E-mailing your essay

Students,

The only word processing program my computers can read is Microsoft Word, any edition, or Pages. If you do not have either one of those, you must copy the essay, paste it into an email, and send.

THU, AUG 27, 2009

THU, AUG 27, 2009

Pd4
1. College/Application Essay handout
2. Free write at least 300 to 500 words about an experience you had and what you learned from it. If you like the results, use the best parts for your essay. If you don’t, write about a different experience & what you learned.

Pd 2
1. Check summaries
2. Check passages 2 & 3 analyses
3. Discuss "gift from God" analysis: symbol & inference
HW: Due Mon: Copy & analyze Passages 4 & 5. Write intro ¶ and conclusion ¶. Look at the “Essay Analysis Form” sheet, front and back, for expectations about writing literary analysis essays.

Pd 6
1. Qz :Beowulf parts1-10.
2. Discuss imagery, allusions, symbolism (evil-what is it?), Christian and pagan elements (animism and Norse myths), source of the story and author’s nationality and faith.
HW: Read Beowulf pp 30-38 & 2 articles: The Mark of Cain & Comment on the Epic

WED, AUG 26, 2009

WED, AUG 26, 2009

Pd 1
1. Take STAR in Mac Lab
2. College/application essay. Free-write at least 300 words about an experience. Write in ink, double space. Purpose is to get ideas & details to use in your essay.

Pd 4
1. Hand in HW art or poem
2. College/application essay; Read 2 essays, from Tina and Molly; Read from” Getting In” p 10

Pd 6
1. Check notes on pp 2-9 in textbook
2. Quiz
3. Read Beowulf aloud p14
HW: Read parts 1-10 for quiz
HW: Finish timeline for tomorrow

TUE, AUG 25, 2009

TUE, AUG 25, 2009

Pd 1
1. Hand in homework corrections and enrichment
2. Review drills
3. College/Application essays
Read 2, from Tina and Molly
Read from ”Getting In” p 10

Pd 2
1. Quiz on Poetry & Drama to p 183
2. Check summer book essay. Underline literary terms. Keep to hand in with complete draft.
3. Discuss questions from "gift from God" analysis: tone and what words create the tone
HW: Read Renaissance Prose and Decline 184-186 and write a summary of both. Look for ideas, not details; for the Main idea and supporting ideas.
HW: due Thur: Two more passages analyzed (= 3 so far) Use literary terms that you recognize evidence of in a passage.
Due Mon: all 5 passages analyzed and introduction and conclusion ¶s, in a rough draft. Keep essay rubric in mind.

MON, AUG 24, 2009

MON, AUG 24, 2009

Pds 1&4
1. Check questions p 496
2. Correctives & enrichment for 4 kinds writing.
Corrective: Use art and definition to illustrate the kinds you missed.
Enrichment: Write a poem to illustrate the 4 kinds of writing however you wish.
NARRATIVE: tells a story
DESCRIPTIVE: describes using the senses (5: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
EXPOSITORY: explains or exposes facts
PERSUASIVE: persuades with 1) an opinion & 2) supporting facts

Pd 2
1. Hand in notes
2. Quiz: Raleigh, Nature, p 191 sonnet or p 193 meter
3. Handouts on essay grading & summer book assignment. Discuss.
HW: Read Renaissance Poetry & Drama pp 176-183
HW: Begin “Literary Analysis of Summer Novel” by choosing, copying, and analyzing the first passage for tomorrow.

Pd 6
1. Hand in college essay final draft, rough draft w/ corrections in different color, and 5 part outline
HW: Read pp 2-9, take Cornell notes w/bold headings on left and 2 most important details on the right for each
For details, do not use more than 5 words in a row for a note. e.g. "note <6 wrds "
HW: Draw a timeline (horizontally on binder paper or on computer) for the years on the chart on p 11. One space=50 years. Label the events.
TIMELINE INFORMATION
The red margin line on the back of a sheet is good to use for the line.
Write year # in margin & event on other side of line, for example
Example: 300BC| Celts called Brythons occupied the islands
Use one space for 50 years. You will need 26 spaces for all 1300 years.
The first mark on the left (start) should be marked 300 BC. Count down to 0 by 50s, then up to 1000 AD by 50s.
BC means Before Christ (new name is BCE, meaning Before the Common Era).
AD means Anno Domini, Latin for "In the year of our Lord." To remember what it means some call it After Death (of Christ).

