG

The Day Before Thanksgiving Eve

After going over MC Passage 4 answers, we completed MC Passage 5. 

As a Thanksgiving present, your Lucy logs covering Autobiography of a Face and Truth & Beauty will be due Friday, December 4. 

At this point, you should be well on your way into your second text. Remember, you must turn in your first text to receive your second text.

Yep, It's Your Surprise Prompt Day

As we spent the entire hour writing a rhetorical analysis prompt, we will resume our multiple choice analysis for Tuesday.

Other reminders that seem pertinent:
1. Make sure you complete the guidance survey by Tuesday. It is on an earlier blog post. This should not take you more than 5 minutes.
2. Remember, the Lucy logs are due next week, which means you have read both texts in that time frame. Ideally, you should already be in the second text.

Speech Comparison/Contrast

First up, you finished with your partner(s) the speech analysis. Following work time, you combined with another group and compared & contrasted QE II's statement on Diana's death with Earl Spencer's eulogy for his sister. Last up, you completed MC Passage 4. For this passage, you close read first and we shared our noticed strategies, purposes, and tones. Then, you completed the question portion. Next class, you will explain why the answers are correct and the other choice are incorrect.

Don't forget to complete the guidance survey by Tuesday -- the link can be found on a previous blog.

Juniors -- Take This Survey For Guidance

Hey, Mrs. Peters has requested that all juniors take this following survey involving the guidance department. Please do so by the end of the school day on Tuesday.

http://goo.gl/forms/Z62weFDyZt

Links for Diana Speeches

In case you were absent last class or you would like an encore presentation, here are the links to QEII and Earl Spencer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_moIV4wDQsY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VUy-wBwBvw

MC Passage 3 & Diana

For all classes, we completed the class multiple choice. While this did take more time than an individual timed passage, we reviewed important strategies and skills to assist you in completing multiple choice questions. For instance, we previewed questions by identifying key words, phrases, and line numbers. We then moved onto close reading -- the notice of patterns, strategies, and other components the author is communication. Last, we used process of elimination to have a better chance at answering the questions.

For passage 3, we identified bing and time-eater questions. While you will not have time on the actual test to identify that this one is a quick question and this one takes time consideration, you should still answer the easier questions first. Often, these questions will help you understand later questions and give you the opportunity to get to know the passage.

The Wuthering Heights prompt was handed back to you. At this stage of rhetorical analysis, if you are still having difficulty with structure or mechanics, you are more than welcome to set up a tutoring session or q&a session to assist you in improving your writing and alleviate any distractions.

http://41.media.tumblr.com/2f02f554cdb639c76a26195953f2a404/tumblr_nx7iybpV2c1uc2g18o1_1280.jpg

To review rhetorical analysis -- you know a prompt will be coming soon -- we read/watched two speeches given to honor Princess Diana's death on August 31, 1997. In partnerships, you completed a chart utilizing rhetorical strategies, which you will finish quickly at the beginning of the next class session.

The British monarchy has a section dedicated to Diana on its website. This link will take you to the opening page. If you look in the left column, you will find more categories detailing Diana's life and legacy. http://www.royal.gov.uk/HistoryoftheMonarchy/The%20House%20of%20Windsor%20from%201952/DianaPrincessofWales/Background.aspx

And, if you are of a fashion mindset, here is a link to her style. I was fortunate to visit the Queen Mary's Diana exhibit last year and see her gowns (and Kate Middleton's) in person. http://www.instyle.com/celebrity/princess-dianas-most-iconic-style-moments

Proofreading Practices

For any of you struggling with proofreading your own essays, check out this link with practices that are delineated by type of mechanical issue (quotation marks, subject-verb agreement, and so on).

http://college.cengage.com/english/raimes/universal_keys/1e/students/editing/index.html

While it is easy for most of us to find fault in other writings, it is difficult for us to find fault in our own. Hence, it would behoove you to practice proofreading -- especially your own work -- as we continue through AP Lang. Simple errors such as not using apostrophes or misspelling the author's name can distract readers from the content of the text.

MC Passage 2

As with all AP Lang multiple choice passages, the first goal is to attain 50% of the questions correctly. In order to do so, there are several strategies to help your accuracy and speed. For instance, with passage 2, we previewed the questions first and categorized the questions to help us understand what we should answer. Another method is close reading the passage as you would a rhetorical analysis prompts passage. Breaking down the diction, patterns, and other rhetorical strategies will help your accuracy on the questions. If your class did not finish the close reading of MC passage 2 in class, make sure you have that completed for the block class. As a class, we will answer the questions together. (You are more than welcome to try them out prior to class as well.)

Next class agenda; MC Passage 2 & 3, Rhetorical Analysis of Multiple Texts, possibly more multiple choice if time permits.

Let the Multiple Choice Begin!

1. We finished the Democratic debate transcripts and the identification of fallacies in the text. As evidenced by the plethora of examples in class, the political machine continually relies on fallacious thinking to sway the audience.
2. You added the Birdie prompt to your portfolio and filled out the connecting chart. The previous blogs have suggestions and tips for improvement. You should utilize this assistance to improve your writing as we will have the last timed rhetorical analysis prompt at some point during the next 7 class sessions.
3. Without any direction, you completed the first multiple choice passage. Afterward, I annoyingly did not give you the answers. Instead, we discussed the strategies and techniques that one uses in completing multiple choice passages. Then, we looked at 7 categories of questions. For homework, you will identify the category of each question. We will discuss this tomorrow and then you will find out the answers and your final score.
*Remember, you need to score 50% or higher on multiple choice passages to be at your first goal level.

Tuesday's theoretical plans - multiple choice passages 1 & 2, rhetorical and fallacy analysis of speeches.

