AP Language and Composition Virtual Learning--Quarter 4

Week #8--(5/11-5/15)
We will have "class" Tuesday as a last review of rhetorical analysis. Please print the prompt and sign in at 9:30 a.m. If you cannot, follow directions for the assignment, which is due by midnight Tuesday. On Thursday, we will go over practical matters for the AP test next Wednesday. Please email me if you cannot access these lessons--I am not putting links here this week because there are so many. :) 

Week #7—(5/04-5/08)
FRQ Due 11:45 p.m. Tuesday
For this assignment, you will go to AP Classroom and pull up the FRQ April, which is a free-response rhetorical analysis from the College Board. To help you with timing, I have set the timer for 45 minutes. Please make sure that you take the test well before 11 p.m. on Tuesday so that you do not run into issues with your computer that make it impossible for you to meet the deadline. Before you pull up the test, print the rhetorical analysis essay plan so that you have it in front of you as you write. Remember that you will be able to use notes on the actual essay May 20, and if you’ve practiced with the plan, it will be a valuable resource for you.  
Please come to Office Hours Tuesday if you have any questions about the rhetorical analysis essay or the AP Classroom platform and Thursday if you would like to go over responses. I will go over notes for this particular essay at that time.


Week #6—(4/27-5/01)
AP Lang Webinar--Choose Your Adventure due Friday by 3 p.m..
See attached handout for instructions. This assignment will take a couple of hours, so give yourself plenty of time so that you meet the deadline.

Due Tuesday 11:59
Rhetorical Analysis of TED Talk
Use the rhetorical handout plan attached to write an outline for an analysis of ONE of the TED Talks listed below. Make sure to include an introduction, topic sentence with action verbs, bullet pointed evidence, and a conclusion. When you finish, turn in your outline, and go to the gender channel to make a claim or ask a question about the issue studied and comment on two other students’ claims or questions.
Chimanda Adiche’s “Why We Should All Be Feminists”
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_we_should_all_be_feminists
Jackson Katz’s “Violence against Women -- It's a Men's Issue”
https://www.ted.com/talks/jackson_katz_violence_against_women_it_s_a_men_s_issue
Emily Quinn’s “The Way We Think About Biological Sex is Wrong”
https://www.ted.com/talks/emily_quinn_the_way_we_think_about_biological_sex_is_wrong


Week #5 (4/20-4/24)

Essay Review—Due Tuesday, 4/21 at 11:59
*This assignment will count as a quiz grade.
Reread the rhetorical analysis handout, and then write an evaluation of your own essay from last week (the one on The Handmaid’s Tale or Their Eyes Were Watching God).
1-Explain how your introduction meets the characteristics described. If it does not, rewrite it so that it does, and include your rewrite with your response.
2-Evaluate how well the topic sentences demonstrate a line of reasoning by tying back to the thesis. If your topic sentences fall short, please rewrite them and include them with your response.
3-Evaluate how well your conclusion meets the characteristics described. If you see room for improvement, rewrite it with your response.
4-What element/s of writing are you proud of in this essay?

A few notes:
The best essays:
Followed the directions in the prompt and had a thesis connecting a specific passage to one of the book’s themes.
Followed the pattern described on the handout with topic sentences connected very tightly to an analysis of how a section of the passage develops a theme. If you decide to organize your essay around rhetorical strategies, make sure to use verbs of analysis described on the handout. Listing devices in your thesis (anaphora, simile, etc) limits your scope and leads to an awkward tone.
Were edited. (You will be able to use spell check and grammar check on your AP exam May 20.  You don’t want to spend more than a couple of minutes editing, but you want to capitalize proper nouns, use the correct spelling of the author’s name, use the author’s last name, etc.)

Rhetorical Analysis of Albright Speech at Mount Holyoke College Due 4/24, 11:59 p.m.
Use the handout attached (rhetorical analysis plan) to take notes on the prompt, which you can find on page 10 of this PDF: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/ap/pdf/ap18-frq-english-language.pdf
Now watch the following video lesson: AP English Language: Crafting a Thesis for a Rhetorical Analysis Essay
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPJGDf0LmOA
Finally, write an outline of your response to the prompt, including an introductory paragraph, outline of body paragraphs (topic sentences and notes on evidence), and a conclusion. Turn in your outline.


