26 August

English 11

Really fantastic day today as we worked through three texts and understood the importance of reading closely, determining main ideas, and focusing on key language. We finished our work with Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" before going on to the Preamble to the US Constitution and Bill of Rights. Our reading work focused on determining main idea, understanding key words, and seeing the tone implicit in the language. I'm really pleased with the work that we put up.

After that, we closed class with some writing and personal reflection where I asked you about the values we should use as we center our class community. I'll take a look at what you wrote in a bit and we'll start with these ideas on Wednesday as we write our classroom norms and guiding principles together.

Other than that work on Wednesday, we will also have a small reading test. This will not be for a grade. It's just a diagnostic to see where you are coming in the door. Come to class with a charged laptop next class. Your test is computer based. It'll be a pretty simple day to end our week together. See you on Wednesday!

19 October - End of HoCo Week

AP Language

Wowza! What a day in AP Language as we discussed Chapter 2 of The Great Gatsby. I loved the depth of your analysis and your reading and the way in which you reflected that in your discussion. Keep in mind that everything we're doing right now is about strengthening your analytical reading and writing skills. This is the key work to do in order to improve the skills assessed in your rhetorical analysis - FRQ 2. This is also a great skill that will apply in your other classes; remember, it's always about close reading and deriving patterns. Apply our reading strategies as you read on your own to deepen annotations and remember more of what you read. Annotating is making your thinking visible, so do it!

Over the weekend, read Chapter 3. You're going to get into your first party at Gatsby's house. Look at who comes and what happens. Pay attention to the imagery, the words, and the choices. Keep developing your list of big ideas in the back of the book and see how these ideas are developed in the body of the narrative.

If you're struggling with analytical writing, come in to Lion Time next week. I'm here to support you and provide more practice and feedback with your skills. We'll discuss more feedback and reassessment options next week!

17 October - Away at a Conference

AP Language

Sorry to be "away" today, but learning calls! I'm spending the first part of the week at an Instructional Coaching conference. It's been a good opportunity to work really closely with Mrs. Hanson and to get more into the learning part of my new role in the school. I'm looking forward to seeing you all on Thursday in class and to see the fruits of your labors from today.

Today's class is focused on Chapter 1. You're working totally focused on Chapter 1 today in order to understand the structure of the chapter, the way in which tones fluctuate, and key elements of the narrative like conflicts, setting, and character. At the end of class, you're focused on analysis of a Chapter 1 Key Passage. As we go through this book, we'll be doing a lot of analysis of key passages. Focus on using the given sentence starters and the earlier conversations to put together a deep and focused analysis. Use the sentence starters I've given you! You're struggling with depth of commentary, and these will help get you there.

If you missed the timed writing, please schedule a make-up. I'll be hosting a session on Wednesday after school. As always, reach out with any questions or concerns. Enjoy Chapter 2 for Thursday's class!

3 November - Thursday

AP Language

Really lovely day focused on Gatsby today in AP Language. The work we were doing around conflicts between past and present, fantasy and reality, and Gatsby and other characters is key. This is the mid point of the novel, and everything is going to turn pretty quickly. It's important to see what ideas are established before the changes occur.

This weekend is a great weekend to focus on getting ahead. If you've fallen behind on reading or the motif project or vocabulary, get yourselves caught up. Monday's class is a working day focused on resubmissions and our motif projects. Make next class great by being thoroughly prepared. I liked the energy today! Let's maintain!

AP Research

Lovely day to end Unit 2 in AP Research. Next week we're focused on starting our work on developing method. This is going to be a long, hard, winding slog, but we will reach the promised land of IRB approval and access to our research subjects.

This weekend should be a writing weekend for you. Pull together your resources to help you write - the PDFs in Schoology, your earlier work (your poster, annotated bibliography, source list, research question organizer), and the templates you have to help you. Give me a solid hour of writing this weekend to start working. I've also given you a new PREP reflection for Week 11 to complete. This is the beginning of Quarter 2 - mark that in your reflections.

Be sure that you use this opportunity to get ahead; there's a lot looming - so listen to your teacher and do what I say, please. See you Monday.

Thursday the 6th - Grey Day

English 10

In class we were focused on Japan and the concept of Zen. This concept we saw at action in several Zen parables today in class. We discussed irony and paradoxes as well as the difference between topic and theme. We read in order to understand and completed a short analysis activity related to the reading.

I won't see you again until Tuesday. On Tuesday, we hopefully won't have any more power outages, and will look at some other religious texts from across Asia. Have a lovely weekend!

