Making Motifs and Sense Imagery

Artist and educator, Tim Rollins,who passed away in 2017, was the founder of K.O.S -- Kids of Survival -- now called Studio K.O.S. Tim's work with students in the South Bronx blended art making with the reading and deconstructing of classic literature. The work of K.O.S. is celebrated by galleries and museums globally.

In 2003 I had the distinct privilege of partnering with Tim for a full day workshop with my students. To this day, I continue to channel what I learned from Tim about making complex texts accessible to all students through visual translation and interpretation. Most recently, I partnered with an English teacher colleague to work with her students making sense imagery to explore Camus' The Stranger.

Her goal was for the students to analyze the author's language and purpose in creating sensory rich images. She planned to start the project by asking the students to crowd-source a Google Doc with imagery quotations from the text. However, she was concerned about how productive and purposeful they would be given that on a previous occasion when she asked them to contribute to a Google Doc in a similar way, they were less than ideally productive and added silly images and other distracting elements to the Doc. I suggested a Google Form as an alternative. The students were each assigned a chapter to examine; they entered the images they identified and the corresponding text passages and page numbers into the Form. Then the teacher shared the resulting Google Sheet with the class and they had an comprehensive, searchable, sort-able collection of images and quotations from which to select for their project.

At this point, I introduced the "making" exercise with these slides. I began with an homage to Tim and K.O.S. as the inspiration for the project and then gave the students step-by-step directions to help them transition their thinking from words to images.

The challenge was for students to create a three dimensional representation of the sensory experience of the image in the text. They were not building dioramas or models of suns (or any other image). They were providing the viewer of their construction with the same visceral or sensory experience that Camus created and Meursault experienced in the text. And they began the creation process by framing their image in a question, such as: what does the door look like that is the gateway to Meursault's unhappiness?

When their work was finished, the students wrote gallery cards in which they explained the construction choices they made and how their renderings connected to the text.

I was careful not to use the words artistic or creative when working with them. While their processes and products can be considered both of those things, many students -- all of whom are very accustomed to writing literary analysis essays -- lamented their lack of creativity or artistic talent. Over and over I explained that they were constructing a prototype of an idea, much like Camus wrote drafts of the text, and that as they watched people interact with and react to their construction they could reconsider and improve upon the impact it had on its audience.

In fact, I pointed out, very few (if any) of the sensory experiences evoked by the text imagery were pleasant so if someone looks at what you are making and says, "Oh, that's so pretty" (or something to that effect) you probably aren't actually making the text, you are making your idea of the image. Anyone can turn a pompom into a sun; it takes a creative constructor and communicator to build the sun that permits someone to take a life. Most of us, if pressed, could turn toothpicks and Popsicle sticks into a staircase. How might you render the dark, dank stairwell descending into depravity?

See what I mean? Not pretty.

Yet, so valuable. When a student started making I left him/her/them alone until they looked stuck, asked for help, or seemed to be assembling without purpose. Then I started asking questions like why that color? why six spokes? why can I see inside? As students began explaining their choices they were flooded with ideas and recommitted to their work. When some students couldn't explain their choices, I directed them back to the questioning phase reminding them that what they made was an extension of and still connected to the text. That the question was the bridge between the text and the construction. For students who were creating something personal and pleasing I asked where Meursault was in their construction.

Hot glue guns are fun. Upcycling, recycling, repurposing for fun isn't necessarily hard. Building a sensory experience is. Some students lamented that they couldn't "just write a paper" which told me two things: one, they were really trying to build something with meaning, and two, they were really used to writing papers and this challenge was a good one for them to confront.

Here are the students at work:

 

 
 

Making Converts

For several weeks it felt like spring would never happen. It was cold and dreary. We were having snow days in April and the year kept getting longer. Finally, the sun came out, the air warmed, and it started to feel like the year was winding down. There was prom. Now the seniors are leaving for internship. The exam schedule has been published. And that is either coinciding with or maybe causing a shift in the thinking of a few of my colleagues. This is what I am hearing:

- They need to do project.

- The seniors should do something fun before they go.

