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I’ve been out of contact for a few weeks, but thought I should check in and let you know what the students are up to these days! We are hard at work on refining research focus areas for next year’s AP Research class. Students started with three topics, did some preliminary research and today chose one for their focus. They will not be tied to these topics--there’s always a chance they’ll come up with a different idea over the summer--but Mr. Franchi (the AP Research teacher) and I are hopeful that they can begin their research now and get a head start.
By the end of the year, students will create a presentation explaining what motivated them to choose this topic, what they already know, what they would like to find out, and what they are confused or overwhelmed with regarding the topic. There is a fine line between overwhelming enough and too overwhelming!! We’re hoping to find that line for each student. They need a large enough topic to drive a year-long research project, but it still needs to be manageable. Some students have clear focus areas and even have the beginnings of their research questions. Other students have less clarity but a general idea of what they’d like to do. If you can, try to talk to your student about what he or she is researching. I’ve had so many fascinating conversations with them in the past few weeks. I’m sure you will enjoy hearing what they’re thinking about. Grades are almost up to date at this point in the year. Students turned in annotated bibliographies today that still need to be assessed. After that, they have two remaining grades: a graded conference with me and their final presentation. The presentation will serve as our final exam. Please let me know if you have any questions!
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Hello! It has been a few weeks since my last update, but I wanted to touch base and let you know what we are up to in class for these final three weeks.
Grades Students completed a review portfolio prior to the exam. Those have been scored and entered in MiStar; I will return them tomorrow. The students did excellent work reflecting on their work over the course of the year and made some nice observations about how they can continue to grow. Students also created infographic resumes as a way to brainstorm for our final writing piece: college application or scholarship essays. They worked hard on the infographic resumes and made some nice choices about the graphics and colors they might use to best represent themselves. Those have also been scored and entered into MiStar. At this point, the only remaining scores are a final reading project which the students have already begun, a writing conference about their final writing pieces, and a short Fligrid video analysis of their own writing. Students have already completed their final exam. The final exam hasn’t been entered in MiStar yet, but students are aware of their scores. College Application/Scholarship Essays Our work in class is dedicated to writing workshop to help students get as much done as possible on these very important essays. I won’t be grading their final product as many will probably want to continue working on their essays over the course of the summer; however, students need to be working diligently on their drafts and engaging in writing conferences for the next three weeks. Their remaining grades will reflect their engagement in the writing process and the amount of growth their piece shows. I know students are sometimes overwhelmed by the college application process; this is an attempt to alleviate some of that stress!! How can you help? Please encourage your student to participate fully in our writing workshop days in class. For example, tomorrow students need to bring a complete draft of their essay and be ready to discuss questions they have about revisions they’d like to make. The more ready and willing students are for those types of days, the more they will get out of them! Also, try to convince your student to let you read the essay! They’re writing some wonderful essays and I think you will enjoy them. You may also want to check in with your student about his or her final reading project. There is little homework for AP Language these days; if they can spend a little time reading each night, that would be great. Please let me know if you have any questions about the remainder of the year! |
AuthorMrs. Hattie Maguire Archives
December 2022
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