Day 1 Adventures

Here we are, y'all. The beginning of Year 20. I'm embracing the idea of keeping things simple and making sure that the most important things are done first. To that end, I went to Wal-Mart last night and bought about 2000 index cards so that my Advisory Program would have the materials it needed to begin. What's interesting to think about is now I have a class that is going to each student in this school. I was glad that I made the decision to keep the portfolios on paper right now. Who knows, we may end up keeping the portfolios on paper for the majority of the year, or it may just be a model for us to use for the classwork type things they do in Advisory. I think that for it to be able to really transfer effectively from year to year we need the portfolios to be electronic.

So, I was posted in the main faculty workroom. As they collected their schedules, I reminded them about the lessons and materials. People got their folders and their index cards. I made 1200 copies of the text and warm-up for tomorrow, so that's ready to go in the workroom to be picked up. Tomorrow I can make 1200 copies of the materials for Lesson 3 and finish planning the rest of the first ten days. Hopefully if the staff see that they're supported in this, they'll be more willing and likely to complete the necessary tasks because this school-wide program is only going to work if everyone does it.

The other major task right now is tracking down textbooks. Moving forward, I'm going to just make a space for deliveries so that way I'm not trying to track everything down everywhere. This is a big campus with multiple buildings, who knows where the textbooks delivered in June when I wasn't here went. Thankfully, I've been able to track down one class of books that I needed...I'll take my victories where I find them. 

So, that's Day 1. The feedback I've received about Advisory so far has been pretty positive, so I'll take that win as well. I also found a bunch of novels today, so extra fun bonus there. I'm going to go to my meeting and then hopefully have time to run out and take some trash to the dumpster. There might be a coffee involved in there too. I don't think my daily Diet Coke is going to be enough today.

End of Teacher Workdays - 21 August 2026

Closing down the week I can see a few important truths:

1. It's interesting when you see people who can focus on what's important and those who cannot. There are so many examples of educators who just get lost in the sauce. They focus in on the minutia or the smallest detail instead of solidifying the system or the routine. Keep it simple. Focus on what matters most. Be sure that you can do the most important thing. Maybe the issue is that some people just can't prioritize. 

2. People can clearly tell when you're putting in the effort and making things happen. I've had so many teachers say that they can recognize the work that I'm doing and that they appreciate what I did last year for them. I keep saying that it's good that I have a handle on what my role really is at this school. That knowledge ensures that I can actually do what I say and need to do.

3. I'm developing a bit of a followership here. There are people joining my teams, helping with initiatives, and coming on board not because they're forced to but because they want to. That makes me feel good about the work I'm doing. I've determined that this year my main foci are testing, advisory, supporting PLCs, providing professional development, and coaching teachers.

4. Doing what I want and moving forward with my decisions is better than waiting for a mealy-mouthed acceptance. I'm going to stop waiting for others who aren't on my level. If they can't match my pace, they can fall in line and follow.

5. I don't want things to fail. I know that my programs can work and support the teachers and learners at this school. I just need to keep maintaining the system and building the routine. It's going to be messy this year, and far from perfect, but I'm going to maintain my level of support so that it won't fail because of me. 

So, with that, we prepare for Monday and students to arrive. I've sent out the Advisory lessons for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Materials are ready in the supply closet if they're requested. I'll be at my duty spot on Monday morning, and I'll go from there. We had a good meeting for the Advisory Council today, so I can take that to create some of the portfolio tasks that haven't been built out yet. That may end up being my Monday.

Welcome to the Year! It's time for 2024-2025 School Year

English 11

Happy First Day of English everyone! It was great to get to know you and to start working with you. I hope that you enjoyed your first class with me. Today in class we went over some key information like our names and pronouns, some procedures and policies in class, and information about what we'll be studying and learning together. 

One of the main things that we learned today was the idea of the rhetorical situation. That means that a text is responding to an event or moment, so it's important to consider some of the elements around a text to consider its full effect. We ended class with a brief reading and writing activity to do a bit of fun creative writing.

For tonight, please get your notebook for class. Next class we'll start to set up that notebook. We'll also be reading next class and start studying a text together, so I'm looking forward to that. All the best! The recording is posted on Schoology under Updates. Remember that the slides are posted under Materials - Current Lessons on Schoology.

