Dear Incoming AP Literature Student, 2018-2019 As you begin your senior English experience, each work of literary merit you study over this summer and during our semester together will encourage you to examine the universal truths that literature can so artfully convey. Authors invite readers into their literary world, but we often find that world is a reflection of our world and ourselves. In that way, our study of literature will take us on a journey or, as Kenneth Burke once called it, imaginative rehearsals for life. Your reading will also help to round out your high school study of literature as a whole. The reading list, though, reflects works that have been cited frequently previous AP tests. You will see the number of times the work made it onto the tests from 1970-2015 in parentheses. This is a representative list. In order to better prepare for the independent reading and writing that the course demands, incoming AP Literature students are required to complete the following summer assignments: Critically read and dissect the epic poem, Beowulf. Connect the epic poem to How to Read Literature Like a Professor (HTRLLAP), a literary analysis guidebook. Select two works of classic literature from attached list. One must be written by a British author. Actively read and deconstruct each book by filling in the Major Works Data Sheet (MWDS). You will also share your books during the first weeks of school and may write in-class essay(s) using the books as primary texts. Select a passage from each text for submission. Keep your eye open for potential passages as you read. Compose a connections essay. Your MWDS will be helpful for this essay and any work that we do in September with these works. Select a work of your choice. Consider a work on the list that you have not read. It may be American or British. Compose a one-pager response. These assignments are due on the first day of school. Plan accordingly, since no late work even if you are absent from school or you are late to class will be accepted. Furthermore, you are required to submit a hard copy of your work on the first day. I advise you to print your work independently, since the school library is traditionally closed on day one. These assignments will be graded individually and then averaged for your weighted summer reading grade. I encourage you to e-mail me throughout the summer for any assistance on this assignment. Take advantage of this opportunity. Do not put off the work until the week before school starts! It is time-consuming and challenging! Email me at lhaines@pennsauken.net. So, enjoy your summer, friends, sun and surf, and save a quiet niche for your summer reading. Happy Reading! I look forward to taking part in next year s journey with you! Mrs. Haines
Advanced Placement Literature and Composition SUMMER READING REQUIREMENTS AP Literature Summer Assignment 1: Beowulf Reader s Notebook (Beowulf is the anchor text of our first unit.) In the Green Glencoe Textbook, read the historical background to the epic poem (pp. 42-47) and the epic poem, Beowulf, (pp. 48-77). As a companion piece, read and connect How to Read Literature Like a Professor (HTRLLAP) by Thomas Foster to Beowulf. It is recommended that you purchase a copy of HTRLLAP, since we will refer to the book throughout the semester; used copies are available on Amazon for $6 or so. You will maintain a Beowulf Reader s Notebook (RN) as you study both works, connecting Beowulf to HTRLLAP. A Reader s Notebook documents your thinking as you read, showing your active engagement with the works. As I read your RN, I will look for deeper level thinking and unique insights about Beowulf, along with connections to HTRLLAP. Your Beowulf Reader s Notebook should: offer reactions to what you are reading; analyze key moments within the epic poem (opening and closing scenes, scenes of violence, repeated imagery, etc.); examine symbols and themes; list key quotes (provide page numbers) and their significance; pinpoint Christian/Pagan allusions that you recognize; examine literary devices within the text; provide thought-provoking questions that you have as you read; connect to HTRLLAP/film/modern society/yourself. I would like you to organize your Reader s Notebook using the chapters in Beowulf as your guide. For example, the first section of your RN will explore, Grendel Attacks the Danes, (p. 48-51) and the last section of your RN will explore, The Funeral Fire (pp. 76-77). There will be 6 total sections in your Beowulf Reader s Notebook corresponding to the 6 sections of the epic poem. YOU WILL NEED TO SEE ME TO SIGN OUT A TEXTBOOK before the last day of school in Room 134, or you may visit my teacher s website on the high school website for a pdf version of the text. As a mandatory requirement, each section of your RN must have 2 specific, well-explained connections to How To Read Literature Like a Professor. (12 connections to HTRLLAP total; yes, you can reuse connections, but no more than twice). Highlight these connections with a highlighter in your Reader s Notebook. This assignment must be hand-written in a 5-subject notebook. Label each entry by date, section of Beowulf read, and pages read. Notes form is encouraged. Note: This notebook will be used throughout the course. Your Reader s Notebook must be submitted on the first day of school. Late work will earn zero credit. Email me at lhaines@pennsauken.net for clarification, to ask questions, or to show me your work in progress. Assignment #2: Select two works from the list. One must be denoted Summer Reading Choice. These are texts written by a British author. When you select your texts, try to balance your reading in each period. Your goal during the semester is to have three American and three British works that will be your go to texts for the AP test and round out your study of the classics canon. Hopefully, there are many American works on the list with which you are familiar. Complete a data sheet for each of the texts. Choose a passage (one paragraph up to three paragraphs) for depth of analysis from each of your two list-selected texts. Transfer each passage to a separate sheet of paper. You might type the passage find the text online and copy/paste it on the sheet; copy the passage from the text, trim the text so as only to reveal selected passage and then copy that again so only the passage appears on your sheet; or screen shot/pdf the passage and place on the paper. Check out the Genius Scan app. Be sure your passage is one that you would be interested in discussing with the class and/or exploring further. You will likely be asked to lead a discussion on a passage from one of the books. Be sure to include on each of your copies the page number on which the passage is found. In September, you will be doing a close reading of each passage, examining what you found there, examining how the language was used in that passage, so make sure you choose a passage where the language is particularly vibrant and affected you in some way. This type of analysis is typical on the AP Language and Composition test, as well as in a college English course.
