Thursday, August 30, 2007

Friday August 31, 2007

1. Check blog on Sunday evening for next week's assignments
2. AP 2007 Exam Free Response Essay in class
3. AP 2007 Exam Free Response Essay assigned as weekend homework and due Tuesday
4. AP Long Forms are due
5. Questions on online syllabi assigned and due on Tuesday
6. Labor Day Holiday on Monday
7. Parent Letter and Academic/Behavior Standards documents due today, Friday

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Thursday August 30, 2007

1. Coursework survey due in class today
2. Parent Letter/Academic and Behavior Standards due Friday
3. Collect AP Long Forms
4. Multiple-Choice Component of AP Exam administered as diagnostic in class Thursday
5. Great job today, Wednesday for the first day!

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Opening Day August 29, 2007

1. Coursework Survey
2. Parent Letter/Academic and Behavior Standards
3. Course Authorization
4. Collect AP Long Forms

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Opening Days Academic and Behavior Standards

Students follow classroom, academic and behavioral standards so that instruction proceeds in an organized manner creating a learning environment conducive for all learners. These standards include, but are not limited to, obeying rules set by the school as well as by the classroom teacher. Student progress is demonstrated on periodic reports to parents with marks of excellent, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory in academics, cooperation, and work habits.


Classroom Standards
1. No student sound-emitting devices or cell phones of any type are to be displayed or used during any portion of classroom instruction including homeroom. Headwear policy is stated in the school’s memorandum.
2. School tardy policy requires students who are tardy to be marked so when arriving late to any class. A student is considered tardy when not seated before the bell rings at beginning of classes.
3. Profane language and ethnic slurs are not permitted in classes since both respect and tolerance is expected of students and teachers.
4. Defiance of authority and failure to follow rules will result in a warning to student and subsequently, calls to parents, referrals to counselors, track coordinator, and track administrator.
5. Students are encouraged to enthusiastically participate in class work, including discussions and assignments, and to bring required textbooks to class daily, unless otherwise noted by teacher. Textbooks are loaned to you and must be returned in the same condition as they were issued; if they are lost or damaged, you will be financially responsible.
6. Sleeping in class and inattentiveness is discouraged.


Academic and Behavior Standards
1. Bring notebook, pen, completed assignments,
textbook, and other necessary materials to class.
2. Hand in class work and homework on time.
3. Start assignment promptly; work diligently
without disturbing others.
4. Follow instructions and be courteous at all times.
Name-calling is not permitted.
5. Enjoy food or drinks during nutrition or lunch, not
in class.
6. Leave the class only after the teacher dismisses
students. The bell does not necessarily signify the
dismissal of students.

Assignment and Composition Format
1. Use notebook paper with holes on the left. Torn and/or ragged-edged papers from spiral notebooks are not accepted.
2. The three-line heading written in the upper right hand corner (above the lines) must include first and last name, class and/or period identification (e.g. Period 2, English 10), and the date. No abbreviations are to be used in the heading.
3. Choose an appropriate title for all assigned work. Center and correctly capitalize it on the top line.
4. Skip one line between the title and the body.
5. Most assignments may be typed or completed in neat, legible manuscript or cursive. Avoid work in pencil; use blue or black non-smear ink. Students must run spell and grammar check on typed documents before submission.
6. Use paragraph form. Indent, and observe left and right paper margins.

Grades, Points, and Marks
1. Use the following points/percentages for interpreting scores and marks earned on your assignments. Most will carry a weight of either 10, 25, or 50 points.
A+=100; A>=97.5; A->=92.5; B+>=88.5; B>=86; B->=82.5; C+>=78.5; C>=76; C->=72.5; D+>=68.5; D>=66; D->=62.5; FAIL>=0
2. Assignments and grades include, but are not limited to, homework, tests, quizzes, projects, journals, dispatches, compositions, summaries, listening and speaking activities, research reports, and portfolio entries. Late or missing assignments will adversely affect your overall grade.
3. Work Habits and Cooperation Marks. E-Excellent; S-Satisfactory; U-Unsatisfactory. For a complete explanation of these marks, ask for the Criteria For Marks handout.
4. Ask Three, Then Me. Handouts and class notes missed due to absences should be obtained from fellow classmates the day following the absence. You are responsible for making up any assignments that are due. (See other side for late work policy.)

