15 and 16 November - Blue and Grey Updates

Happy Tuesday/Wednesday Everyone - I'm going ahead and posting this today for everyone since I'll be out tomorrow doing some follow-up from last week's appointments.

AP Language

Class is focused on Chapter 7. Everything comes to a head in Chapter 7 and we have several turning points in the text. Remember that we're reading this novel not just as a story about these characters, but also as an argument about ideas related to America. The thinking and questioning of the text in today's slides should help you to see how these ideas are moving to resolution and to see the statements that Fitzgerald is forming. Considering who "wins" and "loses" in this text and why is a great way to formalize arguments. 

Next class is your double timed writing. There are tips in the Weekly Exigence for how to prepare. The best thing to do is review your feedback from your most recent writing assessment and the feedback to the class. Focus on a few points (remember you can't fix everything at once) and consider how you'll do that differently on Thursday/Friday when you write. Bring a charged laptop - you'll be typing since the exam has gone digital. 

Outside of class, focus on finishing The Great Gatsby. Before Thanksgiving Break we'll work through Chapters 8 and 9. You should also be wrapping up your motif tracker and vocabulary. You'll have summatives coming due after Thanksgiving Break - so adequate preparation now will lead to great outcomes then. I'll be after school on Thursday if you need anything. As always, feel free to reach out.

AP Research

Today we kicked off our working week focused on our IRB Proposal and the tools related to completing our inquiry project for the year. The deadline for IRB submission is December 6. This is a firm deadline. By this date I need your completed proposal form as well as every tool related to your study including consent forms and surveys. The team will give you feedback to prompt revisions and then you will be free to move forward.

All of the work that we've done up to this point has been designed to create the structures you need to complete this work. Pull together your various threads. Formalize your ideas. Show your process. 

As a secondary task, be sure that you are also writing your introduction and literature review - slay many beasts at once in order to be successful. Next week we'll be taking a few checks to help us keep moving forward.

English 10

Today's class is a day with a substitute since I'm out dealing with some personal medical things. During class you're completing the assignment on Anton Chekhov's "A Problem". Open the assignment and the slides and work through them. The story is posted as a PDF and there's a recording of me reading the story with pause points. Be sure to submit your slides as your grade by the end of class - the work won't be accepted late since today is a substitute day. I hope that you enjoy the story about Sasha and the idea of what it means to be a "criminal".

Once you've finished the story, take time with Membean. Remember that you need to do TWO, fifteen minute sessions each week. Once you've met your goal, you're set. Enjoy the day, and I'll be back with you on Friday!

Wednesday - 16 December - Grey Day

AP Language and English 10 - Find your reminders and notes below. Keep in mind that we are currently working towards completing our major projects for this unit. Please reach out in any of the ways that we have in this virtual school world to do so, and I'll do my best to provide help and guidance. As always, use rubrics and exemplars of work to guide your work toward a result. Also, keep in mind that you can always resubmit or reassess in this classroom to show your growth and mastery of skills.

AP Research

Today was a great day! The discussions we had were fruitful and engaging as we reflected collectively, in teams, and with our guest star, the amazing Ms. Anne Nolan! Remember to continue to reach out to her and others (we'll bring up Expert Advisors on Friday, briefly) in ethical and honorable ways. The IRB will meet again in mid-January to review your edits/revisions to your proposals and tools. I would suggest making a copy of everything you have and then applying edits to the copies.

Log your conference today and be sure to do this regularly. I'll share a template for this when we meet quickly on Friday. Then we'll complete our Catch-up Day; I will be available through the entire meeting period on Meet.

We are almost there everyone...we are almost there! Happy first snow!

Closing Week 14 - Friday the 11th

AP Research

Happy Friday! Today we used our return period to complete our quick assessment on ethical practices. Class time today is our final working session before submitting our IRB paperwork. The main task that you have ahead of yourselves at the moment is compiling and gathering your materials to submit for IRB approval.

There is a space on Google Classroom for you to submit your work. Be sure that you submit your proposal and any/all tools that you will use to gather data and complete your method. The team will meet on Monday afternoon, review your work, and give any feedback. We'll go through this on Wednesday as we continue moving forward.

