Summer Work

In order to hit the ground running in September, a small amount of research and a great deal of thinking is needed during the summer. To record your thoughts and get started, the following is recommended:

Website Essentials

Using Google Sites, experiment with building what will function as your online portfolio. You'll need at least 4 pages:

Home - This is the first thing your audience will see. Feel free to place a working claim/thesis/big idea on this page to display your passion for what you're about to explore. You may also note something about yourself, but no personal information should be displayed. See: Example
Working Bibliography - You must be as transparent as possible regarding your research. Anything that is used for an SDA or referenced in a journal should be cited using MLA format. Recommendation: Use a Google Doc so updates can be seen in real time.
Journals - This page should contain your posts or a link to an external blog. Link to your blog within your site or use the Pages feature on Sites to display it within your site (See Febronia's & Rafi's - NOTE their names appear, yours should not).
Assignments - This is the page where you will display and/or analyze the assignments you design.

3 Journal Entries:

Each post should display thinking connected with your topic.
Posts can include, but are not limited to:

Questions about your topic, answers you seek, and why these are important to what you hope to explore
Articles you have read discussing ideas pertinent to your topic
Thoughts about why your topic is relevant or what the problem may be within your topic - Why is it an issue? What if you could change it? How can you change it?
Books, interviews, experiences that may foster curiosity.
Concerns about endurance and stamina, your ability as a researcher or questioner
Change or shift in thoughts or assumptions you may have had initially

Brainstorm Your September Self Designed Assignment - See SDA Menu for ideas!

Something that will show the progress in thought from your initial thoughts to the end of the summer. Ideally, these should be wrapped in the 5Cs - Creativity, Curiosity, Critical Thinking, Communication, & Collaboration.
While this can be a traditional piece such as a tri-fold or paper. Keep the 5Cs in mind. In the past we've had students use paintings, construct something that represents an idea, post a podcast, presentation (not PowerPoint), videos, etc.

The following resources may be useful with respect to the 5Cs

Dumbing Us Down by John Taylor Gatto

Curious by Ian Leslie

Most Likely to Succeed by Tony Wagner

A More Beautiful Question by Warren Berger