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Welcome to Caroline Howard Elston's website for Yearbook, AP Language and Composition, and Honors English 11. I am excited about all of the instruction and projects this year, and about learning alongside my classes. I expect all of my students to wholeheartedly embrace reading, writing, and thinking. So often, I hear, "Well, I like to read about things I'm interested in." That's fine, but building memory, honing critical thinking skills, challenging difficult texts, formulating opinions, and communicating our thoughts takes hard work. The brain is a muscle; use it or lose it! In fact, research shows us that if we are not tackling texts that are "harder" than we like, we will lose ground. This self-sifting happens most often in the leap to junior year. Juniors, especially, must build mental muscle so that you won't slip through the sieve. We are in this together, so let's have fun while we moan and groan!
2023-24 Schedule of Classes
Advanced Placement and Composition - 1st and 7th periods
English 11 Honors - 2nd, 3rd, 4th periods
Yearbook - 5th period 
Plan Period - 7th period
 

Posts

Honors Week of April 6-10

1 - Posters due Sunday night April 12 11:59. Zoom conferences Friday April 10 at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 9 p.m. for the night owls. (Let's attempt this. We will see how the technology works.) 
2 - Do all 3 ACT excerpts from the link in ALL CLASSES. 
3 - Check-in Journal #2 Topic: Consider the story we read in Q3 To Build a Fire by Jack London. https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf Through your own observations, reading and experience, find similarities between the characters in the story (Yes, the dog is a character.) and the population today as we live during the pandemic. How does the setting of the story in Alaska compare to the "wilderness" and inherent dangers of our own environment today? How are the man 's decisions and the dog's actions similar to those made by some people today?

AP Week of April 6-10 Separate links and resources to the AP videos

Link to Video #1 - Identifying the Rhetorical Situation in a Pre-Twentieth Century Text
Links to the prompt discussed
 
 
Link to Video #2 - Analyzing How Word Choice Reflects a Writer's Understanding of Audience
Link to resources
 
 
Link to video #3 - Explaining the Significance/Relevance of the Writer's Use of Sophisticated Words
 
Resources same as Videos 1 & 2.
 
Link to Video #4 -Analyzing How Use of Comparison Reflects Understanding of Audience
Link to resources
 
Link to video #5 - part 2 of Identifying the Rhetorical Situation in a Pre-Twentieth Century Text (student samples analyzed)
 

 

 

AP Monday April 6

We will listen to 5 videos this week from the AP Youtube set. Here again is the link.
These will specifically help prepare you for the Rhetorical Analysis essay, which will be the only essay on the AP English Language and Composition Exam next month. (No multiple choice) If you have already listened to them, do so again using the handouts at the bottom of each video. Listen to Video One on Monday, Video Two on Tuesday, and so on through Friday. 
 
Check-in Journal #2 (You may still turn in #1) Topic: Consider that you have someone you care about who is not following the recommendations for activities during this pandemic. Write a letter to that person convincing them to comply. After watching this week's videos, you should be able to write a 500 word letter using the same methods Abigail Adams used as she spoke to her son. Be aware of the Rhetorical Situation. If you want good practice, you can color code your letter as the video models. 

HONORS April 6

1 - Posters due Sunday night April 12 11:59.
2 - Do all 3 ACT excerpts from the link in ALL CLASSES. Zoom conferences Friday April 10 at 10 a.m., 2 p.m., and 9 p.m. for the night owls. (Let's attempt this. We will see how the technology works.) 
3 - Check-in Journal #2 Topic: Consider the story we read in Q3 To Build a Fire by Jack London. https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/to-build-a-fire.pdf Through your own observations, reading and experience, find similarities between the characters in the story (Yes, the dog is a character.) and the population today as we live during the pandemic. How does the setting of the story in Alaska compare to the "wilderness" and inherent dangers of our own environment today? How are the man 's decisions and the dog's actions similar to those made by some people today? 

AP Friday April 3

Students, It's a Q2! See below for the first wave of information:
  • 📅 Test dates are 5/11-5/22 (see schedule below)
    • June testing dates are make-ups and can only be used if the school has been approved
    • Teachers will get their student responses two weeks after the test (can be used as a final)
    • Students with documented accommodations will automatically have extended time
  • 🖥 How online exams will work:
    • Colleges will accept all scores
    • Exams are open book/note, questions will be more application based
    • Students can type or handwrite essays and upload a picture of it
    • Cheating protocols will be strict, especially for plagiarism, and any instances of cheating will be reported to colleges
    • Students will need to time themselves. There is a timer, but if you submit after time, nothing will be counted.
    • Students can only use one device and must "submit with the same device they retrieve the question with."
      • There will be simulations in which to practice this retrieval and submission process.
    • AP Readings will all be online this year. In-person readings will return next year (CDC-permitting)
      • Each response is going to be read 2x
  • 📝 Exam formats:
    • AP World, US, and Euro prompts will be a DBQ with 5 documents
    • AP English Lang and Lit will be FRQ2 (prose & rhetorical analysis)
    • Most other exams will have two FRQs timed at 25 mins and 15 mins
    • World Languages won't have writing or reading, just listening and speaking
    • AP Calc BC students can switch to AB if counselors allow it. No AB sub-scores this year
ALSO please download today's attachment and put in your class folder. ACT practice tests will be posted weekly along with answers. The chart will allow you to scale your raw score to the 1-36 score.

HONORS

Please download the attached ACT conversion chart to your class folder. ACT practice tests will be posted weekly along with answers. The chart allows you to convert your raw score to the scaled score (1-36).