Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Pre-AP English II Summer Assignment

For freshmen advancing Pre-AP English II next year, please read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card at least once. Twice, or even three times, would be preferable. Be familiar with the plot, characters, and to the extent possible, the novel's major themes (you'll have to decide what those are).

We will begin work with the novel when we're back-to-school in August. Be prepared.

English I Writing EOC Retest Students: Sample Short Stories

To become better familiar with the practice and strategies of writing the 26-line story, I have begun writing 250(ish)-word stories, at least one per day. Each story is based on a prompt (not necessarily EOC-style, but they get the job done), and I do my best not to have a story in mind when I create the prompt. Occasionally, I comment on the writing process, as well.

If you'd like to see the stories, check out my other blog Wordstorm. If you'd like to write a story based on the prompt, print out a 26-line page, and have fun! If you'd like feedback, type the story into an email and send it to me.

Enjoy!

AP Lit (AP English IV): Questions for How to Read Literature Like a Professor

Writing Assignments for
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
by Thomas C. Foster

If you begin early and work on this assignment consistently throughout the summer, you will be able to complete it comfortably by August. Although I do want you to read every chapter, you do not have to do every assignment: just choose 17 of the 28, and please choose some assignments from the beginning of the book, some from the middle, and some from the end. Also, do not write volumes – concise, yet thorough, responses will suffice. I prefer that you type, but blue or black ink and neat handwriting is acceptable. This assignment will be due the first day of class. NOTE: you may substitute movies for literary works in this assignment, but remember your choice of literary works and film are an indication of your reading background. Multiple references to Disney, Harry Potter, and Twilight might be questioned.

Introduction: How'd He Do That?
How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern.

Chapter 1 – Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It's Not)
List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5.

Chapter 2 – Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion
Choose a meal from a literary work and apply the ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary depiction.

Chapter 3 – Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires
What are the essentials of the Vampire story? Apply this to a literary work you have read or viewed.

Chapter 4 – If It's Square, It's a Sonnet
Select three sonnets (you may google “sonnet”) and show which form they are. Discuss how their content reflects the form. (Submit copies of the sonnets, marked to show your analysis).

Chapter 5 –Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before?
Define intertextuality. Discuss three examples that have helped you in reading specific works.

Chapter 6 – When in Doubt, It's from Shakespeare...
Discuss a work that you are familiar with that alludes to or reflects Shakespeare. Show how the author uses this connection thematically. Read pages 44-46 carefully. In these pages, Foster shows how Fugard reflects Shakespeare through both plot and theme. In your discussion, focus on theme .

Chapter 7 – ...Or the Bible
Read "Araby" (available online, here). Discuss Biblical allusions that Foster does not mention. Look at the example ofthe "two great jars." Be creative and imaginative in these connections.

Chapter 8 – Hanseldee and Greteldum
Think of a work of literature (including film) that reflects a fairy tale. Discuss the parallels. Does it create irony or deepen appreciation?

Chapter 9 – It's Greek to Me
Write a free verse poem derived or inspired by characters or situations from Greek mythology. Be prepared to share your poem with the class. (Greek mythology available online and in your head)

Chapter 10 – It's More Than Just Rain or Snow
Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work, not in terms of plot.

Chapter 11 – ...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence
Present examples of the two kinds of violence found in literature (including film). Show how the effects are different.

Chapter 12 – Is That a Symbol?
Use the process described on page 106 and investigate the symbolism of the fence in "Araby." (Mangan's sister stands behind it.)

Chapter 13 – It's All Political
Assume that Foster is right and "it is all political." Use his criteria to show that one of the major works assigned to you as a sophomore or junior is political.

Chapter 14 – Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too
Apply the criteria on page 119 to a major character in a significant literary work (or film). Try to choose a character that will have many matches. This is a particularly apt tool for analyzing film and video games – for example, Star Wars, Cool Hand Luke, Excalibur, Malcolm X, Braveheart, Spartacus, Gladiator and Ben-Hur.

Chapter 15 – Flights of Fancy
Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. Explain in detail.

(optional chapters)
Chapter 16 – It's All About Sex... & Chapter 17 – ...Except the Sex
OK ..the sex chapters. The key idea from this chapter is that "scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at multiple levels and sometimes be more intense that literal depictions" (141). In other words, sex is often suggested with much more art and effort than it is described, and, if the author is doing his job, it reflects and creates theme or character. Choose a novel or movie in which sex is suggested, but not described, and discuss how the relationship is suggested and how this implication affects the theme or develops characterization.

Chapter 18 – If She Comes Up, It's Baptism
Think of a "baptism scene" from a significant literary work. How was the character different after the experience? Discuss.

Chapter 19 – Geography Matters…
Discuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster would classify under "geography."

Chapter 20 –...So Does Season
Find a poem that mentions a specific season. Then discuss how the poet uses the season in a meaningful, traditional, or unusual way. (Submit a copy of the poem with your analysis.)

Interlude – One Story
Write your own definition for archetype. Then identify an archetypal story and apply it to a literary work with which you are familiar.

