Today we had our "community meeting." Here are the instructional slides from the total activity. Many thanks to our brave spokespeople and to those of who you offered questions and comments; these will help everyone on the essay. The best contributions where those which directly cited sources, considered the perspective of their specific persona, and stayed focused. Why? That's exactly what your synthesis essays will have you doing tomorrow!
Speaking of which, at the end of class we looked very briefly at your zombie synthesis essays. I gave general feedback in addition to the specific comments on your paper. Your grades not be what you want, and that's okay; it's just the beginning of the year. If you want to improve your grades for next time, remember to cite at least 3 sources (really, you should have a lot more; that's only the bare minimum to get a 4/9); stay focused on answering the prompt and sticking to your thesis instead of wandering around writing about tangential information; and explain your evidence and how it supports your prompt. If you're not happy with your grade, don't freak out. As I told you, the essay: - It is not in the gradebook yet - can be revised on your own time and re-submitted for a re-grade - is graded in multiple categories, in some of which you scored better than others - will be one of many essays - is the first essay you wrote while you are still developing your skills - is part of a course that is designed as a first-year writing course for a university Questions? Look at the comments I left you, look at the rubric and the comments I wrote there, THEN come see me. Tomorrow, please use the feedback you received on your zombie synthesis essays to write a fantastic synthesis essay on what factors someone could consider when buying locally-grown food, given how it affects the community.
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Tomorrow we are going to have a "community meeting" of stakeholders who have an interest in local food. Today we prepared for the meeting by learning about our roles (including a teacher, a new parent, a farmer, a dietitian, and a grocery store manager, to name a few) and reading some sources that would back up that stakeholder's viewpoint on local food. Your job today was to make notes on:
1. What would this stakeholder's stance on local food be? Or, if they were neutral, what factors would they take into consideration regarding whether or not to buy local food? 2. What sources in the synthesis essay packet might support that viewpoint or belief that that factor is important? 3. What personal knowledge do you have that could support that viewpoint? 4. What arguments might another stakeholder propose, and what rebuttal might you offer? You worked together in small groups to answer these questions and prepare a brief presentation on behalf of your stakeholder/interest group. Your spokesperson will present on your behalf for 2 minutes tomorrow before the "community." All of you should be asking questions, making notes, and making comments. On Friday we did a self-assessment of the zombie synthesis essay, looking for citations, transitions, clear thesis, and good evidence and explanation to develop the thesis. We spent time talking about samples and what groups had done well or what they still needed to work on. After this, we checked in with groups about which skills they thought needed more work, and about which skills they were already confident, so we can know what we need to work on moving forward.
On Monday, we started preparing for our next synthesis prompt, which is about "locavores." At the beginning of the period we took a vocab quiz and then practiced visual analysis with OPTIC. Today you worked in your groups to collaboratively write your group essay on how to prepare for the zombie apocalypse. I really like what I've seen so far! Great job!
Today we talked about safety procedures during emergency situations at the beginning of class. We also talked briefly about vocab words 11-20 - don't forget to study at home to prepare for the next quiz!
And, since it was safety day, you started on your zombie apocalypse synthesis group essay. Today you focused on reading the prompt, brainstorming ideas, reading and annotating the sources, and beginning to organize your ideas. Tomorrow, you will have the whole class period to write the essay in whichever way your group decided (collaboratively; split up sources; or split up paragraphs). Remember, I will be grading you on a clear stance, citing at least 3 sources properly, and keeping your ideas organized (focused paragraphs with transitions to connect ideas). All the basic info can be found here. Good luck and have fun! Today after our vocab quiz on words 1-10, we spent some time talking about the synthesis essay, because synthesis is the focus skill of this unit. We talked about some strategies for the essay, and then we looked in detail at the rubric. In groups, we scored a few sample essays using the rubric. Here are the slides from today in case you missed. At the end of the period, you saw your score from the diagnostic exam. Today's take-away was that it will take a lot of work, but you do not have to be perfect to pass the AP exam - so I believe that all of you can pass with the skills that we will learn by the end of the year! :)
Today we did a protocol (test corrections) of one passage of the diagnostic that you took on Friday. You were supposed to note down which questions you didn't understand, make a note of the correct answer, and, most importantly, why that answer was correct.
When you get your packet and scored scantron back, you will do a protocol of the second passage independently. I will post the correct answers once everyone has completed the test. Homework tonight: make sure you know vocab words 1-10 that were introduced to you last week; we are having a vocab quiz tomorrow. Today you had a diagnostic multiple choice test. Congrats on finishing! This will help me see what skills you already have and what skills we need to practice in greater depth.
4th period: Gettysburg Address analysis
5th period: Gettysburg Address analysis Today in class we reviewed RAFT and the rhetorical triangle quickly before "getting our feet wet" in close-reading a passage. We reviewed the Gettysburg Address, now that we have identified its speaker, audience, topic, context, and purpose, by looking more closely at its tone, diction, and syntax. Students worked in partners to find a word for the tone, diction, and syntax, then used evidence from the speech to support their claim. For some great examples, see the Google Docs linked above. We also used Chromebooks to sign up for Turnitin.com. If you missed any of the login information, go back to the main page of this website and scroll down to the bottom right. Finally, we did a meet and greet activity with vocab words 1-10, followed by a Kahoot for those words. Today we talked about the basics of rhetoric through close-reading. We started class by having you talk to a partner about what you need to think about when you read. Then we looked briefly at the syllabus and class procedures. For reference, the syllabus (incl. procedures) is linked on the right.
We then talked about the rhetorical triangle and RAFT. For reference, the slides are linked here, though I suggested that you jot down notes or take a picture of the triangle in-class. First, together, we looked at the triangle, which includes speaker, audience, and topic, surrounded by context and leading to the author's purpose at the center. Then we worked together to identify the speaker, audience, topic, context, and purpose of the Declaration of Independence. After this, we listened to the Gettysburg Address. Students read along and annotated the speech, looking for speaker, audience, topic, context, and purpose. They shared with a partner the evidence that they used to support what they said for each. Then we shared out as a class. Finally, we talked about RAFT, an acronym for role, audience, format, and topic - similar but not identical to the triangle. You practiced with RAFT with a brief creative writing exercise. |
AP English LangFind our daily activities here. If you are absent, you are responsible for checking here and completing what you missed! Sign Up InfoLog-in information for Turnitin, Google Classroom, and Remind are on the home page
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June 2019
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