Next week we'll also take a look at some PODs and become more familiar with the POD rubric. I've also posted a new reflection question for you - it relates to the work we're doing now on method development.

AP English and English 10

Keep in mind that we have final projects due next week. My goal in collecting them next week is so that you will have a break that actually is that - a break. Be focused on your tasks, check in on any missing assignments, and submit your work. I'm available on Monday during Office Hours for any support or help you may need.

Off to Thanksgiving Break

Dear Grey Day Students - Thanks for a great last class before our break next week. Keep in mind that we won't be meeting next week because of the holiday break. I'm not assigning anything to be completed over the break; however, if you have missing assignments you should submit them now so that you can be on a good footing when we return. I'll be sending progress reports on Monday.

AP Research

Today we discussed the literature review and its function within the introduction. Keep in mind that each section of the paper has a specific goal/purpose - as we keep moving through, we'll continue to build the plane while we're flying.

Remember that one of our main resources are our other sources - use them as models and exemplars for help to navigate your task. Keep in mind that your paper should, in the end, look like their papers, since you want to be filling the gap in current scholarship. Our AP Rubric and example high scoring paper can also help us here.

Keep writing, working, revising, thinking and reading. When we return from break, we're off to Unit 3 so that we can begin to construct our method and gain approval for our inquiry.

Closing out Week 10

Dear Students - I hope that you're enjoying class and our study of some great pieces of literature, or our progression into the research process - as you find yourselves. This weekend AP Language and English 10 Students should focus on reading, making progress on our final unit project, and any missing assignments. Remember that you can also resubmit formerly submitted assignments - check your comments and be sure to highlight or clearly show your changes, especially if the comment resolves.

AP Research

We're quickly coming to the end of our second unit of the course in which we determine the elements of our introduction and finalize the foundation of our research paper and inquiry. Next week we'll be finishing this unit of study and moving into the third unit which will have us complete our Research Proposal and begin the process of learning about ethics and method as it relates to research. 

This weekend your goal should be to complete your Annotated Bibliography. Please submit this document next week in order to complete Unit 2 and move on into Unit 3. Additionally, you should consider drafting and/or outlining the introduction to your research paper, especially for those choices which you feel very confident. Don't forget your weekly reflection document - I've updated it for Week 10. 

Kicking Off Q2 - Grey Day - 11/4

Since we didn't have a Blue Day yesterday, today is a bonus day for Grey Day English classes. I hope that you enjoyed the new class setup today. As always, I appreciate and welcome your feedback.

AP Language

Today we had an enrichment day to reflect on the quarter, talk about some test taking skills for future exams, and hopefully have some time to work with our classmates and get to know each other better.

Next class we'll be focused on our reading of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. You've got Chapters 11-16 (a bit of a transitional section with some mini-adventures). Pay attention to symbols and big ideas as these will be the focus of our work on Friday. We'll also be discussing the final project for this unit and beginning our task with it. Don't forget that you should submit the Amy Tan Reflection (Day 16 work) and Vocabulary Cards.

English 10

Today in class we took some time to read in Persepolis, work as groups to learn more about each other, and reflect on our vocabulary and in general on Quarter 1 of the year. I know that there were some quirks to our first stations day; hopefully next time we do this it'll run a bit more smoothly.

Take a look at the asynchronous work from last class if you haven't yet. You may want to review the assignment tonight and do some reading to prepare to complete the work. We'll practice a bit with this skill next class as we examine several important scenes in Persepolis.

AP Research

Today in AP Research we had a quick lesson to review the components of the first research "poster" and pitch for class. Keep in mind that one of the key functions of this work is to check and ensure the ever important idea of alignment exists between all of the areas of our work. Go back into the work that you've done so far, especially as it relates to your research question and consider how you can repurpose some of that work for this new task. 

Next class you'll have a full day to work - spend it practicing your pitch with each other or Ms. Greeves. There's also AB Entry writing or developing the poster. Next week we'll present our work and review the elements of the Inquiry Proposal form in order to submit our proposals for review and authorization.

