AP Lit 3G: True Grit, Blogging & Synthesis Thinking Introduced

True Grit.

Today, we discussed Mattie Ross and how Portis develops her voice in the opening chapters of True Grit.  We identified key lines and discussed them at length.  As a result, we got a little bit behind on our in-class work with Literary 3x3s.  (I will likely leave instructions on what to do while I'm gone as I think you can a) handle it and b) can easily share with me record of your experimenting on Wednesday.) 

Blogging.

Blogging Rubric 2015.
You will be keeping a blog throughout the year on Blogger using your school Gmail account. I've embedded and linked the rubric for blogging here.

What content should you include?  Each week you can expect a creative challenge related to our current focus.  The other two-plus entries may come from day to day work you are doing for class, from creative expression, from general reflections.  After the first week, you should be looking to connect to at least one other thinker in the AP Lit ranks, linking to an idea that inspires you to respond. There are several intentions to the blog:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the readings, viewings, and listenings from class
• Connect and reflect upon one another's ideas
• Reach beyond the walls of our classroom to share our thinking and benefit from other perspectives
• Create a record of learning, illustrating your growth over the space of your senior year

Synthesis Essay.

Writing a synthesis is unlike writing an analytical essay.  Rather than trying to break apart a piece of literature and explain how it works, you instead are trying to connect the dots between multiple works to use as evidence of your thinking -- proving that the big idea assertion you make in your thesis, your greater understanding/observation/truth about the world is held up and evident beyond your opinion.


When working on  your synthesis essays, keep these structural and contextual ideas in mind.

Also Mr. Ryder's feedback shorthand...

Synthesis Essay Rubric 2015 

Show the Learning.

Read & Annotate.  True Grit to Page 113

Due. Tues. 9.22.15

Blog. 3+ Posts.

Creative Blog Post of the Week. Create a 5 Card Flickr in the Voice of Mattie Ross. How might you employ the same techniques as Portis to develop her voice in your work?

Due. Friday. 9.18.15
Design.  Working Draft.  Synthesis Essay #1
Due for Workshopping.  Tuesday, 9.22.15

If you have time . . . 
Turn your Literary 3x3s into Index Card Decks. 

AP Lit: Rose, Bud, Thorn & Synthesis Essays

Today we'll be doing just as last Friday's class did.

We'll be using the Rose/Bud/Thorn DT strategy to explore first, the food court, and then, our synthesis essays.

You  can see some of what the other section came up with here.

This will lead to a synthesis essay workshop to help us with this last week for revisions.  (Pinning Frankenstein revisions can come in next week because not everyone has them back yet.)

HOMEWORK.

Blog: Graded blogs are done for the quarter.
Revise/make up/enhance

Read: T.S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
Due: Friday, Oct 24th.

Check AP Lit Due Dates doc.

AP Lit 3G: Lot Jotting & Google+ & An Experiment

When you walk in, I will ask you all to take five minutes & write an essay about whether or not I should wear a tie to school.  Have fun with it.  (It's for my daughter. I'll explain.)

Then we will do the Lot Jot question generating activity described here.

After lunch, we are trying an experiment.

There will be three zones.

A book discussion zone.

A synthesis solo work zone.

A synthesis group work zone.

I will work my way through all three, as you will choose the zone that most suits your needs.  You can also move fluidly from zone to zone as your needs dictate.

This is an effort to maximize the class time for you, while still affording a structure in the room.

Homework

Write: Synthesis Essay 1st Submission Draft Due Next Class!  Thursday!

Blog: 3+ entries for Friday, 9/27

Assigned Creative Blog Post:  Mrs. Dalloway employs color in meaningful, powerful ways.  Perhaps you have noticed this, perhaps  you have not.  (Pay particular attention to flowers, foods, skies, clothing and faces.) 

Use Colourlovers.com  to create a custom palette of at least three colors relating to meaning in Mrs. Dalloway.  You will need to name the palette and each color within it.  Be certain to choose purposeful names and push your self to go beyond the concrete.  (Concrete:  "blue sky" because the sky was blue.)

Share your palette on your blog w/ explanations of your choices.

Added Challenge: Create a piece of digital art employing the color palette in a way congruent to Virginia Woolf.

Read

Dallowinian Reading Chunks (pg. #s are Mt. Blue copies, Harcourt ed.)
1: a t an O an F (1 - 29)
2: he never saw her again (29 - 64)
3: Dr. Holmes, looking not quite so kind. (64-94)
4. Elizabeth Dalloway mounted the Westminster Omnibus (94 - 139)
5. For there she was (139 - End)
One reading per night.
Blue Day classes finish the book for Tuesday, the 1st.   Gold Day classes  finish for Monday the 30th.

AP Lit: Synthesis Essay Thinking

Notes from board AP Lit 2B and 3B