Author: Mr. Eure

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Immediate Obligations

  By Opening Salvo

The root of obligation is ligare, “to bind,” and it helps to keep in mind that this can be positive or negative.

Repeated: What Our Makerspace Does

Core English courses that are not affiliated with the College Board nor a state or local college enjoy a bit of freedom from the traditional superstructure of high school. The foundation is the same — that’s why the district’s SCP looks just like our set of universal skills and traits — but what we build on it can be practical in a different way.

For the most part, this will mean dividing our year into skill-based units, like this one on self-control and assiduousness, and units based on essential questions and authentic problems. Read the explanatory post on the Humanities makerspace, and pay attention to this section:

The problems students face are the problems all of us face, and they are exactly the problems that the Humanities exist to solve:

What does it mean to be a human being?
What does it mean to coexist in a society?
What are my beliefs?
How do I want to live my life?

An English classroom is also the home of soft skills, including self-awareness and self-efficacy, which raises a few more questions for the makerspace:

What does it mean to be educated?
What is the purpose of school?
How does each of us learn best?
What are the most important skills and traits for our futures?

Like any makerspace, we experiment to find solutions to these problems and answer these questions. We collaborate, ask experts, do research. We try to think outside the box. We sometimes try to dismantle the box to build a better one.

The tools and components we pour out on the table are a set of universal skills and traits, our connections to other human beings, and the literature and nonfiction that best teaches us how to be human.

We might study whether video games can be art, whether obscenity has an objective definition, whether schools take care of mental health effectively, or any of a dozen other authentic issues.

Outstanding Obligations

It’s all part of training for the real world. Fortunately or unfortunately, there will always be obligations outside of the space, some of which are more authentically derived than others. That is the way it is.

For seniors, there are two immediate and pressing obligations to consider: the college essay and summer reading. There is also a third obligation that comes due in the last month of school.

① The College Essay

If you were a junior at this high school last year, you have already written a college essay. You will need to share a copy of that through the appropriate Google Classroom assignment, and you will probably want to edit and revise to some extent.

If you were not a junior here in Brewster, or if you simply would like to take another crack at the college essay, you will need to go through the writing process. Either way, you will benefit from reading the following:

This is adapted from a universal writing process that we will use throughout the year to inform essays, short stories, poetry, and any other written work1.

Your are obligated to take care of this if and only if you plan to go to college next year. An alternative assignment is available.

② Summer Reading

Your other obligation is to the summer reading assignment outlined here:

Click on the embedded page or this link to revisit the summer assignment. An assignment will be given related to this reading during Q1B. You can always see the course grading calendar for information about what that means.

③ Senior Talk

At the end of your senior year, you will present a “senior talk,” which is a requirement for graduation. It is most like a TED Talk, although there is a lot of customization and personalization possible.

You can read coverage of some of last year’s talks here. In our class, these talks are likely to be built on a long-term project you’ll begin almost immediately:

The Pareto Project: Complete Guide

During Q1A, you will design a passion project through that guide. You’ll have the option to retool, reboot, etc., as the year progresses, and you’ll always know that the senior talk fits a passion project perfectly — which is by design.

Use the space below to ask questions about this, and watch Google Classroom for formal deadlines, assignment specifics, and the like.

  1. You can read the history of that writing process here, in a post contextualizing the most recent version. ↩

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Learning Overview: About the Makerspace

  By 24-25 Posts, Opening Salvo

This is sometimes shared with students and other stakeholders as a syllabus, because using that term lets us look at how we all approach learning. One interesting thing about the word syllabus is that it comes from a misreading of Latin. That doesn’t change its meaning now, but it does let us think more critically about what a syllabus actually does, not just what we expect it to do.

This syllabus is a guide, but not to the arbitrary dates when we start or stop a unit. It is a guide to our learning, which is a makerspace-inspired study of writing and reading in the Humanities.

Each curriculum prepares students to meet individual goals while maintaining fidelity to the frameworks and expectations used by all teachers. Students are given unique versions of flipped instruction, project-based learning, and standards-based assessment. This frees them up to do authentic work in a collaborative environment.

We focus on reigniting the writing and reading lives of students before they leave public school. There is a universal writing process and a reflective, student-driven reading process to empower even the most reluctant students.

This “syllabus” is also an example itself of how instruction ought to work — flipped so that you can access it at your own pace, with plenty of opportunities to ask questions and receive feedback.

