Each year, AP students are given a summer reading assignment. In the past, the one our school used was not the best, but this year, we listened to our students and we made a change.
What’s the plan? Concept Review.
The AP course comes with a level of analysis for a variety of texts. To help prepare students for seeing the differences, we asked them to refer to Chapter 1: “Using the Available Means” and Chapter 2: “The Art and Craft of Analysis” from our course text. Much of this introduction to the rhetorical situation and close reading had been in the curriculum throughout English I and English II, but one or two terms may have been new for some students. We then gave a guided notes handout to help students take notes on chapter information. How would this be checked? Well, since it is review intended to alleviate some of the “Summer Slide”, we just wanted to see handwritten notes.
However, we like to make sure we are doing what we can to help the students. We like to LISTEN to the students.
When students asked for a tutorial, I complied.
For students who are interested, I am creating a Nearpod to carry students through the vital skills associated with each chapter. We plan to release one each Monday for the next two weeks. Some slides have audio, and some activities were built in to help students remember the foundational skills. I even built in a few chances for students to tell us what they wanted us to know as we plan for return to the school year.
Would you like to see the LOC Chapter 1 Nearpod???
To participate as a student, click here: https://share.nearpod.com/vsph/ATUYrJJuNu
To download the presentation in your Nearpod library, click here: https://share.nearpod.com/e/YEZn6D0NmX
To preview, click here: https://share.nearpod.com/e5S1zD0NmX
Thanks for stopping by! Questions, comment, thoughts, or ideas? Let me know!

Do you EdTech? While working to be a Google Certified Educator, I have started a blog for that as well. Check it out here.