THU, AUG 20,2009

THU, AUG 20,2009

Pd 2
1. Quizzes on homework reading
2. Discuss analysis of the passage about Mr. Earnshaw and the child he brings home.
HW: Read “Sir Walter Raleigh” p194 and “Nature, That Washed Her Hands in Milk” p195. Take Cornell notes, as you think necessary, for both, to hand in and to help you study for the quizzes. Also, read and study Sonnets p191 or Meter p193

Pd 4
1. Quiz on 4 kinds of writing:
Descriptive: describes using the five senses
Narrative: tells a story or tells what happened
Expository: explains or "exposes" facts
Persuasive (Argumentative): persuades with an opinion and support
2. Finish reading from Face to Face.
3. Answer questions p 496 and hand in

Pd 6
1. Share examples of essays w/ class
2. Exchange essay with a partner. Use your handout to find at least one strength and one weakness, preferably more. Exchange with someone else to see if they agree or not.
Due Mon: Final drafts, Rough draft w/corrections in different color, Outline

WED, AUG 19, 2009

WED, AUG 19

Pd 1
1. Quiz on 4 kinds of writing
2. Finish reading from Face to Face.
3. Answer 10 questions p 496 and hand in

Pd 4
1. Check 6 Traits quiz
2. Notes on 4 Kinds of Writing
3. Nonfiction p 484-5 for the 4 kinds of writing. Read from Face to Face by Ved Mehta aloud p 486-490, discussing exposition and the point when the story becomes more interesting

Pd 6
1. Check what writing you have done on your essay so far. none!
2. Discuss riding bicycle downhill experience.
HW: Completed rough draft due tomorrow w/ 5 part outline.
Example:
Introduction: Interesting & related to bike
I. My bike
II. Falling
III. Learning independence
Conclusion: Relating specific bike incident to general idea on independence without being predictable!

TUE, AUG 18, 2009

TUE, AUG 18

Pd 1
1. Take notes on 4 Kinds of Writing
2. Practice procedure for passing books out and replacing after use.
3. Nonfiction p 484-5 in the gold book for the 4 kinds of writing. Read from Face to Face by Ved Mehta aloud p 486-491, discussing exposition, the point when the story becomes more interesting, and inferences about the letter Ved writes.

Pd 2
1. Put notes in tray.
2. Check and discuss analysis in groups and as a class.
3. 11:00 leave for library to check out textbooks.
HW: Read about the Renaissance pp 166-175; “Whoso List to Hunt” p188 and answer questions 1-6; “Petrarchan Sonnets” p 193, noticing words in bold to know for quiz; and the definition of “conceit” p 1262 to memorize.

MON, AUG 17, 2009

MON, AUG 17

Pds 1 & 4
1. Review 6 Traits +1 and take quiz

Pd 2
1. Analysis of excerpt due tomorrow, not Wed.
2. Presentations

Pd 6
1. College essay: Read the Bad Essay on p 11 of handout and answer questions at the bottom. Discuss with class
2. Get back freewrite for experience & assignment sheet for College essay. Start writing about the experience you select. Final due Mon Aug 24.

FRI, AUG 14, 2009

FRI, AUG 14

Pds 1 & 4
1. AR deadline Thursday, Aug 27
2. Editing quiz
3. Any more presentations?
4. Cornell notes on Six Traits +1 of writing (Pd 1 only)

Pd 2
1. Hand in book notes; deadline for AR quiz on summer book is Tues, 8/18. Answer questions from summer assignment related to the literary terms.
2. Hand in persuasive essay.
3. Explanation of homework
HW: Literary analysis questions handout. due Wed.

Pd 6
1. Write a sentence for each kind of writing that is PRIMARILY that kind.
2. College essay handout. Find your personality
3. RHS Library website (p22 in planner) to access AR book list.

THU, AUG 13, 2009

THU, AUG 13

Pds 1&4
1. Library website for AR list of books (Pd1 only)
2. Meet w/partner to review editing marks. Quiz tomorrow.
3. Presentation of partners
HW: Study for Editing Marks quiz

Pd 2
1. Hand in book notes to tray
2. Quizzes: Editing Marks; Basic Literary Terms and check
HW: Write a persuasive essay for tomorrow about a topic in which your knowledge of facts is the only evidence. Choose from the following: Radford is a good/bad school. The café is a good/bad place to eat. My bedroom is clean/dirty. A _______ is an excellent pet. Computers are good/bad. 300-500 words. Grade based 90% on Ideas and their development with evidence and 10% on legibility. Be persuasive.

