The End of the Semester, Almost

Now that you have finished turning in all of your presents, i.e. your finals and Lucy essays, I will have the holidays to peruse your rhetorical analysis and argumentative abilities. As you may have noted, throughout the semester, you have been practicing skills to help you become a more mature writer: including emphases on diction and vocabulary, thesis statement construction, variegated rhetorical strategies, shifts, and managing ideas in a timed scenario. As this is still a work in progress (remember that crawling analogy?), your strengths are increasing, your weaknesses are fading away, and you are now on the path of fine-tuning all of those skills so that you can walk and run to that AP exam in May. I hope you enjoy your break, and checked out the previous blogs for information regarding the 2 handouts (fallacies and Jacobs prompt) that you picked up on the last day. See you in the New Year!

Finals Competition Winner!

Probably the most exciting part of our final class this semester was the rhetorical toolbox cards competition between the classes, all with the goal of attaining a little extra credit for the final.

Congratulations to third hour - with a time of 6:48 and no mistakes - for their card championship and 10 extra credit points! You will be defending champs when we do this - a lot - during our preparations for the AP exam.

In second place, with a time of 7:52 and 2 mistakes, fourth hour!

In third place, with a time of 9:03 and 2 mistakes, first hour!

Seventh hour was so conscientious about accuracy, that they may have forgotten the timing maximum, and did not have a final time. I would hope this makes you even more inspired next semester!

Happy Holidays! 

Well, Finals in the Path of Mother Nature

I think we all had a few "choice" examples of diction when a second snow day - and the non-adjustment to finals - was announced a few hours ago. While I feel this may cause concern (that shows you care about the class and your evaluation), since the final is a prompt and a toolbox quiz, there is not a brand new review that will directly impact your studying ability. While we may have had time in class to do one more practice prompt and one more toolbox practice, all of the content within those practices have already been taught, practiced, and reviewed throughout the entire semester, especially with the most recent Lucy Logs assignment that caused you to look at purpose (every rhetorical analysis prompt), tone (isn't "shift" the AP buzzword of the year?), and other strategies (hello, a hybrid of syntax and "big kid" terminology).

To update and remind of the plans for the week -

• The Lucy Logs have been completed and many of you went beyond the call of duty on all three rounds of this assignment. Kudos to you for not only prepping for the final but also making your Lucy essays that much easier. Ergo, I have decided to adjust the overall value of the Lucy Logs. Checkpoints 1 & 2 will soon be worth 47 points each, and Checkpoint 3 will be worth 94 points, allowing those of you who scored a 6 on each checkpoint to have a little extra credit. 
• Speaking of Lucy, the Lucy argumentative essay is still due by 11:30 a.m. on Friday. You know the "fine print" deal regarding this essay, so TURN SOMETHING IN! Hopefully, something 6-worthy as well. You may print out the essay after school on Thursday or Friday. And if you need to finish up the writing of the essay, you may do so after school on Friday too. 
• For the final class period, the class agenda will be as follows: class review of rhetorical terms for 10 minutes maximum (well worth your while to be on time), toolbox portion of the final for 15 minutes (there will be a perk involved that will hopefully help all of you), rhetorical analysis essay prompt for remainder of final time, which will allow extended time for any of you who will need it. 
• While we don't need that review rhetorical analysis passage, I really like it! So, I will have it for pick-up after the final for an extra credit close reading, thesis statement with all strategies, and 1 body paragraph over the holiday break. If you choose to do so, you will share your thesis statement and 1 body paragraph by Sunday, January 5, at 11:00 p.m. Please indicate whether you would like your extra credit to be given to the Classwork, the Performance, or the Final category. If you don't tell me, you won't be given any of the extra credit. 
• I will also have the fallacy packet for you, which you need to read and have an understanding of the fallacies by our second day back to school (currently January 8). 
• If anything else comes up, I will update the blog or e-mail you directly. 

Monday or Not Monday

As we await Mother Nature's winter plans for Monday, today's classes were dedicated to either finishing up our Lucy discussion, going over the Lucy argument essay, and assigning claim and counterclaim for Monday (1,3) OR reviewing counterclaims and rebuttals through a holiday themed "essay" on the board, going over the Lucy argument essay, and assigning the reading of the Suellen article (4) OR discussing the Suellen article and having work time on your Lucy argument essay (7). Next week will be reviews for the final (rhetorical analysis prompt and toolbox quiz), and the Lucy essay due.

Counterclaiming and Rebutting

1, 3, 7  - We reviewed counterclaim and rebuttals and how to structure a non-timed argumentative prompt via holiday topics on the board. As noted, the counterclaim is NOT the opposite position to the claim; it is a secondary claim that is feasible and defendable via evidence. Furthermore, the rebuttal indicates the counterclaim's validity while returning back to the original claim's better position. All of this is destined for the Lucy argument, which all of you have. First and third hour will go over this assignment tomorrow. In addition, read Suellen Grealy's essay regarding Truth & Beauty and Lucy's memory to add one more point of view to the Lucy Grealy persona.

4 - We spent the hour on the Educator of the Year essays, which means we will be busy bees regarding the review of everything mentioned in the previous hours' agenda.

Nominating Arguments & Plots

In all classes today, we were involved in an argumentative form. In first and third hour, you had to write your nominating essay for educator or employee of the year. If you have not had it checked by me - and remember it is only 3-4 paragraphs to convey how this person has impacted your personally and school-wide - you have 2 options: if you intend to nominate this person, then you will need to share it with me prior to the deadline and add a message on what you want me to do to help you with this nominating essay; if you do not intend to nominate, then show me the essay during the first 20 minutes of class on Thursday. For fourth hour, we reviewed claim, evidence, and warrant - in a very expedited fashion to set-up the educator/employee argument that you will be working on in class tomorrow. Since we are on a deadline with this essay, you are more than welcome to work on this tonight or at least have an outline and plan ready to go. For seventh hour, you had the time to finish the essay and receive evaluation.

And since I did this for AP Lit (and it is partially on the board as well), here is the plot for the next 2 weeks of school and our return from break. Fourth hour is a tad behind, but they shall catch up at some point:

December 11/12, 13 - Any remaining first draft arguments, either Lucy Discussion or counterclaim/rebuttal review/or both, Suellen article, Lucy argument, receive second semester materials

December 16 - Prompt Review for Final

December 17 - Toolbox Review and Cards for Final

December 18 or 19 - Final

December 20 - Last Day to turn in Lucy Argument

Second Semester:
*Will include vocabulary, allusion posters, and tone paragraphs & multiple choice at some point

January 7 - Review final
January 8 & 9 - Fallacy Fun
January 10 - Start Modes of Discourse

The Very Expedited Review of Argumentation

Fortunately for all of us, you have a past in argumentation with claims, evidence, and warrants. Why is that a happy moment for AP Langers? Unfortunately for us, we are working a deadline for our first argumentative essay, the Educator/Employee of the Year argument. So, in class, except for fourth hour who finished the Q & O rounds, we had the review of claims, evidence, and warrants. (If you're thinking, wow, that was a fast review, don't worry, we will have more opportunities to focus on these parts of argument in the upcoming week.) Here are the 2 websites that I had on the projector today: Vanderbilt Claim & OWL Argumentation.

For those of you starting the Teacher of the Year essay outside of class, I have 2 recommendations for the organization.

Option 1:
Paragraph 1 - hook (with anecdote, analogy, something) and claim, the introduction
Paragraph 2 - body paragraph 1 with evidence relating to either the personal experience or the whole school experience
Paragraph 3 - body paragraph 2 with evidence relating to either the personal experience or the whole school experience, i.e. the opposite of what you did in the last paragraph and then add a concluding sentence to the essay.

Option 2:
Same as above but have a fourth paragraph for a full conclusion and a possible return to the hook.

Whatever the case, make sure to bring in specific examples and terminology from the class to make your essay that much more specific.

First hour, at this point, knows the gist of the "Year" argument and will begin writing the essay tomorrow. If you want to start that this evening, go for it!

Third hour, at this point, knows that they will starting the "Year" argument tomorrow, but we have yet to go over the background and suggestions for organization, which will happen at the start of class tomorrow.

Fourth hour, at this point, has not started the argumentative review until tomorrow.

Seventh hour, at this point, has ideas for organizing the essay and has started the writing process.