Prompt Writing Tips - Part II

These tips are repeats from the power point we used in class last month. Many of you have adapted your writing to complete the following items properly: appropriate apostrophe usage, appropriate punctuation with quoted evidence, and appropriate parenthetical citations. If you are still making these errors, you need to study the rules and links provided to improve your writing. The above items are complete distractions from your content. Once again, if you are struggling with these rules of writing, you need to ask, e-mail, or set up a tutoring session.

1. Apostrophes are for possessive nouns and contractions. Apostrophes are not used in verbs ("he see's") or ordinary plural nouns (the two bird's). If you do not use an apostrophe with a possessive wording (the nightingales vs. the nightingale's), you have created audience confusion. AP readers do not want to be confused or have to reread a sentence for clarity.  http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp
2. As you are transitioning words and phrases into your writing (in place of full sentences of dialogue), you still need to follow punctuation rules and not randomly add commas prior and/or following quoted material. "Shelly illustrates his bird to be a," blithe spirit," that has come down from Heaven." Imagine that sentence without the quoted evidence - would you put commas there? No, you would not. As with all rules, look at the individual sentence to figure out if you need a comma or not.  https://www.hamilton.edu/style/punctuation-of-quotations
3. Citations are at the end of the sentence -- even if you the quoted material is at the beginning or middle of your sentence. Read this OWL example and check out the very end to see how you should incorporate multiple citations from multiple authors at the end of the sentence.  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/

Remember, the AP readers want clarity and not confusion. Lack of apostrophes, random punctuation, and improper citations distract from what you want the reader to notice: your incredible analysis, mature voice, and original presentation of ideas.

Prompt Writing Tips - Bird Edition Part I

I was in process of making a power point of strong examples and areas needing attention (akin to the Keats' diction prompt) when I realized it would take several class periods to go over individual mistakes that may not be an issue with the majority of the class. However, the majority of us (I included myself in there as grammar and mechanics are a lifelong study), need a refresher of rules from time to time to avoid distractions and not annoy the audience with countless errors. Hence, this blog post and the given links will give you the opportunity for personal study prior to the next prompt writing and our eventual argumentative essay work. If you need additional help for a specific distraction, you can always set up a study session with me before or after school or e-mail for additional suggestions, tips, or practices.

• Formal writing does not use contractions. Spell out your words to avoid any issue with its and it's. Possessive pronouns do not have apostrophes.  http://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-2/pronouns/lesson-2/cases-of-personal-pronouns
• Writers use transitions for flow. These transitions (hence, therefore, however, on the other hand) are not part of the sentence's grammatical structure and are known as conjunctive adverbs or adverbial conjunctions depending on your grammar handbook. Therefore, commas are needed to separate the transition from the sentence.  http://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-7/conjunctions-and-interjections/lesson-4/conjunctive-adverbs
• Write in full sentences and avoid dependent clauses. Even though fictional writers use dependent clauses to create atmosphere and add to the voice of the narrator, the AP reader wants to see your ability to write grammatically correct sentences. What makes such a sentence? A subject, a verb, and a complete thought.
• Example: "John Keats and Percy Shelley, the blinding infernos that yearned for so much yet fell short of their desires." There is a subject but only a dependent clause following it.
• Improved: "The blinding infernos John Keats and Percy Shelley yearned for so much yet fell short of their desires." In this improved version, the subject now has an active verb and a complete thought.
• Speaking of verbs, you should be writing with active verbs and amend any passive constructions or "to be" verbs that muddle up your writing.  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/owlprint/539/
• Improper title punctuation creates a distraction from the opening paragraph - especially if you use quotation marks and underlining at the same time. If a text is short or can be removed from a larger text (short story, essay, poem), you will utilize quotation marks. If a text is long, you will choose underlining if you are handwriting or italics if you are typing.  https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Punctuating_Titles_chart.pdf
• When mixing and matching clauses, you need to incorporate the appropriate punctuation. Starting with a dependent clause, you normally need a comma before the independent clauses. I put "normally" as some grammar rule books like to say you should have 5 words or more before utilizing a comma. However, take this example: "Throughout this poem Shelley makes a sudden tone change." Without the comma, "poem Shelley" becomes one idea; therefore, a comma is needed to isolate the separate ideas. If you reverse the situation and have the independent clause first, you do not need a comma before the dependent clause. A comma before because is unnecessary in almost every situation.  https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/598/01/
• In our previous power point, we spent time discussing quotation marks (the fences) and punctuation marks. Remember, commas and period go inside the fence; semicolons and colons go outside the fence.  http://www.thepunctuationguide.com/quotation-marks.html#adjacentpunctuation
• We spent a great deal of time talking about punctuation with citations and where periods go. Amend this issue to alleviate distractions. I really am fond of this link as it gives a plethora of examples. https://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/Lit_Citation_Problems.pdf
• If you are thesis mapping or listing rhetorical strategies in your introduction, you need to keep the same sequence in the body paragraphs. 
• If you have a compare and contrast assignment, avoid the predictable words of "alike," "similarities," and "differences." Your audience will groan at reading these familiar words. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:6Fnhu3dWHJ8J:faculty.ncc.edu/LinkClick.aspx%3Ffileticket%3DRg4fkx2Qhhg%253D%26tabid%3D4476%26mid%3D5702+&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

To improve your overall writing, you must take a vested interest in review, practice, and study outside of the classroom. If you find something challenging or need clarification, it is up to you to ask for help or additional tutoring. Take the initiative -- I am here to help you earn a 5 on that AP exam.

More tips and links to follow in upcoming blogs! 

Democratic Debate Fallacies

I planned for the fallacies to take up half the hour. However, there are so many fallacious statements in the debates that some classes did not even make it to the halfway point! A highlight package of fallacies includes straw man, hasty generalizations, dogmatism, appeal to pity/sentimentality, begging the question, and ad hominem.

