August 29, 2014

Learning Target: I will consider how the occasion of a political speech - its moment in history - affects its content, and how syntax - especially sentence length and parallel structure and antithesis - affects a speech's flow and the emphasis of certain ideas.

No homework - Happy Labor Day Weekend!

Bellringer:  JFK's Inaugural Address...Historical Context.Read the paragraph in the middle of page 72.  What do you think were some of the international and domestic challenges facing the US in 1961? Even if you are not positive, think about what was going on in the world and in the US at that time.  Consider also what had happened in the world in the previous 15-20 years (since 1941). Then we will listen to the first 6 mins and 10 sec of the speech and answer the following questions on pp 72-73: 5, 6, 8, 9, 11,12.

NF reading passage and questions


Didion Student Essays

August 28, 2014

Learning Target: I will continue to build my lexicon of rhetorical terms and use them reflect both critically and sympathetically on a variety of genres.

Quiz on Unit 2 rhetorical terms



In your journals... Reading a song...Mercy Street by Peter Gabriel: Poetry and song lyrics are often not as direct or logos driven as other forms of writing. Keep that in mind as you listen to this song.

What elements of the song and performance appeal to pathos? 
What elements of the performance establish ethos of the artist(s)?  
What word(s) would you use to describe the mood of the song? On a related note, what emotions or ideas does this song evoke for you? 
What words or phrases stood out for you? Why?

http://safeshare.tv/w/DxZPAJLhmp

NF reading passage and questions

Kennedy's speech on pp 69-72  followed by qusetions on 72-73

Didion Student Essays

August 27, 2014

Learning Target: I will identify rhetorical elements such as diction, syntax and mood in a written text, and connect those to how they support the author's larger purposes in that text.

Homework: 

Finish reading Chapter 2 in LOC and review the glossary of rhetorical terms.  Likely quiz tomorrow on chapter 2 and its rhetorical terms (15 points).

Bellringer: Rhetorical strategies, effects, and purpose in the Santa Ana Winds passage. (20 minutes) 

Referring back to pages 49-56, answer the following:

1) Diction and mood: Discuss what words would best describe the mood of the first and second paragraphs (you may use your own words or those mentioned in the textbook), and how specific word choices in the first and second paragraph contribute to the mood of those paragraphs?

2)  Syntax: Briefly discuss how Didion's uses of a long, cumulative sentence in the second paragraph on 49 suggests a building threat; also, briefly discuss how she uses shorter sentences later in the paragaph.

3) In the third paragraph, what is the primary technique Didion uses to demonstrate that "science bears out folk wisdom"?  

4) What do the author's of the textbook suggest the purpose of Didion's piece may be?

Pair and share, briefly discuss your answers to the bellringer.

Leave enough time to create an exit ticket with both your names on and answers (with the page number where your found the answers - pssst...it's the same page for both) to the following: According to the textbook,

1) What effect was Didion striving for in the piece?

2) How does she create that effect? 

4)

August 26, 2014 4AP

Learning Target:  I will continue to reinforce my developing knowledge of rhetoric and its lexicon of terms.

Bellringer: August 26, 2014: The Persona of Your Memoir Writer:  The persona of a writer or speaker is the face or self that a speaker shows to his audience.  It is essentially the personality that a person shows to others.  To quote our text, Lou Gherig is a famous baseball hero, but in his speech he presents himself as a common man who is modest and thankful for the opportunities he has. After having read a memoir, you should be intimately familiar with the author.  Here is today's challenge...Choose three adjectives to describe your author's persona (e.g., emotional, wise, honest) and then for each term, write a two to three sentences explaining why you chose that word to describe their persona in your memoir. 

• Pair and share...Find someone else who has read the same book as you and compare your impressions of the author's persona.

• Take rhetorical terms quiz

• Winston Churchill: The New Administration (aka.  Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat) from the 3 minute mark on Winston Churchill's New Administration speech

Homework: Read 49-59 of LOC

Peta image

August 25, 2014

Learning Target - I will continue to create a foundation for rhetorical awareness as a reader and writer.

Bellringer: Read the activity at the bottom of page 23 in The Language of Composition...Label the journal entry as follows August 25, 2014, Reading Images (p 22 of LOC) Then write a well developed paragraph (7-11 sentences) which answers the questions at the bottom of the page. (5 minutes)

Pair and share discussion

On pages 36-38, we have a list of rhetorical terms from this chapter.  One term is polemic.  Review that definition and then look back to the image at the top of page 25.  Do you think that image/advertisement is a polemic?  Why or why not? (4-6 sentences)

Pages 36-38 contains a Glossary of Rhetorical Terms.  One term is persona. In your own words, describe the persona of the character in your memoir.  In other words, describe the self, or personality, that they put across in their memoir.  Find and copy down one paragraph which captures their personality.

Homework: Study the terms on pages 36-38.  We will have a 10 point (multiple choice or matching) quiz tomorrow on those terms. Also, read pp. 38-48 in the LOC.

August 21, 2014 4AP Summer Reading

1. Summer Reading Reflection Assignment...On a clean sheet of paper, copy/rewrite word-for word a paragraph from your book  which you felt was especially interesting, significant, or which you could relate to in some way.  (Make sure to include the author's last name and the page number at the end of the quote.) Oh, at the top of the page, please write "An excerpt from title of book you read".

Reflecting on the paragraph you wrote earlier, write a well-developed (7-11 sentences) reflection paragraph explaining what you felt was important and/or interesting about this passage. Some questions you might consider as you write that paragraph:

What was it about the passage caught your attention?
What does it reveal about the personality and life of the author?
Did this textual quote appeal to you primarily through ethos, pathos, or logos and why?
Could you relate to it personally at any level?   

When you are finished, please give this to Mr. Wesley.

In your journal...
The letter from Ruth Marcus to The House of Representatives (p. 16) discusses the issue of technology on the floor of the House of Representatives.  She gently and humorously argues it is a distraction.

LT is currently considering allowing student to BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) and may start issuing tablets to students beginning next year.  What do you think about the use of smart phones and tablets in the classroom?  Should they be allowed or not? What are the pros and cons of their use in the classroom?
Should they be allowed but only under certain conditions?  If so, what conditions?  Write for approximately 7 minutes.

Homework:

Group Guidance tomorrow in Room 140 - come here first for attendance.

Bring your summer reading book and text book on Monday