Category: English 10 Regents (2016-2017)

Interstitial instruction, feedback, and discussion for students in English 10 Regents for the 2016-2017 school year.

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Aged Paper

  By English 10 Regents (2016-2017)

The last day of classes is Monday, June 12. You have five days left.

Your productivity and focus for the next week will factor significantly in your Q4C profile score, which should be finalized on or before Friday, June 16. As you’ll read below, there is an optional assignment due on June 15 that may take longer to process, depending on how many of you complete it.

Look over each of these sections as soon as possible — at the start of class on Tuesday, June 6, at the absolute latest.

Final Exam

Here is an instructional post from May 14:

Lights and Tunnels: RE10, Part 2

That post covers everything about the last month of school. Back in mid-May, you were given a printed copy of it to use as a checklist. Today, a month later, you were given another version:

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If you want a Google Docs version to edit, click here and make a copy. This new checklist covers only the prep work for the Aug. ’14 practice exam. You also have access to the Aug. ’16 practice exam, but we’re probably not going to need that.

By Monday, June 12, you must be able to check off every item on that second checklist, or you must be able to point to an alternative task that was given to you. For instance, if you were allowed to conference with one of your teachers instead of writing a metacognitive analysis, you can use that.

Until you have finished the entire checklist, finishing it is your primary focus. You will need it to score higher than a 4 for your final GAP score, and it is the only real way to prepare for the final exam itself.

Pareto Project

The other default work for the final five days is your Pareto Project. Any and all work done on this project factors into your final GAP score, and you will have an optional assignment next week that allows you to get credit for anything you produce.

The point of these projects, however, was always

  1. to give you time and space to do something meaningful; and
  2. to honor that time and space by emphasizing process over product.

The work can’t just be submitted to me as part of a GAP report. It also shouldn’t stop when the course does — unless you want it to stop, of course. If you want to present or publish something you’ve done, on the other hand, or if you want to share a part of your project with your classmates through a lesson or activity, this is the time to do it. To give you an example:

That’s an example of blackout poetry, the focus of one junior’s Pareto Project. Use Google to look at other examples (this is one from the Google image results for “blackout poetry” that keeps the text intact, which is atypical). The student and I talked months ago about the possibility of an in-class lesson on creating this sort of poetry, which could be a lot of fun. You could bring in newspapers, magazines, books, etc, and see what can be gleaned from them — here is a Scholastic lesson, but I might go with this step-by-step guide instead. Then it’s all in how you isolate and emphasize the words on the page. I could set that up for Thursday or Friday using the student’s suggestions, give everyone a day to bring in materials, and then run the lesson beside her. That’s a great use of one of our last days of class.

Let me know as soon as possible what you’d like to do, if it requires my help. If in doubt, ask yourself a question: What would you do with this project if there wasn’t a single grade, GAP score, or classroom connected to it?

Summer Reading

You also have the option over the next five days to begin your summer reading work. Copies of the school-wide assignment are in Room 210. You’ll find them next to the hall passes and exam folders by our door. This handout will be digitized and shared by the school at some point, too.

I encourage you to use Amazon, Wikipedia, and Goodreads to learn more about these books. The teachers you will have next year aren’t going to care if you memorize the plot or pass a reading quiz; they’re going to ask you to have invested in the text. You’ll be writing about and discussing what you read. The best thing you can do, therefore, is pick a book you might actually want to spend time with.

You also know by now that if you put this off until the last second, you’re probably going to dislike whatever you read. That’s if you read it at all, which is unlikely. So you won’t have much of an experience, at least not compared to what might happen if you take your time now to look into each choice. Do this the right way, and you will almost certainly find something you want to read. Revisiting this video will help:

Ask about the summer reading in the comments below, if you’d like me to offer feedback on the choices. If you want to talk to each other about the possibilities, use the classroom space — or maybe clear the cobwebs from your Google+ Community for these final five days.

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Packing Nines…

  By All Classes (2016-2017), AP English Language & Composition (2016-2017), English 10 Regents (2016-2017), English 11 Regents (2016-2017)

…Like September

If you selected a 9 for the most recent GAP panel, you believe that this paragraph describes you:

The strongest readers, thinkers, and communicators, these students also evince the best kind of collegiality, the most authentic curiosity, and the most mature amenability. They are exemplary autodidacts, utilizing inquiry-based tools and structures to improve purposefully in skills and knowledge. They demonstrate a precocious strength in metacognition and are consistently, insightfully reflective.

That’s impressive! More than 40 of you, from sophomores to seniors, have said that you were one of the strongest readers, thinkers, and communicators throughout the three-week period that ended on May 19. Another two dozen of you selected an 8, which means you are right there next to the 9s in terms of exceptional work:

These students are highly skilled communicators, critical thinkers, and close readers; they lack only the exceptional maturity and depth of students earning a 9. An 8 reflects a systemic investment in the course and a desire to do more than just what is required. These students are also collegial, curious, and amenable in ways that galvanize their peers and demonstrably improve the learning environment.

That’s also impressive! Because of your systemic investment, I’m here to ask you all to hold a conversation with me in the comment section of this post. This particular inquiry-based tool — direct access to the teacher, independent of class time, through Sisyphean High — has been underutilized all year. It’s one of the “inquiry-based tools and structures” referenced in the profile of a 9, though, and a chance for you to do “more than just what is required,” which is part of the profile of an 8.

The topic of our discussion is this post on in-class focus, feedback, and unlocking the course. As a self-described 8 or 9, you have no doubt read that post already, especially with a response deadline of tomorrow. Look at the notes you’ve already taken on that post, and consider the assignment in front of you. Speak specifically to your own experience unlocking that individualized curriculum. What does your classroom and course look like? How are you balancing the requirement that you “demonstrably improve the learning environment” with the constant metacognition and reflection necessary to individualize the work? What questions did that post raise for you, and what do you think it changes about the last few weeks of the year?

A Box of Positives

Understand that this is a genuine invitation to discussion. This post is now a forum for your insights and ideas, because any student whose body of work truly fits an 8 or a 9 has earned that level of respect. As your teacher, I benefit from hearing more about how you earned that 8 or 9. This is also an opportunity for me to share my observations directly with you in a way that can instruct others.

Of course, this post and assignment are also, without malice or irony, intended to burst down any inflated self-assessments. If you try to wade into this conversation without having done what it takes to earn an 8 or 9, it’ll be obvious to anyone who has done the work. Your actual GAP scores, based on the evidence you generated, will be posted very soon, with the final scores of the year coming in less than three weeks; it will be much better to realize any errors before then, and definitely before you begin animatedly discussing the “evidence” that makes you one of the strongest readers, thinkers, and writers in the building.

To put it more bluntly, there will be two types of students who misidentified their profiles as an 8 or a 9:

  1. The group that reads this post (and the previous one), recognizes the self-assessment error, and changes it. This group will move toward an 8 or 9 just by demonstrating amenability, self-awareness, and integrity.
  2. The group that doesn’t even read this post, because their sense of what an “8” or “9” entails is deeply flawed.

Group #2 isn’t likely to join us here, nor are they likely to have read the post on in-class focus and feedback. Those lapses are further evidence of a lower-tier profile. I mention them to you, the true 8s and 9s, because that is another possible focus for our discussion here. What do you do about peers who haven’t invested enough time or energy into the course to know that they aren’t really an 8 or a 9? What do you think the system should do? Do you experience fremdschämen when you see these other students? Is it closer to frustration?

