The Season of Giving and Gratitude

This season is often associated with good cheer, generosity, and togetherness!  As you get together with others and send well wishes for the holidays and the new year, it is kind and thoughtful to show appreciation and gratitude for the role that someone else has played in shaping you, helping you through a difficult time, or just always being there for you.
I have provided "thank you cards" for you to write a letter expressing your gratitude to this person, putting your great language skills to work to make someone's day or whole Christmas! :)

If you are not in the spirit to do this today, take a card with you to write your letter at home.

You are also welcome to spend some time reading some thoughtful true stories in the most recent, holiday issue of Reader's Digest.

Hope you have a great Christmas break!

If you would like to spend some time reading To Kill a Mockingbird over break, no annotating required, I think you would enjoy it.  It is honestly my favorite book ever and I am so happy you will get to experience it also! :)
(we will have our first discussion day on this book on Friday, January 29th, so no pressure!)

"Superman and Me" responses

Write one style response (A or B), one voice response (C or D) and one purpose response (E or F) to "Superman and Me," including specific, supporting evidence from the piece within each response. 

STYLE RESPONSE:
A.  Examine the effect Sherman Alexie creates using repeated images and phrases, possibly for symbolic value, throughout the essay.
OR
B.  Examine the way that Alexie's use of the same symbolic image in the beginning and also the end of the piece has an effect on the reader.

VOICE RESPONSE:
C.  Explain how you feel Alexie's experiences with books shapes him and his perspective as a writer.
OR
D. How is Alexie's voice reflective of the fact that he is an adult looking back on these experiences with a more mature awareness of what was occurring? 

PURPOSE RESPONSE:

E.  Discuss the purpose you feel Alexie has in writing this essay, and whom you believe his intended audience to be.

OR
F.  Consider if this piece is an essay about reading, culture, or the importance of literacy itself.

Vocabulary for this unit

Vocabulary words for this unit are defined in the "Choosing Words" packet and the glossary of Everyday Use.  Please have these words defined for Monday, 11/30.

Vocabulary Words for this unit:
1. Efferent reading
2. Aesthetic reading
3. Implied metaphor
4. Personification
5. Hyperbole
6. Paradox
7. Understatement
8. Euphemism
9. Didactic
10. Parallelism
11. Allusion
12. Dialect
13. Repertoire
14. Scholarly language
15. Standard language
16.  Colloquialism
17.  Irony

Welcome and upcoming assignments

Welcome to class for today!  In my absence, please use the time in class to work on the assignments listed below.  We will complete the synthesis prompt tomorrow in class, so focus on other work that needs to be done, beginning with reading and annotating Douglass' piece (due tomorrow).

Read and annotate this piece for Friday, 11/20, recording your responses as you read, or when completed.
Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write" is in the 100 essays book, also linked below:
Frederick Douglass' "Learning to Read and Write"

Think about... 
DUE Monday, 11/23:
Read and annotate, Malcolm X "Learning to Read"
considering comparisons to Douglass' piece while reading

Memoir Project:
First Reader Response (choose from 1-5) due Monday, 11/23
Second Reader Response (choose another prompt from 1-5) due Mon., 11/30

DUE Tuesday, 12/1
"Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie

Social Issues Paper Editing

Use this document to help with basic self-editing of your paper.

Specifics for in-text citation formatting and creation of a works cited page are outlined on Purdue University's Online Writing Lab site. (Purdue OWL)
Use this site as you reference guide for all things MLA citation-wise.

Vocabulary Words for the Week

New Vocabulary Words for this week:
implies
employs
characterizes
intimates
contends
extends
underscores
suggests
illustrates
evokes
[emphasizes]*
[challenges]
[undermines]
[expresses]
[asserts]
[affirms]
[proposes]
[appraises]
[paraphrases]
[prioritizes]
[refrains]
[frames]
[interprets]
[establishes]
[implements]
[articulates]
[infiltrates]
[exemplifies]

Link for writing portion of vocabulary test

Please use THIS LINK to CNN and choose ONE writer whose perspective you would like to read about in full.
Read their full opinion article by clicking "read more..."
Then, complete SOAPSTone (subject, occasion, audience, purpose, speaker, & tone)
and an essay EITHER:
A.  examining appeals this author uses in his/her argument, or...
B.  applying Toulmin's model to his/her argument, filling in as many aspects as you can identify in his/her argument with direct quotes

