Transcript Pre-Testing Unit

Pre-Testing Unit
AP Language
2013-2014
Agenda
Review website and grading
 Video Clip
 Formative Analysis #1

Website and Grading

Whetstone Weebly

www.whetstonenvps.weebly.com
Summative 80%
 Formative 20%


Completed in notebook
Key Concepts for Analysis
AP= Address the prompt
 Set the scene
 Quote to Qualify
 Loop for Logic

FOCUS QUESTION #1
“Try not to look down on those other children,” Mom
said. It’s not their fault that they’ve been brainwashed
into believing silly myths” (Walls 39).
“Years from now, when all the junk they got is broken
and long forgotten,” Dad said, “you’ll still have your
stars” (41).
How do the preceding quotes reflect the parenting
style of Jeannette Walls’ mother and father?
Support your answer with at least two examples
from The Glass Castle (9-50).
From the desk of Rachel…
Jeannette Wall’s father and mother both have
compensating parenting styles. They know that
they are unable to adequately provide for their
family, and try to stop their children from seeing
that by subtly implying that they are actually better
than other children.
The quote on page 39 where Mom is telling her
children not to look down on others for
circumstances beyond their control supports this
opinion because she says it in such a way that it
comes off as derogatory; especially the end where
she says, “It’s not their fault they’ve been
brainwashed into believing silly myths.”
Rachel…


The full context behind this quote is that Mr. and Mrs.
Walls never allowed their children to believe in Santa
Claus because they were never able to afford to buy
gifts that would be from Santa (39). This shows that
the Walls could not afford to give their children what
others had, but instead of changing their
circumstances or being honest about their situation,
they subtly taught their children to pity the others for
“being brainwashed” (39).
The quote by Dad on page 41 where he brags to his
children about how their star presents will last while
other children’s won’t also supports this claim…
Formative Analysis #1
Jeannette Walls claims that she was inspired to
write her memoir, The Glass Castle, when her
mother told her to “just tell the truth” (5).
In a well-developed essay, explain how
Jeannette’s rhetorical style helps make the
characters, her family members, seem believable
and truthful enough to keep the reader engaged.
Please provide specific examples and quotes
from the book to support your answer.
AGENDA

Pre-testing


Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Formative Analysis Reflections
From the desk of Maija…
Jeannette Walls, the author of the memoir, The Glass Castle, tells
us the incredible and unbelievable story of her childhood. At times her
family members seem larger than life, but the story is still believable
because of Walls ability to keep it consistent despite it being fairly
optimistic.
The Walls family is constantly moving to new places and every
time they do they experience new challenges. No matter where they go
though, the parents especially keep the story connected with the
consistent personalities and actions.
Jeannette’s mother in particular, though it is a trait shared by the
whole family, seems to have an unbreakable sense of optimism no
matter what hardships she and her family endure. You see this time
and again throughout the book. For example, when they are trying to
move the piano inside byt instead pulled it all the way in the backyard
and got it stuck there. Instead of getting in any way upset about it, she
just starts playing and says, “Most pianists never get the change to
play in the great out-of-doors, and now the whole neighborhood can
enjoy the music too,” (53).
Maija…
Another example of her enduring optimism
is on page 93. At this point in the story, her
children just got in a gun fight with the
neighbor boy, Billy Deel. They are forced to
move to Phoenix and on the way she tells
them, “So the trouble you kids got into with
Billy Deel was actually a blessing in disguise,
my art career is going to flourish in Phoenix. I
can just feel it” (93).
From the desk of Zach…
Jeannette Walls, the author of “The Glass Castle” uses the realistic
perspective of an innocent and trusting child that all readers can relate to
to engage her audience.
In her book, Walls writes about traumatic childhood experiences as
she would’ve remembered them, from her childhood with all of the
unrelenting trust and love that bring. In he books, Walls recalls a moment
when she was flung out of the window of the car: “I was too shocked to
cry, with my breath knocked out and grit and pebbles in my eyes and
mouth. I lifted my head in time to watch the Green Caboose get smaller
and smaller” (Walls 30). She just endured pure terror, getting badly hurt,
and then seeing her family leave, but she merely gets up and expects
them to come back soon. When her family returns, they clean her off and
then her dad comments about how busted up her nose is. When her dad
calls it a “snot locker” the whole family laughs and they’re on their way
again. The section ends with “Snot locker. It was hilarious” (Walls 31).
She goes on loving and trusting her family and laughs off this tragic thing
with innocence only a child has.
AGENDA