Pd 6
1. Quiz Editing Marks
2. Presentations of partners
3. Cornell notes on Four kinds of writing:
DESCRIPTIVE: uses the 5 senses
NARRATIVE: tells what happened
EXPOSITORY: explains; exposes facts
PERSUASIVE: convinces, sways the reader

WED, AUG 12, 2009

WED, AUG 12

Pds 1&4
1. Presentations of partners
2. Give your paragraphs to your partner to edit with editing marks for homework
HW: Edit your partner's writing with editing marks

Pd 2
1. Hand in reading notes to tray
2. Hand in best college essay
3. Quiz on Six Traits +1 of Writing
4. Meet with partner to check editing. Bring writing in tomorrow to hand in and take Quiz.
5. Discuss summer literature terms for Quiz tomorrow
HW: Quizzes: Editing Marks; Basic Literature terms (see summer assignment handout or Blog archive May 26)

Pd 6
1. Quiz on Six Traits +1
2. Meet with partner to check editing. Hand in. Quiz tomorrow.
3. Presentations of partners
HW: Editing Marks Quiz

TUE, AUG 11, 2009

TUE, AUG 11

Pds 1 & 4
1. Meecher partner quizzes
2. Presentations
3. Editing notes handout
HW: Write a ¶ that needs all 16 editing marks.

Pd 2
1. Notes to tray
2. Partners switch editing ¶s for homework.
3. Six Traits* of writing Quiz Wed (see below for traits)
HW: Read and answer questions on pp 4&5 of College Essay handout. We will be writing a college essay based on this handout.
HW: Bring in a copy of your best college essay if you have written any.

Pd 6
1. Presentations of partners
2. Six Traits* of writing Quiz Wed (see below for traits)
3. Exchange editing ¶s with your partner
HW: Edit partners writing with editing marks

*SIX TRAITS PLUS 1 OF WRITING
1. IDEAS: Meaning, message, content
2. ORGANIZATION: Structure, order
3. CONVENTIONS: Rules
4. VOICE: Writing is engaging, honest, and/or personal
5. WORD CHOICE: Words are rich, precise, and/or colorful
6. SENTENCE FLUENCY: The rhythm and flow of language
+1 PRESENTATION: Looks, appearance of the piece of writing

MON, AUG 10, 2009

MON, AUG 10

Pds 1&4
1. Finish Meecher Teacher
2. Write a quiz about yourself. Have 5 questions with 3 answers for each. Circle the right answer.

Pd2
1. Notes to tray
2. Share good example of writing about you and your book
2. Check editing quiz & get editing handout
3. Give your meecher quiz to partner
HW: Write a ¶ that needs all 16 editing marks.

Pd 6
1. Meecher partner quiz
2. Editing notes: Homework: Write a ¶ that needs all 16 editing marks.
3. Presentations

FRI, AUG 7, 2009

FRI, AUG 7

Pd 1
1. Cornell notes on Class Info sheet and new procedures
2. Meecher Teacher

Pd 4
1. Hand in list of experiences
2. Cornell notes on procedures

Pd 2
1. Hand in homework notes
2. Everyone has to have a book they will read or reread by Aug 18, do annotations for, and take an AR test on.
3. Notes on procedures for class
4. Meecher teacher quiz

Pd 6
1. Procedure notes
2. Get textbooks from library
3. Meecher teacher quiz
HW: Make a list of 10 interesting or unique facts about you or your life. Pick 5 and make a quiz about yourself with a multiple choice of 3 answers ( 2 wrong)

THU, AUG 6

Pd 1
1. AR rdg starts Mon
2. Editing Quiz
3. Finish names on planners
4. Teen Care

Pd 4
1. AR rdg starts Mon
2. Read & quiz on Class Info. Sheet
3. Teen Care
Homework: List 5-10 experiences you remember. Ex:1. Caesar the duck 2. Riding bike downhill

Pd 2
1.Take AR quiz if finished with book
2. Put HW in tray
3. Discuss notetaking
4. editing quiz & AR quizzes
5. Teen Care
HW: Not finished reading summer book?: Read, write down page numbers for the day, take some notes, and hand in every day until finished. Finish by 8/18.

