OK AP peeps:

Since we've threaded the needle with point of view, let's continue on with more analysis and connections. Examining POV, narrator, and eventually speaker deepens your Five-S annotations, plus it'll be a great place to begin in a couple of weeks with Slaughterhouse Five. I call that win-win!

Here are the rest of the songs for the activity. After you've listened to and analyzed a few more of these, post a link to a song you know with an interesting point of view. It might be fun to talk to your parents about this one. 

**Update**
List the song title and artist. AND Copy & paste the link to your song OR some representative lyrics into the comments section below. 

Tell us what makes the point of view interesting. You should go beyond just identifying the pov. Tell us how the point of view functions in the song and why we, too, might find it interesting. 

You DO NOT need to fill in the website category -- leave it blank. Post everything in the comments. 


You also DO NOT need to fill in any more of the song analysis chart. We'll let this homework and connection-making suffice. 

Do this by Friday -- please & thank you :)


Have fun!

I am super pumped about the new school year.

It was an excellent first week, and I was impressed once again by the work ethic and enthusiasm of the Spring Mills student body and staff. 

To  my own students, I am truly delighted to be teaching all of you this year. Now...

Let's be awesome!

Um, have you seen all of the school supplies littering the aisles of every single store everywhere? Yes, yes you have. 

Have those school supplies littering the aisles of every single store everywhere given your teacher a moderate-to-severe case of back-to-school panic? Yes, yes they have. 

I'm not panicking because I'm embarking on my tenth year in the classroom (bring it), but my baby, my little girl actually, begins Kindergarten this year. 

I had a student a couple of years ago named Mason Beck. Mason Beck is one of the most delightful people I've ever taught. I had him for English Traditions his senior year. Beginning with the first day of school Mason was counting down the days until graduation. Not in the annoying Senioritis way you might expect if you teach seniors, but in a genuine embrace the day way. I think he was a lovely mixture of nostalgia, uncertainty, and wild excitement. On the first day of school he said, "Mrs. Hilliard, this is my last first day of school ever." And at Thanksgiving break he told his class, "Guys, this is our last ever." And at Christmas and Spring Breaks, and on school picture day, and for prom and pep rallies, for his first last football game, soccer game, band concert, and every other moment throughout the year. He wasn't wrong either. Mason and his classmates' school year was full of last firsts and just some plain old lasts. At some point, Mason brought in his Kindergarten photo, which of course was adorable, and in it was a smiling kid with blonde hair and a tiny graduation cap on top, and I thought man, this kid has grown up into something good. And I also thought, man, a lot of these kids grow into something good. And then, I hope my own kids grow into something good, too. 

It's a big year for my Addy, and it's a big year for you guys. She will experience many firsts, and you, well you know...

IT'S YOUR SENIOR YEAR! What are you looking forward to? What are you hoping for? What moments are you ready to embrace?

Hello from Morgantown! It's good to be back at my alma mater. 

This stack of books, both freebies from this week's AP training and not, is what I'm reading and picking through right now. I actually just finished TFIOS (Because I couldn't stand it anymore, and turns out everybody's right about it, ok?! It's a weeper and sort of beautiful. And who has the time to hear me wax philosophical about it, when so much is already being said?)

In my sessions this week, there has been some discussion about what you students ought to be reading in AP Lit (Divergent? Gatsby? Shakespeare other than Hamlet?), and what's considered literary merit (hello, summer reading task). My instructor this week has referred to "literature" (you know, written stuff that is  ambiguous, provocative, complex, and personally and emotionally challenging (if that doesn't sound familiar, you should definitely review the summer reading task)) as deep-dark-rich-chocolate, and I kind of love the analogy...

So, let us assume that deep-dark-rich-chocolate has nuanced flavor profiles and subtle hints of sea salt or orange zest or bacon or whatever else that can only be fully appreciated by savoring the deep-dark-rich-chocolate ounce by ounce and with our full attention to its magnificent and other-worldly detail that could make a grown man cry. And let us also assume that the best deep-dark-rich-choclate can only be crafted and produced by the best, most creative chocolatiers in the world, those who have been blessed by the chocolate gods, or those who have honed their craft through years of methodical work and fine-tuning. I mean, my instructor didn't actually say all of that, but she did call lit deep, dark, rich chocolate, so you know, let your imaginations run wild. 

Sorry, sorry. Long day.

So, what are YOU reading? Are you stuck in the middle of The Road? Are you trying to navigate the narrators' sound and fury in The Sound and the Fury? Did you also just hole yourself up in a nice room and weep with wild abandon through The Fault in Our Stars? Is what you're reading deep-dark-rich-chocolate? Or is it just watered down chocolate milk?

If you're participating in this discussion, please do so by Monday, June 23. 

Welp, guys, it's May, 30 at 7:24 AM, and I'm experimenting with this blog. I'm interested in getting the ball rolling, so.

Some questions for you, and a poll? Ok, go!

w/r/t summer reading...

What are the pros to participating in a discussion blog?
What are the cons?
What can we reasonably expect from one another?


With that said, answer this!