29 and 30 of November - Three Weeks to Break

AP Language

Today we read the first chapter of The Great Gatsby and explored the characters, the setting, and the major ideas that Fitzgerald presents in the opening of his novel. I was very pleased to see you annotating closely and paying attention to the details. This is a book that is all about the details - dig deep into those interesting sentences that draw your eye. It's all intentional in this book.

Tonight you have reading and annotating to accomplish. First, read Chapter 2. Pay attention to Tom when he's not with Daisy, the power of alcohol, and the minor characters - you may want to view them as symbols more than actual people. This is also our first party scene.

The other reading is to select either Hughes or Lorde to read as well. These are two African American authors who provide an interesting perspective on Black art - this art was highly consumed by wealthy whites in this time period, so their perspective is key. Also, we don't get any African American voices in this text - so these texts will help provide that.

English 10

Today was our classroom catch-up day for Unit 2. The major task was to complete the soundtrack project and then to submit any missing assignments for the unit. Remember that your work is due at the end of the day today in order to avoid a late penalty. I'll have everything scored soon and then we'll have a chance to do any rewrites or resubmissions.

We also took time to work through our year-long portfolio. For this portfolio you're making one slide for each unit of study we have. So far, that means you should have two slides. For each side include the following:

1. Unit number/name
2. A country of interest from the unit
3. An author or writer who interested you. Why did you choose this particular author?
4. Your key takeaway from this unit. Write this as a whole sentence.

Next class we're going to start Unit 3 - this is our research unit, so we'll be picking our own topics for research and spending time in the library over the next few classes. Be ready!

22 and 23 November - Off to Thanksgiving Break!

AP Language

Today was a reading and working day for us in AP Language to kick off our mini-project on Rhetorical Analysis process. The goal for today's class was to select an essay to focus on for this project and to annotate the passage. Our next step is going to be to focus in on a particular passage from this article for our analysis prompt.

Over the break you should get caught up if you're missing anything. I'll have all scores in the gradebook and then if you'd like to do a resubmission, that window will be open. We'll start in on our study of The Great Gatsby after Thanksgiving. Feel free to start reading ahead if you would like.

English 10

Today's class was a very simple class. We were mostly working on our own to complete two tasks. First, the Youth Survey, which is an FCPS survey for 10th and 12th graders. Remember that you don't have to complete this survey if you don't want to.

After you opted out or completed the survey, you worked to complete and turn in your projects. If your album cover and tracklist are on paper, turn that in to the orange folder on my desk. Your paragraphs should be turned in to the space on Schoology. If your track list or album cover are electronic, feel free to turn in everything on Schoology.

I hope that all of you have a wonderful and fantastic Thanksgiving Break! There's nothing to do for this class over the break, but if you have any missing work, I would recommend getting it done now. 

18 and 19 November

AP Language

Great work today y'all as we looked at Andrew Carnegie and his "Gospel of Wealth". I hope that you'll be taking some of these ideas forward from Carnegie and Didion as we begin our work with The Great Gatsby. 

Next class we'll delve into our project on rhetorical analysis. We'll overview the project and then take time to work. You'll not have any work over break - it's against FCPS policy to assign work over breaks. If you have any missing assignments lingering, this weekend provides a perfect opportunity to complete those tasks.

I'll have all of your work scored soon. If there is anything that you would like to resubmit, we can discuss that after Thanksgiving.

English 10

Today was a day for writing! We looked at sentence starters, organization, and structure in order to complete our paragraphs for our soundtrack project. I hope that you find the resource that I gave you in class helpful. One thing that I like to do as I write is to create sentence starters with blanks and then fill in those blanks as I write. Remember that you can always change the templates, but use them to start to help you get comfortable.

The project is due at the end of next class. Next class will also be our catch-up day since we're at the end of the unit. If you have anything missing for this unit I would suggest completing it this weekend so that you can focus on your project in class on our last day before break.

16 and 17 Novemer

AP Language

Today's class was focused on close reading and analysis of Joan Didion's "On Keeping a Notebook" - we focused on the way in which she creates a very unique voice in this text through her use of details, shifts, and interesting flashes of memory. As we did this work, we were analyzing the text to consider her main ideas for us on truth, memory, and accuracy. All of these are significant ideas as we begin with The Great Gatsby. 

For tonight, your assignment is to read and annotate Andrew Carnegie's "Wealth". In this text he reflects on the burden and responsibility of the wealthy toward society. This is a great text before we get into Gatsby since all of those characters are ridiculously wealthy - you may want to consider how they do or do not follow Carnegie's ideas.

Remember that your websites are due by the end of the day on Wednesday. Submit the link so that I can review your work.

English 10

Today was a day for us to really begin in earnest on our final project for this unit - our soundtrack of our characters' lives. By this point you should know which character you're focused on and what the general trajectory of their life is. We watched a video on album cover design and then took those ideas to heart as we began to craft our album covers for our project. Remember that part one and two of this project are very simple. Next class we'll start with part three - our paragraphs.

At the end of our creation time we took time to read and complete tasks. If you are missing vocabulary or your character tracker, I hope that you were able to get that complete during today's reading/working time. Be sure to submit anything that's missing - our unit will be ending next week!

