Category Archives: AP Lang

Jul 02 2019
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AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, AP Language and Composition, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Motivating Students, Progress Monitoring, Starting a New Semester, Teaching, Visible Learning

Using a Skill Matrix in Class

One part of Visible Learning that I love is student ownership of the process. In working on my Google Certifications, I found Kasey Bell’s Capacity Matrix. This was very helpful for me, and I wanted to try to use something similar in my classroom. I wasn’t certain how I would use it, so I started with the standards for the unit and had students review the elements and rate their learning at the start of the unit and at the end. This allowed them to reflect on their learning and revisit skills they felt needed more help.

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For this year, I am going to start with having students use the skills matrix more intentionally with owning learning and progress monitoring. Creating the matrix was easy — I created a table and added in the standards and the rating system. In case you are interested, I wanted to share this matrix my students will be using to help with the NEW 2019 AP Language and Composition units. Full disclosure, this isn’t as pretty as some of my other charts, but I want to use this electronically for students to revisit it easily.

2019 AP Language and Composition Skills Matrix

I know we can’t implement this matrix right now, but in a few weeks, students will grace our doors and we will be able to put it to good use. I’d love to hear how it works for you.

Who am I?

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Jun 15 2019
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AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, AP Language and Composition, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Teaching, Technology

AP Lang: Summer Jump Start

Each year, AP students are given a summer reading assignment. In the past, the one our school used was not the best, but this year, we listened to our students and we made a change.

What’s the plan? Concept Review.

The AP course comes with a level of analysis for a variety of texts.  To help prepare students for seeing the differences, we asked them to refer to Chapter 1: “Using the Available Means” and Chapter 2: “The Art and Craft of Analysis” from our course text.  Much of this introduction to the rhetorical situation and close reading had been in the curriculum throughout English I and English II, but one or two terms may have been new for some students. We then gave a guided notes handout to help students take notes on chapter information. How would this be checked? Well, since it is review intended to alleviate some of the “Summer Slide”, we just wanted to see handwritten notes.

However, we like to make sure we are doing what we can to help the students. We like to LISTEN to the students.

When students asked for a tutorial, I complied.

For students who are interested, I am creating a Nearpod to carry students through the vital skills associated with each chapter.  We plan to release one each Monday for the next two weeks. Some slides have audio, and some activities were built in to help students remember the foundational skills.  I even built in a few chances for students to tell us what they wanted us to know as we plan for return to the school year.

Bitmoji Image

Would you like to see the LOC Chapter 1 Nearpod???

To participate as a student, click here: https://share.nearpod.com/vsph/ATUYrJJuNu

To download the presentation in your Nearpod library, click here: https://share.nearpod.com/e/YEZn6D0NmX 

To preview, click here: https://share.nearpod.com/e5S1zD0NmX

Thanks for stopping by! Questions, comment, thoughts, or ideas? Let me know!

Do you EdTech? While working to be a Google Certified Educator, I have started a blog for that as well. Check it out here.

Feb 23 2016
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American Literature, AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, AP Language and Composition, Common Core, English III, Grammar, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Language Strand, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

Week 8 – Writing Workshop

One thing is for certain: Writing can always be improved.  This week, we are going to be making a short stop to focus on the rhetorical analysis writing in detail, one part of the paper a day.  The goal is to remind students of the elements of strong responses so they are prepared to build this into their essays as a whole. Ideas? As always, I’m open to your thoughts.

 

MONDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Multiple Choice Monday: Through the study of an AP MC reading selection (Prestwick The Scarlet Letter AP Test Questions 1-10), students will be able to correctly answer the question, including justification for the selected answer.

  • Student are given 13 minutes to read the text and answer the questions.
  • T will give correct answers and percentage of students who correctly answered the question. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions about what is unknown as needed.
  • Students will review answers and write corrections with argumentative stemFOR HOMEWORK if they desire earning back the missed points.
    • Frame: I chose ___ because ____. That is wrong because ____. The correct answer is ___ because ____. 

Writing Workshop: Through the review of the rhetoric précis, the student will be able to write a thorough introduction including a thesis with vocabulary from the prompt.

Note: Student essays are evaluating the rhetorical strategies that Paine employs to accomplish his purpose.