Homework for Tuesday - 12/10 - A Day

AP Research

Today was the kick off of our revision and workshop days. I saw writing, conferencing, and revising. Remember to refer to your IRB notes as you are working and charting your progress. If you're making changes, consider why you're making them and how you can communicate your intentions to your assessor.

I've posted Reflection 13 for you to complete in the Classwork Tab on Google Classroom. You'll also find today's slides as well as the Consultant Letter and Forms in electronic format. Remember that I need a form for each of your consultants before we leave for break.


Next class is a workday as well. You'll have a bit of a small task to complete in getting feedback and giving pitches if you need yourself something to do. This is a good time to check in on your PREP folders to make sure that they are ready to be checked at the end of next week.

Russian I

Today was a day for us to review what we already knew and delve a bit deeper into sentence building and cases in Russian. Today in class we learned how to create sentences with direct objects by using the accusative case or the genitive case (if we have a living male). Remember to learn the process for changing endings to use this case.

Tonight, practice this case further by completing the practice exercise number five by putting the items in parenthesis in accusative case. Use the verb in the question to start your answer. Also, there is a fill in the blanks exercise for you in your regular textbooks. Complete Exercise 8A and 8B on page 52.

Don't forget to study and review for your test reassessment. You can retake the test next week!

Advanced Russian

Today in class we had a quiz. I'll have these back to you on Monday to be reviewed. If you plan to reassess then you should plan to do that next week before Winter Break begins. For tonight, you should focus on your upcoming projects - the space to turn them in is below. There is also all of the information related to preparing for the Olympiada of Spoken Russian.


Outside of this, focus on your vocabulary development. Without the words, the language doesn't work. Next class is a film/culture day with Anna Karenina - I hope you'll enjoy it!

Homework for A Day - 4 December 2019

AP Research

Tomorrow is our next major milestone! IRB Day! I'll be meeting with the committee to review your work and get you the approval to begin your data collection and interaction with subjects. I'm excited and a bit scared for tomorrow, but I think that it'll go well. I hope to be able to give you a word on your approval or revisions at the end of the day on Thursday.

Tonight you should be writing. That's really the goal while you're waiting to hear what comes next. Next class we'll be having an AP Research lesson to help us prepare for the steps ahead. Use this time to get a handle on what you already have. Don't forget to finish your method outlines if you did not show them to me today.

Russian I

Great work today with your translations, vocabulary and grammar! I'm very impressed with what you were all able to do and produce today. Remember that we have a test on Friday on grammar and vocabulary. You'll be really successful if you study your vocabulary from Chapter 1 and the grammar skills we used in the translations.


Don't forget that you have the chance to earn a lot of extra credit with your exercise review. You have to turn it in at the beginning of class on Friday to get credit for it. I've also put our song down below so that you can keep listening. We'll practice more on Friday after the test.

Advanced Russian

Today we continued working with our vocabulary in order to be able to write a brief story. Remember that as we do this work related to vocabulary development, you have to realize that this is how you study for Russian. You have to use and do in order to really learn.


From there we had time for our projects related to culture or grammar before wrapping up our review of the various exercises we've been working on to solidify our grammar knowledge. Remember that you have a grammar quiz next week on Tuesday. To finish our preparation you'll be working on Holiday Shopping, Russian style.

Homework for B-Day - 3 December 2019

AP Literature

Lots of good thinking in class today related to thinking. I loved the takeaways that we came to related to the relationship between consciousness and awareness and the way in which the Underground Man is forming his own ideas related to these concepts. All of this is important as we move forward into Part II since this is the beginning of the novel (ironic, I know).

Tonight you're reading Part II, Chapters 1-4. Chapter 1 gives us the UM's set-up of the story. In Chapters 2, 3 and 4 we start to meet the new characters and see how UM interacts with them. Be sure to annotate. Track the ideas from your topics and motifs list. Follow the characters and develop your character list.


There's a chance of a reading quiz on Thursday. Also be sure that everything that you need to submit is in by Wednesday so that your progress report is an accurate reflection of where you are in class.

