May 6 - 10

It's May and the week before the AP exam. This week, we'll go over the different sections of the practice exam you took last week. One of the essays will be self-graded, one peer-graded, and one will be graded by me.


MONDAY: Journal warm-up. Go over the multiple choice section in detail and discuss strategies. After a break, we'll go through the rhetorical analysis prompt in general, and then take a look at actual student samples of the Carson prompt you read.

Due: n/a - get plenty of rest, read over the AP Exam Tips link.

Homework:N/A

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up. Go over the "Ownership" argument prompt together as a class. Go through the steps of writing an argument prompt, view samples.

Due: N/A

Homework: N/A

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up. Read the "Monuments" synthesis prompt and go through actual student samples and College Board scores.

Due: N/A

Homework: N/A

April 29 - May 3

This week, we'll take a full practice exam. Next week, we'll go over it in detail. I'll grade one of the three essays, one will be self-graded, and the other will be peer-graded.

TUESDAY: Take an hour-long multiple choice exam. Brief break. Rhetorical analysis essay prompt.

Due: Final essay due Monday night, April 29 by 11:59 p.m. PST to Turnitin.com. 

Finish the Walden excerpt in the Science and Nature Packet. 

Read over "AP Language & Composition: Overview/Tips for Each Section" before Tuesday's class.

Homework: n/a

THURSDAY: Write a synthesis and an argument prompt.

Due: n/a

Homework: Reflect on your experience over the week and be ready to discuss next week. Which section was the easiest for you, and which the most challenging? What can be improved for the May 15 exam? 

April 22 - 26

We have three full weeks until the AP exam! This week, we'll work on the Sustainable Foods synthesis essay and read excerpts from Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Next week, you'll complete a full practice exam, and the following week we'll go over it in detail. (One essay will be graded by me, one will be graded by peers, and one will be self-graded.)

There will be quite a bit of writing and discussion, but not as much homework the last couple of week, so you can be rested and ready for the exam.

No quiz this week!

Here's the agenda:


MONDAY: Journal warm-up. Go over articles that go with Sustainable Foods prompt. Write a rough thesis; whiparound. Intro: Walden. Listen to Walden excerpts while working on optional extra credit coloring. (Yes, coloring.)

Due: Please read and annotate Source D (challenging) and H for Monday. Make sure you're thinking about the prompt itself and gathering possible quotes and opinions from each source to use either as support for your position, or in your counterargument. 

Homework: Write or type a rough outline response to the Sustainable Foods prompt, adding in which sources you'll refer to in your response. (Must have at least 3.) Be able to access it on Wednesday.

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up. Walden reading. View sample outline. Embedding quotes mini-lesson. Time to type out rough drafts on Chromebooks.

Due: Complete a rough outline response to the Sustainable Foods prompt, including the placement of at least 3 sources. 

Turn in any Walden extra credit coloring.

Homework:

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Journal warm-up - correct a sample quote in a paragraph.  Time on laptops to begin revising process on Food essays. Final essay due Monday night, April 29 by 11:59 p.m. PST to Turnitin.com. More Walden listening and optional extra credit coloring page at the end of the class period.

Due: Aim to have a rough draft of the Food Essay typed for class.

Homework: Final essay due Monday night, April 29 by 11:59 p.m. PST to Turnitin.com. 

Finish the Walden excerpt in the Science and Nature Packet. 

Read over "AP Language & Composition: Overview/Tips for Each Section" before Tuesday's class.

April 15 - 19

It's CAASPP week. The online test is good practice, and shouldn't be a problem for the class. It can also eliminate the requirement of an entrance placement test for certain schools. As we complete the test this week, we'll continue reading the Sustainable Food articles in the Science and Nature packet, and then discuss them and begin drafting that essay next week.

TUESDAY: CAASPP English.

Due: Read and annotating sustainable food source articles B, C, and E from the Science and Nature Packet (see Class Handouts on the right-hand sidebar for an electronic copy of these articles). Make sure you're thinking about the prompt itself and gathering possible quotes and opinions from each source.

Homework: Please read and annotate Source F and Source G from the Science and Nature Packet (see Class Handouts on the right-hand sidebar for an electronic copy of these articles). Make sure you're thinking about the prompt itself and gathering possible quotes and opinions from each source.

THURSDAY: CAASPP English.

Due: Please read and annotate Source F and Source G from the Science and Nature Packet (see Class Handouts on the right-hand sidebar for an electronic copy of these articles). Make sure you're thinking about the prompt itself and gathering possible quotes and opinions from each source.

Homework: Please read and annotate Source D (challenging) and H for Monday. Make sure you're thinking about the prompt itself and gathering possible quotes and opinions from each source.

