Monday, December 19, 2005

Final Exams and Track Closing

Finals Schedule:

Periods One/Six: Friday, December 16
Periods Two/Five: Monday, December 19
Periods Three/Four: Tuesday, December 20

Last Day of Track: Wednesday, December 21

Winter Work Packets for AP English Language Students were provided; all material is due upon return in Spring Semester

E-mail me for questions; e-mail address is provided on hollywoodhighschool.net


Mr. Carmicle

Monday, December 12, 2005

Sixteen Week Report

Monday:

Great Gatsby Chapters Seven-Eight and Notes
12/12 Assignments Due

Tuesday

Great Gatsby Chapter Nine and Notes
12/13 Assignments Due

Wednesday

Great Gatsby Wrapup and Notes
Novel: Objective Test
Novel: Essay Due Today
Novel: Vocabulary Test

Thursday

Cliff's AP Prep Essay on Question Number Three
Multiple Choice Test Practice

Friday

Reflective Letter
Great Gatsby Film
Winter Work Assignment

Monday, December 05, 2005

FIFTEEN WEEK REPORT

1. The Glass Menagerie Act I due Monday, December 5
2. The Glass Menagerie Act II due Monday, December 12
3. Repetition-Wit, Pages 84-89 Literary Terms test Tuesday, December 6
4. Coordination-Subordination Exercises Two-Seven due Monday, December 12
5. Outline to "Introduction to the Argumentative Essay" due Tuesday, December 6
6. The Great Gatsby AP Long Form due Friday, December 16
7. Reflective Letter outline (using Bloom's Affective) due Thursday, December 15
8. Book Schedule: 12/5-12/6 Anthology; 12/7-12/8 Novel; 12/9 Cliffs; 12/12-12/14 Novel; 12/15 Cliffs
9. Off-Track Work (packet available Monday, December 12): Two AP Long Forms; One AP Short Form; Five AP Prompt Essays; One Hundred Words High School Students Should Know; Three Op-Ed Columnist Analyses; Grammar Component; Call To Action-Water Conservation Focus

Monday, November 28, 2005

FOURTEEN WEEK REPORT

1. The Glass Menagerie Act I due by Friday, December 2
2. The Glass Menagerie Act II due by Friday, December 9
3. Op-Ed Columnist Analysis due by Friday, December 2
4. Repetition-Wit, Pages 84-89 Cliffs Literary Terms test Monday, December 5
5. Coordination-Subordination, Exercises Two-Seven Due Monday, December 12
6. Outline "Introduction to the Argumentative Essay" by Friday, December 2
7. A.P. English Language Exercises in imitation (Momaday, White, Baldwin passages) due Friday, December 2
8. The Great Gatsby AP Long Form due Friday, December 16
9. Reflective Letter outline due Friday, December 16 (using Bloom's Affective Taxonomy)
10.Book Schedule: Anthology Mondays-Tuesdays; Novel Wednesdays-Thursdays; Cliffs Fridays
11.Off-Track Work: Two AP Long Forms; One AP Short Form; Five AP Essays Prompts; One Hundred Words High School Students Should Know; Three Op-Ed Columnist Analyses; Grammar Component (to be announced); Call To Action--Water Conservation focus (to be announced)

Monday, November 21, 2005

Weeks In Preview November 21-December 2

AP Students have been working on and will be assigned the following:

1. Walden similies and sentence mimicking examples
2. Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Emerson/Thoreau American Romanticism selections and graphic organizers/vocabulary/grammar components
3. Practice Test Multiple Choice Exams from Cliff AP Preparation Guide
4. Literary Terms 31-45 from Cliffs Preparation Guide
5. The Great Gatsby Chapters Three-Four-Five
6. Coordination and Subordination-Relationship Between Ideas in a Sentence handout
7. Start The Great Gatsby short form for early analysis in completion of AP Long Form (due third week in December)
8. Unit Six Vocabulary and Unit Seven Vocabulary practice and examinations
9. Grammar Unit (begins after Thanksgiving)
10.Grammar Unit-Clauses, Sentences, and Fragments practice
11.What is Argument? Introduction to the Argumentative Essay and Argument Comprehensive Review (begins after Thanksgiving)









posted by J. B. Carmicle @ 3:53 AM    

Monday, November 14, 2005

Weeks in Preview November 7-11, 14-18

AP Students have been working on and will be assigned the following:

1. Sentence Imitation Exercises lead to sentence mimicking (practicing formal and consultative language) Justification: The mimicking of sentences activities demonstrates insightful and well-constructed ideas that will form the initial building blocks of the paragraph, and therefore, the thought-on-paper processes that will eventually lead to the effective argument essays that proves a thesis
2. Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, and Emerson/Thoreau American Romanticism selections and graphic organizers/vocabulary/grammar components
3. Three novels/plays chosen from College Board's 100 for off-track AP Long Form analysis; rules include no copying of material, no outside sources, except those specifically called for in AP Long Form document, and certain titles (novels-plays) not accepted (MORE TO COME)
4. Literary Terms 31-45 from Cliffs Preparation Guide
5. The Great Gatsby Chapters Three-Four-Five
6. Unit Five and Unit Six from Vocabulary Workshop
7. Crevecoeur AP Essay (Cliffs) due Monday, November 14; late assignments are not accepted in semester's second half
8. Textbook checks will occur periodically in class
9. Plagiarism affirmation document due in class signed by student and parent
10.Grammar Unit-Clauses, Sentences, and Fragments practice
11.What is Argument? Introduction to the Argumentative Essay and Argument Comprehensive Review

Monday, October 31, 2005

Week In Preview October 31-November 4

Upcoming Assignments for AP English Language:

1. Spirit of Independence packet due Friday, November 4 (all parts complete; deadline is firm)
2. Begin Unit Four Vocabulary; correct in class Unit 1-3 reveiw for BWR, EYV, and WPS
3. The Great Gatsby issued to students; read foreword and write ten full-sentence talking points by Wednesday
4. Literary Terms 16-30 reviewed in class this week; exam set by end of week
5. Miers scuttled nomination impact on presidency extra credit due Monday, October 31
6. New Op/Ed article and analysis due on Friday, November 4
7. Begin Poetry unit; "Romanticism" packet (twelve pages) issued

Monday, October 24, 2005

Week In Preview October 24-28

Upcoming assignments for AP English Language:

1. Reflective Letter: Save ALL work for reflective letter to be written at end of semester
2. TEWWG ABC broadcast shown in class Monday and Tuesday, October 24-25
3. Bring anthologies on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, October 26-28: "New Republic, Spirit of Independence, and a New Nation" packet includes work on prose of Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson; grammar and vocabulary sections
4. Units One-Three Vocabulary Workshop, Pages 25-30 and Unit Review Test scheduled for Wednesday, October 26
5. Lincoln AP Prompt Essay on Second Inaugural written in class on Friday, October 21 will permit rewrites on Monday, October 24; essay due no later than Tuesday, October 25
6. Literary Terms (Cliffs) include next fifteen: didactic-metaphor; exam on next fifteen scheduled for Friday, October 28
7. Sentence Imitation, Mimicking, and Pivoting are upcoming class activities
8. Agenda Bin: Winter work includes five AP essay prompts, three novels/plays with AP Long Form, and 100 Words High Schools Students Should Know vocabulary; grammar component to be announced (more to come)

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Week in Preview October 17-21

Upcoming assignments for AP English Language:

1. Frederick Douglass AP Essay typed in Vantage Lab last Monday and Tuesday was due Friday, October 14 and if submitted late will be penalized by the dropping of one letter grade per each day late
2. Op/Ed piece Consultative Writing due Monday, October 17: Attach column/article; note name of writer, name of paper/magazine/website and date of piece; no contractions; writers chosen so far include Boot, Scheer, Carlson, Morrison, Dowd, Brooks, Kristoff, and Friedman
3. Bring anthologies on Monday and Tuesday, October 17, 18: "New Republic, Spirit of Independence, and a New Nation" packet includes work on prose of Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson; grammar and vocabulary sections
4. Units One-Three Vocabulary Workshop, Pages 25-30 and Unit Review Test upcoming before week's end
5. Rhetorical Square presentations on Frederick Douglass prose resume on Wednesday
6. Literary Terms (Cliffs) include next fifteen: didactic-metaphor; exam on next fifteen scheduled for Friday, October 21
7. Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston: Exam final on vocabulary scheduled after words are defined; essay topics final (ten discussion topics of at least one paragraph each) is due Monday, October 17; AP Long form due October 21 (new deadline)
8. Churchill "Detail" analysis to be assigned as in-class writing
9. Sentence Imitation, Mimicking, and Pivoting are upcoming class activities
10.Agenda Bin: Winter work includes five AP essay prompts, three novels/plays with AP Long Form, and 100 Words High Schools Students Should Know vocabulary; grammar component to be announced (more to come); Abraham Lincoln AP Essay prompt assigned as next essay

