Achtung, Baby!

"The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less commonly taught languages in summer and academic-year overseas immersion programs."

In other words, if you are interested in a college major and/or career based on languages, and you like the idea of maybe working for the government in some capacity, this might be--no, this IS--something you should look into today.

AP Texts for Rhetoric

The following are links to the texts we will be using in class for the next few weeks or so. Make sure you download and/or print out a copy of the text for class discussion. We will be hitting the first text Tuesday, Sept. 11.

The titles, in order, are:

Henry's Speech at the Virginia Convention
The Crisis
The Declaration of Independence
Lincoln's Letter to Horace Greeley
The Gettysburg Address
Letter to Mrs. Bixby
Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address
What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Kennedy's Inaugural Address
Statement by Alabama Clergymen
Letter from a Birmingham Jail
I Have a Dream
People Get Ready
Ballad of Birmingham
Eulogy for the Martyred Children
RFK's Eulogy for MLK
The Ballot or the Bullet

We may add more at a later date, but that will be announced well in advance of using any additional texts in class or on a quiz.

AP/IB Extra Credit Opportunity

WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines from Vaquera Films on Vimeo.


It's going to be at the at the Dallas Video Festival Saturday, Sept. 29, 9:30 p.m. at the Dallas Museum of Art. Alternatively, the film will also be screening again on Oct. 16 at the Dallas Chick Flick Festival. More information about that will appear on their site during the next few weeks. Show me a ticket stub from either, and I'll give you extra credit on one grade of your choice (except the final 6-wk grade). More info can be found at their website: http://wonderwomendoc.com/.

AP & IB SUPPLIES!

"Mr. McGhee, what kind of supplies do we need for this class?"

I get asked this a lot, and my normal answer is, "Pens, paper, hi-lighters, brain." However, that's not very specific, and (truth be told) I normally get asked this as I'm walking to or from one place or another, deep in thought and totally unprepared to deal with human beings in a rational manner.

Here are the supplies you actually will need as soon as possible in the course of this school year:

Each student should have:

• A large (1 ½ or 2 inch) 3-ring binder for class notes, handouts, etc. 
• (you will not be required to hand in this notebook as you may be required in other classes, so save money here and split this binder with another class)
• Tab separators for sections in the binder 
• (notes, handouts, drafts, etc)
• 3x5 inch note cards 
• (400 will carry you to the end of the year if you can get them on sale)
•  A box or other containment system for the note cards 
• (a quart-sized Ziploc bag is mighty economic; just sayin'...)
• Three highlighters of different colors 
• (no preference, just three different colors)
• Pens (black or blue ink only), pencils, and plenty of loose leaf notebook paper for notes and writing assignments

The following items are optional, but it would be a good idea to have:

• A good college dictionary 
• (www.merriam-webster.com is free to use)
• A style manual that contains the guidelines for MLA and APA 
• (for example, A Writer’s Reference by Diana Hacker contains formatting and grammar guides for writing academic papers)
• A pocket calendar or appointment planner 
• (again, not exclusive to this class, so put all of your classes' assignments in this)

The good news is that there really isn't anything terribly esoteric in my supply list, and odds are you were already planning to pick this stuff up in the first place.

Congrats!

Congratulations are in order for everyone who passed the AP English Language exam. Good job; now, get back to Mr. Black's summer reading.

(If for some reason you haven't received your scores yet, don't panic. The US Mail is slow but faithful. You may find it satisfying to check out the College Board's AP Scores & Reporting Service for alternatives to access your results.)

Woodrow Summer Reading, 2012: An Overview

Sometimes things aren't as clear as we believe them to be, so here is the summer reading list one more time, all together, in one location:

NOTE: Acquire the novels at the least personal expense possible. The edition matters little as long as it is the full, unabridged edition. You may pick up a copy at a retail, wholesale, or re-sale outlet--real or online--or even a public library; just be sure to have the books read and available for use on day one when the new school year begins.

Incoming 12th Graders

• AP Literature
• Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
• Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall
• IB Literature
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
• The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Incoming 11th Graders

• AP Language & IB Literarture
• The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
• Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Incoming 10th Graders

• On-level 10th Grade
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• Pre-AP
•  Night by Elie Wiesel
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Pre-IB
•  Night by Elie Wiesel
• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• The Once and Future King by T. H. White

All Incoming 9th Graders (go here for the assignment)

•  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Woodrow Summer Reading, 2012: 11th Grade

The following books are the assigned summer reading for incoming 11th graders at Woodrow Wilson:

For AP English Language and Composition or 11th Grade IB Literature (doesn't matter which, you're reading the same two):

The Reluctant Fundamentalist is the second novel by Pakistani author Mohsin Hamid, and it is not the story you anticipate. I will fully admit that I was skeptical upon opening the book, but I was quickly disabused of any concerns--in fact, I couldn't put it down. A political thriller, this novella is a classic story of post-9/11 disillusionment with the American Dream and all its wretched excess. Part-spy-thriller, part-romance, this story will make you think.

 First of all, Into the Wild is non-fiction written by a regular contributor for Outside Magazine. Second, there is a movie, but I don't advise watching it at all. You don't need it. Third, don't read this book in an enclosed area, especially if the A/C is on high. This book reveals right on the cover that the subject of the book, a young man fresh out of college, died doing this; in spite of this spoiler, the book is riveting and will make you reconsider your camping plans.