Independent Reading Response #2: Due 1/3

Please share your final copy and print it. Be sure to include the choice in your title.
Thank you and happy holidays!
AP Lit Choice Board

Tragic Terms Quiz #2 12/20, Watch/Notes Video Due Wed. 12/21

Due Tomorrow: Tragic Terms Quiz #2 tomorrow.
Study definitions in notes notebook. Be able to define, identify all terms. Word bank will be provided on quiz.
Word Bank:
Plot
Central Theme
Character
Verbal Expression
Spectacle
Song
Chorus
Orchestra
Prologos
Parados
Episode
Stasimon
Exodos
Skene

Due Wednesday: Watch You Tube Video "Professor Edith Hall on Euripides' Medea". Take Cornell Notes in notes notebook. Left side: Notes, key ideas Right side: Reactions, questions, links to class lessons, prior knowledge, connections, thoughts.

Buy Norton Critical Edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. You will need it soon! See required texts list for link to correct edition on Amazon.

HW Due Mon. 12/19

Read, annotate, and define bolded words "Context: Medea & Jason".DO NOT do the literary 3x3s. We will do them in class on Monday. Please bring your annotated copy with the definitions to class. There are no extra copies. If you have lost it, print from the link above.

Tragic Terms Quiz #2 on Tuesday. Word list to come.

Trip Tomorrow: 12/14/16

We will visit The Morgan Library & Museum tomorrow. We will take a bus there and back. Please make a note that this is a change from the original plan. No students will be dismissed in Manhattan.
Bring a lunch with you and we will eat once we return from the trip. You can store your lunch in your locker.

Prepare for the trip by reading about the author, Charlotte Bronte, and the exhibition, An Independent Will 

Please adhere to these guidelines for tomorrow's trip:

Be in full uniform. Students not in full uniform will not be allowed to attend.
Be on time. We will be leaving sometime during period 2.
Bring a notebook and pen so you can take notes during the tour.
Eat breakfast. We will not have a chance to eat until we return.
We will split up into two groups.
From our educators who will lead our tours:

We will meet your class at the front of the museum, take them to stow any coats and bags, and then we will divide in two for the remainder of your visit. (It speeds things up if these two groups are determined in advance.) Both groups will spend time studying primary materials in the Bronte exhibition and learning about J.P. Morgan and his historic 1906 library. At the end of the program we will reconvene downstairs to collect belongings and say good-bye. We are scheduled to be finished at 12.15.

During their visit of the Morgan students will participate in group discussions; be encouraged to talk, ask questions, and explore.

HW Due Tues. 12/13

Due Tuesday: 
Study list of vocab words. Refer to your notes for the definitions. You will be quizzed on your ability to identify and define these words.

1. Anagnorisis
2. Catharsis
3. Fate
4. Hamartia
5. Hubris
6. Oracle
7. Mimesis
8. Pathos
9. Phobos
10. Prophet
11. Tragedy
12. Tragic hero
13. Will

Print (or copy), read, and annotate these lyrics: Awolnation's "Kill Your Heroes" (see below).
How do the lyrics relate to Aristotle's Tragic Terms? Be prepared to identify terms represented below.
If you'd like to watch the video, you can see it here: YOUTUBE

Kill Your Heroes

AWOLNATION

Well I met an old man dying on a train.
No more destination, no more pain.
Well he said one thing, before I graduate
"Never let your fear decide your fate."

I say ya kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry.
No need to worry 'cause, everybody will die.
Every day we just go, go, baby don't go.
Don't you worry we love you more than you know.

Well the sun one day will
Leave us all behind.
Unexplainable sightings
In the sky.
Well I hate to be
The one to ruin the night.
Right before your, right before your eyes.

I say ya kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry.
No need to worry 'cause, everybody will die.
Every day we just go, go, baby don't go.
Don't you worry we love you more than you know.

Well I met an old man dying on a train.
No more destination, no more pain.
Well he said one thing, before I graduate
"Never let your fear decide your fate."

