I've got my iced coffee. A fuzzy blanket. And two sleepy kitties. Time to get some work done. 

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to pin down what this year is going to look like. The biggest lesson I've learned in this personalized learning journey has been that each year gets a new batch of tweaks and shifts. And so I've been tackling some of those changes. (My school is also moving to block scheduling, so adjustments are needed).

I described my previous method here, in terms of the progression of learning, but now I am excited to tackle a new approach I am calling my 5 Artifact Method. Essentially, students have five possible artifacts. Depending on how many they submit and the skill demonstrated, they earn a different percentage.

Below is an illustration I made to help the kids (and you) understand). For each standard, they will (ideally) do a full cycle.

Because I still teach in a traditional grading system (Quarterly Grades, Percentages), I have spent the last few years trying to marry standards based grading with that format. In this last year, I moved to using a conversion chart.

However, I quickly learned that my conversion chart was flawed. Students could get an A by doing "just enough." It also left many of them borderline when grades had to be reported. So I sat down to rethink what this conversion will look like with the 5 Artifact Method.

Here is my draft...

The hardest part about creating one of these conversion charts is that I won't know it isn't working until... it isn't. Now, usually, I have no problem making shifts and changes based on feedback from the kids, but when it comes to grades, I feel a lot of pressure to be consistent throughout the year.

So I'm posting it here. Perhaps someone else can see the problems I am not. (And I'd appreciate if you pass them on).

I can't tell if I am standing on cliff's edge or mid-climb. 

As my last few posts make perfectly clear, I have been struggling with motivation and apathy this year. Creating content, even just planning for my own lessons, has been a chore that frankly kept getting pushed down the list. The bell ringers I created, for instance, were meant to be finished by the start of the year, but were only completed last month.

However, in the last 30 hours, I have found within myself a sudden shift. 

After a long time feeling much the opposite, I am feeling inspired again! And the universe seems to be feeding it. Yesterday, I had a moment of sheer kismet - where timing and circumstance perfectly aligned - that I'd like to share.

As I was doing my morning journaling - nothing fancy, just my usual daily stuff - I was struck with the idea to create interactive YouTube videos and create coordinating note sheets to support my students and new AP Language teachers. I stopped mid-thought in my journal to jot down the concept. It felt like a little jolt of electricity to have an idea again!

Then, fate stepped in when I sat down to get some work done later that day. Earlier this month, I started completing a grad course. (The last one to max out my salary!). As I moved through the material - a very well designed PD option by Darcy Bakkegaard - I was revisiting some tools. In particular, Canva. 

I've used Canva before (...its how I made my sick phone background), but as I opened the application, I was reminded of the idea I had that morning. Canva was the perfect place to start in creating engaging YouTube content.

Needless to say... I became obsess. (My coworkers call this "Going Steph" on something). I spent hours yesterday creating a new video, based on old PowerPoints I'd been using. It didn't feel like work; it felt creative and exhilarating. 

Then... fate struck again!

Thread, the new social media platform, launched. I honestly couldn't believe my luck (especially since I had heard nothing about it). I abandoned Twitter about a year ago - not that I was all that good at it - for obvious, billionaire reasons. Thread opened up the professional learning community for me again that once upon a time, allowed me to share my materials, help other teachers, and just connect. The excitement circulating the app last night was wholly exciting.

As all these stars aligned: the idea, Canva, Thread, I was reminded that I do have goals left to achieve.

That may sound dumb... I'll explain.

Having landed my desired position at work (instructional coaching alongside teaching), I'd run up against a wall professionally. I was exactly where I wanted to be as an educator, so I had been wallowing in "What's next?" and "Where do I go from here?" Yesterday, reminded me of all the places I still have yet to go professionally and all the opportunities that still lie before me. 

Call me naïve, but it was invigorating. And I'm grateful for it.

So today, I am off to the races, writing up plans and setting goals to get closer to what I ultimately want. It feels like coming back from the dead, to be honest.

