December 17 - 21

It's the last week before a well-deserved break! We'll add some more argument notes this week, enjoy a current event day, and finish the Rhetorical Historical Research Paper.

MONDAY: Journal warm-up. Go through the process of writing an introduction in detail. Whiparound - thesis statements. Discuss how to craft good body paragraphs. You'll want 4 - 5 total. Time on laptops to work on the paper, individual help.

Due: If you have a full rough draft, please bring it for credit. If you don't, or are confused, we will go through everything on Monday.

Homework: Work on revision of paper. The due date is Friday, December 21 before class.

Please bring The Grapes of Wrath with you to turn in on Wednesday.

Please make sure you can access your paper electronically for Wednesday. Please bring a laptop if you have one. 

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up. Peer review of Rhetorical Historical drafts in rounds. Go over final requirements of paper with checklist. How to insert pictures/visuals. If time, argument notes: fallacies.

Due: Be sure you can access your paper electronically.

Homework: Finish the Rhetorical Historical research paper and submit it to Turnitin.com before class on Friday, December 21.

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up. Special current event day: the textalyzer bill.

Due: Finish the Rhetorical Historical research paper and submit it to Turnitin.com before class.

Homework: None.

Have a wonderful Winter Break!
Have fun and relax with family and friends.
I look forward to seeing you in 2019!

December 10 - 14

 Hello, AP! Just a reminder, no current events quiz this week. Here's what's on the agenda:

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Discuss ending of the book. Watch various film adaptations of the book, student version. Graded Socratic Seminar based on The Grapes of Wrath Socratic Questions.

Due: Finish Chapter 30 of The Grapes of Wrath and complete the Socratic Seminar questions.

Homework: Please continue working on the Rhetorical Historical body paragraphs, and bring your Grapes book with you on Thursday.

THURSDAY: (Shorter day for Class Comp schedule.) Journal warm-up. Read sample body paragraphs from the class. Go over the introduction and conclusions for the Rhetorical Historical paper. Time to work on laptops, with individual help if needed.

Due: Please continue working on the Rhetorical Historical body paragraphs, and bring your Grapes book to class.

Homework: Please complete a full rough draft of the Rhetorical Historical paper. Print out a hard copy and bring it with you to Monday's class for a peer edit.

December 3 - 7

It's December! This week, we'll continue with the Rhetorical Historical Research Paper, lay the foundation for Argument with notes and practice, finish Grapes of Wrath, enjoy a current event extension of Grapes (excessive force used by police) and begin prep for a Socratic Seminar next Tuesday.

MONDAY: Journal warm-up. Collect Source Packets. Notes: Argument notes. Grapes of Wrath/current event discussion: what to do about the argument that police use excessive force. Is Black Lives Matter effective or not?

Due: Finish the Step 3 of the Rhetorical Historical Research Paper, the Source Packet, for Monday. Please print it out and bring it to class with you.

Homework: Please finish Chapter 26 and 27 of Grapes of Wrath. Find the various scams in Chapter 27.

WEDNESDAY: (Mogilefsky out at all-day English Department meeting) Receive Source Packets back. Receive example of working SOAPS notes into body paragraphs. Work on laptops and take the class period to type SOAPS notes you've chosen into body paragraphs that support your working thesis.

Due: Grapes, Chapter 26 and 27.

Homework: Please read Grapes, Chapter 28 and 29.  

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up. Quiz covering vocab, grammar, reading (last quiz of 2018). Check-in about Rhetorical Historical Research Paper. Argument notes: fallacies. Fallacies group exercises.

Due: Grapes, Chapter 28 and 29.

Homework: Finish The Grapes of Wrath (read the last chapter) and complete the Grapes of Wrath Socratic Seminar questions for Tuesday.  

November 26 - 30

Welcome back! In addition to sleeping and getting outside, I enjoyed reading your Rhetorical Historical Proposals and the rhetorical analyses of Grapes, Chapter 14. I was really impressed by the willingness of the class to wrestle with the complexities involved in both of these assignments, and I really appreciate that.

In our four weeks before the big break at the end of December, we'll work on the Rhetorical Historical paper in steps, finish The Grapes of Wrath, discuss and debate many related issues (Black Lives Matter, government-provided healthcare, rent control or the guaranteed income proposal), and enjoy a Socratic Seminar discussing some of the bigger questions sparked by The Grapes of Wrath. I'm excited for a lively month with everyone.

