Pop Culture 3B: Soundtracking of Our Lives & Music Culture Project

Soundtracking of Our Lives.

Monday in Pop Culture we dove further into our music unit using a Who Am I (At This Moment) tool.  We then tried to connect the dots between the items on the Who Am I to music and musical experiences.

My example:  Based on the family box, I remember my mother and I driving to our family camp, her telling me stories of my grandparents and my great grandparents while Starship's "We Built This City" played on the radio, KISS 94 FM out of Ellsworth to be precise.  (I got the cassette tape from a music club that summer as well. )

Your creative blog challenge for the week is as follows:  How might we create a soundtrack of our lives? Your constraints are as follow:

* Must be at least three songs in length

* At least three songs must include rationales of why each song was chosen

* You must use a digital tool to create and then post the actual soundtrack on your blog

Then you had time to work on your soundtrack.

On Wednesday, we will talk about the first project, due in two weeks on Wednesday, Oct 7.

Music Culture Project.

And I will circulate, make sure everyone knows how to publish blog posts and then submit them to our blog tracker.   I will also make sure everyone has access to our Pinterest board.

Show Your Learning.

Blog. 3+ Posts

Required Creative Challenge.  Soundtrack Your Life.  See the criteria above.

Due. Friday, 9.25.15

Curate.  1 item for Pinterest Board.

Due. Friday, 9.25.15

Design.  Music Culture Project.

How might we demonstrate our understanding of music culture?

Due. Wednesday, 10.7.15

AP Lit 3G: True Grit, Blogging & Synthesis Thinking Introduced

True Grit.

Today, we discussed Mattie Ross and how Portis develops her voice in the opening chapters of True Grit.  We identified key lines and discussed them at length.  As a result, we got a little bit behind on our in-class work with Literary 3x3s.  (I will likely leave instructions on what to do while I'm gone as I think you can a) handle it and b) can easily share with me record of your experimenting on Wednesday.) 

Blogging.

Blogging Rubric 2015.
You will be keeping a blog throughout the year on Blogger using your school Gmail account. I've embedded and linked the rubric for blogging here.

What content should you include?  Each week you can expect a creative challenge related to our current focus.  The other two-plus entries may come from day to day work you are doing for class, from creative expression, from general reflections.  After the first week, you should be looking to connect to at least one other thinker in the AP Lit ranks, linking to an idea that inspires you to respond. There are several intentions to the blog:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the readings, viewings, and listenings from class
• Connect and reflect upon one another's ideas
• Reach beyond the walls of our classroom to share our thinking and benefit from other perspectives
• Create a record of learning, illustrating your growth over the space of your senior year

Synthesis Essay.

Writing a synthesis is unlike writing an analytical essay.  Rather than trying to break apart a piece of literature and explain how it works, you instead are trying to connect the dots between multiple works to use as evidence of your thinking -- proving that the big idea assertion you make in your thesis, your greater understanding/observation/truth about the world is held up and evident beyond your opinion.


When working on  your synthesis essays, keep these structural and contextual ideas in mind.

Also Mr. Ryder's feedback shorthand...

Synthesis Essay Rubric 2015 

Show the Learning.

Read & Annotate.  True Grit to Page 113

Due. Tues. 9.22.15

Blog. 3+ Posts.

Creative Blog Post of the Week. Create a 5 Card Flickr in the Voice of Mattie Ross. How might you employ the same techniques as Portis to develop her voice in your work?

Due. Friday. 9.18.15
Design.  Working Draft.  Synthesis Essay #1
Due for Workshopping.  Tuesday, 9.22.15

If you have time . . . 
Turn your Literary 3x3s into Index Card Decks. 

Humanities: Learning to Love You More Rubric

Learning to Love You More: The Website 
Due. Thursday.  May 21st.  INSTALLATION.

Humanities: Privacy, Freedom & Responsibility Products & Little Brother

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, folks worked on their Freedom, Responsibility & Privacy thematic statement projects.  The rubric follows right here.  Monday we had significant time set aside for blogging. 




HOMEWORK

Blog: 3+ Entries
Req'd Post: Which freedoms are you willing to sacrifice?  Which freedoms are you unwilling to sacrifice?  Why?

Little Brother Organizers: 2 Due by Friday, April 18.
2 Due: Over Break
2 Due: Friday, May 2nd
Grand Total of 6: Friday, May 2nd
PAST DUE

Project Proposal
Due: Friday, May 2nd
Project Due: Friday, May 9th
Expect to Write Reflective Process Essay: Due Friday, May 16

Vocab: Roots 14
Study: Quiz & Product (11-14), Thursday, May 15

Humanities: Photo Essay / StoryCorps Poverty Product Rubric

AP Lit 2B/3B: Dalloway Discussion & Introducing The Party

Today marks our first formally graded class discussion.

We have a new rubric for blogging starting with this week, Q1 Week 3.

The rubric is below.



Today we also start using our discussion rubric.


Today's back channel is here.





Homework:

Write: College Essay Submission draft
Due Friday 10/4

Read: The Hours (optional b/c not enough copies to req.; Mr. Ryder cannot count.)
Will be extremely valuable in understanding Mrs. Dalloway and in creating a great Dallowinian Party event.
Due Tuesday 10/8

Start Planning & Thinking: Dallowinian Party - Character
See Materials & Rubric in Google Drive OUT folder.
Updated rubric coming soon
Due Friday 10/18

Blog
3+ Entries Including the Creative Entry of the Week
Creative Blog: For some writers, a character's attire is little more than an afterthought.   Not so, with our most recent creators.  Both Woolf and Cunningham use clothing and physical appearance to convey meaning in their respective works.

Use Polyvore, or another tool or physical materials, to create a wardrobe collage suitable for a character in either Mrs. Dalloway or The Hours.  You may try to create a historically and textually accurate collection or you may choose instead to select contemporary equivalents.  Explain your selections with regards to conveying meaning, not merely literal interpretations.

Added Challenge:  Use physical wardrobe pieces and photography to do the same.