Try to stay positive as you start the discussion, whether or not we delve into the Dunning-Kruger effect, the fragility of some egos, and the frustration of watching students “cheat” this system. Criticism can be constructive; cynicism almost never is. I invite you to start with the good stuff: how you’re individualizing your learning, how you’re creating meaning, how you’re growing as a thinker/reader/writer, and so on.

Keep your comments succinct, too. This isn’t an invitation to write essays on your experience; it’s a chance to move the best kind of discussion to a forum online. You’re here to learn from others, which takes active listening, whether we’re commenting or circled up in class.

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In-Class Focus and Feedback

  By All Classes (2016-2017), AP English Language & Composition (2016-2017), English 10 Regents (2016-2017), English 11 Regents (2016-2017)

Shrapnel

The focuses of this instructional post are in-class focus and feedback. The impetus is that many of you are straying from the path. You’re making poor decisions — wasting class time and ignoring instruction, for the most part.

There’s something there that should scare you. I’ll tell you what it’s not.

It’s not what happens when you ignore instruction. What you’re doing is insubordinate and disrespectful and breaking all kinds of rules, and our classroom can only tolerate that for so long. Then you face some kind of punishment. Parents are called, Guidance meetings are arranged, etc. But that should embarrass you, not scare you.

It’s not your grade. As the rest of this post will explain, for those of you able to read it, GAP scores suffer when there isn’t evidence of in-class focus and feedback. The margin for error is less these days, too. But that’s obvious. It shouldn’t scare you.

It’s not even what bad decisions truly do to you. You are, right now, becoming a permanent version of yourself, and that self, for some of you, is going to be uninteresting, unskilled, and undisciplined. Believing otherwise is the “grain through the body of a bird” error explained five or six years ago in the first guide to this stuff. But that is more depressing than it is scary.

What you ought to fear is missing out. Everyone who invests in this course and its philosophy, who works hard and pays careful attention, unlocks something special. In essence, there are two courses taught in Room 210. The first one exists to force you to do your work, pay attention, and develop basic skills and traits. It attempts to make you a half-decent citizen of the world. It’ll cover a few ELA staples, get you ready for any exams, and help you feel less stressed about grades.

The second course exists to transform you. Its students are smarter, more interesting, and more engaged. On their worst days, they have a space that understands and supports them. On their best days, they find freedom and inspiration.

Yes, you should be afraid of low grades, making disrespect a habit, upsetting the teacher enough that he decapitates you in the middle of class1. But you should be existentially terrified that you’ve wasted such an opportunity. And to be in a room with people who have unlocked that deeper level is a constant reminder that you could have done it, too. You could have the freedom to become a better person, to study what you want, to do what you want — and you’re wasting it so you can scroll through Instagram or play a video game2.

The Keys to Life vs. 15 Minutes of Fame

To figure out your GAP score, you only need the profiles, probably with the tiered annotations attached. You could use the expanded protocol, which is plenty effective, or the embedded content in that triptych post. But the original set of profiles and scores is enough.

Past the profiles, the GAP Google Forms you complete require you to assign a number only to in-class focus and feedback3. Those really are the two most important elements, even before you get to the profiles themselves. That’s why this most recent tool ought to help even the most disengaged of you sort out your profile:

[sz-drive-embed type=”document” id=”1PorDAGF_4NWhCDlU1Upq2lhC8S3ypVkyFl9EDfGSnnI” width=”auto” height=”auto” /]

If the embedded version glitches out or isn’t accessible where you are, use the copies in our classroom, or load a copy of the handout through Google Drive by clicking here:

Starting at the top of that handout, you see again these two most basic requirements of this course, which are also the two keys that unlock upper-tier success:

  1. You must make the most of the class period.
  2. You must invest in feedback.

Feedback was the focus of this recent essay/post, which clarifies a lot of long-standing ideas, and we’ve stressed the importance of our time together during the school day since the start of the school year — see this essay or this one for a reminder.

Part 1 of the new handout (“The Keys”) asks you to self-assess your in-class focus and the level of feedback you’ve generated. Again, it’s an iteration of what you see in the Google Form you complete every three weeks or so. Depending on your browser, the graphics may not translate into what was originally intended. The line of emojis should look like this:

In other browsers, the faces may look like this:

This will seem unimportant at first, but there’s a reason to use faces instead of numbers. It’s about relative self-assessment. In our case, there are two perspectives. The first is the imagined perspective of an objective observer. What would someone notice about your in-class focus and feedback over the course of several weeks? That observer doesn’t care about why you were playing video games or mindlessly reloading Snapchat; he just makes a note that you were.

The second perspective is relative, and it’s inspired a bit by the Wong-Baker pain scale:

Ah, #8, my old friend.

There is a lot of subjectivity in this sort of self-assessment. What you consider to be a 10 — the worst pain you’ve ever experienced — might be only a 4 or 6 for a much less fortunate person. It’s still a 10 for you, though, because you can only base it on your experience. That’s the second perspective in our classroom: To a small extent, your best version of focusing might be different from that of others, and we might adjust — to a small extent — the standards to which you are held. You might be capable only of a certain level of feedback. That’s okay, if it’s true.

Again, the first perspective on your body of work is ultimately more important: What would an objective observer write down, if he was asked to describe your habits and behavioral patterns? We aren’t always after the reasons you were compelled to play on your phone for 35 minutes while your practice Regents Exam gathered dust in front of you. We can’t always take into consideration why you were playing video games instead of workshopping an essay. And, in fact, advocacy is such an integral part of the course that if you did need to space out for 35 minutes, you could probably ask for that, reflect on it later, and end up learning quite a bit about yourself4.

Part 2 of the handout (“The Engine”) clarifies these two perspectives through some close reading. The selections you see come from grade abatement profiles of 2, 4, 6, and 8, which give us final scores of 60, 70, 85, and 95, respectively. By any heuristic, these are the profiles that serve as benchmarks for failure and success. These small excerpts should help you arrive at a more accurate and helpful GAP score.

GAP 2 | A 2 {may indicate} [a deliberate and systemic disengagement]…

This is a question of repeated, conscious choice. How many times does a student need to disengage, miss work, lose focus, etc, before it is “deliberate and systemic”? How many mistakes are permissible? No one expects perfection, even at the level of a 9, but we have to start the discussion with some sort of threshold. You have agency and self-control, and very few students goof off out of malice. You do it without thinking. At a certain point, however, a lack of adjustment or a lack of thinking is a choice.

GAP 4 | These students {do not meet} [the basic requirements of the course]…

The GAP 2 has modal language, which is language suggesting possibility. The student “may” meet those criteria, but there are other ways to slip to that tier. For a GAP 4 and its surrounding scores, the language is direct: If you do not meet the basic requirements of the course, you really shouldn’t be scored any higher than a 4 (70).

The question, then, is what the course defines as its basic requirements. Right now, as always, the course values in-class focus and student-driven feedback more than anything else. This new handout also lists the obvious stuff, like getting work in on time and being amenable to redirection, as basic requirements. As the handout says, it’s about doing the job on the days you would rather be watching Netflix, instead of, you know, actually watching Netflix in class5.

