First, we’ll get everyone who hasn’t gone today to do their pecha kucha.  Then, I’ll want a little blog-post debrief.  Here are the questions:

1. What struck you most about the strategies most students employed in their pecha kuchas?  What worked best?
2. Who was the strongest persuader in the group and why?
3. What do we — as a class — need to work on most?  Logos, ethos, pathos?  Slide design?  Public speaking skills?  Research?

Next, I’ll give back the Sontag responses and I’ll ask you to read 3 strong student responses.

• Student #1
• Student #2
• Student #3

Then, we’ll talk about what is needed for a strong argument AP prompt response. Presentation.

Finally, we’ll look at synthetic essays.  I’m going to give you the 2007 exam’s notorious museum prompt. In small groups, I’m going to ask you to work together to plan an attack on the essay.

• First, read through the prompts and the sources.
• Second, decide together on a thesis.
• Third, break up the sources and figure which sources can be combined or synthesized in the same paragraph. Which sources, when discussed together, can yield a complex nuanced point?
• Lastly, produce an outlined response (including the synthesized passages) and post it here.

HW:  Take a look at the synthesis anchor papers and write a short 100 word blog post response.

Afterward, we’ll be talking a bit about Of Mice and Men.  We’ll look at these 4 selections from chapters 4-5 and talk about what theme might be present in each, what Steinbeck might be saying through these stories.

1. Crooks said, gently…to looking towards the window. (pgs 72-73)
2. Crooks interrupted brutally…He stopped, overwhelmed with his picture. (pgs. 75-76)
3. The girl flared up…”I know you guys.” (pgs. 78-79)
4. Curley’s wife laughed at him…I done another bad thing (90-91)

HW: Finish the book

Extra: See the whole text of the book online here.

Then, let’s get these Persuasive essays out the door.

HW:  Finish those persuasive essays.

Take a look at the poem you’re presenting on Friday.  Try and give a more or less literal summary of the poem.  What are the parts that you don’t understand? What are the parts that you think are interesting uses of words or imagery?  What do you like best about your poem?  (200 words)

Then, we’ll spend a little time working on memorizing.  We’ll spend the time we need  to make our poems seem as natural as possible.

Next, we’ll see a short presentation on literary terms: irony, foreshadowing, and conflict.

Finally, we’ll answer questions about Chapter 4 in OMM and hopefully get a headstart on Chapter 5 in class.

HW: Read Chapter 5 and be ready to present your poem on Friday

here is where to go for voting.

Then, I’ll do a presentation on literary terms: POV, setting, and symbolism.

Afterward, in small groups, I’ll ask you to rewrite a scene (pg. 62-63) in OMM from a different POV.

1. 3rd person omniscient
2. 1st person (Curley)
3. 3rd person limited omniscient (George)
4. 1st person (Lenny)

Put your response, here.

Then, we’ll get to work on our poetry. I’ll check again to see who has it memorized.  We’ll pair up in memorizing groups and see the evaluation criteria to help each other improve.

HW: Read chapter 4.  Work on presentation aspects of poem.

HW: Finish the first draft of the Persuasive essay by Wednesday.

You know this is ironic, right?

First, in small groups, compare slides and choose a winner–the representative who gets to show his/her 4 slides to the full groups for a workshop critique.  Some questions to consider:

• Is the initial impact powerful without being overly cluttered or garish?
• What do the images convey on a emotional/visceral level?
• Are the choices for font, color, and text flow sound and effective?

Other Gar Reynolds advice is here.

Next, we’ll talk a bit about the write-up.  I’m looking for about a page of reflection that explains your thinking on the following questions:

1. Kairos: How have you adapted your presentation to be effective for this group at this time in this situation?
2. What sources have you chosen? How do you know they are both reliable and persuasive?
3. What images have you chosen? Give me source info and a bit of your thinking on why you used them?
4. What data will you reference? Why is it reliable and how will you present it?

Finally, let’s move our eyes back and forth and design a slide. I’ll give you time to work in class and I’ll try and help individual students.

HW: First presentations on Tue, November 17th

“Progressive Health” by Carl Dennis is a poem in the voice of a strangely seductive health care official. We’ll see a student rendition of it and then in small groups, we’ll analyze it on 2 levels.

1. How and with what strategies does the speaker attempt to convince the poet?  How does he/she use kairos, commonplaces, logic, and other strategies?
2. What is the poem itself trying to convince us of and through what (obviously more indirect) strategies?

Then, we’ll talk a bit about slide design by seeing the Presentation Zen blog.  This is a blog that deals with presentation styles and issues written by Garr Reynolds, a writer who lives in Japan. Look at the blog and especially click on some of the articles on the right side marked archives. See especially Jobs vs. Gates, What is good PowerPoint design, and Where do I get good images?

In a blog post, respond to these questions after you wander around a bit in Presentation Zen.

1. Give examples of the types of advice and example Presentation Zen uses.
2. What kind of persona does the author of the blog present?
3. Why is Jobs better than Gates?
4. How could PZ’s advice help you in your speech?

We’ll look at 2-3 speeches (or at least parts of them).

• Lawrence Lessig at TED

• Dick Hardt about Identity 2.0

• Hans Roslin at TED

Finally, I hope to give you some time to work.

HW: Design at least 4 slides for Thursday and continue your research.

Extra: Are you interested in Prezi?