Reading Journal Reflection

It's the end of the semester...and we have a reading journal grade to take care of.  The goal is that you are making progress, seeing improvement, feeling more confident in your critical reading skills.  We've had lots of practice:  homework readings and class discussion, new terminology and perspectives that give you additional details to look for, one-pagers that put you on the spot for the day and make you show off your skills for the class, reading journal questions that help guide and deepen your thinking, and--oh yeah--tests where you have to actually critically read and answer crazy-detailed, written-to-screw-you-up AP questions. =)

So here's your latest way to show me where you are in these all-important skills:  your reading journal and reflection.

Last quarter I looked at your reading journal for a few things:

1. Were you using it to keep all of your Lit stuff in one spot?
2. Were you using it to record the in-brain processes of a critical reader of the varied assignments in AP Lit (details you noticed, interpretations of readings, etc.)
3. Were you adding to those notes with class discussion notes that help you see what you understand on your own and how that understanding changes with others' thoughts and interpretations?

This quarter, I'm looking for the same PLUS something else...and THAT is your journal reflection assignment.

In your journal, date an entry and title it "1st Semester Journal Reflection."  Complete a thorough, thoughtful, and detailed reflection of your reading skills thus far.  You should consider and include the following in your entry:

• What are your strengths as a critical reader?
• What are your weaknesses?
• What growth have you seen in your critical reading since the beginning of AP Lang last year?
• Since the beginning of AP Lit this year?
• How do you know this growth is occurring?  What evidence do you have?
• How effectively do you feel you are using your journal?
• Could you use it differently to make a bigger difference in your critical reading skill growth?
• How well do you feel you've been able to express your critical reading in the writing assignments this semester (in-class essays, poetry write-up, and lit analysis)?  What strengths and weaknesses in your writing impact that ability?
• What goals (related to reading AND the class at large) do you have for the rest of the year?

Spend some time and thought on this.  It's not HARD, but it will require some honest reflection to do it well. And guess what?  Even though it's an assignment I'm giving you and will grade you on, YOU will actually get the most benefit out of the activity--so do a good job for YOURSELF rather than your grade. =)

Semester Exam Prep

AP Lit & Comp

1st Semester Study Guide

Literary Terms

Matching—these terms will pull from the poetry and short stories sections of the Bedford.

Critical Lenses

Matching—know the different lenses discussed in your textbook.

Good Readers & Good Writers

This section will test your understanding of the key points of Nabokov, Frost, and Perrine.  You’ll want to go back and review your annotations, notes, and reading journals. 

Short Stories

I’ll pull key passages from a variety of stories we’ve read this semester.  You’ll need to match them to the correct title and author.

AP Multiple Choice

I’ll give you one section of an AP exam (one poem and the questions following).  Answer all of the questions even if you don’t have a clue. =)

AP Free-Response Essay--Annie John

I’ll give you one essay question for which you should allow yourself 40 minutes.  Free response essay questions ask an open question/make a statement about literature in general.  You would then answer the question by writing an essay on the topic as it directly relates to a piece of literature (one from a provided list or, if you choose, another novel or play “of similar literary quality.”)  You should answer the prompt on your final exam using Annie John.

Annie John

AP Lit
Annie John RJ
 
1. As you read, keep in mind the aspects of post-colonialism we discussed in class.  Make note of important details, questions, or literary devices that connect to those ideas.
 
2. How is the parent-child struggle between power and lack of power extended to other conflicts in the novel?  Make note of the different places you see struggle for power, the ways it is achieved, lost, etc.  Who has the power and who does not?
 
3. How does identity work in this novel?  When does Annie discover she has an identity separate from her mother?  How does she assert it?  What implications does Kincaid’s choice to use a bildungsroman have on the novel as a whole?
 
4. As Kincaid tells the story, she relates it as an expulsion from Paradise.  What was the original expulsion from Paradise?  Who was expelled and why?  What do the references to Lucifer and Paradise Lost indicate to you?
 
5. Make note of the many references to sexuality.  How do these details contribute to Kincaid’s point?
 
6. By the end of the book, Annie has rejected every aspect of her home and childhood:  “As I was lying there my heart could have burst open with joy at the thought of never having to see any of it again.”  Is this sort of rejection an inevitable part of growing up?  Is Annie’s hostility and rejection unusually extreme?  If so, why?
 
