October 20, 2014 Into The Wild

Bellringer #1: Locate a passage which struck you as especially significant or interesting in some way.  Write a portion of it down (with page #) on the left hand side of a piece a paper.  On the right hand side of the paper, describe why it caught your attention.  Could you relate to it in some way? Did it make you think?  Did it make you angry? etc....Did it reveal something significant or interesting about McCandless, his travels, the people he met, America? Explain why this passage was significant for you?

Bellringer #2: If you had three months to wander North America by foot, canoe, and car,where would you go?  Assume that you only have $20 a day to spend (which seems to be much more than McCandless had). How would you spend your money? What would you eat? Where would you stay?  Draw a rough map of your travels, estimating the time you would spend in various areas.  

HW:  Read and annotate 45-69.

Activity 1: Share your weekend journal entry with another person.  Exchange the actual entries and have the other person read yours and you read theirs. Annotate their paper, providing positive feedback and any suggestions for improvement. Also, fill out the quick rubric to provide additional feedback.

Rhetorical Analysis Quick Rubric

AP Language and Composition

	Developing	Capable	Exceptional
Focus on prompt	The writer does not adequately understand and/or  respond to the prompt.	The writer addresses the prompt at times, but may lose focus at others, or demonstrate only a partial understanding/response to the prompt.	The writer clearly understands and responds in full to the prompt.
Analysis	Writing may reveal misinterpretation or, at best, a basic understanding of the ideas in the text. The analysis also reflects limited rhetorical understanding of the text. The analysis may contain limited or poorly chosen textual evidence.	Writing reveals a generally strong understanding of the ideas in the text, and reflects a solid rhetorical awareness of the text.  Although the analysis is good, it is less sophisticated and nuanced than the analysis found in the strongest papers. Insights are adequately supported with textual evidence.	Writing reveals a sophisticated understanding of both the text’s ideas/themes and a sophisticated rhetorical understanding of the text. Insights are well supported with textual evidence.
Clarity of Writing	Problems with word choices, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and organization/coherence are significant or frequent enough to be a distraction to the reader.	While not as polished as the writing of the best reflections, the author’s word choices,  sentence structure, grammar, punctuation and organization/coherence were sufficient to convey their ideas clearly and without undue distraction to the reader.	The diction, syntax, grammar, punctuation, and organization/coherence demonstrate a strong control of language and stylistically mature prose. The quality of the prose helps the writer articulately and persuasively presents their analysis.

10.17.14: Into The Wild (page 22) Rhetorical Analysis
Diction & Connotation Journal

•The first full paragraph on page 22 begins with “During that final year in Atlanta…”

•The paragraph contains two especially interesting word pairings: “monkish room” and “military barracks”.

•What are all of the possible connotations of each word pair, respectively?

•What does Krakauer’s  diction in this paragraph help convey about Chris’s personality? Type and print a well-developed paragraph response for Monday.

Page 22--- “monkish room” and “military barracks”: Analyzing the Connotations of Key Diction

Krakauer’s diction when describing McCandless’s college apartment conveys the author’s respect and sympathy for Chris.  Because monks are known for withdrawing from the material world and focusing on living a contemplative spiritual life, Krakauer’s characterization of Chris’s room as “monkish” paints Chris as a deep thinker—an enlightened intellectual who values his spirituality rather than popularity or symbols of wealth and worldly success. Moreover, by comparing his room to one that could be found in “a military barracks,” Krakauer implies that he views Chris as a respectable and highly disciplined young man and not as an obsessive-compulsive neat-freak. His wording, therefore, nudges the reader to associate Chris’s lifestyle with the credibility, order, honor, and sacrifice of a determined, young military cadet. Thus, Krakauker’s diction choices when describing some of the things that made McCandless  peculiar or unique underscore his compassion for Chris and his admiration for Chris’s lifestyle.

Activity 2:  Annotation Review