 Week 5 was ambitious, like I said. Tone. Tonal shift. Diction. Imagery. Syntax. AND Rhetorical Appeals. The kids, however, followed along like champs. In particular, they were ALL about the Diction Dress-up paper dolls. It was one of those risky lessons that outshone my expectations. It’s a highly recommend if you want to talk about tone and diction. :) I will warn you, though, that cutting out the doll was a much more daunting task than I thought. Ha ha. week 6Now we are on the downswing of our Critical Reading unit. (About time… we are on Week 6 after all). Therefore, I am going to spend the week walking kids through how these different concepts tie in to AP: Annotation and SOAPSTone analysis. Now that I think they have some of the core concepts down, we are ready to start analyzing text for multiple choice.  Part of Teaching Sincerely is being adaptable so that the kids get what they need. Nowhere is this more important than the AP classroom (...in my biased opinion). Kids need feedback, and they need it often, but anyone with more than one section of AP knows how impossible that feels. This summer, I posted a blog series about how I keep feedback manageable. (It starts here). One of the strategies that I shared - collaborative writing - is coming into play this week. Students will do collaborative annotation and a collaborative SOAPSTone. By using the methodology I share in this free resource, I am able to make sure that all kids are practicing the skill with fidelity while simultaneously limiting the number of submissions. This, in turn, means I can give them lots of feedback before their test next week. Collaborative writing is a big go-to in my room. Try it out and see how it changes your practice! Lesson Plans
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I’ve realized more and more how powerful vulnerability is as a teacher - with my students, with my colleagues. With you. We all know it isn’t shiny and glossy all the time, and to present myself in a way that implies that is unfair. So here I am - sending off one of my low moments to the world, packaging up my vulnerability so it might be medicinal instead of toxic. Because, last week, on Thursday, I found myself struggling more than usual with my depression. As my students wrote about rhetorical strategies and The House on Mango Street. I wrote what follows.  Snap, Out. Of. It.
I optimistcally scrawled it across the top of my To Do list this morning. Like a warning. Like telling myself would bring me back. Like positive self talk might work this time. Affirmations. Positive thinking. Growth mindset. I can hear myself cycling through the mantra over and over again, trying to use the same tools I use to encourage my students. Obviously, it isn't working. And it's probably because these things are all good and all important, but they ignore one glaring question: What about when it’s chemical? Because words don't to much against poison being pumped from your brain, especially when it feels as if it’s already rewired your thinking permanently, even immobilized you. The reality of depression is ugly, and I hate the say it, but those positive words just don’t do much when you have to keep swallowing the sobs in your throat. And they don’t do much when you can’t steady your hands long enough to write on the board. And they don't do much when everything feels artificial and pointless. But that’s what I’m up against today. As a teacher fighting through depression and anxiety, sometimes I feel like an imposter. Like I’ve been replaced by this uglier version of myself. On my ugly days, I struggle with the guilt. The physical pain. The frustration. The fatigue. I just struggle. Completely. And I think the worst part is that I have no idea when it’ll let up. Every second is a string of the same questions: How many days will I wake up with the weight of an iron vest pinning me to my bed? How many days will I have to keep reminding myself to put on this fake smile? How many days can I lie, throwing out a “Fine” when my students kindly ask how my day is going? Because without some end in sight, I worry about my students. I can maybe fake it for a day, but pretty soon it starts to interfere with my lessons. I find myself swapping active, engaging lessons for those things they can do independently while I let myself drown a bit. It quickly becomes a disservice. Then, I fight with myself about staying home in the hopes a day of rest might resurrect me - but that, again, is just another disservice. And in my heart, I know it doesn't work that way anyhow. So the guilt thickens the poison. I try to fortify myself with a half hearted smile and pray they won’t notice because it’s terrifying if - even for a moment - they realize it isn’t Cwik standing at the front of the class but this evil twin. And I hope - no, plead - that tomorrow will be better and the fog will pass. And I evade one horrible, taunting truth. That they deserve better.  