Welcome to AP Language with Mr. Miller

AP Language

Great day in AP Language land. It was so lovely to meet you and to start to get to know you. I'm so excited to be part of your reading and writing journey. Today we did some vocabulary (which you already knew a bit of) and discussed a bit about grading and the examination for this course. We'll spend more time next class learning about the rhetorical situation and understanding some ways to approach this important concept.

For tonight you should take care of a few business items:

1. Get your two-subject notebook. This can also be a binder, but you'll need a place for notes, returned work, and to track your progress in class. Remember, it'll stay in class.

2. Join AP Classroom. Go to AP Classroom, log in with your College Board account or make one, and use our code to join - it's posted on Schoology under Updates.

Be ready for Thursday. We'll start to do a bit of reading and thinking next class.

First Grey Day - 23 August 2022

English 10

Wonderful day today, everyone! I very much enjoyed working with you and getting to know you all. We took time for names, arts and crafts, and a bit of an overview of our year - world literature. I loved seeing the way that you worked together, showed up for class, and respected our environment.

For tonight, think about our concept of the year - culture. What would you say is part of your culture? What's important to you? This is a great place for us to start our conversation this year. 

AP Language

I'll make the posts on the Blue Day for this class since that's its first meeting. Be sure to check the post above for your reminders/information.

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!

Welcome to 2021-22! English with Mr. Miller!

English 10

Welcome y'all to English 10 or as I call it, Around the World in 90 Classes. We'll be exploring the cultures of the world this year through reading, writing, viewing, listening, and thinking! Today we began with a general overview of the idea of culture and some of our guiding questions for the year. I'm looking forward to the year ahead! Be sure that you access the syllabus and the signature form which are on Schoology for your first assignment. Try to have that settled by the end of the week. Next class you'll need your laptop!

AP Language

Welcome y'all to AP Language and Composition! For the first day of class we're exploring various perspectives and engaging in some close reading. Be sure to review the syllabus and complete the syllabus signature form as quickly as you can - it is linked below. The syllabus is located in the Course Information folder under Materials on Schoology. For tonight, be sure to reflect on the various authors in our textbook and complete the reflection question at the top of the handout. What voices are present? Which are left out? What may this mean? You'll need your laptop with you next class.

Day 2 - Grey Day - 9 September 2020

Good Afternoon Grey Day Students!

The major announcements and reminders are posted below for AP Language and English 10 students, since the lessons are basically the same between the two days. The important reminders for all classes are to complete your FlipGrid postings and to complete the sharing of your notebook covers. There is also information for parents to review - including a Google Form for signatures.

AP Research

Today was a great first day of our investigations. Your reminders are generally the same, but we don't have a FlipGrid since we're so few in number. I loved seeing your notebook covers and starting the process of getting to know you. Once you've finished your syllabus review, it would be best to start reading. Remember that you should cast your net wide as you're finding sources. You don't know right now what's going to be the best source, so grab it all.

As you read and review, use your interactive notebook. Slide 9 is where you can record your annotations and other important notes.Try to read a bit every day to keep the momentum up!

Kicking Off 2020-2021

Good Morning Fairfax High School - 

Welcome to Tock the Dog - in Norton Juster's The Phantom Tollbooth - Tock was a Watch Dog, who patrolled the entrance and gave helpful advice to those entering beyond the tollbooth. I hope that you will find this blog to be a place where you can find such advice and help.

All of our classroom content will be housed in Google Classroom. We will use Blackboard Collaborate Ultra for our live meeting sessions. You should have received a link to Collaborate in your FCPSSchools email account. If you navigate to Blackboard (FCPS 24-7 Learn) you can find our course there, and there is a link to our Google Classroom space for you to use.

Parents - I hope that this space will be helpful for you so that you don't have to log in to Google Classroom every day. This is a space for you to find helpful information about due dates, course content, and general updates. Please see this as a resource for you as well as your student.

Homework for Day 1 (Part 2) - B Day - 27 August

Be sure to use the first post of the year to join our Google Classroom page. It's an important space for all of the classes to access.

AP English Literature

Today in class we discussed two of the most important literary devices that there are - tone and irony. A lot of the things that we will find ourselves doing this year will be discussing how tone and irony are at play in the texts that we are reading and the purpose behind those elements. Remember the other key idea about class - Everything that authors do is intentional and purposeful. This means that there are no wrong answers, just those with a lot of support and those with little support.