- They are checking out; I need a way to hook them back in.

And, then, a couple of them asked: can you explain that makerspace to me again?

Of course! YES! I would love to! And then I put some pipe cleaners in their hand while we talk.

This week I have been working with a Social Studies teacher in two of her classes and with an English teacher colleague in two of her classes - both pairs of classes are a mixture of juniors and seniors.

Today was the project due date for the Social Studies classes and here is how the teacher described what happened:

"We had a board game day today and the class broke into groups to play each of the games. And I did what you said, I told everyone they couldn't play their own game because one test of the effectiveness of the game was whether or not someone could follow the directions and understand how to play without them there to explain it all. And they didn't want to leave their games! They were so proud of them, they wanted to be sure that everyone else really appreciated and understood them." And then she added, "Remember that kid I told you about who still owes me so much work from last quarter? The one who never does any of the assignments? He made the coolest board game! He refused to leave his game. Flat out refused. And I let him stay so he could have that pride in what he had done."







That's when I told her a story about a group of girls in her class who had worked together on their project. They did all of their work in the classroom until the very last project work day. On that day my colleague, their teacher, was out. To get away from the sub, the students decided to work in The Garage (our makerspace). When they arrived they asked me, "what are we supposed to do?" I put pipe cleaners in their hands and replied "Well, what do you need?" They said they needed a spinner and playing pieces. So I asked: "Well, what should the pieces look like or represent?"

You know where this is going... those pipe cleaners were quickly bent into a prototype of the animal shapes they needed. I directed them to our bins of supplies and recyclables and they looked at me with open mouths; "Has this been here all year?!" they asked. I nodded. They grabbed each others arms and exclaimed: "Can we come here during a free and just make stuff?" I told them, "Of, course!" To which they responded: "This makes me so happy!"

I couldn't join their class for project sharing day because my English colleague brought her classes to The Garage for their first full-period making session. This project is the culmination of their study of Jeanette Walls, The Glass Castle. Last week, I introduced the project to them with this discussion of unattainable dreams, symbols, and the relationship between artists and their audience.

Less than a minute into class she leaned over and said, "Oh! This is amazing. I am so glad you are getting pictures of this! Should I take some, too?" Here is what was so amazing. Complete and total engagement in selecting the only required element of their project: a piece of glass. The students were sharing and comparing. Discussing the merits of clear vs. translucent glass. Shape and texture were important, too. Then I delivered a 3-minute orientation to the space, listing a variety of materials from pom poms to old "steampunk" hardware and ended with: "If you are thinking about a material you can't find, just ask." That's it. They were off!

Once they had been planning, designing, and experimenting for about 10 minutes, I approached a small

group who were intently debating the best way to attach two parts of a project. I asked what problem they were trying to solve and they showed me and launched into an explanation of the merits of the different solutions they were entertaining. Their English teacher approached and looked over my shoulder, and the students entirely shifted gears. "Don't worry, don't worry!" they said. "It's going to be good. You're gonna like it. There is a good reason for what we are doing. I promise: we are working."

My colleague pulled me away from them and asked, "Did you see that? Did you see what just happened? As soon as I walked over it became all about the grade, about reassuring me they were making something I would like. This is entirely different than when you come to our classroom. Our roles here are totally different. But they are thinking so intently and in such different ways. I mean, look at them! Some of these kids checked out weeks ago and now they are so engaged I can't even talk to them!"


The best observation came next:

"You need to come to one of our department meetings at the very beginning of the year next year and tell everyone about this. And then people like me will back you up. I know you told us about it at a meeting earlier this year, but we didn't get it. But now there are more of us to help people get it."

I will gratefully accept an opportunity to discuss making with them. And, next time, I will bring pipe cleaners!