Guys. It’s Week 5! That realization fills me with both panic and relief. Mostly panic. We haven’t even started any test prep. Nonetheless, it was another good week. The kids managed to write essays without me when I was away at training, and we finally started jumping in to BIG ideas and the rhetorical triangle. Next up, more critical reading! Wee! Week 5We are working through more strategies to look for as they read challenging texts this week. Tone, imagery and illustration, syntax, and rhetorical appeals. It’s a lot to tackle in a week, but they are ready to rock and roll (Thanks to their AWESOME Honors teacher!).  I’ve got my axes to grind, but one thing I love about my school is that I am not tied to American Lit in AP. I am not forced to tie rhetorical reading in with fiction. I am not forced to include any full length texts at all. Now, I do. We read Gatsby in a thematic unit just for the sheer beauty of it, but no one is standing on my shoulders telling me I have to get to anything. That’s one of the reasons, I am able to stay skills focused. This week, we are reading passages from Mary Roach’s Stiff, “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, Queen Elizabeth’s speech at Tilbury, and Toni Morrison’s endorsement letter to Obama. Because I have the freedom, I can choose texts by what skill they mentor or demonstrate. That’s incredibly rewarding. Unfortunately, I know that isn’t the case for all my readers. Many are tied to American Literature (Gatsby, The Crucible, etc) while others are caged in by “lock step” curriculum. Some unfortunate souls get strapped with both. For me, Teaching Sincerely means you adapt to find your own passion in the “have to’s”. I’ve spent most of my career finding just how far I can bend the rules to suit what my kids need, and I am passionate about helping others do the same. If you are feeling locked in, reach out. I am ready with ALL the ways around those shackles. Lesson plansHave a great week, AP world! Sincerely cwik So this last week was our first jumping into our critical reading unit. I have to say I was excited to hit the ground with some of our skills lessons. Overall, I made very few changes to the plan I posted. I just switched my overview of Standards Based Grading to Friday. (It was a pep rally Friday - so discussing the Rhetorical Triangle didn't seem all that enticing). We started our My Dream for America speeches. Already the kids are off to great ideas, using MLK's iconic speech as a model. It's proving to be a great assignment for the beginning of the year - a chance to see what they are most passionate about. As they picked topics, I told them to think about what they would "march on Washington" for, and they aren't disappointing me with their fiery beginnings. Week 4This week, we are continuing on with our critical reading strategies, but first - I have to be gone for two days. (Of course). I figured they could always practice more expository writing, so I outlined a compare/contrast writing assignment using Washington and McCain's farewell messages. To fit in with our prior strategy - the Rhetorical Triangle - I am having them compare and contrast the speakers, the audience, and the subject to ultimately distinguish between their purposes. (It's actually looking to be a happy inconvenience that I have a training).  For me, teaching always seems to get interrupted. Part of Teaching Sincerely is finding a way to maintain your focus and intent when things like... MANDATORY TRAININGS... get in the way. When it comes to sub plans, I go back to those BIG Rocks - those things I care most about for my kids. As much as it kills me to be away, I have a few "go to" filler activities that still move us toward my big goals. Hence, the expository writing practice. As long as my kids are going writing that is intentional and focused, I am down. As I mentioned in a past post, my BIGgest rock is that students find a voice of their own - so this lesson, which is analyzing the voice of others, is a step in the right direction. Lesson PlansUPDATE: Here is a link to the document for the Expository Compare/Contrast essay. Sorry it's a PDF. My original was corrupted. (My life this week...)
