22 October - Happy Tuesday

English 11

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Great day in English 11 as we started our day with vocabulary and then got into the process of deep looking and understanding non-print texts. Today we looked at a painting called The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell. This painting was paired with an interview in which Ruby Bridges, the girl in the painting, explained what the day was like. This was a great lesson to help us understand the importance of looking at several texts about the same topic. Keep this in mind as we work through the research and development process for our projects in this unit.

Another part of today's class involved feedback on reading tasks. Remember that the goal by the end of the year is that you can display your skills in all of the ways. Right now, you have two ways to demonstrate your reading skills - the test and the project. At this point you can either retake the test to raise your grade, resubmit the project, or stay where you are if you're happy. I'll have all grades updated by Friday so that you can make the best decision for the last week of the quarter. I would put in a Lion Time pass sooner rather than later if you want to do a retake or revise your project with me.

Next class we'll be testing. You'll have independent working time after you test. Come to class with a charged laptop, please. Be sure to complete any last assignments for the end of the quarter.

9 and 10 February - End of the Week

English 10 - 9 February

Today was our Course Selection Day - so a bit of a nothing day for us. Next class we'll have our last day to study and review letters and a writing workshop. Wednesday is going to be our catch-up date and on Friday we'll write our letters. If you were absent today, be sure that you meet with your counselor during Lion Time in order to get your registration complete.

AP Language

We took a trip to look at some art today in AP Language in order to understand the means by which we extract evidence from non-print sources. We learned two methods today - Deep Looking and the OPTIC method. We looked at two paintings and applied the methods to each in order to determine claims, evidence, and possible uses for our research. We also took a look at two sample Annotated Bibliography entries to show you the means by which to construct them. Follow the models and remeber to be a STAR.

You should have two AB entries written by the end of today's class/this weekend/this evening. You should have an idea for a potential non-print source. You should be actively constructing your sourcepack. These items can run in conjunction or isolation, but you need to be completing tasks. Remember, each class you should have a record of your work to take you to the next day. Next class you'll have ample time to write and work with your sources.

Any questions or concerns? Please see me at Lion Time or after-school next week. Annotated Bibliographies are due on March 8/9.

AP Research

I'd say it's an easy day in AP Research, but that's not really true. Now is when we hit the major work of this course, which is the data collection. Without the data, you can't answer the question, and collecting the data can be an arduous process. It is important that you set daily goals and meet them. Have alternative plans. You may even need an alternative method, just in case. Track your progress. Track your changes. Consider your hypothesis and what's borne out from the actual data.

Your next major assignment is your BoK Analysis. Complete this and submit it by February 27. Next week you'll have both classes for working time. You should be writing, collecting data, and considering the fact that everything is due by May 1 at 11:59 PM. That gives us TEN weeks to complete this process. I hope you can see the urgency of each class.