"I Too, Sing America"

Follow the link to the controversial, and highly disturbing "Willie Lynch Letter" (which has been the subject of conspiracy theories, as well as seriously studied). Because we discussed slave narratives and are now discussing the consequences of slavery through Reconstruction, Social Realism (via Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois), and our visual analysis of "The Great Debaters," I thought that you might find it interesting to read the text. Please know that reading the text is optional. To add to the historical context of our classroom, feel free to peruse the following documents: Consider pathos and audience, writers purpose, and logical fallacies. I will not test you on this, but I do think these are texts that you should be aware of. Consider this supplementary review for the Rhetorical Triangle. I will remove the Willie Lynch Letter on Sunday.

P.S. All study guide packets are due Tuesday!!!! :-)

"I, Too, Sing America": Langston Hughes

Midterm Assessment: What You Should Know

Literary Time Periods: Please know the dates as well (look them up or refer back to the links that I had you post)
Pre-Colonial (Think Indian Creation Stories)
Colonial (Think Cabeza de Vaca and Columbus)
Puritan Era (Anne Bradstreet and Jonathan Edwards)
Nationalism (Jefferson)
Romanticism (Hawthorne)
Transcendentalism (Emerson and Thoreau)
Slave Narrative (Douglass, Jacobs)
Anti-Transcendentalism/American Gothic (Poe/Hawthorne)
Realism (Chopin, Gilman, Cahan, Washington, DuBois, Truth)

Ideaology
Cult of True Womanhood
One-drop Rule
Basic premise behind Reconstruction
The Rhetorical Triangle: Ethos, pathos, and logos. How they relate to author, audience and context
The City on the Hill

Fiction:
"Desiree's Baby"
"The Story of an Hour"
"A Sweatshop Romance"
"The Pit and Pendulum"
"The Fall of the House of Usher"
"The Masque of the Red Death"
"The Yellow Wallpaper"
Scarlet Letter

Non-Fiction
"The Atlanta Exposition"
The Souls of Black Folk chapter 1 and 3
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"
"Learning to Read and Write"
"Aren't I a Woman"/ "Ain't I a Woman"
Narrative of Frederick Douglass ch. 1
Incidents in the Lifs of a Slave Girl: chapters 1, 7
"The Gettysburg Address"
"The Declaration of Independence"

Poetry
"To My Dear and Loving Husband"

Welcome to the last few days of the semester

Today in class you will receive several review packets. One will be short answer (Do not be vague with your answers: you will do yourself a disservice if you do...and you won't get the answer right), one will be a grammar that covers everything except the sentence parts and types (you will get that tomorrow (Thursday)), and one will be ACT prep...The ACT prep packet will prepare you for the reading passages that I give in relation to the non-fiction that we covered. Which brings me to my next point: You will receive your non-fiction packet in class tomorrow.

Please know that these packets are worth a total of 150 pts. You have to do them and do them correctly. Go above and beyond. This is not an exercise in "if I did it, then I get credit". Do your best and you'll be totally prepared for the exam.

All packets are due Tuesday :-)

I'm sorry 2nd Period...

Here's the homework that you needed to do:

• Choose an article from The New Yorker, The New York Times, or The Washington Post. These articles should be at least two pages long.
• Choose any two page response that you've written from Blogger. Then compare each article according to the following items:
• Total number of words
• Total number of sentences
• Longest sentence (number of words)
• Shortest sentence (number of words)
• Average sentence length
• Percentage of sentences with more than ten words over the average
• Number of sentences with more than five words below the average
• Percentage of sentences with more than five words below the average
• Paragraph length: Longest paragraph (#of sentences), shortest paragraph (# of sentences), average paragraph length (# of sentences)

TONIGHT'S HOMEWORK: PARAPHRASE 3-5 SONG LYRICS FROM THE SONG SHEET (REWRITE EACH LINE IN YOUR OWN WORDS)...THEN, IN A SHORT PARAGRAPH FOR EACH SONG THAT YOU PARAPHRASED, EXPLAIN HOW, EVEN THOUGH YOU KEPT THE 'MEANING', YOU'VE CHANGED THE TONE, INTERPRETATION, ETC.

