Calendar

Wesley 3AP - November 28 to December 23, 2016

End of Semester Schedule (Subject to Change)

Calls To Freedom

Three Great American Texts: Letter From Birmingham Jail, Civil Disobedience, and Self-Reliance

11/28 Letter From Birmingham Jail	11/29 Letter From Birmingham Jail	11/30 Late Start Day Letter From Birmingham Jail	12/1 Letter From Birmingham Jail Focused Revision Paragraphs due	12/2 Rhetorical Analysis Writing Instruction
12/5 In-class Rhetorical Analysis Essay Birmingham Jail (60 points)	12/6 Intro To Transcendentalism Civil Disobedience	12/7 School Improvement Day 11:30 dismissal Civil Disobedience	12/8 Civil Disobedience Civil Disobedience Assessment (20 points)	12/9 Self-Reliance
12/12 Self-Reliance	12/13 In-Class Synthesis Essay Self-Reliance and Civil Disobedience	12/14 Late Start Day Transcendentalism Close Reading Assessment (20 points)	12/15 Transcendentalism TBD Rhetorical Terms Assessment (20 points)	12/16 Exam Prep
12/19 Exam Prep	12/20 Final Exams	12/21 Final Exams	12/22 Final Exams End of 2nd quarter and 1st semester	12/23 Winter Break Begins

Bring Composition Notebook (How To Speak 
Rhetoric) for the rest of the semester

Into The Wild Focused Revision Assignment reminder and handout (Due December 1)

Into The Wild Focused Revision Assignment

Students who earned a 7 or lower on the essay are eligible for this assignment;

By making meaningful, targeted revisions to a paragraph which could benefit from meaningful revision, a student can earn up to 6 points added to their essay grade.

Due December 1, 2016

The assignment includes the following:

1) A brief paragraph explaining why you chose to revise this particular paragraph and what specific writing skill(s) (e.g., diction) will require the most attention.

2) The revised paragraph which incorporates annotated changes (cross-outs and highlighting or different fonts to show changes/additions, etc.; text boxes, comments, end notes to explain changes) which explain why you made specific changes improved the paragraph/paper.

3) A brief Reflection Paragraph which summarizes how your changes improved the overall quality and persuasive power of the paragraph.

Note: See Wesley’s 3AP blog for an example of this assignment.

Mr. Wesley

AP English Language and Composition Per. 5

26 October 2016

Revisions

Area of Revision: Writing Clear, Concise Prose

Rationale: After viewing my rubric and revised paper, I have concluded that the focus of my revisions should be in the essay’s conciseness. If I successfully increase my conciseness, my writing will be much easier to understand, and more directly address the claim. I will do my best to not work around any points, and use direct syntax to address a statement. Also, the lack of specificity led to many overstatements. Overall, the lack of concise syntax and precise diction in my paper were major downfalls, making it difficult for the reader to understand my ideas.
Revision Examples:

            Men are different than women. That is a fact. This fact puts forth (elicits) a plethora of thoughts, debates and opinions. For all of humanity, men and women have both taken a specific their own role in their society. The distinction of these roles is depicted by ancient male hunters and female gatherers, all the way up to more recent examples of businessmen and housewives. The separation of genders has played a major role in the trends of past societies. Until now. Our present-day world is evolving more than ever immensely. New arguments have emerged about many social issues, one of which is including feminism. Feminism is interpreted differently by everyone. Contrary to popular belief, feminism has been in existence for as long as humans have decades.

            First, in order to analyze the idea of feminism, we must define the term. Feminism is defined as the movement to establish political, social and economic equality between men and women. The definition can be interpreted in many ways. Personally, I believe that feminism is the desire of men or women, to promote equal opportunity, not equal outcome, in all aspects of life, and not restrict EITHER gender in that process. With the formation of equality to men, the goals of feminism are reached.  I believe that everyone should have the ability to advance themselves in their society with no restriction.

            Now, you may ask, how does any of this talk of feminism pertain to the novel in question, The Scarlet Letter? I believe that Nathaniel Hawthorne is, whether it was his purpose or not, indirectly displaying the idea that feminism is a part of every society, even this antiquated society. Feminism, has been around as long as since women have been belittled, therefore, the struggle for women’s equal rights has been around forever.

Reflection Paragraph: After researching concise language, I already feel that my writing has improved. Reading through my paper, I have identified a trend in phrases that can be replaced with more precise diction. Also, I have made myself aware of mistakes made when I am not fully able to convey a point, and now know to step back, and use the syntax of the sentence to convey what I am trying to say. Finally, I believe that by making my prose more concise, it clears the details up for the reader, and allows my paper to be more easily understood. Conclusively, learning more in this area of composition, and then applying it to my own writing has changed my techniques as a writer for the better.

Calls To Freedom: Three Great American Texts and rhetorical analysis
None of Us Are Free

Letter From Birmingham Jail pre-reading

8-minute think and write: Why a Civil Rights Movement in America?

Write a reflection that strives to address the following:
How would you define "civil rights"? Why was a civil rights movement necessary? How was it an extension of American history,  both its ideals and failures? What were it's major goals? 

If you have time, address the following:
Who were some of its important figures? Events?

Pairs and share

Whole class sharing

Something to think about as we read Letter From Birmingham Jail...What civil rights issues, racial and otherwise,  do you feel still need to be addressed in America?

November 28, 2016

Wesley 3AP

Letter From Birmingham Jail: In-class and Homework

Note: You will only have to read about 5-6 pages of text, but you have to annotate them thoughtfully and you have some writing to do, so use your time well today.

·       Read the History Channel document “King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail, 50 Years Later”

·       Read the Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergyman 

·       Also, read and annotate the first 12 paragraphs of King's response (Letter From Birmingham Jail).  

Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergyman: Read it once to familiarize yourself with the text; then read it a second time, focusing on the questions below.  Be prepared to discuss each the following questions tomorrow.

1.  What are the stated objective(s) of eight clergymen writing to MLK?  

2.  Subtext: Do you detect underlying or unstated objectives?  Cite the text in your answer, but also use your knowledge of history and your awareness of human nature and word choices to read between the lines.  

3. What explicit criticisms of King and the protests do you detect? Try to identify and articulate at least seven criticisms embedded into the Public Statement by the eight Alabama clergymen. Annotate them on the Public Statement.

4.  Besides King, who might be some of the clergymen’s other intended audiences?  What in the text, and the historical context, leads you to these conclusions?

All Rhetoric is Situational...

·       Writing…Practice without pressure: What is the situation that prompts King's Letter? In your Composition Notebook, write a 7-9 sentence paragraph summary of the situation that prompted King’s letter.  Cite a Combination of historical events in Birmingham and issues raised in the Public Statement by the Alabama Clergyman.  Include and underline well-chosen analytical verbs and tone words.

·       Letter From Birmingham Jail: Read and annotate the first 12 paragraphs of King's letter.  Above each paragraph, use your own words to briefly summarize King's primary purpose/objective in that paragraph. Also, for each paragraph that contains a historical or contemporary allusions (political events and leaders in Birmingham) use personal knowledge and info from the handouts to briefly state the significance/effect of each allusion.