Cultural Memory & Toulmin's Activity

Good morning and welcome to class for today!  In my absence, you will be working on the following assignment:

Please read this article from Reader's Digest by P.J. O'Rourke "In Praise of a Carefree Childhood"

After reading, respond to the following questions:

1.  Who is O'Rourke's intended audience?  How do you know?
2.  List examples of cultural memory that O'Rourke uses to connect to his audience.
3.  How does O'Rourke attempt to create universal appeal and go beyond reaching only his intended audience?  Do you believe he is successful, or is this article really only one that will hold meaning to a specific reading audience?
4.  Attempt to apply Toulmin's to discuss how O'Rourke crafts his argument.  What aspects of Toulmin's can you easily identify (pull specific references for support from the article), and which parts are you unable to find/identify?

These questions will be turned in tomorrow; you should complete them for homework if you do not finish during the class period.  When done, you may read in your social issues book or work on PSAT review.

Toulmin's Model of Argumentation

Use this keynote  presented in class to review basic info. about Toulmin's model.

First, as a small group (or individual), go to this site to do your own exploration of how you might apply Toulmin's to a piece.

Next, it is time to create your own example of Toulmin's model as it might apply to a situation/scenario of interest to you.

Finally, create a pictorial concept representation of Toulmin's model, relating the model and process of argumentation to another systematic activity unrelated to writing/arguing.  Plan it out before drawing, to be sure all parts fit logically.  Make a key on the back or a separate sheet to show what different parts of the picture represent and explain how they function similarly to the aspects of Toulmin's model.

Chapter Two in Everyday Use

Here is the chapter two study guide to reference throughout the next two weeks.

Also, the links below are to TED Talks that you may use for the writing activity at the end of this chapter unit.  If you do not like one talk, choose another... not all talks may be suitable to your tastes or the topics you would like to talk about in your writing piece.

Memory:
The Complexity of Memory TED playlist (there are several talks linked here)

Systematic Invention Strategy: Journalist's Questions
Dave Isay: Everyone around you has a story the world needs to hear

David Puttnam, Does the media have a "duty of care"?

Systematic Invention Strategy: Logic and Syllogistic Reasoning
Laura Schulz: The Surprisingly Logical Minds of Babies

Welcome to AP English Language and Composition!

Welcome to AP English Language and Composition class!

Here is the course syllabus for AP Lang.  Please carefully review this syllabus, as well as read through the info. presented about this course on the AP Central website.

As a course that is advanced placement, this is a college level class and will be conducted as such in both workload and quality expectations.  

Thank you for showing your diligent commitment to this course by completing biography/autobiography reading and response journals over the summer!  
Plan to bring your biography/autobiography with you to class for this week only.

I look forward to a great school year with you!

Please take note of this study guide  with a list of assignments that go along with Everyday Use, chapter one.

*By Wednesday, 9/9, READ Chapter 1, pp. 1-6, and complete extension activity 1.

Final Day

For our last day, we will share poems with one another and watch/read several famous commencement addresses!
We will use some of the speeches from this site to end our final class period together!
I hope you all have a fun, relaxing summer break! 😎

Today in class

Friday, we reviewed and then turned in both essays in response to Etzioni's and Ascher's pieces.

Next, we had time for test corrections on the "We are All One" multiple choice.  If these were not completed on Friday, these multiple choice test corrections should be worked on today as your first priority.

Also, we reviewed major American speeches of historical significance for purpose, context, and quotes of significance.  They are linked here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/cxiyv5jeqac3sxc/doc08888020150507124021.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/o14cmn3v6i1jwi1/doc08888120150507124051.pdf?dl=0

For HOMEWORK due TOMORROW:
Choose three speeches (from magazine article above) to read and analyze for purpose/claim, and contextual significance.  Then,  record ONE important quotation from ONE speech to memorize and share with the class on Tuesday, and prepare to explain why it is so powerful.