Continue reading

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Final Failsafe: Regents Exam (6/19/19)

  By All Junior Classes (2018-2019), AP English Language & Composition (2018-2019), English 11 Regents (2018-2019)

The following information is copied over from the “13 Days to Go” posts from May 29. Those posts were updates to the “40 Days to Go” posts from April 12. The subheadings below link back to the May 29 posts.

For Students in P3 English 11

Remember that you were already assigned a practice ELA Regents Exam this year. In addition to the multiple-choice work completed in class, you workshopped the following essays:

Depending on how hard you worked in March and April, you may find it necessary to dedicate significant time to exam prep now. Start here:

The first link covers the three parts of the exam. It includes suggested time to spend on each, plus a detailed list of the kind of reading and writing expected of you. This is all review.

As triage, you have been assigned the August 2018 exam through Castle Learning. The site automatically provides feedback: correct answers, answer explanations, sample writing, and so on.

You will find five assignments. Part 1 of the exam is split by text. You should see:

  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage A
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage B
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage C
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 2
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 3

June 17 Update: You should spend some time before the exam date reviewing the Castle Learning practice alongside your teachers’ feedback. Make sure you also read the letter from administration about these exams.

For Students in P5/P9 AP English

Your AP exam prep, done properly, will have also prepped you for the ELA Regents. The two tests are similar, as you’ll see.

Start here:

The first link covers the three parts of the exam. It includes suggested time to spend on each, plus a detailed list of the kind of reading and writing expected of you.

To practice, you have been assigned the August 2018 exam through Castle Learning. The site automatically provides feedback: correct answers, answer explanations, sample writing, and so on.

You will find five assignments. Part 1 of the exam is split by text. You should see:

  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage A
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage B
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage C
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 2
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 3

June 17 Update: You should spend some time before the exam date completing the Castle Learning practice and reviewing the format of the test. Make sure you also read the letter from administration about Regents, and ask any last-minute questions you have below.

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Another Brick in the Wall

  By All Classes (2018-2019), AP English Language & Composition (2018-2019), English 10 Regents (2018-2019), English 11 Regents (2018-2019), Triage

Let’s jump into another failsafe, using the rolling whiteboard in our space as a springboard:

The drawing in the corner is a work-in-progress by one of the artists in the space. I appreciate the balance it gives to the much less artistic stuff happening in the upper-left corner.

All students (except for graduating seniors, of course) should make note of the required summer reading, which is posted to the high school’s website. Copies are available through our Google Classroom, as well. You should also note that the deadline for submitting any artifacts related to your Pareto Projects is Wednesday, June 12.

Course specifics:

English 10

You are in the midst of the final exam, and a complete overview of what to expect was already posted and photocopied. As a reminder, the English Department’s rubric covers everything related to the process, from start to finish; you will be assessed on your handwritten essay, your typed revision, and your Turnitin submission. It all counts. We will sit down with everything you produced through June 14 and evaluate it.

If you finish early, you should revise again. If you still finish early, you will be allowed to use the remainder of the week to finish your reader-response essay and/or your final self-assessment of the Pareto Project. See this post for details.

English 11

Finish the practice Regents Exam assignment posted to Castle Learning. You only need to do Part 1 unless told individually to practice Part 2 or Part 3. You need the repetition of the multiple-choice passages before next week. See this post for details.

If you are stuck on your college essay, talk to us in class about delaying the required reader’s response until the weekend. We can be flexible with the deadlines.

The Regents Exam will be on June 19. Any information you need will be posted to your course stream on Google Classroom.

AP English

Make absolutely sure you’ve looked at the Regents Exam overview posted here. It is also a very, very good idea to practice the multiple-choice section before next week. Use Castle Learning.

In class, you should take three days to practice writing a reader-response essay. We’ll talk about getting the most out of that experience, which should be a low-impact, high-yield one. If you are stuck on your college essay, however, talk to me about exemptions or adjustments.

Again, be sure you’re familiar with the Regents Exam. Read the overview, look at the prompts from the provided test, and get yourself in the right mindset.

The Regents Exam will be on June 19. Any information you need will be posted to your course stream on Google Classroom.

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Humanities Makerspace Building Blocks

  By Opening Salvo, Space Explainers

Established Innovations

Our Humanities makerspace relies on flipped instruction, project-based learning, and standards-based grading. These innovations are not unique to us. Each is supported by years of research and evidence of their impact on student learning.