Presentations, The End, Almost

Since I usually write the blog around fifth hour, I did not have the chance to laud my favorite skit of the 2019 presentations: the Challenger skit from 7th hour. As someone who watched this tragedy unfold live on a television screen, it was remarkable to watch a dramatic representation of a substitute teacher playing the live feed of the Challenger's ascent to the students of the late Christa McAuliffe's class. The excitement, the pride of those students watching their pioneering teacher go into space and its turn into confusion, fear, and ultimate heartbreak at the explosion and loss of their hero was the best way to provide pathos and to remind that the loss was beyond just those souls on board. The loss to the families and friends and those who counted on the astronauts as providers, leaders, and lovers would be decimating. Thank you, Blake, Nikki, Will, and Brendan for making this a stunning pathos-filled event that made two generations (mine and yours) part of your presentation.

In class updates, first hour is finished and starting on argumentation, especially looking at how a claim should be not obvious, engaging, specific, logical, debatable, and hypotactic. We will play more with claims and its friends evidence and warrant next week. Your homework assignment is to decide whom you would like to nominate for teacher or employee of the year.

Third hour has completed the presentation cycle and will start argumentation on Monday. Homework is to determine whom you would like to nominate for teacher or employee of the year.

Fourth hour, at the hands of scheduling fate this week, will finish up the last 2 rounds of q & o on Monday followed by a sudden turn into argumentation. As with the other hours, make sure to know whom you will be nominating for teacher or employee of the year.

Seventh hour is working on sample arguments after reviewing evidence and warrants and will start the teacher/employee of the year argument on Monday.

Presentations Day 3 & 4

When presenting an issue, one that the average high schooler most likely does not have any ethos on, the performance of starfish succumbing to an eventual end, the advertisement to disconnect from the physical and emotional effects of technology with humorous and relatable exemplification, the high school classroom milieu depicting who cares about marine life and who represents a possibly unaffected middle of the country point of view, the people left behind after terrorists decimate their homes, families, and overall peace, and the difficult perspective of a sensory sensitive student attempting to succeed when everything around him distracts his ultimate purpose. When groups gravitated to the performance aspect, and not just a visual artifact, the audience becomes engaged, decides true compassion to the cause, and brings your presentation of pathos-inspired topics to the epitome of interest. 

First hour and third hours have finished their presentations. We still have question & observation rounds left to go.

Fourth hour has one presentation remaining plus question & observation rounds.

Seventh hour should be completely finished with the presentations and everything related to this assessment. We should be starting our review of argumentation by looking at claim, evidence, and warrant, all with the aim of your eventual writing of the teacher/employee of the year essay.

Presentation Day 2

Another day of informative, engaging, creative, and musically surprising presentations. From a look at autism in first and seventh hours, highlighting the first person overwhelming sensory world of Carly (yep, had to hold back the tears on that on), grating sound effects, hurtful lighting, the third person teacher, parent, and experts attempting to understand and aid the education of any child on the spectrum, and the need for more awareness from all demographics, especially those surrounded by people of all backgrounds in the everyday school scenario of classroom, hallway, and travel from transportation to the school door and back again. (Fourth hour finished up the q & o  on this topic as well, and the echo is all of the classes was what the high school student could do to further elucidate the autistic world for those not in daily contact with its unique talents and hardships.) Third hour upped the ante with the skit portion of this presentation, featuring a song parody of "Can't Help Falling in Love" - with ukulele in support - telling the story of two friendly starfish sadly losing their battle against the wasting disease. Their St. Louis Aquarium skit (topical with it opening shortly) teaching visitors about starfish and making middle America high schoolers cognizant of what is happening beneath the surface of the still mysterious and miraculous ocean. Furthering our starfish saga would be fourth hour's look at the disintegration of these beautiful creatures and their analogies helping us to understand how this disease would impact a human and exemplifying the harrowing step-by-step loss of each starfish, personalizing a considered "slimy" object into something of utmost importance.

If you can't tell, these presentations are an incredible boon for your own ethos - your topic and the ones you will hear from your classmates - and the eventual argumentation essays populating second semester.

Tomorrow will continue forward with presentations (1, 3, 7) and/or questions and observations (4).

And, this is the last 2 days of Lucy Logs, with the evaluation either T&B 17-18 with the entirety of Autobiography of a Face or T& B 3-18. For all of you putting in the effort in the identification of purpose, characterization, tone, and "other" strategies, this will serve you well for two reasons: you have spent a considerable time improving your rhetorical analysis (purpose & strategies), which will be a lovely review for the final, and you have all of your notes, evidence, and analysis ready for our eventual prompt on Lucy. If you haven't been keeping up to date with your Lucy logs, cramming enough notes and work will help you with the eventual essay and accruing needed points, especially if your grade currently rhymes with bail, hail, jail, kale, mail, nail, pail, quail, rail, sail, tail, veil, Yale. It will even help those of you with higher aspirations to maintain or ascend to a grade that rhymes with bay, day, hay, jay, May, nay, pay, ray, say, way. If you can't tell we are doing poetry and breaking down rhyme schemes in AP Lit, I don't know what further examples can prove that to you!

Busy 3 weeks left in AP Lang, and if you stay the course and put on paper all that you have learned from diction, syntax, purpose, strategies, and writing prowess, imagine what the final result will be. 

Presentation Day 1

What makes these presentations so fascinating as an audience member is the differentiation of techniques, visual artifacts, skits, and pathos-inducing emotion. We had two astronauts about to enter the great adventure of space without the knowledge of the explosion and loss of lift about to happen, we had a trial of a terrorist with an interactive jury ("lock him up"), and we had a voluntary group guesstimate the truth about autism. In the midst of all of these moments were the facts, the survey data, the background of what makes these topics engaging and provides you with ethos on more topics for future argumentative prompts.

In first hour, we will finish with our last questions on space tomorrow. If you were absent, you will still need to have a question or observation about space to contribute (and if you missed the presentation, you probably have questions!). Second presentation will follow.

In third hour, we completed the first presentation and the question and observation portion. Second presentation starts first thing tomorrow.

In fourth hour, we will finish our questions and answers on autism education. The second presentation will follow.

In seventh hour, due to our truncated class time and picture schedule, will start presentations tomorrow.

Prep Day 3

The plot for our return to school involves the 5 (or 2 in seventh hour) group rhetorical appeals presentations on our topics of Boko Haram, Autistic Education, Space, Malala & Girls' Education, Disconnection, and Starfish Wasting Disease. From what I have eavesdropped in class, it sounds like we have some engaging and informative skits, a slew of data from your own questions, and a lot of general excitement regarding teaching your classmates (and your professor) your topic! The December 2 schedule, if you haven't heard, is a quirky one, so we will attempt to keep to our planned schedule next week. Happy Thanksgiving, my Langers!

P.S. And don't forget to include Lucy and/or Ann in your Thanksgiving plans!

Prep Day 2

Since there's not much to say about our preparation days, let's make this blog about the Lucy logs and the kudos for those of you who have been over-analyzing the purpose, the characterization, the tone, and the other rhetorical strategies floating within the pages of Autobiography of a Face and Truth & Beauty. These logs are to help review rhetorical analysis and give you a venue to further practice your writing of such a discipline. These logs are to help you have evidence and analysis at your fingertips for our future essay next month. If you are putting in the effort now, you will have great dividends for the essay and the final. Just reading over the logs, most of you already have all the parts for the essay (sorry, not telling you the prompt yet) and will just need to pick and choose from your work. That should be a gratifying feeling and motivation to continue your work for the last half of the assignment. If you have not been fulfilling the assignment in content matters, you still have the last half of the logs to complete, and you still have the gist of purpose, characterization, tone, and strategies, which will help you write the essay as well. Every task is to give you more confidence in analyzing texts and writing rhetorical analysis, so make sure you wrap up our memoirs and logs and have them ready for next week's last deadline.

Prepping Days Begin

Before our first of three days of preparation for our rhetorical appeals presentation, we had the district MC assessment to complete. If you were not present for this brief assessment, you will be making this up during class next week.

Birds, Boxes, and Pathos!

In all classes, we completed the "birds" box prompt for the Shelley and Keats passages, which means any absentees will need to complete this task solo. Ask for the handout to complete a.s.a.p.

Following our completion of our tone work, we jumped into the world of pathos (with a little ethos and logos to help establish such) with your rhetorical appeals group presentation! With your group topic, you will be crafting a survey, researching, making a visual artifact, and creating a performance piece to engage the audience and encourage an emotional reaction from them! Absentees have been "adopted" into groups, so don't worry about being left out of this educational experience.

After our district assessment tomorrow, you will be prepping, plotting, planning, and probably a lot of other alliterative words for this presentation!

The Birds Part II

Light and dark, hopeful happiness or dejected despair, stunted ideas, or inspired imagination, all descriptors of our "Nightingale" and how Keats created a variegated tone and strategies to define his conflicts in a state of perpetual philosophical crux. At this point, you have both the Skylark and Nightingale poems ready for writing, which you will be doing in the form of a group box prompt next time around.