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Week in Preview October 10-14

Upcoming assignments for AP English Language:

1. Vantage Lab-Room 502: Monday and Tuesday orientation and Frederick Douglass AP Essay Prompt; use resource AP Cliffs for syntax and figurative language definitions; four-page narrative on Douglass autobiography; Rhetorical Square notes and Guide to Rhetorical Analysis handout; essay due at end of session on Tuesday
2. Op/Ed piece Consultative Writing due Monday, October 17: Attach column/article; note name of writer, name of paper/magazine/website and date of piece; no contractions; writers chosen so far include Boot, Scheer, Carlson, Morrison, Dowd, Brooks, Kristoff, and Friedman
3. Bring anthologies on Wednesday and Thursday: "New Republic, Spirit of Independence, and a New Nation" packet includes work on prose of Benjamin Franklin, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson; grammar and vocabulary sections
4. Unit Three Vocabulary Test on Thursday; begin Unit Five Vocabulary on Friday
5. PSAT Test on Wednesday
6. Literary Terms (Cliffs) include next fifteen: didactic-metaphor
7. Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston: Three exams including final vocabulary, forty-question multiple choice, and essay topics (ten discussion topics of at least one paragraph each); AP Long form due October 17
8. Churchill "Detail" analysis to be assigned as in-class writing
9. Sentence Imitation, Mimicking, and Pivoting are upcoming class activities
10.Agenda Bin: Winter work includes five AP essay prompts, three novels/plays with AP Long Form, and 100 Words High Schools Students Should Know vocabulary; grammar component to be announced (more to come)

Monday, October 03, 2005

Week in Preview October 3-7

Here are upcoming assignments for AP English Language:

1. Benjamin Franklin "New Republic Spirit of Independence and a New Nation" study packet issued October 3
2. Frederick Douglass narrative distributed in preparation for Vantage Lab AP Prompt Four and Rhetorical Analysis charts
3. Unit Three Vocabulary Pages 19-24 due Thursday, October 6
4. Types of Sentences: Periodic, Loose, etc. lecture continues using Cornell Notes
5. Literary Terms (didactic-metaphor) in Cliffs Advanced Placement Preparation Guide
6. Their Eyes Were Watching God Chapters 16-20 and AP Long Form due at end of novel
7. Churchill "detail" analysis-to be assigned in class

Returned Documents:

AP Quiz Number Two
Colonial Era Packets (Plymouth-Offer-Sinners)
Op/Ed Consultative/Formal Writing Responses to national op/ed columnists

Knowledge is Power

Monday, September 26, 2005

Week In Preview September 26-30

Here is a preview of the week for AP students:

1. Op/Ed Writer chosen; Column followed weekly; Practice consultative/formal language using six questions handout
2. AP Quizzes: Unit II Vocabulary; AP Quiz Two-Types of Sentences, Levels of Questioning, Conjuctive Adverbs/Transitions
3. Colonial Era Packet: Complete by Friday; re-read "Of Plymouth Plantation," "Offer of Help," and "Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God"
4. Elements of Rhetorical Analysis handout: Practice passages and search for ethos, pathos, logos appeals
5. AP Long Form: Their Eyes Were Watching God ; Work on handout in preparation for submission at end of novel
6. Grammar: Independent and Subordinate Clauses handouts

Reminder: Keep all assigned work for reflective letter at end of semester.

Monday, September 19, 2005

Week In Preview September 19-23

Goals for this week include:

Literary Terms 1-15 with upcoming test of words spelled and defined from memory
Richard Rodriguez AP Exam prompt with concentration on Tone/Temperature Chart
Colonial Period's "Of Plymouth Plantation","Offer of Help", and "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" from AMLIT Anthology
Second AP Quiz featuring sentence types and structures, levels of questioning, language tone and style, grammar, and usage
Chapters 11. 12. 13, 14, 15 of Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and AP Long and Short Forms
Unit Two Level F Vocabulary and Test
OP/ED Writer Choice and first independent Consultative/Formal Register feedback practice

Check web log frequently for additions

E-mail: jcarmicl@lausd.k12.ca.us
Phone: 323-461-3891 Extension 419

Monday, September 12, 2005

Week In Preview

AP Students, here are assignments to be completed this week.