 
COME TO CLASS HAVING PUT THOUGHT INTO ALL OF THE QUESTIONS.  COME WITH SPECIFIC QUESTIONS OR PARTS OF YOUR READING JOURNAL TO DISCUSS.  KNOW WHAT YOU NEED TO GET FROM CLASS DISCUSSION IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND THIS NOVEL.

SS Exam Prep

Monday is the in-class essay portion of the short story exam.  You will read a very short story and analyze how the elements of fiction contribute to the overall meaning/effect.  This is strictly a skill-based portion of the test.  If you've been studying, reading, practicing your critical reading skills and interpretation, you'll just show what you can do.  No real preparation necessary...or possible.

Tuesday is the multiple choice section. This is the portion that you can and should prepare for.

• First section:  multiple-choice questions written over the stories we read and discussed.  Look through your reading journal at the notes you made while reading the stories for the unit as well as the notes you took in class discussions.
• Second section:  multiple-choice questions over "How to Tell a True War Story."  Reread the story, look at your RJ, reflect on your class discussion and make notes while it's still fresh.
• Third section:  really short story to read and multiple-choice questions over it.  Like the essay, this is strictly skill-based.  There is no real preparation for this section; the course so far has been your prep.

Bring your textbook and your reading journal to class with you on Tuesday!

"How to Tell a True War Story" RJ Questions

1.  How does O'Brien's plot structure work and why does he do it this way?  How does this structure contribute to the story's overall meaning/effect?

2.  As you read, note the diction, imagery, tone, and style the author uses.  Once you've finished the story, go back and look at what these elements add to the story.

3.  What kind of narrator does O'Brien use?  Neutral?  Reliable?  How do you know?  Where do you think O'Brien stands in relation to the narrator?

4.  Track places where setting is highlighted.  Why does O'Brien do that?

5.  What symbolism do you see in the story?  Try to come up with clearly defined and supported analysis of its meaning.

6.  Make note of particular details, phrases, or vignettes that strike you as interesting, important, or intriguing.  Once you've finished the story, go back and consider those items.  What do they mean?  Why does O'Brien include them?

7.  What critical lenses could you use to look at this story for further depth?  Pick two and use them to help you tie all of these aspects of the story together to come to O'Brien's theme.  What is his point?

Booktalk with Lenses

AP Lit Independent Reading

Lit Analysis Booktalk

Assignment:
Prepare and give a 10-minute booktalk in which you give a BRIEF synopsis of your book, analyze an element of the book, and show how the author uses that element to create his/her theme.  This should be essentially what you did for your lit analysis, only you’re doing it orally.  This means you still need evidence. Rather than having to write, go through the process, and worry about MLA citation and grammar, you’re challenged with the task of making it comprehensible to your peers in only 10 minutes.  Therefore, focus on ONE aspect of the novel, just as you did in your lit analysis essay.

Objectives:

• Continue working on lit analysis (theme, analysis of an element, and evidence to back claims)
• Apply critical lenses to a novel
• Demonstrate excellent public speaking skills

Items to be Sure You Include:

• Title and author
• BRIEF plot synopsis
• Analysis of the element you’ll be focusing on
• Argument of the theme of the book and how your element contributes to it
• Evidence from the text to back up your claims

Critical Lens Aspect
To help deepen your analysis, you’ll also need to apply critical lenses to your reading of the text.  EVERYONE will be using reader response (you can’t avoid it) and formalist (because this is AP Lit and ALL interpretations MUST be grounded in the text).  In addition, you should consider your novel from another perspective:  historical, biographical, feminist, psychological, Marxist, etc.  Use the lens to help you better understand the argument the author is making by considering the context or what he/she may be saying about society.  

In order to do this well, you may need to do some brief research on your author, the time period, psychology, etc.  If you use outside sources to help deepen your understanding and to give more credibility to your analysis, you should cite your sources ORALLY during your booktalk.

One note about lenses:  They are not "a thing."  You're not going to talk about "the lens" in your booktalk.  Lenses are a way of looking at literature.  I will be able to tell which lens you are using just by listening to your interpretation and your evidence.  No critic ever says "Using the psychological lens..." so you shouldn't either.

Grading
I will grade you using the rubric found here.

Before Your Final Draft Submission

Proofreading & Polishing Checklist

1.       MLA heading—is it correct?  Is it four lines of info in the right order?  Is the date in MLA format?
 
2.      Your title—do you have one?  Is it actually your title rather than the title of the literature?  If it includes the title of the literature, is that punctuated correctly?  Does your title have the word “essay” in it?  Get rid of it.  Make sure your title informs the content of your analysis rather than a label of the rhetorical mode.  Is it capitalized correctly?  Remember you capitalize first and last words and all words in between EXCEPT a, an, the, and, but, for, nor, or, yet, and all little prepositions under five letters.
 
