End of Week 5 - Blue Day - 8 October 2020

Dear Students and Families - It's the end of another great week at Fairfax High School. We're reading, thinking, and creating, and it's all wonderful to see. This week we're really focused on our writing skills and revising our work as we are moving to the end of our first units. See below for reminders this weekend related to your classes.

Also, remember if you're coming to FHS on Monday to check-out your books for the year, I look forward to seeing you in-person (even though you'll be socially distant). Remember to stay in your car, wear a mask, and to have your information on a piece of paper (name, class period, teacher name) to give us to process your check-out faster.

AP Language

Today was our day to finish our first round of Writing Bootcamp where we focused on the essential elements of an argumentative essay as well as the smaller elements of effective paragraph structure. I've included a recording below to help review this information. This means that all Writing Diagnostic revisions can be completed - to be rescored, submit by 10/19.

We also began the end of our unit by beginning work with the final project - This is (my) America. In this assignment you are using texts to present your definition of our nation. Remember to follow the rubric and guidelines posted. This is your chance to show your knowledge and skill at argumentative writing, so all of our Bootcamp lessons should be applied. This project will be due 10/26.

Lastly, if you have anything remaining from Mini-Project 1 - What's the Situation? Be sure that it is submitted (or resubmitted) by 10/13.

English 10

Today we got a bit brainy as we broke down and thought about where our ideas come from and the way in which we're developing a personal culture or viewpoint. Our article by Neil Gaiman brought up a lot of big ideas related to culture clash and reflecting on ourselves and our ideas. The slam poetry during our journal also had us consider where our ideas come from and how we're affected by our past and our struggles.

Be sure that you've submitted all work from our weeks up to this point including any writing tasks, the work on South Africa, and today's questions. We'll be transitioning to our novel next week, so this first unit is ending. We'll take time to develop our projects before we move to Iran and learn about the culture and people of the country before reading Persepolis. 

7 October - Grey Day and Rotations

Good Day Students and non-Students,

Reminders for AP Language and English 10 are the same as those outlined below. Be sure that if you are showing as missing assignments in SIS or on Google Classroom that you complete these soon. The quarter will end at the end of the month and grades will be finalized.

AP Research

This week is full of tasks that will take you to the end of Unit 1. You have your assessment on CRAAP as well as the finishing touches for the submission of your Source List. Remember that your Source List should have anywhere from 20-30 entries and it should be categorized using the ideas in the slide deck on Google Classroom.

Take time this week to pitch your question and receive feedback from others. There's also our reflection question for the week. I'm available for you to drop-in this week and conference if you need me. 

Kicking Off Week 5 - Blue Day - 6 October

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

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

AP Language

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

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

English 10

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

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

Closing the Week - Friday, October 2nd - Grey Day

Reminders below for AP Language and English 10 are the same as for today's classes. Remember that if you have decided to check out books from school, please let me know. You will be able to come to school on the 12th of October to retrieve your books for the year. I'll share more details about this next week. Over the weekend/Monday be sure to complete your assignments, especially if anything is missing. 

AP Research

Today we took time to conference and continue our development of our research questions and the supporting elements of those questions. Some of you may find it useful as your question develops to continue to go back and revise your problem statement. Consider how your evolving question will continue to send you back to your sources and databases to find more information that you need. There's always more to do, but we're making great strides.

Next week you'll have two assessments - first will be your quiz on our CRAAP method for testing sources. Second will be the submission of your source list. The magic number is twenty five. I'll have all of this uploaded next week for you! Remember that as you work on your own, I'll keep myself available for questions and check-ins.

Happy October! Blue Day - 10/1 - End of Week 4

Time certainly flies when you're busy and having fun! Congratulations on making it to the end of the first month of virtual school. We've been adjusting and supporting each other through it - and I'm a fan of all of that. Below are your reminders moving into the weekend.

Please, mark your calendars! Book collection for my classes will be on October 12 at Fairfax High School. Remember this is your time to collect your novels for the year. Please see the Book Form (Day 5) and register your preference if you haven't already!

AP Language

Today was a day to brush off our close reading and annotating skills as we investigated the conclusion of Occom's "Narrative". This was a great way for us to pair our work with rhetoric and the rhetorical situation as we were able to dig deep and explore his message to his audience. 

Over the weekend your priority is Mini-Project 1. If you have questions or need a review, feel free to email me/share a draft with me and ask for feedback/or attend Office Hours on Monday.

The other items hovering on us are our first vocabulary cards - use Google Slides and follow the template on Google Classroom. Our revisions of our diagnostics - next week we'll discuss structure and organization. 

Lastly, the reading which will be discussed next week is Vowell's "The Wordy Shipmates." It's available on page 267 in the textbook. This is low priority right now, but it's our next text to consider if you'd like to get ahead.

English 10

Today we had our timed writing in class to finish our writing diagnostic. Remember that you're getting four grades on this assignment - one for your argument/thesis, one for the examples, one for explanation, and one for style. I hope that you were able to use your planning and earlier work to be ready and feel prepared for our task today. If you were not able to complete the planning steps, you will be able to get partial credit based on your essay that you wrote today. Also remember that you can redo this essay if you're not happy with your score.

Our other task for class today and on to the weekend is to work with Desmond Tutu's speech from our textbook on forgiveness in South Africa. Remember that the questions and tasks in the textbook are there to help you but aren't required. To get credit, complete Homework Assignment 4. Interact with one of the two choice activities at the end of the speech - there's an interview and a Google Earth field trip. Then, submit the South Africa reflection.

Be sure that if you're missing anything from before that it's turned in. We're at our mid-point, and I don't want anyone to fall behind.

30 September - Grey Day

Good Afternoon Everyone - 

Reminders and takeaways for AP Language and English 10 are the same as listed below. We are all focused on reading and being critical readers who ask questions to find information in texts. Use the graphic organizers and the strategies we're learning in class to help you break down and find meaning in the works we study. I look forward to our essay next class (English 10) and our continued work with close reading and Native American literature (AP Language).

AP Research

Today was our day to begin giving and receiving feedback with our research questions. By next class you should complete the graphic organizer and give feedback to your peers to aid in the development of their work. Remember that this process is full of starts, stops, and redirections - especially now. Lean in to the messiness of it all. If you're feeling that there's a lack in a particular place, use that as a way to focus your reading of sources. If you can't think of variables, consider using sources in your Body of Knowledge as models. Then consider the feasibility of using a similar variable for your own investigation.

On Friday we'll have individual conferences. You'll also have time to continue revising, reading, and giving feedback to each other on your Research Questions v 1.0.

Kicking off Week 4 - Blue Day

AP Language

A great day in AP Language filled with reading, discussion, and reflecting. As always, I love seeing your thoughts and opinions related to our study.

Use your PearDeck notes or the slides in class to help you as you revise and continue to read the texts in our class. The approach to finding rhetorical appeals and considering the rhetorical situation is a great strategy for you to use as you read non-fiction and sort through the various ways that authors make their arguments complete.

For tonight, our reading is Samson Occom's From "A Short Narrative of My Life". It begins on page 226 in the textbook. As you read, consider his audience for the text and the way in which he appeals to them. Think about when this was written and who was buying books at that time. 

Don't forget about your mini-project due on October 5. If you have any questions, please let me know. Begin the revision process on your outlines - you have ample time to work on them and resubmit for a new score.

English 10

Today we began our study of South Africa by learning about its history and starting our reading of Nadine Gordimer's "The Train from Rhodesia".

Tonight, you should use your story map to finish reading and studying the story. Pay attention to the way that the woman and her husband get into an argument. Think about how the argument could be symbolic. What does the woman realize at the end of the story? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Don't forget that next class is our in-class essay. Be sure that Homework 2 and 3 are done to help you be ready - the topic of the essay is competition.

Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns - enjoy your afternoon!

Friday - 25 September - Grey Day

Hello All and Happy Friday!

Remember that next week we will start our Lion Time rotations. If you need help with a schedule or calendar of the days and where you should be, let me know.

Reminders for AP Language and English 10 are below. Remember to check-in on any missing work and get things submitted as quickly as possible. We're going to continue to learn and develop those writing skills, and I'll accept work for rescoring as you develop your skills.

AP Research

Today is your final day for reading and preparing before we meet again. Remember that there is a new reflection posted for you to answer in Google Classroom for this week. You should also spend time to work with the graphic organizer to develop the first iteration of your research question. Next week we will meet to give some feedback and develop our questions even further. We'll also be learning a method by which we can review and evaluate our sources - a great step in the development of our annotated bibliography and eventually our literature review.

Also, please remember, I will not be available on Monday. Please feel free to email me over the weekend with any questions or concerns you may have.

Thursday - 24 September - Blue Day

It's the end of Week 3, and we're moving on along. Lots of good things are happening in class as we develop our classroom culture and our skills for critical reading and writing. Below, there are a few notes to take you into the weekend.

English 10

I loved what we were able to do today in class. We collaborated really efficiently to build our class values and responsibilities before doing some work with vocabulary.

Make sure over the weekend to check on any missing assignments from this week or before. You can also finish your vocabulary notes as you build your word families with our roots.

The major assignment this weekend is to finish your essay planner. Use the question work you already did to do this work. Submit your slides so that you're ready to write!

AP Language

Great class today everyone as we began our analysis of Mario Cuomo's speech and applied some of our rhetorical elements in our approach. On Google Classroom you can find your takeaways/notes from the day. A few reminders for the weekend/Monday.

1 - Your mini-project is not due for a bit. Take time to consider your text. Make sure it's school appropriate. This is an opportunity to think about your favorite song or movie/tv show in a different way.

2 - Finish your work with the Cuomo speech as well as the final slides in the PearDeck for today to reflect on the speech. You may also find it helpful to draw connections between the various texts we've been working with so far.

3 - Be sure that any missing assignments are submitted ASAP. We'll begin the writing workshops (bootcamp) on Tuesday - so having your feedback in hand will help a lot.

Lastly, for everyone, Monday is Yom Kippur, and I'll be observing the fast, so I will not be available for Office Hours or to answer emails this coming Monday. Enjoy your weekend, and if you also observe the holiday, g'mar tov.

Week 3 Begins - Tuesday 22 September - Blue Day

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Today was a mostly asynchronous day for us in English as we were reading, thinking, and developing some connections to some major unit ideas. All of the materials from today are located on Google Classroom under Day 5. Below, I'll review the main takeaways for today.

English 10

We have three things to do today in class in order to complete everything. Complete the Book Form. Go to the Online Textbook and do the assignment called "Diane Sawyer Interviews Malala Yousafzai". Complete the Discussion Question.

If you have time, there's an additional assignment, but you don't need to get started on that now. It would be better to go back and make sure that missing work from Week 1 and 2 is turned in, especially the Writing Diagnostic.

Our next step will be doing our planning for the essay through a graphic organizer. Having HW2 done will make that a lot easier for you!

AP Language

Remember that there are three to-dos for today. Join AP Classroom. Complete the Book Form. Submit your discussion question on Anzaldua/Sedaris.

It's also a good day to check in on any previous assignments to make sure that work from Weeks 1 and 2 is submitted to be scored. I'm making my way through your outlines and hope to have them finished by the end of the week. As I said in class, we'll begin our Writing Bootcamp next week to focus on argumentative writing elements and organization to improve these pieces of writing. If you'd like to discuss your work in advance or in detail - Office Hours on Monday are a great time for that.

Asynchronous Monday - 21 September

Good Day Students and Families - 

Today is a day to get things done which may still be floating over us. I've been hard at work grading this morning and am happy to report that most everything from Week 1 and the summer has been updated in the gradebook. If you see that something is missing, go check Google Classroom - you may have not hit the submit button.

Assignments for today are anything from Week 2 - Especially the Homework Assignment 2. We'll begin to focus on writing skills, so these opening assignments are a good way for me to understand where we are in those skills.

As always, if there's anything I can do to assist, please let me know!

18 September - Happy Friday! - Grey Day

Happy Friday Students and Families -

We're getting off to a really great start as we're beginning to work with texts, think, discuss, and analyze key ideas. Next class will be an asynchronous day for everyone - the materials will be posted for you to access and work through at your own pace. I won't be available on Wednesday, due to the fact that I'll be helping with the SAT at Fairfax.

Reminders for AP Language and English 10 are the same as below. Be sure that work is submitted for Week 1 and that you're completing the assignments for Week 2 as well. Turn them in on Monday or sooner. I'll be grading a lot this weekend, and hope to have everything returned and grades updated by the end of the day on Monday.

AP Research

Today is the first of three days to work independently, with each other, and with other sources of support in the building for you. As you work over these days, continue to build your Body of Knowledge and use this as a means for your Gap, Problem Statement, and eventual Research Question. Over these next few days continue to think and drive forward - remember our dialogue between The Riddler and Batman, draw your focus in and begin to be more specific. I look forward to seeing the results of your work.

17 September - End of the Week - Blue Day

Good Afternoon Students and Adults!

Today was a day full of reading and thinking. We're also getting more acquainted with our classroom procedures like using our interactive notebooks for our journals and using PearDeck to take daily notes. I also really appreciate all of the help that you offer to each other with finding and accessing materials!

Over the weekend make sure that you have any missing work from Week 1 turned in. I know that getting oriented in online/virtual school is difficult, so I want to make sure that we get the support and time we need. I'll be grading on Sunday and Monday and changing scores. Further reminders are below.

AP Language

We have our Writing Diagnostic this weekend which is our main focus. The diagnostic should take you no more than 40 minutes. Time yourself. Remember that you're just submitting an outline, so don't write a whole essay for me.

Additionally, if you didn't submit your Close Looking Practice, please do so. This is just a simple completion activity so that I can see how you're processing non-print texts.

English 10

Be sure that you complete your Homework Assignment 2 this weekend. It's a document where we will look at our first essay question and break it down to understand it. The assignment is pretty simple, turn it in on Google Classroom. Also, be sure to play with your online textbook more since we'll really use it a lot next class.

Next week we'll start moving into the land of writing more, one of my favorite places to visit. Enjoy your weekend and let me know what I can do to help!

16 September - Grey Day

Today was a Grey Day, but it was a pretty great day in my guest room (aka A132, for now). The homework posted below for the Blue Day sections is pretty much the same for us today. Remember our discussion today on grading - I view this as a class where you should resubmit, and where you should turn in things late. Remember that I grade by standards, and that there is often much more to a piece of work than if it came in on time or not.

AP Research

The next few classes will find you working independently to build your Body of Knowledge. I'll be available in our meeting space if you need me for anything, but you've also got plenty of other support. Keep reading to build your reading log. Look for the elements of an effective research question that we discussed today. 

I've also posted your first weekly reflection. You will have a question every week. Be thorough and thoughtful in your answers - some of these will also be POD questions, so it gives us good practice for the future.

As always, everything is available for you in Google Classroom. If you've got a question or concern, feel free to email me. I'm continuing to score your assignments right now and hope to have your work from this week back to you by the end of Monday.

15 September - Blue Day

Good Afternoon Students and Grown-Ups,

Be sure to continue to check Google Classroom for daily updates and reminders. Please ensure that any work from Week 1 is turned in today, including the Homework Assignment 1. Also, remember that in this class I will grade on standards, not assignments, and you have the opportunity to resubmit work after it is scored to improve your grade. Here are your class specific reminders.

English 10

If you didn't submit your Homework Assignment 1 - "My Single Story" please do so. I'd love to take this opportunity to better know you and your story more. Be sure to follow the instructions on Google Classroom.

AP Language

Today we focused on visual rhetoric and the rhetorical situation. We practiced with a painting, and tonight you'll continue that practice with a prescient image. Use your online textbook to find Ana Juan's New Yorker Cover. Apply your strategy from class. Answer the three "READ" questions with this text. You can answer them quickly (no more than a paragraph for each question). Submit your work as a quick practice with our skill.

Also, be sure that you've submitted HW Assignment 1 and your Summer Assignment. If there are questions or concerns, please let me know.

Monday - September 14. Asynchronous Day.

Happy Monday and Good Morning!

Today is a day for independent working as well as submitting any assignments to be scored/marked as completed. Remember that there is a list below outlining what should be turned in for credit. If you see an error in your grades, wait until the end of the day, because I will be scoring and updating the gradebook through the day.

As a reminder you have a homework assignment which should be submitted before our next class meeting/at the end of today. Remember that Mondays are the official end of our week in this class - ironic, I know. 

I am available today for Office Hours as well as Back to School/Meet the Teacher Drop-Ins. I will have my Blackboard Collaborate Space as well as Google Meet (AP Research) available this morning from 9:30 to 12:00. Please visit or email if you have questions.

Don't forget to do your Google Form check-in for today's attendance!

End of Week 1 - Blue Day - 10 September

Good Afternoon Everyone -

Today was a great day in class - we all were engaged in some critical reading and thinking in all of our classes today as well as some getting to know each other activities. Our week in this class officially closes every Monday - so remember that assignments described below are due on Monday.

AP English Language

Today was a day to start our work on "What is America?" by looking at Thomas Jefferson's "Declaration of Independence" in order to understand the elements of and relationships between elements of the rhetorical situation. We'll be considering this with many of the texts we study this year.

For your first homework assignment, I've presented to you the "rough draft" of our document as well as a TEDEd video related to the revision of the document and Jefferson's writing process. Follow the instructions and submit your work via Google Classroom. If you have questions, please let me know via email or Office Hours.

Other graded assignments for this week are as follows: Notebook Cover + FlipGrid Recording. Tell Me About You Survey. You can also submit your Summer Assignment. It's due on Day 3 - Tuesday.

English 10

Today we investigated the idea of the "single story" by watching an EdPuzzle video and considering the connection between culture clash and stereotypes. I enjoyed our chat in the class and seeing your responses to the questions. Remember that if you didn't finish the video, or the survey, both are still available for you.

Your homework assignment is available in Google Classroom, and it will have you consider the idea of the single story in your own life. Follow the outline in the instructions to construct your slides. Be as creative as you'd like, but be sure to follow the outline. I'll be available for help via email or in Office Hours if you need me.

Other graded assignments for this week are as follows: Notebook Cover + FlipGrid Recording. Tell Me About You Survey. EdPuzzle - Single Story Questions

Also, as a final reminder for everyone, BTSN open office hours for parents will be next Monday, the 14th, from 11am to 12 pm, and next Wednesday, the 16th, from 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm.  Students will need to make sure that their parents have their teachers’ office hour links and that they need to share their school laptop with their parents.

As always, let me know if you have any questions!

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!

Day 1 - 2020 - Virtual Schooling

Good Evening Fairfax Families,

Today was a great day to kick off the 2020 school year. The virtual start provided some amusing missteps (like my forgetting to allow chat and audio/video permissions), but overall we had a great start. I've enjoyed watching your FlipGrid videos and seeing your interactive notebook covers. Here are a few notes from our first day of school.

All Classes (Especially Parents/Guardians)

The Blackboard space for class is pretty barren, because the course content is housed in Google Classroom. The main thing for you to draw your attention to is the syllabus and course policies document. This is available in FCPS 24-7 as well as in Google Classroom. I would highly recommend reviewing the document with your student and filling out the Google Form at the end of the document together.

If you did not share your Interactive Notebook or complete your FlipGrid video, be sure to do so. I've noticed that some people have submitted one or the other, in which case I've awarded partial credit. I'll check again tomorrow and correct any scores. Remember that homework should be complete by the end of Monday (in a perfect world), since Monday is your asynchronous/homework day.

AP Language (3rd and 5th)

Tonight you should get familiar with your online textbook for our class since we'll be using this in our next session. If you need the links for the FlipGrid or a reminder of the Interactive Notebook, check out our class slides which are in Google Classroom. As always, you can email me with questions/comments as well.

Further reflection on our key question of "What is America/an American?" is also warranted. We'll delve deeper next class and throughout the unit.

English 10 (7th)

I enjoyed our opening conversation on culture and our work with the poem "About School". We were hitting on some important themes related to culture clash and conformity today, and we'll carry those forward next time we meet. For tonight, I would reflect further on these ideas and how you've seen or experienced them in your life. Additionally, if you need to submit a video or share your Interactive Notebook, please do so. I'm looking forward to seeing your recordings and getting to know you better.

I hope that you had as good of a first day as I did. See you on Thursday!

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.