Monday, December 19, 2016

Socratic Seminar

LT: I can demonstrate my knowledge on the refugee crisis and show that I am actively listening to others through my comments, building off of others’ points, and offering alternative points of view.

1. Check-in and POL plans!!
2. Discuss chapters 4-5
3. Socratic Seminar
Procedure for this Seminar:
  • At the beginning of class, have your response page ready with the guided questions answered (the q’s follow).
  • You are required to speak at least three times in the seminar. Types of comments you make should include:
    • Analysis
      • Think deeply about the texts and discuss the original conclusions you come to.  Mention ideas you come up with pertaining to themes or issues in the texts, or add your original thoughts to an issue someone else has brought up.
    • Text
      • Reference specific examples from the texts that either support or disprove a claim being discussed.  
    • Reference
      • Evaluate what others say and then either challenge or build off them.  Show that you are listening to your peers.
    • Connection
      • Apply the concept in question to areas outside of the text area.  How is the idea in question proven or disproven in your world?  Think of text to text, text to self, and text to world connections


Guiding Questions

  1. What should America do about refugee crisis around the world, specifically Syrian?
  2. When granted amnesty/immigration status, in what ways should newcomers assimilate to American society, culture, politics?

HW: Finish Infidel. Be ready for an intense reading discussion next class!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Poetry Out Loud Competition!!!

Obj: I can recite a poem from memory conveying meaning, using appropriate voice and maintaining a confident stage presence.

1. POL Competition!!
PHYSICAL PRESENCE Consider the student’s body language and stage presence.
VOICE AND ARTICULATION Consider the student’s volume, pace, intonation, rhythm, and proper pronunciation.
DRAMATIC APPROPRIATENESS Consider whether the student’s interpretative and performance choices enhance the audience’s understanding and enjoyment of the poem without overshadowing the poem’s language.
EVIDENCE OF UNDERSTANDING Consider the student’s use of intonation, emphasis, tone, and style of delivery
OVERALL PERFORMANCE Consider whether the student’s physical presence, voice and articulation, dramatic appropriateness, and evidence of understanding all seem on target and unified to breathe life into the poem.
2. Quick write: How do our childhood experiences shape or define us as adults?
3. Chapter presentations and discussion
HW: Read chapters 4-6 and Socratic Seminar Prep

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Argumentative Writing: Summative


Obj:  I can write a convincing argumentative essay with sound reasoning, sufficient evidence and a strong voice.

1. POL: Bennett and Kara!
2. In-class Essay
3. Intro to Infidel
a. Each of you will be assigned a chapter/country from Part I
a. Somalia (Mogadishu and the small village they went to before they left)--Ch. 1 and 2
b. Saudi Arabia--Ch. 3
c. Ethiopia--Ch. 4
d. Kenya--Ch. 5  

b. For each country- clearly answer the following questions on a googledoc:
a. Why were they there?
b. What type of gov’t did the country have at the time? How did the authorities in power treat their people?
c. What language did they speak there?
d. What did Ayaan think of the place?
e. What did Ma think of the place?
f. What type of religion was practiced there? What were the values and beliefs of that religion? How was it practiced? (Zealously, loosely, different levels of adherence for different religions?)
g. What were the major self-realizations that Ayaan had while she was there?

4. Assimilation Articles- what were your take-aways? How did the They Say/I Say practice activity go?

HW: Chapters 1-3 of Infidel due Thursday- be ready to present on your chapter
Chapters 4-6 due Monday- be ready to present on your chapter

Thursday, December 8, 2016

They Say/I Say

Obj:  I can analyze and evaluate a variety of sources on a similar topic; I can find sources to add to my inquiry on the subject.   

Coming Up:

  • Next Class: Argument in-class essay
  • Poetry Out Loud: December 19th at 6 pm
  • Midterms
    • Multiple choice the day before
    • Rhetorical Analysis Prompt
    • Synthesis Prompt
  • Coming to you Monday: Infidel


1. POL: Abby and Priyanka
2. Entering the Conversation: They Say/I Say
  • STEP 1:  Let’s review the sources--what did the source provide and how could the source possibly be used to address the question about the refugee crisis? 
  • STEP 2: Let’s review some of your writing!
    • Highlight pink--your voice
    • Highlight green--the sources 
    • Highlight blue--the “connective tissue” where you introduce who/what is being said, context, etc. 
  • STEP 3: Evaluating the writing--is there a clear, reasoned point? Is the evidence sufficient and convincing? Is there a strong, smooth voice? 
3. Continue our exploration of refugee crisis

Guiding Question:

  • When granted amnesty/immigration status, in what ways should newcomers assimilate to American society, culture, politics?
Directions:
  1. With your partner, read the sources (divide them up!) and provide a brief summary of the source.
  2. Find 2 more sources from credible/reliable websites to add to your research on assimilation. (Do we need to review how to evaluate sources?)
  3. Then, use a stem from the “They Say, I Say” to interact and respond to the texts (all 6 of them).


Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Intro to Synthesis

Obj:  I can understand what a synthesis essay is and begin reviewing sources to gather information for a class inquiry project.

1. POL: Review Criteria
  • Chandler and Kelley Present
2. What is the Synthesis Essay?

3. Refugee Crisis
  • What do we know about it already? (facts)
  • What should we do about it? (opinion)
  • What research do we need to do to understand the issue better?
  • What kind of research could develop/sway our opinion
4. Refugee Articles and Notes

Friday, December 2, 2016

To Give or Not to Give


I can use convincing reasoning and appropriate evidence from the texts to support my point of view in a class debate.

1. POL Opener: Kelley (Next time: Chandler)
2. Incentives for Charity Essay
  • Great thinking going on!
  • Good use of examples--NHS, mandatory school volunteerism, Cancer research, giving to Goodwill…
  • Reasoning--explain your thinking clearly--is this an ends justifies the means situation? Does being incentivized to get started maybe motivate people to donate without incentives in the future? Is it Ok to offer incentives in some cases but not others?
  • Make your argument more complex by tackling some of the more nuanced parts of the issue--remember, often there isn’t just a yah/nay or right and wrong side…
  • Finally, writing style matters! Keep fine-tuning your writing by practicing new things in class!
3. Debate: should Americans donate a significantly greater amount of money to charities to solve world poverty?

Rules/Guidelines:
  1. You’ll be assigned a side
  2. Reference the texts at least once or more when possible
  3. Both support your side and counter the other side
  4. Explain your reasoning--bring in outside thinking, analogies, arguments, etc.
  5. Everyone on your team must have a turn to talk
  6. Timing: Each side will have 2 minutes to present “opening” arguments. Then, we’ll let the sides discuss back and forth for 10 minutes. Then, 2 minutes each to close.

HW: Check this out--this topic was an AP essay way back when!

Read the prompt carefully--what exactly is it asking you to do? How is it different from the “Incentives for Charity” prompt that you did?
This will not be an “authentic” AP experience since we have spent several class periods thinking and debating this topic. Therefore, you can spend more time on this essay and try to tackle some of the complexities of writing arguments that we discussed (such as weighing both sides, going deeper in your analysis of the pros and cons, strong voice, etc.) You should have much fodder now!
Essay due on Tuesday!




Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Lifeboat Ethics

Obj:  I can evaluate the effectiveness of Hardin’s and Singer’s arguments by comparing and contrasting the techniques they use to persuade.

1. Opener: Check Google Classroom!
2. Hardin: "Lifeboat Ethics"

  • What did you think? Were you convinced?
  • What was his claim? How did he use counter-claims?
  • Questions/Outlines
  • Which appeals?
  • Diction?
3. Peter Singer's Solution to World Poverty
  • Read aloud
  • Annotate
  • Singer Outline and Questions


Sunday, November 27, 2016

Rogerian Arguments

Obj: I can use specific types of reasoning (inductive or deductive) and two different types of evidence in a practice essay.


  1. Check-ins
  2. Types of Evidence
  3. Willing to Compromise: The Rogerian Approach
  4. In-Class Essay

H.W.: Read Hardin’s essay “Lifeboat Ethics”
Answer the questions as you read (short), take TONS of margin notes, AND write an outline of the article--one page of delineating his claim, major points, evidence and reasoning.

Sunday, November 20, 2016

Types of Reasoning in Argumentation

Obj: I can explain the difference between inductive, deductive and causal reasoning and evaluate an author’s use of these in texts.

1. Poetry Out Loud:

School competition is December 19th at 6:00 PM. Who’s in????

2. JFK Speech Example: Thoughts??
3. Reasoning: Inductive, Deductive, and Causal
  • Inductive. Arguing from examples to support a conclusion; includes reasoning by analogy. Examples should be sufficient, typical, and representative to warrant a strong argument.
  • Deductive. Deriving specifics from what is already known; includes syllogisms. Premises that lead to a conclusion must be true, relevant, and related for the argument to be valid.
  • Causal. Argues to establish a relationship between a cause and an effect. Usually involves a correlation rather than a true causal relationship.

What type of reasoning? My Cousin Vinny


What type of reasoning? Legally Blonde



Take out your arguments from last night--what type of reasoning?


4. Fallacies: arguments that are flawed by their very nature or structure.  There are tons (one source said 125…) but rather than memorize names & definitions, understand that you should critique the argumentation presented--is it valid or fallacious?