There are other innovations that are unique to a Humanities makerspace. They change the dynamics, the look and feel, of the learning environment. As a result, it is essential that all stakeholders approach the makerspace with an open-minded desire to learn.

Students get this information through the course orientation, through each course’s unique syllabus, and through opening-week activities. Further information is given in class and online, and we reevaluate the learning environment at every opportunity. Here is an example of what this looks like at the end of the first quarter.

It is the sincere hope of every teacher who uses the makerspace that all non-student stakeholders use this website and the vast resources it archives to become fluent in the language of the space. As this 2015 essay puts it, “[a] a student’s task is to avoid illiteracy about the way this course works.” The same must be true for all stakeholders.

A good place to start would be with definitions of flipped instruction, project-based learning, and standards-based grading.

Flipped Instruction 

Google: What is a flipped classroom?

Major shifts:

  1. Instruction takes place online in the form of teacher essays, lecture notes, flipped discussion, and more.
  2. Class time is spent doing the work that is traditionally done at home.
  3. Large-group instruction is rare.
  4. Small-group and individual instruction is common.
Project-Based Learning 

Google: What is project-based learning?

Major shifts:

  1. Formative work and process is emphasized as much as any final product.
  2. Projects are iterative, individualized, and ongoing.
  3. The project-based approach is adapted for essay-writing and reading assignments.
  4. Lessons do not have “do nows” and “exit tickets”; instead, there are workshop dates and checkpoints.
Standards-Based Grading 

Google: What is standards-based grading?

Major shifts:

  1. Grades are not given on individual assignments.
  2. Feedback is tied to the development of universal skills and traits, ELA-specific skills and traits, and content knowledge.
  3. Grade are give at regular intervals (every three weeks in our space) and reflect standards-based achievement and growth.
  4. Grades are tied to universal profiles that reflect evidence of mastery according to knowable criteria.

ELA Requirements

These are the elements found in every ELA course. They are part of our makerspace, whether in a co-taught inclusion class or as part of a college-level curriculum.

Required Texts

The syllabus for a particular course lists the canonical fiction and nonfiction we study. Each course calendar reflects the time dedicated to reading, discussion, and responsive writing, including analysis. We also provide frequent updates on what, how, and why we’re reading.

In 2018-2019, the space adopted a unique reading process. This idea of choosing what to read, either to augment assured experiences or in place of them, is still being considered. (Note: When an innovation doesn’t work like we hoped, we recognize that, learn from it, and get back to basics.)

Required Writing

The syllabus for a particular course lists the required essays we write. This includes assured experiences, such as the persuasive writing in English 10, the college essay at the end of English 11, and the senior talk in English 12. Each course calendar reflects the time dedicated to writing and revising.

We use a unique writing process. On top of that process, we are able to incorporate any other rubric, from Regents Exam rubrics to department-wide rubrics. The process is universalized.

Exam Prep

English students must pass a Regents Exam to graduate. This exam is taken at the end of English 11. In those junior classes, we fold weekly test prep into our schedule a few months ahead of the exam. The calendar reflects this.

In addition, all analysis of literature involves an exam-styled prompt. See the directions and handouts in this shared folder: Simplified Analysis. This applies to all students except seniors, since seniors have already taken the exam that requires this sort of writing.

In AP- or Honors-level class, exam prep based on the expectations of the College Board is also assigned regularly. The calendar reflects this.

Sisyphean High

Now we come to the innovations that are unique to our makerspace. There are many resources that explain these unique elements, and they all answer the same question:

What Is a (Humanities) Makerspace?

That post covers the basics thoroughly. This post, the one you are reading right now, delineates how flipped instruction, standards-based assessment, and project-based learning led to those other innovations. Each iteration improves on the original. Each is based on established educational research. And for each, there is evidence of the overwhelmingly positive impact on student learning.

Testimonials and evidence are always available online. Further testimonials crop up naturally from students, as in these examples from the top ten graduating seniors in 2019:

Flipped Instruction → Interstitial Instruction

There are many resources explaining what interstitial instruction does to iterate and improve on the idea of flipped instruction. Here are three:

Interstitial instruction relies more heavily on hypertextual, teacher-written essays than other forms of flipped instruction. These instructional essays and posts can be revisited and explored repeatedly, offering multiple points of entry for students of differing ability levels.

Interstitial instruction also utilizes Google Classroom to set deadlines, give feedback, individualize assignments, and so on. Submitted work is organized and archived digitally.