Since time was not conducive today for the box prompt, we fast-forwarded to pathos, noting the emotional reactions of photographs and advertisements. This was not just for fun or to balance the seriousness of Shelley & Keats, it was to put you into the mindset of a presenter and how to create pathos in your audience. I guess that means you will be working on that task very shortly! Looking forward to this year's rhetorical appeals presentations. AP Lang has had some memorable, interactive presentations in the past that I'm sure will be challenged by your creativity!

The Birds Part I

Time for the earnest part of the blog: we are currently at mid-term, the time when tone phases out into pathos, the Lucy Logs enter phase two, the advent of argumentation about to return to your writing assignments. With that in mind, some of you are experience a bit of a regression - not in ability, but in turning in your work and preparing for class. As this is a college class, supported by UMSL, MOBAP, and the College Board, you are expected to complete higher-level work, put effort into your writings and projects, and continue to participate in our activities. If you are one of those who has not put in the effort that you could be at this point, you don't have to fear - we have quite a bit of work on the docket that can balance out any previous faults. That work includes a team box prompt (tomorrow, probably), a group rhetorical appeals presentation, and 2 argumentative essays. While the past is set, the present and future is not, so actively take a role in improving your work and your participation in AP Lang.

Phew - let's return to the fun stuff - wait, did I just set up Shelley as fun? In all hours, we completed our paraphrases, tone identification, and rhetorical strategy  notes on "To a Skylark." During tomorrow's class, you will be doing the exact same with "Ode to a Nightingale." If absent, prep stanza 8 of the text for your participation.

Toning Up

Today was the look-see at our last tone maps for Richard Cory and Miniver Cheevy, in which you had the opportunity to share your work with a classmate and discuss the overlapping features of two poems with two different speakers, two different characters, and a plethora of tone shifts. Afterwards, we started our work with " To a Skylark," looking at its meaning, its tones, and its rhetorical strategies. While students in class had specific stanzas to analyze for the aforementioned components, any students not physically in the class will be responsible for the overall summation of tones and rhetorical strategies.

On a side note, those of you are continuing to prepare for class, come in ready to share and analyze, pre-read selections and have knowledge about allusions and vocabulary, are truly embracing this college-level course and its expectations, and I send kudos to your regarding your effort and motivation. For the select few who are not keeping up with their preparations, you definitely want to take a step up in your efforts so that you are better ready for the AP exam day.

EAR

1,3,4,7: After the completion of the team tone maps for "The Children's Hour," we read "Richard Cory" and "Miniver Cheevy" by Edwin Arlington Robinson, or EAR as I like to reference him (please don't write EAR as the author's name in your analysis:) ). Both of these poems are widely available online, so never fear that you need a hard copy to be caught up in class. For tomorrow, you have one of these poems assigned to your for an individual tone map, you will be noting shifts by lines (such as we did with the "Chicago" sample in class), and finalizing the map and analytical paragraph for class. Ben, you have "Miniver Cheevy,"  and John, since we have an odd number in your class, you can chose either of the poems to do.

P.S. Don't forget to read "To a Skylark" and "Ode to a Nightingale" so that you understand the ideas of the text, know any vocabulary not in your ethos-level, and can recognize the allusions present in the texts. And, as with all of our "Nest Loved Poems," you can find all of these pinnacles of literary merit online, so need to wait for any readings.

Tone Map #2

To be forthright, we complete only 3 tone maps for our tone unit, which means that we are 2/3 through our work with the visualization of tone shifts throughout a text. You are always welcome to continue with tone maps to help you with your understanding of a passage or develop analysis for class in the future.

1 & 3: You completed "The Children's Hour" tone maps, and we read through all of your analyses to hear a variety of ways that tone can be identified and interpreted in the grand scheme of Longfellow's purpose. Tomorrow will be two new poems and then Friday will be the Skylark & Nightingale, Shelley and Keats, respectively, which you should pre-read and prepare with any notes regarding allusions, symbols, or anything else you might not know now but would want to know for class.

4: We are almost finished with "The Children's Hour" tone maps as we read through the samples that you created of tone analysis. Once that is complete, we will move to the individual tone map portion with 2 new poems tomorrow.

7: Hopefully, you are in the same place as fourth hour :)

The Children's Hour

We continue forward with our tone mapping, an exercise to help visualize the tone shifts, large or small, with "The Children's Hour" by Longfellow, which you can find online.

In first and third hour, you are in process of the last part of the tone map, the analytical paragraph focused on one pattern in the map and how this connects to the overall text. If you were absent, you should create a tone map for "The Children's Hour," which  may be completed on notebook paper and compose the analytical paragraph for next class.

In fourth hour, you are also in the process of the tone map and the transition into the analysis of it in a paragraph form. If absent, you should complete the tone map portion for "The Children's Hour."

In seventh hour, we read "The Children's Hour" to have a sense of the poem. Due to the assembly and the loss of some students, we will probably be in the process of identifying each stanza's tone. So, if absent, you should prep those tone words for each stanza.

Mapping

Normally, I take pictures of my current classes' tone maps, but my phone is full of an 8-month-old cherub that I selfishly have decided not to delete and replace with tone mappage (not a word, but I want it to be one). Ergo, you have an above example (fifth hour of last year) of what a tone map should be and how it can be utilized for analysis.

A tone map starts with the text, the identification of tone shifts throughout the text, the selection of a tone adjective to describe the tone of each section, the the determination of a range, or two words that encompass all of the tones, the plotting of tones in relation to the range tone words, the connecting of dots, and, finally, the delineation of the patterns inherent in the tone map. As always, jingoism is a popular one for "Chicago," the poem that we completed together as a class.

In first and third hour, we also started our next round of tone mapping by reading "The Children's Hour" by Longfellow and breaking up into partners to identify each stanza's tone. If absent, you should prepare the same tone adjectives for each stanza so that you  may join a group next class.

In four hour, we finished our class tone map and will await our next passage on Monday.

In seventh hour, we looked at our "big kid" tone list, highlighting some of our favorite words for future tone needs. We then moved onto the "Chicago" class tone map.

Team Tones

1,3,4: We continued our tone work with the umbrella tone list and groups crafting conversations in which your classmates had to identify the shifts in positive, negative, humor, sorrow, and neutral language. To wrap up class, we looked at the "big kid" tone list and some of the more fascinating adjectives to describe tone like my personal favorite, jingoistic. 

7: We started our tone work with identifying various tones shifts and then moved into the same content as the previous hours. 

Toning Up

Our diction work - in class - is over, which means it's time for your assessment prompt: Analyze how John Keats' diction reflects his mentality and purpose in his letters to Fanny Brawne. Handwritten or typed, with page numbers for citations, this is due by 3 p.m. on Monday (remember if absent all day, you will need to share or photo and send to me by the given time as evidence of your completion of the assignment).

To wrap up class, we began our look at tone by breaking down major shifts of bilious, scintillating, surprised, apathetic, and lachrymose.

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 11 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 two years ago and two clocks last year and no poems! Photo below - you can tell which had a little more effort than others. 

Keats Letters - In Diction Depth

After all the background of Keats last week, in poetry and in biography, you now have the opportunity to analyze his diction and purposes as his letters progress from the beginning of his romance to the separation from Fanny to his eventual last words to her. In all classes, you have a group and a letter to break down into the many types of diction and purposes.

And, because it is part of a teacher's life to repeat everything a plethora of times, November 6 is the due date for the first round of the Lucy logs, with the deadline window for full credit between November 6-8, depending on the needs of extended time, extensions, and, hopefully not but probably the case for some, procrastination issues.

1: We have 3 letters presented and will finish the remainder of next class.

3: We started off with the vocab quiz and then worked with the letters. If absent, prep notes for letter 24, and you will be joining that group next class. We have presented three letters thus far.

4: We have 4 letters presented and will finish next time around. Purplue! If absent, prep notes for letter 24.

7: We are in preparation mode with the letters of Keats, dividing our class into two and each group having two of the letters to analyze for diction and purpose. Will, you are in the group with letters 4 & 37, so prep those and be ready for Wednesday.

A Keats Day

Every hour was Keats-related today, so I was in my happy place, sharing all the details of his juxtaposed life of happiness, nature, and love with tragedy, illness, and suffering. Hence, his poetry is a mixture of the aforementioned themes, motifs, and purposes. At this point, all classes have read through "Ode on a Grecian Urn" and its call to understand balance, heard a basic biography of his life, and received a copy of the letters that we will be analyzing on Monday - with the assignment to close read the first one in preparation.

Happy Birthday, Keatsy!