Homework for the rest of this week:

We've covered the social aspects of realism (gender and Easter European immigration to the inner city) this week with Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Cahan's "A Sweatshop Romance". We will continue our study of realism with three essays from Booker T. Washington (and we will compare him next week with W.E.B. DuBois).

Therefore, your homework for the rest of the week will be (you will be given all handouts in class today):

Tonight: Gilman and Cahan short answer questions (8 total).
Thursday: "Signs of Progress among the Negros": Booker T. Washington. Please read and annotate according to an argument of your choice.
Friday: "The Awakening of the Negro"and "The Atlanta Exposition Address": Booker T. Washington. Make sure you annotate. Then...choose ONE essay to write your 2pg lit response on.

I know these may seem repetitive, but this is the beginning of a discussion that we see being repeated even today: formal education vs vocational education (of course there's more to it than this, but let's start here). These also serve for the rebuttal that DuBoise gives, which we will look at beginning Monday/Tuesday. Be ready for a Booker T. Washington quiz on Monday.

Revised plan for today 11/18/08

I'm not here today...Here's what I left for the sub (no I didn't call anybody out...I expect that all of you will be on your best behavior) :;-)

2nd-11th period:

Pass out the emergency sub plans packets. They are in a green file folder on the table (the sub should see it as soon as she/he walks in the door). Please tell students not to write in them, but to use their own paper. Please let them know that all work will be graded and that they must turn in the packet and their work at the end of class. I will not accept work tomorrow.

Also:

Please collect homework from 2nd, 3rd, 9-10, and 11 (2nd and 11th might not give lots of printed work as they post to the blogger).

Also make sure 2nd and 11th ONLY pick up "A Sweatshop Romance" (also on the table at the front of the class). Let them know that their quizzes will be tomorrow and will cover "The Yellow Wallpaper," "A Sweatshop Romance" and the literary period info packet.

How to annotate: H.W. for Monday 11/17

In terms of annotating: an annotated bibliography is different from annotating as a form of note taking. For this, after you do the citation (just like your would for a bibliography, in alphabetical order of course), you write a 350wd analytic summary. This part is call the annotation of an annotated bibliography. In your summary, please explain the main points of the essay, how the argument is presented to you rhetorically, the flaws of the argument (and all essays, even good ones, have flaws), and how it helps you in determining if you truly want to pursue that profession. Also add how you can make the argument that is presented stronger.


Please do not copy and paste your articles to blogger!!!! This isn't an exercise in showing that you can simply locate information. In addition to that, it is an exercise in proper formatting and analysis (in this case, of information for your career). Please remember that it is worth 100 pts, which is worth more than all your 2nd qt grades (minus the Poe quest).

I expect your best. Plagiarism is not an option...I catch it, you will receive an automatic zero (even if you only plagiarize half of a sentence and then entire rest of the assignment is yours). I will also make phone calls home. A make-up assignment or extra credit for this particular assignment will not be an option. Hard core? Yes. But I expect academic, and personal, honesty and integrity from each of you.

Love ya!
Ms. Brown

Class and homework w/o 11/10/08

Monday: PLATO Lab
Homework: Using only the academic search engines provided by TW's library, locate and print 10 academic articles on a career that you are interested in pursuing after college. Bring these to class on Wednesday. NO EXCEPTIONS!

Tuesday: No School--Study for Poe Quest and make sure you have your academic articles printed for class on Wednesday. No exceptions.

