AP--Reading list for final paper

Select a novel for independent reading during the month of April. You may choose from the list below or another novel of “comparable literary merit.” Also, look for three critical analyses of the novel in a local library or JStor. Write a paper of 1500-2000 words (5-7 pages) developing in some depth one key aspect of the novel’s meaning, using both direct quotations and your 3 outside sources. You must bring five typed pages to class Monday, April 26. Papers are due Wednesday, April 28, both hard copy and turnitin.com.

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
Reservation Blues, Sherman Alexie
Handmaid’s Tale or Cat’s Eye, Margaret Atwood
Persuasion or Emma, Jane Austen
Go Tell It on the Mountain, James Baldwin
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
My Antonia; O Pioneers!, Willa Cather
The Awakening, Kate Chopin
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevski
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Absalom! Absalom!, William Faulkner
Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
Return of the Native, Thomas Hardy
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
Obasan, Joy Kogawa
Lady Chatterley’s Lover, D. H. Lawrence
Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
We Were the Mulvaneys, Joyce Carol Oates
The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien
Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys
Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner
Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren
Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
Native Son, Richard Wright

Juniors--course requests

AP vs. English IV

• Year-long course or two semester courses (World Lit + Shakespeare or Composition or African-American Lit); AP requires permission
  
• More reading in AP
• More difficult, challenging texts
• Faster pace
• More papers, blogs, and other writings
  
• More responsibility for leading class discussion approx. every other week
• Tough multiple choice quizzes every other week
• More demanding grading scale
  

Who should take AP?

• People who like English better than any other subject, love to read and discuss
• B+ or better grades in English II and III
• Careful readers, logical thinkers, strong writers
• Highly motivated, always prepared for class (especially important)
  
• Like to participate in discussion
• Highly recommended by Ms. Driscoll

Who should take English IV

• English class not your highest priority
• Taking 3 other AP's in Math, Science, Foreign Language
• Thought the Emily Dickinson questions on the semester exam were impossible
• Cut corners on daily reading assignments this year
• Think Beloved is boring and confusing
• Writing essays not your strength

My selection policy is explained in slightly more detail in this link.

If you think you are right for AP and AP is right for you, see Ms. Driscoll first, then see me for my initials on your course request form.

AP--link

An essay from Midsummer, the publication of the Utah Shakespeare Festival, which staged a revival of Death of a Salesman in 1991.

AP--March 6 - 20

For March 9/10--Day 1--Write a brief blog, approximately 400 words, commenting on an idea raised during class discussion of Death of a Salesman, trying to take that idea a little further and giving your own take. Also, please read pp. 1833-35 for our discussion.

Day 2--We'll go into the computer lab and post comments on one another's blogs and watch a brief video on the career of August Wilson.

Day 3--Fences, act 1--pp. 1996--2026

Day 4--Multiple choice quiz; continue discussion of Fences

Week of March 16
Day 1--Fences, act 2, pp. 2026-2047
Days 2 & 3--finish discussion of Fences
Day 4--Enrichment day/ IFF/ last day before spring break

Shakespeare--paraphrase assignment

Today, write a paraphrase of your scene or monologue. Work line by line and thought by thought, trying to put your characters' thoughts into modern-day equivalent English. Try to catch each speech's meaning as exactly as you can.

Here is my example, taken from the opening lines of The Merchant of Venice.

Act I, scene I, lines 1-7:
Antonio: In sooth I know not why I am so sad.
It wearies me, you say it wearies you.
But how I caught it, found it, or came by it,
What stuff ‘tis made of, whereof it is born,
I am to learn.
And such a want-wit sadness makes of me,
That I have much ado to know myself.

Paraphrase:
Antonio: To tell you the truth, I don’t know what’s making me so sad.
I’m really getting tired of it, and I hear you, I know you are too.
But I can’t say how I “caught” this disease, where I found it, or how it happened to me.
I’m still trying to figure out where it comes from and what it’s based on.
And the worst is, it makes me feel like such a fool, it’s hard to even know who I am any more.

SHK--Performance assignment #2

Assignment: Prepare and perform a memorized portion of The Merchant of Venice.

•    “off book” (able to recite the text from memory) by Wed, March 11.
•    carefully blocked (detailed movement planned and rehearsed)
•    believably bring characters and action to life.
•    Incorporation of actual props and suggested costumes is encouraged and in some cases may be required, depending on how critical they may be to the scene.

OPTIONS: You must choose whichever you did not do for Hamlet.
•    A 2 to 3 character scene with dialogue evenly distributed among the characters (minimum 2, maximum 3 pages of the class text)
•    A monologue or soliloquy (minimum 20, maximum 40 lines)


The writing assignment in conjunction with this performance will be a “paraphrased” version of the scene text. This will begin as an in-class writing assignment on Thurs, March 5. Students will use this paraphrased text in rehearsals, and perhaps as part of the performance.

Text selection should be determined by Wednesday, March 4.
Class time will be provided for rehearsals.
“Off book” quiz on Wed, March 11
Notes will be given by Mr. Coon and Mr. Burns on Thurs and Fri, March 12 & 13.
Final performances are scheduled for Thursday, March 19.

SHK--vocab

There will be vocab quizzes the NEXT two Fridays, lessons 19, 20, and 21 on Friday March 6, and 22, 23, & 24 on Friday March 13.

I have been most neglectful of keeping this schedule current; now I am clear about such matters. (There will be two more vocab quizzes in the month of April, on the 10th and 24th.)

AP English--March 2 - 6

For Monday March 2 (Tuesday for section 3): Death of a Salesman, act 1, pp. 1763-1795.

For Wednesday, March 4 (day of the command and National Grammar Day), Act 2 & Requiem.

Friday, March 6--vocabulary 22, 23, & 24.

SHK--more on Shylock

Jacob Adler was an actor and producer in the thriving Yiddish theater scene on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the early 20th century. In his production of The Merchant of Venice, Adler spoke Shylock’s lines in Yiddish, while the other actors spoke in English.

In an interview for Theatre magazine in 1902, after his play had moved from the Bowery to Broadway, Adler had this to say about his portrayal of Shylock:

Shylock is rich enough to forgo the interest on his three thousand ducats for the purely moral satisfaction of his revenge. I say [he] would be richly dressed and proud of mien rather than the poor cringing figure time has made familiar. Antonio, on the other hand, is far from the chivalrous gentleman time has made familiar. . . The two men are confronted in a supposed court of justice, a court packed with Antonio’s friends, the judge openly committed to Antonio’s cause, the prosecuting attorney a masquerading girl soon to be the bride of his bosom friend, and Shylock alone against them all without counsel, without advocate, with nothing on his side but the law.

The verdict, of course, goes against him. A quibble reverses the case, Antonio and the court divide the spoils between them and–exit Shylock. That’s the end of him as far as Shakespeare’s stage direction goes. But having bought so dearly the right to his contempt for his Christian enemies, would he not walk out of that courtroom head erect, the very apotheosis of defiant hatred and scorn? That is the way I see Shylock, and that is how I have played him. 1


1. “Jacob Adler—the Bowery Garrick,” Theatre (November 1902): 18, quoted in Marjorie Garber, Shakespeare and Modern Culture (New York: Pantheon, 2008), 140-141.

AP--week of February 23

Day 1--A Doll House, read act 3. Blogs for the play written by Sunday, 2/22. Comments to be written Monday, 2/23.

Day 2--Continue discussion. Begin work on "Blessay" assignment (for instructions on this assignment and suggestions on revising a blog post into a more fully organized short essay, click here.)

Day 3--Finish discussion of Ibsen. Bring revised blog posts to class for half a work period.

Day 4--Friday, February 27. Blog to essay assignment due, 600-800 words. Turn in both the printout of the original blog post and the revised version. The usual rules for headings. Turnitin assignment titled "Blog to Essay." Also on Friday, multiple choice quiz, part 1 of exam #3.

Shakespeare--Shylock paper

WHAT: A three- to four-page paper (approximately 1000 words) discussing and evaluating Shakespeare’s presentation of the character of Shylock and the extent to which that presentation either endorses or subverts prevailing Elizabethan anti-Semitism.

WHEN: Papers are due, both hard copy and to turnitin.com, Tuesday, March 2 by noon. Please arrange in advance if extenuating circumstances force you to request an extension.

HOW: Begin by reading the resources available at Prof. Grant Stirling’s web site: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/7221/. You may find other relevant resources, but this site will serve as an introduction to the issues and evidence of this debate. In your essay, show your understanding, both of the topic and of the play, by evaluating the evidence on both sides and presenting your own conclusions.

Since this essay involves some research, be certain both to document your sources and to give credit for ideas as well as direct quotations. Your essays must include a works cited page which should include, at a minimum, the play and the web site listed above.

DETAILS: Include a word count and digital receipt number in your heading. If you still haven’t “enrolled” in the class through Turnitin.com, the class number is 1875359, the password pcdswl). Submit your paper under the assignment titled “Shylock paper”. I have created a similar assignment on the home page for AP English for those of you enrolled in that class as well.