I say ya kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry.
No need to worry 'cause, everybody will die.
Every day we just go, go, baby don't go.
Don't you worry we love you more than you know.

I say ya kill your heroes and fly, fly, baby don't cry.
No need to worry 'cause, everybody will die.
Every day we just go, go, baby don't go.
Don't you worry we love you more than you know.

HW Due Fri. Dec. 9

Watch The Wombats' "Greek Tragedy" with lyrics.
Print/read/annotate "Greek Tragedy" lyrics.
Write on back on printed lyrics: How are the lyrics indicative of Aristotle's definition of "tragedy"? Use evidence in your analysis.

Due Monday

Dialectical Journals will be collected and graded.
Read HTRLLAP Chapter 8 - "...Greek to Me". Annotate for hallmarks of Greek tragedy.
We will begin to read Medea (copies provided to you) next week.

Socratic Seminars Tomorrow & Thursday; Dialectical Journal Collection Monday

We will discuss the entire book, Ragtime, in Socratic Seminar format tomorrow and Friday.
Dialectical journals will be collected on Monday. Make sure there are 10 pages minimum for each part of Ragtime (30 pages total).

Due Thursday: Finish Ragtime

Complete reading Ragtime. Write 10 pages in dialectical journal for Part III.
Thursday and Friday we will conduct Socratic Seminars. Everyone will participate in inner circle once.
Please prepare at least 3 topics/questions for discussion.

Choice Board

For Monday's independent reading response. This was distributed in class and posted in October.
CHOICE BOARD

HW Due Mon. 11/28

Read Ragtime to p. 212 (end of part II)
Write min. 10 pages in dialectical journals.
`
Independent Reading Response #1 due 11/28.
Please share and print if possible, as well.
See choice board for directions.

HW Due Wed. Nov. 23

Watch and take notes on the video, "What is Ragtime Music?".
Be prepared to write about what you have learned and/or discuss it.

Article for Monday

Please pre-read then we will review in class. "E.L. Doctorow's Ragtime in the Context of Historiographic Metafiction" (World Literature Journal)
Make sure you have read Ragtime until page 105 and are keeping up with the dialectical journal entries (minimum 10 pages journal entries - total 10 not 10 per chapter!- for first 105 pages of text).

For further reference, read: "E.L. Doctorow's Postmodernist Style" (LA Review of Books), which supports our initial class discussion re: Postmodernism and Gatsby and the essay by Donald Barthelme.

In-Class Timed Essay Tomorrow

Please be on time to class. Time starts when bell rings. If you are late, you do not get the time back. If you are entitled to additional time via accommodations, please come to finish your essay in B20 during lunch tomorrow ONLY.
Regular Time: 40 minutes
Extended Time 1.5: 60 minutes
Extended Time 2: 80 minutes

You will only be allowed to use the prompt (which will be posted on the SmartBoard), your pen, and loose leaf paper.

Please refer to the following resources to prepare yourself for the essay; Study them, review them.
Annotated copy of Gatsby
Cornell Notes from Envelope Presentations
Your Envelope Activity notes

Tips for writing Open Response Question 3:
NOTE: On the actual test, you are to address a prompt that can be applied to many different novels/short stories. On your in-class essay you will apply the prompt given (not the one on the document below, this is just an example) to Gatsby.
http://www.csh.k12.ny.us/webpages/ahenry/files/essay%20tips,%20open%20essay.pdf
Thank you to the teachers at Cold Spring Harbor High School who posted these tips online.

HW Due Friday 11/18

Due Friday: Read Ragtime to end of Part I (p. 105).
For each chapter or when you feel inspired, write in dialectical journal (minimum 10 pages total).

This week at a glance:
Mon.: Richard Cory poem and lyrics
Tues: Gatsby Gallery Walk
Wed: Gatsby essay
Thurs: Sonny's Blues Socratic Seminar
Fri: Ragtime

Due Tomorrow

I will be on a trip tomorrow with the juniors. Please complete the envelope posters by the end of the period. If you need to work on it during the day or at lunch, just make sure they are in my room by the end of the day.