At the same time, the kinesthetic and face-to-face aspects of learning are emphasized as essential “maker” activities. It’s not just flipping instruction and doing homework in class; it’s inviting students to adapt a framework to suit their individual learning style and needs. The goal is an anytime/anywhere learning environment.

Standards-Based Grading → Grade Abatement

There are many resources explaining what grade abatement does to iterate and improve on the idea of standards-based grading. Here is an entire site of testimonials to its efficacy. Below is the grade abatement process, which includes every updated material and resource:

The GAP Process

In brief, grade abatement answers the case against grades through a system of profile-driven, evidence-based assessment. The profiles are precise but flexible, incorporating a nuanced set of universal skills and traits that can be individualized and adapted to any ELA curriculum. Final scores can be unpacked into rich, specific feedback, offering modular points of entry for all students — yet it all fits on a single handout.

Project-Based Learning → Daily Check-In

Instead of a “do now,” there is a required “check-in” form for students. It is explained in a post on the physical makerspace, which includes a direct link to a pre-filled form:

The required goal-setting is accompanied by optional mindfulness prompts and a space to share privately with the teacher. Think of it as the social/emotional framework for our academics.

Project-Based Learning → 20% Projects

Google: What is a 20% project?

Our version of a 20% project, which is sometimes called a 20-Time or Genius Hour project, is the Pareto Project. It has its own guide, an FAQ, and a unique final assessment.

In brief, students complete a project entirely of their own choosing, which they then present, publish, or otherwise share. Student projects and testimonials are available online.

Project-Based Learning → Bishop Composition

The complete writing process is sometimes called bishop composition, a reference to some of the origins and applications of the process itself. Writing is the central pillar of the makerspace, which leads to several related shifts:

  • Units are based on essential questions, central skills and traits, or authentic problems.
  • Student growth, choice, and metacognitive insight are emphasized over final writing products.
  • Emulation is emphasized over analysis, as detailed in this instructional essay.

The writing process can be adapted for any purpose. Here is an example of adapting it for the college application essay.

Complete Transparency

Finally, it is important to note that transparency is essential to all flipped instruction, project-based learning, and standards-based grading, especially as conceived in a Humanities makerspace.

A good example is the stakeholder’s guide that is sent home to parents every year, which is often accompanied by course-specific letters, like this AP English letter from 2018. The message is clear: You can know as much about what we do as you’d like. Information is power, and all stakeholders, from students to administrators, have access to that power.

There is also a constant effort to provide redundancies and failsafes, as explained here in late 2019. This approach respects that procrastination and avoidance are part of human nature. Think of it as guided inquiry — agency and autonomy assisted by expert guidance and feedback.

More evidence of the invitation to investment can be found in the FAQ featured on the home page of this site:

Makerspace FAQ

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2019 English 10 Final Exam

  By English 10 Regents (2018-2019), Test Prep

Another failsafe for English 10 students preparing to write their in-class final exam.

Overview

The final will be written from Monday, June 10, through Friday, June 14, with any extra time or other accommodations given during the week. Students will be given an essay prompt and accompanying sources. They will use these to write an essay response by hand, to type a revision, and then to submit a final copy to Google Classroom. Another copy must be submitted to Turnitin. The work will be scored with the English Department’s rubric and given a final grade out of 100 points.

Basics

Type: Argument from Sources

Dates: 6/10/19 — 6/14/19

Total Time: 200 minutes (in class)

Point Value: 100

% of Final Average: 20%

Protocol

A full testing protocol will be in effect for the entire week of June 10, or until all students have finished all steps of the exam. Breaking that protocol may result in a zero on the final. All students must:

  • Sit in assigned seats
  • Turn off and store phones and other handheld devices
  • Turn off and store Chromebooks and other computers
  • Stay silently working until given permission to get ready to leave at the end of each testing period

Note: You will have a moment at the start of each class to complete the daily check-in. Your goals should be based around specific steps in the writing of the final exam essay. Then you will store your phones and computers for the remainder of the period.

Format

Here is the exact first page of the final exam. Only the specifics of the topic have been obscured.

This is exactly the format of Part 2 of the ELA Regents Exam, which you have practiced at least twice this year. As you will on that state exam, you must write a complete essay here in response to the provided topic, task, and guidelines.

Process

You will start working on Monday, June 10. You must leave your work with your teachers at the end of each class period. If you are given permission to take a finished, handwritten draft home to type it, that permission will be given explicitly in class.

