All Hail Caesar!

Some interesting attire today, people. Hopefully, with the strategic use of safety pins, nothing else was on display! They're called SAFETY pins for a reason, I guess.

Today we engaged in a verbal rhetorical analysis of JFK's inaugural address. Keep track of some of the new terms you are learning: anaphora, zeugma, chiasmus, etc.
Stephanie will be facilitating the purchase of the test prep books: 5 Steps to a 5, which is now $16.02. Too much, do you think? More about this next week, and thanks again, Stephanie Spaghetti. Very helpful! Note that spaghetti is Italian, so ties in to Roman history. Actually I think spaghetti was really invented in China, but ...
For homework, please work on your Ad Analysis, which is now due on Thursday, October 6th.
Have a great weekend!
Ms. M 

Analyse This

Yesterday, which is about 7 loads of laundry ago, according to my calculations, I gave the analysis assignment for the print ad you chose. The assignment is due next Tuesday, October 4, which is also my brother's birthday. I knew you would want to know that. 

In class, we also reviewed my feedback to last year's class, so you could see some good examples of what to do and what not to do. 

For homework please do the questions on Kennedy's inaugural address, page 55: Diction questions 1-4; Syntax questions 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 9. We will watch the speech in class tomorrow, and discuss the impact of those hortative sentences, the anaphora, and the archaic language. Then you can begin doing some work on your ad analysis.

Must go fold all those clean clothes now.

The Queen Speaks

So, from the title of this post, you may mistakenly think I am referring to myself. Have no fear, we would not wish for such confusion to transpire. We would simply remind you that today we showed you the Queen (of England's) speech following the death of Princess Diana. We also shared Earl Spencer's eulogy for his sister, which almost made us cry - could you tell? (You do know about the Royal "we" don't you? If not the entire hilarity of this post is wasted!)

We also reviewed some specific types of Tropes and Schemes - that is the use of artful diction and syntax. You can look at chiasmus, antithesis, and antimetabole for more great examples. 

Homework: Find a great print ad for analysis and transport it to class for Monday. Please do the assignment on page 48 and be prepared to hand it in on Monday. 

Have a most excellent weekend!  

Must tend to the three princesses. Bye!

Stephanie Spaghetti and Melissa Milk

Wow! What a fun class! Don't tell anyone.

After today's class, I hope you are getting a good idea of what would be expected in a more formal rhetorical analysis. We will write an analysis of an ad next week, following our group efforts today. Next day I'll hand back your Einstein homework, and we'll review how to write about ethos, pathos, and logos. There are still a few errors cropping up in that regard. 

Homework for Dallas Doughnuts and all you others is: read page 26-48. Pay close attention to the various articles about Diana's death, which we will discuss in class next day. Be sure to take notes on the terms in the Analysing Style section of the text. There will be a terms test in the not-too-distant future.

Must go fetch my young 'uns!

Susan Sontag's Death

I forgot to mention in class today that I was reading an article about Susan Sontag and her life and death. She died in 2010. She is referred to as an aesthete and "the Dark Lady of American intellectual life." An aesthete is defined as one who is particularly sensitive to beauty and art; if you read the article, you will get a glimpse into the pursuits of one of the American intellectual elite referred to in the Sontag article from the New Yorker. Interestingly, she had a long-term relationship with famous photographer Annie Leibovitz, who has taken amazing photos of many famous people including actors, actresses, politicians, and musicians. If you read the article on Sontag, tell me in class on Tuesday!

OK, enough academia for today. In class you handed in your assignments on the Einstein letter; we read How to Teach a Child to Argue, with some good personification of ethos, pathos, and logos; we read the handout on visual rhetoric, and reviewed Joliffe's Framework for Rhetorical Analysis; I gave out the list of terms for AP; and finally, I asked you to please read up to page 26, and take notes on methods of development. 

The aim here is to prepare you for several upcoming analysis assignments. Oh the fun is just beginning! I can feel the excitement already! 

Have a great weekend -I am hosting a Hawaiian party for 9 little girls. Must go try on my grass skirt and practice the Hula.

See you Tuesday!

Oh the Shame!

Hi Folks,

Sorry this is a late one. I have been hiding in shame due to the discovery of my typo in the parent letter. How humiliating. Oh well, there will be more errors, let me assure you. Again, you can learn from my mistakes - always proof read. 

Last class we basically reviewed and discussed the article on Active Reading.

Your homework was to read page 1-10 of Chapter 1, and do the assignment on page 9. 

See you in the morning!

Rising Tree Who Are You?

Hi Folks!

