Congratulations to our class favorite presentations: first hour's Silent Spring with a haunting look at the result of toxic fertilizer on the land, third hour's somber reminder of 9/11 starting with looking at a clock and returning back to what happened just moments later, fifth hour's historical context of the men creating the Articles of Confederation and how Abigail Adams wanted parity. Bravo!
First and fifth hour completed the vocab quiz, which means if you were absent, you have 48 hours to make up or schedule a time for completion.
Third hour, we still have one presentation left to go (on nerds!) and then the vocab quiz on Friday.
Thursday will be your timed cold read diagnostic prompt. This is a bell-to-bell prompt, which means you have those 50 minutes to close read and write.
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Monday, September 10, 2018
From the Nerds to Cowboys
First and fifth hour showed off their rhetorical analysis ethos today by presentations ranging from nerds, Abigail Adams, Ground Zero, the mighty Mississippi, Silent Spring, Chief Seattle, and cowboy culture (looks like we'll have to wait for Mr. Adams and his reply). Thus far, we have heard some pathos-building, historical context-creating hooks to set up the author's text and overall purpose. We have heard hypohora, anaphora, diction and tone shifts, paradoxes, enumeration, and other strategies combining to create that overall "why" the author argues, describes, exemplifies, or delineates. Overall, we have had a range of 4-8, and those 8 scores stem from the thorough and mature expression of the what and the why.
We will be finishing up the presentations tomorrow, and you will have your vocab quiz following our work. If time permits, we will go over tips for timed cold read prompts - which will be led by you and your past experiences/theories. If any time remains, we will play cards.
Don't forget that Thursday will be our timed cold read diagnostic. It will be bell to bell, as it was last time. However, at the 40 minute mark, I will have you draw a line to show your progress. After these last few weeks, you should feel much more confident in the rhetorical analysis arena.
We will be finishing up the presentations tomorrow, and you will have your vocab quiz following our work. If time permits, we will go over tips for timed cold read prompts - which will be led by you and your past experiences/theories. If any time remains, we will play cards.
Don't forget that Thursday will be our timed cold read diagnostic. It will be bell to bell, as it was last time. However, at the 40 minute mark, I will have you draw a line to show your progress. After these last few weeks, you should feel much more confident in the rhetorical analysis arena.
Friday, September 7, 2018
Twas the Weekend Before the Presentations
All hours are in the midst of preparations for your verbal rhetorical analysis presentations, and from what I've heard, there's a great deal of strategies, purpose, and possible creative hooks abounding in Room 404.
As a "teacherly" reminder, barring an emergency, you need to be in class for any remaining preparations, the actual presentations, and as an audience member while your classmates share their perspectives. Putting off an assignment only makes it more difficult and less "pizzazzy" than it would be in the first place.
1: We had an all hour prep today, which means vocab and any other matters were tabled for you to have time with your partner. On Monday, we will start class with figuring out the presentation order (which means you will have a few minutes to confer with your partner) and then presentations will begin. Most likely, these presentations will move into Tuesday's class. Tuesday will also offer the vocab review and the vocab quiz.
3: After another drill, we finished up our vocab words to stands at 15 for unit 2, groups were formed and passages selected for the verbal rhetorical analysis, and you had some quality time to start prepping your strategies, purposes, and plots for presenting. On Monday, we will have a vocab review, the determination of presentation order, and then the last in-class day of preparation. Tuesday will be dedicated to your presentations. I am hoping that all of these will be finished Tuesday - or we may have to adjust the schedule slightly. If we finish presentation on Tuesday, then we will also have the vocab quiz as well.
5: After our vocab review - with a few rhetorical strategies and modes of discourse thrown in for good measure - we determined our order of presentation, with the hope of finishing the majority on Monday and leaving extras for Tuesday. The remainder of the time was for prepping, so your hour should have a strong grasp on your plot for your verbal rhetorical analysis. Vocab quiz will be Tuesday after the presentations have been completed.
And, for everyone involved, as noted on the board, after notes on your first diagnostic prompt and all the samples and practices in class, it is time to see how you do with a timed diagnostic prompt, or exactly what you will face on the AP exam. This will, if all goes as planned, on Thursday for all classes.
As a "teacherly" reminder, barring an emergency, you need to be in class for any remaining preparations, the actual presentations, and as an audience member while your classmates share their perspectives. Putting off an assignment only makes it more difficult and less "pizzazzy" than it would be in the first place.
1: We had an all hour prep today, which means vocab and any other matters were tabled for you to have time with your partner. On Monday, we will start class with figuring out the presentation order (which means you will have a few minutes to confer with your partner) and then presentations will begin. Most likely, these presentations will move into Tuesday's class. Tuesday will also offer the vocab review and the vocab quiz.
