Mr. Seaman's Blog

AP Language Update - January 20

Students should finish reading and annotating MLK's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" this weekend. Next week students will contribute to a class discussion/analysis of the Letter using their annotations. We will also complete our vocabulary list from the letter next week using context clues. Students need to bring a copy of their first parallel reading book to class on Monday, January 23, and our test over that first book is scheduled for January 31.

Advanced Composition Update - January 20

Students completed a reading and an on-line quiz on the First Amendment this week to prepare them for additional readings and discussions that will be included in our unit on Language and Literacy. This weekend, students need to define 22 foreign words (list provided in class) and create 3 sniglets. Our topics next week include langauge change (neologisms) and decency standards as established by the FCC.

Welcome . . .

to AP Language. Most of our activities this semester will involve a careful consideration of language (as readers, writers, speakers, etc.). Hopefully, you already have some innate curiosity about language in general, and about English specifically. As we progress this semester, try to become even more sensitive to and knowledgeable about the intricacies and nuances of the English language wherever and whenever you encounter it. You can expect to do some of the usual English classroom activities--reading and writing--but we will also spend a good deal of time finding new ways to engage with and analyze langauge.