Happy End of Semester!

Well, we have reached the end of 2017 and the first semester of AP Lang. You have amassed a great deal of knowledge - whether welcomed or not - on rhetorical analysis, all those strategies and fallacies, and multiple choice passages. The last assignments, the final and the Lucy argument, will be evaluated over break and added to the gradebook upon completion. You will receive all of these assignments back in the new year, which will begin our class looking back on what we have worked upon during first semester.

Second semester will be a tad different as we focus more on argumentation, multiple choice, and synthesis writing. To start of the semester, we will resume vocabulary for about 5 units, study different allusions from mythology, Bible, pop culture, literature, and history to help with exemplifying your arguments, dive into various modes of discourse including satire, description, process analysis, exemplification, and argumentation, write creative tone paragraphs, practice multiple choice passages, and continue to work on writing so that you will score well on your essays and the AP exam.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! After diligent work to progress in AP Lang and all of your classes, I hope you take the time to relax, enjoy time with those closest to your heart, consume delicious food, and welcome in the new year in a safe and exciting manner!

And...for those of you who may want to try out advertising...

As many of you may recall from last year, I visit classrooms in January to help pique interest in AP Lang and let students know all the options available to them junior and senior year. (Yes, I will be out of the room during that time, but you know you will have something to keep you busy.)

Another way to call attention to AP Lang is to create a poster that grabs the eye and provides key words that would attract a student to the course. And in the past years, our department chair has blown up this poster into a mega-poster that is on the English department bulletin board second semester.

With that in mind, I have a proposal, not a modest one, for my AP Lang students.

If you would like to make a poster for AP Lang, and perhaps earn 10-20 extra credit points (dependent on effort), create one advertisement and share/e-mail it to me by 7:00 a.m. on January 3. This will need to be in digital format.

You will find below some facts about the course that you may want to include; however, you can also bring in stuff you have learned or liked this semester to encourage a student to take the course. Remember, this is an advertisement and prospective students walking down the hall will not stop to read full sentence explanations. The winning poster will be selected by another teacher or staff member and will receive an additional 10 extra credit points. The extra credit is for second semester and not first semester.

AP Lang Facts:

• Junior and seniors
• Full year course with an objective to pass the AP Language and Composition exam in May
• College credit earned through test scores and/or dual credit enrollment
• Curriculum focuses on the components of the AP Language and Composition Exam: multiple choice, rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and synthesis
• Close reading strategies and analyses of short passages, varying literary genres, and modes of discourse
• Non-fiction textual emphasis: autobiographies, biographies, diarists, critics, essayists, and writers of history, politics, science, and nature
• AP prompt writing skills and practices to foster mature writing style and analysis
• Writings will include expository, narrative, analytical, argumentative, and research-based techniques
• Full-length texts are 2 memoirs during the school year
• No summer reading
• Or anything else you find pertinent, interesting, engaging, memorable

Semester Finales

In 1, 3, and 4, we wrapped up our review via the portfolio to see what writing habits could be improved upon for the final prompt.

In 7th hour, you had the experience of taking the final first, which is a culmination of rhetorical analysis writing, terms, and multiple choice passage. Hopefully, you had a lot of confidence going into this writing experience since your class had the highest average on the last writing prompt!

For all classes, don't forget to turn in your Lucy argument - especially since it is the last grade of the quarter and will impact your quarter and semester grade if you elect to not complete the task.

Prompt Review Part II

1: Finished our team close read and constructed a team introduction with a team thesis statement finishing up the paragraph. For homework, you will need to each write your assigned body paragraph.

3, 4, 7: Reviewed rhetorical analysis essay structure, shared our body paragraphs for the Wuthering Heights Team Close Read, created a team introduction, shared 2 paragraphs from each group. For homework, you have the MC passage to finish. Take 15-20 minutes if needed - don't make this a hour long assignment.

And, a belated National Porg Day to you all. I can't believe I missed out on celebrating everything Porg. I hope there's time to add Porgs to my wish list for Santa. 

The Final Push

In all classes today, we are reviewing the skills, strategies, and expectations to help you score well on the final, which features a rhetorical analysis prompt, a toolbox quiz (without toolbox usage), and a MC passage.

For today - and into tomorrow - we are completing a team close read on a passage. The team close read forces you to pick out phrases, words, strategies, and all the other details that relate to the prompt. As a result, you then have to explain that connection, which would, I hope, eventually tie back to purpose. The "P" word is back!

For third and fourth hour and seventh hour (polysyndeton), complete your solo body paragraph for the close read. Absentees will be assigned work tomorrow during class.

And, do not forget about your Lucy argument, in which you will create your claim based on Lucy's character and utilize evidence from multiple sources. It is imperative for all students to turn in this essay in order to maintain or improve their grade. Any students not completing this assignment will see their grades drop as consequence.

The Real Lucy Grealy

1: Prior to your essay assignment, we divided into teams claim, warrants, counterclaim, and rebuttal to practice brainstorming appropriate evidence for the claim and the counterclaim (it is a valid secondary position that requires support), group evidence together to help determine warrants and which claim evidence could be transferred to help out the rebuttal, and construct a rebuttal statement referencing the validity of the counterclaim and then returning to the claim's stronger position. After all of this on the board, you received your Lucy Argument and Lucy Logs to begin writing this last assignment of the semester. The argumentative essay's prompt is WHO IS THE REAL LUCY GREALY? This will require evidence from your variety of sources to construct a strong argument. This is a hard copy only assignment and must be turned in by 12:30 p.m. on Friday, December 22.

3 & 4: See above for notice of the Lucy argument prompt. The hard copy assignment handout has more specific details, but that should not stop you from the writing process.

7: Thanks for following directions and moving around during seventh hour today. See first hour's synopsis for the Lucy Grealy argument assignment.

See you next week for review!

On the Last B Day Before Holiday Break...

If you are nominating your educator or employee of the year, you do no have to fill out that hard copy form - just share it with Julie Leacox by the end of the school day on Friday and make sure you mention in a note whom you are nominating and, of course, your name.

All classes, you also need to read and annotate the Suellen essay regarding her sister - you know her by the name of Lucy Grealy - and her troubled reaction to Ann Patchett's memoir. If you want to read it online, here you are: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/aug/07/biography.features.

1: We accomplished a great deal today - responding to Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" speaker via rhyme, prose, and timely (get it) argument; completing a practice multiple choice passage to gauge your strategical usage with timing; starting your teacher of the year argumentative mini essay, which will be 3-4 paragraphs indicating this person's strengths on a personal level and a school-wide level. You will need to complete your first draft (required) of the essay and share it to me by 7:24 a.m. on Friday morning. If you would like to officially nominate (yes, split infinitive, regretful), then you will need to share your revised essay with Julie Leacox.

3 & 7 (and probably 4th hour on Thursday): We started class with time for you to finish the first draft of your teacher argument essay. I hope many of you are planning on nominating these staff members - I know I have found out so much about my colleagues through this process! At the end of the hour, we worked with the other half of the argument (that would be the counterclaim and rebuttal - I'm really into parentheses and dashes today - I once had an AP Lit student who constantly worked in parentheses into his essay - that was annoying). On the board, we looked at how you can group evidence together to create 3 "evidence groupings" for your essay's body paragraphs and how you can save one of those evidence groupings for your rebuttal section. Yes, it's true -- you can have evidence incorporated into a rebuttal and you can have a whole paragraph to do so. Overall, if you are writing an essay that is a non-timed writing prompt, you would have, at minimum, an introduction, 2 body paragraphs of supporting evidence and warrants for the claim, a counterclaim paragraph with evidence, a rebuttal paragraph with evidence, and a concluding paragraph. Hmm...why am I so specific with essay structure? Could it be that you will be assigned your last essay of the semester on Friday regarding the nature of Lucy Grealy?

Teacher Arguments

1: We completed our practice introductory argument on our subject of inspiration, Honey Boo Boo, by sharing claims, evidence, and super warrants. Then, we read "To His Coy Mistress" to identify an overall claim, sub-claims within the argument, evidence and warrant connecting to each sub-claim, and the overall meaning of a Carpe Diem poem. Tomorrow will be a busy day, so be prepared for a lot of work with multiple choice and argument.

