Open the plan and the milestones you set for your own big project. Today is a checkpoint, not a finish line. You will mark every milestone honestly, name the one gap that most stands between you and a solid draft, and set a clear target for the next stretch of work. Your teacher will check in with a one-sentence review while you build, so you do not wait in a queue.

An honest status tells you what to do next, while a hopeful one only tells you how you would like things to be, so every milestone gets one of these four labels:

• Done: finished enough that you would not reopen it unless something changes
• In progress: started and actively moving
• Not started: still ahead of you
• Set aside on purpose: you chose not to do this, and you can say why

You are measuring all of that against a solid draft, which means a version you could show someone else tomorrow and they would understand what the piece is about. It does not need to be perfect yet.

Class sort (quick): together, put each invented milestone on the right label and say why:

1. Gathered 6 links, opened none
2. Outline started, headings only
3. Chose not to do the interview because of time, using archive footage instead

Work from your own plan and research log. Complete this status check, then start your next target straight away. If your plan is missing, copy the five milestone lines from the board, label those, and continue from there.

1. List every milestone from your plan.
2. Mark each one done, in progress, not started, or set aside on purpose.
3. For any milestone marked set aside on purpose, write one short reason.
4. Name the single biggest gap between you and a solid draft (one sentence only). Examples: no clear structure yet; sources gathered but not evaluated; opening unfinished; footage still missing; argument not decided.
5. Write your next target: one concrete thing you will complete before the next checkpoint, written so you could tick it off (not "work on my project", but "finish the three-part outline and choose opening evidence").
6. Save the status check the class way with your plan and log.

• Open the part of the project your next target points to (outline, sources, draft section, media, log entry).
• Make visible progress on that target only; do not jump to packaging or publishing.
• If you get stuck, write the blocker in one line under your status check so you can bring it to the next checkpoint.
• Save everything the class way before you leave so the work is there next session.

Look up from your own project for a moment. Your teacher has been writing up the kinds of gap showing across the room: structure, sources, opening, media, argument, time. Without naming anyone's work, say which of those you think is most common here today, and listen for the ones you did not expect. Then go back to your own next target. A checkpoint works when the status is honest and the next target is small enough to hit. Between now and the next checkpoint, your job is the build you just named, not the whole project at once.