30 September and 1 October

AP Language

Over the weekend, you should be focused on reading in Act I of The Crucible. Begin your front and back cover annotations. Track the ideas that you collect on the covers in the body of the text. Remember don't just blindly underline or highlight. Always give a word in the margin or a symbol to remind you of what you saw.

Next week is all about The Crucible. We'll be reading Act I and Act II. You may find it helpful to read it all in one sitting - it does move pretty fast. Pay attention to irony, the characters, the elements of Puritan society that you're seeing, and especially the idea of power.

Any missing work should be submitted as soon as possible. I should have everything graded and reviewed by the end of next week. Be sure to check SIS for any updates.

English 10

Today was a great day in English 10. We took a trip to Turkey to read the work of Mr. Nazim Hikmet and his poem "Some Advice to Those Who Will Spend Time in Prison." The goal of today's class was to understand the way to analyze a poem and break it down to discover its meaning. We focused on paraphrasing the poem, finding the emotions of the poem, and noticing the shifts in the emotions. All of this led us to our theme.

Over the weekend, you may not have any homework to complete. If you have submitted your project, then you are in a great place! Be sure that your vocabulary is nearly complete and keep reading if you would like. If your project is not yet in, this is the final chance to submit without a late penalty. Complete your tasks as soon as you can - reach out for any help you may need.

Beginning Unit 2 - 28 and 29 September

AP Language

And off we go to Unit 2! In this unit, we'll be looking at texts from the Colonial period of America as we are reading and studying Arthur Miller's The Crucible. For tonight, I want you to get enmeshed in the culture of the Puritan world by reading Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry G-d". As you read, annotate for tone, the way he uses fear, and his topics. This is a great text for vocabulary as well - remember that you have another set of ten due later in the unit.

Finish and submit your Unit 1 projects as well as your Unit 1 vocabulary to the spaces to the side. I'll have grades updated as soon as I can. Keep in mind that Act 1 and 2 will be discussed next week. Be sure to begin your reading and annotating now. See the unit plan posted below or in the unit folder for your reading schedule.

English 10

Projects are due today to round out Unit 1. Be sure that you have submitted your work to Schoology for this first unit of the year. If you are missing any work from Unit 1, be sure that you've made a plan with me for how to complete and submit that work before the end of this week. It's important that we get everything settled before we move on.

Today in class we took time to get into our novels and focus on characters. Remember that in some cases, the characters are real people, since the books are pieces of non-fiction. We're looking at conflicts and how they impact the characters as well. We're also actively reading for new vocabulary as we work through these books.

If you have your projects done, then tonight should be about vocabulary. If those things are both complete, then take this time to enjoy your book. We'll start reading something together as a class next time.

Ending Unit 1 - 24 and 27 September

AP Language

We've finished Unit 1! Congratulations everyone! I hope that you've enjoyed this introduction to non-fiction genres such as letters, speeches, and essays. We've also gotten our hands dirty with a new method of reading and analyzing readings - annotations and rhetorical frameworks - which we'll use to really extract meaning throughout the year.

Our next unit begins next week. We'll be studying The Crucible by Arthur Miller. The unit plan is attached on Schoology, and I'll give you a hard copy next week. If you want to get your own copy of the play, feel free. There are also several e-copies. No matter how you read, find a way to annotate and be consistent. Reading checks may become more frequent.

Projects and vocabulary are due at the end of the day next class. If you have any questions, be sure to ask!

English 10

Due to an issue with Schoology you're not going to be able to submit your project at the assignment spot. Instead, be sure to share your project with me or to email it to me directly. Use my djmiller1 [at] fcpsschools [dot] net account for this. Be sure that by the end of the weekend that your Unit 1 project is complete so that I can get your grades finalized for this unit.

Today we began our work in Unit 2 - The Middle East. We began reading a bit, talked for a bit, and discussed genres. Over the weekend, keep reading if you'd like, but don't feel any pressure to do so. We'll have more time next week for our novels and to wrap up vocabulary.

22 and 23 September

AP Language

Lovely work today everyone! We had a very productive first seminar for the end of Unit 1. I'm very happy that you all conducted yourselves civilly and drew some amazing connections between the various texts we studied within the unit. As we worked and discussed and listened, we were really getting some great work done related to our "This is (my) America" Project. Use the ideas we unearthed to begin in earnest if you haven't yet.

