Shoe Voting Update

Two more school days to vote for the AP Lit & Lang shoes! In disappointing news, two of three leading pairs are no longer in my size as of April 29. With that in mind, you may want to vote for additional pairs on Monday & Tuesday!

April 29 brought to you by Tom Hiddleston

Second Hour, we started off the day with inspiration from my current crush, talented thespian, and literature lover, Tom Hiddleston: "I try to convert pressure into excitement. Always. Because it's all...energy." Yes, this quote is about acting. However, it is applicable to our next 12 days of AP prompting and testing. Convert all of that pressure into excitement and energy as you review, practice, and prepare for the culmination of this course.

With that inspiration, we used our block Friday to review argumentation and synthesis writing prompts & to play with our tally sheets. Remember, additional prep sessions are available in the next week and a half to help review and add to your tally sheets.

April 28

2: We wrapped up rhetorical analysis review by completing a mini essay on the P&P&Z prompt. Then, you chose one of your essays to complete. The remainder of the hour was spent with the tally sheets. Evidenced by the numerous amounts of passing, you should be studying your rhetorical strategies and tone words.

4: After reviewing argumentation and synthesis writing, we played with the tally sheets. See you on Monday for the AP exam.

Jane Austen Quiz

Just in case you would like to see if you are more Mrs. Bennet, Mr. Bennet, Lizzie, Jane, or Lydia, here is a link to a quiz on whether you would be asked to dance at a Jane Austen era ball: http://community.sparknotes.com/2016/04/27/quiz-would-you-be-asked-to-dance-in-a-jane-austen-novel .

Thanks, Camille, for letting me know about this quiz! I would not be asked to dance, alas. 

And, my favorite new word of the day is ERGOPHOBIA! Look it up - you can use it as a justification for the upcoming weeks at school. 

April 27

2: It's been awhile. In the time that has passed, you should be utilizing your time to prepare for the full AP test -- class and actual -- in the next two weeks. What does that involve? I would hazard a guess that this incorporates the study of rhetorical toolbox terms, the review of tone terminology, and the practice of close reading, rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and synthesis.

During class today, you completed MC for passages 6d & 6e. Following this work, you then completed a prompt regarding one of the political writer passages. After we paper clipped all of the politicians together, we read the opening chapter of Pride & Prejudice and Pride & Prejudice & Zombies to analyze the purposes of both texts and the rhetorical strategies used by the authors. Make sure you bring back all the paperwork --- politicians and zombies --- for tomorrow's class.

4: After we turned in everything (or at least it looks like that in my grading box), we spent the remainder of the time playing with our tally sheets. I highly recommend you study all of your terms for the test, the review, the tally sheets, and prep sessions.

April 26

For all classes, do not forget to vote every day for your preferred pair of heels. (Well, one pair is flats.) Also, the prep sessions before and after school are available the next 2 weeks. Thus far, the sessions have been sparse -- sparse as in not one person has shown up. If you want the practice, review, and preparation, you have several options outside of your given class period. Check your handout for all dates and times.

1: Our class began with pen and paper ready as you scripted a mini essay response to a comparative rhetorical analysis prompt. After sharing your P&P&Z mini essays for feedback, you selected one of the prompts (yesterday or today) to finish for a content evaluation. Once those 20  minutes of writing time passed, you turned in everything. The remainder of the class was playing with cards and tally sheets. Any absentees will spend the next block hour completing the tasks from the past class sessions.

7: How does it feel to be ahead of all the other classes? Today we looked at argumentative and synthesis prompts to review the inherent characteristics required to achieve 9 scores. I am typing this prior to class, so I will make an assumption that we also played with the tally sheets to wrap the hour.

Prep Sessions

Just a reminder that you can come before school, after school, and during some classes to prep for the AP exam. Check your handout for times and dates.

Prep sessions will include one multiple choice passage, one close reading passage (afternoon only), and tally sheets.

As you  may recall, there are 76 points of extra credit up for grabs this semester, and the AP student with most tally marks will earn those points.

April 25

1: Quite a busy day! First, we completed the MC passages for 6d & 6e, which was for a content grade. Thus far, the highest scorer answered 19 correctly. Next, you worked on a rhetorical analysis mini prompt of 3 paragraphs. At this point, you should have my signature red line underneath your writing to indicate your stopping point. Last, my favorite prompt, we read 2 texts for comparative analysis. Make sure you bring all of this stuff with you on Tuesday -- you will definitely need it!

