if this is you please attend makeup ap registration meeting

A buncha people missed the AP registration meeting. There will be a make-up session as follows:


Here is the list:

AP Students That Need to Attend Make-up Preadmin Session by dpreston1441

April 30

JOURNAL TOPIC:
What did you learn in the process of writing yesterday's essay and giving/getting feedback?  Describe at least one element of reading the prompt, organizing your thoughts, editing/proofreading, and/or considering/describing the content at a deeper level that jumped out at you.  Was it helpful to see other responses and how they were scored?  What will you focus on improving/practicing today as a result?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Debrief: yesterday's essay
2. in-class essay

HW:
1. Review/proofread your essay & publish a (lightly) polished copy to your blog.
2. Read the AP rubric & sample papers/commentary after the jump below.
3. Review and critique at least 5 of your colleagues' essays (use the AP rubric in the .pdf to frame your comments).

April 29

JOURNAL TOPIC:
W/r/t AP essays, what are you most confident in and what do you need to improve/practice this week?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. in-class essay

HW:
1. Review/proofread your essay & publish a (lightly) polished copy to your blog.
2. Read the AP rubric & sample papers/commentary after the jump below.
3. Review and critique at least 5 of your colleagues' essays (use the AP rubric in the .pdf to frame your comments).

time to party (with two essays) like it's 1999

In case you don't want to wait until tomorrow, here are the prose and open prompts from 1999.  Please complete these essays and publish to your blog by tomorrow (Sunday) night.

macbeth test

For anyone who missed the exam or wants to review.  MC questions after the jump.

Kudos: April (II)

We're getting down to the wire, but there are still kudos trickling in.  (If you've forgotten something please let us know!)  Congratulations to the following students on their college admissions and scholarship wins! 


Dulce Vargas (Fresno State Audition Stipend/Scholarship)
Vince Cruz (CSU Fullerton)
Michelle Arriaga (La Buena Scholarship)
Amanda Arnold (Santa Maria Arts Council Grant/ $1K)

If I missed anyone, or if you've done something amazing since I posted this, please let me/us know in class or comment below.

April 26

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Select your favorite poem from the work you've done so far this week.  Briefly describe how its language (i.e., diction, syntax, imagery) and structure (rhyme, rhythm, form, shift/s) contribute to your understanding of its meaning.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss journal
3. Discuss & practice poetry essay prompts
4. MC questions

HW:
1. By now you should have posted SEVENTH READING, GRIDLOCK, & GROUPTHINK per the PBC-- please post AT LEAST TWO ESSAYS in response to the prompts below by 11:59 P.M. tomorrow night (Saturday).   NOTE: these will not count unless they are reviewed/commented on by at least 5 of your colleagues.
2. Sunday morning you will find a selection of three prose prompts in a post just above this-- you must answer a minimum of two with full essays by the time we see each other Monday.

POETRY ESSAY PROMPT #1

[1994] Poems: “To Helen” (Edgar Allan Poe) and “Helen” (H.D.)

Prompt: The following two poems are about Helen of Troy. Renowned in the ancient world for her beauty, Helen was the wife of Menelaus, a Greek King. She was carried off to Troy by the Trojan prince Paris, and her abduction was the immediate cause of the Trojan War. Read the two poems carefully. Considering such elements as speaker, diction, imagery, form, and tone, write a well-organized essay in which you contrast the speakers’ views of Helen.

POETRY ESSAY PROMPT #2 [-?]

[Your choice from the Poetry Essay Prompts page.]

paying less for college in canadian dollars

If Horace Greeley was speaking at your graduation he might tell you to go north.

April 25

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Describe a thematic element or literary technique that you read in at least 2 of this year's texts.  Why is the message or the technique impactful?  How does it change the way the reader thinks and/or influence what the reader thinks about?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Poetry: practice MC questions and group work

HW:
1. Per the PBC schedule you should have already posted SEVENTH READING & GRIDLOCK, and you should post GROUPTHINK tonight. (Bonus: Why is the use of the term groupthink ironic in terms of the work you're actually doing with your groups?)

practice MC questions for poetry

Here are a few multiple choice questions on poetry.  Please answer for practice and use for discussion with your group about poetry and the elements you'll need to recognize.  (We will spend some time on this in class today as well.)
 

