A first day of class presentation to go over expectations, rules, AP exam, and other important information.

1. WELCOME TO
ENGLISH III AP
Or, How to Succeed This Year

2. Student Info Card
Last Name , First Name (Preferred Name) birthday
Your e-mail:
Parent(s) Information
Name, e-mail, and phone #
1. Anything I should know? (health/activities/other)
2. Have you ever taken an AP or Pre-AP class before?
3. What are you most looking forward to this year?
4. What would you like to accomplish this year?
5. What are your post-high school goals?

3. CLASSROOM RULES &
EXPECTATIONS

4. Come to class prepared; materially, physically, and mentally.
Only use technology when it is allowed by the teacher for educational purposes. (Cell phones, headphones,
and personal devices are prohibited.)
Understand that they must be active participants in their own education.
Get to class on time.
Always have something to read with them.
Respect themselves and others, and are polite and considerate.
Show respect for themselves and others.

5. When I Come Into Class
1. Come in and turn in any homework.
2. Sit in your assigned seat.
3. Check the board for assignments and/or warm-up and begin working if
possible.

6. Instead of “I don’t know”
May I please have some more information?
May I have some time to think?
Would you please repeat the question?
Where could I find some more information about that?
May I ask a friend for help?

7. Discourse
◦ Speak in complete sentences
◦ Don’t speak when someone else is speaking
◦ Be respectful of the opinions and views of others
◦ Be confident – your ideas are worth sharing
◦ Don’t use foul or offensive language

8. At the End of Class
The bell does NOT dismiss you.
Make sure that all supplies and materials have been cleaned up.
When assigned, place your exit ticket in the bucket before you leave.

9. Supply List
◦ 1in. Binder and 5 Dividers
◦ Pens and/or Pencils
◦ Colored Pen
◦ College Ruled Paper
◦ Highlighter
◦ Post-its (or other sticky notes)
◦ Always bring to class:
◦ Charged Laptop
◦ Something to Read

10. Use the MLA Heading for EVERY Paper
Full Name
Ms. Mendoza
English III AP – Pd
Date - Day Month Year
Assignment Title

11. Grade Breakdown
Exams (Tests and Major Papers/Essays) – 30%
Projects / Quizzes / Exit Tickets – 40%
Classwork/ Homework – 30%

12. Late Work
Late work will NOT be accepted. The only exception is an excused absence.
If you cheat, you will receive a zero. Academic dishonesty is excluded from the re-do
policy.
This is a college level course and it will be run in that manner.

13. Re-do Policy
◦ Every student that does not make a 70 on an assignment has an
opportunity to re-do the assignment/assessment.
◦ There is a limit of 1 re-do per assignment.
◦ The teacher can opt to take the higher of the two grades or post a 70 as the
highest grade possible.
◦ Assignments not turned in disqualifies the student from being able to re-do.
◦ It is the student’s responsibility to seek out the re-do.
◦ Re-do’s must be done within 1 week from the time the grade was posted.
◦ The re-do can be different from the original.
◦ In order to re-take a test, you must complete 1.5 hours of tutoring/study
time. This study requirement can be completed at Homework Haven and/or
during teacher tutoring hours.
◦ Students are to receive a zero for Academic Dishonesty and cannot re-
do the assignment/assessment.

14. Tutoring
EVERYONE is welcome to come and get extra help
Monday - Friday
8:15 - 8:45 & 3:55 - 4:15
*Extra times available as needed*
You are also welcome to seek help from other English teachers.
HOMEWORK HAVEN is also available Monday – Thursday from 4:15– 6:15 in the
Library.

15. New Bell Schedule
7: 45 – 8: 30 a.m. Zero Period
8:30 a.m. First Bell
8:45 – 10:15 a.m. 1st / 5th Period
10:23 – 11:57 a.m. 2nd / 6th Period
11:57 – 12:39 p.m. Lunch
12:47 – 2:17 p.m. 3rd / 7th Period
2:25 – 3:55 p.m. 4th / 8th Period

16. Other Topics
◦ Restroom/Library/Nurse
◦ Tardy Policy
◦ Cell Phone Policy
◦ Crisis/Fire Drills
◦ Classroom Library

17. Shameless Plug
Franklin’s UIL Academic Teams have openings!
Literary Criticism
Spelling & Vocabulary
Ready Writing
(see Ms. Longoria)

18. WEBSITES & TOOLS

19. Classroom Website
http://mendozaenglishfranklin.weebly.com

20. Remind
Text the class code to 81010
5th period - @apeng5thpd
6th period - @apeng6thpd

21. CommonLit
Sign up on the website (commonlit.org) and use the class
code to join.
5th period – JZRN6Q
6th period – 5N6L47

