TUESDAY is the Winner for AP Morning Sessions!

We will be meeting every Tuesday morning started the second week of school during period zero. I know it will be an early morning for most of us, but I know that if you have decided to stay in AP and not just honors, then you are up for the challenge. We will discuss this more at length next week.

Don't forget to complete the last Blog Question of the Week for the Summer.

LAST BLOG QUESTION OF THE WEEK :)

Question #8—The Last One for the Summer

Over the course of the past several weeks I have posed several questions that have started to force you to think beyond summarizing a story. You have had to define terms, deal with sociological/cultural influences, and dissect language. You have had to use direct quotes (should have been done in parenthetical) with works cited/bibliographies. You have also been asked to look at what the Internet has out there in the great abyss about the three literary works The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, and Black Elk Speaks and then come up with your own conclusions beyond those already stated. Some of you have chosen not to complete each assignment or any at all for that matter. However, those of you who have completed the “Blog Questions of the Week” you are well on your way to having three “A” quality summer assignments on top of starting down the road to success in AP Language. For your final summer response, I want you to write an up to 300 word response of what you have learned this summer that you believe will be useful in the AP Language class and what you wished you had learned. Please note that I am not asking you what you expect to learn during the school year; that is a separate discussion all together that will take place at the first zero period discussion we have during the second week of school. I really look forward to your answers and as long as you put forth effort you will earn an “A” on this blog response.

August 8th-15th, 2010 Question #7

Question #7

Spirituality plays a huge role in the lives of many people. The spirituality of Black Elk and the Sioux people are a central theme in Black Elk Speaks. Throughout the book Black Elk tells Niehardt about several visions he has had in his life, but the first—at the age of nine—is the most significant. He believes that this vision contains the key to helping save his people from the white people. In that sense, his vision represents his desire to provide a better life and future for his fellow Sioux. Ultimately, Black Elk considers himself a failure for not being able to use his vision to help his people when they are later slaughtered at Wounded Knee and forced to live on a reservation. It was there that Black Elk was exposed to Catholicism for the first time.

According to Raymond DeMallie in his book The Sixth Grandfather, Black Elk had a strong desire to study other religions, and around 1888, Black Elk began studying Christianity (14). Around 1904, Black Elk was baptized and became a Catholic. DeMallie mentions that there were a couple reasons for Black Elk’s conversion. One was in 1903; Black Elk wasn’t sure what to do with a certain part of his vision. This part of the vision gave him the power to use Soldier Weed to wipe out his enemies, "men, women and children" (14). Another event was the death of Black Elk’s wife in 1903, but the "final straw" came in 1904. Black Elk was healing a sick person when a priest entered, grabbed Black Elk’s sacred things, threw them out, and then grabbed Black Elk by the neck and screamed "Satan, get out!" (14). The priest prayed over the boy, then invited Black Elk to the Holy Rosary Mission. Black Elk began to believe the priest’s powers were stronger than his, and a couple weeks later, he became a Catholic (DeMallie 14).

As a convert, Black Elk took an active role in converting and preaching to Indians on the reservations. He memorized scripture and the teachings of the Church, and in time, he was appointed the position of a Catechist (DeMallie 16). Black Elk was still a holy man, only now it was for the Catholic Church. One missionary reported that Black Elk was responsible for about 400 conversions (DeMallie 26).

It is easy for readers of Black Elk’s history to get angry that he "sold out," but we begin to see that he found a new way to stick close to his people, heal and pray for them and most importantly, keep the community together. Many of the Sioux dances had been outlawed, and they could no longer join together in groups to practice activities such as the Ghost Dance. However, Catholicism gave them the opportunity to sing, dance, pray, and come together as a community. Black Elk saw in Catholicism a way for his people to practice religion within the confines of the United States laws, and "at the same time, he was able to fulfill the traditional role of a Lakota leader, poor himself, but ever generous to his people"(DeMallie 23).

However, for all the success that Black Elk experienced as a catechist, he must have been reminded of his vision and duty to the Six Grandfathers every time a thunder- storm moved in. It must have been a heavy burden to bear knowing he turned his back on his Gods. Black Elk was intelligent, and as he grew older, he realized the need to preserve his vision if not for his people now, then for the Sioux of tomorrow (DeMallie 28).

So, the question is how did the simple three-word phrase: “Satan, get out!” change an entire culture of people? Was it the words themselves? Was it how they were said? Was it who said them? Was it to who they were said? What role do other context clues play?

Remember next week (question 8) will be our last “Blog Question of the Week”.

Classroom Supplies

Banked Extra Credit*

If you are looking for a way to get a little extra cushion** from the very first day of school and want to do your shopping while there are great "back to school" specials abound, then check out the following list...

