AP SeminarMrs. Minich

Welcome, Juniors!

• Teacher and Course Introductions• Course Syllabus• Classmate Introductions• Homework: Bring in an object tomorrow that represents a

personal passion, interest, or hobby / Finish reading the syllabus, highlighting important info

Partner Questions• Find someone in this room you don’t know very well and jot down their

responses to the following questions. In about 5-7 minutes, we’ll introduce each other to the class:• If given $100,000 to donate to your cause/ charity of choice? What type of

organization would you give it to?• Choose a living person who would be in your top 5 to invite to a dinner party. Why?• What is your biggest guilty pleasure?• At this moment in your life (knowing it could and probably will change a hundred

times) what career is most appealing to you?• If you could travel anywhere, where would you go and why?

Q-U-E-S-T Day

• Finish up partner introductions• Share individual “inspiration” objects• QUEST Group Jigsaw:

• Grab a piece of butcher paper and write your letter / skill. How does your letter/ skill of the QUEST Acronym apply to the process of reading and writing for research and argument? Basically, what does your skill involve? Break it down into smaller skills and sub-components. Create a jot list.

Wednesday, August 5th

Course Assessments and RAVEN• Make name tents• Finish presenting QUEST brainstorm lists• Handout: QUEST broken down• Handouts: Two course assessments (Team & Individual)• Strategy for Source Analysis: RAVEN (handout and e-copy on blog)• HW: Using CDL, choose a credible article that takes a stance on

gun control. Use the RAVEN strategy to evaluate the author’s position and be ready to concisely present your findings to the class. (Due Tuesday, August 11th)

Finishing Up Wednesday

• Finish Performance Task Overview (PT1 and PT2)• RAVEN• And now on to Thursday…

Thursday, August 6th

Close Reading Practice & Intro to Argument

Teams: NY Times article examination: Underused Ovarian Cancer Treatment• Annolighting• Text Features• Rhetorical Triangle Rhetorical Triangle

EOC Part A (questions 1, 2, 3)• Identify the author’s argument, main idea, or thesis.• Explain the author’s line of reasoning by identifying the claims used to build the argument

and the connections between them.• Evaluate the effectiveness of the evidence the author uses to support the claims made in the

argument.

Happy Friday, August 7th NY Times Article: In Teams…EOC Part A (questions 1, 2, 3)• Identify the author’s argument, main idea, or thesis.• Explain the author’s line of reasoning by identifying the claims

used to build the argument and the connections between them.• Evaluate the effectiveness of the evidence the author uses to

support the claims made in the argument.

Monday, August 10th • AP Seminar Vocabulary

• Use symbolic rating system (and cover the definitions with a piece of paper) to rate your knowledge of our critical vocabulary• + I know it• / Heard it before• ? No clue

• AP Exam Rubric: Section I Part A – Notice & Note• If time: Look at last year’s AP exam Section I Part A: “Snoozers

Are, in Fact, Losers” by Maria Konnikova

Tuesday, August 11th • Finish reading and annotating “Snoozers” article (Sec. 1 P. A)

• Mark: line of reasoning (LR), evidence (E), claims (C)/ argument (A)/ thesis (T)

• In teams, answer Q1, then make an outline for Q2 & 3• HW: Score range-finders w/ rubric (2 sets)- Due Fri.

• Use rubrics to mark evidence in student samples as justification for your score choices

Gun Control Source Comparison – Tomorrow

Wednesday, August 12th • Present Gun Law article perspectives

• Organize yourselves into groups based on the position of their articles (2 groups)• Take 3 minutes each, and share your findings with your group, including RAVEN

analysis, rhetorical triangle (context of your article), main argument, line of reasoning, and evidence, discussing similarities and overlap or new perspectives.

• Group source comparison• Are there some sources among the group that are more credible than others?

What are the top 3 MOST compelling arguments for your position? What makes them strong?

Thursday, August 13th

• Class Argument Comparison:• Select a representative to write your team’s top 3 most compelling

arguments on one side of the board. Select 3 other representatives to explain each argument to the class to the class

• Class Poll:• How much did your opinion change on this issue, if at all? Move

to the appropriate location in the room based on: None / Somewhat / Drastically

• Share decisions and perspectives

Friday, August 14th

• Class Breakfast!• Rangefinder Score Breakdown / Justification (EOC Part A) • Look at another 3-6-6 example / Observations &

differences between the two perfect scores• Finish gun control debate

Monday, August 17th • Group Word Association: POWER• Questioning Technique: Molly Crabapple’s “Big Fish Eat Little Fish Eat

Big Fish” • In teams, generate as many questions as you can on the painting• After, fine-tune the wording and cut questions that aren’t “researchable” or worth

exploring• Narrow your list to 1-3 well-crafted, pointed questions about the painting

• Share questions/ class discussion• Website for reference:

https://cirt.gcu.edu/research/developmentresources/tutorials/question

Tuesday, August 18th • Turn in Raven Article Analysis• Look at page 1 of IWA sample (video games)

• Observations on “Intro” paragraph, 2nd paragraph, and research question

• Identifying Perspectives activity (choose 2 perspectives in teams, brainstorm 3 stakeholders)

• Lenses activity (examine the question “should there be a limit on financial contributions to political parties?” through your assigned lens)• Handout sample ideas

Wednesday, August 19th • Assign Definition-Argument Paper

• Decide on teams of 3-4• Choose a genre of film, for example: Sci-fi, Horror, Romance, Independent,

Dystopia, Musicals, Westerns, War, Crime Drama, Murder Mystery, etc.• Decide on 3-4 quintessential films that reflect the characteristics of that genre

and divide amongst the group• Work on developing a research question that explores the treatment of power

in your chosen genre of film• Individual Research Reports should be approximately 300 words and are due

Monday

Thursday, August 20th

• Which nations wield the most power in our world? Why? Has it always been this way? What has changed throughout history? What threats do currently powerful governments pose to our country, if any? What is our country doing to achieve a balance of power or maintain a majority of power?

• Write other relevant questions worth looking at when exploring governmental power

• “Yes, You Can; No, You Can’t: A Rule for Every Move” by Murray Weidenbaum (USA Today Magazine)