Chapter 21 – Marked for Greatness
Figure out Harry Potter's scar. If you aren't familiar with Harry Potter, select another character with a physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization.

Chapter 22 – He's Blind for a Reason, You Know

Chapter 23 – It's Never Just Heart Disease...

Chapter 24 – ...And Rarely Just Illness
Recall two characters who died of a disease in a literary work. Consider how these deaths reflect the "principles governing the use of disease in literature" (215-217). Discuss the effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism.

Chapter 25 – Don't Read with Your Eyes
After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene or episode from a novel, play or epic written before the twentieth century. Contrast how it could be viewed by a reader from the twenty-first century with how it might be viewed by a contemporary reader. Focus on specific assumptions that the author makes, assumptions that would not make it in this century.

Chapter 26 – Is He Serious? And Other Ironies
Select an ironic literary work and explain the multivocal nature of the irony in the work.

Chapter 27 – A Test Case
Read “The Garden Party” by Katherine Mansfield, the short story starting on page 245. Complete the exercise on pages 265-266, following the directions exactly. Then compare your writing with the three examples. How did you do? What does the essay that follows comparing Laura with Persephone add to your appreciation of Mansfield's story?

AP Lit (AP English IV) Summer Assignment

AP Literature and Composition is a college-level elective focusing on critical reading, interpretation, and writing. Throughout the year, students read a variety of mature works of fiction and non-fiction in order to develop writing skills through a series of assignments in and out of class. This course aims to prepare students for life (and college) by exposing them to great writing and inspiring them to move beyond rudimentary assumptions and expression into higher-level insight and writing. Many of the works we read are challenging. The writing is frequent and requires a student to respond to readings that we worked with in class as well as works that have not been analyzed or discussed in the classroom. Research, synthesis, poetic analysis, critical thinking, critical reading, and critical writing make up the foundation of this course.

Enrollment in the 12th grade Advanced Placement English Program means that you, the student, have the training, the discipline, and the intelligence needed to succeed in an accelerated course.

Major Works: Textual Interface (Assignments)
  • How to Read Literature Like a Professor
    • Actively read this book and answer the corresponding questions from the handout.

  • Brave New World
    • This novel can be considered; fiction, science fiction, speculative fiction, and even prophetic. Read the novel and keep a list of details Huxley uses to illustrate his world.
    • In a brief composition, explain whether you fell Huxley correctly predicted the future. In other words, how closely does Huxley’s Brave New World society mimic out own. Remember, the novel was published in 1932.
Essay Prompts
In a typed, 500-700 word response that follows standard MLA format, choose one prompt.
  1. Do you tend to believe in the idea of fate or destiny; in other words, that “there are no random acts?”, or Do you believe in free will and the power to decide your path?
  2. Consider the following: “Sacrifice is a part of life…It’s not something to regret. It’s something to aspire to”. Analyze the concept of sacrifice, and then in a well written essay explain how the act of sacrifice is treated within literature.
All assignments are due on the first day of class in August. No exceptions or excuses.

Failure to complete any and all assignments will result in an F for the first six weeks, parent conference, and removal from the AP Lit course

It’s pretty simple; you have two and half months. Get it done.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sophomores, Freshmen: EOC Retest Info

If you need to retake an English EOC exam, please do.
Testing takes place on the following dates:

Monday, July 8: English I & III Writing
Tuesday, July 9: English I & III Reading
Wednesday, July 10: English II Writing
Thursday, July 11: English II Reading

If you need to retest for another subject, do that too.
Here's the info on that:

Monday, July 15: Physics and World History
Tuesday, July 16: Biology, Geometry, and US History
Wednesday, July 17: Algebra I and Chemistry
Thursday, July 18: Algebra II and World Geography

All tests will be administered at W.T. White High School.
Please contact the office for more information.
Address: 4505 Ridgeside Dr, Dallas
Phone: (972) 502-6200

Monday, June 10, 2013

English I (Pre-AP): Ender's Game Quickwrite on Graff

The unknown voices at the beginning of Chapter 3 of Ender's Game, suggest that to get Ender away from his sister, Valentine, he'll have to be told a lie. If the lie fails, he'll have to be told the truth.
In a brief paragraph explain whether Graff told Ender the truth or if everything he said was a lie. Support your response with evidence from the text.

Pre-AP English II: T-Chart for Animal Farm Chapters 1 & 2

The first essay option in the Summer Assignment addresses Santayana's assertion that one must remember history in order to have a chance to avoid repeating it. To see how the animals may have already started forgetting things, complete the following mini-project (we did this in class for a grade, so if you were absent, make sure you show it to me after you complete it):
  1. Make a T-Chart
  2. Label the first column: Original Seven Commandments
  3. Label the second column: Old Major's Speech
  4. In the first column, list each of the second commandments
  5. In the second column, list anything Major warned against that doesn't appear as a commandment
  6. If something appears as a commandment that Major didn't warn about, put a star next to it.
Keep this for your essay-writing notes.