Digital Week 4/14

Our meetings went so well last week with the review of how to write a rhetorical analysis essay, how to create scintillating hooks, thesis statements, and body paragraphs, and how to analyze the purpose of rhetorical devices composed by your own brains that this week will further our review of this essay style.

I hate to be redundant, but everything is in the lesson plans that you need to do! Go there and prosper in your rhetorical analysis! I apologize for the corniness - coffee drinking big time!

Before I continue on, I just wanted to offer a little math for those of you so inclined. In normal circumstances, physically present in Room 404, you would have had 8 full essay prompts (including 2 full timed tests) and 2 mini essay prompts this quarter. With our circumstances and the AP test shortened and focused, we will have 3 full essay prompts and (maybe?) 2 mini essay prompts this quarter. All right, mathematicians, that is quite the difference in essay writing! To make up for that, we will be composing thesis statements and/or body paragraphs to keep up with the skill and not overwhelm you with so much rhetorical analysis!

This week will feature the 2 areas of focus, which can be found in the lesson plans that are posted on the shared drive and linked in Google Classroom: Kings & Queens speeches for rhetorical analysis and a team essay rhetorical analysis.

The Kings & Queens speeches were actually part of a multi-draft synthesis essay that AP Langers normally do, but not this year :( However, those speeches, and their difficult syntax and tone and spelling (no orthography rules back then) are perfect for rhetorical analysis and practicing writing body paragraphs! Hence, you have 5 speeches from King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I to peruse and take light notes on those purposes and strategies. Those speeches are also the basis of our Webex meetings this week: Tuesday will be the biography days for our two speakers (we need to get to know them and their milieu to further understand how they present themselves, their tones, and their purposes), Wednesday will be Henry VII speech analysis day, and Thursday will be all Elizabeth. While you are responsible for what you sign up for (biographical or body paragraph device rhetorical analysis), I still expect you to read through all of the sources. We are going to tie all of those speeches together at some point! And, of course, you can also take notes during meetings to help you pinpoint those devices and purposes.

The second area of focus is the team rhetorical analysis essay. I would love to say we will have this finished this week, but we that will not be happening - start this week, end next week is the plan. By Thursday, make sure to sign up for what passage you would like (maximum 3 per passage). If you don't sign up, guess who will sign up for you? Yep, me! After you claim a passage, you will individually close read the passage and take notes regarding purpose and strategies (you can make a chart if that helps you). Then, hold. Wait for Thursday afternoon's instructions that will break down the team essay and the expectations. While you can probably guess how it will work, don't collaborate until the all clear has passed.

Well, that was verbose. Keep up the work, Langers. I'll tell you those meetings last week were something else with quality of thought and engagement. Those of you who are putting in the effort are noticed and will continue to be so :)

Digital Week 4/7 (yes, we don't start until Tuesday, but it is a Sunday tradition!)

As said in Mystic Pizza, "you don't monkey with tradition"! Ergo (it's becoming a problem with that transition, I'll tell you), I'm dropping the weekly plans on Sunday so that you know what is up for the rest of the week. The same info has already been announced on Google Classroom, and I will be sending you an e-mail too. That's 3 places for you to go for the same information! Plus, the shared drive is still available with just about everything too!

The work week starts on Tuesday, April 7, but I highly recommend claiming your date and topic for the verbal meetings a.s.a.p. so you have your spot (of course), and you will know what work you have to do this week (that's right - lots of individual choices at your fingertips!).

Copied and pasted so font change:

This week’s work will involve a lot of the previous work you have done first semester, prior to spring break, and the past two optional weeks.

Ergo, if you have been keeping up with notes, assignments, and practices for the entire class, you won’t have too much additional work to do this week. However, if you have not put as much effort into the course prior to this week, don’t worry! You have this week to do the same stuff and it’s for credit!

As noted by the district, your third quarter grade is currently a place marker for what your semester grade MAY be. The “may” is an important caveat as students are expected to maintain their level of effort and participation to have the same grade at the end of this quarter. I will be noting the completion of your activities and giving feedback with AP scores (1-6) on essays and specific writing assignments to make sure you are improving with your essays. Do your job, you will keep your grade. Don’t do your job, your grade is subject to drop.

I have also been told that students who show the effort and participation beyond what they did third quarter can have their grade bumped up.

*By the way, and this is for a small number of you, if you have extenuating circumstances that preclude you from technological completion, result from health or familial reasons, or other issues that may occur, communicate with me! There are always ways to maintain your involvement J

A little adjustment to my work hours: regular office hours will be 1-3; dedicated work hours will remain the same beyond that: TWR 10-4; M,F,Sun sporadic.

Also, the district has requested we use WEBEX instead of Zoom for meetings, so you will receive new invitations to join those meetings. Check the sign-up sheet for more info and times (only one meeting time has been adjusted).