AP Research

Great work today with our scientific sample paper. This is a writing week as we move toward approval. Be sure that your Proposal and Supporting Documentation is prepared and shared! From there, beginning to write would be a good use of your time. Take a look at your Method and Introduction Outlines. Start writing. Use your sample papers and rubrics as you write.


On Thursday, I'd like to see your method outline for a score. If you're working with an expert adviser, I need their contact information so that I can contact them. Thursday will be a workday since I'll be conducting your IRB review. Hopefully it's nothing but good news after that.

Homework for Thanksgiving Break - B Day

AP Lit

No homework to assign over break except to rest, relax, and recover. I hope that you all enjoyed today's class and meeting The Underground Man. I would highly recommend reviewing Part One (especially if you didn't read too carefully) since you'll understand a lot more of him after today's class.


Next week we'll work through Part II. The assessment on this novel will happen on 11 December - It'll be another Question 3. Don't forget to complete the survey below to give your feedback on the most recent unit! I've also posted on Google Classroom the play An Evening with Dostoevsky (it's in Russian) to give you an idea of The Underground Man. This play is a one-man show based on Notes from Underground - so even if you don't understand Russian, you can get a good idea of who this guy is.

If you didn't complete your vocabulary card I'll take it next week!

AP Research

This is the major push time everyone! It's time to put together all of the pieces for IRB approval next week. This is your major goal. In order to pass IRB you will need the DPS Proposal Form complete as it applies to your study. You will also need to have any consent forms and method tools like surveys and questions prepared. I would compile everything into one space and share that with Dr. Spencer. Her email is julie_spencer [at] dpsnc.net.

Outside of this you should start writing. Complete your outline documents and then start writing it all up. Use Manzanar as a model for this work. Use your templates too. If you have more of this content written now, it makes the work ahead even easier!


Enjoy Thanksgiving Break!

Homework/Reminders - Thanksgiving Break - A Day

AP Research

This is the major push time everyone! It's time to put together all of the pieces for IRB approval next week. This is your major goal. In order to pass IRB you will need the DPS Proposal Form complete as it applies to your study. You will also need to have any consent forms and method tools like surveys and questions prepared. I would compile everything into one space and share that with Dr. Spencer. Her email is julie [underscore] spencer [at] dpsnc [dot] net.

Outside of this you should start writing. Complete your outline documents and then start writing it all up. Use Manzanar as a model for this work. Use your templates too. If you have more of this content written now, it makes the work ahead even easier!


Enjoy Thanksgiving Break!

Russian I

There are no assignments for you to complete over Thanksgiving Break! I hope that you all enjoy the time with family and friends away from school. I would suggest finding time every day to work on and review your grammar and vocabulary skills while you're away. Spend time with Duolingo or with your vocabulary/grammar skills from your textbook.

Be aware that we will have a test on Chapter One on 12/6. When we return from break we'll prepare for this test and keep learning some of our cases in Russian grammar.

Advanced Russian

There are no assignments for you to complete over Thanksgiving Break! I hope that you all enjoy the time with family and friends away from school. I would suggest finding time every day to work on and review your grammar and vocabulary skills while you're away. Spend time with Duolingo or with your vocabulary/grammar skills from your textbook.

If you did not complete the number quiz well, then review that in preparation for your reassessment. We'll be taking our test on this unit before Winter Break, so preparing to meet that goal will be good for you to do.

Homework for the Weekend - B Day - 22 November

Lots of absences today with good reason. Remember to check Google Classroom for the slides and handouts.

AP Literature

Howdy y'all! Здравствуйте всем! Today we learned a lot about St. Petersburg, Russian culture and history, as well as a good introduction to our narrator and also the author of our text (note - these are not the same person).

If you were absent you should review the slides and handout before you read Part One. You are not required to annotate this text - it's confusing and hard to follow; I've read it seven times and I still get lost - so your annotations are going to be a bit different. Remember that the first part of this text is a monologue. Read and write questions to this narrator. Tie the questions to page numbers or Chapters so that we can all get to the same place in the text.

Don't forget the form below, test corrections on The Stranger, Part 1, and to enjoy the reading this weekend. See you on Tuesday! Remember that the text is linked in previous posts.

