Gerber's 319: AP Language and Composition: Thesis

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Thesis

Although both Biff and Willy exhibit characteristics that can be considered "tragic flaws," Willy is the only true "hero," in accordance with the play's other tragic elements.

2 comments:

Ricky O. said...: Ms. Gerber told me to be more specific so I first looked at my original thesis to decide what I could elaborate on and clarify. I thought I could mention their tragic flaws and mention specific tragic elements in the play that I'm talking about. Maybe that would make my thesis less vaque.; October 17, 2008 at 1:50 PM
Ricky O. said...: I didn't know if we were actually supposed to write our new thesis so here is mine:

Although Biff's idleness and Willy's inability to accept the truth can both be considered flaws, only Willy's is a true "tragic flaw" because it leads to his demise; therefore, Willy is sole "tragic hero."; October 19, 2008 at 8:41 PM

Second Semester Calendar

1/20, Tues: Preliminary Works Cited, 10 sources and thesis, BEFORE SCHOOOL Media Center
1/21, Wed: min. 5 notecards/dbl entry notes due, 2 sources
MC
1/22, Thurs: AP Prompt, Classroom
1/23, Fri: Taking notes, MC
1/26, Mon: "Course Selection Orientation," classroom (with counselors)
1/27, Tues: sign up for rough draft due date in am, class= taking notes, MC
1/28, Wed: Notecards/double entry due, in class M C
1/29, Thurs: work on outline, MC
1/30, Fri: Finalized thesis/outline due Review AP Prompt, Classroom
2/2, Mon: working on paper, lab 121
2/3, Tues: working on paper, lab 121
2/4, Wed: ACT Prep, classroom
2/5, Thurs: working on paper, lab 121
2/6, Fri: working on paper, lab 121 (first RD due)
2/9, Mon: working on paper, lab 121 (RD due)
2/10, Tues: working on paper, lab 121 (RD due)
2/11, Wed: Classroom, Mulitple choice
2/12, Thurs: classroom, junior assessment (RD due)
2/13, Fri: classroom, 7 sentence paras for Vday (RD due)
2/17, Tues: late start, classroom, ap prep, definition ch due
2/18, Wed: clasroom, "Being poor" and def chapter
2/19, Thurs: definition disc, ww overview and minstrels, lottery for order of research return
2/20, Fri: ACT Prep, auditoirum
2/23, Mon: RESEARCH PAPER DUE. BEFORE SCHOOL.
2/25: Research paper letter due (in class) -- letter to future junior... how to survive!
2/23-2/27: WRITERS WEEK!
3/2: 3 Thank yous and Shareble Draft due. Bring Things They Carried
3/2: Discuss "The Men we Carry in our Minds" and share the things we carry
3/4: Ch 1 of The Things They Carry due
3/5: Counselors Visit
3/6: Ch 2,3,4 of The Things They Carry
3/9: Part 2 (ch 5-10) of Things They Carry,
3/10: discuss part 2
3/11: Discuss part 2Part 3 due (11-17)
3/12: Wonder Years viewing/discussion
3/13: Discuss Part 3, jigsaw
3/16: Part 4 due (18-22)
3/17: Questions for speaker due. Guest Speaker, Ken Hester.
3/18: Shareable draft due "This is a story I've never told anyone" OR a definition paper.
3/19: Thank you note for Mr. Hester due. Play.
3/20: Found poem due. share found poem aloud. post to blog -- with explanation as comment -- by midnight. contest due

Important AP info/dates

Wed, February 18: AP information meeting for all students. Students must attend during the first or second half of the lunch hours or before school. Attendance will be taken.

Monday, February 23rd - exactly 3:00pm on Friday, February 27th: Registration for AP Tests. No one will be allowed to register after this time under any circumstances.

No later than 3:00pm March 3rd: Payment must be received by the cashier. Tests will be ordered that afternoon.

**If a student registers by the deadline, but does not pay by March 3rd a test will not be ordered. If a student forgets to register by the 27th a test will not be ordered.

Calendar

WARNING: CALENDAR IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please check regularly!

HW assignments are listed in red on their due date. *Remember, if you are not in class, papers due must still get to me.