April 8 - 12

Welcome back! I hope everyone had a spectacular Spring Break. I ate many good meals, caught up with friends and family, and read a couple of books for pleasure. Blue Zima, one of the Love + Death + Robots five-minute episodes on Netflix, was my favorite show I got to see over the past week.

I am really excited about our final (!) weeks together because the material is interesting (if I do say so myself) and I know this class will have many different ideas and opinions about it.

We have about five weeks before the AP exam. This class is in pretty good shape overall. I will go over the "plan of attack" and how we'll spend the next week making the most out of the time we have to prep.  Before the AP exam, we'll complete an entire practice exam and then go through each part together.

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

MONDAY: (All periods, 58 minute-long class) Go over the calendar and game plan for the 5 weeks leading up to the AP exam. Journal warm-up - outline a prompt. Receive new vocabulary sheet for a a vocabulary/grammar/reading quiz on Friday (see class handouts). The Great Gatsby check-in and discussion. Gatsby nomination forms.

Due: Please read Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby.

Homework: Please finish Chapter 9 of The Great Gatsby, (finish the book).

WEDNESDAY: (No late start due to CAASP.) Journal warm-up. 10:20 a.m.- 10:50 a.m. play preview. Gatsby - modern character creative assignment in groups. Complete an outline for a Gatsby-themed argument prompt. Gatsby casting for period 5.

Due: Please finish The Great Gatsby and be ready to discuss.

Homework: 1. Study for vocabulary, grammar, reading quiz. (Note: I removed the original outline assignment because I did not explain it in class. If you completed it anyway, please come and see me.)

FRIDAY: Journal warm-up. Quiz: vocabulary, grammar, Gatsby reading. Intro: Science and Nature Unit. Introduce sustainable food policy synthesis prompt and sources. View Source A: photo essay together as a class. Read Source B and discuss as a class.

Due: Study for quiz.

Homework: Read and annotating sustainable food source articles B, C, and E from the Science and Nature Packet (see Class Handouts on the right-hand sidebar for an electronic copy of these articles). Make sure you're thinking about the prompt itself and gathering possible quotes and opinions from each source.

March 25 - 29

It's the week before Spring Break! We'll continue with Gatsby, synthesis, and multiple choice practice. There is no quiz this week.

MONDAY: Journal warm-up (multiple choice practice). Induction vs. deduction. The Declaration of Independence as an argument. Gatsby comparison exercise. Gatsby song assignments - anonymous sharing.

Due: Finish Gatsby, Chapters Two and Three. Please bring the Gatsby Song Assignment with you for next class.

Homework: Please read Gatsby, Chapters 4 and 5 for Wednesday. Why do you think Fitzgerald included the character Meyer Wolfshiem?

WEDNESDAY: Journal warm-up. Current event day, synthesis-style: DACA.

Due: Gatsby, Chapter 4 and 5.

Homework: Gatsby, Chapters 6 and 7.

FRIDAY: (Minimum day.) Vocabulary story rounds.

Due: Please leave journals in the classroom bin before the end of the period.

Homework:  Please read Chapter 8 of The Great Gatsby. If you've chosen to rewrite any old essays, please upload them to Turnitin.com.

Enjoy Spring Break - have fun and get plenty of rest! We'll march into battle about a month after you get back. :-)

March 18 - 22

We're now within two months of the AP exam, and the class is doing really well. This week, we'll begin reading The Great Gatsby, and learn about the last of the three types of essays you'll write the day of the exam: synthesis. 

TUESDAY: Journal warm-up. Receive "Why Johnny Won't Read" outlines back with feedback. Notes: synthesis essay description and how-to. Discuss the "Is College Worth It" synthesis prompt you read for homework. Incorporate the "Operation Varsity Blues" college admissions cheating scandal current event into possible answers. Intro to The Great Gatsby. Pick up Gatsby from the library, begin reading Chapter One.

Due: Carefully read the provided sample synthesis prompt and responses. This is the third (and final) type of essay we'll learn before the AP exam in May, and we'll get started on it next week.

Homework: Finish reading Gatsby, Chapter One. 

Study for Current Events Quiz. 

Bring the "Is College Worth It?" synthesis prompt with you for Thursday. 

THURSDAY: Journal warm-up. Quiz covering current events covering e-mails from Sunday, March 17 - Wednesday, March 20 and reading. Intro Gatsby Song Assignment. Provide one additional source for the "Is College Worth It" prompt and outline your own, original synthesis response. Continue with Gatsby, Chapter 2. View different interpretations of the introduction of Myrtle based on the text.

Due: Read The Great Gatsby, Chapter One.

Homework: Finish Gatsby, Chapters Two and Three. Please bring the Gatsby Song Assignment with you for next class.