If you have completed the assignments listed above, you should work on this:
You should work on this only if you have time, otherwise time will be given in tomorrow's class period to work on it!
Each article listed below begins with a debatable question and then further examines positions on a relevant, current topic.  Choose ONE article and write your own response to the question posed in the title.  You may use the arguments provided as part of your response, or create your own new or qualifying position.  You should use appropriate evidence from your own reading, experience, or observations of the world (think SPEECH: Social, Political, Economic, Environmental, Cultural, Historical) to support your argument.
This can be written as an essay or as a plan to be delivered debate-style in tomorrow's class period.
Articles:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/jd0zjt0sbeminnr/doc08888220150507124151.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3f96mw7mhkohdlo/doc08888320150507124215.pdf?dl=0
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f52cq4m4ixylgiv/doc08888420150507124302.pdf?dl=0

"We are All One" Readings #2 & #3

Amitai Etzioni "The New Community"

1.  GROUP or INDIVIDUAL RESPONSES:  Complete questions #1-11 at the end of this piece either on your own or in a small group.  Record your answers to submit via email (one set of answers for the group is fine).

2.  INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE:  Choose a quotation (anywhere from one sentence to a paragraph long will work) from Etzioni's piece and complete a 2-3 paragraph writing about your strong agreement or disagreement with his perspective given in this quotation.  You may also choose to respond to Etzioni's assertions about community gathered from your comprehensive, full reading of his piece.

NEXT, read Barbara Lazear Ascher "On Compassion"
In a well-developed essay, analyze the rhetorical strategies Ascher uses to present her ideas on compassion.

These completed writings are due on Friday, 5/8.  The "We are all one" unit multiple choice will take place on Thursday, 5/7 (the half day).

"We are all one" unit reading #1 due on Friday, 5/1

Read the first part of "The World House" by Martin Luther King, Jr. and discuss how King emphasizes and illustrates the importance of the following purposes of the human race:

1) to transcend tribe, race, class, nation, and religion to embrace the vision of a World House
2) to eradicate at home and globally the Triple Evils of racism, poverty, and militarism
3) to curb excessive materialism and shift from a "thing"-oriented society to a "people"-oriented society
4) to resist social injustice and resolve conflicts in the spirit of love embodied in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence

Use this World House handout to guide your discussion and reading of this piece.

Pre-20th century American primary document Rhetorical Analysis Essay

Use this document to guide you through the writing process for this essay.  We will write this essay in class.  If absent, this should be completed for homework, due before leaving for break, or via email by Thursday, 4/2.


TUESDAY:
Choose American primary source document
Read and annotate this document
Consider historical context and significance of this piece (research may be conducted here, if needed).  Record this info. in notes form.
Analyze this author's use of language (stylistic choices, diction, tone, arrangement, syntax) used to impart meaning to the audience.  Record this info. in notes form.

WEDNESDAY:
Plan out this essay, and begin drafting.
Consider elements of VOICE, ORGANIZATION, WRITING CRAFT, & EFFECT/IMPACT while writing (see rubric for more explanation) 

THURSDAY:
Complete drafting of this essay and share with others in the editing process.
Final draft is due at the end of this class period.

Schemes and Tropes list for Monday assessment

FOR ADDITIONAL PRACTICE, USE THIS DOCUMENT. You may want to use this document for schemes and tropes practice. antithesis

alliteration

assonance

anadiplosis

anaphora

asyndeton

antimetabole

climax

epistrophe

implied metaphor

parallelism

parenthesis

personification

rhetorical questions

synecdoche

Presentation Preparations

In preparation for upcoming presentations, please read the submitted piece from the assigned author below.  Use THIS DOCUMENT to record reactions to writing style, etc. and MC answers.
It is particularly important to record questions about this author to ask of "the experts" during tomorrow's presentations.


FOR TUESDAY, 3/24:  REALISM & RADICAL EXPLORATORY AUTHORS

Please use these pieces to prepare for the Realism authors presentation (Civil War era writers: Harriet Jacobs, Frederick Douglass, and Mark Twain)  

Jacobs piece and mc?s should be completed by: Emily Chau, Emily Russcher
Douglass' piece and mc?s should be completed by: Michael, Hannah
Twain's piece and mc?s should be completed by:  Michele

Please use these pieces to prepare for the Radical Exploratory authors presentation (late 1800s writers: Charles Darwin, G.K. Chesterton, Francis Parkman, Charlotte Perkins Gilman)
Chesterton piece and mc?s should be completed by: Wes, Jordan
Parkman piece and mc?s should be completed by: Brian, Anna
Darwin piece and mc?s should be completed by: Zach, Ashley P.
Gilman piece and mc?s should be completed by: Jacob, Kaylee