SUGGESTIONS: Read all the available information, paying special attention to what you find most persuasive. Give fair treatment to the different sides of the question. In your evaluation, state which ideas you believe are strongest and why. Support your reasons by referring to the play itself.

AP--February 9 - 23

Monday, February 9/Tuesday--last day of Hamlet discussions; make sure you have posted both blogs and at least 10 different comments.

Tuesday, February 10/Wednesday--Write in class on either Oedipus, Antigone, or Hamlet.

Wednesday, February 11/Thursday--Review multiple choice exam #2. Calculate raw and scaled scores and look at correlations to AP exam scores for the class of 1991.

NB--because of the AMC exam, days 2 and 3 are reversed for section 2, royal blue.

Tuesday, February 17--no assignment due. Begin reading A Doll House, pp. 1677-1736.

Acts 1 & 2 due Wednesday 18th and Friday 20th, respectively. Vocabulary 19, 20, & 21 also Friday Feb 20.

Act III to be read for Monday, February 23.

Everyone writes a short blog answering one of the questions on pp. 1734-35 (300-400 words maximum) by Sunday February 22.

Everyone writes 4 or 5 substantive comments the evening of Monday, February 23.

Vanity Plate Oedipus

Oedipus, King of the Road by Daniel Nussbaum

From PL8SPK, a collection of famous stories told through personalized license plates registered with the California Motor Vehicles Bureau. (First featured in Harpers Magazine, September 1992.)

ONCEPON ATIME LONGAGO IN THEBES IMKING. OEDIPUS DAKING. LVMYMRS. LVMYKIDS. THEBENS THINK OEDDY ISCOOL. NOPROBS.

OKAY MAYBE THEREZZ 1LITL1. MOTHER WHERERU? WHEREAT MYDAD? NOCALLZ NEVER. HAVENOT ACLUE. INMYMND IWNDER WHOAMI? IMUST FINDEM.

JO MYWIFE GOES, OED DON’T USEE? WERHAPI NOW LETITB. IGO NOWAY. IAMBOSS. DONTU TELLME MYLIFE. INEED MYMOM. II WILLL FINDHER. FIND BOTHOF THEM.

SOI START SEEKING DATRUTH ABOUT WHO IAM. ITGOEZ ULTRAAA SLOWE. THE SPHYNXS RIDDLE WAS ACINCH BUT NOTTHIZ.

SUDNLEE WEHEAR SHOCKNG NEWS. WHEN IWASA TINY1 THISGR8 4SEER SED IWOOD OFF MY ROYAL OLDMAN THEN MARREE MYMAMA. SICKO RUBBISH, NESTPAS? WHOWHO COUDBE SOGONE? STIL MOMNDAD SENT MEEEEE AWAY. MEE ABABI AWAAAY.

NOWWWWW GETTHIZ. MANY MOONS GOBY. IMEET THISGUY ONATRIP. WEDOO RUMBLE. WHOKNEW? ILEFTMY POP ONE DEDMAN.

UGET DAFOTO. MAJR TSURIS. JOJO MYHONEE. MYSQUEEZ. MYLAMBY. MIAMOR. MYCUTEE. JOJOY IZZ MYMOMMY.

YEGODS WHYMEE? YMEYYME? LIFSUX. IAMBAD. IAMBADD. IMSOBAD. STOPNOW THISS HEDAKE. THIS FLESH DUZ STINK. ITZ 2MUCH PAYNE 4ONE2C. TAKEGOD MYEYES!

AIEEEEE! (154 license plates were used in writing this story.)

Shakespeare--February 3 - 12

Tuesday February 3--Continue practicing performance scenes

Wednesday February 4--Annotated performance scripts due, with complete subtext (for your character) and vocabulary notes. Begin workshopping "dress rehearsals" of performances with oral notes from class and instructors.

Thursday February 5--Finish workshopping

Friday February 6--Presentation of performance scenes; KB and LCC take brief written notes.

Tuesday February 10--Read Act I, The Merchant of Venice; which characters are most prominent? How many plotlines does Shakespeare set in motion? How are the plots related to each other?

Wednesday February 11--Continue discussion of Act I

Thursday February 12--Read Act II; vocabulary quiz covering lessons 16 - 18 in Vocabulary for Achievement.

Friday February 13--No school--Presidents' Weekend Holiday

AP--Assignments Jan 26--February 9

Weeks 4 & 5--Hamlet--Read acts 1 & 2 during week 4 (Tuesday Jan 27 & Thursday Jan 29), read acts 3, 4, & 5 during the week of February 2 (Act three Monday, Act 4 Wednesday, Act 5 Friday February 6) .

Over the weekends of Jan 31/Feb 1 and February 7/8 : 400-500 word blog on a scene, speech, character, motif, theme, or problem from Hamlet. Same groups as last time for Sophocles blogs. Blogs are due Sunday evening; comments are due Monday evening.

Quizzes: Friday, January 30: Vocabulary lessons 16, 17, & 18; Friday, February 6, Multiple choice.

Shakespeare--Performance project #1

Prepare a monologue or dialogue to be presented in class for a performance grade.

“Prepared” means:
• Memorized, carefully blocked (detailed movement planned and rehearsed); and performed, not simply recited (believably bring characters and action to life).
• Incorporation of props and costumes is encouraged and in some cases may be required, depending on how critical they may be to the scene.

OPTIONS:
• A 2 to 3 character scene with dialogue evenly distributed among the characters (minimum 2, maximum 3 pages of the class text, 75-100 lines total)
• A monologue or soliloquy (minimum 25, maximum 40 lines)

Each student will create written subtext for their own character’s thoughts and motives prior to performance day.

Students who perform a scene will be required to perform a monologue or soliloquy for the next performance assignment and vice versa.

All have the option of writing a paraphrased version of the text and performing that in addition to the original text. (Yes, this is optional, but it’s really fun and strongly encouraged. It also helps the process of performing Shakespeare’s language.)

Text selection should be determined by Thursday, January 28.
Class time will be provided for rehearsals. Performances will take place February 4 & 5.

Shakespeare--Subtext assignment

Subtext assignment (due as hard copy and turnitin.com Wednesday,January 20):
Go to http://the-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/hamlet/hamlet.3.4.html. Download act 3, scene 4 from the beginning to the stage direction "exit Ghost" (line 156 in the Folger edition). Delete everything beginning with the Queen's line "this is the very coinage of your brain."

1. Turn this scene into a word processing document. It will be several pages long. If you don’t know how to do this step, ask someone who does.

2. Keep the entire text as it is, except change the name Queen Margaret to Queen Gertrude
at the beginning of the scene (a mistake on the web site).

3.
Write a paraphrase of Polonius’ first speech (lines 1-7). A paraphrase contains
exactly the same meaning as the original, only in literal, everyday language. Don't change person for pronouns.

4. Identify as much subtext as you can. This is the most important part of the assignment. Subtext refers to all the meanings not directly contained in the text. Specifically, as we discussed in class, the subtext contains implied stage directions, the character’s thoughts, feelings, and motives as the lines are being spoken, as well as notes indicating tone of voice, movements, and
gestures. Put in everything Shakespeare left out.

5. Make your paraphrase and subtext easy for us to
identify by putting them in a different type face from the text itself. For example, set your additions in bold face to make them stand out from the characters’ lines in the text. Or use a different color, or do something clear and easy to follow.

6. N.B. This is an individual assignment, not group
work. Any scripts whose similarities cannot be reasonably explained as
coincidental will be dealt with according to the school’s honesty
policies.

7. Turnitin.com assignment may be found under the title "Hamlet Subtext 2010."

Shakespeare--Week of January 12

Tuesday--Assignment: Read act 2; In class: review 2.1 & 2.2
Wednesday--Performance exercise from 2.1
Thursday--Assignment: Read act 3. In class: finish review of 2.2 and begin discussion of 3.1.
Friday--Vocab quiz, lessons 13-15; assign subtext writing assignment (due Wednesday, January 20); watch video segments of 3.1; continue discussion of act 3.

AP Assignments January 12-26

Week 2 (January 12-16): Finish discussion of Death of Ivan Ilych. Read Oedipus The King, page 1285. Also read my Introduction to Tragedy and the questions at the end of the play. This is one of the most famous plays in all of Western literature. Why do you think that is? How does Sophocles give the play both philosophical and psychological depth in addition to developing the emotional tension which is central to the experience of all drama, especially tragedy? What does Oedipus’ story represent? How does it raise issues relevant to all human life? This week, half of you will blog on some aspect of this play (entries due over the weekend by Monday evening, please), while the other half of you will post comments on at least 5 of your classmates blogs (be polite, be respectful, be responsive to others’ ideas—comments also due by Monday night January 19). Vocabulary quiz, lessons 13-15, Friday.

