Pre-AP: Grammar Review

Don't panic about grammar.

True story: When I was in high school doing English Pre-AP and AP, they never taught us grammar. It was a scary time in English-Teacher-History when they thought that just by reading and writing a lot, we'd have good grammar. This is partially true; I had good grammar, but I had no idea what anything was called. I just knew what "sounded right" - which I'm sure is what a lot of you rely on, too.

I had to learn all my grammar from my German classes, and let me tell you, German teachers are not known for understanding and careful remediation.

Be calm. Let me clarify:

An independent clause just has to have two things. A subject and a verb.

For example:

• He goes.
• You write.
• She smells.

Notice that each one of those also expresses a complete thought.
Simple sentences can also have other things, like prepositional phrases, adverbs, adjectives.

• He goes slowly. Slowly is an adverb. It modifies goes. This is still a simple sentence.
• You write on the board. On is a preposition; on the board is a prepositional phrase. It gives the location of the writing.
• She smells the scratch-and-sniff sticker. The scratch-and-sniff sticker is a noun, yes, but it is not the subject. The subject of a sentence is who or what is doing the action.

REMINDERS: An independent clause is also known as a simple sentence, which makes sense. That's easy to remember because "independent" pretty much means that something can stand alone, right? And that's what a simple sentence can do. Simple sentence = can stand alone = independent clause. (Or at least that's how I remember it.)

Now you write a few independent clauses.

A dependent clause is the same thing as an independent clause, but it has a subordinating conjunction stuck to the front of it. (Google "AWUBIS" for a complete list of these conjunctions.)

For example:

• Before he goes... notice that this is the same subject and verb combo I used above. I just added an AWUBIS on there. Without the AWUBIS ("He goes.") it makes sense on its own. It expresses a complete thought. With the AWUBIS, it no longer expresses a complete thought.
• Because you write... same deal, right? There's a subject and a verb, but because there's the word because (an AWUBIS) in front of it, it no longer makes sense on its own.
• Since she smells... same deal. There's a subject and verb, but it doesn't make sense now that since is there.

Now you write a few dependent clauses.

A prepositional phrase often tells where something is in relation to something else physically (above, below, behind), or chronologically (before, after). These are very basic; I'm sure you remember them from middle school. Most importantly, a prepositional phrase can contain a noun, but the subject of a sentence cannot be in a prepositional phrase.

Google a list of prepositions. Look at the warm-up where we wrote some.

Read this:
After the long Friday, I ordered queso at my favorite Mexican food place in town instead of ordering take-out.

All the stuff in orange are prepositional phrases. If I'm trying to determine where the subject and verb are, the first thing I'm going to do is find and cross out all the prepositional phrases, because the subject can't be in there. This is a simple sentence.

Compound sentences are easy. Just put two independent clauses together with a FANBOYS (coordinating conjunction) + comma in between them.

• I ate the chips, and I got fatter. Notice that there are two complete sentences. They're just stuck together. If you read both of them independently, they both make sense.
• I wanted queso, so we went out to eat. Two complete sentences stuck together with a FANBOYS and a comma.

Write a few compound sentences. Double-check that you have an independent clause (AKA complete sentence) on each side.

The ONLY variation is that you can use a semicolon instead of a FANBOYS + comma. Save this for a dramatic moment in your writing.

Write a compound sentence with a semicolon. Double-check that you have an independent clause (AKA complete sentence) on each side.

Clear as mud? If you need more help, it's easy to find tutorials on YouTube, or try my favorite grammar website - http://chompchomp.com/

On-Level: Review for Exam

"Mrs. Wise, what is going to be on the test on the block day?"

Exam review:

Test Review-Reading Test 1
5 matching questions over the terms:

• Characterization-the way the writer creates and develops characters’ personalities.

• Internal conflict-the struggle within an individual character. 

• External conflict-the struggle a character has with an outside force.

• Setting –the time and place of the story.

• Inference-a conclusion based on observation and reasoning.

5 questions over “Everyday Use” in which you are allowed to use the book practicing:

• Inference-how quotes support and idea.

• Characterization-describing a character physically and emotionally. 

• Conflict-internal and external examples from the story

2 Cold Reading passages

• Multiple choice questions testing the terms above.

• Dictionary skills questions, asking which definition best matches the use of the word. 

1 short answer

• Characterization- A question over one of the cold reading passages where you are to describe through characterization a major character. 

• The short answer response will test your knowledge of the ACES format.

A-Answer the question.
C-Citation (embedded quote)
E-explanation of how your quote supports your answer
S- Significance or why is it important?  What is this information adding to the story?

Pre-AP: Exam review

This exam covers the book Alas, Babylon and the material we've covered so far. It will have a pre-write on it, in the exact same style we've been working on in class.

To review:
CHARACTERS and CHARACTERIZATION

• List all the characters
• Who is a protagonist? Who is an antagonist?
• Who is static? Who is dynamic?
• What character foils exist?

CONFLICTS

• What are the internal/external conflicts of each character?
• What conflicts do they have in common, and which ones are unique?
• Where do we see:
• Man vs. Self
• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. God
• Man vs. Fate
• Man vs. Environment

SETTING

• Describe Fort Repose. How did it get its name?
• How does Fort Repose change?
• How is Fort Repose lucky?
• How is Fort Repose unlucky?