1 & 3: After vocab work, we headed into poetry to read a few selections by Thomas Gray, Percy Shelley, and my beloved John Keats (by the way, links to these poems can be found under fourth hour's agenda from yesterday). In all cases, we worked with describing diction, identifying the overall purpose, and creating thesis statements. And since you are in the mood for all things Keats (or at least you are forced to be), our next class will be all about him! Biography, photos of his home, and his letters to Fanny!

Autumn & The Poets

4: We spent the hour with diction and thesis statements: the autumn diction quotes, Thomas Gray's "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat", Percy Shelley's "Ozymandias", and that start of my beloved Keatsy's "Ode on a Grecian Urn"(the first two stanzas). We will resume our Keatsian love affair, oh, wait, that's my love affair, on Friday with the completion of the "Urn" and its thesis statement, a bio of my darling, vacation photos, and the letters that best represent the love and melancholic end of Keats as he suffered to his premature death.

P.S. I would share your amazing thesis statement from today, but I don't want to give ideas to the other classes :)

Your Weekly Lucy Logs Reminder

Don't forget that the first checkpoint (4 sections of your chosen memoir) of the Lucy Logs is next Wednesday, November 6. While this is the initial due date, you still have a deadline window of November 6-8, which will include all students with extensions, additional time concerns, or procrastination issues, for full points on the assignment. If you haven't started your reading and logs yet, that would put you at approximately 2 days per section at this point in time.

Family Bonding Diction

After vocab experts, we spent our time with diction! On the floor! Bonding like a family to create the perfect thesis statements with the perfect adjectives and the perfect verbs! Total redundancy, yes, but it does keep us focusing on how important words are to creating a sophisticated voice!

Here are the quotes from today & a bit from yesterday too:

"Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered." - Marilyn Monroe

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing." - Agatha Christie

"To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. Money is the gravy." - Bette Davis

"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson

Here are some thesis highlights: 

MM expresses cumbersome, relatable diction to portray what it's like to be a paradigm of the female gender. 
MM dramatizes exploited, defeated diction to magnify the struggles concerning her public image. 
MM expresses burdensome, oppressive diction to expose the realistic nature of fame. 
MM reveals damaged, resigned diction to expose the hardships of being a sex symbol. 

AC employs passionate yet conflicting diction to illuminate life's pendulum of emotions.
AC stresses appreciative, troubled diction to juxtapose the prosperity and adversity of life. 
AC expresses distraught, replenishing diction to juxtapose the conflicting perceptions pertaining to life. 
AC demonstrates solemn, empirical diction to reflect her appreciate on life through strife. 

BD exemplifies driven, motivational diction to inspire a true passion for a craft. 
BD manifests metaphoric, insightful diction to inspire life's true aspirations.

Tommy J illustrates forthright, revolutionary diction to aggrandize the sacrificial costs of liberty.
Tommy J encourages patriotic, brutally honest diction to foment feelings of nationalism. 
Tommy J foments nationalistic, liberating diction to propagate the fighting for liberty. 

All the above samples recognize the necessity of mature, specific, engaging, and clever word choice in your thesis and throughout your writing! We are starting to gravitate towards different active verbs, purposes, and diction adjectives, which can only benefit your own writing and analysis on forthcoming assignments. 

7: Since we were so successful with our thesis statements from yesterday, we jumped right into our group diction quotes, analyzing the words and purpose to create the perfect thesis statements. If absent, you have a quote under the other hours to prepare with close reading and thesis. Meanwhile, we, in theory, in hope, in projected planning, started with more poems to analyze for diction, such as Thomas Gray's "Cat" poem, which can be found here: "Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat".

1,3,4: At the end of class, you had your group diction quote to read, paraphrase, circle key words, and formulate a thesis statement. You will be teaching the class about your quote and all of the above next time. If absent, never fear, you will have something to contribute. Here is your quote to prepare: 

“That country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay. That country composed in the main of cellars, sub-cellars, coal-bins, closets, attics, and pantries faced away from the sun. That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain.”  -  Ray Bradbury

Diction and Perfecting the Thesis Statement

Now that syntax is in the rearview mirror, diction takes center stage in AP Lang for the next week or so. For all of you wondering exactly how we will expand our diction analysis, it begins with finding patterns of diction (words of similar ilk, pattern, or repetition) and shifts of diction (notable or subtle), it follows with identifying types of diction with specific, expressive language (not positive, negative, happy, sad), and then you construct stunning, astounding thesis statements expressing those magnificent active verbs and mature purposes.

Something, perhaps, akin to CR embeds fruitful, celebratory diction to elucidate her maternal joy (thank you, first hour).

Diction, as a topic, for the majority of you, is classified in the easy category of rhetorical analysis. However, your presentation of diction and the aforementioned needs of a strong thesis statement can make diction an upper-level strategy calling for that sophistication point!

As for the agenda today, we started off with vocab experts, had the second toolbox quiz (1,3,4), and looked at "A Birthday" by Christina Rossetti to establish diction patterns, diction adjectives, and purposes.

Seventh hour had the pleasure of starting our diction quotes work, which will continue tomorrow.

The Alcott Share

Today's class centered on sharing the introductions and body paragraphs resulting from the Alcott prompt. As this writing composed the entirety of the hour, we will be starting our diction work on Monday.

And since you have your Lucy text and log assignment, you do have something to work on for AP Lang too.

P.S. Seventh hour also took a second toolbox quiz, so any absentees will need to schedule a time for making up this assessment.

Grealy & Alcott

After vocab experts, I had the opportunity to finish the official assignment of the Lucy Grealy memoirs and assigned log, which you will be working on until December 5 (or earlier, if you happen to not procrastinate this assignment). At this point, you have your first memoir and can start the process of reading and analyzing. While the first deadline window is not until November, that is still only 2 weeks away, so stick with it!

Our main course today was our first team close read, featuring the Alcott package and its perspective of nursing and patient in the Civil War. From your classmates detailed close reading skills, you have a plethora of rhetorical strategies to help explicate the purpose of the passage. With your close reading team, you have a team thesis and rhetorical strategy paragraphs to write for the start of next class. If absent, you will have this passage next time and will be completing the assignment solo.

All in the Same Place

Someway and somehow, all the AP Lang classes are on the same agenda! First up was our syntax quest, the last assessment of our syntax unit. Second up was a look at your Orenstein prompts. Third up was vocab (for some of the hours). Fourth up was the Grealy assignment. We didn't have a chance to go over this completely in class; however, you should take a preview read so you have the background regarding its content.

Twas the Night Before the Last Day of Syntax

O.k., technically, syntax will never go away. You have all of those options in your future prompts, our next team close read (coming up quite soon, actually), and your life of writing sentences. However, our emphasis, our daily clause-laden agenda, will now transfer to diction then tone then pathos then fallacies and then argument - or at least that is the plan. Before all of that goes down, you have your syntax quest tomorrow.

1,4,7: Completed and shared the Welty prompt thesis statements and boxes reviewed for the syntax quest, and copied down unit 15 vocab.

4: Same as first and third hour. However, you also received your Orenstein prompts back.

The Group Syntax Prompt

1,4,7: The hour was dedicated to the Welty prompt via summation of the text experience, the identification of story shifts, the recognition of syntactical strategies, and the unification of such to note the patterns of syntax reflecting her storyline. At this point, your groups have a team thesis and a box chart containing 2-3 syntax types, a specific purpose for each, and the evidence for that syntax. Any absentees will need to complete the previous sentence's assignment for Monday.

3: After finishing the fourth hour syntax handout (controversies!), we began the Welty prompt by summing up the text, identifying story shifts, recognizing syntax, and composing a team thesis statement. If you were absent you should close read the text for syntax and compose a thesis statement prior to our conclusion of the assignment during Monday's class.

When Polysyndeton and Syntax Collide

1, 4, 7: We read the passage from The Reader, which offered us a great deal of syntactical markers - simple, telegraphic, cumulative, polysyndeton, anaphora - plus some considerable analysis on pronoun shifts that were quite telling in the purposeful motion between objective and subjective voice. (Kudos to Caylee for bringing up that a would-be compound sentence was in 2 parts, adding to the devolving of the author's syntax with the advent of Hanna's verdict - and how that lead to our discussion of ending in fragments!). After such a reminder that you should know your syntax and be able to identify it, we looked over the fourth hour syntax handout - and its more controversial syntactical examples! Tomorrow will involve our last syntax prompt practice and then that will lead to our syntax review and syntax quest. Phew!

3: Same as first and fourth hour regarding the reading passage. However, in the syntax packets, we finished the 1/7 hour version, and you have fourth hour's for homework this evening.

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So, if you are looking to add something to your college resume, improve your knowledge for a multitude of AP classes (my former SQ and Lang/Lit students have mentioned how much SQ knowledge has helped them with argumentative essays, literary knowledge, and retaining information), 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.