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night, 
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn , too late, they grieved it on its way
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, em now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.


(questions/keys found here & adopted with gratitude-- answers after the jump.)

1.  Which of the following IS NOT an attitude one of the men displays?
a.  resistingly aware
b.  unexpected melancholia
c.  determined rage
d.  wistful regret
e.  solemn objectivity

2.  The most important shift in the passage occurs in 
a.  line 16
b.  line 4
c.  line 10
d.  both a and b
e.  none of the above
 
3.  How does the author suggest one should meet death?
a.  prayerful acceptance
b. challenging preparedness
c. solemn resistance
d.  amiable resignation
e.  angry opposition

4.  Where does the author reveal his ambiguity toward his father and his
     impending death?
a.  the various characterizations of men
b.  line 17 - "Curse, bless..."
c.  "...dying of the light"
d.  "...your fierce tears..."
e.  reference to death as "that good night"
      
5.  Personification is NOT exhibited in which of the following?
a.  "Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay," (line 8)
b.  "Old age should burn and rave at close of day;" (line 2)
c.  "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." (line 3)
d.  "Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay," (line 14)
e.  "Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight," (line10) 

DEPARTMENTAL

An ant on the tablecloth
Ran into a dormant moth
Of many times his size.
He showed not the least surprise.
His business wasn't with such.
He gave it scarcely a touch,
And was off on his duty run.
Yet if he encountered one
Of the hive's enquiry squad
Whose work is to find out God
And the nature of time and space,
He would put him onto the case.
Ants are a curious race;
One crossing with hurried tread
The body of one of their dead
Isn"t given a moment's arrest-
Seems not even impressed.
But he no doubts report to any
With whom he crosses antennae,
And they no doubt report
To the higher up at court.
Then word goes forth in Formic:
"Death's come to Jerry McCormic,
Our selfless forager Jerry.
Will the special Janizary
Whose ofice it is to bury
The dead of the commissary
Go bring him home to his people.
Lay him in state on a sepal.
Wrap him for shroud in a petal.
Embalm him with ichor of nettle.
This is the word of your Queen."
And presently on the scene
Appears a solemn mortician;
And taking formal position
With feelers calmlty atwiddle,
Seizes the dead by the middle,
And heaving him high in the air,
Carries him out of there.
No one stands round to stare.
It is nobody else"s affair.

It couldn't be called ungentle.
But how thoroughly departmental.

   Robert Frost (1874-1963)




1. "Departmental" can best be described as 
A. The product of attentive observation 
B. An account of nature
C. An allegory for human idiosyncrasies
D. A light, simple narrative
E. A reflection upon the author's life

2.  There is a shift in the poem from
A. Descriptive narrative to pensive editorial
B. Careful observation to personal involvement
C. Omniscient description to reproachful exposition
D. Individual account to universal significance
E. There is no apparent shift

3.  The tone of the poem can best be described as
A. Playful observation
B. Scornful emphasis
C. Light description
D. Satirical exposition
E. Detached omniscience

4.  "Arrest" in line 16 most likely means
A. incarceration
B. admonition
C. capture
D. detention
E. seizure

5.  What rhetorical strategy is exhibited in "Death's come to Jerry McCormic," 
(line 23)

 I. Personification
 II. Metaphor
 III. Euphemism

A. I only
B. II only
C. III only
D. I and II only
E. None of the above

6. "Atwiddle " in line most likely means
A. upright
B. alert
C. flaccid
D. quiescent
E. inquisitive

7. The major shift in the piece occurs in
A. Line 8
B. Line 13
C. Line 23
D. Line 33
E. Line 42 

8. The author"s depiction of ants is best described as
A. indifferently mechanical 
B. mundanely subsistent
C. hierarchically divided
D. selfishly compassionless
E. fantastically human

9.  Lines 42-43 suggest that the author
A. meant the piece to be a statement about departmental action
B. holds the death practices of ants in reproach
C. finds the ways in which all species treat death intriguing
D. meant to place emphasis on his own opinion
E.  is warning the reader against judging other species against our own standards

10.What is the author's attitude toward departmental societies?
A. outraged abhorrence
B. interested approval
C. indifferent observation
D. bitter detest
E. satirical disapproval
 

sandwich bag art

Here is the site where I saw this, and here is the entire collection on Flickr.