AP Research

I really enjoyed our conferences today and the clarification that you were able to bring to our conversations. If we didn't conference today, then we will on Tuesday. A lot of you were absent today, so we'll talk Tuesday. Over the weekend, it's important that you work to complete any of these questions to add specificity to your method and research proposal.

Over the weekend, complete the Method Outline form. Be sure that you're working through all the parts of this element of your paper. Having this done will lead you to a much easier time when writing the paper. Additionally, complete as much as you can of the DPS proposal. Be sure that all of your supporting documents and tools are with it so that you can pass IRB.

See you next week for our super short week!

Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 21 November

AP Research

I really enjoyed our conferences today and the clarification that you were able to bring to our conversations. If we didn't conference today, then we will on Monday. Over the weekend, it's important that you work to complete any of these questions to add specificity to your method and research proposal.

Over the weekend, complete the Method Outline form. Be sure that you're working through all the parts of this element of your paper. Having this done will lead you to a much easier time when writing the paper. Additionally, complete as much as you can of the DPS proposal. Be sure that all of your supporting documents and tools are with it so that you can pass IRB.

See you next week for our super short week!

Russian I

Today in class we finished our review of the cities in Russia and then we had time for our verb quiz reassessment. If you weren't in class today, you can complete the reassessment at home or with me. Just remember that if you want to redo the vocabulary score, then you'll have to do that with me.


Over the weekend finish your work on Prepositional Case by completing the exercise on page 53. Read the sentence and make the needed change so that you can show prepositional case. Next week we'll learn a new case!

Advanced Russian

Today in class we took our spelling quiz on numbers before we ordered some groceries in Russian to practice our dialogue skills and our number skills. I liked what you all were doing because you're showing growth in your skills. Keep working and studying and you will keep growing. Next week we'll have a short week - so it's time to review our skills before we move on.


Complete your exercises related to your new grammar topics. Russian II should complete exercises in Chapter 5 - numbers 12, 15, and 16. Russian III should complete exercises in Chapter 8 - numbers 7, 8, and 11. Russian IV should read the section of Chapter 11 on Participles and complete the guided notes.

Homework for B-Day Students: 20 November

AP Lit

Today in class we had an assessment - Multiple Choice and then our essay on The Stranger. Remember that the questions on the assessment asking about poetry and poetry reading skills will not be part of your assessment, they were more of a pre-test to see our skills before we get into poetry next.

Tonight, be sure that all of your work from this unit is complete and turned in. If you're seeing anything missing in PowerSchool, be sure that the work is to us by the end of the week. We'll be starting with Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from Underground next class. I've shared a link on Google Classroom to a copy of the text if you choose not to purchase it for yourself.

AP Research

It's time for revising y'all! Now that we've gone further into method, I invite you to look back at your work on your proposals to tighten up and specify your work. Today we were focused on developing, clarifying, and defining a specific method for your specific question. This was a way for me to provide feedback to all of you on your method section of your draft proposal. Tonight you should take a look at the questions and the work that we have done today. What questions can you answer? What clarity can you provide? What can you do to make sure that your method is workable to others? Have you clearly defined all of your tools to complete your method?

It's important that everything aligns. Can you draw a straight line through all of the parts of your proposal? Make changes, make updates and edits. We'll conference on Friday about your proposals.

Homework for A Day - 19 November 2019

AP Research

We were a bit of the lab classroom this morning with guests and visitors streaming in. Thanks for being a wonderful group during all of that. Today we were focused on developing, clarifying, and defining a specific method for your specific question. This was a way for me to provide feedback to all of you on your method section of your draft proposal. Tonight you should take a look at the questions and the work that we have done today. What questions can you answer? What clarity can you provide? What can you do to make sure that your method is workable to others? Have you clearly defined all of your tools to complete your method?

It's important that everything aligns. Can you draw a straight line through all of the parts of your proposal? Make changes, make updates and edits. We'll conference on Thursday about your proposals.