Suggested time for the handwritten response: 90 minutes, or roughly two-and-a-half class periods

When you have finished handwriting your response in the provided essay booklet, you will begin revising it. At this point, you may once again use your Chromebook or laptop computer.

Suggested time for the typed revision: 90 minutes, or roughly two-and-a-half class periods

When you have finished typing your revision, you must submit a copy to the appropriate assignment on Google Classroom. You have until midnight on Friday, June 14, to do this.

Then you must submit a second copy to the appropriate assignment on Turnitin. You have until midnight on Friday, June 14, to do this.

Requirements

Note: Final exams not submitted to Turnitin will not be scored. You must submit your writing to Turnitin to receive a final exam grade.

  • Complete, handwritten copy of the response
  • Typed revision submitted to Google Classroom
  • Typed revision submitted to Turnitin

The revision will be given a score out of 100 points through the English Department’s writing rubric. See below.

Again: Final exams not submitted to Turnitin will not be scored. You must submit your writing to Turnitin to receive a final exam grade.

Rubric

Writing Rubric – English Department

[pdfjs-viewer url=”http%3A%2F%2Fsisypheanhigh.com%2Fmalachite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F06%2FWriting-Rubric-English-Department-1.pdf” viewer_width=100% viewer_height=500px fullscreen=true download=true print=true]

Prep

Note the prep built into the course at the 40-day and 13-day marks. You’ve written arguments from sources before, and your persuasive essays from Q4 are explicitly designed to prepare you to write this kind of response.

In the week before the exam begins, the best prep is the required prep: Part 2 of the Jun. ’18 ELA Regents Exam, which is posted to Castle Learning. The earlier you do this, the more helpful the feedback will be.

You can also ask questions below about any aspect of this final.

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The End-of-Year, Liminal Stuff

  By All Classes (2018-2019), AP English Language & Composition (2018-2019), English 10 Regents (2018-2019), English 11 Regents (2018-2019), Space Explainers, Triage

Like the last post, this one is about choices and consequences, but it’s more focused on that all-important 36th chamber, or what we do between the bells.

For most of the year, we focus our in-class time on a different kind of feedback: lots of circulating of ideas, grouping and regrouping students, etc., all built around ongoing, collaborative tasks. It’s a makerspace, with all the shifts that suggests.

The end of year dictates a lot more summative feedback, including more summative notes on your final projects, essays, etc. There are also exams to study for and final grades to compile.

Now consider how many deadlines, toward the end of a school year, fall on or around the last day of classes. This shifts the focus away from what you will take with you — the skills, traits, and habits that will help or hurt you next year — and toward what you did, fortunately or unfortunately, as assessed by rubrics and final grades and so on.

This changes the day-to-day shape of the period, at least for the last 13 days or so1. Most classes experience similar shifts — more review, more presentations, in-class finals that span several days. It’s not unusual.

So you might see the teachers in this space spend an entire class period with one student, because she needs that much face-to-face help on her college essay.

You might see one of us spend a period hunched over a computer screen, because we’re adding feedback to the first draft of a book a student submitted that day for his Pareto Project.

You might see us meeting with a small group in a corner of the room for 30 minutes, because we need to walk them through a practice exam posted to Castle Learning.

None of these is that different from the normal makerspace setup, but it does preclude the kind of responsive redirection you’re used to. In other words, we’re not correcting your in-class focus unless it bubbles over into disruption or disrespect. Your choices are your own. That’s why you have such an exhaustive set of resources to guide you:

CYOA: The Cave of Time, Failsafes, and Redundancies

This is also the return of the return of the fatal flying guillotine. The onus is on you, the student, to make the right choice. If you can’t self-regulate, and if the vast number of failsafes fail you, and if the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of the profiles fails you — well, then you’ve failed yourself.

This is the end of the year; you are now what you have repeatedly done, especially in these last few months. If you recognize deficits or gaps, it will be your responsibility to correct them before next year, wherever next year finds you — in college, in a job, in your senior year, etc. It might be best to focus on starting new habits that will carry over into next year.

Make absolutely no mistake here: You can and should reach out for clarification about anything you get in terms of summative feedback, from final exam scores to final GAP scores to final Pareto Projects. You can — and will — receive the same level of feedback as always. But in the last few days, you get out of this space exactly what you put into it. That’s not unique to a makerspace, but it may feel more in focus in a makerspace. The liminal stuff is given more clarity.

