AP English Literature & Composition
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AP Lit: The Current

Current Unit: Franken-TestPrep

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"TED talk" from the film Prometheus (2012) by the Peter Weyland, the scientist who created an entire race of androids in the year 2023. Warning: this is not a real TED talk -- it's a part of the film.
Due Dates CURRENTLY DUE/PAST DUE
Tuesday, April 30
For those writing their own literary research paper:
wtw_guide.2.pdf
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wtw_guide.pdf
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wtw_guide.3.pdf
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Monday, April 29
For those writing their own literary research paper:
  • Read through literary articles on your topic/question, and complete 10 notecards [one side w/relevant quote from article, other side with your annotation as to how this will support your question/thesis/idea]

Possible resources for literary articles: Google Scholar, [click on the index #s for a list of articles], databases through the Michigan ELibrary: Gale (good resource for historical context, not so much literary criticism), Academic ASAP, Academic OneFile, & SIRS (awesome & extensive). 

For those prepping for the AP Lit Exam:

Create flashcards for ALL literary devices in the following guide [67 total]. You must include: device, definition, example.
Study the flashcards! TO hold you accountable, you will be quizzed on these, people!
Lit Devices Guide
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Past Unit: 1984 by George Orwell

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Due Dates CURRENTLY DUE/PAST DUE

Tuesday, March 18
-- Read Book Two - Chapters 6-8
-- Answer questions in the Book Two question packet
-----> Chapter 4 Question #4
-----> Chapter 5 Question #2 The sentence it is referring to is at the bottom of page 150: "Wandering about among his worthless stock, with his long nose and thick spectacles and his bowed shoulders in the velvet jacket, he had always vaguely the air of being a collector rather than a tradesman" (Orwell 150).

Monday, March 11
-- Read "Politics and the English Language" by Orwell and annotate. 
-- Write a precis for this essay!
Politics and the English Language - Orwell
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precis.pdf
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Past Unit:     Invisible Man - Can the invisible ever make itself visible?

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Due Dates CURRENTLY DUE/PAST DUE

Wednesday, February 27
-- Come ready to analyze the significance of symbols in the text (Brother Jack's eye and Sambo doll). 
-- In a concise paragraph, analyze the final words of this novel. They are ambiguous on purpose; explore the multiple possible meanings and explain the significance for each possible meaning. 

Final statement: “And it is this which frightens me: Who knows but that, on the lower frequencies, I speak for you?”

Things to consider: 
  • Multiple meanings of “lower frequencies”
  • Why does it frighten him?
  • Who is you?
Tuesday, February 26
-- Reacquaint yourself with IM's speech on Tod Clifton, annotate speech and complete graphic organizer. 
Clifton Passage Analysis Prep
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IM Speech on Clifton - Excerpt
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Elements Guide
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Monday, January 14
Read and annotate the introductory materials for Invisible Man. These revolve around the topic of the debate on Black progress in the United States. 
- You need to be familiar with W.E.B. DuBois's "Of The Training of Black Men" and Booker T. Washington's "Signs of Progress". Get ready for a debate on Monday!
The Debate on Black Progress in the United States
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Past Unit:         Hamlet - How can language betray truth?
                                 RG - Does the individual control their own fate?

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Due Dates CURRENTLY DUE/PAST DUE

Monday, December 1
1. Read the Betrayal AP Free Response Question feedback thoroughly and annotate. Identify, on your own, what the writers did well and what they could have done better. This will help you debrief your own Hamlet Summative essay (from the exam).

2. Complete the "Every Trip Is A Quest" graphic organizer (from Foster's HTRLLAP) and write an extended analytical paragraph about the significance of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern's journey.

Recommended: Check this site out! http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Theatre/RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead?from=Main.RosencrantzAndGuildensternAreDead
Every Trip Is A Quest
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AP Lit Exam - Betrayal Free Response - Rubric & Feedback
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Friday, November 30
1. Write an extended paragraph analyzing Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead with the following thesis: In Tom Stoppard's play, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, the ideology of [absurdism/existentialism/fatalism]  is most exemplified.
2. Complete the Multiple Choice questions (21-25) and write a complete paragraph explaining why the right answer is the right answer (using evidence from the text). Answers are: C, A, A, D, A.

(lapse from Nov 21 to Nov 27 to be filled in)
Tuesday, November 20
1. Read Act 2, annotate and answer the guided questions.

Monday, November 19
1. Write an analysis paragraph of A Clean, Well-Lighted Place integrating a thesis about the theme, literary elements that lead to that theme, and sufficient reasoning/explanation for those elements.
2. Compose your Everyday Heroes Scholarship essay

(lapse from Nov 6 to Nov 16 to be filled in)

Wednesday, November 6
- Read “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula LeGuin
- Read “A Clean, Well-Lighted Place”  by Ernest Hemingway.
- Complete one graphic organizer for each of these stories. You must address 1) the theme 2) the elements that lead to that theme 3) how the elements bring us to that theme. Within the THREE elements, you must address: structure, diction/figurative language. This analysis practice will help you conduct an analysis of Hamlet,
- Complete the graphic organizer for Hamlet, based upon the AP Lit Exam prompt attached below. You are only required to prepare an organizer for this; if you would like to write your own essay to practice, you may do so and seek feedback from teacher/peers next week.
a_clean_well-lighted_place.docx
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The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas
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Foil Prompt - AP 2008
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On Theme - Framework
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(lapse from Oct 15 to Oct 31 to be filled in)
Monday, October 15

Read Act 3, Scenes 1 and 2 and annotate
- Directed annotation: How does Shakespeare use syntax/rhythm to give meaning?

