American Literature

Course Description

In this course, students will explore the fascinating world of American Literature. Through lecture, discussion, and readings, students will discover the changing patterns of American thought. Students will encounter new authors and perhaps get reacquainted with some that they have previously read. They will continue to develop their communication skills and to build their vocabulary. Students will be engaged in the material through the Common Core State Standards framework, which will focus on close readings of texts, argumentation strategies and practice, and Socratic discussions.

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Posts

8/31/15--Class Info

*Today we began with Word Crime #3-- "What is the function of dictionaries in society? Who makes dictionaries? Why? How do dictionary makers decide what a word means?"
*We then took a deeper look at what makes up an argument and why it is important to know WHY an argument is bad, not just THAT an argument is bad. We looked a classic example of a bad argument in Monty Python's "The Holy Grail" in the "Witch Village" scene. See the attachments for the assignment.
HW: Q1 terms due October 15. 2. Word Crime #3 due Friday. 3. Puritan Fact  Find due tomorrow.

8/28/15--Class Info

*I collected Word Crime #2. Remember, you need to research the answers to these questions and provide the MLA citation for those sources.
*I then collected the fallacy homework from last night, but the site I sent you to no longer separates the fallacies from the other rhetorical devices, so that was a fail on my part. At least you got some practice with other techniques authors and speakers use to convey their message.
*Most classes had to still finish up with the ad analysis from yesterday. I collected the ad analysis.
*We then looked at three commercials and analyzed the appeals and techniques used in those to convey message. In groups, you then looked through a collection of fallacies and found many fallacies within the commercials we viewed. I collected the comparison sheet at the end of class.
HW: 1. Q1 terms due October 15. 2. Puritan Fact Find due Tuesday, Sep. 1st.

8/27/15--Class Info

*We began today with a quiz on the argument and persuasion lecture. Many of you did not do well. Please ask questions for clarity in class and/or look over the presentation again and see where you may still have some confusion. Let's clear it up
*You then chose two items that were brought class by your group members to analyze.
*Then you were given a advertisement from a magazine to analyze. Depending on your period, you either got through one advertisement or two.
 
HW: 1. Q1 terms due October 15th. 2. Word Crime #2 due tomorrow. 3. Research one fallacy from the website listed on the last slide of the presentation and write a slogan for the item you brought to class using that fallacy.

8/26/15--Class Info

*I collected your final draft of the song response, stapled in this order:
     1. Assignment Sheet
     2. Final Draft (typed)
     3. Annotated Lyrics
     4. Song Analysis sheets
Remember, you need to submit the final draft to turnitin.com by midnight tonight. The course ID and password can be found on Monday's class info post and on the right side of the class homepage with the other documents.
 
*Today began with us briefly analyzing the claim of a bottle of Ethos water along with the strategies used to make that claim.
*We then completed our lecture on Argument and persuasion. You will have a quiz tomorrow on the content presented in the lecture.
 
HW: 1. Q1 terms due October 15th. 2. Word Crime #2 due Friday. 3. Submit final draft to turnitin.com tonight. 4. Bring an item from home that makes an argument. Make sure it is something easily portable...a shirt, a sticker, a soup can, etc...