On Monday, we will finish the transcripts. Then, we will start working on multiple choice passages and strategies to help you score higher on the exam.

AP exam questions fall into the following categories: purpose, tone, rhetorical strategies, mode of discourse, inferences, details, and context. Reviewing rhetorical strategies will help on all parts of the test, so I recommend you have ethos on all the terms and definitions.

Fallacies 2 & 4

Before jumping into fallacy work, fourth hour finally completed the vocab quiz.

As for fallacies, we reviewed and shared examples of fallacies from the packet, video, and power point. Following this review, you created team commercials in which we had to guess the fallacies. As you may have noted, some fallacies are very apparent (slippery slope, faulty authority) and others can be sly (faulty causality, either/or).

To end our classes, you were assigned a section of the Democratic debate transcript. You will have approximately 8-10 minutes to finish prepping your identification of fallacies before sharing with classmates. You are welcome to look over your assigned section this evening to expedite the process.

Fallacies 1 & 7

Today's classes centered around fallacies, the illogical mistakes writers, advertisers, and politicians make in their arguments. While fallacies are not intentional to the creator, they do create emotional responses from the audience and betray our want of logical decisions.

In regards to the packet, we have reviewed its 15 fallacies. While these are not all the fallacies available, these are used quite often by writers and in multiple choice questions on the AP exam. (If you pull up a list online of fallacies, you will find a variety of ones. I just read about "I Wish I Had a Magic Wand" fallacy. I have never heard of this one, but I suspect Harry Potter might be involved.

Then, we looked at further examples -- thank you DirectTV for creating your slippery slope advertisements.

With such inspiration, groups then created commercials -- varying from chocolate to yogurt to water bottles -- utilizing fallacies. As noted in first hour, either-or fallacies go by so quickly! We will have to pay special attention to that "or" fallacy in our future readings.

For first hour, you have a copy of the Democratic Debate transcript in your student e-mail. Each partnership or group was assigned 8 pages of the speech and you will be identifying fallacies to share with the class. You will have approximately 10 minutes to prep on Friday, so feel free to utilize outside of class time if you think you will need it for quality responses.

Seventh hour, you will receive the transcript e-mail prior to class on Friday. You will receive the partner assignment during Friday's class, so do not begin thorough analysis of any particular section. You are more than welcome to take a glance at it, though.

Upcoming work will feature fallacies, rhetorical analysis (still have one prompt remaining), and multiple choice, which will make an appearance very shortly.

Post Presentations

Another outstanding day of presentations in which I touched starfish goo, sat in a campfire circle listening to horror stories, heard interviews with Malala and families of autistic children, and witnessed on the ground reporting in Nigeria. A whirlwind of a day!

If you were absent for the verbal portion of the show, don't fret -- you will have your secondary assignment later this week in order to complete your verbal requirements of this assignment.

Any student missing the post-discussion period, you may make up those points before or after school on Wednesday or Thursday.

Homework-wise, you all have the fallacy packet. Make sure to annotate/highlight/read over the information to have a working knowledge for next class. You do not have to memorize anything but be prepared for work tomorrow.

Oh, and 4th hour, we will finally have that vocab quiz on Thursday.

P.S. I have seen several of you reading your selected Lucy book and working on your logs. Remember, you still have another one to complete by the first week in December!

Favorite Presentation Moments Day I

Highlights from today:

1:

Team "Starfished" used  maps, charts, disease steps, personal anecdotes, and video to make the issue more about the future than the present state of marine biology. MI starred as Ms. Clearwater, the reporter with a starfish in her hand, imploring the "hoi polloi" to care about this topic just as much as she. This was definitely one of my favorites of the entire day -- and it was the first one to present this morning. You definitely set a standard for the remaining evaluations.

Team Temple did not even introduce Temple Grandin until halfway through the presentation. Instead, they utilized ethos (especially from NO and her confident, knowledgeable voice) and provided background information regarding autism, social isolation, and emotional concerns to set up Temple's ideas of autistic education and her own struggles as an autistic person.

Team Boko's MS pronouncing with ease (or at least appeared to the audience) Nigerian words! Her ethos added to the Prezi work, a strong visual artifact that gave a great deal of digestible information to the group. The addition of the John Green video also provided another voice to augment your own foreign correspondent.

2:

Skit characterization of people in horrendous situations -- the pregnant couple from Syria, the man overcome with grief of his daughter's near assassination, the father of a kidnapped girl. Each characterization created pathos for the audience.

4:
Team Temple's SH took on the role of Temple Grandin with passion, knowledge, and fast talking -- all characteristics of the autistic education advocate.

Team Malala created what they called a "spoken word/slam poem" that created a voice for all the girls without an education. Using numbers - the numbers of western culture's 12 grades, the numbers of foreign culture's 9 then 6 then 3 grades, the numbers in reverse, the numbers in correct order - they presented a united front that clearly presented the dissonance of education across the world. Wonderfully clever, thoughtful, and emotional work.

7:
Team Syrian's poem, a chorus of Syrian women from different religions, different educations, different likes and needs, resonated with the class. Even the incorporation of the various fruits and food items reflected the symbolism of the culture that is slowly migrating into other nations.

Team Boko certainly made us, the American audience, question our response to international crises that do not involve our own people or boundary lines. You asked if we would remember this presentation and the content of Boko Haram's terrorism in 20 minutes. The answer is yes, we will remember due to your skit of a terrorist, Nigeria, and the U.S. government.

Team Malala began with audience participation -- the index cards delegating which students would be educated in Pakistan (not that many) and which students would not have the opportunity (the remainder of the class). When one student said he wanted to keep the card and have an education, E's response (something akin to definitely not you) reflected ethos on how people view education in other societies.

