The Final & Holiday Break

At this point, you have all completed the final - the Sandy prompt that I know was a popular one last year and a toolbox quiz checking to see if you remember all those strategies that filled our semester with their own brand of joy.

I hope that you all enjoy your holiday break and that I will see you in 2019, which will be a year of adventure for all of us - in some fashion or another.

Second semester AP Lang becomes a hodgepodge of modes of discourse (remember the 11 of those?), allusions (time for you to have ethos on Biblical, mythological, literary, pop culture, and historical references for understanding texts and crafting some examples for hooks and argumentation), multiple choice (don't be scared of MC - you want to attack the readings and not cower to them - for instance, I was quite nervous about taking the AP Lit MC final this morning and decided to just go for it; while not my best ever, I missed only 5 of them - and most correct answers were my second choice)  argumentation (time to show off all of your knowledge and background ethos), creative tone work (a chance to show off your voice and do something "outside of the box"), and synthesis (perfecting the usage of given evidence and citations). We will definitely have a variety of activities and assignments to help stretch your writing abilities and prepare you for the AP test in May. And while rhetorical analysis will not be at the forefront of our third quarter studies, you still need those abilities, terms, and writing techniques for later use.

Last Lucy Day

As AP Lit students still seem to bring her up (even though some still maintain that they are not fans), Lucy Grealy has made an indelible mark on your education. Alas, today is the last in-class day that she will be the featured with your argumentative essay. As assigned, you have until Wednesday at 3 p.m. to turn in your essay, the last grade of the quarter. For those of you on the bubble between 2 grades, this may increase your chances of achieving the better of those 2 grades.

Wednesday's class will be a review for the final - which is centered around rhetorical strategies and analysis, or what we have spent most of first semester covering. Knowing the terms that we have studied and identified will, of course, help you in both facets. Remember our looks at syntax and its many types from the basic "fourth grade" types to the "big kid" clause types? Or the fun of repetition with anadiplosis, anaphora, and epistrophe? Or the play of words with malapropisms, euphemisms, epithets, and zeugmas? Or the comparisons of similes, metaphors, motifs, and allusions? Or the world of conjunctions with the verbose polysyndeton and the straight to the point asyndeton? Or the symbolic metonymy and synecdoche? There are, of course, other strategies as well, so make sure that you are familiar with your terms and ready to identify such examples on the prompt portion and the toolbox quiz portion (no toolbox this time).

Lucy Claims

Today was our first official work day for the Lucy Argument, which will feature your response to the following prompt: Who is the real Lucy Grealy? As noted in class and through examples, you want a claim that has a plethora of evidence from multiple sources, a counterclaim that can have its own evidence, and a rebuttal that returns the focus on the argument's original position. You will have Tuesday as a second work day, but you are more than welcome to work on this essay at home or during study hall opportunities. The final time to turn in this essay is 3 p.m. on Wednesday - in hard copy form. 

Meanwhile, we will review for the final on Wednesday by returning to a rhetorical analysis prompt and strategies. If you have not committed these to memory over the past 4 months, this would be an excellent time to do so! The final is just two parts this year, rhetorical analysis and a toolbox quiz without the aid of your toolbox, so this is an assessment reflecting exactly what we have done this semester. 

The Lucy Argument

After weeks of reading about Lucy, it's time for you to write about her! Starting on Monday and finishing (hopefully) during Tuesday's classes, you will be writing your Lucy argument essay and incorporating  a claim (hint - may want to use a different verb than "is"), evidence from multiple texts (you have 3 to choose from), warrants (to connect each evidence example to your claim regarding Lucy), a counterclaim (a second valid position on Lucy's character) with evidence, a rebuttal (back to that original characterization), and a conclusion. We haven't discussed it in class yet, but since you will be writing about multiple authors, your citations should include author and page number (if given). For example, (Grealy 24).

For first and third hours, make sure to read the "Hijacked by Grief" article to have another portrait of Lucy - from her sister this time. And, brainstorm a list of claims that you could make regarding "Who is the real Lucy Grealy?" Star the claim you would like to use and put a CC next to the one that will act as the counterclaim.

Fifth hour, you have started the process of writing, so that will continue next week.

The Next Phase of Argumentation

It's been quite a hodgepodge of a day, so this will be a blog of brevity.

1 & 3: You had the remainder of the hour to complete your Educator/Employee of the Year argument. Since I did not have a chance to meet with all of you directly, you were assigned to share your argument with me by the end of the day so that you can have feedback and credit for your work. We'll be looking at counterclaims and rebuttals tomorrow.

5: We had a holiday theme to our team claim, warrant, counterclaim, and rebuttal (which sure featured alliteration). As noted, the counterclaim is a second position on the topic that is just as relevant and has supporting evidence. The rebuttal references the counterclaim and then returns to the original claim to validate why this original position is just that much better. At the end of the hour, you read a third, yes, third perspective of Lucy:  https://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/aug/07/biography.features, which we will have a brief chat about tomorrow and that you may use when you write your upcoming argument on the "real Lucy Grealy." Our class will be dedicated to setting up the argument, which you will (mostly) be completing in class.

Educator/Employee of the Year

In first and third hour, we completed our review and informal practice regarding claim, evidence, and warrant to recap the importance of these steps in the organization of an argumentative essay. All of those aforementioned steps came in handy as you started your argument for a staff member to be Educator or Employee of the Year. Remember, you are required to complete a first draft and receive feedback from me. It is up to you whether you turn in this for the official nomination by December 14. I hope you all do :) You have had extraordinary teachers here at FZN in the past and present (and future too), and you should let those teachers know their impact on you and your classmates. You will have time in class to work on this first draft on Thursday. However, you will not have the entire 50 minutes. If you need more time, make sure to work on the draft over the next couple of days.

In fifth hour, you had until the end of class to complete your first draft for feedback and participation points. I've read some moving examples of why my colleagues are personable, intelligent, and giving members of FZN. (Plus, some really awesome hooks.) We will be working with counterclaims and rebuttals next time!

The Argument

Our last regular week of the semester will feature the phases of argumentation (not persuasion, as so clearly different in intention), and all hours are firmly rooted around claim, evidence, and warrant to start. Don't worry - the other parts of the argument will make appearances on Thursday and Friday for your second argument. With the calendar winding down, we have 4 items on the docket: the Educator/Employee of the Year Essay, the Lucy argument essay (more to come at the end of the week), the final review, and the final itself, which will consist of a rhetorical analysis prompt and a rhetorical toolbox quiz - without the use of your toolbox. Since our schedule precluded us from reaching multiple choice, this will be the shortest final AP Lang has ever had. Hence, you need to have an understanding of strategies and how to write a rhetorical analysis prompt, two items that have been covered from the start of the semester. 

1: We wrapped up our brief unit of fallacies by sharing your findings regarding the Republican debate, which had its fair share of dogmatism, faulty analogy, appeal to pity, straw man, and red herring. After this reminder of what not to do, we entered the land of argument by reviewing the characteristics of a strong claim, evidence, and warrants. We will practice these stages during tomorrow's class, and then move into our first argument for Educator or Employee of the Year. 

3: We spent the hour focusing on the initial phases of argument: claim, evidence, warrant. With that knowledge reviewed, we started our first practice argument with brainstorming possible school schedules. During next class, we will work in groups to create claims, evidence, and warrants for the varying schedules and then move into the Educator/Employee of the Year argument. 

5: After sharing some of our spectacular claims, evidence, and super warrants, we spent the rest of the class receiving background for the Educator/Employee of the Year argument, looking at ways to construct this real world essay to its best advantage (3-4 paragraphs with 1 paragraph clarifying a personal connection and 1 paragraph looking at the full school community), and starting the essay. You will have time to write your first draft during the majority (not all) of class tomorrow. So, you are more than welcome to work on this over night in order to fine tune tomorrow. Absentees, if you are not comfortable writing the first draft yet, you should definitely have selected your nominee and brainstormed evidence in order to write during class. 

Discussion in the Dark

Today was the annual discussion in the dark - our chat regarding all things Lucy, Ann, and their texts. Hopefully, this gave you a chance to bring in some subjective opinion before you will need to turn back to the objective realm of argumentation next week. Our first argument will be for educator/employer of the year, which means you should have an idea of your nominee before our next class.

Debates & Arguments

1: You had the entire hour to work on the Republican debate fallacies, which involved identifying each fallacy in your section and using the comment feature to explain why it is that type of fallacy in that specific example. If your group did not finish - or you were absent from the group - add your fallacies to the document for Friday's class.

3: We spent the class dealing with odd internet connections and the common fallacies permeating the debate.

5: We spent our class reviewing argumentation - as in claim, evidence, and warrant. We will share our practice, claims, evidence, and super-warrants tomorrow.

