Assignments for Sept. 20 - 24, 2010

English I Pre-AP

• Practice using different sentence structures
• Write a full analytical paragraph for the following prompt: How does Delia change throughout the course of "Sweat"?
• Begin reading and responding to "The Cask of Amontillado"
• Yearbook pictures on Tuesday

Dual Credit 1301

• Complete the Unit 1 Test
• Discuss narration as a form and related strategies
• Read and discuss "Shooting an Elephant" and "Someone's Mother"
• Prepare and respond to the thesis and outline for the narrative essay
• Yearbook pictures on Tuesday

AP Suggested Reading List

I know many parents and students have requested a recommended reading list. Obviously, there are many worthwhile texts I would hope my students and I could read together, but time constraints and curriculum demands interfere with our ability to read as many as I would like in class. However, as this class is designed specifically with the intention of preparing students for the AP classes and exam, I recommend starting with the list of 101 Great Books Recommended for College-Bound Readers, published by the College Board (the overseeing body of the AP Program).

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/plan/boost-your-skills/23628.html

There are many other recommended reading lists available, some broken down by genre, others by appearance on the AP exams. These can easily be found by Googling "AP reading list."

Assignments for Sept. 13 - 17, 2010

Pre-AP I

• Complete discussion of literary elements working together
• Write analytical paragraphs
• Prepare first dialectical journal entry
• Close "Sweat" with unit exam

Dual Credit 1301

• Complete the descriptive essay draft
• Conduct peer responses to essay drafts
• Revise essays
• Submit revised descriptive draft
• Complete Unit 1: Grammar exam

Assignments for Sept. 6 - 10, 2010

Pre-AP

* Complete your reading and annotation of Hurston's "Sweat"
*Review of dialect, dialogue, conflict, irony, foreshadowing, theme, and point of view
*Class discussions of the story and its literary elements

Dual Credit
*Review use of semi-colons, subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, and pronoun-antecedent agreement
*Review outline guidelines
*Compare outline of "Salt Marsh" to the actual essay
*Prepare a thesis statement and outline for the upcoming descriptive essay (due Friday)

August 23-Sept. 3, 2010

Pre-AP

This week, we began our short story unit. We've completed a review of some of the basic literary elements and a word study for vocabulary associated with Zora Neale Hurston's "Sweat." We also spent a bit of time preparing our notebooks so we will be organized throughout the year. If you've not yet acquired your supplies, please have them by next week.

Dual Credit

This week, we read and discussed two descriptive essays, "Flavio's Home" and "Sister Flowers." We discussed the need for a clear thesis statement that focuses the entire essay and informal topic sentences, in this type of essay, to unify paragraphs. We also reviewed basic sentence combining to avoid run-ons, comma splices, and fragments.