English 12 is a humanities class that blends literature with current events. Students are engaged to filter the content and material through their lives. The podcast is a culmination of introduction to APA research. They are tasked with some limited research on a topic of their choosing, and then asked to present their findings, as well as their personal ideas and experiences with the topic in a podcast. References and an outline are provided, and the expectation is a polished podcast with limited "dead air" and engaging content. By allowing the students to engage their interest, we hope they see that learning can be fun, engaging, and provide for a deeper understanding of the things we love. This example accurately portrays the enthusiasm and depth of discussion we are looking for.
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Part of our English 12 curriculum, Teaching Tuesday, is a demonstration speech that, once again, has students engage with their hobbies and interests. The students select a topic they feel is a strength and teach the class how to perform the tasks. Presentations can be presented in class or with video. In addition to the presentation, sufficient notes and outlines are required and students must have permission slips gathered for using any school facilities. Our goal is to assess their ability to present in a polished fashion, but also prepare in advance, and engage with questions provided by myself and their peers. This example provides clear instruction, and is edited in a clear and engaging way.
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REHUGO is an APA research assignment that has students select a global issue of their choosing and then filter it through the lens of Reading, Entertainment, History, Universal Truths, Government, and Observations. The goal is a development of APA citations as well as presenting objective research. The lens also require some abstraction and creative thinking. To help the revision process, we split this into three portions each covering two letters of the acronym. This example is the Reading and Entertainment portion. It shows a complete grasp of APA citation skills as well as capturing the challenge of connecting a piece of fiction with a contemporary issue.
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Rhetorical analysis is a key skill in AP Language and Composition. This assignment takes those skills and applies them to podcasts. Students are to listen to multiple episodes of a variety of podcasts and then provide summaries, analysis, and critique. This example has a depth of analysis that clearly illustrates the students understanding of rhetorical situation, how authors make choices, and how those choices have effects in the audience, and those effects lead to understanding and the author's purpose.
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My independent reading units culminate in a variety of creative exercises that get students using outside technology to capture elements of their books. This assignment gave two options. One was to create a playlist that captured a theme, character, or other literary element. The second option was for the student to find a piece of class art and connect it to a literary element. The goal was to assess their understanding of literary elements but also have them think creatively and combine their interests with the book they are reading. Abstraction exercises such as this allow students to capture complex ideas in ways that can be easier for their audience to grasp. This example illustrates a deep understanding of mood and is able to compare it with a personal interests. It illustrates the types of connections I want to see more of where students are making real world connections between curriculum and their interests and lives.
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I use Flip.com to engage students in a virtual reading community. This has paired with both assigned texts and independent reading books. Each week they are asked to reflect on some aspect of the book including. character development, theme, author's choices, etc. At points, students will be paired based on book content and provide collaborative analysis and discussion. This particular assignment had them pair a variety of texts with their selected nonfiction texts. Students were to find an additional text, song or poem, and podcast to connect with their book by looking at literary elements and elements of author's craft. This exemplar clearly illustrates the connection between their nonfiction text and the book, song, and podcast. Once again, it provides an example of how offering students agency over their book selection will assist in them engaging the analysis with enthusiasm.
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