Rhetorical Appeal Presentations

As many of the rhetorical appeal presentations have extended beyond expectation in quality and time, we will be continuing the presentations tomorrow. Following the remaining presentations, we will discuss the topics more in-depth and allow the audience to share their impressions about these current event topics.

Fourth hour, you will have the vocabulary quiz tomorrow after all of the above. Make sure to review your words!

Presentation Evaluation Grading Scale/Class Preview

In a previous blog, I mentioned that the Rhetorical Appeals Presentation will be graded 80 % AP and 20% participation. 

The following will be the point values for the assignment:

Score (1-9):  

9 = 80

8 = 76

7 = 72

6 = 68

5 = 64

4 = 60

3 = 56

2 = 52

1 = 48

Participation in Activity:               20/20

Total:  __________/ 100

As an audience member tomorrow, I look forward to learning more about Malala and her female educational platform, Boko Haram and their terrorism, Syrian refugees and their migration, Starfish and their wasting disease, and Temple Grandin and her autism educational endeavors.

The remainder of our semester will be broken into four categories. Here is an overall preview -- saving the specifics for our class time: 

• Rhetorical Analysis - fallacies, texts, final prompt, strategy/term quest 
• Multiple Choice - passages, tips, satire, stems, create, more passages
• Modes of Discourse - description, process analysis, cause & effect (with kairos), argumentation with exemplification
• Lucy - logs, discussion, argument

These categories will overlap with one another, so you will be able to utilize all the skills you have learned thus far with the upcoming ones for multiple choice and argumentation work. 

Persuasive Appeals Presentation Prep

Not much to report on my end for Wednesday and Thursday classes. However, the student side of the equation worked diligently on the presentation by constructing polls, completing research, creating visual artifacts, and preparing a performance component. From my eavesdropping, we have some clever presentations headed our way.

All presentations will be on Monday. Remember, any student absent will have a secondary assignment.

In the vocabulary arena, fourth hour will be taking the vocabulary quiz following the presentations.

Rhetorical Group Prep

All classes worked on the preparations for the rhetorical analysis group presentations, which are scheduled for Monday. If you are absent on Monday, the group will still perform and you will have a secondary assignment to make up these points. I will be evaluating these presentations in an 80 (1-9) -20 (participation) fashion.

Vocabulary Per Hour:
1: Review today; quiz Wednesday.
2: Quiz today, which any absentee will make up by Thursday.
4: Finish last 3 words; review Thursday.
7: None -- we finished up the quiz on Tuesday!

Pathos Appeals

I thought I would add some Halloween pictures to liven up this blog today.

To celebrate the 220th birthday of my beloved Keasty, Ihmotep and I read his letters and poems. Well, Ihmotep just hummed and grunted. He does not have that gift of language anymore. 

1:
We finished Unit 15 vocabulary words today, which means a review tomorrow and a quiz on Wednesday.

You received the Lucy assignment -- 2 memoirs in 4 weeks with the added joy of a log to keep all the details in order -- and selected your first text. If you did not select you book today, you will need to do so tomorrow to begin the process.

Pathos visuals using photography and advertisements were a quick review of how one can engage the audience.

With five minutes to go, you were given the assignment for the group rhetorical appeals presentation. We will finish going over the assignment tomorrow and then you will form your groups, pick a topic, and start the presentation process. Look over the handout tonight so we can expedite the information as quickly as possible. The presentations will be Monday. If a group member is absent, the groups will still present and the absentee will have a makeup assignment for the presentation component.

Monty playing with Ihmotep, his new favorite six foot toy.

2: 

In partners or small groups, you reviewed vocab for your quiz tomorrow.

We resumed pathos by looking at advertisements and how words can create an impact as much as images to engage the audience.

For the remainder of the hour, you picked groups and topics for your rhetorical appeals presentation, which will be performed on Monday. At this point, I am assuming from eavesdropping on your collaborations, that you have divided up your duties and will be starting to craft polls, survey people, and research the topic. Be thorough -- you want to have a strong mix of logos, ethos, and pathos. After watching a couple videos of your previous skits, I have a feeling that these presentations will be quite memorable!

To add to my sugar intake, I made a haunted house out of cupcakes, ice cream cones, cookies, and chocolate trees. It remained standing for 2 1/2 hours, so I will consider this a baking success!

4: 

You turned in your tone prompt essays.

We added 4 more vocabulary words to your knowledge bank, which means we will finish the remaining 3 words during tomorrow's class. 

You received the Lucy assignment - the two memoirs and the related log that will be completed during your reading process. Make sure you do not procrastinate this one -- you have a lot of reading and analysis to do over the next four and a half weeks.

We reviewed pathos by looking at photography and advertisements. While these are visual mediums, it is amazing to see the power of words and how this impacts the audience's understanding.

With our last moments, we started to discuss the group rhetorical appeals presentation. At this point, you know a little about the possible topics. Tomorrow, we will finish going over the requirements and you will be selecting your groups and topics. Read over the handout tonight -- yes, there is a large typo in there -- in order to expedite our work tomorrow.

Here are my two jacks awaiting the candy hordes. 

7: 

One of my first hour students asked if the AP Lang classes will ever be on the same schedule again, and I can only hazard a guess that we will be on December 18. In the meanwhile, you are the first AP Lang class to take the Vocab 15 Quiz -- which was partner-style. If you were absent, you will need to make up this quiz by November 5.

We reviewed pathos by looking at photography and advertisements. We also learned that while the Nike ads were geared towards female empowerment, young men can also feel motivated and proud of their individuality and body image. 

In our last moments before announcements ended our party too soon, you became aware of the group rhetorical appeals presentation. Due next Monday, you will be finalizing groups, selecting topics, and working in the presentation tomorrow.

Pre-Halloween

Hello, my children of the night.

