School "Fine"

Read the definition of satire and then read the satire below.

School 'Fine,' U.S. Teens Report

Having looked at A Modest Proposal, how is this piece similar? What is the appeal of a satire?  What do they accomplish that other types of text might not?  Why are they effective?  Blog your answer for Monday.

Rhetoric in Literature

As you may recall from the summer assignment, literature has a rhetoric all its own.  It can be used to make appeals to a broader audience, or, as in the example from our text, rhetorical appeals can be made as part of the narration.  Authors use rhetoric to make you think or feel a certain way all the time. 

Your assignment is to read pages 12-13 in our book and find an example from literature where you see the author using some of the things we've discussed thus far to create a particular effect.  Bring in a copy to share with the class.  If you didn't talk today, be prepared to talk tomorrow.

Scholarship Opportunity!!!!!

Hey all, there is a scholarship opportunity for AP students with good grades. Check out the attached document for more details. bezos-scholars-program.pdf

Visual Rhetoric

Read pages 10-12 in your textbook (the assignment is at the top of p. 12).  Blog your analysis with the picture (this is also practice placing pictures on your blog).

Welcome to AP Lang & Comp!

Welcome to AP® English Language and Composition! I am looking forward to a fast-paced, productive, and enjoyable semester with you.We will be using this blog as an integral part of our class. You will be responsible to read and respond to the entries posted here. In order for you to work effectively with this blog, you need a blog of your own. Don't set one up just anywhere, but carefully follow the directions given below to set up a blog on learnerblogs.org. Don't go there yet. Read everything and follow the directions. If you do the wrong thing or have trouble or leave something out because you didn't follow the directions, you will start out behind.

Assignment

Your first assignment is to

1. Read the blogging guidelines page linked at the top of the page. Then follow the setting up your blog link at the bottom of that page. Set up your blog according to those directions and email the requested information to mr.giddings@comcast.net.


2. Read pages 1-9 in our textbook and blog (put your answer on the blog instead of paper) the assignment on page 9-10 analyzing Einstein's letter to the little girl. We will discuss this work tomorrow, so you may want a copy with you in class.

Au Revior!

I'll keep this short.

Well, guys. I'm really going to miss this class.  You have been a wonderful group and I'm sad to see you go.  I wish we had the whole year together, but I'm proud of how much you all have grown over the course of the semester and I hope you all do amazingly well on the test in May. Remember to stay in touch with each other and to keep using your skills so they don't atrophy.  You know where to find me.

Salut!

Mr. G

 PS  Pictures!!!!

PPS I forgot to give you that study guide I copied for you.  You can come by and pick one up at your leisure if you want one.

Remember

This assignment is a do or do not assignment. You do, you garner points. You don't, you lose points. Simplicity is beautiful, isn't it? So here's the deal, bring a copy of your gender/science & technology essay or your This I Believe essay to class to be given to the school newspaper. Points, no points. Simple.

Good luck on the final tomorrow.

Mmmmm ∏

Presentation Pictures

Go here to see pictures from our presentations.  I didn't get everyone for some reason.  I missed the ones with the lights down, but I'm not quite sure why I didn't get everyone else.   In any case, enjoy the ones where Gena and Kaitlin had Colleen dressed up as the AP Princess.

This I Believe

We have finally arrived at our last assignment of this class (other than the final). I'm sure that gives you a warm feeling inside. No more timed writes. No more textual analysis. No more papers (except this one!).

Well without further ado, here it is. Go to http://www.thisibelieve.org. Peruse the essays. Read at least 3 or 4 of them on different topics to get a sense of what they're about. You'll notice that some were picked to be played on the radio and those have audio of the author reading their submission. Then, read the guidelines page to more concretely understand what they are looking for in successful submissions.

Then blog your own This I Believe essay. You will be reading them to the class on Tuesday the 22^nd and submitting them for publication to This I Believe. These can be serious or fun, just make them real. Have fun with this one.

So, What Did We Learn Anyway?

Your task is this: Create a visual representation of everything we’ve learned this semester. This includes facts, skills, and strategies. This should not be a PowerPoint list of things, but a creative visual that helps to show how the various bits of knowledge and skills are interrelated.

Due Thursday January 17^th

Career Cruising Uploads

All right. time to check off another one of those graduation requirements. For your 5th year plan, you need to write a cover letter and resumé that you can upload to your career cruising portfolio. Please find their cover letter instructions here under the 11th grade requirements.

For the resumé, I gave you an itsy bitsy amount of instruction by way of example in class today (oh, the tyrrany of the clock!). Below are the worksheets and career center examples for the resumé. I know the examples I showed you in class are more focused and extensive, but the career center format is helpful depending on how full your resumé is at your "tender age."

resume_datasheet.doc; resume_worksheet.doc; resume_example1.doc; resume_example2.doc

Remember that your word processor likely has some useful templates for resumés and cover letters as well.  This needs to be done by Wednesday the 16^th.  We won't be spending any time in class on this other than the few minutes we spent today looking at examples.  Obviously, if you have questions, we can deal with those, but I am not planning on particular lessons.

AP stands for Address the Prompt!

Thursday we will be working on identifying what is required by the free response prompts and honing our skills in addressing them.  This does NOT mean we will be doing a timed write, though it doesn't mean we won't either.

What do you mean I'm not done yet?

All right, don't hate me. You're not done with your papers quite yet. Now that they are "done", you need to do a rhetorical analysis of your own work. Examine the diction and syntax (word choice, sentence variety, why those choices were made). Scrutinize the development or your ethos. Assess your use of logos and pathos and how they aid (or perhaps handicap) your argument.

Then you need to make a descriptive outline of your paper that you will turn in with your paper (don't do the "reader" section).  If, after you are done, you find you'd like to revise your paper further (you probably will), it is due Friday, January 11^th.

Paper Day

We will be meeting in the study hall computer lab on Friday to work on our papers. Don't come to the classroom, go straight to the lab. See you there.