3, 4, & 7: We analyzed the answers of MC passage 4. Then, you received the Educator of the Year/Employee of the Year Argument essay. To accumulate the main components of this assignment, you are to select a teacher or staff member that you would like to nominate and write a 3-4 paragraph essay on a Google Doc. Your purpose is to convince the committee readers that your nominee is the best instructor or worker at our school. For this assignment, you will be completing 1 draft for a participation grade, and you will be showing it to me during the block class for instant feedback. If you choose to, you can revise for a second draft and turn it in to Ms. Leacox by Friday to officially nominate your selection. For any length of essay, you should dedicate one paragraph to the personal reasons for nominating this person and one paragraph to the school-wide influence of this person (order is up to you). If you choose a 4 paragraph essay structure, you want an introduction with a hook and a claim, 2 body paragraphs with a sub-claim, evidence, and warrant(s), and a concluding paragraph. If you choose a 3 paragraph essay structure, you want the above items, but you will tack on a concluding sentence or sentences to the last body paragraph. This will be due approximately 35-40 minutes into the block class, so if you do not think you can complete this in that time frame, then you should work on this essay this evening.

Argument in Many Forms

1: We reviewed claim, evidence, and warrant today, which culminated in a viewing of a Honey Boo Boo clip to inspire you to create a claim from its subject matter. We will finish up the evidence and warrant component tomorrow, do another c, e, w activity, and try out another multiple choice passage.

3 & 4 & 7: We identified claim, evidence, and warrant in regards to Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress" and created responsive arguments to the speaker of that poem. We also completed MC passage 4 - for this one, you were timed 12 minutes and could apply any strategy that you needed. Tomorrow, we will go over the answers and why these are the best choices.

Discussion in the Dark

My favorite day of the year, the day we discuss Lucy, Ann, and the memoirs, the day of discussion in the dark. Having witnessed four separate discussions, each class offered different topics, perspectives, and impressions from the breakdown of Lucy and Ann's relationship, thoughts of Lucy's psychology and behaviors, and personal anecdotes that allowed us to find empathy instead of judgment.

We will be back to argument and MC next week!

Purplue Prose

While I was prepping questions for the Scholar Quiz's team weekly trivia lunch (in the library conference room every C and D day), I found one regarding a phrase that I know from EMF's "Unbelievable" but had never actually truly studied: purple prose. According to Jeopardy, it is "writing full of exaggerated pathos" and other sources slam its existence for over-the-top, elaborate emotions that distract from an actual argument or topic. For some of you out there, purple prose is all too real, so here is an article regarding how to fix any attempts to go purple in your writing: https://www.nownovel.com/blog/purple-prose-how-to-recognize-it-and-tame-it/. Since we are starting argumentation this week and next, it would behoove one to recognize when pathos rears its head in writing. And since purple prose is all about emitting pathos to the audience, shouldn't we rename it purplue prose in honor of Keats? 

No matter where your class ended on the block day, we are taking a moratorium on MC/argument and having our Lucy discussion day on Friday. Be ready with your thoughts are Lucy, Ann, motifs, themes, observations on aesthetical concerns, and anything else pertaining to the books. 

1: We worked with 2 multiple choice passages today (#2 and #3) by close reading and categorizing questions, analyzing passages, and, hopefully, selecting the correct answers. 

3: We started with our third MC passage, which gave you an opportunity to complete the questions individually. Our highest score was a 9/10, and we had many score over the 50 percent goal intended for each MC passage. Following this passage, we reviewed claim, evidence, and warrant by creating these steps for topics relating to Honey Boo Boo. 

7: We finished MC passage 2 analysis and then worked on MC passage 3 via close reading and categorizing questions, close reading and discussing the passage, and working on accuracy on the questions. Afterwards, we jumped into argumentation and its claim, evidence, and warrant(s) that populate this mode of discourse. In order to practice these 3 steps, we used Honey Boo Boo as a starting point to construct a claim, evidence, and an overall warrant (yes, in an essay, you would have several warrants, but for this activity, one will do.) If absent, you will need to write a claim regarding topics that are apparent in this Honey Boo Boo clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0InUDCsMhrY&t=21s. Then, you will need to bullet point a list of evidence that would support your claim, and finally you will need to write a warrant connecting and explaining the claim and evidence together. 

Multiple Choice Continues

1: We completed MC passage 1 by utilizing (oops - I know we don't like that verb) close reading, discussion, question categorizing, process of elimination, and class voting for correct answer. Throughout, you capitalized on strategies for comprehending the passage and answering the questions with greater accuracy. Tomorrow will mean more MC and some argumentation.

3 & 7: We completed MC passage 2 by working from the questions to the close read to the discussion to answering to the explaining. Lots of verbs - "all of them tiring" - that's from Cold Mountain. Tomorrow will be the next passage and then a review of argumentation's first three properties, which you would know as claim, evidence, and warrant. 

4: We finished the analysis of MC passage 2 and then spent the rest of the hour with MC passage 3, which involved an approach that combined both previous passages. Through the question close reading, question categorization, close reading and sharing of ideas, and answering of the questions, you completed the passage. Next class will start with argumentation - ooh! - so you will have a chance to use words like claim, evidence, and warrant again.

Challenging Yet Manageable

Tomorrow by 2:40 p.m. you will need to turn in your Lucy logs to me for evaluation. I'm sure many of you will be busy with these tonight after the 5 1/2 weeks that you have had to complete the assignment.

As noted in class today regrading MC passages, the AP Lang passages and questions are challenging yet manageable. Since none of you have run crying and screaming after reading one, I can attest that the aforementioned adjectives are appropriate. F.Y.I. Third hour is still the only class with 100% on passage 1.

1: We completed the vocab quiz for unit 15 and then spent time discussing the AP MC test and all the strategies that are part of taking this exam component. Tomorrow will be our class completion of passage 1.

3: We spent the hour on MC Passage 1 with a focus on close reading first, followed by identification of question types, process of elimination, and class voting to determine the correct answer. We will work on MC Passage 2 tomorrow, but this will feature the questions first before the reading.

4: We reviewed the answers for MC Passage 1 and completed MC Passage 2 during class. We will finish the explanation portion of MC Passage 2 tomorrow and then - probably - move into a review of the basics of argumentation.

7: I am writing this during sixth hour, so hopefully all of this will be true: we began the hour looking at the AP Lang MC test and the strategies that you can use to complete this portion. Then, we working on MC Passage 1 with a close reading of the passage and the categorization of the types of questions. Ideally, we finished the passage and questions. However, if we were left with some questions, you will need to finish those for homework.

Multiple Choice Land

Don't forget that you have until Tuesday to complete the Lucy logs, which will be needed for upcoming assignments and discussions in addition to a significant grade.

1: You spent the hour completing the debate fallacies, which means identifying every fallacy in your given section and thoroughly explaining how it is a fallacy in the comment box.

3: We started on the goofy side by performing our slippery slopes (Hello, Steve and specific hand gestures) and then finished the class talking about MC strategies and AP Lang expectations for this portion of the exam. We will work on a practice passage on Monday to see how you do with AP-level MC.

4: After our chilly fire drill, we spent almost the entire hour on the first MC passage by thoroughly close reading the passage, sharing our notes, identifying the types of questions, practicing process of elimination, and determining a final answer. Whatever we did not finish in class, make sure to have completed for Monday.

7: Oops - forgot to add in seventh hour's agenda from Friday, which was an entire hour dedicated to the debate fallacies.

Thursday's Notices

If you were in fourth hour, we spent the majority of the time chatting about the fallacies in the Republican debate and how MC works on the AP Lang exam. Bring back your MC packet for tomorrow as we start our first passage.

As for all of the other classes, 2 quick announcements for you:

1. The Lucy Logs will have a day extension through December 5 - if needed. All logs need to be turned in by 2:40 p.m. on that day to me. You are welcome to turn this in early.

2. I will be sharing the Democratic debate with third, fourth, and seventh hour classes either today (ideally) or tomorrow. If you would like extra credit, you can identify and analyze a maximum of 10 fallacies that are in the debate. Do not exceed these 10 fallacy identification as the copy is for an entire class to use. Make sure that you have a thorough explanation as well. Any fallacies identified by Wednesday, December 6, at 2:30 p.m. will be considered for the extra credit. 

See everyone tomorrow for fallacies and/or MC passages!

At Least We Are All Working on Fallacies

1: After finishing up vocab experts for this round, we spent the rest of the hour with fallacies - the packet, Direct TV commercials (once again, not a paid spokesman), creating and performing slippery slopes to entertain us (who knew that not preparing for the Scholar Quiz team would eventually lead you to a Jason Bourne existence?). At the end of the hour, you were assigned the Republican debate transcript in which you will identify fallacies and explain the fallacies. This is a shared document that all have received, and I have clarified the assignment for any absentees. Complete your assigned section for Friday's class.

3: The entire hour revolved around the Republican debate fallacies, so we will have to play with slippery slopes next class. Plus, we will begin our look at the AP Lang MC portion.

