APLac Prep Independent Reading

For independent reading in quarter 3, we are focusing on preparing and exposing kids to the content from AP Language and Composition (the next "honors" class offered at KR).  APLaC focuses on analysis of rhetoric and reading non-fiction articles.  This assignment is meant to give students some exposure to these skills and hopefully help them to make informed decisions about their courses for their junior year.  In addition to helping prepare the kids for APLaC, this assignment also supplements their AP Human Geography course (for those enrolled) or exposes them to AP Human Geography (for those not currently enrolled) by asking that they select from topics of study in this course.  We are hoping to helping them with their score on the AP Human Geography test in the upcoming year.  Here is the assignment:

Here are the list of topics that students are able to pick from (this list comes from their AP Human Geography class):

Public Forum Debate Forum Topics

Global Issues Book (gray)

1. Is population growth out of control? (Global Issues Text, gray)
2. Should the international community attempt to curb population growth in developing countries? (Global Issues Text, gray)
3.  Does population growth significantly harm the Earth’s quality of life? (Global Issues Text, gray)
4. Will declining population growth rates in the developed world lead to major problems? (Global Issues Text, gray)
5. Is environmental degradation worsening?  (Global Issues Text, gray)
6. Should the World continue to rely on oil as a major source of energy? (Global Issues Text, gray)
7. Will the world be able to feed itself in the foreseeable future? (Global Issues Text, gray)
8. Is global environmental stress caused primarily by increased resource consumption rather than population growth? (Global Issues Text, gray)
9. Is the Earth getting warmer? (Global Issues Text, gray)
10. Is the threat to global water shortage real? (Global Issues Text, gray)
11. Is the global community responding well to the plight of refugees and displaced persons? (Global Issues Text, green)
12. Should immigration to the United States and other developed countries be curtailed? (Global Issues Text, green)
13. Is there a global brain drain?  (Global Issues Text, green)
14. Is the globalization of American culture a positive development? (Global Issues Text, gray)
15. Are cultural rivalries and ethnic conflicts the next great threats to international security? (Global Issues Text, green)
16. Are cultural and ethnic conflicts the defining dimensions of the twenty-first century war? (Global Issues Text, gray)

American Foreign Policy (blue-green)

1. Should the Kyoto Treaty on global warming be promoted?
2. Is Economic Globalization a Positive Trend for the United States?

Economic Issues (purple)

1. Should we sweat about Sweatshops?
2. Are the Costs of Global Warming Too High to Ignore?
3. Should Pollution be put to the Market Test?
4. Has the North American Free Trade Agreement Hurt the American Economy?

World Politics (tan)

1. Should the rich countries forgive all the debt owed by the poor countries? (World Politics Text)
2. Would World affairs be more peaceful if women dominated politics? (World Politics Text)
3. Would it be an error to establish a Palestinian state? (World Politics Text)
4. Should the United Nations be given stronger peacek

Here is the documentation sheet that we require students to complete throughout the semester:

Independent Reading Project

AP Language & Composition Prep Project

Quarter 3 IRP Article Log

On the last day of the quarter, April 14, please bring this sheet (completed) and all of your annotated articles with you to class. In the following chart, please enter an MLA citation and an explanation of how you determined the reputability of each article.

Week	MLA citation of article (hint: use Noodletools or EasyBib)	How did you determine that this article was current/reputable?
2/2 – 2/6
2/9 – 2/13
2/23 – 2/27
3/2 – 3/6
3/9 – 3/13
3/16 – 3/20
3/23 – 3/27
3/30 – 4/3

Prior to starting your quarter 3 IRP, make sure you understand what the learning targets are for this particular project. In the middle column below, please rewrite each of the three standards in your own words.

Once you have finished your quarter 3 reading you will return to this document and fill in the last column. What specifically did you do to show that you have mastered each standard? Make sure to directly reference your articles from above by referencing what week your evidence is coming from.

Common Core Standard	Rewrite each of the following standards in your own words:	I have achieved mastery of this particular standard by…
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.9-10.3 Analyze how the author unfolds an analysis or series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.