Calendar of Assignments, September - December, 2014. (To see the current assignment, please scroll down to today's date.)

Thurs., 9/4*
In class:  Free Rice.  Discuss the elements of Rhetorical Analysis.  Discuss Einstein's letter to Phyllis Wright.  Collect your rough outlines.  Assign Florence Kelley's essay.  More on the AP Exam (esp. in 5th Pd.).

Note the upper RH Corner of this blog (-->).  You will see the words for Monday's Vocabulary Quiz.

P.M.  Read Florence Kelley's essay and -- in the blank space on the back side of the AP essay -- please list a sequence of at least three rhetorical strategies you think she uses in addressing her audience of Philadelphia Suffragettes.

Friday, 9/5
In class:  Assemble a hypothetical Florence Kelley essay from the strategies you list.  (PB to write this essay over the weekend.)

This Weekend:  Review the vocabulary words.  Make progress in your non-fiction reading selection.  We will begin in earnest on Monday, Sept. 15.  You will be expected to know your book by 9/15.
(Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin.  Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, by David Sedaris.  Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot.  The Autobiography of Malcolm X, by Malcolm X, with Alex Haley.)

Monday, 9/8
In class:  Vocabulary Quiz.  Read Mr. Bratnober's essay.  Discuss other essay possibilities.  More on the AP exam.  Reading assignment in LOC to be announced.

P.M.  Please read the three student essays on the AP Central website.  Then read Mr. Bratnober's Florence Kelley essay.  What virtues am I trying to get at in my lengthy, sprawling typed essay?  What am I trying to emphasize, even though my essay is absurdly long and somewhat overdeveloped. :)

Tuesday, 9/9
In class:  Discuss the four Florence Kelley essays.  Assignments and activities TBA.

P.M.  AS NOTED IN CLASS, please read pp. 10-27 in The Language of Composition (LOC) for Thursday's class.

Wednesday, 9/10
In class:  Read Barbara Ascher's essay "On Compassion," in 50 Essays.  Begin to study essays -- for mind-expanding fun, for new understanding of the world (in this case, the world of New York), and for a few hints about how they create the Multiple-Choice questions on the AP Exam.

P.M.  Please complete your reading of pp. 10-27 in LOC.  If there is some kind of quiz, assessment, or discussion process on Thursday, it will help you to have these notes.

Thurs., 9/11
In class:  Brief discussion of Sept. 11, 2001.  Then, quiz/assessment/discussion process regarding LOC, pp. 10-27.  If time, begin reading LOC, Chapter 2, on Close Reading Analysis.

NOTE:  Please remember that you should be finished with your Non-Fiction selection from the WHS Summer Reading list by Monday's class on Sept. 15.

NOTE:  Don't forget to bring your marbled journal notebook to class on Friday!

P.M.  Please read and take notes on pp. 34-51.  Read ten or so pages tonight and finish the rest in Friday's class.

Friday, 9/12
In class:  Finish reading any & all pages you haven't read in LOC (pp. 34-51).  If you're all done, it will be fine if you go forward in the text:  go up to page 59 if you can.  You will be writing an essay this weekend!

WEEKEND READING:  Over the weekend, please finish reading Chapter 2 of The Language of Composition.  As part of your preparation for Monday's class, please draft an essay in response to the JFK prompt (page 57, at the bottom).  Please bring your essays to class on Monday.  Essays should be 2-3 pages, typed -- double-spaced, one-inch margins, 12-point font.

NOTE:
I will try to create a Turn-It-In.Com "receptacle" for these JFK essays.  If you feel that you can submit your essay via Turn-It-In.Com, so much the better!  I will try to read all your essays Monday night, and/or during Tuesday's In-Class AP Essay of Rhetorical Analysis.

Monday, 9/15
In class:  Finish our discussion of Chapter 2.  Look at 2-3 of the Kennedy essays if there are some to share on TurnItIn.Com.  Discuss Wednesday's AP ESSAY of Rhetorical Analysis!!!  Mr. Bratnober will post the assignment for the Multi-Draft Essay of Rhetorical Analysis on ClassJump.

P.M.  Homework:  Read Richard Louv's piece on the separation between people and nature, the text for the 2013 AP Free Response Question of Rhetorical Analysis (Question 2).  As you study Louv's short essay, think about his rhetorical strategies.  Then, please turn to the Student Responses & Scoring Commentary posted on AP Central and see what two American high school students had to say about it sixteen months ago, in May 2013.

ALSO, please note that the Assignment for the Multidraft Essay of Rhetorical Analysis is now on the ClassJump page for our course.

