Blog Archives

2024 Senior POLs

12/11/2024

Senior POL Schedule

POL SCHEDULE- See this for when you panel and present. It is also posted on Lori's door.

Research Briefs Folder

RESEARCH BRIEF FOLDER- ALL the briefs that have been turned in are in this folder. Don't forget to READ and ANNOTATE before you panel!

If you want a hard copy of any that were turned in late, visit Lori's room during 1st period or at lunch.

Day 8- POL Prep - Example + Critiques

12/11/2024

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Deep Reading ReDos. DUE: Friday, 12/13, 3:30 pm. Share with Lori.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

SPAM 1 Meeting. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 12/12, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.
Final Draft Research Brief. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: At least 48 hours before your POL, with no Research Briefs accepted after Monday, 12/16 at 9:30 AM. Google Classroom.

Announcements

POLS Start TOMORROW! Make sure you have reminders in your phone for your presentation and paneling times! There have been a few minor changes- I think I’ve talked to everyone they apply to, but you might check the schedule really quickly to make sure. Schedule is linked on our DPs and on Google Classroom.
Electives- Run through the end of this week- make sure you are at all your elective classes this week!
Research Briefs- You need to have read and annotated the issue briefs for the day you are paneling BEFORE you show up to panel. Make sure you have questions ready to go for their Q&A. We will give you the research briefs right now- it is on you to keep track of them. Show up unprepared, and you will be required to read research briefs and panel an additional time. If your research brief is still not completed, you must digitally share it with your panelists as well as turning it in on Google Classroom. YOU MAY NOT COMPLETE A POL WITHOUT A RESEARCH BRIEF TURNED IN.

Senior POL Schedule
Fully updated schedule.

Pass Out/Distribute Issue Briefs
Save these! Read them! Don’t lose them!

Research Briefs Can Be Found Here
If one of your people turns them in late, or you lose your hard copies, you can find copies of the Research Briefs here.

Share Slides with Lori, Kyle, and Jessica- DO IT NOW!
Even if they’re not complete, share them now! We will not look at them until your POL, but we want to have them so we can pull them up easily for your POL. These need to be completed, well, by the time you present.

POL Demo
Mitchell Bidart does his full POL. We run it with Q&A, times, etc. Panelists participate.

POL Group Critiques

Get into assigned groups of 4
Review critique protocol
Run presentations and critiques (going to be out of the classroom? Group names on board with location + phones on Lori’s desk)
Show Lori or Grayson the completed critique form on the back of the handout when your group is done with critiques

To Be Released, show one of us ALL of the following:

Completed Research Brief
Critique Form
Completed POL Slides
Completed POL Notecards
Research Briefs for your first paneling session, read and annotated, with at least 2 questions written on them to ask the presenter.

Day 7 - POL Prep - Presentation Prep

12/10/2024

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Deep Reading ReDos. DUE: Friday, 12/13, 3:30 pm. Share with Lori.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

SPAM 1 Meeting. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 12/12, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.
Final Draft Research Brief. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: At least 48 hours before your POL, with no Research Briefs accepted after Monday, 12/16 at 9:30 AM. Google Classroom.

Announcements

Wednesday- We are ON CAMPUS this Wednesday for POL critiques and practice. You need to be here for periods 2-4. If you are paneling for Mitchell (originally scheduled for Thursday morning), you need to have his research brief read and annotated by tomorrow 2nd period. Everyone else will get their research briefs for paneling tomorrow morning.
POLS Start THURSDAY! Make sure you have reminders in your phone for your presentation and paneling times! There have been a few minor changes- I think I’ve talked to everyone they apply to, but you might check the schedule really quickly to make sure .
Electives- Run through the end of this week- make sure you are at all your elective classes this week!

What to Expect in Your Thesis Defense
Watch this video example of a thesis defense.

Humanities Survey
Please take this survey to give me some feedback for this semester.

Research Briefs Can Be Found Here
If one of your people turns them in late, or you lose your hard copies, you can find copies of the Research Briefs here.

Starter ∞ + 1
A full 10 minutes of this presentation is Q&A.

What kinds of questions do you think we will ask during this Q&A? Make a list. This could include question categories, or specific questions.
What is the most effective way to prepare for this type of Q&A? What strategies/resources could you use?

Work Time Priorities- This is our LAST DAY of presentation prep! Be ready to do a full practice tomorrow!

Dear lord, get your Research Brief turned in!!!
Finish presentation slides
Make notecards
Practice and TIME YOURSELF- make sure each part is pretty close to the parameters set on the POL Overview document.

Day 6 - POL Prep - Slides That Don't Suck

12/9/2024

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Deep Reading ReDos. DUE: Friday, 12/13, 3:30 pm. Share with Lori.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

SPAM 1 Meeting. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 12/12, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.
Final Draft Research Brief. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: At least 48 hours before your POL, with no Research Briefs accepted after Monday, 12/16 at 9:30 AM. Google Classroom.

