2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION

SECTION II
Total time — 2 hours

Question 1

(Suggested time — 40 minutes. This question counts for one-third of the total essay section score.)

Directions: The following prompt is based on the accompanying seven sources.

This question requires you to synthesize a variety of sources into a coherent, well-written essay. When you
synthesize sources you refer to them to develop your position and cite them accurately. Your argument should be
central; the sources should not support this argument. Avoid merely summarizing sources.

Remember to attribute both direct and indirect citations.

Introduction

Technology is constantly evolving and with it comes an increase in usages by newer generations. As more virtual
programs are working their way into the education system, schools are educating more kids from a younger age on
how to operate them.

Assignment

Read the following sources (including the introductory information) carefully. Then write an essay in which you
develop a position on whether or not children should be taught how to use computers at a young age.
Synthesize at least three of the sources for support.

You may refer to the sources by their titles (Source A, Source B, etc.) or by the descriptions in the parentheses.

Source A (Graff)
Source B (Frean)
Source C (Starr)
Source D (Simpalife Visual)
Source E (Trussol)
Source F (Graeme)
Source G (Wildt)

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 2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Source A

Graff, Amy. "Should Kids Be Taught Cursive Writing in School?: The Mommy Files." San
Francisco Bay Area — News, Sports, Business, Entertainment, Classifieds: SFGate.
SFGATE - San Francisco Cronicle, 10 Jan. 2009. Web. 08 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=56277>.

The following is an article from an online edition of a weekly newspaper.

Children typically learn print in kindergarten and instruction in cursive begins in third grade. But these days, they
don't master either form. Daily handwriting lessons have decreased from an average of 30 minutes to 15 minutes
over the years, according to Time. Many experts are appalled by the handwriting of some children--the sloppiness
became apparent when the SAT test introduced a handwritten section.

That said, last year a USA Today article reported: "Cursive is still widely taught in U.S. public and private
elementary schools, according to a 2007 nationwide study on handwriting instruction by Vanderbilt University. It
surveyed a random sampling of about 200 teachers in grades one through three in all 50 states.

"Ninety percent of the teachers who responded said their schools required instruction in handwriting, the study
found. Of those who taught it, half of second grade teachers and 90% of third grade teachers offered instruction in
cursive.

"Furthermore, the teachers said they spent about 60 minutes a week, or 15 minutes a day, on teaching cursive -- the
amount recommended by handwriting experts."

Steve Graham, the University of Vanderbilt professor who compiled all of these numbers, would argue that it's still
worth teaching our children to write with curlicues. Graham has looked closely at cursive in the classroom, and,
according to Newsweek, finds that a majority of primary-school teachers believe that students with fluent
handwriting produced written assignments that were superior in quantity and quality and resulted in higher grades--
aside from being easier to read.

Graham's work has also shown that from kindergarten through fourth grade, kids think and write at the same time,
Newsweek reports. "Only later is mental composition divorced from the physical process of handwriting. If [kids]
have to struggle to remember how to make their letters, their ability to express themselves will suffer. The motions
have to be automatic, both for expressive writing and for another skill that students will need later in life, note-
taking."

Others are more skeptical. "Personally I thought it was ridiculous that I had to learn cursive in elementary school
decades ago," says Mike Sela, whose daughter is in the fifth grade at an S.F. public school, "so the idea that my
daughter has to spend precious school time in the 21st century on an archaic and redundant handwriting style, seems
laughable at best. In an era where schools are desperate to save money and time in any way possible, and are on the
hook to measurably increase achievement, how about killing this useless piece of curriculum? In general we're
typing more and more, so what's the point of teaching our kids a second and less-legible form of handwriting? Save
it for the calligraphy elective."

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 2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Source B

Frean, Alexandra. "Primary School Children 'should Be Taught Technology, Not Tradition' –
Times Online." The Times | UK News, World News and Opinion. The Sunday Times, 8
Dec. 2008. Web.08 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article5304104.ece>.

The following is excerpt from an online newspaper article.

Computer skills should be given the same importance as reading, writing and arithmetic, and children should be
taught to use podcasts and PowerPoint presentations in primary school, a curriculum review will say today.

The long-awaited report by Sir Jim Rose, a former schools inspector and senior government education adviser, will
suggest that children are so computer literate at such a young age that ICT skills usually taught in secondary schools
should begin in primaries.

This will ensure that what goes on in the classroom is “a better fit with children's developing abilities.”

