To: Students pursuing the challenge of AP Literature and Composition in the fall of 2008.

From: Mrs. Steele

(Click here to download a Microsoft Word version of this webpage.)

The following is a study plan for the summer. Please note the required assignment listed after the highly recommended or suggested reading. Senior year is filled with activities that will occupy your study time. For most of you, the summer will be less hectic. I advise you to work in whatever study time you can during the summer. Because good readers write in their books as they read, I think it is a good idea to buy the books we will be reading next year. Of course, our library will have 1 or 2 copies of most of the books we will read together, and I have copies. I will give you a more complete list of reading material at the beginning of school, but here is a list of “definites”: Hamlet or Macbeth, Wuthering Heights, Heart of Darkness, Frankenstein, Oedipus, and the Prologue to Canterbury Tales

Highly Recommended:

Because so much great literature contains allusions to the Bible, Greek mythology, and the works of William Shakespeare, a familiarity with these works is essential to the serious study of literature. Familiarize yourself with the following:

• Bible: Genesis, Exodus Chapters 1-10, Judges, Psalms, Story of Jonah, Job, Proverbs and the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are most often referenced in allusions
• Myth: Mythology by Edith Hamilton or Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch
• Shakespeare: Many good Shakespeare plays are available on videocassette or DVD.

Suggested:

The more books you read, the broader your base is for learning. In order to keep the material fresh, keep a journal. This can be a daily journal, diary or stickies marking passages. Remember to not only to think about elements of fiction (theme, plot, characterization, tone, mood, setting), but also remember to reflect on the piece. See me if you want suggestions for summer reading.

Read the dictionary! Learn new words! Evidence both scientific and personal suggest that reading the dictionary a little each night will help improve both your vocabulary and your SAT scores. The expectation is that your writing will reflect a college level vocabulary that you can use fluently.

Our class next year will be a great adventure. I look forward to reading a few books of literary merit myself this summer and spending as much time outdoors as possible.

Kathie Steele

Required Summer Journal Assignment Steele/ AP English

Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole (contains some language and situations). I’ve chosen this novel because it is a contemporary satire of literary merit. This novel is taught in many AP literature classes throughout the U.S. If you find this objectionable, you may read Candide by Voltaire as an alternative assignment. The journal will be the same as if you have read Confederacy of Dunces.

For Confederacy of Dunces or Candide, you will be completing a journal assignment. Use some type of spiral or journal that is portable. I want you to be able to work on this wherever you go (plane, fishing boat, automobile, espresso stand). Please try and write legibly; I have “old lady eyes.” Points will not be deducted for coffee stains or tattered edges. The journal is due on the first day of class.

The procedure is as follows:

Complete an entry after every 50-60 pages or so. You will have a total of 10 entries for the novel when you have finished. Each entry should be labeled according to page numbers and the number of the option. I expect you to present a window to the reader (me) into how you think and process as you read. I also expect you to understand that this is not an assignment where you will perform as a minimalist.

1. Comment on the author’s style, referring to particular words, phrases, and passages. What do you notice about the author’s writing that sets him apart?
2. Pick a passage that contains striking imagery and make a comment as to the effect that the imagery has on the passage as a whole.
3. Comment on a character. What traits does he/she have that are getting in the way or contributing to his/her success? Does this character remind you of someone you know? Yourself, perhaps? Talk about more than their hat size, please.
4. Comment on your reaction to the story itself. How do you respond to the action? If you are not enjoying it, why not? If you are, why?
5. Write about how you fit into the story. Can you relate to some of the struggles? Do you see yourself in the story or would your reaction be similar to how people are reacting? How is your journey similar?
6. Write and answer four interpretive (between the lines) questions.
7. Select a quote that either seems important or just strikes you as interesting. Comment on your selection.
8. Billy Collins (my favorite poet) says, “Tone is collapsing the distance between the poet and the reader. It is the writer’s whisper to the reader.” Describe the tone of the section by listing 10-12 words from the section and then discuss the overall effect on the mood.
9. Come up with an idea that is so interesting even I could not have thought of it.
10. Use a creative writing approach to comment on the section. This one is wide open, folks.
11. Talk to a character. Ask that character a question, accuse them of being foolish, give them advice… in other words, talk to them!
12. Write about being politically correct or “sacred cows” in our society.

You will need to vary your selection for each entry, although you will, of course, use some of the options more than once. Remember that effort will be recognized, as will last minute weekend products. Take your time. Start early. For a change. If you have questions, drop by room 207 before or after school (or call me at 688-5009), and I’ll be happy to answer questions. I’ll be gone all of July, but I’ll be ready to work August 11.