Greetings All —

Today was a great day of recovery for all of us….when we pick back up on Monday, we’ll have completed everything for Unit 6.  That means you should come prepared for a full day of content – reviewing and building off of everything from Unit 6 – anything is fair game for an SAQ or a quick quiz.

I’ll try to put together the Unit 7 Study Guide Questions and link them here this weekend, so that if anyone wants to you can get started working on those for next week. **Saturday 6pm – Updated with link! 🙂 

Also, remember that 30 minutes (non-dubious minutes…) are due by 8am Monday.

Finally – make sure you’ve finished the Gender Webquest and shared it with me (shivelytayk@friscoisd.org) by Sunday night so that I can add the grade to your overall “Mastery portfolio.”

Have a great weekend!

Ciao…

H&T

Hi all —

1. I updated yesterday’s post so the Success assignment is visible now!
2. You are NOT expected to go back and complete everything on the “Choose Your Own Adventure” from today, but it will stay there in case you WANT to look at it.  We’ll get you feedback ASAP.
3. Don’t forget 6.10, 6.11 and 6.13 are due tomorrow.  I know it says 7.4 too, but we’ll actually cover that part in class.  Tomorrow we’re focused on Gilded Age Gender, so your reading is actually a day ahead of where we are.

Have a great night — see you on the morrow!

Ciao..

H&T

Greetings!

Today was a bit of playing catch-up to make sure we were all on the same page.  Hopefully the brief overview helped you put facts and concepts into the right places!

On that note, a couple of quick reminders:

1. 30 minutes of Membean are due EVERY week.  We gave you an extra day this week because of the holiday, but several of you still did not complete your 30 minutes.  These grades are averaged together and a zero hurts.  The grades in HAC are currently updated after 2 weeks. Remember, you need 30 more minutes by Monday, January 27 at 8:00am.
2.  We’ll be working on developing a “Portfolio of You” throughout the rest of the semester in the hopes that it will help you when you sit down to write those AP Essays.  To get started, we’ve asked you to think about your definition of success in all its different forms.  What does it look like to have a successful family/community? What is economic success in your mind? What would make you intellectually successful.  The assignment itself is HERE and was originally due today.  Instead, we’re bumping it to this Friday (1/24) by the time you come to class.  If you’re being artistic (which is totally grand!!) make sure you include a brief accompanying explanation if needed (IE: Economic success = X, Individual success = Y) so that we can give you credit for meeting the expectations.
3. (This isn’t showing up for some reason, so I’m putting it in as an image:

Don’t forged next class we’ll be moving on to 6.10 and 6.11, so at that point all of the following are fair game for your daily quiz:

6.6, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10, 6.11

Finally, if you enjoyed the videos on Friday, they are free for Prime Viewers on Amazon Prime.  We watched Episodes 3 and 4. 🙂

Have a great night – see you tomorrow!

Ciao..

H&T

Greetings and Salutations!

So today went slightly off the rails…between the counselor’s meeting taking almost an hour and half of you gone for DECA, illness, or whatever.  Instead, what was left of class ended up being “UNOriffic.”

Quick reminders as we get back on track:

1. If you did not turn your college project in today…it needs to be in our hands tomorrow!
2. If you missed today’s schedule setup, it’s imperative that you talk to your counselor ASAP to make sure you get the classes you want next year (as in email her NOW…RIGHT NOW!)
3. The reading calendar has been updated to reflect today’s Uno Party.  Reading has been pushed back by a day.  Also some slight adjustments to next week when you go BACK to the counselors.
4. Membean…..yikes.  So 30 minutes of Membean are due EVERY Monday at 8am.  (Go back to the first post from this semester for the VERY clear reminder.)  There are no redos or catchups on Membean.  It’s a cumulative grade, and your percentage each week will be averaged together for a final grade.  Right now, that means several of you have a ZERO for your AMSTUD average. (Not pretty.) Even as you average that in over the 9 weeks, a zero is a big hit.  SO…ONE TIME AND ONE TIME ONLY OFFER…if you get your 30 minutes on Membean by 8am tomorrow (1/15), we will give you a 70.  This is non-negotiable and non-transferrable.  Remember too, if you do 30 minutes tonight to bring a zero to a 70, you still have to do 30 SEPARATE minutes for THIS week (due by 8am Tuesday since there’s no school Monday.)

See you on the morrow…

Ciao..

H&T

Hopefully you found today interesting and helpful — thank you for (mostly) being so engaged and asking great questions!

Talia emailed me this afternoon and asked me to share the following from her:

Thanks for letting me come today! I always enjoy talking to students about college. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.