  • Students will review the outline completed over the weekend.
  • Students will review elements of an effective introduction by looking at seven examples from released AP exams and identifying strategies for an effective introduction.
  • Students will finalize the introduction paragraph using the sentences from their outline and critical attributes from class today.
  • Peer Review (Time Permitted): Students will review the introduction paragraph for grammar, usage, and mechanics.
  • Submitted paragraphs will be reviewed by the teacher and appropriate written feedback will be returned to students during class tomorrow.

HWK: Students will write two body paragraphs using information from their outlines.

 

TUESDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Thesis Statement Tuesday: Through the review of the three types of thesis statements, students will identify what their thesis statement is and use this to organize their paragraphs.

  1. Highlight your thesis statement. What type of statement is it? Are your main points clear? How could you improve it?
  2. Syntax Evaluation: How would you label the syntax of your thesis?

Writing Workshop: Through the review of TIQA and incorporating quotes, the student will be able to write body paragraphs for the analytical essay.

Writing Workshop:

  1. The class will sit in a circle and pass their first paragraph to the person on the left for peer review.
  2. Students will return their paragraphs and evaluate the quality of feedback before deciding what revisions should be made.

NOTE: Short share out for T is track common errors on the board.

  1. What is TIQA? Look at paragraph 1. Highlight AUTHOR’s words in green, direct quotes from PAINE in red, and paraphrases from PAINE in yellow. What color should be most common on your page? Why?
  2. For body paragraph 2, students will look for the errors discovered in part 1 and make those changes on their own. Additionally, students will evaluate TIQA in their own writing.

Reflection Closing: What errors do you commonly make? How can you work to correct these errors in the future? What TIQA-related changes did you make? How can this process help you writing the final body paragraph?

 

HWK: Finalize the body of your essay.

 

WEDNESDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Writing Wednesday: Through the study of The Art of Styling Sentences and the specific review of patterns 1-3, students will be able to write thorough and concise sentences.

  1. Students will identify the sentence parts of the given sentences.
  2. Students will label the pattern of the given sentence.
  3. Students will create an example for each of the sentence patterns in their paragraphs. (Ex, one pattern per paragraph.)

Cohesive Conclusions: Through the study of concluding paragraphs from actual AP essays, the students will be able to identify critical attributes of an effective conclusion and demonstrate mastery by writing an effective conclusion.

  1. Students will review and BAT a released AP writing prompt.
  2. Students will review sample released AP conclusion paragraphs for the prompt in order to identify critical attributes of the conclusion paragraph.
  3. Students will share the CA and evaluate them as a class to create guided questions.
  4. Students will write their conclusion paragraph.

Time Permitting, students will peer review the conclusion paragraph.

Closure: Finalize your essay to submit before class tomorrow.

 

THURSDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Tutoring Thursday: Through the study of AP Rhetoric, students will be able to correctly identify and explain the given device in the task cards. (Mastery 8/10)

I: Student are given 10 minutes to review the academic vocabulary associated with the excerpts on the task cards. This is designed to help reteach missed skills, and definitions of unknown words are encouraged for learning outside of class.

D/Ap: Students will rotate through stations to complete a minimum of ten task cards each for a grade. Mastery = 8 of 10.

Visual Rhetoric: Through the study of comics and visuals found on released AP exams, the student will be able to analyze the image to create a logical conclusion.

  1. T will model the process of see, infer, and conclude again for students.
  2. Class will discuss the depth of the responses.
  3. T will model taking the conclusion and creating a sentence using the designated pattern.
  4. Students will apply the model process to analyze the visual rhetoric and track conclusions in a variety of sentence patterns.

 

HWK: Take a break. If you did not submit your essay today, you BETTER have it tomorrow morning.

 

FRIDAY

Bell Ringer (15 minutes): Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)
    • G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner
    • Share outs (based on pacing)

Free Response Friday: Through the review of the student-created essay, students will finalize and submit the rhetorical analysis essay.

  • Students will type the finalized essay with Google Docs.

Sunday News, Monday Views: Through the study of current events, students will be able to rhetorically analyze a chosen article from the weekend news.

  • Students will pick an article and complete the analysis.
  • Monday: Ss will share to raise awareness of current events and build background knowledge to help prepare for the AP exam.

~Note: This assignment is weekend homework due at the start of EVERY Monday.

