Reading over Break

Please read through chapter 33 of Huck Finn over break, continuing to think about claims and evidence that support our focus topics.

If you were unavailable to attend the extra credit session, please email me and explain why you were not be able to attend and I will email you the link to the video. I'd rather people attend the sessions after school, so I've chosen not to post the link online.

The extra credit assignment consists of a two page typed reflection. The first page should be on things that you learned from the video, and the second page should be more of a reflection: what did it make you think about, what was important about it, what issues did it raise, etc. Please don't skimp on the second half of the assignment. This will be due Tuesday, January 2nd.

Reading due Thursday

For Thursday, you will be reading two narratives. One is by Frederick Douglass and is an excerpt from his autobiography, My Bondage, My Freedom and is the red book from pages 426-430. The other is a handout from Harriet Jacob's autobiography, Incidents in the Life of a Slave girl, and will be read on hand out.

If you have the Jacobs piece, please read this first and bring to class tomorrow to exchange. If you did not receive a handout today, please read the Douglass piece tonight, so you will be free tomorrow to read the piece by Jacobs.

A not so great PDF copy of the Jacobs piece is available here.

Practice "in-class essay"

Here you will find the slides from class today that talk about the importance of audience, audience, audience.

After review the slides, please set a timer for 40 minutes during which you will read and write (by hand) an essay on the prompt available here. Please make sure you are showing off your knowledge an insights into audience as you perform your analysis. This essay will be graded on completion, so there's no sense in writing longer than the 40 minutes since that's the time frame you need to get used to.

Due Friday-

Please complete the following required (and optional) components of the Colonial Comparison paper follow-up assignment.

1. Please write a few sentences about which type of person you are the closest to: Summarizer, Generalizer, Minimalist. It's okay if you reflect on being a combination of these people.

2. Please answer all of my questions that I wrote in your paper's margins. Reprint my original question, so I know what you're responding to.

*optional elements are below*

3. Rewrite 1-2 analytical units (examples) showing growth in your analysis. Most likely, the answers that you provided to my questions will help you in doing this. This may result in a slight boost to your analysis score.

4. If your score on conventions was lower than a 2.5, reprint your conventions error, explain the error, and correct the error. This may result in a boost to your conventions score.

Due Wednesday

Please read the Transcendental works by Thoreau in your red book for Wednesday: "Civil Disobedience" (290) and Walden (282-288).

Due Monday, 11/27

Please read through chapter 17 of the Scarlet Letter. Continue to gather vocabulary for your vocab assignment.

Due Thursday

Read the excerpts from "Nature" and "Self-Reliance" in your red book (268-271).

Additionally, research Emerson quotations online and select 5 that you really enjoy. Copy and paste the quotations into a document and format it so that you have a pretty readable font-size (around 20). Cut out each quotation individually, and bring them with you to class.

We will be doing a class activity with these quotations, so make sure to get this done so you don't feel left out.

Scarlet Letter Reading Due Friday

You will be reading Chapters 1-6 of The Scarlet Letter for Friday, 11-17. You are going to skip the chapter "The Custom House" and begin with the chapter "The Prison Door".

Please keep track of vocabulary words that are new to you as you are doing your reading. You will need to demonstrate your new vocab acquisition during the week of December 5th. The method of showing your new vocab is up to you: you may choose to make a list with definitions, flash cards, a quizlet, post-it notes in your book--whatever works best for your brain.

Kahoot?

I'm hoping to successfully post the link to the Kahoot below. I think you may have to copy and paste it into your browser. If it doesn't work, I tried.

https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/e3321efc-eda7-4628-b4b0-8d9b384db542

Unit 1 Test information

Your Unit 1 Test for AP Lang will be on Tuesday, November 7th. Please use the study guide available here to help you prepare.

Due Monday

The final copy of your colonial authors paper is due Monday, 10/30. Please bring in a hard copy and submit through Turnitin.

Resources are available below.

Colonial Authors Editing
Edwards Feedback
MLA formatting

Colonial Authors Rough Draft Due 10/26

Please use this slide show to help you in writing your rough draft for the colonial authors comparison essay.