So the question is, again, how lenient we ought to be. Where is the line between human error and apathy or indulgence? It isn’t a hypothetical question. Look at these data from around 9:00 AM on 5/17:

Those are the self-reported scores from about a dozen students. See how high the scores are? Maybe you can spot the issue when you read the original directions from the Google Classroom assignment:

That clearly states that completing the form before May 19 will lower your profile score. So about a dozen students, some of them otherwise excellent, didn’t read the directions before jumping in. They also didn’t read the calendar, and they seem to have forgotten that we never do these forms ahead of the last day of the three-week period. Yet they self-reported scores in Tier 4. Should those students receive lower GAP scores? Do we shrug away their mistake, even though it’s mid-May? Where do we draw the line?

And that’s an innocuous example.

GAP 6 | Students earning a 6 {are consistent and reliable} [in performance]…

My theory is that you consider “performance” to be only a particular set of things you do in school. Tests are performances. Essays are performances. Exams are definitely performances. The formative steps aren’t performative in the same way, so you cut corners and cheat the system if/when you need to. You copy homework, use Schmoop before a class discussion, and zone out during lectures.

This course rests on the opposite principle: The process is what matters, and the products should never be the primary focus of our learning. That means that “consistent and reliable” work happens every day. You saw the importance of that philosophy in the article we read about preschool crafts, but it’s written about and discussed constantly:

View at Medium.com

GAP 8 | An 8 {reflects} [a systemic investment in the course]…

In many of our notes on a GAP 8, we’ve talked about “galvanize” as the key verb. It’s true that you ought to be collaborating more here, and you ought to be using the interstitial mechanisms more to help your peers; the most important verb might be “reflects,” however, because of what it does for us metaphorically.

The rest of the time, you’re looking at quantifiable stuff. You can count the number of minutes you’re off-task when determining that a GAP 4 is your fate. If you believe you’ve been “consistent and reliable,” you can add up the assignments you’ve handed in, collate the formative and process-based work you did, and stack up your feedback-driven metacognition. When you invest in the entire system, however, your evidence moves beyond the quantifiable and into something more reflective.

Which is not to get too existential6. Think about how else we use “reflect” in here: It’s the other part of the self-monitoring you do, alongside metacognitive writing and discussion. You reflect your investment through self-monitoring. Once you observe the true purpose of the work, you can set the course accordingly. You’re in control of the learning, because you are involved in all parts of the system — not just the daily class periods and formal writing assignments, but everything.

Which is why Part 3 of this new handout, “The Vehicle,” is a list of the universal skills and traits we value. They are streamlined and edited a bit, but they haven’t changed fundamentally from the beginning of the year. When you are invested enough, your focus is on honing these skills, and you will see them reflected in everything you do.

That’s why it matters less which books we read, which essays you write, and which discussions we have. We do what we have to do in those regards, from Regents Exam prep to school-wide summer reading. The goal is for you to memorize this list of skills and traits, and then for us to work together to determine what you need to do to hone your strengths and eliminate your weaknesses. This becomes the blueprint for your growth:

Reflections

At this point, your brain should be churning as it begins to process this. You may need to revisit and edit your most recent GAP score. You may need to ask questions in the comment section below7. Regardless, you absolutely must write something in response to all this feedback — not just because that is a formal assignment, but because it’s the whole point.

First, I want to add that I still believe that it is nearly impossible to fake in-class focus and feedback. You can fake a certain level of curiosity and empathy, but it’s nearly impossible to reframe a period spent off-task as anything but what it was. You can rush through a few pages of perfunctory reflection, but it’s nearly impossible to turn a real lack of feedback and investment into something else.

Since “nearly” impossible is not the same as “totally” impossible, I usually try to pitch faking it in here as a good idea, theoretically speaking. That was the theory as early on as the tenth section of this essay:

If you force yourself through the motions in here, those motions will inculcate the skills and traits we want. A misanthrope who forces himself to take collegial and galvanizing actions will incrementally learn empathy. A narcissist who forces herself to reflect and metacogitate every week will incrementally find new self-awareness and insight. An apathetic student who grinds through assignments just to get them done will incrementally gain a real appreciation for the value of the work.

That’s idealistic, but it seems to be true for most students: If you fake it, at least you’re doing some good.

I think there’s something else to add, though: If you decided that this “nearly impossible” claim was a challenge, you might figure out how to fake it. You might fool me. Or you might just slip through the cracks, earning credit when credit is definitely not due. Then the hard-working students become frustrated, seeing a kind of injustice. No one wants to feel cheated, to have a peer succeed dishonestly, or to see a good system subverted.

So here’s the thing: Did that person succeed? Did he really? When a student “cheats” in here, all he’s done is get worse at everything that the world actually values. That vehicle for learning — the list of universal skills and traits — might as well be a car rusting on cinder blocks in the front yard. The student, having gotten away with wasting class time and ignoring feedback, has made himself more distracted and more disrespectful. He knows less now and can do less with the little he knows than his peers. He’s grown dishonest and cynical and selfish.

That’s… not really a victory. How do you imagine you would celebrate that? “Boy, I tricked him! I’m a terrible student! My life is going to be much harder now!”

I mean, yes, I’m upset about that, but not in a mustache-twirling kind of way8. I would like the world to be filled with respectful, creative people who take advantage of extraordinary opportunities to learn about themselves and the world around them. I hope you will make that world a better place through your intelligence and compassion. I believe in your potential, and I hate to see it wasted.

That’s all.

  1. “Metaphorically!” he shouted quickly, glancing at administration and laughing nervously. “Metaphorically decapitates you in the middle of class.” ↩

  2. Both of which you could legitimately do, if it was part of a unit of study you’d designed. You could write about these things, study them, read excellent ETA essays on them. You’d get more out of it. Why not do that? ↩

  3. You are also asked about your confidence and certainty versus our collective Dunning-Kruger tendencies, but that’s for another lesson. ↩

  4. The best kind of metacognition is uncomfortable, so this would be perfect: Why do you need to waste class time? Is it really that you’re wasting it, or is something more significant going on? ↩

  5. Again, you could probably write and read about this, if you were invested enough in the course. Binge-watching culture is fascinating, and I’d want to help you unpack the reasons why that show had so transfixed you that it couldn’t wait another few hours. ↩

  6. Says the Camus-inspired website that just pitched Regents Exam prep with a Kafka reference. ↩

  7. Try that out. Scroll down and ask a question. It’s never too late to engage with the interstitial elements of the course, and it is the easiest and fastest way to get feedback. ↩

  8. Although I wonder… In that scenario, who is Dudley Do-Right? ↩

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Lights and Tunnels: RE10, Part 2

  By English 10 Regents (2016-2017)

Part 2 of a two-part series that probably isn’t going to be renewed for another season. Low ratings, naturally.

RE10 Final Exam Work

The final exam for this course will be given on Monday, June 19, at 8AM. (You can see the rest of the final exam schedule by clicking here.) It is a two-hour exam. Room assignments will be made closer to the exam date; we will post locations in class and on Google Classroom as soon as they’re available. The exam itself will have two parts: timed multiple-choice questions and a timed essay.

Each of the subsections below is a required assignment that will prepare you for the exam. We will also tie that test-centered work to metacognition, collaboration, organization, and most other GAP skills and traits. You will need to read directions closely, work steadily, and ask questions as you go. Your final two GAP scores depend on this work, as does your final exam score.

When you practice, you will need to take Part 1 silently and individually, using your computer only to enter your answers when you get to the step that requires Google Forms. We have to invoke the cemetery rows of traditional testing in order to get the most accurate data.

You will also need to take Part 2 silently and individually, writing by hand first, and then using your computer only as necessary to access backup copies of materials, including any required GARAS lessons. Note that these GARAS lessons are hyperlinked below, but the link goes to a scanned copy of the textbook; the printed, collated packet is much easier to use, so you will be asked to work offline whenever possible.