Wednesday: Poe Quest/APA notes
Homework: Literary Criticism Article on "THe Pit and the Pendulum": read, create annotated bibliography according to APA formatting. Annotation should be at least 350 words. It must sum up the major points of the article, the flaws of the article (without slandering the hard work of the author) and what you would add to the literary discussion. In other words, what's missing from the article that you could add (TRUST ME...THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING MISSING :-))

Thursday: APA Bibliography quiz--Work Keys--Detail overhead
Homework: Lit crit analysis#2

Class and Homework w/o 11/3/08

Monday: ACT Sample Writing Prompt
Tuesday: Sample AP style exam0--Scan for info activity
Homework: "The Pit and the Pendulum" (click the title for an e-text of the story). Skim for information and annotate according to ONE element of the rhetorical triangle.
Wednesday: AP Style Exam in class
Homework: "The Fall of the House of Usher" (click the title for an e-text of the story)
Thursday: Interim Assessment Pre-test (sorry: just got the books for these): 2 page literary analysis on how figurative language allows readers to understand the 'dark side' of human nature (your job will be to tell me a specific 'dark side' that is being presented and how one or two kinds of figurative language convey that).
Homework: "The Masque of the Red Death" (click the title for an e-text of the story)
Friday: APA bibliography review and questions to AP Style Exam answered
Homework: Critical Essay for Poe: Will be passed out in class--mini literary analysis essay(to be discussed in class. Assignment will be posted by Friday afternoon)

A quick note

Good morning,
While I thank many of you for letting me know that you truly need me to maintain my posts, I must tell you that your job as a student is to pay attention in the classroom and ask questions in the classroom so that you are able to get the assignment, just in case something happens and I'm not able to post in a timely fashion (which is what happened this time; and that's why I gave you extra time to work on it...see the blog. It was posted Friday morning). Your job is also to check it as often as possible so that you CAN get updated information. So, I do apologize for not posting the assignment when I said I would. That was my mistake; but you definitely have to do your part by paying attention in the classroom and getting the notes.

Love you much!

Hi Everyone! I'm so sorry about not posting yesterday. My post conference ran a little longer than anticipated and I had a meeting a 3. Would've posted last night, except someone hit my car, while it was parked. Gotta love living in the city (sorry, I'm still frustrated about that).

Here's what you needed to do-- If you need extra time (because this was my fault), you can post the assignment to the blogger NO LATER THAN SATURDAY NIGHT @ 11:59pm--

1. Complete the Scanning for information/summarizing worksheet using Kate Chopin's Biography.
2. 2pg lit response: How does Chopin's biography shape her fiction? Use the stories we've covered by her and well as her biography to formulate a strong thesis and answer.

Homework 10/28/08

Please complete the following assignments:

1. Read, annotate, and answer the question at the end of Kate Chopin's "The Story of an Hour".
2. Complete the 'Terry' grammar worksheet.
3. Read and annotate JFK's Inaugural Address according to the highlighted rhetorical definitions provided in class.

Homework for Thurs 10/22/08

Here's the link for "Learning to Read and Write" by Frederick Douglass, in case you don't have your 50 Essays books.

Homework for Monday 10/20/08

Read the Following:

• --Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by: Harriet Jacobs (chapters 1 and 7 click the link above for an e-text)...comparisons to Lincoln's Address and the slave narrative.
• Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass by: Frederick Douglass (the two prefaces and chapter 1). Click the title of the work for a link to the e-text.

Then complete the following activities:

• Listen to and read the lyrics of SEVERAL slave (negro) spirituals (think "Wade in the Water" or "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" or "Let My People Go"). Using your knowledge of the negro spiritual, as well as 'call and response' lyric patterns and techniques of improvisation, compose a new verse or new lyrics to one song (Bring the spiritual and your new lyrics to class for discussion). How does your improvisation change the meaning and effect of the song?
• In a 3-4 paragraph essay, compare one rhetorical device that is used in each piece. Consider the following questions to help guide your ideas (though you can choose to write about other topics): Why have Caucasian authors vouched for, or validated the African American Slave Narrative (and therefore, the African American Writer)? What effect does this have on establishing ethos? Who, then, is the author's Primary Audience? Why are they writing to them? Does gender affect ethos or pathos?

Class and Homework w/o 10/13/08

Tuesday

• SL Multiple Choice Exam (in class: timed AP format)
• "Gettysburg Address" Grammar exercise: Identify at least 10 examples of the sentence patterns we discussed in class. You can work with a partner in class, but YOU MUST COMPLETE IT for homework.

