A.P. Lit Is Getting Ready for the Big Test! December 15, 2014

Focus: What area few last-minute things we can do to prepare for the midterm?

Please turn in your poetry essays.

1. Warming up with our final poetry projects

2. Sampling our review stations

Review Station 1: Poetry multiple choice

Review Station 2: Prose multiple choice

Review Station 3: Free responses

Review Station 4: Invisible Man blogs


3. Cooling down with a tiebreaker

HW:
1. Remember that our final exam takes place tomorrow (Tuesday, December 16). The exam will begin promptly at 10:30 and will continue until about 2:00 pm.  I will bring bagels and cream cheese, but if you'd like something else to eat, please bring it with you.

2. Final grades will be posted by the end of the day on Thursday.

A.P. Literature Is Enjoying Some Poetry: December 12, 2014

Focus: How can others' projects deepen our understanding of poetry?

1. Warming up with a little trivia (and some good acapella music)

2. Enjoying each others' poetry projects

3. Cooling down with Billy Collins' poetry project

HW:
1. Paper people...anyone turning one in today?  Anybody?

2. Finish that Invisible Man blog before your final on Tuesday.

3. Literary essay revisions?

A.P. Literature Is Enjoying Poetry: December 11, 2014

Focus: What can we learn about poetry from each other's creative projects?

1. Warming up with reflections and advice:

• What went well?
• What didn't go well?
• Advice to paper people?

2. Establishing the grand order of poetry project presentations

Thursday
Alex
Brooke
Jackson
Joe
Katie
James
Chase

Friday
Lauren
Annie
Rachael
Gabby
Drew

Monday
Emma

3. Enjoying each other's poetry projects

HW:
1. Paper people...anyone turning one in before Monday?  Anybody?

2. Finish that Invisible Man blog before your final on Tuesday.

3. Literary essay revisions?

A.P. Literature Is Reviewing: December 10, 2014

Focus: What do we want to know about the AP Literature exam?

1. Warming up with some "big picture" blogging on Invisible Man

2. Engaging in a little Q&A about the AP exam

• In section one, how many multiple choice questions are there?

• How much time do we have to answer them?

• How many passages can we expect to read in the multiple choice section?

• Are the passages mostly poems or mostly prose?

• Are the passages mostly modern or mostly traditional?

• Should we try to answer every single question?

• What percentage of our AP score is the multiple choice section worth?

• About how much money is spent on creating the average multiple choice question?

• How many essays do we write in the second section of the test?

• How much time do we have to write these essays?

• Do I have to write the essays in order?

• For the open prompt, do I have to pick a book from the list?

• Who grades the AP tests?

3. Taking a look at the essays (called "free responses") from the past three years and discussing strategies

Order?
Timing?
Structure?

HW:
1. Poetry project presentations begin tomorrow.
2. Keep turning those poetry essays!
3. Revisions?

A.P. Lit Can See the Invisible Man! December 9, 2014

Focus: What larger conclusions can we draw about Invisible Man?

Project people: Please make sure I have your poem by the end of today.

1. Warming up with our favorite intoxicated white lady: Sybil

What descriptions of Sybil surprise you?

What does Sybil have in common with...

• The other white ladies?
• The Sambo bank?
• The Sambo doll?
• The college scholarship in the narrator's briefcase?
• Birth of a Nation (first American motion picture--KKK as hero saving white woman from raped by black man)?
• Tatlock and Brockway?
• Optic white paint?
• Mr. Norton?
• Mary?
• Ras the Destroyer?
• The symbol of the boomerang?

2. Revisiting the Prologue and the beginning of Chapter 1 and attempting a redaction with a focus on how the narrator has changed (what self-knowledge has he gained?)

3. Drawing larger conclusions about Invisible Man using your brilliant big question blogs

Try using our MMM approach to your blog if you're feeling overwhelmed:

• Moments: What symbols, minor characters, and specific events do you find most intriguing?
• Movements: What larger patterns are you noticing?
• Multiple meanings: What does Ellison want us to make of these patterns? How does this relate to your big question blog?

HW:
1. Just those poetry essays and projects...yep.

2. If you're trying to decide whether or not to revise your literary essay, here's a thought:

6 = 90%
7 = 93%
8 = 95%
9 = You should be teaching this class.

Also, the difference between, say, a 6 and an 8 on the actual A.P. test is quite significant.

A.P. Lit Is at the End of a Journey: December 8, 2014

Focus: To what extent does the ending of Invisible Man boomerang us back to the beginning?

Project people: Please turn in a copy of your poem.

1. Warming up: Looking through Chapters 24, 25, and the Epilogue, please do the following for EACH chapter:

• Identify a central image.
• Find what you think is the most significant line.
• Ask a specific question.

2. Discussing the end of Invisible Man in a Socratic seminar

3. Wrapping up (10 minutes)

HW:
1. Bring your laptops to class tomorrow; we will have some time to compose your big question blog response to Invisible Man.  

2. Remember the big deadlines:

Projects are due Thursday, December 11.

Essays have a rolling deadline; the earlier you turn it in, the earlier it will be graded.  The final deadline for these is the last day of class, December 15.

3. If you have any missing work, or you'd like to revise your independent literary essay, please do so by Monday, Dec 15 (the last day of class).  

4. Our final exam will take place on December 16, 10:30 am to 2:00.  If you have a conflict that cannot be resolved, please see me immediately.

A.P. Lit Is Immersed in Poetry: December 5, 2014

Focus: What do you need to make some progress with your poetry paper or project?

1. Warming up: Offering you a little help from our old friend, Billy Collins

2. Working on projects and papers

PROJECT PEOPLE: Please print a hard copy of your poem for me by Monday.  I will make a packet of all of your poems for the class.  Include your name and the poet's name on your printout.

Also, remember that your project does need to include a polished, dramatic reading of your poem.

PAPER PEOPLE: Please include an MLA heading on your paper and page numbers. Staple your poem to your essay. 

There should be a thesis somewhere in your essay, but it doesn't need to be at the end of the first paragraph.

In the explication/analysis portion of your essay, please organize your paragraphs by argument; then, use poetic devices (allusion, metaphor, imagery, alliteration, repetition, slant rhyme, etc.) to support your arguments.

HW:
1. Please finish Invisible Man for our final, all-out Socratic Seminar on Monday, December 8.  Reading ticket of your choice (just make it good and come ready to talk).

2. If you are writing a poetry essay, bring your laptop to class tomorrow.  If you're doing a project, bring any materials that you might want to work with.

Projects are due Thursday, December 11.

Essays have a rolling deadline; the earlier you turn it in, the earlier it will be graded.  The final deadline for these is the last day of class, December 15.

3. If you have any missing work, or you'd like to revise your independent literary essay, please do so by Monday, Dec 15 (the last day of class).  

4. Our final exam will take place on December 16, 10:30 am to 2:00.  If you have a conflict that cannot be resolved, please see me immediately.