This instructional post is a checklist, too, when it is printed. Each of the Unicode boxes next to a bolded term or phrase is meant to be checked off as you complete a section of the exam prep. Monitor Google Classroom for deadlines and submission requirements.

☐ Part 1: August ’14

This is the multiple-choice section of the August ’14 ELA Regents Exam. There are three passages and 24 multiple-choice questions. Here is the section in full, followed by the required steps you must take:

 

☐ Practice the Multiple-Choice

  1. Read and annotate ☐ Passage A.
  2. Answer the multiple-choice questions for ☐ Passage A, circling your answer in the exam packet.
  3. Repeat Steps 1-2 for ☐ Passage B and ☐ Passage C.
  4. Enter your answers for all 24 questions in the Google Form below.

☐ Complete the Google Form

☐ Complete the Metacognition

  1. Get the correct answers for all 24 questions from the Google Form.
  2. For ☐ Passage A, write a metacognitive breakdown of your work, including both correct and incorrect answers.
  3. Work with peers and your teachers to ☐ develop that metacognitive breakdown into an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses on this type of passage.
  4. Repeat Step 2-3 for ☐ Passage B and ☐ Passage C.
☐ Part 2: August ’14

This is the source-based argument prompt from the August ’14 ELA Regents Exam. Here is the section in full, followed by the required steps you must take:

 

☐ Practice the Source-Based Essay

  1. Read and annotate the ☐ Directions, ☐ Topic, ☐ Task, and ☐ Guidelines.
  2. Read and annotate each of the four sources: ☐ Text 1, ☐ Text 2, ☐ Text 3, and ☐ Text 4.
  3. Write an ☐ essay response to this prompt in the provided Regents booklet.

☐ Copy the Exemplar Essay

  1. Read and annotate the ☐ rubric for Part 2, which can be downloaded by clicking here.
  2. Copy by hand the entirety of ☐ Anchor Paper – Part 2 – Level 6 – A, which can be downloaded by clicking here.
  3. Read and annotate the ☐ state’s scoring explanation for Anchor Level 6A, which immediately follows the model paper itself.
  4. Repeat Steps 2-3 with ☐ Anchor Paper – Part 2 – Level 6 – B and the ☐ state’s scoring explanation, both of which can be downloaded by clicking here.

☐ Grammar as Rhetoric and Style

  1. Identify ☐ examples of the GARAS lessons in your own essay by annotating and analyzing the effect of any or all of the following:
  2. Identify ☐ examples of grammar as rhetoric and style in either of the anchor papers (6A or 6B) by annotating and analyzing the effect of any or all of the following:

☐ Complete the Metacognition

  1. Outline a ☐ metacognitive analysis of your own essay, using details from the rubric for Part 2, the two anchor papers, your understanding of the four GARAS exercises, and the state’s scoring explanation for both anchor papers.
  2. Work with peers and your teachers to develop that metacognitive outline into a ☐ response that explores your strengths and weaknesses on this type of essay.
☐ Part 1: August ’16

Note: You will complete Part 1 of the Aug. ’16 exam when you finish Part 1 and Part 2 of the Aug. ’14 exam. Depending on how long the Aug. ’14 exam takes and your own needs, you may skip Part 1 of the Aug. ’16 exam to practice Part 2.

This is the multiple-choice section of the August ’16 ELA Regents Exam. There are three passages and 24 multiple-choice questions. We will complete this practice on an individual basis or if it is otherwise necessary for us to complete it. Here is the section in full, followed by the required steps you must take (which are identical to the steps for Part 1 of the August ’14 exam):

 

☐ Practice the Multiple-Choice

  1. Read and annotate ☐ Passage A.
  2. Answer the multiple-choice questions for ☐ Passage A, circling your answer in the exam packet.
  3. Repeat Steps 1-2 for ☐ Passage B and ☐ Passage C.
  4. Enter your answers for all 24 questions in the Google Form below.

☐ Complete the Google Form

☐ Complete the Metacognition

  1. Get the correct answers for all 24 questions from the Google Form.
  2. For ☐ Passage A, write a metacognitive breakdown of your work, including both correct and incorrect answers.
  3. Work with peers and your teachers to ☐ develop that metacognitive breakdown into an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses on this type of passage.
  4. Repeat Step 2-3 for ☐ Passage B and ☐ Passage C.
☐ Part 2: August ’16

Note: You will complete Part 2 of the Aug. ’16 exam when you finish Part 1 and Part 2 of the Aug. ’14 exam. Depending on how long the Aug. ’14 exam takes and your own needs, you may skip directly to this essay practice.

This is the source-based argument prompt from the August ’16 ELA Regents Exam. Here is the section in full, followed by the required steps you must take:

 

☐ Practice the Source-Based Essay

  1. Read and annotate the ☐ Directions, ☐ Topic, ☐ Task, and ☐ Guidelines.
  2. Read and annotate each of the four sources: ☐ Text 1, ☐ Text 2, ☐ Text 3, and ☐ Text 4.
  3. Write an ☐ essay response to this prompt in the provided Regents booklet.

☐ Copy the Exemplar Essay

  1. Read and annotate the ☐ rubric for Part 2, which can be downloaded by clicking here.
  2. Copy by hand the entirety of ☐ Anchor Paper – Part 2 – Level 6 – A, which can be downloaded by clicking here.
  3. Read and annotate the ☐ state’s scoring explanation for Anchor Level 6A, which immediately follows the model paper itself.
  4. Repeat Steps 2-3 with ☐ Anchor Paper – Part 2 – Level 6 – B and the ☐ state’s scoring explanation, both of which can be downloaded by clicking here.
  1. Identify ☐ examples of the GARAS lessons in your own essay by annotating and analyzing the effect of any or all of the following:
  2. Identify ☐ examples of grammar as rhetoric and style in either of the anchor papers (6A or 6B) by annotating and analyzing the effect of any or all of the following:

☐ Complete the Metacognition

  1. Outline a ☐ metacognitive analysis of your own essay, using details from the rubric for Part 2, the two anchor papers, your understanding of the four GARAS exercises, and the state’s scoring explanation for both anchor papers.
  2. Work with peers and your teachers to develop that metacognitive outline into a ☐ response that explores your strengths and weaknesses on this type of essay

Pre-AP Work: AP11 Summer Reading

Note: This is the required summer reading for students moving into AP11 next year. If you are not taking AP English Language and Composition as a junior, you can ignore this part of the post entirely.

The Reading

The summer reading for AP11 is taken from the beginning of a college-level textbook on reading, writing, and rhetoric. This textbook, The Language of Composition, gives the background necessary for the work we’ll do next year.

Each of the first four chapters has been scanned and archived below on the BHS server. You can only access these chapters through your Brewster account, just like you can only access hard copies of the textbook in our classroom. Photocopies of these chapters will be made available, and you can sign out a copy of the textbook for a few days at a time. If you’d like your own copy, here is the link to buy it on Amazon.

Note: The glossary is also being included this year.

The Thinking and Writing

As you read, take notes. Make observations. Connect what you learn to yourself and your environment as often and as authentically as possible. The terms you will encounter are important, but always less important than the ideas. To quote another introduction to rhetoric:

Don’t be scared of the intimidating detail suggested by the odd Greek and Latin terms. After all, you can enjoy the simple beauty of a birch tree without knowing it is Betula alba and make use of the shade of a weeping willow without knowing it is in fact Salix babylonica. The same is possible with rhetoric. The names aid categorization and are more or less conventional, but I encourage you to get past the sesquipedalian labels and observe the examples and the sample criticism (rhetoric in practice). It is beyond the definitions that the power of rhetoric is made apparent.

