Model Creative Writing about the importance of words

Use this doc to learn more about the writing assignment you will be doing in response to Welty's writing and your own memories of learning about “the value of reading, learning to read and write, or interpreting the world through language and carefully chosen words." Use this document to help you PLAN this writing assignment.   Final draft of this writing will be due by Thursday, 12/22.  In-class work time will be given during the week.

Other writings to reference by Eudora Welty for this assignment are linked below (your choice on reading these):

"The Making of a Writer: Listening in the Dark" excerpted from One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty (1984)

excerpt from One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty
(this piece contains the "Listening to Words" excerpt that we read together in class, so it gives you a more rounded picture of where these ideas came from for her...)

Vocabulary words

Vocabulary words for this unit are defined in the "Choosing Words" packet and the glossary of Everyday Use.  Use THIS DOCUMENT  to record definitions and do activities to help you to see application of these words (a printed version of this doc was handed out in class).  Please have this packet completed (you do not need to do the last page) by Monday, 12/19-- prepare to show me a start on this packet by Friday, 12/16.

Social issues presentation responses

In response to the presentations delivered by classmates, please write the front of a page about:

1.)  What is one topic that you felt related well to you personally and/or your learning experiences in other classes and why?  Explain with details related to the presentation.  Use your notes for support.

2.) What is one topic that you would like to learn more about and why?  Explain with details related to the presentation.  Use your notes for support.

Chapter 3 beginning notes and activity

Please read the beginning of ch. 3, pp. 57-63 (up to the activity), and take notes on this section.

Next, complete this activity as an application of concepts learned in this part of ch. 3.
This activity will be due on the half day which you have class.

Social Issues Presentation

Use this doc to start planning.

Please take note that presentations will begin on Wed., 11/2.
Monday will be a work day on the presentations, and Tuesday will be our practice run in class.

BE SURE YOU HAVE EMAILED ME YOUR PAPER!
No paper, no presentation.

Articles to use for Part Six

CHOOSE ONE article to read and use for your Part Six response on the vocabulary test.
In a well-developed essay, consider how this author crafts his or her argument through elements of style and arrangement.  Use at least FIVE vocabulary words in your response.

"The Science of the Fake Laugh" by Kate Murphy, New York Times, 10/20/16 (SOCIAL)

"Good Neighbors, No Politics" by Margaret Renkl, New York Times, 10/22/16 (SOCIAL/POLITICAL)

"How To Repair Moral Capital" by David Brooks, New York Times, 10/20/16 (POLITICAL/SOCIAL)

"A Great Fight of Our Times" by David Leonhardt, New York Times, 10/11/16 (ECONOMIC/CULTURAL)

"Ensuring Access to Safe Drinking Water Ought to Come Before Push for Soda Taxes" by Los Angeles Times editorial board, 10/21/16 (ENVIRONMENTAL/POLITICAL/CULTURAL)

Cultural Memory

Begin by reading the article, "Cultural Memory, Identity, and Civil Society" by Agnes Heller (2001) handed out to you in class on paper (you only need to read your highlighted, bracketed portion) to explore the concept of cultural memory and why it holds value.  This article should be read for Monday, 10/17, to use in class discussion.

As you read your section, focus on:

• creating a vocabulary list for words you don't know or cannot recognize in context, and define them
• main concepts that Heller is presenting, claims she is making in the article
• ways that cultural memory and references are being used to build her argument

Here is a link to the article as well: "Cultural Memory, Identity, and Civil Society" by Agnes Heller (2001),

Toulmin's Model

Please use this presentation to develop an understanding of Toulmin's model.

Vocabulary associated includes:
claim, grounds, warrant, backing, qualifier, rebuttal

Monday classwork

1.  Please write a short reaction to the essay sharing activity we did in class, and also what you found helpful about the feedback you received for your own essay.  You can either email this to me or turn it in to the AP Inbox.

2.  Please read chapter 2 and complete this chapter two study guide due Wed., 10/5.

3.  When you are done, or if you plan to work on chapter two work at home, you may read silently in your social issues book.  Take note that, this week on Thursday, your log of appeals will be checked for progress.

