Presentations tomorrow...

Presentations for the reading prompts 1 or 2 will be given tomorrow in class.

In addition to practicing and preparing for the presentation, for homework, you should arrange the scrambled imitation #1 or #2 (photographed today in class) to model the "model sentence" below:

MODEL SENTENCE:
As he ran away into the darkness, they repented of their weakness and ran after him, swearing and throwing sticks and great balls of mud at the figure that screamed and ran faster and faster into the darkness.

Read and find...

Please read one of the two articles linked below, and determine the claim and implications of this article:
"We Can't Teach Students to Love Reading" by Alan Jacobs , from The Chronicle for Higher Education, July 2011

"I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read" by Francine Prose, from Harper Magazine, 1999

How did you learn to read?

This weekend, your assignment is to discuss with your parents how you learned to read.  Since they will probably have a stronger recollection of this experience than you do, ask them about how you learned to read, what types of questions you asked, what you were most interested in as far as particular books, stories you liked to be told (even if they were not read to you, just told by a family member), or what your favorite reading spots were when you were younger.
This is meant to be a fun activity, not a stressor!  If you are uncomfortable asking your parents, or if they do not have strong memories of the occasion, try to remember for yourself a time when you read something that made your imagination take flight or just made you feel alive and interested in another world.
Please bring these stories and experiences with you to class on Monday to share (they need not be written down, just committed to memory well enough to be retold), and, if possible, the book or a few books that you enjoyed reading as a child!
Thanks and have a fun weekend!

p.s.  MaKenna, we all miss you and really hope you are feeling better soon!!

Malcolm X article

Here is the link to the Malcolm X article, which we will be reading, annotating, and comparing to Douglass' and Alexie's pieces.

"Learning to Read" by Malcolm X

PDF form of this article:
Malcolm X "Learning to Read" PDF

After the vocabulary quiz...

Please go to the essay linked below, "Superman and Me."
Actively read, annotate and evaluate the aesthetic qualities of Alexie's essay (how are imagery, details, and figurative language used to enhance your understanding?) and the efferent qualities (what is Alexie's purpose, and what does he hope to teach his audience through this didactic essay?).  Handout provided in class for this (if absent, complete on lined paper).

Sherman Alexie's "Superman and Me"

Also, for homework, please read Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write" in the 100 essays book, pp. 216-221.  It is also linked below:

Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write"

Annotations of both articles will be checked tomorrow...

Friday AP Test prep day

Today, you will have a bit of test prep practice by answering a multiple choice section and completing an essay that was given originally as a writing prompt in the 2000 exam
First, linked below is the multiple choice reading and questions section.
Multiple choice section
Answer these questions on your lined paper, draw a line, and then begin your essay prewriting and drafting.  This essay is question 1 on the document linked below, a response that asks you to analyze Welty's use of language in the given segment.
Question 1 essay from 2000 AP Lang exam

Vocabulary Review:  As you are reviewing your words this weekend, please use the top two links at the left to help you examine examples of the words.  Remember to also refer to Chapter 5, the textbook glossary, and the reading packet from this week for additional explanation of the words.

Email me at cmielke@zps.org if you need additional clarification or help.

Staying on track...

Today, you should work on completing the assignments listed to the right.  Use your time wisely and to the fullest as you will have most of the class period to work...
Tomorrow, we will go through vocabulary words and you will be taking a multiple choice section and completing an AP test prep. essay.
Email me at cmielke@zps.org with questions, and I will respond this evening.

Rubric for model creative writing assignment

Schedule for this week

Please find the schedule for this week posted above.  Homework includes looking up vocabulary words and completing the final draft of your rhetorical analysis essay.  Reading of Ch. 5 in Everyday Use and note taking should be completed by Thursday, 12/6.

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Editing your Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Using Literary Tense in your Writing

To do list...

Please be sure that you are spending time tonight doing the following:

Studying the vocabulary words (see previous post); quiz on these on Monday!

Planning and writing your rough draft of your rhetorical analysis essay, due tomorrow!

"Speaker" Essay Prompt due tomorrow!

Tonight, please write a draft in response to the prompt below.

PROMPT: Consider each of the following quotation prompts from F. Scott Fitzgerald and choose ONE to respond to in a fully developed essay, using references to the book, including direct quotes.

