23 February - End of the Week, Blue Day

AP Language

I saw lots of engagement today in AP Language land. We were using our group meeting to build our argumentative tool box - this is a great thing to do for the AP Exam. You'll need to be able to think fast on the exam and pull out great examples to support your argument. Using these articles and sources we've worked through all year as you write your timed essays for the exam will help to raise your Evidence/Commentary and Sophistication score.

Over the weekend, make your SourcePack and your Annotated Bibliography your focus. Having your SourcePack complete would be one of the best things that you can do to prepare for next class. We'll be doing an activity to finish up SourcePacks and check them. Keep in mind that your AB is due soon!

AP Research

Wonderful day in AP Research for conferencing and working to end the week. We're finding ourselves in different places, but as long as we keep moving forward then we're doing what we need to do. Remember that you have a major assignment due on Monday - the BoK Analysis. Download the document, complete it based on your power source, and then submit it to the space. Be sure that you're thorough in your completion of each section.

There's a new reflection question posted - be sure to complete it in your PREP Folder. We'll be assigning some final drafts of paper sections soon, so be ready for some writing focused work next week.

15 and 16 February - Moving on Through

English 10

Today was a choice day! We had the option to complete missing assignments for this unit, revise earlier assignments, review letter examples from the unit, or prepare for writing by completing vocabulary and grammar practice. No matter what you chose, I hope that it helped to prepare you for Friday.

On Friday we'll have our in-class writing. We'll start with an outlining and planning activity, and then we will write. The letter will be worth FIVE total points - two for grammar, one for organization, one for tone, and one for examples. Be sure to use your earlier readings, your research, and your great writing skills on Friday. I'm looking forward to seeing your letters. Next week we'll begin our study of Latin American literature.

AP Language

Good day in AP Language land as we had our fourth group meeting focused on Passage 3 and the patterns, themes, and motifs that you're discovering in your book so far. This is a great way to reflect on the usage of your book in your SourcePack and in your overall conversation in your research paper. Remember that you'll have two more group meetings to discuss and finish your work as a team. March is focused on the writing. 

From there, we talked about the Style Reading assignment for this unit. We're looking at jargon both in language and style. Go back to your sources - you could hopefully find one source to provide all this content for you. 

Next class is our whole class writing workshop focused on the Annotated Bibliography. We'll have the rubric posted and time to conference on the entries you've written. You'll have ample time to keep writing. The due date is posted. Use your resources and complete your task to show your skill!

AP Research

Today was the last day of our week focused on data collection. This is one of the last steps of your method, so it's a great time to check in on the previous steps and make sure that they're ready and aligned. There are a few important tasks to be completing right now:

1. Complete your BoK Analysis. This assignment is aligned to your PREP Reflection this week, so they work together really well.
2. Check in on your draft and finalize your earlier writing. You should be finalizing your Introduction and Literature Review. 
3. Collect data. Next week we have a lesson on data and visualization, so hopefully this will help out as you're working through the process.

As always, keep striving and working. Use your time wisely and avoid procrastination. I know that college is on the brain, but that is completely out of your hands - AP Research is completely under your control. Enjoy the long weekend and see you Tuesday!

2 February - Rolling into Quarter 3

AP Language

Today was our Course Selection Day - so a bit of a nothing day for us. Next week we'll get back into the research process with our lesson on the annotated bibliography and our next group meeting. Remember that the group meetings have been rescheduled due to registration. Group Meeting 3 is now on Wednesday 2/8. If you were absent today, be sure that you meet with your counselor during Lion Time in order to get your registration complete.

AP Research

Another great day with presentations. Our final four will present on Monday. I'm looking forward to seeing what we have ahead. Remember to submit your slides and have them in your PREP folder if they exist elsewhere. After we finished up our presentations, we reviewed our major assignment for this unit - the BoK Analysis. This assignment is mostly completion, you'll be copying and pasting or paraphrasing from your best source paper. The reflection question at the bottom is worth half of your points on this assignment - be specific in your response to this question.

There is a new PREP Reflection question opened for your thoughts and writing. Start to collect your Quarter 3 Reflections. Submit your plan for Weeks 22-27 by the end of next week. Have a plan and be ready to work through this portion of the course!

