AP LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
Syllabus – Memoir Genre
September
17
18
19
20
21
25
26
27
28
29
Memoir genre; Part I of The Glass Castle;
Jeannette Walls clip
Read pages 26-51; response journal for note making
Kenneth Burke’s “Parlor” activity; Focus Question #1; smallgroup discussions
Tone; Synthesizing discrepant viewpoints and complexity issues
*Read pages 51-81; response journal for note making
Student Model for Focus Question #1; Focus Question #2; Partner
Share
*Read pages 81-125; continue response journal
“Non-fiction” Friday; Entering the conversation using one
linking text: Martian Child clip (2007); silent discussion
*Read pages 129-186; continue response journal
M.C. Monday; Partner discussion; Student Samples; Leveling:
“Burger Village”
*Read pages 186-221; continue journal
Focus Question #3; entering the conversation using visual texts:
“Thanksgiving Dinner” (Rockwell); “Me and Uncle Romie”
(Lagarrigue); discussion focus:
How visual texts provide support to thesis topics; Rhetorical
Vocabulary (Interruption) Introduce GRAPESS analysis
*Read pages 222-241; continue response journal
Rhetorical Vocabulary (Omission); GRAPESS and annotation on
“Seven Amazing Life Lessons from Oprah”
*Read pages 245-259; continue response journal
Non-Fiction Friday; Review FQ #3 (student model); Visual exercises on Tone
*Finish reading The Glass Castle (260-end); continue journal;
read, annotate, and prepare GRAPESS analysis to share article on family
dynamics/raising children/growing up in the 21st century
October
1
2
3
4
5
8
9
Multiple Choice Monday! Pair/share articles; large-group discussion and written
response; Jeannette Walls’ on writing a memoir
Rhetorical Vocabulary (Repetition); Discuss end of book, choose a paragraph
from end section and rewrite to fit a situation in your life.
Focus Question #4; Purpose of memoir; Oprah Winfrey and James Frey clip
(truthfulness in memoirs); discuss ideas for personal memoirs; Cheaper By the
Dozen clip
Rhetorical Vocabulary (Comparison); Discuss and pre-write for “Slice of Life”
memoir;
*Write introductory piece of memoir in notebook
Non-Fiction Friday!; Continue writing “Slice of Life” memoir; Review Stephen
Dunning revision workshop
*Write first draft of memoir; bring four printed copies
Stephen Dunning small groups for revision with Peninsula Writers;
debriefing on writing process
*Second draft of memoir; bring two copies
Rhetorical Vocabulary (Balance); Pair/share second draft; read-around; finalcopy questions
*Final draft of memoir; bring one copy
Unless otherwise specified by the teacher, accountability assignments should ALWAYS be completed
according to this official syllabus
10
11
12
15
16
17
18
19
Rhetorical Vocabulary (Word Play); GRAPESS on memoir; Memoir Self
Assessment;
Rhetorical Vocabulary (Word Play); The “skinny” on writing summaries; Précis
Summary paragraph on The Glass Castle and personal Memoir (gradual release)
Non-Fiction Friday; Review Précis Summary; Begin reading “Notes of a Native
Son”
*Read and annotate “Notes of a Native Son”; write a singledraft précis summary
IMC to drop off The Glass Castle and pick up Language of Composition
textbook; M.C. Monday; Rhetorical Vocabulary; Low/Middle/High Style
Rhetoric
Close Reading and analysis of “Fear” by Gary Soto
Close Reading and analysis of “Living Well, Living Good” by Maya Angelou;
Focus Question #6
Close Reading and comparative analysis of “Death of a Moth” by
Dillard and Woolf
Non-fiction Friday (Letter to the Editor); Letter to Jeannette Walls
using highlighting specific rhetoric schemes
Mrs. Whetstone
Fall 2012
“The difference between right and wrong is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.”
Memoir Unit Summative Assessments:
GRAPESS Analysis of non-fiction article
“Slice of Life” Memoir
Rhetorical Precis on non-fiction article
Rhetorical Precis on “Notes of a Native Son”
Focus Question #5
Focus Question #6
14 Points
100 Points
20 Points
20 Points
9 Points
9 Points
Unless otherwise specified by the teacher, accountability assignments should ALWAYS be completed
according to this official syllabus