Happy New Year!
Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful winter break. I'm excited to begin 2015 continuing our work on the Argument essay and starting a gender-themed unit that will begin with short essays from McGraw Hill and conclude with the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. We're moving towards mastery of both the Argument and Synthesis style essays that will be on the AP exam on May 13. In preparation, the students will be completing example essay questions as a class, as take-home assignments to be uploaded to turnitin.com, and as in-class essays.
The class will still take quizzes on Fridays, alternating current events with vocabulary quizzes every two weeks. Students will choose from a list of classic books describing the nature of American life for independent reading (see handout passed out before break and in class on Tuesday), and prepare a dialectical journal in response.
Here is what we'll tackle this week:
MONDAY: Enjoy the last day of winter break!
TUESDAY: Warm-up. Overview of January, February, March game plan. Discuss independent reading assignment for the semester with example. Intro to month-long gender unit. Male/female list activity. HW: Read and annotate Margaret Atwood's "The Female Body" essay from McGraw Hill for Wednesday. Be prepared to discuss whether or not gender-specific toys are appropriate for small children with Atwood's evidence as well as your own to support your position.
WEDNESDAY: Discuss "The Female Body" and whether or not gender-specific toys are appropriate for small children with evidence. Review the different types of evidence we covered back in December and apply to this question. Look at Argument Essay learning goals worksheet, review.
THURSDAY: Argument Focused Learning Targets. Types of argument prompts, pitfalls to avoid. Notes: warrants. Toy debate: revisit fallacies, identify warrants. HW: Review TheWeek.com for current events quiz tomorrow for Tuesday-Thursday "10 Things You Need To Know Today" articles. For Monday: read Paul Theroux's "Being a Man" from McGraw Hill on page 219 and come with three pieces of evidence that defend, challenge or qualify Theroux's argument.
FRIDAY: Current events quiz based on TheWeek.com's "Ten Things You Need to Know Today" from Tuesday through Thursday of this week. Receive vocabulary list. Read opinion article about North Korea and the U.S. response in the latest conflict over "The Interview" movie release and defend/challenge/qualify using your own evidence in a class discussion. HW: For Monday: read Paul Theroux's "Being a Man" from McGraw Hill on page
219 and come with three piece of evidence that defend, challenge or
qualify Theroux's argument. Study vocabulary words for next Friday's quiz. Work on independent reading dialectical journal. I'd suggest that you have your independent reading book selected and bought/checked out. Look over the prompt that you'll respond to in a take-home argument essay.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Sunday, December 7, 2014
December 8 - 19th: last post of 2014!
It's the last full week of fall semester! This week, we'll continue with our argument unit, discussing types of claims, evidence, and thesis statements and practice an AP-style multiple choice exam. On Friday, we'll finish Gatsby with a party, your own Gatsby work, and clips from the latest Gatsby movie.
MONDAY: Review chapters 6 and 7 of Gatsby. Handout: presentation guidelines for final. Review types of claims and introduce "claim of policy." Compare results from essay outline (the weekend homework) and talk about types of evidence used in argument essays. HW: Finish Gatsby (chapters 8 and 9) for Friday. Read "Felons and the Right to Vote" and annotate it to identify claims of fact, value and policy.
TUESDAY: Go over "Felons and the Right to Vote" article, discuss different claims made in the article (fact, value and policy). Discuss different types of evidence and brainstorm evidence for both sides of Gatsby AP open essay prompt. HW: Continue reading Gatsby for Friday. Find a quote based on the slip of paper handed out in class.
WEDNESDAY: AP Multiple Choice Gatsby practice test.
THURSDAY: Review multiple choice exam and advanced rhetorical devices worksheet. Discuss thesis types and rewrite your thesis for the Gatsby open essay prompt. HW: Finish Gatsby and bring in quote based on the slip of paper you received. Prepare outfit and snack for Friday (optional).
FRIDAY: Gatsby party. Come dressed "Gatsby" style or just dressed up, and feel free to bring snacks to share (optional). DUE: Gatsby finished, quotes from handout.
Finals Week
DECEMBER 15: (MONDAY) Gatsby AP Multiple Choice Exam. DUE: Independent reading log with 500 pages including one current event-related book.