Next class will be our Progress Checks on APClassroom. Be sure that you have your username/password as well as your charged laptop. Time remaining will be spent on our project workshop or on vocabulary submissions. Our next unit will focus on Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Feel free to get your own copy if you so choose. I can also issue you one from school.

English 10

Today we put our skills to the test as we completed our first SOL essay. I was happy to see a lot of you using our resources from last class to complete your work. I will have these read and returned to you shortly. After the writing session, since we finished at different rates, we then worked independently for the rest of class.

If you're missing either of our earlier writing assignments, be sure to get those completed as soon as you can. The unit is almost over. Next class will be our final workshop for our final project, so be sure that you're moving toward completion. We will also have vocabulary due soon - you owe me ten words for Unit 1.

Beginning Week 5 - 20 and 21 September

AP Language

Happy Monday Everyone!

Today was a day to talk about structures and organization of arguments as well as the building blocks of our course - rhetoric. Remember that everything is an argument. Everything is rhetoric. Everything is based on convincing an audience of something. We applied that idea to our reading as we went to our choice readings and to our writing as we reviewed our first timed write of the year.

Tonight is a great night to prepare for your first Socratic Seminar. Prepare by reviewing your readings (Cuomo's Speech, The Letters between John and Abigail Adams, and your choice reading [Sedaris, Anzaldua, or Apess]). Make your annotations. Make connections between texts. And prepare questions! This is the most important thing. Since you're working through reading, you have a great opportunity to finish up your vocabulary as you prepare.

Next week you'll submit your final projects and vocabulary. We'll have additional time over the next few classes to work on these projects a bit in class, but you should be working outside of class a bit as well!

English 10

Today was not the most interesting day in English class, but it was a good day as we went through writing and the elements of a successful paragraph and of a successful essay. Remember that we always must begin our writing by completing the essential steps:

1. Find the Question.
2. Find evidence for each side. Pick the best side.
3. Determine the task (essay or paragraph).
4. Use the templates to complete the task.

After that, we took time to work through the final elements of our "My Personal Culture" project - the writing heavy slides. Remember that you are responding to a quotation on one (I recommend choosing a quotation from the Gaiman piece) and then constructing your paragraph at the end. 

Next class we'll be completing our writing diagnostic for the year. Your projects are due on Friday. We'll have our final quiz on this unit next week!

Weekend Work/Announcements (9/16 and 9/17)

AP Language

Today was our opening workshop day for our final unit project called "This is (my) America." We discussed the outline of the project, the requirements, and the goals of the assignment. From there, we went to choosing our own adventure: reading/annotating/vocabulary, project workshop, or making up any missed assignments.

Over the weekend you may want to finish your reading. Readings will be due for the day of our seminar which is on the 24th. This is also a good chance to finish your vocabulary. Note that the project is due on September 29th - we will have additional time in class to work through this.

English 10

Today's class was a day for us to brush off our skills on NoRedInk - we were focused on citing and paraphrasing our sources. This is an especially important skill as we are completing research, and research is at the heart of so much that we do.

If you were able to finish the NoRedInk work. then there were some options available. If you have any missing work, that is definitely the priority. Be sure that you've completed our two writing assignments so far (one on paper, one on Schoology), our notes on "The Danger of a Single Story" and our signature forms.

If you're all caught up, then today was for our year long portfolio. The instructions to set-up and begin your portfolio are posted on Schoology. This is something that you'll work on throughout the year. Right now we've been focused on Africa (especially South Africa), so you may want to focus on that slide.

Kol Nidre / Yom Kippur

I won't be available until Friday. Have a wonderful day tomorrow everyone. For those who observe the holiday, g'mar tov! May you have an easy, safe, and meaningful fast.

September 14 and 15

AP Language

Today's class was a day for us to show our skills as writers as we conquered our first timed writing. If you need additional time because of the fire drill in first period, it will be given. We can meet outside of class to finish up as needed/applicable. I loved the collaboration and sharing that went on in the gallery walks. When we learn from each other, I'm always glad.

I've posted the final assignment for this unit on Schoology. Check it out and begin to plan a bit as you need to. Next class we'll have a workshop day devoted to that task and to finish out any tasks remaining in the unit like reading (Cuomo's speech, the letters between the Adamses, and the choice of essays [Sedaris, Anzaldua, or Apess]) or vocabulary. 