Pd 6
1. AR rdg Monday
2. Cornell notes & procedures
3. Teen Care

Wed, Aug 5, 2009

Wed, Aug 5

Pd 1
1 Put HW list of 5-10 experiences in tray near desk
2. Get Class Info; read & qstn
3. Hand in Contact sheets
4. 9AM go to rm 117 photo ID

Pd 4
1. Go for ID photo
2. Café duty

Pd 2
1. Go for ID photo
2. Hand in essays
3. Books returned to students
4. Cornell notes on annotating
HW:
• If you have finished reading your book, do this for the plot: 1. Describe briefly the parts of your book that correspond to the 6 plot elements. 2. Find the climax in book and give location by page number. What qstns do you have? What possible answers?
• If you have not finished reading your book, you have until Aug 18 to finish:
Hand in pp read & notes daily until then. Ex: p230-245 &nts

Pd 6
1. Go for ID photo
2. Hand in HW
3. Qz Editing & check
4. Freewrite about one of your experiences. Can you write at least 300 words?

Tue, August 4, 2009

Tues, Aug 4

Pd 1
1. Alpha seating
2. Contact Sheet assignment
3. Write name on planner
HW: (Homework) List 5 –10 experiences you remember in your life, 10=100%

Pd 4
1. Alpha seating
2. Contact Sheet assignment
3. Quiz on Editing
4. Meet in rm 117 tomorrow for ID photos
No HW (Homework)

Pd 2
1. Alpha seating
2. Hand in literary term qstns
3. Quiz on Literary Terms
4. Hand in books w/annotation
5. Class Information: Eng 12
6. Contact Info sheets to return signed
HW: (Homework) Write a first person narrative essay of at least 750 words about your summer book experience. This is not literary analysis. Write a narrative (story) about you and your book. Make it interesting with details that only you could write. Include your thoughts, feelings, questions, realizations, and/or other similar sorts of things.
If you did not do the summer assignment, write about another book of merit that you read recently.

Pd 6
1. Alpha seating
2. Class Info: Eng 12 handout
3. Contact Sheet assignment
HW: (Homework) List 5 –10 experiences you remember in your life, 10=100%