• Notebook Paper (College Ruled 8 1/2" x 11")
• 3-Ring Binders of Various Sizes
• Tab Dividers
• Clear Sheet Protectors
• Paper Clips (Jumbo Sized)
• Binder Clips (Various Sizes)
• Lined Index Cards (White or Colored)
• White Out Correction Tape
• Three hole punch
• Stapler
• Staples
• Kleenex
• Ricola Cough Drops
• Non-Latex Band Aids
• Water
• Dixie Cups (bathroom size)
• Clorox Wipes
• Hand Sanitizer
• Paper Towels
• Plastic Utensils
• Paper Plates
• Candy (Individually Wrapped/Snack Sized Like Halloween Candy) for games
• Granola Bars/Cereal Bars/100 Calorie Packs etc. for the starving students who find their way to my classroom
• Teen novels for the classroom library

These are all things that you may have used in my classroom in the past, and will probably continue to do so this up coming year. Banked Extra Credit Points will be awarded according to the estimated value of items donated.

*Remember that "Banked Extra Credit" is extra credit that is earned for non-academic things/help/activities (i.e., bringing in and donating some of the above supplies, help setting up or cleaning up the classroom, organizing a fund raiser for CSF/NHS etc.). A student can withdraw from their banked extra credit at the end of the term to have the balance added into their course grade if and only if they do not have any missing assignments for the semester. Banked extra credit from the first semester may be rolled over to the second semester.

**Banked Extra Credit can not exceed 5% of total grade for the semester.

Staying in Touch

Contacting Me While Abroad

I told you that I would still be blogging while away :) If you need to contact me while I’m away from access to SBHS, please e-mail me via tgorourke@verizon.net or submit a comment on the blog. However, continue to send your assignments to torourke@stbernardhs.com.

August 2nd-August 8th, 2010 Question 6

Question #6

Black Elk Speaks is the narrative of the life and times of a Sioux medicine man named Black Elk. This book was created as a dissertation study of the Sioux people by John Neihardt in the early 1930's. In order for Neihardt to conduct his research he either had to learn how to speak Lakota (a dialect of the Sioux language) or find someone who could translate Lakota into English. Neihardt found Ben Black Elk who was the son of Black Elk. Ben helped Neihardt to translate Black Elk's life's story into English. Neihardt then told his own daughter Black Elk's stories and she wrote down what he said. However, because the book shows John Neihardt as the author of Black Elk Speaks and not just the editor, there has been a controversy in academic circles and native circles as to the accuracy of the story from Black Elk's point of view. The primary argument made is that Neihardt, being the author and editor, was able to exaggerate or change some parts of the story and did so to make the story more interesting to a white "American" audience of the 1930's and thus more profitable. Thinking about the number of translations (John Neihardt asking Ben to ask his father Black Elk a question and Black Elk responding to Ben who translated to John the answer and then John telling his daughter to record Black Elk's response and then publishers' prerogatives added to the mix), do you believe the final product is effective in telling the world the story of the Battle of Little Big Horn and the Wounded Knee Massacre from the perspective of a Native American? Do you believe that if Black Elk read and spoke English that the book would have been much different? What is the role of an individual's voice in such a story?

Combined Class

The-powers-that-be have decided that AP Language & Composition will be combined with English Honors III due to the low number of students enrolled in AP. Students will receive credit for the course in which they are enrolled. The good news is that same basic material is covered. Unfortunately it means that the pace of the class will be set by the English Honors III course (don’t worry too much, the class will go faster than American Literature), and we will have to increase the number of outside of class sessions. I will still keep to the two Saturday (or Sunday) sessions in the spring term (TBA) in which you will take a full-length exam. However, we will have to have weekly morning sessions (period 0) starting the second week of school. So, I need your input here. Do you prefer Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday mornings? (Yes, you can eat in my room and we will talk about a breakfast rotation) We can’t do Mondays because we will forget on the first day of the week, and Fridays are out because it is "late start" for students and "early start" for teachers (faculty meetings before school this year). Please post your response as a comment to this post so that the other students can see your responses. The morning sessions and two weekend sessions will be part of your over all grade and attendance is required.

You will have many different assignments than those of the English Honors III students and some the same. For example, the vocabulary and term paper are the same. However, how you look at a piece of literature will be the main difference. When the English Honors III class has a literature packet and notes on each chapter to complete for The Scarlet Letter, you will have a Critical Reading Response (CRR) on each chapter. You will learn how to complete CRR’s over time. This really isn’t much different to how I used to teach AP and Honors at a previous institution. BTW the students who attended all of the morning sessions this past year are also the ones that passed the exam. By starting in the fall with the morning sessions, I believe we will have the whole AP class pass the exam.

