AP Seminar: February 19

Hello parents and guardians!

We are halfway through the Performance Task portion of the AP Seminar course. Last week students filmed their Team Multimedia Presentations and this week we will upload those presentation videos (and the Individual Research Reports that go with them) to the students’ Digital Portfolios for scoring by the College Board. I was very happy with all of the performances and I’m confident that they’re all doing very well thus far.

Over the long weekend, students began reading the stimulus materials for the second, individual performance task.  They will be generating research questions based on those materials, writing a 2000 word argumentative essay based on their research, and then filming a 6-8 minute individual presentation. They’ve done this before and I know they are ready; however, this is a task where I’m asking you to help me out!

Spring gets busy and schedules get crazy very quickly.  The independent nature of this project is an extra challenge for some students, so I’m hoping you can help me impress upon them the need to self monitor. Beyond the research, writing and presentation skills they will gain during this project, I think the ability to tackle a large independent project and manage their own timelines is perhaps even more important for their futures in college. I will do my best to gently nudge and not-so-gently nag if necessary, but I hope you can help as well.  The more they talk about what they’re doing and share their progress, the more likely they are to avoid the dreaded all-nighters in April.

Here are some important dates to keep in mind:

March 11: Annotated Bibliographies due

• By this date, your students should be able to tell you all about their research. What are they finding out? What are the complexities of their questions? What kind of arguments can they make based on this research?
  

March 15: Outlines and Intros due

• By this date, students should be able to talk you through the plan for their essays. If they’re really open, they might even show them to you!!
  

March 29: Essay drafts due

• This is the day before Spring Break. I want them to ENJOY their breaks so I’m requiring full drafts done by this day.  Please encourage them to stay focused and start writing early so that they can meet this deadline.
  

April 11: Peer editing of presentations

• By this date, students will be ready to get some feedback! If they’re willing, encourage them to practice for you at home.
  

April 24: Presentation filming

• Celebrate!!! They will be done and will have accomplished a pretty impressive task.
  

Thank you so much for your continued support as they embark on this big task. Please keep me in the loop if you’re seeing extra stress at home (or if you’re not seeing any stress at all--that might mean your student is avoiding the whole thing entirely!).  I am here to support them along the way; encourage them to take advantage of that help!

Have a great evening!