Please leave your dialectical journals on my desk.

Ragtime due in class on Monday. Please secure your own copy. Reading will be assigned.

Upcoming Due Dates, please note revised deadlines

Continue to work on your Envelope Activity. Next week you will complete a final project in class.
Dialectical Journals will be collected the day that the project is complete. Please make sure you have completed all entries even if you were absent that day.

Due Nov. 7: Ragtime due in class.
Due Nov. 14: Read/annotate "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin
Due November 28: Independent Reading Response #1 due (see choice board)

HW Due Friday Nov. 4

For Tomorrow: Print, read, annotate the poem, "Richard Cory" by Edward Arlington Robinson.

Write response in dialectical journal.

Upcoming Due Dates: 

Envelope Activity project due Monday 11/7.

Dialectical Journals will be collected on Monday 11/7. 

Ragtime due on Monday 11/7.

Independent Reading Response #1 due 11/14.

HW Due Wed. 11/2

HW: Read Chapters 8 and 9 of Gatsby by Wednesday. Annotate according to envelope assignment. Write min. 2 pages in dialectical journals for each chapter read.

Record vocabulary in book or notebook:

Chapter 8:

1. Indiscernible (148):
2. Redolent (148):
3. Unscrupulous (149):
4. Stratum (149):
5. Armistice (150):
6. Corroborate (153):
7. Garollous (156):
8. Forlorn (159):
9. Fortuitous (161):
10. Amorphous (161):

Chapter 9:

1. Pasquinade (171):
2. Superfluous (174):
3. Elocution (181):
4. Pander (189):
5. Aesthetic (189):

HW Due Friday 10/28

HW: Refer to Chapter 5 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Define “noblesse oblige” (Oxford English).

Write in dialectical journal: How does this concept apply to Gatsby? Focus on how it has applied thus far and in Chapters 6 and 7.

Read Chapters 6 and 7.

Record vocabulary in book or notebook. Page #s may be inaccurate. Sorry (again).

Chapter 6:

1. Insidious (98):
2. Meretricious (98):
3. Ineffable (99):
4. Turgid (99):
5. Debauchee (100):
6. Antecedent (101):
7. Euphemism (107):
8. Menagerie (107):

Chapter 7:

1. Affront: (115):
2. Genial (118):
3. Medium (112):  spirits…
4. Tumultuous (126):
5. Portentous (127):
6. Vicariously (131):
7. Rancor (132):
8. Magnanimous (135):
9. Inquest (136):
10. Truculent (140):
11. Rift (144):

HW Due Wed. 10/26

Read Gatsby Chapter 4 and 5 by Wednesday.

Annotate for envelope activity.

Write min. 2 pages in dialectical journals for each chapter.

Record and define vocabulary in books or notebooks. Make sure you have defined the proper part of speech using Oxford English Dictionary ONLY!

****These page numbers may be wrong. Sorry. I am pretty sure I am doing too many tasks at once. When you see these words in the book, define****
Chapter 4:

1. Knickerbockers (62):
2. Punctilious (64):
3. Rajah (65):
4. Somnambulatory (69):
5. Juxtaposition (71):
6. Beaux (75):

Chapter 5:

1. Harrowed (90):
2. Tonic (90):
3. Defunct (91):
4. Kant (93):
5. Vestige (94):
6. Postern (96):
7. Swathe (96):
8. Pompadour (99):
9. Nebulous (100):

HW Due Mon. 10/24

Read Gatsby Chapter 3.
Enter these vocabulary words with definitions in context: (note them where they appear in your books)

1. Innuendo: suggestive hint (40)
2. Prodigality: wasteful extravagance (40)
3. Homogeneity: of the same kind (44)
4. Spectroscopic: relationship between matter and electromagnetic radiation  (44)
5. Obstetrical: present, focused (50)
6. Subterfuges: deceit in order to achieve a goal (58)

Create dialectical journal entries (minimum 2 pages, with evidence on left side - what text says and with reaction on right side - your opinions, comments, connections, noticings)

Preview image that we will discuss in class.