7: After reviewing a few more fallacies, we shared your slippery slope fallacies via an animated dramatic spectacle. Then, you worked in groups to identify fallacies in the Republican debate transcript. This is a shared document that features instructions for any absentees. If you have not shared your debate fallacies in class, be ready to do so on Friday.

Sloping

1: We returned to vocabulary, and you did very well after a week and a half hiatus to complete are presentations and discussions. Then, we read/watched Earl Spencer's eulogy for Diana and indicated rhetorical strategies (asyndeton, telegraphic sentence, pathos, diction, tone, and other impacting methods) to review our three month focus on rhetorical analysis. At the end of the hour, you received the fallacy packet, and worked with a partner to learn about one fallacy and create 2 original examples for class tomorrow.

3: After our vocab quiz, we spent the rest of the hour with fallacies. For homework, you are to compose a minimum 15 step slippery slope. I hope you are creative as fourth hour exceeded my expectation of random slippery slope results. In addition, you need to start identifying fallacies for your section of the Republican debate transcript, which was shared to you earlier today. For each fallacy that you find, make a comment identifying the type of fallacy and why it is a fallacy. You will have 15-20 minutes to work on this during class tomorrow. However, you should begin the process prior to class.

4: After finishing the fallacy types, we had our fourth hour drama department act out slippery slopes. We had evidence finding the Zodiac killer, hors d'oeuvres with a Vanderbilt, M&M's & Mr. Pibb for dinner, calling a teacher "Mom," car crashes, tater tot choking, ferrets, laxatives in the Christmas cookies, and Santa on the can. Yep, this was an entertaining day in class. For homework, you are to take your section of the Republican debate transcript, which was shared with you earlier today. For each fallacy that you find, make a comment identifying the type of fallacy and why it is a fallacy. You will need to have your section ready to go for Thursday. Absentees, you will be  in charge of pages 42-53 of the transcript, and you will both need to participate.

Diana/Fallacies

The blogs this week will be based in brevity, so if you have any questions, do not hesitate to e-mail or ask in person for further details. The blog previous to this one, "Discussing Diana," has links to the video and transcripts for the Diana readings today if you were absent or if you would like to watch/read again. 

1: You received your Keats prompt back and then we jumped into Queen Elizabeth II's speech regarding the death of Princess Diana.

3: We reviewed vocab and then made our way through the fallacy packet, which we will finish up tomorrow. Before the sound faded into cessation, we watched the Direct TV slippery slope commercials, which you  may view here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ80SVOHKoo.

4: We worked with fallacies all hour in the packet and watched the video link from third hour regarding slippery slopes. For homework, construct a minimum 15 step slippery slope and feel free to bring in humor, creativity, and egregious examples.

7: We started with a vocab quiz for unit 15 and then spent the rest of the class reviewing rhetorical strategies via the two Diana speeches.

Discussing Diana

1 & 7: We finished our presentation discussions! Seventh hour reviewed for their vocab quiz, which will be the Monday we return.

3 & 4: Third hour finished up vocab, and fourth hour completed the quiz for unit 15. Both hours read the transcripts and watched the videos of the words spoken following Princess Diana's sudden death. Look at this old blog for links for transcripts and videos, which all of you should have knowledge of: http://fznaplang.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-end-of-rhetorical-analysis.html.

I hope you have a plethora of thanks to give this week - even if you are just thanking Lucy Grealy.

Rhetorical Analysis Comes to a Close

For the past three months, we have concentrated the majority of our efforts on rhetorical analysis, and now the time has come to move onward and upward to fallacies, multiple choice, and argument. Before you throw your party, we have one more review to do, so it is another opportunity to bring up all those strategies and work on active verb choice and specific purposes. (F.Y.I. Rhetorical analysis will always be around, so you still need all that knowledge for the rest of the class.)

1: The presentations are complete! We are in the midst of our follow-up discussion, which will resume and complete during tomorrow's class. Also on the docket are the Keats prompts (someone in the class scored a 9) and vocabulary.

3 & 4: The presentation discussions are complete! Third hour has their Keats prompts - which included a 9, the first non-presentation 9 awarded this year. And, we added four more vocab words to the vernacular. Fourth hour, you reviewed vocab today, which means your quiz is tomorrow.

7:

Survey - Do This By November 21

In case you did not have the chance to take the technology survey, you still have approximately 24 hours to do so: https://sites.google.com/a/fz.k12.mo.us/bright-bytes-survey/. Start by going under "High Schools" and then selecting North High.

Our Presentations

The presentations - and the discussions following the topics - have been moving along in all classes the past 2 days. First and seventh hour have completed 3 and will finish these up on Monday; third and fourth hour have completed all 5 presentations and will finish up the discussion portion on Monday. And, next week, even though it is only 2 days, we will keep up with vocab, look at all those prompts you have turned in, and wrap up rhetorical analysis.

Special kudos to our Autism group in third hour with their variety of pathos-attracting techniques to inspire us to see autistic children in a different light; our Starfish group in seventh hour who brought in their own homemade starfish and dissolved those poor things in class; our Malala group in fourth hour for creating an education line with countries fighting it out for diplomas.

The Presentations Start with a 9!

Third hour started off all of the presentations today, and we began with the world of starfish and its wasting disease and North Korea and its life behind the borders. Kudos to our Dr. Ky, his interns, and his audience for their participation in the starfish episode. We are all looking forward to the next installment: the polar bear. Check out the photographic evidence of their performance portion below.

First & Seventh hours started with vocabulary and followed the rest of the hour with preparations for the presentation.

Third hour was solidly focused on the presentations, and we managed to complete one round of discussion on the starfish. We will finish up the discussion on North Korea and then try to squeeze in our other 3 presentations on the block day.

Fourth hour finished one presentation and one discussion, which means we will attempt to finish our final 3 presentations on Thursday.

Still Prepping

First off, let's start with your weekly reminder that you should be keeping up with your 2 text Lucy Grealy assignment - including the reading of the texts and the additional log - since it is due 3 weeks from today. Second off, if it is presentation week, so I am looking forward to witnessing the logos, ethos, and pathos-filled performances and visuals. Third off, I currently have 4 Benjamin Banneker clocks in my possession! How cool that some of you chose to celebrate his influence by making mathematically-oriented clocks. I have not had a poem yet, but the school day is only halfway complete.

1: After resuming our vocabulary with 4 new words, you watched a pathos-oriented video from the Today Show to inspire you to utilize video, music, narration, photographs, and other techniques to involve the audience in your presentations this week. The rest of the class was designated for prep time and the scheduling of your presentations. Our order will be Team Bobby, Team Kira, Team Jalen, Team Jason, and Team Sigmund.

3: After vocab time with 4 more words, you had the remainder of class to prepare for our presentations. Every group should be prepared to go for tomorrow's class - just in case. And don't worry if we have any extra time after presentations each day, we have plenty of items to do as we finish up rhetorical analysis in the next 2 weeks.

4: After vocabulary's aggrandizement, you received your Keats prompts, which averaged out to a similar figure as your last prompt. Overall, there has been consistent improvement with organization, evidence incorporation, analysis, and vernacular variety. With every essay, these expectations remain the same, so continue to pepper your writing with the aforementioned necessities for the forthcoming prompts. 

7: After vocabulary's continuance, you received your Keats prompt, which averaged to the exact number as your previous prompt. Consistency is a start, but you can always improve by cleaning up any distractions, broadening your robust analysis, incorporating evidence, and keeping structure at the forefront of your writing. The rest of the class was designated for preparations and creating a schedule for the groups to present. 

Technology Survey - Something to Do

Are you a lover of technology? Or, are you always complaining about technology? Our school district needs your input. Hence, each of you needs to take this (approximate) 15 minute survey about the technology at school and beyond. Check out the link here and complete by Friday, November 17: https://sites.google.com/a/fz.k12.mo.us/bright-bytes-survey/. If you have already taken this survey, then move along and prep for your presentations.

Presentations Loom

In all classes, you worked on prepping for your rhetorical appeals presentations next week. In addition, it is, technically, the last day of Benjamin Banneker Week, so I hope you are celebrating appropriately.

1: To save time, I gave you a copy of the next unit of vocab, which we will start up on Monday.

3: Mr. Sutton helped us determine our presentation order for next week: Team Bennett will lead the charge, followed by Team Shay, Team Kat, Team Marlee, and Team Kiersten.

4: After 4 more vocabulary words, we figured out the presentation order for next week: Team Maddi will be first, followed by Team Destiny, Team Dan, and Team Brennan.

7: After 4 more vocabulary words, you had the rest of the hour to prep for presentations. We will determine presentation order on Monday.