31 January - The End of the Month

AP Language

Solid day in AP Language as we got our feedback from Exam 2 in all of our essential skills. The tools that you have on AP Classroom for feedback are really essential in this process of developing goals and being accountable to yourselves for your learning. Use the feedback to chart a course forward. As you read, consider the skills in which you see a weakness and apply it to your books. There are also several Progress Checks unlocked for you to practice. For the FRQ checks, come in during a Lion Time and we can review it together and I can explain your grade as I score. This is a great way to improve your writing skills.

The second part of class looked at our Synthesis SourcePack assignment. This is a crucial completion task. Remember that you're cobbling together your sourcepack to include your prompt and five to seven sources with citations. Use the examples provided in AP Classroom (Exam 2, Question 1 and Progress Check Unit 6) as well as the Synthesis Prompt PDF in Current Lessons. These are great examples of your final product. I'm also here to help. Failure to complete this assignment will mean that I choose your prompt for you.

Keep working through the research process. This is the week in which you should finish developing your question. The SourcePack Template is the most important task to complete now. Use the earlier work to complete this essential task.

AP Research

I love days like today in AP Research. They really are some of the best days. I was very pleased with the presentations we saw today for our second round of elevator pitches. We'll continue to pitch on Thursday with another round of four presentations. Remember that we're at the point in the class where the work that you see each other do and the relationships you form in this class are among your most powerful tools. I can't tell you what to do, but you can tell each other and give specific suggestions.

Continue working to collect data, write, review sources, and do the work that you need to do. Remember that you'll have a graded assignment each week to help me get grades for you this quarter. Your next graded assignment will be your plan for Unit 4 and Data Collection. Next class after our presentations we'll look at another major assessment for this unit - the BoK Analysis. Have your best source selected for next class - it'll be a great help.

21 September - Blue Wednesday

AP English Language

Solid work with one of my favorites today - Mr. James Baldwin. As a queer, African American thinker and writer in the 1960's and 70's he faced a lot of criticism but he never wavered in his beliefs. His passion is apparent in the letter we read today. Keep in mind that everything we're doing right now is geared toward the project - put this forward into your work.

For tonight, you should complete your slides for your gallery walk. The project is due on Friday. Use our practice in class recently as you write and determine the rhetorical situation for your text of choice. Be sure that you include citations. Lion Time is a great time to work on the project together. 

You'll also need to read the letters between John and Abigail Adams on page 250. Annotate for argument. Use the technique from today if you'd like.

AP Research

This is the end my friends, of Unit 1. We finished our conferences - which were fantastic by the way - and we spent a lot of time revising and thinking. A few important reminders for all of you:

1. You can't talk to anyone - asking questions/surveys/interviews - until you pass IRB in December. 

2. Don't worry about making your phrasing exact right now. Let your research question be gangly. Make sure it has all the parts. We'll revise later. Let's make sure our boat can float before we buy curtains for the portholes.

3. Keep using your databases and your question at the same time. If you have words in your question that need to be defined or pared down, use the BoK. Use a keyword term to search for the term in your field. How do people measure "unity" or "addiction"? What is meant by "mental health"?

4. Always remember feasibility with your question. What do you know? What can you discuss? You're not a trained psychologist, so what can you comfortably and knowledgably discuss related to anxiety or depression or belonging? How can sources help you do this work?

Unit 2 begins next class. We'll be focused on writing and our sources.

7 September - Blue Day - Wednesday

AP Language

Great day today in AP Language - we reviewed our diagnostic exam (I'll have the scores in soon) and then got started with the main thrust of our class, "What is America?" Throughout the year we'll be exploring the concept and working to define it using our various texts and authors through the year. We're starting with our first reading tonight - Thomas Jefferson's "The Declaration of Independence". Find it in your textbook, or the scanned copy in the folder, and annotate for purpose and audience (consider that there are multiple audiences and the purpose will shift for each one). Keep your textbook at home, but have your notes in class!

AP Research

We continue to build our research question by refering to the work of others in our field. This is the first and likely one of the most important steps of our whole process this year. Working with our Body of Knowledge is key to ensuring success in this class and the work that you'll be doing through the year. 