April 24

JOURNAL TOPIC:


Describe (at least) one way in which you have become smarter or better informed during your senior year.

AGENDA (in class; if you're off today b/c of testing please see HW):
1. Journal
2. Return micro-AP & discuss Macbeth, prompt, strategies
3. Poetry analysis

HW:
1. Please consult the Poetry Boot Camp post for this week's deliverables

standardized testing today

20 words we owe to william shakespeare

Two of the 20 on this list first appeared in Macbeth.

Happy Birthday, Bill.

(Thanks for the heads-up, Sarah!)

a parent reflects on a child leaving the nest

Thought some of you might be interested in this perspective from a parent whose son is about to leave for college.

TPCASTT template

Here is the TPCASTT
(Thanks, Ms. Fischer!)

TPCASTT:  Poem Analysis Method:   title, paraphrase, connotation, diction,  attitude, tone, shift(s), title revisited and  theme
Title of poem means
Paraphrase parts of the Poem
Connotation of some of the words – changing literal meaning to implied or associated values
Attitude What is the attitude of the author, characters or yourself?
Shift At first we think or feel one way – then there is a shift:  identify the shifts and explain them
Title revisited Any new insights on meaning or significance of title?
Theme

vendler grid

Here is an example of a Vendler grid with explanation after the jump. 
(Thanks, Ms. Fischer!)

Vendler Grid

Meaning
Antecedent Scenario
Structural Parts
Climax
Other Parts

Skeleton
Content Genre- games
Tone
Agency
Roads Not Taken
Speech Acts
Outer and Inner Structural Forms
Imagination

for mr. denike and teachers/learners everywhere

Some of you knew Mr. Denike or had him as a teacher before he retired.  On his last day as a teacher he stopped by, handed me a book by George Carlin, and said, "Remember: f**k 'em if they can't take a joke."  Mr. Denike was one of those unique individuals who didn't think of teaching/coaching as a job or even a calling.  He simply WAS a learner/thinker/teacher-- in the best, most human sense of the words-- whether he was in a classroom, on the basketball court, or just hanging out over a cup of coffee.  I will miss him and my heart goes out to his family.  Here is a piece from one of his former students that appeared this week in the Santa Maria Times; even though Mr. Denike is no longer with us, the spirit of learning lives:

The true art and beauty of educating

  •  Gabriela Spears-Rico 

It has taken years of reflection to grasp the significance of the impact teachers like Greg DeNike had on my life. He impacted my intellectual growth as a writer, my self-esteem as a person, and the convictions that shaped me well into adulthood.

I was not the typical Advanced Placement student at Arroyo Grande High School. I came from a home broken by alcoholism and domestic violence. I was poor and ashamed of my poverty. I was an immigrant who struggled with learning English and understanding my place in American society. I felt isolated and undeserving as one of the only Mexicans in my AP classes.

I did not always receive support or validation of my dreams to go to college. In fact, another AP teacher actually denied me a letter of recommendation my senior year. Yet, even with my struggles over self-esteem and my feelings of isolation, Mr. DeNike's class was a haven where I could question issues without feeling exiled or silenced, and where I felt that my presence mattered.

These validations might seem insignificant to people who grow up hearing they matter on a daily basis, but they meant the world to a child who felt she had no voice.

I was coming to consciousness about issues of racialization and my identity as a person of color in the United States, and I often felt ridiculed for expressing differences of opinion in other classes. I struggled to find my voice, and did so in Mr. DeNike's class.

Mr. DeNike promoted diversity in a way that few teachers at AGHS did. In his class, I felt free to express my feelings of isolation from American society. 

Mr. DeNike welcomed my perspective. He felt that students like me had invaluable lessons to offer. On one occasion, I wrote a commentary to the school newspaper about stereotypical caricatures of Mexican American students in the ASB plays. My article caused much controversy and anger. I was mocked for writing the piece, and most teachers said nothing. Mr. DeNike actually used the controversy as a teaching moment in his class, praising the piece for its stylistic strength and asking my classmates to consider how my article spoke to certain issues. Mr. DeNike publicly praised me for the piece at a moment I felt ostracized by the school, validating my voice and my writing.

