Today’s Class 09-24-09, Thursday

• We reviewed the chapter on logos.
• We took a quiz on ethos, pathos and logos.
• We looked at a few mysteries/riddles and briefly discussed how formulating hypotheses/theses can be similar to gathering evidence to solve these riddles.
• We discussed the remainder of “The Apology.”

HW:

1. Review the six words and six roots for tomorrow’s vocabulary quiz.
2. Continue reading your autobiographies/memoirs.

Attn: Students registered for “honors” credit

We will be meeting tomorrow during class to discuss your proposals/questions/text selections.  You do not have anything due at this time.  Please bring your questions!

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Today’s Class 09-23-09, Wednesday

• We continued our overview of  the historical context of  “The Apology” and shared our reactions to the first part of Socrates’ address to his jury.
• We briefly reviewed logos in preparation for this evening’s reading from Everything’s an Argument and tomorrow’s quiz.
• We worked on our U.C. applications and submitted our application and personal statement drafts with a cover letter that asked for specific feedback on the personal statement.
• We began reading the remainder of “The Apology.”

HW:

1. Finish reading “The Apology.” Take notes on statements you find interesting and/or controversial.  Pay particular attention to the various appeals he makes to his audience.
2. Read the handout on logos.
3. Prepare for tomorrow’s quiz on ethos, pathos and logos.
4. Prepare for Friday’s vocabulary quiz. Use the online flashcards.
5. Continue reading your autobiography/memoir. Keep upcoming deadlines in mind.

Today’s Class: 09-22-09, Tuesday

• We reviewed this week’s words and roots using online flashcards.
• We reviewed ethos and read a chapter from Andrea Lunsford’s Everything’s an Argument.
• We reviewed Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” for pathos and watched two different film adaptations, examining the parallels and use of visual and auditory pathos. (The Cave & The Matrix)
• We received a copy of The Trial of Socrates. In preparation for reading “The Apology,” we listened to a lecture given by Marsh McCall of Stanford University. (notes are here)

HW:

1. Work on draft #2 of your personal statement.  You will be turning it in tomorrow, September 23rd.
2. Read pp. 19-25 of The Trial of Socrates. Take notes in preparation for tomorrow’s class.
3. Review for Thursday’s quiz on ethos, pathos and logos.
4. Review for Friday’s vocabulary quiz on list #1 of this semester’s words/roots.

Today’s Class 9/21/09, Monday

• We began to review the words and roots we that we will continue to study throughout the semester, begin with week one.
• We will begin having regular vocabulary quizzes each Friday, beginning this Friday on “List #1.”
• We reviewed pathos, and the various ways pathos can be used. We will be having a quiz on Thursday which will require you to be able to recognize emotional appeals (pathos), logical appeals (logos) and ethical appeals (ethos).
• We briefly reviewed who Socrates was and the “Allegory of the Cave” in preparation for our readings of “The Apology” and “Crito.”

HW:

1. A second draft of your personal statement is due on Wednesday, September 23rd.
2. Review for Thursday’s quiz on ethos,pathos and logos.
3. Review for Friday’s vocabulary quiz.
4. Read your autobiography/memoir and prepare for upcoming deadlines.

Today’s Class 9-18-09

• We discussed and shared our evaluations of our self-selected political cartoons in terms of the rhetorical triangle and ethos, pathos and logos.
• Tenesha addressed specific college application questions.
• We began “reading” our applications as texts and anticipating the questions college admission readers might have.
• Once we determined these questions, we picked up our first drafts and began re-working them.

HW:

1. Read your autobiography/memoir.  Keep the  upcoming deadlines in mind.
2. Begin your second draft of the personal statement, which will be due on Tuesday, September 22nd.
3. If you are signing up for honors, you must do so BEFORE Monday.  Please determine the amount of time and effort you would like to dedicate to this project.  Print the completed form and obtain a parent’s signature for Monday’s class.

Today’s Class 9-17-09

HW:

1. Locate and analyze a political cartoon in terms of the rhetorical triangle and ethos, pathos and logos. Please review the example of Toles’ political cartoon.
2. Begin reading your memoir/autobiography and scheduling for the upcoming deadlines.