“Gatsby’s Long Island”

Think: How does image enhance your understanding of Gatsby?

Envelope presentations: Chapter 1 - 3 on Tuesday.

HW Due Thursday *field day tomorrow*

Read Gatsby Chapter 2. Annotate according to envelope activity assignment.
Be prepared to tell me your independent reading title on Thursday (no need to bring in book).

HW Due Friday Oct. 14; reading/SOAPSTone due Tuesday 10/18

Due Tomorrow: Read the remainder of Chapter 1 of Gatsby. Annotate for signs of peripheral character's perception of The American Dream.
Due Tuesday 10/18: Read "Not Knowing" by Donald Barthelme - create SOAPSTone for the essay (on loose leaf).

HW Due Thurs. Oct. 13

Due Thurs. 10/13: Read and annotate "The Jazz Age and The Roaring Twenties"
Must be signed into WJPS email to access the document.
Be prepared to discuss the impact of historical context on Gatsby.

Gatsby due in class Thurs. 10/13

Independent Reading Response #1 Due Nov. 11: See choice board for details. Must be signed into WJPS email to access the document. Book must be fiction - preferably "The American Dream" theme. Choose a book from the list of AP recommended books (see top nav bar of blog) or see Mrs. Marks to ensure your book is of literary merit.

Due Tuesday Oct. 11

Read/annotate background article on The Great Gatsby.

Read/annotate "Zelig" - the first story in The Greatest American Short Stories of the Century. Please bring the book with you to class on Tuesday. Respond in dialectical journal.

Dialectical journals will be collected on Tuesday. Please have your book with you in class when the bell rings. Late books will lose points. If you have been absent for any of the journal assignments, please make them up. You are responsible for all entries. Please also make sure the entries are dated and organized. Each entry should have a title of the text you are responding to and should be divided into two columns, text and analysis/reaction. Going forward, all entries should be done in this format. At this point, it matters that you did the entries, don't worry about the format.

Please make sure you have ordered your copy of Gatsby and you will have it in class on the due date.

FRIDAY, plus HW Due Tues. 10/11

Tomorrow first 1/2 of period: Complete Literary 3X3 for "Death by Landscape". Each group must submit minimum of 3, 3-word sentences according to your assignment (plot, theme, author's message). Please make sure each index card (3x3) contains the assignment title, (plot, theme, or author's message), the 3-word sentence, plus the group members' names. 
Tomorrow second 1/2 of period: Read "Zelig" (story #1) in The 100 Greatest American Short Stories of the Century tomorrow. Finish the story by Tuesday.
Write in dialectical journal: How is the story "Zelig" a comment on The American Dream?
Due Tuesday: Dialectical Journals will be collected. Please make sure ALL entries are done (including students who came to class after day 1). All assignments are posted on the blog. Please make sure all entries are dated and titled.

HW Due Thurs. Oct. 6

Read How to Read Literature Like a Professor chapters 7-10. Create dialectical journal entries for each chapters, making connections to books and short stories you have read in school or outside of school.

Bring your annotated copy of "Death by Landscape" on Thursday.

Dialectical journals will be collected Tues. Oct. 11. (no more extensions, I promise!)

Gatsby due in class 10/13.

The Best American Short Stories of the Century, Gatsby, Dialectical Journals updated due date

Please begin to bring your book, The Best American Short Stories of the Century, to class on Friday, Oct. 7.
You will have an assignment to read a story that day in class. If you have not ordered the book yet, please do so ASAP. The story you have to read is not published online. You will be assigned to read stories in this book throughout the year, so please keep it in your locker.
Your dialectical journals will now be collected on Tuesday Oct. 11 (had been Friday Oct. 7). 
Also, please do not forget to bring in The Great Gatsby on Oct. 11. 