Now that I am in the process of writing a dissertation, I realize I still use many of the strategies and writing lessons Mr. DeNike taught me in AP English. To this day, I find myself thinking of him when I use a metaphor or hyperbole in my writing. In those moments, I think of the stern, yet humorous and compassionate way Mr. DeNike taught his students. We engaged in critical and analytical thought. We laughed at his jokes, and we knew to shape up when he gave us a stern look.

On the last day of classes my senior year, I visited Mr. DeNike's classroom to ask him to sign my yearbook, and he gave me a copy of John Nichols' “The Milagro Beanfield War” as a graduation gift. He thought I might enjoy critiquing Nichols, yet what stayed with me was a line from Zora Neale Hurston that Mr. DeNike wrote in his inscription, "Go forth and 'jump at the sun,' Gabby. Go get 'em at Stanford!"

Had it not been for teachers like Mr. DeNike, who saw potential in my writing and who encouraged me to love myself despite all I had endured, I don't think I would have accomplished everything I have. I think he would be very proud that the defiant Mexican girl in his AP English class, a product of migrant education and ESL programs, has become a published poet and a Ph.D. student.

It is because of teachers like Mr. DeNike that I learned to jump at the sun.

April 23

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Consider the functions of allusion and flashback in a narrative.  When you see a commercial like this, you can perceive the humor without understanding all the elements.  But when you listen closely to the music, experience your own flashback, connect the dots in your memory, and realize you know more, your connection with the text becomes more personal and more meaningful.

Describe your favorite examples of allusion and flashback in the narratives you've/we've read this year.  What makes them especially effective?  How do they contribute to the overall meaning of the play/novel?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Return micro-AP & discuss Macbeth, prompt, strategies
3. Poetry analysis

HW:
1. Please consult the Poetry Boot Camp post for this week's deliverables

standardized testing today

exam tips from the chief reader

This looks, like, REALLY familiar.  Good to keep in mind.

poetry boot camp

So it begins.  Please deliver on time.

STEP 1: Convene a group.  

Poetry is something you need to talk about.  You need to read it aloud and have it read aloud to you.  You need to hear that someone caught the same possibility of meaning you did.  Invite 2-9 people you think will add insight to a conversation about at least three poems.  (NOTE: you can invite one group of people and still participate with another group that invites you.  The more practice the better, and you and you will either get unique perspectives on >6 poems or you will have an opportunity to see how two different audiences can interpret the same poems so similarly/differently.)



STEP 2: Select poetry from the menu you suggested (after the jump).  

You must select at least three and there is no maximum.  If you'd like to add a poem you feel strongly about please do so in the comments.  If you'd like to see what else has already been vetted have a look at the Poetry Reading List.


STEP 3: Read the poem.

Read the poem.  Then read it again.  Seriously.  Like, over and over.  Meditate on it.  Read it at least seven times.  Think about what sounds different or makes new sense in the seventh reading.   

[DELIVERABLE #1: POST THIS TO YOUR BLOG UNDER THE TITLE, "SEVENTH READING" BY 11:59 P.M. TUESDAY 4/23.] 


STEP 4: Read & discuss the Vendler & TP-CASST grids with your group, and determine who will do which.

In class tomorrow and Wednesday we will go over these highly structured ways of dissecting poems.   Since dissection is rarely a high point for a frog-lover, please keep the exam and the goal you set for it in mind.  You will be relying on these tools extensively over the week.  After the exam please shake your head really hard and read a poem just to make sure you don't see a grid.

[DELIVERABLE #2: POST YOUR GRID/S TO YOUR BLOG UNDER THE TITLE "GRIDLOCK" BY 11:59 P.M. WEDNESDAY 4/24.]


STEP 5: Meet with your group to analyze each poem through the Vendler & TP-CASST grids.

This is where you want to dust off your critical thinking chops and clarify, consider things from different perspectives, challenge, research, and identify the best of everyone's thinking on each point.   Take "best of" notes that you can use to outline your essays.

[DELIVERABLE #3: POST "GROUPTHINK"--A DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS CONVERSATION LED YOU TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF A POEM, THE AP EXAM, OR [?]-- TO YOUR BLOG BY 11:59 P.M. THURSDAY 4/25.]