Week 3 (January 19-23 No school Monday):
Read Antigone, page 1324 in our anthology. Look at the links on my blog and the questions at the end of the play. Why is Antigone’s dilemma important? What does it represent? Which character, Antigone or Creon, best fits the definition of the tragic character from the Introduction to Tragedy? Blog entries, for those who did not write the week before, are due Sunday, January 25. Comments (at least 5) from those who blogged last week are also due by Sunday evening the 25th. Multiple choice quiz Friday the 23rd.

Blog starters for Ivan Ilych

The following statements have all been culled from Ronald Blythe’s introduction to The Death of Ivan Ilyich.  You may choose one and comment on its relevance to the novella. By all means if there is another issue you want to discuss, do so (Ilyich’s relationship with Gerasim, materialism, authenticity, fear of death, what does it mean to be human, etc).

1.    The novel evokes “the sheer desolating aloneness of dying.”

2.    “[Love] could have rescued Ivan Ilyich from all the fright and despair which terorized him during the final two weeks had he allowed it to. . . Love masters death [only at the end].”

3.    Tolstoy condemns “Ivan Ilyich’s opportunism, marriage of convenience, vanity, and limitation, and then, with astonishment, the reader finds himself beginning to like this conventional man and to be sorry when he starts to lose out to death.”

4.    The story “is the tragedy of a man who is a death illiterate and who has to make his way out of the world through the ranks of other death illiterates.”

5.    Tolstoy shows us “a man. . . who had not taken the trouble to grow up, morally speaking, while he was passing through [life], and. . .then [shows] how salvation could overtake a slowing pulse rate, bringing maturity at the last.”

AP Assignments January 6 2008

Week 1 (Tuesday January 6-Monday January 12): Read The Death of Ivan Ilyich, p. 280 in our anthology. As you read this story and the discussion questions, think about the story’s central message and the techniques Tolstoy uses to convey meaning. In what ways is Tolstoy’s story critical of bourgeois Russian culture? Is Ilyich meant to be a unique or a representative character? What is the role of the narrator in shaping our understanding of the story’s meanings? We will discuss questions 1 through 6 beginning Wednesday (read chapters 1-6) afternoon through Friday and finish our discussion Monday (read 7 - 12) and Tuesday morning. Blog entries are due by Monday, January 12. No quiz this week. Vocab lessons 13-15 next Friday, January 16.


1. What purpose is served by placing Ilyich’s funeral at the beginning of the novella rather than at the end?

2. What is Pyotr Ivanovich’s role in chapter 1? Why does Tolstoy describe his thoughts in such detail?

3. Explain the significance of the first sentence in section 2. How does it set the tone for what follows?

4. Describe Ilyich’s professional and personal life up to the move to Petersburg. What are his motives? How does he make decisions? What is the narrator’s attitude toward him?

5. What is the source of Ilyich’s illness? Discuss the significance of his symptoms? How do his physical problems affect him psychologically? Is his illness symbolic?

6. At what key points does Ilyich begin to re-evaluate his life? How does Tolstoy attempt to make this process credible? Does he succeed?

7. Re-read the two paragraphs beginning on page 305 (¶ 217) (“What tormented Ivan Ilyich most . . . ) to the end of the chapter. According to Tolstoy, why is Ilyich suffering? What is the source of the lie? What does Ilyich most want? Why can’t he have it? What does Tolstoy mean when he refers to “this falseness in himself and in those around him”? What is the peasant boy Gerasim’s role?

8. Consider Ivan Ilyich’s prayer in chapter 9 and the response. Look at the dialogue between mind and soul. Does this dialogue contain the seeds of an important realization? What does the voice which answers him represent? Why does Ilyich “dismiss this bizarre idea”?

9. What is the source of the “moral agony” Ilyich experiences in chapter 11? Why does Ilyich answer “yes” when his wife asks him if he feels better? How does this answer affect him? Why?

10. In chapter 12, what is “the real thing”? Why does the fear of death leave him in the hour before his death? Does dying change Ivan Ilyich in any important way?

Shakespeare schedule

Shakespeare
Messrs. Burns and Coon
Semester schedule (subject to revision)

Weeks 1 through 5 (January 6—February 7):

Hamlet

Weeks 1, 2, & 3—Script study
Week 4—“On book” performance
Week 5—Memorized performance

Weeks 6 through 11 (February 10—March 20

The Merchant of Venice


Weeks 12 though 16 (March 31—May 1)

As You Like It

\Weeks 17 & 18

“The Shakespeare Project”—individual performances of scenes, creative interpretation of scenes, films. Legos, etc

Class ends Friday May 15
Prom is Saturday May 16
Awards Assembly Monday May 18
Senior trip May 19-22
Graduation Thursday June 4

English IV--Notes on Comedy as Form

Listed below are some of the basic principles of comedy as a mode or form of literary expression.
1.    The primary formal difference between comedy and tragedy lies in the outcomes of the characters’ journeys. In comedy, the characters reach the ends we as audience have come to desire for them. The good are rewarded, often with marriage, and the fools are either punished or rendered harmless. Part of the audience’s pleasure is watching the comic “villains” receive their come-uppance.

2.    In order for the characters to arrive at the desired ends in ways that afford the audience pleasure, there must be threats and complications with the potential to hinder the desired outcomes. For this reason, plausibility of plot is less inherently a requirement of comic form than in more serious literature. “Unlikely coincidences, improbable disguises, mistaken identities—these are the stuff of which comedy is made; and, as long as they make us langh and, at the same time, help to illuminate human nature and human folly, we need not greatly care” (Lawrence Perrine).

3.    “Comedy delineates human weakness.”  The characters’ vanity, folly, hypocrisy, and absurdity are exposed, and we are invited to laugh at the ridiculousness of their behavior.  Thus the larger purpose of comedy is an intellectually serious one, to inspire, in the words of George Meredith, “thoughtful laughter” about the quirks and foibles of human nature.

4.    Because comedy has as it purpose exposing the basic categories of human folly, comic characterization relies more on types and less on individualization: the fop, the coquette, the prude, the egotist, the misanthrope, the bumpkin, the self-important, the hypocrite, the naif, the chatterbox, the would-be wit, the obsequious fawner, the bumbling incompetent, the snob, the perennial bachelor, the jealous lover, and so on. 

5.    Comic authors create some situations or characters to express the healthy social norms from which the comic characters deviate.

AP--assignments Nov 10--Dec 11 2008

Week of November 10

1. Heart of Darkness: read part I for Day 1, part II for day 3
2. Vocabulary: Cumulative quiz Friday, lessons 1-12
3. No blog due.

Week of November 17

1. Heart of Darkness: read part III for Day 1
2. Waiting for the Barbarians: read parts I & II (to p. 55) for Day 4
3. Blog: Read your assigned section of background and criticism; summarize its most important ideas on your blog in a series of bullet points; due before class day 1, to be presented in brief oral summaries.
4. Multiple-choice quiz Friday

Week of November 24

1. Waiting for the Barbarians: Read part III (to p. 74) for Monday.
2. All sections meet both Monday and Tuesday, no school Wed-Fri (Thanksgiving holiday)
3. No vocab quiz
4. Blog: due day 1 describing initial responses to characters, style, and content of WFB (approx. 300-400 words)

Week of December 1

1. WFB: read part IV (to p. 119) for Day 1, parts V & VI (to p. 152) for Day 3
2. No quiz
3. No blog

Week of December 8

1. Blog: post #2 due for WFB before class Monday. Topic: make a meaningful connection between WFB & HOD. Before writing, read "Three Ways of Going Wrong" by Douglas Kerr on JStor, (Modern Language Review, vol. 95, #1, http://www. jstor.org/stable/3736367) esp. pp. 21-27. Length: 400-500 words.
2. All sections meet both Monday and Tuesday to finish discussion of novel.
3. Semester exam Thursday, December 11, 9 AM. Hormel Arts Center
4. Exam format: Multiple choice-30 minutes. Essay on analysis of passage-40 minutes. Essay on novel-40 minutes.

AP--November 3-10

Monday or Tuesday, November 3 or 4--post a mini-blog (one paragraph, approx 200 words) identifying ONE way the final section of The Sound and the Fury provides some form of significant closure to the novel as a whole.

Monday-Wednesday (rotations 1 & 2)--finish assigned discussion roles

Wednesday-Thursday (rotation 3)--"page one" exercise for Heart of Darkness--read the opening paragraphs, especially paragraphs # 2, 3, 4, & 6 more than once, and make notes in the margin. Diction, syntax, tone, organization, & tension, and the introduction of the character Marlow.

Friday, November 7--in-class essay on The Sound and the Fury.

Monday, November 10--read part 1 of Heart of Darkness.

Eng IV--Things Fall Apart essay

Topic choices for a three-page paper on Things Fall Apart

Topic choice and thesis due in class Wednesday 11/5
(and watch election coverage Tuesday evening)
Draft or outline due in class on Friday, 11/7.
Paper due in class and on turnitin.com by class time on Monday, 11/10.

Choose one of the following topics to develop into an essay based on your understanding of the novel Things Fall Apart. In your essay, refer to specific passages and examples from the novel to support your ideas.