Summer Assignment: Instructions for Annotating a Text

For AP Literature students who did not get a copy of the Summer Assignment, here are the two articles you need to read for annotating the book you chose in the previous blog entry. Essay How to Mark a Book By Mortimer J. Adler, Ph.D.   You know you have to read "between the lines" to get the most out of anything. I want to persuade you to do something equally important in the course of your reading. I want to persuade you to write between the lines. Unless you do, you are not likely to do the most efficient kind of reading. I contend, quite bluntly, that marking up a book is not an act of mutilation but of love. You shouldn't mark up a book which isn't yours. Librarians (or your friends) who lend you books expect you to keep them clean, and you should. If you decide that I am right about the usefulness of marking books, you will have to buy them. Most of the world's great books are available today, in reprint editions. There are two ways in which one can own a book. The first is the property right you establish by paying for it, just as you pay for clothes and furniture. But this act of purchase is only the prelude to possession. Full ownership comes only when you have made it a part of yourself, and the best way to make yourself a part of it is by writing in it. An illustration may make the point clear. You buy a beefsteak and transfer it from the butcher's icebox to your own. But you do not own the beefsteak in the most important sense until you consume it and get it into your bloodstream. I am arguing that books, too, must be absorbed in your blood stream to do you any good. Confusion about what it means to "own" a book leads people to a false reverence for paper, binding, and type -- a respect for the physical thing -- the craft of the printer rather than the genius of the author. They forget that it is possible for a man to acquire the idea, to possess the beauty, which a great book contains, without staking his claim by pasting his bookplate inside the cover. Having a fine library doesn't prove that its owner has a mind enriched by books; it proves nothing more than that he, his father, or his wife, was rich enough to buy them. There are three kinds of book owners. The first has all the standard sets and best sellers -- unread, untouched. (This deluded individual owns woodpulp and ink, not books.) The second has a great many books -- a few of them read through, most of them dipped into, but all of them as clean and shiny as the day they were bought. (This person would probably like to make books his own, but is restrained by a false respect for their physical appearance.) The third has a few books or many -- every one of them dog-eared and dilapidated, shaken and loosened by continual use, marked and scribbled in from front to back. (This man owns books.) Is it false respect, you may ask, to preserve intact and unblemished a beautifully printed book, an elegantly bound edition? Of course not. I'd no more scribble all over a first edition of 'Paradise Lost' than I'd give my baby a set of crayons and an original Rembrandt. I wouldn't mark up a painting or a statue. Its soul, so to speak, is inseparable from its body. And the beauty of a rare edition or of a richly manufactured volume is like that of a painting or a statue. But the soul of a book "can" be separate from its body. A book is more like the score of a piece of music than it is like a painting. No great musician confuses a symphony with the printed sheets of music. Arturo Toscanini reveres Brahms, but Toscanini's score of the G minor Symphony is so thoroughly marked up that no one but the maestro himself can read it. The reason why a great conductor makes notations on his musical scores -- marks them up again and again each time he returns to study them--is the reason why you should mark your books. If your respect for magnificent binding or typography gets in the way, buy yourself a cheap edition and pay your respects to the author. Why is marking up a book indispensable to reading? First, it keeps you awake. (And I don't mean merely conscious; I mean awake.) In the second place; reading, if it is active, is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in words, spoken or written. The marked book is usually the thought-through book. Finally, writing helps you remember the thoughts you had, or the thoughts the author expressed. Let me develop these three points. If reading is to accomplish anything more than passing time, it must be active. You can't let your eyes glide across the lines of a book and come up with an understanding of what you have read. Now an ordinary piece of light fiction, like, say, "Gone With the Wind," doesn't require the most active kind of reading. The books you read for pleasure can be read in a state of relaxation, and nothing is lost. But a great book, rich in ideas and beauty, a book that raises and tries to answer great fundamental questions, demands the most active reading of which you are capable. You don't absorb the ideas of John Dewey the way you absorb the crooning of Mr. Vallee. You have to reach for them. That you cannot do while you're asleep. If, when you've finished reading a book, the pages are filled with your notes, you know that you read actively. The most famous "active" reader of great books I know is President Hutchins, of the University of Chicago. He also has the hardest schedule of business activities of any man I know. He invariably reads with a pencil, and sometimes, when he picks up a book and pencil in the evening, he finds himself, instead of making intelligent notes, drawing what he calls 'caviar factories' on the margins. When that happens, he puts the book down. He knows he's too tired to read, and he's just wasting time. But, you may ask, why is writing necessary? Well, the physical act of writing, with your own hand, brings words and sentences more sharply before your mind and preserves them better in your memory. To set down your reaction to important words and sentences you have read, and the questions they have raised in your mind, is to preserve those reactions and sharpen those questions. Even if you wrote on a scratch pad, and threw the paper away when you had finished writing, your grasp of the book would be surer. But you don't have to throw the paper away. The margins (top as bottom, and well as side), the end-papers, the very space between the lines, are all available. They aren't sacred. And, best of all, your marks and notes become an integral part of the book and stay there forever. You can pick up the book the following week or year, and there are all your points of agreement, disagreement, doubt, and inquiry. It's like resuming an interrupted conversation with the advantage of being able to pick up where you left off. And that is exactly what reading a book should be: a conversation between you and the author. Presumably he knows more about the subject than you do; naturally, you'll have the proper humility as you approach him. But don't let anybody tell you that a reader is supposed to be solely on the receiving end. Understanding is a two-way operation; learning doesn't consist in being an empty receptacle. The learner has to question himself and question the teacher. He even has to argue with the teacher, once he understands what the teacher is saying. And marking a book is literally an expression of differences, or agreements of opinion, with the author. There are all kinds of devices for marking a book intelligently and fruitfully. Here's the way I do it:       .      Underlining (or highlighting): of major points, of important or forceful statements.       .      Vertical lines at the margin: to emphasize a statement already underlined.       .      Star, asterisk, or other doo-dad at the margin: to be used sparingly, to emphasize the ten or twenty most important statements in the book. (You may want to fold the bottom comer of each page on which you use such marks. It won't hurt the sturdy paper on which most modern books are printed, and you will be able take the book off the shelf at any time and, by opening it at the folded-corner page, refresh your recollection of the book.)       .      