FOR FRIDAY, 3/20:  RATIONALIST & ROMANTIC/ TRANSCENDENTALIST AUTHORS

Please use these pieces to prepare for the Rationalist authors presentation (late 1700s writers: Jefferson, Paine, Wollstonecraft, Franklin)
Jefferson piece and mc?s should be completed by:  Emily B., Lydia B.
Wollstonecraft piece and mc?s should be completed by:  Andrea
Paine piece and mc?s should be completed by: Wes
Franklin piece and mc?s should be completed by: Haley

Please use these pieces to prepare for the ROMANTIC/TRANSCENDENTALIST AUTHORS pres. (Fuller, Emerson, Thoreau, Carlyle)
Fuller piece and mc?s should be completed by: Michael
Thoreau piece and mc?s should be completed by:  Jacob
Carlyle piece and mc?s should be completed by: Taylor, Zach 
Emerson piece and mc?s should be completed by: Anna


FOR THURSDAY, 3/19: RENAISSANCE & RESTORATION AUTHORS
Please use these pieces to prepare for the RENAISSANCE AUTHORS pres. (Machiavelli, More, Bacon)
Machiavelli piece and mc ?s should be completed by: Emily R., Emily C.
More piece and mc ?s should be completed by: Hannah S., Haley H.
Bacon piece and mc ?s should be completed by: Jordan M., Kaylee C.

Please use these pieces to prepare for the RESTORATION AUTHORS pres. (Addison, Swift, Steele)
Addison piece and mc ?s should be completed by: Kyra B., Lydia B., Makayla H.
Swift piece and mc ?s should be completed by:  Ashley P., Taylor S., Michele C.
Steele piece and mc ?s should be completed by: Emily B., Katelyn C.

Pre-20th century Presentations

Guide and rubric for pre-20th century presentations

Contemporary Connections Paper

Please use this guide to help you draft your contemporary connections paper.
Rough draft due Thursday, 3/12.

Mr. Rogers Tributes and People Unit Writing #3 (due Monday, 3/9)

"Everybody's Next Door Neighbor" by Daniel McGinn

http://www.newsweek.com/everybodys-next-door-neighbor-132609 

"Transitions and Change:  A Tribute to Mr. Fred Rogers" by Mary Lambrecht

http://www.pfl.org/article/transitions-and-change-a-tribute-to-mr-fred-rogers/

Fred Rogers obituary and commentary from New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/27/obituaries/27WEB-ROGE.html

Reflections of Ben Wagner, documentary filmmaker of Mister Rogers and Me
http://mentalfloss.com/article/49559/46-things-i-learned-making-mister-rogers-me

People Unit Writing Prompt #3 (due Monday, 3/9):

George Haley and Martin Luther King, Jr. were faces of bravery, determination, and tenacity to change the world that they were an integral part of.  They faced the limitations of humanity in their times head on, and did not allow themselves to be defined or stopped by those limitations.

Mr. Fred Rogers was an iconic figure of American children's television for many years,

as recognizable as Sesame Street and Disney to many children.  He lived and worked with a purpose of changing the world and how young children perceive it.  

Consider and compare how he (your choice:  Fred Rogers, George Haley, or Martin Luther King, Jr.) went about achieving his purpose with how your chosen "person of the year" or "runner up" is/was going about trying to change the world.  Support your responses with specifics from the reading pieces.

Tributes to read and analyze

Tribute to George Haley, "The Man Who Wouldn't Quit"
http://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/george-haley-the-man-who-wouldnt-quit/

"Choice:  A Tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr." by Alice Walker
http://whs.wsd.wednet.edu/Faculty/Zobel/documents/ChoiceTEXT.pdf

Above are two tributes, written by authors who admired and respected greatly their subjects/

After reading, consider the following:
1.  Why did this person write this tribute?  What did this author hope the world would learn about this person's life and legacy that was of value to pass on?
2.  What are some of the most impactful writing strategies this author uses to bring his/her purpose across?  Pick specific lines/ideas for support.
3.  Each author uses specific examples to support the claims they are making about their subject's importance.  Choose one example that this author included which you felt was strongest for exemplifying claim(s), and explain your choice.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech analysis and extended comparison

Read Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech from a rhetorically analytical perspective.
Please use the handout from class for analysis work, DUE ON THURSDAY.

WRITING  DUE THURSDAY:
After reading and analyzing Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, write about how you feel your chosen "person of the year" or "runner up" was inspired or is living his/her own version of the "dream" discussed in the speech.  Make direct references to various aspects of the speech throughout your writing. 

