Counting down to the Exam!

It is time for the annual  student-teacher #aplangchat. We invite your students to join the chat and ask questions about the exam.  This is a opportunity for students to ask questions of AP Language teachers from around the country.  Several of these teachers read the exam.

We invite you to join the chat and contribute by answering student questions.  The power of this chat comes from many AP Lang teachers sharing their approaches to the test and answering student questions.

I love this chat. It gives my students the chance to interact with other teachers who reinforce what I have taught.  Sometimes another teacher can phrase an idea that resonates with my students in a way I haven't expressed.  Other times, teachers say exactly what I have taught all year, but this time the many teacher voices drive the point home with my students.  Finally, I use it as a way to judge what students are thinking about the exam.  I often cull ideas that I need to reinforce with my classes.  Not all my students can chat that night and I bring the conversation back to my classroom.


Before the chat please review some twitter etiquette with your students:

1)  Have students label their answers to the questions as A1, A2, A3, A4, etc.
2) Remind students to be courteous to others.
3) Have students include #aplangchat on all tweets so everyone can see them in the chat.


If you use a personal twitter handle that you do not want your students to access, you may consider creating a handle for this chat.

We look forward to having you and your students join the conversation at 8 p.m. EST Wednesday, April 26th.  If you miss the chat, you can always search the #aplangchat hashtag to see what you missed.

Collect, Debate, and Synthesize Evidence using Non-Fiction Book Clubs

Sometimes I want to pour knowledge into my students' heads to prepare evidence for the argument question.  I want students to synthesize ideas from multiple perspectives in discussions and written arguments.  Non-fiction book clubs help students learn new information and discuss ideas with others.  Students read a book of choice and meet topically in non-fiction book clubs.  Some clubs read the same book and discuss, while others read different books and discuss the ideas in the various books. All students learn the ideas in culminating seminars.

The process:

           1)    Brainstorm a list of topics of interest for the clubs with the class.

Some of the topics students have featured in past clubs: 

Language and Writing, Education, The Internet and Social Relations, Crime, Mental Illness, Disasters, Political Philosophy, Psychology, Communication, Ethics, Science, Technology, etc.

In addition, pull non-fiction books from the shelves of your library and have students speed date the books in order to find a topic of interest for the the project.

          2)  Select a topic and a book.
          3)  Read the book in three-four weeks.

          4)  Collect significant quotes for argument essay evidence on Scholar Cards[1]

          5)    Meet weekly in book clubs. Students share quotes, issues, or ideas from reading.

          6)  Prepare a seminar on the topic after the books are read.  
          Student seminar preparation includes:

                a. Finding an article, Ted Talk,  or excerpt(s) from books to assign to the class. 

                b. Writing brief summaries of the arguments and ideas for the books read.

                c. Constructing thoughtful seminar questions that address key ideas and arguments. 

                d. Assigning roles to group members:  seminar leader, question leaders, & scribe.
                    The scribe summarizes the ideas from the discussion on a shared google doc.

7)  Conduct the class seminar on the topic and upload the summary to the shared google doc.

Students have paired Ghettoside with In Cold Blood, focused on introverts in a Quiet group, and considered various education issues in The Overachievers, I am Malala, and Waiting for Superman. Students use the ideas as evidence in their argument essays and it increases their bank of information for the exam.  Many students come back from the exam stating that their book club discussion made good evidence to support their arguments.  With time running close to the exam, this can be modified to a Non-fiction Article/Ted Talk Club.   I am curious to know what book or article pairings you have used in your classroom.  Please add your pairings or a non-fiction selfie to the comments below.

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[1] Scholar Pack strategy attributed to Dan Sharkovitz at Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.  Student sample cached at www.mvrhs.org/englishdept/shark/Powerpoints/Phoebe%20scholar%20pack%20.ppt

Players, Game & Response: Expanding Perspectives for Synthesis

We often discuss having students enter a conversation with the sources when they write a synthesis essay.  This activity helps students think creatively about a source in order to determine multiple perspectives on an issue and enter the conversation as various stakeholders.  It can also be used with current events to build a repertoire of evidence to draw from on the exam.  I start by modeling the activity with an article I select and then have students bring in an article or editorial on a topic of choice.  The activity is as follows:

Step 1: Select an article on a topic of choice.  I used an article from my local newspaper about air quality issues. 

Step 2:  Have students read the article and mark the following:

a)    Highlight the issues discussed in the article in pink.

b)    Highlight who cares about the issue in blue (These are the players in the game or the stakeholders interested in the issue.)  On the side of the article, have students list people or entities that are not named in the article that also have an interest.

c)     Highlight what they think in yellow. Students also give positions for the people or entities that they added in the margin. 

Step 3:  Pass out the Players, Game & Response Chart to the students. 

In the Players column, students list five stakeholders (people or groups with concerns about the issue).  These players can be named in the article or be those people or entities not named in the article that would have an interest in the issue.  Students should choose players that have a variety of perspectives on the issue.  In the “American Lung Association ranks SLC in top 10 for worst air quality” article, players listed in the article are the Sierra Club (Shane Levy), the American Lung Association (Paul Billings), Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment (Brian Moench), and Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality (Alan Matheson).  Players not listed in the article are Utah residents who suffer from bad air quality, parents, business owners, automobile drivers, Utah Transit Authority, Utah Legislature, City Council members, etc.

In the Game column, students describe each stakeholder’s position either from the article or from what students know about this person or group.  For example, students listed that the legislature wants to encourage business development with fewer regulations, but they also want protect the health of Utah Residents.  Students felt business and industry would be against stricter emission controls since these regulations would cut profits. 

In the Response column, students pair with another student and discuss the stakeholder’s position.  Students decide whether they agree, disagree or qualify the argument and provide reasons to support their perspective. 

Have students share their thinking with the class. Creativity in naming players adds depth to the issue and makes for a lively discussion.

Step 4:  Have students select their own article to use with this activity.

Students like using this activity as a preparation for research, for it helps them brainstorm key terms for research.  I like using this to train students to interact with the sources they read. In addition, I will often assign articles from different perspectives for a seminar on an issue.  This activity helps students interact with their source so they are prepared for discussion.