14 February - Happy Valentine's Day!

AP Language and Composition

Today we spent some time with Brent Staples and his article "Just Walk On By: Black Men and the Public Space". I appreciated the connections that you all were making between this text, Ellison, and all the way back to DuBois. I really like the way that Staples acknowledges alternative perspectives, confronts his audience, and crafts a message for them. Consider this as you write your own arguments.

From there, we looked at our Research Questions and refined them through the lens of the problem statement. Remember that you don't need to be looking at a "problem" per se - you could be looking at the problem of not knowing something and its effect on you or society. No matter what, be sure that you are focusing on being specific in your scope and focus. Use today's slides and assignment to refine and then post in the discussion board. Be sure to get and give feedback in the discussion board.

Next class we're headed back to New York and TIM's adventures. We've got more of the city in Chapter 8 and then a few key conversations in Chapter 9. Enjoy your reading! Try to make sense of what you can. Be sure to refer to your motif charts. See you Friday!

12 February - Chapters 5-7: Saying Goodbye to the South

AP Language and Composition

Fantastic day today in AP Language as we leaned into our reading skills and our presentation skills to work through Chapters 5, 6, and 7. In these chapters, we finish up our time in the South and at the College. TIM won't be returning, but the lessons - or lack thereof - will continue to follow him into New York. I really love the fact that so many of us were contributing to our class learning today. Great work with your new approach to Key Passages. Remember to continue to use these tools as you are working through this novel - especially the motif tracker.

Next class we'll be revising research questions and working through Brent Staples's "Just Walk on By: Black Men and the Public Space." It's a short article, so read deeply and carefully. Consider the connection to stereotypes and invisibility. This is a key connection between Ellison and Staples. We'll have our next set of chapters on Friday. Try to get ahead, we have some large chunks coming later. If you haven't submitted your research work, please do so ASAP so that you can fully participate in our lesson on Wednesday.