Russian 1

Today in class was all about reviewing everything we've done. We conjugated verbs, applied prepositional case, and we worked through a review of our cities. Next class we'll finish our review of the cities and then we will have our retake of our quiz on verb conjugation. Be prepared for that! Study and review. Know how to use the word wall as a resource. If you need additional help, let's meet up at lunch this week!

Advanced Russian

Today in class was all about time. Telling time. Working with time expressions. Understanding that numbers don't really change, but they cause a lot of changes around them. I hope that as we are practicing daily you're getting better and stronger with using and navigating our use of numbers.

For tonight we have our exercise on translation. Read through the letter in English. Find what you can translate related to time expressions and work through those translations. Use the notes and work we did with filling in the blanks.


This is a great way to prepare for your quiz on numbers next class. It's a spelling quiz, so, can you spell and translate your numbers?

Homework for Monday - 11/18 - B Day

AP Literature

We had our final work with The Stranger today in class as well as a circle discussion to review some of our main themes and takeaways from the novel. I was really happy to see you all in the circle room as you tried something new, listened and respected each other, and you all engaged in creative and critical discussion about the novel. Молодец! Wonderful! All of this discussion is key in preparing for Q3 next class - Hopefully you see the connection to the various themes.

Tonight you should spend some time at AP Classroom. Look at your Unit 1 MCQ - What did you get wrong? Why did you get it wrong? Why is the correct answer the better answer? Be sure that you're looking at the specific verbs and adjectives/adverbs - that's usually the difference between better and best.

Prepare for Q3 (The FRQ) by reviewing your annotations. Checking in on your back covers and understanding connections between those elements is key. Also, be sure to look at the practice we did in class related to Q3.


Lastly - we'll start Dostoevsky on Friday. Get yourself a copy of the novel - or save the link here for a copy of it. Remember, no matter how you read, you are still expected to annotate. We'll be reading this book fast - it's a quick read.

AP Research

Today was a workday for all of us. I was reviewing your proposals and you were working with each other or on your own. I'm planning to sit with you at the beginning of next week to go through your proposals and address feedback. As you are working this week, don't forget that we have a new reflection posted.

I would highly suggest that you all spend the time that you need this week working through your method. Do you have a firm understanding of what data you need to collect and how you are going to get it? How are you taking these generalized methods and making them specific to your question and study?

You'll have the chance to recoup your points this week if you missed any. Please review your work as it is returned to you. I'll hopefully have them all returned to you on Google Classroom by the end of tomorrow.

AP Research Homework - 12 November

AP Research

Today in class we were a bit rushed for time because of the early release schedule. We'll plan to finish any remaining conferences next class, so please be ready if you have not yet crossed that threshold.

Tonight your main task is to finish your DRAFT proposal. It should be submitted by the end of this week to Google Classroom. Next class we will have our ethical dilemmas assessment. You'll be able to use your notes that you have taken in this unit to help you. Remember that these issues don't necessarily have right or wrong answers (well, sometimes they do). The important thing is to always make sure that we are working in consideration of any ethical implications, even those that don't affect us right now.

The weekly reflection has also been posted. As always, reach out if you need anything.

Homework for B-Day - Starting Q2 - 29 October

AP Literature

Next class we will have our The Stranger, Part One, Unit Assessment. The sample exam tasks that you had today are very indicative of the work you will do on Thursday. A few important reminders:

1. Review all of the slides and notes on Google Classroom that have been made available.

2. Annotate your books as you study and review. We've highlighted a lot of important passages. Do you have annotations which align with those passages? Do your covers reflect the work that we've been doing in class?

3. Be ready for the exam by using the review pack. Be able to answer all of the questions. Know what's expected of you!

Please remember to bring your novels/annotations for Part One. If they are on paper, bring those. Remember that these need to be reading notes, and not just your notes from class.  If you have questions related to the assessment, see us before the fact.

AP Research

Today we worked to understand the main parts of Q2 and then to break the major steps into smaller and achievable goals. Set a timeline for yourself. Hold yourself accountable. Be sure that you are able to explain and justify the choice that you have made. This is an important element of being productive. Remember that 15 November is a line in concrete. We must have the proposal complete in its DRAFT form by that day.