DECEMBER 18th (THURSDAY): 8:15 a.m. 5th period final presentations. Handout: Independent reading for second semester, in case you want to get started early.
DECEMBER 19th (FRIDAY) 8:15 a.m. 6th period final presentations. Handout: Independent reading for second semester, in case you want to get started early.
MONDAY: Review chapters 6 and 7 of Gatsby. Handout: presentation guidelines for final. Review types of claims and introduce "claim of policy." Compare results from essay outline (the weekend homework) and talk about types of evidence used in argument essays. HW: Finish Gatsby (chapters 8 and 9) for Friday. Read "Felons and the Right to Vote" and annotate it to identify claims of fact, value and policy.
TUESDAY: Go over "Felons and the Right to Vote" article, discuss different claims made in the article (fact, value and policy). Discuss different types of evidence and brainstorm evidence for both sides of Gatsby AP open essay prompt. HW: Continue reading Gatsby for Friday. Find a quote based on the slip of paper handed out in class.
WEDNESDAY: AP Multiple Choice Gatsby practice test.
THURSDAY: Review multiple choice exam and advanced rhetorical devices worksheet. Discuss thesis types and rewrite your thesis for the Gatsby open essay prompt. HW: Finish Gatsby and bring in quote based on the slip of paper you received. Prepare outfit and snack for Friday (optional).
FRIDAY: Gatsby party. Come dressed "Gatsby" style or just dressed up, and feel free to bring snacks to share (optional). DUE: Gatsby finished, quotes from handout.
Finals Week
DECEMBER 15: (MONDAY) Gatsby AP Multiple Choice Exam. DUE: Independent reading log with 500 pages including one current event-related book.
DECEMBER 18th (THURSDAY): 8:15 a.m. 5th period final presentations. Handout: Independent reading for second semester, in case you want to get started early.
DECEMBER 19th (FRIDAY) 8:15 a.m. 6th period final presentations. Handout: Independent reading for second semester, in case you want to get started early.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
December 1-5
Welcome back! It's December already, and our second-to-last week
before finals. Please review grades in Illuminate early and submit any missing work for partial credit by December 12. This week, we'll turn in term papers, continue reading Gatsby, and work on our argument unit.
MONDAY: Review term paper checklist. Discuss Chapter 5 of Gatsby. Review Fallacy types and continue taking notes. Fallacy exercise. HW: Revise term paper -- review grammar, MLA formatting, style, and go through the checklist with your paper. The rubric is also available for viewing on Turnitin.com. Read Gatsby Chapter 6 for Friday and note any particularly memorable or impactful passages.
TUESDAY: Brief definition of civil argument/discourse. Close reading of Amy Domini's "Why Investing in Fast Food May Be a Good Thing" with discussion questions. Read arguable claims exercise for Thursday. DUE: Rhetorical Historical Term Paper due by 11:59 p.m. on Turnitin.com. HW: Finish reading claims exercise for Thursday, be ready to discuss. Read Gatsby chapter 6 for Friday.
WEDNESDAY: AP Gatsby multiple choice practice: review test-taking strategies, take multiple choice test. HW: Finish multiple choice test at home if you didn't finish in class and bring to class for Thursday.
THURSDAY: Discuss multiple choice answers and explanations as a class. HW: Find a review of a movie, TV show, song, concert, or video game and identify the claim. What criteria does the reviewer use to justify a thumbs-up or thumbs-down? Please bring the review to class for Friday.
FRIDAY: Current events quiz. Go over arguable claims passage in class. Take notes: types of claims (fact, value, policy). Share and discuss pop culture reviews/claims. DUE: Gatsby Chapter 6. HW: Read Gatsby Chapter 7 for Monday, and outline a response to the following free response essay question:
In The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan says that she hopes her daughter will be "a beautiful little fool." Daisy believes that, in some cases at least, ignorance is bliss. The contradictory attitude is the commonly-stated belief that "Knowledge is power." Write a carefully reasoned, persuasive essay that demonstrates which of these two ideas is the more valid. Use specific references from your observation, reading, or experience to develop your position.
Please bring your written outlines to class on Monday for discussion.
