October 2, 2019

Note: Use the comment section at the end of this post to ask questions.


Progress Reports


Your first grades were posted before school on Wednesday, October 2. We will take the class period that day to unpack those scores, process your reaction to them, etc., starting with your Q1B work-in-progress grade abatement profiles:

WIP GAP Explained

Those scores will change, one way or another, between now and October 22, when your Q1B scores are finalized. The extent and direction of that change is up to you.

Here, copied directly from the front page of this instructional site, are the links you need to unpack your scores into actionable stuff1:

For All Stakeholders: A Quick Guide to Stakeholder Involvement
Google Site: Proof of Process: Testimonials, Tours, and Student Work

ESSENTIALS PACK: ASSESSMENT (2019-2020)

*Includes updated, direct links to each period’s GAP report

Start with the “Guide to Stakeholder Involvement.” You haven’t seen that yet, and it will be sent home to parents and guardians today as part of Open House.

The rest of these resources have been distributed and reviewed already. It is your responsibility to use them appropriately to help you be successful in here. Remember that success now corresponds to success next year, when the Skinner-box logic of high school is a memory. That’s why those testimonials are included.


Current Units


Once you understand what these GAP scores are telling you, move on to our two current units of study. From the front page of this site:

CURRENT UNITS OF STUDY (SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER)

① The Age of the Essay | Study of how and why we write. Includes close reading of a central text, guided analysis, and a universal writing process.
② What Is Literature For? | Study of how and why we read. Includes close reading of different texts (video, nonfiction), guided analysis, and reader-response writingIncludes summer reading work. 

These are both about the how and why of writing and reading. They frame everything else we’ll do this year. The more work you put in now, the better. Remember the lessons of this post.

The first unit just ended, and you have a writing assignment due on Thursday, October 10. The second unit starts formally on Thursday, October 3, with a closer look at the reading process. If you have kept up with all requirements so far, that’s your focus today:

The Reading Process

You will have an assignment based on the first video in that post, so pay careful attention to it.

Remember to ask questions below.


  1. “Stuff” is used here because it’s imprecise. Some of you will need a one-on-one conference; some need a written plan; others, just a nudge in the right direction.