Wednesday: SL Free Response Essay Question (in class: timed AP format)

• You will have 15min to read the prompt and prepare an outline/annotate/prepare for your essay.
• You will have 35min to write a thorough and complete essay
• Homework: "The Slave's Dream" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (you will receive a hard copy, or you can click here: http://www.hwlongfellow.org/poems_poem.php?pid=77). Please complete your 2page literary response. Use the handouts with top-down analysis questions if necessary. Summaries, at this point, will receive an automatic zero!

Thursday: PLATO LAB

• Homework: 1)" Civil Disobedience" By Henry David Thoreau click here for a link to the electronic hyper-text
• 2) "Self-Reliance" by: Ralph Waldo Emerson. Click here for a link to the e-text
• Complete your 2pg literary response on either essay. Be ready for a reading quiz on Friday.

Friday:

• Interim Assessment--Literary Time Periods--Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by: Harriet Jacobs (chapters 1 and 7 click the link above for an e-text)...comparisons to Lincoln's Address and the slave narrative.
• Homework: Finish Incidents, In your literature response, consider Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address". Was his message meant for Linda Brent (aka Harriet Jacobs)? Does her reality make Lincoln's address more pertinent and meaningful?

Help with the Feminism Question:

Courtesy of Sidney Bridges! Everyone say, "Thank you, Sidney!!!"

here are a couple of links that will help out with question 3 on the review sheet:http://www.pinzler.com/ushistory/cultwo.html and http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=242
Posted by Sidney Bridges at 9:05 AM

Scarlet Letter Review Questions: In Case You Need Them :-)

1. Identify the sin of Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth, and trace the consequences of
that sin on the person’s life and character.
2. Name three characteristics of Hawthorne’s style and cite examples of each
3. Consider the characters Pearl, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. How are their names
symbolic?
4. How does Hester’s attitude change from when she emerges from jail to the last scene of
the novel? What major events assist in her transformation
5. Show that Hester is one of literature’s first feminists using examples from the text.

6. Explain how the second scene on the scaffold serves as the novel’s climax.

Homework for the three day wknd

H.W:

1. STUDY FOR YOU MULTPLE CHOICE, AP STYLE EXAM (WHICH WILL ALSO INCLUDE AN AP STYLE FREE RESPONSE ESSAY QUESTION).
2. DIALECTIC JOURNALS MUST BE COMPLETED TUESDAY. NO E XCEPTIONS!
3. READ ABE LINCOLN’S GHETTYSBURG ADDRESS IN 50 ESAYS AND COMPLETE THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.
4. NO LIT RESPONSE THIS TIME.
5. ALSO LOOK UP NOTES ON ROMTANTICISM, REALISM, GOTHIC, AND LIT’S TRANSITION FROM AGE OF REASON TO THOSE GENRES.
6. POST YOUR LINKS AND THE ANSWERS TO THE ABE LINCOLN ESSAYS TO BLOOGER BY TUESDAY @8:20AM