Tuesday, 9/16
In class:  We will discuss Chapter 2 of LOC, the JFK prompt, and the Louv essay.  Please be prepared!
I suggest that you consult AP Central for past rhetorical analysis essays, plus LOC Chapter 2; and (2) that you go to bed earlier!  Please bring a pen with dark ink (black or dark blue) to Wednesday's class; also, please bring some lined paper -- at least 2-3 sheets.  Good Luck tomorrow!

Wednesday, 9/17
In class:  OUR FIRST IN-CLASS AP ESSAY:  I-CE #1.  [Contrary to my earlier note, I intend to return your JFK essays this Thursday, 9/18.]

P.M.  Please go online and read the student essays in response to Tuesday's I-CE #1 (You'll know the date of the source essay because you'll have the prompt in hand.) .  Also, please read Amy Tan's essay "Mother Tongue" (LOC… see the Table of Contents).

Thursday, 9/17
In class:  Briefly discuss Wednesday's essay (scoring on Friday).   JFK papers back to you.  Q & A about the Multi-Draft Essay of Rhetorical Analysis.  DUE DATES.  Begin a discussions process for "Mother Tongue."  We'll score Wednesday's essay in class this Friday.  (Please remember:  this is the first of five I-CEs!).

P.M.  Please go online and read the AP Scoring Guidelines, the three student essays in response to the Rhetorical Analysis FRQ (Question 2) (LF), and the AP Scoring Commentary.  Also, please read the WHS student essay from 2012.  (You'll know the scores of the first three -- please see if you can guess the score I assigned to the WHS essay.)

COMING SOON:  Extra Credit opportunity for Radio Plays.

Friday, 9/18
Complete our discussion of "Mother Tongue."  WE WILL THEN SCORE WEDNESDAY'S AP ESSAYS.  Consult the scoring guides if necessary.  Also, time permitting, we'll launch Magic Friday.

Weekend Reading:  Read Sherman Alexie's essay "Superman and Me."  We'll try to take an open-book quiz (AP Multiple-Choice style) this Monday.

Monday, 9/21
AP Multiple-Choice Quiz on "Superman and Me."  We will then launch a discussion of the Politics essays (Chapter 13) in LOC.  DEADLINE REMINDERS ABOUT THE MULTI-DRAFT ESSAY.

P.M.  TBA.  (Work on your Multi-Draft Essay (M-DE) now, soon, please!)

Tuesday, 9/22
In class:  Read and Discuss Jamaica Kincaid.

P.M.  (Work on your M-DE.)

Wednesday, 9/23
In class:  Read and Discuss Jamaica Kincaid.

P.M.  (Work on your M-DE)

Thursday, 9/24
In class:  Read and Discuss "A Modest Proposal."

P.M.  (Work on your M-DE.)

Friday, 9/25
In class:  U. OF M. // WALL OF DISCOVERY DAY.  AP-style Multiple Choice Quiz, plus further discussion, of "A Modest Proposal."

WEEKEND HOMEWORK:  M-DE FIRST DRAFTS ARE DUE ON _____.

Monday, 9/28

AP Lit. Circle Presentations

 I.         Background on your author’s life and literary career (awards, accomplishments, teaching positions) (PowerPt.)  [2 minutes]

II. A brief exposition of the story – the basics, sans Spoilers, in 60 seconds or less. Situate your audience in the setting, the characters, and the themes of this novel.  (No PowerPt.)  [1 minute]

III.  Notes on the critical reception of your book.  Quote published commentary on your book.  (No PowerPt.)  (See Part V, below.)  [2 minutes.]  

LITERARY RESEARCH ON JSTOR
JSTOR is a database for literary research.  Once you're inside  JSTOR, you can do literary research on almost any book published before the year 2000.  To enter the JSTOR portal and use the big database, COPY the number 21972069409410 and PASTE it into the window for the JSTOR portal in the Hennepin County Library Databases.  

IV. Read aloud two excerpts: one from the first half; one from the second half. Share an annotated close reading analysis of each excerpt, discussing your author’s style.  (PowerPt.)  [10 minutes]

V. ESSAY. Each group will be required to compose a short, AP-Lit-like essay. Choose a prompt from the website for the AP exam in Literature (12th grade exam/FRQ #3) and respond to the prompt using your novel. 4-6 paragraphs, Typed & double-spaced. READ THE FIRST TWO PARAGRAPHS OF YOUR ESSAY OUT LOUD during your presentation, and hand in your paper the day you present.  Your essay should effectively synthesize at least two of the sources you cite in Part III (above), reinforcing positions you take about your novel or play.  More on this after we get back from the AP exam.  [2 minutes]  This is the link to the exam page for AP English Literature and Composition.  See Essay Question 3.