Welcome to Fall Term, 2007-2008. I wish you success as you begin your endeavor to complete the coursework necessary to earn a high school diploma and satisfy post-secondary educational goals and requirements.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Fall 2007 Letter to Parents

August 15, 2007

Welcome to the Fall Semester 2007-2008. Parents are encouraged to take an active role in students’ educational goals and to assist them in making certain that all outside reading and homework assignments, note taking activities, test preparation requirements, and individual or group project work is independently completed on time and submitted by the due date. Periodic grade reports will be issued to students who should apprise parents of how they are progressing in their coursework. This periodic assessment can help to identify the emotional and intellectual maturity of the student and signal instructional intervention strategies that may be necessary to avert poor academic performance. Students should expect rigorous studies as they undertake the challenges of demanding Advanced Placement English Language, Honors Ten English and Grade Eleven American Literature and Contemporary Composition curriculums. If parents wish to contact me, I can be reached by e-mail at jcarmicl@lausd.net or on school voice mail, which I check frequently during the semester, at 323-461-3891 Extension 419. Homework and other necessary communication is posted on my web log at hollywoodhighschool.net and is updated frequently.

Late Work Policy

It is the policy of this class that students who are absent and provide an acceptable excuse may make up any assignment or test the day following their return to class; the assignment or test will be scored and returned to students. Students must mark “absent” on the assignment or test. If an assignment or test is not completed on the day following the return to class, the assignment or test will be scored as “credit” only and not receive a letter grade. A “credit” will replace the “0” the test or assignment would have received. That “credit” neither raises nor lowers the students’ overall grade average. Verified truancies and unexcused absences from class are exempted from earning make up work credit; students will receive no credit for any make up work submitted.

Off-track assignments such as AP Long Forms and Dialectical Journals must be submitted on time and will receive a “credit” only and not a letter grade if received past due dates, that is “by the end of the first week of instruction” for the semester.

Academic and Behavior Standards are explained on the reverse side of this letter. This document will be printed and sent home with students the first week of the new semester. Students should review these rules with you, print their names, and ask you to sign and return this document signifying your understanding and acceptance of these classroom directives. If you have questions or concerns, contact me at the voice mail number or e-mail address provided; I will contact you as soon as possible.

Please plan to attend two important school events in the next several weeks. Back-To-School Night and PHBAO Parent Conference Night are both excellent opportunities for you to learn more about what is being taught in the classroom and how your son or daughter is progressing in their coursework.

Respectfully yours,




James B. Carmicle
School For Advanced Studies
Hollywood High School
August 2007

Friday, August 10, 2007

Contact Information for Questions

You may contact me at jcarmicl@lausd.net for questions about this blog.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Advanced Placement English Language Syllabus

ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION


Introduction to Course and Course Overview

AP English Language and Composition (School for Advanced Studies) offers students a year of intense training in reading and writing to prepare them for success on the AP Language and Composition Examination, to ready them for skills necessary for college-level studies and enable them to become contributing members of their communities as lifelong learners. This rigorous and demanding class focuses on the rhetorical analysis of fiction and non-fiction, and works of American literature. Students learn to identify an author’s purpose and strategies and examine the ways people think about and use language. Students read and analyze models of good writing and write compositions of various lengths and complexity, participating in peer response and rigorous revision. Students are introduced to analytical tools designed to develop levels of questioning at the factual, inferential, and analytical tiers of knowledge, which ultimately provide them with mastery of the highest forms of analysis and synthesis, necessary for participation in class discussions and note taking. They are able to write effective prose at first year college level. Students are expected to complete outside reading on time and, independently, produce class discussion notes using the Cornell method. In this course, the rhetorical interpretation of text primarily focuses on the Classical, Rogerian, and Toulmin models which demand that claims, taken with the writer’s purpose, the intended audience, and speaker’s persona, will lead to argument for persuasion using both a thesis and opposite thesis, necessary skills for successful academic writing. Students in AP English Language and Composition read difficult nonfiction text with speed, annotating and outlining as they recognize shifts of perspective and tone. They quote with authority and precision, discern the writer’s purpose and interpret responses elicited from audiences, and synthesize how authors manipulate readers to prove theses in various modes of written discourse.