3.      Title and author—included?  Capitalized and spelled correctly…every time?  Use the Find feature to check.  Punctuated correctly?  Remember that full-length works (novels, plays, anthologies) are italicized while smaller works (short stories, poems, one-act plays) are in quotation marks.  Use Find to make sure you did this every time.
 
4.      MLA format—correctly indented paragraphs?  Did you use the tab rather than space bar?  Double-spaced?
 
5.      Spacing and margins—all the same?  Nothing funky?
 
6.      MLA citations—included?  At the end of the sentence unless there is more than one citation in the sentence?  Is the citation part of a sentence (meaning there is end punctuation AFTER the citation)?
 
7.      Check each quote—did you copy it EXACTLY as the author wrote it?  If you made alterations for flow and clarity, did you denote the SUBSTITUTIONS with brackets?  Is the quote itself a complete sentence? If not, is it PART of a complete sentence with your own commentary?  Does the punctuation you use to intro the quote or transition out of the quote work to make the sentence complete and correct?
 
8.     Quote within a quote—do you have any of these?  If so, did you alternate double and single quotation marks:  Some people “believed this idea too ‘McLuhanesque’ for their taste” (Postman 43).
 
9.      Long quotes—do you have any of these? A quote that is more than four normally typed lines in your paper?  You should avoid these BUT if you do include one, did you use long quote format?  Look up the proper way to do it on the Purdue OWL or in the MLA Handbook.
 
10.  Hamburger method—did you use it?  Is every quote in your body introduced and explained?
11.   Commas—use the Find feature to search and check that you have followed the basic rules correctly.  I’ve listed them below.  If you need more info than I’ve provided, see the Purdue OWL for help.

a.      Use commas to separate independent clauses when they are joined by any of these seven coordinating conjunctions: and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet.

b.      Use commas after introductory a) clauses, b) phrases, or c) words that come before the main clause.

c.       Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off clauses, phrases, and words that are not essential to the meaning of the sentence. Use one comma before to indicate the beginning of the pause and one at the end to indicate the end of the pause.

d.      Do not use commas to set off essential elements of the sentence, such as clauses beginning with that (relative clauses). That clauses after nouns are always essential. That clauses following a verb expressing mental action are always essential.

e.      Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses written in a series.

f.        Use commas to set off phrases at the end of the sentence that refer to the beginning or middle of the sentence. Such phrases are free modifiers that can be placed anywhere in the sentence without causing confusion. (If the placement of the modifier causes confusion, then it is not "free" and must remain "bound" to the word it modifies.)

g.       Use a comma to shift between the main discourse and a quotation.

12.  Hypen vs. dash—use the Find feature to search for a hyphen (-).  Are you using it correctly?  Is it making multiple words into one? With no spaces on either side?  Or are you using it as a dash (--) that interrupts a thought or denotes a long pause?
 
13.  Read the entire piece out loud to yourself—listen for places you get tripped up.  Revise those areas for better transition, flow, or clarity by looking at punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice.  If the sentence goes on for two or three lines, it’s likely a run-on that could be revised.  If your flow is choppy, you probably have a lot of simple sentences or compound sentences.  Use the Find feature to search for “and” or “but”—these are places you could revise for better flow.
 
14.  Semicolon—did you use any?  Do you need to use fewer “and”s?  A semicolon is used to connect two complete sentences WITHOUT a conjunction.

Use the Find feature to search for and double-check these commonly misused words:

a.      It’s (it is)
b.      Its (possessive)
c.       Your (possessive
d.      You’re (you are)
e.      Here (place)
f.        Hear (to listen)
g.      There (place)
h.     Their (possessive
i.        They’re (they are)
j.        To
k.      Too (also or excessive amount)
l.        Two (number)
m.   Witch (on a broom)
n.     Which (which one—this or that)
o.      Where (place)
p.      Wear (on your person)
q.      Were (past tense passive verb)
r.       We’re (we are)

Lit Analysis Finish Work

You're entire paper should be written now.  We have two things left to do:

1.  Silent Reading Table

You'll bring a paper copy of your essay to class with you on Monday.  If you will miss class for ANY REASON, please email me your essay (to ms.kim.grissom@gmail.com) BEFORE your class meets to ensure that you get feedback as well.  This is your last chance to get helpful feedback for revision before you turn in your final for a grade.