•Is Okonkwo a tragic figure? Review what you know from our study of Greek tragedy and assess to what extent those ideas apply to Things Fall Apart in general and Okonkwo in particular.

•How does Achebe’s narrator both endorse and critique the values and practices of Ibo culture? Why does he present some elements of the culture as problematic or flawed and others as sources of strength for the Ibo people?

•How does Okonkwo determine right from wrong? Choose three examples of decisions Okonkwo makes and examine what belief systems, values, laws or traditions he uses to choose a course of action. Evaluate the wisdom or effectiveness of these decisions.

•What kind of leader is Okonkwo? Choose three strong actions which demonstrate his leadership. Identify the values, beliefs, and/or traditions on which he bases each action and evaluate its effectiveness.

•Of his daughter Ezinma, Okonkwo thinks, “She should have been a boy” (p. 64). Why is it necessary to the story that Okonkwo’s favored child be a girl?

Eng IV Assignments October 28--November 7

Tuesday, October 28—Chapters 10-12

Wednesday, October 29—Chapters 13-15

Friday, October 31—Chapters 16-19

Monday, November 3—Chapters 20-22

Tuesday, November 4—Chapters 23-25

Wednesday, November 5—Outline and/or draft due for essay

Friday, November 7—Papers due, both hard copy and turnitin.com, approximately 3 pages typed.

Chapter presentation assignments—DO NOT SUMMARIZE PLOT
• Select the most important information about Ibo culture
• Look up unfamiliar terms, especially Ibo words
• Point out important themes & character qualities
• Select a key question from the study guide
• Answer questions from the class

Noah—chapters 1, 17, & 20
Stew—chapters 2, 18, and 19
Adam—chapters 3, 16, and 21
Steph—chapters 4, 15, & 22
Amrita—chapters 5, 14, & 23
Alfred—chapters 6, 13, & 24
Prateek—chapters 7, 12, & 25
Tyler—chapters 8, 11, & 24
Colin—chapters 9, 10, & 25

Things Fall Apart guide and links

link

Sound & the Fury--journal entry

link to Caddy Compson piece.

AP--Assignments October 20-31

October 20-24

Day 1--Read S&F, pp, 76-179
Days 2 & 3--Read a scholarly article from JStor regarding the novel; begin reading pp. 180-264.
Day 4--Vocab quiz, lessons 10-12

October 27-31

Day 1--Finish reading S&F, pp. 180-264; blog a comment on your scholarly article. Give the citation of the source of the article, quote a brief passage or summarize an idea you found helpful, interesting, or just plain puzzling, and write a brief comment in the form of a blog entry.
Day 2--Begin reading pp. 265-321
Day 3--Continue
Day 4--Finish pp. 265-321

AP--Essay Grades (Revised)

At the end of your essay are seven scores, all ranked on a scale of 1 (missing), 2 (weak), 3 (present but could be improved), 4 (strong), and 5 (excellent). These subscores are hardly scientific but are designed to give you a sense of your relative strengths and weaknesses, in general or on any specific assignment. The seven categories are as follows:
T: Thesis—your opening paragraph should establish the focus of your essay and contain a statement, phrased as clearly and specifically as possible, of the main point you will prove in your essay. Clarity, specificity, and insight are the essential qualities of an excellent thesis. MS means “more specific,” as in, you should try to be.
P: Paragraph organization—each paragraph should quickly establish a central focus, a statement of idea, not fact, and the paragraph as a whole should stick closely to this central focus. Also, the number, length, and organization of your paragraphs should advance your thesis logically and effectively.
E: Evidence—in each of your body paragraphs, use specific details, facts, and brief quotations from the text to support the central interpretive focus of the paragraph. This reader looks not so much for the number of pieces of evidence as for their appropriateness to your thesis and your ability to integrate them smoothly into your paragraphs.
C: Commentary—Throughout the essay, from the opening paragraph to the concluding one, your ability to write meaningful interpretative statements is crucial. Not too vague, not overstated, not missing the point of the evidence you cite—thoughtful, specific commentary is a must in an analytical essay. Roughly two-to-one commentary to evidence is a highly desirable ratio. Commentary develops your insight into the literature you are analyzing.
D: Diction—Using words accurately and precisely adds to the overall impression of your writing. Avoiding vague abstract language, using specific terms instead, helps greatly. A rich and varied vocabulary, using clear everyday language, avoiding cliche and jargon, enhances the readability of your work.
S: Syntax—Managing clear, uncluttered sentence structure leaves a strong impression in the reader’s mind. Sentences that don’t meander off into the swamps and leave their main ideas in the muck are vital to your success. No fragments either.
M: Mechanics—Agreement, consistent verb use, punctuation, spelling, and the usage of Standard Written English may not make a strong paper, but they can certainly break one.

A paper with 5’s in all categories earns an “A,” a score of 95%. Deduct one point for each score below 5. All 3’s earns a B-, mixed 3’s and 4’s a B, all 4’s a B+, mixed 4’s and 5’s an A-, and all or almost all 5’s an A.

English IV assignments October 8-24

Wednesday, October 8--"Quest" on One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Thursday, October 9--No class

Friday, October 10--No school--Fall break

Monday, October 13--No school--Fall break

Tuesday, October 14--"The Post Office," p. 411 in World Literature anthology

Wednesday, October 15--"Forty-five a Month" p. 495

Thursday, October 16--No class

Friday, October 17--"Interpreter of Maladies" (handout)--end of first marking period; bring vocab books to class

Monday, October 20--"A Sunrise on the Veld," p. 308.

Tuesday, October 21--"Good Climate, Friendly Inhabitants," p. 316.

Wednesday, October 22--Things Fall Apart (paperback), chapters 1-3

Friday, October 24--TFA, chapters 4 & 5, read historical handout, vocab quiz 10-12.

Ivan Denisovich blog 10.2.09

For your blog entry this weekend, write a short piece entitled “One Day in the Life of (insert your character’s name here).” Your character—your fictional character—may be anyone you choose, very likely a PCDS high school student, but certainly someone whose "day" contains events and routines with which you are personally acquainted (rather than, say, a day in the life of an Imperial Trooper or Wizard in Training). The “one day” you choose should be, as it is for Solzhenitsyn, a representative day, one in which nothing terribly out of the ordinary happens but in which the small events of the day reveal the larger pattern of the weeks, months, and years of your character's life. So: no life or death decisions, no momentous workings of fate, no life-changing events. Just a day, like many others, one which contains within it the tensions, struggles, and rewards, the everyday triumphs and failures, faced by your determined, plucky protagonist.

Ivan Denisovich reading guide

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Key Terms for Reading

Look for examples as you read: underline them and share them in class

• Living conditions: Cold, Hunger, Fear, Exhaustion
• Coping strategies: Resourcefulness, Plotting, Scavenging
• Psychological survival: Dignity, Stoicism, Resilience, Pride, Toughness
• Narrative strategies: Suspense, Humor
• Style: Slang & Colloquialisms

What is the emotional or intellectual effect of the examples you find? How do they further Solzhenitsyn's artistic goals as a novelist?

(Acknowledgment: Most of these words appear in Katherine Shonk’s introduction to the novel.)

AP--Weekly blogs

To resolve any lingering confusions or ambiguities about your blogging responsibilities, I have gathered statements from three different documents:

1. (from Oral presentations assignment): All members of the class will post to their blogs once a week, usually a response to one of the stories read during the week. Topics are open, but one good suggestion is to begin with an idea that came up in class and extend it, offering your own thoughts and taking the discussion of the topic a little further. Thus, your individual responsibility will be to read all stories, serve once as an analyst, once as essayist, two or three times as commenter, and post to your own blog weekly (except in the week for which you are an essayist).

2. (from Short story project #2 assignment): As you read new stories in your search for the perfect contemporary short story, I encourage you to post short responses to
them as part of your weekly blogs commenting on our assigned short stories.

3. (from the course syllabus):
The primary forum for written work is your blog. You are required to post weekly blog entries relating to the literature studied in the classroom. Your blogs will receive a grade, accounting for 30% of each quarter’s grade. Blog entries should be approximately 500 words in length (please indicate word count in parentheses at the end of each entry). I will not, however, grade by length alone; rather, quantity will be one of four criteria, along with regularity of entries, style, and originality of content.


Occasionally I will ask you to respond to particular prompts or questions on my blog, but often there is no set topic for your weekly entries. Rather, I ask you to find an element of the assigned reading that interests you and discuss it thoughtfully. This comment may take many forms, a few of which are suggested here:
• Discuss a character’s actions, words, personality, moral values, or humanity.
• Comment on the writer’s style, use of language, tone, irony, or imagery.
• Consider a topic or idea raised in class discussion, trying to go beyond what has already been stated.
• Raise and discuss a question about the text under consideration.
• Discuss the importance or meaning of a key passage or scene from the reading.
• For longer works, show how a scene or passage develops a theme or pattern identified in class.
•Make a comparison between a scene, character, or idea from the literature and something from another source or from your own experience
• Use an idea from my blog or from that of one of your classmates as a point of departure for your response.
• Locate relevant research material on the web, post a link to the site on your blog, and discuss your choice.

