Once Upon a Time....

Choose a fairy tale. Rewrite it in high style AND in low style. For a high style, you might choose the vernacular of one of the following: a doctor, a lawyer, a US president, or Shakespeare. For a low style, imagine the speaker as one of the following: a surfer, a country bumpkin, an urban teenager, or a chatty girl on her cell phone. Here are some fairy tales to choose from:

You should find and read the fairy tale before attempting the assignment. Also, once a fairy tale has been chosen, it cannot be repeated. THese are just a few suggestions. When the list runs out, you are expected to find your own. There are hundreds of fairy tales, so it should not be a problem. Be sure that you're telling the WHOLE story, in chronological order. 

"The Three Little Pigs""
"The Ugly Duckling"
"Hansel and Gretel"
"Rumpelstiltskin"
"Rapunzel"
"The Elves and the Shoemaker"
"Sleeping Beauty"
"Little Red Riding Hood"
"The Fisherman and His Wife"
"The Gingerbread Man"
"Henny Penny"
"Puss in Boots"
"Jack and the Beanstalk"

Let's say....

1. Give us a scenario in which someone is proposing something that you either agree with, or disagree with OR
 2. something you are proposing to someone else.
THEN, write a letter making an argument for or against what it is the person or group of people is considering.

For example,
1. You school is considering extending the school day an extra hour.
2. You have just had a birthday, and you were hopign your parents would extend your curfew but they didn't. Argue for a one hour extension.

So, first you need to choose a scenario and tell us what it is, then, you pen them a letter. You must use 5 of the 6 logical means we discussed in this last chapter.
Enthymeme
Historical Example
Comparison
Fable
Maxim

Be creative, and BE SURE your letter is fully developed. (ie make sure your blog isn't too short!)

Let's Get Creative!

God Bless America!

Synthesis of The American Dream

Practice makes perfect, part 3! Make sure you fully develop this essay, regardless of your busy weekend. The exam is right around the corner, so do not delay!

You must read and rate the essays of two of your classmates. Make sure you are specific about why they got the grade they did.

Practice Makes Perfect Part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWc8H_pAwOY

Watch this video about question 2, rhetorical analysis. Then, set a timer and respond to the prompt in a fully developed essay.

You will find the prompt here. You need to scroll all the way to page 10.

So, after fully developing a rhetorical analysis, it is time to comment on the responses of your classmates. Choose 2 students. Read their responses, constructively criticize their work and give them a score from 1-9.

Engage in this process. Make sure you watch the video and stay with me! What happens in the last few weeks can be the difference in passing and not passing the exam. You can do this.

Practice Makes Perfect!

As the title of this blog suggests, practicing these prompts leading up to the exam will help you to do your best on the exam. Additionally, practicing how to argue is at the heart of AP Language and Composition. You have read and analyzed many, many arguments and have written your own. This prompt is about community service, so many of the information you might want to use is fresh! I implore you to try this pre-writing exercise and upon completing it, set a timer for 40 minutes and go to town! Make sure your essay is fully developed. When you are finished writing it, click on the link below and read the samples. After checking the samples, choose and comment on three of your classmates' essays. Give them a score and give a synopsis of why you awarded the score you did. Be specific and refer to their argument. Do not just say it is good or that you liked it, comment on what was good about it and what they might consider improving.
Pre writing Question 3

Scroll Down to Question 3

Sample Responses

To Serve, Or Not to Serve, That is the Question!

http://www.debate.org/opinions/should-high-schools-require-community-service

Should students be required to complete community service hours in order to graduate? Make sure you establish your ethos, and that you appeal to logos and pathos. Your initial entry must be at least 350 words.

What's All the "Jazz" About?

The Real Women Who Inspired "Chicago"  Read this article. Also, take a good look at the original poster for the show. 
Why, in the 1920's was the public so riveted by homicides committed by women? Did it involve the changing image of women in the jazz age? How did the history of the time in which the original play and subsequent musical were created impact the success of the show? And why is it still so popular today?

(Your Name) of the Americas

Read and consider the poem Child of the Americas by Aurora Levins Morales

            I am a child of the Americas,

            A light-skinned mestiza (Mischling) of the Caribbean,

            A child of many diaspora (verstreute Völker), born into this continent at a crossroads.

            I am a U.S. Puerto Rican Jew,

5           A product of the ghettos of New York I have never known.

            An immigrant and the daughter and granddaughter of immigrants.