7: It felt almost like 3 rounds today with students at different parts of the rhetorical analysis review process. For the main part of class, you chose one of your 3 paragraph prompts (the political or P & P & Z) and completed the last 2 paragraphs of the essay. Following those 20 minutes, I collected all of your prompts, charts, and close reads. For the remainder of the hour, we played with the tally sheets.

Second Hour Shirts

Second hour, even though I will not be seeing you in class until Wednesday, t-shirt orders need to be completed prior to our next session. While the order was due today, Monday, you may still order your shirts tomorrow for $9. Make sure to check your school e-mail for colors.

AP Lit & Lang Shoe Voting

On each AP testing day, I have a little celebratory tradition: I scour my shoe sites and purchase a pair of shoes as a treat for teaching each course. Par example...

2014 AP Lang & Lit (Charlotte Olympia Ice Cream), 2015 AP Lit (Sophia Webster Amanda Banana), 2015 AP Lang (Sophia Webster T-Bar Flamingo)

To make this decision more interactive, you will have the opportunity to vote for your favorite pair during the next week. You may vote once per day on the tally sheet, and you are welcome to stop by on non-class days. Given availability and cost considerations, the top two vote-getters will be favored.

Yes, I know this is goofy! However, it is something fun that will balance all of the AP reviews and test work.

April 22

4 & 7: Just a brief recap of today's plot. First up, you completed the MC for passages 6d & 6e, which counted for a content grade. Second up, you completed a mini rhetorical analysis prompt on our political writer passages. Third up, we read two texts (I will not tell the titles because I would like to keep it a surprise for the other hours next week) -- similar in nature but completely different in context -- that will figure into a mini prompt due for the next class. This mini-prompt will be 3 paragraphs - intro and 2 body. Do not time yourself, but do not make it longer than 30 minutes. Make sure it is written in blue or black ink.

Make sure you bring everything -- passages, charts, mini prompts -- for the next class!

April 20-21

1: At this point in time, you should have 5 passages and 5 charts on political writers. Bring these materials with you on Monday for MC and writing work.

2: For tomorrow's class, you will need to have completed both close reads and charts for passages 6a & 6b. You will taking the MC for these passages on Friday.

Shirts are $9 - if you are ordering a shirt, you will need to pay by Monday and specify size/color. Check e-mail for color chart.

4: For Friday, you will need to have 5 passages and 5 charts completed. Bring these materials for MC and writing work.

Shirts are $10 - if you are ordering a shirt, you will need to pay by Friday and specify size/color.

7: I believe you are in the same position as first hour -- with the exception that you will need your work for Friday's class.

If you have communicated your shirt size and color and not paid the shirt cost as of yet, please do so as soon as possible.

'Twas the Night Before ACT

The beginning of class focused on your ACT team essays and the ability to evaluate three perspectives in one essay.

*Second and fourth hour students who did not stop by on Monday to have their paragraphs checked will need to do so tomorrow after ACT testing if they would like half credit.

Meanwhile, first and seventh hours analyzed their AP argumentation prompt and their overall AP score. As a class, we had 17 students score a 5 on the exam, which is impressive and reflective of all the exemplary work that you have completed over the course. (Not to be a complete downer, but this exam did have a low number - 112 - to score a 5.)

After all this fuss, we began the ultimate review for the AP exam. What makes it ultimate? Well, I am not giving away all my secrets just yet.

First, we are working with government passages to close read, complete rhetorical analysis charts, and analyze multiple choice passages. We will be working on this for the upcoming days.

1: Complete the rhetorical analysis chart for Passage B. As we - hint - are taking the multiple choice part of Passage A & B, you may want to look these over prior to Wednesday's class.

7th Hour T-shirts

7th hour, if you want to order a t-shirt, you will need to tell me your size and color choice and pay $12 by Wednesday. Additional information can be found in e-mail sent last week to your class.

April 15

As with Wednesday's class, we are preparing for the ACT exam. Wednesday concentrated on MC tips, and today featured writing prompt organizational strategies. I have e-mailed all juniors with two links to help you prepare for the writing prompt.

During class, we broke into groups to complete a team essay - one paragraph per person. If you were absent, you will need to e-mail me for the assignment. Absentees will need to write 1 body paragraph arguing the perspective that they have chosen and include evidence to validate the position.

Meanwhile...

1 & 7: You will need to finish your assigned individual paragraph for the team writing prompt. On Monday, we will go over your AP argumentation score and your overall score on the exam. I can't wait to see how many of you scored the magic five! Following all that fun, we will begin the review for the AP exam, which will commence with close reading, multiple choice, and rhetorical analysis.

2 & 4: On Monday, you will need to stop by and show me your paragraph for instant feedback. When I see you again -- many days will have passed -- we will go over the remaining portions of the AP exam and your overall score.