Democratic Debate Fallacies

For those of you taking part in the democratic debate activity, I just wanted to clarify that you may do a maximum number of 10 fallacies, and these may occur anywhere in the debate - so you can go to any point in the document. You are NOT doing 10 pages. As noted in the e-mail explanation, use the comment feature to identify a fallacy and explain - in specific detail - why it is a fallacy in that instance. All fallacy comments must be completed by the time and date noted in the e-mail. If you want more opportunities to have fallacies, you may want to complete this activity sooner rather than later.

The Fact and the Fallacy

Oops...this blog post was sitting in my draft folder from earlier today. Everything still applies!

Just the last reminder that the Lucy Logs are due on Thursday! You've had 6 weeks to complete this task, and you will be using your work to construct an argumentative essay in the very near future.

1: We finished our q & o regarding our presentations and then performed - with quite gusto - our slippery slope fallacies. As indicated by the numerous and adventurous steps within each slippery slope, an argument's simple statement can go haywire very quickly! Afterwards, we finished our review of fallacies using that packet, which will come in handy during Thursday's class when you and your group will identify the fallacies in a debate and explain why the fallacy exists in that specific instance.

3: Due to some technological difficulty, we had a late start to our debate fallacies, but it did allow you the whole hour to identify the flawed logic and explain the "why" in each specific instance. We will do an overview discussion of your fallacy findings during Thursday's class and then spend some quality time reviewing the first 3 parts of argumentation.

5: Prior to lunch, you worked on identifying the debate fallacies and writing some sound and specific explanations. Following lunch, you summarized your findings of major fallacies and what result these fallacies had on the audience. Argumentation next time!

The Slippery Slope

Another reminder that the Lucy Logs are due on Thursday - which happened to be a theme for some of your slippery slopes. As noted on your assignment sheet and verbally in class, I already put a 3 day extension for the due day, so there will not be any additional days for the assignment - if you want full credit. Yes, the procrastinating gene may have reared its ugly head for you on this project! Even so, you will be using this log to write an argumentative essay in the very near future. Hence, if you do not have the logs, you may struggle with that task.

1: Our last 2 presentations were completed today! However, we did not have times for our questions and observations - so that shall happen to start class tomorrow. Following out q & o, we will have a look at your slippery slopes (which happened to be due today, so that should mean no new homework assignments to do) and finish up all the other fallacies before your analysis of a political debate and your foray into argument writing.

3: We performed our best slippery slopes today (if absent, you will need to turn in your slippery slope to me), which was quite an enjoyable and entertaining experience! Then, we finished up the review of the main fallacies, which you will put into use tomorrow during class.

5: As did third hour, we had quite the variation of slippery slopes occurring in class today (absentees, you will need to turn in your slippery slopes). To wrap up class, you were divided into groups to identify all of the fallacies in a political debate, which has been shared with you to complete. If absent, you are responsible for pages 51-53. Remember, you are to use the comment feature for each fallacy, identifying what it is, and explaining why it is such. One sentence answers are not enough - use your logic to show those flaws in the argument.

Fallacy Friday

We are in the midst of fallacies! And for homework, you have the pleasure of creating your own slippery slope fallacy - have fun in the ridiculousness of the task! Your slippery slope should include a minimum of 15 steps! If you need further inspiration, you have the DirectTV commercials, of course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ80SVOHKoo.

Presentation 10

We started off the day with presentation 10 in first hour, which means we have 2 remaining. In the meanwhile, we have presentation discussions and fallacies starting tomorrow with the packet you need to prep for class.

Presentations 4-9

With 9 presentations completed, that means there are 4 (yes, 4) left to complete! Due to the need to complete presentations, our post discussions had to be moved to a later day, but these will occur! Overall, we are still witnessing very clever (conference call) methods to introduce your topic and its pathological importance and very disturbing (that poor teddy bear) means to represent the hardships of the world. More presentations on Thursday, more discussions of the topics on Thursday, fallacies - maybe - starting on Thursday. *If you missed the presentation of your group due to absence of some sort, make sure to see me to discuss a plan for how to make up the assignment. Don't worry - you won't have a whole new topic to research.

Presentations 2 & 3

Out of the 13 presentations that will occur across AP Lang, the first 3 averaged 8.33, which shows a strong usage of logos, ethos, pathos, and - most importantly - engagement of the audience! Fifth hour has been the pioneer of these presentations, and each group has created unique and creative experiences with complete audience interaction. Today, looking at the reality of terrorism on innocent victims, created a serious, tense mood that helped the audience recognize the cruelty and the loss that occurs in a daily basis (and revealed some fascinating stats at the lack of concern for international matters). Following that, the mood shifted to a quartet of guides helping the class understand the lack of education in the world. From beginning to the end, those 4 ladies kept their audience engaged, informed, and impressed - and moving - through a memorable excursion into multi-genre information. Even their classmates commented on the creativity, intelligence of design, and overall visual artifacts that conveyed ethos from beginning to end. Bravo!

You may notice that I'm not giving away too many specific details so as not to cause imitation with our future presentations. However, for those of you in fifth hour or hear about the work in fifth hour, they definitely have offered completely different presentations that completely represent what they want to express about space, Boko Haram, and Malala's educational crusade. Hence, all the future groups have the opportunity to move their audience into understanding and reaction.

What's next after all of these presentations? Fallacies - what you don't want to do in an argument. Argumentation - what you do want to do in an argument. Multiple Choice - hopefully with our limited time frame remaining we can at least start looking at these passages!

Tomorrow will be third and fifth hour presentations; first hour will have their last day (it's a block, so you have double the time) to prepare for Thursday's commencement. Barring an emergency, make sure you are in class to support your group!

Last up, don't forget the Lucy Logs for your two memoirs. You have 10 days remaining for the assignment, and I know many of you have yet to pick up your second text! Procrastination will not help you with this assignment! And don't forget, this log, which is worth a significant amount of points, will help you with an argumentative essay to end the semester, which means if you don't have the log completed, you may find yourself having difficulty with the essay. 

Presentation 1

While the majority of the classes will begin presentations after break, fifth hour had the absolute pleasure to see the first one. Kudos to our pioneers of presenting, communicating so much logos (all those facts and stats), ethos (barely a glance at notes and taking all audience questions with specific responses - even if we began to entire hypothetical territory), and pathos (humor amidst the seriousness that could occur). Plus, we know that it's the perfect time to prepare for space travel!

On a separate note, there are many of you procrastinating your way through the Lucy books and logs. December 6 is the magic date, which means if you have not finished one of the memoirs, you will need to do so over Thanksgiving break in order to complete the second for the deadline. This is a significant assignment, so not completing it will severely impact your grade and your ability to eventually write an essay on the subject.

1: We looked at how pathos can be developed through words, images, music, and presentation to set up your rhetorical appeals group presentations, which were assigned today. If here, you should definitely start brainstorming and preparing for prep days next week. If absent, you will either be a group with other absentees or be merged with the existing groups. (We shall find out with attendance on Monday.)

3: We had our second of three prep days, which means presentations start Tuesday.

5: As noted above, we considered going to Mars - whether from interest or disaster! Today was an excellent model of how to present a topic with logos, ethos, and pathos and how to be an engaged audience member with questions and observations. I learned a great deal about Mars, so thank you, savants, for all of your knowledge.

The Presentation of Pathos

We're all in some phase of pathos now! What is to come after our review of the three rhetorical appeals? We will have a brief unit on fallacies (can't skip my fav slippery slope), start on argumentation (what you have all been waiting for), and begin work on MC passages (it's all about close reading - can't escape it). Oh, and of course, you have your Lucy Grealy readings and logs, which are still due on Thursday, December 6. Not many people have traded for their second text, so hopefully you are keeping up your reading and log pacing in order to trade tomorrow or immediately following your second long break of the month.

1: We wrapped up our tone work - effusively - with looking at "Ode on a Grecian Urn," which means that your tone prompt deadline is Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. The previous blog had the exact prompt and rules and regulations - in case you forget any details. In the middle of class, you received your Keats prompts back and, as the average score jumped up over 2 points into the 5 range! As we move into less participation and more content evaluation, this is a promising move! At the end of class, we looked at advertisements and how these images create varying forms of pathos and purposes. Tomorrow will be more pathos and the introduction of the rhetorical appeals group project.

3: We have our topics and we have our first day of group prep!

5: We have our last day of group prep, which means the order of presentation was determined during class. As a reminder to all groups, make sure that all of you are prepared to go!

Alternatives A & B

While many of your are practicing snow incantations, third hour and I agree that if we all complete our homework assignments for tomorrow, we will more likely have a snow day. If we procrastinate and don't have our work ready to go, we will probably have school. So, be ready for whatever happens tomorrow!