And one more area – it does not matter if you are taking this course for the AP Lang test, college credit courses, high school credit, or a hybrid of the aforementioned reasons. All of those curriculums involve rhetorical analysis, argumentation, and synthesis. Ergo, I might be turning into Abby W. with that transition, and all of these assignments are for all of you and not just those taking the AP exam J

OVERALL WEEK’S ASSIGNMENTS FOR 4/7:

1.     PHASE 2 RA PREPARATIONS, #4, WEBEX MEETINGS PLUS RHETORICAL ANALYSIS REVIEW & RHETORICAL ANALYSIS PARAGRAPHS (AS DETERMINED BY YOU) https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N2rmBLxhLYDTl2doPHxXnLuXeGzrIEdZRLzAStEX25o

2.     PHASE 1 SYNTHESIS, #5/6 (if you already did it, you don’t have to do it again!)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pCcMXOSW6BDtzzlOeyDuAUfb9jiEsZIPg0Y2HfPm9uI

Suggested Daily:

·        Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

o   Sign up for your WEBEX meeting/topic

o   Prepare notes, answers, reflections, and/or paragraphs for your participation in WEBEX Meeting

o   Verbally participate in at least one meeting

o   Fill out completion/absentee form on Google Classroom – this will not be available until Tuesday, and you shouldn’t fill it out until after your meeting or after all meetings have occurred

·        Friday

o   Write synthesis essay in AP Classroom if not already completed

Digital 404 Week 3/30

Langers, I think we had a successful week of digital 404 last week, albeit with a few hiccups as we figure out how we will maintain our drive, vehemence, and erudition during these upcoming weeks.

As a reminder, last week's activities were to keep you involved with exemplification via adding to our hourly allusion chart. As noted on a few occasions, this is your opportunity to share with the class examples from your own ethos base and not ones assigned to you. Hence, we have had a plethora of examples that could make their way into an argumentative essay, under the right circumstances, of course. Additionally, you checked over your multiple choice passages from your hour's assigned chapter to see how you did and how you could improve in the future. You also have the book of passages for additional practice, which would behoove those of you needing review of rhetorical analysis. Next, you were introduced to synthesis writing through 3 prewriting activities: a full prewrite, a 15 minute timed prewrite, and a 10 minute timed prewrite. Last, you hopefully took part in one of our 4 zoom meetings last week. If you didn't, I highly recommend doing so as it certainly allows you to interact with other Langers - and Langers from different hours! The zoom meetings were free form last week.

For the week of 3/30, here are the activities for you to work on: 

• Phase 2 of lesson plans regarding rhetorical analysis review, steps 1-3, which involves an AP Lang rhetorical device chart, 5 rhetorical analysis charts for the 5 passages from Ch. 6 of the multiple choice book, and zoom meeting participation (this requires advanced sign-up for your topic)
• Phase 1 of lesson plans involving synthesis, step 5, which involves an AP classroom prompt. If you haven't played around on AP classroom yet, here is your chance. Take a look around and figure out its features before you start the prompt. The prompt must be completed on classroom in the given box. 
• Continuous allusions - you are now required to add 1 per week to your class compendium.

As always, the lesson plans on the shared drive give you detailed instructions. I have also sent an e-mail with the above knowledge and a day-by-day optional schedule if you need the organizational focus. Additionally, as noted in this week's activities, you must sign up for your topic for the zoom meetings this week. Make sure you have your chosen passage and related chart completed so you can educate your classmates about the device, purpose, evidence, and overall understanding. This is the best way to review rhetorical analysis, and it is exactly what we would be doing in a physical classroom. 

I will looking over full class and individual portfolio folder assignments in the upcoming days, noting participation, and providing feedback as warranted. 

Best of health and love to all of you, my Langers. I know some of you have been selective with your digital involvement last week. I highly recommend that if you are physically and wifi capable to complete all the activities sent to you. You would be doing all of this in class right now as I have attempted to keep everything virtually the same. The only difference is you have more freedom and time to complete these activities as you would have in the classroom environment. 

Recapping and Reminding Week of 3/23 Assignments

Langers this week have been working on their shared drive assignments and contributing to Zoom meetings to maintain our communication with each other, share allusions that you have been researching, and positing questions and observations regarding the AP exam, school, and current events. I'm so happy to see and hear many of you retain your commitment to AP Lang.

You have received a plethora of e-mails and reminders of what you should be working on this week, which involves allusions, multiple choice, meetings, and synthesis. This is one more recap/reminder.

Specific instructions are in the lesson plan folder, which is divided into unit.

Continuous 1 Allusions: You are adding a minimum of 2 self-chosen allusions to your hour's allusion list.
Continuous 2 Multiple Choice: You are completing the 5 MC passages from your class's chapter packet. This was assigned before spring break. Using the digital copy of the book, grade yourself and figure out why you missed any. Copy MC chart, add to your portfolio, highlight what you have completed. You are welcome to do more passages from the selected chapters on the chart.
Continuous 3 Zoom: Sign up for zoom meetings, which you have 4 options. Absentee form available for those not able to participate.
Phase 1 Synthesis: Steps 1 -4: the scoring guide, tips, first impression, second impression, third impression. All of this is to aid in your introduction to this kind of prompt and improve your speed and comprehension for skimming and prewriting purposes. I will find your charts in your portfolio.