Tonight you have your paperwork to accomplish and some reading to do. Please take the handout and read Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants". Pay attention to the tone and irony at use in the story. On Google Classroom I posted today's slides, be sure to check those out too for other ideas. Remember that when you have a reading assignment that means annotating too!

AP Research

Great work just jumping right in today and getting started. Remember that right now we're working on the Dry Run, but this is a mirror of what you should be doing too. We've got to start right away with brushing off our skills from last year and doing some small r research to get to our big R tasks. Tonight spend time in Google Classroom and post TWO sources that we can use to define our Body of Knowledge related to our problem statement. This is crucial for our revision process and the development of our question. Remember to use APA formatting as you work. Give us a brief explanation of the usefulness of the source. That will be the key bit we need moving forward.

Homework for Day 1 - A Day (26 August)

So great to get started today with all of you! Be aware that we have things to do from the very beginning because I don't believe in wasting any time. See below for your reminders, and be sure to access Google Classroom as well!

AP Research

Today in class we started with some key processes like finding our ideas and interests and then thinking about possible problems to solve. We walked out today with the beginnings of a research question, so now we need to do our first test. What's the body of knowledge like? For tonight, as well as completing your paperwork, please find two sources that we could use to define our BoK (body of knowledge) around this topic.

Please give a full bibliographic citation as well as an overview of what this source provides and how it may help us to develop and refine our research question. We'll be using APA for this QUEST as we're looking at an issue related to education/sociology.

Russian I

We jumped right in to the alphabet today by learning the first few letters, and by learning some phrases like "my name is" and "hello". Keep practicing and reviewing. Learn those words! Use them a lot! Have fun with your Russian. Try to figure out the other letters with your cognates.

Be sure to return your paperwork to me next class and join our Google Classroom page. I put up the slides from today's class and your vocabulary. There's also a video to help with the letters. We'll keep going through the alphabet over the next several classes.

Advanced Russian

Today we delved right into the beginnings with the sounds of Russian and how they align to Russian and English. A big breakthrough was the idea of softness and how we can see this now. Then it was on to vocabulary and applying transcription. Tonight, keep focusing on the new information. Apply it to your vocabulary - learn those words.

Join the Google Classroom page to find the video on verb conjugation - we'll be really working with verbs this unit and talking about how transcription helps us understand verbs. Review that information with your guided notes sheet. And - don't forget your paperwork.

Homework for B-Day Students: 28 August

AP Seminar:

Tonight we have some important work to do in order to stretch you as you develop yourselves to be more creative and critical thinkers. Tonight you'll be watching the video below, analyzing your letter of the QUEST model and then completing your paperwork for class. So, here are your tasks.

Watch this TEDTalk and take notes on the following questions as you are watching:

1. Explain the story of Alfred Dreyfus?
2. What is motivated reasoning? What is problematic about this?
3. What is the scout mindset?
4. How are mind sets rooted in emotion? What are they and how are they different?
5. Seriously, what do you most yearn for?
6. How do you think this connects to our class?

Remember - answer these questions as bullet points, not necessarily as complete sentences or paragraphs. Be sure that you can show me your work on this if I were to ask for it.

Secondly, take a look at the Course and Exam Description booklet. Go to pages 11-24 and read carefully your assigned element of the QUEST framework. Read and annotate your section in order to better understand what that part of the Framework means. Be able to explain it to your classmates and to yourself!

Lastly, complete your paperwork - Honor Policy and Parent Contact Form - and turn those in to me next class.

Advanced Russian 

Welcome back to all of you, дорогие мои! I am so happy to continue working with you in Russian class. Hopefully we had some fun today reviewing the basics and delving a bit further. Our first unit is focused on verbs, so for tonight I want you to make a list of ten verbs you use commonly to talk about your day. With each verb, be sure to write it down in Russian, in English, and make a list of the various cases that the verb will use to communicate meaning.

Russian III Students - You should attempt to transcribe the verb using structural transcription. That can be found at the beginning of your Russian language textbook if you still have that. This will help us to move forward into the One Stem Verb System.

Russian I

I hope that all of you enjoyed class today. Be sure that you access our Google Classroom page as well as our Duolingo page as well. You may find it more helpful to access these using the desktop site rather than the app or mobile site.

