September 28 - October 2

We've been learning rhetorical analysis terms and practicing rhetorical analysis for different types of passages.  This week, we'll focus on close reading and analysis of text and developing a thesis statement and writing a close analysis essay.  

MONDAY: Journal warm-up, share. Finish Apollo 11 review, turn in. Go over practice prompt and view class examples of annotating/identifying rhetorical devices.  Read actual exam responses and the score them, comparing with actual scores.  (Tone Vocabulary check-off). Hyperbole, allusion notes.

Due: Tone Vocabulary, annotated Maria Stewart prompt with rhetorical devices noted, and Grapes through Chapter 12.

Homework:  Read and annotate Steinbeck's "Starvation Under the Orange Trees" article and Peikoff's "Health Care is Not a Right." Which has the better argument?  Which do you personally agree with? 


WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up, share.  From articles you read for homework, discuss and debate which is the more persuasive article and whether or not the government should provide health care.


Notes: and video - irony. 


Due: "Starvation Under the Orange Trees" and "Health Care is Not a Right" articles read and annotated.

Homework: Read Virginia Woolf "Death of the Moth" passage and outline an essay response for practice in class only (we won't be writing this one out in full). 

Study for Vocab quiz - Left hand column on "Tone Vocabulary" handout.


FRIDAY: Journal warm-up, share.  Vocab quiz over first column of "Tone Vocabulary" sheet.    Go over Death of the Moth example. Thesis statements - 3 main types. Receive Rhetorical Analysis Essay Checklist and PSTD FIRST mnemonic sheet for use with analyzing passages.

Due: Please have "Death of the Moth" read and annotated for today's class. CORRECTION: I'll collect journals next Thursday for points.  With the move to the computer lab, I forgot to announce it.

Homework: Read and annotate Marriage Proposal prompt.  Upload an outline and rough draft by Monday night, October 5 at 11:00 p.m. to Turnitin.com.

September 21-24

It's "Back to School Night" this week, so please mark your family calendar and ask parents and guardians to come to your classes this Thursday night, September 24.  We'll have a minimum day on Friday afterwards. Our class will continue with rhetorical analysis and discuss tone, diction, and genre and practice analyzing articles relating to the Apollo 11 space launch.  We'll also begin analyzing rhetorical analysis prompts and outlining responses. 

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up, share.  Collect "AP Setting the Stage" projects.  Discuss Grapes of Wrath Chapters 9-10.  Discuss and begin Apollo 11 assignment in class, and perform SOAPS and rhetorical analysis on first article together.  Notes about tone - how to describe it and how it affects a speech or written passage.  Tone exercises.
 
Due:
Grapes of Wrath "AP Setting the Stage" projects. 
The Grapes of Wrath through chapter 10.

Homework: 
Study for Current Events Quiz 2 on Thursday which will cover "The 10 Things You Need to Know Today" e-mails from Sunday, September 20 - Wednesday, September 23, (4 days).  There will be one reading question from Grapes Chapters 9-10 as well.

Finish Apollo 11 assignment for Thursday.


THURSDAY: Journal warm-up, share.  Current events quiz (with one question from Grapes reading). Go through Apollo 11 assignment.   Receive "Tone Vocabulary" assignment and list for next week. Notes about diction vs. syntax.  Watch a reenactment of the "Speech to the Troops at Tilbury" originally delivered by Queen Elizabeth I and discuss tone, rhetorical appeals, and diction. 

Due: Apollo 11 assignment.

Homework: 
Complete "Tone Vocabulary" assignment
Read Grapes Chapters 11-12 for Monday.
Read and annotate rhetorical analysis prompt for Monday. 

September 13-17

Welcome to our third week already!  I'm looking forward to slightly cooler temperatures and continuing to delve into the world of rhetorical analysis with more terms and more practice on an even wider variety of sources (speeches, visuals, the Republican debate, and actual AP prompts).  

MONDAY: Journal warm-up.  Share answers to Glossary assignment.  Add more rhetorical terms to notes (from Grapes of Wrath and other sources - personification, diction, connotation, denotation).  Read a variety of other passages in class, perform SOAPS analysis and identify rhetorical devices.

Due: Grapes Chapter 6 read, Glossary Assignment
Homework: Read Grapes of Wrath Chapters 7-8


WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up.  The Grapes of Wrath: discuss how a work of fiction can make an impact on society, and Steinbeck's Nobel Prize speech.  Discussion: are some books dangerous, and if so, should they be banned?  Four corner debate.


Due: Grapes, Chapters 7-8
Homework:  Study for vocab quiz, begin assignments for Tuesday.

For Tuesday, 9/22 - Grapes of Wrath Chapters 9-10, "Setting the Stage" assignment.



FRIDAY: Journal warm-up.  Vocab quiz.  OPTICS analysis of visual texts.  Watch short video clips of the Republican Debate from Wednesday, September 16 and analyze the effectiveness of the rhetorical strategies we observe.

Due: n/a
Homework: For Tuesday, 9/22:

• Grapes of Wrath Chapters 9-10
• "Setting the Stage" assignment 
• Read current events e-mails, "The 10 Things You Need to Know Today"; next week's quiz will cover e-mails from Sunday, 9/20 -Wednesday, 9/23.

September 8 - 11

I hope everyone enjoyed the three-day weekend!  This week, we'll continue the introduction to rhetorical analysis by reviewing the basics we learned last week and adding ethos, logos, and pathos, along with a few other terms.  We'll meet more members of the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath and take our first current events quiz. 

MONDAY: Labor Day, no school. 

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up.  Discuss Chapter One questions worksheet from The Grapes of Wrath.  Look at Steinbeck's purpose and the structure and dialect of The Grapes of Wrath.  Dialect exercise.

Rhetorical analysis review.  Logos, ethos, and pathos notes and examples, class exercises. 

Due: Chapters 1-4 of The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter One questions answered.

Homework:  Study for current events quiz on Thursday - current events information will be taken from the "10 Things You Need to Know Today" e-mails from Sunday through Wednesday morning.  Read Chapter 5 from Grapes of Wrath and come to class with an example of logos, ethos, or pathos to share.   

THURSDAY: Journal warm-up.  First current events quiz covering "The 10 Things You Need to Know Today" e-mail summaries from TheWeek.com from Sunday, September 6 through Wednesday, September 9th.

Review ethos, logos, pathos and share class examples.  Add more rhetorical terms with examples.  Introduce rhetorical glossary assignment.

Discuss Syrian refugee crisis and perform SOAPS analysis on two articles with differing opinions about what the USA should do, if anything.

Receive vocab/grammar list for the following week's quiz next Friday.

Due: Chapter 5 of The Grapes of Wrath.  Sample of ethos, logos, pathos.

Homework: Glossary assignment for Monday - be ready to share before turning in.  Read Chapter 6 of The Grapes of Wrath for Monday.