APEnglish–Los Al

Period 4

Hello
Well, today I got to class pretty early, and the passing period was fairly uneventful, except for Jordan and Brittany singing (I forget what) at some point. I was hungrier than usual today, so I started eating my chips, which seemed saltier than usual today. Jordan would later “steal” a few, and also comment that I ate them faster than usual today.

The period started with Nadir occupying Mystery for the first ten or so (maybe a little more) minutes of class with an endless argument regarding his chosen research question (about skepticism of the genocide or something). During this time, chatter commenced throughout the class, and several people drew/wrote things on the board. Michelle E. and Olivia wrote something about voting for Rick=2 0Hamlin III and Nicky D. for Prom Prince(ss). Jordan drew a few figures on the board and labeled them “Mr. Eldridge” and “The Mrs.” He also drew a drummer and some song lyrics (I forget which, but they should be in Hayley’s picture that she sent), which led to more of him singing throughout the period and also him almost falling off a chair while dancing around. Tricia says hi. We received two sheets: “A.P. Language/Literary and Rhetorical Terms” and “Diction Practice,” which Jordan flipped repeatedly while trying to figure out what to do with it. When Mystery was finally free to teach the class, the first thing he did was ask Elysha how it takes her so long to get to class every day if her previous class is 20 feet away.

We then continued to choose names for our new groups:
· &nb sp; “Big Nid and the KKK” – an interesting name
· “The Pen15 Club” – took Jordan a while to understand, and it will have to be changed
· “Freudian panda named Fifi on Mars” – another interesting name
· “Tee minus Uno”, which was supposed to be (and I like it better as) “T–1” (testosterone except for Hayley)
· Sean wanted “Pen Island”, but this was also censored by a Mysterious source
· “Nauti-ca” – naughty something?
· “I’m not making the name!” – I’m not sure if this was intended

Mystery then began to talk about the stress that AP classes are putting on us right now, and used the analogy of making chocolate: you must heat it as near to the boiling point as possible, but if it boils it is ruined. Jordan released all of his stress at once (with a yell), then took of his sweatshirt. We started to talk about the paper that we had received with a bunch of vocab words and some tropes on the back. Mystery asked if we had any questions, and someone asked what “bathos” is (it is when something is anticlimactic or melodramatic). He reminded us that all of the words are basic terms that we may or may not see, and we, being AP students, should continue to look up unknown words as we find them. Also, on the AP test we should not choose an answer choice with the one word we don’t know, even if the other choices can be eliminated (correct me if I got this part wrong).

0A
In a small period of transition, Mystery talked about our research questions: we should first create a cause and effect relationship, which then can be turned into a claim, which then can turn into an essay. Tristan did something that most people did not see, but it resulted in several “ew!”s.

As we silently read and annotated the first selection from our diction practice sheets, Mystery wrote several terms on the board: slang, colloquial, jargon, dialect, concrete/abstract, denotation/connotation, and later formal/informal. Several people asked for clarification on some terms. Remember, denotation is the literal meaning of a word (d for dictionary!) and connotation is an implied meaning. Jargon refers to specific terms used in areas of work, such as a mechanic knowing the specific engine parts and their uses (“engine” here is a colloquial/informal term). With the analysis of the roots of “colloquial” came a reminder that we should know all of the words and roots from our freshman vocab books (I think the green ones), because English is cumulative, like life. Mystery asked us the difference between colloquial langua ge and slang, and it is that colloquy uses informal language with literal meanings, while slang uses informal language with words/phrases that do not use their literal meanings. An example he gave us was this commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffUDDYYIX04

Passage #1: (first paragraph of that evil book from first semester)
– Sad, depressing, drab, melancholy
– A “throng” is an assembled group of people with no individualism, while a “crowd” would be mixed up and more individu alistic
– An “edifice” is older and more traditional than a “building”, and it implies violence with the description of its imposing door
– Has a solemn and gloomy tone, with a hostile throng (hostile but not active, while a mob is hostile and active)
– Demonstrates the point of the book, which is th at nothing happens even if you think that something will

Some ants were in the trash, which made Mystery say “If I was an ant, that’s where I would be too!” Apparently California is “just one big anthill” too.

Passage #2: (from The Secret Sharer)
– Contains jargon (“spare spar”) as well as formal language, which shows that the narrator is most likely the captain of the boat (captains are usually well-educated)
– Joseph Conrad (the author) wrote in English, his third language
– Cadaverous = like a cadaver, which = a dead body (Jordan: “oh.”)
– “Headless” connotes that the ghost is mindless and it lacks an identity
– Some of the best words in=2 0the passage (according to Mystery) are “plop,” “phosphorescent,” “cadaverous,” and some others that I missed because he listed them too fast
– The tone is devilish and macabre (a ghastly form of morbid)
– Formal diction shows that the narrator is educated, thoughtful, and precise
– The shift o f moods in the passage relates to the title (The Secret Sharer); ask Michelle E. (I think) for the full analysis
– “Clutched” is powerful and implies “holding for dear life,” thought the ghost has already lost its life

Passage #3: (from Manhattan Transfer)
– Has an eerie feeling
– The city is pulsing, seeming to be alive like an animal
– Seems dreamlike (washed out and weird phases, and we can’t seem to make out a distinct picture)
– We ran out of time, and this might be continued tomorrow

Well, after spending way too long interpreting my handwriting and typing this, I must say goodbye after a few reminders.
Homework:
– “Continue” researching
– Try to relax and don’t let your chocolate boil
General Reminders:
– There is an assembly tomorrow
– There is a swim meet tomorrow at 3:00 (I think) at Villa Park High School. It would be nice to have some support, but it’s pretty far away.
– Check the LAHS website for more events and information

Goodbye,
Adam Stromlund

Period 5

Today, period 5 started off finalizing our group names. We went on to look at the AP Language/ Literary & Rhetorical Term Sheet which Eldridge assumes we will go over.. He recommends we know about parody’s and satire in order to prepare for the AP test coming up.

Research Paper:
-see if topic establishes a cause/effect
-make sure the sources are credible
-make a claim if you need to

Diction Practice:
Slang- non standard… ex. cool
Colloquial- language people use when we speak informally
Jargon- technical language associated with specific topics

#1 “A throng of bearded men…”  (Exerpt from The Scarlet Letter)
Key words:
Throng- more tight knit than a crowd, less individuality; steeple- crowned; studded iron spikes

#2 “The side of the ship made….”
Formal / educated tone, used jargon such as the word “spar” describing the boat
-phosphorescent: Eldridge believes it is a rainbow type glow
phos·pho·res·cence     (fŏs’fə-rěs’əns)
n.

1. Persistent emission of light following exposure to and removal of incident radiation.

#3 III. Revolving Doors

Impersonal, dark and gloomy mood or as Ryan Cady would say, “Insectial”

KEEP RESEARCHING!!!

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