Dear AP Lang Teacher (Week 13),

In reflecting on last week….I will be frank. I tried to put too much into two days. I wanted to teach them counter argument (which I sort of did, but not well), to assess their prewriting skills using another PAT outline (which they did, but I didn’t even look at), and have them practice synthesis in groups (which, again, they did, but maybe not well).

In reflection, I would have spread it out over another day, or had them do the PAT template as homework over the weekend. As it was, we did NOT do counter argument justice, and I worry their papers will show it. (Sigh).
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Week 13

That said, this week we are starting with time for students to work on their semester portfolio. In this time, I am hoping to differentiate the FRQ for Thursday. Provide outlines, paragraph templates, etc. I want to make up for rushing through material last week and give the kids the best shot on the summative for this synthesis unit.
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Lesson Plans

A Sincere teacher owns mistakes, but also reflects consistently enough to know when they happen. Obviously, this blog helps me stay on top of what goes well and what doesn’t, but time for that reflection is difficult to say the least. This coming week is the product of my own reflection. I see the faults in my own planning last week, and I need to scaffold the kids to help them still find success - namely, with counter argument. After I read through their practices, I’ll provide counter argument paragraph templates to those who missed the mark.

In other words, my mistake isn’t their sacrifice. It’s mine.

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