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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 B (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.

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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 sheet (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 Mathew Bessette, our Captain of Representative Leadership Elsa Linson, or any team members. And, thank you for reading about our Scholar Quiz team. This is my eleventh 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 - yep, all real historical events. 

Ditto

Due to PSAT testing, our classes today were either card game review (1,3,4) or syntax handout from fourth hour (7). We will resume our syndetons and syntax next class, so be prepared with all of your handouts and readings!

The Syndetons & the Syntax

1 & 4: After our vocab quiz for unit 14, we checked the remainder of the first/seventh hour syntax practice, looked at polysyndeton and asyndeton, and passed out several handouts for the next couple of days. The fourth hour syntax handout will need to be completed for Thursday, and you will need to read (not close read) the syntax prompt for Thursday too.

7: Same content during the hour. However, the homework is a little different for you - complete the first 2 pages of the fourth hour syntax for Wednesday, the third page for Thursday, and the syntax prompt reading for Thursday.

3: After finishing up vocab experts, we checked page two of the syntax handout, looked at polysyndeton and asyndeton, and passed out a couple handouts for our upcoming classes. On Thursday, you will have your vocab quiz, go over the last two pages of first/seventh hour syntax handout, and have read (not close read) the syntax prompt.

Surprise! Well, Not Really

As you may have inferred from my implications yesterday, today's class was all about the prompt for Cindy Syntax. As I watch first hour jump right into the writing process, it looks like my hints were read quite well.

Don't forget on Tuesday you have a vocab quiz and the rest of the syntax packet (1,4,7) or vocab experts and page 2 of the syntax packet (3). We will be working with the syndetons, more syntax practices courtesy of fourth hour, a team syntax prompt, and, eventually, a syntax quiz courtesy of third hour's creative writing.

Cindy & Her Syntax

4: After going over the second page of the syntax handout (yes, compound sentences can have - shockingly - three independent clauses), the majority of class focused on the excerpt from Cinderella Ate My Daughter, including sharing of purposes for the reading from last evening, identifying all the sentence types in the text, and concluding the overall purpose and syntactical patterns in the passage. If absent, you are expected to have completed the aforementioned purposes and syntax identification on your own for next class as you will need your passage, with any notes that you have, for our Friday work. For Tuesday's class, we will have the vocab quiz for unit 4 and check your answers for the last 2 pages of the syntax handout - highlighting optional at this point, though highly recommended if you are struggling with syntax of find a difficult selection.

1: Same as fourth hour.

3: After going over the first page of the syntax handout (with reminders to note an independent-dependent clause combo as complex and not as a simple sentence), we spent the rest of class on Cinderella Ate My Daughter, including the purposes from the remainder of the reading sections, identifying all of the sentence types in the text, and concluding with overall purpose and syntactical patterns in the passage. If absent, as note in first hour, you are expected to have completed the aforementioned purposes and syntax identification on your own for next class. You will need this passage and all of your notes for Friday's work. For Tuesday's class, you will highlight the second page of the syntax handout and identify the types of syntax and resume with vocab experts.

7: Same as fourth and first hour.

Cindy & Her Purpose

While Cinderella is part of the princess culture and part of Orenstein's title regarding her deep dive into gender roles and their impact of young girls (and boys by connection), the actual character of Cinderella does not play much of a part in our look at the purpose, the why Orenstein writes her first chapter in "chunks" of ethos, exemplification, juxtaposition, and other methodology to convey the confusing realm of parenthood and its myriad of decisions that impact a child forever. Wow - that was a long sentence! In all classes, we started the process of identifying the purposes of the text, and each individual class has their assignment of the remaining text for purpose work. Make sure you have those purposes identified and ready to share. And if you were absent today, you should pick up a copy of the text a.s.a.p. to catch up on those purposes before your next class period.

1 & 4: We finished up vocab, which means review is next. Since the quarter is ending, we may just have the quiz after the review, but that will all depend on finishing up the second page of the syntax handout (with highlighting and identifying the types) and Cinderella Ate My Daughter, both of which are for homework. Can we top "to aggrandize" as a purpose infinitive?

3: We added to our vocab and practiced highlighting the various clauses and identifying the syntax types before our foray into Cinderella Ate My Daughter, which is reading for this evening along with the first page of the syntax handout.

7: We reviewed vocab, which means the quiz will be in the near future. After checking out how you did with identifying clauses and syntax on the second page of the handout, we commenced our look at Cinderella Ate My Daughter. Make sure to finish up identifying the purposes of our Cindy excerpt and complete the third page of the syntax handout.

Yep, Still Syntaxing (That's Probably Not a Verb)

1 & 4: After vocab experts, we reviewed our syntax types and our 11 modes of discourse to prepare for our look at cumulative and periodic sentences and their clauses' purposes and to resume the identification of clauses via highlighting/underlining to ascertain what type of sentence we have on the projector or the page. Finish up page 1 of your 1st & 7th hour syntax - we will go over those tomorrow and then move into a reading selection that will ultimately crescendo into a syntactical analysis.

3: After vocab experts, you now have all 6 types of syntax, and your mission is to compose 2 sentences for each type  - hopefully sentences with a little panache and memorability. In addition, make sure you know the 11 modes of discourse.

7: After vocab work, we looked at the breakdown of cumulative and periodic sentences, and then worked with highlighting clauses on the 1st and 7th hour syntax handout. An educated guesstimate (oxymoron?) would be that we will finish page 1 in class, and you will have page 2 for homework.

The Sentences of the AP Exam

In all classes, we are in the midst of vocab, syntactical work, and motivational speeches regarding why it would behoove you to take the AP Lang exam. I may have given you a couple corny analogies, but the last one, the idea of learning to crawl and then moving forward into walking and running should be the one that sticks with you on your journey through a class and life, for that matter.

1: We finished the presentation regarding the AP exam and will resume syntax on Monday. Make sure you know the 11 modes of discourse.

3: We continued forward with syntax and punctuation, completing a practice handout.

4: We finished our 6 types of syntax and you have some sentence writing to do: compose 2 original sentences for each of the types of syntax (simple, compound, complex, c/c, cumulative, periodic) - be creative!

7: We reviewed vocab, syntax, and modes of discourse.

Syntax City

We're all at different stages of syntax and vocabulary! You can find the agenda and specifics of our block day below:

1: After vocab experts, we resumed our syntactical work with compound sentence punctuation, semicolons, colons, and transitional punctuation, complex sentence examples and rules, a punctuation practice handout to ascertain that we all are on the right track with our mechanical understanding of writing, compound-complex sentences, cumulative sentences, and periodic sentences. For homework, you are to write 2 original examples for each of the 6 types of syntax: simple, compound, complex, c/c, cumulative, and periodic. To end the hour, we looked at the 3 prompt styles for the AP exam, and that is where we will resume.

3: After our completion of the Capote prompts and feedback, you copied down vocab unit 14 with the intention of starting class, and then delved into the world of syntax: the differentiation of independent and dependent clauses, subordinating conjunctions, simple sentences, coordinating conjunctions, compound sentences and its punctuation rules, semicolons, colons, transitional punctuation rules, and complex sentences. A lot more to come tomorrow.

4: After vocab experts, we did a lot of syntactical review - and typing this is starting to feel a bit redundant - the differentiation of independent and dependent clauses, subordinating conjunctions, simple sentences, coordinating conjunctions, compound sentences and its punctuation rules, semicolons, colons, transitional punctuation rules, and complex sentences and its punctuation rules, and a practice handout to check our comprehension of punctuation. We will resume tomorrow with the remaining syntactical types.

7: After vocab, we checked your punctuation review handout, introduced the last 3 syntax types of compound-complex, cumulative, and periodic, presented the reasons why it would behoove you to take the AP exam, took breaks with a dancing llama, returned to syntax to identify clauses and sentence types, and took a specific look at modes of discourse - i.e. the 11 you should know for tomorrow. For homework, you are to write 2 original examples for each of the 6 types of syntax: simple, compound, complex, c/c, cumulative, and periodic.

The Scintillating Side of Syntax

O.k. I admit the blog title is a little saucy and probably not completely accurate regarding the analysis of sentence structure, but it does offer alliteration and what (maybe?) syntax analysis could become if handled with maturity and originality. Our syntax work covers clauses (i.e. the determinants of syntax), punctuation (or how you should be writing your own sentences), and, most importantly, the sentence types for rhetorical analysis (or the big 6 that fit the majority of structures).