Continue farming the databases, ask the librarians for help, and begin to work with your classmates who are in similar fields or disciplines. You are your best help in this process. Building your source list will help you to check for holes in your QUEST - if you find them, plug them. And let me know how I may be able to help.

See you Friday!

Kicking Off 2022-23. Monday, August 22

AP Language

Welcome everyone to the new school year! I'm very excited to be your English teacher and work with you all as you improve your skills as a writer, reader, thinker, and communicator. Today we did a quick overview of the class, but we spent the majority of the time working through our AP Examination Diagnostic. Next class you'll have time to finish another section of the MCQ and begin on your FRQ questions. We should have the diagnostic finished in three classes.

Continue to collect vocabulary from the exam - you'll need it for your next assessment, vocabulary cards. For tonight, there's not a lot to do. You can join AP Classroom by entering the code you can find on Schoology for this class. You can also check out our Course Resources and Materials. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out.

AP Research

Welcome researchers to the 2022-23 year. I'm very excited to work with all of you as you explore your interests and develop your skills as critical thinkers, readers, and writers. We'll be doing a lot of big work in this room this year, and I can't wait to see what you produce as we work. Today's class was a general overview, timeline, and some basic information. I'll have a formal syllabus for you once it's approved.

For tonight, you should join our AP Classroom space with the code found on Schoology. After you've done that, feel free to poke around a bit on Schoology. Eventually I'll want you to find the FHS Library Page and navigate to the databases. Select a database and start to do some looking related to the topics and interests we explored today in class. I want you to have TWO potential sources. You will want to download the PDF to your Google Drive. Remember where you found it - a citation helps!

See you all on Wednesday!

Ending the Week - 19 February

AP Language

Today we had a bit of a bonus day because of yesterday's snow day. Options for today's class and Return Period included: drafting our research papers, participating in writing conferences, reading in Invisible Man to prepare for future seminars, resubmitting research paper tasks, or completing the synthesis FRQ on AP Classroom.

Remember that your research paper is due by March 5 - as is the FRQ on AP Classroom. This FRQ is a full essay - no more half-stepping for us, the exam draws on apace! This FRQ is a great dry run to see how well you are accomplishing the skills of this writing unit. You'll receive a completion score for the FRQ as well as an AP score to see how your skills line up for the final exam in May.

Next week we'll be having our catch-up days as well as asynchronous days school-wide. Please be in touch and let me know how I can support you. I'll also have Office Hours on Monday if you need to meet me then.

AP Research

Quick meetings can be great meetings - thanks for being present and prompt! Keep in mind that your analysis of the BoK paper will be due soon, try to turn it in on Monday. This gives you a great chance to go back to an important source and engage in some critical reading and reflection around your own work. Consider how this paper can show you more and be even more helpful for you now as you begin writing and working with data than it was when you first encountered it. This analysis can be helpful in a lot of ways as we think about where we find ourselves in the inquiry process.

Next week we'll take a bit of a look back at the idea of variables - qualitative and quantitative - and possibly reexamining your questions and preliminary data to get ready for analysis and related tasks. Your BoK analysis may help you to set up your preliminary charts and help you get a handle on what data analysis may look like.

As always, let me know how I can help you through this work. No researcher is an island, to paraphrase Milton - reach out and ask questions of me and each other - we're all here to help. Enjoy the weekend!

English 10

Today was a working day within our museum field tripping unit and a day to meet with counselors to review and enter course selections for next year. Remember that if you weren't able to meet that you should still enter your course selections on SiS. (Seventh Period - I've asked Ms. Rotella about rescheduling your meeting with your counselors; I'll keep you posted on how this develops.)

Next week is a catch-up day and an asynchronous day. The goal will be to complete the outline for your final interpretation of your item in your museum. The template for the assignment and a video are posted for you to use. I'll take you though more tools in the databases as we finish our interpretation work. If you're missing earlier steps in the process, it's important to get those complete now. Remember to check your school email often as well as your messages during class for updates or check-ins from me.

Remember that I'm still holding office hours on Monday. If you need to meet, please drop in on BBCU or claim a signup spot in my calendar, that's posted in Google Classroom under Classwork.