So it’s down to you. Recognize what that looks like.

  1. That’s an arbitrary number, although it is exactly the focus of these organizing posts in 2019: English 10, English 11, and AP English. ↩

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CYOA: The Cave of Time, Failsafes, and Redundancies

  By All Classes (2018-2019), AP English Language & Composition (2018-2019), English 10 Regents (2018-2019), English 11 Regents (2018-2019), Space Explainers

Choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) or Interactive storytelling has grown in popularity in the last few years, most recently due to the “Bandersnatch” episode of Netflix’s “Black Mirror” show. In an English makerspace, this is an excuse to revisit the first Choose Your Own Adventure books, which were published in the late 70s and early 80s, starting with The Cave of Time, by Edward Packer.

By “revisit,” of course, we mean “use as a metaphor to start a post on student choices.” Metaphors help us organize our thoughts, after all, even when there’s a bit of an edge to the work.

In this post, we’re talking about the choices available to students in the makerspace, how those choices are presented, and the extent to which structure and flexibility are intertwined and reiterated in different ways. As always:

What Is a (Humanities) Makerspace?

Turn to Page 180

This post will use evidence from a single day — May 31, 2019 — to highlight how much planning and preparation goes into this system of teaching. The “failsafes and redundancies” mentioned on one of the room’s whiteboard are the specific focus.

That whiteboard hangs in a corner by our cellphone storage. Students see it every day. (See the physical tour for context.) It’s a semi-permanent collection of class philosophies and protocols, and it includes a goal-setting checklist required at the start of each period.

Makerspaces thrive on specific, actionable student goals. You can’t build skills randomly. You can’t create meaning without a plan. Curiosity and discovery need more structure, not less, to flourish.

From the teacher’s perspective, that means engineering failsafes and redundancies for all the background reading, resource requirements, assignment instructions, etc., that students need to make choices and set goals. Students need to stumble across another iteration of this information every time they turn around.

The Rundown: May 31, 2019

Here is my set of notes for Friday, May 31, which were read aloud to each class and edited throughout the day:

These are updates, reminders, individual notes to myself, and so on. Since I have to consider students who are absent, I also pin a version of this sheet to Google Classroom. (One AP English class that Friday had ten students out — a third of the class — for Guidance group sessions, sickness, college visits, etc., for instance.)

This space uses a triptych approach to assessment, with three “panels” per quarter. Formal assignments are organized chronologically on Google Classroom to facilitate student work. So the next failsafe/redundancy is what students see under the current “panel” of assignments:

That’s a list of what AP English students must do at the end of the school year. When a student clicks to see more information, this is what they see:

Each panel opens up to show formal directions and materials for every unit, lesson, and assignment. That screenshot is of materials for the college essay, for instance. Any formal assignments will also include those materials, plus deadlines, further instructions, and a running tally of missing/submitted/returned work:

Another failsafe/redundancy is the course calendar, which is available through Google Classroom, the course website, and this direct link:

The calendar is constantly updated, with links to relevant instructional posts and handouts included next to brief outlines of each lesson. Recent updates have also brought the most recent panel of lessons to the top of the spreadsheet:

[pdfjs-viewer url=”http%3A%2F%2Fsisypheanhigh.com%2Fmalachite%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F05%2FLessons-Q4C-AP-2.pdf” viewer_width=100% viewer_height=500px fullscreen=true download=true print=true]

 

The calendar is another way for students (in this case, AP students) to organize themselves and choose their daily goals. It isn’t available offline, because of how often it is updated, and that raises an important point: All the online failsafes are designed to augment and support the in-class ones, and vice-versa.

In addition to the expected use of direct and small-group instruction, face-to-face redirection, and so on, there are whiteboards around the room that are updated with information as often as necessary. Click below to scroll through four of those whiteboards:

 

Students are surrounded by reminders about assignments and deadlines. Updates are even noted in different colors to help differentiate the new information.

It’s equally important that these whiteboards are surrounded by the innovations of the space — grade abatement profiles, interstitial learning protocols, posters on cognitive biases, etc. — because the specific assignments don’t happen in a vacuum.

To reiterate the point from earlier: All the physical redundancies augment the digital ones. The most widely used digital failsafes are on Google Classroom, where students submit formal assignments. The most powerful digital resource, however, is this course website.

