The video!

I know it says 2013. Deal with it.

http://youtu.be/KluEgxaVdIc

AP video coming!

Watch this blog tomorrow evening for an encouraging video!

The practice multiple choice answers

For those of you who won't make it to class due to an AP conflict, I've attached the link to the PDF of the practice exam from which the hand-out questions were taken. (NOTE that the PDF contains, first, a copy of a practice English Language and Composition exam; the Lit. exam follows it.) The answer key is on page 69.

http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-english-course-description.pdf

Lear follow-up

Some thoughts from a new book on Shakespeare. There's much about King Lear (especially on the second page).

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/04/shakespeare_and_atheism_what_his_works_tell_us_about_the_playwright_s_religious.html

BELOVED questions

Be complete in your answers, though you'll note that some of the answers require simple lists rather than a narrative. Be concise, but give these questions due consideration.

1. As every available character moves toward the climactic event, what is on the minds of the various participants, and why are the differences significant?

2. How many horror movie/story tropes (familiar images or actions) can you identify in the novel? (You can make this a list.)

3. What is/was the character of Beloved? Support your statement with details.

4. What are the various ways in which “naming” comes up in the novel? (You can make this a list.)

5. How many uses can you identify in the novel for the motif of the human mouth? That is, in what ways does the motif surface, and why might Morrison be saying in each use?

Plague assignment

At right, you'll see a link to the PDF of the sheet to be completed over break. Type it.

Poetry assignments (long-term)

For Friday, Feb. 7, you're to compose a 10-line piece in iambic pentameter. Tell a story, paraphrase a book, review a film, write a poem—just have fun with it.

For the end of the month, you're to—as described in class—find a poem you connect with. You're to then write a 2-3 page paper that, first, analyses the poem using the techniques we're discussing in class and then, second, explain what drew you to the poem and how you respond to it now that you've written about it analytically.

Assignments

For Friday, you're to read "A Good Man is Hard to Find" . . . which you'll find in Backpack Lit.

[UPDATE: To clarify: The entire Equus assignment should be about three pages.]

Eck! Eck! Eck! There's also a writing assignment! (cue sounds of stomping and ululating)

Typed, double-spaced, for Jan. 22:

1. Consider the opening monologue/soliloquy by Dysart; unpack what he says in terms of the themes, ideas, and motifs that will later surface in the play. 

2. What is your view of what the play calls “the normal”? I want to hear a personal response.

PS: HA HA!!

Readings over break

The readings over break jump around quite a bit. Duncan made the point that (if I understood him) the Bible readings seem both mired in a context with which some students are unfamiliar while simultaneously absent of context, confusing in their isolation. I'm not expecting you to become scholars in biblical literature any more than I'm expecting you to be scholars in, say, European literature; the point, rather, is exposure to certain motifs and tales that you'll find echoed in the literature of the West (and within the texts themselves). The readings over break give us another glimpse of Abraham, that key figure for three monotheistic religions, a few ideas about the brothers Jacob and Esau, who are the children of Isaac, much of the narrative regarding the figure of Moses (and the origins of Judaism), and the two infancy narratives of Jesus provided by the Christian gospels, which, as should be plain, rely completely on Jewish culture. I'll be interested to hear what elements stand out for you—either for being familiar or for their strangeness.

Hebrew Bible
Genesis Chapters:
22
25
27:1-40
32: 22-32

Exodus Chapters:
1 through 14

Christian Scriptures
Luke Chapters:
1 and 2

Matthew Chapters:
1 and 2

Oops. A correction.

I thought I had posted this here, but evidently I only posted it on the 11th-grade AP site. (This has been a confusing year.)

There's a mistake on the worksheet: The question for chapter 11 is about Hareton, not Hindley. Sorry.

Videos for chapters 10-13

Video for Chapter 10:

http://youtu.be/dN_U6e57MQo

Chapters 11-12 (with dog):

http://youtu.be/vJeEAr3Bjsk

Finally, Chapter 13:

http://youtu.be/Y4Mjla2PHIo

The amazing Ch. IX

The mention of "what you've already discussed" refers to the 11th-grade section that had a sub on Friday.

http://youtu.be/MzK1kiKJASw

Next up, Chapter VIII

The madness continues:

http://youtu.be/w3ew1u8tXxc

Wuthering Heights videos, Ch. VII

Here's the first video, as promised.

http://youtu.be/e-dLYxm3eF0

Over break

Type your answers to the handout questions (there's a link to the right in case you've lost them) and be prepared to discuss them (and hand them in) after break. You're to read to page 162 over break. I'll also talk to you, after break, about what I learned in Boston at the National Council of Teachers of English 2013 Conference.

