AP+Literature+2018

For a printable copy of this letter and assignment, click

May 16, 2017

Dear Advanced Placement Literature Students,

Congratulations on your decision to embark on the challenge of Advanced Placement Literature next year and for your earnestness and commitment that has taken you to this point. As I have considered the purpose and goals of the AP Literature program (with great excitement, I should add), I ran into Henry David Thoreau’s observations on the subject of reading in //Walden//’s chapter “Reading.” It struck me as relevant to the approach we’ve practiced and should keep at the forefront for our literature studies over the next year. He says, “(t)o read well, that is, to read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise, and one that will task the reader more than any exercise which the customs of the day esteem.” Sometimes the kind of engagement to which Thoreau refers can seem too intense for those who would eschew literature for other, less demanding, forms of summer entertainment ☺. You should view the summer reading assignments, I suppose, as a way of “nudging” you into the level of thoughtful reading required by this course. I have designed them with the hope for discovery, not drudgery. It’s also a reminder that “getting through” the assigned reading material alone is not enough; a deliberate, focused read—perhaps even a second read—provides the foundation for insightful discussion and written analysis.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Our journey into advanced literature begins the moment schools starts in August, so I expect that you will <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">have read and thoughtfully considered the assigned summer reading novel, **//The Poisonwood Bible// by Barbara Kingsolver**. I have chosen it because it lends itself to achieving the aims of this course: to understand the way writers use language to provide meaning and pleasure; to consider a work’s structure, style, and themes as well as such smaller scale elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone; to understand a work’s complexity, to absorb richness of meaning, and to analyze how meaning is embodied in literary form; and to consider the social and historical values a work reflects and embodies—to name a few.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Like many of the AP literature readings, //The Poisonwood Bible// requires maturity and sensitivity on the part of its reader if it’s to be fully understood and appreciated. I ask that before committing to the course you <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">contemplate whether you possess the openness and maturity the work of the class demands. The successful <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">AP Literature student asks important questions and seeks to understand how an author uses literary <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">techniques to achieve his or her purpose. I’m asking you to approach your summer reading with Thoreau’s <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">observations as a challenge. Allow the assignments to demonstrate to me the extent to which you’ve <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">considered your readings.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">I ask AP literature students to purchase a copy of the novels we read together in order to practice effective <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">annotating and to use for later study. If you must, you may borrow a copy of the book from the Olympus <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">High School library and make annotations through the use of sticky notes inserted directly in the book (not <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">merely journaling). After the end of the school year, copies for borrow will be available in the Olympus High <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Bookstore.

__**<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Regardless of where you purchase or acquire your book, please make sure you are using the following **__<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__**edition**__!!! <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">//The Poisonwood Bible// ISBN: 0-06-017540-0 <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Don’t neglect to also enjoy your reading. I will be doing the same, as I’ve chosen a favorite of mine for our <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">summer reading this year. I encourage you to get started early, allowing adequate time to contemplate <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">meaning and personal response. Please email me with any questions about the reading or assignments. Good <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Luck!

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Sincerely,

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ashley Shaw <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">ashaw@graniteschools.org

Summer Reading Assignment AP Literature and Composition **ANNOTATION ASSIGNMENT:** <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> As you read annotate your text with your thoughts, questions and observations—an uninhibited, informal <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">conversation with the text. As you come upon interesting, important, curious moments in the novel, underline <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">the lines, and more importantly, write comments in the margins responding to what you notice about the <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">content, even if it only generates a question.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__What is the point of annotation__? <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">▪ Annotation encourages you to read actively and thoughtfully. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">▪ Annotation provides you with a useful overview to consult before discussions or writing assignments. <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">▪ Annotation allows you to more easily see patterns and make connections within the text.

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">__Ideas for annotating literature__:
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Use a pen so you can make circles, brackets, and notes. If you like highlighters, use one for key passages, but don’t get carried away and don’t only highlight, note why you highlighted.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Look for patterns and label them (motifs, diction, symbols, images, behavior, whatever).
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Mark passages that seem to jump out at you because they suggest an important idea or theme—or for any other reason (an arresting figure of speech or image, an intriguing sentence pattern, a striking example of foreshadowing, a key moment in the plot, a bit of dialogue that reveals character, clues about the setting, the tone of a word or passage…).
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Mark things that puzzle, intrigue, please or displease you. Ask questions, make comments—talk back to the text.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">At the ends of chapters or sections, write a bulleted list of key plot events. This not only forces you to think about what happened, see it whole, and identify patterns, but causes you to create a convenient record of the whole work.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Circle words you want to learn or words that jump out at you for some reason. If you don’t want to stop reading, guess, then look the word up and jot down a relevant meaning later. You need not write out a full dictionary definition; it is often helpful to put the relevant meaning in your own words.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">The Harvard College Library has posted an excellent guide to annotation, “Interrogating Texts: Six Reading Habits to Develop in Your First Year at Harvard.” []


 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;"> Prepare to turn in your annotated copy of //The Poisonwood Bible// the first week of school. **

<span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Come to class having thoroughly reviewed the following literary devices. Part of that review should include the practice of noticing their use and purpose in //The Poisonwood Bible//.
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">LITERARY DEVICE REVIEW ASSIGNMENT: **
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Allusion
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Ambiguity
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Imagery
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Irony
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Juxtaposition
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Metaphor/extended metaphor
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Paradox
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Symbolism
 * <span style="font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif;">Theme