Pre-testing


Argumentative Essay
Group Discussions on T.G.C
REMINDER: Report to the Writing Lab
tomorrow for class. We will be doing
SRI testing.
Exit Slip

“What is language?”
Language is…..
AGENDA
SRI in Writing Lab!
 SSR

AGENDA
Pre-Testing
 Rhetorical Discussion on TGC
 SSR

Considerations

Decipher the prompt

What is truly being asked
Make a strong claim
 Assume the reader doesn’t know
 Inclusion of quotes
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Strong claims
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In her memoir, The Glass Castle,
author Jeannette Walls keeps the
reader engaged by using descriptive
language that includes several
adjectives and many quotes from
family members.

~Connor
Strong Claim

Include:
Who, what, when
“In her poignant memoir, The Glass
Castle (2005), Jeannette Walls…”

A concise claim that clearly address
the prompt
 Leaves no questions unanswered

Strong Claims
“In The Glass Castle, Jeannette Walls
uses flashbacks told by her father to
keep the reader invested in her
story…”
~Alicia
Inclusion of quotes
Must not stand alone!
 Ie: YOUR words must somehow be
part of the same sentence that goes
with your quote.


PB & J
From the desk of Maija…
Jeannette Walls, the author of the memoir, The Glass Castle, tells
us the incredible and unbelievable story of her childhood. At times her
family members seem larger than life, but the story is still believable
because of Walls ability to keep it consistent despite it being fairly
optimistic.
The Walls family is constantly moving to new places and every
time they do they experience new challenges. No matter where they go
though, the parents especially keep the story connected with the
consistent personalities and actions.
Jeannette’s mother in particular, though it is a trait shared by the
whole family, seems to have an unbreakable sense of optimism no
matter what hardships she and her family endure. You see this time
and again throughout the book. For example, when they are trying to
move the piano inside but instead pulled it all the way in the backyard
and got it stuck there. Instead of getting in any way upset about it,
she just starts playing and says, “Most pianists never get the
change to play in the great out-of-doors, and now the whole
neighborhood can enjoy the music too,” (53).
From the desk of Zach…
Jeannette Walls, the author of “The Glass Castle” uses the realistic
perspective of an innocent and trusting child that all readers can relate to
to engage her audience.
In her book, Walls writes about traumatic childhood experiences as
she would’ve remembered them, from her childhood with all of the
unrelenting trust and love that bring. In her books, Walls recalls a
moment when she was flung out of the window of the car: “I was
too shocked to cry, with my breath knocked out and grit and
pebbles in my eyes and mouth. I lifted my head in time to watch the
Green Caboose get smaller and smaller” (Walls 30). She just endured
pure terror, getting badly hurt, and then seeing her family leave, but she
merely gets up and expects them to come back soon. When her family
returns, they clean her off and then her dad comments about how busted
up her nose is. When her dad calls it a “snot locker” the whole family
laughs and they’re on their way again. The section ends with “Snot
locker. It was hilarious” (31). She goes on loving and trusting her
family and laughs off this tragic thing with innocence only a child has.
AGENDA
Formative Analysis #2
 Make foldable

Formative Analysis #2
When the shack burns in Part II, Jeannette’s Dad
describes the top of the flame, where the visible,
shimmery heat dissolves into the air as the zone
“known in physics as the boundary between
turbulence and order,” a place “where no rules apply”
(61).
Give examples from Part III that either supports or
refutes the idea that the Walls’ family life is
becoming this boundary between turbulence and
order.
MAKE FOLDABLE!
Interruption (2)
 Omission (2)
 Repetition (6)
 Comparison (6)
 Balance (8)
 Word Play (9)
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