Here are links to the TED Talks you can reference for the Writing Activity.  Take note: you need to be all the way through chapter two reading sections before beginning this writing activity.
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

National Issues Essay-- peer response activity

Extending activities with peer essays:

1—Apply at least 7 (could use all 10!) of the vocabulary terms in your discussion of the qualities of this writer’s essay

2—Find a few sources that could be used to support and extend the conversation started by this writer, and explain why these sources are the ones you have chosen

3—Discover historical examples that could be used to exemplify and support this writer’s argument and explain why they would be appropriate examples

4—Examine any possible counters or obstacles to this writer’s argument, using examples for support

5—Consider ways that voters of different circumstances (different age group, economic class, from a different area of the country, etc.) might see this issue, and explain some of considerations for these circumstances that the writer could have addressed

6—Critique this writer’s use of language and elements of effective writing, including diction (word choice), sentence structure, fluency, and variety, as well as organization of the essay, and give suggestions to this writer for improvement

7—Offer positive commentary on the strengths of this person’s writing and his/her effective use of language and expression of ideas, choosing favorite portions to the essay for your support

Directions for 9/20

Welcome to class, AP students!  In my absence today, please do the following:

1.  Pick up your folder from the front tables.

2.  Go to AP Central released samples.  Then, please read the second released sample (3B) from the 2009 Q3 prompt, and take notes on the following:

• What is the claim this writer is making--either defending, challenging, or qualifying Horace's assertion?  Record their claim statement.
• What are the examples given, and do you believe they are appropriate and convincing? 
• What elements of effective writing do you feel this writer has particularly strong control over?
• Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses you see in this person's essay.

Then, go back to your essay, and, using a different colored pen or with sticky notes (found in red basket on my desk), make some notes as to changes you might make to your own essay.  These can be additions, alterations, deletions, or overall shifts in your approach.  Write about these changes and what caused you to want to make these particular changes, based on the study of the released samples.  

Keep all of these notes in your folder, attached to this essay (paper clips and stapler available on front tables), and then, please return your folder on the front table.

You may then work on the next assertion essay , due tomorrow (see previous blog posting).  If you have this completed, you may work on reading in your social issues book, researching your social issues book author, or studying your vocabulary list.

Thank you, in advance, for your cooperation.

Assertion Essay work

Today, we will be examining the released samples for the 2009 Q3 assertion essay you wrote defending, challenging, or qualifying your agreement or disagreement with Horace's assertion:
"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant."
To do so, we will use AP central released samples and peer papers as comparative examples, to discuss strengths, weaknesses, and techniques for approaching this type of essay.

For homework, you will be writing an assertion essay in response to  this prompt (choose one quote).
This essay will be due on WED., 9/21.
Your essay should take 45-50 minutes total, be handwritten  and planning will be turned in with it.

Additionally, please work on defining the vocabulary words for this unit.  See how many you can define without looking up the definition in the glossary of your textbook.
The words are:
rhetoric
qualify- to agree or disagree with reservation
persona
ethos
logos
pathos
thesis
context
intention
canon

Chapter One in Everyday Use

Please use this study guide as you progress through chapter one in the Everyday Use textbook, due on Tuesday, 9/13.

The important concepts you learn about in this initial chapter are the foundation of this course and will be referenced for the entire school year.  Please take good notes, and be prepared to add to them.

For your convenience, here are the links to:
Chapter One in Everyday Use (it is the teacher's edition)
--and--
George Orwell's memoir piece "Shooting an Elephant"

Also, see link at left to slideshow of book titles for the social issues project.

The Future You Project

Our final unit will be a fun one, culminating in an advisory graduation speech to your classmates.  Use these links for reference to ways to plan out this type of speech.

http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/05/20/314264067/the-best-commencement-speech-ever

http://www.graduationwisdom.com/speeches/how-to-write-a-graduation-speech.htm#structure


Interesting reading about "the rule of three" speech organization technique, with several speeches linked to watch/read and analyze for additional presentation techniques
Speech Techniques

As a response to the ending of the play Our Town, you will be writing a model monologue or model poem (your choice!).  We will use this assignment description sheet and rubric for the assignment due by Monday, June 6th.

Inquiry-based Project docs

Symposium Day directions and schedule

TED Talk by Nancy Duarte "The Secrets of Great Talks"
TED Talk by Chris Anderson "The Secret to Great Public Speaking"

Use this doc as you plan your presentation.

Monday class period

If not completed already, nature unit multiple choice test corrections should be worked on today as your first priority--due by Tuesday afternoon.