VI.  Recommend this book.  Who should read it this summer?  Who should not read it?  How long will it take to read?   Q & A  [2 minutes]

PowerPoint segments must be delivered facing the audience.  No A’s for groups who read from the SmartBoard.  Present facing the house!

Rehearsals:  May 27 and 28          Presentations:  May 29 & 30

Week of May 5 - 9 -- THIS IS IT!

WEEKEND READING FOR MONDAY
"Women's Brains," by Stephen Jay Gould (LOC, pp. 349-354)  Answer the five "Questions for Discussion," p. 354.  Bring your copy of "Tone Words" to class every day this coming week.

Monday, May 5
In class:
Score I-CE #4.  Discuss "Women's Brains"!  Whether you're a man or a woman, please be accountable for "Women's Brains."  Lit Circle groups meet and determine reading schedules.  All outstanding homework:  graded & back to you.

Monday homework:  Advance in your Lit Circle novel, per your group's reading schedule.

Tuesday, May 6
In class:
AP Argument Essay -- full out.  2004 Form B argument essay.

Tuesday homework:  Advance in your Lit Circle novel, per your group's reading schedule.  Please bring Lit Circle selections to Wednesday's class.

Wednesday, May 7
In class:
Discuss 2004 Form B Argument Essay.  (See the three student essays (9, 8, 6), and review the AP Scoring Commentary for the three essays online.)  Vocabulary review.  Tone word exercise.  Grammar challenges.  Schedule reading in Lit Circle selections.

Wednesday homework:  Sleep Soundly.

Thursday, May 8
In class:  Scrabble Day / Nap Day.

Thursday homework:  Sleep Soundly.

Friday, May 9
THIS IS IT.  7:45 a.m., Downstairs Gym entrance.  #2 pencils.  Dark ink pens.  Wristwatch.  And GOOD LUCK.

For Thursday, May 1, and Friday, May 2

In The Language of Composition, please review "Analyzing a Visual Text," pp. 49-51.

Study James Crawford's table, "Census Data on Language Use in the United States," LOC, p. 576, and answer Exploring the Text questions 1, 2, 3, and  5, on p. 578.

We will address tables, political cartoons, ad photography, and other visual texts tomorrow to support success on the AP Synthesis essay.

Also, let us try to finalize Lit Circle groups.  I think we will need extra copies of Yann Martel's Life of Pi.  Does your family have a copy our class can borrow for a month this May?

FRIDAY, MAY 2:  In-Class AP Synthesis Essay #4.

For Tuesday, April 29

If you haven't done so already, please complete the questions about the Orwell essay.  Also, please use tonight to wrap up missing assignments:  Practice 1-2-3, Colonial Imperialism, Thoreau.

On Tuesday we will look closely at the Lit Circle choices, listening to segments from audiobooks, and reading passages aloud.  Again, the books are The Scarlet Letter, The Bluest Eye, A Farewell to Arms, What is the What, Life of Pi, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Glass Menagerie (play), Fahrenheit 451, and The Catcher in the Rye.  There is abundant information about these texts online.

For Monday, April 28

Please read George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," pp. 529-539, in The Language of Composition.  We'll discuss this in connection with "Mother Tongue," so please keep Amy Tan's essay on the front burner as well.

NOTE:  It appears to me that there are still many AP English Lang and Comp juniors who have not submitted Sentences Imitations (Practice exercises 1-2-3), the Colonial Imperialism essay (LOC, pp. 995-996), or the two paragraphs of rhetorical analysis of Thoreau's "Where I Lived, and What I Lived for" (see LOC and this blog, April 22-23).

For Friday, April 25

1.  Please read the AP Scoring Guidelines for the 2013 Synthesis essay on monuments and memorials.  Also, please review the three student anchor papers:  an 8, a 5, and a 2.

2.  In The Language of Composition, please read (or reread) Amy Tan's short essay "Mother Tongue."

We will take another AP Multiple-Choice review quiz on Friday, and we will score I-CE #3.

For Thursday, April 24

For Thursday’s AP English class, please read the 2013 Rhetorical Analysis Prompt and prewrite the essay you would write in response.

To find this Rhetorical Analysis prompt, click on this link and SCROLL DOWN to Question 2.

The AP assignment for Wednesday, April 23, includes a Brief Essay

Clearly, Henry David Thoreau did not approve of the fast pace of life in 1847.  He thought Americans worked too hard – that they were workaholic slaves to bank mortgages and other debts.  And he felt that there was too much technology (e.g., trains, telegraphs, measuring devices). 