 You know, I always think that I am going to get used to the exhaustion that comes with school, but it never happens. And this week was a tough one. In regards to last week’s post, I made minimal changes in the execution of the material. I haven’t started reading conferences - mostly because it kills me to pull them away from reading for a chat. I’m still working out how I want that to look. Otherwise, we had a good week of revision. I was able to speak to multiple students as they worked on their diagnostic definition essay, and I LOVED it. We were able to have such incredibly sophisticated conversations about writing that I can’t wait to do it every day. Week 3It’s the first full week, so I am preparing myself for new levels of tired. (But I’ll probably still be surprised, as I said). This week, I am excited to get started with our Critical Reading unit. The plan is to start by talking about what responsible citizenship and reading looks like and what value it holds by having a discussion using a Question 1-like prompt about Fake News. Then, we’ll look at the mentor text for their next draft (“I Have a Dream”) before we learn about the rhetorical triangle. In other words, it’s a week to answer a lot of WHYs: Why we need to read. Why people write. Why purpose or intention matters.  This weekend, I spent hours and hours pouring over my plans to start using Standards Based Grading. I wrote up my own hybrid AP-ELA standards, determined proficiency descriptors, and made student handouts. Teaching Sincerely takes a lot of risk - just like it takes flexibility. My school does not use Standard Based Grading. Rather, they use the traditional method: throw all the points in a pot and average it out. In my own professional learning this summer, my interest in SBG was reignited. I had gone to sessions on it before - at NCTE, I think - but the practicality of it seemed too daunting. Worrying about getting student buy-in, parent understanding, and admin approval had stopped me. Not anymore. I am ready to grade students in a way that rewards growth and does not punish the struggles of a rigorous class. And I am ready for their grade to reflect their work. Making decisions like this - to go against the flow and do my own thing - always come with a lot of anxiety. I’ve talked to colleagues, all of my students, my instruction coach, and still, I am nervous, but making purposeful changes like this are how I Teach Sincerely and adapt my own aspirations to the position I’m in. If I’m completely honest, risks like this are what keep me invested and committed. I’ll keep you posted on this exciting new venture! Lesson Plans Last week, I began compiling a year’s worth of AP lessons. (See Week 1 here!). After an awesome response from my PLN, I am so excited to send out another week! Last week - our first week! - was pretty successful. I have enjoyed sitting down with kids to talk about their learning and futures in the student interviews. It’s definitely something I want to continue from here on out. I will admit, however, that I didn’t do the academic resumes. Technology hated me, so I dropped it. We also couldn’t do our state testing. (Ugh). Nonetheless, I definitely call Week 1 a win, so... on to Week 2! Week 2This week - another 4 day week! - is about revising their diagnostic essay from last week. Unfortunately, I have to complete their state testing still - because heaven forbid we do it on our own schedule - so we are knocking that out on Tuesday. The rest of the week, then, we can go over different revision strategies (emulation, score comparison, and read aloud… if we have time). Students will mark up their original diagnostic and hand that version in, along with the final, revised version, on Monday. This will allow me to get a diagnostic on their revision practices as well.  A huge part of Teaching Sincerely is that you adapt to the kids or your own BIG ROCKS. As I talked with kids, they all pointed out that they needed models or examples to do their best work. Therefore, instead of jumping into critical reading, I postponed that for a week to allow me to teach them how to do thoughtful revisions. Flexibility is the key to good teaching, and that’s something the kids have been affirming in my interviews. Too many times, things like common curriculum, or lock-step teaching, keeps us pushing forward to stay on the timeline, even when our kids are not ready. Teaching Sincerely means standing up for the changes you know are needed for the sake of kids. For me, this means approaching my team frequently with evidence to defend whatever change I want to see. Advocacy is a lot easier with the proof to back it up! Lesson PlansAnd there you have it! I hope the Scribd format works as well as linking. (It's linked to the "Lesson Plans" title just in case). Here's to another great week with kids! My mission for this blog as morphed and changed and reverted about a hundred different times. Ultimately, my WHY falls on Teaching Sincerely - making sure that every teacher can teach passionately, staying true to their individual, or sincere, purpose. Simultaneously, however, I