12 and 15 November - Beginning Unit 3

AP Language

What a great day! I'm feeling a lot better and getting back to myself. I was very glad to be with you all today and take you through our overview of The Great Gatsby. The slides from today's class are posted as is the recording of the overview. Feel free to review these documents as you check and review your notes.

Over the weekend, and to start the unit, we'll be reading some parallel texts to help us better appreciate the novel. Tonight, it's Joan Didion. You can find her in the Unit 3 Folder. Read and annotate this text. Consider the idea of the observer, the idea of honesty and memory and accuracy, and the idea of a reliable narrator. These connections will help us to better understand Nick when we meet him. I would also recommend beginning your vocabulary now - don't wait!

Websites are due at the end of the weekend. Hit publish, and then turn in the link. Only one person needs to do this for the group. If there is anything else that you need to turn in from Unit 2, be sure to do so quickly, as it will soon incur a late penalty.

As always, if there is anything I can do for you, please let me know!

English 10

A good day filled with some good work! I am very glad to see how well you are completing your work and wrapping up this unit. Today we took time to read our books, finish our character trackers, and review our final projects for class. Next week we'll pivot over to our writing and start finishing our projects.

Over the weekend, be sure that you have any of your previous assignments complete. Especially the vocabulary and the character tracker. The character development tracker is a great tool to help you write your paragraphs for your soundtrack project - you'll use a lot of those ideas as you write your paragraphs.

I've included our screenshot from our notes today in class - this may be a useful document for you as you're thinking about your books, characters, and your soundtrack project.

10 and 11 November

AP Language

I'm back! Not at 100%, but good enough to be with you all today, and I am very happy to be with you instead of where I was. Today was a pretty simple day, and I appreciate you all being nice to me. We took time to talk, work through some big ideas related to our unit, and then we finished our day as we needed.

As a reminder final tasks from Unit 2 are due or now past-due. If you are missing something, be sure to complete it as soon as possible so that I can finish my grading quickly. Your websites are due by the end of the weekend. Be sure that someone from the group submits the link. On Friday/Monday we'll be starting our unit on The Great Gatsby. I'm excited to share this text with you - it's one of my favorites.

English 10

Today was a very easy day for us since I'm still riding the struggle bus and recovering from my procedure on Monday. I appreciate all of you being kind and following instructions today. We completed a grammar assignment before we took some time with our books. As we are reading, it's important to note that there are only FOUR classes left until our projects are due. 

After reading time, we met in small groups to collect information related to our characters and how they are changing. I think that this is very helpful as you are working to complete your soundtrack projects. Remember that if you have anything missing (like vocabulary) that you submit that as soon as possible. I'll be finishing your grades for this unit over Thanksgiving.

Keep On Keepin' On, Y'all!

Hey Everyone - I'm really sorry to be away from you all for these two days. I'm feeling really good this morning and should be back at school on Wednesday. Be sure that you've submitted your assignments on Schoology. If you're in English 10, you have a PearDeck to complete. Just do your work in the slides and it'll save everything for me to check when I close the session later today. 

AP Language

Next class we'll have our seminar and time to finish up our websites before the weekend. I'll also take time to check your annotations, so be sure to have your books and notebooks. If you're done with The Crucible tomorrow, then you can return your book to me if you checked out a school copy. We'll be starting with The Great Gatsby on Friday/Monday. You can check out a copy from me or purchase your own. I'm excited to share this book with you all - it's a good one!

English 10 

Next class we'll be spending the majority of time with our novels and getting ready for our final project - the soundtrack to the character's life. Be prepared for a day with some reading, working on our next vocabulary checklist, and a bit of a creative activity focused on our book, which will help you with your final project.

Beginning Quarter 2 - 11/4 and 11/5

AP English Language

Happy Diwali everyone! Due to the fact that today was a holiday, we took it pretty easy. Our main goal at this time is to construct our websites and focus on our assessments coming next week. Here is our to do list for the weekend and into next week.

1. To open the week you'll have your end of unit assessments. There is the mini-project (visual and essay) as well as your annotations of The Crucible and your timed essay. Keep in mind that the essay will be open book/open annotation. There are also vocabulary cards due.

2. Our website presentations will be run as a seminar. Be prepared to discuss your individual text as well as your group's argument. I'm looking forward to our symposium on social commentary. More details next week. Your websites will be assessed at the end of next week. This will give you time for further edits and revisions before they are assessed.

Keep in mind that we will begin our tardy policy next week. See the letter posted for more information. This quarter is where things are going to start getting real - it's time to start chipping away at things bit by bit instead of trying to do one big push. 

English 10

Today's class was a very easy class due to the fact that we have a religious observance today - Happy Diwali! We reviewed the final project for this unit, completed our NRI diagnostic, and took time to complete our vocabulary documents and submit them. 

As a reminder, the final project will be due the week we go out for Thanksgiving Break. I know this feels like a while away, but it'll be here pretty soon! Remember that there are three parts to this project - the album cover, track list, and then the paragraphs. We will have future time to work on this in class, but be sure to begin so that you can chip away at your assignments bit by bit.