Depending on the device you are using right now, you may not see the home page of this site in exactly the same way. Here is that home page on a Chromebook or desktop PC:

The menus and links are responsive, so they just look different on mobile browsers. Regardless, the site starts with a full set of links to daily essentials, calendar updates, and instructional posts. The home page centralizes whatever assignment or event is currently happening, too. In this case, it’s the Pareto Project presentations for the end of the year.

As another reminder/failsafe, the home page also has this:

CALENDAR & LESSON UPDATES [5/31 EDIT]

AP English Language & Composition: 40 Days to Go Update | 13 Days to Go Update

English 11: 40 Days to Go Update | 13 Days to Go Update

English 10: 40 Days to Go Update | 13 Days to Go Update

This is different from the regularly updated calendar of daily lessons. These are instructional posts specifically designed to help organize students. Twice in the last quarter, I have laid out in painstaking detail everything required, expected, etc. for the rest of the year: at the 40-days-to-go mark, and again at the 13-days-to-go mark. These posts came after spring break and our four-day Memorial Day weekend, respectively.

What these posts do is more than just create important redundancy in expectations. They also offer students a place to ask questions and engage in discussion with their teachers. That interstitial functionality isn’t often utilized well, but it has a lot of potential.

The Theory

It’s improbable that a student could spend a day in the space and miss all of those resources:

  • the spoken reminders and updates
  • the direct feedback in person
  • the whiteboards around the room
  • the printed copies of checklists
  • the Google Classroom updates
  • the Google Classroom unit materials and assignments
  • the updated calendars with links to other resources
  • this course website’s vast and detailed resources

And that is just one day. These failsafes and redundancies are always there. It’s an interstitial system. It’s more than fair, therefore, to assume that every student should know what to do and how to do it. The information is out there. It’s as clear and accessible as it possibly could be.

So how is it that, despite the vast resources and constant reiteration of expectations, some students left that 36th chamber having made bad choices? Some work was late; some, missing entirely. Time was wasted in and out of class. Questions were asked that have been answered a hundred times already, and then the 101st answer was also ignored.

Well, we have to acknowledge human nature, especially human nature in adolescents. Even with every failsafe and redundancy in place, a few students will be lost. They’ll make bad decisions. That’s okay, in that it’s just another opportunity to solve a problem. The space, as always, cares about how students learn.

We have to approach those struggling students with empathy. Any negative choice made in this space reveals a deeper problem, and that activates the makerspace’s true purpose: to solve authentic personal and academic problems together. When the failsafes fail, yes, it’s the student’s choices that led us there — but there’s an “us” in that sentence because it’s also the responsibility of the system to adjust.

For instance, right now: What else could a space like this do to make the expectations, directions, resources, etc., more pervasive or more accessible? If you’re reading this as a student, you can leave your ideas below.

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13 Days to Go: English 10

  By English 10 Regents (2018-2019)

Reminder: You’ve had an overview of the end of the year since April 12, when we had 40 days to go.

Every assignment due over the next three weeks has been posted since May 17. As always, you’ve had in-class and online calendars, checklists, and so on.

We’re now down to 13 days. This post is another overview of what you’re responsible for. It acts as a final failsafe.

GAP Scores: Q4B

These scores will be online soon after this post. They are the last actionable scores of the year, i.e., the last scores that give you feedback you can use to improve your performance. Q4C scores will not be posted until after the last day of classes on June 17.

Use these scores wisely. You have another chance to build evidence of collegiality, amenability, critical thinking, etc., before the year ends.

Note that you should not complete the final GAP report until June 17. Follow directions1.

Turnitin.com Submissions

Submission to Turnitin.com is required for all remaining assignments. Read the instructional post here:

You must submit your writing for it to count toward your profile. You also won’t receive feedback until then.

Note that if your similarity index is high enough, you’ll get help with citing your sources more effectively. It’s a learning tool, not a tool for punishment. The assumption will not be that you plagiarized; it will be that you wrote in good faith and need help incorporating what you’ve read.

Persuasive Essays

Remember that you must submit this writing to Turnitin.com before it can be counted.

Feedback on this persuasive essay will be tailored to the final exam, which is also an argument paper based on a position. Here is the persuasive writing packet, as a reminder:

The metacognition will be done by hand, in class, on Monday, June 3. It has been copied again for you. Here is that metacognition (alongside the prompt):

You must continue to work on this essay until it is done. Failure to finish it will prevent feedback, which will affect your preparedness for the final exam.