An off-Broadway lesson on personalization: the selfie project

Back in December I saw “In and Of Itself,” the one-man show by Derek Delgaudio off-Broadway in New York City. I was utterly awed by this show, both the concept and the performance. Perhaps you have seen, on social media, images of Neil Patrick Harris, the show’s producer, holding a small card that proclaims “I AM an individual.” The whole show, all of the stories and the magic, evolve from and respond to the individuals in the audience. All audience members, as they enter the theater, select a card that they decide defines them. My chosen card said “I AM an innovator” because I had recently returned from the Google Innovator Academy in Stockholm, Sweden. At the end of the show, Delgaudio jokes that some people may have snarkily chosen their card seeking to be something funny, like a ninja, while others may have chosen a card that is something they aspire to be, and still others a card that proclaims who or what they are. Regardless, he reminds us, each member of the audience selected a card for personal reasons that the rest of us would never know.

You might be wondering what does this has to do with libraries or school or teaching. My answer is: Everything. If Delgaudio can personalize a 75-minute long show in response to an audience of 200 or so strangers (give or take for the smattering of celebrities who attend the shows), then we can personalize our instruction for the 25 or so students in our classes whom we see daily and know by name. Whose data we review and analyze. Who spend more waking hours of their day in shared space with us than with anyone else close to them in their lives. At the end of the day, we want them to have conversations like this:

LEE: Hi!!! It’s been awhile! How are you? I just wanted to text you to see your thoughts on Derek Delgaudio’s show! As you may remember I’m a magician, and Derek is actually a friend of mine, he was my counselor for years at camp. I’m seeing his show again next week.

ME: Get out of town! I thought the show was amazing. We talked about it all night and for days

afterwards. It still comes up periodically in conversation and certainly resonates with me with things I read as you can see from my posts on Facebook. What a privilege for you to study with him! And of course I remember you are a magician, I could never forget!

LEE: Haha I’m so happy to hear you love it, I think it was a phenomenal show magic wise and theater wise. The ending was beyond beautiful, and I think the last moment of the show is jaw dropping. It’s so cool how the show extends out of itself too, with the brick leaving the theater, and having someone come to the next show, that’s just genius

ME: Yes, on all counts! I just love that I am constantly reminded in my daily interactions from having seen that show that everybody I encounter is more and different than what I think they are upon first glance or even if I have known them for a very long time.

LEE: I love that you got that out of the show, magicians just can’t normally give an audience a good message besides “haha I fooled you”....

LEE: What “I am” card did you choose?

ME: I chose innovator. I don't know if you know, but I was accepted into the Google innovator Academy and went to Stockholm to study this past October. And then when he asked people to stand if what they chose is how they see themselves, I stayed in my seat because I decided that being a Google innovator is a label someone else has given me and I am still aspiring to deserve it…. When you see him can you tell him that an aspiring innovator who is also a high school librarian in Connecticut is still thinking about the messages of his show and will for quite some time into the future.

LEE: Of course I heard! Congratulations! And I’m rly interested in that way of thinking. Of course I’ll tell him for you! ...

This is the transcript of a Facebook messenger chat I had with a former student who saw my social media post about seeing the show. Parts of the chat have been removed to prevent show spoilers, but the spirit of the chat is in tact. I have included this chat, with Lee’s permission, because it shows a teacher-student relationship outside of the classroom and because the interaction was made possible by a social media connection. Lee and I first shared a classroom, classmates, and a curriculum. Now we safely and respectfully share a digital space.

This dialogue with Lee helped me articulate for myself the ironically simple lessons I have taken from Delgaudio’s performance and translate those lessons into teaching and librarianship. What follows is an exploration of a way I am collaborating with a teacher of AP English to apply these lessons to the students’ examination of Transcendentalism. First, the lessons (in no particular order):

Lesson 1: Be authentic. Share stories from your life so that your collaborators (students and teachers) understand your backstory. It is impossible to develop empathy otherwise.

Lesson 2: Acknowledge, then disregard, your preconceptions. We all have them and they limit how well we can understand each other.

Lesson 3: Magic inspires awe. Embrace wonderment. It leads to questioning, theorizing, teamwork, and problem solving. It may not lead to “right” answers, and it doesn’t have to.

Lesson 4: Timing is everything! Capitalize on the moment. Know where the students are and meet them there. Don’t wait for them to come to you.