 

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Feb 21 2016
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American Literature, AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, AP Language and Composition, Common Core, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

Week 7 – Here’s how it went…

Monday – President’s Day: No school for students.

Tuesday – I was out, but the students had an amazing Zaption lesson to complete.  Have you used Zaption? Seriously. Best. Ever.  There is a cost, but if you open a trial through my account you can get two FREE months of the professional version.  This is WAY better than the normal trial.  Join Zaption for FREE with your TWO MONTH account – even just to explore – by clicking this link http://zapt.io/ruem93kaf .

Students review the Zaption  video lesson and take notes on the rhetorical devices they have been missing in class, including a compare and contrast of the devices they are commonly confusing.

Activity: Assessment is built into the Zaption lesson, but students are to review the three devices labeled in “The Declaration of Independence” and increase the total number to 8.  However, they may NOT use diction (because it is modeled in the video) and they may not repeat any device.

Wednesday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

Quick Review: Through the review of Rhetorical Devices in the text, the student will be able to analyze specific examples of rhetorical devices.

Review:  I will set the timer for 10 minutes to review the devices found in the text. ONLY DEVICES MENTIONED BY STUDENTS WILL BE DISCUSSED. The purpose is to help where needed, not to give the answers.

Syntax: Through the study of Syntax 101, students will be able to identify and analyze the syntax of “The Declaration of Independence”

Syntax 101:

O: Ss will REVIEW syntax definitions in order to understand what is being evaluated with the term “syntax” is given.

D/App: Students will practice identification throughout the scaffolded lesson.

Model: Syntactic Analysis of “The Gettysburg Address”

You Do: Students will analyze the syntax of “The Declaration of Independence” by applying the guided questions from the lesson.

Closure: Think about your answers and T’s answers. What do you notice? What did you do well? What changes might you need to make?

 

Reflection Closure: Thinking about the week’s learning on syntax. How does the learning that results from Writing Wednesdays connect to syntax? How does this affect the audience?

 

Thursday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

Tutoring Thursday: Through the study of USA Test Prep’s personalized ACT review lesson, students will be able to show growth of 10% in a student-selected testing strand.

Note: This activity is mandated by the school for the 60 minute study block of Tutoring Thursday.

Cycle 3: Through the study of The Crisis, students will be able to identify and analyze rhetorical strategies in “The Crisis”.

  1. Students will have ten minutes to read and annotate the text.
  2. Students will use FIRST TURN, LAST TURN to discuss the text with the assigned group.

HWK: Students should identify and analyze 8 different rhetorical strategies within the text.

 

Friday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Litte Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

Essay Review: Through the review of the elements of an essay, the student will be able to create an outline for a rhetorical analysis of the text.

Activity: Students will review the Zaption video to review components and complete the assessment over what goes in an essay and how to ensure sufficient, relevant, and thorough evidence.

  1. Students will complete a BAT review of the prompt and write a thesis statement.
  2. Students will review the rhetorical precis and create one for the essay.
  3. Students will review TIQA and create the outline for the body paragraphs that analyze specific rhetorical strategies of the text that help Paine reach his purpose.

HWK: Have a thorough, full-sentence outline at the start of class Monday.

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Feb 12 2016
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American Literature, AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized

Week 6

The weather is definitely against us.  Fortunately, I have great students who really want to learn, and our Kik conversation goes wild at the oddest of times.

Since I was late in posting Week 5, I wanted to wait to post Week 6 so I could see what was done in my absence and try to build that into the weekly plans.  Monday went well, but Tuesday was a snow day.  As such, I’m glad I waited because you get to see how I change my weekly structures to make up for lost instructional time. As you read this post, know that Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday are exactly as it went.

Now, before reading, my formatting was to take the weekly plan I have to submit to administration and paste it into the blog.  That became confusing to a reader who contacted me and suggested I change that up a bit to be more reading friendly.  Sure thing.  Hope this helps.

 

Monday:

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Little Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Etymology and GUM Quiz: Students will take the assessment for the week’s vocabulary.

  • Etymology Quiz (20ish minutes)

 

Multiple Choice Monday: Through the study of an AP MC reading selection, students will be able to correctly answer the question, including justification for the selected answer.

  • Multiple Choice Monday: Released AP Exam 2008 MCQuestions

I: Student are given 15 minutes to read the text and answer the questions. (Ss may select one final answer or one of two for half credit.)