MC/Punctuation

All AP classes finished up the MC review/analysis, and a few classes worked on punctuation to better your writing and prepare for the ACT exam next week.

More specifically...

1: Finished the MC analysis.
2: Finished the MC analysis. Reviewed run-on sentences and comma splices.
4: Finished the MC analysis. Reviewed semicolons and colons (ha ha) and completed a practice activity.
7: Finished the MC analysis. Resumed punctuation with transitions.

Starting next week, I will have before and after school sessions to prep for the AP exam. (There will be a handout with dates and times, so please do not show up Monday morning expecting a session.) These sessions will include a multiple choice passage, prompt writing practices (as in close reading, outlining), and tally sheet usage with rhetorical strategies and tone words. I highly recommend attending as many sessions as you can to prepare for the exam.

April 11

Today's class began our review and analysis of the AP MC Test. We, I assume, will finish this up tomorrow and then continue forward with grammar review, exercises, and other fun items indicated in previous posts.

Synthesis Results

To make the most out of our AP exam results, we will go over the test one component at a time in the following order to better prep for your upcoming testing dates:

• Multiple Choice with review of close reading skills, rhetorical strategies, and footnote etiquette
• Grammar and Punctuation Rules to finish where we left off on Wednesday, practice rules with handouts, and take a look-see at the ACT English portion
• Synthesis with review of citing and utilizing sources to better formulate your own argument or evaluation of the given prompt
• Rhetorical analysis with review of close reading, rhetorical strategies, and citations
• Argument with review of argumentation, exemplification, and tips for the ACT-style of argumentation

In regards to the synthesis prompt, the overall results are quite promising with a range of 9-2. 

Goal 1 = 5 (7 students)

Goal 2 = 6 or 7 (34 students)

Goal 3 = 8 (13 students)

Goal 4 = 9 (1 student with the initials AB -- you finally earned that elusive 9!)

Tips, thoughts, evaluation procedures =

• You must have 3 sources included in the essay
• You are to write Source A (literally Source A) or the name given in the parentheses
• Strongest essays brought in more than one source in a paragraph and were more likely to score an 8 or 9
• Best essays brought in analogies, background knowledge, and supporting details that furthered the source information
•  Originality in which you questioned some of the sources (tech school not in the picture, charts with only college-level income)
• Do not summarize the sources
• Cite properly -- stop double punctuating sentences, putting citations in the middle of the sentence, and using full sentence quotations

MC Results

After baking cherry-filled coffee cake bars (yes, that delicious), I put on my decades song mix and graded the AP Lang Multiple Choice Test. Overall, I am very impressed with the results, and I could not wait until Monday to tell all of you about it!

As with all of our test components, each section has four goals. If you reach goal 1 on each portion of the exam, you will score a 3 overall.

Here are the MC goals for this exam and the number of students acquiring the points for each goal: 

Goal 1 = 50% correct or 26 answers = 15 students

Goal 2 = 60% correct or 31 answers = 25 students

Goal 3 = 70% correct or 37 answers = 13 students

Goal 4 = An overall 2 on the exam prior to the writing portion  or 42 answers = 3 students

We had a tie for highest student score on the exam with 43 correct answers. If you happen to have the initials RS & MS, you might be those two students setting the bar for MC testing. As I scored a 46, I look forward to seeing you and several others challenge me for highest score on our final MC test!

The Last Part

We wrapped up our first full AP exam with the synthesis portion today.

During next week's classes, we will be analyzing your test results, reviewing necessary skills, and prepping for the ACT exam via grammar and argumentative techniques.

P.S. I missed 6 on the multiple choice!

MC

For an hour of today's class, you completed the MC test portion of the AP Lang exam. Once again, if you are absent for any part of the exam, you will need to make this up during an AP class or after school this week.

Part II

AP Lang completed the argument portion of the exam during today's class session. If you were absent, you will need to make up the exam this week - either during another AP class or after school. MC will be on the block days.

AP Test Part I

Today's class featured the rhetorical analysis prompt. If you were absent, you will need to make up the prompt during another AP Lang class or after school during this week.

Bubble Bubble

Alas, the post subject does not reference Macbeth. During class, we spent some quality time filling out answer sheets for your upcoming test. With remaining time, we continued forward with parts of speech.

Next week will be the full AP test: rhetorical analysis, argumentation, multiple choice, and synthesis. To prep, you should review rhetorical strategies, tone words, and close reading strategies. To prepare for prompts, I would recommend reading articles and practicing rhetorical analysis and argumentation skills.