Tuesday, October 9
Evaluate peer's essay by writing a peer response:
Peer Response:
What is their thesis?
What evidence do they provide to support their thesis?
Do you agree with this thesis? Why or why not?
Joining the discourse: How would you change this thesis? What would you include? What would you leave out? How can you complicate this thesis?

For those who did not complete the essay, do it at home.

For those who did not complete the essay, research one of the following topics:
- presence of supernatural as a motif
- Feminist Literary Criticism
- Marxist Literary Criticism

Monday, October 8
Read and annotate rest of Act I in Shakespeare's Hamlet
Complete a timed essay on Hamlet's first soliloquy
Thursday, October 4
Read and annotate Act I, Scene III of Shakespeare's Hamlet
-- Take notes in your composition notebook
-----> 1) UNDERstand the scene: What happens? What are these characters saying?
-----> 2) OVERstand the scene: What could Big Will[iam Shakespeare] be trying to elucidate here? Predictions about the theme? How could these events connect to a bigger idea?


Wednesday, October 3
Read and annotate Act I, Scene II of Shakespeare's Hamlet
-- Take notes in your composition notebook
-----> 1) UNDERstand the scene: What happens? What are these characters saying?
-----> 2) OVERstand the scene: What could Big Will[iam Shakespeare] be trying to elucidate here? Predictions about the theme? How could these events connect to a bigger idea?

Tuesday, October 2
Read and annotate Act I, Scene I of Shakespeare's Hamlet
-- Take notes in your composition notebook
-----> 1) UNDERstand the scene: What happens? What are these characters saying?
-----> 2) OVERstand the scene: What could Big Will[iam Shakespeare] be trying to elucidate here? Predictions about the theme? How could these events connect to a bigger idea?

Monday, October 1
-- Read and annotate "Characteristics of a Shakespearean Tragedy" and "Aristotle's Ideas about Tragedy." 
-- Supplementary (optional): Read and annotate "Aristotle's Coercive System of Tragedy"
Aristotle's Ideas About Tragedy
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Characteristics of A Shakespearean Tragedy
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Aristotle's Coercive System of Tragedy
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Friday, September 28
-- Submit final draft of essay.
-- Read & annotate Plato's "Allegory of The Cave" (look for juxtaposition, dichotomies, theme)
Allegory of The Cave - Plato
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Past Unit(s):

What is power? Why does it matter?
What does power look like in the educational instutition?

In this unit, we focused on critical texts on power & education to give ourselves a framework for the rest of the year.
Thursday, September 27
-- You may begin submitting your essays today. I will accept them on Friday morning as well. MUST be in MLA format.

Wednesday, September 26
-- Revise your rough draft for ORGANIZATION & TRANSITIONS.


Tuesday, September 25
-- Revise your rough draft for CONTENT & DEVELOPMENT. It must be analytical!



Monday, September 24
-- Write your rough draft for the summative analysis essay.

Thursday, September 20
-- Study your "thinker" and write interview questions for our mass interview session which will serve as brainstorming for your summative analysis essay.

Wednesday, September 19
-- Annotate your copy of Emerson's "On Education" with reflections and annotations about your own educational experiences. How would he view your educational experiences? Why? Do his ideas correlate with or differ from your experiences? How? Why?

Tuesday, September 18
-- Take SparkNotes AP English Lit Diagnostic and record your scores here: http://tinyurl.com/APLitSia2012

Monday, September 17
-- Read and annotate the excerpts from Jonathan Kozol’s The Night is Dark and I Am Far from Home. As you read Kozol’s writing, annotate the text to make connections to 1) yourself 2) your school 3) other students 4) the world 5) other texts/any other relevant realizations.

-- Look back on your educational experiences as noted in your "History of My Education" grid, and annotate those (with a different colored writing utensil) with ideas that you have gathered from Kozol’s text. How would he view this specific experience? How would he analyze it?

We will be reviewing the different educational theorists we have read in class so far and we will be analyzing our educational experiences through those lenses. We will be discussing this in class.

All you need on Monday is your binder, the Kozol text, and your "History of My Education" – both annotated.

Friday, September 14
- Complete your "History of My Education" graphic organizer.
History of My Education
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Thursday, September 13
- In your composition notebook, write a creative piece inspired by the events of September 11th, 2001. As you write your piece, you must include 1) objective descriptions of what happened on that day 2) the impact that it had on _____ (yourself, another person, a community, etc.). You must use diction & structure as the two main literary elements that deliver your message or theme.

The below links/texts can guide you as you write. This is an immersion activity! So immerse yourselves and do it!
(NYTimes 9/11 video that we watched in class)
(Suheir Hammad poem: "First Writing Since")
First Writing Since - Suheir Hammad - Poem
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Wednesday, September 12
- In composition notebook, write as much as you can answering this question: "How has 9/11 affected me? My community?" Be honest - even if it hasn't. And if it hasn't, why? Everyone's experiences are unique. This will be turned into a creative piece...

Monday, September 10
-- Read and annotate "On Education" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. 
-- Write one page (two, if necessary) explaining Emerson's perspective on education with evidence from text. [In composition notebook]
-- Write one page about your participation in the discussion about power. [See Transcriptions page] Must be typed OR written out so that it can be handed in.
-- Binder materials due on Monday!!
Emerson - On Education
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Freire - Excerpt #1
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Thursday, September 6
-- 
Write a two page essay explaining your answer to this question: What is power? Why does it matter?  [In composition notebook]  

Wednesday, September 5
-- 
Turn in Summer Workshop Folios!
-- SMILE! We're back in school!!! [...even though life is a school in itself.]
-- Turn in Student Survey.
AP Lit - Student Survey
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