Stay Organized
Circle back as often as necessary to the organizational resources from our mini-unit in November:
The most important resources are time in class and feedback from a teacher. Advocate for what you need. You’ll never be denied help.
For a while, some of the printed resources will be fanned out like this: Workshop Materials – Copies. You can zoom in on that image to see the wide range of choices available to you, from essay guides to copies of posts.
Below is another rundown of what to do. Remember that all course-wide feedback, updates, and instructions are dated and posted here: 2019-2020 Specifics.
GAP Q2A
Monday, December 9, is the end of the first panel of Quarter 2. Here is a screenshot, taken on Friday, December 6, of all the formal work due through Google Classroom during that panel:
You were also given digital and physical copies of a December Resource Pack that bridges Q1 and Q2. It’s posted to Google Classroom, the front page of this website, and the side menus. Here it is again:
DECEMBER RESOURCE PACK
Student Calendar [December]
Student Resources
Artifact Feedback Worksheet
GAP Worksheet [Q2A]
The GAP Worksheet [Q2A] lists out every assignment for Q2A as a self-assessment exercise. It contains a checklist. The only change is that the optional revisions of the last river essay were moved to Q2B.
As scores for Q2A are finalized, you’ll be given feedback based around the ideas in this post:
You must read this carefully. You should also read the instructional post on sufficient and insufficient work.
The “shambles” post will be printed and distributed for in-class review on 12/9 and 12/10; the rest must be read on your own time.
Reader’s Response Essay
During the two weeks before winter break, you must complete a reader’s response, the specific requirements of which are found in two instructional posts:
The deadline is December 19 for the draft and a Turnitin.com submission. Here is a screenshot of the assignment on Google Classroom:
Note that there are options for students who did not complete the novel. All students can write this reader’s response, regardless of their progress on the novel.
As a component of the writing process, you must also answer five essential questions, which are outlined in the “Required Writing” post. Your responses will fuel discussion, which will shape the reader-response writing.
Copies of the reader-response guide are printed. Here is a direct link: tinyurl.com/maker-readres.
Pareto Projects
Your secondary focus, after the reader-response essay, will be to give feedback to select Pareto Projects. Be sure you have carefully read this post:
You must give feedback in the way you want to receive it. The Golden Rule still applies.
Note that the students presenting or otherwise showcasing their projects this month have volunteered to do so. These works-in-progress will be featured on Fridays, but you will have access to them on other days.
These peers have put themselves out there, and you must respect that effort. You are not required to give feedback; if you do give feedback, however, it must be constructive and empathetic.
This worksheet is a good default mechanism for giving other students feedback on their Pareto Projects: Artifact Feedback Worksheet. Many copies are available in class.
As an example of how to approach this, consider this project:
If that file doesn’t load, here is a direct link to Google Drive: Student Short Fiction – 12/6.
Zoom in to see the extraordinary work done by this student. They created the feedback sheets you see for each piece, just like they prepared the folders and photocopies. All of it is available to anyone interested in reading and providing feedback.
This is where the language of the top-tier profiles comes into play. The eights, those who see a 95 in the gradebook, will embrace the chance to help out a peer with their writing:
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.
If you want to improve the learning environment, give other students good feedback. Encourage their passion projects. Help them write the reader-response, sure, and keep them focused in class — that galvanizes, too. Pareto Projects are personal, though, and deserve special attention.