also mentor a sizable group of AP Language teachers, and I want to offer whatever I can as support. In a marriage of these two desires, I am launching a yearlong blog series:  Essentially, I will explain how I Teach AP Language Sincerely, meaning that I will explain my curricular choices and planning, but also how they align to my WHY (or the BIG ROCKS - as I mentioned in my last post). So let’s do it! week 1We start with a four day week - Tuesday to Friday - this year, and as its the first week, we aren’t jumping into much content. I do plan, however, to utilize a new lesson format from Day 1. Here’s what it looks like:  It’s a lot of reading and writing, and not so much skill time - definitely a big risk - but if I really think about what I need to see from students, this will provide the practice and individual assessment kids need. It also gives me the additional time to conference on both. That said, Week 1 is a little bit off routine. [Note: This isn’t a format I came up myself. See 180 Days by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle for more information!]  One of my BIG ROCKS is making sure students have ownership of their learning, so I wanted to have time to sit down with each students for an individual conversation. To allow this, I plan to put the rest of the class to work on diagnostics for the year while I do these “interviews.” But then - as usual - there was an obstacle. I was told that all of our students would have to do STAR testing right away. After discussing with the other AP Language teacher, we agreed to use this requirement as an opportunity. We simple switched out an AP multiple choice diagnostic for the required assessment. This is an example of adapting to a situation to Teach Sincerely. (As teachers, we spend A LOT of time bending to meet mandates, but that doesn’t mean we sacrifice what we truly care about). Lesson PlansOverview: The class will begin with students interviewing their teacher and establishing classroom routine. The rest of the week is devoted to diagnostics and one-on-one "interviews" with students. Click here for the full lesson plans. So… I’ve been complaining for the last 33 hours. Maybe not consecutively - because sometimes I sleep or eat - but frequently over the course of that time. Why? It doesn’t really matter, I guess. (Even though it’s very frustrating!). The short version is that I am unhappy with something at my school, and when you boil it down to that, I think many of us have been complaining for our entire career… except when we’re eating and sleeping. The most vocal critics of modern education are those within: teachers, admin, students, etc. Personally, I am constantly battling with myself about whether or not something is worth picking a fight over. After all advocacy is about picking out the BIG ROCKS. As I sit mulling over my own conundrum, I’m picking through a list of questions. A list I hope might be helpful for others. Here we go: Is it something that I’m earnestly excited about? I am a pretty animated person… apparently. I never thought of myself that way until my department chair told me that she watches me during department meetings just to see my facial reactions. That said, I can usually tell pretty quickly if I am excited about something. A 10 minutes chat with a colleague or mini blow up to my significant other usually cements what I am excited about, and I use that as a guide in determining it something is worth advocating for. Will I lose sleep if I do nothing? This question makes it pretty easy to decide if I need to fight for something. Mostly because I love to sleep. Like, given the opportunity I have taken three naps in a single day. As soon as I sit up restlessly trying to sleep, I know that something is weighing on my heart. Those moments very quickly tell me I have to take a stand. Who is suffering? This is an important question in determining where you place your energies. If I’m the one suffering, then I need to assess what I can do on my own to fix the problem. If my friends are suffering, I need to determine the extent of people affected. If students are suffering, then I need to figure out if it’s just my kids (and therefore, probably my fault) or if kids on a larger scale are being equally affected. These distinctions are important in picking which mantel you’ll pick up. Who can I recruit? This question is maybe a bit selfish. If I intend to take on any battles for the greater good, I better have a team behind me. Frankly, I cannot do these things alone, nor should I. Change is built on advocacy and collaboration. If I am alone in my fight, it might not be the battle worth fighting. Advocacy is an essential part of Teaching Sincerely as those BIG ROCKS need to be defended and preserved, but we can’t go around taking up every cause that we think matters. The fight would be endless and exhausting. Start with the BIG ROCKS and fight fiercely.  I have been trained in AVID strategies, Project Based Learning, by the College Board, by NMSI, by Kevin Feldman. On 21st Century Learning, on the Four C’s, on MTSS.
