30 September - Happy Friday!

AP Language

Easy peasy, pumpkin squeezy as we round out September and kick off October! Today was our end of Unit 2 working day. There's a few goals that we have as we close out, so let's review:

1. Do you have a missing project? I'm working through grading and should have them finished by the middle of next week. Be sure to submit if missing. I'll give back rubrics with feedback to guide revisions if needed/wanted.

2. Vocabulary is open to be collected. Remember that words should come from class readings or resources (like the tone word sheet). If you don't know why you lost points on earlier vocabulary cards, be sure to reach out and ask. 

3. Our seminar is next class. Be sure that you have finished your choice reading and annotated it for the author's message and elements of the rhetorical situation. How does the author convey an argument? What stands out to you? What connections can you make?

4. Your final project for this unit has been assigned and reviewed. I'll be giving you some more time over the next classes to work on this further. For now, start by considering your examples and your thesis. What is America to you? How can you prove that? What's the counter argument?

Reach out if you need me!

AP Research

Lovely Friday! We took our time today to read a Level 4 paper and understand some of our key elements that are at play in the paper. From there, it was off to the mines as we are writing, finishing work from Unit 1, or completing reflections on our work so far.

Next week will be a lot of time for you to write your Annotated Bibliography. Don't be afraid of being repetitive. Use the templates and support that you have to complete this work. It may seem daunting to write twenty five entries, but the supports are there to help you do it.

Enjoy the weekend. Your Annotated Bibliography is due Week 8 - that would be October 14.

23 September

Sorry for the delay. The blog was blocked so I couldn't run an update. But it looks like we're back in business.

AP Language

A bit of a rushed day today, but we still got a lot done. Be sure to go back and check the letters between John and Abigail. I'd recommend rereading as you now have a bit more of a framework for reading. Over the weekend you have a few priorities. Let me outline for you here:

1. Be sure that you apply your feedback from today's gallery walk and submit your final project. I'll begin grading on Tuesday, so have it in by then.

2. Select and begin to read your choice article. You don't have to finish it, but be sure that you've started. We'll start to work through these next class.

3. Vocabulary is going to be due soon for the unit. The space will be opened soon. Be sure that you apply feedback from round one as you complete these assignments.

AP Research

A fast class today, but a good class as we kicked off Unit 2. This unit is designed to help you write and refine your ideas to develop your introduction of your academic paper. The first step to this is to submit your Source List - the firm due date is Tuesday for this. This will lead you to the Annotated Bibliography which is your first major writing assignment.

The lesson today and the slides are crucial in helping you do this work. Use the templates. Use the samples. Ask for help as you need it! Over the weekend, be sure to complete your Source List and submit. Begin to write your entries - having a few done for next week would be a great way to start our conferences. Lastly, be sure to complete your Week 5 Reflection in your PREP.

19 September - Blue Day

AP Language

Today we did a lot of analysis and practice geared toward our project called "What's the Situation". I was very glad to see the thinking going on as we worked together to understand Mario Cuomo and Abraham Lincoln. The most important takeaway is that if there are multiple audiences, there are often multiple purposes and arguments. Keep track of how the message is geared and crafted toward the specific audiences. This is one of the main tasks you have in your project.

Tonight, take time for your projects. Spending time on those is the best thing that you can do. They're due at the end of the week! Be sure that you have completed your reading diagnostic as well - AP Classroom remains open for practice.

Let me know what you need - Lion Time Thursday is a great time to work on your project with me. I'm also after school on Wednesday and Thursday this week.

AP Research

We are closing out Unit 1 this week and moving on to Unit 2. Today and next class are our final working days for Unit 1. During these days I'll be conferencing with each of you about your research questions and work with your sources up to this point. Be sure that you log these conferences, I mean to help at all times.

Remember that your categorized source list is due this week. On Friday, we'll have our lesson on the annotated bibliography and writing. I'm looking forward to that. If you have any work to finish up for Unit 1 including reflections, quizzes, or other tasks, now is the time to complete them.

End of the Week - 15 September

AP Language

Great day today for our first official working day. There are a few things that have been announced today - the recording is a great recap. Generally we:

1. Set up our writing notebooks/portfolios to be used through the year.

2. Reviewed the first mini-project of the year, the template, and the resources to complete it as well as the rubric.

3. Understood the reading diagnostic, how to access it, and how it will be used.

4. Reviewed AP Classroom, the joining process, and how Progress Checks will be used this year.

The majority of class was spent working independently. Over the weekend, you should complete your reading diagnostic if you didn't in class. There is also a reading assigned for next week. It's a speech by Mario Cuomo. There's a PDF, it's in the textbook, and there's a video of him presenting the speech. Annotate for tone. Use your tone words sheet. Notice especially where the tone shifts and how he demonstrates that shift.