Eng IV Assignments: September 12 - Oct 3

Friday, September 12—Antigone blogs due; bring vocab books to class; in-class writing activity

Week 4
Monday, September 15—Read A Doll’s House, Act I, pp. 140-165

Tuesday, September 16—A Doll’s House, Act II, pp. 165-184

Wednesday, September 17—A Doll’s House, Act III, pp. 184-202

Friday, September 19—Vocabulary quiz, lessons 4 – 6

Week 5
Monday, September 22—“A Country Doctor,” pp. 242 - 247 + Dollhouse blogs

Tuesday, September 23—“The Heavenly Christmas Tree,” pp. 121-125

Wednesday, September 24—“How Much Land Does a Man Need,” pp. 126 – 138

Friday, September 26—Begin reading One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich; start Wednesday night, average, 20 pages per night Thursday night and all weekend, finish reading by Monday night September 29

Week 6
Monday, September 29—Continue reading One Day

Tuesday, September 30—Finish reading One Day, possible quiz

Wednesday, October 1—Continue discussion of One Day

Friday, October 3—One Day blogs due; vocab quiz lessons 7 - 9

AP--A Rose for Emily

First 3 paragraphs:
--Narrator speaks on behalf of townspeople
--Fact of Miss Emily's death established in first 5 words, not returned to until section V of story.
--Several elements of mystery surrounding Emily's life & house
--diction establishes Emily as a kind of historical relic, object of curiosity, symbol of fallen 19th century grandeur
--Faulkner's use of loose sentences--at least 4 examples in 1st 3 graphs--allows direct statement of main idea in simple clause with ample embellishment in attached phrases and clauses--characteristic of his style--see example in ¶ 55, describing Emily's funeral
--use of formal diction (esp. adj-n): respectful affection, fallen monument, scrolled balconies, lightsome style, coquettish decay, cedar-bemused cemetery, hereditary obligation, etc.
--ends ¶ 3 with balanced sentence to emphasize traditional understanding of gender roles in Emily and Col's generation (now largely gone)

Discussion questions:

1. What is the effect of telling the story out of chronological order? Does it make the ending more or less powerful?
2. In what ways have the times changed during Miss Emily's life? Why has she been unable to change with the times? Did she try?
3. Miss Emily's father never appears directly but is mentioned several times. What influence does he have in the outcome of Miss Emily's life?
4. (from textbook): what is the author's attitude toward Emily? Is she simply a crazy murderess? Why is the story called "A Rose"?
   

ENG IV--Antigone Blog

Here are a few thoughts for an Antigone blog. You need not choose one of these, but I ask you to write a few hundred thoughtful words on some aspect of the play’s meaning.

1. Demonstrating the power of the individual to resist unjust authority or immoral force is perhaps Antigone’s great achievement. What parallels do you see in other events you know about, perhaps through your knowledge of history?

2. Creon’s position is that the safety and security of the state come first, ahead of the rights of the individual. How does his position relate to current debates in the war against terrorism?

3. Haemon tactfully attempts to point out to his father the error of his (father’s) actions. Can you think of a comparable situation in which the child turned out to have greater wisdom than the parent?

4. Re-read Antigone’s final speeches (ll. 963-968 & 978-1021)—do the feelings she expresses there give us any insight into why she may have taken her life in the tomb?

5. The Chorus suggests at the end of the play that too often in human life wisdom and humility come too late to do any good, that pride leads to suffering and pain. Do you agree with this view of human life? Why or why not?

AP--short story project #2

In addition to the short essay on the story you have been assigned, your final assignment for our study of short fiction is to research and write a paper on a story you choose based on your own interest. Listed below are the requirements and guidelines for this assignment:

• Your story must have been published for the first time while you’ve been in high school, that is 2005 to the present.

• Your story must have actually been “published”; no self-published internet pieces by amateur writers, please.

• Since I am asking you to research the author and write an analysis of the story, I strongly suggest that you read several stories, from a variety of sources, then choose the one you enjoyed the most. As you read new stories, I encourage you to post short responses to them as part of your weekly blogs commenting on our assigned short stories.

• Published short stories are not as abundant as they were 50 or 75 years ago. Nevertheless, you may find excellent material in a variety of places: New Yorker magazine publishes short stories regularly, and Mr.Thommen has set over 100 issues out in the reference section of the library. Also, Mr. Thommen has begun a subscription to a periodical called One Story, each issue of which contains, you guessed it, a single short story. The Best American Short Stories series publishes a new edition every year (guest editor for the 2007 edition was Stephen King), and I have ordered copies of the two most recent collections. Finally, literary journals in libraries often contain new stories, and both single-author and anthology collections of stories may be found in bookstores as well. For example, Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The Namesake on my summer reading list, has a new story collection called Unaccustomed Earth.

• The written portion of the assignment is a paper of approximately 5-6 pages (1500 to 2000 words) in which you cover three key points: your reasons for choosing the story, some biographical background on the writer, and an analysis of the story using the methods and vocabulary we have discussed and practiced in class.

• Drafts of your papers are due in class Monday, October 6 (Tuesday for section 3). Final papers are due, both hard copy and turnitin.com, on Wednesday, October 8.

NOTICE to ALL my students

I'm having to type random, barely legible series of letters in order to leave comments on your blog. It's already annoying and I think we've found (thanks, Sophie) a way to avoid it.

So, as quickly as possible, tonight if you can, please log on to your blogger account and do the following:
1. Click "Settings."
2. Click the "comments" tab
3. Scroll down to "word verification" and click "off."
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and "save settings."

Also, go to the "e-mail" tab and turn off "blog send." I already have direct feeds set up for your blogs.

Thank you.
LCC

Eng IV--Antigone

1. Here is the link to my slideshow presentation on the elements of tragedy.

2. Here is a link to some other web sites dealing with Antigone or Greek tragedy.

3. What are the issues at stake in Antigone's argument with Creon? Who is right? How do we know?

4. What is important about the characters of Ismene, Teiresias, Haemon, and Choragos? How does each contribute to our understanding of the play's central questions?

AP--oral presentations

Each assigned story carries with it a total of four separate responsibilities Listed below are details about each of these duties.
1. Style analyst—Class begins with the analyst pointing out characteristics of the writer’s style, based on a close reading of the story’s first two paragraphs (more if the story begins with dialogue; fewer if the first paragraph is an especially long one). The style analyst points out significant examples of diction, syntax, figurative language, organization, tone, and tension, paying special attention to issues significant to the story as a whole. A brief discussion ensues during which other members of the class can add to the insights of the analyst.

2. Essayist—The essayist writes a brief essay (600-800 words) on the story, focusing on one aspect of the story’s technique, or meaning. The essayist may discuss an aspect of characterization, identify an interpretive problem in the story and offer a suggested answer to the problem, comment on setting or point of view, or interpret a crucial moment in the story. Essays are posted to the writer’s blog and read to the class. In the time remaining, the essayist leads a discussion of the story. (N.B.—one excellent way to begin a group discussion is to ask a question to which you don’t have a complete answer yourself, something important about the story you’re still trying to figure out. If you’re not sure whether the main character made the right decision, ask the class. If there’s a scene whose meaning is ambiguous or whose significance is unclear, ask the class.) IMPORTANT: The essayist brings a hard copy of the essay to class for me to write notes on.

3. Commenter—Within 24 hours after class, three members of the class will post written comments on the essayist’s piece. I will be one of these three commenters, often in the form of notes on the hard copy provided me. The other two commenters will write thoughtful, constructive comments on the blog, specifically offering their suggestions for making the essay more specific, more persuasive, or more clearly written. The essayist will then submit a revised version of the essay, both hard copy and turnitin.com, two class sessions after the presentation.

4. Reader—All members of the class not included in the above roles are readers. The reader’s job is to read the story carefully before coming to class, annotating the margins of the textbook with comments about the story. Readers contribute to the day’s discussion by responding to the analyst or essayist or both during class.

All members of the class will post to their blogs once a week, usually a response to one of the stories read during the week. Topics are open, but one good suggestion is to begin with an idea that came up in class and extend it, offering your own thoughts and taking the discussion of the topic a little further. See the course syllabus, section III, for other suggestions. Thus, your individual responsibility will be to read all stories, serve once as an analyst, once as essayist, two or three times as commenter, and post to your own blog weekly (except in the week for which you are an essayist).

AP--Pride & Prejudice essay

Write an essay of approximately 600-750 words (2-3 typed, double-spaced pages), in which you discuss in as much detail as space permits the significance of the following passage to the work as a whole. In your discussion you may focus on an appropriate combination of the following elements:
• How does the passage characterize its participants and Austen’s methods of characterization?
• What is the relationship of this scene to the “action” of the novel? Does it contribute to either the complication of the action or to its resolution?
• How does it embody or advance themes important to the novel?
• In what sense is the scene “comic”?
• How does it most significantly illustrate Jane Austen’s style?