That is from the Forest of Rhetoric, a site that could teach you nearly as much as The Language of Composition, if you allowed yourself to spend some time studying its many branches. You could also learn nearly as much by reading the excellent Thank You for Arguing, by Jay Heinrichs, which is on Amazon here. Heinrichs’ book used to be the required AP summer reading. There are certainly many other introductions out there.

The point of that last paragraph is that the basics of rhetoric and argument and logic are timeless. These are the bones of discourse and understanding in life. You never stop learning them, but you need some sort of substructure before you can experiment, build, and iterate, which are the goals of the Humanities makerspace in Room 210.

As always, I’m your expert and mentor, so you should ask questions and seek advice as you get going. You’ll notice that you have nothing due — no journals, no impending tests, no deadlines. The most I will ask you to do is to register for the course through Google Classroom. The work is due, in the sense that anything is due, on the first day of school, but the work will continue through the last day. Everything matters, not just those soritical moments of summative assessment.

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The End of The Long Walk

  By All Classes (2016-2017), AP English Language & Composition (2016-2017), English 10 Regents (2016-2017), English 11 Regents (2016-2017)

Makerspace Calendar

Refer to this calendar for the overall structure of the last month:

We will spend most of our time before the end of school making things. The course expectations for focus and productivity haven’t changed, but you will have more autonomy. Note that any end-of-year test prep or individual GAP improvements will take precedence over unstructured makerspace activity. It’s not exactly a feast-or-famine framework, but it’s similar.

Pareto Projects

Review the expectations for the Pareto Project, including the last updates for juniors or sophomores, and then complete the following Google Form:

Note that the last question on the form requires you to write at least 1500 characters. This is a substantial amount of analysis, and it should be taken seriously. You are strongly encouraged to write your response separately, because Forms does not save in-progress work. The form will not accept anything less than 1500 characters. There is a visual approximation of what that looks like embedded in the form itself.

You can use Monday’s class period to work on this form and the response required at the end of it.

Exams

Refer to the following calendar for the schedule for final and Regents exams in all subjects:

RE10 Specifics

Sophomores will spend the next month prepping as necessary for their final exam, which has two components:

  1. A reading passage with multiple-choice questions, modeled after the passages on Part 1 of the Regents Examination in English Language Arts
  2. A timed essay modeled after Part 2 of the Regents Examination in English Language Arts

For the multiple-choice practice, we will use old Regents Exams, Google Forms, and metacognition. For the timed essay, we will use old exam prompts, metacognition, and the Grammar as Rhetoric and Style work you’ve just completed.

We will begin our prep on Monday. A separate instructional post will be uploaded and photocopied then with digital archives of all the materials you’ll receive in class. We’ll review the protocol then, so if you’re reading this before class, all you need to prepare for is a shift to much more separate and individualized work — no groups, and computers and devices only if they aren’t a distraction.

AP11 + RE11 Specifics

All juniors must take the Regents Examination in English Language Arts. You have already been given access to every resource you need to prepare for it, and we will use whatever class time you require to practice and review. Refer to this post for all the required information:

Printed copies of every single element in that post will be available in our classroom for the rest of the year. If you are an AP student, start the period on Monday by emptying your test-prep folder of all AP materials. Then use Google Classroom to organize yourself by deadline. RE11 students can focus on the Pareto update and any other instructional posts.

The final exam for juniors is a more complicated subject. Read the following paragraphs carefully.

If you are in danger of failing English for the year, then you are required to take a separate final exam. This exam will be an essay-driven assessment designed to give you, if you are in danger of failing for the year, an opportunity to pass. You will be informed if this applies to you after Q4B GAP scores are determined on May 19.

If you are required to take a separate final exam in English, your final average will be determined by five scores, including that final exam score. The ELA Regents Exam does not count as part of your GPA, regardless of your overall average.

If you are not in danger of failing English for the year, you will not be asked to take a separate final exam.Your final average will be determined by your four quarterly grades only.

If you have questions about any of this, ask those questions below or in the comment section of the individual course posts, where I can clarify for everyone or forward things along to the folks who make these decisions.

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GAP Q4A: Pillars of Salt

  By All Classes (2016-2017), AP English Language & Composition (2016-2017), English 10 Regents (2016-2017), English 11 Regents (2016-2017)

I’ve kept your GAP Q4A scores and this feedback until this morning to sidestep the AP English Language Exam, which is taking place as this post goes live. After plague symptoms swept through my house last week, delaying grade abatement by four or five days, I determined that we were too close to AP exams to release scores. It would have created distraction and added frustration at a time when those 70 students could not afford either.

I predict some frustration because of the significant discrepancy between self-reported GAP scores and the actual body of work for the 4A frame. Many of you indicated a profile that is not supported by the evidence. It is often frustrating to be called out on that sort of mistake, but the most important principle here is accuracy.

As always, I did this clinically. The titular irony1 is that none of this is “salty,” as you might say. You have a static post with all the most recent materials for grade abatement — from way back in February — and you should be making your way through an instructional post on feedback that revisits what is expected of you day by day. There’s some intentional warmth and humor in that last post, and it’s otherwise a straightforward deconstruction of how to learn successfully. Even the disappointment is deliberate and clinical, in the same way that your car’s engine light doesn’t flash on to be rude. The light means only that something isn’t working.

Part of this post’s clinical deconstruction is a reminder that our class period is as important as anything else. This fact has not changed since the first day of school. Neither has the expectation that you archive evidence for virtually every formal assignment through Google Classroom, or else that you arrange a clear and explicit alternative. GAP work isn’t guesswork, and if you must constantly justify a lack of focus or a lack of evidence, that itself is evidence of a problem.

The other problem, as always, is the Dunning-Kruger reasoning that one is exempt from in-class requirements and/or exempt from creating written evidence of learning. You have really intricate guides and breakdowns for all this, but it’s just as often Occam’s razor: The “consistent and reliable” language in the profile of a GAP 6 requires consistent evidence and a reliable in-class focus.

So take a look at what you didn’t hand in on Google classroom. Take honest account of how focused you are in class. If you feel that the final GAP score is still incorrect, pull up the evidence and reflective thinking you submitted alongside the GAP 4A form. Was there any? If not, but you have evidence, the question is obvious: Where was it when it was required? That’s the idea of a body of evidence, a “rhinoceros” test, and a thorough self-reporting process. I work with what you give me.

That’s the other thing, though, and the more important one: Anytime it ends up being about me, not you and your learning, we need to refocus on what the course provides you. Try to take advantage of this opportunity. You’ll always have another turn in a Skinner box.

Carrots and Sticks

Now for some feedback that you should imagine is being read through an emotionless text-to-speech program:

First, if you believe that we need to meet about evidence and profiles, let me know. We’ll determine together if you’re right, and we’ll fold any conferences into the current collective refocus on radial and proxy feedback.

By that same logic, those of you doing good work need to work harder on helping your peers. You should broaden your circle of influence before the end of the year. As your ability to choose what to do opens up, you should revisit Google+ as a means of collaboration, and I would like to test Google Groups, too.

All of you should focus on each choice, each day. Make the best choice for learning. If you’re in doubt, enlist peers to help you make the best choice, or ask me for some guidance.

