Agenda: Monday, April 7

1) Collect Rhetorical Entries on Obama's speech on race
2) Return and Discuss Argument Timed Essays: Tacit Codes
- see examples of effective excerpts -
3) Multiple Choice Practice: Take the Neil Postman m.c. practice tonight (time yourself for 11 minutes)

Homework: M. C. practice; review vocab (quiz Wednesday)

Agenda: Monday, April 1

1) Vocabulary Warm-up: Quiz next Wednesday
2) Discuss Obama speech - rhetoric and argument: rhetorical terms entry due Monday

Homework: Huck Finn seminar prep (due Thursday) - see board in class; study vocab; begin rhetorical terms entry

Agenda: Monday, March 31

Welcome Back!

1) Collect spring break homework: 3 rhetorical terms entries on Huck Finn
2) Quickwrite
- How much progress has America made in terms of racial relations since Twain wrote Huck Finn?
- Describe a personal experience in which you were identified with a particular race, ethnicity, religion, or gender. How did you know you "belonged" or "didn't belong"?
3) Handout Obama's speech on race (click on link for text AND video)

Homework: Read Obama's speech and the NYTimes analysis (both are in the packet)
- identify and discuss 3 rhetorical devices
- highlight/annotate 3 points that Obama makes that are worth discussing tomorrow

Agenda: Friday, March 14

1) Be sure to sign the Thank You cards for Council Member McKeown and Ms. Julie Rusk.
2) Turn in slavery letters (be sure to label how you've met the style requirements) and address envelopes for mailing
3) Discuss Huck Finn to chapter 22

Homework: Finish Huck Finn and complete three rhetorical terms entries (see sidebar on webpage for requirements)

Agenda: Thursday, March 13

Spring Break Homework:
Finish Huck Finn
Complete 3 rhetorical terms entry for Huck Finn:
1) Free Choice Device: Colloquialism, Colloquial Diction, Dialect, etc.
2) Two entries on a humor device: pun, dramatic/situational/verbal irony, personification, euphemism, hyperbole, understatement/litote
Larger Meaning:
1) What is Twain using this device to satirize? What folly/flaw in human behavior is Twain critiquing? Why does he include this scene? What larger point does it allow him to make?

Chapter 22 Multiple Choice Practice
Discuss Sherburn/Boggs and Sheperdsons/Grangerfords

Homework: Revise slavery letter: add stylistic devices if you haven't already (see "10 Steps to Sexier, Sassier Sentences" handout) BRING TWO COPIES of your letter and an envelope and stamp

Agenda: Tuesday March 11

Santa Monica Local Issues Guest Speakers!
Report to B200 at 8:45

Homework: Read chapters 19, 20, 21 in Huck Finn
Complete assembly reflection

Agenda: Thursday, March 6

AP Multiple Choice Practice: Chapter 15
Continue Raft vs. Steamboat Discussion

Homework: Evidence Log Due Monday; chapters 17 and 18 due Monday

Agenda: Tuesday, March 4

Announcement: Due to guest speakers from Santa Monica City Council and Human Services Division, you need to be at school by 8:45 next Tuesday. This is mandatory - but won't feel like it (yummy treats for those who arrive at 8:30 and engaging speakers eager to talk about local issues!)

1) Distribute and Review AP Interim Vocab Unit 1
2) Review AP Multiple Choice Huck Finn Practice
3) Discuss ch. 7-9 in Huck

Homework: Read ch. 10, 11, 12, and 13; evidence log due Monday

Agenda: Monday, March 3

Announcements: This is the last week to register for the AP Test!
This week's Evidence Log topic: Religion in America

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Discussion ch. 1-6
- Small and Large Group discussion (Bag 'o Destiny)

Homework: Read chapter 7, 8, and 9; Evidence Log (religion) due Friday

Agenda: Friday, February 29

Collect Evidence Logs and Share Out
Finish Satire PowerPoint
Introduce Huck Finn and begin reading.
Focus Questions for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn:
1) At what stage of Kohlberg's Moral Reasoning theory are different characters functioning?
2) Who uses the "n-word" pejoratively (i.e., in an insulting manner)?
3) What does Twain make his hero and illiterate orphan?
4) What is the effect of Twain's colloquial diction?
5) What distinction do you notice between what happens to Huck on the river vs. what happens to him on land?
6) What humor devices do you notice? Who/What is the object of Twain's satire?

Homework: Read chapter 1-6 for Monday (this includes chapter 6)

Agenda: Thursday, February 28

Return Synthesis Essays: Advertising Prompt
Distribute Huck Finn books - be sure to see me for a textbook room note if you did not purchase a copy
Satire Introduction:
Discuss The Onion article, "Fall Canceled After 3 Million Seasons"
Begin Satire PowerPoint and complete cloze notes

Tomorrow is the LAST DAY for Regular AP Test Registration!

Agenda: Wednesday, February 27

I'm out today for an 11AP Scoring Session:

Humor Quickwrite
Read and Annotate The Onion article and answer questions
If time, read and annotate 2nd Onion article

Homework: Finish reading The Onion article #2, Evidence Log due Friday

Agenda: Tuesday, February 26

Synthesis Timed Essay

Homework: Evidence Log due Friday

Agenda: Monday, February 25

Frederick Douglass Vocab Quiz #2
Discuss What Would Thoreau Do? Handout and Articles

Homework: Review synthesis notes to prepare for tomorrow's essay; Evidence Log due Friday

Agenda: Friday, February 22

Grammar Pre-test: Commas, Semi-colons, Run-ons
Share out Kohlberg Dilemmas
Discuss Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience"
- 5 Main Ideas
- Contemporary Applications

Homework: Study vocab (quiz Monday), Read The Sit-in at the Altar (NYTimes article) and Loyalty to Country or Conscience? (LA Times article) and complete What Would Thoreau Do? handout (due Monday)

Agenda: Thursday, February 21

The Ethicist Podcast from 2/15/08
Focus: The same action can come from different motivations
Kohlberg's Levels of Moral Reasoning Cloze Notes
- fill in notes and discuss levels and dilemmas
Begin Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience"

Homework: Finish Kohlberg Homework Sheet; Finish Reading "Civil Disobedience" and do the following: 1) summarize/paraphrase Thoreau's argument after EACH paragraph 2) find and label TWO rhetorical devices 3) On the back of the handout, write out what you think is Thoreau's most compelling line from the essay, then briefly discuss why

NOTE: Vocab quiz is moved to Monday

Agenda: Wednesday, February 20

Introduce Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Reasoning
- Moral Dilemma Scenarios

Homework: Brainstorm a moral dilemma

Agenda: Tuesday, February 19

Announcements:
Last day for Huck Finn money
AP Registration begins today: $84 per test

Vocab Quiz
Return synthesis essays and review effective excerpts

Homework: draft of slavery letter

Agenda: Friday, February 15

Vocabulary Warm-up: quiz Tuesday
Turn in Evidence Logs: Work
- no evidence logs next week; all students need to have turned in at least one by now
Read UTNE article and discuss
Introduce persuasive letter assignment: draft due Wednesday

Homework: study for vocab quiz; begin researching/drafting letter

Agenda: Thursday, February 14

Happy Valentine's Day!

Finish viewing slavery documentary
Seminar: Kevin Bales article, documentary, ch. 10 of Douglass

Homework: Evidence Log