1:

Class Today: We finished up our tone identification of "To a Skylark" and then moved onto our reading of "Ode to a Nightingale." For next class, we will be identifying the tone of the "Nightingale" stanzas. If you were absent today, make sure you are ready to contribute tone and strategies for stanzas 5-8. In addition, you have the tone prompt in your hands: You received your assessment for the tone unit: In regards to Percy Shelley’s “To a Skylark” and John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale,” compare and contrast the tone and other rhetorical devices used by these poets in their writing about birds. As with the last prompt, this may be handwritten or typed and will be turned in via hard copy by according to the alternatives. If absent for the entire day, you may send via digital methods and then turn in a hard copy.  

Alternative A: Thursday will feature the remainder of our tone work for "Ode to a Nightingale," a recap of the tone prompt, and the return of your Keats' prompt. If this is the case, the tone prompt will be due by 3:30 p.m. on Monday, November 19. 

Alternative B: Monday will feature the same content as planned for Thursday. However, the tone prompt will be due by 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 20. 

3:

Class Today: With the Keats' prompts returned, you now have feedback to remind you of what to do with a rhetorical analysis prompts, which is fortunate as the tone prompt is due very soon, according to the future alternatives. Afterwards, we returned to our pathos look-see by watching a video to see the different means of how pathos can be introduced into visual mediums. If you want to watch the video, go back in time and check fifth hour's blog from a few days ago - you will find the link there. At the end of the hour, we went over the group rhetorical analysis presentation, which will continue at next class. Currently, you now the requirements and your groups. Next time will be topics and prep days.

Alternative A: Thursday remains the due date for the tone prompt.

Alternative B: If school is not in session on Thursday, the prompt will be due on Monday by 3:30 p.m.

5: 

Class Today: Prep Day for Group Rhetorical Analysis Presentations.

Alternative A: Prep Day as planned on Thursday with presentations beginning Monday.

Alternative B: Prep Day on Monday with presentations beginning Tuesday. 

A Little Skylark, A Little Nightingale, A Little Preparation

1: Just a reminder that with a college-level class, preparation is key to the understanding of the course, formulating ideas, and participating in class. This is he final reminder that it would behoove you to have your own copies of the tone texts and to have these readings prepared with notes. Today's class was, somewhat, lacking in preparation, so make sure to have all of your ethos regarding the tone work ready for tomorrow. For those in class today, we looked at our EAR tone poems, noting the tone words, patterns, and how EAR's poems compare and contrast. Then, we had a very in-depth and successful reading of "To a Skylark," looking at the poem's meaning and overall ideas. At the end of the hour, each person has the responsibility to identify the tones of specific stanzas and any rhetorical devices that pepper those stanzas. You will have limited time to confer with a partner tomorrow, so make sure you have the information ready to go. If absent, you are assigned stanzas 11-13. After we finish our tone work with "To a Skylark," we will have our last tone text, "Ode to a Nightingale." Make sure you are preparing for class. If you are not taking the initiative in the preparation side of things, it will not help when you have to write prompts on the material.

3: A little bit of everything today. 1. We finished our tone analysis of "Ode to a  Nightingale" with a flurry of tone words - some familiar to our "Skylark" tones. Hmmm. 2. You received your assessment for the tone unit: In regards to Percy Shelley’s “To a Skylark” and John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale,” compare and contrast the tone and other rhetorical devices used by these poets in their writing about birds. As with the last prompt, this may be handwritten or types and will be turned in via hard copy by Thursday, November 15, at 3:30 p.m. If absent for the entire day, you may send via digital methods and then turn in a hard copy.  3. We looked at pathos via advertisements and photographs and words to see the effect of pathos on an audience, namely you. 

5: We had a prep day today! I didn't hear from all groups today, but I know the group closest to me has some creative and thoughtful ideas for their topic. Prep days continue for the rest of this week, so make sure you are figuring out individual assignments and how the final presentation will be! 

Tone & Pathos

1: As noted in class - and several times in the last week, you should have all tone texts printed out, previewed, and read to make sure you understand any terms and allusions present to the meaning. We are nearing the end of the tone unit and having these texts prepared will only expedite our class discussion and the completion of our tone work.

Meanwhile during class, we finished up our "Children's Hour" tone maps by writing the analytical paragraph and then having a read aloud to see how you did with the analysis. Overall, we heard some strong usage of tone words, evidence, and explanations. To add to our tone readings, we looked at our EAR selections, "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy," which you will create a full tone map - including paragraph analysis - for homework this evening. Marie, you have "Richard Cory" as your assignment and Ethan, you have "Miniver Cheevy."

3: We are so near to the end of the tone unit, which is obvious by all the strong tone words (effusive, eulogizing, wistful, idyllic, lugubrious were some of the hits) identifying "To a Skylark's" shifting tone. We did finish our reading of "Ode to a Nightingale," which means each of you were assigned one of the stanzas to identify tone and any other rhetorical elements. Kayla, you have stanza 2 to do.

5: Your class has one more element of tone remaining: the tone prompt, which is due by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Feel free to turn in at any point prior to this time. For our class focus today, we settled into the world of pathos and the differing ways to create emotion for the audience via this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mscduVYpidA. As the projector screen is currently a shade of purple, you are welcome to watch the video as it is intended! The rest of our class rotated around your Rhetorical Appeals Group Presentation, which will involve logos, ethos, and, of course, pathos to engage the audience regarding your topic. After selecting the topics, prep days begin tomorrow and will occur through Thursday. Presentations will be Monday and Tuesday of next week - hopefully, we will finish all of these before break so there are not any lingering ones on the 26th (the emergency makeup day). As noted in class, the next days are not the ones to miss as you work with your group and present.

Still Toning, For the Most Part

Just a reminder that the two Lucy Grealy memoirs and their logs are due on December 6! If you have not finished your first text, you  may want to do so prior to Thanksgiving break so that you do not feel that procrastinator stress that often occurs with a last-minute lengthy assignment. We have just received more copies of both texts, so starting next week, there will be plenty available! Just in time!

1: We worked on the tone map for "The Children's Hour," which we have half-completed at this point. If you were not here for this work, you will need to bring in your own draft a tone map for the text, so that you can participate in our analysis and discussion portion. We will be moving quite quickly through our remaining tone texts, so make sure you have your own personal copies, have previewed the poems and now context of words, allusions, and general meanings.

3: We shared our EAR poem tone maps today and then read "To a Skylark" to prep for our eventual tone assessment. We had some strong epiphanies as the poem progressed, but there were still many not prepared for our tone texts. Having a personal copy can only help you in the long run, especially as we have just one more left to go.

5: Due to some technical difficulties, we had a shortened look at pathos and the emotional reactions to photography and advertisements. The Bird prompt is due on Tuesday, so feel free to work on this early!

Tone Map Samples

Now that we are all in the realm of tone mapping - whether entering or exiting the process - here are two samples from this year's classes and their takes on "Chicago." Yes, jingoistic is included!

ev

How interesting that even though different tone words were used to describe the sections, that both maps ended up nearly identical in shape!














Additionally, both of these samples analyzed the pattern as a part of an argument with the "insider" point of view usurping the initial "outsider" perspective.

Heading to Pathos

With the tone unit moving quite quickly in all hours, the last part of rhetorical analysis, those rhetorical appeals, namely pathos, will be taking center stage in the next week. As a blatant reminder, having copies of our tone texts will only help you for later assessment purposes and advanced discussions. If you do not have a sense of what the poems are about, what the words mean, what the allusions reference, you will not have as much ethos on the texts' tones.

1: We returned to "Chicago" and created a class tone map by identifying the shifts, identifying the tone of each section, selecting a range to create the map, plotting points of tone, connecting the dots, and analyzing patterns of tone. With that as an example (and quite a vibrant one in shades of pink and orange), you started the same process with "The Children's Hour." At this point, you are starting to identify the tone of each stanza (normally via line, but we shall avoid any arguments by stanza shifts this time around) and will continue through the process of tone mapping during Friday's class.

3: We finished up "The Children's Hour," by looking at examples of the maps and the analytical paragraphs associated with this poem. Then, we read our EAR selections, "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy." Each of you have been assigned one of the poems in which to create a tone map with its corresponding analysis paragraph - just remember it is the speaker's tone and not the character's tone that you are charting. For this tone map, you will locate shifts by line and not by stanza. So every time you see a shift, that indicates another section of the text. KE, you have "Richard Cory" and MT, you have "Miniver Cheevy" for you individual tone maps.

5: As with all of our units, fifth hour has completed the tone unit with a flourish by analyzing the tones of "To a Skylark" and "Ode to a Nightingale." At the end of the hour, you received the take-home prompt: In regards to Percy Shelley’s “To a Skylark” and John Keats’ “Ode to a Nightingale,” compare and contrast the tone and other rhetorical devices used by these poets in their writing about birds. As with the last prompt, this may be handwritten or types and will be turned in via hard copy by Tuesday, November 13, at 5:00 p.m. If absent for the entire day, you may send via digital methods and then turn in a hard copy. 

