August/September 2022

September 26, 2022- Sept 30, 2022

Sorry for the delay in posting! It's been a busy couple of weeks. I will keep these updates brief, since we are well past them.

Monday: Projects were due today. We also read the short story "Powder" by Tobias Wolff and worked on a character analysis chart. This will be used later this week for a DJ and paragraph. I also went over the expectations for a Socratic Seminar, which occurred on W/TH.

Tuesday: Gallery Walk-- look over other people's ID projects on Padlet and comment on at least two with something positive. You can also work on creating notes for the socratic seminar.

W/TH: We did three groups, and each group rotated through inner circle, outer circle, and working on the DJ for "Powder." During the seminar, everyone was expected to contribute at least twice, to take notes while on the outer circle, and to discuss using text evidence. I completed Harkness Circle notes for each group, which show the connections people make and how often they speak during a discussion. We were able to pinpoint some things to improve on, especially being aware of participation and drawing in others, and there were many strengths, including lots of interesting connections, using many texts to support, and respectful and thoughtful participation by all classes. This seminar grade will be an Academic Process grade and will go on cycle 2.

Friday: LAST DAY OF THE CYCLE. I was out for a grading and planning day, and students should have completed the DJ (if not already done) and the paragraph for "Powder." The due date on both is Monday, the first day of the cycle.

Here are the slides for this week.

September 23, 2022

Today was the last day to work on the project in class. We went over how to use the rubric as a checklist and what to look for in each row. Start from the middle column. If you can check off everything there, move to the next column in that row. If you see to be missing anything, move to the right to look there.

The column that best describes your work holistically is where you will be graded.

Post your work to the padlet by Monday.

September 21/22, 2022

Today was picture day. If you missed it, please use the make up day when it is announced.

I demonstrated how to create the Sway and a couple of the editing features. The suggested schedule is to have that created, and audio planned by the end of class, and to record that audio at home tonight.

Please join Pre-AP classroom if you have not yet, using the join codes on the syllabus.

Please get a copy of Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey by Sept. 30th . If you need a copy, contact me now.

September 20, 2022

We continued to work on the project, going back over the chart and doc. I encourage everyone to be finished with the doc step before class tomorrow/Thursday. Picture Day in class.

September 19, 2022

Today was a project work day. We reviewed expectations and I showed some of my examples again. My suggested schedule for this week is:

M- Complete brainstorming chart in class and begin collecting media.

T- Finish collecting media and writing in doc

W/TH- Use doc to create sway and edit/add tp create cohesive story. Plan audio component.

F-- Embed/add audio and finalize edits

Some people were finishing Friday's assignment. As you work through this week, pay attention to how much is done each day-- if you do not get done everything you wanted, when will you complete it or make it up? Unstructured class time is a gift from your teachers. Do not misuse it! Make sure you have a plan for when to finish work.

September 16, 2022

Today was a working day. Progress reports were distributed, and first we completed the Grades and Goals Round up reflection. To complete this, think about specific assignments and habits you have that are impacting your grade and be clear about what you can do to improve in the next week. If your grades are good, think about your balance with home and how to eliminate homework. And if that is good, think about how to help your community and classroom.

After completing the reflection, there was a DJ + Chunk assignment. You could choose either "The Jazz Singer" or "Trev" to answer the question "How does the text use contrasting details to show the way that a parent or authority figure can impact a child's sense of self?"

To answer this question, you can consider one authority and how a specific action impacted Trev or Christopher before and after; or you can compare two different authority figures actions and how each impacted Trev/Christopher. Remember to select DETAILS, which may include high impact words, but should go beyond that.

Challenge option:

Add a second chunk with a transition, using the second row.

This DJ should have been done in class, but for those who could not finish, I moved the deadline to Monday. You can choose to do it over the weekend or on Monday-- but then it will take up project time.

Submit on Canvas.

September 14, 2022

pOINT OF VIEW VS. PERSPECTIVE

In literature, point of view is the spot from which someone is observing. POV is usually discussed as 1st, 2nd, or 3rd person (limited or omniscient). You can think about it as the point from which we can observe.

Perspective is the attitude or opinion we take from within a specific POV. In art, "perspective" means the angle from which we view a thing. In literature, you can think about the position the character is facing-- the way they approach a topic.

We can determine a character's perspective by looking at the way they speak or act. Characterization can be accomplished by looking at

SAYS

THINKS

EFFECTS OTHERS

ACTS

LOOKS

We read the children's book My Sister, Daisy and talked about the perspective of the main character. McKenzie from 2nd period noticed that the speaker in this book seemed innocent, sheltered by family, and uninfluenced by society. When we followed this reading with "Trev" by Jaqueline Woodson, which is about the same topic, but from an opposite perspective and POV, we saw that the sibling in this text was much more influenced by peers and society. Looking at both perspective allows us to see a broader view and to understand the motivations of the characters and how they are influenced by the people around them.