Essays are due Friday, September 5, both hard copy and electronically to turnitin.com. Here is a link to the formatting requirements. Here is a link to the syllabus, section 5 of which details turnitin.com procedures.

Passage:

“Tell me once for all, are you engaged to him?”

Though Elizabeth would not, for the mere purpose of obliging Lady Catherine, have answered this question, she could not but say, after a moment’s deliberation, “I am not.”

Lady Catherine seemed pleased.

“And will you promise me, never to enter into such an engagement?”

“I will make no promise of the kind.”

“Miss Bennet, I am shocked and astonished. I expected to find a more reasonable young woman. But do not deceiveyourself into a belief that I will ever recede. I shall not go away, till you have given me the assurance I require.”

“And I certainly never shall give it. I am not to be intimidated into anything so wholly unreasonable. Your ladyship wants Mr. Darcy to marry your daughter; but would my giving you the wished-for promise, make their marriage at all more probable?” . . . .

Her ladyship was highly incensed.

“You have no regard, then, for the honour and credit of my nephew! Unfeeling, selfish girl! Do you not consider that a connection with you must disgrace him in the eyes of everybody?”

“Lady Catherine, I have nothing further to say. You know my sentiments.”

“You are resolved then to have him?”

“I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.”

AP--For Tuesday September 2

Find a brief passage in Pride and Prejudice, not from the opening chapter, which illustrates a significant principle of Jane Austen's style and which contains a theme or idea important to the novel. Annotate your passage in your copy of the novel and come to class prepared to share your discussion of the passage, both its relationship to Austen's style and its significance to some principle of form in the novel as a whole.

Revising a blog

FROM BLOG TO ESSAY IN FIVE EASY STEPS

1. Look at the blog entry you’ve chosen for the idea that you can develop into an essay of several paragraphs. It may or may not be the topic most addressed in the blog, but it should be one which forms a considerable part of your blog discussion and which you think you can develop further in essay form.

2. Rewrite the current opening statement or write a new, brief opening paragraph. Keep your opening concise, identify the focus of the essay, and, at the end of the paragraph, make a clear, specifically worded statement of thesis, the interpretive idea whose validity you wish to prove in the essay.

3. Look at the middle paragraphs of your blog entry. Are they too long? Too short? If they don’t already begin with sentences that state ideas rather than facts, add clear topic sentences that relate to your thesis. Check within each of those middle paragraphs for a balance between specific textual evidence, preferably both examples and brief quotations, and your own commentary designed to identify the significance of your evidence and fully develop the depth of each paragraph. Finally, make sure each of these middle paragraphs helps support the validity of your thesis.

4. Check your final paragraph. Make sure it does not simply repeat what you have already stated. Draw a conclusion from the evidence you’ve presented. Save your most important idea, the one everything else in your essay leads up to, for last.

5. Last but certainly not least, read all your sentences out loud for clarity and clutter. Have you expressed your biggest ideas in simple words? Have you taken out who, which, and that whenever possible? Are you varying the length of your sentences, alternating complex and compound sentences with simple ones? Does the punctuation of your sentences help make them clearer and more meaningful? Have you caught the spelling mistakes spellcheck won’t catch?

English IV Assignments weeks 1-3

English IV—World Literature
Mr. Coon, Mr. Campbell, Ms. Decker
Schedule of Assignments
August—Sep, 2008

Note: Assignments are DUE on the day indicated.

Week 1: August 25—29
Day 1. First day—welcome, syllabus, blog intro, assignments
Day 2. Set up account with Google Reader (see “how to start a blog,”); write the letter indicated in the instructions after you establish your blog; vocabulary intro (bring books)—
Day 3. Print blog entry, bring to class for discussions and workshop (blog to essay in five easy steps); begin peer review
Day 4. Continue peer review; begin revision and re-writing of draft 2

Week 2: September 2—5—No classes Monday (Labor Day)
Day 1. Essays due, both hard copy and turnitin.com; introduction to tragedy
Day 2. Read Antigone, pp. 14 to 32 (to line 593 “enter Ismene”)
Day 3. Antigone, pp. 32-44, to line 1034; vocab quiz 1, lessons 1-3 (quiz for section 1 only)
Day 4. (Campbell/Decker only)—vocab quiz 1, lessons 1-3 + Antigone activity (TBA)

Week 3: September 8—12
1. Antigone, finish reading to page 57
2. Read “Torn Lace,” pp. 73--77
3. Read “War,” pp. 79-82
4. Writing activity TBA; bring vocab books to preview lessons 4, 5, & 6

AP--August-October assignments

English IV—Advanced Placement World Literature
Mr. Coon
Schedule of Assignments
August—October, 2008

Note: All assignments are DUE for the class day listed.

Week 1: August 25—29
Day 1: First day—welcome, syllabus, blog intro, assignments
Day 2: Set up account with Google Reader (see “how to start a blog,” on mrcoonsenglish.blogspot.com; write the letter indicated in the instructions after you establish your blog; vocabulary intro (bring books); Introduction to close reading
Day 3: Bring Pride & Prejudice; continue introduction to close reading
Day 4: Quiz 1—Multiple choice (15 minutes); close reading exercise

Week 2: September 2—5—No classes Monday (Labor Day)
Day 1: Discussion of passages
Day 2: Discussion of Pride and Prejudice; introduce short story presentations & roles
Day 3: Essay due on Pride and Prejudice; vocab quiz 1 (lessons 1-3)

Week 3: September 8—12
1: "A Rose For Emily" (28) (passage and essay-LCC; no commenters)
2: "Everyday Use" (p.443)
3: "Teenage Wasteland" (35)
4: "Interpreter of Maladies" (p. 579); Multiple choice quiz 2

Week 4: September 15—19
1: "A & P" (p. 14); blogs due
2: "Revelation" (368)
3: "A Good Man is Hard to Find" (p.358)
4: "Cathedral" (p. 98); Vocab quiz 2 (lessons 4-6)

Week 5: September 22—26
1: "The Five Forty-Eight" (p. 503); blogs due
2: "Battle Royal" (p. 526)
3. "Shiloh" (p. 604)
4: "The Yellow Wallpaper" (p. 424); Multiple choice quiz 3

Week 6: September 29—October 3
1: "Greasy Lake "(p. 129); blogs due
2: "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" (p. 613)
3. "I Stand Here Ironing" (p. 637);
4: "The Things They Carried" (p. 625); vocab quiz 3 (lessons 7-9)

Week 7: October 6—9—No school Friday (Fall Break)
1: Drafts of papers due in class; no blogs due
2. Peer editing of short story papers
WED: Papers due for selected short stories; no quiz

Headings, formats, and style tips

HEADINGS FOR PAPERS—Always head your papers with the following information:

• Your name,
• Course and section number (AP -3, for example)
• Turnitin receipt number,
• Word count (your word processing program should perform this last task for you automatically).

FORMATTING:

• Use 12-point font
• Choose a font with serifs (Times New Roman, for example)
• Set 1 inch margins all round
• Give your paper a title which indicates its subject; when writing about literature, give more than just the name of the text you are writing about.
• Double space text
• For quotations of FIVE lines or longer, block the passage with one and one-half inch margins and single spacing.
• Remember to put novel and play titles in italics, poem and short story titles in quotation marks, and to give your paper a title different from the literary work it discusses.

STYLE

• Use American spelling and usage: double quotation marks, not single; toward, not towards; judgment, not judgement; gray, not grey; honor, not honour, and so on.
• Avoid "naked" pronouns: this, that, which.
• Whenever possible, omit who, which, and that--make the relative clause either the main clause or a participial phrase.
• Simplify your language; use everyday words to express important ideas.
• Omit unnecessary words from your sentences, unnecessary sentences from your paragraphs, unnecessary paragraphs from your essays. Be studious of brevity.
  
• Whenever you face a choice between a general term and a specific word, opt for the latter.
  

How to Start a Blog 2008

Go to www.blogger.com. You should be automatically directed to their start page. Follow the "three easy steps" :
--Create your account using your PCDS e-mail account and password (use the same account and password for your turnitin.com account). Since your blog will only be read by me and by your classmates, please use your first and last name as your display name; that way I always know whose blog I'm reading and you get credit for having written it.
--Name your blog. Whatever you like, but it's a school assignment, so be appropriate, please. For your blog's url, use firstname-lastname so that we may find each other's blogs easily during the year.
--Select a template for your blog. Pick whichever one you like, with one condition. My eyes are getting older and I can't read black or dark backgrounds, so please don't choose one of those templates.

After you create your template, click "start posting" to go to the editing page of your blog. From there, you have one more crucial task. Click the Settings tab, then the e-mail tab. Type my e-mail address in the box marked "BlogSend": (lance.coon@pcds.org). After I have an RSS feed for your blog, I’ll ask you to turn this setting off. But to get started you need to include this step or you may not receive credit for your blog entries. (Be sure to click "Save Settings" before closing this tab.)