Here's what's on the agenda for next week:    

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Go over last in-class rhetorical analysis style essay in full - read it together and analyze it, review results. (As always, if you're not happy with your score and you received a "6" or less (85%), you're welcome to type up a revision and submit it to the link on Turnitin.com by 12/31/2018.) Pass back Rhetorical Historical proposals. Receive Step 3, the Source Packet, and view a Hurricane Katrina example response. View different types of sources: for this research assignment you will need a variety, including "source" or original documents, as well as heavily biased arguments. Review how to use the library's databases. Time on laptops to begin research.

Due: Please read Chapters 22-25 of The Grapes of Wrath. 

Homework: Please read Grapes, Chapter 26, pages 478-514.

Study for the Current Events Quiz.

THURSDAY: Journal warm-up. Current Events/reading quiz. Receive vocabulary sheet for next week's quiz. Analysis of visual arguments. View sample of SOAPS for Hurricane Katrina paper. Work on research for Source Packet, receive individual help if needed. 

Due: Please read Grapes, Chapter 26, pages 478 - 514.

Homework: Finish the Step 3 of the Rhetorical Historical Research Paper, the Source Packet, for Monday. Please print it out and bring it to class with you.

November 12 - November 16

It's the week before Thanksgiving! Sadly (for me) the class periods are shortened as well. We'll work on the Rhetorical Historical paper, continue with The Grapes of Wrath, and begin the Argument unit.

MONDAY: Veteran's Day, no school.

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up. Intro to argument. Rhetorical Historical term paper topic selection with bucket. Pass out Rhetorical Historical Step 2 sheet. Act out Grapes of Wrath scene from Chapter 20. Grapes of Wrath character exercise in groups.

Due: Please read Grapes, Chapter 20. Note how the following characters deal with the intense challenges they face in this chapter: Tom, Connie, Uncle John, Jim Casy. 

Homework: Please complete Step Two of the Rhetorical Historical term paper. 

Please read Chapter 21 and note which, if any, current events this chapter pertains to. 

FRIDAY (minimum day): Journal warm-up. Quiz covering vocab, grammar, reading. Current event/discussion: policy brutality in the United States, and whether or not Black Lives Matter is effective at forwarding its goals.

Due: Please complete Step Two of the Rhetorical Historical term paper. 

Please read Chapter 21 and note which, if any, current events this chapter pertains to. 

Homework: Please read The Grapes of Wrath, Chapters 22 - 25. 

Have a terrific Thanksgiving holiday! 

I look forward to seeing you next week. 

November 5 - November 9

It's November, finally. This month, we'll write another in-class rhetorical analysis essay, finish The Grapes of Wrath, begin the Rhetorical Historical research paper, liven up the agenda with discussion and debate, and start the Argument Unit. We'll also enjoy the November holidays along the way!

MONDAY: Journal warm-up. Check questions in packet for "Dumpster Diving" article and discuss. Read student rhetorical analysis example from Expansion Pack, as well as revision. Notes: hyperbole, parallelism, and paradox. Read "Santa Ana Winds" by Joan Didion (pages 10 and 11 in AP Expansion Packet). Read and analyze a practice Rhetorical Analysis prompt, outline in groups. Turn in warm-up journals.  

Due: Please read and annotate Dumpster Diving from the AP Expansion Pack, page 15-21. Please answer the questions on page 22 right into your packet itself and be ready to discuss on Monday.

Please read Chapter 19 of The Grapes of Wrath, page 315-326.

Please make sure you've answered all of the warm-up questions in your journal. At the end of the period on Monday, they'll be due in the classroom bin.

Homework: Read and annotate Shooting an Elephant (pages 4-7 in the Expansion Pack) for Wednesday. Look for at least one paradox in the text. (We will talk about it in class on Friday.)

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up. Write the second in-class rhetorical analysis essay.

Due: Read and annotate Shooting an Elephant (pages 4-7 in the Expansion Pack) for Wednesday. Look for at least one paradox in the text. (We will talk about it in class on Friday.)

Homework: Study for the Current Events/Reading quiz on Friday. 

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up. Quiz covering TheWeek.com current events e-mails from Sunday, November 4 - Wednesday, November 7 and readings ("Dumpster Diving" and Shooting an Elephant). Introduce the "Rhetorical Historical" Research Paper. Discuss Orwell's Shooting an Elephant. Go over Marriage Proposal compare/contrast style prompt from Monday. Current event topic.

Due: Study for Current Events/Reading quiz.