Week 22 - 17 February

AP Research

Today we began Unit 4 which is our unit to complete data collection and to codify our process up to this point - this means writing. By the end of this unit we will have completed a final draft of our Introduction + Lit Review as well as a rough draft of Method. Keep in mind that as you are engaging in your method now, it is important that you track and document your process to make it easier to write about later.

Your first assignment in this unit is your BoK analysis. One of the goals of your academic paper is to fit the style and requirements of your field, so analyzing a paper in your Body of Knowledge will help you in this goal. Complete the document using ONE of your key sources. I would suggest applying the analysis to a source which is very important to your investigation.

As always, if there is anything that I can provide for you, please let me know. I look forward to seeing you Friday for our quick check-in.

Grey Day - 23 October - End of the Week

Week 7 is now behind us everyone. AP Language and English 10 students should be focused on finalizing Unit 1 projects this weekend. As a reminder they are due at the end of the day on Monday. Keep in mind that the 30th is the end of the grading period. If you are submitting late work, resubmissions of work, or rubles for extra credit, you must have this submitted by the end of the day on Friday 10/30.

AP Research

Happy Friday Researchers! Today should be a day focused, I hope, on writing. Be sure that you've gone through your initial source list and filled or made a plan to fill any gaps. Consider especially method - as this gave some of you some pause as we read the Manzanar paper. What methods are done in the papers you've seen so far? Could those methods be feasible for your investigation? Why or why not? What modifications would you need to make?

Your final source list should be submitted on Monday by the end of the day. Try to have 35+ sources including open sources and peer-reviewed sources. Fill your gaps in your Body of Knowledge!

Use the templates as well as the Manzanar paper to begin writing. Begin with your most important sources and move from there into more tangential ones as you create the Annotated Bibliography. The rubric for the Annotated Bibliography is posted for your use. I've also posted your newest Reflection Question for your PREP.

Grey Day - 21 October 2020

English 10 and AP Language

See the post below as well as the reminders in Google Classroom related to your tasks/reminders tonight. Keep in mind that we are drawing to the end of our first unit as well as the end of the quarter, any missing work or resubmissions should be in to be scored. If you'd like to use extra credit on anything, please email me and let me know where I should apply your points.

AP Research

Today we took time to read our first sample paper - The Manzanar Paper - in order to understand the way in which the work we have done so far in this class will find its way into our introduction. Additionally, we reviewed the rubric in order to understand the way in which it is designed and how to best achieve a high score in our rows. Remember that there's a purpose behind what we do every day. I hope that this paper will serve as a model for you as we keep moving forward.

This week you should continue to read and update your source list. Focus on places in the first submission which were lacking (Research Method/Current Climate). Keep in mind that you will continue to add to your Body of Knowledge through the year. I think that this is also a useful time for writing our AB entries. Use the templates and see how in the Literature Review, there are elements of the Annotated Bibliography.

Next class is a day for conferencing and working and writing. I'll be available if you need to see me. Please submit your updated source lists on Monday. Your newest reflection question has been posted.

Grey Day - 9 October 2020

And here we are at the end of another great week. AP Language students should be focused on finishing reassessments of writing diagnostics as well as the final reflection on the mini-project called "What's the Situation?" before moving on to our unit assessment, "This is (my) America." 

English 10 students should be focused on finishing their work related to South Africa and our questions and vocabulary tasks from today. There's no additional homework for this weekend in English 10 so that we can focus on getting caught up.

AP Research

Today we met briefly to review our CRAAP quiz and especially the College Board Policy on Plagiarism and Falsification. Be sure that this policy finds its way into your PREP. If you would like to resubmit your quiz, please do so via email.

The goal for right now is to continue developing our Body of Knowledge and by extension our Research Questions. Your next assignment to submit is your categorized source list - be sure to have that in by Wednesday. Next week we'll begin Unit 2! Be prepared to keep moving forward!

Don't forget that if you are coming to Fairfax High School on Monday to check out your novels for the year to remain in your car, pull up to Door 1, and wear a mask. Bring a piece of paper with your name, your English teacher's name, your class and period. That will help us to get you your books quickly!

30 September - Grey Day

Good Afternoon Everyone - 

Reminders and takeaways for AP Language and English 10 are the same as listed below. We are all focused on reading and being critical readers who ask questions to find information in texts. Use the graphic organizers and the strategies we're learning in class to help you break down and find meaning in the works we study. I look forward to our essay next class (English 10) and our continued work with close reading and Native American literature (AP Language).