When you have completed these steps, click the "Posting" tab and create your first blog entry.

For AP English: Write your first blog about the reading you did this summer. I’m interested not only in the books you chose from my recommendations but also any books you read on your own. Include a list of any books you have read since the beginning of June, both titles and authors, and then write a short piece about ONE of the titles you read. Pick the one that made the strongest impression on you, or the one you enjoyed the most, or the one that stayed with you the longest after you read it. Here is a link to such a piece, one I wrote last summer after I read Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road. As you write, remember to be as specific as you can in your language, your reasons, your examples.

For English IV: Write a blog about the book you chose from the grade 12 Summer Reading List. If you read more than one title from the list, choose the one that made the strongest impression on you. In your blog (500 words or so), identify which aspects of the novel are most prominent, which ones go the furthest to explain the impression the book made on you. Was it an idea, a character who seemed particularly lifelike, a relationship, the ambiguity of the book's ending or meaning, something about the writer's style? Your blog will serve as the first draft of a paper to be turned in next week, so give some thought to identifying and discussing those elements of the book which are most notable.

I recommend that you write, edit, spell-check, and word-count your letter on a word document then paste it into the box on the posting page of your blog. When you're done, give it a title, click the orange button marked "publish post," and voila!—you have created your first blog entry (436).

Syllabus 2008--English IV & AP

English IV Syllabus
Mr. Coon; Fall, 2008

I. Goals

In the courses which comprise English IV, we seek to expose members of the senior class to significant pieces of literature from the world tradition. The required semester selection of world authors includes pieces from the classical Mediterranean world, Asia, Africa, South America, and Continental Europe. Canonical authors such as Sophocles, Shakespeare, Ibsen, Kafka, Tolstoy, Achebe, and Solzhenitsyn provide depth and balance to the assigned material. Authors and works are chosen with an eye toward providing significant intellectual, esthetic, moral, and literary challenges to readers. Each course asks students to read and think carefully, to listen and discuss, and to develop their language skills, especially in writing, critical reading, vocabulary, and English usage.

II. Readings

World Literature (first semester)
1. World Literature , Donna Rosenberg (editor)
2. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
3. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Alexander Solzhenitsyn
4. selected novel(s) for summer reading

Advanced Placement World Literature (two semesters)
1. Literature: An Introduction, (10th edition) X. J. Kennedy & Dana Gioia, editors
2. Waiting for the Barbarians, J. M. Coetzee
3. The Sound and the Fury , William Faulkner
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
5. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (summer reading)
6. selected novels for summer reading and 2 additional papers

African-American Literature (second semester)
1. Hard Road to Freedom: The Story of African America, James Oliver Horton & Lois E. Horton
2. Black Boy, Richard Wright
3. Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
4. Fences, August Wilson
5. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

Shakespeare (second semester); team taught with Mr. Burns
1. Hamlet
2. As You Like It
3. The Merchant of Venice

III. Additional texts
1. Vocabulary for Achievement, 6th course
2. Write with Pride—Abandon Prejudice: A Style Manual for English IV (available online at mrcoonsenglish.blogspot.com)

IV. Written work
The primary forum for written work is your blog. You are required to post weekly blog entries relating to the literature studied in the classroom. Your blogs will receive a grade, accounting for 30% of each quarter’s grade. Blog entries should be approximately 500 words in length (please indicate word count in parentheses at the end of each entry). I will not, however, grade by length alone; rather, quantity will be one of four criteria, along with regularity of entries, style, and originality of content. Instructions about creating and posting blog entries may be found on my blog at mrcoonsenglish.blogspot.com.
Occasionally I will ask you to respond to particular prompts or questions on my blog, but often there is no set topic for your weekly entries. Rather, I ask you to find an element of the assigned reading that interests you and discuss it thoughtfully. This comment may take many forms, a few of which are suggested here:
• Discuss a character’s actions, words, personality, moral values, or humanity.
• Comment on the writer’s style, use of language, tone, irony, or imagery.
• Consider a topic or idea raised in class discussion, trying to go beyond what has already been stated.
• Raise and discuss a question about the text under consideration.
• Discuss the importance or meaning of a key passage or scene from the reading.
• For longer works, show how a scene or passage develops a theme or pattern identified in class.
• Make a comparison between a scene, character, or idea from the literature and something from another source or from your own experience
• Use an idea from my blog or from that of one of your classmates as a point of departure for your response.
• Locate relevant research material on the web, post a link to the site on your blog, and discuss your choice.

In all cases, your goals are to demonstrate close, careful reading of assigned texts, challenge yourself to creative, original thinking, and develop your fluency as a writer. In addition to blog entries, several times each semester, I will assign papers, either revisions of blog entries or interpretations of asigned novels, plays, poems, or stories. Your papers will account for another 30% of your grade.

IMPORTANT: HEADINGS FOR PAPERS—Always head your papers with the following information: your name, date, turnitin receipt number, and word count (your word processing program should perform this last task for you automatically).


V. Turnitin.com
In addition to submitting hard copies of your papers this year, you are required to submit electronic copies of all papers to turnitin.com. These instructions will help you submit your papers. Use the same e-mail address and password for turnitin.com that you use for your account at blogger.com.
• On your web browser, go to turnitin.com. Register as a new user or login to the personal home page you created last year. You must give your e-mail address and a personal password which contains both letters and numbers to register. Click “student” as your user type. Give whatever other information may be necessary as you move through the required fields.
• When you reach your personal home page, click “join new class.” Then enter a class ID and a class enrollment password. For AP students, the class ID is 1598905 and the password pcdsap; for World Literature students (non-AP) the class ID is 1875359 and the password is pcdswl. Click “submit” when you finish. N.B: You only need to complete this step once.
• Then submit your paper. When you click on the class title, you will go to the class history page. Click on the word “submit” in the middle navigation bar. Enter the title of your paper and select the assignment with the correct date from the pull down menu. Assignments are listed by the title of the work and the date an assignment is due.

• After entering your title and selecting the correct assignment, paste your essay into the box marked “main text.” (In my experience, the copy and paste method works better than the upload method. You may, of course, find otherwise). You may ignore the boxes marked abstract and bibliography unless otherwise instructed. When your paper has been pasted into the “main text” box, click “submit.”
• Remember to put your digital receipt number on the assignment before you give it to me. Otherwise your assignment will be marked late and penalized accordingly.

VI. Participation and attendance
• Class discussion is a crucial part of the course. Therefore, it is imperative that we all treat one another with respect and behave in such a way as to contribute to, not disrupt, an atmosphere conducive to maximum learning.
• Participation in class is mandatory. I understand that the introverts have difficulty speaking in front of your peers and me; nevertheless, I expect you to contribute meaningfully to class activities and discussions. You must come to class having done the reading assigned and be prepared to discuss the material, answer questions, venture informed opinions, and articulate personal responses.
• Participation grades are assigned as follows and account for 20% of your grade in the class: "A" students are fully engaged, on time with the necessary books and supplies. They display obvious enthusiasm for the tasks of the class: reading, talking, listening, working in a group, thinking about a problem. "B" students' engagement varies slightly, sometimes at "A" level, sometimes not. "C" students are generally involved but with noticeable lapses. They may arrive late to class or frequently forget materials. They spend time on things other than the work at hand: chatting with friends, doing homework for another class, catching up on sleep, or staring off in space. "D" students exhibit these behaviors to an even greater degree, becoming a distraction to the work of the class, having a negative impact on the group's ability to get its work done, regularly coming to class unprepared.
• The first six excused absences each semester, not including those for School business (athletic competitions, class trips, performances, field trips, etc) will not be penalized. The seventh, ninth, and eleventh absences will result in a one-third letter grade penalty in your participation and attendance grade, and the thirteenth will result in a participation grade no higher than D for the semester. Latenesses to class, including leaving the room to find a book or go to the restroom, will result in penalties on weekly quizzes.

VII. Vocabulary
• Three new lessons in the vocabulary book are assigned every other week. We will look briefly at the new words during the first class of the week, so please bring your books to that session. Quizzes will take place the first 10 minutes of class on alternate Fridays unless otherwise notified.
• For first semester, we will cover lessons 1-18; for the second, lessons 19-30. Quizzes will contain all 30 words from the three lessons.
• Missed vocabulary quizzes must be made up at your earliest possible convenience. After one week, barring extraordinary circumstances, missing scores will be entered as zeroes.