Quotation A:  "That was always my experience—a poor boy in a rich town; a poor boy in a rich boy's school; a poor boy in a rich man's club at Princeton.... However, I have never been able to forgive the rich for being rich, and it has colored my entire life and works."  -- F. Scott Fitzgerald                                    

Judging from this quotation, why do you think F.Scott Fitzgerald chose Nick as his narrator?  How is the story easier for him to tell through Nick's eyes than any other character's eyes in the novel?  Who else could have been his narrator and why?

Quotation B:  "It was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire." -- F. Scott Fitzgerald                                                                   

 This was what F. S. Fitzgerald wrote about the Jazz Age, the time period in which The Great Gatsby is set.  How do you see each of these descriptions reflected in his writing about the setting and the people of this time in the novel?

Rubric for this essay:  ___+4 thesis and development of main points, ___+4 direct quotes and text ref. used in support of main points, ___+4 grammar and mechanics, prewriting (+2)



Also, check out the vocabulary list for your quiz next week on Monday, 12/3.  These words are from the rhetorical terms list given out earlier in the month, they were used in Gatsby activities, and/or were used in Chapter 7 in Everyday Use.

abstract

caricature

concrete lang.

connotation 

denotation

diction

explication

exposition

extended metaphor*

figurative lang.

imagery

mode

mood

motif*

narration 

personification 

point of view

regionalism

setting

style

symbolism

syntax

voice

new historicism

summary narration 

scenic narration

stock setting

flashback

apostrophe 

soliloquy

omniscient narration

limited narration

dramatic narration

narrative intrusion

Enjoy Thanksgiving break!

Please enjoy your week off for this Thanksgiving break!  This year, I am thankful for such kind, hardworking students who are thoroughly invested in their education and making a difference in the world!  Great work so far in class; stay motivated, and get some time to enjoy reading the remainder of the book and responding with the activities.  See you on Monday, 11/26!

Characterization and Setting

First, we will be taking a short quiz to assess for understanding of reading in ch. 1-3.

Next, we will be doing the following characterization activities:
Activity 2, analyzing the description of Tom Buchanan (see previous posting for this activity description sheet) and then....
Characterization Analysis activity

These activities will help us to focus on aspects of characterization utilized by Fitzgerald, such as details and diction or word choice.

This activity will be continued tomorrow in class; your assignment is to continue reading up to the end of ch. 6 for Friday.

Good afternoon AP scholars!

Welcome to class!  For today, you will be following the posting from yesterday, involving the webquest.  When you are done with the webquest, you may begin reading in the novel.  Webquest is due tomorrow... see you then!

The Great Gatsby begins...

In preparation for our one and only class novel of the year, please complete the following webquest, linked below.  This webquest is intended to give you deeper knowledge about the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald himself, and the context in which F. Scott Fitzgerald lived and set his novel.  If possible, use headphones for the video links, as this could be distracting to others... or just wait until you are at home for this part.  If you finish before the end of the class period, you may read in the book.
Enjoy this web opportunity and hopefully you will learn a lot from the experience!  This web quest should be completed by Fri., 11/9.

The Great Gatsby Webquest

Webquest answer sheet

Also, please check out the reading schedule and due dates for The Great Gatsby here:
activities and reading schedule

Paper is done, on to the presentation!

Social Issues Paper

The expectations and rubric for the paper (and presentation) were handed out on Thursday, 10/18.  Please follow this schedule to be on target to finish this paper on time:

For Monday, 10/22--initial draft is due, we will discuss formatting for in-text citations

For Tuesday, 10/23-- draft completed with in-text citations, editing process, should edit at least two other papers

For Wednesday, 10/24-- instruction for works cited section to paper

For Thursday, 10/25-- paper is due

Happy Friday!

Welcome to class!  Today, in my absence, you will have a work day.  You may use this time for completing your reading and questions assignment on pp. 55-56, or writing your assertion journal.  The prompt is given below.  You should write this on paper.  If, by chance, you have completed this assertion journal already, you have an open class period to continue working on your social issues book project and/or working on your homework assignment on pp. 55-56.  If you have not written this yet, it needs to be completed by the end of the class period and turned in to the sub, or sent via email to me this weekend at cmielke+1@zps.org

Please keep the classroom environment quiet so all can work and concentrate.  Also, you may keep out your iPad to refer to the assertion journal writing prompt, but you may ONLY be on this posting site.  Please respect this rule, and use your iPad appropriately during the class period.  Turn in assertion journal writings by the end of the class period, or via email to me.
Enjoy your weekend, and Easties enjoy your homecoming!