I just read the comments on the blog, and shockingly only 5 people left me a comment. Let's see; if I was grading myself on successful instruction, and I got 5 out of 28, that's not too impressive is it? Hopefully more of you read the blog than commented. Those of you who did, and I know who you are, thank you! Well ... I don't know who Rising Tree is. Let's guess ... someone tall? Someone who is growing? Someone who is high and green ... hmmm ... hard to know.

Aristotle 

Anyway, in today's class, you were all so keen and nice. I am psyched! (Do people still use that term, or is it so 1980?) We basically went over an introduction to rhetoric, and I got you to venture into your very first rhetorical analysis. Sounds scary, but in fact, it was quite easy, right? Here is a little link to Aristotle, Father of Rhetoric, in case you are yearning to know more. He was quite important, you know. And clever. I guess that goes without saying what with the whole "Father of Rhetoric" title and all. In fact, the title is in question. Aristotle considered Empedocles to be the F.O.R., and Homer (not Simspon) also has earned this title. Interesting, no? Maybe I could be the Mother of something. Keep it polite, people. 

Your HOMEWORK is to actively read the handout on Reading: Active Reading and the Writing Process. 

See you Wednesday!

Welcome to English 12 AP!

My "book photo" - I'll explain in class!

Hello all!
This is your first chance to view the AP Blog for this course. Mostly I will keep it short; this will be a place to check for homework you missed or links or docs I may post from time to time. You should also play with the fish because it is fun! But, the main idea is for you to take responsibility for your learning.


Here are my expectations for your behaviour in this course:

1. Be polite. This takes a number of forms and covers many occasions. For example, do not sneer at comments or questions from your peers - you are all in this together and you are all learning. Truly there are no dumb questions. Be supportive of one another and of me, please. So, yes, I will say it, please don't sneer at me either. I'm trying pretty hard to do a good job, and it's not as easy as it looks, so give me a break! Moreover, please don't talk while anyone else is talking. I give you lots of time in this class to work with each other, and I really don't relish talking to you all class - it's not that fun! - so, when I am saying something, it's because I actually think you need to hear it. Listen and learn from me and one another. 
2. Limit your emails to me. You or your parents may contact me by email in case of an emergency or if there is an issue your parents wish to discuss. Please avoid emailing me on weekends, Christmas holidays, Spring Break, etc. Also, avoid emails at 11:00 p.m. when your assignment is due the next day. These types of emails will get you nowhere. Also, I am your teacher, so all emails should be appropriate and, as noted above, polite. I will respond to your emails when I am working, and not in the off hours. It is advisable to see me in person at lunch or before school on day 2 if you have concerns, questions, or need extra help.
3. Understand you EARN your mark in this class. I do not spend time thinking about how much I like you and then attach a mark to my personal opinion of you. I actually mark your work. That means I give lots of feedback in red or other colours, and I hope that you use the feedback to consistently improve. I also make sure to provide criteria for the assignments, student examples when I can, and published examples for everything we do. I give generous and reasonable time lines for assignments. The path you should take is to prepare the assignments early and save time for revision, rethinking, editing, and perfecting. You have the opportunity to hand in your best work, and you should do so, if you want to EARN your best mark.
4. You will not all earn A's. It is not impossible, but it is highly unlikely. I have been doing this job for a long time, and, as a result, I have marked tens of thousands of essays. Overall my marks are pretty accurate, and I have substantial expertise in the marking arena. I am happy to discuss marks with you calmly, respectfully, and maturely, and I may even change your mark on occasion, but try not to take the mark personally. A person who earns a C is no better or worse than one who earns an A. I know that. We are all still learning! 
5. Be responsible. It's only one year now until you are potentially in university. This class is at the university / college level. Let's start moving towards that level now. In other words, I will still help you like a high school teacher does, but you should be relying on you (not your mom or dad) to help yourself as much as possible. Don't forget your books, or sleep in, or fail to complete your assignments. Do show up with a pen and paper! No matter how sweet, adorable, cute, or funny you think you are, that kind of behaviour is not permissible anymore. If you mess up, 'fess up, and try harder next time. I'm quite nice, but don't take that as permission to try to get away with as much as you can. Remember you, and your behaviour, EARN the mark you get. 
6. Finally, try hard to learn something. This course is quite intense, but it is also really interesting. I love seeing students thinking about and wrestling with new ideas. You will get a chance to write in forms you've never written and to read ideas and writers you've never read. Open yourself up to all that is new this year, accept that there are lots of things you don't know yet (same for me!), and have fun learning. Because it actually is fun. Really! 

Good luck, and welcome again. Let's have a great year!