The feedback for this activity will focus on good points, evidence, and writing; questions or areas for clarification; and ideas for improvement.  This will NOT be an editing session, though you may make (or receive) general comments such as "messy mechanics--be sure to edit" or "make sure you check your 'you' and 'I' usage" or "you really love commas" as ideas for improvement.

2.  Self-editing/Polishing Handout

After Monday, I will post information here on the blog to help you walk through your revised, completed draft for editing and polishing details.  Next year you'll be going to college.  It is time--perhaps past time--to learn a few simple rules for yourself.  I'll provide you with a checklist, a good strategy, and some important rules to follow to make your final draft grade-ready.

Extra Credit Opportunities

There are a variety of cultural/literary events listed below.  Attending one of them can earn you extra credit.  For the performances, you must bring me your ticket stubs and/or program by 8 a.m. Monday, Oct. 22.  For the other events, you should write a reflective journal explaining what you saw/heard at the event and your reaction (what you found interesting, thoughts, or your opinion/thoughts that it made you consider).  I would need your journal entry on paper or emailed to me by the same day and time.

Leaving Czechoslovakia Exhibit Opening

Wednesday, Oct 17 | 7 p.m.

Cost: Free, but RSVP is required
Location: Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue, Downtown Des Moines
This event is co-sponsored by the Iowa International Center, the Des Moines Public Library and Drake University, and is made possible by a grant from Humanities Iowa.

From 2009 through 2011, more than 150 interviews were conducted by the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library through its landmark project, Recording Voices & Documenting Memories of Czech & Slovak Americans. No one could have anticipated the personal drama conveyed in these stories.

Leaving Czechoslovakia presents the stories of 20th-century Czech and Slovak émigrés to America in their own words. Speakers at the opening will include Dr. Kieran Williams of Drake University, Dr. Mila Saskova-Pierce of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Recording Voices interviewee Peter Vodenka.

This event is free and open to the public, however an RSVP is required. RSVP to Rosie Johnston via email – rjohnston@ncsml.org – by October 12.

Women Writers Forum

Sunday, Oct 21 | 2 p.m.

Cost: Free
Location: Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue, Downtown Des Moines
Sponsored by the Conlin Family Foundation

The Women Writers Forum will highlight the works of women writers, whose works specifically represent the female perspective. Authors will have the opportunity to read from one of their original works, and then take questions from audience members who are fans of the author, or have interest in specific genre of each author, as well as those hoping to have their works published.  Anne Carothers-Kay, Managing Editor of The Business Record, will be moderator for the forum.

Theatre Simpson: University

Friday, October 12 at 7:30pm 

Buy Tickets

Event runs from October 12 to October 14

Blank Performing Art Center, Barnum Studio Theatre, Indianola

University is an evening of short plays that focus on the lives, loves, struggles, and triumphs of a group of university students as they navigate their way through the complicated world of a college campus.

This show will play for two weekends in the Barnum Studio Theatre.

Cost: Adults $10.00; Non-Simpson Students $9.00; Groups 10+ $8.00; Student Groups $8.00

Les Miserable
Already happened, but you can use it if you went when it was here at the Civic Center




Des Moines Art Center--Journaling Activity
Visit the Art Center, explore the exhibits, and then choose either one piece you find interesting to write about or reflect on the Art Center exhibits as a whole.  Write about what you saw that you liked, didn't understand, find interesting, etc.

Hours of Operation
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday 11 am — 4 pm
Thursday, 11 am — 9 pm
Saturday, 10 am — 4 pm
Sunday, Noon — 4 pm
Closed Monday
Des Moines Art Center
4700 Grand Ave, Des Moines, Iowa
515.277.4405  
FREE admission 

Meet Anthony Robles
Born with one leg, NCAA Wrestling Champion Anthony Robles will discuss his inspiring book, UNSTOPPABLE: From Underdog to Undefeated: How I Became a Champion.
Date:  Monday, October 15
Location: Des Moines Central Library, Meeting Room One, Two, Three
Event Type: Author Visit
Age Group(s): Adult
Time: 6:30-8:00 PM
Contact:  Jan Kaiser jdkaiser@dmpl.org

Description:

 Anthony Robles is a 3-time All-American wrestler, Nike-sponsored athlete, ESPN Analyst, and motivational speaker. A graduate of Arizona State University, he is the 2011 NCAA National Wrestling Champion and finished his senior year with a 36-0 record. Robles received the “Jimmy V Perseverance Award” at the 2011 ESPY’s, is a recipient of the NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012.