Prepping Time

Don't forget that first and seventh hour have approximately 24 hours to complete their tone prompts. It is the last full solo essay you will be writing for awhile.

1: At the beginning of class, you compared and contrasted your tone maps to see overlapping and juxtaposing themes, tones, and characterization for EAR's poems. Next up, we looked - literally since these were projected on a screen - at pictures and ads to identify pathos and purpose. At the end of the hour, you were assigned the current event/rhetorical analysis group project. At this point, you know your group, your topic, and your plan for tomorrow. Prep days for you hour are November 10, 13, 14. Presentation days will be November 15 & 20.

3 & 4: We resumed vocab experts with 4 new words today, which means we will sneak in 4 more tomorrow. Then, we watched this video to look at how pathos can involve the subject and the audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mscduVYpidA. The first time I watched this clip, the tears were flowing! For the rest of the time, you worked on your group presentations next week. We will determine your the schedule of presentations tomorrow. Even if you are fifth in line, you will still need to be prepared in case of emergency absence.

7: We resumed vocab experts with 4 new words today, looked at pathos via advertisements and video (see link above for a viewing), and assigned the current event/rhetorical analysis group project. You will be preparing for this project during class time on November 10, 13, 14. You will be presenting on November 15 & 20. 

Toning to Pathos

We are less than 4 weeks away from the Lucy Logs due date. Make sure you are completing this assignment and not procrastinating!

1: We are almost caught up to the other classes as a result of finishing "To a Skylark" and "Ode to a Nightingale," and you received the tone prompt, which as is follows: In regards to Percy Shelley's "To a Skylark" and John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale," compare and contrast the tone and other rhetorical strategies used by these poets in their writing about birds. This is a 48 hour prompt akin to the Keats' prompt of old. You may hand write or type the hard copy essay, which will need to be in my possession by 3:30 p.m. on Friday. If absent for the entirety of the day, you are required to share, e-mail, or photograph the essay and then turn in a hard copy when returning to school. We will go over the RC and MC tone maps tomorrow, return to vocab, and work with pathos in preparation for your group project. We are busy, busy, busy!

3 & 4: In exciting news, it looks like the projector is working. Did I just create a jinx? After copying down unit 15 vocab for tomorrow's resumption of vocab experts, we spent quality time on the floor looking at pictures and advertisements to check out pathos-based reactions and finding out about the group project - a pathos-driven presentation on one of the 5 topics. If you were absent, you will find out your group tomorrow. Otherwise, the groups can begin dividing up tasks and brainstorming ideas in preparation for tomorrow's class. Prep days (after vocab and a pathos activity) will be November 9, 10, and 13. Presentations will occur on November 14 and 15/16.

7: Check out first hour's agenda for information regarding the tone prompt on "To a Skylark" and "Ode to a Nightingale." You have the same deadline, Friday at 3:30 p.m. for this 48 hour prompt. To finish up the hour, you copied down Unit 15 vocab in preparation for tomorrow's class, and we reviewed a little logos, ethos, pathos to prep for the remainder of this week's classes.

Almost the End of Tone

1: After reviewing how to make a tone map, we summarized the RC & MC poems, looking at EAR's characterization of these two men. For homework, you are completing a tone map on your assigned poem and composing a 1 paragraph analysis. At the end of the hour, we started summing up "To a Skylark," which we will finish up on Wednesday. In addition, we will be working with "Ode to a Nightingale," so make sure you are cognizant of all the vocabulary and allusion meanings in the poem.

3 & 4: We quickly wrapped up "To a Skylark" and looked at "Ode to a Nightingale," finishing up our tone texts. As a result, it is time for your tone prompt, which has a deadline of Wednesday at 3:15 p.m. As with your previous prompt, you have the choice of handwriting or typing the essay with the hard copy in my hands by the deadline - unless absent all day, which means sharing, e-mailing, photographing you work by the given time. In all circumstances, the hard copy is mandatory. Absentees, I have sent to the prompt to your school e-mail address, so that you can work on this and complete the assignment without falling behind.

7: At the start of the class, we worked in partners to compare and contrast our RC & MC tone maps. Then, we summed up - as much as time allows - "To a Skylark" and "Ode to a Nightingale." Whatever is left over, we will finish very quickly on Wednesday, which means you should have ethos on all the vocabulary and allusions in these poems.

Benjamin Banneker Week Begins!

In exciting news, it is Benjamin Banneker week, which celebrates the revered writer, scientist, and all-around savant. Here is a little more information from a fun website of daily, weekly, and monthly celebrations: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/benjamin-banneker-week/. And, to make this a little more relevant and applicable, you will notice that there are 2 activities for celebrating Banneker's role in our lives. The first is to make a clock face (non-working) using mathematics to represent the numbers 1-12 (so don't literally write 1, 2, and so forth but construct formulas or mathematical expressions to represent each number). Here is a picture I found online (which may be blocked since it originally came from facebook) of such a clock, which looks to be made out of cardboard: https://www.facebook.com/events/1601106116857922. The second is to compose a poem that actually features mathematical puzzles for the reader to solve. Here are some examples: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/resources/mathematical-puzzles-benjamin-banneker. As you can see the word problems are divided up into verse form, which means you can play with rhyme and diction and poetic elements to express math. So to make this interesting and decorate my room, you have the challenge of constructing a 3 dimensional clock (so not on typing paper but with a more solid material - creative materials add to the presentation) and/or a mathematical poem on decorated construction paper/cardboard/posterboard for extra credit. The poem can have combined mathematical puzzles to boost the level of difficulty and content. All the math must be accurate - and, yes, I am a polymath (at least that is what Joe Cassidy calls me) and have right and left brain talents. The clock will be worth a maximum of 35 points, and the mathematical poem will be worth a maximum of 20 points. Points will be awarded for originality, mathematical connection, presentation, and effort, which means those utilizing the most clever materials, math, and presentation will amass the most points. You can do one of each by the way. The due date for this extra credit, which must be in person, is Monday, November 13, so you have one week on this extra credit opportunity. This must be turned in via hard copy (obviously) by 3:00 p.m. on that day. If you have any questions, e-mail me for clarifications. Otherwise, I am looking forward to the final products!

"The Bird"

Make sure that you are prepared for all upcoming texts - you should know word meanings and plot to help you with the analysis phase. At this point, you have had a week to prep all of the texts. In addition, those students who print out the texts and have notes ready seem to have stronger analysis during our discussions.

1: During class, you completed a tone map for "A Children's Hour," and then we spent time looking over the analyses and what you should do and what you should not do. As with all analyses, you still have the expected structure, evidence, and "robust" analysis. On Monday, we will be working with Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy.

3 & 4: We compared and contrasted our RC & MC tone maps, and then spent the rest of the hour looking at "To a Skylark," which we will finish up on Monday prior to Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" and the assignment of your tone prompt. Yes, it is coming. And to preview beyond our tone work, we will then move into logos-ethos-pathos work in a group project.

7: We began class with reviewing how to write an analysis for a tone map, then summarized Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy in preparations for your solo tone map, which will be the culminating activity for tone mappage. Don't worry, though, we wills till have tone analysis next week with Shelley and Keats.

Children's EAR

Don't forget to have all the poems from last week read and ready to go for class tomorrow. While third and fourth hour are in the final throes of tone work, first and seventh hour still have a handful of texts left to tone map.

1: We went to "Chicago," finishing up the summary of the poem and constructing a tone map as a sample. A tone map (there are samples on previous blogs if you need a visual) begins with the poem itself: find the shifts in tone, assign a specific tone word to each section, select two words to act as a range, plot the points on the map, analyze a pattern. At the end of the hour, you started the beginnings of a tone map for "The Children's Hour" by identifying tone for each stanza. We will resume there tomorrow. To expedite time, I highly recommend selecting tone words for each stanza prior to class.

3 & 4: We spent some quality time with your "The Children's Hour" tone maps - looking at tone word meanings and reading the paragraph analyses. As noted, you should have a title to your tone map - we need to know what poem is being analyzed - and a solid paragraph with a topic sentence, transitioned evidence, and analysis prior to the concluding sentence. Next, we summarized those poor chaps "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" prior to your assignment of a solo tone map for tomorrow's class. For this tone map, you are noting the shifts by line - not by stanza - and creating your map and paragraph analysis on construction paper. Absentees without construction paper may do the assignment on typing paper or (if the only option) notebook paper. Caleb, you will be in charge of a tone map for "Miniver Cheevy." Kennedy, you will also be working with "Miniver Cheevy."