Week #4 (4/13-4/17)

Due by 3 P.M. Friday, April 17
Rhetorical Analysis Test on The Handmaid’s Tale OR Their Eyes Were Watching God
Please choose a scene from the novel you read, and follow the instructions on the Rhetorical Analysis for Timed Writings handout to write an essay describing how the strategies the author or speaker uses in that passage to develop a theme of the novel.
Remember that you can determine theme by brainstorming abstract words and then asking yourself what the text suggests about one of those abstractions. Horton Hears a Who, for example, is about, among other things, equality. The book demonstrates through the main character’s determination to find a miniscule being that “a person is a person, no matter how small.” A rhetorical analysis might center on the scene in which the kangaroo admonishes Horton to stop talking with people who don’t exist, and in response Horton exhorts the major of Whoville to gather everyone to prove their existence. Seuss uses rhyme, emotive language and dramatic illustrations to create a tone of urgency that underscores the importance of each being in the grand scheme of life.
Please label your test with a one-two sentence description of the scene with page numbers, and please type your response and turn it in to Teams. Your essay will be graded using the 6-point rhetorical analysis prompt.


Week #3 (4/6-4/9)

#1 (due Thursday, 4/9)
Please complete a thorough SPACECAT analysis and an outline with thesis, topic sentences and notes on evidence for an essay on the 2014 Abigail Adams rhetorical analysis essay prompt on page 9 of the following test: https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap14_frq_english_language.pdf.
Before you complete the assignment, you may watch one or more of the five videos provided by the College Board to deepen your understanding of rhetorical analysis. These videos by Emily Valaitis take your through an analysis of the prompt above. They are most effective if you print the prompt or open it on a second screen or device so that you can annotate as you listen. These videos are not required, but they will likely help you to improve your score on the exam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_B5RdauS0w&list=PLoGgviqq4845w6_VxQLtAmVypmSMtTd0r&index=1
If you would like to work together analyzing the prompt, please read it before Tuesday and then sign in to our office hours where we can work on SPACECAT together. On Thursday, you may sign in, and we can work on the outline together. If you are not in the live meeting, all work must be done independently.
Remember that any late work must be emailed to me with an explanation of how circumstances beyond your control prevented you from meeting the deadline.

#2—(due Monday, April 13)
Continue studying your novel. Guiding questions for close reading are attached. Office Hours on Tuesday next week will be for discussion of Their Eyes Were Watching God, Thursday for discussion of The Handmaid’s Tale with a test due Friday.



Week #2 (3/30-4/3)

#1  are going to focus this last quarter on texts related to gender. Your first assignment has several parts:

#2—due Friday by 3:00 p.m.
Do MCQ #7 in AP Classroom

#3—due Monday, April 13
Continue studying your novel.


Week #1 (3/23-3/27)

#1 We will begin our virtual lessons with a rhetorical analysis of an article written in response to the current pandemic. Please read the Dan Rather article accessible at right and then complete a SPACECAT of it using the attached form. If you can upload your completed form to Teams, go ahead and do so. If not, you may email it to me. Remember to sign in with the answer to an attendance question at least every other day so I know you are with us. 
#2 Go to AP Classroom and complete the Unit 6 MCQ progress check. The College Board is offering review sessions, so check your page for resources. 
#3 Please use the guiding questions attached to do a close read of ONE of the following books related to the unit theme--gender studies: Margaret Atwood's dystopic novel The Handmaid's Tale or Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. (If you have not already purchased the book, you may be able to borrow it from the online public library.) You may use the questions to annotate your text, to take notes or to discuss with a peer or peers as you read. You will have three weeks to study the novel, with a final due date of Monday, April 13.  I would suggest dividing the novel into three sections and giving yourself a certain number of chapters per day or week. I look forward to hearing your ideas about these two modern classics!







Make Up and Home Learning for Quarter 3

Hello, juniors! I hope you are doing well and staying healthy during this extended break. So far, we have heard little from the College Board about the dates of the AP exam, but we are still expecting them to occur sometime in May. Hoping that in the near future we will get some clarity on how the rest of the semester will play out. Meanwhile, you can do two helpful things to fill your time while you are in social isolation: 1) Read The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood or Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston OR BOTH! They are great books that give different perspectives on our Unit IV theme of gender studies. 2) Work on AP Classroom to do Multiple Choice Progress Checks. I have openned up the rest of the tests along with the answers. Take care of yourselves, and let me know if you have questions. See you soon, I hope. Ms. Dvorak

Thursday and Friday, March 5 and 6

No make up work possible. Have a great break. Read something you enjoy. Our next book is Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, so go ahead and borrow or buy a copy and read it over break if you know that you will be busy after break.

Wednesday, March 4 (A Day)

If you were absent, do a rhetorical analysis of the poem by William Stafford titled "Holcomb, Kansas." (You can find it online.) Use the Spacecat rhetorical analysis form at right to organize your ideas. 