UPDATE: HW Due Wed. Oct. 5; Journals Collected Friday Oct. 7

Due Wednesday Oct. 5: Read "On Style" by Susan Sontag. Create dialectical journal entries.
Dialectical journals will be collected next Friday, Oct. 7

HW Due Wed. 9/28

Read and make minimum 4 dialectical journal entries by Wed. 9/28: (your journal entries should be at least 1 composition notebook page each).
"Death by Landscape" by Margaret Atwood
If you can print the story, do so.

Dialectical journals will be collected Friday.

Great Gatsby due in class Oct. 11.

The Great Gatsby due Oct. 11

Please bring in your own copy of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald on Oct. 11. You will be required to read nightly and annotate within the text.

UPDATE: HW Due Monday 9/26; COLLEGE ESSAY DRAFT #2 DUE TOMORROW

DUE TOMORROW:
College essay draft #2 due. Please come to class with a handwritten or typed draft to earn credit. You can't get any feedback with a digital file because you can't use technology in class. Plan ahead.

We had such a great discussion of "The Fall of the House of Usher", let's continue tomorrow.

UPDATE: DUE MONDAY 9/26
Read chapters 4-7 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Create dialectical journal entries that make connections between what you learn in the chapters and what you are reading/have read.

HW Due Thurs. 9/22

Read and take dialectical journal notes (minimum 2 pages): "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allen Poe. Relate his style, plot, characters, literary devices, etc. to Foster's chapters 2 & 3 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

DUE FRIDAY: Revised draft of college essay. We will peer review again.

HW Due Tues. 9/20

1. Read and annotate chapters 2 and 3 in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. 
2. Dialectical journal: Minimum 2 pages of entries. Some possible thoughts for entries:

• Critique of themes emerging in novel - track themes as they mature and grow and analyze them

• Surprises: You see something you didn't see/notice before (aha! moments)
• You recognize patterns - imagery, gestures, phrases, details seem to overlap or repeat
• Patterns of symbolism: what is symbolized, when, and what is the “bigger picture” meaning?
• Author’s style: syntax, diction, tone - analyze its contribution to the quality of the text
• Characterization - motivation, relationships, how characters sees himself/herself, how others see character, morals/values, what character represents, etc.
• You discover that you were misreading - what do you know now that you didn’t know then? How did it happen?
• You realize that the writer has introduced a new context or new perspective (...or narrator/voice/POV changes)
• You notice new vocabulary, especially new words, that are being repeated throughout - discuss the importance of those words to the overall effect of the novel
• Things don't make sense— clearly pose questions and/or state problems that occur to you
• Note ways in which the story makes you think about about real life (text to world connection) or a connection to another text (text to text connection) or another academic discipline (history? science? psychology?, religion?)
• Make a claim about a chapter and support it with details
• Analyze the author’s use of literary devices, their functions, and their effectiveness

HW Due Friday 9/16

Read and annotate Francine Prose's "What Words Can Tell". Compare and contrast her analysis of Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" with your own analysis.
Write new dialectical journal entries reacting to Prose's analysis, or add to what you have already reacted to (previous night's homework). If you have misplaced your copy of the Prose analysis, find it HERE. http://learning.hccs.edu/faculty/david.brenner/engl-1301/course-materials-important-read-religiously/critical-analysis-essay-assignment/reading-prose-what-words...-due-now-7-23
Not a great scan, but the only one I could find.

College essay draft #1 due Monday. Please PRINT your copy so that we may work on it in class. Sharing it with me will not allow your peers to view it and comment/give feedback on Monday.

HW Due Thursday 9/15

Read and annotate (in your dialectical journals): "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor. Respond re: the journey characters take through the text.
Create dialectical journals this way:
Left side:
Text Evidence - choose a poignant passage or sentence or even word
Right side:
Reaction: Analysis, response, question, connection, etc.

HW Due Tuesday Sept. 13

Print, read and annotate "Close Reading". In your dialectical journal notebook, apply as many of the points to your summer reading book as possible. DO NOT APPLY #12. Number your points to correspond with the list on the printout, and offer text evidence for your remarks.