AP Research

Today was our day to begin giving and receiving feedback with our research questions. By next class you should complete the graphic organizer and give feedback to your peers to aid in the development of their work. Remember that this process is full of starts, stops, and redirections - especially now. Lean in to the messiness of it all. If you're feeling that there's a lack in a particular place, use that as a way to focus your reading of sources. If you can't think of variables, consider using sources in your Body of Knowledge as models. Then consider the feasibility of using a similar variable for your own investigation.

On Friday we'll have individual conferences. You'll also have time to continue revising, reading, and giving feedback to each other on your Research Questions v 1.0.

Friday - 25 September - Grey Day

Hello All and Happy Friday!

Remember that next week we will start our Lion Time rotations. If you need help with a schedule or calendar of the days and where you should be, let me know.

Reminders for AP Language and English 10 are below. Remember to check-in on any missing work and get things submitted as quickly as possible. We're going to continue to learn and develop those writing skills, and I'll accept work for rescoring as you develop your skills.

AP Research

Today is your final day for reading and preparing before we meet again. Remember that there is a new reflection posted for you to answer in Google Classroom for this week. You should also spend time to work with the graphic organizer to develop the first iteration of your research question. Next week we will meet to give some feedback and develop our questions even further. We'll also be learning a method by which we can review and evaluate our sources - a great step in the development of our annotated bibliography and eventually our literature review.

Also, please remember, I will not be available on Monday. Please feel free to email me over the weekend with any questions or concerns you may have.

18 September - Happy Friday! - Grey Day

Happy Friday Students and Families -

We're getting off to a really great start as we're beginning to work with texts, think, discuss, and analyze key ideas. Next class will be an asynchronous day for everyone - the materials will be posted for you to access and work through at your own pace. I won't be available on Wednesday, due to the fact that I'll be helping with the SAT at Fairfax.

Reminders for AP Language and English 10 are the same as below. Be sure that work is submitted for Week 1 and that you're completing the assignments for Week 2 as well. Turn them in on Monday or sooner. I'll be grading a lot this weekend, and hope to have everything returned and grades updated by the end of the day on Monday.

AP Research

Today is the first of three days to work independently, with each other, and with other sources of support in the building for you. As you work over these days, continue to build your Body of Knowledge and use this as a means for your Gap, Problem Statement, and eventual Research Question. Over these next few days continue to think and drive forward - remember our dialogue between The Riddler and Batman, draw your focus in and begin to be more specific. I look forward to seeing the results of your work.

16 September - Grey Day

Today was a Grey Day, but it was a pretty great day in my guest room (aka A132, for now). The homework posted below for the Blue Day sections is pretty much the same for us today. Remember our discussion today on grading - I view this as a class where you should resubmit, and where you should turn in things late. Remember that I grade by standards, and that there is often much more to a piece of work than if it came in on time or not.

AP Research

The next few classes will find you working independently to build your Body of Knowledge. I'll be available in our meeting space if you need me for anything, but you've also got plenty of other support. Keep reading to build your reading log. Look for the elements of an effective research question that we discussed today. 

I've also posted your first weekly reflection. You will have a question every week. Be thorough and thoughtful in your answers - some of these will also be POD questions, so it gives us good practice for the future.

As always, everything is available for you in Google Classroom. If you've got a question or concern, feel free to email me. I'm continuing to score your assignments right now and hope to have your work from this week back to you by the end of Monday.

Homework for Monday - 17 February - B Day

AP Literature

Dear Students - Remember that poetry projects are due today to Google Classroom or via hard copy. If you need an extension, I hope that you have already asked for it. Remember that you can submit multiple files on Google Classroom if needed.

For tonight you should read Sonnet 18 and Act 2, Scene 2 and 3. Remember that you are also constructing a vocabulary card for each scene of Shakespeare. They'll be collected at the end of the act. For ideas of what to read for - see the last slide of the set for your anchors.


See you Wednesday!

AP Research

We're just working, working, working as we keep building our task. Remember that you should complete your BOK Analysis and then the two reflections left for you on Google Classroom. Remember that one will focus on presentation, and one will focus on alignment in the paper. Take a look at your findings and takeaways on this assignment. Be sure to use this as you're building your Lit Review. (We'll focus on this next class).