1: We finished our evaluations of the Capote prompt, a favorable exercise in writing and reviewing with the 1-6 system. Then, we copied down unit 14 vocab, which will commence during the block day. Last, we started our syntax unit with the types of clauses, subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, and simple and compound sentences. We will review all of that and return to more syntax.

3: After regrouping with your Capote prompt partners, we began the reading and evaluation portion of the assignment. That will continue on the block day.

4: We copied down unit 14 vocab and then completed our evaluations of the Capote prompt. Syntax will start tomorrow - so be ready for almost 90 minutes of sentences.

7: We started vocab experts for unit 14, reviewed all of the syntax, punctuation, and clauses from last class, and then continued forward with syntax. At this point, you have knowledge of what not to do (comma splices) and what to do with complex sentences, colons, and transitions. At the end of class, you started work on a punctuation practice that we will finish up next time around.

Capote & The 6

1 & 4: After 15 minutes of completing the hook for your team mini essay, we started the reading and peer/teacher evaluation of the Capote prompts. By scoring the thesis, the evidence/evaluation, and the sophistication, we are looking closely at the passage, the writing, and the new scoring rubric. In all group evaluations so far, we have been within 1 of each other, which means that we are noting the same strengths and areas for improvement in the writing. We'll finish our last (I think) 3 evaluations tomorrow and then comes the might syntax week (or weeks).

3: After finishing our class close read, we completed our vocab quiz for unit 13, and then began the team writing portion for the Capote prompt, which involved crafting a team thesis statement, assigning a strategy to each person, and then writing a body paragraph for tomorrow's class. As an added note, make sure to not use outside means to help you with the body paragraph. Treat this as if you had a prompt to write in class with just the prompt, the paper, the pen, and your brain. The feedback will be more effectual for you that way.

7: We copied vocab unit 14 to start vocab experts tomorrow, wrapped up the Capote prompt by hearing a sample introduction and the basic plot of In Cold Blood, and then began our syntax unit with study of clauses, sentence types, and punctuation.In particular, we spent quality time with differentiating independent and dependent clauses, identifying simple and compound sentences, reviewing subordinating and coordinating conjunctions, and highlighting the rules for punctuation with compound sentences. If you missed anything in class, I would recommend borrowing a classmate's notes.

Class Close Read to Group Writing

Every hour has Capote's In Cold Blood passage on the mind and on the paper at this point - whether it be in close reading, writing, or peer evaluating.

1 & 4: The entire hour was dedicated to the writing portion of the Capote passage. Thus far, groups have crafted a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and (starting at least) hooks. Groups will finish the final phrases of writing the hook and then move into peer and teacher evaluation of writing with the new 1-6 system. If absent, you will be completing this task solo: compose a thesis statement, a body paragraph on one of the strategies from your thesis, and a hook. In any circumstances, this is a chance to garner sophistication points and kudos from your evaluators, so make sure to craft some extraordinary composition.

3: After our vocab review, we moved into the close read of the Capote passage, which we will need to complete on Monday. If absent, I highly recommend stopping by prior to school on Monday for a copy of the passage so that you are up to date with the readings and ready to move onto the writing portion during class.

7: After finishing the team hooks, you shared your writing with your classmates for our first peer review with the 1-6 system. Afterwards, the groups turned in their writing for my first opportunity to score the writing with a 1-6. If time permitted, you jotted down the next unit of vocab. If not, we will do so on Monday. Syntax unit will be next.

Holcomb

1 & 4: After the vocab quiz, we finished our look at the 1-6 scoring system, which will now begin to be the means of evaluation for the class. With that knowledge, we moved into our next class close read, the Capote passage regarding Holcomb. Even though we were given suggested strategies, both classes found a pelthora of other means to characterize the village or town - depending on what portion of the text you are reading (great catch, Ethan). Bring back this close read because it will be the basis of our next writing assignment.

3: After finishing up vocab experts, we finished up the prompt meetings. With the 1-9 scoring system put away, we looked at the 1-6 evaluation system that will be part of our daily life from this point forward.

7: After the vocab quiz, we resumed our close read of the Capote passage, working in partners to indicate the strategies and related evidence to help characterize that lovely little community of Holcomb. Afterwards, you were placed in a groups of 3 (o.k. one partnership too) in order to build a perfect introduction and thesis, craft body paragraphs, and compose that concluding paragraph - or at least those 3 phases are the plan at 12:59 p.m. Whatever we do not reach in class will either be designated as homework or will be completed during Friday's class.

Welcome to the 6

With the Banneker prompt meetings ending, so does the old scoring system of 1-9. No longer one overall score. Now 3 categories delineating the score, adding together into a possible 6 score. As noted, scoring a zero becomes more of a possibility; however, scoring a six seems to also be more of a possibility. The emphasis on a thesis, the evidence/explanation, and sophistication does set up the majority of your for at least a 3 or more on your average to strong prompt writing days. Hence, we will keep working on consistency to maintain a 3 and techniques to boost the number into 4, 5, or, dare I type this, 6 territory.

1 & 4: Reviewed vocab, finished paper meetings, and started looking over the 1-6 scoring rubrics for thesis statements. We will resume there with a recap of theses, a look at evidence and explanations, and the sophistication expectations. Plus there will be the vocab quiz and the next class close read.

3: We added 4 more vocab expert words, which means the tally stands at 12 for unit 13. We are still in the midst of our meetings, but that doesn't mean you can't have the close read for the scoring packets completed for next class.

7: Reviewed vocab, continued our look at the 1-6 scoring rubrics, and began our next class close read on the Capote passage, indicating words and phrases that stand out and help create an understanding of the author's purpose and his strategies. We will continue the close read and writing activities related to this passage next class.

Meetings Round 2

1 & 4: Vocab Experts followed by prompt meetings, which will finish tomorrow.

3: Vocab Experts followed by analysis of rangefinders and the return of your essays for prompt meetings tomorrow.

7: Vocab Experts followed by prompt meetings and the introduction to the new 1-6 scoring system. To prep for further analysis, close read the example rhetorical analysis prompt for tomorrow's class.

Rangefinders

The classes may still be on different stages of the agenda, but all of you are processing the rangefinders!

While we are solidly on rhetorical analysis right now, one day you will be back into argumentation and pulling from current events for exemplification. For those of you engaged with the environment and climate change, a fascinating report from last night's NBC news: Iceland Scientists.

1, 4, 7: Vocab experts, followed by the analysis of the rangefinders. If time permitted, you glanced at your score from the prompt or added to the prompt to your portfolio. Prompts meetings will begin or continue, depending on the hour, on Monday.

3: Vocab experts, followed by our class close read on the prompt. Homework is to finish grading the rangefinders, scoring each student essay 1-9.

Close Reading

The 2-word phrase I probably use the most throughout the year would be "close reading," which is then followed by why you should be interacting with your prompts in such a method to avoid any mis-reads and to have your strategies and evidence noted and ready to advance into writing form. Today's classes all featured my unwavering encouragement of close reading - the prompt and the passage. When close reading, the goal is comprehending the passage and building an understanding of the strategies that appear throughout the text. If you take your close read more organically (i.e. not on the hunt for specific strategies but noting words and phrases that stand out and continually build throughout the passage), you will be able to find more techniques that connect to the purpose.

1: Vocab experts began the show, followed by our class close read of the diagnostic prompt, indicating that mis-reads occurred from a lack of close reading the prompt and the passage. When paying microscopic attention to the actual words, slowing down to take in a paragraph and its meaning, a sentence and its form, a word and its placement, you have a stronger starting point for writing. After our class close reading, you had the rangefinders to score 1-9 of old essays. We will analyze those essays tomorrow.

3: Very productive day with vocab unit 13 copied, our last rhetorical analysis presentation, class card throwing (with an official time of 9 minutes - by far the best finish thus far in AP Lang's new season), baby rhetorical analysis, a toolbox quiz (be aware of making this up if absent), and the start of our class close reading with the diagnostic prompt passage. We will resume there tomorrow!

7: After vocab experts, we spent the majority of our time with our class close read, which really inspired a lot of focus on word patterns leading to other rhetorical strategies. To finish up the hour, we scored the rangefinders for this essay.

The Prompt

4: It might be a tough lesson, but one that is warranted for improvement in prompt writing: close read the prompt and utilize its information to set up your passage close read and your essay. Mistakes come more from misreading the prompt that the actual jumbling of rhetorical strategies. Ergo, interact with your prompt and passage, note the words that stand out to you, group those words together to find patterns, build your "circles" to strategies and organizational patterns of the entire passage. Agenda-wise, we continued with vocab experts, completed a toolbox quiz (schedule makeup or take quiz a.s.a.p.), completed a class close read on the prompt passage, and prepped to be AP graders with the rangefinders, which you are to score each essay 1-9 dependent on ability, organization, and content.

