4/25/2013
Pre-AP Language
Arts
South Fayette Middle School
The College Board
and Pre-AP
•The College Board is responsible for organizing and
supervising Advanced Placement courses.
Also responsible for administration and scoring of
the SATs
•Goal of College Board over past 5 years has been
to expand access to AP courses nation-wide
•Pre AP initiative was developed by the College
Board to increase access to AP courses and
strategies
1
4/25/2013
The Middle School
Model and Pre-AP
•Customizes learning for all students
•Meets students at their developmental level
•Strategies can be implemented for all learners
•Provides additional rigor for all students
What is Pre-AP?
•Increased level of rigor
•Writing-intensive approach
•Utilizes technology individually and collaboratively
to gather information
•Develops skills needed to construct persuasive
written and verbal arguments
2
4/25/2013
Purpose of Pre-AP
•Aligns 8th grade course with high school AP courses
•Exposes students to AP reading, writing, and
analytical strategies
•Creates AP vertical team among teachers at the
middle and high school
Examples of AP
Strategies
•Questioning the Author (QtA)
-Helps students assume responsibility of
understanding a text
- Encourages students to ask questions and
comment
- Empowers the reader to question the
fallibility of the author
3
4/25/2013
Examples of AP
Strategies
•Critical Writing: Argumentation
- Analyzing a prompt for claim, audience, and
purpose
- Developing a well-defined position, or
thesis
- Focus on using effective textual
evidence
Examples of AP
Strategies
•Socratic Seminars
- A form of inquiry and debate between
individuals with opposing viewpoints
- Based on asking and answering questions
that stimulate critical thinking
4
4/25/2013
Examples of Socratic
Seminar Questions
These questions are a sampling of what students will
discuss during our inquiry into Walt Whitman’s Civil War
writings:
•How did Whitman’s views on the war change from
before the war to after its end?
•Analyze how Whitman describes the three different
types of men in the poem “A Sight in Camp in the
Daybreak Gray and Dim.” What do they symbolize, or
represent?
•In “The Artilleryman’s Vision,” why is the soldier haunted
by visions?
•Analyze how the way Whitman speaks of the war is
different between his prose and poetic writing.
Enrollment
Students will be invited to participate based on:
•High interest in Language Arts
•High achievement in 7th grade Language Arts
•Evidence of analytical reading and writing
skills (response to prompt)
5
4/25/2013
Questions
Please feel free to contact:
Mr. Deramo at [email protected]
Mr. Kaminski at [email protected]
6