Now, I am a firm believer in respecting your boundaries as a teacher and keeping summer sacred, so please don't take this as a flex or some humble brag about how hard I am working. For the first 9 years of my career, I found joy in creation, professional learning, and planning new material during the summer. It wasn't work - it was fun. Losing that after COVID was a deeply sad loss for me. And if I'm honest, I was afraid that joy would never return. 

But here it is, in my lap. And I'm really, really excited.

I just hope its a boost on my professional climb, not an cliff I'm about to fall from. 

I am finally sitting, with my feet up, and experiencing something I feel I haven't had in 9 months - time.

Like most teachers, this year was one of survival. I didn't find myself with much time to build resources outside of those I needed for class or as a coach. Between my three sections of AP Lang, coaching, planning advisory for the school, taking on yearbook when another teacher resigned, and all the other things that fell into my lap this year, I felt in a constant state of hyperproductivity. I started every day with my list of Must-Dos and May-Dos and dug in until the end of the day. By the end of these days, I was ultimately exhausted. There wasn't much capacity for anything more.

That said, I am happy to share that I did complete one big task: my yearlong bell ringer pack. That's over 190 bell ringers, aligned to all 22 of the AP Lang learning targets / essential skills. A little bit here and there, I created 22 individual packs, as well as the full set. 

Now, as usual, the bell ringer pack is available in my TpT store, but also per usual, I wanted to share some here for any readers or supporters. Below are four of the 22 packs.

And immediately as posted these items, my mine is spinning as I consider what is next. Previously, I mentioned that I would like to create assessments for each of the learning targets. As I am auditing my own class assessments, this might be a good way to offer more choice to my students.

But we'll see! For now, please consider purchasing my bell ringers. I am excited to use them to break up our block periods next year. 

I haven't posted since June.

I have not accomplished any impressive curriculum projects. I have not even updated my Teachers Pay Teachers store in months.

The reality - which I'm sure all other teachers feel - is that I don't have a single ounce of energy to expend on anything extra. I have nothing more to give outside of my coaching responsibilities and teaching my three classes. 

I want to create amazing materials for my readers, but there has not been a single weekend when I felt I had the energy for it. I work out 4-5 times a week, and still, I have no energy to do anything beyond the bare minimum. 

For me, its a rare form of self-punishment to keep myself from being creative or from building new things. 

But that's where we are at. We are surviving.

Checking in for just a second today to share something I am working on. 

Last month, I started putting together bell ringer packs to fit each of the 22 learning targets in the AP Language and Composition CED. 

Each pack includes 9 different bell ringers to suit the learning target, and ultimately, there will be enough bell ringers to fill an entire 190 day course. 

My plan is to include these in my free resources, but for now, the first 8 packs are available on my Teachers Pay Teacher store.

Despite my phone dying, almost missing my flight home, and multiple panic attacks, the AP Reading was… fine.


In all honesty, I came into this one bitter, as I felt a little duped into attending the in-person reading instead of reading from home. (Probably more my own fault than anything).
It didn’t help that the in-person reading was essentially the same as reading from home. This year we read from computers again - which we’ve obviously done for two years now - but it made the entire exercise of flying thousands of people to Tampa see pretty foolish if we were just going to sit at computers the entire time.

My bad attitude plus the previously mentioned surprises made for a rough week.

But I made it.

Because of the extension of the Reading when we weren't able to finish, we had a unique experience this year. In the last two days of in person scoring, we trained on all three of the questions - something that has not been done in my five years of reading.

For me, it was a blessing. I was so sick of reading about ethos, pathos, and logos (more on that later) that switching to Question 3 and then to Question 1 was a welcome change of pace. However, a number of my peers were aptly concerned about the accuracy of scoring when we were being jumped around.
Personally, I think it’s a toss up. Like I said, I needed the change so I found myself reinvigorated every time that we switched. I feel my scoring would probably have been just as hindered by the fatigue had I continued with Question 2.

But that’s enough rambling commentary (... my kind word for whining). This post is not about my complaints, but about the suggestions and tips moving into another year of AP Lang instruction.