STEP 6: Write your essays.

[DELIVERABLE #4: POST "AT LEAST TWO POETRY ESSAYS" (THAT'S THE TITLE, TOO; THERE IS NO MAX) TO YOUR BLOG BY 11:59 P.M. SATURDAY 4/27.  THAT'S RIGHT.  SATURDAY.  SUNDAY WE START ON PROSE ESSAYS.  EMBRACE THE SUCK.  YOU WILL WIN.]

April 22

JOURNAL TOPIC:
[no in-class journal today; choose your own topic tonight and channel your inner Montaigne]

AGENDA:
1. Micro-AP exam on Macbeth
2. Make arrangements with 3-10 colleagues to form your AP study group (if you haven't got one already)

HW:
1. Analyze your performance on today's exam.  Were you successful?  To what do you attribute your performance?  What does it tell you about your preparation for the AP exam?
2. Read the "Poetry Boot Camp" post & complete steps #1-3

spring break lit circle ap questions for the weekend

Thanks to all of the groups who presented today.  Here are each group's novels and links to questions by period (if I missed something or you posted something since, please add in a comment to this post):

PERIOD ZERO
Slaughterhouse Five (lit elements, essay prompts, multiple choice questions)
Kafka on the Shore (questions here)
Carrie (Ruth et al assured us questions will be posted on her blog Saturday)

Life of Pi (multiple choice questions, more MC + open essay prompts, more open essay prompts)

Life of Pi (Redux!  multiple choice, open, & prose essay prompts)

PERIOD 3
Picture of Dorian Gray (multiple choice questions)
Crime & Punishment (essay prompts, prose essay prompts, open essay prompts)
The Five People You Meet In Heaven (essay prompts, multiple choice questions)
Life of Pi (general questions, MC + essay prompts, open essay prompts, lit terms, MC questions,  prose essay prompts)
Carrie (open essay prompts)

PERIOD 4
Jane Eyre (multiple choice, prose essay prompts)
Life of Pi (multiple choice, more multiple choice + open essay prompts + lit elements)
Fahrenheit 451 (lit elements, open essay prompts, Amanda sez prose prompts will be on her blog)
Carrie (prose essay prompts)
1984 (open/prose essay prompts, lit elements)
Crime & Punishment (Jose promises prompts on his blog; in the meantime here is some background)

April 19

JOURNAL TOPIC:
"You can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish." What literary/linguistic techniques are evident here? How does knowing that information help you understand and explain the sentence to someone who doesn't get it?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Spring Break lit circles presentations

HW:
1. Answer all the groups' (from your class period) multiple choice and essay questions, and publish to your blog (title: RESPONSES TO LIT CIRCLES)
2. Finish reading Macbeth and consult colleagues and/or online resources to prepare for micro-AP exam Monday

spring break lit circles presentations tomorrow

Here are a couple of quick reminders regarding your presentations tomorrow:

1. You don't need fancy visuals or anything other than what you prepared over Spring Break;
2. You do need to prepare your colleagues to answer the essay/multiple choice questions you wrote, and you need to do this in approximately five minutes;
3. You also need to tell your colleagues where to find the questions and how they should answer them on their blogs.

Looking forward to hearing what you learned, both about the novels you chose and the AP questions!

jane eyre resource

This comes to us from J Aragonite (as ID'd on slideshare) via Mackenzie. Thanks!

Key Passages in Jane Eyre from J Aragonite

April 18

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Is there anything that Macbeth can do at this point to redeem himself and/or make things right?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss Act IV (if you don't have 3rd or 4th period, find a way to do this off-campus; bonus if you capture/post the conversation)
3. [AP prep/projects]

HW:
1. Read Act V
2. Publish Act V active reading notes to your course blog

standardized testing today

April 17

JOURNAL TOPIC:

Is there any other character you've read/seen that reminds you of Macbeth?  Who?  How?  Why?  Explain.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss Act III (if you don't have 0 period, find a way to do this off-campus; bonus if you capture/post the conversation)
3. [AP prep/projects]

HW:
1. Read Act IV
2. Publish Act IV active reading notes to your course blog

standardized testing today

rhs ap testing schedule

This just in:

open soda

April 16

JOURNAL TOPIC:
How does it feel to be in charge of your own learning in crunch time?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Slight recap of yesterday's conversation
3. Macbeth: discussion &/or quiz on Act II


HW:
1. Comment to the AP Reading List page with 3-5 literature analysis URLs (extra credit for more; please list in order of quality, best first).
2. Read Macbeth Act III
3. Post your answers to the Jane Eyre questions below (thanks, Mackenzie!)

