Tuesday, June 8, 2010

AP Summer Work

Just in case you lost it, here is the summer assignment for 2010...

You’ve got some fun ahead of you this summer! Here’s the complete list of what you have to do:
1. Read and take one page of two column notes for each chapter of How to Read Literature Like A Professor. Yes, that’s something like 27 pages of notes, but you’ll thank us later. This will be a resource that we will use all next year, so you really want to do a good job on it. This will be turned in on the first day of school. Pay particular attention to connecting what you're learning from the book to other books you have read.
2. Read the three required summer reading books:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
For Things Fall Apart and The Namesake, you need to post to the blog(mhsapliterature.blogspot.com) three times. There is a posting area for each third of the book(no worries about spoilers) – you post in the comments section. If you haven’t done this before, you will need to create a Google account to post with. Please do not use your last name in your username, but do give us some clue as to who you are. Your comments should be your questions, your observations, and your opinions about your reading. You should read all of the other comments in a thread before responding. You may include agreement with the comments of others, but your posts must include some original thinking or observation about the text; we need to know that you have read it! The use of specific textual evidence or passages to discuss is encouraged. Please do pay attention to your spelling, grammar, conventions, etc.; over 50 people will be reading this blog, so it’s common courtesy.
3. For Heart of Darkness, we would like you to take notes that will be used in an assignment in the beginning of the year. You should have 8-12 pages of notes for the book, using a two column format with quotations on one side, the reasons you chose them on the other. Please draw from the following categories:
· Rich vocabulary that enhances the setting and characterization
· Phrases (3-5 words) that catch your attention with their meaning, their elegance, their ability to reveal something deeper about a character or event
· Complete quotations that demonstrate character development
On the second day of school, you will be writing an in-class, timed essay on one of the novels, for which you will also need information from How to Read…so take good notes and read carefully…don’t be afraid to re-read!

Still looking for more? Here’s some books you might like…

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaardner
A Room With A View by E.M. Forster
The River Why by David James Duncan
The Anthologist by Nicholson Baker
Laughter in the Dark or Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein
My Life by Lyn Hejinian
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon

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