Choose ONE of the prompt options below.  

Prompt A-- Typical Assertion journaling:

"Facts are stubborn things, and whatever may be our inclinations, orthe dictums of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and

evidence." --John Adams, in his defense of British soldiers after

shooting five colonists in an angry mob in Boston, 1770

For prompt A, first consider and explain who our speaker is, why he is credible, and what the context is in which he is writing.  Then, explain what you feel his audience may have felt upon reading this assertion.  

Next,  provide a clear explanation of the writer's assertion (claim), then defend, challenge, or qualify that claim from your own perspective.  In your response, be sure to note the complexity of the issue, and acknowledge any possible objections (counters) to your position.  Your writing should be about 300-500 words, include appropriate paragraph structure, and follow the CON-PRO-PRO method.

Prompt B--Rhetorical Triangle at work:

Who was the author of your book?  Why was his or her story credible?

What is the context in which your book was written?  What important aspects of the context influence the writing?

What is the author's main purpose in telling this person's story?  What is he/she trying to get across to the audience?

How does the author intend to influence his/her audience, and did you think that he/she was successful at influencing you?

For prompt B, in writing, respond using information from your summer reading book.  Your writing should be about 300-500 words and should include specific reference to what occurred in the book.

Grading Rubric for Prompt A  (15pts.):

___/4 Application of rhetorical triangle questions

___/2  Writer's assertion is accurately interpreted and explained fully

___/5  Each main point is clearly explained, with evidence and support provided to strengthen position (worth 11 for prompt B)

___/4 Writing strengths, including style, structure, and control of language

Grading Rubric for Prompt B (15 pts.)

___/8  Application of rhetorical triangle questions

___/3 Points are supported by evidence from the reading

___/4 Writing strengths, including style, structure, and control of language

What is a RHETORICAL PRÉCIS?

Today, we are learning about the rhetorical précis.
 This is a concise, highly structured paragraph that allows one to express the recognized rhetorical aspects of a piece of writing.
We will practice the rhetorical précis with our reading piece from yesterday's test, and then apply the précis to our individual social issues books.
Use the link below to reference while learning about this concept.
Rhetorical Précis

Test completed, vocabulary words week 4

Today, we completed the vocabulary test and then we had work time for reading in the social issues book, recording info. in our log of appeals, and working on other homework for class (see upcoming dates at the right)

These are the vocabulary words for this week (vocabulary quiz on Monday):
implies
employs
characterizes
intimidates
counters
extends
underscores
recalls
illustrates
evokes
content (question type)
form (question type)
style (question type)
prose
footnote

Vocabulary Test, Study News, and Reading

Our vocabulary test has been moved to Wednesday, 10/10, so two more days for studying! 

To that end, I will hold study sessions during both lunches on Monday, 10/8, and afterschool from 2:45-3:30, in the West Media Center (by the couches).  You are welcome to bring your food and drink with you, as well as any vocabulary questions I can answer for you.

Over the weekend, I expect each of you to devote approximately one hour to studying.  You should be considering how these words contribute to your understanding of all concepts taught in the class thus far.  As you know by this point, you cannot just memorize definitions, you need to be able to apply them.  I suggest you set up a few other people in class with whom you would like to gather and legitimately study... study groups are used in college all the time.

Additionally, as you are studying this weekend, I will be available via email to help you with any questions or clarifications you might need.  Please do not hesitate to email and I will respond.  Email me at cmielke@zps.org

Please be sure you are structuring your time so you will be able to have your social issues reading book completed by Wed., 10/17 (about two weeks from now).  Be sure as you read you are doing the following:
--Annotating while reading
--Keeping a log of the appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, that your author is using to influence you as the reader.  This log will be checked on 10/11.  Ask questions before that date.  Log should be kept on paper, not iPad.
--Considering what you wrote in your Toulmin's model-- what is the author's claim? what is the warrant behind it? and what data is he/she using to try to prove his/her claim?

If you are doing these things, you should be well prepared to write your paper and give a great presentation!

FINALLY, be sure to bookmark this site!  I will be using it as the daily blog for the rest of the year.

Syllogism, Premise, and Enthymeme

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/syllogisms/syllogisms.htm

These sites have basic definitions and examples of these terms:  syllogism and premises (above) and enthymeme (below).

http://changingminds.org/disciplines/argument/syllogisms/enthymeme.htm