Announcements

Wednesday- We are ON CAMPUS this Wednesday for POL critiques and practice. You need to be here for periods 2-4.
POLS Start THURSDAY! Make sure you have reminders in your phone for your presentation and paneling times!
Electives- Run through the end of this month. YOU MUST ATTEND ALL ELECTIVES DURING POLs!

Starter ∞ + 1
Think back to presentations you’ve given in the past and ones you’ve had to witness

What made those presentations successful? Why?
What makes a presentation boring?
How can you make your slides and presentations interesting? Come up with 3 ways.

Slides that Don’t Suck
Complete this assignment to help you design and brainstorm your slide images. Remember that TITLES are good to keep us oriented- bullet points of text are NOT.

Work Time Priorities

Finish Slides that Don’t Suck assignment
Draft your slides for your POL
Create notecards for your presentation
Work on Deep Reading Re-Dos if necessary
DONE? Leave your phone in here, and go find a place to practice and time yourself!

Day 5 - POL Prep - Finalize Research Briefs

12/6/2024

DUE DATES- ON TIME

Final Draft Research Brief. DUE: Monday, 12/9, Start of Class. Hard copy in basket.
Deep Reading ReDos. DUE: Friday, 12/13, 3:30 pm. Share with Lori.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Reading Portfolio. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Friday, 12/6, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.
SPAM 1 Meeting. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Thursday, 12/12, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.

Senior Project Funding: Griptape + Internal Funding

Griptape- Outside organization, funds $500. Frame it as your passion, not as a school project. Have someone proofread and critique your application before submitting. Applications don’t open until January, but you fill this out to get notified when applications open in January.
Senior Project Funding- Complete the application linked here. We have $1200 to fund projects, so requests above $150 will likely not be approved at this point. Share completed application with Kyle, Lori, and Jessica.

Starter- Rubric Self-Assessment
Take a minute to look over the rubric for this assignment. Pull up your Research Brief and look it over. Then, answer the questions in your starter document:

For each category of the rubric, assign your current draft a score (see the top of the rubric)
What category of the assignment are you most confident in at your current progress? Why?
What category are you least confident about? Why?=
What do you need to improve today before turning this in?

Finish Critiques

Finish Round 2 critiques if you didn’t finish yesterday
Use the Proofreading/Formatting checklist on the back of the critique handout to finalize and polish.

Work Time Priorities

Finalize your Final Draft Research Brief. Turn that sucker in if you’re done!
1. Please remember, we are looking for a HIGH LEVEL of polish here. These should be darn near perfect, so get at least one other person to read over it for you. Grading will reflect these expectations.
Start creating your POL Slides. Look at the POL Overview for guidelines on what should go in each section of your POL.
Start drafting an outline of your POL presentation. Remember, you need to be engaging and informative at the same time- think about how to walk that line!

Day 4 - POL Prep - Research Brief Critique

12/5/2024

DUE DATES- ON TIME

SPAM 1 Meeting. DUE: Thursday, 12/5, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.
RD Research Brief. DUE: Thursday, 12/5, Start of Class. Google Classroom.
Deep Reading Redos. DUE: Friday, 12/13, 3:30 pm. Share with Lori.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Reading Portfolio. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Friday, 12/6, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.

Starter n+1
Open up your research brief (which should be complete). At the top of your research brief, make TWO COMMENTS:

What do you feel most confident about in this paper, and why?
1. EX: I feel confident that the first conclusion I talk about in Paragraph 3 is well supported, because I have two pieces of evidence from different sources that point to the same thing.
What is one thing that you could most use feedback on in this paper? Think about where you are unsure. BE SPECIFIC!
1. EX: I am not sure paragraph 2 gives enough background information for people to understand what is happening in paragraphs 3 and 4.

Critiques- 2 rounds
Frame this-

These are short, and should be pretty close to perfect when you turn them in. This is your final writing piece of the semester- impress us.
Take this process seriously, take your time. You have all class tomorrow to revise, so don’t rush this.
Don’t be a freeloader. Nobody likes those. Give thoughtful and focused feedback.
Look for things you like or that were effective to implement in your own Research Brief.

Take around 15 minutes for the first round, and the second round takes as long as it takes. Everyone stays in the classroom for this.

Day 2 - POL Prep - Research Themes

12/3/2024

DUE DATES- ON TIME

SPAM 1 Meeting. DUE: Thursday, 12/5, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.
POL Analysis. DUE: Tuesday, 12/3, Start of Class. Google Classroom.
RD Research Brief. DUE: Thursday, 12/5, Start of Class. Google Classroom.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Reading Portfolio. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Friday, 12/6, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.