Friday the 9th of September

AP English Language

Time spent with Thomas Jefferson today as we worked through "The Declaration of Independence" and understood some of the keys to annotating in this class. I enjoyed your attention to our work related to topic, audience, and speaker. Remember that texts will often have several audiences, so speakers will tweak their approaches in order to address a specific audience. We saw this as Jefferson had slightly different arguments to his various audiences - the colonists, the representatives, and the king.

Over the weekend, you should start in on your next set of cards. If you haven't submitted your first set, be sure to do so as soon as you can. Grades will be updated next week. I would also suggest starting one of the three choice articles - Anzaldua, Apess, or Sedaris' "Go Carolina". These are available as PDF's on our course page or in the textbook.

AP Research

A day where we give and get feedback is always a lovely day in AP Research. It gladdens my heart to see you all so engaged with each other and with making each other better. I'm also enjoying seeing the development of your ideas - using your sources and your building Body of Knowledge to develop your ideas are key right now.

Our work today focused on learning how to test our sources for credibility and then getting some work on our research questions. Use the feedback from your peers to revise your research questions. This is so important. Also use the feedback and gaps on your organizer to go back to the databases. Keep building your reading log and source list. Lastly, your new reflection question has been posted for this week - be sure that you add your answer to the running list.

18 and 21 March

AP Language

Today we completed our first full-length multiple choice set. I'll have these returned to you soon so that we can review your data from the first of these. Over the weekend, you have a few assignments to settle up. I'll review them in terms of importance.

1. Complete your AP Classroom checks from Unit 6. This includes the MCQ and FRQ. These close on Sunday night. 

2. Submit your personal reflection. Remember to focus on at least two communities and use evidence to explain how you are a member of that community. The response is only 200-300 words. Keep it casual.

3. We'll have another seminar next class. Go into the folder and pick ONE of three articles posted for you. We'll be looking at other marginalized communities and liberation movements next class.

Outside of this remember to work through your vocabulary cards as you meet new words and consider your book for the unit. You'll submit your book form next week, but if you know what you want, go ahead and submit that now to get ahead. 

English 10

Today's class was a look at the beginning of "The Night Face Up" by Julio Cortazar. It's a great story! Super engaging and exciting that starts off with quite a bang. We read the first half of the text and will finish it next week as we complete our study of the doppelganger.

This weekend is a good weekend for you to complete any work from Unit 4 which may be missing including your SOL Essay, Unit Project, or Vocabulary. If these assignments are missing they need to be turned in. I'll be scoring your work this week and finalizing grades, so be aware of what needs to be done. I'm available during LT and after school if you need me.

16 and 17 March

AP Language

Great day today, everyone! We worked through WEB DuBois and did a wonderful job understanding some of his main ideas including education, power, stereotypes, double consciousness, and the veil. We're going to encounter these ideas throughout the novels we're reading in this unit, so this is a good formative piece for us to begin with. Continue to reflect on the text and his ideas, especially as they apply to you.

Tonight you should complete your personal reflection. If you know the book you want to read, then you can complete the form as well. Next class is our full MCQ to prepare for the AP Examination. Any time you have after the MCQ is for working on this unit's tasks which are due. Don't forget about your MCQ and FRQ on AP Classroom which will lock on Sunday night.

English 10

Today's class was our foray deeper into the concept of the doppelganger. We read a short story by Jorge Luis Borges called "Borges and I", and we applied the strategy of close reading to understand the complex text. At the end of class we took time to complete an extra credit opportunity or complete our projects and vocabulary from Unit 4. Keep in mind that projects and vocabulary are now late, but still will be accepted. Please turn in your work to earn your points. We only have a few classes left in this quarter, so it's important to turn in all of your assignments now.

As always, please ask for any help you may need. I'm here for you.

Friday and Monday - Day 3 - First Weekend!

AP Language

Great First Friday, y'all! We looked at some art, reviewed the idea of deep looking to record our thinking with art or other non-print texts, and then we also learned about the structure called the rhetorical situation. This is a great structure that we're going to continue to use through the year to analyze and think about the moving parts that create meaning. 

For tonight/the weekend, I want you to practice deep looking with Ana Juan's New Yorker cover. Be sure to do your annotations and use the three questions from the end to check your understanding and prompt your thinking. Continue to review the table of contents regularly and consider the voices present and absent. Lastly, I'd like for you to continue to consider the Rough Draft of the Declaration of Independence - how does the difference between parts of the rhetorical situation change the overall meaning or impact of the document? I've re-posted the rough draft to help you. Don't forget the forms if you haven't filled them out!