Sir Jim will also recommend a whole new approach to learning, moving away from the teaching of traditional
subjects, such as history, geography, music and RE, towards a focus on teaching organised around six general
themes: English communication and languages; mathematics, science and technology; human, social and
environmental understanding; physical health and wellbeing; and art and design. “We need to teach important
things, but we need to give children opportunities to apply them across subjects,” he said.

He added that he would like to see less breadth and more depth to what children learn in primary school. “The
primary stage doesn't have to cover everything by the time children are 11. We are trying to give primary schools
flexibility to do less, but to do it better.”

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 2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Source C

Starr, Linda. "Education World: Should Kids in Primary Grades Use Computers?"
Education World: The Educator's Best Friend. Education World, 22 Nov. 2000.
Web. 08 Apr. 2011. <http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech056.shtml>.

The following is from an opinionated online article.

Does using computers in the primary grades stifle young children's natural inclination to experiment and
explore and hamper the development of independent thought? Will hardware turn primary classrooms from
environments that nurture young minds to labs that merely mesmerize them?

A CHORUS OF YESES!

"Yes," said Lori Sanborn, technology specialist at Rancho Las Positas Elementary School, in Livermore, California.
"K-3 students should be using computers. A computer is a tool-- just as a ruler, calculator, or pencil is-- and students
need to learn to use today's tools. Time and money are precious commodities in education, and computers and
software are costly. If used correctly, however, they can support and empower students, provide excitement in
learning, enhance the desire to discover, and open the minds of our students to all kinds of possibilities."

"Yes," said Mary Kreul, who teaches second grade at Richards Elementary School, in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin.
"K-3 students can use technology very successfully if their teachers make appropriate choices as to how and when
the technology is used. Teachers should ask themselves whether the technology is being used

 to do a learning activity in a new and creative way or to do a learning activity that is possible only with the
help of technology.
 as a tool for learning and not as technology for technology's sake.
 in a way that allows all students to complete the task successfully, independently, and in the time allotted.
 in a way that accommodates students' varied developmental levels and needs.
 for a task that is curriculum-based and meets educational standards.

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 2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Source D

School Kids Needing Computers for Homework. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.simpalife.com/wp-content/uploads/Schools-Providing-a-
Computer-for-Every-Student.jpg>.

The following is an image from an online blog.

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 2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Source E

Trussol, Tony. "How technology has changed the way children are taught."
Blog. Texas Education Agency. OKbuzz.net, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 7 Apr.
2011. <http://texaseducationagency.okbuzz.net/how-technology-has-
changed-the-way-children-are-taught/>.

The following is an excerpt from an online blog concerning education both inside and outside of the state of Texas.

One case study revealed that of those children taught with the aid of classroom technology, such as interactive
whiteboards and student response systems, 50 per cent achieved the required grade to achieve TAKS (Texas
Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) commendation, compared to their peers in a non-digital environment - only
8.7 per cent of whom achieved the grade. In the same study, it was revealed that 100 per cent of fifth grade students
studying in the digital classroom achieved the TAKS pass rate, compared to 73.2 per cent of their peers being taught
in non-digital classrooms.

With statistics like these, albeit the results of tests from a small demographic, it is difficult to deny the potential that
technology in education offers when implemented successfully. Technology in classrooms can take many forms,
from the combination of interactive whiteboards with software packages developed for particular age groups,
classroom sizes, intellect and subjects, to student response systems that allow teachers to set shorter or longer
deadlines based on each student's ability. Such inventions are not designed to replace "good old fashioned teaching",
or to make it possible for just anybody to teach, but are instead there to complement tried and tested traditional
teaching methods. They are also there to bring the classroom in line with how young people in the modern day
interact outside of school and communicate with friends and peers.

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2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Source F

Paton, Graeme. "Sir Tom Stoppard: reading undermined by technology."

The Telegraph 21 June 2011: 1. The Telegraph. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7844342/Sir-
Tom-Stoppard-reading-undermined-by-technology.html>.

The following is an excerpt from an article published in the online edition of a newspaper.

Sir Tom said: "I am aware, as everybody has to be, that there's more competition for one's attention nowadays.

“The printed word is no longer as in demand as when I was of the age of pupils or even at the age of the teachers
teaching them.”

He said that children lived “in a world of technology” where the “moving image" took precedence over "the printed
page".

"I think that's to the detriment,” he added, "I just don't want the printed page to get swept away by that.”

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2011 AP® ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION FREE-RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Source G

Wildt, Chris. Punctuate Cartoons and Comics. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.

<http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/cwl/lowres/cwln160l.jpg>.

The following is a cartoon from an online cartoon database.

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