AP
English Language and Composition Seminar #3
Dogtown by Elyssa
East
Seminar
Goals
·
Deepen
our understanding of the relationship between purpose, argument and rhetorical
strategies & techniques
·
Deepen
our understanding of how to synthesize research, experience, and observation to
gain understanding and to make arguments
·
Deepen
our understanding of our own relationship with where we live and important
places in our lives
Seminar
Activities
Introduction to the Cape
Ann Museum and to the seminar’s goals and activities
Achieving a
purpose
Use
brainstorm writing, pair sharing, and whole group sharing to explore the
purpose of Dogtown: to persuade, to
inform, to engage.
What is Elyssa East trying to persuade her audience of? What point is she trying to make ?
What were you informed of while reading the book? (Students wrote down two specific things.
How does East effectively engage her audience? What choices did East make that did not engage you?
Noticing &
Analyzing
Use
brainstorm writing, pair sharing, and whole group sharing to explore Elyssa
East’s purpose(s), argument(s), and rhetorical strategies/techniques.
(in
the Folly Cove Auditorium)
What did you notice about East's rhetorical strategies and techniques? What did you notice about her use of storytelling, setting imagery, and characterization? How does the organization of the book contribute to her argument and other purposes? What did you notice about her style, voice, and tone? How is point of view significant in the book?
Use
direct observation and note-taking to explore Marsden Hartley’s use of artistic
techniques to create meaning and effect in his art.
What do you see in the paintings: composition, color, line, shape, space, texture, pattern?
What effect does the painting have on you? What feelings and ideas does it produce?
How do the choices made by the artist contribute to its effect and meaning?
(Marsden
Hartley exhibit)
Researching
& Synthesizing
Use
Socratic seminar observations and thoughts about Marsden Hartley’s art to
understanding Elyssa East’s Dogtown.
How does your experience observing and thinking about the paintings affect your understanding of parts of East's book?
(in
the Folly Cove Auditorium)
Use
Socratic seminar to explore how Elyssa East synthesizes research, experience,
and observation to persuade, inform, and entertain her reader.
(in
the Folly Cove Auditorium)
Reflecting
& Taking next steps
Use
direct observation and note-taking to reflect on the relationship between art
and ourselves.
(in
the Museum--tba)
Use
brainstorm writing, pair-sharing, and Socratic seminar to explore the
relationship between research and ourselves.
(in
the Folly Cove Auditorium)
Compile
questions to send to Elyssa East.
Discuss
how all of this will inform what we do during the school year.
Those of you who did not attend the third AP English Language and Composition summer seminar must write a substantial response (300+ words) to the summary provided above. Your response may be informal but it must thoughtfully relate your careful reading of the memoir with the concepts presented in the summary. Although you are free to respond to anything in the summary of the first session, you might want to pay particular attention to the underlined passages. I look forward to hearing from you.
All summer work (except for the quotation responses for your choice book) must be completed by the first day of class August 26, 2012. (In other words by 8/26/12 quotation responses for All Souls, Omnivore's Dilemma, and Dogtown must be completed, and students who did not attend one or more seminar must complete blog comments for the seminar(s) they missed.)