Numbers in the margin: to indicate the sequence of points the author makes in developing a single argument.       .      Numbers of other pages in the margin: to indicate where else in the book the author made points relevant to the point marked; to tie up the ideas in a book, which, though they may be separated by many pages, belong together.       .      Circling or highlighting of key words or phrases.       .      Writing in the margin, or at the top or bottom of the page, for the sake of: recording questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raised in your mind; reducing a complicated discussion to a simple statement; recording the sequence of major points right through the books. I use the end-papers at the back of the book to make a personal index of the author's points in the order of their appearance. The front end-papers are to me the most important. Some people reserve them for a fancy bookplate. I reserve them for fancy thinking. After I have finished reading the book and making my personal index on the back end-papers, I turn to the front and try to outline the book, not page by page or point by point (I've already done that at the back), but as an integrated structure, with a basic unity and an order of parts. This outline is, to me, the measure of my understanding of the work. If you're a die-hard anti-book-marker, you may object that the margins, the space between the lines, and the end-papers don't give you room enough. All right. How about using a scratch pad slightly smaller than the page-size of the book -- so that the edges of the sheets won't protrude? Make your index, outlines and even your notes on the pad, and then insert these sheets permanently inside the front and back covers of the book. Or, you may say that this business of marking books is going to slow up your reading. It probably will. That's one of the reasons for doing it. Most of us have been taken in by the notion that speed of reading is a measure of our intelligence. There is no such thing as the right speed for intelligent reading. Some things should be read quickly and effortlessly and some should be read slowly and even laboriously. The sign of intelligence in reading is the ability to read different things differently according to their worth. In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through you -- how many you can make your own. A few friends are better than a thousand acquaintances. If this be your aim, as it should be, you will not be impatient if it takes more time and effort to read a great book than it does a newspaper. You may have one final objection to marking books. You can't lend them to your friends because nobody else can read them without being distracted by your notes. Furthermore, you won't want to lend them because a marked copy is kind of an intellectual diary, and lending it is almost like giving your mind away. If your friend wishes to read your Plutarch's Lives, Shakespeare, or The Federalist Papers, tell him gently but firmly, to buy a copy. You will lend him your car or your coat -- but your books are as much a part of you as your head or your heart.   Instructions for Annotating a Text:[1]  Annotate – v. To furnish (a literary work) with critical commentary or explanatory notes [ad near + nota a mark, note] Inside Front Cover:  Keep a character list with a small space for character summary and for page references for key scenes, moments of character development, etc. Inside Back Cover:   Make note of your thoughts about Themes, allusions, images, motifs, key scenes, plot line, epiphanies, etc.   List and add page references and/or notes as you read.  Additional Markings: Chapter summaries/titles: At the end of each chapter, write a brief summary of the plot as it occurred in that chapter.  This does not have to be long or greatly detailed, but should include all relevant incidents.  Use plot-related language (TP, cf, Cx, RA, etc.), see below, whenever possible in your summary.  Supply an instructive title for each chapter of the book.  This may prove useful for books in which chapters are already titled.  This practice will help you solidify your understanding of a chapter in just a few of your own words. Underline: Within the text of the book, and as you read, underline or otherwise note anything that strikes you as important, significant, or memorable. If possible and profitable, write brief comments within the side margins that indicate your motivation in underlining. Focus on essential stylistic devices (diction, syntax, imagery, literary devices, tone) and elements of literature (plot, setting, characterization, point of view and theme). Often, I underline isolated words and phrases.  Occasionally, I connect such underlinings with a line, in essence creating a new sentence, a distillation of ideas or meaning. Brackets: Use brackets, as you read, together with abbreviations and symbols to indicate passages (too long to underline) that contain important themes, wonderfully nuanced descriptions, especially delightful phrasing and/or syntax, provocative assertions, and figurative language.  And, of course, write comments and analytical snippets to clarify your thinking. Vocabulary/unusual diction: Within the text of the book, circle words that are unfamiliar to you or whose use strikes you as unusual or inventive.  Look up words in a dictionary that seem essential to an understanding of the meaning or the sense of the author.  If it helps to do so, jot a brief definition or synonym nearby. Questions: Actively engage the text and further/confirm your understanding of each chapter by writing at least two open-ended questions for each.  Short essay questions are most useful.  Shifts: Note all shifts in point of view.  Note all shifts in time.  Note all shifts in diction and syntax. The Process: There are a number of procedural expectations that make annotation practical and effective.  1.   Implement a consistent system.  Use the same abbreviations and symbols every time you annotate (See Below). 2.   Use one color ink or pencil to make initial markings while reading; then go back with another color or colors to mark more thoroughly once you have finished a larger section and have had time to think about it. Why?  You may change your mind or get it wrong the first time, or subsequent discoveries may prompt a reevaluation of earlier findings. 3.   Do underlining, bracket notations, and circling as you read 4.   At chapter or section ends, stop to index page numbers on your front cover list of character information and traits as well as on your back cover list of themes, images, allusions, etc. Also, write chapter summaries at that time. 5.   Be neat and be disciplined. Some suggested Abbreviations/Symbols: b/c = because + = and w/ = with w/o = without b/t = between e.g. = for example ex = example info = information b4 = before ↑= increase, improvement, rising ↓ = decrease, decline, falling * = important ** = very important # = of the utmost importance; crucial to understanding > = use caret to point to an exact location   ∆ = change PLOT = plot item (and/or use one of the following)       EXP = exposition       TP = turning point       cf = conflict       RA = rising action       Cx = climax       FA = falling action       RES = resolution Ch = characterization S = setting POV = point of view (mention type: 1st person, limited omniscient, etc.) Th = theme LT = literary term (identify the term by name: irony, tone, foreshadowing, personification, metaphor, symbol, etc.)     Final Thoughts on Annotation: Think critically about what you are reading.  While the amount of annotation may vary widely from page to page, any thoughtful notes you add to a text will help you to read more critically – any thoughtful attempt to annotate your book will help you to understand the reading as you read – and, as I hope these instructions made clear, will help you return to the reading with confidence later.  [1] These Annotation Instructions have been adapted from Chris Rokous’s excellent guide to annotating which, in turn, was in part inspired and informed by “How to Mark a Book,” an essay by Mortimer J. Adler, Ph. D Reprinted from a link provided by Michelle Garbis, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Miami, Florida.

