Turnitin Info!

It's almost that time--time for school to start and time for those summer assignments to get turned in. =)  We hope you're enjoying the last few days of freedom.  Whenever you're ready to turn in your completed assignments, here is the info you need:

1.  Go to Turnitin and sign in.  You can log in with whatever account you've used in the past.  HOWEVER, if you weren't already using your school-assigned Google email address last year, I'd definitely recommend creating a Turnitin account using that email for this year:  yourschoollog-in@indianola.k12.ia.us.  (It probably looks something like this:  smith123456@indianola.k12.ia.us)

2.  Click Enroll in Class and type in this this info:
Class ID:  8301111
Enrollment password:  ihsaplang

3.  Click on the class and you'll see two separate assignments--one for Fast Food Nation and one for Amusing Ourselves.  Remember you can only upload ONE document per assignment in Turnitin so make sure you've completed all of your Amusing Ourselves (summary and passages) in one document and your Fast Food Nation paper on a separate document.

Let us know if you have questions!  Remember, my summer email is ms.kim.grissom@gmail.com, but I'll be at school starting on Friday so you can also email me at kim.grissom@indianola.k12.ia.us

School Google Accounts

In case you don't know how to access this.  (Juniors, you'll be using this a lot next year.)

1. If you've never changed your school password, you need to do this.  Once you're logged on, hit CTRL + ALT + Delete and choose the change password option.
2. Once your password is changed, open up your internet browser and go to gapps.indianola.k12.ia.us
3. Your username and password will be the same as your school account.  You can also get to this account from drive.google.com BUT you will have to enter your whole email address to get in:  lastname6-digitstudentID@indianola.k12.ia.us
4. Once there, you can use the mail, drive, and other google applications.  If we have shared the Food, Inc presentation with you, it will be in your drive under the Shared with me category.

AP Test-Takers!

Come see your teacher.  We have results for you from your practice exam and will talk through that info with you if you come see us.  It can be during class--just grab us as we come by your group work time.  Or stop by during your open or before or after school.

Food, Inc Presentation

We presented Food, Inc. in class on Thursday/Friday while the music students were gone.  I'm including the slides here in this blog post BUT if you were absent, we will share the google presentation with your school google account.  That way you can see the notes that go with the slides (which is the real analysis part).  This should give you a good idea of the depth we are looking for and how you might address the aspects of analysis the presentation requires.

Doc Film Project

Here is a link to the Google Doc for everything we went over in class, the permission slip, the notes pages, and discussion questions.  You may access it for review of info OR if you lose any of the handouts you received in class.

Publishing to Peers

A number of you have arguments you'd like to publish to your peers.  The Indian does not have room in the senior edition for any other articles so you have two possibilities:

1. Send it to Ms. Stone specifically requesting that it be used in the freshmen survival edition of the Indian next year (if appropriate).

2. Make sure your piece is on Google, publish it to the web--to anyone who has the link, and then post a link to Twitter INCLUDING @IHSaplang so Ms. Darrah and Ms. Grissom can see it and give you credit.

Portfolio Logistics

Once your pieces are completed, edited and polished, and totally ready to be turned in:

1. Create a new document called 2nd Semester Portfolio or something like it.
2. Begin the document with a list of all of the pieces you have written for AP Lang.  For each, list title, description of the argument, audience, purpose, and a quick description of how well you think you did on it.  You DO NOT need to include the full documents--the list will show us the variety of writing you've accomplished.
3. Copy and paste all of your NEW pieces into the file.
4. You MUST have your final draft of your research persuasion argument.
5. You MUST have your rhetorical analysis of your nonfiction independent reading book.
6. You MUST have at least one NEW argument you wrote this quarter.
7. You MUST include one piece from earlier in the year that demonstrates your growth as a writer. Choose something from the very beginning that shows where you started as a writer in this class. Your Fast Food Nation paper or first draft of your definition argument might be ideal choices for this requirement.  Make sure you choose something that IS NOT as good as what you're turning in now as your final drafts.  The point is to show that you HAVE improved!
8. To show your revisions based on feedback:  pick one piece that has undergone multiple drafts with significant change.  Put those drafts (properly labeled and in order) in your portfolio document to show the change.  You might also consider a screenshot of feedback that prompted those changes, though this part is not required.  If you don't know how to take a screenshot on your particular type of computer, google it.  It is different depending on what type of system you're using (Mac, Vista, Windows XP).
9. You do not have to put anything in your portfolio to show the helpful feedback you provided your peers.  Your teacher will assess that based on your completion and appropriate participation in the peer reviews this semester.
10. Once everything is in your portfolio document, add page numbers to the document.
11. Save.
12. Upload to Turnitin