What is Lit? Literature!

Today we discussed the definition of literature and read a couple of examples to prove the point. For homework, students should get their draft CRAs typed at Google Classroom.

Solo CRA Time

Today we discussed the Alexie short story "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," and students had a few moments to look at their The Three Lilies" paragraphs in their groups. Students should draft a CRA paragraph for "Phoenix" in their writer's notebooks for homework.

CRA Focus

Today we reviewed some topic sentences and then wrote a group CRA. Students should read and annotate Alexie's "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" for class tomorrow.

Another Story

Today we explored "The White Bedspread" just like we explored "The Handsomest Drowned Man" yesterday. More Monday.

Perrine's Rules and a Final Draft Paragraph

After reviewing the writing rules students read for homework, groups finished up their paragraphs at Google Classroom. For homework, students should read and annotate Marquez's "The Handsomest Drowned Man..." which is available at Google Classroom under the summer assignment.

CRA #1

Today, after getting new seats, we looked at a model paragraph, and then got into groups and started writing about "The Three Lilies."

For homework, students should peruse and annotate this handout.

Absences, Pictures, and a Teeny Bit of Work

So between the absences and the pictures, not too much happened today. We did share our thoughts about the meaning of Neruda's short story and moved towards, but didn't get to, writing our first CRA paragraph.

Analyzing & Focusing on "The Three Lilies"

Course Descriptions & "The Three Lilies"

After a relatively quick quiz on the course description, we spent the period reading and annotating Neruda's "The Three Lilies."

Reading Goals

Today we finished our discussion of "How to Mark a Book" and wrote some reading goals.

"How to Mark a Book"

Today we read and annotated Adler's "How to Mark a Book."

A Quiz & Some Discussion

Today we began with what became a long quiz and discussion of Foster's text. After that, we did the reading self-evaluation, but we didn't get to the article.

Name Tags & Some Business

We began the day by making name tags and sharing a bit about ourselves. We then talked a bit about picture day (8/31/17) and went over the syllabus briefly. Students should read the syllabus and then find, print, sign, and turn in the AP Honor statement by 8/30/17.
We ended the day by wrapping up the discussion of Blake's Newton which we began yesterday.

Academic Fair

Today, we managed to get a bit of work done despite the Academic Fair. We did a bit of warm-up writing and then had a short discussion.

Lit Circles Begin

Today we introduced literature circles and groups met to set up reading and role schedules. Start your book and check in with your group if you weren't here.

Day of Rest #2

Today we nearly finished Young Frankenstein, but we also signed up for the Human Library Project. Lit Circles begin Monday. Bring your books!

On the Eve

Today we reviewed all of the books from this year and did a wee bit of final practice. Good luck tomorrow! You are ready.

Last Minute Tips

Today we reviewed some last-minute tips for the AP test and then started a short study guide review, wrapping up with a look at question 3.

Goodbye to the Invisible Man

Today we had our final timed essay of the year. Monday and Tuesday will include some last-minute AP test prep and then, the test is Wednesday.

Pocket Poems & IM Groups

After sharing pocket poems, we had group presentations and talked about Invisible Man for the rest of the period.

MC Practice & Questions Groups

After a bit of multiple choice practice on a passage from Einstein's Dreams, students worked on Invisible Man questions in their literature circle groups. We will present those questions tomorrow.

Q1 Practice & a Bit of IM

After a bit of essay practice, we talked through yesterday's IM quiz.

MC & the Final IM Quiz

After a short practice MC passage, we had our final Invisible Man reading quiz.

Have a Great Break!

Thursday, we had our 4th IM quiz, on chapters 13 through 17, then talked about the chapters a bit. We wrapped up the day with a bit of Q2 poetry essay practice.
Friday, we began the day with a practice MC passage and then just scratched the surface of chapters 13 through 17 in small groups.

AP Practice Materials are posted at Google Classroom!