MONDAY: Review term paper checklist. Discuss Chapter 5 of Gatsby. Review Fallacy types and continue taking notes. Fallacy exercise. HW: Revise term paper -- review grammar, MLA formatting, style, and go through the checklist with your paper. The rubric is also available for viewing on Turnitin.com. Read Gatsby Chapter 6 for Friday and note any particularly memorable or impactful passages.
TUESDAY: Brief definition of civil argument/discourse. Close reading of Amy Domini's "Why Investing in Fast Food May Be a Good Thing" with discussion questions. Read arguable claims exercise for Thursday. DUE: Rhetorical Historical Term Paper due by 11:59 p.m. on Turnitin.com. HW: Finish reading claims exercise for Thursday, be ready to discuss. Read Gatsby chapter 6 for Friday.
WEDNESDAY: AP Gatsby multiple choice practice: review test-taking strategies, take multiple choice test. HW: Finish multiple choice test at home if you didn't finish in class and bring to class for Thursday.
THURSDAY: Discuss multiple choice answers and explanations as a class. HW: Find a review of a movie, TV show, song, concert, or video game and identify the claim. What criteria does the reviewer use to justify a thumbs-up or thumbs-down? Please bring the review to class for Friday.
FRIDAY: Current events quiz. Go over arguable claims passage in class. Take notes: types of claims (fact, value, policy). Share and discuss pop culture reviews/claims. DUE: Gatsby Chapter 6. HW: Read Gatsby Chapter 7 for Monday, and outline a response to the following free response essay question:
In The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan says that she hopes her daughter will be "a beautiful little fool." Daisy believes that, in some cases at least, ignorance is bliss. The contradictory attitude is the commonly-stated belief that "Knowledge is power." Write a carefully reasoned, persuasive essay that demonstrates which of these two ideas is the more valid. Use specific references from your observation, reading, or experience to develop your position.
Please bring your written outlines to class on Monday for discussion.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
November 24-26
We have a short week for the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll focus on the Rhetorical Historical term paper -- writing a conclusion, making revisions, and MLA formatting, as well as continuing with Gatsby.
MONDAY: Finish Gatsby activity. Conclusions/revisions of term paper on laptops. HW: Rework your conclusion, continue working on term paper.
TUESDAY: MLA formatting on laptops, style revisions. Instructions about how to insert pictures into Word documents. Last day to work in class on laptops. HW: Check for any needed style revisions, work on MLA formatting on term paper.
WEDNESDAY: Silent debate as practice for argument materials beginning in December. HW: Finish term paper -- due Tuesday, December 2 at 11:59 p.m. on Turnitin.com Read Gatsby chapter 5. Continue working on independent reading, 500 pages total logged by December 15.
Have a wonderful and well-deserved Thanksgiving holiday. I look forward to seeing everyone in December!
MONDAY: Finish Gatsby activity. Conclusions/revisions of term paper on laptops. HW: Rework your conclusion, continue working on term paper.
TUESDAY: MLA formatting on laptops, style revisions. Instructions about how to insert pictures into Word documents. Last day to work in class on laptops. HW: Check for any needed style revisions, work on MLA formatting on term paper.
WEDNESDAY: Silent debate as practice for argument materials beginning in December. HW: Finish term paper -- due Tuesday, December 2 at 11:59 p.m. on Turnitin.com Read Gatsby chapter 5. Continue working on independent reading, 500 pages total logged by December 15.
Have a wonderful and well-deserved Thanksgiving holiday. I look forward to seeing everyone in December!
Sunday, November 16, 2014
November 17-21
This week we'll finish drafting the Rhetorical Historical Term Paper, and continue with The Great Gatsby and learning fallacy types. This is our last full week before Thanksgiving (!)
MONDAY: Overview of term paper and timeline. Work time on laptops. DUE: (Guideline) you should have an introductory paragraph and body paragraphs describing three sources by now. HW: Continue work on term paper, drafting up body paragraphs for the 6 required sources, first draft due Thursday. PLEASE make your term paper available over the Internet so you can access it and work on it in class. (Upload it to Google Docs or Dropbox, use another accessible server, or e-mail it to yourself.) Read Gatsby through Chapter 4 for Friday.