We also watched these two videos:

Rashomon Effect

Who Am I?

I provided a copy of "The Jazz Singer" for those who wanted to read yet another perspective, but it was optional. The DJ choice for Friday can be completed using this text if desired.

Finally, we looked at an example for the Identity Formation Project and the project requirements. We will have class time to work on that next week. You can find the guidelines in OneNote.

September 13, 2022

We continued our first chunk writing exercise today by adding commentary to the TS+CD we wrote on Friday.

cm= cOMMENTARY

See the slide for an explanation of commentary. You will probably notice when you write that you are largely writing the same thing, but with different levels of depth and explanation. The commentary is the "Reasoning" in your CER writing. It comes from the third column in your dialectical journal. It MUST explain your answer to the dialectical journal question.

September 9, 2022

We were finally able to move on to learning the terms and structures for the literary analysis writing we will do this year and on, which we may refer to as "JS writing." This is just another version of Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, which many of you are familiar with. For this writing, I expect you to follow the formats and write the number of sentences corrected, even if that feels constricting-- for now, I am working on everyone understanding exactly what they are writing and why, how it works with the other sentences, and how it connects to the dialectical journal. As everyone gets to the same beginning level, those who master the formats will start to manipulate and change them, to grow past them. For those of you used to this sort of analysis and writing, the challenge is to fully understand what each thing you write accomplishes and to keep it concise and clear.

TS = Topic Sentence

The TS is where you make your claim. You will rephrase the question and add your answer, using a specific frame, which you can see on the slides. Everyone will have a similar sounding TS, but the blank spots are where you can explain your answer and add some of your style to it. Categorize and offer your interpretation as a generalization. Do NOT mention specific evidence in the TS, because it has to cover the entire paragraph.

CD = Concrete detail

"Concrete" meaning it is in the text and can be directly identified. "Detail" because it is a specific thing being selected out of the text. This is L1-- On the line. For this year, I expect to see a direct quote in your CD sentence almost all of the time.

The CD sentence also has a specific format:

CD Sentence: Bridge phrase + context + speaker tag + quote + citation

A bridge phrase is a phrase that connects one sentence or idea to the next one.

Create a bridge phrase by briefly summing up the main point of the previous sentence and using a connecting word or transition to the next sentence.

You can see some examples of a TS+CD connected by a bridge phrase in the slides. A very simple bridge phrase that you are probably familiar with is "This shows that." I do not encourage you to use this phrase, though, because "this" is a vague reference without something following it. However, you can see in the first example that "makes this rejection clear" is BASICALLY a "this shows that" construction. It has more clarity because there is a specific reference.

Bridge phrases may take awhile to master, but they will really help your writing flow and stay connected once you do.

For each of these, you practice on this google doc, using your DJ for "My Name." Remember that you are using the DJ question to create your TS frame-- it should look JUST LIKE the one on the slide. Completing the work today in class is a timely work grade.

We are NOT writing explanations or reasoning yet. I want to see TWO SENTENCES connected by a bridge phrase.

September 7/8, 2022

I was absent again on Wednesday, so today's assignment will be a bit of creative writing centering on the ideas you have been reading about, with our core texts as models. This assignment will be graded as a completion academic process grade, but it will also serve as a bit of preparation for our upcoming unit project on identity formation. You will most likely be asked to include this piece somehow or reference it in your project.

Use the directions posted in Canvas to compose a poem, story vignette, or narrative illustration of a time you felt separate or out of place in a group. Use high impact words, details, and imagery to base your writing or illustration on.

September 6, 2022

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend. I had to be out suddenly today with a sick kiddo, so our plans have been changed/moved around a little. The "My Name" DJ is due today, but we will actually use it later when I return to school.

For today, complete the assignment posted in Canvas to read and annotate "Fish Cheeks" by Amy Tan, contribute to the JamBoard for our new essential question, and complete the DJ for "Fish Cheeks." The DJ is a completion academic process grade.

September 2, 2022

Today was a work day to complete any outstanding assignments:

1. SR Assessment is due TODAY.

2. DJ: "My Name" is due Tuesday, Sept 6

3. DJ: "The Fixed" is overdue

4. Turn Towards Learning sunflowers are overdue

5. "alternate names" poem is optional.