Odds and Ends

Because so much of the class was absent today for a field trip at HSU, we had a practice test and then took care of loose ends. Expect an Invisible Man reading quiz tomorrow.

Essay Practice & Lit Circles Redux

After a bit of Q2 essay practice, students began the process of forming groups for our post-AP Test literature circle project.

MC Practice & More IM Groups

Today we began with some more multiple choice practice and then did a bit more with the IM groups from Friday.

Many Things...

 After a bit of multiple choice practice, the remaining CRAs from Wednesday, and a fire alarm (in period 6), we did some close reading in groups and shared our findings.

Quizzes & CRAs

We began the day with a quick quiz on chapters 7 through 12, had a lively open discussion about those chapters, then finished the writing about "Theme for English B" in the writer's notebooks. The last part of the period was spent looking at shared analytical paragraphs at Google Classroom.

New Seats & Discussion Rubrics

Today we got new seats, did the Q3 discussion rubrics, and continued our work with Ellison's poem.

Happy End of the 3rd Quarter!

Today we signed up for poems, worked a bit more with "Theme for English B" and turned in essay cover sheets. Oh, and 6th period saw a bit of Seussical.

Poems, IM, & Cover Sheets

We began the day reading and annotating Langston Hughes' poem "Theme for English B."

We talked a bit about the National Poetry Month Extra Credit:

Then we finish the presentations from yesterday and students had a few minutes to start the essay cover sheets.

Presentations

Over the last two days, we have worked in groups on some topics from chapters 2 through 6 of IM, presenting them today. We will continue this discussion tomorrow.

Some Close Reading

Today we continued our close look at chapter one, followed by a brief foray into chapter 2. Warming up with this:

And then annotation and discussing these two passages in groups:

Peer Response

After a look at a few model paragraphs, students spent the period responding to each other's papers.

IM Chapter 1

Essay Drafts & IM Schedule

Check Google Classroom for the essay revision assignment. These are due by tomorrow and you need a printed draft for class on Thursday.

Keep up your Invisible Man reading. Here are the due dates:

• Chapters 2—6 w/ Google Classroom discussion, 3/28
• Chapters 7—12 w/ Google Classroom discussion, 4/5
• Chapters 13—17 w/ Google Classroom discussion, 4/12
• Chapters 18—End w/ Google Classroom discussion, 4/24

The Opening Chapters

After a short quiz, we considered the opening chapters of Invisible Man and watched a bit of Ken Burns' Jazz. Essay drafts are due tomorrow!

Godot and IM

After wrapping up Godot presentations, we had a short intro to Invisible Man. Read the prologue and chapter 1 over the weekend.

Godot Never Comes

Today we (nearly) wrapped up presentations and put a bow on our discussion of Godot. Invisible Man tomorrow.

Presentations

Today we enjoyed presentations from No Exit and Waiting for Godot. We'll finish up presentations tomorrow.

Work Time

Today groups had the period to work on their Godot projects.

Quiz 2

After a short quiz, partners spent some time discussing the play and focusing their thinking.

Waiting for Senior Bests

Today we did a bit more writing about Godot and shared essay topics at Google Classroom (and we did the final senior bests balloting).

Act 1

Today we had our first of two Godot quizzes and then talked a bit about Act 1.

Waiting for Godot

Here are a few bits of Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart as Vladimir and Estragon.

And here is the whole play.

"No Exit" & Godot

After some more discussion of the central ideas of "No Exit," we briefly touched on Waiting for Godot. More on that tomorrow.

• Have Act 1 of Godot read by 3/6 and Act 2 by 3/8.

Paper Norming & "No Exit"

Today we had a quick quiz on "No Exit" followed by a good discussion of the play and two of the three norming essays.

Essay #2

We spent the first part of class perusing the HSU Portfolio Rubric and discussing how it reflects on the last set of papers students submitted. Much of the period was then spent reading and scoring several sample papers which we will discuss tomorrow. We wrapped up with some specifics about the new essay assignment, now available at Google Classroom.