English 10

We became constitutional scholars today in English 10! We took time to talk about navigating difficult documents, determining main ideas and understanding how constitutions work like cultural artifacts. I was very happy to also collect your paragraphs about your single stories - I look forward to reading these and getting you feedback next week.

Over the weekend, be sure to complete any resubmissions you may need to. The syllabus is published and ready for you to review and sign. See you next week for the continuation!

Day 2 - 25 and 26 August

AP English Language

Today we took time in class to brush off our skills of annotating and to work with what is our anchor document for this unit - "The Declaration of Independence" by Thomas Jefferson. We talked about topics and motifs, main ideas and arguments, as well as the diction that Jefferson uses to appeal to his audience (as well as who that audience was). 

Tonight, spend time with the document posted on Schoology, the "rough draft" and see what changes you note. What may have motivated Jefferson to make those changes? Is the document significantly changed from one to the next? Remember to annotate! There are also the forms to the syllabus and the optional summer assignment open for submission.

English 10

Thanks for a great day today, everyone! We started our day reflecting on the concepts of culture clash and conflict before building a bridge to the idea of stereotypes. I loved the discussion we had around how stereotypes can be indicative or a product of a culture clash. 

We then spent time with a TEDTalk from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie called "The Danger of a Single Story" and answered some questions ans we considered her speech. Tonight, keep thinking about your single story versus your full story - we'll finish our reflection next class.

Remember to access the syllabus and signature form on Schoology to complete that task. The syllabus is under Materials - Course Resources. 

Beginning Week 29 - Tuesday the 13th

English 10

Today was a day to get our hands dirty working with One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. As we were reading and working today, it was all about emotion. It's important to notice the way in which authors use small details in order to create real emotion in a text. These emotional clues can help us better understand a character, a setting, symbol, or idea in a novel. Our assignments right now are all about close reading. Focusing in on the details to understand their purpose.

Remember to submit your assignments by the end of the week. For this week you have a recording to complete as well as a small writing assignment. Next class we'll have our End of Year Grammar Test. Be ready!

AP Language

Today in class we had time for our Matchbox for MCQ 4 as well as a quick review. We also had time to discuss the end of the year and to get ahead on some of our upcoming assignments. On Thursday/Friday we'll be discussing Chapters 11 and 12 - see the videos on YouTube for guidance in your reading. Additionally, MCQ 5 has been unlocked. It'll be for accuracy this time, so don't miss it. Use your strategies and don't forget to reflect when complete. See you next time for our Invisible Man class.

End of the Week - 8 April

AP Language

Chapter 10 and 11 of Invisible Man are some of the hardest chapters to read in this portion of the novel. Chapter 11, especially, is a doozy. It'll take you on a bit of a journey through postmodernism and throw some different modes of story telling at you. Focus on what you can get out of it and bring questions to me next week as we work.

This weekend you should find time to finish your Veil Self Reflection, MCQ 3 and a bit of reading in Invisible Man. Next week, we'll be focused on reviewing Chapters 11 and 12 as well as completing our first team MCQ for an accuracy score. If you need anything, please visit on Monday during Office Hours. I hope that we will keep moving in a good direction this quarter - remember we only have 16 meetings left.

English 10

Today was all about characters and characterization. We spent a lot of time working through pages twenty six to thirty six and focusing on the characters we meet in the squad of prisoners and in the camp. We'll keep learning more about some of them as we go. We worked through some Russian words which tell us more about our characters and understood some of their key elements. Be sure that you're updating your annotations as we work.

Over the weekend, be sure that you finish your Illustrated Quotation assignment as well as any missing work from last class - the poetry notes. You should also read to page forty six. This will take you to the work site the prisoners have and their job for the day.

Beginning the Week - 9 March 2021

English 10

Today's class was a bit of our transition from Unit 3 to Unit 4. We took time to brush off our grammar skills and get familiar with authors and the places that they called home before taking time for conferences and time to focus on our final interpretation from Unit 3.

You should be focused on turning in your final interpretation from Unit 3 this week as we start Unit 4. Remember that for your final interpretation you can use a Google Doc or use Google Slides. Take your information from your outline as a starting point, then clean up your grammar, focus on making your transitions clear, and show that your claims have evidence. Aim to submit the assignment this week. 

If you didn't finish our Kick Off document in class, be sure that you submit that soon. It's an easy twenty points to get you some background knowledge, which we'll keep doing on Thursday.