AP Reader Recall

It Will Be Fixed

There was a formatting error, and as you may have noticed, the words go off the ends of the pages. I discovered the error when I received my copy and contacted the company promptly. For those of you who purchased and received your AP Language O’Rourke Reader before July 26, 2010, ESCO will be contacting you and replacing it free-of-charge.

July 26th-August 1st, 2010 Question #5

Question #5

What is rhetorical language? What are rhetorical devices? Identify at least three different rhetorical devices in The Grapes of Wrath and why you believe Steinbeck chose them. Remember to use direct quotes from the novel.

We will be moving on to Black Elk Speaks next week; I hope you have finished reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Grapes of Wrath by now (notice I didn't say "finished the essays"). For those of you who have finished Huck Finn, I also hope you noticed what a little stinker/jerk/awful person Tom is compared to what the character was like in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. At least in the self-titled novel he was just a rascal.

July 19th-25th, 2010 Question #4

Question #4

SparkNotes lists and explains well known quotes from novels. Choose a quote from The Grapes of Wrath NOT examined by a “student-helps” website and explain its mean and significance to the overall work. Remember to focus on the language used and why Steinbeck utilized those specific words.

July 12th-July 18th, 2010 Question #3

Question #3

Twain writes about Jim as illiterate, ignorant, superstitious, and often deferential to the white characters in the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Is this simply an accurate account of the condition of most African-Americans under slavery (during which it was illegal to teach a slave to read or write), or is it slander against all black Americans? Is the use of the offensive word “nigger” an insult aimed at blacks, or an accurate depiction of the vocabulary of the day?

I know that it is easy to go over the word count when a person gets emotionally charged by the topic; however, try to keep your response clinical and fact based.

Sample Answer to Question #3

Mark Twain grew up not only during the time of slavery, he grew up in the midst of it—the Deep South. Twain lived the early part of his life in Missouri and as a teenager worked up and down the Mississippi River. To him, slavery was part of the culture. However, he had a unique insight into the human condition and observed everything. He tries to be as objective as possible in his writings, and when he isn’t Twain directly address the reader and admits when he is putting in his own moral judgment. When writing the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and other such works, Twain uses “nigger” not as a direct insult on any person of African-American decent, but rather as a way of capturing the vernacular of the place from which he originally came. By the way, the word “nigger” originally meant “ignorant and uneducated” if you go back to the 1700’s. Since it was illegal for slaves in America to be educated and most (not all—there were Native Americans, various Asian groups, Eastern Europeans, etc as well) slaves were of African American decent, overtime the word “nigger” began to transform in meaning as a derogatory term for dark-skinned people from all around the world, not just those of African decent. Think of the word “gay” meaning “happy” it too has transformed in meaning overtime.

July 5th-July 11, 2010 Question #2

Question #2

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often called the quintessential American classic of the 19th century. One of the reasons for this argument is its use of language and dialect. Twain could have written the entire work using “proper” or “standard” American English for the time in which it was written. Instead he chose to use the specific dialects of the people he was writing about. How does this choice make his work more or less effective to readers of the 19th century, 20th century, and today? Use examples from the book to illustrate your point.

Yes, I've posted this question early as well for all of the earlybirds...tweet, tweet...oh wait, that's a different social media site...sorry. :-P

Be sure to scrool all the way through the previous posts to make sure that you understand the instructions for "The Blog Question of the Week", the Summer Assignments, etc.

Sample Answer to Question #2

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn takes place around the early 1840s, before the Emancipation Proclamation and the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Mark Twain’s use of language in the novel helps readers better understand the time. Speech was one way that classes were distinguished. Slaves spoke poorly because they were banned from having an education; the peasants spoke a little better because they had some education, and so on. In the novel, Jim’s dialect can be easily distinguished from Huck and the rest of the people he encounters, because he is a slave. Language also helps display the irony of the Southern people. When the term “nigger” is mentioned, for instance, it is used in such a way that gives “nigger” the meaning of something other than human. The slaves are in fact not treated like humans. They are imprisoned and forced to labor in harsh conditions. If they try to escape they’re dead. Furthermore, dialect gives figure to character’s personality. Huck, for example, can be perceived as the school-hating type because of his accent in comparison to his caregivers. Also, the point that slaves can actually speak the English language shows how smart they are. Basically, Mark Twain used language to create the mood and setting he wanted to present in his novel.

Another Sample Answer to Question #2

In my humble opinion the use of specific dialects is extremely enjoyble for me. By adding these dialects I can hear what the character is saying. I can understand how that character thinks.