(***PLEASE NOTE: As we review our progress in each period today, we will discuss the schedule and refine yesterday's ideas.  Even though the school calendar belongs to standardized testing, our learning calendar belongs to us.  Please be sure to consult the blog and/or your Inbox so that you don't miss anything on the days we don't meet in class.  Mahalo.)

M C Questions Ch 1

recap of yesterday's discussions

Thanks to everyone who participated in yesterday's discussions.  Here is a brief recap:

• The Macbeth video (part I + link to PBS) now lives here 
• We will be accelerating our reading pace on Macbeth and doing readers' theater by request (i.e., we won't read the whole play out loud in class, but we will read those lines/scenes that you want to hear out loud and/or discuss)
• Macbeth was unfairly maligned-- it HAS been on the AP exam (in 1983, 1999, 2003, 2005, & 2009)
• We need a central place for literature analyses so that students don't have to hunt through a year of everyone's blogs to review titles/main features of the books on the AP reading list.  To that end, everyone will be asked to contribute links to 3-5 literature analyses (by title) as comments to the AP Reading List page; a small group of volunteers will help me aggregate the URLs and create links through the page for easy reference. 
• The Spring Break lit circles groups will present their novels as micro-lessons in class this week and next, and will assign their multiple choice & essay questions for homework on the day that they present.
• We will generate and write on a series of open essay topics that include literature analyses and the lit circles' titles.
• We will have a poetry boot camp next week (period 0 lead = Sarah; period 3 lead = Sam & Feli; period 4 lead = Mackenzie.  If you're interested in see them and/or me.)
• We will use online tools (and telephones, cars, cans/string, etc.) to collaborate and make use of the testing time this week and next.  Three weeks before the exam is not a good time to lose four days of thinking about the exam.
• We will thematically contextualize Macbeth & the other works of lit we've studied this year, and (time permitting) we'll revisit dystopia with a selection from The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

If I've forgotten or misremembered anything, or if you've had a great idea since we talked, please comment to this post.

ap scores online this year

Following is a screen shot of an email I got from the fine folks at the College Board.  For your reference and convenience, the "new AP student site" is here. 

keep calm and master eng lit comp

April 15

Time to put our work to work.

an author wants to know what you think of digital college essays

Mitchell Fielder sent me the following email about this article he wrote about tech & college essays/ admissions processes.  Please comment to this post with your impressions.

mandatory ap meeting

This just in:

April 12

JOURNAL TOPIC:

In both Hamlet and Macbeth we see characters thinking out loud about their decisions: how they imagine the decision in advance, how they translate thought into action, and how they feel about it after the fact.  Describe this dynamic in your own life.  How do you feel about your decisions before, when, and after you make them?  As you reflect in hindsight, which decisions stir feelings of pride and which stir feelings of regret?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Macbeth quiz: Act I
3. Begin Act II

HW:
1. Read Act II and publish active reading notes to your blog
2. Comment on >5 of your colleagues' notes with questions and/or critique

Kudos: April

Congratulations to the following students on their college admissions and scholarship wins!

Sam Garrison (Dell Scholarship: $20k)
Katelyn Porraz (Dell Scholarship: $20k)
Sam Garrison (Catholic University of America with $60k scholarship)
Ryan Nguyen (Cal Poly SLO Chrones Scholarship)
Jason Reinwald (Cal Poly SLO Chrones Scholarship)
Matthew Patel (NYU with GLS Scholarship, UCLA, UC Berkeley)
Will Veroski (UCLA, UC Berkeley)
Ryland Towne (UCLA with Alumni Association Scholarship, UC Berkeley)
Mackenzie Greeley (UCLA)
Vinnie Cruz (Northern Arizona University)
Abby Kuhlman (UCLA with Achievement Scholarship & Recognition Scholarship)
Felicitas Ruiz (UCLA with Minerva Trust Scholarship & UCLA Alumni Association Bunche Scholarship)
Lizbeth Cruz (UCLA)
Sam Garrison (American University with AU Grant)
Bernardo Gonzalez (UCLA, UC Berkeley)

If I missed anyone, or if you've done something amazing since I posted this, please let me/us know in class or comment below.