AP Research

A pretty straightforward day today in AP Research land as we reviewed our CRAAP test for sources and the College Board Policy on Falsification and Plagiarism. From there, we took some time as we need to work through our source list, reading log, reflection questions, or research question development. At this point in the course you should be finalizing your research question. We can of course continue to make edits, but you should be locking in some of your decisions now.

Over the weekend be sure to complete your newest reflection question. It's a POD question you could get at the end of the year. Next week we'll start to transition out of Unit 1 and into Unit 2. Be ready for a lesson on your next major assignment - the annotated bibliography.

See you Monday!

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.

7 September - Blue Day - Wednesday

AP Language

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

AP Research

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

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

See you Friday!

Thursday - January 14

English 10

Today was our working day to finish with the film version of Persepolis as well as our planning for the media review. The due date on the media review has been extended to Monday. Remember that the viewing guide will help you with your evidence if you decide to write your media review on the movie instead of the book, but you can write on either one.

I posted an assignment called Essay 2 Preparation. Our final grade of the quarter and semester will be our Quarter 2 SOL Essay. We'll write that in-class at the end of next week. This planner pack has your prompt, graphic organizers, and review on constructing your essay. This assignment isn't for a grade, but doing it will certainly help your final essay grade.

Be sure to check and make sure that any and all assignments are submitted before the end of the quarter on Friday the 22nd. Use the recording the review the assignments posted.

AP English Language

Today's class was a chance for us to finish our revisions and finalizations of our research question while also moving forward into the outlining of our argument and response. Remember that these databases you have access to are goldmines - they do the citations, provide both primary and non-print sources, and you can save directly to your Google Drive. As you continue to work this weekend and through next week, focus on collecting sources and organizing your ideas to clarify your argument.

Submit your finalized research question and argument by the end of the weekend for my review and scoring. Also, don't forget about the practice on AP Classroom. Next week we'll be highly focused on the development of the outline to move forward into drafting and conferencing.

Grey Day - 28 October

English 10 and AP Language Students -

Remember that any missing or late work needs to be submitted ASAP in order to receive credit for the first quarter. If you're going to cash in rubles for extra credit, remember to email me with the amount of points you want to add and which assignment. I'll reply and let you know what you have left in the bank. Keep reading your books! Use this time to get ahead if you can. Next class will be mostly on your own - so pay attention to any and all postings in Google Classroom.

AP Research

Today we had a very important lesson on the importance of clarifying our definitions and being aware of our assumptions and hypotheses as we continue in this process of AP Research. It's also a good day for us to consider the usefulness of our source lists and the wealth of information that they'll provide as we do our work. A logical outgrowth of today's lesson is to work with the Lesson 6 Takeaways Document. Go through and consider your terms, find any assumptions and hypotheses you are aware of. Bring this to our conference on Friday as a common place for us to discuss.

It's also important that you begin to write your AB entries, use the templates and the rubric provided. We should expect that these will be called due in the next two weeks. As always, reach out with questions or concerns and we'll do what we can!

Grey Day - 21 October 2020

English 10 and AP Language

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

AP Research

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

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

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

Happy Friday - 16 October - Grey Day

Reminders for AP Language and English 10 are the same as those listed below. Remember to submit any missing work this weekend from Unit 1 (since we're moving on) and especially the revised Writing Diagnostic. I'll update grades through the weekend and on Monday based on your submissions.

AP Research

Thank you for a productive day of conferencing based on your source list. I was very happy to see that you were immediately able to apply your findings from your Source List assignment to the further development of your research question. Remember that these sources may serve as models for you in a variety of ways - consider if their work is replicable for you in this course in any way, shape, or form.

Over the weekend you should continue to add to your source list - this should be a continuous process as we keep reading and working. Additionally, it is clear that many of you have found significant and important work which is guiding you. Apply our Lesson 4 work related to the Annotated Bibliography and begin to craft entries now. Remember that this Annotated Bibliography is one of our major assessments in this unit.

Next week we'll meet together to work through the reading of an AP Research paper and become familiar with the rubric used to score the paper. I think that you're ready to see the final product and understand the way in which this work we do now is going to find its way to that final product.

As always, reach out if you need me! Keep reading and adding - especially if you've found some gaps in your Source List.

Homework for the Weekend - A Day Edition - 3 October

AP Research

In order to make life a bit easier I compiled the reflection questions into one document for you. Please check that document and be sure that you have Reflections 1-4 complete. If you missed an earlier check, send me an email with a link to the document and we will get that settled.

Be sure that you've submitted your Source Check Two to Google Classroom in the appropriate space. I'll be looking at these tonight.

Next class will be a working day - You'll be grinding through some Annotated Bibliography entries, so have those templates and access to those sources. The Annotated Bibliography is due by October 13 and is our key focus for this upcoming week.

Russian I

Today in class we reviewed our possessives and the idea of gender in Russian. We did some great practice to be ready for our quiz next week on this concept. Next class you have a video day, I hope you enjoy it. Be ready for the quiz by reviewing your textbook as well as the notes we took. Playing with your dominoes will help a lot too.

Advanced Russian

Today in class we reviewed verb conjugation, we wrote a bit about Cheburashka, and then we took a quiz. For the teams that didn't finish - please come back tomorrow to complete the quiz work. For the weekend you should focus on cases. Go through the packet and select two of the six pages to complete. Identify which cases are being used. Think about why. Next class you also have a movie day. It's a good one that will take us some time to complete!

Homework for B-Day: October 2nd

AP Literature 

Fantastic job with reading the critical essays and applying their themes to "Everyday Use!" Keep these critical lenses in mind as we continue reading for the next unit.

A few things to keep in mind for next class:

1. We will have our unit examination on Friday starting out with our multiple choice section. Study, but do not be discouraged! This test is going to measure SKILLS and NOT CONTENT. The second section will be your free response essay and you will complete that on Tuesday. It will be a full timed essay and you will have 55 minutes to respond to a chosen prompt. The two pieces will combine for your unit examination score. Remember, this test is based on SKILLS NOT CONTENT.

2. Make sure you turn in the following items by the end of this week:

      1. College Essay Resubmissions
      2. Individual Summer Outline Resubmissions (Need to be printed out and turned in)

3. Group Project presentations are next week! If you have questions about the project, please bring them in on Friday and we will answer them.

AP Research 

Hello Researchers - Mr. Miller and I hope that talking through the sample AP Research paper was helpful today! We will continue reading through the paper on Friday.

Keep working on your 2nd source list! Make sure that you are submitted a revised source list and not just resubmitting your first one. Also, keep working on your Annotated Bibliographies and be sure to have 25ish sources.

Last thing, make sure to complete your reflection by the end of this week. Look out for the reflection question in Google Classroom.

We appreciate your hard work today and remember to come to class with questions when needed.

Homework for A-Day Students: 1 October 2019

The end of Quarter 1 will happen this month! It's important to be prepared as we're moving ahead!

AP Research

Today we started to get a good idea of the final product, but we also saw a fair amount of the work in the beginning as well. This is great for us as we are moving forward into our work with the Annotated Bibliography since some of that writing will find its way in to your paper through the Literature Review.

For tonight there are a few things to accomplish.

1. Continue to work on and submit your final source list. Remember that this should be around 40-50 sources and it should reflect growth from the first source list. 
2. Write your annotated bibliography entries based on the template documents that we have seen and been using so far. Remember to focus on the sources that you find to be the strongest or most useful. Go back to the Literature Review to see how this will eventually be used.
3. Be sure to look at and complete the most recent reflection. It's in our Google Classroom post for today.

Russian I

Today in class we did some singing and working on gender and the way that words like possession words change to show gender. This is the root of your homework tonight. I want you to use the notes we did today in class to work through the exercises 1.11 and 1.12 in the end of Chapter One. Fill in the blank with the appropriate word. Remember to identify the gender of the item (look at the last letter) as you do this work.

Remember, this is the last week for anything from Unit One as we're moving into Unit Two.

Advanced Russian

For homework tonight you should do a few things. First, check in with your grades on PowerSchool. If there is anything missing or that needs to be redone, you have this week to complete that work. Next week we will only be scoring and submitting the Unit Examination. Second, complete the exercises that I gave you on identifying cases. We'll be working through that next class. Lastly, spend some time writing and working. Write a few episodes talking about what happened in the episode we watched, what may happen in the future, and what we saw in the past. Remember, as I said in class, you're only doing half the work if you don't go home and practice, and half only gets you a 50%.

Next class we will have a small partner quiz on conjugation and stem identification. Be ready!

Homework for A-Day: Weekend Edition: 27 September

Happy New Year! L'Shana Tova!

AP Research

This weekend we should be focused on writing for the annotated bibliography. Remember to use the templates that you have been given in this class to guide your work with this writing. This will be helpful for you as we move forward into the paper even more.

There is also our reflection question for this week. It is Presentation and Oral Defense Question 1.3. Please respond in your Reflection Document. Also, use citations and exact references to make your writing stronger.

What were the strategies you used to conduct a review of the literature or gather information from the discipline-specific field? Why did you select those strategies? Which strategies did you consider and reject?

Be sure that any missing work is turned in by the end of the weekend. Your next due date is Tuesday - Source List Check 2 (Around 50 Entries).

Russian I

Today in class we took a quiz and then we started to work on the beginnings of Russian grammar. The case system in Russian. It's a bit complicated at first, but it gets easier the more you work with it. This weekend you should review Chapter One and complete your Chapter Preview. What will we learn in this unit? What will you be able to do with this information? Be sure that you're focused on learning the new vocabulary too!

Remember that we're finishing the first unit! If you have anything missing, it needs to be turned in next week.

Advanced Russian

We did some speaking and writing today in class as we continued to work through the trickiness of verbs and the cases connected with them. Remember everyone that learning comes with practice, the more we do, the better we become. This weekend there are a few essentials to take care of:

1. Complete the case analysis activity. Russian III and IV should complete the whole thing. Using the English direct translation, what case is the Russian word or phrase in? How does it connect to the rest of the sentence?
2. Have you submitted your slides on Google Classroom about your skyscraper?
3. Are there any reassessments you need to do? Assignments missing?

We're finishing this unit soon - be ready to move on!

Notes for B-Day: 26 September

AP Literature

You all were fantastic today at UNC. I hope that you enjoyed Native Son, definitely a lot to think about and process. Tonight, I would encourage you to sit, think, and consider the usefulness of the story to your projects. How could you use Bigger's story? How about one of the female characters? How does this help us to make a statement about oppression?

For Monday we have a short story by Graham Greene - It's called "The Destructors" and it's available in the Perrine books.

Please remember that outline resubmissions are due next week and college essay revisions should be turned in. If you have any missing assignments, be sure that you are settling those up!

AP Research

Today was the first of two workshop days. We should all be working diligently on developing our source list further (speaking with our Media Specialists will help you with this a ton) and you should be writing for your Annotated Bibliography.

The final source list is due on October 2nd. Remember that this is also your resubmission of the original source list. Use the Purdue OWL for help - I can't stress that enough. Following that we'll have the annotated bibliography due after that.

Homework for B-Day Students - 24 September

AP Literature

Next class we have our field trip! Remember that the procedures for the trip are outlined on the slides for today. The play, Native Son, will provide a lot of great evidence related to oppression and will be a useful source in your final project. I encourage you to grab evidence from it for your work.

Next week we have our outlines due as well as our final two stories. You'll be reading "The Destructors" by Graham Greene from Perrine's Literature - It starts on page 111. Pay attention to oppression, power, and irony in this text.

Also, please be sure that you have submitted the FRQ practice on AP Classroom as well as any other missing assignments from your progress report.

AP Research

Today we worked through understanding how to build an annotated bibliography and the usefulness of it for us. I armed you with many templates that you can use to work forward. Be sure that you have submitted your source list as well as your reflection. I'll be scoring these tonight and tomorrow.

As we move forward, be aware that there are many assignments in this unit. It's imperative that you work regularly to complete all of these tasks. As always, use me as you need me.

Homework for A Day - Monday, September 23

AP Research

Today's class focused on moving from our development of our QUEST and question into writing and working on our annotated bibliography - the first key assignment in which we will start to build our research papers. Be sure to reference the slides as you begin to work. Use the templates and language that we are seeing to write with academic purpose and gravitas.

In this unit we will have several major assignments - the first is the Annotated Bibliography. There will also be a poster presentation and pitch for your research question, and some writing goals for our paper. Keep working hard and it will be done!

Russian I

Today in class we did some great work. Remember that if you didn't submit the project that you have until the end of the week to turn it in. On Friday we'll be having a quiz on the new vocabulary and cultural knowledge. Be sure that you are reviewing your vocabulary daily. Hopefully today's speaking activity helped with your understanding and remembering of the vocabulary. We'll keep having more speaking activities as we keep going through the week!

Also be working through your exercise packet - it'll be very helpful for the quiz on Friday!

Advanced Russian

Today in class we wrote, we listened, and we spoke. All great practice for ourselves as students of Russian. By the end of this week you have a small story due. It can be about you, your building, the characters in Ну, Погоди! As long as you use all three tenses in Russian, we're good.

Next class we'll interact with more stimulus and write more - then it's on to work on cases to review those things too. Remember that by the end of the week you need to complete your resubmission for the verb quiz if you choose to do so.

Homework for the Weekend - A Day - 19 September

AP Research

Good work today with giving, receiving, and processing feedback. I'm really happy to see the direction in which you all are moving as well as the support you are lending to your colleagues. Keep this spirit moving.

Over the weekend you should continue to build your BoK and revise your question. Continue to reflect and use the feedback of your peers. Additionally, you have an assignment due on Sunday - Your Source List. This is the first check, so you should have about 25-30 sources. Remember that these are categorized. You should submit a document with your sources (APA format) and their category.

Outside of that there's the Reflection 3/4. Remember to practice writing with sources by using them in your reflections. Get into good habits; it'll pay off later.

Russian I

Today in class we did a lot! We spoke and used our greetings and we also reviewed our work on formality rules in Russian. Then we spent some time exploring different areas of Moscow for our culture projects. Remember that you'll have one more day to work on these in class before they're due.

Over the weekend you should work with your new vocabulary and finish your most recent exercise packet. You should also check on anything that is missing in the gradebook. We'll finish this first unit pretty soon and move into some real grammar!

Advanced Russian

Today we did a bit of everything - we wrote, we listened, we researched Moscow sky scrapers, and then did some work on cases and grammar. All of this is good for us as we keep moving forward. As a reminder you'll have one more class session to work on the projects. They'll be due after that. We'll also be writing this weekend as we revise our stories about our buildings. Remember to write and think about where you're activating cases. Conjugate verbs. Use your notes. Ask if you need help!

I also want you to focus on the new exercise which mixes verbs and cases. Focus on a particular case and use this weekend as a chance to get ahead. We'll keep moving forward next week. Finish your story and have it ready to turn in!

Homework for Wednesday - PLC Day - 18 September

AP Lit

A rushed class today due to our schedule, but we still got everything done! Go us! We worked a lot on oppression and then we also took a look at Melville to see how these oppressions are staring us right in our faces in the text. From there, we worked on our outlines as we received the new assignment for this unit.

For tonight you should continue to revise your college essay (if not yet resubmitted) as well as your outlines with a look at the new work we are doing. Use the template to make the thesis an argumentative statement. Explain how the characters are fighting this oppression. Explain and show!

We also have "Bartleby" to finish for Friday as well as our vocabulary cards. Remember to submit five by Friday!

AP Research

Most of our class was taken with our assessment. Remember to check your folders for comments on reflections and to complete any work that you may be missing. Remind me that it's ready by sending me an email. Tonight it's time to work on the ideas of our revised research questions. Work with the elements of an effective research question (we had those handouts last class) and be sure to write out your question! You'll need it for Friday.

Homework for A-Day: 17 September

AP Research

Today in class we had a quiz and then it was on to independent work after a review of the plagiarism and falsification statement and policy for this class. Tonight you should be moving forward with your work on revising your research question and refining it further. Using our handouts from last class, build it stronger and better. Look at those elements of effective research question and the bullseye. Build up. Have your new question written out so that you can get feedback next class.

Russian I

Today was a great day! We spoke some Russian and got to know our region of Moscow a bit further. Then we did a lot of great work learning about the rules of formality in Russian. All of this is great to use as we move forward.

Tonight you need to be sure that you have finished your handwriting packets and turned those in. You should be learning your new vocabulary. Use it and the work we did today in class to complete the exercises in the packet. You do not have to complete exercise ten at the end of the set.

We'll review our alphabet quizzes next class. If you want to retake it or put rubles on it, let me know!

Advanced Russian

Tonight for homework we have a case review. Russian II - Tell me what cases we need and where we need them in the sentences. Russian III and IV - Tell me the cases we need and the endings we need!

Outside of this we need to keep focusing on verbs and stems - the review work today was key for that. Learn what the stem does! Learn when it does that. It's important that you know these groups so that you know how to work with verbs when you meet them. The retake will be available after Wednesday - let me know when you're ready for it.

Don't forget to write a bit about your building. The past, the present, and the future.