August 31/September 1

We did a lot today! We started with the poem "A Name" by Ada Limon, and used that to talk about the significance of names, why we feel they are important or valuable. Here were some things students said about why Eve might want to be named:

-- A name gives her a place (Kate)

-- Eve wants to have a deeper connection (Hailey) or to be recognized (Suhurrith)

-- She wants to know what she is (Eden)

According to students, we consider names to be important because they are unique to us (Medhansh), a constant and something given to us by parents (many students said this). We then moved on to the poem "alternate names for black boys" by Danez Smith, and we talked about how the title made us think about who was giving the names, what they might be about, and why the author would apply them to an entire group of people. We looked at the language in the poem and how there were contrasting ideas (light vs. dark, burning, antagonism vs. joy) and also how the poem seems to reclaim some negative judgements and reframe them into a positive view. The "names" in this poem reclaim negative labels, and they are examples of metonyms, a metaphor where a small part stands in for a whole.

We looked then at Sandra Cisneros' story "My Name," about a girl named Esperanza who feels like her name traps her between the expectations of her culture and her life as an American. We used an L1/L2 chart to discuss the connotations of the words and how they showed the way Esperanza feels. Connotation is the feelings or associations we have with a word, as opposed to its actual definition. Esperanza is also using metaphors and metonyms to represent herself and her culture. For your next dialectical journal, you will use the question " In “My Name,” how does Sandra Cisneros use metaphors and metonyms to convey her struggle against binaries in gender, language, or race (choose one to address)? We annotated this question together and talked about what should go in the DJ. You will have the opportunity to work on it in class on Friday, as well as working on the SRA. It will be a flex day to hopefully complete any open assignments.

Finally, we talked about how to connect two texts together using a thematic statement, and shared some examples of thematic statements that could cover both of these texts. They are both concerned with identity, culture, and stereotype, and students wrote about all of these.

Finally, an optional assignments is to write your own "alternate names" poem about a group you belong to or one you feel you may have made assumptions about. Successfully imitate the format and use a metonym for +3 to your DJ.

Homework: 1. SRA due Friday 9/2; DJ: "My Name" due Tuesday 9/6;

August 30, 2022

Today we learned about two things that will be important as a base for our class: Levels of Questioning and the dialectical journal (DJ) form. Both of these are meant to be tools to IMPROVE the kind of writing many of you are already proficient with: you may have heard it called ACE writing, quote sandwich, Jane Schaffer, or another name, but basically it means answering the question, supporting with evidence, and explaining your answer. The goal of questioning is to strengthen the explanation and connections, and the goal of the DJ is to help you structure the writing clearly and ask those questions while writing.

After going over the examples of how to fill in the DJ, students were supposed to complete the DJ on Dillard's "The Fixed" by adding a row about the end of the story. This was due by midnight so that I could review them before seeing you again.

Homework: 1. SR Assessment due Fri 9/2 2. DJ: The Fixed (one row) due at midnight 8/30

August 26

Today we did our goal setting activity for this year, Turn Towards Learning. I asked you to have a big goal for this year. A goal is broad, complex, and represents hard work or accomplishments you can reach for. We started with this in the center circle and then used the flower petals to come up with measurable steps that can help meet that goal. These should be things you can identify as having been done or not-- vagueness or broadness here will not help. Avoid statements like "procrastinate less" because they will not help you to ACTUALLY procrastinate less. That is a goal! Instead, think about things that will address this goal or problem, like "Begin or view assignments as soon as they are given" or "Write all assignments in my planner."

The petals are attached to the center circle to make a sunflower, and then that is attached to a small envelope made by cutting a regular-sized one in half, sealing all but one edge, and making some cuts to create a new flap. These will be attached to the butcher paper in my room and we will review them periodically.

You will only get what you put in to this task! If you choose not to write a real goal, not to review or remember it, or not to work on the steps you identified, then it will not help you. However, if you complete each step and collect all the petals, hopefully you will reach your goal by the end of the year.

Homework: Complete the SRA by Friday, 9/2

August 24/25 (BLOCK DAYS)

We finished our JamBoard and discussion of the course by making observations about how the syllabus tells you about the purpose of education in this course and asking any questions about the course. If at any time you have questions, make sure to ask them! Some things students said:

• CVHS is more challenging than middle school, especially because we expect you to manage many things at once. But good time management and organization skills will go a long way toward success.

• Many students felt they were offered a lot of support and that teachers cared about their success here. (I was so glad to hear people saying that! Thank you!)

• This course cares about you being an individual, doing your own learning, and putting in effort to understand things for yourself, as evidenced by the plagiarism policy and grading policy (check out P1 JamBoard for some great observations about this! Check out P1 for some good summarizations of those policies, too!)