            I speak English with passion: it’s the tongue of my consciousness,

            A flashing knife blade (Klinge) of cristal, my tool, my craft.

            I am Caribeña (aus der Karibik), island grown. Spanish is my flesh,

10         Ripples (fließen) from my tongue, lodges (wörtl. logieren, wohnen) in my hips:

            The language of garlic (Knoblauch) and mangoes,

            The singing of poetry, the flying gestures of my hands.

            I am of Latinoamerica, rooted in the history of my continent:

            I speak from that body.

15         I am not African. Africa is in me, but I cannot return.

            I am not taína (Name eines Indianerstammes). Taíno is in me, but there is no way back.

            I am not European. Europe lives in me, but I have no home there.

            I am new. History made me. My first language was spanglish.

            I was born at the crossroads

20         And I am whole.

After reading the poem, decide what the tone of the poem is. Cite specific words that support your response.  How does the speaker describe herself? Why does Morales introduce the characteristics in the order that she does? Speak about the structure of the poem. And finally, what is the argument that Morales makes?

After an analysis, write a poem about yourself that mimics this poem, its structure and its tone. It does not need be about your nationality, but that is okay too, but I want to encourage you to be creative! Have fun with it.

Jesus's Last Words

Choose one the 7 last "words" Jesus said and reflect on one. Also, make an argument about why Holy Week is the climax of the liturgical year.

1.

“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”
(Luke 23:34)

Do you really believe God has forgiven your sins? Do you take time on a regular basis to confess your sins so that you might enjoy the freedom of forgiveness? Do you need to experience God’s forgiveness in a fresh way today?

2.

“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
(Luke 23:43)

Have you staked your life on Jesus? Have you put your ultimate trust in him? Do you know that, when your time comes, you will be with him in paradise?

3.

“Dear woman, here is your son.”
(John 19:26)

What does Mary’s presence at the cross evoke in you? Why do you think was it necessary for Jesus to suffer physical pain as he died?

4.

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”
(Mark 15:34)

Have you taken time to consider that Jesus was abandoned by the Father so that you might not be? What does this “word” from the cross mean to you?

5

“I am thirsty.”
(John 19:28)

How do you respond to Jesus’ statement “I am thirsty”? What does this statement suggest to you about Jesus? About yourself?

6.

“It is finished!”
(John 19:30)

 Do you live as if Jesus finished the work of salvation? To you have confidence that God will finish that which he has begun in you?

7.

“Father, I entrust my spirit into your hands!”
(Luke 23:46)

Have you put your life and, indeed, your life beyond this life, in God’s hands? How do you experience God’s salvation through Christ in your life today?

Gone Too Soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CrOL-ydFMI

Listen to Wallace’s speech and read the transcript again.  Please articulate what you believe is the main point that Wallace tries to convey to the graduates. In your answer, you may, of course, write about more than one of the ideas that Wallace uses to help him make his point. Do you agree or disagree with what Wallace says? Be sure to use examples that are not taken from the speech to support your agreement or disagreement.

Education and YOU!

Minority education is something we have been discussing in regards to Baldwin's "A Talk to Teachers". Compare this discussion of minority education with Alexie's discussion of the same topic in "Superman and Me". Both pieces touch on similar themes, and comparing the two essays should lead to complex thinking about the purpose and value of education in America. So, first write about how the two essays are similar and why, and then, write a paragraph about the purpose and value of education in America, according to YOU!

It Only Takes a Spark

Read the following essay, "Superman and Me" by Sherman Alexie.
http://www.qcounty.com/SCC/Spring10/Eng305_10035/Readings/ShermanAlexie--Superman.pdf

It is both an eye-opening account of what life was like for an intelligent child on an Indian reservation and a skillful rendering of the moments surrounding language acquisition, the spark for reading and writing, and the influence on a child of a well-loved parent.  Use any or all of these avenues for discussion of the essay.

 Also comment on what rhetorical devices Alexie uses in the essay.  For example, by using the analogy of a paragraph to a fence, Alexie is providing a visual connection that all readers can understand in order to express his moment of epiphany that opened him to the world of reading: an understanding that words "worked together for a common purpose".  The use of this visual analogy between a paragraph and a fence lends meaning to the extension of his analogy in the remainder of paragraph 3.  As Alexie explains his understanding of the reservation as a paragraph within the country, his home and neighborhood as paragraphs on the reservation, and each member of his family as a separate paragraph yet part of a larger "essay of seven paragraphs," the reader grasps Alexie's inherent desire to write and his identity as a writer.  This is just one example.  You should find and cite at least two. Do your best not to repeat the devices used by other students.