"'Ain't you a sweet-scented dandy, though? A bed; and bedclothes; and a look'n'-glass; and a piece of carpet on the floor-and your own father got to sleep with the hogs in the tanyard. I never see such a son. I bet I'll take some o' these frills out o' you before I'm done with you. Why, there ain't no end to your airs-they say you're rich. Hey?- how's that?'" (pg. 20)

From this passage I can discern several things from Huck's father. The first is that he's ignorant, second he's uneducated, and third he's greedy. He's ignorant because he's afraid of his son. He doesn't want him to be educated because it just isn't fair, it isn't right that his son should be better off. Because in rural Missouri it's a dog-eat-dog world, and you've got to make sure you're on top. It's easy to tell he's uneducated because no one educated speaks with that many grammar mistakes. Thirdly, I can tell he's greedy because he never asks about Huck's wellbeing, once he's done insulting Huck he demands to know about his riches. If this had all been spoke in proper English all that I would have been able to figure out was that Huck's father was greedy and that he doesn't care for his son for some reason. In addition to helping me understand a character and his/ her background it makes a book just that much more interesting when it contains specific dialects.

Bibliography
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. New York: Bantam Books, 2003

Avoiding Plagiarism

Check out the web article below on the Sparknotes website before submitting your work, especially the summer assignment essays. See, even Brandon agrees.

This picture was taken in April 2010 at Brook Farm, MA. Brook Farm was a transcendentalist community where at one time Nathaniel Hawthorne (although not a transcendentailist), Ralph Waldo Emerson (the father of the transcendentalist movement in America), Henry David Thoreau (the person who exemplified what it was to be a transcendentalist), Louise May Alcott (the woman who kept the men from going too far off the deep end when it came to the philosophy of transcendentailism) and many more authors lived together.

http://www.sparknotes.com/help/plagiarism.html

Did you notice that the word transcendentalist came up a lot in the above post? Does that have anything to do with 11th grade English?

My Review of Canon Pixma MP560 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer

Originally submitted at Staples

The PIXMA MP560 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One perfectly blends performance and convenience. Its built-in two-sided printing can save you paper and help the environment so you can be efficient and eco-friendly, all at the same time. 3-in-1; Print, copy & scan Prints up to 9.2 ipm ESAT black, ...

Canon Pixma MP560 Wireless Photo All-in-One Printer

The Best All-in-One at this Price Point

By lilypondgirl from Santa Monica, CA on 6/24/2010

5out of 5

Pros: Reliable, True life-like color phot, Low Ink Consumption, Easy Setup, Great Print Quality, Easy To Use

Cons: Slow Print Time

Best Uses: Graphics & Charts, Black & white Documents, Photos, Professional Documents

When they say best all-in-one for the price point they mean it. It was so easy to set up that my grandma could do it and she has problems using a microwave oven. If you forget to open up the document shelf before sending a document to print the machine automatically does it for you. I also like the fact that the paper tray is hidden therefore it takes up less space. The manual controls screen also folds down when not in use, making the printer look much more streamline. The ink replacement tanks are sold as a set or individually. That is a plus because sometimes one color runs out before another; instead of having to waste the ink of the other two colors by buying a single tri-color ink tank, you can conserve resources and money by only replacing the needed color. It also comes with basic forms to create things like calendars, to-do lists, notebook paper, graph paper and more. I am now a firm believe in Canon products.

(legalese)

June 28th-July 4th, 2010 Question #1

Question #1

What do you believe are the primary differences between American Literature, English Honors III, and AP Language & Composition? Why have you enrolled in the specific class you have chosen?

We are starting off very easy considering some people may not realize that the "Blog Question of the Week" has started. And yes, the question is posted a little early. Everyone who answers this should get an "A" because it is mostly opinion. Be warned, next week Ms. O'Rourke will ask a question related to Huckleberry Finn...hint, hint...at least take a peek at the book before July 5th.

Answer to Question #1

Most of the responses were correct in the fact that most of the same material is covered in all three courses (American Literature). All three are survey courses including but not limited to short stories, historical documents, songs, poetry, novels, folk tales etc. American Literature is designed for all junior level students and has several short assignments (daily questions and some short writing responses), the term papers, vocabulary etc. AP Language covers the same basic material of American Literature and then some (additional readings and AP skill sets). The assignments for AP are less basic in terms of questions and focus more on writing and analysis (how the author uses language...why and how they wrote what they wrote). Students will complete approximately 50 Critical Reading Responses throughout the year in addition to vocabulary, term papers, debates etc. English Honors III is a new course and is more like a bridge between AP Language and American Literature. It won't be like English Honors II in the sense of novels and packets (although there will be at least one). It will have some basic question assignments like American Literature and some longer writing assignments like AP Language.