For homework tonight I want you to be practicing with your new letters A, K, M, O, T. Go through the handwriting packet and work with exercises that feature these letters. Practice your reading and writing. Remember that I'll collect the whole packet at the end of the unit.

Also, don't forget your Parent Contact Sheet too. I like to call parents and tell them how great you are.

See you all on Thursday!

27 August - Homework - A Day

Welcome back to Jordan High for the 2018-2019 year! I'm so happy to be back to teaching and learning with you all in Room 301. Here are your reminders and announcements to get you going into our next class on Wednesday.

ESL English IV

Today was a wonderful day where we all got to know each other just a bit and we began to work on some of the important work in our class, like how words are built to create meaning. Next class we'll keep working with these new vocabulary skills as well as with a poem related to our opening theme.

For tonight, be sure that you've completed your Parent Contact Sheet - you'll want to turn that in to us next class. Then, take some time to think and make a list of about five things that are important parts of your identity. Try to make these specific to you. Don't just say "cooking" but think of an item that you like to cook more than any other. What does that say about who you are as a person?

AP English III

Today we had a great opening class in which we reviewed the class policies and procedures, you turned in your summer assignments, and you've already received some grades as well! Ms. Coco and I will be working hard to score your summer work and return it to you in a timely fashion, likely later this week or at the beginning of next. Remember that you can resubmit most of your summer work for new scores after you've learned the new expectations related to writing, outlining, and annotating.

For tonight, your main goal is to complete your paperwork (Contact Sheet/Honor Code) as well as complete the reading of "Keeping a Notebook" by Joan Didion. The article is available here as a .pdf file. Remember to read and annotate - take notes in your notebooks, take notes on the article, or on post-its. Never forget that annotating is a key skill and a standing assignment.

On Friday we'll be reviewing Sections I and II of In Cold Blood. You may find it helpful to start reviewing your annotations and reading tonight. Don't forget to add to your vocabulary bookmark as you do this work.

Homework for 29 August - A Day - First Day of School

Welcome back everyone!  I'm very glad to get to know you or to get to know you better as the case may be.  Please read below for reminders about class and to prepare for next class.

Russian II-IV

Tonight you need to start learning STRUCTURAL TRANSCRIPTION of the Cyrillic alphabet.  Take five verbs that you remember and write them in ST.  Account for hardness and softness.  Try to identify the root and the ending.  What is the meaning of the verb?  What cases are associated with this verb?  Pull out all that you remember!  Have this on paper for us to work from next time.

Russian I

Tonight begin to work on your handwriting.  Please complete page one of your handwriting packet.

English II

Remember our key question from today:  What happens when there is no respect in the world?  Try to consider this as a jumping off point for Wednesday's class.

For All Classes:  Please remember to complete your parent communication forms (online version below) and to get your school supplies!

Homework and Announcements for 8/25/2015 - B Day Students

And now I've met all of you and I can say that this year is going to be really wonderful.  I'm really excited to see how you all are approaching the course and your new year at Jordan.  Here's what you need to take care of for tonight:

AP English III

The parent information and contact sheet is located two posts down.  Make sure that if you fill out the sheet online then you bring back the paper version with the first line filled out and the word "ONLINE" at the top.  Then I'll know where to find the information.

In addition, I want you to finish reading the Alexie piece we started in class.  Make sure to read and annotate - follow the same ideas we began discussing today in class.  At the end, please answer question number two.  Make sure to write a thorough response to this question as we will spend time working through the idea in our seminar on Thursday.  The question is:

In paragraph 7, Alexie repeats a certain verb fourteen times. What is this verb, and what effect does this repetition have? What might Alexie be trying to say about the process of his coming to literacy, in terms of both the effort required and the height of the obstacles encountered (or, given the metaphor introduced in paragraph 4, the thickness of the doors that must be broken through)?

The whole Alexie piece and the question can be found at this link.

You should be able to turn in your response if I were to ask for it.  Make sure to also bring in your copy of Shame of the Nation next class.

English II

The homework for the A-day class is the same as your homework tonight.  Please complete the parent information sheet either on paper or using the online form below.  Remember to turn in the paper form, even if you complete the form online.  After this, complete the rough draft of your travel paragraph.  Remember that your paragraph needs all four parts to be complete.  Have your paragraphs with you next class so that we can complete our peer editing!