We'll be peer editing our papers on the 25th. Be sure that you have a complete introduction, lit review, and method (as much as possible). Remember that you can write based on projections and then make edits later.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day Students - 13 February

AP Literature

Our main task for the weekend is to complete the Poetry Critical Analysis assignment. These are due on Monday. You can submit your work electronically or on hard copy (or you can do both if needed). Remember that you must have two citations for this - the poem itself and the criticism. Both will be cited in your analysis.


Be sure to apply notes and feedback from your timed poetry writing to the work that you are doing this weekend. Remember that poems, like stories, have beginnings, middles, and ends. Showing how ideas develop across beginnings, middles, and ends will often allow you to construct a much more thorough analysis. No more than 500 words please!

AP Research

Today was a day like many other - a day for working and completing the goals we have ahead of us. I hope that you are using these days and this protected time to complete the steps in your method, analyze the data you're collecting, and then organize it to make sure it answers your question.


If you haven't yet finished the BOK Analysis it needs to be done and checked on Monday. Completing this assignment will lead you to both Reflections 18 and 19. Complete these only after you've completed and received a score on the analysis assignment.

Remember that you should be working in Research Records, Weekly Work, Assessment Task Drafts, and Records of Communication. Document all of your work in your PREP Folder as you are completing and working through

Homework for A Day Students - 12 February 2020

AP Research

Thank you for working with the substitute teacher and with Mr. Ellison today. A few reminders to guide you as you continue to work at home on your studies:

1. Be sure that you document all of your work in your PREP Folder. Especially important right now are Research Records, Records of Communication (participants/expert advisors), Task Log.

2. Complete your BOK Analysis and Reflection 17.

3. Our next major assignment will be a peer editing/revising day focused on Introduction, Lit Review, and Method. Hopefully, as you are moving through this unit, you are making decisions and finalizing these elements of your paper. I hope that you all see how the analysis assignment helps with the drafting elements.

4. We will have a round of conferences in the coming classes to check in on things.

Russian I

Today in class we focused our work on our case learning with adjectives. We were using genitive case and nominative case to talk about identifying animals and to discuss either having or not having something. Remember that as we do this work it's all about agreement with the noun. Whatever gender and case the noun is in, the adjective has to match. As I said in class, we can sort of change the shape of words to fit them where they need to fit.


Continue to study and review your declension charts - both nouns and adjectives - to learn these partnerships. Tonight, you should finish the Chapter 2 exercises which were assigned last class. We'll go over those before getting back to our film on Friday!

Advanced Russian

Today in class we had a writing workshop about verbs of motion followed by a new verb (to swim). We ended our day reviewing our exercises for homework tonight as well as reviewing some of the key cases and prepositions we use in Russian to complete full ideas with travels.


For tonight, complete your exercises - follow the instructions and use the model exercise we completed today at the end of class. Continue to study your verb cards. You should know most of your conjugations by this point. I think that a lot of you should also focus on your noun case endings - they work together with the work we're doing now.

Homework for B-Day Students / 11 February 2020

AP Lit

Today was a day to review our work so far with Shakespeare. We created Scene Panels and did some wonderful analysis on Twelfth Night. The slides are helpful for the review at the end.


Next class you will have a quiz on Act I of Twelfth Night. I will not be checking annotations, but if you are still missing vocabulary cards they are due at this time. Additionally, you should have a draft of your project for Thursday. After the quiz you will work in groups to provide peer editing on your drafts. The projects are due on Monday and they will be your primary focus this weekend.

AP Research

Today was our working day to kick-off the week. Our major task for this week is to complete the Body of Knowledge Source Analysis. Please use the form that is in the assignment or the form given to you in class. You may complete either a hard copy version or an electronic version for your score. Hopefully by studying one of your sources in depth, you will get a better understanding of how to construct elements of your own academic paper. Consider how they show their data and how that data is made clear for a reader. How does the language they use lead to an understanding for the reader?


By the end of this week/beginning of next you should be ready with a new draft or a revised draft of your Introduction/Lit Review and Method section. We'll be doing another run of peer editing next week!