New assignments will be prescribed on Sunday, and all of these activities are to maintain your skills for the upcoming AP exam, end of course, or future English classes. 

Lesson Plan Folder

Hi, Langers. I have received many questions regarding how to do assignments. I am here to help answer those questions. However, if you check the lesson plan folder on the shared drive, you will find each unit that we are working on this week (allusions, multiple choice, zoom meetings, and synthesis) with step by step directions, documents, and links. Ergo, go there first. If you need clarifications, you have 2 means: your portfolio folder questions and observations or direct e-mail.

AP Lit had our first Zoom meeting this morning, and I think we had a great time! Ergo, make sure to sign up for your chance to see your fellow classmates and talk about AP Lang matters. There are 4 options for these meetings, so one should be able to fit your schedule. Miss chatting with all of you in person!

Digital Room 404 Week 1

I have recently sent you the overview of digital AP Lang, the shared drive, and the suggested assignments and pacing for this first week. We will be working together and individually to continue our quest for AP Lang glory - whatever the connotation of that word means to you!

I hope that you have continued to bolster your knowledge of new subjects, whether that be in history, literature, current events, biology, science, chemistry, math, pop culture, mythology, Bible, psychology, or any other category that may work here.

I hope that you still have the passion for learning and working on your close reading and writing. It does not matter if you are taking this course for the exam, college credit, or just to finish the semester. Every assignment that we do will make you a better communicator - and that is a quality that all of you will need, no matter what your future kismet may be!

I hope you don't mind having a lot of stuff come your way! I know we're not going to get to all the fun activities and serious practices for the AP exam. I'm sad that you will not have the same experiences that your predecessors did. However, I'm going to try to send you everything anyway. Even if you don't actually complete all the multiple choice or write all the essays in the long run, I want you to have all the resources available.

To end this blog, here is the suggested work and pacing for this week. I look forward to meeting with all of you at some point as there are 4 possible meeting times. I think it will be quite fun to have you interact with other students from the other hours!

Overall this is the expected items to complete during this week. You can definitely work at your own pace, but make sure you have items prepped for full classroom meetings.

1.      Your Portfolio Folder with Questions & Observations  (instructions on previous e-mail)

2.      Use Your New Allusion Chart (minimum 2 per week)

3.      MC Practices (complete spring break homework and complete extra practices)

4.      Zoom Meeting 1 Sign Up

5.      Synthesis Phase 1 Steps 1-4

A possible schedule for the assignments with the first half of the week a little lighter than the second half: 

Today/Monday

Your Portfolio Folder with Questions/Observations

All Week – Preferably before Zoom Meeting

New Allusion Chart

All Week

MC Practices

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

Sign up for meeting

Be part of zoom meeting discussion

Synthesis Scoring Guide Background

Getting to Know You Synthesis, First Impression

Friday

Getting to Know You Synthesis, Second Impression

Saturday/Sunday

Getting to Know You Synthesis, Third Impression

P.S. If you want to read us your tone paragraph during the Zoom meeting, please do!

Our Next Weeks

Hello, Langers. We have been given the official go-ahead to start planning, prepping, and assigning you work, so I will be adapting our curriculum to take an online leap starting next week. To be honest, I'm not changing much around from what we would be doing in class. It will just be up to you to maintain the standards of AP-level study and be honest, keep to a clock, and be part of our AP Lang community.

Yes, community. We will have a shared team drive in the very near future, so that you will not just be communicating with me, you will be communicating with your class, and, possibly, all of the AP Langers.

Our topics of study and typed discussion? A continuation of allusions - except you will be sharing what you have been learning about in the past week and future weeks (that's right - all the "rabbit holes" you fall into online will now payoff as you show off your ethos in history, pop culture, politics, science, literature, mythology, whatever can constitute as fascinating and school appropriate; for instance, I have been reading up a lot on the Spanish Flu). A getting to know you of the synthesis prompt with step by step pre-writing suggestions and charts! (Many of you have probably seen the preview of synthesis 2 blogs ago, so you have the gist of what you will need to be doing. We'll even use that scoring sheet and prompt for the first "official meeting" with synthesis.) There will be more MC - I'm going to give you the entire book with answers for practice! I have other plans too, dependent on the time frame, so keep an eye on the blog and on your e-mail for more details this weekend.

All of you have put in a considerable amount of time with AP Lang thus far and have improved your diction, writing, timed experiences, multiple choice, and overall abilities, so just remember you can handle any of these assignments or anything leading up to the completion of the class and the AP exam.

Honestly, we all are having a myriad of ambivalent emotions right now, so if you need extra help or have questions or need to vent, you know how to reach me.