Poetry Project

AP Literature 

In-Depth Poet Study

Now that you have studied all of the ways poets use language to express meaning, I'd like you to spend some time studying one poet in-depth.  Doing so will give you an opportunity to critically read a number of poems, practice your own analysis and interpretation of those poems, do some explication, complete some biographical research on the poet, and present your findings as an "expert."  In addition to the practice this project will give you in analysis and interpretation, I also want you to begin to see and understand the way an individual poet develops a style, common motifs, or comes back again and again to the same forms and poetic devices.

You will be working in groups for this project, but only the presentation will be a group grade.  The major portions of the project will be individual, though your group can work as moral support.

The Steps:

• Choose your poet and your group. 
• Read a representative sampling of the poet's work--that means enough that you can see the kind of poetry your poet writes, including the various motifs and poetic devices your poet explores.  This is all about increasing your exposure to poetry--the more exposure you have, the more practice you get working with all the poetic devices you just learned about, the more experience you have in analysis, the more comfortable you will feel when presented with it in the future.
• Discuss the poems you read with your group.  Work together to understand them, to analyze them, to bounce ideas for interpretation off of each other.  You all know by now how helpful class discussion can be for any piece of literature, so use your group to help you better understand your own ideas. 
• Individually, complete an informal explication of one short poem (that is a line-by-line analysis) AND a write-up that synthesizes the poet's background, literary importance, and style.  Include the poetic devices, forms, etc. (all the stuff we covered in your textbook) the poet seems to use, favor, etc.  Also include common motifs and/or themes they write about.  Make sure you cite examples from their various poetry as evidence of these claims.  There is no length requirement for this write-up.  Your criteria is that it be long enough--long enough to do a good job, make a comprehensive study, and cite evidence for your claims. While this is informal (no real "essay rules" and I am your only audience), you should still use MLA citations properly as evidence to ME of your actual knowledge and reasonable interpretation.
• As a group, present your poet to the class.  Be prepared to share with the class some of the poet's work and your synthesis as the experts on that poet.  You will have 15-20 minutes to present your poet as experts and everyone in your group should contribute equally to the presentation.  You should complete a LITTLE biographical information in your presentation and you should cite those sources either as a slide in your presentation document (if you use one) or on paper.  One per group is fine.  This should be the ONLY RESEARCH YOU DO.  This assignment is about YOUR analysis.  I do not want you to read criticism.  When it comes to your poetry test or the AP exam, you will have no critics to help you.

Body Paragraph Revision

Revision Checklist

There are only four strategies to play with a sentence.  For example:  He loved the earth for its beauty.

Add:  He loved the earth for all its beauty, of course; but most of all he loved the way it set his mind to wondering and questioning the mystery of every little thing.

Subtract:  He loved the earth.  He loved beauty.  He loved.

Rearrange:  For its beauty he loved the earth.

Substitute:  He loved that blue marble ball for all its mystery.

Add

• Highlight your claims—anything that is a statement of interpretation.  Add evidence of some type to support every one of those claims.
• Next, highlight the good stuff—places where the points you make and the evidence you use is excellent, strong, well-put.  Look at the places not highlighted—what do they need?
• Look at paragraph lengths.  In a well-written academic essay, your paragraphs should all be roughly the same length.  Where are your short points?  Further develop them.  Go deeper in your analysis and add more evidence.

Subtract

• Subtract the junk—in every sentence, experiment with pulling out words you don’t need.  Begin with words like “which” and “that.”
• Read one sentence at a time—get rid of repetition:  words, phrases, ideas.  Use the Find feature to help you find repeated words.
• Look at paragraph lengths again.  Where are your long paragraphs?  Is there content you don’t need?  Repetition?  Fluff?  Stuff that doesn’t support your thesis or topic sentence?  If so, get rid of it or change it so it works.

Substitute and Rearrange

• Look at your long paragraphs again.  Could you split them into two separate paragraphs?  Each making its own part of the larger point?
• Notice where you tend to use passive vs. active verbs.  Find “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were.”  Rewrite those sentences with action verbs.
• Find “you.”  Do you mean something else?
• Find “I.”  Is first person effective for your purpose and audience or would 3^rd person be better?
• Where can you combine and condense?  Where do you have a point made in two or three sentences that could be made in one or two?  Where do you have simple sentences that could be combined into complex sentences?
• Where could your word choice be more precise and specific?  More interesting?  More fresh?  Don’t replace using the thesaurus—actually rewrite your sentences.