Today’s Class 09-16-09

• We brainstormed/shared possible adjectives to describe ourselves on the Common App.
• We spoke about the personal statement. Tenesha led a Q&A (for 1st&2nd period), and we watched and discussed a lecture given by a UC admissions counselor.

HW:

1. Find an article you would like to read (preferably one from the “Op-Ed” portion of a major newspaper or magazine) and annotate.  Look for ethos, pathos and logos and write up your findings in a concise response (approximately one page).  Please see the attachment for an example of the analysis we discussed in class on Monday concerning the article “We Can Afford to Give Parents a Break.”
2. Begin filling out your college applications. I can provide hard copies of the Common App for you tomorrow in class. Bring them to class on Friday.
3. Review the first thirteen sets of tone words for this Friday’s quiz.
4. Let me know if you will be needing copies of your memoir/biographies ASAP.

Today’s Class 09-15-09

• We reviewed “We Can Afford to Give Parents a Break” and examined Heymann’s establishment of ethos and use of pathos and logos.
• We read a letter composed by Albert Einstein in response to a sixth-grader’s question to him and analyzed the rhetorical effectiveness of his letter.  We explained our answer in terms of subject, speaker, audience (the rhetorical triangle); context and purpose; ethos, pathos and logos.
• We were introduced to new vocabulary used to describe tone. We will be reviewing tone throughout the week and preparing for a quiz on Friday.  Remember that misinterpreting tone means misinterpreting meaning.

HW:

1. Continue working on ideas for your personal statements.
2. Continue reading your autobiographies/memoirs.
3. Review tone words for Friday’s quiz.

Today’s Class 9-14-09

• Today we discussed “The Language of Silence,” “Spanish Lessons,” and “The Six Stories You Need to Know How to Tell.” We focused on how to use these to inform our own strategies for writing our personal statements.
• We began exploring concept of “rhetoric,” and the Aristotelian, or rhetorical, triangle.

• Key elements discussed include:

• context
• purpose
• assertion
• thesis
• claim
• persona
• ethos
• logos
• pathos

• We read and listened to Lou Gehrig’s “Farewell to Baseball” speech and examined why American Rhetoric has declared it to be one of the “Top 100 Speeches,” focusing on how he established his ethos.
• We also discussed the inquiry project that will be required for “honors” credit.  Please preview the requirements and decide if you would like to put in the additional hard work required to complete this project.  Those interested should sign up using using this form before the end of the week.  If you have additional questions/concerns, please find some time to speak with me before or during “team time” this Friday.  I will be discussing the project and providing some examples during this time.

HW:

1. Finish reading about “An Introduction to Rhetoric: Using the ‘Available Means.'”
2. Read “We Can Afford to Give Parents a Break” and identify (by marking the article) where she establishes ethos and uses logos and pathos.
3. Please let me know if you are unable to find copies of the autobiography/memoir you will be reading.

Today’s Class 9-11-09

• We discussed the chapter entitled “Story” from Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind and how story is used in the business/advertising world for persuasion, the medical field  to properly diagnose a patient, etc.  Thank you, Alli and Josh, for taking notes: (periods 1&2; periods 3&4)
• We discussed the digital storytelling movement and how Google is currently using technology to document the personal stories of those who were in New York on 9/11/01.  makehistory.national911memorial.org
• We shared our poems (periods 1&2), reviewed the personal statement prompts on the U.C. application, and drafted the beginnings of our own statements (varying slightly depending upon where we are applying).

HW:

1. Finish and type the draft of your personal statement.
2. Read and annotate the excerpt entitled “The Six Stories You Need to Know How to Tell” from The Story Factor: Inspiration, Influence, and Persuasion Through Storytelling by Annette Simmons.
3. Read, annotate, and compose a typed SOAPSTone and precis for “The Language of Silence” by Maxine Hong Kingston and “Spanish Lessons” by Christine Marin.
4. Please sign up for the autobiography/memoir book club.  Locate your text and bring it to class on Monday; please let Stephanie know via email if you would like her assistance tracking these down.  If you are trying to decide what to read, here are some suggested titles.