7: Back from our lockdown drill and assembly, we resumed "The Children's Hour" by having you construct tone maps and analysis. In our circle on the floor, we looked over almost all of the tone map samples to provide feedback and tips for our upcoming tone maps. We will finish that up to start class and then be spending quality time with RC & MC.

Tone Shifting

I hope you noticed that I was wearing my "tone shift" shirt today in order to celebrate that all classes are involved in our tone unit.

1: We played with identifying tone in statements, created dialogue with our umbrella tone list, and shared our favorite new tone words from the big kid's list. We just began reviewing the plot of "Chicago" when the bell shrilled, so we will finish that and create a class tone map sample next class.

3: We took a second look at our class tone map with the purpose of analysis, looking at patterns in tone and how these connect with the poem's meaning. Then, you shared the plot of "A Children's Hour," created partner tone maps, and turned those in.

4: We looked over the plot of "A Children's Hour" and created partner tone maps, which we will analyze in class tomorrow.

7: Due to a shortened class period, we reviewed our tone map from last class and began our look at "A Children's Hour" content.

Happy Birthday, Keatsy

And on this 222nd birthday of Keats, here is an article on his appearance and his background: https://wordsworth.org.uk/blog/2016/08/18/picturing-john-keats/.
And, here is a poem by Keats that puts us Halloween folk in the mood: https://www.poetrynook.com/poem/tis-witching-time-night.
And, here is a website dedicated to Keats' letters and his relationship with Fanny: http://hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/exhibits/keats/.
And, last but not least, a poem about Keats by Christina Rossetti (remember her from "A Birthday): https://hellopoetry.com/poem/16119/on-keats/.

Meanwhile, you should be firmly in the process of the Lucy Grealy experience: checking out one of the memoirs, reading the chapters, constructing a log for each chapter as assigned. This is due in less than 5 weeks, which may seem like a long time, but it will catch up to you if you fall behind.

1: We finished our diction unit with a flourish! Our Keats letter groups gave us diction, evidence, and purpose to help you set up a pattern for composing your diction prompt, which is due by 3:15 p.m. on Thursday. You may complete this as a handwritten or typed product, and if you are here at any part of the day on Thursday, it is due by the given time in hard copy format. If absent all day, you will need to share, e-mail, or send a picture of the work and turn in the hard copy the next time around. At the end of the hour, you received your tone handouts: the umbrella and big kid's words. We will be working with those tomorrow.

3: We began with your tone dialogues and identified the various tone of team positive, team negative, team humor, team sorrow, and team neutral. Then, we began our tone map sample using "Chicago," a poem that you read from a previous blog post. For a tone map, you break the text into sections by each shift, then you identify a specific tone word for each section, then you identify two tone words that complete a range for our map, then you plot the tones accordingly, then you connect the dots. Then, the bell rings, and we did not finish the analysis portion of the tone map, which we will do tomorrow. At least we have a great tone map to review tomorrow! For homework, prep the tones for each stanza in "The Children's Hour."

4: We jumped into tone mapping from our opening minutes, utilizing "Chicago" for its shifts and analytical meaning. As noted under third hour, you need to identify shifts, tone words, range words, and plotting points on the map prior to the analysis portion. With a strong tone map, you noted that a pattern of jingoism continues to build and become stronger throughout the latter stages of the poem, which is directly contrasted with the more vituperative perspective in the opening lines. Furthermore, you concluded that this was an argument with a claim (the outsider) and the counterclaim (the insider) and how this delineates Chicago. For homework, identify a tone for each stanza of "The Children's Hour."

Note to self - Don't use pastel and lighter colors to create tone maps :)

7: You and third hour will be in the exact same spot. However, your tone map is below.

Toning

All classes received the 5 1/2 week assignment for the Lucy Grealy books, in which you will read the two memoirs (in any order) and complete a log for all chapters (and the prologue). Remember, this log will be evaluated on completion of the tasks for each chapter and for the upper-level analysis, strategies, and work that you put into the log. The greater effort on this assignment will behoove you when discussion, essays, activities, and finals come into play. As noted in all the classes, the decision to not complete this assignment will impact your grade - severely impact your grade - for the quarter and, as a result, the semester average. You should not procrastinate this assignment either as it involves two texts and significant analysis. Make sure to check out your first book sooner rather than later.

1: We spent the entire time on Keats - ah, Keats. In groups, you were assigned a letter to over-analyze and present to the class for types of diction and purposes. As a reminder, this is not a summation activity. This is identifying a type of diction and providing specific evidence to explain it, identifying another type of diction and giving more evidence, and so on and so forth. Two adjectives are not enough!

3 & 7: We played with tone today! And to play with tone, we focused on creativity through interpretive readings of statements with lachrymose, bilious, surprised, apathetic, and exuberant. To wrap up class, you created conversations with different tone words, which we will perform on Tuesday. For homework, look over you "big kid" tone list and star, circle, indicate in some fashion words you like.

4: Same as third hour, but we actually made it to the performance and identification of our tone dialogues.

Poetry Readings for Next Week

Later on today, I will be updating the blog with our hourly agenda. However, all classes have readings for next week. The following will be links to these readings. If these links do not work on your device, you can always google the title and find it on your own.

The idea behind providing you with these readings in advance stems from you understanding the plot and ideas in the poem. You do not have to analyze strategies - we will do that in class together. Feel free to take notes for plot or to print out the passages and have them with you next week. We will be analyzing these poems in the order given, so I would go sequentially. Remember, this is for plot/idea understanding.

"Chicago" by Carl Sandburg
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12840/chicago
"The Children's Hour" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44628/the-childrens-hour-56d223ca55069
"Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson (I affectionately refer to him as EAR.)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44982/richard-cory
"Miniver Cheevy" by Edwin Arlington Robinson
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44978/miniver-cheevy
"To a Skylark" by Percy Bysshe Shelley (My nickname for him is definitely not affectionate.)
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45146/to-a-skylark
"Ode to a Nightingale" by John Keats
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44479/ode-to-a-nightingale

Keats Citing

For all of those classes (3,4,7) in the midst of citing Keats for your prompt, use page numbers in your citations. You can mention the letter numbers in your sentences, of course, but page numbers will be the easiest way for any parenthetical documentation.

4: We finished up Keats' letters today. Don't be sad, we have one more Keats poem for our tone work next week. Now, you have the joy or despair (Keats would have both simultaneously) of completing this prompt: Analyze how John Keats' diction reflects his mentality and purpose in his letters to Fanny Brawne. The deadline for this prompt is Friday @ 3:30 p.m. in hard copy form. This may be handwritten or typed, depending on your availability and methods. If absent all day on Friday, you will need to e-mail, share, or photograph the essay by the deadline to show your completion of the task.

If you were absent today, the deadline for this essay also applies to you. If you need help, clarification, or anything else regarding your absence and needs, e-mail me or stop by prior to class tomorrow so that you will have a successful prompt writing experience.

Keats & Fanny

Wonder when we will be returning to vocab? Well, as soon as we finish our tone unit (the next one starting Friday for most of you), we will be back to learning more words to improve our writing, daily interactions, and verb choices.

Due to the low demand for the close reading club, I will no longer be offering this opportunity for further close reading practices at this time.

1: We made a dent in our to do list today: we identified forms of diction in "Ode to a Favourite Cat" and "Ozymandias" and constructed a thesis statement merging the two poems together in common purpose; we analyzed "Ode on a Grecian Urn" for its diction choices and composed a thesis statement covering its purpose; I gave you the background of Keats to provide a little more ethos prior to reading his letters to Fanny Brawne. For Friday, close read the first letter in preparation for our analysis.

3 & 7: The hour was focused on Keats and his letters to Fanny. You over-analyzed the diction choices, conveyed purposes, and considered the letters as a whole. For Friday, you have the following prompt to complete: Analyze how John Keats' diction reflects his mentality and purpose in his letters to Fanny Brawne. As clarified in class, you may handwrite or type the essay. A hard copy is due by 3:30 p.m. on Friday. If you are absent for part of the day, you still need to turn this in by the deadline. If you are absent the entire day, you will need to e-mail, share, or send me a picture of your work and turn in the hard copy the next class session. I hope you enjoy writing about my Keatsy - just don't compare him to a girl waiting for a prom date. 

Into Hampstead

1: You worked with autumn diction, identifying types and purposes, creating specific thesis statements, and analyzing how these words impact the text. Following that activity, we had a chance to read Thomas Gray's ode to that pesky feline, which we will analyze for diction tomorrow.

3: We completed "Ode on a Grecian Urn," divided into groups to identify the types of diction per stanza, and created a thesis statement covering the poem's entirety. To continue with Keats, I provided you with background of his life and his home in Hampstead. For homework, close read the first letter of the packet in preparation for tomorrow. If you are on a field trip, you are expected to pick this packet up.