1: We finished the Wuthering Heights prompt. For any of you missing class, the prompt will need to be made up by November 4.

2: First, read above. Then, you were assigned the Lucy assignment -- the log in which you will detail purpose, characterization, tone, and other elements while reading Autobiography of a Face and Truth & Beauty. Remember, you need to check out one of the texts by the end of the day Monday.

4: See first hour.

7: After reviewing vocabulary for your quiz on Monday, you were assigned the Lucy assignment, which will be a log for your reading of Autobiography of a Face and Truth & Beauty. If you were absent, you can wait until Monday for the assignment since you do not have one of the texts with you.

Happy Halloween!

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October 29 - 2 & 4

I haven't seen all of you in so long!

2: Tone prompts were turned in by 7:30 a.m.  Then, we read a passage from Wuthering Heights and analyzed the diction, imagery, syntax, structure, and tone via group analysis. To add to this prompt, we did a partner activity, which will help set up Friday's work. Make sure you bring this prompt and notes back for tomorrow's class.

4: In small groups (which occurs during all our collaborative learning since we are a party of 12), we analyzed the "Nightingale" stanzas. Then, it was time for the tone prompt assignment. The tone prompt deadline is Monday at 10:15 a.m. whether your are present (hard copy) or absent (digital copy). The final product may be handwritten or typed depending on your fancy.

In addition, we read the Wuthering Heights passage and broke into another group scenario analyzing its diction, imagery, syntax, structure, and tone. We will finish the tone group on Friday and then you will be writing this prompt during class. Make sure you bring your materials!

Tone & Overall Rhetoric - 1&7

1: After resuming vocabulary, we divided into small groups to analyze and identify the tone of the stanzas in "Ode to a Nightingale." Then, you received the tone prompt for our "birdie" poems. The tone prompt essay deadline is 7:30 a.m. on Friday - whether you are in class or absent. If in class, you are expected to turn in a hard copy by this deadline; if you are absent, you are expected to turn in a digital copy by this time. The essay may be handwritten or typed, depending on the writer's preference and situation.

We then began our return to multiple rhetorical strategies by reading the opening passage of Wuthering Heights in which we met Mr. Heathcliff and his abode. Through an opening discussion, we ascertained basic ideas of the character and setting. Then, in new groups, you analyzed one of the suggested prompt strategies to share with the class. Thus far, first hour has completed diction and imagery.

Friday's class will be 1 hour and 15 minutes due to scheduling. As this is an awkward amount of time, our exact agenda will depend on completion of certain steps for the Wuthering Heights prompt. I know that we will resume our group analysis for syntax, structure, and tone. We will also do more pre-work on this prompt. After that, we shall let the clock tell us how to proceed. Make sure you bring back your Wuthering Heights passage -- you do not want to lose any of your valuable notes for Friday's class.

7: Yes, I am the wicked witch making you complete 2 prompts in a 48 hour period.

After we finished Unit 15 vocabulary, we competed in last person standing, which Erica won! We will review on Friday and your quiz will be Monday.

Then, we returned to the Wuthering Heights passage in order to finish group analysis of syntax, structure, and tone. Following that analysis, you were regrouped into partnerships for the last pre-writing activity for this prompt. I am purposefully not writing that specific step down for the blog. Following this step, you gnashed your teeth, gave me the evil eye, and picked up your pen or pencil to compose the prompt, which was a 40 minute timed writing.

If you were absent, you will need to make up this writing in school --- as it is a timed writing prompt. However, you can definitely prep the passage via close reading to prepare for the prompt itself. Any absentees will need to set up an appointment to complete the prompt, which will need to be done by November 2. I will be giving this prompt in other hours this week as well if you would like to use study hall time for completion of the prompt.

For Friday's class, we will be spending quality time with the three musketeers -- logos, ethos, and pathos. We may be on the floor again!

7th Hour Only

For our abbreviated version of class today, we added 4 new vocab words to our vernacular. Then, we started reading the next prompt on Wuthering Heights. We will be working more on this during tomorrow's class. If you would like a copy, e-mail me and I will send you a digital attachment of the passage.

Your tone prompt is due by 12:55 p.m. on Wednesday --- whether you are here (hard copy) or absent (digital). Writer's choice of typed or handwritten.

See you tomorrow -- back to our Scholar Quiz scrimmage. A team just won the first match!

Birdies

First off, I wish all of you luck on the practice ACT tomorrow. As I mentioned in class, remember to use process of elimination, choose the most simple answer on the English portion, answer every question, and mark up your reading booklets (seriously, close reading is beneficial in so many ways -- it helps your comprehension and aids your speed in recovering textual answers).

Now, for the hourly report...
1: We finished "To a Skylark" individual analysis. For homework, read "Ode to a Nightingale" by Keats -- which can be found online at thousands of poetry websites -- and be prepared to share analysis and tone identification on Wednesday. We will also resume vocabulary and you will be assigned your tone writing prompt. As I mentioned in class, we will have two prompts this week and you will need to be responsible with all of your assignments and time management.

2: We finished "To a Skylark" and "Ode to a Nightingale" via individual, class, and small group analysis. While it was a rush job with Keats -- a sin in my eyes, but we needed to finish today-- you did receive the tone writing prompt. This prompt may be handwritten or typed -- writer's choice or circumstance -- and the deadline is 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. If you are absent, I must receive the prompt response at this same time via attachment or share.

4: Same as first hour above.

7: We read and completed small group analysis on "Ode to a Nightingale" and received the tone prompt assignment. The prompt may be handwritten or typed and the deadline is Wednesday at 12:55. If you are absent, I must receive the prompt response at this same time via attachment or share.