Passage Focus Question Creation due THURS., 2/26

For the next part to the analysis of the writings of your pre-20th century author, you will be:
1.  Choosing a brief passage from your author (the length of a typical AP m.c. reading passage)
2.  Creating 10 AP-style multiple choice questions to accompany this passage.  These multiple choice question stems may help as you create your multiple choice questions. (recommendation: do two of each type of question, mix them up).
3.  Creating an annotated answer key to go with the questions.

FORMAT NOTE:  You will need to TYPE the questions and answers.
Your passage will be printed separately, as well as separate papers for the questions and the annotated answer key.  This will be used by a classmate for m.c. practice, so consider this as you format and formulate the questions.

Context and Speaker Paper Guidelines

Here are the guidelines for the context and speaker research paper.

Use these guidelines and rubric points as you draft your paper.

Education unit reading assignment

Reading assignment due Thursday, 2/5:
CHECK WHICH GROUP YOU ARE IN TO KNOW WHICH WORKS YOU ARE ASSIGNED.

A. “Education” by Emerson http://aboq.org/emerson/essays/education.htm

B. “A Talk to Teachers” by Baldwin http://richgibson.com/talktoteachers.htm

C. “A Model for High Schools” by Broder

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48684-2005Feb23.html

D. “Let Teenagers Try Adulthood” by Botstein

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/17/opinion/let-teen-agers-try-adulthood.html

E. "The Value of a Pointless Education" by Percell
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec13/vol71/num04/The-Value-of-a-Pointless-Education.aspx 

Group 1 read A and C

Group 2 read A and D

Group 3 read B and D

Group 4 read B and E

Group 5 read C and E

Group 1: Emily C., Emily R., Wes, Kaylee, Katelyn

Group 2: Emily B., Kyra, Jordan, Jacob

Group 3: Lydia, Haley, Hannah, Zach

Group 4: Andrea, Makayla, Michael, Anna

Group 5: Melissa, Brian, Michele, Ashley, Taylor

Liberal Arts Education perspectives

Please read Liz Coleman's "A Call to Reinvent Liberal Arts Education" linked here.
While reading consider:
Who is your speaker?  What is her credibility?
What are the main claims Coleman makes?
What is the reasoning behind her argument for change?
Why should we, as an American society, be invested in making a change to the current educational culture?
What is her plan for change?

*Pause here and draw comparisons between Coleman's ideas and Ken Robinson's ideas.

Next, read the follow-up interview with Coleman from 2014.
How is she moving towards making her vision of education a reality?
What is her message to her audience?
How is she trying to influence her audience to affect change and a revolution in education in their own community?

Vocabulary List: Schemes and Tropes

The following is the list of schemes and tropes that we will study this vocabulary unit:
allegory
alliteration
allusion
anadiplosis
anaphora
anthimeria
antimetabole
antithesis
apostrophe
assonance
asyndeton
chiasmus
climax
ellipsis
epistrophe
hyperbole
implied metaphor
irony
litote
metonymy
onomatopoeia
oxymoron
parallelism
parenthesis
periphrasis
personification
rhetorical questions
synecdoche
zeugma

Analysis of essays this week

For this week, we will be spending our time closely analyzing writings completed on exam day.

Tuesday--Work day to ask questions and work on the assignments due this week including:
Wed. & Thurs.-- Peer Rhetorical Analysis Essay is due; we will share these together in class and examine and apply the rubric to student sample essays
Fri.-- Synthesis Essay self-analysis due; we will spend time discussing how to evaluate and utilize sources, and examine and apply the rubric to student sample essays
Mon.-- Multiple choice practice questions from a classmate and vocabulary usage work

To Kill a Mockingbird responses

Over the course of this week, we will be responding to various aspects of speaker, context, and purpose associated with the American novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Please use THIS DOCUMENT to guide you through this unit.

Timeline of due dates:
Wed., 1/7-- Complete characterization journal (for last names A-E) or narration journal (for last names H-V)
Thursday, 1,8-- Complete speaker journal (all students)
Friday, 1,9-- Complete characterization journal (for last names H-V) or narration journal (for last names A-E)
Monday, 1/12-- Complete passage focus, including reading of the assigned speech, create 10 AP-style multiple choice questions, an annotated answer key, and a paragraph explanation for how the speech relates to the novel.

*For creating AP-style multiple choice questions, please use this link to m.c. question stems.