English 10

Today in class we took time for reading one of our final pieces of this unit so that we could understand from where our ideas about concepts/people/the world come from. Neil Gaiman's piece gives us some interesting perspectives on ideas, their power, and their timelessness. We also looked at some items on Schoology including our vocabulary assignment and our final project for the unit.

Be sure that tonight you're focused on any missing assignments. If you're all caught up, you may want to take a look at the project and begin discussing your background with your family. We'll have plenty of days to work on this in class, but beginning the process now will help you along. Next class will be a day for you to work on NoRedInk to learn about researching skills before you put them into practice to begin a choice research activity. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

Be aware that I will be out on Thursday for Yom Kippur. If you have any questions or concerns, please email me and I'll get in touch with you after the holiday. For those that observe, I hope you have an easy and meaningful fast.

September 10 and 13

AP Language

Another lovely day in AP Language made better with a visit from Mr. James Baldwin. Today we worked through letters as a genre and discussed the ways in which letters can accomplish what other texts do, but a bit differently. We then read through James Baldwin's "My Dungeon Shook" in order to understand some of these structures, our rhetorical vocabulary, and the concept of paradox in the text.

Projects should be turned in by the end of the weekend. Next class we'll conduct a gallery walk to display our work to our peers and share our knowledge. You should be actively completing vocabulary cards each time we read something - remember that the magic number is ten for the unit.

Reading for the weekend is very short - take a look at John and Abigail Adams' letters between each other on pages 250 to 254. Consider the way in which the connection between the audience and speaker is manipulated to wit in the construction of the argument. Keep all your reading notes in your notebooks - I'll check those towards the end of the unit.

English 10

Today in class was a day for us to talk about close reading and annotating. Remember that when we annotate we're putting our thoughts on paper - we're recording what we see about a text so that we can remember it later. This is going to lead to great outcomes when it comes to our work as readers, writers, and thinkers. We practiced annotating and close reading today as we worked through different excerpts from religious texts. We did this to understand elements of their culture from the reading.

Over the weekend, focus on any missing assignments you may have. Your South Africa reflection can be submitted on Schoology. If you'd like to get ahead, begin work on your project by interviewing your family about your background. We'll begin on the final project in earnest next week. The project overview is posted on Schoology for you if you'd like to review it now.

September 8th and 9th

AP Language

Great day today everyone! We worked through Abraham Lincoln's "Gettsburg Address" in order to understand the rhetorical appeals of logos, pathos, and ethos as well as the way in which meaning is created and layered through the text.

For tonight, I want you to interact with another speech. It's on page 272 in your textbook - Mario Cuomo's Speech to the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Read the speech or interact with it via the video linked on Schoology. Apply one of our note taking structures to help you pull apart the meaning in the speech.

Don't forget to submit your dirty outlines. For this remember to use the Singer prompt and spell out your thesis, body paragraph claims, evidence, and explanation, and a refutation. This should appear like a bullet point list, not a full essay.

Next class we're looking at letters.

English 10

Great work today in class as we worked through Archbishop Tutu's "Let South Africa Show the World How to Forgive". We focused on his main claims as well as the evidence he provided to spell out and support those claims. Remember that claims can be spread across paragraphs as can evidence. 

From there, we spent time with another South African text, before we took time to finish our day with a writing assignment. For homework, be sure to complete and submit your South Africa reflection. You can use any text that we've studied for your evidence. Be sure to answer the question clearly and provide a clear piece of evidence to support your claim. Submit to Schoology!

The Long Weekend (Before and After)

AP Language

Today in class we had a workday in which we focused on reading/annotating/vocabulary and/or our first project of the year called "What's the Situation". Remember that the reading will be officially assigned to you later in this unit, this is just a chance for us to get ahead a bit.

Over the weekend, be sure that you've uploaded your dirty outline as well as completed any forms (syllabus signature and/or the student questionnaire). Next week we'll have additional time to work on our project in class. Your project is due at the end of next week.

We've got some diagnostics coming to us around the corner. So far so good in AP Language land! Keep pushing and striving.

English 10

Today in class we started our first country focus - South Africa. We began by looking at a clip from a movie about South Africa called Sarafina, and then we did some research on South African culture. We learned a lot about the culture and especially about the strife in South Africa and the various examples of culture clash. From there we read. Our story we're reading right now is "The Train from Rhodesia" by Nadine Gordimer.

To finish the story, complete your story notes. Remember to note new vocabulary words, draw the setting to the best of your ability, and fill out the column notes based on your reading. Turn this in to me next class!