8/20, Wed: Welcome to class. 11:59pm: post to blog due
8/21, Thurs: Lab 128! Summer Reading Essay LAB 128!
8/22, Fri: PAPA reading/notes AND "What's in a Name"
Rhetorical Analysis In-class, more Intro. Discuss goals.
8/24: 11:59pm Sunday night, read classmates' blog entries and post comments. Send email to Gerber, sgerber@d211.org
8/25, Mon:Mr. Tosh, teambuilding
8/26, Tues: 8/27, narrative ch due (6) Discuss narrative/ "What's in a name?"
Wed: Reading of ch 1 in Patterns and review of ch 5. yearbook pictures, chat PAPA, advertisements, begin annotating second rhetorical analysis piece (post-its/questioning)
8/28, Thurs: Childhood Writing Due and chapter 5 (grammar) with notes. PAPA lecture/discussion and summer reading essays back. General notes on rhet analysis.
8/29, Fri: Reflective/Inventive Activities re: writing memories. Rhetorical Analysis #2"My Mother Never Worked"
8/30, Sat, 11:59pm: Blog Post: post a response (as a comment) to our day-o-tosh activties
9/2, Tues: Read chapters 2-4 (before you start writing) Shareable Draft #1, Writing memories
9/3: Wed: Discuss "My Mother..."
9/4: Thurs: Review grammatical rules and rhetorical analysis expectations
9/5, Fri: "Thirty-eight saw Murder..."Discuss. Rhetorical Analaysis Due
9/8, Mon: Shareable Draft #2, Narrative, any topic
9/9, Tues: Descriptive Chapter notes due. Descrip. Activities
9/10, Wed: "F.M." due
9/11, Thurs: "F.M." Discussion
9/12, Fri: Connotative Language/creative writing
9/13, Sat: 11:59pm, freshmen post
9/15: Ground Zero Due
9/16: Discuss "Ground Zero" and 9/11 mural peer comment on blog
9/17: Cubing... BOOK FAIR!
9/18: Haiku Tournament
9/19: Shareable Draft #3, Description
9/22: Exemplification Chapter due
9/23: "Just Walk on By" Patterns
9/24: Exemplification speeches
9/25: AP Prompt?
9/26: 9/29: Sinners (Rosh Hashana: Brewner's here!)
9/30: Sinners Discussion (Rosh Hashana: Brewner's here!)
10/1: REvision # 1 Due, finish speeches
10/2: Process Chapter Due, discuss rhetoric/examplesDiscuss AP Prompts? Blog Post: "How to avoid class participation"
10/3: "How to Avoid a Bad Date." patterns
10/6: Go over AP Prompts
10/7: Rhetorical Analysis Due
10/8: Cause and Effect, Patterns, preview DOAS
10/9: Process Shareable Draft
10/10: DOAS, act 1 due
10/13: NO SCHOOL
10/14: DOAS, act 2 due li'l quiz/discussion
10/15: analyze "Ben Folds" lyrics and connect to play (gerber at meeting) Post blog response to "Tragedy and a Common Man" by before class tomorrow
10/16: DOAS small group discussions. Post thesis to blog by this evening. (gerber at meeting)
10/17: "Why Boys Don't Play with Dolls" due Discuss thesis statements in class
10/20: Outline Due
10/21: DOAS Shareable Draft due (gerber at conference)
10/22: Compare/Contrast ch due and (Sex, Lies and Conversation? Dearly Disconnected (gerber at conference)
10/23: Rhetoric Discussion, "Sex, Lies, and Conversation"
10/24: Business, contest due, reflect on first quarter/sign up for conferences & check in contest
10/27: Classification/Division chapter due/book bistro(?)/review revision of lit analysis
10/28: The Ways We Lie
10/29: The Dog Ate my Disk rhetorical anlaysis
10/30 AP Prompt
10/31: Shareable Draft due: compare/contrast OR classification/division Happy Halloween!
11/3: Argument Chapter Due and Walmart pieces (650-668) *Take detailed notes paying attention to new terms. Read pieces considering their use of argumentation
11/4: Declaration of Indendence
11/5: Day in life of... writing Discuss argument reading, intro romanticism, start YGB
11/6: "Young Goodman Brown"
11/7: YGB Criticism Transcendentalism... what is it?
11/12 : The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
11/13: Lit Analysis REvision due Transcendentalism: Emerson/Thoreau
11/14: AP example analysis read/discuss
assigned: Read section of Walden, post response to blog
11/17: "Civil Disobedience" and "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" (discuss in class and compare to MLK)
11/18: Emerson due Walden Post, on blog, due by classtime tomorrow
11/19: Discuss transcendentalism, Emerson, Thoreau-- what's modern day transcendentalism? Transcendental music? Intro Into the Wild
11/20: Into the Wild, 1-3
11/21: Into the Wild
11/24: Into the Wild 4-7
11/25: Into the Wild 8-13
11/26: Into the Wild 14-15
Thanksgiving Break
12/1: Into the Wild 16-end
12/2: Into the Wild wrap up/Last American Man Due
12/3: Intro realism/satire/Huck Finn
12/4: Chapters 1-4, Huck Finn
12/5: Chapters 5-10 (theme teams)
12/8: Chapters 11-14 due
12/9: Criticism Due (act prep?)
12/10: Born to Trouble
12/11: Chapter 15-20
12/12: Chapter 20-24, by Friday night, blog post
12/14, Sunday: Post your top 3 lit research book choices. For top choice, explain why.
12/15: Chapter 25-30
12/16: "Born to Trouble," part 2
12/17: Chapter 31- end of book (1oo pages. Pace yourself!)
12/18: AP Prompt
12/19: Prep for lit research and time for fun!
WINTER BREAK!! MAZEL TOV!
1/5: Overview of Research ProcessPreliminary Reading Notes due
1/6: Day 1, Media Center: Reading Notes Due before school, 100 note cards in class
1/7: Start research process, Media Center
1/8: Research MC (presentation on crit)
1/9: Orientation, Day 2(presentation on crit)
1/12: Sources peer-edit: bring 3-5 finished sources. MC