4: Two hours back to back with Keatsy :) For this class, I presented the diction and purpose analysis for letter 1 and then gave you letters to analyze in the same fashion. Then, you shared your diction adjectives and purpose for each letter, which must be all important to know for your next prompt. We will finish up the letters on Thursday - and wrap up diction - and start tone!

7: Same as third hour - at least two of the classes are on the same page!

Diction Here & There

It's our last full 5 day week for a long while, so we might as well spend our time on identifying diction, describing diction, constructing thesis statements about diction, and writing about diction. And what is at the end of the rainbow after diction has exhausted our faculties? A return to vocab and tone analysis.

F.Y.I. All syntax quizzes were to be completed today - whether you used your class time or came after school to complete.

1: After constructing our class thesis statement for "A Birthday," we spent quality family bonding time on the floor with a plethora of quotes, a plethora of adjectives to describe diction, and a plethora of verbs and purposes to make it worth our time. For each quote, we composed thesis statements indicating the author, an active verb, specific forms of diction, and mature purpose. If you would like to see these quotes again, there are links under the October 18 blog. Tomorrow, you will be completing the same task but with longer passages and in groups.

3: Returning to Gray's "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat," you broke down the stanzas for types of diction and supplied evidence to support your diction adjectives. Then, we read Shelley's "Ozymandias" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46565/ozymandias in order to create a thesis statement connecting the purposes of both poems.  And, what a "fish" and "sculpt" thesis it was! As we continued forward, we made it through the first 4 stanzas of "Ode on a Grecian Urn" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44477/ode-on-a-grecian-urn, a poem of interpretation by my beloved Keatsy. We will be finishing this text tomorrow and then moving into the letter portion of our diction analysis.

4: We finished our "Ode on a Grecian Urn" analysis, breaking up into groups with each group clarifying the types of diction and providing evidence of support. Then, we made a class thesis statement covering the poem in its entirety. Since we already were in Keats' perspective, you then found out more about his background via my ethos and my slides from his house in London. With that historical context, you now have his letters - in packet form. For homework, close read the first letter. I will be presenting you the letter tomorrow to model what I expect from the remaining texts.

7: Check out third hour's synopsis - we are in the same place!

Birthdays, Cats, Kings, & Urns

As mentioned in a previous blog, if you want to have more vocabulary and allusion preparation for our diction texts, I highly recommend gaining ethos on the following terms: Tyrian, Nymph, ardent, Nereid, Ozymandias, unravished, sylvan, Tempe, Arcady, timbrels, pastoral.

1: Finally completed the syntax quiz, which all absentees have 48 hours to take or schedule a time. Then, we read "A Birthday" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44992/a-birthday, looking at its diction, multiple interpretations, and other strategies. We will be writing a class thesis statement for this text on Monday and then working more with diction.

3: You completed our autumn quote diction analysis by creating specific thesis statements and analyzing the plethora of diction types. If absent, you will need to see me for a handout in order to comp Following that activity, we read Thomas Gray's Cat poem https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44302/ode-on-the-death-of-a-favourite-cat-drowned-in-a-tub-of-goldfishes, which we will break down for diction and thesis statement writing on Monday.

4: Back to the Cat, we analyzed the diction of Thomas Gray's poem and had a chance to look at Shelley's "Ozymandias," creating a shared thesis statement between the 2 poems. Then, we started reading "Ode on a Grecian Urn," which we will finish up on Monday before diving into the letters of Keats.

7: Same as third hour. However, we did start analyzing the diction of "The Cat" and will finish this on Monday.

Marilyn, Agatha, Bette, Tolstoy & Tommy J

As syntax fades into the past, the majority of classes are fully ensconced in the diction world.

1: We finished up phase 2 of the Alcott prompt, which allowed you to share your introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions and evaluate other groups' writing for content, quality, and organization. Afterwards, we - yes - looked at the punctuation handout, practicing how to approach all those clauses in their different forms. Last, you received your Cindy syntax prompt - with the class average improving 1.8 points! We are wrapping up syntax on Friday, so first hour won't feel so left out not being part of diction world.

3: With our quick use of the projector, we looked at semicolon and colon rules in order to practice punctuation on a handout. Then, you received your syntax prompt - with the class average improving by 2 points! With syntax hanging out in the back seat, diction took over as our driver as we looked at "A Birthday" https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44992/a-birthday by Christina Rossetti and identified the rhetorical elements and concentrated on the types of diction. We constructed a thesis statement with author, active verb, two specific adjectives detailing the diction, and a mature purpose. Keeping up with the thesis theme, we circled on the floor to read quotes, circle key words, clarify specific diction, identify the purpose, and compose a thesis statement for each one. Here are the quotes if you would like a refresher: Marilyn Monroe, Agatha Christie, Bette Davis, Leo Tolstoy, Thomas Jefferson.

7: After looking at colons, you completed the punctuation practice handout to review all of those rules connected to independent and dependent clauses. Then, we moved into the world of diction by looking at "A Birthday" by Christina Rossetti (link above in third hour) and constructing a thesis statement with author, active verb, two specific adjectives detailing the diction, and a mature purpose. Family bonding commenced as we circled on the floor to read quotes, circle key words, clarify specific diction, identify the purpose, and compose a thesis statement for each one. (Links to those quotes are under third hour.) To finish class, you worked in groups to analyze the diction of a longer quote, which we will resume on Friday.

4: Adding with Thursday's class - with an earthquake drill no less - we looked at our punctuation handout and reviewed the punctuation and rules too. Then, we finished up our fabulous thesis statements for the celebrity quotes, which if you want to look at again, check out the links under third hour. And next up on the docket, we did a group activity looking at diction and creating thesis statements. If you were absent, you will need to see me for a copy of a quote, which you will circle all the key words and compose an original thesis statement. And at last, we did a read-through of Thomas Gary's Cat poem, which we will resume with tomorrow. Meow.

The Transition to Diction

While every hour seems to be moving along at a different pace, we are all ending at the same place: diction week. From syntax, we will move onto the analysis of words - the shifts, the patterns, the was to describe with specific adjectives. Before jumping into a recap of today's classes, here are some terms and allusions that you may want to know for our diction analyses - or at least to show off your knowledge to the other class savants: Genii, Tyrian, Nymph, Nereid, Ozymandias, sylvan, Tempe, Arcady, citadel.

1: We spent the entire class on the team close read, finishing up its analysis, constructing team thesis statements, individual body paragraphs, and introductory possibilities. We will be finishing that up tomorrow.

3: We wrapped our instant feedback for the Alcott prompts - once again exhibiting how a strong introduction can involve the reader, how body paragraphs can build analysis and incorporate a plethora of evidence, and how concluding paragraphs can leave the audience with something more that a redundant regurgitation of what has been written earlier. Afterwards, you have your syntax quiz (as always, absentees, you have 48 hours to complete the quiz or schedule a make-up time), and then began looking at semicolons.

4: We started off by having a psychedelic experience with colons (Uh, it may be fixed? Uh, it may never be fixed? Uh, I'm supposed to monitor it). For homework, you are to complete the punctuation review activity. You received your Cindy syntax prompts - with the knowledge that your class has the highest class average and has improved this average over 2 points. And, we ended up on the floor after reading "A Birthday" and analyzing a quote by Marilyn Monroe to build our super scintillating thesis statement. More of that tomorrow!

7: How does it feel to be the class with the greatest improvement on this prompt? Enough about how this class moved their average score over 3 points on this past Cindy Syntax essay! During our time today, you completed the syntax quiz (48 hours retake/makeup opportunity absentees) and you reviewed your essays. And with that, I have completed grading, e-mailing, and blogging. I guess shopping is next. Or, crashing in a heap on the floor when I finally do go home! Proud of you!

Ending Syntax

Over the next 2 days, all the classes will have completed their foray into syntax. While we will not be emphasizing syntax in the near future, that does not mean that syntax is off the table. You can always develop syntactical analysis - in conjunction with other strategies, such as diction, that we will be training our microscopes upon during the upcoming weeks.

1: As the document camera proved uncooperative today, we worked on a team close read from your seats and verbally. Tomorrow, we will finish up this first phase of the team close read and move onto phase two.

3: The hour began with the completion of phase 2 with your writing of the introductory and concluding paragraphs to the Alcott prompt. We commenced our instantaneous feedback as five of the groups read their work. Overall, you should be noting all the varying ways to hook the audience, analyze the strategies, and conclude an essay. Hopefully, that will inspire you to write as such in future prompts.