 

AP SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

Summer Reading - AP English Literature and Composition 2009-10
Ms. Scanlon: shscanlon@aol.com & www.scanlons.blogspot.com

CONGRATULATIONS on your acceptance into the AP English Literature and Composition class! I welcome you to an extremely rewarding and challenging course for your senior year. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me by email or phone 545-5023. See you in August, ready for the challenge!

1. This summer you will read and annotate one book from the list below. You will need to bring your book with annotations the first day of school. You will have a writing assignment (within the first two weeks of school) based on the questions generated from the text. You will also take an Accelerated Reader (AR) quiz when school begins. Read “How to Mark a Book” and “Instructions for Annotating a Text.” Bring both to class and keep in a binder for English.

2. You are to answer questions about basic literary elements for your book that are due the first day of school. This will be your study guide for the Question 3 essay on the AP Exam in May. We will also have a quiz on the basic literary term definitions the first day of class. To see this list, scroll down past the book list.

TITLE/ AUTHOR/ NATION/ PUBLISHING DATE/ BRIEF SUMMARY
Anna Karenina Leo Tolstoy Russian 1876
Tale of the married Anna and her love for Count Vronsky.

As I Lay Dying William Faulkner American 1930
The Bundren family must take the body of Addie, matriarch of the family, away to be buried. Along the way, we listen to each member of the macabre pilgrimage.

The Awakening Kate Chopin American 1899
The story of one woman's emotional journey from a stifled, miserable marriage to a spirited and lusty freedom.

Beloved Toni Morrison American 1987
Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has borne the unthinkable and not gone mad.

Billy Budd Herman Melville American 1886
A handsome young sailor is unjustly accused of plotting mutiny in this timeless tale of the sea.

Catch-22 Joseph Heller American 1961
Yossarian, the wise-ass bombardier, was too smart to die but not smart enough to find a way out of his predicament.

Ceremony Leslie Marmon Silko American 1981
Tayo, a World War II veteran of mixed ancestry, returns to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation. He is deeply scarred by his experience as a prisoner of the Japanese and further wounded by the rejection he encounters from his people.

Crime and Punishment Fyodor Dostoevski Russian 1866
An impoverished St. Petersburg ex-student formulates a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of an evil, worthless parasite.

A Doll's House Henrik Ibsen British play 1879
The story of Nora and Torvald rises above simple gender issues to ask the bigger question: "To what extent have we sacrificed our selves for the sake of social customs and to protect what we think is love?"

Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad British 1899 Assigned by an ivory company to take command of a cargo boat stranded in the interior of Africa, Marlow makes his way, witnessing the brutalization of the natives by white traders.

Invisible Man Ralph Ellison American 1953
Invisible Man is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, an unnamed African American man who considers himself socially invisible.

Lord Jim Joseph Conrad British 1899
A young, idealistic Englishman is disgraced by cowardice while serving as an officer on a merchant-ship. His life is ruined, but then his courage is put to the test once more. This book about courage and cowardice, self-knowledge and personal growth is one of the most profound and rewarding psychological novels in English.

Macbeth William Shakespeare British 1605
Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman in the king's army, is prophesied by witches to become king. Taking their words seriously, he and his wife plot to murder their king. Afterwards, Macbeth's insecurity and guilt lead him to kill innocent people until he himself is defeated.