The following are the observations I took note of for myself. Some of them are mistakes I saw multiple times that I want to correct next year. Others are harder mindset shifts that I'll be mulling over for the next couple months. Additionally, I want to be very clear that I am in no way an expert, and you should look to the Chief Reader's report (Coming Soon!) for that. These are just a few notes and thoughts I kept for myself as I plan a new year.
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I have 9 total days left of this school year. And I. Am. Ready.

Somehow, I always forget how tired I am at this point in the school year. I slept the majority of this weekend (a luxury, I know!), and I am still completely drained going into the new week. 

Usually, this time of year, I am pouring my energy into planning for the fall and redesigning my class (again). However, this year, I don't have the juice. (My lack of posts in the last few months can further prove it). 

It's been a rough year... Stupid TikTok trends, reteaching students how to "school," cruelty-rampant social media, and universal apathy have made it harder than anyone expected, myself included.

But I am an optimist. One of my favorite things about teaching is that we get to start over every year: new kids, new course, new content. I love it. 

In the last few weeks, I've been thinking a lot about that optimism. Where does it come from? Next Thursday will end my tenth year of teaching, and I am still excited to try new things and grow as a teacher. But I know that isn't the case for everyone. Teacher "Quit"-Tok is making it very clear that many, many educators are throwing in the towel.

How can we take the remaining enthusiasm and replicate that across buildings? How do we undo months of fatigue and apathy to remind educators why we do what we do?
How can we take the setbacks of COVID and embrace how we learned to adapt and grow?

As much as I wish these questions were just a transition to a post about all the great solutions, I have - it's not. They are just the questions that spin and spin and spin through my mind. Now that I am an instructional coach, I feel even more of a responsibility to keep great teachers in the classroom. 

For me? I just need the ability to try new things and learn as an educator. But how do you reward great teachers? (And for the matter, how do you measure a great teacher?)

Again. Just more questions that I have no answers for.

I am ready to spend the summer pouring all of my energy into answering these questions, but I am at a complete loss of where to start. (And, in all honesty, it isn't really under the umbrella of my job title). I've just always had the mentality that if something isn't being done, I'll do it myself. 

How? How? How?

I think finding the answers is more urgent than we all realize.

We had a great week in AP Lang. Really. Despite multiple virtual days, state hockey tournaments, and a flurry of student vacations, we were able to work together on a fun group activity.

Because the class is generally personalized by method and pace, most of the time students are working independently. Yes. They chat and enjoy one another's company and work alongside each other, but most of the time, they are working on different items. 
For that reason, it is really important to create spaces and opportunities where we come together to do something collaboratively. 

For my current curriculum design, I create these moments at the beginning of each new unit. Not only are students working together, but they are being introduced to the concepts of the upcoming unit.
I try to design these activities with an authentic purpose. For instance, as I've posted multiple times, I love creating true crime related activities to engage them in investigation and critical thinking. I have also created activities to connect course material to their daily lives in the form of high school gossip and social media. 

But mostly, I just want them to do something together and take a break from any feelings of isolation that can come with personalized learning.

This year, I have been working to improve those activities that have worked in the past and creating some new opportunities to get the class collaborating on engaging projects.

This last week, we tried one of these new ones: a simulation of what the United Nations does. Essentially, I gave students a global issue, assigned them a country to represent, and asked them to work together to draft a shared resolution. 

Here's an Overview:
This multi-day activity is designed to mirror the process of MUN (or Model United Nations) competition on a smaller scale. Students will be assigned countries from around the world and present resolutions for a provided topic of discussion. In this case, the students will act as members of the UNICEF committee to mitigate the problem of child labor around the world.  
Students will research their country and it’s current practices in regards to child labor, prepare a draft resolution, vote on the top three resolutions, and then enter into a debate with the goal of creating a shared resolution that can win the votes of the member states (USA, United Kingdom, Russia, China, and France). 

While it ended up being stretched over a few more days than I wanted, I loved the conversations we had as a class. Students did a great job of qualifying their own arguments to suit others and negotiated in creative ways. 

If you are interested, I have a teaching narrative written out below! Be well, all.