Monday and Tuesday, March 2 and 3

If you were absent, you can earn your socratic seminar grade by writing responses to the following questions:

Whose tragedy is it?
How much is the book a saga of the American Dream meeting up with the American Nightmare (the American Dream gone bad)?
Why do you think In Cold Blood was such a best-selling, prominent book?
Does Capote succeed in revealing the humanity of the killers, especially Perry Smith? What effect does this have on your reading of the book?
Does Capote succeed in explaining, on some level, this random, seemingly inexplicable crime?

You do not need to write in essay form. Aim for a couple of pages total.

Thursday and Friday, February 27 and 28

If you were absent, write at least a page describing how the last section of In Cold Blood serves as a criticism of the death penalty. Come to Lunch and Learn Monday to make up your timed writing.

Home Learning: Bring your novel next class.

Tuesday and Wednesdsay, February 25 and 26

If you were absent, print the 2002 free response question #1 from the College Board website. Annotate it by dividing it into three or four sections and doing a says/does analysis of each section. Then write an introductory paragraph for an essay in response to the prompt.

Home Learning: Finish your study of In Cold Blood by next class. 

Friday and Monday, February 21 and 24

If you were absent, watch two presidential inauguration speeches of your choice on YouTube. Compare and contrast each using Joliffe's rhetorical framework.

Home Learning: Finish In Cold Blood by Feb. 27/28.


Wednesday and Thursday, February 19 and 20

If you were absent, wtite an essay in which you argue your position on to what extent section III of In Cold Blood provides and "answer" to the townspeople's concerns. Make sure use textual evidence in your response.

Home Learning: Finish In Cold Blood by Feb 27/28.

Tuesday, February 18 

If you were absent, go to the College Board website (link at right) and find the 2017 free response question #2 rhetorical analysis prompt. Divide the text into three parts, and do a says/does analysis of each part. After you have finished, annotate the passage for elements of language that help the speaker reach the intended audience.

Home Learning: Finish part III of ICB by next class. 


Friday, February 14 (A Day)

No make up work possible

Home Learning: Finish part III of In Cold Blood by next class.

Thursday, February 13 (B Day)

If you were absent, listen to Robert Kennedy's speech ( https://www.npr.org/2018/03/31/598503617/remembering-robert-f-kennedys-speech-after-martin-luther-king-s-assassination). Write an introductory paragraph for a rhetorical analysis of the speech, and outline your analysis.

Home Learning: Finish your study of Part III of In Cold Blood by Wednesday/Thursday.

Wednesdsay, February 12 (A Day)

If you were absent, listen to Robert Kennedy's speech ( https://www.npr.org/2018/03/31/598503617/remembering-robert-f-kennedys-speech-after-martin-luther-king-s-assassination). Write an introductory paragraph for a rhetorical analysis of the speech, and outline your analysis.

Do the same with Maria Stewart’s speech (2005 form B on the College Board website--link at right) 

Home Learning: Study part III of In Cold Blood for Feb. 19/20.


Monday and Tuesday, February 10 and 11

If you were absent, write an essay in response to the following prompt: Many critics of In Cold Blood assert that Capote's use of language in the book shows a bias in favor of Perry. Write an essay in which you argue the extent to which Capote shows Perry as a victim and Dick as a cold blooded killer in part II of the book. Use specific examples of both content and language choices in your essay. (This essay covers both your reading check and the class exercise.)

Home Learning: Study part III of In Cold Blood--due Feb. 19/20. 


Thursday and Friday, February 6 and 7

If you were absent, do MCQ #5 on AP Classroom. 

Home Learning: Finish Part II of In Cold Blood for Monday/Tuesday.

Tuesday and Wednesday, February 4 and 5

If you were absent, come to Lunch and Learn the day you return to take a mulitple choice practice test on excerpts from ICB.

Home Learning: Study part II of ICB by Feb. 10/11.

Friday and Monday, January 31 and February 3

If you were absent, choose three elements of the Southern Gothic listed below, and for each, write a paragraph describing how the first section of In Cold Blood reflects that element.

Characteristics of Southern Gothic Literature include the following:
Explorations of the subconscious
A good versus evil polarity in characters
A focus on the grotesque—characters and situations both repulsive and compelling
A focus on mental illness, on damaged and delusional characters
A focus on groups who have been ostracized from mainstream Southern culture
Use of setting and atmosphere to elicit emotional response from readers
Imprisonment, literal and metaphorical
Situations involving violence, death and terror

Home Learning: Study part II of In Cold Blood for February 10/11.

