Dossier Work Day 3 + Defense Rehearsal · Earth & Env Science

Home › Unit 0: Scientific Practices & Class Foundations › Block 6: Dossier Work Day 3 + Rehearsal

Bell ringer: start here (while attendance happens)

Phenomenon hook · 5 min

A short video clip or screenshot: a public figure citing an AI-generated "study" that turns out not to exist (a hallucinated citation).
Task: What went wrong? Could the OPVL framework have caught this? What is one specific OPVL question that would have surfaced the problem?

Answer in your Field Notebook, dated.

Today we are learning

I can rehearse a defense of my dossier and articulate the strongest objection a panelist might raise, with at least one move from the Defending Your Work taxonomy.

I can: tick as you go (for you, not for marks)

I have spent the work half on the sections that were not finished, starting with the Limitations of my AI source and the cross-source synthesis.
I have delivered my 5-minute pitch to a peer at least twice and incorporated their feedback.
I can answer one challenging peer question about my AI source's limitations.

full course map →

AI Partners available for today's work

Defense Practice Partner

Remember: every AI use gets documented. → AI Documentation Template

Story

What today is about

Full work block. The Dossier is due at the start of next block, so this is the last class time you get on it. Paired defense rehearsal in the second half.

The first half is yours to work. Finish what is not finished in your Source Dossier, and fix the parts you already know are thin. The second half is rehearsal: paired peer-talk where each of you takes a turn defending your dossier while the other plays panelist. Twice. Then a 30-second whole-class share of your strongest pitch.

Rehearsal isn't optional. The first defense you give in Block 7 has to be at least your second defense, not your first. Make your mistakes today, with one partner, so you don't make them next class in front of the panel. Your partner today is doing you a favor.

Five-step strip for answering questions under pressure: one, acknowledge (take the question seriously); two, restate (say it back in your own words); three, answer (one claim, not a speech); four, cite (name the evidence it stands on); five, check (does that answer it). — The pattern you'll rehearse today and use in every defense this year.

Concepts

Before you start the work

Start with the Watch: projected for everyone. The Read is the defending guide, and the Interact is used live during rehearsal in pairs.

Placeholder

Watch (~6 min)

TBD: Ms. Jayanthi/Mr. Ignash demos a defense answer to one likely panelist question, modeling the answer pattern (acknowledge → restate → answer → cite → check).

Whole-class, projected.

Read (~8 min)

Defending Your Work: the 5 question types panelists ask, and the 5 moves you can make in response. The whole-class share is graded against this taxonomy.

Real link · Foundations

Interact

The Defense Observation Guide, in Classroom: the one-page sheet the panelist-partner uses to give specific feedback (rather than "that was good"). Printed copies at every table. The answer pattern is on the site; your partner checks each answer against it.

Pairs · used live during rehearsal.

Today's work: choose one path

Work time runs the first 35 minutes. Rehearsal runs the next 30, and the choice board below is how you rehearse it. Whole-class share is the last 15.

Use this block on the thing you are avoiding

Most people spend a work block polishing the section they already like. The Limitations of your AI source and the cross-source synthesis are where the marks are, and they are the two people leave until last. Start there.

Learning Intention: I can rehearse a defense of my dossier and articulate the strongest objection a panelist might raise, with at least one move from the Defending Your Work taxonomy.

Paired defense rehearsal (3-min Q&A each)

Pair up. Partner A defends 3 min while Partner B asks 2-3 panelist questions. Switch. Use the observation guide for specific feedback. Default for most students.

Pairs · Default

Solo rehearsal with partner-as-audience

If you want to rehearse the 5-min talk uninterrupted first, do that; partner listens silently and gives feedback after. Then swap. Good if your nerves benefit from a quiet first run.

Pairs · Choice

Self-review using the rubric

For students writing the essay defense instead of speaking it: self-review your draft against the rubric. Mark which strand each section serves. It goes in with the dossier at the start of next block.

Solo · Choice

Anticipating-questions worksheet

If oral rehearsal is high-anxiety, work the anticipating-questions worksheet instead: list 5 questions a panelist would likely ask and draft your answer to each. Bring this to your Block 7 defense.

Solo · Practice

Open your Class Notebook and type today's entry header as Heading 2:

A: Aug 28 | U0 B6 | Dossier Work Day 3 + Defense RehearsalB: Aug 27 | U0 B6 | Dossier Work Day 3 + Defense Rehearsal

Show

What you're submitting today

Two short things. The dossier itself is not due today; it is due at the start of next block.

Rehearsal peer-feedback note + progress check

The peer-feedback note (one paragraph from your partner, written on the observation guide) goes to Classroom by end of class. Underneath it, write one line: which section of your dossier is still unfinished going into next block. Name the section. "Nearly done" tells us nothing, and this line is how Ms. Jayanthi/Mr. Ignash know who to find before the defenses.

Submit via Google Classroom (link posted in August)

Rubric link: The defense is the C strand on the Source Dossier rubric. See the rubric: Communication scores are about clarity AND responsiveness under questioning.

Reflect

One question before you leave

Three to five minutes. Your answer is saved to your reflection journal, where you can read back everything you have written this year.

Use it to plan for Block 7.

Today's reflection is in Google Classroom, under Reflection Journal.

Link posted in August