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:

• How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
  
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
  

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.

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.

Pre-AP English II: Animal Farm Presentation

If you missed today's presentation on George Orwell and Animal Farm, please view the Prezi below and take decent notes. Consider bookmarking the Prezi, so you can refer to it--especially the timeline--as you read.



More on your Summer Assignment HERE

AP III Summer Assignment

AP English Language and Composition – Grade 11 Summer Reading and Writing Assignments

AP English Language and Composition, a college-level elective exploring the uses and power of language, challenges students to develop habits of analytical reading, critical thinking, and persuasive writing. It is actually two courses for the price of one, in that the journey we take toward becoming “effective citizen rhetoricians,” as the College Board intends, travels along the road of literature. Everything we study in some way touches on the two essential questions: “How and why do writers do what they do to say what they say?” and “What is American?” Your summer assignments will introduce you to the fundamental reading and writing processes we will continue to develop throughout the course, as preparation for the AP English Language and Composition Exam next May, as well as for rich and rewarding lives using and enjoying the power of language.

Major Works
Animal Farm by George Orwell. You are to read and annotate this novel and use it as your basis for the essay prompt. You are expected read actively and analytically, which will be demonstrated by the notes you take in your copy of Animal Farm. Simply underlining sections of the novel is not sufficient.

Essay
As we will explore this year, much of our study of literature and rhetoric revolves around the idea that America is itself an argument, both as an idea as well as a tension arising from the conflict between competing ideas. Choose one of the following prompts and compose an essay (not to exceed two typed, double-spaced pages) in which you articulate your argument.

1. George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In a well organized essay, defend, challenge or qualify the validity of this statement. Use examples from your own reading, observation, or experience to support your position.
   
   
2. Ralph Waldo Emerson an American rhetorician and essayist wrote, “The end of the human race will be that it will eventually die of civilization.” In a well organized essay, defend, challenge or qualify the validity of this statement. Use examples from your own reading, observation, or experience to support your position.

All assignments are due on the first day of class in August. No exception or any excuses will be accepted. Obviously, since you enrolled in this course, you already enjoy language and ideas. In addition to the above, we hope you will also read books of your own choosing for pleasure anyway this summer (which we strongly encourage you to do).

For questions about your assignment or the course, please contact:
Mrs. Sustaita (Scheffers): kscheffers@dallasisd.org
Mrs. Dorman: adorman@dallasisd.org

Pre-AP English II: Summer Assignment with Links to Discussion Questions

9/26 Update: At this point all responses need to be made on paper. Please submit your COMPLETE (not partial) responses when all 12 questions have been answered.

Sophomores entering Pre-AP II will be expected to complete the following assignment prior to class beginning at the end of August. Estimated weekly commitment: 1 hour.

Following are six pairs of short stories. You are expected to read at least one of them (feel free to read both), and participate in an online discussion. You need to answer two questions for one of each of the short story pairs.

Week 1 (6/4-8): Irony

• The Lottery, Shirley Jackson
  (Listen to an audiofile of "The Lottery" as you read; right-click audiofile link to save file to your computer.)

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Lottery"


• The Open Window, Saki (H.H. Munro)
  (Click the yellow player link on this website to listen to the story as you read; right-click this link to save file to your computer.)

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Open Window"

Week 3 (6/18-22): Coming of Age

• Araby, James Joyce
  (Listen to an audiofile of "Araby" as you read; right-click audiofile link to save file to your computer.)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Araby"


• A&P, John Updike

Check out the discussion board questions for "A&P"

Week 5 (7/2-6): Horror

• Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Fall of the House of Usher"


• Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)
  > Abridged Graphic Novelization Supplement

Check out the discussion board questions for "Tell-Tale Heart"

Week 7 (7/16-20): Prejudice

• Barn Burning, William Faulkner (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Barn Burning"


• Cathedral, Raymond Carver

Check out the discussion board questions for "Cathedral"

Week 9 (7/30-8/3): Magic Realism

• Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Very Old Man with Enormous Wings


• The Monkey’s Paw, W.W. Jacobs (listen here)
  

Check out the discussion board questions for "Monkey's Paw"

Week 11 (8/13-17): Irony (yes, again!)

• The Bet, Anton Chekhov (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Bet"


• The Yellow Pill, Rog Phillips

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Yellow Pill"

Incoming Pre-AP English II Students: Week 9 Reading Assignment

This week's topic is Irony. Again. (It's the predominant tone of contemporary writing, so get used to it.)