Instructions for AP Language Blog Summer Assignment

I know that the "Blog Question of the Week" was one of the primary concerns for students choosing not to take AP Language (e.g., afraid that they might miss a posted question, not know how to answer it, think that they won't have access to the Internet in a Western civilized country, and unfortunately even in some cases pure laziness etc.). However, it was either this or a week-long intensive summer class. Which do you really think is better?

For those of you thinking that you are enrolled in English Honors III but want to take a stab at the "Blog Question of the Week"...go ahead! It can't hurt. You may even earn yourself some extra credit for the fall term. However, this Blog is not for students in the standard American Literature course.

Each week throughout the summer (starting the 1st week of July which is actually June 28th...sorry) Ms. O'Rourke will post a "Blog Question of the Week" on Mondays. You will then have until Sunday evening to answer the "Blog Question of the Week." Answers must be a minimum of 100 words and should not exceed 250 words.

When it is time for the next "Blog Question of the Week" the suggested answer will be posted to the previous week's question. As long as you attempt to answer the question with something within the realm of reason you will receive a passing score.

You may either e-mail your answers to me at torourke@stbernardhs.com or post a response to the blog in question. Be sure to clearly identify who you are in your response...you want to make sure that I know who jigglypuff2012@gmail.com is.

Book & Supply List For 2010-2011

I decided that creating a reader would reduce the overall cost for students. You must purchase a course reader from the on-line book store for this class. It will probably be named something like: AP Language & Composition/English Honors III O'Rourke Reader. In addition you will need a new copy of the Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT (book three--it's yellow). The ISBN is 978-1-58049-255-3. Remeber that this is an AP class therefore you will need an AP book...I want every one to have the newest version of 5 Steps to a 5 for the English Language & Composition Exam. Buy this new as we will be taking tests in the book.

As for supplies the usual items will be sufficient (e.g. 11 x 8 1/2 inch college ruled paper, pens, pencils, whiteout, mini stapler with staples, paper clips, binder clips etc.). In addition, students will need a composition book dedicated for this class, two one-inch binders for term papers (1 per semester), a hefty-duty three-inch binder dedicated to this class with eight tab dividers, and at least 500 lined index cards.

There will be a few projects that will require art supplies including but not necessarily limited to markers, poster boards, report folders, etc.

Students will need continual acess to a computer, printer and the Internet. You can not rely on the school computer lab/writing lab to print out or create assignments. Please come up with a list of alternatives for computer and printer access points. Students will be writing papers nearly every week that will need to be word processed and not handwritten.

AP Language & Composition Summer Reading Assignment for 2010

Summer Reading Assignment for 2010

St. Bernard High School is committed to its belief in the importance of reading in the intellectual development of the student. For this reason, we supplement the regular English curricula with required summer reading. All students must have the following assignment completed for the first day of school. Assignments are to be submitted to your English teacher for grading. This will be an important part of your first semester’s grade. We hope that you will enjoy and be challenged by the books you read. Ms. O'Rourke looks forward to reading your essays and children’s book.

You must read The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Black Elk Speaks by John G. Neihardt and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Children’s Book for Black Elk Speaks
Students must create a children’s book for the novel explaining the life of the Sioux peoples. The book must meet the following requirements:
1) A cover page with a proper MLA heading.
2) Each page will have 3-4 sentences explaining the life of the Sioux peoples in language that can be understood by a child. Spelling and grammar count.
3) Each page must have an illustration to accompany the writing.
4) The concept of what it means to be Native American must be addressed at some point in your book.
5) MLA works cited.

Essays for The Grapes of Wrath and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Students must write an essay for each book on three of the following elements: Plot, Theme, Setting, Conflict, Symbolism, or Character Portrayal. In your essay mention the three elements in the first paragraph and develop those ideas in the body paragraphs. The essays must also meet the following requirements:
1) A traditional five paragraph essay.
2) A cover page with a proper MLA heading.
3) Essays must be word processed, justified margins, and double spaced.
4) MLA works cited.

***Students will also be required to submit short papers weekly (starting the first week of July) via blog-mail during the summer in response to the posted topic. The blog can be found at http://msorourkesclassroom.blogspot.com. ***

Additionally, be prepared for a test on each book during the first two weeks of classes. Students must complete the summer assignments in order to take the tests.

Please be aware that in your “AP Contract” it states: “I am aware that AP and Honors courses will require SUMMMER HOMEWORK, due the first day of school, which will be included in my grade. Failure to complete Summer Homework may result in my removal from the class.”