And, to give you a little reading about lesser known history in St. Louis and to put you in the Halloween spirit: http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/books-and-literature/book-blog/when-body-snatching-came-to-s-st-louis/article_22da7cff-e391-5adf-9e63-4755069e04d2.html You never know -- this could be one of your examples for an argumentative essay.

To a Skylark - 7th hour

This will be a brief synopsis - vocab, ACT information, finished "To a Skylark" analysis. Next week, we will read, analyze, and prepare the next text for your tone prompt. Enjoy your weekend -- your class is still in the lead!

To a Skylark - 1st, 2nd, & 4th hours

For all of the listed hours, we began with vocabulary and an informational handout regarding the practice ACT on Tuesday.

Then...
1 & 4: We read "To a Skylark" by Shelley and I modeled for you how to do your individual assignment, which is to complete a line-by-line analysis of an assigned stanza and identify the tone(s) the speaker has towards the bird. If you were absent, you will need to contact me for your assigned stanza. You are expected to participate in this activity on Monday.

2: We began (and, unfortunately, did not finish) our "To a Skylark" participation stanzas. We will resume with stanza 18 on Monday and quickly wrap up the rest of the poem so we may read our secondary text.

Samples, samples, samples

1: After starting our first vocabulary words, we moved into a partner/small group discussion of the overlapping and contrasting qualities of RC & MC. Then, we spent the remainder of the hour learning about evidence and citation rules, critiquing sample introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs, and realizing apostrophes need attention too. 

2: Please read the above comments for first hour. Then, we also read "To a Skylark" by Shelley and assigned each student a specific stanza to 1. analyze line by line meaning and 2. identify the speaker's tone. In class, students has time to prepare the aforementioned assignment, and we will be sharing the individual analysis on Friday. Here is a sample analysis for line 1 (not the whole stanza): "Hail to thee" create an apostrophe, a direct address to the bird that is not present. Hail also shows his reverence and elevation of the bird. Blithe creates a cheerful image of the bird and Spirit creates something phantom-like that is more about the soul than an actual physical bird. I did the rest of the lines in class as an example, but I would say that gives you an idea about the specificity you can manage for one line. If you were absent, you will be expected to participate in the stanza analysis, and you should contact me for your assigned stanza.

4: At the beginning of the hour, we wrote down Unit 15 vocabulary words and assigned the vocab expert word for each student. Then, read the above comments for first hour to see the remainder of the class activities.

7: After starting with vocabulary, we finished the sample power point and returned writing prompts. Afterwards, check out the above agenda for second hour. We are currently in the middle of the student analysis and will finish these during Friday's class. All students will participate.

EAR Tone Maps

I kind of like having every hour doing a different component of tone work. Make sure you are following your correct hour. And, if you are absent, you are expected to be prepared for the next class session -- either via this blog or via e-mail.

1 & 2: Floor circle time as we analyzed your partner tone maps and read the character narratives of "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy." For homework, create a tone map for you assigned poem and indicate tone shifts by lines and not by stanzas. Do not forget to complete the paragraph analysis on the back in which you use specific diction and evidence to validate the tone shifts and purpose.

4: ACT Practice Prompt Day. Your solo tone map is due on Thursday. Make sure that you are indicating tone shifts by lines and not stanzas. Do not forget to complete the paragraph analysis on the back in which you use specific diction and evidence to validate the tone shifts and purpose.

7: In partnerships, we compared and contrasted the RC and MC tone maps. Remember, when you are indicating tone, it is the author's feeling and not how the reader feels upon arriving at a shocking conclusion. Next, we started a power point of Keats Prompt examples. This included the "Citation Doctor," a review on how to cite and punctuation properly. More of that to come tomorrow...Your class is still in the lead.

The Keats Prompt Example Power Point

I have been typing up the final touches on the example power point for the Keats prompt and my hand is quite sore from all of the strong introductions, thesis statements, body paragraphs, evidence examples, and conclusions! Rereading these essays has been a complete pleasure and should motivate you to take your inherent writing strengths into timed writing prompts.

And to make this night even better, Dancing with the Stars just started with a group number to "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" and I am flashing back to the summer of '87. And, Olivia Newton John is judging -- Sandy, oh Sandy! With that tangent, back to homework for me!

The Sentichievous ACT Writing Prompt Day

1, 2 & 7: For the entire hour, you completed the ACT writing prompt practice. Remember, this will provide a marker for your writing ability on the actual exam in April.

*7th hour, do not forget to bring your individual tone map to class on Tuesday.
*If you were absent on Monday, plan on writing during Tuesday's class.

4: Congregating on the floor for a tone map discussion, we saw how certain patterns exist in "The Children's Hour" and the connection to parenting and childhood. And, in exciting news, taking over from Keats and his ability to shape the lexicon, we have a new tone word to introduce to the world: SENTICHIEVOUS! Tomorrow will be your opportunity to take the ACT writing prompt. Due Thursday will be your individual tone map on your given poem. If you were absent, contact me for the specific poem assignment.
*Sentichievous is a made up word and should not be utilized on any AP exams.

7th Hour Tone Meeting

I will find any excuse to have a meeting in a circle on the floor. As seventh hour tone maps ahead of the other hours, I thought the rest of you would like a little preview of how we will review our partner tone maps. 

Seventh hour, don't forget to complete your solo tone map for Tuesday!

Tone Mapping Continues

1 & 2:
We constructed a tone map for "The Children's Hour" and completed a paragraph analysis of one tone pattern and its role in the purpose of the poem. On Monday's class, we will be taking the ACT Practice Test Writing Prompt -- all hour. On Tuesday, we will review your partner tone maps and then commence on a solo endeavor.

4:
We finished, amidst an earthquake drill, the tone map for "Chicago" in order to provide an example for your future mapping needs. Then, we read "The Children's Hour" and completed the tone map for the text. On Monday's class, we will move onto step 4 of the process -- the analysis -- and review all the maps. On Tuesday, we will be taking the ACT Practice Test Writing Prompt -- be prepared to write an outstanding essay.