4: As fourth hour continues to move forward, we reviewed third hour syntax handout, and you completed the syntax quiz, which absentees have 48 hours to makeup or schedule a time for its completion. At the end of class, we reviewed the semicolon (thumbs up) and the comma splice (thumbs down). More to come tomorrow as we look at colons and move into our diction unit. Words, words, words!

7: We finished up our phrase 2 of the Alcott prompt, and you were able to hear and evaluate several introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions. Hopefully, this will inspire you to create well-organized, creative, and engaged paragraphs with your future prompts. At the end of the hour, we looked at semicolon rules, which come into play tomorrow with a punctuation review!

Phasing Continues

In all classes, we are working with Alcott and the team close read in some fashion. Read along for the specifics in your hour. And, next week's close reading club will meet on Wednesday and will feature an AP prompt.

1: We began with the vocab quiz for unit 14, which means any absentees have 48 hours to take the quiz or schedule a time to take the quiz. We continued forward with identifying syntax types with third hour's handout. To end the hour, we began our team close read, making it through the prompt and the first section of the text. Bring back Alcott for Monday when we continue with our team close reading.

3: We looked at your hour's syntax handout, noting a plethora of sentence types. Next, you returned back to your group to begin phase 2 of the Alcott prompt. In groups, you created a team thesis statement and constructed individual body paragraphs. If you were absent, you will need to create a thesis statement for the prompt and write 1 body paragraph for 1 of the strategies in your thesis.

4: We shared incredibly moving, incredibly analogous, incredibly setting-filled, incredibly similar statistical introductions in fourth hour. From our first "veiled" example to our last, these introductions of quality that I knew your were capable of writing! I would love to put the specific examples on the blog, but I don't think we want the other hours drawing inspiration from your samples. In addition to these hooks, we heard strong, specific, audience-related analyses for body paragraphs and the concluding paragraphs reference back to the introductions. I hope this activity inspires even greater introductions, body paragraphs, and conclusions - when you write on your own. Bring back syntax handout for third hour on Monday.

7: The whole hour was dedicated to the prompt writing for the Alcott passage. You individually constructed body paragraphs analyzing the rhetorical strategies from the thesis statement, you were challenged to composed an extraordinary hook to gain the audience's attention and challenge the precedent set by fourth hour, and you began work on the concluding paragraph to tie it together. You will be finishing up the writing portion and sharing your work to the class on Monday.

Phase 2 for 4th Hour

Fourth hour finished up the team close read and moved onto Phase 2 of the Alcott prompt, which involved a team thesis statement, crafting individual body paragraphs, composing introductory paragraphs, and finalizing with a concluding paragraph. We will be finishing those up tomorrow and going over third hour's syntax plus maybe some other stuff!

More Team Close Reading

1 & 3: Thanks for helping me work on the answer key for third hour syntax. We will go over the entire thing on Friday, so all students are expected to have this completed. (In addition, first hour, you have that punctuation handout to complete.) For those hanging out this morning, we played on the buzzers to review vocab, strategies, and trivia. If you enjoyed playing on the buzzers, Scholar Quiz is looking for more people to join the team. We meet on Thursdays during lunch in the library conference room, and our practices are every Friday. You can also check us out on twitter @fznquiz.

7: What a fun close reading session we had today! After going over third hour syntax, we spent the rest of the time on our team close read, culminating class with a team thesis statement for the Alcott prompt. Bring this back on Friday for our next portion of the team close reading experience.

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

Even though our minds are on rhetorical analysis now, we will one day venture into argumentation and how we can exemplify a point via various subjects ranging from history, literature, mathematics, psychology, current events, pop culture, mythology, science, and many more! To add to your ethos of mathematics and science personas, I will introduce you to one of my favorites (as the Scholar Quiz knows): Ada Lovelace, the daughter of Lord Byron and the first female computer programmer. I almost forgot that today is the day to celebrate her and other women in STEM fields and studies. So, if you would like to have knowledge about her for future arguments or trivia, here is a link detailing her background: https://www.biography.com/news/ada-lovelace-facts-book-sydney-padua,

The Reader, The War, & The Randomness

Due to PSAT testing and differing progression through our ending syntactical assignments, all the classes are up to something different this week - even though all will eventually end in the same place.

1: We reviewed vocab, which means your quiz will be FRIDAY due to the PSAT test. If you are sticking around with me tomorrow, you will have ample time to review vocab and rhetorical strategies, so I hope you are ready for a block period review competition! For the majority of class, we analyzed a passage from The Reader, which did have a few examples of polysyndeton for our review of the strategy. At the end of the hour, we quickly looked at semicolons, colons, and transitions. Remember, a semicolon's main job is to join 2 independent clauses together (with the occasional usage of avoiding comma confusion). A colon announces a list or explanation, which means you need an independent clause before using one. A transitory word or phrase is excess information and requires a comma to separate it from the rest of the sentence. For Friday, you will need to complete third hour syntax and the punctuation handout. Yes, you will be called upon so make sure you are completing all of the assignments.

3: The featured item for your class was our first team close read, which allowed students to circle/underline key words and phrases to help understand the passage and its connection with the prompt. How exciting to find zeugma and asyndeton lurking about in the dialogue, ethos, and pathos (amongst other items of note). If you were absent, you will need to pick up this passage prior to our next class, so that you will be prepared for phase 2 of the team close read. Yes, there is a phase 2. Yes, phase 2 involves the writing portion. For Friday's class, you will also need to finish third hour syntax, which can be picked up from me as well.

4: First off, I believe I did not give you the syntax handout for third hour. Oops on my part. I guess we shall tackle that assignment during Thursday's class. Meanwhile, we finished up The Reader passage and spent the remainder of the class hanging out with Alcott for a team close read. When you are close reading, you are circling/underlining/notating anything and everything that stands out to you - words, phrases, images. Eventually, everything will come together into a strategy. For next class, we will finish the team close read with our last group and then move into the writing portion. Don't forget it will be a D Day (not a historical allusion), so we will be shorted 15 minutes.

7: At the start, we completed the vocab quiz for unit 14. As mentioned in class, we will take a brief hiatus from vocab so that we may have time to finish up the syntax unit and start up diction. Afterwards, we spent quality time with The Reader passage, finding polysyndeton, juxtaposition, tone shifts, and lots of emphasis on point of view and the author's diction, For homework, finish the syntax practices for third hour.

The Syndetons

Fourth hour probably has an inkling of this, but we will be taking a week off from vocab to finish up syntax and begin our diction study. In addition, the next close reading club will meet this Wednesday, and we will be using an old AP Lang prompt for practice. After our close reading clubs, you are welcome to take any of the prompts home to practice writing as well.

1: We began with vocab experts, finishing off the 15 words, preparing for a review session tomorrow, prepping for a quiz over all of the words. We then completed your toolbox quiz #2, which is to help you practice identifying terms and taking sentences and breaking these down to determine their strategies. Remember, you may not know every historical, Biblical, or literary reference, but you can use context clues and phrasing to determine if an allusion is present. Last, we looked at samples of polysyndeton & asyndeton and how authors use this technique to suit their purpose. We will be using a sample test to break down syntax and rhetorical strategies tomorrow.

3: We began with the vocab quiz and then spent the rest of the hour looking at polysyndeton and asyndeton and other rhetorical strategies in The Reader excerpt.

4: We commenced with the rhetorical toolbox quiz #2, looked at samples of polysyndeton and asyndeton, and then practiced identifying strategies in The Reader excerpt, which we will finish up tomorrow.

7: We reviewed vocab, which means your quiz is tomorrow. Then, we completed toolbox quiz #2 and looked at examples of polysyndeton and asyndeton for tomorrow's reading excerpt.

Some of the Agenda

With 40 minute classes, our agenda was cut short in all of the AP Lang classes. However, every class did have the opportunity to go over seventh hour's syntax handout. You will have one practice next week, and then you shall have a quiz over those 6 types of sentences.

1: Vocab experts continued, seventh hour syntax completed.
3: Vocab review for the quiz on Monday, seventh hour syntax completed, rhetorical toolbox quiz # 2 in the books.
4: Vocab quiz 14 and seventh hour syntax completed.
7: Seventh hour syntax and vocab experts completed.

Syntax will wrap up next week, and then we will be jumping into diction!

Surprise, Surprise

I hope fourth hour is not reading this. So, fourth hour, stop reading this blog right now! Now that it is Thursday, you call read the blog.

All classes continued forward with vocab experts, analyzing patterns of syntax in conjunction with purpose, and writing to a prompt for Cindy Syntax. For homework, you are to identify all of seventh hour's syntax (highlighters optional).

