Exposure

I am looking forward to incorporating Blended Learning in my AP Language and Composition class this year. Having taught the class for a number of years, I feel confident in the units I have worked to develop and implement in my "traditional" classroom. However, I know that in order to meet the needs of my students today, I need to do more. In AP Language, we focus on rhetoric, argument, and style. We become better analytical readers (and writers) of non-fiction texts. That being said, AP Language is also about exposing our students to society on a global level. It's about developing an understanding of the media and it's place in our culture, it's about building an awareness of the current world and having an ability to take an informed  position on issues in our society today.

Through platforms like Edmodo, I can easily provide my students with links to articles, interviews, podcasts and editorials that will work to expose them to contemporary issues. Through the Station-Rotation model, I can maximize the work done in class by arranging students in various stations that will allow for a deeper analysis of the texts, an opportunity to collaborate with peers, and an ability to exercise choice in the writing assignments that follow the readings.

Each year, my goal for my AP students is that they work hard to become more sophisticated readers and writers. This year, in addition to that, my goal is that through various platforms and blended instructional methods, my students' exposure to the world around them will be enhanced, allowing them to become better readers, writers, and independent thinkers.