Courtesy of Todun...say "thank you" everyone!!! Hawthorn's Style

Hawthorn sources
Any one who need help on writing their narrative… this might be of great service this tells you about Hawthorn's style of writing... http://www.allfreeessays.com/essays/Hawthorne-Writing-Style/145.html
Nathaniel Hawthorne was a prominent early American Author who contributed greatly to the evolution of modern American literature. A New England native, Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804 and died on May 19, 1864 in New Hampshire. An avid seaman, Hawthorne^s father died in 1808 when Nathaniel Hawthorne was only a young child. After his father^s death, Hawthorne showed a keen interest in his father^s worldwide nautical adventures and often read the logbooks his father had compiled from sailing abroad. Hawthorne was a descendant of a long line of New England Puritans, which sparked his interest in the Puritan way of life. After he graduated from Bowdoin College in 1825, Hawthorne returned to his home in Salem were he began to write in semi-seclusion. Hawthorne published his first novel, Fanshawe in 1828. In 1839, Hawthorne was appointed weigher and gauger at the Boston Custom House. He later married Sophia Amelia Peabody in 1842. In the following years, Hawthorne wrote his more famous novels which shaped his own literary style, as well as the genres of the romance novel and short story. Eventually, Hawthorne developed a style of romance fiction representative of his own beliefs. Although Nathaniel Hawthorne^s writing style was often viewed as outdated when compared to modern literature, Hawthorne conveyed modern themes of psychology and human nature through his crafty use of allegory and symbolism. To begin with, Hawthorne^s style was commonplace for a writer of the nineteenth century. During the time period in which Hawthorne wrote, printing technology was not yet advanced enough to easily reproduce photographs in books. Therefore, Hawthorne frequently wrote lengthy visual descriptions since his audience had no other means to see the setting of the novel. (Magill:1 840). One example of such descriptions was in The Scarlet Letter when Hawthorne intricately describes the prison door and its surroundings. Another aspect of Hawthorne^s writing which was exclusive to his time period was the use of formal dialogue which remained fairly consistent from character to character (Magill:2 140). Such overblown dialogue was evident in The Scarlet Letter when the dialogue of Pearl, a young child, exhibited no difference from the dialogue of the other characters in the novel. Hawthorne adopted the use of overly formal dialogue partly from a British writer, Sir Walter Scott, whose works were popular in the United States and Great Britain (Magill:1 841). Although Hawthorne^s dialogue was overly formal, it was an accurate tool in describing human emotion (Gale). Absence of character confrontation was another component of Hawthorne^s literary style. Hawthorne frequently focused more on a character^s inner struggle or a central theme than on heated encounters between characters (Gale). One example of this style can be found in The Scarlet Letter since the novel was almost solely based on the commandment ^Thou shall not commit adultery^ (Magill:1 846). Despite dated dialogue and dated writing style, Hawthorne implied various modern themes in his works. One of Hawthorne^s recurring themes throughout his works was his own view on human nature. Hawthorne explored an interesting human psychology through his exploration of the dark side of human consciousness (Magill:1 841). In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne introduced ^a profound comment on the breakdown of human relationships in the society of the seventeenth century^ (Harris 304). Hawthorne^s theme that human nature is full of wickedness was also evident in ^Young Goodman Brown^ when the title character encountered great difficulty in resisting temptation (Magill:3 1143). One outstanding aspect found in Hawthorne^s writing was the concept of neutral territory. Hawthorne described this concept as ^a neutral territory, somewhere between the real world and fairy-land where the actual and imaginary may meet, and each imbue itself with the nature of the other^ (Litz 145). The concept of neutral ground was most evident in the Custom House section of The Scarlet Letter and served as the area in which romance took place (Magill:1 1569). Hawthorne^s modern themes were also modeled by Hawthorne^s own religious beliefs. Although it was not the only reason Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, his Puritan background contributed greatly to his portrayal of a sinner in a strict Puritan community (Litz 157). Hawthorne also raised questions concerning the morality and necessity of Hester Prynne^s exile in The Scarlet Letter. One reason for these inquires was Hawthorne^s disbelief in heaven, hell, angels, or devils since modern science was undermining the Bible (Magill:2 847). Unlike the frankness commonly found in modern twentieth century literature, the nature of literature in the nineteenth century was more conservative. Therefore, Hawthorne implied more modern themes through the use of symbolism. One of Hawthorne^s most obvious symbols in The Scarlet Letter was Pearl, the living product of the adulterous affair between Arthur Dimmesdale and Hester Prynne. Even though some of Hawthorne^s symbols were fantastical, they represented an anachronistic moral standpoint of Hawthorne himself. (Gale) An example of this symbolism was Hester^s moral sin of adultery symbolized by an overly ornate scarlet ^A^ on Hester^s breast. In fact, few authors who worked outside realism have been as concerned with morals as Hawthorne was. (Magill:2 1572). Hawthorne also employed allegory as a way of presenting themes. Hawthorne often achieved allegory by placing characters in a situation outside of the ordinary (Magill:2 1572). In The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne presented a highly complex variation on his usual theme of human isolation and the human community (Harris 304). Hester Prynne was a superb example of both these themes since she was isolated from a strict Puritan community. Possibly, Hawthorne^s recurring theme of isolation stemmed from his own experience of seclusion (Gale). Hawthorne explored the themes of penance for sins and cowardliness when Arthur Dimmesdale struggled with himself to make his sin public. In conclusion, Hawthorne^s literary style did indeed contain elements such as description and dialogue, which seemed out of place when compared to modern twentieth century literature. However, Hawthorne^s style was typical of the literary style of the time. Nevertheless, Hawthorne addressed modern themes and expressed his own view on human nature and religion. In addition, Hawthorne^s symbolism was an essential tool in addressing topics, which were too radical to be publicly addressed in the nineteenth century. Therefore, Hawthorne^s symbolism an astute way to express his own beliefs. Hawthorne also achieved a unique form of allegory by placing characters in unusual situations. Hawthorne used various symbols to imply themes of adultery, sins, and human morality. All in all, Hawthorne deeply examined every facet of human nature and drew conclusions from the experiences of the characters in his work. WORKS CITED Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter.
Fitzgerald, Sheila ed. Short Story Criticism. vol.4.
Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1989.
Gale ed. DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale Research Company , 1996.
Harris, Laurie Lanzen. Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. vol. 54. Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1985.
Litz, Waltona ed. American Writers. New York: Charles Scriner^Òs Sons, 1998.
Magill, Frank N. ed. Magill^Òs Survey of American Literature. vol. 13. New York: Salem Press, 1991.
Magill, Frank N. ed. Critical Survey of Long Fiction.
vol. 4 Pasadena, California: Salem Press, 1991.