AP Language

Today in class we focused on some of the big ideas of Chapters 2, 3, and 4 in Invisible Man. We also touched in on our annotations of our covers - especially symbols, characters, and settings. Next class we'll dig a bit deeper on these chapters and look at some rhetorical analysis to really find a lot more meaning than we already have. Continue to pay attention to cycles as they appear in the text as well as how meaning is created through the use of key details in the text.

You'll find your recording and PearDeck takeaways posted. Remember to keep reading, thinking, and annotating. I look forward to seeing you Thursday.

Kicking Off Week 5 - Blue Day - 6 October

Welcome to a new week students, as we are drawing near to the close of our first quarter of school as well as the end of our first units. Be aware that we will start working on our final projects for this unit this week! Here are your reminders based on our work today in class.

Remember - if you stated that you want to check out a book from school for this year, you can come to Fairfax HS on Monday the 12th from 12-2 or 4-6. Make sure that you have a piece of paper with the student's name, teacher's name, class period, and class. I'll go over the procedures on Thursday for you all.

AP Language

Today was a day for our gallery walk. We interacted with each other by looking at our texts (via our shared slide deck) and by hearing each others thoughts (via our classroom FlipGrid). I hope that you enjoyed the chance to learn from each other and interact with each other in the ways that we can, right now. Remember to submit your reflection on this activity for your final points of the project. If you choose to resubmit your slides, please do so by the end of the week.

From there we moved into feminist theory and literary criticism. Be sure to complete your story and post to the discussion board when you finish. Later this week - be sure to reply to a post from the opposite story. Another chance for us to interact and learn from each other. 

English 10

Today we took some time to get caught up or ahead, based on where we find ourselves in class. Then we jumped to close reading and annotating. We reviewed our process of close reading and determined it's best to always start by stating a purpose for our reading. Remember - If you say you're looking for something, then you're likely to find it. We then applied our skill to different religious texts before submitting ideas to a class discussion.

For tonight, there's no homework assigned. If you're behind on other assignments, use this time to get caught up. We'll start talking about writing and revising on Thursday, so remember that you'll be able to rewrite your essays soon for a new score.

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.

Homework for Monday - 21 October - B Day

AP Literature

Ignore your bookmarks! We are reading Chapter Four and Five tonight for homework. We'll make it up to you with Chapter Six, since that one is a bit lengthier. Be sure as you read to continue to follow your motifs (find them in the body of the text) and keep paying attention to how our philosophies are coming into play (especially as you notice tone and other narrative elements).

You should complete two more vocabulary cards based on these chapters. If you missed the first two, you can turn them in on Wednesday.

If there are any grades that are missing in the gradebook, those must be submitted by Wednesday for credit. Be aware of what your gradebook says and if there is an error, let us know.

Be sure to update your covers as you read (we discussed plenty of characters today).

AP Research

Today we worked well to develop our web of subtopics branching from our question as well as the details that support those subtopics. Be sure that you are using your BoK and AB to fill out the details and pair those with sources. This is the beginning of the end of your introduction.

Parallel work to this is our poster and pitch. Next class we'll have a quick lesson to finish the LIT REVIEW and then we will spend time preparing for posters and pitches. Remember that the work on posters and pitches is the final grade of the quarter.

Homework for the Weekend - 11 May 2018 - B Day

English IV

Over the weekend you should all stay focused on your novel projects as we will be submitting work at the end of class on Tuesday. I will be collecting your close reading passages as well as your style analysis paragraphs. Remember that for this work you are writing a paragraph which examines and explains how the author writes. Your close reading of your two passages will give you the details that you need in order to complete this work. Please use the style analysis outline sheet to complete your paragraph or to make sure that you have all of the required elements.

On Tuesday I'll go over the elements of the final project and then we will work to complete that next week. As a reminder, your final day of class for a grade will be on Tuesday the 22nd. On this day we will complete all of our novel work and present our final projects for extra credit.

AP English III

Many of you must have come down with something today since our class was a bit light in the attendance factor. Be aware that our story today will be part of the final unit test which will fall on the last day of class - 5/24. You're going to have about fifty multiple choice questions covering all of the stories in our unit, so be sure to get the notes from a classmate today if you missed class.

For next class we will have our final reading assignment of the year - it's Graham Greene's "The Destructors". This story can be found at this link. For this story, it'll be very productive to consider the reasons why these boys are acting the way that they are. You may want to go back and look at the photos of London after the Blitz in order to understand the environment in which these boys live. Consider the ideas we discussed today around change because of war, and consider the idea that you can be a victim, even if you're still alive.

On Friday of next week we'll have our end of the year party. Please start to consider whom you will be for this party (maybe your top three) so that we can determine our characters on Tuesday's class.