Homework and Announcements for 8/24/2015

Happy First Day of Class!  It was really great to meet a bunch of new students as well as reacquainting myself with my старики in Russian II/III.  Here are your reminders for tonight's homework - all classes have something to prepare for our next meeting on Wednesday.

Russian II/III:

Tonight you don't have to do much work in Russian - most of your work will be in English.  For tonight write your paragraph in English and then mark the words in a highlighter which will need to be in the NOMINATIVE case when you translate into Russian.  Tonight just focus on nominative case.  If there is vocabulary you need for your paragraph you can also look up words.

II:  Tell me about one thing that you do today. (Only writing in present tense)

III:  Tell me about one thing that you did this summer.  (Mixture of past and present tense)

Russian I:

Tonight you will need to start learning the first six letters of the Russian alphabet - remember these are not the first six in order, just the easy six.  Using your own paper, write the words from the homework sheet at least five times.  Practice making your letters.  Say the words aloud as you write them.  Write this on your own paper so that you can practice making your words nice and neat.  We'll begin by reviewing this next class.

English II:

Tonight your homework is to complete two things!  One - Fill out the parent information sheet either on paper or online (link below).  Two - Complete the first draft of your travel paragraph.  Make sure that you have all four parts to ensure a complete response!  We will work through these a bit more on Wednesday, when we do some peer editing.

First Day of School - Version 2.0

AP English III

Students - great first day!  We're off to a really wonderful start.  Here are your reminders for tonight to prepare you for our next class together on Thursday.

1. Prepare your rough draft of the introduction assignment.  Make sure that you have at least two paragraphs to earn credit for editing.
2. Read and annotate "Serving in Florida" available at this link.  If you cannot print the article make sure that you at least have notes to show.
3. Begin rereading the selected chapters of The Working Poor:  "Introduction", "Harvest of Shame" and "Work Works".
4. Complete your Parent/Student Information Sheet either on paper or on the online form available a few posts down.

English II

Please see the A-day post for English II for your assignments.

Homework - First Day of School

Greetings Students!  It was great meeting you all today.  I'm looking forward to getting to know you more as we progress through the year together.  Here are your reminders for tonight to get you started:

Russian I/Russian II/English II

Make sure that you fill out your Student/Parent Information Sheet and turn that in to me.  You can also complete the online version and turn in no paperwork.

Russian I

Read and write exercise one.  Practice several times with the speaking of the words.  Listen to your recording.  Remember to reduce your aspiration of the letter T through proper tongue position!  Write the words several times to get the style of Russian handwriting.

Russian II

Read through all exercises and practice your speaking.  Pay close attention to the unstressed vowels and the change in their sounds.  For tonight, spend some time with the Schaums Outline book and review concepts as we begin our structured review over the next few classes.

Russian Online Resources

Russian I and Russian II

Students - The following resources will be very useful for you as we move through our study of Russian together.  Below are several links as well as information about what you will find at each of these links.  Please use them throughout the year as you find them to be needed.

Эхо Москвы
The only way to get better at a foreign language is by immersing yourself in it.  That's why I offer you this radio station.  A great practice is for you to listen to this about thirty minutes to an hour each day.  I say do it while you're working on Russian.  You won't understand much, but it'll help you with intonation, and just repetition.  You'll also find yourself understanding more as you learn more through the year.

UCLA Beginner's Russian
There are so many resources here I don't know where to start.  This is an online textbook with explanations of grammar concepts and exercises that you can use to help with your mastery of skills.  The chapters aren't the same as ours so feel free to explore through several different chapters to get what you will need.  Please ask for help using this resource if you need it.

Викисловарь
This is a great online dictionary especially for forms of words in cases.  The explanation of the words are in Russian as is most everything else on the page.  Put the word you're working with in the search box to find your declension charts or any other information you may need on a word.

Tons of Resources
This page has almost everything else from grammar to translators to games to exercises.  If you can't find it elsewhere, look here.

Yandex
This is the Russian equivalent of Google.  They have some really good tools to help out with Russian like their translator which is far better than Google's.

And just like that it's time to start up again!

Welcome back everyone!  I'll post more as the year actually gets started but for now I just want to post the link to the Parent/Student Information Form.  Please either complete the paper document or this online form after the first day of school to ensure easy communication through the year.

Link to Parent/Student Information Form.