Wednesday and Thursday, January 29 and 30

Please see a classmate to get notes on the synthesis essay and on the Southern Gothic genre.

Home Learning: Read the first section of In Cold Blood for January 31 and February 3


Monday and Tuesday, January 27 and 28

No make up work possible. Turn in your This I Believe essay when you return.

Home Learning: Begin reading In Cold Blood by next class. Finish section I (about 80 pages) by Friday/Monday.

Thursday and Friday, January 23 and 24

If you were absent, come to Lunch and Learn the day you return to make up your synthesis essay.

Home Learning: Two copies of your revised and typed "This I Believe" essay is due next class. You will need In Cold Blood in class on Wednesday/Thursday and will need to have the first section (about 80 pages) read by 1/31 and 2/3.


Tuesday and Wednesday, January 21 and 22

If you were absent, come to Lunch and Learn to plan the essay you will write next class.

Home Learning: Final "This I Believe" essays due Jan. 27/28. Need In Cold Blood in class Jan. 29/30 and first section read by Jan. 31/Feb. 3. 

Thursday and Friday, January 16 and 17

Google and read Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Write an analysis of what Swift is satirizing and how he uses the following elements of satire in his essay: 
Satire is a text or performance that exposes or attacks human vice, foolishness, or stupidity, generally through use of one or more of the following techniques:
Exaggeration, or Hyperbole--enlarging, increasing, or representing something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
Understatement, or Meiosis--deliberately understating the obvious or writing as if it is less significant than it is. 
Incongruity--presenting things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to their surroundings. 
Reversal--presenting the opposite of the normal order (e.g., the order of events, hierarchical order).
Parody--imitating the techniques and/or style of some person, place, or thing.
Comic Irony--stating one thing while meaning another. It is an application of verbal irony used with humorous intent. 

Home Learning: Final "This I Believe" essays due Jan. 27/28. Need In Cold Blood in class Jan. 29/30 and first section read by Jan. 31/Feb. 3. 

Tuesday and Wednesday, January 14 and 15

No make up work possible.

Home Learning: Revise and type your essay--two copies due in class Jan. 23 and 24.


Friday and Monday, January 10 and 13

If you were absent, write of draft of the essay described below: 

This I Believe Essay Writing Assignment (adapted from ThisIBelieve.org)

Tell a story about you: Be specific. Take your belief out of the ether and ground it in the events that have shaped your core values. Consider moments when belief was formed or tested or changed. Think of your own experience, work, and family, and tell of the things you know that no one else does. Your story need not be heart-warming or gut-wrenching—it can even be funny—but it should be real. Make sure your story ties to the essence of your daily life philosophy and the shaping of your beliefs.
Be brief: Your statement should be between 500 and 600 words.
Name your belief: If you can’t name it in a sentence or two, your essay might not be about belief. Also, rather than writing a list, consider focusing on one core belief.
Be positive: Write about what you do believe, not what you don’t believe. Avoid statements of religious dogma, preaching, or editorializing.
Be personal: Make your essay about you; speak in the first person. Avoid speaking in the editorial “we.” Tell a story from your own life; this is not an opinion piece about social ideals. Write in words and phrases that are comfortable for you to speak.
Experiment with language: Use at least three rhetorical and literary devices. (anaphora, simile, personification, etc.)

Draft due: January 14/15


Thursday, January 9 (B Day)

If you were absent, finish and turn in your SOAPStone of Chabon's article "What is the Point?" Then 
Listen to at least three stories on the “This I Believe” website. Write down the title of each and follow with a brief analysis (a good paragraph for each) of what makes the story resonate with readers. 

Home Learning: Get a copy of In Cold Blood by Jan. 18.

Wednesday, January 8 (A day only)

If you were absent, print a copy of the SOAPStone handout in the files at right. Then watch Simon Sinek's talk by copying and pasting the link into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&feature=youtu.be

Do a SOAPStone analysis of the talk. Then read "What's the Point?" by Michael Chabon and do a SOAPStone analysis of i

A day only: Listen to at least three stories on the “This I Believe” website. Write down the title of each and follow with a brief analysis (a good paragraph for each) of what makes the story resonate with readers. 
Get a copy of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. You will need it in class January 17/18.

Tuesday and Wednesday, January 7 (B day)

If you were absent, print a copy of the SOAPStone handout in the files at right. Then watch Simon Sinek's talk by copying and pasting the link into your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU&feature=youtu.be

Do a SOAPStone analysis of the talk. Then read "What's the Point?" by Michael Chabon and do a SOAPStone analysis of it.

Home Learning: Get a copy of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. You will need it in class January 17/18.