Due Friday, 10/20

For Friday, you will be completing a chart on what will turn into your next full paper which will analyze how revolutionary era authors (Henry, Jefferson, Paine) used various devices to persuade their audience to separate from the English. The chart format is available here, but you can complete this by hand if you choose. All of these documents are available in your red book. Devices can include, but are not limited to:

Appeals to logos, pathos, ethos
Sub appeals: religion, fear, authority, fact, etc.
Rhetorical fallacies
Diction
Imagery
Appeal to anecdote (haven't talked about it yet)
Periodic Syntax
Parallel Structure
Allusion
Epanorthosis

Important Note: We have not had a chance to discuss Paine yet, so we will work with him in class on Thursday. Therefore, I recommend that you make progress on outlining Henry and Jefferson tonight, so that you can fill in the Paine part of the chart after Thursday's class.

Due 10/18

Please take your white book home and read all about appositives from 535-541. Then complete exercise 3 (sorry, I think I said E in class) which will have you combine 8 sentences using an appositive. This will be handed in on paper.

The information about dependent and independent clauses is available in white book starting on page 336 if you are feeling like you need a little grammar review.

Please bring your red book to class for Wednesday.

Weekend Reading and PSAT info

Your weekend reading assignment is posted below. I am also including links to the usage powerpoint we did in class, as well as some of the other usage guidelines.

Usage slides
Usage words 1
Usage words 2
Usage words 3




You will be reading poetry, letters, and essays on Phillis Wheatley, an 18th century American poet. They are located in White Book from pages 506-534. You should take notes and gather quotations that help you address, either by support or refutation, what you will develop as your opinion on the question below.

Background Information:

(Please also read the background information on 506-507)

Phillis Wheatley was born in Africa and sold into slavery at a young age. She was brought to America and purchased by John and Susannah Wheatley. In addition to her duties as a slave, Wheatley was taught Latin, mythology, and various other subjects and converted to Christianity. She began writing poems, many of which became quite famous, and she traveled to London where her work was published with support of a local countess, becoming the first African American woman (and only second American woman) to have a book published in this young nation.

Many of Wheatley's poems bear a strong resemblance to the other traditional poetry of her time period and use elevated language, classical allusions, strict rhyme scheme, and rhythm and meter. They often celebrate important American religious and patriotic figures and at times express her gratefulness that she was brought from what she deems "a Pagan land." Understandably, this last idea generates a lot of the controversy about the legacy of Wheatley as many people struggle with a desire to celebrate Wheatley for her accomplishments but struggle to process the notion that she praises and emulates the culture that enslaved her and millions of others.

This brings us to our question which should guide our reading:

To what extent should the legacy of Phillis Wheatley and her poetry be perceived as a triumph or tragedy?

Our discussion on Wheatley will take place on October 17th, so make sure that you divide up your reading appropriately and don't save it all until the last minute. Please create a chart of your own design that helps you categorize the evidence in response to the question above.

Book reminders and weekend reading

Please remember to check out your white book, Conversations in American Literature, from the library.

You will be bringing red book on Friday and Monday, and white book on Tuesday.



Your Columbus Day reading project will be due next Tuesday, 10/10.

Our question is: Should the United States celebrate Columbus Day as a holiday?

You will need to read the following passages in the WHITE BOOK!



198- Momaday
286- Image
291- Berliner
293- Mankiller
296- Connell

You will also be creating a chart (for turning in) that identifies quotations or supports for the texts that are in support of Columbus Day as a holiday, opposed to Columbus day as a holiday, and any other interesting ideas or thoughts that the passages generate for you. You can determine the style of chart that works best for you as long as it clearly distinguished this information.

Practice Quiz and Usage

Below are links to the two sets of slides we looked at today in class. Your grammar quiz on Thursday will cover parts of speech, types of phrases, types of clauses, sentence type identification, and comma rules.

Practice Quiz
Usage slides

Also remember to check out the Sprague Online Writing center (available off of the Sprague homepage) for additional grammar practice exercises.

Edwards Editing Info

Edwards editing slides.

Remember to turn in both an online copy and have a paper copy to turn in in class.

Edwards Rubrics and resources

Here are some resources for your Edwards paper:



Here are some resources for you:

Analysis Rubric
Quotation Incorporation
Transitional Elements
MLA Formatting

Edwards Intro and Body Paragraph Rough Draft

Please write a rough draft of the Edwards introduction and body paragraph for Monday. Ideally, you will type this and have it available through Google Drive, but if you need to hand write it, that is okay. The slides should explain the assignment.

Slides!

