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!