My co-teacher in this exercise is a highly-regarded veteran educator. Her background in the pop culture publishing world helps her bring an edge to her curriculum application that students appreciate. We have only known each other for six months. While she has invited me to teach lessons in one of her classes, we have just begun to transition from me as guest teacher to us as co-teachers. And this is the first time she has opened her high stakes, AP class to working with me. Transcendentalism is perfect content fodder for applying the four lessons.

The students will read and unpack Emerson and Thoreau’s consideration of self. The students are discussing the musings of two men who, more than 150 years ago, dedicated themselves to understanding the nature of intellect, the connections between humans, and what it means to be self-actualized. Needless to say, this is a stretch for 17 year olds. Thoreau, at least, disconnected himself from organized society to get in touch with himself and the natural world. Disconnect is not something digital teens do often or willingly. But portrayals of self are something they do constantly. So selfies and snapchats are our authentic route by which to bring transcendental thinking to the digital teen.

With fidelity to the TPACK model of educator collaboration, the English teacher will guide the students through a viewing of Into the Wild and an application of Emerson and Thoreau to Chris McCandless. They will also be reading the article from the May 21, 2009 New York Times called “The Case for Working with Your Hands”. As colleague says, working with your hands is “a very Thoreauvian thing to do.” This means the students are coming to work in the makerspace!

We are starting with a consideration of the art of portraiture and these guiding questions:
How do artists and photographers capture the essence of a person?
Has the artist captured not the person but whom we want the person to be?
Or, do we not matter and the artist portrays the subject as the artist wants the subject to be seen?
Students will apply these questions to various portraits and self-portraits including Arnold Newman’s iconic photograph of Alfried Krupp, Annie Liebowitz photographs of Patti Smith and both a Frida Kahlo self-portrait and a still from the movie starring Selma Hayek in which the painting of that self-portrait is portrayed. Artists have been making selfies for centuries; these are the ones we selected because the content of each will likely resonate with our students (Lessons 1 and 4).

Now we will turn the students to examine different conscious and unconscious ways they are portrayed and in the interest of time, the introspection and artifact collection that must occur in preparation for the final project will be facilitated through a series of shortscreen casts, thus flipping the classroom and allowing for private reflection on the nature of self. For each type of portrayal we will both share a piece of our own story (Lesson 1). We will start with student data. Between Naviance, PowerSchool, and College Board, there is lots of data that is compiled to tell a story of each of these students -- both as individuals and as part of an aggregate. They will collate their data and decide, “If all we know about you is your data… who are you?” (Lesson 2)

Next we will turn to their playlists and ask them to consider what do their video and music preferences say about them? “If all we know about you is your playlists… who are you?” Related to their playlists is the constructed reality of their social media self-portraits. After they review what they think are their important posts on a variety of platforms, they will decide: “When you post on social media, what narrative of your life or yourself are you creating?” (Lesson 4)

Next, we will turn to the tangible. Students will inventory their bedrooms making a list of what they find there and respond to this question: “If all we know about you is the contents of this space… who lives there?” Finally, we want them to collect their school pictures, arrange them from youngest to oldest, and when they see them in sequence consider what story they tell (Lesson 1).

Have you noticed an absence of Lesson 3? Here it comes!

Now the students are ready to get Thoreauvian. It is time for them to unpack themselves. Using all the information about themselves that they have curated: their data, their playlists, their social media, the artifacts in their rooms, and their school pictures, they are going to answer these questions:

What do you:
Hope? Fear? Believe? Desire? Wonder? Deny? Aspire? Want? Plan? Anticipate? Avoid? Regret?


Each response must include evidence from their curated information and artifacts.

And now it is time to create! The class will visit the makerspace to create a selfie, a tangible representation of all that it means to be them. They can use light and sound, texture, mixed media, positive and negative space, and all the possibilities of their imagination (Lesson 3). They might compose and shoot their own photographic portrait, or create a mixed media representation of themselves, or build a sculpture, or something else we can’t anticipate. In other words, your self, in tangible relief. It will be magical and they will appreciate that there is so much more to them and each other than can possibly fit on one card.