Homework for 9 May 2018 - Victory Day!

Yay for Victory Day! I haven't watched any of this year's parade through Moscow, but I'm definitely looking forward to it! Here are some things for you to do, maybe as you watch the parade too.

AP English III

I think that we had a really productive class today focused on Orwell and his interesting use of compare and contrast to build his arguments around shooting an elephant and imperialism. Remember that in today's class we kept going back to key examples and devices and how they worked in conjunction to build arguments and attitudes. This is key to your rhetorical analysis. Do more with less! Build connections and consider the prompt at all times!

Tonight, you should finish your reading of Tim O'Brien's "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong". For this story, you will want to think about the idea of truth versus Truth. How can a story be True when it's not really true? Think about what a character like Mary Anne Bell symbolizes on many levels. What about her change through the course of the story? I'm excited to see what you all think of this one.

Don't forget too, 4B has no Get Out Of Jail Free cards remaining. The story is linked in the previous blog post. Read and annotate well!

English IV

I think that everyone has a pretty clear understanding of what needs to be done in order to accomplish project three with the use of the writing outlines. Remember that on Friday we'll have our sample NCFE for grades (effort and accuracy) and then get to the library for time on our novels. Friday should best be spent focused on close reading and writing. Some of you (hopefully many) will be able to submit your Close Reading/Style analysis and vocabulary by the end of class on Friday and just make edits next week.

Happy Victory Day! 8 May 2018

Happy Victory Day! May the freedom we have from fascism never fade! I'm very proud of the work that you all did today to celebrate our Russian holiday. Hopefully you enjoyed the пельмени and квас today in class. Here are your reminders about what you accomplish.

Russian I

Remember that next class you're going to have your Unit Three examination. You have a study guide for this exam. Remember that the main skills in Unit Three was creating and using adverbs as well as creating plurals in the nominative case. You will also see questions related to cases, verb conjugation, and some other fundamental skills.

Don't forget to study your culture notes related to the Former Soviet Republics. There will be several questions related to that on the exam too!

Advanced Russian

On Thursday we're going to start finishing the final elements of our grammar units before we start preparing for our final speaking activity. The final speaking activity will fall on Wednesday the 23rd which is our last A-Day of the year. Be sure that you've watched the film and that you've considered which of the characters you feel like being for the final speaking.

I would also spend some time reviewing your new grammar topics and vocabulary. Many of you did much better on your double negation work, but there is still some work to do related to the cases.

English IV

I'm very proud of the fact that almost all of you are ready to go with Week Two. Many people got everything checked off today. If you are still lingering with your novel project I would ask that you start to spend time at home to make up for lost time. Remember that for each week you only have to show me one reading log (except week three), one vocabulary card, and then the one required project.

Next class we will have time for our Practice NCFE. For this you'll get an accuracy score as well as an effort score. Be ready for this practice for our final examination. We will also spend time in the library to work on our novel projects and complete our close reading tasks.

Homework for B-Day Students: Weekend Edition - 3 May 2018

AP English III

Lots of big things going on in AP English Land my lovelies. Let's go over them one at a time.

1. You have been given your AP Practice exams as well as strategies and suggestions for each of the sections of the test. We are not going to talk about the AP Exam in class from this point forward.
2. Resources - As I said today in class there are several great online resources for you to use as you are preparing for the exam. First, there's appass.com - this gives you a score calculator as well as areas for studying. I would use the calculator to see where you stand right now and to see what you need to get the score you want. There is also this resource which goes over the fifty-five most common rhetorical devices on the AP Exam. You know most of these already!
3. Your test will be held on May 23rd in the morning session. This is a make-up day since school will be closed on May 16th.

If you have individual questions about your essays and your performance, I am more than happy to speak with you outside of class.

Now, on to the actual class information. We did not have a chance to take a look at our source pack today in class around war. If you haven't yet had the chance to look at that, please do so before the weekend. I also have reading for you this weekend - Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin's "The Shot". Read the story with the following questions in mind.

• What is the relationship between the various characters? How do these different characters react to war?
• How does the age of the character affect their psyche and attitude?
• What is interesting about the way in which the story is told, especially in terms of its organization.

English IV

At this point, most of you have worked through week two of our novel projects and you are going on to week three - focused on significant passages which really represent the book as a whole. Over the weekend you should continue reading your novels and decide on your two important passages. Remember that you want to use the resources I gave you today in class in order to determine the author's style and find significant literary devices or main ideas in the passages you have. This is a project focused on close reading - doing this well will make the final project very simple!