22. CONTENT
So, what is AP Language and Composition?

23. Equity and Access
This class is for everyone willing to take up
the challenge.

24. Syllabus
1st Semester Foundations (beginnings to 1800)
Readings: Native American stories, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and other early explorers, accounts of The Lost Colony, William Bradford, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Anne Bradstreet, Mary Rowlandson, Jonathan Edwards, Olaudah Equiano,
Phillis Wheatley Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, Abigail Adams, various contemporary connective pieces of fiction and non-fiction works
Romanticism and Transcendentalism (1800 to 1860)
Readings: Washington Irving, William Cullen Bryant, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Edgar Allan Poe, Accounts from the Trail of Tears, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee Walt
Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, various contemporary connective pieces of fiction and non-fiction works
2nd Semester Realism (The Civil War to 1914)
Readings: Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War accounts, Ambrose Bierce, Stephen Crane, Chief Joseph, Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, various contemporary
connective pieces of fiction and non-fiction works
The Moderns (1914 to 1939)
Readings: Ezra Pound, William Carlos Williams, ee cummings, Dorothy Parker, Robert Frost, Edgar Lee Masters, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott
Fitzgerald, various contemporary connective pieces of fiction and non-fiction works
The Contemporary Period (1939 to present)
Readings: A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Tim O Brien, immigrant literature, Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, various contemporary connective pieces of fiction and non-fiction works
The readings for the year may include, but are not limited to, the above. Assessments of the readings will include, but are not limited to, quizzes, essays, research projects, group activities, class work, and homework assignments. Students should also make
and keep themselves aware of current events. Finally, each student is expected to actively participate in class discussion. Almost exclusively, the reading is done outside of class and is handled in a college preparatory manner.
In preparation for college, the SAT/ACT, and the AP exam, this class has a heavy focus on advanced vocabulary and writing. All writing will adhere to the MLA format. There will be an emphasis on rhetoric, both analysis and application. Throughout the
year, we will do focused AP exam prep; however, it is imperative that you spend time outside of class readying yourself for the exam as well.
Grades are figured in the following way: Exams (Tests and Major Essays/Papers) – 30%
Projects / Quizzes / Exit Tickets – 40%
Classwork / Homework – 30%
Materials needed: 1 inch thick binder used exclusively for this class and 5 dividers
*Procedures/Calendars/Assignment Descriptions, Vocabulary, Reading Notes, Essays/Writing Process, Graded Work
College rule notebook paper
Pencils and/or pens (at least one colored pen for editing)
Post-its (or other sticky notes)
Highlighters
I use Remind and my website, mendozaenglishfranklin.weebly.com, to post specific guidelines for assignments and to alert you of upcoming quizzes, tests, or due dates. This is also where you can find policies regarding reading, due dates, and re-dos. We
will also use several online resources for this class; these include, but are not limited to: CommonLit and Schoology. If you need to communicate with me, you can send messages via Remind or email me at mskaiser@episd.org.

25. What Will We Be Doing Here?
• Zoom in on an author’s craft by identifying and examining rhetorical devices
• Analyze individual parts of a text and understand how they fit into the whole
• Write with more intention by choosing from a variety of strategies to best suit
your purpose
• Gain familiarity with the types of questions on the AP exam through repeated
practice
• Share your writing
• Read thought-provoking material and discuss your ideas in class regularly
• Develop and practice close reading skills

26. Current Events
◦ It is essential to be caught up with what is going on in the world. This
will help you make connections in your writing and discussions.
◦ Some suggested news sources
◦ New York Times
◦ The New Yorker
◦ The Atlantic
◦ BBC
◦ TIME
◦ NPR

27. Ongoing Journal Assignment
◦ Journals: It is essential to keep up your practice of writing by doing it every day. To this end, you will be turning
in a set of 5 journals approximately every two weeks. 2 of the five journals need to be responses to a current
event (name the article and the news source and then reflect, react, and/or respond to the issue addressed).
**Please note that the current events that you write about need to substantive.** The other 3 can be a topic of
your choice, another current event or journals that were written in response to in-class prompts. These can be
hand written (encouraged). There is no length requirement as a thorough discussion or reflection of the topic is
more important.
Deadlines:
First Nine Weeks
August 30
September 14
September 28

28. AP Central
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/home

29. Exam Breakdown
Multiple Choice
◦52-55 questions
◦60 minutes
◦45% of Score
Free Response (Essays)
◦3 prompts
◦2 hours, 15 minutes
◦55% of Score

30. Prompt Types
◦ Synthesis
◦ Students read several texts about a topic and create an argument that synthesizes
at least 3 of the sources to support their thesis
◦ Rhetorical Analysis
◦ Students read a non-fiction text and analyze how the writer’s language choices
contribute to his or her purpose and intended meaning for the text
◦ Argument
◦ Students create an evidence-based argument that responds to a given topic.

31. AP Scores

32. QUESTIONS?

33. INTERVIEW

34. Time to Know Your Classmates
Step 1: Pick 3 questions to ask your classmates.
Step 2: Get in groups of 3.
Step 3: Take turns interviewing each other.
Step 4: Share-out:
Choose one of the answers
from each of your partners to
share with the class.

35. Questions/Stems
◦ What I love most about life is…
◦ My three all time favorite movies are…
◦ If I could develop a new skill, it would be…
◦ Outside school, I’m good at…
◦ My favorite food is…
◦ My favorite book is…
◦ A perfect day for me would be…
◦ The best vacation I ever took was…
◦ If I could be anyone else for a day, I would be…
◦ The thing I am most looking forward to this year is…
◦ One thing people don’t know about me is…

36. ARTICLE JIGSAW

37. Article Reading
◦ Each row/section will be assigned a set of paragraphs. Read your paragraphs, discuss
with your partners, and then share out.
◦ Group 1 – paragraphs 1-3
◦ Group 2 – paragraphs 4-7
◦ Group 3 – paragraphs 8-11
◦ Group 4 – paragraphs 12-14
◦ Group 5 – paragraphs 15-17
Article: ”The Value of Remembering Ordinary Moments” by
Cody C. Delistraty from The Atlantic

38. Exit Ticket
Write your small, ordinary
moment that you remember.