The Tempest, Character Boxes, and Students in the Garage

The Shakespeare class has returned to the Garage to begin assembling their character boxes as the final assessment for their study of The Tempest. The students were given three options which I wrote about in a previous post. All of them chose the independent box project. Here are the guiding questions and criteria:

What kind of box or container best fits this character? (could be a steamer trunk, magical cabinet, barrel, burlap sack, coffin, etc.) Why? And how will you show this?

Does this box ground this character to a place or allow (force?) this character to move? Why? And how will you show this?

What does this character:

• Hope?
• Fear?
• Believe?
• Desire?
• Wonder?
• Deny?
• Aspire?
• Want?
• Plan?

As a result of the attributes above, what would s/he put in the box? Find or make those things to add to your box, at least one item per attribute. Justify each selection with an excerpt from the play.

As a result of the attributes above, what else would be in the box whether or not s/he wants it there? Add it to the box and justify it with an excerpt from the play.

Design the outside of the box to resemble how the world sees the character; design the inside of the box to represent how the character understands him/herself.

Some students found the container or box they want to use and are letting the form of the box dictate how their other choices evolve. Other students are building their box out of a particular material because of what the material will say about their chosen character. Still others are beginning with the form or shape they want their box to be and then coating, layering, and transforming the shapes of the inside and outside of the form to become the appropriate container for their character.

Similarly some students are starting with the outside of the box and working their way to the inside and then to the contents. Other students are starting with the contents and developing a box that will be able to contain them.

Here is how one student described her thought process:

This kinesthetic, multimedia project has gotten their creative juices flowing and the students are requesting lots of materials. Some (but not all) of the materials or items I can bring to them from my garage at home. I sent an email to the faculty and staff which said:

WHS Learning Community,

The Garage (formerly the LLC makerspace) is in need of some materials for student projects that are currently underway. If you happen to have, and are about to discard:

• crates from clementines or other produce,
• drawstring (or other style) sacks of any material,
• perler beads, or
• fake flora: flowers, leaves, etc.

students are requesting these materials for a project they are doing.

We will gratefully accept donations of any materials you are looking to dispose that can be up-cycled, recycled, and re-purposed in student projects. Scraps of fabric, old baskets and crates, random hardware, etc. If you aren't sure if we can use it, shoot me a quick email -- the answer will probably be YES!

Thank you!

Many people have responded offering all sorts of materials from the items on the list to all sorts of other materials. We will soon be flush with new resources! And many people are offering to deliver their donations which will increase traffic through the space and hopefully result in more teachers bringing their classes to work in the Garage!

Later this week, the class will return to the LLC and present their boxes to each other. When the teacher asked if they would rather conduct presentations in the classroom or in the library, they unanimously chose the library!

Shakespeare in the Garage

Students enrolled in the English department elective, Shakespeare, will be the first class to work in The Garage (our re-branded makerspace). Before the winter break the class visited for an orientation to the space and their project. Next week they will begin creation now that they have had time for project ideas to gestate and to collect materials they may want to use or contribute to their classmates.

I consulted with the classroom teacher to understand his learning objectives, assessment needs, and concerns about embarking on this type of project before designing options for the students. Primarily the teacher was concerned that the level of rigor to which he was accustomed when he assigned papers to students be maintained in this approach. In addition, if there was to be a collaborative component to the project, he wanted to be sure that each student contributed fairly and purposefully to the group product.

In the past, the teacher had consulted the resources and suggestions from the Folger Library when planning for this Shakespeare class so when I developed three options for the students, I began by adapting an idea he had seen there knowing that he recognizes their resource credibility. Here are the ideas I proposed:

Idea 1: Character in a Box (individual project)

What kind of box or container best fits this character? (could be a steamer trunk, magical cabinet, barrel, burlap sack, coffin, etc.) Why? And how will you show this?

Does this box ground this character to a place or allow (force?) this character to move? Why? And how will you show this?

What does this character:

• Hope?
• Fear?
• Believe?
• Desire?
• Wonder?
• Deny?
• Aspire?
• Want?
• Plan?

As a result of the attributes above, what would s/he put in the box? Find or make those things to add to your box, at least one item per attribute. Justify each selection with an excerpt from the play.