TUESDAY: Term paper - conclusions. Return in-class essay and discuss in detail. Fallacies. HW: Continue work on term paper, drafting up body paragraphs for the 6 required sources. PLEASE make your term paper available over the Internet so you can access it and work on it in class. Read through the end of Chapter 4 of Gatsby.
WEDNESDAY LUNCH: The AP Writing Center in Room B200 is available for drop-in help. Ms. Garcia, the other Visiting Professors, the other AP teachers, and I will be in the room helping students one-on-one with writing. This is the last time before the paper is due that the writing center is available.
WEDNESDAY: Work time on laptops for drafting the term paper. I will be walking around the room, available to help, and Ms. Garcia will be in the room helping students one-on-one as well. DUE: PLEASE have your term paper available over the Internet so you can access it and work on it in class. (Upload it to Google Docs or Dropbox, use another accessible server, or e-mail it to yourself.) HW: Please complete and print out a draft of your term paper for Thursday.
THURSDAY: Peer review of term paper. DUE: Printout of term paper brought to class. HW: Make first round of edits based on peer review. Finish chapter 4 of Gatsby for Friday.
FRIDAY: NO CURRENT EVENTS QUIZ THIS WEEK -- Gatsby quiz chapters 1-4 instead. Discuss Gatsby chapters 1-4 with character activity. DUE: Upload draft of term paper to Turnitin.com with one starred paragraph for teacher comments by Sunday night at 8pm. HW: Edit and revise term paper draft and begin MLA formatting.
MONDAY: Overview of term paper and timeline. Work time on laptops. DUE: (Guideline) you should have an introductory paragraph and body paragraphs describing three sources by now. HW: Continue work on term paper, drafting up body paragraphs for the 6 required sources, first draft due Thursday. PLEASE make your term paper available over the Internet so you can access it and work on it in class. (Upload it to Google Docs or Dropbox, use another accessible server, or e-mail it to yourself.) Read Gatsby through Chapter 4 for Friday.
TUESDAY: Term paper - conclusions. Return in-class essay and discuss in detail. Fallacies. HW: Continue work on term paper, drafting up body paragraphs for the 6 required sources. PLEASE make your term paper available over the Internet so you can access it and work on it in class. Read through the end of Chapter 4 of Gatsby.
WEDNESDAY LUNCH: The AP Writing Center in Room B200 is available for drop-in help. Ms. Garcia, the other Visiting Professors, the other AP teachers, and I will be in the room helping students one-on-one with writing. This is the last time before the paper is due that the writing center is available.
WEDNESDAY: Work time on laptops for drafting the term paper. I will be walking around the room, available to help, and Ms. Garcia will be in the room helping students one-on-one as well. DUE: PLEASE have your term paper available over the Internet so you can access it and work on it in class. (Upload it to Google Docs or Dropbox, use another accessible server, or e-mail it to yourself.) HW: Please complete and print out a draft of your term paper for Thursday.
THURSDAY: Peer review of term paper. DUE: Printout of term paper brought to class. HW: Make first round of edits based on peer review. Finish chapter 4 of Gatsby for Friday.
FRIDAY: NO CURRENT EVENTS QUIZ THIS WEEK -- Gatsby quiz chapters 1-4 instead. Discuss Gatsby chapters 1-4 with character activity. DUE: Upload draft of term paper to Turnitin.com with one starred paragraph for teacher comments by Sunday night at 8pm. HW: Edit and revise term paper draft and begin MLA formatting.
Sunday, November 9, 2014
November 10 - 14
Welcome! Here is the agenda for the week:
MONDAY: Brainstorm and draft the "hook" and rest of introductory paragraph of the Rhetorical Historical term paper. DUE: Source Packet, including 1. 8 sources printed out with SOAPSTONE/LAD analysis, 2. Working thesis (typed -- still a draft), 3. Bibliography or Works Cited in MLA format. HW: Finish draft of introductory paragraph for Wednesday. Bring sources and draft to class every day.
TUESDAY: Veteran's Day Holiday! No school today.
WEDNESDAY: Draft first body paragraph of Rhetorical Historial term paper in class. DUE: (Guideline -- do not turn in.) Draft of introductory paragraph (hook, brief information about event/issue, and thesis) should be completed by now. HW: Finish writing draft of first body paragraph and type up to turn in on Friday.