Baby Rhetorical Analysis!

And in the vein of something completely different, most of our classes focused on baby literature to further exhibit how you can rhetorically analyze everything!!!!!! Very clever and creative expression of the passages - especially when you find elements that I did not even consider!

The prompt and its necessity of close reading, audience comprehension, textual understanding, and writing prowess will take center stage in most of AP Lang. Be ready to participate as you continue to improve your rhetorical analysis abilities! How many of you actually imagined using the phrase anaphoric hypophora a few weeks ago? How many of you actually knew those were real words? See - you are learning every minute!

1 & 7: Vocab experts, followed  by the completion of our baby rhetorical analysis, and then your first toolbox quiz. Make-ups for the quiz need to be completed or scheduled in the next 48 hours.

3: Diagnostic prompt for the entire hour. If you have not taken this prompt, you will need to do so a.s.a.p.

4: Vocab experts, followed by our last presentation regarding Chief Seattle and his satirical jargon, and then our baby rhetorical analysis.

A Little Bit of Everything

1: You copied down vocab unit 13 for expert work to begin tomorrow, worked as a class to organize the toolbox cards - definitely have room to improve on accuracy and timing as we progress this year, and took a baby passage and looked at as a mature rhetorical analysis. We will share those baby passages tomorrow plus you have a toolbox quiz on the docket.

3: We almost finished presentations today with one saved for the block day. Tomorrow will be your second diagnostic essay to measure how you are improving after rhetorical analysis practices.

4: Diagnostic prompt #2 today. Anyone absent will need to make up this prompt a.s.a.p. 

7: We started off vocab experts for Unit 13, worked as a class to match the toolbox cards, and analyzed a baby passage for upper-level rhetorical analysis. 

Prompts & Presentations

Your class was either prompting or presenting today! If you happened to miss the diagnostic prompt, you will need to either make that up via a study hall hour or during class (if it can't be helped) a.s.a.p. Evaluations of these essays will necessitate a quick turnaround since we will be using them in class next week for close reading, analysis, rangefinders, and prompt meetings.

1: Cold read diagnostic prompt complete.

3: Presentations in process with the remaining 6 on Monday. Diagnostic on Tuesday.

4: Almost all presentations complete. Following our passages today, you copied down unit 13 vocab - on Friday the 13th - and worked as a class to arrange all of the rhetorical toolbox cards. Diagnostic on Monday. Vocab resumes on Tuesday.

7: Cold read diagnostic prompt complete. Vocab resumes on Monday.

The Count 2019

The AP Lang group definitely had low estimates for the shoe count this year, which means the closest and most knowledgeable of my shoe collection is AP Lit and AP Lang veteran Rhyen. Only 2 off, she sensed that the collection had shifted over the summer to less than last year's figure. Currently, the shoe walls hold 412 (although there still is that issue of what happened to my one pair at the repair store that had a fire).

P.S. Thanks to seventh hour for a great review of anaDIPlosis yestererday! We may be a small group, bur we know how to celebrate the conclusion of presentations, rhetorical strategies, and our fine company!

The Presentations!

Presentations Exclamation Point! In each hour that has begun the presentation process, you have heard some successful hooks, strong strategies, dynamic phrasing, and overall strong analysis laced with evidence and citations! At this point, first hour has 1 presentation left, third hour will start after that last 11 minutes of prep, fourth hour has 3 presentations lefts, and seventh hour is finished!

1: With one presentation left to go, we curbed its completion until Monday to take the next diagnostic prompt in class tomorrow. Bell to bell timing, so make sure you are here and ready to go.

3: We finished our Overachievers informal rhetorical analysis and moved into your preparations for the rhetorical analysis presentations.

7: We copied down our next unit of vocab with the intention to start these words on Monday. Tomorrow is the next diagnostic prompt, so be ready to take this off our to do list before the weekend.

The Verbal RA

Fourth hour saw an impressive mixture of hooks (allusion, imagery-filled, exemplification of context), thorough thesis statements with fun verbs (recontextualize), hybrid strategies (anaphoric hypophora), and mature purposes (I should have my notes with my while I type for an example!), "body" sections full of strategies, evidence, citations, and connections to the audience (if you have hypophora, is there any other angle to analyze?), and conclusions that connected back to the beginning.

Promising start to these informal presentations - with the intention of the last 3 occurring on Friday. Just a few quick reminders - cite everything, try not to play it safe with your strategy choices, know your passage! The last tip revolves around the premise of this activity, which is to not type out paragraphs and essays and read verbatim. While this may make your diction sound incredible (it sure does), it does take away from the engagement of the passage and your own ethos. Our best analysts today relied on notes for a structure and evidence and then talked to the class about the passage.

What is upcoming? You will have the second and last diagnostic prompt to see how you handle a cold read in a timed environment and to see what you have picked up over the last few weeks to improve your writing and analysis. For fourth hour, your second diagnostic will be on Monday.

Prep, Prep, Prep

1, 4, 7: Your 50 minutes were dedicated to prepping for your partner verbal rhetorical analysis presentations that will shortly be under way. As noted, you have a total of 60 minutes of in-class work time with your partner. Hence, the sand is almost completely through the hour glass. Make sure that you have conceived an engaging hook for your classmates, have your rhetorical strategies bound together with evidence, and have total understanding of your passage. One more reminder, you are not writing this as an essay, you are not reading paragraphs directly from a page - this is a note-based assignment so that you can use your knowledge and express your ideas to the class. Your ethos comes from knowing your material and naturally talking about all of your strategies, purposes, and evidence.

3: Meanwhile, we are finishing up The Overachievers with sharing your partner work - the thesis (don't forget those adjectives for the rhetorical strategies), the topic sentence for your strategy pick, evidence of the strategy from the experiences of Julie, Audrey, and Frank , and brief explanatory analysis wrapping up this package. As you may have noticed, you and your partner have been taking part in an informal verbal presentation - the sharing of your ideas without prefabricating everything you will say in a paragraph or essay. As analysts, you need to be able to communicate your ideas and show off your ethos, your knowledge, your comprehension - at any time. Have faith in your abilities. You would be surprised with what you can verbalize! If you happened to be absent, construct a thesis statement for the entirety of The Overachievers with the three main strategies and the purpose.

The Next Phase of RA

Since (most) classes have worked on close reading The Overachievers, developing thesis statements, scouring a passage for evidence, and explaining its analytical import, you are now ready to move to the further over-analysis, i.e. microscopic evaluation of a text.

Following our mini version of a presentation (yep, that's what you did today) of rhetorical strategies for The Overachievers, we are or will be in a packet of passages for the verbal group presentation. Whether your class has reached this point or not, all 9 passages are included in the packet for additional practice and notes. If you do have the time prior to presentations, I would recommend practicing close reading on as many of these passages as you can and isolate what main strategies are in each one. This will garner greater confidence in our future close reads. You can also take notes during the class presentations to compare/contrast your responses and/or have further examples of how to compose a rhetorical analysis.

Before processing the day's agenda, do recall that the vocab quiz for unit 12 occurred today, and any absentees have 48 hours to either make up the quiz or schedule a time for the task.

1 & 4: We completed the Overachievers with partners sharing their thesis statements, topic sentences, evidence, and brief explanatory analysis. In both classes, the strategies of pathos, anecdotes, and juxtaposition were the popular choices, which would make for a thorough investigation of rhetorical process if we were to expand to a full essay. Alas, we are not since you will be doing that with your group verbal presentation, assigned today. Each partner/small group has a passage to close read this evening and prep strategies and possible hooks for the presentation - all in preparation for prep time in class tomorrow. We will be presenting your findings after 60 minutes of in-class prep time, so be aware of what you will need to do outside of class as a result. Absentees are not that far behind in the game, so you will have your passages tomorrow.

3: After looking at how Julie is presented through all those anecdotes, juxtaposition, pathos, and the like, you were assigned a new Overachiever to analyze, either Audrey or AP Frank. We are currently in the midst of sharing strategies with a partner regarding these two overachievers, which will resume tomorrow.

7: After planning our double dip and cookie shindig for the block day, we resumed our pathway into rhetorical analysis with the group verbal presentation, a partner activity akin to your Overachievers work - but much more developed, detailed, and delineated. Each partnership has a passage to close read and create a verbal essay for class presentation. While you will have a total of 60 minutes of class prep time, anything else will occur outside of the classroom, so make sure you and your partner are ready to go.

Julie & Audrey & AP Frank

No matter where you are in the Overachievers, you have an example of a classifying image (The Superstar, The Perfectionist, The Workhorse) that does not always fit the internal struggle that eventually emerges via various strategies, organization, and exemplification.