As a result of the attributes above, what else would be in the box whether or not s/he wants it there? Add it to the box and justify it with an excerpt from the play.

Design the outside of the box to resemble how the world sees the character; design the inside of the box to represent how the character understands him/herself.

Idea 2: Wandering Journal (group project with individual components)

You will work in a group of four; each student assumes the role of one of the main characters in the play: Prospero, Caliban, Ariel, or Antonio.

Create an entry in your journal, in character, in response to the following words by Miranda:

“Oh wonder!

How many goodly creatures are there here!

How beauteous mankind is!  O, brave, new world

That has such people in ‘t! (5.1.215-218)

Then, trade journals with another group member, and, still in character, create a journal entry in response to the original one.

You will continue to trade journals until your original journal is returned to you.

Identify journaling techniques that will work for each play element to be explored; each group member must use at least the techniques in bold and at least two additional techniques:

• Using the actual text page(s) as canvas
• Using the same passage (Act V, Scene 1) from the text for a found poem
• Image creation and annotation with lines from the play
• Found image collage and annotation with lines from the play
• Color vs. monochromatic - purposefully use color as a symbol or motif
• Storyboard: segments vs. whole page
• Multiple drawings of same concept or object (POV) incorporating color and media as it pertains to each POV
• Media/material variation

This cycle will be repeated with a new prompt of the group’s choice or a new set of characters.  Your complete journal will have a total of eight character entries (two from each student in the group), artwork, and additional creative writing elements.

After you review the different entries, you will then make an entry in your own voice (not in character) in which you respond to and comment on what you learned from the collection of entries. 

You might consider:

• Origins of conflict and obstacles to resolution
• Gaps in understanding rooted in differing cultures
• What it means to be, or to consider someone else to be, the “other”
• At least one way in which these themes of the play resonate in contemporary society

Also, you will design an appropriate cover for your journal. 

Students must write a Shakespearean sonnet as a closing exercise and document the sonnet in their journal.  Use this checklist. (provided by the classroom teacher)

Idea 3: Personal Journal (individual project)

Students work independently to create a journal that explores all of these elements of the play:

• Setting
• Characterization
• Culture and conflict
• Family
• Intersection of tragedy and comedy

As well as these themes:

• Origins of conflict and obstacles to resolution
• Gaps in understanding rooted in differing cultures
• What it means to be, or to consider someone else to be, the “other”
• At least one way in which these themes of the play resonate in contemporary society

Identify journaling techniques that will work for each play element to be explored; you must use the techniques indicated in bold and at least two additional techniques:

• Using the actual text page(s) as canvas
• Using a text passage for a found poem
• Image creation and annotation with lines from the play
• Found image collage and annotation with lines from the play
• Color vs. monochromatic - purposefully use color as a symbol or motif
• Storyboard: segments vs. whole page
• Multiple drawings of same concept or object (POV) incorporating color and media as it pertains to each POV
• Media/material variation

Design a cover for your journal and create at least eight, full-page entries in your journal, at least one entry for each element of the play and at least one for each theme. Each page should incorporate relevant lines from the play.

Students must write a Shakespearean sonnet as a closing exercise and document the sonnet in their journal. Use this checklist. (provided by the classroom teacher)

These materials are available in the Garage for students to use:

3D printer

Basic circuitry, LED lights, sound cards

Markers

Colored pencils

Chalk pastel

Oil pastel

Poster & watercolor paints

Duct tape, various patterns & colors

Glue: sticks, hot, tacky

Felt

Foil

Embroidery floss

Ribbon, Fabric & Yarn: various widths, lengths, patterns & colors

Buttons

Sewing supplies

Construction paper

Wrapping paper

Cardboard tubes, varying sizes

Recycled: plastic containers, magazines, plastic netting, 3D printer shapes

LED finger lights

Mason and other shaped jars

Sequins

Pom Poms

Feathers

Popsicle sticks

Pipe cleaners

Bottle caps

Beads

Clothes Pins

I developed this rubric for the students to use in planning their projects and for assessing their final products. To learn how the rubric works, students practiced by applying the rubric to the work of Lynda Barry which is available to them in print form in the Library Learning Commons collection as well as personal copies I let them borrow.

