Pat Bond: Snohomish High School., Snohomish, WA
Email: Patricia.Bond@sno.wednet.edu
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After graduating from Trinity Christian College in 1971, Pat Bond went to Australia with her husband, where she taught English and Humanities as well as adult education classes at Morwell Technical School in Morwell, Victoria, from 1973 until 1977. She left teaching upon the birth of her first child, and spent the next several years at home raising four children. In 1993 she completed the requirements for a paralegal degree, but decided to go back to teaching, her first love. In 1995, she went back to the classroom, substitute teaching for a year and then teaching English at Snohomish High School, where she has been ever since. She is currently the AP* Department chairperson at Snohomish High School.
While AP* English Literature had been part of the Snohomish High School curriculum for many years, no one had ever taught AP* English Language there. In 2000, Pat initiated and developed the first AP* English Language class at SHS; she has enjoyed teaching this class since then. In 2007 Pat was granted adjunct professor status at Everett Community College.
In 1998 Pat received a grant from the Grace Nixon Foundation to begin work on a Master’s Degree at the University of Idaho. She completed this in 2001 and was awarded a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree.
She has been a reader of AP* English Language exams since 2004.
Course Overview
This session will cover how to begin/set up an AP* English Language course; helpful advice for preparing a syllabus; effective ways to structure and teach the skills of close reading, analysis, argument and synthesis; and techniques for preparing students to take the AP* English Language exam in May.
The College Board describes AP* English Language and Composition as a course that “engages students in becoming skilled readers of prose written in a variety of periods, disciplines, and rhetorical contexts and becoming skilled writers who compose for a variety of reasons.” The workshop will provide participants with textbooks and materials that will enable them to confidently teach an AP* English Language class of their own. Participants will share best practices with each other, strengthen their teaching skills, and learn strategies to help students achieve successful results.
DAILY SCHEDULE
Day 1
- 1. Introduction and Description of the AP* English Language and Composition course
- 2. Equity and Access—College Board Policy
- 3. Syllabus preparation
- 4. Basic AP* Test Format and Strategies for successful completion of multiple choice questions
5. Texts and Materials
Day 2
1. Close Reading—Strategies and Classroom Activities
2. AP* 2010 Exam—Analysis Samples and Scoring
3. Timed Write strategies
4. Review of best practices and ideas/debriefing
Day 3
1. Argument and Persuasion—Texts and Activities
2. AP* 2010 Exam—Argument Samples and Scoring
3. Vocabulary and Rhetorical Terms
4. Review of best practices and ideas/debriefing
Day 4
1. The Synthesis Question
2. AP* 2010 Exam—Synthesis Samples and Scoring
3. Student and parent expectations
4. Question and answer
5. Wrap-up and evaluation
*This is an overview of the course, but it is subject to change depending on the needs of the participants.