Remember to do your Edwards' reading for Friday (see other post)

Here are the slides that you might be needing:

Parts of Speech
Logical Fallacies
Phrases and Clauses

Reading due Thursday: Cotton Mather "Wonders of the Invisible World." Red Book. (75-78)
Reading due Friday: Jonathan Edwards "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." Red Book (70-73)

Antithesis Essay Scoring Guides

Your antithesis essay will receive two scores: One for transitions and one for content. Please use these slides as a means to help you write and revise your paper prior to turning it in.

Antithesis Practice Essay and Reading

The assignment information for your first writing assignment is explained in these slides. Please note that this assignment is due Monday, September 18th.

For Friday, we will also be discussing our first reading assignments from your red literature book. Please read the passages from John Smith (42-47) and William Bradford (50-54). On Thursday in class we will discuss what types of things we will be focusing on in our reading, but if you need to get a head start because you will have a busy Thursday, feel free!

Due 9/12

There was no homework assigned for Tuesday. Please make sure that you have read all of the Musings packet if you have not done so.

Due Monday, 9-11

Please read part 2 of the Musings packet.

The powerpoint on introductions is available here.

Due Friday, 9/8

Please read, understand, and study part 1 of the "Musings on the 5 Paragraph document for Friday. The handout is yours, so please feel free to highlight and write notes to yourself.

Due Thursday, 9/7

If you did summer reading achievements, please bring in your sheet for Thursday so we can acknowledge your accomplishments. If you did not do summer reading achievements or were unaware of the concept, don't worry! This is not a graded assignment.



Please review the course syllabus here and bring in your signed acknowledgment of our class's expectations. Please have this turned in by Friday 9/8.

Summer Reading

Incoming seniors, you have now "graduated" to the AP Lit page. Please visit it here here for information about summer reading!

I will periodically be checking my work email if you have any questions.

Incoming juniors (new AP Language students), below you will find some information for those of you wanting to complete the "teacher's pet" achievement.

Some of McElliott's favorite literary novels:

North and South (Gaskell)
Mary Barton (Gaskell)
Jane Eyre (C. Bronte)
Persuasion (Austen)
Barchester Towers (Trollope)
Native Son* (Wright)
Go Tell it on the Mountain (Baldwin)
Cat's Cradle* (Vonnegut)
Song of Solomon* (Morrison)
The 42nd Parallel (Dos Passos)


Some of McElliott's favorite "lighter fiction" authors: (Many of these are series, so you can choose which titles or series you want.)

Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy)
Brandon Sanderson (fantasy)
Sue Grafton (mystery)
Estelle Ryan (mystery)
Jim Butcher (fantasy/mystery)
Guy Gavriel Kaye (fantasy)


Some of McElliott's favorite books from the past year (regardless of genre or content):

A Man Called Ove (Backman)
Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde)
Lions of al-Rassan* (Kaye)
The Bluest Eye (Morrison)
When Books went to War (Manning)
All Roads Lead to Austen (Smith)



*Asterisk indicates some adult language/content

Final Presentation

Final presentation information is available here. (I think this is the correct link!)

Group Book Project

These slides will explain what is required for your group book project which will be due on June 9th.

Oral History Article

The description for your Oral History Article in available here.

Please also make sure that you are making progress on your group novel. We will have a group novel discussion day on either Wednesday or Thursday of next week (5/31-6/1) to discuss your reading so far.

Smithsonian Information

The link to the Smithsonian article is available here as a resource for when you've turned your paper copy in.

The discussion questions and assignment are available here.

Interview Questions

The document with your interview questions is available here.

Please make an effort to get started on this project this weekend.

Also, don't forget your permission form for you novel, and to get started on reading your group book!

Group Book Permission Form

Please print, fill out, and return the permission form for your group novel project.

SBAC Practice

Remember to do the practice multiple choice from the previous post.

Here is the real link to the short response practice.

And here is a link to short response examples.

Group Novels and Homework

Please think about what group and what novel you are interested in working with for your novel project. The powerpoint from class is available here.

For tomorrow please print and bring this document.

Our SBAC multiple choice practice is a little longer than I thought and will be better due on Monday. Please go to this link

Then, click on sign in. Don't worry about the other login in information. It will probably say "guest."

Then select "grade 11".

Then select G11 ELA practice.

This should cue up a practice test. You will not be given "correct" or "incorrect" answers, but please use this as an opportunity to familiarize yourself with what the multiple choice/response test will be like.

Practice Essay Topics

Practice essay topics are available here.

Essay reminder slide show is available here.

