January Lesson Plans:
AP English Language and Composition
Monday, January 4- Teacher Workday
Tuesday, January 5-
Introduce yourself! Feel free to do some ice breakers to get to know the kids.
Opening question: What are your thoughts on banning books and censorship? Are there any texts that shouldn’t be read in public schools?
Let kidsdisusss. They’ve just read The Catcher in the Rye and Beloved before I went on maternity leave, two hotly contested novels.
-Does cussing offend you in a text? Sexual content? Anti-religious matter?
Once discussion as petered out, provide handout—info about Pat Conroy on the front; letter on the back. Read and discuss. It’s up to your discretion whether they read it to themselves or read it aloud.
Discuss Conroy’s letter:
WHAT is he saying? What’s his message?
HOW is he saying it? Does he use any rhetorical devices/strategies to get his point across? Identify the ETHOS, PATHOS, and LOGOS of the article- have them annotate.
WHY did he make those choices?
Tell students that they will be writing a rhetorical analysis essay on this letter TOMORROW.
(If any extra time, feel free to distribute the Critical Analysis grid for them to complete in preparation for the essay. They have completed this before. However, if there isn’t time, then don’t worry about it—they won’t have access to such a graphic organizer during the AP exam.)
Wednesday, January 5
In-class essay on this letter. They have the whole period, but remind them on the actual AP exam, it will only be 40 minutes.
At the end of class, collect their essays so they can’t work on them anymore!
Thursday, January 6
PEER EDITING of their essays.
Using highlighters or colored pencils, ask students to identify the following in their peer’s essay:
YELLOW: Thesis statement
GREEN: Summary
BLUE: Analysis
PINK: Textual Support
ORANGE: Transition Words/Phrases.
With this coloring technique, students should be able to see where they are strong and weak. It should look like a rainbow!
Have students mark up any mechanical errors, too .
Friday, January 7
I have reserved Computer Lab 104 (two doors down). Please take students to the lab so they can type up their essays and send them to me in an email as an attachment:
.
Ask them to, either within the body of the email or at the bottom of the essay, tell Mrs. H-D what literature has particularly affected them as Conroy describes in his antepenultimate paragraph?
You may also have them print the essays so you can provide your valuable feedback, too! (Especially if I’m unable to grade them in a timely fashion.)
Monday, January 11
Handout the “isms of American Literature” handout. Explain how during the rest of second and third quarter, we will be using the textbook and reading a plethora of stories, poems, essays, etc. that depict various facets of 19th-20th American literature! Any handouts given, pieces read, etc. will be fair game for an upcoming test, created by Mrs. H-D.
Tell them: This will be concordant with their Independent Reading Project, happening at home. Remind them: They must finish reading their novel and bring to class a typed summary February 1.
Today’s foray: American Romanticism!
Show the PowerPoint on Romanticism (on my laptop, use the projector; seek a student for assistance if needed). Allow students to take notes.
(Perhaps remind them Romanticism was the era of The Scarlet Letter, which students read for summer reading.)
Following the PowerPoint, go ahead and let students to begin reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” silently to themselves, pp. 239-248. It will be due tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 12
Pop Quiz on “Minister’s Black Veil”
EC)
Have students swap papers and grade. (The way I do reading checks: it’s best 6/5, so if a student gets the extra credit correct, it can stand for a missed question. The most a student can earn is a 105%, however…not a 120%)
Discuss the story!
What happened?
Themes?
What romantic ideals can be found in this text?
HW: Have students read “The Pit and the Pendulum” (POE) pp. 257-268 for tomorrow.
Thursday, January 14 (I always pass back stuff during the class changes, so give the students their quizzes back from yesterday, or have a student help. They can use the same paper for today’s quiz.)
Edgar Allan Poe!
Ask students: what do you know about Poe? What have you already read of his before? (Discuss.)
Discuss his tulmulteous life growing up; his drinking/gambling problems, etc.
Pop Quiz on the story:
Discuss the story. What dark romantic ideals can be found in this story? How does this story parallel other Poe works?
TOMORROW, we will do a fun Faux Poe in-class assignment!
HW: Practice handout on Brackets, Hyphens, and Dashes. Tell them to use their Purple Punctuation Packet (PPP) for assistance!
Thursday, January 14
Beginning of class: Go over the homework using the overhead provided. Tell them a quiz is tomorrow on how to properly use brackets, hyphens, and dashes!
“Faux Poe” assignment! Make sure each student gets a copy of the mini-project, and have them get to work. “Faux Poe” presentations tomorrow!
HW: Study for PPP Quiz #11
Friday, January 15
Begin class with the PPP on #11. (Please make sure each student gets a scantron and does NOT write on the quiz.) At the end of the day, please scan these using my answer key and the machine in the teacher’s lounge. Seek a teacher for help; it’s actually really easy and gives quick grades!
After the quiz, “Faux Poe” presentations!
Monday: HOLIDAY
Tuesday, January 19: Selected poems by Emily Dickinson (read in-class and discuss)
Wednesday, January 20: Excerpts from Leaves of Grass (Whitman) (read in-class and discuss)
HW: Make sure students know vocabulary starts back up next week! Notecards for List 13 are due Monday.
Thursday-Friday: Teacher workdays (could be switched from snow days). During this time, you and I need to communicate so I can finalize my grades for 2nd quarter!
Monday, January 25: