"What can anyone give you greater than now?" -William Stafford

Saturday, March 30, 2013

Write on!

Welcome back, APers!  Now that we're all rested and ready we can SPRING into the final lap of the school year and the run-up to the AP test.  A whopping 147 of you are signed up for the exam (!) and, even if you decided not to take the actual test, I want you ALL to be ready to bring out your best stuff and score BIG next month.  So, that means LOTS of writing practice.  ("Hooray," they exclaimed enthusiastically.)  Sharpen your pencils and your minds and let's get this party started.

MONDAY, 4/1
AP essay introductions
• review
• assess
Read High School Confidential for Wednesday

TUESDAY, 4/2
What Is Democracy?
• read
• discuss/respond
write: What is a Woman/Man? DUE MONDAY

WEDNESDAY, 4/3
High School Confidential
close reading analysis: write
• discussion

THURSDAY, 4/4
AP Prompt #10

FRIDAY, 4/5
AP Multiple Choice
• strategies
• practice

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Why Can't a Woman Be More Like a Man?

Spring is in the air, but we still have a week of classes before we can go skipping off through the daisies.  We'll focus on a couple of readings, work on some argumentation skills, discuss the meaning of life, and be good to go. 

MONDAY, 3/18
Class meetings
Happiness/Gender comparison essay sharing
Read Mind Over Muscle for Wednesday
Read Being a Man for Thursday

TUESDAY, 3/19
The Speech of Miss Polly Baker
• reading check/discussion
• mapping the logic

WEDNESDAY, 3/20
Mind Over Muscle
• reading check/discussion
• response: writing

THURSDAY, 3/21
Being a Man
• response: discussion/writing
• pronouns and sexism:  exercise

FRIDAY, 3/22
AP Prompt short write!

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Gender Matters

"And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man." -Genesis 2:22.
Issues of gender have long been cause for debate.  In America and elsewhere in the world, distinctions and definitions, prejudices and convictions drive decisions and policies, assumptions and assertions that affect us all.  This week we will begin exploring the history of this issue and examining how it is currently being addressed in our world.

MONDAY, 3/11
Sentence Work:  Syntax and redemption
• mimicry: Hemingway
• sentence combining
Read Women's Brains for Tuesday

TUESDAY, 3/12
Women's Brains
• reading check
• vocabulary issues
• discussion

WEDNESDAY, 3/13
Sentence Work:  Getting Complex
• reviewing Room Descriptions
• mimicry: Vowell
• complex sentences
Read The Speech of Miss Polly Baker for Friday

THURSDAY, 3/14
AP Prompt #8

FRIDAY, 3/15
The Speech of Miss Polly Baker
• reading check
• discussion
• logic outline

Sunday, March 3, 2013






March 3, 2013
          And so another week stretches out before us with its promise of happiness gently rapping at our door. What will become of us? Will we find true happiness? It is only by dipping our toes into the waters of of everyday life that we will find out. Dive in, the water is fine.

MONDAY, MARCH 4
Peek-at-the-week
You get to write an essay using each others synthesis prompts! It's true.

TUESDAY, MARCH 5
You will evaluate the prompt that you wrote about for effectiveness, clarity, among other things.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6
You will grade each others essays. Also true!

THURSDAY, MARCH 7
We begin our journey into improving tone and style in your writing. We will start with sentence structure (have you seen my independent clause? He always wants to stand alone-so independent!)
Apprenticing the greats-craft through imitation.
*DON'T FORGET: STEPHEN GREENBLATT LECTURE AT BEND HIGH TONIGHT @ 7PM

FRIDAY, MARCH 8

Creative writing and imitation exercises.

Friday, March 1, 2013



According to 1st, 5th, and 6th period classes, 

Happiness is….
Overcoming difficult experiences
Being content with your life and accepting yourself
Loving your life
Inner peace
Choice
Track, design, laughter
Being in love with your own life and not wishing for anything else/to be anyone else
A fulfilling feeling that can come from having a loving family and enjoying where I live
A great thing
Some land to farm and a wife
Warm weather and fun activities
Different for everyone
Doing things in life that provide enjoyment and fulfillment, whatever that may be, because that is different for everyone and can change frequently
Living in the moment and doing what you love
The love of my family
Universal
Contentment
Family and helping
Now
When you find the good little things in life or you’re satisfied
Something that we must strive for
Temporary
A chemical reaction in the brain
Having everything you need and being content
Magical
Simple
Relative to ones sad points
Looking on the bright side of life
Beautiful
Simple pleasures
Enjoying being yourself
What happens when you’re happy making the most of what you have/your situation
Finding joy in all the little things in life, and being successful by your own standards
Appreciating the people in your life
A state of mind that exceeds content
Contrast, its love, its comfort, somebody to come home to, happiness is happiness.
Something you have to be open to
Being grateful and pleased with what you have
Different for everyone, though there are commonalities
Simplicity and good times
In the wilderness and among people I love
Confusing
Something you have to desire and work to achieve
Having low expectations
Harry Styles
Community
Achievable by everyone
Being able to find pleasure from even the smallest of things such as having friends or someone holding the door for you
A state of mind that everyone feels no matter the circumstance
What you make it
A state of mind that needs to be understood and not found
Good
A state of mind
Everywhere
The feeling I get when you hold my hand
Having family and friends and doing things that you enjoy
Sleeping in and having energy