All That Tone!

We are in varying phases of tone work from the beginning of tone maps to the final texts. As a reminder, one that is becoming quite redundant, it is highly recommended that you print out copies of the tone texts (all linked on a previous blog) for preview and preparation of terms, improving comprehension, and fostering discussion.

1: We completed a creative activity, which definitely exhibited the ability to differentiate positive, negative, humorous, and sorrowful tones. From paranoid to loving, we had quite the mix of tones to identify. Absentees will need to use their umbrella tone list, select 3 tones from the neutral category, and create a thorough conversation between 3 people with each person having a specific tone. Afterwards, we read our first tone text, "Chicago," which we will use tomorrow to craft a class tone map. For homework, read through the "big kid" tone list and star/asterisk/mark the tone words that you find fun, interesting, enchanting, or anything else for that matter.

3: We moved into the partner tone map with "The Children's Hour," crafting all but the last step of the process, which we will have tomorrow. If absent, you should craft a rough draft of a tone map for the text and have it ready to go for next class.

5: We finished our tone mapping work (I know, sad) with our EAR poems, comparing and contrasting his tones as an author. Now, we go into "To a Skylark," looking at its meaning (sadness and happiness, happiness and sadness, the theme that will not go away!) and working in partners to paraphrase, identify tones, and look for any other rhetorical strategies fluttering about in the stanzas. We will resume with stanza 4 tomorrow and then it will be back to Keats for our last tone text. I think you're going to like what's coming up after tone!

It's Benjamin Banneker Week!

In exciting news, it is Benjamin Banneker week, which celebrates the revered writer, scientist, and all-around savant. I must say that one of the highlights of teaching AP Lang for all of these years is my introduction to Banneker, his historical significance, his brilliance as a savant, and his letter-writing abilities to our old buddy Tommy J. 

 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 12, so you have one week on this extra credit opportunity. This must be turned in via hard copy (obviously) by 2:40 p.m. on that day. If you have any questions, e-mail me for clarifications. Otherwise, I am looking forward to the final products! Especially since I had about 8 clocks last year and no poems! Photo below - you can tell which had a little more effort than others. 

Scintillating Tones

I can finally type that we are all working on tone at this point! And, as I have repeated for about a week or so now, all of the poems that we will use to analyze tone are listed on a previous blog with links so that you  may print out copies, take notes, and be able to participate to the fullest. From empirical evidence, I can tell that many of you are not previewing the texts, which does not help your experience in identifying tone shifts and how to identify these tone shifts in the most accurate of manners. As we move from class tone mapping to partner tone mapping to individual tone mapping to essay prompt, copies of the texts can only help you!

1: We finished up the Keats' letters, and you have the following prompt: Analyze how John Keats' diction reflects his mentality and purpose in his letters to Fanny Brawne. This will be due by 3:15 p.m. on Thursday in hard copy form, either typed or handwritten. Make sure to use page numbers for the parenthetical citations. As with any take-home prompt, if you are absent for the entire today, you will need to either share or send a photograph of you work to indicate its completion. Next, we completed our second toolbox quiz, which means any absentees will need to make this up a.s.a.p. Last, we started our tone work, utilizing scintillating, apathetic, lachrymose, bilious, and surprised tones to read like statements and identify major tone shifts. Alas, tone shifts are usually of a smaller nature, so our next class will be about the subtlety of tone shifts via a little creative conversation. As noted in class, and as above, all of the upcoming tone texts are listed on a previous blog and the expectation at this level of class is that you are prepared to contribute.

3: Our hour, after looking over the "big kid" tone list, was dedicated on how to create a tone map through "Chicago." As with any tone map assignment, you start by identifying all of the subtle tone shifts existing in a text. Then, you identify each tone section with a specific, mature tone word. Then, you select 2 words to act as the range for all of the other tone words to fit within those confines. Then, you create a map by placing the points to convey the visual shift of tone. Last, you look at the patterns of the tone shifts and analyze the importance. We will have many more tone maps to come - which all stem from the list of texts on a previous blog. I've mentioned this 3 times in this blog thus far, so it must be important to preview and have your own copies for future assignments.

5: After we looked over your very pastel selections for "The Children's Hour" tone map, we read the next two poems on the tone list: "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" by my old buddy, EAR. After our look-see at these 2 men and their lives, you were assigned one poem to make a tone map and write a corresponding analytical paragraph. If absent today, choose one of the aforementioned poems and create the tone map (look at shifts by line and not by stanzas). Make sure to have this tone map completed for next class. And, as I have repeated several times in this blog and in class, we have 2 texts left with hour tone work, which means an essay is most likely imminent. If you do not preview those poems and have notes relating what words and allusions mean, you will not have as successful of an experience as you could have.

Toning Up

This is your daily reminder to read the tone texts before class. All the texts are on a previous blog with links so that you may print these out and be able to take notes for all of our future tone mapping.

1: After our vocab quiz, we spent the rest of the hour with Keats' letters and the impressive analysis of diction that all of the groups provided today. Delving into his diction (and the adjectives qualifying his shifting tones throughout the progression of his illness and love affair with Fanny) and purpose, you presented a strong, clarifying, and engaging didactic lesson for all of your classmates. (I can't wait to see what you do with tone next week!). We will wrap up the letters - and our diction unit - on Monday.

3: What a fun, creative Friday, expressing all the attitudes of team positive, team negative, team humor, and team worry! From blaming shifts of a fighting family to a paranoid conspiracy theorist bothering the rest of his group, we had excellent examples of tone and the subtle shifts that occur amongst each voice in the group. We will do more with tone next week - including the ever-fun tone maps!

5: We were a little casual in class today, but I think that paid off dividends with the quality of tone maps and analysis for "The Children's Hour," which we will share on Monday. Then, it will be time for solo tone maps, so make sure you have previewed our next texts. I can always tell by the reaction to the ending of the poem who has read it and who has not!

Keats & Tone

In the next week or so, I have a feeling that the classes will align, and we will actually have collected agendas. Until then (or whenever that shall occur with our November schedule), we are still in the process of diction ending and tone commencing. And as a broken record, all of the poems that will be part of our tone unit are in previous blogs.

1: After reviewing vocab for our upcoming vocab quiz (yes, it would behoove you to study all of our vocabulary), I modeled for you how to present the diction analysis for the Keats letters, which included identifying diction patterns with adjectives, positing a plethora of evidence from the text, analyzing the pattern, and then ending with the purpose(s) of the individual letter. In partners you analyzed a letter, preparing for your sharing of diction and purpose with the class tomorrow. If absent, you should read over the letter packet; you will either be put with a partnership or be in charge of summing up the diction of all the letters (this will depend on class attendance, which hopefully will find all of you there).

3: We finished up diction with Keats' letters and you now have the prompt to do: Analyze how John Keats' diction reflects his mentality and purpose in his letters to Fanny Brawne. This will be due by 3:15 p.m. on Monday in hard copy form, either typed or handwritten. Make sure to use page numbers for the parenthetical citations. As with any take-home prompt, if you are absent for the entire today, you will need to either share or send a photograph of you work to indicate its completion. To conclude our class, we had the second toolbox quiz, which means absentees will need to make that up in the next few days either before or after school. Tone starts tomorrow!

5: Tone continues with the ever-fun, ever-debatable tone maps! With our first text, "Chicago," the world of the outsider ("they") and the perspective of the insider ("my") clearly conveyed the two-sided argument of the city as dangerous temptress and jingoistic construction ground. Tone maps are a visual means of clarifying the tone shifts throughout a text. First, you must identify all of the tone shifts. Second, you choose a tone word to describe each section. Third, you choose two of the tone words to construct a range. Four, you plot the points and connect the dots. Fifth, you identify patterns and explain these patterns in relation to the author's purpose, structure, and ideas. Our class tone map went very well - with little argument over our tone words. Hence, we moved to the second phrase of tone mapping by reading "The Children's Hour" and identifying the tone for each stanza. If absent, you will need to have tone ideas for each stanza of "The Children's Hour" as groups are moving quickly with this activity.

Happy Birthday, Keatsy

For once, on this 223rd birthday of Keats, all classes are working with his letters in some form or fashion. First hour has the close read of the first letter for tomorrow's class, third hour has the last letter to present, and fifth hour, most likely, is wrapping up their essays this evening. Today, I found out that there is a John Keats Bicentenary that reviews letters he wrote on the corresponding date! I can't believe I didn't know about this, follow it, and worship it on daily basis!

