Happy Holidays

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving. Apparently, you all have your Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven essays and vocabulary work well underway, judging from the number who showed up for the tutorials. (That would be one person.) The first day of school you will correct your vocabulary work and turn it in. If there's time, you will exchange papers and read each other's essays. For homework, you will choose any five words from the vocabulary sections you did over the break and use them in your Sherman Alexie essay. That's right, a rewrite. Vocabulary work is pretty useless unless you use it in your writing. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you on Jan. 2.

Last Week for Tutorials

If you want to discuss the book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven prior to writing your essay, if you want feedback on a rough draft, if you want to check your vocabulary work, then come to the last two tutorials, tomorrow and Wednesday. I don't think I will be available in December because I am scheduled for jury duty in the beginning of the month and I'm going to Oregon in the second half of the month.

Oops!

I didn't realize it was a school holiday. I thought Veteran's Day was one of those bank/post office holidays. I waited in the quad for 20 minutes, but no one showed up (since you knew better). Anyway, we will discuss those four stories, and take notes on the significant moments on WEDNESDAY. Be sure to take a look at the discussion questions at the back of the book. We may only have five more meetings, so if you think it would be helpful in writing your essay, please come between 9 and 11 a.m.

Tutorial # 3

There were three of us at the last meeting, until Briseida got called away by a classmate who got lost after getting off the bus on Hollywood Boulevard. We hope Briseida was able to rescue her. We only got as far as discussing and taking notes on the first two short stories. So, on Monday we will cover the next four stories, from pgs. 24-58. If you've done any vocabulary work, bring it and I can check the answer key and tell you if you are right. I don't know if I will be able to meet with you in December, so you may want to take advantage of the November tutorials.

Tutorials Continue

Hi Scholars! So I guess most of you are still catching up on your sleep. During our first tutorial today we read and discussed the epigram, the introduction, and the questions at the back of the book pertaining to those pages of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie. On Wednesday, we will discuss the first three short stories, so please come having read those already. We will also do a little vocabulary work, so please bring that book as well. We will meet from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. for those of you have intersession at 10 and from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. for those who have intersession until 10 a.m. Meet in the faculty lounge. If you get there before I do, wait at the picnic tables outside (behind the wall in the quad).

Off-Track Tutorials

Our first tutorial session meets Monday, Nov. 5 at 9 a.m. in the faculty lounge. If you get there before I do, wait outside on the picnic tables, or someone may ask you what you are doing there. If anyone does ask, tell them you are waiting for me. If you arrive after 9 a.m., just come in and join us. I expect we will be sitting on the couches. Bring the Sherman Alexie book and we will discuss. I will also show you how to access The Bedford Reader website, which has quizzes on the stories in the book, as well as grammar exercises. I hope you are enjoying our well-deserved break and I look forward to seeing you.

Congratulations, Scholars!

You really impressed me with how hard you worked on your final exam essays today. We still have a long way to go, but I'm sure you'll get there. If you want to know your final grade, come to class on Thursday. (Please do not interrupt my period 1 or 6, as they will be working on their finals Wednesday.) I will pass out the book for the off-track assignment, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven, by Sherman Alexie. We can decide how often and when you want to meet when we are off track. I'm thinking twice a week for two hours, for three or four weeks. You don't have to stay the whole time and you don't have to come to all (or any) of the tutorials. However, I do find it useful for those who are serious about passing the AP exam in May.

Writing the Rough Draft

Nice job on the notecards. Feel free to take more notes if you think it's necessary. This week we will cover writing the rough draft of your research paper, including the correct way to cite sources. Some books advise writing the draft, then going back and inserting the citations, but I prefer to do it as I go (less work). You've got the information on your note cards, so why not make the citations as you write? We will go to the library on Friday and your rough draft is due at the end of the period on Friday. HOMEWORK DUE MONDAY: Vocabulary Unit 5

Taking Notes

Nice job on the outlines, folks. Remember, a formal outline is a sentence outline, not a topic outline. It will make your note taking much easier. This week you will be taking notes from your sources. See the 10 Steps book if you are not sure on how to take notes. Remember, one idea per card. Include the author's last name and the page number. The rest of the information is on your Work Cited card. If you find a new source, remember to write a Work Cited card for it. Your Work Cited cards become your Work Cited page. Turn in 25 note cards by Friday. We will meet in the library on Monday, but the rest of the week the library is booked, so you will have to bring your sources with you to class. So, make sure to check out the book, make a copy of a reference page, and print out copies of online sources.
HOMEWORK DUE TUESDAY: Vocabulary Unit 4 pgs. 51-57.

Thesis Statement, Outline

Now that you have decided on a topic for a research paper and found several sources, we will review the proper format for the Work Cited cards, which will become your Work Cited page. If you have not done so, print out the MLA Cheatsheet from the Citing Sources section of the HHS Library page (click on Senior Project or Research Process button on the main page). The next step is to write your thesis statement. Please bring the Bedford Reader on Monday, so we can review thesis statements. After that, you will write an outline and begin taking notes from your sources on index cards. We will be doing this in the library on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Research Papers

That's right, scholars. Time to learn the correct way to write a research paper. I know you've done these before, but some people may still be unclear on the concept. Some of you may never have written a research paper before. Have no fear, we will take it one step at a time. To that end, you will be reading the research chapter in The Bedford Reader on Tuesday. I will be out of the classroom observing a new teacher, but I know I can trust you to read alone or in small groups. On Wednesday, you will pick a topic and Thursday and Friday we will be in the library finding sources and doing research. We will spend September on the research paper, leading up to the synthesis essay, one of the three essay questions you will be asked to write on the Advanced Placement English Language exam in May.

American Literature Focus on Nonfiction

This week we will get a class set of American Literature textbooks, so that we can read some classic American writers including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. You won't need your Bedford Reader for a week or two.

AP Long Form: Your Ticket to Class

Welcome back and kudos to those who turned in their AP Long Form. Don't worry if you didn't do it perfectly; we will go into each literary term in depth as the course progresses. The purpose of the summer assignment was to measure your motivation as a student. If a student doesn't have the motivation to complete a summer assignment, then he or she does not have the self discipline needed to succeed in an Advanced Placement class.

Those who failed to do the assignment: I've submitted the drop forms to Mr. Grijalva. He can program about four people into period 4 before it is full. That will still leave about 13 people hanging. Hopefully, he can make my period 1 regular English class into an honors class. If your schedule does not accomodate either of those classes, you may have to take a regular American Literature class with another teacher.

Our textbooks for this class are The Bedford Reader and Vocabulary Workshop Level F. Hopefully, we will get them within the next few days.

TONIGHT'S HOMEWORK: Complete the self introduction and be prepared to read it in class tomorrow.

Ms. Cusolito's AP English Language

Welcome back, scholars! Please turn in your AP Long Form on the nonfiction book you read over the break.