Existentialism and Sartre

Today we talked a bit about Existentialism and Sartre in preparation for "No Exit" which students need to have read by Wednesday's class (3/1).

Here are the notes, and here is a short video we watched and took notes on:

Have a Great (homework free) Break!

Today, after some announcements and whatnot, we wrapped up our study of Frankenstein with a timed essay.

Focusing Frankenstein

We spent today focusing our study of Frankenstein in preparation for tomorrow's timed essay.

Circle Time!

We finished our review of the MC questions from the final (I know, finally...), and then we circled up and did a bit of writing and talking about Frankenstein.

A Romantic Valentine's Day

After a short quiz on the second half of Frankenstein and some good discussion of the novel's final pages, we wrapped up the poem presentations with Wordsworth's "Floating Island." We finished the day looking at a few more MC questions.

Blake & Some MC

We began the day with Blake's "The Chimney Sweeper," and did a bit more looking at the multiple choice (as a side note, you may want to check out this cool AP score calculator).

Byron & The Uncanny Valley, Part 2

We began the day with a quick look at Byron's "She Walks in Beauty," spent far too much time on the Senior Bests yearbook survey, and wrapped up with the activity below.

Wordsworth, Dickens, & Gothic Romance

We started by annotating and discussing Wordsworth's "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud"

Then we looked a few more multiple choice questions from the second passage on the final. We wrapped up the period with a look at Gothic Romance...

And a short video on what makes things creepy:

A Frank Quiz and a Sonnet

Today we had our first Frankenstein quiz and then discussed the book a bit. In 2nd period, we wrapped up the day with a look at Keats' "The Human Seasons."

MC & Mutability

Monday, students did some work with the multiple choice questions from the final. Tuesday, we began with a quick look at the Percy Shelley poem "Mutability" and then started looking at the multiple choice questions as a class.

Semester 1 Reflection & Some Romantic Poetry

We began the day with a bit of reflection on semester one and wrapped up with groups sharing their poem analyses.

Frankenstein & The Romantics

Today we took some notes on the Romantic period...

 And students got their reading and posting assignments for Frankenstein.

Prose Passage Analysis

Monday and Tuesday we spent the bulk of our time looking at the prose passage from the final, culminating in a self-evaluation of the writing students did.

Monday & Tuesday

Over the last two days, students had their final literature circles, handed in their study guides to TurnItIn and wrote the timed essay for their books.

LC #9

After the ceremonial sharing of the essay titles (and the collecting of cover sheets), students spent the period on their second to last lit circle.

LC #8

After a quick meeting in role groups to discuss symbols, groups had their 8th literature circle.

Literature Circle #7

Today groups had their seventh literature circle.

Literature Circle #6

After a few reminders about essay cover sheets and AP deposits, students had lit circle #6 today.

Literature Circle #5

Today we began the period in role groups and then had literature circle #5.

Literature Circle #4

Literature circle groups had circle #4 today and finished response groups in some cases.

Peer Response Groups

Students had response groups for their essays in their lit circle groups today.

Literature Circle #3

Today students had their 3rd literature circle and then finished the period reading.

Monday, 1/9: The Flies Got in...

We began with a short meditation and then transitioned into a discussion of Carl Jung, the collective unconscious, and stream of consciousness. The rest of the period was spent working on an analysis of the text "Flies" by Shirley Stirnemann.

Essay Checklist

Students spent the day revising and editing their essays using the revision checklist at Google Classroom. Revisions should be posted by Sunday evening.

LC #2

We had our second literature circle today. The opening question focused on POV (point of view).
For tomorrow, make sure your draft essays get posted to TurnItIn and are available in Google Docs.

Lit Circle #1

Today we had our first lit circle. If you missed it, check out the share file and contact your group members.

Literature Circles Begin

Today, after talking a bit about essays, I introduced the literature circle project and students had some time to get to work on the first reading assignment. Details are at Google Classroom.

Have a Great Break!