Assignment #3: Compose a connections essay (minimum 3 paragraphs) on your list-selected texts. Focus on one of the following topics by which to compare both texts. This will also serve as your introduction to me as a writer. I m excited to hear your voice and see your personal writing style! Investigating Relationships Analyzing Tone Looking at Character Development Setting Figurative Language Assignment #4: If you are taking this class, reading is something that is important to you. You are reading for pleasure, but also to expand your depth of your reading. Consider reading one of the listed works that you may not have read in the past few years or one that you did not gain exposure to in previous years. Try to round out your reading of American and British literature. If you are rereading a text to become more expert on it, be sure that it will serve as one of your anchor texts for the AP test. Write a personal, one-page response in which you discuss the literary merit of your selection. Feel free to explore the text and allow your understanding to develop in the process of your discussion. Allow yourself to ask questions, to tell stories, to express yourself as you wish. You do not need a thesis; in fact, you can begin with a story, a declaration, a quote, or anything else you like. From there, go where you wish, provided that you stay focused on discussing your experience with, and thoughts about, your selection. You must, though, embed evidence of genuine reading, so refer to details and possibly even passages from your selected text. I will expect your essay to be cohesive and technically accurate. To be consistent, use the present tense to discuss the events in the text. Ancient Works Antigone (10) Sophocles play 441 BC Summer Reading Choice Oedipus Rex (7) Sophocles play 429 BC Summer Reading Choice 1500-1799 Romeo and Juliet (4) Shakespeare play 1597 9 th grade Julius Caesar (4) Shakespeare play 1599 10 th grade King Lear (17) Shakespeare play 1606 Summer Reading Choice Hamlet (6) Shakespeare play 1609 A Course Reading 1800-1899 Pride and Prejudice (7) Jane Austen novel 1813 Summer Reading Choice Jane Eyre (16) Charlotte Bronte novel 1847 Summer Reading Choice Wuthering Heights (21) Emily Bronte novel 1847 Summer Reading Choice A Tale of Two Cities (5) Charles Dickens Novel 1859 Summer Reading Choice The Mayor of Casterbridge (7) Thomas Hardy novel 1886 Summer Reading Choice The Awakening (13) Kate Chopin novel 1899 American Lit Tess of the d Urbervilles (8) Thomas Hardy novel 1891 Summer Reading Choice The Scarlet Letter (14) Nathaniel Hawtho novel 1850 American Lit Frankenstein (5) Mary Shelley novel 1818 A Course Reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (15) Mark Twain novel 1885 American Lit
1900-1939 Heart of Darkness (17) Joseph Conrad novel 1902 Summer Reading Choice The Great Gatsby (12) F. Scott Fitzgerald novel 1925 American Lit Their Eyes Were Watching God (13) Zora Neale Hurston novel 1937 American Lit Ethan Frome (7) Edith Wharton novel 1911 American Lit 1940-1969 Invisible Man (27) Ralph Ellison novel 1952 American Lit A Raisin in the Sun (9) Lorraine Hansberry play 1959 American Lit Catch-22 (13) Joseph Heller novel 1961 American Lit To Kill a Mockingbird (5) Harper Lee novel 1960 American Lit The Crucible (9) Arthur Miller play 1953 American Lit Death of a Salesman (9) Arthur Miller play 1949 American Lit 1984 (3) George Orwell novel 1949 10 th grade The Catcher in the Rye (2) JD Salinger novel 1951 American Lit The Glass Menagerie (10) Tennessee Williams play 1945 American Lit 1970-1989 The House on Mango Street (2) Sandra Cisneros novel 1984 American Lit Beloved (10) Toni Morrison novel 1987 American Lit The Color Purple (10) Alice Walker novel 1982 American Lit The Piano Lesson (6) August Wilson play 1987 American Lit 1990-Present: Your Choice
Name: Choice #1 Title of Work: Author: Genre: Summary of Selection. These are YOUR notes on your reading. Be thorough with your details regarding characters, setting (time and place), plot development (Remember your plot triangle) and resolution of the work. You may write your notes in a bulleted list. Notes of Interest. Use this section to identify your observations about the themes, symbolism, literary devices, structure of the work, style of the writer, diction, tone, shifts in narration, and other literary observations. You must identify and explain at least THREE different qualities from this list. #1: #2: #3: ThinkWrites. Use this space to list questions and reading observations as you read. Include at least FIVE entries in bulleted list format. Essential Quote. Select ONE important quote from the selection and explain its relevance to character and/or theme. Thematic Analysis.
Name: Choice #2 Title of Work: Author: Genre: Summary of Selection. These are YOUR notes on your reading. Be thorough with your details regarding characters, setting (time and place), plot development (Remember your plot triangle) and resolution of the work. You may write your notes in a bulleted list. Notes of Interest. Use this section to identify your observations about the themes, symbolism, literary devices, structure of the work, style of the writer, diction, tone, shifts in narration, and other literary observations. You must identify and explain at least THREE different qualities from this list. #1: #2: #3: ThinkWrites. Use this space to list questions and reading observations as you read. Include at least FIVE entries in bulleted list format. Essential Quote. Select ONE important quote from the selection and explain its relevance to character and/or theme. Essential Quote. Select ONE important quote from the selection and explain its relevance to character and/or theme. Thematic Analysis. Noteworthy Value of Selection. Could your choice selection be defined as a classic? Is it worthy of such a classification? Does it have artistic quality? Can it stand the test of time? Does it have universal appeal? Defend its noteworthy value.