Beyond our Overachievers work, we reviewed vocabulary today, which means that the vocab quiz will be on Monday. There might be a view rhetorical strategies on there too since we have been solidly emphasizing a handful of them this past week.

1 & 4: Now identified as Audrey or AP Frank, you collaborated in partnerships, sharing the strategies and presentation examples for each overachiever. Following that activity, the partners formulated a thesis statement utilizing the 4 part formula (author + active verb + specific strategies + mature purpose) and giving you the opportunity to exhibit your own upper-level diction choices. Ending the hour, you selected 1 of the strategies to prep for sharing on Monday. The sharing of your strategy will involve a topic sentence, examples of evidence from each part of the text, and explanation ideas. From eavesdropping on your work today, we should have some strong strategy analysis!

3: Meetings for the Gladwell prompt have concluded with the hope that you will now take those suggestions and improve your writing and your overall score. At the end of class, we began our Overachievers work by looking at how Julie is introduced to us via the image, the logos, the enumeration of a resume-like p.o.v., which is then quickly juxtaposed with the internal struggle and the pathos forming from her stressful classification as Superstar. For the weekend, finish reading Julie's passage and note how the author continues to introduce her to us.

7: Resuming with the Overachievers, you finished sharing Audrey & AP Frank's passages and how strategies were formulated to introduce this perfectionist and workhorse to us.  Then, you worked with your partner to craft a thesis statement, formula-style, mature diction-style, which then turned into the analysis and sharing of one strategy with the class. While this is a verbal version of rhetorical analysis, the process is still the same: read, purpose, strategies, evidence from across the passage, analysis. All of this is setting up for your partner verbal analysis on a passage, which will require more in-depth analysis and observations. Hopefully, we will make it to the preliminary part of this presentation assignment. If not, there is always Monday.

Outliers & Overachievers

If you are out of class and not having an Overachievers text, go to this link on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Overachievers-Secret-Lives-Driven-Kids/dp/140130902X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535739356&sr=8-1&keywords=the+overachievers. Look at the book cover on the far left side, and click on "Look Inside." Then, scroll down to Chapter 1 and read whatever assigned sections are for your class. 

1 & 4: Two classes in the same place, which involves finishing up the 15 vocab words from unit 12, delineating the strategies and purposes in quick passages from The Outliers, and breaking down how Robbins introduces her first Overachiever, Julie the Superstar, through surface enumeration, realistic pathos, anecdotes, and first person journals. For homework, you are to finish reading Julie's section and then read either Audrey or AP Frank, taking notes of how the person is introduced and any strategies you can find. 

3: We are still in meeting mode, which will continue tomorrow.

7: After wrapping up how Robbins constructed Superstar Julie, we moved into the next 2 Overachievers, Audrey and AP Frank. If absent, you should finish the reading and close read for organization and strategies to see how the author introduces the other people populating this competitive world of academics. 

The Reemerging of Strategies

In all classes, we continued forward with our vocab experts and then moved into individual hour's agendas. As hinted in the last blog, and which seventh hour found out to be a need today, know your modes of discourse so you have a greater understanding of passages and texts and, an added bonus, sound smarter too!

1 & 4: We finished our meetings today. Hooray! Hopefully, you have a better sense of what to do in the near future for your next assessments, the verbal partner RA and the cold read diagnostic. We will be working with noting what the author does in a passage, naming strategies correctly, and determining why the author has that strategy (hint - modes of discourse may be part of this).

3: You now have your essays back, have filled out your goal sheets, have formulated questions for our meetings, have started highlighting verbs and revising the passive, mundane ones with active, vibrant ones, and have spent quality time with your toolbox in preparation for stronger understanding of the passages. Phew! We are in process with our meetings, which will most likely take all of Thursday's class. With that in mind, take the class time, when you are not in a meeting, of course, and gain ethos on those modes of discourse and strategies.

7: Today was the reemerging of strategy finding, identifying by name, and analyzing with brief passages from The Outliers (look how we went from identifying the placement of repetition, for instance, to how it connected to the mode of discourse) and a longer passage from The Overachievers. As noted in class, the author introduces The Superstar to us in a plethora of ways to give us the ultimate picture of our dear Julie (at least she's dear now since EW began our class with a lack of affection for our picture perfect high school star). For homework, finish up your Julie reading and note the other techniques and strategies that the author continues to give us regarding the introduction of Julie. We'll meet our other 2 Overachievers during tomorrow's class. Great work today - how cool that we started off with talking about imagery and pathos, moves into tone shifts, and somehow managed to build to a crescendo of juxtaposition! Look what all of you are capable of doing!

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

With the exception of third hour (we'll catch up eventually), AP Lang centered around prompt meetings with the goal of close reading, writing, and analyzing better for our next diagnostic. Hopefully, the feedback, your goals for improvement, your verb identification and revision, and your work on the toolbox and reviewing strategies will be the avenues for large-scale movement up the AP grading scale.

And for those of you reading the blog, as instructed, suggested, and reminded to do, you should know the modes of discourse for our upcoming activities.

 1 & 4: Vocab plus malapropism, zeugma, anadiplosis. Meetings still in progress.

3: Vocab plus completion of the RA and writing prompt tips. Prompt returns and meetings begin tomorrow.

7: Vocab and any meetings still left from Friday's class. We will be back into identifying strategies via passages from The Outliers and The Overachievers.

The Rhetorical World Continues

In all hours, we resumed vocab experts with 4 more words, which means a total of 19 in your dossier for this class. No matter what stage your class is in, the prompts and how to analyze, write, and make verbs more active and mature ruled the agenda today. If you need further reminders and refreshers regarding writing, head to this previous blog post with the links at the bottom: http://fznaplang.blogspot.com/2016/08/ap-lang-tips-for-better-writing-now.html.

1: We finished up the notes regarding rhetorical analysis, you received your essays, filled out your goal sheets, had time to craft your maximum 3 questions for our paper meetings, and prepared for next week's individual meetings, verb exercises (highlighting all verbs and then replacing with stronger choices), and rhetorical toolbox work.

3: We had a chance to review The Outliers passage for its plethora of rhetorical devices. Who knew there could be so many hiding in there? I suppose Malcolm Gladwell since he is the author and the subject of our rhetorical analysis. We will be finishing up writing tips and then moving into paper meetings next week.

4: After finishing up the tips and reminders for rhetorical analysis, you received your prompts back - for a very short time! So during next week's classes, you will have a lot more time to inspect your work and prepare for future prompts.

7: Your prompts are back, and we are currently in meeting mode. Meanwhile, you are decorating your portfolio, working on verb revisions, and studying your toolbox in preparation. We're a small class, so we will be moving through the meeting process fairly quickly.

The Rhetorical World

From poem to short story to non-fiction text, you are slowly ingratiating yourselves into the world of rhetorical analysis, where strategies flourish and purpose surrounds every part of the text. After copying vocab unit 12 down for our start of round 2 of vocab experts tomorrow, each class read, wrote, reviewed, or learned about all the qualities of rhetorical analysis.

1: Returning back to The Outliers, we read the passage with a focused eye on strategies - big ticket and safe ones - to find a plethora of means for Gladwell to exemplify his outlier concept. As noted, you want, ideally, to move from noticing an authorial pattern to actually identifying it as a strategy. If you are stuck in between that ideal, you should be studying your terms, creating a toolbox, reviewing on a regular basis, or a combination of the aforementioned strategies to becoming a stronger rhetorical analyst. You also heard a lot of tips regarding writing, which you should definitely take to your pen! We will continue with these tips, which will then lead to the return of the prompts and your paper meetings. Remember, 1-4 is where you are supposed to be for now, so take any feedback for what it is intended: to make your writing improve, your scores improve, and your overall understanding of texts improve. Anybody just catch that strategy in the last sentence?

3: Returning to "Story of an Hour," we finished reading the text and finding strategies that convey Chopin's study of gender roles, expectations, and reactions in the late nineteenth century. Utilizing that knowledge, you worked in a groups to find a team purpose and write individual paragraphs on one of the strategies. Feedback is in progress for this part of our rhetorical analysis practices. Tomorrow, we will go back to The Outliers passage, performing the same exercise of identifying strategies on a larger text. Perhaps you would want to increase your ethos of strategy names and definitions to better help with your participation tomorrow?

7: Returning to The Outliers, which we over-analyzed last class and uncovered a plethora of strategies just awaiting attention, we then delineated all the important expectations, tips, and writing skills necessary for an AP and collegiate writer. Phew - there are a lot! That means you always have something to work on in your writing, whether it be organization, content, mechanics, or any other facet that makes you a better writer and better prepared for the test. Paper meetings should be starting tomorrow!