• In class today, we will be evaluating the "we are all one" unit multiple choice with annotated answer key to see what correct answers are and why.
• Next, we will work on schemes and tropes quiz adaptations.  You can earn back a total of seven points through various additions to your quiz discussed in class-- see me for further explanation if absent.  These adaptations will be done in class.
• Then, we will consider College Board released commentary and sample writings for the essay you wrote over the weekend. This info. can be found HERE.

For HOMEWORK due TOMORROW:
Choose three speeches (from magazine article linked here: page one and page two) 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.

"We are all One" unit reading assm., due Friday

Begin by reading Barbara Lazear Ascher "On Compassion"
In response, please answer the following questions on lined paper:
1.  What do you believe Ascher's main purpose is in writing this piece?  How does she go about developing this purpose?
2.  Analyze and defend what you believe to be the two most effective rhetorical strategies Ascher uses when presenting her ideas on compassion.
3.  Compare Ascher's ideas with those given by King in "The World House," using direct references and quotes wherever necessary for support in this comparison.  

Nature Unit Synthesis Essay

Please use THIS DOCUMENT to read through the nature synthesis essay prompt and (sources E, F & G handed out in class).
This essay will be DUE ON MONDAY, 5/2.

Henry David Thoreau and Walden

Some additional sources are linked here to learn more about Thoreau and Walden Pond, as it exists and is preserved today.
The Walden Woods Project
Walden Pond State Reservation with the National Park Service
The Thoreau Society

Read one...

Please read one of these articles and take notes on the concepts presented in this source.
1.  Leslie Owen Wilson's "The Second Principle: Types of Creative Thinking"
2.  David Kirp's "How to Fix the Country's Failing Schools. And How Not To"
3.  Liz Coleman's "A Call to Reinvent Liberal Arts Education"
4.  James Heckman's "The Economics of Inequality: The Value of Early Childhood Education"
5.  Cindy Long's "Four-Day School Weeks More Popular, But Impact on Students and Educators Unclear"
6.  Pete Bavis, Beth Arey and Dale Leibforth's "Advanced Placement: An Open Invitation"

Education unit responsive writing

Throughout this week, please watch one TED Talk from either these talks or these selected talks that relates to and will further extend upon ideas of interest to you from Monday's discussion groups.
In a comparison response, offer a summary of how the TED speaker's ideas are interconnected with the article's claims, and how/why you feel this is an important aspect of educational reform to explore. 

Synthesis Project and Presentation

In class today, we will be working on the group synthesis essay project and a collective response to go along with the subject of literacy.  The directions for this project are as follows:

For this short presentation, you will work in groups of 3-4 to:
1.  Consider the following prompt:
      Reading has long been considered a fundamental aspect to learning.  Benjamin Franklin, amongst countless others, knew of the importance of reading not only to an individual’s growth, but to the growth of society as a whole.  It was with this initiative in mind that he and fellow colonial citizens created the public library system in America.  Recently, through a variety of economic and technologically progressive circumstances, public libraries (including those in public schools) have been forced to be consolidated in locations, reduced in hours or staffing, or eliminated from communities nationwide entirely.  
Imagine that a community is considering these measures be taken in their local library branch and school libraries.  

Carefully read the following seven sources.  Then, synthesize information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed essay that identifies the key issues associated with this problem of eliminating public libraries and examines the implications of these choices for the community.  

Make sure that your argument is central; use the sources to support and illustrate your reasoning.  Avoid merely summarizing the sources.  Indicate clearly which sources you are drawing from, whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary.  You may cite the sources according to the last name of the author, or the publication for the graphic.

2.  Discuss the various stances that could be taken in response.
3.  Decide on your group's claim and develop a thesis statement.
4.  Choose and justify the sources which you would use to support your position and to develop your counterargument.
5.  Outline the main points and supporting details from the various referenced sources.
6.   Decide who will present which aspect, so that each person in the group is speaking at least once.
7.  Present on Wednesday!  If you will not be present, your assignment is to write the synthesis essay.

Read, summarize and respond to your assigned article below:
Article 1:  "Why to Read: 10 Reasons Why Reading Books Will Save Your Life"
Article 2:  "Reading Books is Fundamental" by Charles Blow, New York Times, 1/22/14
Article 3:  "Millennials are Outreading Older Generations"
Article 4:  "Next Time Someone Says the Internet Killed Reading..."
Article 5:  "The Most Important Lesson Schools Can Teach about Reading"
Article 6:  "Reading is not a Skill"
Article 7:  "A Country Without Libraries"