And, while I was "researching" online, I found the Anaphora Dress and the Anaphora Boutique! That then stimulated a search for other AP Lang terms such as zeugma (it's a furniture design company). All of this is the study of AP Lang!

And, all of our tone texts are already on a previous blog for your perusal and preparation. Fifth hour is in the midst of tone, third hour will most likely start tomorrow, and first hour will be centered on attitude starting Friday.

1: We read "Ode on a Grecian Urn," identified it purpose and diction and crafted a polished thesis statement to represent the aforementioned items that you would need to cover in your introductory paragraph. Afterwards, you found out more about Keats and his life - especially regarding his relationship to Fanny, the addressee of his letters, which we will analyze for diction and purpose tomorrow.

3: After our vocab quiz, I modeled for you how to analyze and present Keats' letters (adjective, evidence, analysis, repeat until finished, purposes). Then, you did the same for your own assigned letter. Alas, we were short one, which means the last letter will be tomorrow.

5: While Keats may be part of your homework (tomorrow is the deadline), we spent our hour working with tone - how to identify five different tones, how to craft conversations to show the slightest tone shifts. Tomorrow, we will then transfer those shifts into poems. Remember, all the links were on a previous blog for you to use in preparation.

Monday's Recap

As noted in the previous blog, you have the titles and links of the poems that will center our upcoming tone unit. Fifth hour will start tone on Tuesday, third hour on Thursday, and first hour (maybe?) on Thursday as well. As part of a college-level class, preparation and participation are key to comprehension and the application of skills to a plethora of texts and writings. Taking the time to preview work, clarify any vocabulary or allusions that may not be in your ethos, is the way to make our classes spend more time on the analysis (i.e. what you need for the test) rather than the paraphrase/summary portion (i.e. what you should be able to do on your own).

1: After vocab experts, we spent the class analyzing Gray's "The Favourite Cat" and Shelley's "Ozymandias," which coincidentally happen to share a similar purpose. While the diction may be different in each poem, both, as you concluded, acted as a warning to dissuade selfishness in society. (Of course, we did revise our class thesis statement for more "d" words as your class has now adopted the very solid, strong "d" sounds in verbs, adjectives, and purposes. Tomorrow will be "Ode on a Grecian Urn," one more opportunity to analyze diction and practice writing thesis statements.

3: After our vocab review, you had the chance to hear (and visualize) more about Keats and his life in preparation of our analysis of his letters to his beloved Fanny Brawne. At the end of the hour, you close read his first letter, which I will present to your class tomorrow as a model for how you will accomplish the same activity. Overall, it will involve multiple forms of diction, the adjectives to describe them, the evidence to support it, and the analysis of it.

5: We completed the vocab quiz for unit 15, which means any absentees will need to make up the assignment. For part two of class, we finished up the Keats' letters and ended with a summation of the diction and purposes that progress throughout the text and "chronicle" (thanks, CS for that purpose word) his life and affections.

To finish up our diction work, you have the following take home 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 2:35 p.m. on Thursday. 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 (yes, real hook from several years ago).

To end the hour, we completed our second rhetorical toolbox quiz, which will be need to be made up by any absent students. See you tomorrow for all of our tone work - including the ever-fun, at least to me, tone mapping - with a reminder to preview some of the poems for tomorrow's class.

Poetry Readings for the Tone Unit

Later on today, I will be updating the blog with our hourly agenda. In the meantime, our upcoming tone unit will feature a plethora of poems. 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 (that really aided last year's students) and have them in the upcoming days. We will be analyzing these poems in the order given, so I would go sequentially. Remember, this is for plot/idea/word/allusion 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

More Keats Converts

I have been fortunate to find some like-minded students in these past few days who seem to find Keats, his complexities, his emotional turmoil, and his penchant for incredible analogies stemming from everyday accidents, quite a fascinating figure to analyze, whether it be his poems or his letters. Whether you are a fan or not, at least you know of his life and his tragic end.

1: We spent the hour looking at our Autumn Diction analysis by emphasizing evidence to support diction adjectives, purposes, and thesis statements. For next class, we will be looking at Gray's "Favourite Cat," Shelley's "Ozymandias," and Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and it would behoove you to read these poems to make sure you know what all the words mean or what all of the allusions reference. You can find these poems online through a search, or you can find them through links on earlier blogs from the past week or so - under the classes.

3: When we put our heads together, we certainly can craft one heck of a thesis statement: Gray elucidates naive, karmic diction whilst Shelley epitomizes desolate, tyrannical diction to warn against acting on materialistic, selfish desires. Pretty impressive! After marrying our cat and pharaoh, we spent the rest of class looking at my Keatsy's "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and recognizing that the true conception of beauty, the juxtaposition of joy and love to pain and sacrifice, is the only way to understand the truth of the scene or circumstance. We still have a thesis statement to compose for this poem, and then we will be in Keats' world for the next couple of days.

5: We reviewed vocab for the quiz on Monday. Then, we spent the rest of the hour analyzing my Keatsy's words in his letters to Fanny, identifying his multi-layered purposes as the letters move from young love, carefree and tumultuous, to tragic end, pained, impassioned, loss. Amidst this transition throughout the letters, you have the best concept of all: purplue! Oh, Keats! To take something so mundane, the dripping of ink and its variegated shades, and make it into the concept of togetherness, a union of the two, is pure brilliance of a writer's mind. We will finish up the letters on Monday - with his last letter to Fanny - and then you will see what you will be up to with all of your notes with these letters. In the near future, you will have another toolbox quiz, and you will dive into the world of tone, its shifts, and its maps --- yes, maps!

Lucy is Here

In all classes, you were assigned the Lucy Grealy memoirs and the attached log that you will be completing for each chapter of each text between now and December 6 (as noted in class, I have already included a 3 day extension for this due date). At this point, you have your first memoir in your possession, and you should have some plan for breaking up the reading and work to pace yourself - and, ideally, not procrastinate - throughout the whole process. If absent, you will need the assignment sheet and text to begin the process as soon as possible.

Meanwhile in the world of diction...

1: We continued working with thesis statements with you working in groups to analyze diction in a passage and create a strong, engaging, mature, collegiate-sounding thesis statement. You will be "teaching" your passage to the class tomorrow.

3: We didn't go too far today, but we did read Shelley's "Ozymandias." Tomorrow, we will work on "marrying" two poems together and creating a dual thesis statement, analyzing "Ode on a Grecian Urn," and finding out more about my beloved Keats. All of the aforementioned poems can be found online or in past blogs via links. You are expected to know "Ode on a Grecian Urn's" vocabulary and allusions so that we have a successful discussion of this influential poem.

5: I modeled for you how to present diction analysis for the Keats' letters, which included utilizing adjectives and devices to identify and explain ALL forms and patterns of diction in the common text. Then, you worked in groups to do the same with one of the letters. We will be wrapping this up tomorrow. Absentees, depending on the situation tomorrow, will either be placed in a group with few minutes to prepare or will be responsible for a summative wrap-up of all diction and purposes. In either circumstance, you should do a light close read of all the letters, so that you do have contribution points tomorrow.

A Little Team Promotion

As you may know, I am the coach of the Scholar Quiz team, our competitive trivia team that travels to schools across St. Charles County. We have been fortunate to win the Holt Invitational, win Districts for the past two years, and have competitive Sectional matches. Since the Scholar Quiz team is an extracurricular, I do not want to hijack the class or try to “sell” it to any of you or make it seem that being part of the team will influence your AP class standing whatsoever. However, some of you may not know about our team and would like a little background information.

So, if you are looking to add something to your college resume, improve your knowledge for a multitude of AP classes, work with a supportive team, compete with other schools, meet many other students from our area, and earn a letter, stick around for a bit more details regarding the team.

On the other hand, if you have a packed schedule and do not have interest in joining our extracurricular, thank you for taking the time to read the introductory paragraphs and considering any involvement.

The Scholar Quiz team is currently looking for team members to join Varsity, JV, and Novice levels. Those who join the team can have strengths in academia (literature, science, math, history), current events, pop culture, sports, or fun facts. Even if you are not an “expert,” you can become one by working with the Scholar Quiz team.

The time commitment is quite manageable for whatever your commitment would be to the team. So if you want to be a full time member or part time member, there are opportunities to be part of our competitive team. During a regular week, we have Trivia Lunches on C/D days (1/2 hour) and practice on Fridays (approx. 1 hour). We also have additional chances to prep and practice for competition in what I call “Random Acts of Trivia” that occur after school in ½ hour increments from time to time. For those thoroughly committed to the team, we do have bonus practices prior to big competitions.

Competitions run from late November until April. There are 6 competitions on Tuesdays (2 hours for 2 matches for players of all ability) and a minimum of 5 Saturday matches (full day and for the strongest players). If you sign up, you will communicate with the team your full availability – as in all – or if you will have a partial schedule.