He conducted his experiment in deliberate living – his two and a half year hermitage on Walden Pond – not simply as an isolationist retreat (yes, his Concord neighbors visited him periodically, and yes, his mother did his laundry!), but instead as a symbolic statement about living simply.  In effect, he tried to become a living, breathing counterargument to what he saw as American addiction to work and technology.

As you review “Where I Lived, and What I Lived for” tonight (LOC, pp. 256-261), please write two paragraphs – hypothetical body paragraphs in a hypothetical AP essay of rhetorical analysis – in which you specifically and eloquently show how at least two of Thoreau’s rhetorical strategies support his argument in challenging Americans to “Simplify!”

As you write, please remember that rhetorical strategies are not limited to the items in the Glossary of LOC.  Humor is a rhetorical strategy.  Repetition is a rhetorical strategy.  Insistence is a rhetorical strategy.  Irony and sarcasm are rhetorical strategies.  How do Thoreau’s rhetorical strategies support his argument in challenging mid-19^th-century Americans to “Simplify!”? 

TYPE & PRINT THESE PARAGRAPHS, AND BRING THEM TO CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23.  ALSO, PLEASE SUBMIT THESE PARAGRAHS ON TURNITIN.COM.  I'VE CREATED AN ASSIGNMENT CALLED 'THOREAU ASSIGNMENT' ON TURNITIN.COM.

For Monday's and Tuesday's Classes, on April 21 & 22

Please read Henry David Thoreau's essay, "Where I Lived, and What I Lived for."  It's in LOC, pp. 276-281.  The essay is actually an excerpt from Thoreau's larger book, Walden (1854), an account of the two and a half years Thoreau spent living in a small cabin on Walden Pond, outside Concord, MA.

This essay is also published in many places online.  Google on 'Thoreau' 'Walden' and 'Chapter 2' and you will find it.

Here's a link:  http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/walden/hdt02.html    Scroll down to about the half-way point, where he writes, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."  Start reading at that point and finish the document.

Also, just to say:  it might help to SparkNote this (i.e., Walden, Ch. 2).  The notes will tell you, in brief, what he's talking about.  Then, however, please read it.

We'll write I-CE #3 on Tuesday and return to Walden on Wednesday.

Deadline Change for the Colonial Imperialism essay

With Prom, the ACT, and the upcoming MCAs, I've asked a lot of you by demanding that you finish an essay by Monday/Tuesday.  Let me therefore extend this deadline to Thursday at class time:  hard copy.  Enjoy Prom!  (And please RT this tweet.)   P.S.  It's still fine to hand it in on Tuesday.

Missing Work

See the grading portal.  Many of you have small missing assignments.  These should be easy to make up this weekend.  If I've overlooked something, please refresh my memory on Monday.

Calendar of Assignments Going Forward

Homework:  In LOC, review "Shooting an Elephant" (979-984) and read pp. 985-995 (Achebe, Eavan Boland poem, Christiansted brochure, magazine ad for a swanky chair).  On Friday we'll use these five pieces to construct a synthesis essay on colonial imperialism.  Also, please read the AP Student Sample essays on the Curator essay -- 2007 (Form B), Question #1.  We'll score I-CE #1 during Friday's class.

Friday, April 10

In class:  Pre-write Synth. Essays on colonial imperialism.  Score I-CE #1.

Weekend homework:  

Please read the Instructions under “Entering the Conversation” (p. 995).  Then read the five prompts on pages 995-996 of LOC and select one prompt to respond to in a short essay that you’ll begin today and finish over the weekend.  As the Instructions suggest, you should treat this like an AP Synthesis Essay, citing at least three of the sources in the Conversation pieces (Source 1 for Orwell, Source 2 for Achebe, Source 3 for Eavan Boland, Source 4 for Christiansted engraving, Source 5 for the luxury chair ad) to support the assertions you make.   This essay will be due on Monday at midnight (Turnitin.com) and on Tuesday at class-time (hard copy).  Your printed essay should be neatly typed – double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and a 12-point type font.  Give your essay a title.  No requirement for a Works Cited page.

I expect you to make progress on this in class today:  with enough focus and determination, you might finish 75% of this essay as you prewrite and draft in Friday's class.  If you have questions about this, you can send me an email over the weekend; and I should be there to answer questions on Monday.  But don't linger over which of the five prompts to write about:  make a choice and go for it!

LENGTH:  This essay should be at least 2-3 typed pages -- maximum of 5.

Monday, April 14

We'll address this Colonial Imperialism essay and score I-CE #1.

Tuesday afternoon, April 15 (MCA testing day)

You will write still another AP Synthesis essay:  I-CE #2.

Homework for Thursday, April 17:  TBA.

[Wednesday, April 16 - no class (MCA testing).]

Thursday

We resume.

Friday, April 18

We'll score I-CE #2.