Homework for Monday

We will be doing some review with our red books and white books in class on Monday. Please coordinate within your history groups, and make sure that half of your members bring their white books to class, and the other half bring their red books.

Synthesis Samples

Synthesis essay samples are available here.

Synthesis Practice

Please print and/or work with the Synthesis documents available here prior to class on Monday.

As a minimum, you should brainstorm your own argumentation to the prompt, read and mark each passage, plan on direct quotation vs. paragraph and outline your essay. Students who want the most preparation for the AP test might choose to then write the practice essay to compare with examples on Monday, but that is not required--just a really good idea.

Harlem Renaissance Paragraph

We looked at the rest of the slide show for examples and options of how we might organize this essay. Then we looked at slides for how we might use transitional phrases to help us develop a complex paragraph that might address various positions in the same paragraph. Please write once "complex" style body paragraph, using a combination of paraphrase and direct quotations.

Harlem Renaissance Synthesis

Please read the prompt and mark the following texts, paying extra attention to evidence that you would like to paraphrase or summarize in your essay, and moments that you'd like to quote directly. Texts are available here.

Q3 Sample Essays

Here are three sample essays on the "adversity" prompt.

Practice Q3 Essay

Please use the prompt below as the basis for a practice in class essay. Set your timer for 40 minutes, read the prompt, and then write an entire essay, ending at the 40 time. Please write by hand and in ink.

Prompt:

"Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant". —Horace

Consider this quotation about adversity from the Roman poet Horace. Then write an essay that defends, challenges, or qualifies Horace’s assertion about the role that adversity (financial or political hardship, danger, misfortune, etc.) plays in developing a person’s character. Support your argument with appropriate evidence from your reading, observation, or experience.

Harlem Renaissance Poetry

Poems are available here.

Assignment outline:

 After everyone has read the poems at your station, please discuss the STRUCTURE, (poem format, rhyme scheme, line length etc) STYLE (figurative language, imagery, allusions, etc.) and CONTENT (meaning, topics, etc.) of each poem.

For each station, you must record your observations on a chart resembling the following.

Author(s):
Titles of Poems:

Structure and Style Observations:


Content Observations:


Which poem did you find most interesting/ meaningful/ compelling?

Reading Due Friday

If you have not already done so, please complete the reading of Kennedy's inaugural speech (77-84).

Spring Break Reading

Please read the documents on immigration in the white book from pages 997-1023. For each document, please write down and identify specific techniques (analysis style) and their effects that the author is using to advance his/her claim (s). After doing this for all documents, write a thesis statement that makes a claim addressing the complex views Americans have had towards immigration over the course of the history of the United States.

The written portion of this assignment is a requirement, but you may format it in the manner that is most helpful for you.

The Research Paper is Due!

And per student request, here are the slide where we wrote Gatsby thesis statements.

Introductions and Argumentative Tone

Introduction information is available here.


We haven't discussed it yet, but Argumentative tone slides are available here.

Snow Day Update!

It is March, right?

Here are some revisions for this week's calendar based on the fact that we had a snow day today.

Due Tuesday: Discussion of Gatsbychapters 4-6.

Due Wednesday: Analysis in-class assessed essay. Make sure to apply feedback from all of your analysis lessons. The powerpoint we looked at in class on Friday about supporting a complex thesis is available here.

Due Thursday: Discussion of the end of Gatsby, chapters 7-8.

Due Monday: Importance Paragraph Checkpoint. Yep, I'm moving the deadline until Monday to make sure that you all have enough time to have conferences on your citation outline if needed. Between the snow day, the fact that I have an after school session planned with my seniors Tuesday after school, and the fact that Friday's off for you, I was concerned there would not be enough time to answer questions.

Make up from in class

In class today, we looked at strategies for marking the text for an analysis essay. The two documents are scanned images of my marking the Florence Kelley text (Side 1 and Side 2. At the end, you'll see a key that hopefully explains what my markings mean, and hopefully you'll see how they might help you when it comes time to write an analysis essay. Please use my suggestions to mark the Cesar Chavez passage and then write a complex thesis statement on the back.

Assignments 3/1, 3/2, 3/3

Please print and bring this passage to class on Wednesday. Also make sure you have your signed registration information if you did not turn it in today.

For Thursday, you will need to have read chapters 1-3 of the Great Gatsby.

For Friday, your Citation outline is due. Do not forget to include a current version of your observation and importance topics as well as a complete thesis (the formally phrased version of your ob and imp and poa points.)

