12 More Weeks - A Long Post

The first grading period is officially done which means you have about 12 more weeks before your first semester as a junior is finished.  Whoa. 

Time definitely flies when you're...

...aiming for the stars...
...clenching your fists...
...reading with a renewed passion...
...still acting like you're in 10th grade...
...building with your legos...
...staring vacantly into a bin of pieces you've yet to put together...

I could go on, but I will simply say thank you to owners of open (and opening) hands.  I see you. 

In an effort to get you started on the right foot for class on Monday, please print THIS.  It's a 6 page document with tons of devices organized in categories.  I know most of you know that I expect more than just printing it, but to help the rest of y'all out, let me be explicit.

1.  Print (or copy) the document.
2.  Read through the document with a pen or pencil (no highlighters, remember?) and annotate any terms you don't know.
3.  Make flashcards and start learning them.  (The best way to do this is to write out the terms, define them with the official dictionary definition, rewrite it in your own words and create some sort of example that you'll remember...the sillier the better.)
4.  Review them in chunks and keep the list/flashcards handy when you're reading new texts.

And while I'm on the subject of how to complete the Monday requirements, let me reiterate the expectations for annotating and SAS.

When you get any text (be it in class or for homework or on a test) the first thing you do is draw the Rhetorical Triangle.  After that, scan the text looking for characteristics (think the 5 Canons).  Pay attention to where the text is from (magazine, newspaper, website, etc.) and when it was written (context).  Obviously read it with a pen/pencil in hand (Adler it up) looking for devices, shifts, tone, point of view, etc. (Have you memorized the Rhetorical Triangle worksheet that has all those questions on it?) Reread if necessary for comprehension AND THEN DO YOUR RESEARCH.  Write down your findings on the text. 

All this is what you should do if you're an AP student.  That = prepared for class.  So whenever I write, say, mime, or sing "Be prepared for class," that's what I mean.

As for SAS, do not waste anyone's time showing up unprepared.  Do not ask asinine questions for the sake of hearing your own voice.  Do not start your presentation informally.  Do not end your presentations with "Uhh, yeah," or "So, yeah."  Do not forget your visual.

(Did you notice all the negativity? Ick...let's try that again.)

As for SAS, show up prepared.  Ask quality questions.  Start your presentations with a greeting and your name.  End your presentations with "thank you".  Have a visual.

(That's better.)

A thousand thanks for the quality SAS presentations Ms. Meier and I got to hear today. We are both waiting to follow that new blog that needs to be created...cough cough. 

Love and Light,
Beltran

Today's Song: "All Star" Smash Mouth & a random afternoon class selection