7:
I am typing this prior to class, so we shall see if we finish all of these items on the agenda. First, we will be analyzing your tone maps from "The Children's Hour." Then, we will be reading 2 new poems: "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy." Following the reading, each student will be assigned one of the poems to complete an individual tone map, which you will need to complete for Tuesday's class. ACT Practice Test Writing Prompt will be Monday.

*If you miss the ACT practice prompt, you will make this up the next class period.

Buzzer Day

With the PSAT taking the majority of first, second, and fourth hour students, in-class antics revolved around reviewing strategies via the Scholar Quiz buzzers. As we had additional time, we also used historical allusions for review. Tomorrow, these three hours will return to tone mapping with "The Children's Hour."

Meanwhile, seventh hour was fortunate to have a full class roster. Hence, we worked on a partner tone map for "The Children's Hour."

Tone Mapping

Today's class concentrated on the tone map, its purpose, its construction, and its application. Using "Chicago," we created a tone map by following these steps:
1. Identify the tone shifts in the poem. While some tone shifts may be dramatically apparent, the AP Langers should also take out the microscope and look for subtle shifts that show the evolving nature of a text.
2. Assign a specific tone word to each section of the poem. Popular tone words today included laudatory, vituperative, indignant, pompous, vehement, hubristic, and, my favorite, jingoistic.
3. Select two "opposite" tones from your selected tone words. The other tone words will exist between these opposite terms. For instance, one class selected laudatory and vituperative as these opposites.
4. Create your map. The top will feature the differentiation of lines (1-5, 6-8, and so on) and the left side will feature the opposites. Plot the tones across the map and connect the dots to show the pattern.
5. Analyze patterns -- overall or in sections -- to understand why a writer utilizes specific tone shifts for the text's purpose. The most impressive analysis came from first hour and their perspective of "Chicago" introducing a claim, a counterclaim, and a rebuttal on the speaker's understanding of his city.

With PSAT tomorrow, we will be adjusting the tone week agenda to accommodate our small number. The buzzers will be out for rhetorical strategy competition. For full classes, we will continue forward with a partner tone map on "The Children's Hour," which first and seventh hour have already read.

Tone Games

The classes are almost in sync again, and tone is the rhetorical strategy that has joined us together. Overall, we have identified varying types of tones using the umbrella list and the AP "big kid" list, which features tone words that will be featured on the Multiple Choice section. Tomorrow, we will read (or "revisit" for first hour) "Chicago," the poem by Sandburg that has a plethora of tone shifts and create tone maps.

Off to read your Keats prompts...

Competition, Tone, & Evaluation

At some point, all AP classes will be on the same agenda, but that will not happen today...

1 & 2: We finished our rhetorical strategy competition and these are the rhetorical strategies/devices/terms that caused some struggle: synecdoche, metonymy, symploce, active/passive voice. In case you would like to learn more about these terms, here are a few links with definitions, examples, and activities.
http://study.com/academy/lesson/synecdoche-vs-metonymy-definitions-examples.html
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/figures/symploce.htm
http://www.towson.edu/ows/activepass.htm

If you were absent, we completed the Unit 14 vocab quiz, which will need to be made up by Tuesday prior to the grading deadline. I also passed out 3 tone handouts to help you with our tone week, which starts next week.

4 & 7: Our class focused on anonymous peer review of your Keats essay. The final draft deadline is Monday @ 2:45 p.m. The final draft may be handwritten or typed. If you are absent, this must be turned in digitally or it will be considered late.

Keats Continues

For all classes, we reviewed vocabulary for the quiz on Friday and we completed a solo syntax quiz with sentences furnished by second hour. If you were absent, you will need to make up this quiz a.s.a.p. as this will count for first quarter grades.

Although all hours are in different stages of diction analysis, each hour is still involved with Keats in some way or another.

1 & 2 = Anonymous peer evaluations in which your essay was read by 4 other students. Utilize their score and feedback to compose a final draft of the essay. This final draft (handwritten or typed) is due by 3:30 p.m. on Friday. Hard copy if in school; digital copy is absent. If you were absent for the peer evaluation, you are still expected to turn in the final draft by the deadline.

4 & 7 = We began or finished (depending on your hour) the analysis of Keats' letters and his usage of diction. You were assigned a prompt for the letters, which you will need to get directly from me. Write a first draft -- handwritten or typed -- and bring to class on Friday for anonymous peer evaluations. The final draft will be due Monday --- if you are absent on Friday, you are still expected to turn in this final draft by the given deadline.

And since it is National Poetry Day in England, a thought regarding poetry from my Keatsy.

"Poetry should surprise by a fine excess and not by singularity, it should strike the reader as a wording of his own highest thoughts, and appear almost a remembrance." - John Keats

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Purplue

Just a brief reminder -- a syntax quiz is on the horizon and it will feature second hour's sentences. This will be solo and for a performance grade. You may want to review your syntax types in the upcoming days.

From the title of this blog, only half of the AP classes understand the reference, but the rest of you will no doubt be indoctrinated in the world of purplue by the end of next class. I need to find a pair of shoes that are purplue --- a challenge I am willing to take.

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1st & 2nd hours
Today was all about my Keatsy and his letters to Fanny Brawne. During our class diction analysis, you may have noticed common diction, analogies, motifs, and other related strategies as he continues to document his feelings and impressions of Fanny over the course of their romance. For homework, you are to complete the assigned prompt from class. (If you were absent, you will need to e-mail for the prompt.) The prompt may be handwritten or typed -- just remember to not put your name on the product as we will be completing anonymous peer reviews during your block session. Do my Keats justice with your writing!