AP students who do not alter alter poor decision-making tendencies will see those GAP scores drop quickly. Post-exam work is more important to us, actually, and we fight the inevitable post-exam letdown through increased student choice. I’m not going to intervene to tell you that the way you’re spending a class period is unacceptable, though, or that you ought to hand in evidence of your work, except in the idle way I might comment on the weather we’re having.

If you’re an AP student who is not advocating and accounting for yourself, that’s fine — in that it’s a bad decision, and one that will inculcate self-defeating traits in you, and one that will absolutely and inexorably and ultimately hurt you; it’s not, however, a decision that will be wrestled away from you. Your choice to challenge yourself by taking an AP course also gives you the freedom to fail.

RE11 and RE10 students who don’t find a new gear and a new focus immediately will be isolated in class and required to attend study sessions during a free period, lunch, or after-school session, which means I’ll coordinate with your parents or guardians and Guidance to get you the help that you need. That probably means focused Regents Exam or final exam prep, respectively, but it could easily be a session on assiduousness, amenability, self-awareness, collegiality, or any of the other meaningful skills and traits we use to determine GAP scores.

You’re also looking at the likely end of student-choice seating in P4, P5, and P9. Some groups will be allowed to stay together, and probation is a possibility for a few others. Most of you would benefit immediately from the lack of distraction, however, and from an explicit directive to focus and get work done. That costs you choice in your learning, and it prevents in-class collaboration, but it buys us the time to get you the help that you need.

As always, you are encouraged to ask questions about this feedback and its application below. Use that space. You are not Lot’s wife, running from destruction and certain to die if you look back. You should look back. The more you reflect, the easier it is to move forward.

  1. The salt in the post title, which refers to saltiness as much as Lot’s poor wife. I actually like “salty” as slang; its origins are interesting, at least. The problem is that it treats criticism and emotion as an overreaction. It is sometimes appropriate to be disappointed or frustrated. ↩

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Succinct Self-Analysis

  By All Classes (2016-2017), AP English Language & Composition (2016-2017), English 10 Regents (2016-2017), English 11 Regents (2016-2017)

The first panel of your Q4 GAP triptych ends on Friday, April 28. You will receive the usual data- and evidence-gathering assignment that morning. On Friday, you will also need to submit the “Succinct Self-Analysis” assignment that was post to Google Classroom during P1 on April 24. The assigned template looks like this:

[pdfjs-viewer url=”http%3A%2F%2Fsisypheanhigh.com%2Fmalachite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F04%2FQ4ASelf-Analysis.pdf” viewer_width=100% viewer_height=400px fullscreen=true download=true print=true]

 

A copy will be sent to you through Google Classroom, and you will see that it’s been organized already. Keep the layout as it is. At some point after class on Monday, in the box labeled for that day, you must answer the following questions:

  1. What did you accomplish in class today?
  2. What did you learn in class today?
  3. What’s next?

Look to spend 10-15 minutes on this. You can write more, of course, and the boxes in your document will expand as you type. Blend your responses into paragraphs, not bulleted lists. You are focused on being succinct. Read the definition here, and notice that it’s not about length; it’s about avoiding unnecessary words. Short and perfunctory (read that definition here) is useless for our purposes.

At some point after class on Tuesday, in the box labeled for that day, answer those three questions again, blending your responses into succinct paragraphs. Repeat this process on Wednesday, and then again on Thursday.

Evidence: Revision History

If you click on the File menu in Google Docs, you’ll see an option to check revision history. When you select that option, every change you’ve made to the document is called up for review. Read more about this process here.

On Friday, selecting this option should pull up evidence that you’ve worked on this assignment once a day for four days. It is straightforward enough to check this, because each timestamp shows, down to the minute, what you’ve changed:

This is from a guide to bishop composition I’m putting together for you.

If you aren’t diligent about writing each day, it will be obvious. Budget 10-15 minutes, or plan to use 10-15 minutes of class time to do this — not the best plan, but certainly one that would work in a pinch. See what this sort of ongoing and embedded metacognition does to encourage you to use your class time more effectively and deliberately.

This daily, succinct self-analysis is a requirement for all Tier 4 GAP scores. Done well, it might also be enough to pull those of you who’ve perhaps made poor decisions so far this quarter up into a higher tier. This assignment will create evidence of almost every skill or trait we value.

If you have any questions about this work, ask them in the comments below.

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Lights and Tunnels: RE10, Part 1

  By English 10 Regents (2016-2017)

Here is a blank copy of the calendar for Q4, which is already in progress:

[pdfjs-viewer url=”http%3A%2F%2Fsisypheanhigh.com%2Fmalachite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F04%2FRE10-Calendar-Q4.pdf” viewer_width=100% viewer_height=600px fullscreen=true download=true print=true]

 

The end of the year starts on April 19, when we return from spring break. We won’t see another day off until the end of May, and you’ll have final exams a week later.

This calendar is meant to be printed and filled in according to your needs. Note the dates of each panel of your Q4 GAP triptych, as well as the Fridays you’ll be in the iLC. All other assignments, instructions, and feedback will be posted here and on Google Classroom, as always, and we will spend April 19-20 setting things up1. I’ll share a copy of the calendar through Google Classroom, too.

The Non-Denominational Evil Spirit in the Details

You’ve gone over a month without an instructional post here, and not just because of the two weeks we’ve had off for spring break. We’ve been using offline resources to work on grammar, and we won’t be posting copies of those resources to the website. Instead, you’ll continue to work on the “Grammar as Rhetoric and Style” sections that were photocopied from The Language of Composition, the textbook kept on the bookshelf in our classroom. As necessary, I’ll scan those assignments and post them on Google Classroom, where they’re permitted2.

What we’re going to do with these GARAS exercises is apply them. Here’s a slightly edited copy of the assignment given through Google Classroom on April 7:

Grammar as Rhetoric and Style: Week 1

The goal is understanding and application. You should learn by doing, and you should also ask for redirection and feedback from your teachers. Take your time in class to study the lessons, complete the exercises, and receive feedback from your teachers about your understanding and application. Do not rush.

Part 1: Direct, Precise, and Active Verbs | Read the explanation of direct, precise, and active verbs in the photocopied packet distributed in class. Take notes that help you to internalize the concepts and terminology. Then complete Exercises 1-3 in their entirety. You may write the answers by hand or type them online, and you may work alone or in groups. If you choose to work in a group, work in a shared Google Doc, so we can track through your revision history each member’s contributions.

Part 2: Concise Diction | Read the explanation of concise diction in the photocopied packet distributed in class. Take notes that help you to internalize the concepts and terminology. Then complete Exercises 1-3 in their entirety. You may write the answers by hand or type them online, and you may work alone or in groups. If you choose to work in a group, work in a shared Google Doc, so we can track through your revision history each member’s contributions.

If you didn’t finish those exercises, that’s your job this week. We’ll pause on Friday to talk about your Pareto Projects in the iLC, but by that point, we’ll already have moved on to the your next writing assignment, and your efforts from April 3-7 are part of this quarter’s first GAP score. You might already need to make up a lot of lost ground.

Regardless, you’re going to write creatively in order to practice these two lessons. You’ll select a prompt, write a response by hand, and then type up a revision that employs what you learned from Part 1 (direct, precise, and active verbs) and Part 2 (concise diction). You’ll have to identify where and how you’re using grammar as rhetoric and style.