D/Ap: Students will review answers and write corrections with argumentative stem for homework in order to earn back some of the missing points.

  • Reflection Closure:

What do you notice about how you are beginning to answer questions in the MC testing? What will be a strength to help you? What will be an area to work on before the test?

 

HWK: Read and annotate “The Declaration of Independence”

Tuesday: No school.

Wednesday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Little Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

First Turn, Last Turn: Students will use the cooperative First Turn, Last Turn structure to read and discuss “The Declaration of Independence” to ensure student comprehension.

First Turn, Last Turn:

  1. Students will have read and annotated the text the previous night for homework.
  2. Students will create three questions from the text.
  3. Students will group based on the number on their handout to talk about the sentence that stands out the most in the text.
  4. The class will openly discuss three of the student questions that have been selected by the teacher.

Video Summary: Too Late to Apologize

  • Students will have 3 minutes for a quick response using the TIQA formatting: Is it too late?

 

Diction and Tone: Through the review of diction and tone, students will be able to identify and analyze tone of specific text examples.

What we’re learned review: Diction and Tone Analysis of “The Declaration of Independence”

~ Students will select the four examples from the text that stand out the most and identify elements of diction making this an effective statement. Students will then use short response to determine the tone of the text using these four examples for justification.

 

Rhetorical Appeals: Through the review of ethos, logos, and pathos, students will be able to identify and analyze appeals included in the text.

What we’re learned review: What is ethos, logos, and pathos? Review foundational knowledge from previous classes through Shmoop instructional video.

 

HWK: Identify a minimum of two of each of the appeals in “The Declaration of Independence”

 

Thursday

Bell Ringer: Through the study of Little Red Riding Hood, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

  • Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)
  • Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

Task Card Review: Through the study of the Declaration of Independence, the students will be able to justify the rhetorical appeal in a given text.

  • Students are given a random quote from the text.
  • T will model guided questions for labeling and justifying the rhetorical appeal.
  • Ss will apply guided questions on their own.  T will verify student respses.
  • Ss will be assigned a partner for the Sage and Scribe grouping technique.
  • Ss will submit both quotes and homework.

Rhetorical Devices Reteaching: Through the study of The Declaration of Independence, the students will be able to label and analyze the use of rhetorical devices and the audience impact.

  • Discussion: What are the devices? What do these words mean?
  • T models guided questions for identification and determining meaning.
  • Examples Quiz: Students were given examples to pair with the terms as though it were a timed quiz.
  • Ss find examples within the text.

HWK: Students to find 3 rhetorical devices in the text.

Friday: No school.

 

 

Feb 10 2016
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American Literature, AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Reading Informational Texts, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

Week 5 – And illness takes hold.

Week 5 came with a plan, but you know what they say about that.  The second semester always seems the hardest, given snow days and flu season. Generally, I do fairly well, but this week…

 

  Standards/Objectives Detailed Agenda
W5

M

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairytales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

Hidden Agenda: Building background for allusion

 

Etymology and GUM Quiz: Students will take the assessment for the week’s vocabulary.

 

 

Multiple Choice Monday: Through the study of an AP MC reading selection, students will be able to correctly answer the question, including justification for the selected answer.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

Etymology Quiz (20ish minutes)

Multiple Choice Monday: Released AP Exam 2008 MCQuestions

I: Student are given 15 minutes to read the text and answer the questions.

(Ss may select one final answer or one of two for half credit.)

D/Ap: Students will review answers and write corrections with argumentative stem as homework to earn back half of the missing points. (15 minutes)

Reflection Closure:

1. What do you notice about the MC testing? What will be a strength to help you? What will be an area to work on before the test?

2. How does last semester’s learning seem to fit into what you now know about this course?

Discuss Euthanasia to prepare for the library lesson. (Share out from Sunday News, Monday Views handout activity.)
W5

T

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairytales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

 

 

Cycle 2: Class lesson on ethics by Mr. Goff in the library.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Ethics Overview: Class will meet in the library for Mr. Goff’s Ethic Overview Lesson.

HWK: Take your planning sheet from the debate activity and write an essay to explain your position.

 
W5

W

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairytales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

 

Writing Wednesday: Through the study of The Art of Styling Sentences, students will be able to write thorough and concise sentences.