Read Chapters 6-10 of Hurston and begin completion of AP Long and Short Form for novel. Make notes of important vocabulary.
Study and commit to memory the first fifteen of eighty-five literary terms.
Read, analyze, and rewrite the Woolf AP prompt to earn a higher score if you achieved any score less than a nine.
Continue to complete Unit 1 vocabulary in Level F book and prepare for exam on the first twenty words.
Spend time analyzing the Rodriguez AP prompt for class discussion on tone. An essay is scheduled for this week or next, and becomes a primer for an in-class timed writing for a future AP prompt.
The rhetorical square is our next analytical tool and will be introduced by week's end.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!! Never forget that.

Thursday, September 08, 2005

AP English Update

Here are assignments AP English should be working on both in and out of class:

1. Begin reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and record talking points for class discussion.
2. Study fifteen literary terms for upcoming test.
3. Continue to record Cornell Notes for sentence types and sentence structure lectures.
4. Choose op/ed writer from names suggested in class; begin to follow one writer's column on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for consultative/formal language register practice.

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

2002 AP English Style Analysis Assignment

Follow prompt directions for the 2002 Question Two AP Free-Response Question and submit essay no later than Tuesday, September 6, Period One.

Complete the coursework survey handed out Monday and submit by Tuesday, August 30, Period One.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Rhetorical Square

The rhetorical analysis required to successfully write free-response AP essays demands that students be able to read, argue and support with evidence prompts featuring texts at various levels of difficulty. One tool available to students is the rhetorical square, which enables students to ask four questions when reading analytically. Students need to define the writer's purpose and pose the question, "What action does the speaker want the audience to take?" Second, define the persona the writer is assuming and ask (ethos), "How does the speaker establish common values with the audience and how does the speaker create a common ground for speaker and audience?" Third, ask (pathos), "Who is the audience and which of their emotional characteristics does the writer keep in mind?" Finally, determine the writer's (logos), argument and, "How is the writer's message presented, what figurative language is involved, and what mode of discourse (compare-contrast, cause/effect, classification and division, etc.) does the speaker employ to convey the message?" The purpose for writing, the persona or assumed role of the writer, the audience for whom the writing is done, and the message or content of the writing form the heart of the rhetorical square. This strategy will be used frequently in class to prepare students to read, analyze, and write successfully to prepare for the AP exam.

Credit for the Rhetorical Square is given to writingback.org and Marcy Bowman.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

The Cornell Note-Taking System

Walter Pauk (1989) developed what is known as the Cornell notetaking technique to help Cornell University students better organize their notes. Today, Pauk's notetaking technique is probably the most widely used system throughout the United States. The six steps in the Cornell notetaking system are 1) record, 2) reduce (or question), 3)recite, 4) reflect, 5) review, and 6) recapitulate. Recording notes require students during lectures to write down facts and ideas in phrases, using abbreviations when possible, and after lectures to read through notes and fill in blanks and make scribbles more legible. Reducing or Questioning notes occurs after lectures and require students to write key words, phrases, or questions that serve as cues for notes taken in class. Cue phrases and questions should be in students' own words. Reciting notes require students to cover classroom notes and to read each key word or question and then recite the fact or idea brought to mind by key word or question. Reflecting and Reviewing notes require students to review their notes by periodically reciting them and to think about what they learned. Finally, recapituatling notes require students to summarize each main idea and use complete sentences. The format on paper for these six steps will be discussed in class.

Credit for the above is given to http://www.buy.edu/stlife/cdc/Learning_Strategies/study_skills/note-tak.htm 2/17/2003

Language Registers

One of the analytical tools we will use this semester is the language register, which will foster critical thinking and create inferential thinking. There are five language registers.