Reading due 2/27

Your homework for Monday is to read the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "Winter Dreams" which is located in your red book. If you do not have access to your red book, and online copy is available here.

Reminder

Your observation paragraph is due tomorrow. The slide show on style guidelines is available here.

Updates

Please continue work on your observation paragraph which is due on Friday.

The "to be" powerpoint from class today is available here.

Due Monday

Please read "The Strenuous Life" by Teddy Roosevelt, white book (922-926).

After reading, you might want to look at my (quick) analytical thoughts about the passage, in preparation for your analysis essay on Monday.

The Red Cloud editing activity that we looked at in class is available here.

Due Thursday

You will not need to bring white books to class for the remainder of the week.

Please print and bring this document to class tomorrow.

The slide show with argument introduction samples from class today is available here.

Due Tuesday and Red Cloud make-up

Read the excerpt in the white book from Jacob Riis' "The Mixed Crowd" (869-874). In your notes, write quick responses the questions 2, 3, and 5 that follow the text. Please make sure to bring your white book to class.

Those of you who were absent for the Red Cloud writing activity, you may find a link here. You will obviously not be able to rotate your paper as we did, but complete all steps in the process on your own paper. This make-up work assignment should be turned in to me by Friday, 2/10.

Updates

Please make sure you will have your observation "virtual notecards" complete and turned in on Friday. Information about that assignment and all other due dates for the research paper can be found on the research paper site; the link is available on the left.

Please make sure that you have done your reading of the "Gospel of Wealth" and "The Subtle Problem of Charity". We will get around to talking about both of these during the week.

Also, if you'd like to get a head start on reading, we will be working with "The Mixed Crowd" by Jacob Riis available in your white book.

It will be anther white book week, so please make sure it gets to class.

Due Tuesday

Please read the memoir excerpt from Zitkala Sa (pages 935-940 in the white book). I would encourage you to ponder the questions at the end of the passage as well as the portraits.

For Wednesday, please have your research paper "observation" ready to submit. The powerpoint from in class today is available here.

Study Guide

Here is an early draft of your semester 1 study guide. I don't anticipate it changing too much...I hope.

John Brown Articles due Tuesday, 1/17

You will be reading the John Brown articles in your white book and considering the question: is John Brown best seen as a patriot or a terrorist? (731-754). You will be gathering evidence from your articles on a 4 quadrant chart that you will turn in for points. The evidence that you list should be a combination of paraphrase and direct quotations and contain a parenthetical citation of author and page number. Each quadrant concept is explained in more detail below.

Patriot:

In this quadrant, you will list evidence from your articles supporting the claim that John Brown and his actions should be seen as patriotic.

Terrorist:

In this quadrant, you will list evidence from your articles supporting the claim that John Brown and his actions should be seen as terrorism.

Refutations and outside examples that support Patriotism:

In this quadrant you are going to list examples from your articles where you refute the evidence the writer gives you. In other words, your author is claiming he is a terrorist, but you are going to refute your author's claim and thereby prove that he is actually better seen as a patriot.

You are also going to try to find a relevant example from another time or place in history that you will compare to Brown and allow you to prove that he was a patriot.

Refutations and outside examples that support Terrorist

In this quadrant you are going to list examples from your article where you refute the evidence the writer gives you. In other words, they are claiming he is a patriot, but you are going to refute your author's claim and thereby prove that he is actually better seen as a terrorist.

You are also going to try to find a relevant example from another time or place in history that you will compare to Brown and allow you to prove that he was a terrorist.

Synthesis Samples

Many high schools, colleges, and universities have honor codes or honor systems: sets of rules or principles that are
intended to cultivate integrity. These rules or principles often take the form of written positions on practices like
cheating, stealing, and plagiarizing as well as on the consequences of violating the established codes.
Carefully read the following six sources, including the introductory information for each source. Then synthesize
information from at least three of the sources and incorporate it into a coherent, well-developed argument for your
own position on whether your school should establish, maintain, revise, or eliminate an honor code or honor system.
Your argument should be the focus of your essay. Use the sources to develop your argument and explain the
reasoning for it. 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 as Source A, Source B, etc.,
or by using the descriptions in parentheses.

Source A (cartoon)
Source B (Vangelli)
Source C (Dirmeyer and Cartwright)
Source D (Kahn)
Source E (table)
Source F (McCabe and Pavela)



Synthesis Scoring Guide: Honor Code

Synthesis Samples: Honor Code