Independently - this summer alone - I’ve read four professional books, viewed the #HiveSummit seminars, participated in multiple Twitter chats, and blogged about my own learning. It might be time to sign up for PDA. (No. Not the awkward kind we all try to ignore in the hallways.) Rather, Professional Development Anonymous. You know, recovery meetings for those of us who dive a little too deep into the world of professional learning. As a vice, it isn’t necessarily a bad one. I have loved (almost) every minute of my professional learning. The comedown of it, however, is starting to sully the high. Let me paint a little picture of my summer professional reading binge... June: After reading A Novel Approach by Kate Roberts, I decide to use her format of the full class novel, then book clubs, with awesome post-it annotation throughout! Yay! July: After reading Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess, I decide that I need to make sure every single lesson is a winner - more action, more movement, more panache. Yay! August: After reading Be REAL by Tara Martin, I decide that I need more time for one-on-one, or REAL Talk, with kids, so I find ways to put in more talk time. Yay! Also August: I start reading 180 Days by Kelly Gallagher and Penny Kittle, and I decide to implement daily writing on top of my daily reading. Yay! Now: It’s less than two weeks out from Day 1, and as you might expect, my practice is being pulled in every which direction. I’m rewriting my lesson maps every day and frantically texting my AP Lang co-teacher to see if she’s on board to my radical changes. (Fortunately, she expects it from me….#teachersquad). And the worst of it is that on top of all these great new “must trys,” I also have standards and PLC collaboration and building initiatives that need to fit in somewhere too. It’s exhausting. And it burns teachers out. However… It doesn’t have to….. I hope. As I tend to do, I forgot my own advice: Teaching has always been a juggling act, but when we really think about all the directions we get pulled in, nothing is more important than staying true to what you value as a teacher. In other words, while I want to try every single idea I starred, underlined, or highlighted, I have to align every one of them to what I care about most - what I am most sincere about. That’s what Teaching Sincerely means. A Sincere Teacher is always looking to learn and grow, but they are also flexible enough to adapt to obstacles and find the potential in the dissonance that educational discourse can create. It's shamefully simple, really. A teacher just has to take time to reflect on what they are most passionate about, their “Why” as Tara Martin puts it in Be REAL. For me, it is teaching sincerely or authentically, so that I am always passionate about what is happening in my room and students are drawn in to that enthusiasm. For me, that means… ...kids need to read and write to discover what they are passionate about and to learn that their individual voice brings something completely unique to this world. ...kids deserve authentic and meaningful educational experiences that prepare them for life in all its forms. ...I need to be able to take risks and adapt to my kids, even if it doesn’t fit the “Year at a Glance.” ...I need to be the best version of myself as a teacher. Every day. These are all part of my Why. I will not sacrifice these things for any mandate or initiative. These are my BIG ROCKS. Once you know those priorities - or your own big rocks - all the new tricks, initiatives, and mandates can fill in like sand. So while there will always be a steady stream of great ideas and new approaches and amazing insights, a teacher who knows their BIG ROCKS can fight off the burnout of PD overload and embrace what they Sincerely care about. Consider: Are you Teaching Sincerely? Do you know your BIG ROCKS? Comment below with what makes up your big rocks.  In June, I excitedly announced to my #teachersquad that I had my first semester planned out, and that I loved every lesson in it! They laughed. Not because I was geeking out about curriculum -- they’re used to that. No, they were laughing because they know me well enough to know that any master calendar is going to go through complete rewrites daily. And they were right. And it did. The placement on a calendar has always been a challenge. I need to add a re-teaching lesson or plan for a sub or adapt for pep rallies and other interruptions and the calendar becomes a mess of copying and pasting. As I was reading 180 Days by Penny Kittle and Kelly Gallagher this morning, I was rethinking how I could increase the diversity of the writing my kids do on a daily basis. After picking through the units I had designed, I came to a three part lesson design that I wanted to replicate throughout the year. This, then, grew into my new lesson planning tool: A Lesson Map. This lesson map is an extension of the concept map I posted about recently, with content broken into units. The solution here lies in the format. Using this model, I can easily add lesson or entire units wherever needed. At the same time, I can still simply copy and paste them into my weekly lesson plans. So, today, I just want to share it. Here is an excerpt from my own lesson map, and here is a link to the free resource! Hope it helps! |
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