3: After another drill, we finished up our vocab words to stands at 15 for unit 2, groups were formed and passages selected for the verbal rhetorical analysis, and you had some quality time to start prepping your strategies, purposes, and plots for presenting. On Monday, we will have a vocab review, the determination of presentation order, and then the last in-class day of preparation. Tuesday will be dedicated to your presentations. I am hoping that all of these will be finished Tuesday - or we may have to adjust the schedule slightly. If we finish presentation on Tuesday, then we will also have the vocab quiz as well.
5: After our vocab review - with a few rhetorical strategies and modes of discourse thrown in for good measure - we determined our order of presentation, with the hope of finishing the majority on Monday and leaving extras for Tuesday. The remainder of the time was for prepping, so your hour should have a strong grasp on your plot for your verbal rhetorical analysis. Vocab quiz will be Tuesday after the presentations have been completed.
And, for everyone involved, as noted on the board, after notes on your first diagnostic prompt and all the samples and practices in class, it is time to see how you do with a timed diagnostic prompt, or exactly what you will face on the AP exam. This will, if all goes as planned, on Thursday for all classes.
Thursday, September 6, 2018
Preppin' Time
Our transition from a practice rhetorical analysis, in the form of Audrey/AP Frank, to your own verbal rhetorical analysis essay is in various metamorphic stages.
1: You have the assignment and your text; your job is to prep the passage for tomorrow's all hour prep day. As soon as you enter the classroom, you may start your preparations. Presentations are allotted for Monday's class time with Tuesday handling any leftover verbal essays. Due to vocab taking a brief moratorium, we will have your review and quiz on the same day, Tuesday, so keep that in mind for any studying outside of class.
3: You have the assignment, but that is all. That means tomorrow we will determine groups, texts, and start the preparation process. Currently, presentations for you class will occur on Tuesday, the block day.
5: Your class leads the way in this assignment, with all of you having your passages and beginning the preparation cycle today with our remaining time. Tomorrow's class will feature a vocab review, our determination of presentation order, and remaining time for preparation of Monday and Tuesday presentations.
1: You have the assignment and your text; your job is to prep the passage for tomorrow's all hour prep day. As soon as you enter the classroom, you may start your preparations. Presentations are allotted for Monday's class time with Tuesday handling any leftover verbal essays. Due to vocab taking a brief moratorium, we will have your review and quiz on the same day, Tuesday, so keep that in mind for any studying outside of class.
3: You have the assignment, but that is all. That means tomorrow we will determine groups, texts, and start the preparation process. Currently, presentations for you class will occur on Tuesday, the block day.
5: Your class leads the way in this assignment, with all of you having your passages and beginning the preparation cycle today with our remaining time. Tomorrow's class will feature a vocab review, our determination of presentation order, and remaining time for preparation of Monday and Tuesday presentations.
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
When Audrey Met Frank...
We're all in different spots, but all hours were involved with Julie, Audrey, and AP Frank in some fashion.
1: After vocab continued forward, we finished up looking at how Julie is presented in the text and the various strategies that create the perception of the Superstar. Then, you had reading time, in which each of you had one Overachiever passage to close read (Marie, you will close read Audrey's passage) and then met with your other Audreys and Franks to discuss the organization and strategies. Tomorrow, you will be meeting one-on-one with another Overachiever, so make sure you have all your notes ready to go.
3: After our vocab experts today, we looked at Julie's passage, noting the presentation of our protagonist via perception, reality, anecdotes of various people, first person journal entry, and author's ethos. In addition, many of you piped in with notes of diction, syntax, and tone shifts, enumeration, juxtaposition, paradox, and other elements creating her classification. At the end of the hour, you had time to close read one of the remaining two Overachievers, prepping for tomorrow's class. Olivia, you will be in charge of Audrey's passage; Kayla, you will be working with AP Frank.
5: Speaking of overachievers, what an impressive class, group, and partner discussion today. While there was some summary involved, it was very intermittent as you jumped on how Audrey and AP Frank are classified and what strategies (time chronology, syntax, diction, allusions, so much more) filter through each of these perspectives. Whatever you noted, you are now working in a rhetorical analysis mode and, hopefully, it is becoming much easier for you! At the end of the hour, you received the verbal rhetorical analysis assignment, which we will be finishing up tomorrow and giving you preparation time. As of 3 p.m. today, the plan will be as follows: Thursday will be vocab, group forming, passage selecting, prep time; Friday will be vocab review, presentation order, prep time; Monday will be dedicated to presentations; Tuesday will be any remaining presentations, Vocab Quiz 2; Thursday will be the diagnostic timed prompt. Hoping that will remain the plan - now I just need to see how first and third hour will play out.