  • Scare tactics --Hasty Generalization
  • Either-or scenarios --Begging the question
  • Slippery Slope --Straw Man
  • Sentimental appeals --Faulty Analogy
  • Bandwagon
  • Ad hominem
HW: Read "Love is a Fallacy" by Max Shulman and answer the Q's

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Explaining Parts of Toulmin's Argument

I can explain the parts of an argument after studying Toulmin’s argument and the classical arrangement.

1. Speeches!
Take out your speeches and select a portion of it to share out loud with the class. Let’s hear ‘em!

2. Partner Debates
a) Partner up!
b) Partner 1 chooses a number (1-5) out of the hat--that is your issue to debate.
c) Partner 2 flips the coin.  Heads = you argue YES on the referendum; Tails = you argue NO on the referendum
d) Partner 1 gets 2 minutes to convince the audience; then partner 2 gets 2 minutes.

VOTE AGAIN! Did anyone change their minds? Why? What was effective in the debates that you heard today?

3. Toulmin: Big Ideas

  • Claim--thesis
  • Reasons--support claim--the why or because statement
  • Data/Grounds--the factual evidence that supports reasons or claims
  • Warrant--the reasoning/connection/assumption that links claim and support--this is often implied or assumed and not explicitly stated *Tip: figuring out the warrant and evaluating its merit can often help bolster or breakdown an argument
  • Backing--support for the warrant--explains why it is true
  • Rebuttal--counterargument--other side and refutation
  • Qualifier--can come at end or attached to claim; qualifies the argument to make it more reasonable or realistic

a) Discuss HW
b) Partner Activity: Identifying parts of Toulmin's argument

H.W.: Using the packet on Toulmin’s argument, find an article of your own and label the parts.





Monday, November 14, 2016

Intro to Toulmin's Argument


Adj: I can explain the parts of an argument after studying Toulmin’s argument and the classical arrangement.

1. Turn in your speeches on google classroom--we will be looking at these next class.

2. Argument vs. Persuasion: Intro to Toulmin
  • Watch Monty Python video (3 min)Argument is about convincing audience of your point of view. It is more discussion-oriented or about showing your thinking on an issue. It includes and analyzes different points of view. Persuasion is about changing your audience’s mind. It’s a call to action. It uses select information (only) that favors a your point of view. 
  • Read Chapter 1: "Modern Application of Ancient Rhetoric." Make notes in the margins, ask questions, etc. Some of these terms are familiar already from our rhetorical analysis unit, while some of these terms apply more specifically to argumentation.
  • Pay particular attention to The Toulmin Scheme at the end.We are going to practice breaking down warrants in order to understand people’s line of reasoning (what are the underlying assumptions they are making in their argument? How do they connect evidence to claims?)
  • Do the Toulmin Argumentation Exercise--Identifying parts of an argument. Read and annotate the argument, and answer the questions on the back. Due next class!

Monday, November 7, 2016

Gen Patton Speech to the 3rd Army

LT: I can compare and contrast how rhetorical devices function in two different speeches

1. Opener: Trade essays with a partner and asses using rhetorical analysis rubric

2. Grammar Lesson of the Day: Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers!
3. Last Speech!: Gen Patton's 3rd Army Speech
  • Compare to Gettysburg: what rhetorical strategies do the two men use to win over their audience? 
4. Assign Speech: Brainstorm topics

Rhetorical Analysis in-class essay (summative assessment) next class!


Thursday, November 3, 2016

Analyzing MLK's "I Have a Dream" Speech


Obj: I can use questions to complete a says/does analysis of a speech and create an outline for a rhetorical analysis essay.

  1. Quiz on Rhetoric
2. Watch video/listen to speech and annotate on own.
3. Partners: SAYS/DOES and QUESTIONS
  1. Number your paragraphs!!
  2. Watch the video/listen to the speech--mark your text for rhetorical devices.
  3. ALSO, try to follow his line of reasoning--what is his thesis or main claim and what are his supporting points of argument.
  4. THEN, 1) read through the text again completing a SAYS/DOES analysis of each paragraph. What is the paragraph saying, what is its effect?
  5. ALSO, 2) answer the questions on the back of your speech--some of these can be marked in your margins, some will be on your says/does chart. Just make sure you cover them all!
5. OUTLINE an essay
Prompt: What is the purpose of MLK”s famous speech and how does he convey that purpose?
Outline:
--Context
--Message
--Main points/arguments
--Techniques
--Textual examples
H.W.: Write the I HAVE A DREAM rhetorical analysis

AP Lang Post Exam: What is satire?

Unit Objective: I can demonstrate my understanding of key techniques of satire in my analysis of the writing of others and in my own writing...