Final Exam

Your final exam will be scheduled across five days, from June 10 through June 14. See the course calendar for this week in context.

You will be given an essay prompt, which you will answer in class. You must then type a revision of this response and submit it through Google Classroom. The assignment is already posted.

Finally, you must submit the final exam essay to Turnitin. It cannot be scored until then.

Final Exam Prep

The exam is based on Part 2 of the ELA Regents Exam. Remember that you completed a practice Regents Exam earlier this year:

As further practice, you’ve been assigned Part 2 of the June 2018 exam. Go to Castle Learning for the assignment:

You will find the essay prompt there. Like before, you’ll receive immediate feedback from the site, in addition to what your teachers give you.

This prep will be optional for some of you. For others, it will be required. Follow the instructions given in class and online.

Pareto Projects

Your assessment of these projects will be guided reflection and metacognition. You cannot complete this until your project deadline has passed.

Here is the instructional post for those final self-assessments:

Pareto Projects: Final Self-Assessment

The forms are on Google Classroom. You also need the project schedule for Q4C:

Pareto Projects: 5/30/19–6/14/19

 

  1. Which goes for all assignments, of course, but most of all here. These are your evaluations, and you can’t self-evaluate without all the evidence. ↩

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13 Days to Go: English 11

  By English 11 Regents (2018-2019)

Reminder: You’ve had an overview of the end of the year since April 12, when we had 40 days to go.

Every assignment due over the next three weeks has been posted since May 17. As always, you’ve had in-class and online calendars, checklists, and so on.

We’re now down to 13 days. This post is another overview of what you’re responsible for. It acts as a final failsafe.

GAP Scores: Q4B

These scores will be online soon after this post. They are the last actionable scores of the year, i.e., the last scores that give you feedback you can use to improve your performance. Q4C scores will not be posted until after the last day of classes on June 17.

Use these scores wisely. You have another chance to build evidence of collegiality, amenability, critical thinking, etc., before the year ends.

Note that you should not complete the final GAP report until June 17. Follow directions1.

Turnitin.com Submissions

Submission to Turnitin.com is required for all remaining assignments. Read the instructional post here:

You must submit your writing for it to count toward your profile. You also won’t receive feedback until then. The Google Classroom requirements are unchanged.

Note that if your Turnitin similarity index is high enough, you’ll get help with citing your sources more effectively. It’s a learning tool, not a tool for punishment. The assumption will not be that you plagiarized; it will be that you wrote in good faith and need help incorporating what you’ve read2.

College Essays

Remember that you must submit this writing to Turnitin.com before it can be counted.

Drafts of your college essay are due on June 7. After that, you’ll have a week of interstitial and in-class feedback and peer revision. The goal is to send you into the summer with a finished essay.

Here is the writing process:

And here are the models:

Reader’s Response

Remember that you must submit this writing to Turnitin.com before it can be counted.

This essay is due on June 14. Your choice of novel is here (along with the original post on choosing that novel):

Here is a link to the instructional post for reader-response essays:

Writing Process: Reader’s Response

Regents Exam Prep

Remember that you were already assigned a practice ELA Regents Exam this year. In addition to the multiple-choice work completed in class, you workshopped the following essays:

Depending on how hard you worked in March and April, you may find it necessary to dedicate significant time to exam prep now. Start here:

The first link covers the three parts of the exam. It includes suggested time to spend on each, plus a detailed list of the kind of reading and writing expected of you. This is all review.

As triage, you have been assigned the August 2018 exam through Castle Learning. The site automatically provides feedback: correct answers, answer explanations, sample writing, and so on.

You will find five assignments. Part 1 of the exam is split by text. You should see:

  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage A
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage B
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 1, Passage C
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 2
  • Aug. ’18 Practice: Part 3

You may be asked to do some or all of these in order to best prepare you for the exam on June 19. Follow instructions given in class and online.

Pareto Projects

Your assessment of these projects will be guided reflection and metacognition. You cannot complete this until your project deadline has passed.

Here is the instructional post for those final self-assessments:

Pareto Projects: Final Self-Assessment

The forms are on Google Classroom. You also need the project schedule for Q4C:

Pareto Projects: 5/30/19–6/14/19

Lastly, you may benefit from looking over the FAQ and original project guidelines:

  1. Which goes for all assignments, of course, but most of all here. These are your evaluations, and you can’t self-evaluate without all the evidence. ↩

  2. The school rules regarding plagiarism apply if you did plagiarize, of course. ↩