THEME

• How does the author feel about:
• human nature?
• teamwork?
• the role of children? parents? the elderly?
• gender roles?
• technology?
• the military?
• the role of government?
• the role of commerce/the economy/money?

On-Level: Link to the text

Here is a link to the story just in case you need it to finish an assignment: Click here for the short story

Pre-AP: Homework due Tuesday

1. Finish the Pete/Beck prewrite.

2. Finish the Band-Aid prewrite.

• Look at your band-aid prewrite.
• Analyze: Finish marking the CD and CM. Do you have a good amount of both? If not, add some.
• Extend: Look for any surface-level things you wrote. Is there anything you have written that you can extend, explain, or give more details about?
• If possible, please write on the same paper. If you’re out of room on your paper, just write additions on another piece or on post-its. I’d prefer to have it today, but if you need to take a picture of these directions and finish it for Tuesday, that’s okay, too. I’d prefer a high-quality job over a rush job. 

On-Level: "Everyday Use" SAR

Yesterday, we completed our "Everyday Use" prewriting, and today, we wrote a SAR as a class. Every class did its own prewriting, and so every class has a unique SAR. Compare what your class did to what other classes came up with.



4th period

This SAR concludes by pointing out an IRONY in the character of Mama. To extend your SAR in a final moment, you should always offer some insight or analysis. Confused about how to do that? You can always talk about theme, character foils, irony, or tie what you've said to a symbol in the piece.

5th period

This SAR concludes by talking about what theme is revealed through our study of Mama's characterization. If I had to do this over, I'm sure I could revise the theme statement into something more sophisticated. (See, making a 3 on a SAR can be a challenge for me, too!)

6th period

This SAR concludes by zooming out and recognizing that Mama's strength is physical and emotional.

7th

This SAR is successful for a number of reasons, but the thing I love about this one is the concluding statement. It recognizes the contrast between her toughness and her warmth. This definitely gets points for recognizing the complexity in Mama's character.

After we finished writing these, we color-coded them so we could see how good short answers (and good analytical writing in general) should alternate between concrete detail (quotes from the story) and commentary.

See, aren't SAR's fun?! They're like small droplets of colorful analysis in a dreary landscape of multiple choice. :D

Pre-AP: Prewriting for Alas, Babylon Randy/Dan Comparison

Today, we discussed similarities between Randy Bragg and Dan Gunn, two characters from Alas, Babylon. Specifically, we brainstormed character traits and major plot points for both characters, then arrived at a point of comparison between the two.

Whenever possible, try to avoid going with surface-level answers. The problem with surface-level answers is that they are difficult to extend simply because they are so obvious and one-dimensional in the first place. Another problem with quick, surface-level answers is that everyone sees them! We want deep, three-dimensional answers that can be extended and discussed. Complex answers - in any subject - show your teachers the depth of your understanding of the material. Depth is good.

Here is what we talked about in each class. Look at what the other class did and compare.

2nd period's prewriting, with a thesis about how they both choose to put the needs of the community above their own.

3rd period's prewriting, with a thesis about how they both had early career failures and that these failures enabled them to help Fort Repose in the aftermath of the attacks.

Tomorrow, we will find text evidence to support these theses. (Side note: The plural form of thesis is theses, not "thesises." Just an FYI.) :D

On-Level: Prewriting for "Everyday Use" SAR

Today, we used "Everyday Use" by Alice Walker to review the reading skill characterization and to review writing short answers, which are approximately 24% of your EOC score.

General SAR Notes:

Notice that all of the terms from the directions (answer, evidence, and explain) have multiple synonyms.
 Don't let this confuse you. They are all correct.

Any successful short answer will have all of these things (in purple). The information to the side (in pink) is a list of synonyms.

The question: How would you describe Mama, the narrator in "Everyday Use"? Explain your answer with evidence from the text. 

Here's a peek at the prewriting the different classes worked on today:

5th period characterized Mama as "tough" and "African American"

4th period characterized Mama as "physically strong"
 and said that she "struggles with being too submissive with her daughter"

6th period characterized Mama as "independent"

7th period said Mama was "independent" and "cares for her kids"

Pre-AP: Concrete detail and Commentary (CD and CM)

Here's the powerpoint we looked at today:

Pre-AP: Items due tomorrow

Some notes and reminders about the things due tomorrow:

• In class, you will turn in a paper copy of your "Who am I?" essay and your 6-word memoir. Your memoir can be on card stock, regular paper (colored or white), poster, etc. I have had some people ask me if they could do more creative things (like make a 3-D memoir), and that's all fine with me. As long as the 6-word memoir is high-quality, you're all good.
• On TurnItIn.com, you will turn in a digital copy of your essay by 4pm.
• I have had some people ask me what specific things I am grading for. When I see a "10" on the rubric, I think that a "10" must be:
• written in a thoughtful, authentic, and engaging voice
• written with elaboration that provides specific details (remember we talked about concrete details [CD] today?), action verbs, and proper nouns 
• written with conventions in mind, which means a careful eye for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. 

Need the class code to sign up? Click the English I Pre-AP link above. As always, email with questions.