 

First Turn, Last Turn: Students will use the cooperative First Turn, Last Turn structure to read and discuss “The Crisis” to ensure student comprehension.

 

Diction and Tone: Through the review of diction and tone, students will be able to identify and analyze tone of specific text examples.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Writing Wednesday: Sentence Pattern 3

O: Ss learn sentence pattern one through short writing lecture.

D/Ap: Ss will create sentences using the pattern by arranging groups of words and when starting from scratch. Mastery 2/3 in each group.

 

First Turn, Last Turn:

1.     Students will read and annotate the text.

2.     Students will create three questions from the text.

3.     Students will group based on the number on their handout to talk about the sentence that stands out the most in the text.

4.     The class will openly discuss three of the student questions that have been selected by the teacher.

 

What we’re learned review:

Diction and Tone Analysis of “The Crisis”

HOMEWORK: SOAPSTone of “The Crisis”

Closure: Think about your answers and T’s answers.   What do you notice? What did you do well? What changes might you need to make?
W5

Th

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairytales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

 

Tutoring Thursday: Through the study of AP Rhetoric, students will be able to correctly identify and explain the given device in the task cards. (Mastery 8/10)

 

Cycle 3: Through the study of The Crisis, students will be able to identify and analyze rhetoric in “The Crisis”.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Tutoring Thursday: AP Rhetoric Task Cards

I: Student are given 10 minutes to review the academic vocabulary associated with the excerpts on the task cards.   This is designed to help reteach missed skills, and definitions of unknown words are encouraged for learning outside of class.

D/Ap: Students will rotate through stations to complete a minimum of ten task cards each for a grade. Mastery = 8 of 10.

 

Rhetorical Analysis

1. Students are given the text of “The Crisis” to look for 8 rhetorical elements.

2. Students are to analyze how the included device affects the audience of the text.

 
W5

F

 Bell Ringer: Through the study of fairytales, students will be able to monitor GUM and identify the meaning of unknown words.

 

Free Response Friday: Through the study of The Crisis, the student will be able to write a short response to a given prompt.

 

Sunday News, Monday Views: Through the study of current events, students will be able to rhetorically analyze a chosen article from the weekend news.

~Note: This assignment is weekend homework due at the start of EVERY Monday.

 

 Bell Ringer: 15 minutes

Caught ‘Ya (L11.1-3)

Etymology (L11.4-6)

~ G/AF: Sentence Corrections with guided questions with assigned weekly partner

~ Share outs (based on pacing)

 

Free Response Friday: Students will respond to an essay question as much as possible with a 15 minutes time frame.

1. Students will review the text and analyze the prompt.

2. Students will create a quick outline.

3. Students will begin writing their response.

 

Weekly Homework Assignment of Sunday News, Monday Views:

O: Ss will learn the assignment expectations.

D/App: Students will pick an article and complete the analysis.

E: Ss will share with a partner for feedback (5 minutes each) and make revisions before submission (6).

 

HWK: Students will use article from Mr. Goff to prepare for ethics overview.

 

 

So what really happened?

Monday and Tuesday went without a hitch.  We hit a stumbling block on Wednesday with the sentence patterns, and we needed a bit more practice.  Additionally, some of the students were still really into the debate from the previous lesson.

Rather than read “The Crisis” we moved to “The Declaration of Independence” because I found out this was not read during the U. S. History course of study.  This also would give time to review rhetorical appeals since it is so overwhelmingly present in the text.

However, I ended up being sent home sick on Wednesday, and couldn’t make it in Thursday or Friday. Those who know me know I will always go in and try because even on my worst day, I’m better than some teachers.  This time, I was so out of it the students had to complete the emergency lesson plans and I actually lost a few days.

My Emergency Lesson Plans are pretty generic because the idea is that in 8 years I have never actually had to use them.  Basically, there is an article for students to read from NewsELA.  These articles can be scaled for reading levels, and they come with questions and writing prompts if you enter it in the search field.  Need an emergency plan for yourself?  Students are trained to read and annotate for understanding and then answer the multiple choice questions.  We complete a SOAPSTone analysis for everything we read, so that gave good practice. I added completing an MLA citation on the bottom a few weeks back, so most students added that out of habit.