If anyone has any questions or wants advice, they can contact me by:

Email – tbdevlin@gmail.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/talia.devlin

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/taliadevlin/

Also, I thought they might like to see my ad portfolio – https://tbdevlin.wixsite.com/portfolio

I’ve attached some other stuff that the students might like to see or find helpful.

Here’s the spreadsheet I used to stay organized when I was applying: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14yCZInBaZI5qrUIHoAG65K9vFDqlqn87zk0KHkrGe-U/edit?usp=sharing

Here’s a list of things I’ve done/ stuff they’re welcome to ask me about:

• I’m in the honors program and lived in the honors dorm freshman year (disgusting) where I shared a room the size of a shoebox
• I’m an advertising major. I dropped my french minor and environmental studies minor in order to graduate a year early. I had 30 hours of transfer credit, so it made it easy.
• I received $89k in scholarships all merit-based except for $1k I received as a programming director.
• Founded Swing Dancing Club my freshman year
• Joined and dropped a sorority
• Went to San Antonio for the Final Four — do those once-in-a-lifetime things!!!!
• Spent sophomore year as a student programming director
• Two days off for -40F weather (first time Loyola canceled school in 27 years)
• I spent two months interning in Dublin last summer
• Built a lot of the furniture in my apartment because I needed something to keep me busy
• Adopted a cat of my own
• My current internship is with the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce – my boss posted about it on the sorority’s FB page and they hadn’t kicked me off the page yet. I applied, interviewed, and got hired in the span of 4 hours. That probably won’t happen again.
• I learned new ways to cook eggs in the microwave. Ask me about my lazy person recipes.

Bottom line, do the things you won’t get the chance to do later in life!!! Have fun, say yes, take chances, remember that school isn’t everything (but it is important!). If you think you can’t do it, you have options. If you don’t like your university, you can transfer. If you’re worried about the cost, apply for scholarships, take classes at a community college, find a more affordable option. There is always a way to make things work if you put in the effort! University isn’t just an education, it’s an experience you don’t want to miss. You’ve got this!!!!

Welcome Back!

As we discussed today in class, there are a few updates and changes going forward.  First off, HERE is the updated calendar. On it you will find everything we talked about today — the College Project, the data sheets, the Unit 6 study guide, the reading menu, and all topic assignments moving forward.  As you look at the calendar, you’ll notice there are 8 days at the end of the semester before exams marked “TBD.”  These are extra days to be built in as needed.  As we move through the semester, when something comes up (a day everyone is gone, a pep rally that takes all of class, a field trip, etc…) we’ll add in one of these days and shuffle things a bit — so yes, this calendar is subject to slight changes — but overall it gives you an idea of what we’re looking at. Also, IPR dates are marked in cream, holidays in purple and report card dates in green.

Speaking of the reading guide, just to clarify and repeat:

The calendar indicates which topics we will be focused on/covering on a given day.  When you come into class on that day, you will be given one question pulled from the study guide for those topics to check your preparation — it won’t be something hard…it’ll be a specific term to define, or a question from the topic.  Essentially that means you are responsible for those topics on each given day. If you get the question right – good job.   If you get the question wrong, and want to earn back the points, you will need to turn in the completed  study guide.  All the questions/responses will be collected at the end of the 9 weeks for a single quiz grade (or test grade — haven’t decided yet.) No reading is due until NEXT TUESDAY so you have some time to get it done…don’t put it all off until Monday night!! 

Another reminder — Membean is back! Remember you need 30 minutes (no dubious minutes!!) every week by 8am Monday morning.  No redos and no earning back time.  If you don’t have your minutes by 8am Monday morning the grade stands.

Tomorrow we’ll be working on your college project some more! Make sure you ask Holtrop and I if you have questions — we want this to be as useful as possible for you!

Have a great night!

KT

Here we go…you’ve been working toward this all year, and now it’s time!

Tomorrow you will present to Holtrop and I for your final grade.  We’ll divide our class time among the three school groups, giving about 20 minutes per group.  You’ll have time to share your project with us, talk us through it, and answer questions.  Consider this your chance to convince us that you’ve met the expectations and deserve whatever grade you think you deserve.

Remember to think about things like PROFESSIONALISM (in dress, behavior, commentary, and interaction), DEPTH (demonstrating your understanding of purpose and application of content) and CREATIVITY (in terms of identifying problems, providing solutions, and looking to the future.) . After you present, Holtrop and I, and the other groups, will have a chance to ask some questions (professional, intentional, and supportive) and help you identify any areas you can improve before the January Advanced Academics Night.

You’ve got this! We believe in you!