Literary Analysis REvision

Hi, folks --

As we discussed in class, due to the state of the literary analysis shareable drafts, you'll be constructing a revision over the next two weeks.

For this revision, you must consider the feedback provided by your group and your teacher and construct a more solid paper in which you also provide at least ONE piece of literary criticism.

The staff in the media center has graciously set some criticism aside for you. In class, I mentioned finding texts compiled by Harold Bloom. I also suggested that you share ideas and materials and copy pieces vs. check them out. JStor (on the media research products page) is also an option.

When you meet with me for our conferences, feel free to ask questions. And yes, this copy will be graded... some of you have more work to do than others. But remember, this will help you with your future paper and ultimately, your literary research paper.

Other reminders:
*Finish your IR book this weekend and bring it to class Mon.
*Bring your writing folder and reflective sheet to our meeting

FRESHMEN DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Hi, folks --

As you're constructing your freshmen descriptive post, remember you're not just typing up your observations. Here are a few things to remember...

1. Think PAPA. Establish a purpose first. You don't need to explicitly state your thesis in your piece, but you must know and establish your dominant impression. Consider your persona, too. You don't have to write as "you," right?

2. Focus on showing us, the readers, vs. telling us.

3. Accomplish steps 2 and 3 by using concrete details, figurative language, connotative language, etc. Consider your syntax, too.

4. Decide on a method of organization (as explained in ch 7).

5. Add a creative title.

NOTES FOR RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

Hi, folks --

Here are some general notes for your rhetorical analysis work.

Make sure you properly cite the text using MLA citation. Introduce your quotes. Think ICE: intro, cite, explain. (See the link to MLA on my website if need be.)

Follow the 11th commandment: "Quote," NOT "Quote", (This rule applies if you're referencing a specific word choice. If you're citing an entire quote, you typically won't have punctuation until after the parenthesis.)

Use active voice and make sure your verbs and nouns AGREE. (You read about this in chapter 5. We'll review it in the upcoming weeks, but do your best now.)

Avoid "you," and [mostly] "I" while writing -- stick with a rhetorical analysis vs. an opinion-based commentary of the text, with the exception of your first or last separate paragraph (see rubric).

Ask yourself, "How does this connect with PAPA?"

Make sure you have organized paragraphs, each with an individualized focus. You've got transitions, yes?

Cite proof to support your claims, and make claims when you provide textual evidence. (Feel free to note individual word choices --but see note on the 11th commandment -- and syntax of author.)

General Request:

Please add a header with last name/page number to top of page. Thanks to Emma for the idea!

Gerber's 319: AP Language and Composition

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Thesis

2 comments:

Second Semester Calendar

Important AP info/dates

Calendar

When can you do a transcendental movie night?

Literary Analysis REvision

How do you want to chat books?

Link to Ben Folds' Songs... Listen!

When are you planning to take the ACT?

Are you planning on taking the ACT October 24th?

FRESHMEN DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

AP Prompt

Choose next week's lesson plan!

NOTES FOR RHETORICAL ANALYSIS

This summer, I was...

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