Then, we moved on to talking about Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," trying to understand it and then apply the main allegory to our own lives. While many students said they found this reading confusing at first, some strategies that helped were reading summaries online, re-reading, and of course, talking about it to others. If you want another resource to help understand it, check out this video.

We started with a visual to help explain the main story being told here. The text is set up as a dialogue between Socrates and a student, Glaucon. By asking Glaucon questions, Socrates helps him come to ideas for himself, which is a technique now named after him-- the Socratic Method. You will likely encounter that method of teaching FREQUENTLY here at CVHS, and in my class, ASKING questions will be almost as important as answering them.

The visual shows the main pieces of the allegory: people who are chained and watching the shadows of animal shapes, which are passing along a wall behind them. There is a flame casting the shadows and causing them to flicker, so everything is distorted. The visual also shows a person struggling up a climb to the outside, a man on the surface in the sunlight, and another man standing in front of the chained persons, excitedly trying to communicate something. These last three people are actually the same person in different stages (And actually, you could say he was also once a chained person-- so they are all the same). He escapes through great difficulty, sees the different world, and returns to try to tell the others. Students looked for text evidence to support this story (i.e., where does the text tell you these things) and then put a star where they felt they were. This story is an allegory, which is a story told on two levels-- everything in the story has another meaning. We worked on connecting the allegory to our own lives. Some things people said:

• The allegory is about government or media showing us propaganda.

• The "puppetmasters" could also be cult leaders.

• It could be an allegory for just growing up and becoming more aware and more educated.

• At CVHS, many people feel they are just beginning their climb upward, and that this means they cannot fully see all of the world, but they are at least aware of the upward path and the need to keep an open mind.

We then worked to connect the text to other summer reading texts, especially "Desiderata." Some connections:

• "Desiderata" tells us to be true to ourselves, despite the noise or disapproval of others, just as the man who returns from enlightenment must hold on to the truths he knows, even when faced by ignorance or disbelief.

• It is important to keep an open mind in both texts.

• Growth and learning may involve pain or failure, but is worth the uphill climb, according to both.

• The dystopian novels all have a protagonist who must move forward out of one situation and learn the truth or express a truth to others.

Your Summer Reading Assessment will be available starting tomorrow on Canvas. It is a link to a Google Form, which will ask you to answer our essential question: "What is the purpose of learning and education?" You must answer the question FOR YOURSELF, but with support from "Desiderata," "Allegory of the Cave," and one other text of your choosing. A text can be anything meant to communicate-- a book, show, movie, video game, ad, poem, or anything. Here is the rubric I will use to grade it. This will be due on Friday, 9/2, and there should be some points in class over the next week that will allow you to complete the assignment in class.

HW:

1. Join Remind and NoRedInk.com by Friday

2. Write down one goal you have for the year. It can be about just this class, or anything else-- but must ALSO apply to this class.

3. SR assessment due Friday 9/2

August 22/23

Welcome, students! I was so pleased to meet you all on Monday. We started out the year with some poetry that should set the tone for our class. While I worked on learning names, you read the poem "One of Us" by Joyce Seidman and chose favorite lines from both that poem and Max Ehrmann's "Desiderata."

On Tuesday, we started by refreshing that conversation and asking one person from each group to share out what the group talked about. During this process we also made sure to practice good listening by looking at the speaker and refraining from raising our hands while someone else was speaking. Many groups chose lines that acknowledged the importance of being yourself and being true to yourself. Some really great observations included:

• "One of Us" encourages us to be whole-hearted in the things we do, the enjoyment of it, and "Desiderata" reminds us not to worry as much about the result or feel stress if something doesn't go as planned. We were also able to connect this directly to the experience of having an AP Human Geo test on the very first day!

• Many students noticed that the student in "One of Us" is an example of the things "Desiderata" recommends-- he is calmly and quietly engaged in being his authentic self, regardless of others' opinions; in so being, he is a beacon to others with similar interests who may have felt out of place before.

• Being passionate about something can lead to others feeling the same passion.

We then discussed how these poems can help us understand the purpose of education, and we answered that question using JamBoard:

Period 1

Period 2

Period 5

The JamBoard puts together the two works for the purpose of answering an Essential Question. Another source that can help us think about that question is the Syllabus Welcome Letter. You can find the Syllabus on the home page or on Canvas. Each group read the letter and then used the Academic Discussion Protocol, a structured format for discussion, to apply the question to that text. We ended by debriefing the use of that tool and adding a sticky note to the JamBoard for it.

Tomorrow, we will review Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," so please bring your copy if you have one and any notes.

Homework: 1. Finish reading the syllabus by W/TH; 2. Join NoRedInk.com and Remind by Friday (AP grade).