That self-analysis and metacognition will be formalized later. For now, you can start writing whenever you’re done with the GARAS exercises from before break. Head over to the site we used on March 27 to start this focus on grammar:

http://www.writersdigest.com/prompts

Choose any prompt from there that you haven’t chosen before. Keep in mind that your goal is to gain more control of grammar in context in order to be a more effective writer overall. Let us know what you’re working on, and we’ll help you as you go. Ask questions here, in the comment section, as necessary.

  1. This includes finalizing Q3 GAP scores and reorganizing our physical space. We’ve had almost two weeks to atrophy, so we’re going to need two days to start moving again. ↩

  2. One of the authors, Larry Scanlon, was a teacher in Brewster for three decades, by the way, which is a cool thing to note. ↩

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GAP 3B Feedback: Developing Systems

  By All Classes (2016-2017), AP English Language & Composition (2016-2017), English 10 Regents (2016-2017), English 11 Regents (2016-2017)

The header image in this post is from the RSA ANIMATE of a Ken Robinson speech on educational reform. In this particular section, he’s discussing how counterintuitive and reductive it is to separate students by “their date of manufacture,” as he says. Of course, he’s not advocating for kindergartners to work on the same assignment as high school seniors. It’s more about recognizing that learning is a little more complex than a factory-line model suggests.

I want us to think about this idea, which is one of the reasons I’ve chosen to fill this post with three sets of separate, class-specific feedback, instead of separating them as this site normally does. You are formally responsible only for what’s written to your class, but you now have access to all of it, which is a pretty clear suggestion to read all of it. It’ll show you how style and detail shift between audiences, for one thing, but it’s also an exercise in finding useful feedback wherever you can. As an example (and something else for you to consider reading):

Cooking More at Home Is About Developing Systems, Not Memorizing Recipes

The recipe community makes it seem like one-and-done type meals are the pinnacle of home cooking. And if you crack open a cookbook or browse a few food blogs, that’s mostly what you’ll see. But for people who don’t already have experience in the kitchen, this is wildly inefficient.

When I read that yesterday, my first thought was how perfectly it lines up with lifelong learning and teaching. We need systems that help us learn, not step-by-step instructions. Memorizing “recipes” might help us pass those high-stakes tests, but even then, it’s going to depend more on systematic skills and traits, not what you’ve memorized.

The point is that you can find meaning in almost any feedback, if you trust the source. Trust this one.

To All Students

GAP 3B scores will be entered within an hour or two of this post. The recent spate of bad weather upended our schedule, so you’re receiving these much later than anticipated. I also needed a lot more time to determine how to talk to you about your recent work, as you’ll soon see.

You have around two weeks until the end of the quarter, at least in terms of GAP scoring, and you can use that time to conference with me about your GAP 3B scores. But you need to take heed:

  1. Don’t stop moving forward because you want to conference.
  2. Do not come to a conference without doing your homework for it.

Your homework for a conference is to read the feedback below, dive deeply into your body of evidence, and put your thoughts in writing. Don’t tell me that you don’t understand, and don’t say that you disagree. For 99% of the potential concerns you’ll have, the following feedback is enough. Applying it to your current routine might require a conference, though.

Two other general points:

  1. You are going to notice that many of the specific assignments discussed below were due on March 10, which was a snow day. This does not matter at all. The work was assigned weeks earlier, and you were given Monday, March 13, as a day to finish that work without penalty.
  2. All of you are being told that this — this post, any photocopy of this post, and any performative lecture based on this post — is direct feedback, and that failure to use this feedback to improve will lower your next GAP score. This is true. It isn’t a guillotine, though, waiting to slice through your neck. It’s more like the bladed pendulum in Poe’s short story, which descends slowly, inch by inch, to cut you in half. The difference is that you don’t have to lay there and let it cut you in half. You can stand up and climb out of the pit.

To AP11 Students

As always, your focus in class and the quality of the feedback loop you created were most important. Remember to look at yourself with clear but unyielding eyes, as I do: If you were off-task, you were off-task. Make better choices during the period.

Next, you should consider three particular assignments carefully. I will not provide hyperlinks as I normally do; you are in the third quarter of a college-level class, and we have spent a substantial amount of our time honing your organizational skills. This feedback should be unnecessary in the first place.

#1: On March 10, you were instructed to attach all evidence of your ongoing writing process to an assignment first posted on February 13. After a month, each and every one of you should’ve had something to submit. Missing or insubstantial work here fits a lower profile.

#2: In that same March 10 assignment, you were instructed to tell the story of your month-long writing process, using an instructional post to guide you. You were further instructed to treat that response as you would any essay, developing and shaping it with the same skills we’ve emphasized all year. You were given an article to incorporate into that reflective and metacognitive response, and, again, you had a full month of work to consider. Missing or insubstantial work here fits a lower profile.

#3: Finally, you had a formal GAP assignment, which was given in advance of Friday, March 10. You were told not to complete the form until Friday. You were also given much more than just a form to complete. There was a close reading assignment, too, that compelled you to apply an article’s insight to your own learning process. If you did not submit evidence of this close reading and analysis alongside your form, you could not earn a GAP score of 9.

As you dive back into your own work on these three assignments, I strongly suggest that you track down that last article. There was a reason it was given to you a bit ahead of the scoring process: Many of you are overvaluing and overstating how invested and self-directed you are, and while I have empathy for that, you must hold yourself accountable for what you do, not who you think you are. You are treating that fourth tier of scores as a given. You need to grapple with the requirements.

We are going to slow down, at least in one respect, while we set up our test prep and lay the groundwork for the fourth quarter. That makes your margin for error significantly smaller. You must be better students over the next two weeks.

To RE11 Students

As always, your scores come down to how you spend your time in class and how much you invest in our instructional posts. If you want to know why your score is lower than you thought it was, start there. You are closer than ever to senior year, which is a pretty good indication that you’re old enough to have self-control. You have no excuse for being distracted and disrespectful. You never did — only three-year-olds do, and even that’s debatable — but it’s time to face your behavior with clear and unsympathetic eyes.

Before you think to debate this perception of your assiduousness and focus, your score also depended more than anything else on two specific assignments. Both were due on March 10, and both were the culmination of your work over the previous month. Missing, incomplete, or insufficient work on either assignment outweighed anything else you might have in terms of GAP evidence.

#1: On March 10, you were told to scroll down the assignment feed until you found the assignment posted on February 13, nearly a month earlier. You were then instructed to attach any and all evidence of your writing process. Regardless of your progress on the essay itself, you should have found something to attach. Failure to do so is a failure to follow directions, to be organized (a skill we have also been studying for more than a month), and to be productive.

#2: In that same March 10 post, and in the instructional post attached to it, you were invited to tell the story of your month-long writing process. You were given an article to fold into that writing, too, which gave you an approach to this reflective writing. You were then told explicitly to shape and develop this writing as you would any essay.

Look at what you submitted for this reflection, if you submitted anything, and ask yourself if it looks substantial enough to reflect a month of writing. Then remember that you were also given Monday, March 13, to do this. You were told that your in-class work on the 13th would count for this GAP score, too, and I think it’s important we recognize that many of you did not listen to that warning.

We are almost at the end of the third-quarter, and we will spend the next two weeks working in class on either Regents Exam prep or a personal essay prompt. You will keep to the Pareto and GAP schedule outlined in our calendar. Start planning how to demonstrate growth, in class and at home, with each and every assignment. If you don’t change your habits, you will fall into the lowest tiers of our system, where you will find scores of 60 and below.

