AP+U.S.+HISTORY+INTERACTIVE+NOTEBOOK

=iNOTES=

I need you to rethink your approach to this class. This class is not about me or U.S. History; it is about YOU! Although I feel that we have enjoyed some good moments in this class, I feel that the course has been a struggle for us both in many regards as follows:

1. READING/PREPARATION: It's a must folks! Yes, we can watch videos, break things down in notes, summaries and powerpoints, and embark on cool projects to enhance material, but if you do not read, you will not develop the breadth of knowledge you will need to perform well in this class or on the exam. Many of you have commented on the reading load thus far. I have compared the reading load I have given you to date with the amount of reading expected in other AP courses as well as college-level history courses and feel that it is a fair amount. However, I will try to scale back the amount of reading I assign to give you an opportunity to hone your critical reading skills. In return, I expect you to begin engaging your reading in a more critical way. Many of you have mentioned that you "skimmed" the reading the night before. You may as well have slept with your head on your book. It may have been more effective, and you would at least be more rested and alert for class. From now on, when I give you a reading assignment, I will expect to see your reading notes, questions, and reflections in the Interactive Notebook (iNOTES) I will describe to you next.

2. ENGAGEMENT: Learning does not happen to you; it happens through you. Although I try to conceive interesting topics and activities for us to engage in during class meetings, the arduous work is for nought if you do not bring your best attitude and preparation to class. Just because someone is blogging about the class, or I am posting the materials does not mean that you are going to process that knowledge in any meaningful way. Sitting with your arms folded, failing to say or add anything to class discussion, and sleeping during class are absolutely unacceptable. None of the colleges you hope to attend will accept that behavior and neither will I. So far this semester, I have tried to engage you; now, it's your turn--engage me back! I expect you to be taking notes in your Interactive Notebooks, bringing questions to discuss, challenging others to refine their points, and suggesting ways we can make this amazing history come to life for us during our time together.

3. OUTPUT: From some of you, I have seen the type of effort and outcomes that I would expect from college-bound students. Unfortunately, this is not the case for a majority of you. When I challenge you to complete a task or turn in an assignment, I am not expecting to see the minimal amount that you are able to do. Our time is worth more than that. If you are unwilling to challenge yourself and take an assignment seriously, please do not bother. Rather than try to see how little you can do, challenge yourself to see how much you can do. You will find that you gain much more out of the task than if you bide your time. I will do my best to derive meaningful tasks for us to engage in and give you prompt feedback on it, and I expect you to match my efforts in response.

Now, I present you the Interactive Notebook. The following presentation will explain it better than I can here.

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Rather than use an actual notebook that can be lost, spilled on, left on the bus/train/subway/taxi, and fade over time, our iNOTES will be on-line via our class wiki. Instead of conceptualizing it in a left-right format, I would like you to think of it from a top-down approach. At the top of your daily notebook entries, I expect to see your creative work relating to the notes that are on offer that day. At the bottom of your daily notebook entries, I expect to see the material that I have presented or that we have discussed as a class. I would like for these to be in your own words, but I understand that some days you may miss an item here or there and need to borrow from the blog or a friend. The format for your notebooks should be as follows:


 * 1) You will have a link with your name on it in the __APUSH iNOTES__ link on our class wiki homepage. This is your Interactive Notebook!
 * 2) Begin setting up a Table of Contents when you enter your notebook to keep your notes organized and easily accessible for yourself. When making links, make sure to use your name and a title that is original with dates so that we have no overlap.
 * 3) Throughout the semester, I will be randomly assessing your notebooks and giving you feedback and grades in your iNotes discussion tab and will use the following rubric.

__iNOTES Rubric__
5 Points - (a WOW product) · all of the requirements are evident and EXCEEDED · the product is VERY neatly done and EXTREMELY well organized · the product shows LOTS of creativity and is colorfully illustrated · completed on time 4 Points - (What is EXPECTED) · all of the requirements are evident and EXCEEDED · the product is VERY neatly done and EXTREMELY well organized · the product shows LOTS of creativity and is colorfully illustrated · completed on time 3 Points – (Almost What is EXPECTED) · the requirements are evident (maybe 1 or 2 are missing) · the product is neatly done and organized · the product shows some creativity and is illustrated · completed on time 2 Points – (Sort of What is EXPECTED) · the requirements are evident (maybe 3 or 4 are missing) · the product is done and sort of organized · the product shows little creativity and is illustrated · completed on time 1 Point – (Two or More parts is missing) · MANY of the requirements are NOT PRESENT · the product is VERY POORLY done and POORLY organized · the product shows little TO NO creativity and THE illustrations IS POORLYDONE · completed on time 0 Points - (Does not meet Standards) · Unscorable or no product

APUSH iNOTES G 2008-9
Some helpful on-line graphic templates that may help you enhance your iNOTES.


 * [|2-Circle Venn Diagram]
 * [|3-Circle Venn Diagram]
 * [|Bone Diagram]
 * [|Comparison Chart]
 * [|Concept Map] (elementary)
 * [|Concept Map] (primary)
 * [|Event Map]
 * [|Family Tree: Three Generations]
 * [|Fishbone Diagram]
 * [|Family Tree: Four Generations]
 * [|KWHL Chart]
 * [|KWL Chart]
 * [|Life Cycle Chart]
 * [|Process Chart]
 * [|Research Notes Chart]
 * [|Spider Map]
 * [|Story Map]