If you are interested, stop by any of our trivia lunches or practices to check out the Scholar Quiz team. And if you would like to be an official teammate, pick up an availability form (it is a grandiose RSVP form) to clarify your availability for our upcoming competitions.

If you have any questions, please do ask me, our Captain Emily Sigmund, our Captain of Representative Leadership Lorraine Linson, or any team members. And, thank you for reading about our Scholar Quiz team. This is my tenth year coaching, and it has been the most rewarding experience for me to be part of such a close team (we still have our alumni showing up during the year) and to learn so much random facts like the Defenestration of Prague, the Great Emu War, or the Great Molasses Flood.

The Hour of "Poses"

1: After copying down our next unit of vocab, we worked on reading works for diction, picking up patterns of diction, noting shifts of diction, and describing diction with mature, collegiate, variegated adjectives. This was quite an adventure through "A Birthday" and celebrity quotes as your class clearly likes words ending with "pose" such as expose, juxtapose, compose, and I'm sure there will be more in the future! We will continue forward with all of this "posing" next time, so be ready to further show off your own diction!

3: After our vocab work today, we settled right back into the world of diction by practicing our thesis statements in full class and in groups. If absent, you are to take this following quote by Ray Bradbury and do the close read and thesis statement: "He had never liked October. Ever since he had first lay in the autumn leaves before his grandmother's house many years ago and heard the wind and saw the empty trees. It had made him cry, without a reason. And a little of that sadness returned each year to him. It always went away with spring. But, it was a little different tonight. There was a feeling of autumn coming to last a million years. There would be no spring." Either print out the quote for your close reading, or write it out on notebook paper to complete the close reading. At the end of class, we read the ever-fascinating Thomas Gray's Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat for its diction, and we will return to this work next time around. As a preview, we will also be looking at Percy Shelley's Ozymandias and my beloved John Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn. I highly suggest that all of you read these poems and know what all the words and allusions mean for a stronger interpretation during class. 

5: After our vocab work, we spent the hour with the best man in the world, my Keats, my poor, beloved Keats and his work "Ode on a Grecian Urn," which is linked above. After creating a strong thesis statement (I think you are getting the drift regarding the expectations), we moved onto the background of my Keats in order for you to have context of his letters, which will be the main focus of our diction analysis. During class, you had time to close read the first letter for next time around. If absent, I highly recommend picking up a packet on Wednesday so that you do not fall behind with the readings. 

The Emphasis of E & F Words

1: We finished up the sharing of the team close read, which absentees will need to turn in their work to garner the participation for this assignment. Tomorrow, we will have the Orenstein prompts, new vocab, and diction week commence (diction is quite shorter in duration than syntax). As noted, diction is not just noticing shifts in a text; it's also using your own diction to offer the most collegiate, mature, engaging thesis statements as possible.

3: The hour of the E. After starting with vocab, we moved into analyzing diction and the best way to describe it (minus redundancies) and construct incredible thesis statements substantiating adjectives for diction, active verbs for the action, and clarity of purpose to finalize the sentence. Other than the challenging penchant for having almost all the verbs and purposes have "e" words, it looks like the concept of stretching your own diction has made its point and will now find expression in all of your future writing employments. We will do more with quotes and poems tomorrow!

5: It was not as purposeful as third hour's "E" work, but fifth hour did wrap up their work today with a focus on "F" alliteration. Continuing forward with thesis creation, we read Thomas Gray's Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat and Percy Shelley's Ozymandias to construct individual thesis statements and then join the poems together with a hybrid one too! (As noted in the case of multiple texts, you most likely will bring in specific adjectives for each author's diction and then combine the purposes together). While this was all in-class practice work, absentees should still read the poems and practice the analysis of diction. Once we read something in class, I will be referencing it in the future! Oh, it's time for my Keats tomorrow, and we shall start with one of his poems to look at its diction. Make sure you preview the poem, Ode on a Grecian Urn, know what all words and allusions mean, so that we may have a tad more participation tomorrow.

Autumn

It's becoming more difficult to title AP Lang blogs since each class happens to be working on different parts of syntax, transitional rhetorical analysis, and diction.

1: We finished phase one of the Alcott team close read and moved into phase 2. Absentees, you are already aware that you need to have the close read completed, a thesis statement, and one body paragraph for Monday's class. All else have a body paragraph to complete with the rhetorical strategy between you and your colleagues. As noted in class - and always encouraged - use the weekend to craft a superior body paragraph. You want to excel beyond the basics, the minimum, and move into the collegiate presentation.

3: We finished up our Alcott group readings with a flourish! Following our contextual Civil War writings, you received your Orenstein prompts back and copied down the next unit of vocab for Monday. As we were in the awkward time remaining phase between starting diction in a rush or not finishing the first textual example in its entirety, we will be saving all our diction work for Monday.

5: After starting vocab experts, we close read a Jefferson quote and composed a thesis statement to remind you the importance of active verbs, specific adjectives, and mature purposes to set up your analysis. In groups, you each received one of five quotes regarding autumn and proceeded to close read, thesis write, and analyze to the class. And, what an experience of upper-level verbs, diction, and purposes did we hear today! ALL groups presented incredibly descriptive, thoughtful thesis statements and supported their ideas with all of the evidence from the poem. I'm impressed (and I would say looking forward to what you will come up with next time).

For band students, each one of you will be assigned one of the autumn quotes. For your quote, you will circle all the key words and then compose a thesis statement using our formula and showing off all of your own vocabulary to do so. Here are your poems: Jake = Yoko Ono; Madison = Rainbow Rowell; Rhyen = George Eliot; Madelyn = Shauna Niequist. Have that ready to give me - if you want the participation points from today.

If you were absent and NOT a band student (which means you do not have a packet), you are to take this following quote by Ray Bradbury and do the close read and thesis statement: "He had never liked October. Ever since he had first lay in the autumn leaves before his grandmother's house many years ago and heard the wind and saw the empty trees. It had made him cry, without a reason. And a little of that sadness returned each year to him. It always went away with spring. But, it was a little different tonight. There was a feeling of autumn coming to last a million years. There would be no spring." Either print out the quote for your close reading, or write it out on notebook paper to complete the close reading. 

The Search for Adjectives

As we merge into diction analysis, the big push is for you to aggrandize your adjectives, verbs, and infinitives to better describe the diction, activate your verb usage, and mature your purpose statement. Say goodbye to vague words like bad, good, positive, negative, optimistic, pessimistic, and the like. The best way to analyze diction is to exhibit your own mastery of the vernacular!

1: We commenced phase one of the team close read, breaking down Alcott's passage and noting so much already - syntax, dialogue, mood, pathos, diction, tone, alliteration, simile, metaphor, and even zeugma! As you may have noted in class, you need to evolve past the quick surface interpretation and delve beneath the surface to the "bigger picture" that the text conveys. We will finish this phase tomorrow, and then move to phase two.

3: We spent the majority of class finishing up the team close read of Capote by peer reviewing the body paragraphs and constructing a group conclusion to wrap up the team essay, recap the essay's content, and revert back to the hook. Then, you shared your intro, one body paragraph, and concluding paragraphs for instant feedback and to provide some samples for your classmates. With our variegated introductions, there were many a hook to exhibit all the possibilities of gaining the reader's attention: crafting a mood-inducing context, showing off mature diction, providing Civil War context from the soldier's realm and the nurse's realm. We will finish our last group tomorrow and then transfer to our diction study.

5: Diction, diction, diction! After copying down our new set of vocab words, we spent the hour talking diction and the significance of adopting specific, mature adjectives to craft a true understanding of a text's diction and show off your own diction for the reader's inspection. Through "A Birthday" and celebrity quotes, we identified the best adjectives for diction, the best infinitives for purpose, and the best active verbs for verbs. Referencing back to the thesis formula (author + active verb + specific rhetorical strategies + mature purpose), we created carefully crafted examples of exemplary thesis statements - such as the first one - CR paints compassionate, fruitful diction to announce excitement of motherhood. More of the same tomorrow!

The Transition to Diction

1: If you were absent today, you missed 2 quizzes - the vocab and the syntax quiz - which actually counted under first quarter (like the other AP Lang classes). As with any missed quizzes, you have 48 hours to either take the quizzes or schedule an appointed time to do so. Tomorrow will be a chance for you to show off your close reading skills with our first team close read!

3: We finished phase one of our team close read and moved onto phase two. By tomorrow' class, you will have a team introduction and the individual body paragraphs completed. We will finish up, in theory, tomorrow.

5: To complete our Alcott Team Close Read, your groups gave readings of the intro, one body paragraph, and the conclusion. To wrap up class, we looked at your Cindy Syntax prompts - o.k. technically the Orenstein prompt - and discussed the importance of syntactical purpose and how correct apostrophes can help your overall presentation. Tomorrow will be the move into diction - with a little anaphora to merge syntax too.