Madame Bovary Gustave Flaubert French 1856
Emma Bovary, a bored country housewife, abandons her husband to pursue the libertine Rodolphe in a desperate love affair. Written in a modern style, this powerful novel was a scandal in its day.

The Mayor of Casterbridge Thomas Hardy British 1886
Michael Henchard, having sold his wife and baby early in the novel for five guineas while in a drunken rage, gets what he deserves despite his valiant efforts at atonement years later.

Medea Euripides Greek 341 BCE
Medea tells the story of the jealousy and revenge of a woman betrayed by her husband. She leaves home and father for Jason's sake, and after she has borne him children, he forsakes her.

Middlemarch George Eliot British 1871
This "Study of Provincial Life" has a multiple plot with a large cast of characters, and it pursues a number of underlying themes, including the status of women, the nature of marriage, idealism and self-interest, religion and hypocrisy, and education.

Moby Dick Herman Melville American 1851
This story tells the adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale, Moby Dick, a white whale of tremendous size and ferocity.

Obasan Joy Kogawa Canadian 1981
Obasan uses a combination of personal narrative, lyrical outpourings, official letters, and dreams to protest the treatment of Japanese-Canadians during World War II. The voices clash and mesh until they reach the ending, which both stuns and reveals truth.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles Thomas Hardy British 1891
Tess of the d'Urbervilles describes the experiences of a woman who, through no fault of her own, falls outside of the moral code of the Victorian era in which she lives and suffers long-reaching consequences as a social outcast.

Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston American 1937
An African American woman, Janie Crawford, tells the story of her life in Florida in the early 1900s and her marriages to three very different men.

Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte British 1847
This swirling tale of largely unlikeable people caught up in obsessive love that turns to dark madness is cruel, violent, dark and brooding. And yet it possesses a grandeur of language and design, a sense of pity and great loss that sets it apart.

LITERARY ELEMENTS & DEFINITIONS

You will write these definitions on a quiz the first day of class.

• THEME: The central or dominant meaning of a work as a whole. It is often a universal idea.
Theme is the most important term to understand in literature (fiction).

• PLOT: The sequence of events. It includes:
Exposition: background facts,
Conflict: problems or struggles,
Rising action: increasing levels of conflict,
Climax: point of greatest tension or the turning point,
Falling action: action that leads to the resolution,
Resolution: the culmination of the plot. ( also known as denouement)

• SETTING: A combination of:
(1) Place,
(2) Historical time, and
(3) Social environment

• CHARACTERIZATION: The ways an author describes and develops the characters.
FLAT characters are types, defined by a single quality.
ROUND characters have the three-dimensional complexity of real people & are developed by author.

• POINT OF VIEW: The vantage point from which a narrative is told.
FIRST person: The author tells the story through a character referred to as “I.”
THIRD person: The narrator is omniscient (all knowing) or limited.

• SYMBOL: Something that stands for itself and also suggests something larger and more complex--often an idea or a range of interrelated ideas, attitudes, and practices.

• ALLUSION: An indirect reference to a person, event, statement, or theme found in literature, the other arts, history, myths, religion, or popular culture.

QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR BOOK

Write the question. Write the answer on the line below it. Be sure you know the meaning of the terms.

1. In a well-written story, all other elements support the theme. What do you see as the theme of the book you read?
2. Write a statement (a précis) of the plot in one sentence, around 25 words. Do not go over 30!
3. Describe the three parts of the setting on three separate lines.
4. How does the setting impact the meaning of the work as a whole?
Answer questions 5, 6, 7, and 8
for at least two characters.
5. Name a character important to the theme.
6. Tell whether the character is flat or round.
7. Give the evidence that makes you think so. (Evidence is a literal fact or detail from the story)
8. How does the character fit into the meaning of the work as a whole?
9. What is the narrative point of view of your book?
10. How does the point of view fit with the meaning of the work as a whole?
11. Pick out a possible symbol and give the page and chapter where it is mentioned.
12. What might the symbol represent?
13. How is the symbol related to the meaning of the work as a whole?
14. Name an allusion and list the page and chapter where it is mentioned.
15. How does the use of the allusion add to the meaning of the work as a whole?

To learn to identify these elements, you must not get an answer from someone else. If you cannot find an answer or do not understand the question, I will help you learn how to find and understand it, either when school starts or in an email during the summer. shscanlon@aol.com


ANY WORK TAKEN FROM A STUDY GUIDE IS PLAGIARISM AND RECEIVES A FAILING GRADE