Get documents about "Summer Assignment Due Date: August 8, 2012
Document Sample
AP English Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2012
Summer Assignment Due Date: August 8, 2012
Note: You cannot drop the course once signed up. Not completing this summer
assignment is not an excuse to drop!
AP English Language and Composition:
This course is designed to prepare highly motivated English language students for the rigors of
college reading and writing. Reading material will be drawn from works of prominent scholars and
noteworthy selections of literature. Students must come prepared with the fundamentals of English
grammar/mechanics, basic writing skills and read at grade level.
*Please note that this course will encourage discussion on various themes related to course reading
and may include sensitive subject matter such as – contemporary politics, religious ideology, gender
norms and changing views on sexuality.
The class website is located at
http://ahosi.weebly.com
Please go to this site for electronic copies of the summer
assignment and other course information. If you have further
questions or concerns, please email Ms. Montgomery or Mrs.
Kostun.
shalom@hlpusd.k12.ca.us
or
jmsmith@hlpusd.k12.ca.us
Originated by J. Wentrcek 2011/C. Covin 2011; Adapted by J. Kostun/S. Montgomery 2012
AP English Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2012
Objective
The “American Dream” has typically been that if a person works diligently, then he (or she) will be able to
achieve whatever they would hope to achieve. Today, this may not always be the case; the American Dream
has evolved to mean many other realities as well. More importantly, how the American Dream is achieved is
interpreted and carried out in several different ways. And the how often tells us about the why something is
done. In helping you think about this theme, you will be reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and a
memoir of your choice from the following list. While the writing portion of the assignment will be due during the
summer, our Gatsby exam and discussions about the text’s themes, characters, and literary devices will be
discussed and evaluated in class starting on the first day of school.
Required Reading
Note: It is our preference to have a “hard copy” of the text versus an electronic copy (i.e., a Kindle so that the
books can be collected and checked for annotations). Please note, throughout our year of work together,
students will always have ample notice if a textbook is preferred to be purchased. The copy does not need to
be new; it is only preferred that it be free of markings if the copy is used so that the annotations of student are
readily identifiable by the instructor.
□ The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Available to check out in the textbook room
□ A Memoir, an account of personal experiences of an author, from the following list to help
broaden the interpretation of the American Dream. Please be advised that some of the
materials may contain mature material.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah
Angela’s Ashes, Frank Mc Court
Black Like Me, John Howard Griffin
Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
It Stops With Me: Memoir of a Canuk Girl, Charleen Touchette
Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America & American in Iran, Azadeh Moaveni
On the Road, Jack Kerouac
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, Carols M.N. Eire
Warriors Don’t Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock’s Cenral High, Melba Pattillo Beals
Originated by J. Wentrcek 2011/C. Covin 2011; Adapted by J. Kostun/S. Montgomery 2012
AP English Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2012
Steps for Completion and Understanding
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
1) Read The Great Gatsby and annotate it. If checked out from the textbook room you may record your
annotations by putting your comments in the margins with post-it notes.
Please see our class website - http://ahosi.weebly.com - if you need additional clarification
about annotation. Annotation is essentially your “conversation” with a text as shown thorough
writing questions for clarification discussion, highlighting and finding out unfamiliar terms as well
as predictions before the chapter (based off of what events happened in the preceding chapter)
and concluding remarks and questions at the end of the chapter.
2) Use the T-Chart format to record the evidence for the symbols most commonly noted in The Great
Gatsby :
White
Green
East Egg
West Egg
The Valley of Ashes
Dr. T.J. Eckleberg
Gatsby’s parties
Owl Eyes
As you cite text evidence, you must explain each piece so that the connection is clear. For each symbol
you must find 2 or 3 places in the text to explain. The chart will be due to Turnitin.com by August 8,
2012 at 12am and the hard copy is due in class
Evidence of Symbol with Text Support Explanation
The Green Light, Ch. 1—“ Gatsby uses the light to guide him. His ambition is
founded in hope, and through hope he aspires
toward his dream of Daisy and what it would mean
to have the fixtures of his lifestyle.
Originated by J. Wentrcek 2011/C. Covin 2011; Adapted by J. Kostun/S. Montgomery 2012
AP English Language and Composition
Summer Assignment 2012
A Memoir
1) Read one memoir from the list above. Prior to your memoir choice, read some background information
so that you have an idea about what the text is about. Pick the one that peaks your interest most.
2) You will respond to your reading by creating a poster of your memoir that contains the following items:
Title of Memoir and Author’s full name
A short essay (500 word) response to the memoir reading in which you reflect on the narrator’s
and possibly other character’s interpretation of the American Dream. Submit essay to
turnitin.com prior to August 8th.
Visuals to represent various interpretations of the American Dream in a montage (mixture of
visual images). Please do not use images from a film adaptation of the memoir as part of your
montage. It should feature images you interpret from your reading and not someone else’s’.
A standard size poster board is the largest size you can use, and the smallest is a 12 x 18 page
In Review
Once again, your summer assignment is due in class on the first day of school, August 8, 2012. Make sure
you have submitted your T-chart and short essay to turnitin.com prior to coming to school. (See turnitin.com
for the due date and time). You will need to bring to class –
Your annotated copy of The Great Gatsby
T-Chart on the symbols in The Great Gatsby
Poster for your Memoir and your interpretation of its theme – The American Dream
*Be prepared for a comprehension test on The Great Gatsby.
TURNITIN.COM
ID: 5155949
Password: summer12
Originated by J. Wentrcek 2011/C. Covin 2011; Adapted by J. Kostun/S. Montgomery 2012
