First Days of School AP Lang
First Days, First Impressions: An AP Lang & Composition Welcome-Week Activity Bundle
Skip the generic icebreakers. This bundle turns the first days of AP Lang into a gentle first encounter with the vocabulary students will live in all year — SOAPSTone, the rhetorical triangle, and claim/evidence/commentary — while they're still just talking about themselves.
Every activity is built so no prior knowledge is required. Terms are explained right on the page, nothing is graded for "correctness," and the whole point is comfort: by the time the first real text shows up, ethos, pathos, and logos already feel familiar.
Flexible by design — run the whole set as one full period, or spread it across the first few days of school. A teacher guide page lays out both pacing options so you can fit it to your schedule.
What's Included (9 pages)
Cover & Teacher Guide — how to use the bundle, with a one-period pacing option and a spread-across-days option
SOAPSTone Yourself — students analyze themselves the way they'll analyze a text all year
Rhetorical Bingo: Find Someone Who… — a whole-class mixer blending real course vocabulary with genuine getting-to-know-you prompts
The Argument of Me — a scaffolded Claim–Evidence–Commentary paragraph, arguing a claim about their own identity
Rhetorical Triangle Interview — a partner interview mapped to ethos, pathos, and logos, ending in a peer introduction
Dear Teacher: Why I Belong in This Class — a persuasive letter of introduction that puts all three appeals to work
Meet Your Teacher — a fill-in-the-blank template so you can introduce yourself using the same rhetorical framework
First Week Reflection — a quick closing exit ticket
Why It Works
Builds fluency with AP Lang vocabulary before the pressure of a real rhetorical analysis
Every page doubles as both a relationship-building activity and a content preview
Print-and-go — no setup beyond copies
Works equally well as a single 55–70 minute period or spread across day one through three
Editable teacher-introduction template means it's ready for your classroom, not just the person who made it
Details
Format: PDF, 9 pages, designed for standard 8.5" x 11" printing
Best for: AP Language & Composition, though easily adaptable for Honors or CP English classes building rhetoric vocabulary
Prep required: None — print and go
Terms of Use
For single classroom use. Please purchase additional licenses for multiple teachers. Do not redistribute or resell.
