We're AP Lit Nerds and Loving It: January 16, 2014

Focus: What's the best way to approach Invisible Man through writing?

1. Warming up: Discussing your essays in small groups

2. Workshopping your essays as a class (or however you like to do this with Mrs. Makovsky)

3. Wrapping up: Before giving your essays back to Mrs. Makovsky, please write me a little note on the front that states the following:

• What's something helpful you got from class today that you could apply to your essay?
• What would you like me to focus on when I grade your essay? In other words, what do you think you need the most help with?

HW:
1. Read Chapters 1 and 2 of Beloved and compose a one page response to the following question: How is 124 (the house) a character in the novel so far?  What kind of character is it?  What are the most revealing/significant details about the house?

2. Finish your poetry packets, por favor.

We're AP Lit Nerds and Loving It: January 15, 2014

Focus: How do we enter the disturbingly haunted world of Beloved?

Please turn in your poetry responses and pick up your new packet.

1. Warm-up: A little freewriting on one of the following lines from Beloved...

"She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man.  The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order. It's good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind."

"He wants to put his story next to hers."

"'She was my best thing.' ... He leans over and takes her hand. With the other he touches her face. 'You your best thing, Sethe. You are.' His holding fingers are holding hers."

"Sometimes the photograph of a close friend or relative--looked at too long--shifts, and something more familiar than the dear face itself moves there. They can touch it if they like, but don't, because they know things will never be the same if they do."

2. Facing some difficult images and reading some important lines to prepare for Beloved

3. Reading the opening pages of Beloved together

HW:
1. Finish your poetry packet by Friday, please (remember that you're working with a partner to create it).

2. Read Chapters 1 and 2 for Friday. For your reading ticket, please type or handwrite a page in response to the following question: How is the house (124) a character in the novel so far?  What are its most revealing details? What kind of person is the house?

3. Remember that the optional AP Lit exam is this Thursday after school.

We're AP Lit Nerds and Loving It: January 14, 2014

Focus: How can we synthesize larger ideas about Invisible Man?

Please turn in your signed class policies and your Invisible Man books.

1. Warm-up: Celebrating the life and times of Kaitlyn Hicks

From Mr. Schneiderman: "Kaitlyn has a great sense of humor and a calming laid back attitude that is contagious."

From Mrs. Bradley: "Kaitlyn, you are smart, kind, and sincere. You have a beautiful smile and I enjoy being your teacher." 

From Mrs. Grantham: "Kaitlyn is very courteous of others and strives to include everyone."

From Mrs. Little: "Kaitlyn has impressed me with her positive attitude and 

attentiveness to what we are talking about in class. I have observed that she

is also very conscientious. I have enjoyed having her in class."

From her mom: 
"Kaitlyn is amazingly independent and has been since birth. Kate has always been a trend setter and not a follower.

At her 9 month old check-up the doctor was astounded that not only could she speak in full sentences; but, she and her older sister who is two and half years older had a twin language. 

Kate brings me pure happiness and her dry sense of humor is hilarious."

2. Sharing some thoughts on the novel's final line

3. Tuesday Writing #1: Invisible Man

HW:
1. Please complete your first poetry response by tomorrow (1-2 pages typed, double spaced).

2. Make sure your big question post for Invisible Man is complete and that I have your blog address.

3. If you own copy of Beloved, bring it to class tomorrow.

We're AP Lit Nerds and Loving It: January 13, 2014

Focus: How does the journey of an invisible man end (and how did it begin)?

Please turn in your critical review proposals. 

1. Warm-up: Playing with Ellison's dichotomies and antitheses

2. Discussing the final chapters of Invisible Man in Socratic seminar

3. Going 'round the circle for a final wrap-up

HW:
1. If you haven't finished your Invisible Man blog post, now is the time (especially since you have a timed writing on Invisible Man tomorrow).  Also, if your blog is not linked to our class website, please e-mail me your link right away. Much thanks!

2. Please complete your first poetry response by Wednesday, and bring Beloved to class if you own your own copy of it.

3. Finish creating your poetry packet by Friday and submit a hard copy to me.

We're AP Lit Nerds and Loving It: January 10, 2014

Shortened Class Today

Focus: How can we meaningfully end this semester and start the next one?

1. Welcoming you back and explaining second semester (click HERE for the syllabus)

2. Really--what is this Critical Review you speak of?

3. Enjoying a quick exercise with opposites

4. Using antithesis to understand the narrator's journey in Invisible Man

5. Time to work on your big question blogs for Invisible Man, or your poetry packet, or your first poetry response, etc.

HW:
1. If you haven't done so yet, (re)read the ending AND the Prologue of Invisible Man.  For your reading ticket for our final Socratic seminar on Invisible Man, I'd like you to answer this question: What does it mean to be invisible?  Feel free to wander away from the novel as you respond, but keep bringing yourself back every now and then. I'd like this to be about one page, typed and double spaced.

2. Please decide on your critical review book. Sam and I will be at Tattered Cover tomorrow around 11 if you'd like to stop by.  Your proposals are technically due Monday, but it's okay if you need a few extra days.

3. Think about what poems you'd like to include in the poetry packet you're making.  Please submit a hard copy of your packet to me by next Friday.

4. Just FYI: We will have our first Tuesday writing on Tuesday.  It will be on Invisible Man.

We're AP Lit Nerds and Loving It: January 8, 2014

Focus: How do we wrap up first semester and move on?

1. Warm-up: What is this mysterious "Critical Review" you speak of?

If you're absent today, here are some helpful links:
Critical Review Overview
Critical Review Proposal


2. Taking time to do what you need to do, such as...

a. Making your poetry packet
b. Responding to a poem from Ms. Leclaire's packet
c. Browsing some possible Critical Review titles
d. Reading Invisible Man
e. Color a pretty picture
f. Play "Lord of the Rings" Monopoly

HW:
1. Finish Invisible Man and reread the Prologue; you will have time tomorrow in class to compose your big question blog on Invisible Man, we will have our last Socratic on Friday, and a Tuesday writing in which you will be required to write about Invisible Man.

2. Finish your poetry packet and print it out for me by Friday.

3. First poetry response due this Monday.

4. Critical Review proposal due Monday. Feel free to join Sam and me at Tattered Cover this Saturday at 11 am.

We're A.P. Lit Nerds and Loving It: January 7, 2014

Focus: So what happens now?

1. Welcoming you back and explaining what's happening this week in A.P. Literature

a. Sharing my letter to Mrs. Pramenko with you (feel free to write me back)
b. Information about the optional (though strongly encouraged) A.P. Literature exam
c. Your first semester grades
d. So...what happens at the end of Invisible Man, anyway?
e. What will our second semester books be?

2. Collecting your contact information

Please click HERE to fill out the short Google form.

3. Returning your poetry essays and projects

4. Speaking of poetry...taking a creative, open approach to some really good poetry this semester

HW:
1. By Friday, please (re)read the ending of Invisible Man and reread the Prologue.

2. Also by Friday, please finish your Big Question blog post on Invisible Man. You will have time in class on Wednesday and/or Thursday to work on this.

3. Sam and I will be at Tattered Cover (the Highlands Ranch one) this Saturday at 11 am. Stop by to pick out your Critical Review book, to enjoy a cup of chai, or just to say hello.  And then if you're feeling stressed, you can go paint pots at Arts on Fire.

4. By Monday at the latest, please submit your signed Critical Review proposal to me (we'll go over this tomorrow, but click HERE if you'd like to know what this is right now!).