In first hour today, we spent a little time on prepositional phrases, what they are, what purpose they serve, and how they do not create a dependent clause. So, here are a few links to help any of you are unfamiliar with prepositions, phrases, and the like.

https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-6/prepositions/lesson-1/prepositions-and-prepositional-phrases
https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-6/prepositions/lesson-11/commas-with-prepositional-phrases
http://www.k12reader.com/term/dependent-clause/
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/what-is-a-subordinate-clause

All About That Cindy

Syntax week (or week and a half) continues as we work on fourth hour's syntactical samples and work in groups to share the syntactical patterns of sections and then chapters as a whole. If you were absent today, you will need to do as much syntactical analysis as possible on the entire chapter - that includes the "Big 6" syntax forms and additional rhetorical strategies connected with syntax. You will need all of this information for tomorrow's class as we work on identifying overall patterns of syntax, looking at examples on how to bring in evidence in paragraphs, and - as you may have surmised - be ready to write to a prompt regarding the syntax in the essay.

1: Vocab experts began - finally! - and then we continued into fourth hour syntax, which needs to be completed for tomorrow's class. In groups, you shared your syntactical findings, which you will use for homework to identify patterns of syntax utilized by Orenstein in her text. Be ready for vocab, syntax, Cindy patterns, and a lot more tomorrow.

3: Vocab experts continued forward as we have completed 12 words at this point. Afterwards, you finished up the back side of fourth hour's syntax samples and reconvened in groups to share your syntactical identifications. For homework, look over Cindy and see what patterns you notice in Orenstein's syntax.

4: We finished up the last of unit 4, which means a review on Thursday and a quiz on Friday. Following our vocab excursion, you finished identifying your class syntax and worked in groups to share all those syntactical forms in which Orenstein peppers her passage. For homework, look over Cindy and see what patterns exist in the introductory chapter.

7: We added four more words to the kitty today, and then you completed the fourth hour syntax handout. To round out the hour, you worked with your group and a new group to study the syntax of Cindy, which will be needed for tomorrow's discussion of syntactical patterns. Make sure you have some notes jotted down regarding these patterns.

For all classes, I would recommend looking over the entirety of the Cindy passage - even if you have heard about syntax from your classmates, you may want to have greater ethos and understanding of syntax throughout the whole text.

And, a new addition arrived last night. Ingram and Tango are happy to announce they have a new baby sister named Elinor Octavia. She is named after Elinor Dashwood and for her place as the eighth rabbit that I have been fortunate to love. At close to three months, she is an absolute cuddle bunny, very curious while playing with her toys and her big sister, and a strong eater. The picture below is from her baby cage (you should see her big girl cage that is about twice the size), the location where we have already begun litterbox training.

Fourth Hour's Syntax

Thank you to fourth hour for your plethora of syntax samples that featured band thoughts, Scholar Quiz advertisements, random frog and rabbit conflict, and Brett's self-aggrandizing note. We will be using these sentences tomorrow too - so make sure you have your handout with you. (And, look forward to the other classes helping our practices during this week and, possibly, into next week.)

1: We began with the fourth hour syntax practice and then ended the hour with Cindy syntax - the purpose, the style of syntax, other elements of syntax (anaphora, hypophora, epistrophe, polysyndeton, asyndeton). For homework, groups are to highlight their assigned pages for specific syntax and any other syntactical strategies of notice.

3, 4, 7: After vocab experts today, we spent quality time with fourth hour's syntax. Then, you had a short time to reconvene with your groups and ask questions about Cindy syntax - which is due tomorrow!

Cindy Syntax Continues

First things first, the next close reading club will be Tuesday after school for any students wanting to close read with each other and me for a half hour. We will be including syntax analysis too -- as syntax week continues forward.

And, don't forget the big comma rules that we worked on today: compound sentences require a comma before that FANBOYS https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-11/punctuation-end-marks-and-commas/lesson-5/commas-in-compound-sentences; complex sentences beginning with a dependent clause need a comma before progressing to the independent clauses https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-11/punctuation-end-marks-and-commas/lesson-6/commas-in-complex-sentences.

1: We copied down the next unit of vocab, number 14. Afterwards, we reviewed clauses, syntax types, and comma rules for compound & complex sentences. To wrap up the hour, we returned to Cindy and looked at the purposes of each section. Alas, we did not finish the purpose portion of the day, so we will finish that on Monday.

3 & 4: We began with our traditional vocab experts, moved into a review of clauses, syntax types, and comma rules, and then finished up the purpose of our Cindy passage. In groups, you then worked on clarifying the main purposes of the text, and then decided who would become a syntax expert for each form of syntax. Starting this weekend, continuing onto Monday's class in groups, and due on Tuesday, you each have a section of the text that you will use to highlight your assigned syntax type (or types for those 3 people in fourth hour). You will also look for other forms of syntax including telegraphic, declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory, fragments, hypophora, ananphora, epistrophe, polysyndeton, and asyndeton. 

7: After copying down Unit 4 vocab, we reviewed all those clauses, syntax types, and comma rules for compound and complex sentences. Afterwards, we spent quality time wrapping up the purpose of Cindy Syntax and dividing into groups. In groups, you then worked on clarifying the main purposes of the text, and then decided who would become a syntax expert for each form of syntax. Starting this weekend, continuing onto Monday's class in groups, and due on Tuesday, you each have a section of the text that you will use to highlight your assigned syntax type (or types for those 3 people in fourth hour). You will also look for other forms of syntax including telegraphic, declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory, fragments, hypophora, ananphora, epistrophe, polysyndeton, and asyndeton. 

Hello, Cindy

Fourth hour, today we commenced with vocabulary unit 4, continued forward with a review of clauses and syntax, and ended with a reading of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, which we analyzed by paragraph and small sections for purpose. For homework, finish the passage and identify the purposes.

The EKS

As Jalen pointed out in first hour, many of us suffer from English Kid Syndrome, which is diagnosed by the never-ending need to correct grammar, punctuation, and diction (and sometimes demand consistent color-coding of clauses). So, all those EKS Langers out there, this is for you...

1 & 7: We finally made our way to the vocab quiz for unit 13. As with all quizzes, any absentees have 48 hours to either take the quiz or schedule a time to take the quiz. Following that momentous occasion, we concentrated the rest of the class on syntax, reviewing independent and dependent clauses, the six types of syntax, and the purpose of cumulative and periodic sentences. And to end class, we began reading and analyzing the purpose of Chapter 1 of Cinderella Ate My Daughter. For homework, finish identifying the purposes of each section and be ready to share on Friday. If absent, you should stop by tomorrow to pick up a copy. (Oh, you also turned in your sentences and the Capote paragraphs.)

3: After jotting down vocab for unit 14, we spent the rest of the hour on clauses, syntax styles, and Chapter 1 of Cinderella Ate My Daughter. For homework, make sure to finish reading the text and identifying the purposes for each section.

The Six

With block days looming so close, the plan for today was reversed, and we started with something new and ended with something old. The new - that all classes are now aware of - are the 6 types of syntax that we will be utilized for rhetorical analysis. (You are still more than welcome to go declarative, imperative, interrogative, exclamatory, telegraphic, hypophora, anaphora, and the like too.) We focused upon simple, compound, complex, compound-complex, cumulative, and periodic syntax today - what these are and what purpose they have in writing. If you were absent, you will need to know these sentence types either from a friend's notes or from online research. Expected for your class tomorrow will be 2 original examples of each sentence type, which will be turned in and used for future practices, reviews, and quizzes.

1: After our syntactical "introduction" - those quotation marks are for Andrea - we returned to the Capote prompt, shared our introductions, and peer evaluated the body paragraphs. For tomorrow, you will need to turn in your introduction, body paragraph, and concluding paragraph for this prompt.

3: After diving into the world of syntax, we returned to the Capote prompt, and the class peer evaluated the body paragraphs. You then turned in this assignment for my turn at evaluating. To end the hour, you had vocab quiz 13. As a reminder, anyone missing the quiz has 48 hours to either take the quiz or schedule an appointment to take the quiz.

4: Just like first hour, syntax was quite popular as a topic. After all that fun, the class peer evaluated the body paragraphs, and you turned in this assignment to me. To end the hour, you copied down vocab unit 14, and you know your new expert word for tomorrow's class.

7: I never realized how impactful air quotes are until teaching the forms of syntax today! After all those air quotes, we looked to the Capote prompt by sharing introductions in class and peer evaluating the body paragraphs. For tomorrow, you will need to turn in your introduction, body paragraph, and concluding paragraph for this prompt.