Today we spent our short period working on essay planning and thinking about essay "shapes" with this handout, and I collected writer's notebooks. Lit circle groups are below. Students should get their book over break if they can.

Period 6

Period 2

Gardens, a Timed Essay, & Lit Circle Novels

We began the period with a discussion of the end of Candide and ended by selecting novels for literature circles (if you weren't here text or email your choices ASAP). In between, we squeezed in a timed essay.

Lit Circles and CRAs

After talking about the potential literature circle texts for after winter break—Ceremony, Beloved, and As I Lay Dying—we spent the rest of the time writing CRAs and sharing passages.

The Essay & Candide

We shared essay topics today, reviewed some hopefully helpful essay handouts, and spent some more time analyzing sections of Candide in groups.

AP Ashland & the Candide CRA

After a quick Candide quiz, we talked about the Ashland field-trip (I'll start taking deposits and letters of intent tomorrow) and then started the Candide CRA project.

Thinking About Our First Essay

After finishing the presentations on critical lenses, we scratched the service of the first essay.

Critical Lenses

Today we started with a brief bit of satire analysis, and then shifted our focus to a crash course in critical theory.

Satirical Targets in Candide

We spent the last two days focusing on the satirical focus of Candide, beginning with a short quiz yesterday and moving on to an analysis of student-chosen satirical passages at the end of Monday and today.

Caesar, Satire, & Voltaire

We spent the first half of the period reviewing the Julius Caesar timed essays. Students have the opportunity to revise these if they like (and should revise if they received less than a 5).

We wrapped up the period talking about satire and Candide. Students should read the first ten chapters of the novel and take some notes (or annotate their text), focusing specifically on the targets of Voltaire's satire.

Round 2

Today we wrapped up POL Round 2 and, in 2nd period, started a review of the Caesar timed essays. More of that, and Candide, tomorrow.

Round 2

Today we completed Round 1 and went on to Round 2. We will wrap up tomorrow and then move onto the Julius Caesar timed essay review.

Round 1

We started, and mostly finished, the first round of poem presentations today. They were great!

Some Final Practice

Today, after a bit of business, students had a bit of final in class rehearsal for their poetry recitations which begin tomorrow. In preparation for the recitation, here are some links about recitation and scoring:

• Evaluation Criteria & Tips
• The Scoring Rubric
• The Evaluation Sheet
• The Accuracy Scoresheet

Goodbye Caesar

After our final Caesar video, students wrote their Julius Caesar timed essay and then briefly met in groups to see about revising their films for the sophomore honors class.
Over break, students should be working on their Poetry Out Loud recitations. For tips, check out the POL webpage.

Poem Practice & the End of Caesar (almost)

We again split the day between poem practice and Caesar presentations.

Tone Maps and Vids

Today we split time between Caesar videos and working on and sharing tone maps.

Caesar Videos and Tone Mapping

Today we watched some of the Caesar videos and did a bit of tone mapping.

Maybe Caesar and Poem Sharing

In 2nd period, we shared POL poems and started tone-maps, practicing on a video of Maya Daniels doing "Apollo."
In 6th, we shared poems and watch the first two Caesar videos.

Poetry Out Loud

Today we began our first big poetry unit, Poetry Out Loud. Handouts and links are at Google Classroom.

Final Caesar Work Day

In our revised schedule, videos should be posted to Google Classroom by Sunday evening, 11/13.

Caesar Projects

Students had the whole period to work on their Caesar videos today. Written work should be posted to Google Classroom by the end of today.

Caesar Group Projects

Groups got to work on their projects today. Tonight, students should annotate their chosen scene and do a quick draft SOAPSTone.
Other Due Dates:

• Typed written work due to Classroom, 11/7
• Videos Complete, 11/9
• Study Guide, 11/18

Act 5

Today we reviewed Act 5 and started thinking about the Shakespeare Project. More on that tomorrow.

Act 4

Today we did the Q1 discussion rubric and recapped Act 4. Finish the play tonight.