4th hour
As with the Banneker prompt, you stole the show with your writing and voice in the Orenstein prompt! During class, we continued with our diction analysis by reading and presenting "Ozymandias" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn." For homework, you will need to close read the first letter in the Keats' letters packet.

7th hour
After the return of the Orenstein prompt, we began work on Keats' letters packet by close reading the letter and having my example of how to analyze a letter for its diction. Then, you were given a specific letter to close read and discuss in your small groups. We began our presentations of the letters, and we will finish these tomorrow during the block class.

Diction Week Continues

First and second hour: We finished vocabulary unit 14's words. If we have time tomorrow, we will review the words during class. Otherwise, we will save the review for the block day. Our diction analysis reading was "Ode on a Grecian Urn" by my beloved John Keats. Following our diction work, the moment of truth, the return of the Orenstein syntax prompts, arrived. Overall, the averages for first and second hour show great improvement. First hour's average is 4.68, over a full point higher than the Banneker prompt. Second hour's average is 4.90, over two points higher than the first prompt. For homework, you are to close read Keats' first letter to Fanny Brawne. During class tomorrow, I will present the diction to the class and then you will be assigned your own letter to do the same style of analysis. The goal is to finish all of the letters tomorrow -- a lofty goal, but it is something we can do!

Fourth hour: We finished vocabulary unit 14's words and will most likely review during the block day. I would like us to catch up a bit to the other AP Lang classes. Next, we (finally) completed Syntax Quiz 3. Our diction analysis reading was "Ode on a Death of a Favourite Cat," in which we divided up the stanzas and analyzed the styles of diction and how this device reflected the theme. For tomorrow's class, I hope you are ready for content. We will accomplish two readings and return the prompts.

Seventh hour: We finished vocabulary unit 14's words and will most likely review during the block day. Next, we had two diction readings from the Romantic poets: "Ozymandias" and "Ode on a Grecian Urn." Tomorrow, we will have prompt analysis and more of my Keatsy as we read and analyze his letters to his beloved Fanny Brawne.

Golden Power

AP Lang classes are at different diction points, so make sure to read your specific hour.

1 & 2:

Today, we analyzed "The Cat" and "Ozymandias" for how the diction ties into the purpose. Then, I threw you the curve ball: what commonality exists between these two texts. Impressively, both classes concentrated on the warnings of power and greed and that " A Fav'rite has no friend!"

4:

During class, we focused on analyzing the autumn quotes and how the diction impacts each text. We have one left to go -- a tonal shift from our previous autumn loving writers -- on Monday. We will also take Syntax Quiz 3 -- finally!

7:

All of our attentions was on that poor Selima and her metaphorical connection to women's greed of gold and reputation. For next class, we will look at other poems for diction.

The Diction of Autumn

Today's syntax quiz was brought to you by 7th hour today! I hope you like armadillos!

Diction week begins with Rossetti's "A Birthday," celebrity quotes, autumnal quotes, and the mock heroic "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat." From our discussions, our close readings, and our group presentations, you have witnessed the multitude of ways to describe and analyze diction. The "fire" motif into colors and ashes was a shining moment of strong presentations in first hour! And, the definite and indefinite diction analysis of Bradbury was an example of higher level thinking in seventh hour! And, the harmonise/hectic juxtaposition of first and second hour added to the analysis of nature and humanity's impact on it.

Here are the quotes from today in case you would like to read them again:

"Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.” ―  Yoko Ono

“October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!” ― Rainbow Rowell, Attachments

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love - that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns."

[Letter to Miss Eliot, Oct. 1, 1841]”  ― George Eliot

“Use what you have, use what the world gives you. Use the first day of fall: bright flame before winter's deadness; harvest; orange, gold, amber; cool nights and the smell of fire. Our tree-lined streets are set ablaze, our kitchens filled with the smells of nostalgia: apples bubbling into sauce, roasting squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cider, warmth itself. The leaves as they spark into wild color just before they die are the world's oldest performance art, and everything we see is celebrating one last violently hued hurrah before the black and white silence of winter.” - Shauna Niequist, Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way

“He had never liked October. Ever since he had first lay in the autumn leaves before his grandmother's house many years ago and heard the wind and saw the empty trees. It had made him cry, without a reason. And a little of that sadness returned each year to him. It always went away with spring.

But, it was a little different tonight. There was a feeling of autumn coming to last a million years.

There would be no spring. - Ray Bradbury, After Midnight

The Syndetons in Action

For 1st, 2nd, and 7th hours, we completed syntax quiz number two today. If you were absent, you will need to make up this quiz by the end of the week.

In 2nd hour, we started diction week by reading Christina Rossetti's "A Birthday" and noting repetitive diction, similar diction, and contrasting diction. Without giving everything away, we noted several patterns in the first stanza -- involving other rhetorical strategies -- that reflect the theme of the text.

For all classes, we read a passage to analyze the usage of polysyndeton and asyndeton and how authors can utilize both to create tone, mood, characterization, selection of detail, and organization.

Meet the Syndetons

Today's class began with the copying of Unit 14 vocabulary and the assignment of expert words. We will start this unit tomorrow, so make sure you have your synonyms and  memory tricks handy.

Then, the first of many syntax quizzes composed by your classmates. Today's version was brought to you by first hour. Tomorrow will be the second half of first hour's creative syntactical styles.

Next, a quick review of sentence types, which most likely created nostalgia for elementary school syntax. We have declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory. It never hurts to use these terms for indicating sentence structures and adding to your syntactical understanding.

And last, but definitely not least, our syndetons, the neighbors we know as polysyndeton and asyndeton. Polysyndeton is the purposeful use of multiple conjunctions; asyndeton is the lack of conjunctions. Tomorrow's class will feature a text with both of these rhetorical devices.