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Dain Forsythe » AP Seminar: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Research

AP Seminar: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, and Research

"If you’re making mistakes it means you’re out there doing something."

– Neil Gaiman, Make Good Art

 

Welcome to Honors (AP-Prep) English 9, Critical Thinking & Literature. 

 

AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary course that encourages scholars to demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, and academic research skills on topics of the scholar's choosing. To accommodate the wide range of scholar topics, typical college course equivalents include interdisciplinary or general elective courses. 

 

Using an inquiry framework of questioning, understanding, evaluating, synthesizing, and transforming, students explore the chosen topics by practicing reading and analyzing articles, research studies, foundational, literary, and philosophical texts; listening to and viewing speeches, broadcasts, and personal accounts; and experiencing artistic works and performances.

 

AP Seminar Assessments

AP Seminar students demonstrate the skills they have built during their investigations of topics through three assessments that make up the final AP grade.

Students do two through-course performance tasks:

  •  Performance Task 1: Team Project and Presentation
  •  Performance Task 2: Individual Research-Based Essay and Presentation
 
 

To be successful in this class you will need to be familiar with the following information.

Supplies
 
    Scholars need the following:
 
  • A three subject binder with three pocket folders inside for Reading, Writing, and Speaking & Listening
 
  • A Composition Book 
Composition Book Image: mottled black and white ccover
 
 
 
 
  • Pencil, Pens in any color, but NOT GREEN (I use green to grade your work) or YELLOW (I just can't see it).
 
General Class Supplies needed
 
    • facial tissue
    • paper towels
    • Multi-colored Dry Erase Markers
 
  • Book List:
    • Gulliver's Travels, Johnathan Swift
    • The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler
    • TBA
 
Classroom Expectations
 
Give Respect / Get Respect
  • please, participate actively and stay focused
  • answer questions when called upon. Make a guess if you have to, even if you're incorrect, you'll get the convesation and discussion started. Don't let perfection prevent excellence.   Woops
 
  • one person speaks at a time
  • use all technology appropriately - respect your Manager, yourself, and your peers
  • minimize distractions
 
Homework        Where the rubber hits the road image
 
The homework for this class will prepare you for the class time activities and instruction, quizzes, and exams. Expect to have up to 4 hours of homework per week for your English class. Homework will consist of reading, research, writing assignments, and some craft work. When you are participating on a pre-class activity team, your level of participation will inevitably affect your teammates. Please pull your weight.
                                       
If you feel a peer is not bearing their weight in a team activity, I expect you to:
 
1) use your social skills and speak kindly and encouragingly to the teammate and ask how you can support them toward fufilling their resonsibilty. You may offer to assist them in problem solving, but don't do the work for them. 
2) If no results follow, speak with me, early, regarding the situation.  
 
Project Expectations
 
I expect ASK Academy scholars to produce high quality, thoughtful work showing evidence of time and effort put into the product. Assigned projects will range from slide-show compostitions, chart creation, diagram creation, team literature analysis, paragraph and essay compostitions, and some hands-on craftwork. Always be prepared to present your assigments to the class. When working a project over a week or longer, do keep in communication with me about your progress to ensure you're on track. I welcome scholar ideas and modifications so long as they are safe, appropriate, and target the project learning goals.
 
Absences
 
It is the scholar's responsibility to make arrangements to turn in assignments/projects if an absence occurs. Please check your class Google Classroom to see what we covered in class, what was assigned, and when it is due.
 
Late Work       World vs. Me image
 
I understand that sometimes it seems the world works against you. So, if you feel you need to negotiate a new due date please reach out to me as soon as possible. I accept late work from one to three (3) days, including weekend days, after the due date. Each situation is considered case by case. This means that were you to turn in on Saturday a ten-point assignment that was due on Thursday, the most you can earn on that assignment would be 8 points. I do not accept work later than three (3) days late.

 

Unit 1: Resources & Research

Annotated Bibliographies

Group Inquiry and Multiple Lens Perspectives

Unit 2: Individual Research Reports

Types of Outlines

Unit 3: Team Multimedia Presentation

Unit 4: Research Essay Writing