Teaming

As our second quarter begins, so does the variance of AP Lang classes! Make sure that all of you read the parenthetical note that I left for first hour. It is for all of you - I just, obviously, started with their class while I was typing this up today.

1: We spent the hour looking at the syntax prompt by summarizing the ideas in the passage, identifying shifts throughout, identifying syntax and its patterns, and writing out team thesis statements and charts covering the various forms of syntax influencing the passage. We will be sharing a few sample of these tomorrow to recap the assignment. Vocab quiz will then follow as will the syntax quiz to wrap up this unit.

(As a note, make sure that you keep pushing yourself to look at WHY sentences are used and not WHAT the sentences mean. A lot of the Cindy Syntax prompts would just paraphrase the meaning of the sentence and possibly go on a tangent about gender roles in society instead of WHY various forms of syntax function in the text and HOW they connect back to the audience and the bigger picture of parenting. If you stuck with just analyzing Orenstein, you limited your analysis to a certain point. In addition, upper-level syntax will add to your score more so than sticking with the standard variations. A great many of you - with creative spellings, alas, at times - attached hypophora, asyndeton, and anaphora to your cause, which does create a higher level of difficulty and the possibility of greater rewards. For those of you who utilized class time, group work, and outside of class preparations, the dividends were in your score. For those of you who rushed through the syntax identification and analysis and did not use the syntactically ethos-filled resource right in front of you - that would be me - the essays often lacked focus and correct identification of syntax.)

3: We started our team close read today with the Capote prompt. You were a little hesitant at first, but I think you know now to really go for the close read and fully develop your analysis into something resembling rhetorical strategies. Or, at least, I hope you will read this and realize to keep going for the full meaning of a text and build from the basic to something that constitutes the bigger picture of the writing. We will finish this first phase of the team close read with the last two sections of the prompt up for analysis. Phase two will involve the writing side of the equation, but I'm getting way ahead of what you need to do at this point. Consider this ending a preview of sorts.

5: Hello, the class with the highest average on the Cindy Syntax Prompt. As expected today, we continued with the team close read and the evaluation of your body paragraphs and the construction of the introduction and concluding paragraphs. If you were absent today, make sure you have your body paragraph from the weekend with you because you will be adding it to the group work tomorrow. Speaking of Wednesday, we will have some readings of your team close reads with instantaneous feedback from me. Then, we will be onto the world of diction (with a little stop for anaphora along the way).

The Reader, The Quizzes, The Alcott

We continue to move at different phases in the AP Lang world, but everything related back to rhetorical analysis in some fashion. With second quarter commencing next week, we will continue with rhetorical analysis and diction, tone, and pathos before looking at fallacies and argumentation.

1: After vocab experts, we continued to identify and analyze syntax via two sample passages: The Reader and an AP prompt. At this point, you have close read the latter passage for syntax, and we will incorporate your findings in class on Tuesday. Make sure to reread the passage for next class, so that you have a fresh understanding after the three-day weekend.

3: Due to time constraints, our class was quizzy today with the vocab quiz for unit 14 and the grading of your syntax quiz from last class. Next week will be our transition into diction.

5: After our vocab 14 quiz, we graded our syntax quiz and then completed the team close read - or at least phase one of the team close read. Now that we have a close reading completed, you worked in your number groups to compose a team thesis statement having all of those main requirements of author, active verb, specific strategies, and mature purpose. For homework, you each have one of the strategies from your thesis statement, and you will write an incredibly strong body paragraph. If absent today, you will need to write your own thesis statement and choose one of the strategies from the thesis to write one body paragraph.

An Agenda for Every Hour

While I assume that as some point all of the classes will be have the same agenda for the day, we are currently at different points of the syntax realm and the transition into the diction universe that will be our next unit. While syntax may be in the rear mirror, that doesn't mean you can't analyze those 6 sentence types, forms of parallelism, and those fun syndetons.

1: We may have been distracted by thoughts on height, but we still managed to add 4 more words to our vernacular and go over the third hour syntax handout (and realize that prepositional phrases make sentence identification awkward at times). What's up for your class? Well, I'm sure you have been noticing on the board for the other hours that we will be looking at a couple syntax passages and then completing the syntax quiz, which features all of your creative sentence types.

3: We did a little bit of everything today, and, fortunately, that concludes are syntax week and its focus on the big 6 and its cohorts of parallelism and syndetons. Specifically today, we reviewed vocab, which means the quiz will be tomorrow; we finished the syntactical analysis of the AP prompt, which means that is the last time we will concentrate on just syntax; and you completed the syntax quiz, which means that absentees have something to do next class. Hopefully, we will have the chance to start the team close read tomorrow, a really entertaining activity that forces you to close read, analyze, and connect to a prompt. Fifth hour started this today, and, as with all my previous classes, did not disappoint with their circling and underlining skills and explanation of ideas. Diction week will follow this transitory team close read.

5: Such fun today as you almost finished the team close read! As you may have noted, this is an opportunity to practice identifying patterns of words, connecting these patterns to strategies, and explaining the purpose of the whole thing! Our last group will complete the first phrase of the team close read tomorrow, and then you will be working on some team activities to tie the close read and prompt together! Prior to our team close read, we did review our vocab for tomorrow's quiz, which will feature a little bit of everything. Tomorrow is the last day of the quarter, which means our next quarter will start off with diction!

Conjunctions & Syntax & The End of Syntax Week(s)

1: Due to our truncated first hour, we spent the first portion of class working with vocab experts and then looking at how polysyndeton and asyndeton work in various samples We will have more of the syndetons next time plus go over third hour syntax to make sure you still have your syntax-identification skills.

3: After finishing up our 15 vocab words for unit 14, we looked at how polysyndeton and asyndeton work in regards to purpose via some various film, literary, and historical examples. To keep up with looking at syntax, we looked at a sample passage and identified the changes of syntax and how polysyndeton enters and exits the fray. At the end of class, we looked at an AP prompt to practice close reading for syntax and then worked in groups to construct a thesis statement and analyze 2 syntax structures. We will be finishing that up tomorrow before you have your syntax quiz (the last item on the syntax schedule).

5: After finishing up our 15 vocab words, we worked with the AP prompt - in groups - to summarize the text, look at shifts in the text as the focus changes from influential person to influential person in Welty's childhood and reading life, determine what are the main types of syntax and how they may change or stay the same over the course of the passage, construct a strong thesis statement, and then make charts to analyze each form of syntax with evidence and analysis. Afterwards, we completed the syntax quiz, which means if you were absent, you will have something to do next class while we grade it. Syntax is over, but don't worry, you still can identify forms of syntax in rhetorical analysis for future prompts!

Prompting & Polysyndeton

If memory serves, Cindy syntax makes usage of polysyndeton at some point, so the title of this blog is appropriate for all hours involved.

1: You had the Cindy Syntax prompt for the entirety of the hour and third hour's syntax handout for homework - due Thursday. Tomorrow's class will be truncated due to a junior-only assembly, which means we will have vocab and a little bit of this and that since you have an approximate call time.

3: You had the Cindy syntax prompt today, which means any absentees have 48 hours to complete the prompt or schedule a time to do so. We will be back to vocab and syntax on Tuesday. In theory, we will not miss any class time as a result of the assembly tomorrow, but if we do miss a minimal amount, we still have plenty to keep busy!

5: I'm typing this in advance of class, so we shall see if all of the following occurs: vocab experts, a look at the syndetons and how they can be presented in a text, and a sample AP practice prompt to break down for tomorrow's class (if we don't get to this, we will do so on the block day). Don't forget that we have finished all of our practice/reviews of syntax identification, which means a quiz - for actual points - is on the horizon.

Third Hour Syntax

1: With 40 minutes, we accomplished a lot: sharing syntax types with your Cindy Syntax group, hearing about the other section of the passage and its syntax, and pondering on the main forms of syntax and the overall purpose of the passage. Make sure to bring Cindy back to class on Monday.

3: We continued forward with vocab experts, tallying 12 words from unit 14 thus far. Then, we spent the rest of the hour drawing lines under clauses and identifying syntax using your hour's creative sentences. Lots of trickery on these with a plethora of prepositional phrases bamboozling us to believe a dependent clause was present. Cindy Syntax is back on Monday, so make sure you have all of your syntactical notes ready to go.

5: A relaxing hour (or at least it seemed to me) with further vocab experts, groups underlining clauses and identifying third hour's syntax, and playing full class card game to see how we are doing with all of those strategies and modes of discourse. Monday will be all about the syndetons!