Announcements

Wednesday off campus work time! Durango Public Library, or Smiley Cafe Be there by 9:30 AM, check in with a teacher for attendance.
SPAM Meetings- Get them scheduled and done by this Thursday! Make sure you fill out EVERY PART of the SPAM 1 form, or you will receive greatly reduced credit for these!
Reminder for Hallway Work- To work in the hallway you must:
1. Be caught up on your work in this class- no missing assignments or late work in recent weeks
2. Have a track record of working productively
3. Check in with the teacher BEFORE working outside, with a specific location
4. LEAVE YOUR PHONE on Lori’s desk.

Starter #whatever

Copy your research question into your starter.
Do you need to revise your research question? If so, do it now- has your focus shifted? Changed? Become more specific? Make your research question reflect the shifts that naturally happen as you research
As of right now, what’s your 1-2 sentence answer to this question? Think about what you can state with a fairly high degree of certainty. This is essentially your working thesis statement, and should be the topic sentence of paragraph 3 in your Research Brief.

Paragraphs 3 and 4: Organization and Brainstorming
Do ONE of the following strategies to prepare for Paragraphs 3 and 4:

Mind Map (visual organization)
Conversation + Notes (verbal organization)
Outline (linear organization)

HINT HINT…your intertextuality paragraphs, if done well, could be a good resource to pull from for these as well!

Work Time Priorities

Outline paragraphs 3 and 4. These should be evidence rich and have in-text citations. Remember that you can paraphrase (put in your own words), but need to cite still or it is plagiarism! See the POL handout for specifics.
If time, start drafting paragraphs 3 and 4.
Schedule SPAM #1, have your meeting!

Day 1-POL Prep- Overview + Start Research Brief

12/2/2024

DUE DATES- ON TIME

SPAM 1 Meeting. DUE: Thursday, 12/5, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.

DUE DATES- LATE (-10%)

Deep Reading Portfolio. LAST DAY TO TURN IN: Friday, 12/6, 3:30 pm. Hard copy in basket.

Announcements-

Wednesday off campus work time! Durango Public Library or Smiley Cafe Be there by 9:30 AM, check in with a teacher for attendance. TELL US TODAY IF YOU WILL NEED A RIDE!
Deep Reading Missing? Get it printed and turned in ASAP.
SPAM Meetings- Get them scheduled and done by this Thursday!

Starter (10 min)

What should ALWAYS be on the Thanksgiving table?
What should be permanently REMOVED from the Thanksgiving table?
What is a positive experience you have had with POLs (or public presentations if you've never done a POL at AHS) in the past? What made it positive?
What is a negative experience you have had with POLs (or public presentations) in the past? What made it negative?

Goals Today

Understand the purpose of Senior POLS
Understand the structure of Senior POLS, and what is expected of you
Begin outlining and figuring out what you need in the first paragraph of your issue brief, draft that paragraph

POL Guidelines/Requirements (20-30 min)

Teacher review of the basic structure of the schedule, reasoning behind it.
Complete the assignment linked on Google Classroom to familiarize yourself with the POL structure and process.

Essential Background Information (15 min)

Freewrite for 5 minutes, on paper- What do people need to understand/know to be able to understand your research? Think about terms, concepts, history, etc.
Take your paper and writing utensil and stand up. Find a new person to talk to.
Each person spends 1 minute giving a quick overview of their general topic/background knowledge
1. After the first person talks, the partner has 1 minute to ask questions or identify areas of uncertainty
2. Repeat
Pause. Turn what you said into 3-5 bullet points, note places you need to flesh out
Find a new person. Talk for 1 minute giving a quick overview of your general topic/background knowledge
1. After the first person talks, the partner has 1 minute to ask questions or identify areas of uncertainty
2. Repeat
Pause- revise bullet points
Go back to your original seat- add to your freewrite
1. What do you absolutely need to include in your general overview? Reference your notes from your conversation, the assignment, etc.

Article Sorting
For this, you are going to go back through ALL the research you have done. You will need to open the following documents:

Idea Fishing
Idea Fishing Round 2
Research Part 2
Deep Reading

To complete this, create a document with THREE columns (insert table). In each column, put titles or links to articles. It may help as well to jot down a note or two about the docs as you go.

Column 1- Articles that will DEFINITELY be useful to answer your research question
Column 2- Articles that may be useful, but in a limited way.
Column 3- Articles that you read, but will not be useful

Work Time-

Finish article sorting
Paragraphs 1 and 2 of your Issue Brief
Schedule SPAM 1 if not scheduled yet (remember, this is due on Thursday!!!
Done with these? Start mind mapping, brainstorming, or outlining Paragraphs 3-4 of your Issue Brief (more to come on this tomorrow)

2024 Senior POLs

Senior POL Schedule

Research Briefs Folder

Day 8- POL Prep - Example + Critiques

Day 7 - POL Prep - Presentation Prep

Day 6 - POL Prep - Slides That Don't Suck

Day 5 - POL Prep - Finalize Research Briefs

Day 4 - POL Prep - Research Brief Critique

Day 2 - POL Prep - Research Themes

Day 1-POL Prep- Overview + Start Research Brief

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