Out of the kindness of my VERY GENEROUS HEART, I let the class read their AP books today.  Many of you are struggling with these books.  While I understand that some are challenging and unlike anything you have read prior to this class, I also am committed to getting you to read outside of your comfort zone. This is an effective way to expand your reading level, build your literary library for use on future AP exams, and to enhance your analytical focus on the literature you read.  My best advice to you would be to use the resources available to you in this day and age! No...resources such as Spark Notes, Cliff Notes, Google, etc. will not take the place of reading the book. Instead, they are intended to act as a companion to the book as you read.  It will help you with themes, symbols, figurative language techniques, and many other literary devices since these are all new for you to look for when you read.  Trust me, however, if you do not read the book, I will know.  It is completely unacceptable for you not to have finished your book.  Parents, they have had these books for several weeks!!!! 

Our next outside reading will be a nonfiction book.  We will go to the library, but you also should check out the nonfiction reading list attached to the right.  Not all of these books are available at our library! If you see something you like, you will need to purchase it on your own. (Personally, I like to purchase my books.  That way I can annotate, make notes, fold pages, etc. as I please.)

See you all tomorrow, exhausted I'm sure from staying up all night reading!

Have fun reading!

~Ms. Friend

P.S.  I still have not received signed parent letters from the following students: Emily Bain, Hayden Baker, Melissa Brooks, Ryan Brown, Rachel Carlile, Trae Dansby, Andrew Frost, Megan Gallagher, Payia Her, Samuel McAtee, Jarrin McKinney, Riley Mussett, Jaden Smith, Dalton Taylor, Hunter Tuck, and Kasey Worthington.

Since I was gone yesterday, this week is going to be packed with work.  You guys are all going to have to step things up a few notches and put forth the effort that AP requires!

In class today, we began working on a 1 sentence précis over Galsworthy's "The Japanese Quince."  I also gave you a handout with symbolism used in this short story. As I am sure many of you have guessed, we will be writing a rhetorical analysis over this piece, focusing on symbolism.  My main goal is for you to see how an essay functions with a coherent, well-written thesis and related topic sentences versus the more simple language you are all so used to writing with.  Time to step things up! Formal, effective language is what I am hoping to see you employ in your writing.

This week will be structured as follows:
Tuesday- 1 sentence précis, working into a thesis statement
Wednesday- Topic Sentence relating to thesis and outlining your supporting evidence  from the text. 
Thursday- Essay Assignment and Timeline handed out (yes you will have homework over the weekend!) and Outside Reading Due (we will have an in class activity over your novel, as well as taking the AR tests for each book.)

I am very concerned since several of you do not seem to have much reading completed 2 days before you must have your book finished, and some of you simply do not seem to care! This appalls me.  You, as Pre-AP students, should expect others to hold you to a higher esteem and you should work accordingly!  READ READ READ!!!!

~Your Highly Frustrated Teacher,

Ms. Friend

In today's class, we finished our notes on rhetoric and rhetorical analysis, focusing on exigence, audience, and purpose.  If you were not in class, please get these notes from someone in our class to copy.

After completing notes, we read aloud an article, entitled "Realism Crushes Misconceptions in Brutal World of 'Private Ryan,'" by Leonard Pitts (see more of his work at the link on the right).  Each student then formulated a 1 sentence précis, as we covered in our notes yesterday. I have read through the sentences turned in today and I am very pleased with how they turned out overall! I think we have found a method that, with plenty of practice, will make writing thesis statements so much easier! I know this will not excite you all nearly as much as it does me. :) 

Please remember your signed parent letter about the blog on Monday.  READ YOUR AP BOOK!!!!  These are due next Wednesday!  We work on something with your books in class on Wednesday, so make sure you bring them with you, either the book itself or if you read it on a Kindle or something, bring that.  You will need to have these in class for the assisignment we will be working on.

Have a great weekend!!!! See you Monday.

~Ms. Friend

Today in class we took notes over the rhetorical precis format.  I'm working on how to upload the file onto the blog, or link it somehow. (I'm sure Trae could have this done in about 3 seconds. lol) However, you will just have to be patient with me as I learn bits and pieces of this process as I go.

I would like to get feedback on how you feel about the precis format? Will it help you make your thesis statements better? Does it seem like a format you can learn to follow to make a clear, analysis-driven introduction?

Also, vocabulary unit 7 quiz has been postponed until Monday.  I was so caught up in getting the notes completed that I forgot to hand them back! Oops!

A huge thank you to those of you who checked the blog last night and completed the extra credit work! As for the rest of you, I hope you take the time to use this as a tool to help you succeed in AP English. It is here for you to use! Take advantage of it!

Finally, parents and students....please take the time to shoot me a quick email or a comment on here with your opinion on this classroom blog.  This is new for all of us, and definitely a work in progress, but hey....it is the 21st century and a technology driven world we live it.  Might as well embrace it!

~Ms. Friend
kfriend@vpsd.org

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY!!!

Let's see who took the initiative to check out the blog tonight!

If you can give a definition and description of these 3 terms, I will give you 25 bonus points.  Make sure you relate them to language and writing!

• ethos
• pathos
• logos

~Ms. Friend

So, today you all were formally introduced to our "class blog."  Yay! I really think if you will embrace this idea, we will all benefit from it in the long run.

Take time to look over the book lists I have linked on here.  I will keep adding to them as I think of books I would like you to read.  This time, we chose fiction novels from the AP list.  Remember, you have to have those completely read by next Wednesday, Feb. 27! You will have to know your book, so do not think you can slide by! I will know!

Today in class we continued to work on analyzing John Galsworthy's "The Japanese Quince."  Make sure you have all of the questions under sections 1 and 2 ready in class tomorrow.  We are going to be taking notes first, then working on formulating a complete literary analysis together in class. 

Unit 7 Vocabulary from Monday is due no later than the beginning of class tomorrow.  We will quiz on those words Thursday.  I will make sure you have them back to study by the end of the hour tomorrow. 

READ! READ! READ! Do not wait until the last minute to read your novels!

~Ms. Friend

Welcome!

Okay, so we are going to give this a shot! While attending a professional development this past weekend, I met a teacher from just outside of San Antonio who uses a blog to keep her students and parents updated on what was happening in her classroom.  I was so excited about this idea that I immediately started working on a blog of my own for my Pre-AP English I class.  Eventually I hope to create a blog for each of my courses I teach, but this seemed like a good place to begin.  My goal will be to update this blog daily with assignments, reminders, due dates, etc that parents and students are always needing to know.  I hope it will become a way to bridge the communication gap that inevitably widens as the school year gets busier and busier.  I know I am busy, as I am sure you all are as well.  So feel free to ask questions!  If you need to email me, please do so at any time.  kfriend@vpsd.org. 

Please notice the right sidebar on this blog.  This includes links to nonfiction and fiction reading lists I have set up on Amazon.com for my students. 
*Disclaimer: Parents, please use the reviews and information provided by Amazon to screen any books you think you might not want your child to read.  While I try to filter inappropriate content out as much as possible, it is simply a part of our history and our society.  We are surrounded by subject matter that might not always be pretty or aligned with our moral standards.  However, I do feel that some of it is more beneficial than harmful.  That choice, I am leaving up to you as a parent. 

I have also included a link to the page for a columnist for the Miami Herald, named Leonard Pitts.  This author is highly acclaimed, a bit controversial, but that is to be expected with a writer whose column is entitled, "In My Opinion." :)  His writings are poignant and beautifully written.  I urge my students to explore his writings, as well as those of other modern day writers.

Parents, please encourage you child to regularly check this blog for any news they might need to know!

Sincerely,

Ms. Friend