Cindy Syntax & All of Her Phases

1: After resuming our vocab experts, we returned to the world of syntax by reviewing our big 6 plus all those other syntactical stylings such as anaphora, hypophora, the syndetons, and other forms of parallelism, inversion, and basic sentence identifiers. With that solidly in our minds, we read Cinderella Ate My Daughter, indicating the purposes throughout the text - and even noting a pattern of juxtaposing purpose (thank you, Aiden) recycling throughout the entire passage. Moving into syntax identification, each of you - via your groups - have been assigned one sentence type (or "other" syntactical strategies) to highlight throughout the text. You will be sharing your findings with your own group and teaching someone else regarding the passage, so make sure you have thoroughly scavenged your directed pages.

3: After a quick foray into vocab experts (more attention to our diction acquisition tomorrow), you resumed your Cindy Syntax groups to share your finding regarding your individual assignments. Following group work, you joined 2 members of the other groups to share, note, and discuss what syntax flows throughout the entire passage. Back to your original groups, you looked at what syntactical patterns existed and what the overall purpose of the text happens to be. Make sure to keep this for Monday's class - you will definitely need it. For tomorrow, you have your hour's syntax samples to highlight and identify.

5: We started off with our Cindy Syntax prompt, which means any absentees have 48 hours to take or schedule. With little time left afterwards, we shelved vocab experts for tomorrow, and you received third hour's syntax handout to highlight and identify.

It's Still About Syntax

1: We copied down the next unit of vocab to start on Thursday. We then reviewed Syntax Part I and completed Syntax Part II to practice identifying those 6 sentence types. Between those handouts, we discussed other forms of syntax that you could analyze, how to break down cumulative and periodic sentences to uncover the purposes of the respective clauses, and how to incorporate evidence into a paragraph. For our next class, we will take all the aforementioned components of syntax and bring them into a text.

3: After vocab experts we looked at how you can incorporate syntactical evidence into paragraphs - without dumping long sentences that would distract your reader and possibly cause you hand cramps in the process. We then checked Syntax Part II as we continue to identify the 6 main forms of syntax. Last, we read the opening chapter of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, identified all the purposes throughout the text, and then worked in groups to highlight sentence types. On Thursday, we will rejoin back into those groups to check on the highlighting and the syntax patterns.

5: We were a focused group on Tuesday - vocab experts, identifying the remaining purposes of Cinderella Ate My Daughter, broke into groups to highlight varying forms of syntax and shared that info with classmates, and discussed patterns of syntax and the overall purposes of the text - for some reason or another :)

More of 5th Hour Syntax

1: After collecting your 12 syntax examples, we returned back to the world of punctuation rules via a practice activity and to the world of 6 syntax types via highlighting clauses and identifying the respective syntax. For homework, finish Fifth Hour Syntax Part I - make sure you do highlight the clauses to help you recognize the syntax.

3: After copying down our next unit of vocab - yes, unit 14 and not unit 4, we looked over Fifth Hour Syntax Part I, noting the different types of clauses to help us identify the respective syntax. Next up, we looked at sample sentences in the textbook to identify the purposes of independent and dependent clauses. Last, you were reminded that even though syntax is all about those 6 types, you may still bring in sentence types, length, intention, and parallelism as well. For homework, complete Fifth Hour Syntax Part II with all of the highlighting included.

5: After copying down unit 14 vocab, we looked at other forms of syntax that can be found in texts for analysis and how to incorporate syntactical evidence into paragraphs. As noted in the examples, it's all about taking simple sentences and compounding or complexing your own writing; it's all about breaking down complicated cumulative sentences by clauses and purposes. At the end of the hour, we started reading a chapter from Cinderella Ate My Daughter, which allowed us to indicate the purposes present in the text. Finish reading the text and identifying the purposes for sharing tomorrow.

Highlighting

1: Capote prompts were collected today, and then the rest of the hour was dedicated to syntax, its 6 sentence types, its punctuation rules, and everything related to the further development of your syntactical rhetorical analysis and writing structure. If you look at the blog from 2 days ago, all of the items for syntax are listed - with links of examples - throughout first, third, and fifth hour. For homework, write 2 original sentences for each of the 6 sentence types - be creative, tell a story, be goofy - just make sure to label the syntax for me.

3: At the beginning of class, I collected your original sentences, and we shall see if they are as clever, creative, and "interesting" as fifth hour's version. For the rest of the class, we worked with identifying syntax via highlighting clauses. Finish up the handout on syntax for Monday's class, and we will see how you do with the remaining ones (be watchful for those mid-sentence independent clauses).

5: Syntax continues forward as we spent half the class highlighting clauses and identifying types of syntax. Afterwards, we looked at how you can break down sentences for what the clauses are doing (for instance, modes of discourse). For homework, complete part II handout, highlighting clauses and identifying sentence types.

The Syntactical World

1: We shared introductions from the Capote prompt and saw a wide array of hooks (some engaging, original; some more simple in approach), worked on writing 1 body paragraph and receiving feedback from your classmates, and discussed the best way to create that pesky conclusion. For tomorrow's class, you will need to turn in a completed introduction, 1 body paragraph, and 1 conclusion for the Capote prompt.

3: After turning in the Capote prompt and learning a bit more about the author and his work, we recapped all of the syntax types, rules, and theories from last class before continuing forward and learning about complex, compound-complex, cumulative, and periodic (the previous blog has many a link to reminders regarding these syntax forms under 5th hour's synopsis). For homework, write 2 sentences for each of the 6 syntax types - be original, clever, thematic, storytelling, or whatever makes this a memorable activity for your classmates.

5: After turning in your sentences, which I will be typing up this afternoon, we reviewed everything about syntax from our presentation Tuesday. From simple to periodic, a plethora of syntax filtered around the circle. Next up on the docket, we practiced punctuation proofing and rules and worked on identifying sentence types. We are in the middle of class as I type this, and it sure looks like you don't have any additional homework for tomorrow. Oh, to be ahead of the other classes.

Syntax Week Begins!

Syntax may not be the most exciting strategy to study, but it does provide a constancy of clauses and identifiable sentence types for analysis. Plus, you no longer are limited to describing sentences as long or short! As per usual, each class is in a different phrase of the class close read and the introduction to syntax week. Do note the links in the following hours to review clauses and punctuation plus provide extra examples and practices beyond what we did in class. If you were absent and do not have a strong grasp of syntax, you need to look at all of the links and garner ethos regarding the clauses, syntax types, and punctuation rules. We did a lot today, and we will do a great deal more with syntax over the next week or so.

Beyond the class variations, we did have one item in common: all classes did take Vocab Quiz 13, which means you have 48 hours to take the quiz or schedule a make-up time.

1: In regards to the class close read, the characterization of that little, out-of-the way town Holcomb, we spent quality time identifying the components of the prompt and then applying this knowledge to the close read of the passage, all of 5 paragraphs, itself. What was quite beneficial to our close read is how you noted the structure of the passage and the perspective of the author's description of the community. For homework, write the most amazing introduction for this prompt - be clever, unique, engaging!

With syntax/clauses/punctuation, our topics of focus were differentiating between independent and dependent clauses https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-10/clauses/lesson-1/what-is-a-clause, recognizing subordinating conjunctions and their part in clauses https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-8/conjunctions-and-interjections/lesson-5/subordinating-conjunctions, finding coordinating conjunctions and knowing their acronym https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-8/conjunctions-and-interjections/lesson-1/coordinate-conjunctions, introducing our first 2 forms of syntax, simple and compound https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-10/clauses/lesson-8/simple-and-compound-sentences, and reviewing the rules for punctuating compound sentenceshttps://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-12/punctuation-end-marks-and-commas/lesson-5/commas-in-compound-sentences. More of this on Thursday!

3: In the middle we are as third hour is finishing up the class close read by turning in an introduction, one body paragraph, and a concluding paragraph for Thursday's class. Feel free to revise your original paragraphs to make them even better for my eyes!

With syntax/clauses/punctuation, we did all of the above listed during first hour plus looked at semicolons and their usage https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-14/additional-punctuation/lesson-2/semicolons.

5: We are at the end of the class close read as you turned in your intro, body paragraph, and conclusion during today's class.

With syntax/clauses/punctuation, we did all of the above listed during first hour and third hour plus the horrifying comma splice, the announcing colons https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-14/additional-punctuation/lesson-3/colons, adverbial conjunctions and their comma needs, syntax types 3 & 4, the complex and compound complex https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-10/clauses/lesson-9/complex-and-compound-complex-sentences, commas in complex sentences https://www.englishgrammar101.com/module-12/punctuation-end-marks-and-commas/lesson-6/commas-in-complex-sentences, and syntax types 5 & 6, cumulative and periodic.

For homework, you will create 2 sentences for each of the 6 sentence types - be creative, be original, make it fun for the rest of us! Make sure to label the sentence types too!