Rigor skills taught during this year-long course include Bloom’s Taxonomy and Bloom’s Affective Taxonomy to provide students with a way to measure ongoing learning, the five Language Registers (Frozen, Formal, Consultative, Casual, and Intimate) and students are able to perfect the middle language register by choosing a nationally syndicated op/ed columnist, follow that writer’s column bi-monthly, and construct responses using strategies that address the ethos (ethics), pathos (emotions), and logos (logic) of nonfiction and current events’ columns; Levels of Questioning, which includes level one (factual), level two (interpretative), and level three (evaluative); the Cornell Note taking method, outlining and journaling; the Rhetorical Square approach to unpacking nonfiction pieces (Audience, Purpose, Persona, Argument); Sentence Mimicking and Pivoting Text; the grammar of irony and the grammar of paradox; the classical, Rogerian, and Toulmin argumentations models; rhetorical modes of discourse; student-teaching conferencing, including rubrics, revisions, and rewrites.*
**GLAAPSI, July 2005 Marcy Bowman AP Packet

Reading

Students are encouraged to read widely, and through exposure to various genres, voices, and ideas, students’ reading tastes are broadened as their levels of appreciation and enjoyment and critical faculties are heightened.

Close reading is a critical skill that is ideally developed over many years and this course builds on these skills by providing frequent instruction and opportunities for students to dissect passages and texts. Two overarching elements, the understanding of which serves students well, are diction and syntax. Students need to be word savvy. Recognizing the power of diction—individual words as well as word patterns—is a primary focus. Vocabulary lists are used; class discussions include studies of the nuances of words’ meaning and words’ connotative and denotative meanings are reviewed.

Syntax is taught so that writers manage to achieve syntactical variety in their own writing despite any difficulties in analyzing the element. Students consider the power of the individual simple, compound, complex, compound-complex sentences and their juxtaposition within structured writing; they look carefully at subordination, coordination, and the author’s tone as it relates to the use of the declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences.

Repetition, parallelism, rhetorical questions, tone, and transitions are devices students are familiar with and figurative language, including metaphorical devices such as apostrophe, simile, metaphors, hyperbole, irony, paradox, and sarcasm become part of the strategies used to grasp overall meaning of text through close reading.

Writing

In this course, students develop clearly articulated departmental expectations, including exchanging essays in triads to ascertain voice, making suggestions, revisions, and suggestions to classmates, and participating in both student-teacher as well as student-student feedback. Departments also share student writing at professional developments with teachers of other disciplines to gain insight as to how students approach writing assignments in other common core subjects.

The writing process, including brainstorming, planning, prewriting, drafting, revising, and rewriting is another component students use to achieve excellence in their final draft of un-timed compositions.

According to the Advanced Placement Course Description in English “stylistic development” is nurtured by emphasizing the following:
• A wide ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively
• A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination
• A logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition, transitions, and emphasis
• A balance of generalization and specific illustrative details, and
• An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure.


Topics for writing are limitless, and the greater the variety, the greater the opportunity for the student to develop style and a sharp sense of audience. Composition may include some research components, particularly in the Junior Defense of Thesis where the process of collecting and organizing information is used to perfect a thesis that is proven both in written prose and oral discourse.

Timed writing is vital as well. This kind of assignment is valid for two reasons; it replicates the students’ writing experience on the AP Exam where they are, in a time frame of about forty minutes, asked to read a prompt, usually including a passage, and write an effective essay response. Second, this product-oriented writing is a reality. Students in colleges, as with many professionals, are regularly faced with such demands for which rapid assimilation of information and immediate responses are critical to the quality of their work.

The holistic scoring of essays is used throughout this course since this type of scoring allows essays to be read quickly and carefully by the instructor, who then judges it against scoring guides and rubrics developed in response to the nature of the composition question and the desired response to the prompt.

This course also provides ample opportunities for students to take sample multiple-choice question exams. These multiple-choice questions are demanding, with possible answers frequently separated by subtle distinctions and the more opportunities for practice, the further chance of perfecting the skills to choose the correct answer from a group of distractors.

Writing and Reading Text Credit: Teacher’s Guide Advanced Placement Program, AP English Language and Composition; College Entrance Examination Board and Educational Testing Service ©1998

Grammar

Students cover an immense amount of grammar, particularly in the areas of parts of speech, agreement, sentence structure, subordination and coordination, and conventions of grammar usage and mechanics. Grammar is often taught in isolation but that does not negate the requirement that students are held responsible on both timed and untimed writing assignments to utilize skills learned to perfect documents on the first draft so that many revisions are not needed for succeeding drafts.

Semester “A”

Week One:
Students begin fall semester with summer reading selections assessed by submission of two Advanced Placement Long Forms, each based on novels that were assigned as independent reading off-track. These are their first papers for this course and are used as an immediate way to measure students’ analysis of authors’ use of rhetorical strategies, offering critical reading practice, and in particular close reading of important and difficult text that students will encounter throughout the semester.