Be Ready for Day 2

We will continue to go over the expectations and the syllabus. We will also be grouping by summer reading book. Please bring your copy of the book.

Getting Ready for Day 1

Please be aware of what you will need to bring in to school on the first day:

• 5-page typed reading response log. DO NOT write an essay! All I want is for you to transfer your daily reading responses into a typed format. See the email I previously sent with the instructions. This will be collected and graded. Late assignments will not be accepted. Please print (not just email) the paper. I need a hard copy of your work.
• Handwritten or typed reading response log. It can be a copy of the paper you turn in to me, that's fine. This will be your copy and you will use it the first 2 or so weeks of school as we learn how to read literature like a professor.
• Speaking of How To Read Literature Like a Professor, you need your own copy of the book by Tuesday, Sept. 13 (please note that we are off from school for a holiday on Monday Sept. 12). Please make sure you purchase the revised edition. Used copies are fine, as long as they are in good or better condition. You will ALSO need The Best American Short Stories of the Century by 9/13. Please don't show me your Amazon shipping notice You need to have the books, in hand, on Tuesday 9/13. 
• Your summer reading book. Your copy should be annotated. Stuck with so many post-its you can barely see the actual text. You should have read this book with your eyes, your mind, and your pen.
• Your supplies:

1. Two composition notebooks (1 for notes/vocab and 1 for reading response)
2. Blue/black and colored pens (nothing too light, these eyes are tired)
3. Post-it-Notes
4. Lined index cards (large size, please)
5. Loose leaf paper 
6. Highlighters (varied colors)
7. 2-pocket folder (for portfolio work)
8. Tissues
9. Hand sanitizer

• A great attitude. A strong work ethic. Lots of energy, patience, and humor.

I am really looking forward to seeing you Thursday Sept. 8!

Who Should Take AP Lit, and Why?

From The College Board:
Who Should Take AP Literature, and Why? 

While some schools limit admission to AP classes to their strongest students, many teachers recognize the power of an AP class to challenge a wide range of students. For that reason, many schools embrace an open admission policy that requires only a strong motivation and the desire to work hard. All students who want to strengthen their analytical thinking, reading, and writing skills belong in AP English. 

UPDATE!: NOTE ABOUT REQUIRED READINGS (to buy)

A few notes on the required readings list:

1. I have taken Medea off the required readings "to buy" list. We will still read it, but I will provide you with copies of the play. If you have already purchased it, you can return it. If you don't want to, you can bring your own copy to class and follow along. *Please make sure you buy the edition noted on the required readings list to the left.*
2. Our first texts will be How To Read Literature Like a Professor and The Best American Short Stories of the Century. Please make sure you have both texts by Tues. Sept. 13 (we are off Mon. Sept 12 for Eid).
3. Our second unit will focus on the novels, The Great Gatsby and Ragtime. Please make sure you have these titles in hand by Wed. October 5 (we are off from school on Oct. 3 and 4 for Rosh Hashanah)

Summer Reading Assignment - due first day of school

Please see the attached document, SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT: AP LIT & COMP which was emailed to all students enrolled in this course, as well. The document outlines your summer reading assignment, which is due on the first day of school. ***Please note that you must be signed into your WJPS email account to view and print the document. Asking me for permission isn't an option to view, you can only see it when you are signed into your WJPS Google Drive account***
Please purchase your own copy of the novel you choose (there is a short list to choose from, complete with novel summaries on the document) PLUS your own copy of How To Read Literature Like a Professor (see required texts to the left of this post) to use in the first two weeks of school, and beyond.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs. Marks at shari.marks@wjps.org. I look forward to a great year!

Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition. For those of you who survived AP Lang & Comp. you will be used to reading heavily, writing heavily, and practicing skills in class through discussion, writing, and reading. Please purchase your books at once so that you may be prepared for the units once they start. See the required texts tab or the post to the left. Feel free to purchase used (in good or better condition) books, but please make sure you are purchasing the correct edition so that we can all, literally, be on the same page.