Friday, September 23: Timed essay! If you were absent, you must contact me ASAP to schedule a time to make it up (about 45 minutes).
HW: 1) Prep for debate (next Thursday) and 2) study vocab (test Wednesday, October 5). We will have other homework next week Monday and Tuesday, so don’t procrastinate too much on these two things.
First Hour Debate: How should parents think about and deal with vaccines for their children? Which vaccines should our society make mandatory, if any?
Third Hour Debate: Should America have the death penalty? To what extent is capital punishment a viable legal and constitutional policy?
Sixth Hour Debate: What is Black Lives Matter, are the issues with which they are concerned legitimate, and to what extent do the protests help or hurt the cause? [also take a look at the recent news stories surrounding the deaths of Terence Crutcher (Tulsa, Oklahoma) and Keith Scott (Charlotte, North Carolina)]
Thursday, September 22: In groups, discuss last night’s homework, especially areas of confusion. Then (and you should do this if you were absent), groups created an outline of purposes and implicit claims that they would analyze in an essay, including the textual evidence for each. Finally, write an introduction to the essay (introducing the topic and thesis). Tomorrow, we’ll be writing a timed analysis essay in class on a similar (but not the same) prompt. HW: study vocab
Wednesday, September 21: Finish discussing yesterday’s analysis essay, including adding #6 to our list of rhetorical analysis steps:
1) Read for comprehension/things that stand out.
2) What are the purposes of this text?
3) Identify quotes/specific choices that accomplish each purpose
4) Decide on an order to your analysis (which purposes should be addressed first/last?)
5) Draft analysis (explaining how the argument works)
6) Make sure you fully answer the question ‘And why did the text do this?’ (effect, purpose) for each quote/choice.
Then, discuss implicit claims (things the writer wants you to understand but doesn’t state explicitly). In the 9/11 speech, Bush makes an implicit suggestion of war at the end of the speech. Review this PowerPoint (about Chanski) and write down two implicit claims that you think I’m making about myself. Then, explain why I might want to make you (my students) think those things about me.
HW: Complete the first two steps of rhetorical analysis (“Read for comprehension/things that stand out” and “What are the purposes/implicit claims of this text?”) for this text.
Tuesday, September 20: Today, we read and discussed a rhetorical analysis essay on Bush’s 9/11 speech, including what the essay does/does not do, how it transitions between quotes and ideas, and how it combines text, inference, and analysis. If you were absent, read the essay and come with comments/question about how to write a rhetorical analysis essay. HW: study vocabulary for the next quiz at the beginning of October
Monday, September 19: Today, we first debriefed from Friday’s debate, discussing areas for improvement and whether the topic would be good for research. Next, we returned to George W. Bush’s 9/11 speech and wrote one paragraph analyzing one of the purposes of the speech. We listed these purposes last week when we first discussed the speech. If you were absent, you must write this paragraph. Then, list the elements of the paragraph that gave you trouble. HW: study vocabulary for the next quiz at the beginning of October
Friday, September 16: Today we debate! If you are absent, you must write a 1-page review of your own position on the issue; it must include the following:
1) specific references to research
2) how your position changed in the process of doing research
3) where you stand now
4) how you might persuade a hostile or indifferent audience
5) why does this issue matter
HW: study vocabulary for the next quiz at the beginning of October
Thursday, September 15:
Bell work: Without changing your position, persuade a different audience on the same topic you wrote about on Monday. This audience initially should be indifferent to your topic.
Read and annotate George W. Bush’s 9/11 speech, using the following steps as a guide. You don’t have to actually write the analysis (step 5), but you should copy this process into your journal (maybe near your rhetorical triangle graphic) for future reference.
1) Read for comprehension/things that stand out.
2) What are the purposes of this text?
3) Identify quotes/specific choices that accomplish each purpose
4) Decide on an order to your analysis (which purposes should be addressed first/last?)
5) Draft analysis (explaining how the argument works)
HW: Prepare for Friday’s debate (see the preliminary readings under Monday’s homework)
Wednesday, September 14: Examine standard 18 and discuss rubric and Friday’s debate. Review the rhetorical triangle and complete an activity to better understand audience in the context of an argument. If you were absent, write in your journal about what you would want to know about your audience before making an argument to them. Also copy notes from someone who was in class. HW: Prepare for Friday’s debate (see the preliminary readings under Monday’s homework)
Tuesday, September 13: Vocabulary quiz! If you were absent, schedule a time with me to make the quiz up. HW: Prepare your personal list of 10 vocabulary words (due tomorrow); prepare for Friday’s debate (see the preliminary readings under Monday’s homework)
Monday, September 12: Bell Work: Persuade an audience of your choice about some topic you learned about this summer.
Take notes on the rhetorical triangle and focus on understanding and appealing to audience.
HW: Study vocab (quiz tomorrow) and prepare for Friday’s debate with the articles below:
1st Hour: Browse this website as a starting point for understanding gene therapy.
3rd Hour: Read these two articles, one focused on school, the other on the workplace.
6th Hour: This GoogleDoc contains multiple links that will get you started with feminism.
Friday, September 9: multiple choice debrief, choose a debate topic for next Friday.
First hour: To what extent is gene therapy morally problematic or beneficial?
Third hour: Which school rules matter, and which rules don’t need to be rules?
Sixth hour: How is the term feminism interpreted? To what extent is it misunderstood and distorted?
HW: Study vocabulary (quiz Tuesday)
Thursday, September 8: Practice objective (multiple choice) test from the AP exam (60 minutes) HW: study rhetorical and personal vocabulary. Review the debate topics (see Tuesday’s description below) and come prepared to vote for one or two favorites tomorrow.
Wednesday, September 7: Review rhetorical terms, syllabus, and what the AP test looks like. HW: study rhetorical and personal vocabulary
Tuesday, September 6: Introductions and sharing of potential debate topics/questions. See this document for those questions (scroll to find your hour). On Friday, we’ll choose our first debate topic. HW: study rhetorical and personal vocabulary
AP Language & Composition 