Have you tried NewsELA? You should. https://newsela.com/

 

 

Jan 17 2016
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American Literature, AP Lang, AP Lang and Comp, AP Language and Composition, Assessments, Data, English III, Instructional Delivery: Plan and Progress, Pacing, Starting a New Semester, Teaching, Uncategorized, Writing

Week 2: What REALLY Happened

Between absences, delayed schedules, extended pacing, and surprise assemblies, class plans seem to always go astray.  So, here’s the way Week 2 really worked:

Monday went on as planned. Multiple choice Monday appears to be a great idea.  I used questions 15-24 on the 2007 released practice test.  I gave the students 15 minutes, but I secretly paused the timer to give 20 minutes.  Each question was worth 5 points, and they had the option of selecting only one answer for a shot at the full 5 or giving two answers for a shot at 3 points.  Students then were to reflect on how they decided to answer the questions and what scores they gained.  This strategy worked well because students do not lose points for incorrect answers, and narrowing it to two means they have tried and increased their odds.  They were told to use the “Letter of the Day” strategy for the final two minutes, but I noticed students didn’t do that.  Next week we are going to readdress “Letter of the Day” and focus on doing a preview of the questions to help provide a purpose for reading and annotating the passage.

 

Tuesday went decently well.  We used BAT the prompt, and students seemed to understand that if I’m scoring it and I am telling you to do this, then maybe you should do what I suggest.  Thesis statements and identifying the correct response or even what to write about was a struggle, and I’m going to need to focus on that moving forward.

 

Wednesday it went astray. Big time. If you don’t know your subject and verb, a sentence pattern is nearly impossible to get.  I ended up having to complete an impromptu lesson on subjects and verbs, scaling back to focus only on the base of pattern 1.  This took much more time than anticipated, and when student frustration ran high, I swapped to a very short focus on diction  in Lincoln’s address.  Analysis of diction went over much better than sentence patterns. First, students read and annotated for understanding. Next, they were to look over their notes and identify words or groups of words that stood out.  From here, they identified the words/phrases as positive, negative, or neutral.  Finally, they have to identify the overall perspective based on the diction they identified.

 

Thursday during tutorials, I had students take a quiz to match the figurative language term to the examples. I knew they had not studied the vocabulary from last week, so I prepared task cards giving the definition of the term in a complex manner.  This will appear in the TPT store as a growing bundle soon. Hopefully this weekend, but I have two kids and my (eegads!) Christmas stuff MUST come down now.

 

During class, I decided to bring sentence patterns back.  I wanted to do it through some other skill we needed to work on, so I scrapped my plans and did something completely different.  Thursday because the less-than-alliterative Visual Rhetoric Sentence Pattern Practice.  I found a few cartoons and had students apply guided questions to analyze them.  The answers were written, and then a final response had to be written to one of the four sentence patterns.  We repeated this with a total of five, one for a model and then a we do before independent practice.  Students were told to mark the subject and verb, including vertical bars between the sentence parts.  Mastery was much higher this time around, and I created a plan for tomorrow to make sure they have it.  For the last bit of class, we revisited Lincoln’s speech and identified and justified overall tone from looking at the diction that was chosen. This created a perfect opportunity to look at a shift in the passage and how that might affect the audience.

 

For Friday, I noticed I didn’t update the objective on the weekly plan, but that was okay because our day went astray again.  It was one of those days where something happened and the students were really struggling, so I had to scale back and revise. For pattern practice, I gave the students five sentences and instructed them to mark the sentence parts and then identify the pattern.  Once they did this, they were to create their own sentence of the given pattern.  This worked very well, and mastery of the creation was much higher than before. In reviewing student work, however, this is because they used the same sentence and changed names or simple details. In my mind, this is cheating, but I didn’t give any kind of direction that they could not do this.  Who knew that would be the result?  Next we moved into a discussion of an article they will be using for a guest lecture next week.  The students were to read and annotate the article.  Next, they got with a partner to discuss the article. For homework, they were to create the Toulmin Model of the text, identify specific examples of diction and overall tone, and then respond to, “Is this right?”

 

Not sticking to the intended plan was rather unavoidable this week, but I hope next week will be better. It is a short week as a result of the holiday, they will have the diagnostic placement testing for the semester, and we have the guest professor lecture of an overview of ethics.  This should give me time to post some of my resources on TPT.

 

Any suggestions to help me push students toward a higher level of academic achievement? I welcome your feedback.