Homework: Please read The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 20, and think about the characters you might like to play during the action scene with Tom, Al, Floyd, Jim Casy, and the deputy and contractor. Also note how the following characters deal with the intense challenges they face in this chapter: Tom, Connie, Uncle John, and Jim Casy.  

October 29 - November 2

It's the end of October and we've worked hard so far this year. I was impressed by the mature and academic roundtable discussion last Friday in class, especially the fact that several participants were able to disagree in a respectful manner. This week, we will enjoy celebrating Halloween with American horror authors, talk about the strategies writers use to build suspense, and enjoy some treats.

Please note there will not be a current events quiz this week. We will pick back up next week with a current events quiz next Friday, November 9 covering the "10 Things..." e-mails from Sunday, November 4 - Wednesday, November 7. I am also targeting Wednesday, November 7 as the next in-class rhetorical analysis essay. 

Just to be clear - NO CURRENT EVENTS QUIZ THIS WEEK!

TUESDAY (HALLOWEEN CELEBRATION): Journal warm-up. Read an Edgar Allan Poe short story as a whole class. Building suspense. Video. If time: Halloween 2-3 minute short films.

Due: Please read Chapter 18 of The Grapes of Wrath. Note its relevance to current issues, including homelessness and migrant workers.

Homework: n/a. Happy Halloween! Enjoy the day and come back Thursday ready to go.  

THURSDAY: Journal warm-up. Syntax review. Ralph Ellison's On Bird, Bird-Watching and Jazz. Cumulative, periodic, and inverted sentences and their effects. Cumulative sentence activity in groups. Begin reading Dumpster Diving from AP Expansion Pack.  

Due: n/a

Homework: Please read and annotate Dumpster Diving from the AP Expansion Pack, page 15-21. Please answer the questions on page 22 right into your packet itself and be ready to discuss on Monday.

Please read Chapter 19 of The Grapes of Wrath, page 315-326.

Please make sure you've answered all of the warm-up questions in your journal. At the end of the period on Monday, they'll be due in the classroom bin.

October 22 - 26

Last week you wrote your second rhetorical analysis essay, and your first essay in-class. As I'm writing this I've almost graded them all, and I think the class is really on the right track. Almost everyone was able to identify and articulate the somewhat complex rhetorical situation in the prompt.

This week,  we'll go over the Kelley prompt, discuss and analyze The Grapes of Wrath, enjoy a four-corner debate about book bans and censorship, watch the play preview, and study and discuss different proposals to address homelessness in Los Angeles.


MONDAY/TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Go over Kelley prompt. View samples. Go over Chapter 14 of Grapes, book banning. Notes: oxymoron, syntax review. Polysyndeton, asyndeton. Create polysyndetons, asyndetons.

Due: Please read Grapes, finish Chapter 16 and 17.

Homework: Please read and annotate two opposing viewpoints about censoring books and be ready to discuss on Wednesday. 

1. Please read 3 responses to the Kelley prompt. 2. Score each on your own before looking at the College Board's scoring. 3. On a separate piece of paper, write 2-3 sentences for each why you scored the way you did. 

OPTIONAL: If rewriting the Kelley prompt, please type the revision and post to turnitin.com by November 1. Please turn the original back in when it's ready. (There will be a paper first version and a typed and uploaded electronic revision on Turnitin.com.)

WEDNESDAY:  Play preview. Journal warm-up. Notes: hyperbole. Four corner debate about censorship.

Due:  Please read and annotate two opposing viewpoints about censoring books and be ready to discuss on Wednesday. 

1. Please read 3 responses to the Kelley prompt. 2. Score each on your own before looking at the College Board's scoring. 3. On a separate piece of paper, write 2-3 sentences for each why you scored the way you did. 4. Please return the samples with the piece of paper (they're a class set).

Homework: Please read and annotate the articles about homelessness in Los Angeles in the Expansion Pack, page 27-34. Please interact with the text, making notes about your responses in the margins and bring the marked-up Expansion Pack to class on Friday.

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up. Quiz covering vocabulary, grammar. View opposing viewpoints about a proposed solution in San Pedro. Roundtable discussion about homelessness in Los Angeles, how to approach the issue, different solutions. Here is a fantastic series of maps to explore.

Due: Please read and annotate the articles about homelessness in Los Angeles in the Expansion Pack, page 27-34. Please interact with the text, making notes about your responses in the margins and bring the marked-up Expansion Pack to class on Friday.

Homework: Please read Chapter 18 of The Grapes of Wrath for next week. Note its relevancy to current events, specifically homelessness.