If you’d like to schedule a conference about your latest GAP score, make sure you’ve read the instructions at the top of this post. Your teachers aren’t going to entertain baseless complaints, but we’d actually like to give you clarity and direction.

To RE10 Students

If you’d like to understand your latest GAP score, load Google Classroom and scroll through the list of assignments posted over the last month or so. Every missing, late, or incomplete assignment cost you. You shouldn’t need us to point out what is missing or late, since it is recorded automatically.

If you got permission for a late assignment, that was, of course, okay. If you were given an alternative assignment, that, too, was okay. For 90% of the missing work in this course, however, there was no extension or alternative assignment. You just didn’t do the work.

If you’re not sure how you’re missing work, let’s meet to go over your recent organizational efforts. Your teachers will help you sort through your current system and develop a better one. We can talk about procrastination and distraction, too.

If you are confused about why the work you’re submitting isn’t sufficient or complete enough to boost your overall GAP score, you should schedule a conference. Your teachers will show you anonymous work from your peers that is acceptable. For the most part, though, you can trust your common sense: If you have a lot of time to finish an assignment, you’re expected to use that time, and if you do genuinely finish early, you can always reflect, be metacognitive, and help others. It really is about effort, in the end.

Effort is also responsible for how you spend each and every class period. Your in-class focus remains the single most important part of your GAP score, whether we look at how you performed over three weeks or in a single day. Every time you are off task, whether you are playing a game or texting a friend or studying for a test or just staring mindlessly into the void, you cost yourself a higher profile.

This GAP scoring process is ultimately about things you can control:

  1. You can stay focused during every moment of every class period.
  2. When you’re not sure what to do next, you can ask for help.
  3. You can submit every assignment.
  4. When you’re not sure if what you’re going to submit is substantial enough, you can ask for help.

To All Students

If you are not working hard every day, completing every assignment, and asking for help whenever either of those responsibilities seems difficult, you run the risk of failure. Failure, for you, might mean a GAP 6, or it might mean a 60 on the report card; whatever you think it is, that’s the risk you face.

For those of you who’ve come to appreciate what this environment offers you, this is about navigating the exhaustion and distraction of the end of the year. It’s about becoming the best version of yourself. It’s about finding meaning in that NHS application. It’s about beating the SAT and Regents and AP at their own game. It’s about adjusting how you learn while you are pouring your energy into Mary Poppins. (Break a leg, by the way.)

For some of you, though, it’s about correcting the mistaken belief that the bare minimum in here will allow you to pass the course and stumble, blissfully ignorant, into next year. You have forgotten what “the bare minimum” really is in our classroom. This course builds on itself, so that your success grows exponentially — as does your failure. The evidence for a particular profile resets every three weeks, in that what you gather and categorize for a profile resets; growth or resistance are based on everything that came before, however, so you must always deal with the past. That should be obvious. How else could we talk about improvement in writing, reading, thinking, or any of our other skills or traits?

Perhaps it’s even simpler than that: Do the work. Avoid your friends, if they prevent you from doing the work. Listen when you are reminded to do the work. Ask for my help if you don’t see the value in the work, because I’ll either show you the value or create something else for you that is valuable.

Remember that this is a makerspace, and that gives you a chance to rebuild yourself. It’s a process that will take you a lifetime, but every day you can tinker a little bit more with the blueprint.

As always, ask questions in the comments here.

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GAP Scoring: March 10, 2017

  By All Classes (2016-2017), AP English Language & Composition (2016-2017), English 10 Regents (2016-2017), English 11 Regents (2016-2017)

Your course calendar tells us that we’re a couple of days away from the second GAP score of Q3. As you read this post, especially the GAP protocol, keep in mind that your organizational skill is the concrete on which everything else is built. Make time for all of this, in class and at home, and never lose sight of the purpose of what we do and what you’ve been assigned.

And think about pushing some of your peers to stay focused during the period. Even a day or two of renewed focus is enough to shift the GAP score up a bit, and the alternative…

Clear and Unyielding

As you read the following essay, replace every reference to teaching with a reference to you, your learning, and what it takes to evaluate yourself through grade abatement:

A copy of this will be provided in class, too, to facilitate your reading of it. Take the time to see past the superficial audience — teachers — and into the universal insight on display here. To help, start with the pull quotes from the article. Here they are, with the language altered so that they reference student learning and GAP scoring, not teaching:

You talk enough dirt about yourself and [teachers and peers] will start to believe it.

I’m as guilty as anyone of distorting my [learning]. When talking to [peers and teachers], I often play up the progressive elements.

As an aside, any time you edit the original text of a quotation, use brackets. In this case, it shifts the nouns and pronouns so that you can apply them directly to yourself.

The first of those pull quotes is always a concern: You must avoid downplaying your success, especially when collaboration and collegiality are vital to our work overall. You need to develop confidence, which isn’t quite as difficult as you might think. The second pull quote is part of one of the most important paragraphs, because it deals with a more common problem: ducking the ugly truths about our own progress. Here it is with the language altered again:

I’m as guilty as anyone of distorting my [learning]. When talking to [peers and teachers], I often play up the progressive elements: Student-led discussions. Creative projects. Guided discovery activities. I mumble through the minor, inconvenient fact that my [learning] is, at its core, deeply traditional. I let my walk and my talk drift apart. Not only does this thwart other [peers and teachers] in their attempts to honestly evaluate my approach, but it blocks my own self-evaluation. I can’t grow properly unless I see my own work with eyes that are sympathetic, but clear and unyielding.

The bolded sentence is critical. This is where you all are, two-thirds of the way through the third quarter of the year: in need of “eyes that are sympathetic, but clear and unyielding.” If, at its core, your learning remains deeply traditional, you must account for that.

Start here: What does traditional learning look like in your life? To what extent do you “play up the progressive elements” of your learning, especially during GAP scoring? To what extent is the core of your progress “deeply traditional,” and how can you remove that obstruction?

Answer these questions in conversation and in writing. Focus on insight. Then use that insight to inform the GAP scoring assignment outlined below.

GAP Scoring: March 10, 2017

First, though, let’s test your self-control, close reading, and self-awareness. Do not complete this form until Friday during your class period:

Again, do not complete that until Friday, March 10. Don’t complete it in its embedded form, and don’t complete it through Google Classroom. You still have two days to generate evidence for your GAP score. You have another post assigned to your class that deals with your recent writing work, a reboot of your Pareto Projects, and plenty of good and bad decisions made during those all-important 39 minutes. Give yourself 48 hours or so to read these instructions, work through recent posts, and think critically about your progress.

You should also use your newly strengthened organization to revisit the updated guide/overview of grade abatement, which will recalibrate you before you tackle one of these GAP forms:

Grade Abatement Triptychs

Even some of the students who have earned a GAP 9 in the past have lapsed over the last three weeks, which was always a possibility when we moved to shorter time frame. Each bad decision is magnified. By the same logic, all of your good work is magnified, too. Look carefully at the profiles and even more carefully at the protocol, which has been updated slightly in order to clarify how to apply it to your body of work. As always, you must focus only on the evidence you’ve generated.

Ask questions about these instructions in class and in the comment section below, and remember: You are balancing many assignments right in order to test your organization and advocacy. If you feel overwhelmed, advocate for yourself. If you are confused, keep attacking the work, alone and with peers, until it makes sense. If you feel frustrated, find someone who knows how to listen, vent, and then fix the problem.