MULTIMEDIA PRESENTATION RUBRIC

	The Way You Do the Things You Do * The Temptations	Knockin' on Heaven's Door Take your Pick	Unchained Melody The Righteous Brothers	What's Goin On? Marvin Gaye
General Appearance & Aesthetics	Strong aesthetic appeal, not cluttered, graphics enhance content; image selection is appropriate; makes you want to continue interacting; enhancements enrich the viewing and learning experience and significantly contribute to conveying the content and meaning, content-relevant visuals establish a clear visual pattern that aids audience understanding	Multimedia elements adequately contribute to conveying the content and meaning; most graphics used appropriately to enrich the experience; although purpose may not be readily evident; main points are evident and expanded through presentation; good, relevant visuals	Lacking attention to aesthetic design. Graphics are random or insufficient and do not enhance content; too much text, needs to be condensed	Graphics interfere with or distract from content and communication of ideas; inappropriate or no use images; an essay on a poster
Critical Thinking & Content Mastery	The presentation of ideas is thoughtful, insightful, clear and focused. You approach the topic from an unusual perspective, use your unique experiences or view of the world as a basis for communicating; you make interesting connections between ideas. It is implicit that this exploration matters. Explores the complexity of the issues; in-depth analysis; confrontation and discussion of conflicting information, motivations and ideas; critical thought & research evident; interprets principles in accurate and insightful ways. Thoroughly researched; all points substantiated by evidence; no assumptions; sophisticated understanding of details, nuances and subtleties of the content; sufficient information to make the presentation worth reading or viewing; information is conveyed; content effectively achieves its intended purpose; historical information is accurate and relevant. Makes frequent, meaningful and rich cross-discipline and/or real-life connections	You attempt to develop all ideas; although some ideas may be developed more thoroughly and specifically than others; the overall development reflects some depth of thought, enabling the viewer to generally understand and appreciate your ideas. Analysis accurate but lacking depth of understanding; may not demonstrate clear understanding of audience motivation; may lack thoroughness in addressing purpose. Considerable evidence contributes to message development but lacks depth; assumptions cloud facts, some ideas are ambiguous. Makes relevant cross-discipline and real-life connections	Limited by superficial generalizations; unclear or simplistic; may be simply an account of a single incident instead of articulating a purpose; therefore the viewer cannot sustain interest in the ideas More descriptive than analytic; relies on summary of information and events rather than application of information to audience opinion; makes errors in interpreting research; ineffectively synthesizes the information. Exhibits only sketchy or insufficient evidence; may have errors; some understanding of details, nuances and subtleties of the content; most subject knowledge is literal and does not enhance message development. Attempts some cross-discipline and real-life connections that demonstrate partial understanding	Confusing and hard to follow; disorganized; develops no connections among ideas; statements are convoluted and viewer is left questioning the work itself and not the ideas presented in the work Inadequate or inaccurate understanding of the information, events or audience; attempts at analysis or insight are confused or inappropriate; major errors in understanding. Almost no use of evidence; attempts are confused or inappropriate; major errors; complete misunderstanding or no effort to understand the details, nuances and subtleties of the content. Learns primarily without cross-discipline or real-life connections
Presentation	Shows sophisticated sense of audience; uses language artfully and articulately; meaningfully organizes; uses media/materials effectively	Shows clear sense of audience; uses language effectively; clearly organizes; uses media/materials appropriately	Shows some sense of audience; uses language somewhat effectively; somewhat organized; somewhat appropriate use of media/ materials	Shows little sense of audience; uses language ineffectively; weak organization interferes with meaning; ineffective use of media/materials

* a note on the use of song titles in rubrics

It has long been my practice not to designate point values in rubrics. I use song titles, movie titles or other pop culture references as category headings. I want students to focus on the descriptions of their process, habits of mind, and choices rather than point values. Students frequently debate whether certain category headings are appropriately assigned which is an indicator that they are considering the characteristics and qualities of each section of the rubric.