1: After vocab continued forward, we finished up looking at how Julie is presented in the text and the various strategies that create the perception of the Superstar. Then, you had reading time, in which each of you had one Overachiever passage to close read (Marie, you will close read Audrey's passage) and then met with your other Audreys and Franks to discuss the organization and strategies. Tomorrow, you will be meeting one-on-one with another Overachiever, so make sure you have all your notes ready to go.
3: After our vocab experts today, we looked at Julie's passage, noting the presentation of our protagonist via perception, reality, anecdotes of various people, first person journal entry, and author's ethos. In addition, many of you piped in with notes of diction, syntax, and tone shifts, enumeration, juxtaposition, paradox, and other elements creating her classification. At the end of the hour, you had time to close read one of the remaining two Overachievers, prepping for tomorrow's class. Olivia, you will be in charge of Audrey's passage; Kayla, you will be working with AP Frank.
5: Speaking of overachievers, what an impressive class, group, and partner discussion today. While there was some summary involved, it was very intermittent as you jumped on how Audrey and AP Frank are classified and what strategies (time chronology, syntax, diction, allusions, so much more) filter through each of these perspectives. Whatever you noted, you are now working in a rhetorical analysis mode and, hopefully, it is becoming much easier for you! At the end of the hour, you received the verbal rhetorical analysis assignment, which we will be finishing up tomorrow and giving you preparation time. As of 3 p.m. today, the plan will be as follows: Thursday will be vocab, group forming, passage selecting, prep time; Friday will be vocab review, presentation order, prep time; Monday will be dedicated to presentations; Tuesday will be any remaining presentations, Vocab Quiz 2; Thursday will be the diagnostic timed prompt. Hoping that will remain the plan - now I just need to see how first and third hour will play out.
Tuesday, September 4, 2018
Overachieving
Technically, only 2 classes are in the analysis portion of The Overachievers, but one will be doing so tomorrow!
We started off class today with a little competition to test your memory of modes of discourse and rhetorical strategies with varying results. For those of you had a significant amount for both competitions, keep going and adding to your knowledge. For those of you with little items on your lists, this is the time to start taking more initiative with learning your terms. You may have noticed that many a mode and many a strategy keep coming up in a lot of our texts, so there are ample opportunities to practice identifying author's devices. And since the next big ticket item on the docket is a partner/small group verbal presentation of a passage, it's time for everyone to participate with their rhetorical analysis.
1: At this point, we are halfway through the journey of Julie and looking at how the author introduces her to us. So far, you have noted the perception of the Superstar, the internal reality of the Superstar, and the anecdotes from outside opinions to add to the Superstar's stress levels. We will finish up with the last 3 sections of the text tomorrow - very quickly, so be ready to exhibit your knowledge of the text, its organization, and its strategies. We had much more participation today, but there are still a few of you - that have plenty of ethos to share - that are remaining on the quiet side.
3: To add to our vocabulary and rhetorical strategy knowledge, we looked at samples of malapropism, zuegma, and anadiplosis to make sure there was no confusion with these three terms. We will work with Julie and how she is presented via organization and strategies tomorrow.
5: We finished up our Julie look-see, and for homework, you either have Audrey or Frank to close read for organization and strategies. Blake, since we have an odd number of students, you choose one of these to complete for tomorrow.
We started off class today with a little competition to test your memory of modes of discourse and rhetorical strategies with varying results. For those of you had a significant amount for both competitions, keep going and adding to your knowledge. For those of you with little items on your lists, this is the time to start taking more initiative with learning your terms. You may have noticed that many a mode and many a strategy keep coming up in a lot of our texts, so there are ample opportunities to practice identifying author's devices. And since the next big ticket item on the docket is a partner/small group verbal presentation of a passage, it's time for everyone to participate with their rhetorical analysis.
1: At this point, we are halfway through the journey of Julie and looking at how the author introduces her to us. So far, you have noted the perception of the Superstar, the internal reality of the Superstar, and the anecdotes from outside opinions to add to the Superstar's stress levels. We will finish up with the last 3 sections of the text tomorrow - very quickly, so be ready to exhibit your knowledge of the text, its organization, and its strategies. We had much more participation today, but there are still a few of you - that have plenty of ethos to share - that are remaining on the quiet side.
3: To add to our vocabulary and rhetorical strategy knowledge, we looked at samples of malapropism, zuegma, and anadiplosis to make sure there was no confusion with these three terms. We will work with Julie and how she is presented via organization and strategies tomorrow.
5: We finished up our Julie look-see, and for homework, you either have Audrey or Frank to close read for organization and strategies. Blake, since we have an odd number of students, you choose one of these to complete for tomorrow.
Monday, September 3, 2018
Labor Day Updates
Some of you may be working as I am today (procrastinators? overachievers? playing catch up? some combination of all 3?) or you may be enjoying some quality relaxation, fun in the sun, and family bonding experiences.