H&T

It SOUNDED like most of you enjoyed your first ever Western!  And for a first western, you can’t beat The Searchers for lasting impact on American culture.  We’ll talk more on Monday about when and where The Searchers has impacted American culture, but if you want a sneak preview or are interested in film, check out THIS WEBSITE. It’s an interesting conglomeration of all things Searchers related.

When we examine The Searchers more on Monday, we’ll look at how for its time period it was controversial in the attention drawn to the portrayal of Native Americans — and how it didn’t go far enough. We’ll also look a little bit more at the portrayal of Native Americans in film throughout American culture and trace Native American history through time.

Don’t forget your Schools Project is due on Thursday. We’ll take time for each group to present and share your ideas, get feedback and questions from Holtrop/Taylor and the other groups, and share with any visitors we have.

Friday will be semester reviewing for anyone who is actually here!

Have a great weekend!

Ciao…

H&T

Great job today!  Hopefully the activities we did today were a good reminder/refresher on the content we’ve covered to this point. Remember – all those little slips of paper we organized and considered today make GREAT specific details for SAQs, LEQs, and DBQs.  If you liked that process, it’s a great way to review at home, or to go back over your notes — you can find all the terminology (for previous units AND future units!) HERE.  (For context, a lot of APUSH teachers require students to complete notecards on each of these terms each unit — the note cards usually require a definition, explanation of importance, and connection to some other fact or term. You’re welcome for not assigning that busy work!)  Instead of creating note cards, I would suggest looking back over your notes after you take them and underlining/highlighting/adding any terms from the list.  This list is NOT all inclusive – there are plenty of words NOT on the list – but it’s a good starting point.

Speaking of notes — your next QF is due tomorrow!! (QF 13 – Reconstruction)

Next week Monday is our visit from the Architects, Tuesday your novel is due, and Wednesday is your LAST QF for the semester!!  We’re winding down — you’re almost halfway done with AMSTUD and well on your way to being a senior!

One last reminder — Essay remediation has to be IN OUR HANDS by 9am tomorrow morning.  Absolutely NO exceptions…no flexibility…no explanations.  Make it happen.

Have a great night!!

Ciao –

T&H

Greetings!

Quick calendar rundown:

Wednesday 12/4 – Schools Project Work Day — remember the architectS are coming on Monday.  We will have an architect from Lewisville ISD AND the architect who was in charge of Memorial’s design and development AND the architect who is over all of Frisco ISD’s school design! This actually means YOUR designs could have real impact on future design of schools in Frisco ISD.  You need to be prepared to work with them for 30 minutes on Monday.  Specifically focus on how the design of your school is going to address issues/problems/important aspects of education, and how the design is able to facilitate learning for ” a new generation of students.”  Make sure you consider things on both a MACRO (full school campus) level and a MICRO (individual classroom) level.

Thursday 12/5 — APUSH Cumulative Review — to help you with your LEQs, we’re going to do some significant content review activities.  Make sure you BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK and bring the notes you’ve taken this semester.

Friday 12/6 — ESSAY REVISION DUE!! Also, QF 14 is due and we’ll focus on Reconstruction and Race

Monday 12/9 — Architects are visiting!! Be prepared to be professional and be prepared. This is a VERY big deal with some very important people, so please PLEASE show them your very best.  This is your chance to prove to us that you really understand the idea of professionalism!

Tuesday 12/10 — Novels Due

Wednesday 12/11 — QF 14 due

Remediation Corrections: Even though we told you there would be no re-do on your essays, we feel like you need to go through the process of correcting these in order to be prepared moving forward.  If you would like to correct your essay for a high grade of 85, you must do the following:

1. Meet with Holtrop/Taylor to discuss the essay
2. Make the noted corrections
3. Print the corrected version out
4. Highlight the corrections you’ve made
5. Staple to the top of the original + “corrected” version
6. Turn in by 9am on Friday 12/6

Extra Credit Opportunities:

Gettysburg Address:  Ken Burns and PBS have encouraged everyone in the US to memorize and recite the Gettysburg Address because it is so foundational to our society and our views.  To encourage you to do so,  we are offering EXTRA CREDIT!  If you memorize the Gettysburg Address and recite it to Holtrop/Taylor by Thursday 12/19, we will put in an extra “minor” grade for you.  As you recite, you can make 5 mistakes or ask for 5 single word prompts without losing any points.  After your “free 5,” you’ll lose one point for each mistake or prompt that you need.  We will put that grade in the gradebook and if it helps you, it stays – if it hurts you , we will drop it.  If you don’t want to speak, you can write the Address from memory in front of us for a high grade of 90.

Membreak:

I crack myself up.  If you completed an extra 30 minutes of Membean over the break, we will add 5 points to your lowest essay grade.  If you complete the corrections assignment, we will add the 5 points to your lowest essay AFTER corrections.