Students also choose an Op/Ed Columnist at the beginning of the semester and follow that writer on a regular basis, practicing the consultative/formal language register by responding to the writers’ arguments.

Levels of Questioning are introduced at the beginning of the school year and students are given practice this strategy by condensing and summarizing Cornell Notes taken both in class and out-of-class on selected readings. Level One Questions are questions that students can write that can be explicitly answered by facts contained in the text or information accessible in other resources. Level Two Questions are textually implicit, requiring analysis and interpretation of specific parts of the text. Level Three Questions are much more open-ended and go beyond the text and are intended to provoke a discussion of an abstract idea or issue. Credit for the levels of questions explanation are from an AP Workshop at California State University where the Great Books Foundation was discussed.

Week Two:
Timed Writing #1: An AP Exam Prompt using a short prose passage titled “Hunger of Memory,” from author Richard Rodriguez is used to introduce students to a sample writing task they might face on the actual Spring AP English Language Exam.

The Colonial Period up to 1790 is also covered at the start of this semester. Puritans and American Beginnings (Scott-Foresman Publishing; Literature and Integrated Studies) introduces students to the writings of William Bradford in “Of Plymouth Plantation,” and “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Jonathan Edwards’ masterful sermon that sets the stage for class discussion of literary terms such as tone, syntax, diction, including specific syntactical devices such as rhetorical questions and the mimicking of loose, periodic, balanced, and interrupted sentences.

Week Three:
Students spend time analyzing compositions they have written for the Rodriguez AP Prompt, specifically in preparation for a class discussion on tone. The Rhetorical Square, which addresses subject (and speaker), occasion, audience, and purpose is reviewed, since it will provide a solid foundation for future essay prompts that are generally written on a weekly basis.



Timed Writing #2: AP Exam Prompt, featuring a short passage titled “Moments of Being,” by Virginia Woolf

Novel #1: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which is read independently with talking points recorded chapter by chapter as students record entries in a journal format; class discussions are held weekly with each student contributing orally to ascertain author’s purpose, characters’ motivations, and the overall theme of the work. This novel is an ongoing assignment throughout the semester.

Week Four:
Students are introduced to the New Republic, Spirit of Independence and America (Scott-Foresman; Literature and Integrated Studies) with literature selections that cover a time period of 1790-1820. Highlights of this unit are the study of Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin,” Thomas Paine’s “The American Crisis,” and “Speech in the Virginia Convention” by Patrick Henry.

Week Five:
Timed Writing #3: Lincoln’s Second Inaugural AP Prompt; students are able to use a nine-point generic rubric to self-evaluate their essays and the essays of classmates; students may also engage in discussion with the teacher on a weekly basis and challenge the scores received on essays, using the wording of the rubric to provide evidence that the essay may perhaps have deserved a higher score.

Reading and Writing Strategies such as sentence mimicking and text pivoting are further practiced at this point, providing students with additional skills in checking for comprehension about material covered in class and assures their understanding of the complexities of crafting interesting and varied sentences, connecting the use of proper diction with syntax, and incorporating sentence variety by using subordinate clauses and subordinating conjunctions. Sentence mimicking in particular demonstrates insightful and well-constructed patterns of adapted writing that form the initial building blocks of the paragraph, and therefore, the thought-on-paper processes that will eventually lead to the effective paragraph composition for essays of argument that prove theses.

Week Six:
Vocabulary Workshop (Sadlier, Oxford) is used on a weekly basis; units specifically designed for challenging vocabulary are introduced as students become responsible for identifying the meanings, the connotations, the diacritical markings, and the pronunciation of twenty words weekly; tests are given on a regular basis to confirm understanding and mastery of new vocabulary; students are reminded that vocabulary is important when it is used in real-world contexts, both in written compositions and oral discourse, and are encouraged to remember that, “One does not own a word until it is used, not just memorized.” The American Heritage Dictionary’s 100 Words High School Students Should Know is also utilized and ten new words are introduced weekly, as students are also tested on each set of ten.

Text from “The Declaration of Independence” and the short anthology biography of Thomas Jefferson closes the Spirit of Independence unit of study.

Timed Writing #4: Frederick Douglass Essay from Narrative in the Life of Frederick Douglass is composed and submitted; syntax and figurative language are the essence of this assignment, as students are provided with supplementary materials such as a four-page narrative on Douglass’ autobiography and read and annotate an additional Douglass prose selection, “What The Black Man Wants.”