THURSDAY: Pick up The Great Gatsby from the textbook room. Overview of argument prompt. Fallacies: Emotional fallacies. HW: Type up and print out first body paragraph to turn in on Friday. Study for current events quiz. Word Words vocabulary sheet due on Friday if you haven't already turned it in.
FRIDAY: Current events quiz. Read Gatsby, work on body paragraphs. DUE: First body paragraph, typed. "Word Words" Vocabulary sheet. HW: Read chapters 1-3 in Gatsby. For Monday, you should have an introductory paragraph and body paragraphs drafted that cover 3 of your sources.
MONDAY: Brainstorm and draft the "hook" and rest of introductory paragraph of the Rhetorical Historical term paper. DUE: Source Packet, including 1. 8 sources printed out with SOAPSTONE/LAD analysis, 2. Working thesis (typed -- still a draft), 3. Bibliography or Works Cited in MLA format. HW: Finish draft of introductory paragraph for Wednesday. Bring sources and draft to class every day.
TUESDAY: Veteran's Day Holiday! No school today.
WEDNESDAY: Draft first body paragraph of Rhetorical Historial term paper in class. DUE: (Guideline -- do not turn in.) Draft of introductory paragraph (hook, brief information about event/issue, and thesis) should be completed by now. HW: Finish writing draft of first body paragraph and type up to turn in on Friday.
THURSDAY: Pick up The Great Gatsby from the textbook room. Overview of argument prompt. Fallacies: Emotional fallacies. HW: Type up and print out first body paragraph to turn in on Friday. Study for current events quiz. Word Words vocabulary sheet due on Friday if you haven't already turned it in.
FRIDAY: Current events quiz. Read Gatsby, work on body paragraphs. DUE: First body paragraph, typed. "Word Words" Vocabulary sheet. HW: Read chapters 1-3 in Gatsby. For Monday, you should have an introductory paragraph and body paragraphs drafted that cover 3 of your sources.
Monday, November 3, 2014
November 3 - 7
It's November already! This week we will work on the Rhetorical Historical term paper, as well as the argument prompt.
MONDAY: PowerPoint: Thesis Types. View examples of Rhetorical Historical term paper theses and write out your own. Peer review. Determine what sources will support the thesis and which ones are still needed. HW: Write thesis statement sentence(s) for Wednesday. Be prepared to show 6 sources with SOAPSTONE/LAD for Friday.
TUESDAY: Last day in the Computer Lab to gather sources for term paper.
WEDNESDAY: Vocabulary activity/thesis workshop. DUE: Rough draft of thesis statement. HW: Finish vocabulary activity.
THURSDAY: Read and annotate first argument article for Friday. HW: Finish reading and annotating articles, vocabulary activity, and come to class with 6 sources for the term paper with SOAPSTONE/LAD analysis.
FRIDAY: Current events quiz. Discuss article. DUE: Annotated Francine Prose article. HW: Finish RH term paper Source Packet including 8 articles, printed out with SOAPSTONE/LAD analysis, typed working thesis, and typed bibliography in MLA format for Monday. Read Chapter Two in McGraw Hill: Reading and Writing Effective Arguments.
MONDAY: PowerPoint: Thesis Types. View examples of Rhetorical Historical term paper theses and write out your own. Peer review. Determine what sources will support the thesis and which ones are still needed. HW: Write thesis statement sentence(s) for Wednesday. Be prepared to show 6 sources with SOAPSTONE/LAD for Friday.
TUESDAY: Last day in the Computer Lab to gather sources for term paper.
WEDNESDAY: Vocabulary activity/thesis workshop. DUE: Rough draft of thesis statement. HW: Finish vocabulary activity.
THURSDAY: Read and annotate first argument article for Friday. HW: Finish reading and annotating articles, vocabulary activity, and come to class with 6 sources for the term paper with SOAPSTONE/LAD analysis.
FRIDAY: Current events quiz. Discuss article. DUE: Annotated Francine Prose article. HW: Finish RH term paper Source Packet including 8 articles, printed out with SOAPSTONE/LAD analysis, typed working thesis, and typed bibliography in MLA format for Monday. Read Chapter Two in McGraw Hill: Reading and Writing Effective Arguments.
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