1. Frozen: language repeatedly used over generations whose purpose is to create community through ritual and whose speaker (audience) is participating in a ritual; the Pledge of Allegiance or Lord's Prayer are examples

2. Formal: the speaker is involved in one-way communication and is an expert as the audience listens, receives, and does not participate; the speaker's purpose is to inform or persuade and standard English is the grammar used; a speech, sermon, lecture, presentation are examples

3. Consultative: identical to formal except it involves two-way conversations and both parties are experts; networking, e-mail, or colleague conversations are examples

4. Casual: although there is two-way conversation, the speaker and audience are friends, grammar can be lax, and background information of discussion is known by both; this conversation creates social glue or entertainment; banter between friends is an example

5. Intimate: language between lovers, twins, or very "old friends" are examples

These language registers lead to writing for different purposes. For example,

Personal Writing includes self-expressive pieces, journals, diaries, letters and is defined by the casual language register because human emotion is involved

Creative Writing includes cartoons, movies, novels, poetry and may involve any language register because human imagination is involved

Academic Writing includes essays, articles, professional journals, dissertations and is defined by the formal register using formal grammar because human intellect is involved

Credit for language registers is given to writingback.org and Marcy Bowman as well as Martin Joos' The Five Clocks.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Opening days activities will include instruction on Levels of Questioning which explains how questions affect class discussion. The FIRST LEVEL of questioning generates from Bloom's Cognitive Taxonomy's Knowledge/Comprehension component and asks students to recall something from the text, using either the writer's words or the student's words and have only one answer. These questions of fact result in evidence. The SECOND LEVEL of questioning is from BCT's Analysis component and asks students to draw inferences about the meaning of a text, using evidence in the text to support answers and can result in a number of answers, all of which can be valid. These questions result in inferences. The THIRD LEVEL of questioning is from BCT's Evaluation/Synthesis component and asks students to make a personal connection between the text and themselves, moves the discussion beyond the text, requires an answer from the student's personal values, and are intended to provoke discussion of an abstract idea or issue. These questions result in topic sentences and thesis statements.

We will work with the three levels of questioning throughout the semester and additionally learn how to measure your commitment to learning with Bloom's Affective Taxonomy. More to come on this later.

Information in this posting is credited to writingback.org with sincere thanks to Marcy Bowman.

Bloom's Affective Taxonomy (Measure Your Commitment to Learning

As an Advanced Placement English classroom learner, you are able to measure your commitment to learning using a five-step scale, which is derived from the original Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning. This scale is termed "affective" since its levels of learning are based on your contributions to the course and the classroom. Measure yourself at the beginning of the semester because you certainly will be asked to state how much you have grown intellectually by semester's end. (1 is lowest-5 is highest)

1. RECEIVING: Willingness to receive classroom activities: awareness, controlled or selected attention--Follow, Reply, Listen, Identify

2. RESPONDING: Active participation on the part of the student which indicates that the student has a desire to be involved in the activity or assignment so seeks it out and gains satisfaction from working with it or engaging in it--Answer, Present, Discuss, Recite, Practice, Select, Tell, Comply

3. VALUING: The student sees worth or value in the activity or assignment related to writing. An important element of this behavior is that it is motivated, not only by the desire to comply or obey, but by the individual's commitment to mastering the skills involved in learning--Complete, Join, Differentiate, Propose, Initiate, Invite, Share

4. PRIORTIZING BY VALUES: Bringing together possibly disparate values, resolving conflicts between them, and beginning to build an internally consistent value system. One sees how attitudes regarding learning relate to values already held in other parts of one's life. This integration of values is less than harmonious--Compare, Organize, Defend, Systemize, Integrate, Modify

5. INTERNALIZING VALUES: The values involved in being a writer have controlled one's behavior for a sufficiently long period of time to have developed a positive identity as a learner. This attitude regarding learning is pervasive, consistent, and predictable--Advocate, Incorporate, Characterize, Influence, Devote, Practice, Encourage

Credit for Bloom's Affective Taxonomy is given to writingback.org and Marcy Bowman

Next Up: Note Taking, Language Registers, and the Rhetorical Square

Monday, August 01, 2005

The first day of classes for Track A students will be Monday, August 29, 2005 and student orientation for coursework will be discussed, including preparation for Advanced Placement Tools and Skills necessary for success on the AP English Language Exam.

Sunday, July 31, 2005

Welcome to Mr. Carmicle's AP English Language Web Log!