Week Seven:

American Romanticism and the Transcendentalists includes the poetry of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman from the anthology (Scott-Foresman; Literature and Integrated Studies) and is begun at this point in the semester and covers the literature period of 1820-1865.

Week Eight:
Emerson’s “Self Reliance,” Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience,” and an excerpt from Thoreau’s Walden are covered during this period.

Timed Writing #5: James Baldwin’s 1979 Essay on Language (a 1995 AP prompt)

Multiple-choice exam practice from the Cliff’s AP Preparation Guide is begun, and bi-weekly essays are written as in-class timed writing assignments, using selected prompts from that same book.

Introduction to the Argumentative Essay and Argument Comprehensive Review is introduced as students learn to identify the pathos, ethos, and logos strategies used by writers to achieve their varied purposes for writing.

Week Nine:

The Continental Nation (1865-1900) period is covered using selections such as Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” and Robert E. Lee’s “Farewell Order to the Army of Northern Virginia.”

Timed Writing #6: Crevecoeur’s “Letter to an American Farmer”


Weeks Ten-Fifteen:

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is introduced and journaled talking points are recorded chapter by chapter as students engage in weekly class discussions. This novel is an ongoing assignment throughout the semester.

Vocabulary Workshop and “100 Words High School Students Should Know” continues during this period. Readings for these five weeks also include “Roman Fever,” by Edith Wharton, “Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather, William Faukner’s “Barn Burning”, Anne Sexton’s poem “Her Kind”, the poems of Langston Hughes and Sylvia Plath, and Richard Wright’s “Big Back Good Man.” Each selection includes questions about meaning, language, theme, and purpose so students may perfect their understanding and analysis of short passages of fiction. Additional nonfiction selections from Bedford Reader, the heart of any AP English Language Course, are introduced in the second semester of studies.

Textbooks

Textbooks used in this course include The Bedford Reader, Cliffs AP Preparation Guide, Vocabulary Workshop Level “F”, and Glencoe Writer’s Choice. Various nonfiction pieces are used from composition rhetorics and readers, as are newspaper editorials, opinion-editorial pieces written by individual columnists, and storyboards, photographs, and newspaper editorial cartoons.

Kennedy, X.J., Dorothy Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron, The
Bedford Reader
. Boston: Bedford Books of St.
Martin’s Press, 1997.

Cliffs AP English Language and Composition (2nd Edition) Swovelin ©2001

Vocabulary Workshop Level “F” Shostak (Sadlier-Oxford Publishing) 2005

Anthology: Writer’s Choice Grammar and Composition; Glencoe ©2005

Anthology: Literature and Integrated Studies; Scott-Foresman Publishing ©1997


Useful Web Sites
Online Writing Labs
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

Composition formatting


MLA Style Citations
http://www.cas.usf.edu/english/walker/mla.html

Research Paper Works Cited formatting


Oxford English Dictionary
http://www.oed.com/

Vocabulary for the AP student


Strunk and White
http://www.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/strunk/

Rules of style for written prose


Teacher Web log
http://www.hollywoodhighschool.net

Weekly blog postings of assignments due


Apex Learning
http://www.apex.com

AP diagnostic tests; literary terms; study strategies


Go My Access/Vantage Learning
http://www.gomyaccess.com

Intellimetric prompts and rubric-scored writing


Exercise Central http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/exercisecentral

Online quizzes for each reading selection


College Board Online
http://www.collegeboard.org/ap

Grading System
Marks on individual assignments are based on the following scale:
A 92.5 % or better
B 82.5 % or better
C 72.5 % or better
D 62.5 % or better

Midterm and final examinations are administered; other quizzes are given throughout the course and include tests on meaning, language, and writing strategies from texts, tests on vocabulary, the connotative and denotative meanings of words, and tests on literary terms necessary for success on the multiple-choice and essays portions of the AP Language Exam.





This syllabus is being updated and more details will be added in the next several days; please check this blog for further information.

Monday, August 06, 2007

PREVIEW--Strategies for Advanced Placement English

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.

(SOAPS: Speaker, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Subject) is another name for this strategy and Rhetorical Square and SOAPS are terms that will become interchangeable as the year progresses.



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 occur 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.


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 students' commitment to learning with Bloom's Affective Taxonomy.

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, students are able to measure their 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 their contributions to the course and the classroom. Students measure themselves at the beginning of the semester because they certainly will be asked to state how much they 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


The first day of classes for Track A students will be Wednesday, August 29, 2007. Student orientation for coursework will be discussed, including preparation for Advanced Placement Tools and Skills necessary for success on the AP English Language Exam.