April 11

JOURNAL TOPIC: [today's tunes: "Mixed-Up Confusion" by Bob Dylan; "Land of Confusion" by Genesis; "Frustration" by Soft Cell]

Describe the literary elements that make the following excerpt an example of satire.

There was only one catch and that was Catch-22, which specified that a concern for one's own safety in the face of dangers that were real and immediate was the process of a rational mind. Orr was crazy and could be grounded. All he had to do was ask; and as soon as he did, he would no longer be crazy and would have to fly more missions. Orr would be crazy to fly more missions and sane if he didn't, but if he was sane he had to fly them. If he flew them he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. Yossarian was moved very deeply by the absolute simplicity of this clause of Catch-22 and let out a respectful whistle.
"That's some catch, that catch-22," he observed.
"It's the best there is," Doc Daneeka agreed.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Multiple choice madness
3. Macbeth continued (quiz tomorrow)

HW:
1. Finish reading to the end of Act I
2. Publish your active reading notes/questions/reactions to your blog

April 10

JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes [they're back!]  "Resignation Superman" by Big Head Todd & The Monsters; "Working Class Hero" by John Lennon; "My Hero" by Foo Fighters)

Write a vignette featuring a sock puppet-as-hero.  (Whether s/he's a traditional hero, a tragic hero, an anti-hero, or your kind of hero is up to you.)

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Discuss Docstoc fail & multiple choice assignment
3. Macbeth

HW:
1. Find a way to answer the multiple choice questions from last night's homework.  Innovate.  Collaborate.  Be heroic.

summer camp literacy internship

Summer internship 2013

April 9

JOURNAL TOPIC:
A Twinkie, a sock puppet, and a dump truck take the AP English Literature & Composition exam. Who gets the best score? Why?

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Multiple choice strategies
3. Heroes, anti-heroes, & Macbeth

HW:
1. Complete Practice Test 1 (2nd embedded doc in the Exam Practice & Reference tab)

* If you want to review Macbeth's historical background, here is the site I used for today's remarks. [Thanks, George Marotous!]

montero video on facebook

boot camp m/f at lunch

REMINDER: AP prep boot camp meets Mondays and Fridays at lunch.

April 8

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Describe what you did over Spring Break to support your lit circle and to prepare for the AP exam.

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. Failing to plan is planning to fail: test prep 101
3. Lit circles roundup
4. Prep for this week's essays and multiple choice questions

HW:
1. Make up your mind.

what year is this?

"A group of four teenage girls in Rochelle, Ga., are raising money to hold an integrated prom. Which raises the question, 'What year is this?'"

Rest of the story here.

ucsb study suggests mindful meditation increases test scores

"Mindfulness meditation, the ancient and flourishing practice that increases awareness of random thoughts and redirects attention to the present moment, has been used to manage stress, depression and even chronic pain. But can it improve test scores?"

The answer, according to this recent UC Santa Barbara study, is yes.  If you are interested in learning more please email or comment to this post.   

14 words that are their own opposites

Check out these most efficient contradictions in terms.

lit circles status (no foolin)

Hi Everyone,
Hope you're enjoying the last Spring Break of your K-12 career.  Happy April Fool's Day to those of you who are observing. :)  If anyone's heard from Cal or Stanford please email.  Also, please comment to this post with your lit circle's status, questions, challenges, and ideas/suggestions.  Let's make sure that we're all on track so there aren't any gaps when we reconvene one week from today.

Here are the titles that were declared in class-- if you've chosen something additional please add the title in the comments.

CRIME & PUNISHMENT

INVISIBLE MAN

WAR OF THE WORLDS/20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE

MACBETH

KAFKA ON THE SHORE

THE LIFE OF PI

ANOTHER COUNTRY

JANE EYRE

CARRIE

FAHRENHEIT 451

1984

1Q84