Our first three weeks has been a preview and general overview of rhetorical analysis, which means a slow and steady practice of the what and the why. Starting this week, it is all about applying your knowledge of the what and the why in quick samples (The Outliers), a passage (The Overachievers), and a text for a team close read and verbal rhetorical analysis (more to come in the upcoming days).
For those of you with a strong background in the what or those of you who quickly pick up the terminology to identify the what, you are ready to go for this week's work. For those of you new to the procedure regarding the what or those of you who need more study and review to retain the what, it is up to you to spend quality time learning the strategies' names and definitions, especially those of common purpose in the texts we have had thus far like anaphora, polysyndeton, the persuasive appeals, enumeration, juxtaposition, diction, tone, syntax (and its may forms). As we go along, we do have mini units on some of the aforementioned strategies. However, some of these (I'm thinking in the family of enumeration and common rhetorical strategies of comparison) are self-explanatory and just need memorization to maintain. All of this is leading to our second diagnostic prompt, most likely next week, so you can improve upon your first one in structure, content, and original analysis.
As you may have noticed we have not had a great deal of homework outside of class in order to give you time to work on your toolboxes and start retaining strategy knowledge. I know that when I'm learning something - be it AP Lang 8 years ago or a new topic for Scholar Quiz - I spend a little time each day until I have the information down to memory.
To start off our classes tomorrow, we are going to have a little friendly competition to see who can name the most modes of discourse and rhetorical strategies with victors claiming tally marks for the vocab champion crown. Hence, if you have not acquainted yourself with the modes of discourse, these are necessary styles of writing that you will need to be able to identify; if you cannot automatically list off a string of rhetorical strategies, you will want to remind yourself of the vast range of strategies.
In final observations, I have heard a few people say that they were concerned because they didn't learn rhetorical analysis last year or that they ended the previous year with a certain writing level. While your past experiences construct who you are as a writer and thinker when you enter this class, those experiences are in the past and not in your present. Your present is becoming a college-level writer, be it immediately, weeks away, or months away. Work on what you have now, improve on what you have now, and stay focused on the present and what you need to do for this course.
And one more item of note...
After all has been graded and updated in the grade book, there are many zeroes recorded due to the fact that several of your neglected to put your name on the quiz. If that is your situation, I highly suggest finding your quiz (they will be hanging up via a clip on the board starting tomorrow morning) and turning it in so you may received the credit you deserve.
Our first three weeks has been a preview and general overview of rhetorical analysis, which means a slow and steady practice of the what and the why. Starting this week, it is all about applying your knowledge of the what and the why in quick samples (The Outliers), a passage (The Overachievers), and a text for a team close read and verbal rhetorical analysis (more to come in the upcoming days).
For those of you with a strong background in the what or those of you who quickly pick up the terminology to identify the what, you are ready to go for this week's work. For those of you new to the procedure regarding the what or those of you who need more study and review to retain the what, it is up to you to spend quality time learning the strategies' names and definitions, especially those of common purpose in the texts we have had thus far like anaphora, polysyndeton, the persuasive appeals, enumeration, juxtaposition, diction, tone, syntax (and its may forms). As we go along, we do have mini units on some of the aforementioned strategies. However, some of these (I'm thinking in the family of enumeration and common rhetorical strategies of comparison) are self-explanatory and just need memorization to maintain. All of this is leading to our second diagnostic prompt, most likely next week, so you can improve upon your first one in structure, content, and original analysis.
As you may have noticed we have not had a great deal of homework outside of class in order to give you time to work on your toolboxes and start retaining strategy knowledge. I know that when I'm learning something - be it AP Lang 8 years ago or a new topic for Scholar Quiz - I spend a little time each day until I have the information down to memory.
To start off our classes tomorrow, we are going to have a little friendly competition to see who can name the most modes of discourse and rhetorical strategies with victors claiming tally marks for the vocab champion crown. Hence, if you have not acquainted yourself with the modes of discourse, these are necessary styles of writing that you will need to be able to identify; if you cannot automatically list off a string of rhetorical strategies, you will want to remind yourself of the vast range of strategies.
In final observations, I have heard a few people say that they were concerned because they didn't learn rhetorical analysis last year or that they ended the previous year with a certain writing level. While your past experiences construct who you are as a writer and thinker when you enter this class, those experiences are in the past and not in your present. Your present is becoming a college-level writer, be it immediately, weeks away, or months away. Work on what you have now, improve on what you have now, and stay focused on the present and what you need to do for this course.
And one more item of note...
After all has been graded and updated in the grade book, there are many zeroes recorded due to the fact that several of your neglected to put your name on the quiz. If that is your situation, I highly suggest finding your quiz (they will be hanging up via a clip on the board starting tomorrow morning) and turning it in so you may received the credit you deserve.
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