I will (when I get the chance; probably not while I'm in Boston, but it's possible) post brief videos in which I say a few things about each chapter. It's my way of keeping (my end of) the discussion going over break. Don't watch a video until after you've read the corresponding chapter. The videos will be posted at this site. Feel free to comment on the videos and ask questions over break. The aim is to help clarify any confusions and to direct you to note certain things.

Writing assignment

You'll find the prompt for the writing assignment in the link to the "Open Response" questions at the right of the screen; you want the 2011 prompt on "justice." A three- to five-page paper is due next Friday. For Monday, I want to see (and discuss) outlines and opening paragraphs. Think about what the prompt is asking—the fullness of what it's asking—when crafting the opening. I'd suggest brainstorming and outlining first before attempting the opening paragraph. We'll go over how to use quotes in a paper like this next time.

Clarification

I've had several questions about this, which means I wasn't clear or complete in my instructions; that's typical for an assignment that I haven't used before.

For the first option, I assumed you would use the narrative style of the original story rather than some new authorial voice.

Intertextual writing assignment

Due Thursday, Oct. 17, I've provided the link to the assignment at the right (in case you lost the sheet).

Don't forget you have the poems to read and annotate for Tuesday. See the calendar for details.

Consider the following . . .

Literature makes us more human:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/03/i-know-how-youre-feeling-i-read-chekhov/?partner=rss&emc=rss

More Bible readings!

Many of these chapters are quite short, so don't be put off by the number of chapters. For next time, in Genesis, read chapters:

4

6-9

11:1-9

12-13

15-19

As you move through the texts, ask yourselves: "What are the cultural values being expressed in these stories?" That is, we're not asking so much what these people believe about God, but what they believe is important in the world? There is no writing assignment due with this.

I'll look over your questions from today's assignment to see what we might add to the discussion next time.

Biblical readings

We aren't entirely finished discussing your summer reading (in fact, we'll refer back to those texts throughout the year), and I hope to continue our discussion of "theme" next time. Nevertheless, the focus of the next class is the first part of the Hebrew Bible. Before you do the reading, write down (this will be typed and handed in, as will the entire assignment): What do you know about the story of Adam and Eve? If this leaves you completely blank, write down what you know about the origins of the universe and the Earth. Then read Genesis chapters 1-3. (I have provided a link to a translation of the Hebrew Bible if you don't have your own text.) After reading those chapters: What surprised you? What puzzled you or raised questions for you?

Hand in on 9/10.

And we're back!

On our first day, Sept. 3, you'll attend every class on your schedule; in AP Literature, we'll cover introductory material, and I'll answer any outstanding questions about the summer assignment. The assignment itself is not due until the first full class. If you have class on Day 1, your summer assignment is due on Wednesday, Sept. 4. If you have class on Day 2, your assignment is due on Friday, Sept. 6. 

Be sure to follow the assignment instructions carefully. Assignments not completed according to the instructions will be returned for revision immediately, and your possible highest grade for the assignment will be lowered. 

Summer 2013 assignment is posted!

There's a link at right to the summer assignment. In addition, another link provides information on how to effectively annotate your reading. If you have any questions, post a comment here.

See you in September!

UPDATE: I see that, last year, on the first day of school, some questions arose regarding the written part of the assignment. Let me address one of those questions now.

I'm not expecting, nor do I need to see, vast portions of quoted text. Let's say there's a long paragraph introducing a character, and you'd like to reference all of it. Your options are to quote only the key portions (using ellipses to indicate what you've left out) or to quote largely the opening and closing, quoting other fragments of the text in your narrative explanation. The point really is to follow the "spirit of the law" rather than the "letter of the law." I want to see quoted matter; I want to see you attempt a format like what Lodge uses; and I want to see (most importantly) that you've grasped how to apply the particular point from Lodge.

Getting your AP scores online

Dear Former Students,

In order to receive your scores online, you'll need to set up an account. The link below is to a PDF from the College Board explaining the process.

http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/AP_Online_Scores_for_Students_Student_Flyer_B-W.pdf