Welcome to the final week of your summer vacation reading (one more week of discussion boards after this). This week's stories were chosen by Mr. Barbee, who many of you will have for AP English III during your junior year.

"The Bet" by Anton Chekhov (audio file)

"The Yellow Pill" by Rog Phillips (sorry, no audio file for this one).

To download the audiofile for "The Bet" to listen to on your MP3 device, please right-click the link and choose "save." The audiofile should supplement your reading, not replace it; you are still required to read "The Bet" if that's the story you choose (reading both would be nice, but that's not required).

Incoming Pre-AP English II Students: Week 9 Reading Assignment

This week's stories depart on flights of fancy into the unknown. Read one (at least) and come back next week for discussion questions.

• A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (audiofile)


• The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs (audiofile)

To download the audiofiles to listen to on your MP3 device, please right-click the link and choose "save." The audiofile should supplement your reading, not replace it; you are still required to read the story you choose (reading both would be nice, but that's not required).

Incoming Pre-AP English II Students: Week 7 Reading Assignment

This week's stories deal with themes of prejudice, and therefore may be somewhat disturbing to some of you. Please do your best to get through one or both; you may have an opportunity to discuss your feelings in your responses next week.

• Barn Burning by William Faulkner (audiofile)
  
  The word niggard (more appropriately, niggardly) means "stingy," "ungenerously small" or "meager." (The fire the narrator's father builds is not a large fire; it gives off very little heat and light.) It is a different word than the racial slur that also begins with the letter N. (That word also appears in the story and if you find it necessary to refer to it in your response(s) next week, please substitute N-word or n-----.)


• Cathedral by Raymond Carver (no audiofile available)
  
  Don't do drugs. Stay in school. Hit the books; they don't hit back.

Incoming Pre-AP English II Students: Week 5 Reading Assignment

This week's options fall under the category of horror and both come from Edgar Allan Poe. The horror found in these stories is psychological rather than the gooshy mess that makes up the modern horror movie. Be patient with it.

• Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)


• Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)
  > Abridged Graphic Novelization Supplement

Incoming Pre-AP English II Students: Week 3 Reading Assignment

A coming-of-age story shows the change of maturity or psychological growth of the protagonist as he or she transitions from being a youth to becoming a young adult. Please pick one of these two stories to read for Week 3:

• Araby, James Joyce
  (Listen to an audiofile of "Araby" as you read; right-click audiofile link to save file to your computer.)


• A&P, John Updike

Of course, you can always read both.

Incoming Pre-AP English II Students: Summer Reading Assignment

9/26 Update: At this point all responses need to be made on paper. Please submit your COMPLETE (not partial) responses when all 12 questions have been answered.

Sophomores entering Pre-AP II will be expected to complete the following assignment prior to class beginning at the end of August. Estimated weekly commitment: 1 hour.

Following are six pairs of short stories. You are expected to read at least one of them (feel free to read both), and participate in an online discussion. You are expected to read at least one of them (feel free to read both), and participate in an online discussion. You need to answer two questions for one of each of the short story pairs.

Week 1 (6/4-8): Irony

• The Lottery, Shirley Jackson
  (Listen to an audiofile of "The Lottery" as you read; right-click audiofile link to save file to your computer.)

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Lottery"


• The Open Window, Saki (H.H. Munro)
  (Click the yellow player link on this website to listen to the story as you read; right-click this link to save file to your computer.)

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Open Window"

Week 3 (6/18-22): Coming of Age

• Araby, James Joyce
  (Listen to an audiofile of "Araby" as you read; right-click audiofile link to save file to your computer.)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Araby"


• A&P, John Updike

Check out the discussion board questions for "A&P"

Week 5 (7/2-6): Horror

• Fall of the House of Usher, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Fall of the House of Usher"


• Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe (listen here)
  > Abridged Graphic Novelization Supplement

Check out the discussion board questions for "Tell-Tale Heart"

Week 7 (7/16-20): Prejudice

• Barn Burning, William Faulkner (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Barn Burning"


• Cathedral, Raymond Carver

Check out the discussion board questions for "Cathedral"

Week 9 (7/30-8/3): Magic Realism

• Very Old Man with Enormous Wings, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "Very Old Man with Enormous Wings


• The Monkey’s Paw, W.W. Jacobs (listen here)
  

Check out the discussion board questions for "Monkey's Paw"

Week 11 (8/13-17): Irony (yes, again!)

• The Bet, Anton Chekhov (listen here)

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Bet"


• The Yellow Pill, Rog Phillips

Check out the discussion board questions for "The Yellow Pill"