Tuesday, August 27, 2013

In-Class Essay Prep

5-Paragraph Essay Format:  This is what it was invented for! =)

In a timed essay, you don't have time to be clever or creative with your organization or style.  You have one purpose--to effectively and efficiently show what you know to someone who is scoring you.  So stick to those basics you know:

  • Contextualize the topic for the reader
  • End your intro with a thesis that is the answer to the prompt--not the prompt reworded as a thesis but an ANSWER to the prompt.
  • Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence--a reason or way your thesis is true
  • Use evidence, details, and explanation that proves your topic sentences
  • Use your conclusion to wrap up the argument--bring it all together and argue your thesis as a whole
  • Restate your thesis
  • Answer the "So what?"--what are we to do with this information? why does it matter?


Strategies to help with time crunch

  • Take 2-3 minutes to plan your essay.  A four-sentence outline (thesis and three topic sentences) will ensure that you stay on track--or at least that you get back on track quickly.
  • Keep your intro and conclusion brief until you get comfortable with the timed setting.  You don't need to be clever or come up with fancy attention-grabbers.  Let the intro and conclusion do what they need to but spend your time on the body.
  • Watch your time!  Pay attention to the clock and to any time markers the teacher gives you.
  • Use ALL of your time.  Don't stop until it's the last five minutes. That's plenty of time to write your conclusion.  Your score will be made or broken by the body paragraphs--don't end them early!



Monday, August 19, 2013

52 Mondays Assignment

Your first assignment this fall is to use argumentation to help us get to know you a bit.  Yesterday I showed you the 52 Mondays book and had you journal about things you wish people would (or wouldn't) do.  Today, I want you to turn one of those ideas into a visual and text argument like the ones in the book.

Objectives:

  • Introduce your personality, interests, and opinion to the class
  • Use visual aspects to make your argument eye-catching
  • Find and incorporate research that supports your argument
  • Cite your sources using MLA style

Directions:

1.  Use either Power Point or Google Presentations to create two slides.  The first should be your visual argument and should include:

  • an image
  • a headline--what you want people to do or  not do in a quick catchy phrase)
  • "The Facts"--the research behind the problem
  • "Take Action Today"--what people can do to make the change
  • "You Matter"--the difference one person can make

2.  The second slide should be a works cited page that lists the sources you used including your image.  If you need help citing, use the Purdue OWL to help you.

3.  Submit your slides to Turnitin.com by Friday at 8 a.m.  If you use Power Point, you can just upload like you would a Word document.  If you use Google Presentations, you'll want to go under File, Download as..., and choose PDF. Save the file somewhere you can access.  Then upload that file to Turnitin.

Click here to see what mine looks like.  Now go do your own!

Start off the year with a bang...

And an extra-credit assignment! =)  We NEVER do extra-credit.  Literally, I think last year there were two opportunities.  However, new year + special circumstances = extra-credit chance.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

First Day of School!

Summer Assignments Questions:

I brought mine on paper.  Do you want it?  NO.  We don't turn in anything on paper in this class when it can be turned in online.  I'm a crazy paper-saver and I don't want you killing trees in my name. =)  Besides, Turnitin is an awesome way to back up all of your projects (in case technology decides to spit in your face later on) and it makes them all accessible from wherever you are...regardless of where you created them.  If you haven't already gotten into Turnitin, enrolled in the course, and submitted your assignment--do it TODAY!!!

I don't have mine done. Do I have to drop the class?  No, but you can...maybe.   A few factors here.  Why didn't you do it?

Friday, August 2, 2013

Countdown to AP Lang

Hello, hello!  I hope you have all been enjoying your summer and making the most of the beautiful weather.  Some of you are probably rolling in dough from working long hours, or super tan from working outside or playing ball (great job softball girls!), or maybe you're lazy from a lack of things to do.  Regardless of what you've been up to, hopefully that summer assignment is at least on your radar if not completely finished. =)  Here are some news items for you to be aware of:

1.  The summer assignment details are still here on the blog (just scroll down). If you haven't completed it all--or even started--I highly recommend reviewing all of the details carefully.  All of the books are in so if you're needing one, make sure you email me and arrange for a time to pick one up!

2.  We have two new English teachers joining our department this year.  One of them is Ms. Darrah.  She was originally an awesome English teacher before becoming the TAG teacher at the middle school for the last few years.  She is joining us at the high school and will be teaching two sections of AP Lang in addition to some other English courses.  Some of you will have her as your teacher this year instead of me.  I'll let her introduce herself beyond that, but know that the department is super excited to have her!  We plan to teach AP Lang on the same page this year so while there might be some differences in teaching style or deadlines, the content, assignments, and DMACC and AP credit options are the same regardless of who you have.

3.  Since we don't know who is in which section (and some of you are likely to have scheduling issues), I have created a course in Turnitin for ONLY your SUMMER ASSIGNMENTS.  This is NOT where you will turn in all of the rest of your assignments for the year, but it is what we will work out of for these first two assignments.  Your FFN (Fast Food Nation) paper and Amusing Ourselves summary and passages are both due by the first day of school.  You must submit them online to Turnitin.  To do so, follow these instructions:
  • Go to turnitin.com
  • Log in to your account.  If for some reason you don't have one, you'll need to create one using an email address you actually have access to.
  • Click on Enroll in a Class
  • Enter the Class ID:  6695581
  • Enter the password:  grissom
  • Once you've enrolled, you will see the two assignments listed in the AP Lang Summer course.
  • Remember you can only submit ONE document per assignment.  If for some reason you've completed your summary and passages in separate documents, you will need to combine them into one file for submission.
  • Also, ALWAYS use the single file upload option.  MLA format is one of the standards for this class and the copy and paste option will always mess that up.
If you have questions or concerns before school starts, remember you can always email me at ms.kim.grissom@gmail.com.  It comes to my phone so I always get it quickly.  My school account I will see eventually but it may not be as timely.  Otherwise, finish up those assignments and enjoy your last days of summer!