Narrative Essay Assignment-Multidraft Paper 1

*For help with Narrative Essays (activities to stretch your rhetorical muscles): http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader/0071411100/ref=si3_rdr_docs_sum

Page length: 3pgs MLA Format (Times New Roman, Size 12 Font, Double Space (to make sure you've done so, simply press cntrl 2 before you start typing), 1in margins on all sides)
Assignment: Choose one personal event in your life that has changed you, something that has made you rethink old habits, beliefs, activities. Maybe you’ve changed for the better, maybe you’ve changed for the worse. The point is that you have changed. You have grown. This is what you will write you narrative about. REMEMBER THAT A NARRATIVE IS AN ESSAY THAT TELLS A STORY. So, tell me your story. There is one catch: your story must be written in the style of Nathaniel Hawthorn. Therefore you must consider the following:
1. Sentence length
2. Sentence structure/type
3. Diction/word choice
4. Figurative language (Hawthorn uses several kinds throughout each page of SL) You should have at least 10 examples of figurative language in your essay.
5. Vivid imagery
Please remember that you will complete peer editing. Do not tell a story that you do not want others to know about. Also keep in mind all elements of the rhetorical triangle!!!!
You will be graded according to the essay rubric that I gave you at the beginning of the year. Look at that and make sure you cover all the bases!

First draft due for peer editing on Monday, 10/6/08. BRING IT TO CLASS TYPED. DO NOT POST TO BLOGGER!!! We will read each others drafts via peer editing

Comment Codes

When looking at your papers, the following numbers represent the following remarks:

Comment Codes

When looking at your papers, the following numbers represent the following remarks:
1. need to work on your spelling
2. need to work on your punctuation
3. need to work on your subject/verb agreement
4. need to work on your verb tense
5. need to work on your comma placement
6. need to work on some general grammar such as ____________
7. need to work on vague thesis
8. need to work on narrow thesis
9. no thesis present
10. need to work on paragraph structure
11. no logic in order of your paragraphs
12. need to work on logic of your argument
13. no argument present
14. unclear audience
15. unclear speaker
16. inconsistent person
17. no answer to the question presented
18. partial answer to the question presented
19. no details present
20. work on your descriptive details
21. need to vary the adjectives used
22. need to vary sentence structure
23. need to work on your introduction
24. no introduction present
25. need to work on your conclusion
26. no conclusion present
27. no direction for this paper
28. font not times new roman
29. strong use of adjectives
30. strong use of detail/description
31. strong conclusion
32. strong introduction
33. strong body paragraphs
34. good use of logic
35. good audience appeal
36. great sense of credibility for your speaker

Agenda for the week of 9/29/08

Here's what we're doing this week (I do apologize for not posting the homework for the weekend...)

• Monday: PLATO Lab
• Tuesday: 1)Vocab Quiz (make sure you know definitions, synonyms, and antonyms. I told you this...hope you remember) 2)"Desiree's Baby" reading quiz 3) Homework: Scarlet Letter chapters 10-13 and your dialectic journal.
• Wednesday: Thomas Jefferson Timed Writing...This is an AP Style Prompt. Use your time in class wisely. You cannot take the essay home. :-) 2) Homework: SL chapters 14-15 and the d.j.
• Thursday: Structure of Sentences/Parts of Speech Review 2) Homework: "Jabberocky" activity and the structure of sentences handout.
• Friday: Romanticism mini-lecture...Narrative Essay assignment: Imitate the writing style of Nathaniel Hawthorn. 2) Homework: Draft 1 of essay and chapter 16 of SL

Homework 9-23-08

Here is your homework assignment for tonight. It will be due in class on Thursday, 9-25-08

• Please read and create a dialectical journal (20 entries) for "Desiree's Baby" by Kate Chopin. Simply do a Google search for the e-text. Please post the link to the e-text on your blog by Thursday, at 8:20am.
• Read chapters 4-6 of The Scarlet Letter. Create a dialectical journal (20 entries) for this text. You DO NOT have to write a response essay
• As you do the journals, consider notions of what it means to be a True Woman, blackness, "the other" and Social Darwinism, as it applies to these texts. Consider how religion might play a role in perpetuating notions of Social Darwinism and a patriarchal society. Deep, I know (but we talked about these things).
• YOU HAVE A VOCAB QUIZ ON THE 25 WORDS FROM THE SCARLET LETTER ON FRIDAY!!!!! STUDY STUDY STUDY. ALSO, BE PREPARED FOR A READING CHECK QUIZ THAT INCLUDES QUESTIONS ON THE RHETORIC OF THE SCARLET LETTER
• Bring 50 Essays to class on Thursday. We will do paired reading of "The Declaration of Independence".

CLASS THIS WEEK

PLEASE BRING 50 ESSAYS BOOKS TO CLASS ALL THIS WEEK.

Tomorrow we will cover:

• Ann Bradstreet: "To My Dear and Loving Husband"--a quick discussion
• Rhetorical Review (11th period)
• Hawthorn/1800s lecture
• Thomas Jefferson and "The Declaration of Independence" (50 Essays)
• H.W: The Scarlet Letter: chapters to be announced in class tomorrow

Homework 9-18-08

Here is your homework for 9-18-08:

1. Finish reading "The Custom House"
2. Keep a dialectical journal for everything you read. You should have at minimum 20 entries; after, "The Custom House" is 44pgs long. I will check these during class.
3. Answer the three study guide questions I gave you. These responses should be mini-essays; that is, they should be thorough, directly address the question and provide an aswer the illustrates your knowledge of the text.

*Study guide sites are helpful, if you need them. HOWEVER, they will not help you analyze elements of rhetorical. They serve only as a tool for summarizing. :-)

*STUDY GUIDE QUESTIONS ARE DUE NO LATER THAN MONDAY AT 8:20am

Dialectical Journal (Double Entry Journal)

Here is the Link for instructions and examples on the Dialectical Journal (DEJ). Use this wisely. This is how we will 'annotate' The Scarlet Letter
http://bla.stisd.net/MH_dialectical_journal.pdf

online text

Hello all,

For wonderful writing 'workouts', please visit the link below. Copiers are down and, for the moment, I am not able to make copies for you. These are extremely useful for developing your own writing, as well as for understanding the rhetorical modes you will encounter throughout this course and on the AP exam...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader/0071411100/ref=si3_rdr_docs_sum

This information comes from 5 Steps to a 5: AP English Language

Today's (9-15-08) class

Hi all,

It turns out that I have a sinus and chest infection, so I won't be there today. I WILL be at work tomorrow, coughs and all :-). Here's the in class assignment for today. This is what your sub received:

• Have students take a Scarlet Letter book. They are located in a crate on the overhead cart (sitting in front of the room. There are two sets of books there: The Sun Also Rises (those are yellow) and The Scarlet Letter.
• Working in pairs (only) Tell them they have the class period to read and annotate (on paper) the first 10 pages(approximately 5 minutes per page) of the "Custom House" introduction of the Scarlet letter. They must be able to identify speaker, audience, and purpose. They must also establish the author's use of ethos, pathos, and logos.
• They must turn in what they've finished. No exceptions. They must be ready for a reading check quiz tomorrow.

PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT "THE CUSTOM HOUSE" PORTION IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PART OF THE TEXT TO READ. IT IS THE ONLY REASON WHY I'VE ALLOWED YOU TO WORK IN PAIRS ON THIS (ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I'M NOT THERE). DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. YOU CAN'T TAKE THE BOOKS HOME (TODAY) AND SPARKNOTES WON'T SAVE YOU FROM MY READING CHECK QUIZZES. :-)

One quick announcement

Hello all,

• We are now entering the more challenging phase of our class. I now know what outstanding, capable writers you are; therefore, beginning with your Ann Bradstreet posts, I will grade you on both completion (on time, two full pages) and content. In other words, how well are you creating an argument (thesis/theme)? Keep in mind that everything you read will present more than one argument, more than one point or purpose for writing. Your job is to discover what that is, in the same way you would a short story (for example) and prove it. Don't just give me block quotes and explain them. That's a fantastic start, but not enough. Go back to the quote again, think about the diction and the details (for example), or how the writer achieves his/her/its purpose. Don't worry, we will incorporate more exercises into our bell ringers for practice.
• You will also do several things independently. You will receive your first multi-draft paper assignment this week (will focus on the narrative essay...think fiction writing with a rhetorical twist). Keep in mind that you will not receive the 'big' grade until your final draft. You will also begin reading The Scarlet Letter independently. Be ready for unannounced reading check quizzes along with your nightly response entries. Also be ready to officially engage with your fellow classmates.
• In class, we will cover parts of The Scarlet Letter, peer editing of your narrative essays, non-fiction readings that will move us for the age of Puritanism (which we are in) to the 1800s: Romanticism and Transcendentalism. The Scarlet Letter will help guide our journey through these periods, as it was written in 1850, but takes place in the late 17th century. We will also visit the PLATO lab, which will help guide our AP/PSAE prep.

I know this sounds overwhelming. However, please keep in mind that I am giving you an overview of the next six weeks. We have time and we have each other for support and help. Please continue to ask questions here, in class, and during CP. :-)

Homework 9-12-08

Hello All,

Here is tonight's homework assignment (by the way, I apologize for my lack of communication last night):

1. Read and annotate Anne Bradstreet's poems (you'll receive the handout in class. Otherwise, visit the links below).
2. Write your 2 page literature response. Yes, the poems are short; however, the are full of rhetorical wonders that are dying to be uncovered!
3. Locate a biography of Anne Bradstreet. Summarize what you found and create a link to that page. Please use proper MLA citations!!! Be ready to discuss your ideas in class and activate all the knowledge that you have from "Sinners" and those AP History classes! :-)
4. If you have not done so already (and this is the official time to do it...no, I didn't forget:-)) Please post a visual representation of Cabeza de Vaca's experience. Do this in the same manner as the Christopher Columbus.

All work must be posted to your blog by MONDAY, 9/15/08 AT 8:20am. NO EXCEPTIONS

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradhyp.htm

http://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poem/208.html

Welcome to AP Language and Composition

Hello all! Welcome to your AP Language and Composition blog site. This is where you will be able to interact with all of TW's AP Language and Composition students, get missing homework assignments and handouts, find help on writing assignments, elements of the rhetorical triangle, and grammar, and recieve feedback on all writing assignments. Never hesistate to ask questions of me, or ask and discuss with your fellow t-birds!

I'm excited about this open forum, technological endeavor! Enjoy :-)