After teaching AP English Language and Composition for ten years, I have yet to have a year where I was 100% happy with the way that I started the year. I spend a lot of time figuring out where my kids are and, of course, they can't make it easy and all come in knowing the same things and at the same depth. So, since that is a pipe dream, I constantly tweak my early assignments and delivery methods to help meet them exactly where they are.
This year, following a summer reading requirement of Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, so decided that it might be fun to stay in the time period and to take a pretty close look at the propaganda of the time period. We put together an activity (a really short version of a WebQuest) where the kids got some background info. We provided a template for them to complete together via Google Docs for the background notes. This is a bit boring, but the next part was a viewing of the documentary film Triumph of the Will-a film which highlights the propaganda videos of Hitler's regime. The kids LOVED this! We watched a few clips, not all of it, but the kids really enjoyed watching the clips and discussing strategy and effective choice. Next, we branched out into propaganda posters and did some whole class and small group analysis work as models. The final assessment was a compare/contrast type project using Thinglink where the kids worked on examining the different approaches of different countries during WW2. Most chose a common idea (i.e. women jobs, soldiers, spying, etc.), then completed an analysis of four different pieces of propaganda from different countries. The end products were a bit limited in their analysis, but this was due to the early stages of their skill development. Later in the year (around April or May) the kids will have the option of creating their own propaganda as a part of a larger project, which makes this early activity great for focusing on the analytical skill of developing purpose statements and later they can go back and revisit these ideas again once their skills are a bit more developed. Hope you enjoy the student samples below!
