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.