march 4

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Today your journal will serve as the starting point for your table conversations.  Please begin by asking a person (or two) to remind you of their Masterpiece topic/s.  Then take 5-10 minutes to write down all your impressions of the topic/s.  Include 3-5 questions you have as an interested outsider (even if you're not particularly interested in the subject, you share an interest in your colleagues' success, and you want them to share an interest in yours).

AGENDA:
1. Journal
2. [10 mins.] MGOTM (I): Begin by answering your colleagues' questions.  If you don't know the answer to one, don't worry-- use this as an opportunity to guide the next steps in your inquiry.  Remember that if you're getting the question at the table, it's highly likely that your blog readers will be curious too.
3. [10 mins.] MGOTM (II): Share ideas about the Benchmark project and create a plan for yourself.  As you know, six days goes by faster than we think...
4. [whatever's left depending on how well you've managed your time] MGOTM (III): Decide as a class which Brave New World thought exercises you should prepare for each other tomorrow.  The agenda tomorrow will focus on the novel, with a little time at the end for you to sustain conversational momentum on your projects as needed.  Here are the ideas we brainstormed yesterday:

• Finding chapter questions online and answering with remix
• Controversial ideas in each chapter that lead to conflicting opinions you can debate (and adopt the opposing side to think critically and arrive at a definitive conclusion)
• AP practice prompts
• Remixing entire chapters or scenes (can be done online, or offline and curated online)
• Coming to class with ideas, writing a list on the board (you can erase everything except kudos & wi-fi password), and organizing into discussion groups
• Writing on essay questions with opposing perspectives
• Open discussion/ take notes to post on blogs

NOTE: After we talked yesterday it occurred to me that there is a wealth of insight to be found online through examining other AP communities and university courses (stay away from those short-cut sites), so rather than providing you with a list, I'm leaving the keys to the Internet.  If you're not already in the habit, please feel free to bring a device (tablet, laptop, quantum computer) and use the opportunity to connect (and troubleshoot connections if necessary) in class.

HW:
1. Resource of the Day
2. Begin work on your Benchmark project, which is due Monday, March 10--if you want more structure or inspiration, check out the Expository Comp version
3. Literature Analysis #3 is due March 31