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).