AP Language: Sept 19-23

Tomorrow (Monday) marks an important first in AP Language--students will be submitting their first formal writing assignment! I have enjoyed watching these pieces develop over the last two weeks and was able to get a glimpse of them in their final stages this weekend as students shared them with me via Google Docs.  As long as they submitted their drafts to me by Friday night, they received some final hints/feedback this weekend as they work on final drafts. Those drafts will be assessed and students will receive feedback in the next two weeks. Hopefully they will share their final drafts with you; I’ve really enjoyed reading them so far.

This week we will begin zeroing in on analytical reading in preparation for our first analytical writing assignment.  Students will continue working with the acronym CMPAST : Context, Message, Purpose, Audience, Speaker, and Tone.  We will consider all of these elements as we examine a text and try to figure out what an author is trying to accomplish with the text. By the end of the week you will start to see analytical reading scores pop into MiStar. Please remember that students will work on this analytical reading skill all semester; if scores are a little low now, that just means the student needs to continue to practice!

Please encourage your students to read their independent novels in the evenings this week for at least a little time each night. It will be tempting for them to take a week "off" since they just submitted an essay and there aren't any major writing pieces on the horizon; however, this is a smart time to get a jump on those independent novels. 

Have a great week!