Debate Topics

Open this link and scroll down to the bottom where you will find a video on 12 different debate topics. If you are one of the first half of the class to respond to the blog, you may choose a topic and make a position statement on the topic of your choice. If you are blog poster #7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12, you will have to respond to a position statement already posted. Only one response per debate topic, so we will end up having a pro and a con argument for three different topics.  IF YOU ARE A LATECOMER, you must take what is left. Only six topics can be discussed.

For your comments, you are to:
1. write a rebuttal to your partners position statement.(under their original post)
2. Respond to your partners rebuttal of your argument (under your original post)
3. Write a position summary(Under their original post)


Your blog response should be posted separately even if you are responding to a topic already posted,  but you should begin the blog by stating your subject and position in all caps.

For example

COUNTRY LIFE IS BETTER THAN CITY LIFE-PRO
(Then continue your argument here).

LENT

Using at least 3 of these resources OR one you locate on your own, make an argument for why the observation of Lent is important. Although other christian religions do not observe lent in the same way that we do in the Catholic faith, many do indeed still observe their own lenten customs. So, using a classic argument style, make a case for Lent.


http://www.beliefnet.com/faiths/religious-observances/lent/6-reasons-to-observe-lent-even-if-youre-not-catholic.aspx

https://aleteia.org/2017/03/01/heres-why-catholics-dont-eat-meat-on-fridays-during-lent/

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/february/13.54.html

Whose Fault is it Anyway?

So, this week, we had an interesting incident at school when the iPad cameras were mistakenly turned off for about ten minutes. What ensued after that was something I found pretty eye opening. Read this article about education. Sum up what the author's argument is and then speak to what you feel are the attitudes of the majority of students at ECCHS.  Additionally, list what you consider your number one strength as a student and one thing on which you could improve.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/tim-elmore/from-entitled-to-empowere_1_b_4855109.html

Celebrate

https://www.dailywire.com/news/26931/walsh-matt-walsh#



Read this article. Matt Walsh is known for being extremely harsh, but truthful. What is his argument here? Do a rhetorical analysis of this piece. Also, find another article by Matt Walsh that in some way pertains to your bio ethics topic. Provide us with a url and give us a synopsis of the additional article in 2-5 sentences.

Preach Walt!

Friday, February 2, 2018

Preach Walt!

Read the following poem. Then, complete the tasks written below. 

When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer 

 

BY WALT WHITMAN

When I heard the learn’d astronomer, 

When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me, 

When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them, 

When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with much applause in the lecture-room, 

How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick, 

Till rising and gliding out I wander’d off by myself, 

In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time, 

Look’d up in perfect silence at the stars.

Write a poem in free verse on a subject of your choice. 

Which discipline better presents and captures the mystery and awe of the universe: science or poetry.  

What was Walt Whitman's attitude toward science?

Give Three Possible Paper Topics As Well. 

Pick an Argument, Any Argument!

Choose one of the following:

How is Frankenstein a Man vs. Nature story?



How is Frankenstein a Man vs. Self Story?



How is Frankenstein a Man vs. Society story?



Make your best argument. Use textual evidence.

What is His Argument?

The Eucharist

In this extremely informative AND entertaining talk, Fr. Mike Schmitz builds an argument about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

THIS VIDEO IS 45 MINUTES LONG. You will NOT be able to bang out this blog in just a few minutes.

Watch the video and take notes. How does Father establish ethos? In what ways does he appeal to the emotions of the audience? And explain how he uses logic to unfold his argument. Because this argument is so complex, you might want to use your notes as an opportunity to make a little outline so that you don't lose track of his argument. Finally, what is the part that resonates with you?

This video was sent to me by two recent ECC alumni who were lucky enough to attend the FOCUS conference in Chicago a few weeks ago. They loved it so much that they sent it to me in hopes that all of you would get the opportunity to see it! It is not one you want to miss.

Holy Science?

https://aleteia.org/2018/01/12/neil-degrasse-tyson-concurs-catholicism-is-the-science-friendly-religion/


Read this article. Make an argument about the relationship between science and religion. Use evidence from this article and from the two letters we read this week in class.