We're starting out second semester with the Argument Unit and The Great Gatsby - two of my favorite topics. We brainstormed examples and evidence for a sample argument prompt, and will soon be writing in this new essay style (next week).
From what I can tell in class, many of you are reading the Gatsby chapters as they are assigned, which is great. I cannot stress how important it is to set aside the time to do the reading. The College Board's guidelines ask that students in an AP class spend an average of eight hours on that class per week, including time spent in and out of the classroom. The AP Lang exam in May, less than four months from now, is truly a reading test above all else, even for the essay portion. In addition to the upcoming exam, there are many reasons why doing the assigned reading is important: you are reading and evaluating a famous and frequently-referenced book and forming an opinion for yourself, not just reciting what Sparknotes has told you to think about the book. You're also gaining vocabulary and sentence structure information as you read. If all of that is not enough, reading will be tested on the quizzes, and I have read Sparknotes as well as seen all of the Gatsby movies. Please give yourself the time to relax and read.
One other beginning-of-the-semester refresher: I will absolutely accept assignments by e-mail if you have an unforeseen problem with a printer. In this case, I need to receive the e-mail before the assignment is due in class. If you know you don't have a printer, then please neatly handwrite the assignment and have it ready when it's collected in class.
TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Argument practice with samples and a prompt. Gatsby party description compare and contrast activity. Reading from Gatsby.
Due: Read the rest of Chapter 2 and 3 of Gatsby before class. Know all of the details before we meet as a class.
Albert i.o. practice - Assignment #3, "The Slum Crisis."
Homework: Please read Chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby for Thursday. Have an opinion about the controversial Meyer Wolfshiem character. Was Fitzgerald's portrayal of this character a commentary about how difficult it was for a Jewish person to be fully accepted into the upper echelon, or was he himself reflecting the anti-Semitic attitudes of the time?
THURSDAY: Journal warm-up. Quiz covering AP vocabulary sheet, grammar, and Gatsby reading. Read a new argument prompt and, individually in class, write a thesis and brainstorm evidence and examples on the prompt. Fallacies in argument: learn 2 more. Begin reading and acting out Chapter 5 of Gatsby.
Due: Read Chapter 4 of The Great Gatsby. Be ready to share your opinion about the Meyer Wolfshiem character.
Homework: Study the current events e-mails for next week, Sunday through Wednesday, for the quiz next Friday.
Finish reading Chapter 5 and 6 of The Great Gatsby.
Finish the AP Character Nomination Form for Gatsby and have it ready at the beginning of next class.
No comments:
Post a Comment