VIII. Grading policy

• Grades are determined on a point system in which each assignment is weighted by the number of points it contains. Points will be totaled at the end of each quarter and semester and grades determined in accordance with the percentages contained in your student handbook.
• Grades from individual assignments are then weighted into categories as follows: blogs (30%), papers (30%), vocabulary and quizzes (20%), participation and attendance (20%).
• Assignments are due at the beginning of class. Work turned in during or after class is considered late and will be penalized. Late work is eligible for a score no higher than 75%, depending on the quality of the assignment and the degree of lateness. If you are absent the day an assignment is due, either have a classmate turn it in or fax the assignment to the Upper School office (602-224-6177).
• Students who miss quizzes or tests because of excused absence must make arrangements for make-up immediately upon returning to school. Missing work (quizzes or assignments never turned in or made up) will result in an incomplete grade for the quarter or semester.
• Any student who establishes a clear pattern of failing to complete the assigned reading according to the prescribed schedule will receive a semester grade of D or F, regardless of that student’s scores on other assignments. Repeated missing or poor written work, failed quizzes or tests, or the inability to supply basic factual information in class will be taken as signs of not reading.
• All assignments must be completed in accordance with the school’s honesty policy. See your handbook for details and be certain you know the difference between plagiarism and acceptable use of source material.



X. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

Group 1—Questions to which the answer is “yes” (often because you asked):
• Will this assignment be graded?
• Will this be on the test?
• Does this count very much?
• Do we need to know this?
• Was I supposed to send this to turnitin.com?
• Do we need our books today?
• May I go to a college meeting during class period tomorrow?

Group 2—Questions to which the answer is “no” (generally as a matter of policy):
• Is it OK if I’m a few minutes late to class today?
• May I use the restroom?
• Should I go get my book from my car?
• I didn’t get a chance to read last night. Is it all right if I turn this in tomorrow?
• May I go to a college meeting today?

Group 3—Other questions
• What’s the best way for me to improve my grade in this class? (A: Spend more time on your blog and on your papers AFTER you write them.)
• Will you look at my college essay? (A: Yes, but I need 24 hours to get it back to you)
• I’m a very quiet person by nature. How can I improve my participation? (A: When something comes up that interests you or that you thought about while you were reading, make a point to say something brief. Keep doing that. Over time it will get easier as you expand your comfort zone.)
• What kind of people do best in English class? (A: Those who like to read, those who can write clearly, those who think about the meaning of what they read, those who stay on top of their day-to-day responsibilities, those who come to class prepared, those who volunteer information and ideas during class discussions.)

XI. Contact information
• In person—room 311. Stop by to talk or ask a question anytime I’m free. My schedule is posted on the door of my classroom. To make up a quiz, go over an assignment, a speech draft, or a college essay, please make an appointment first.
• By voice-mail—602-956-0253 x4296
• By fax—602-224-6177
• By e-mail—Lance.Coon@pcds.org

Solzhenitsyn obituary

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, one of the best-known and most important literary figures of the past half-century, died in Moscow in early August. Since we are reading his first and most famous novel this semester, I wanted to include a link to a lengthy but informative obituary from the New York Times. Please read this tribute to a great writer's career and bring your questions and observations to class.

AP poetry and novel papers

1. Please submit both your poetry presentation and your novel papers to turnitin.com this week.
   
2. I've noticed that several of you have done either biographical or interpretive research on your poems and poets. While it was not my intention that you do so, it is an acceptable practice PROVIDED you document the source of any information in your presentation that did not come from either your own knowledge or your own interpretation of the poem. For example, if you looked up the poet's life on wikipedia, you must include that as a source (parenthetical is fine) in your final draft. Otherwise you could be guilty of using material inappropriately.
   
3. Same goes for your novel papers. The in-text citations should be parenthetical, including the author's last name and the page number where the information or quotation occurs. The last page of your essay should be a Works Cited page, listing the complete citations for all the references in your paper, including the novel itself.
4. Remember that I have suggested two methods to incorporate criticism into your paper: either summarize, in your opening page, key points from the research you did, then identify your thesis and go on to develop it; or, write a briefer introduction and use references from your critical articles in the body of your essay to develop individual topics related to your thesis.
5. See me with any questions.
   

This week's Shakespeare blog

WHAT: Write a full-length blog entry (approximately 800-1000 words) discussing and evaluating Shakespeare’s presentation of the character of Shylock and the extent to which that presentation either endorses or subverts prevailing Elizabethan anti-Semitism.

WHEN: Entries are to be posted no later than Friday, May 2.

HOW: Begin by reading the resources available at Prof. Grant Stirling’s web site. You should also identify some other relevant resources, but this site will serve as an introduction to the issues and evidence of this debate. In your entry, show your understanding, both of the topic and of the play, by evaluating the evidence on both sides and presenting your own conclusions.

Since this essay involves some research, be certain both to document your sources and to give credit for ideas as well as direct quotations. Use act, scene, and line numbers for quotations from the play, and put other sources in parenthetical citations. You may also, if it serves your purposes, refer to Michael Radford’s film version of the play.

SUGGESTIONS: Read all the available information, paying special attention to what you find most persuasive. Give fair treatment to the different sides of the question. In your evaluation, state which ideas you believe are strongest and why. Support your reasons by referring to the play itself.

Shakespeare Assignments for April

Choose one of the following three choices. For choices 2 & 3, essays should be approximately three pages in length. For option 1, obviously, they will be somewhat longer. Assignments are due Thursday, April 10, both in print and to turnitin.com (Richard III essay). Late assignments in either form will be penalized. (ALSO, this semester’s final vocabulary quiz, on lessons 28-30, will take place Friday April 11.)

1. Select a scene or portion of a scene of approximately 200 lines in length. No teeny-weenie scenes please. Study your scene carefully and add director’s notes clarifying and making explicit the subtext (motives, thoughts, feelings, and hidden agendas), stage directions (movements, gestures, expressions), and adverbs denoting tone of voice. Be certain to make your notes easy to distinguish from the text of the scene by putting them in a different type face (bold, italics, etc).

The play may be found on the M.I.T. web site (google Shakespeare + MIT)

2. Compare the speeches delivered by Richmond and Richard prior to the final battle at Bosworth Field. (Act 5, scene 3, lines 250-285 and 332-363, pages 291 & 297 in the Folger Library Edition). In your essay, examine the rhetoric of the two speeches as examples of persuasive language. Show how the language, style, and methods of persuasion reveal the differences between the two leaders at this critical moment. To what does each appeal in order to exhort his troops to victory? How do the speeches reveal not only their characters but also the themes of the play? Refer generously to the two speeches in your discussion.

3 Write a critique of the Richard III video viewed in class. Discuss the merits of adapting a Shakespearean script in such an unusual way. Consider some of the following questions. How successfully and how meaningfully does Loncraine's film update the play Richard III? What is gained, or lost, of the play's meaning by changing the setting from the 1480's to the 1930's? Do the changes made to Shakespeare's script make the play more or less accessible to modern audiences? Does the imagery of the film accurately depict both the glamour and the corruption of the Plantagenet royal court? Which actors' performances are most true to Shakespeare's original conception of the characters? Does this film lend credence to the often-stated belief that Shakespeare's plays are timeless? Discuss whichever of these issues allow you to develop your understanding of both play and movie. Above all, focus on those elements of the film that allow you to assess both the validity and desirability of modernizing Shakespeare's play.

Shakespeare--visiting author workshop

Google Jennifer Lee Carrell before tomorrow's writer's workshop (I could post the links myself but I'd rather you find them). In five to ten minutes, you should be able to find answers to the following questions:

When was Interred With Their Bones published?

Where does the title come from?

What is Ms. Carrell's academic background?

With what bestseller has the novel been compared?

What work of non-fiction has she also written?

What is one question you would like to ask her, based on what you know about her?

Poetry presentations

AP English
April, 2008
Schedule

1. Each day we will discuss one or two of the poems listed below. Each will be "presented" by me or one of you. Presentations include a memorized recital of the poem, a brief discussion of its meaning and use of the elements of poetry, and a 600-700 word essay on the poem, posted on blogs. Presentations will begin Wednesday, April 9 and continue through Friday, April 25.
2. See my blog post for specific instructions about the content of the essay which comprises the single largest part of your presentation.
3. Poems--all page numbers refer to Literature, 10th ed.

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers 664--LCC The World is Too Much With Us 912
My Last Duchess 668--LCC One Hundred Love Sonnets 973
My Papa's Waltz 674 Traveling Through the Dark 991
The Unknown Citizen 690 Dover Beach 1078
Dulce et Decorum Est 698 Quinceañera 940
Batter My Heart… 709 Anorexic 1088
Metaphors 771--LCC Kubla Khan 1096--LCC
The Silken Tent 780 A Valediction… 1102
Since There's No Help… 858 Digging 1118
Swan and Shadow 885 Death Be Not Proud 1101
Neutral Tones 897 To An Athlete Dying Young 1124
White Lies 680 When I Have Fears 1129
Her Kind 687 When I Consider… 1142
The Red Wheel Barrow 688--LCC That Time of Year… 1183
America 938 Daddy 1150
Below Zero 982 A Description of the Morning 1171
One Art 998 The Writer 1181
Theme for English B 1035 When You Are Old 1190

Also, this reminder, that for Friday, April 11 you will post the first of 3 blog entries containing your clear and specific first thoughts about your selected novel. What do you observe about the characters, the author’s style, and the way the subject matter is presented in the early chapters, having read the first 50 to 75 pages of the novel. Additional blogs are due April 17 (with bibliography) and April 25.

AP--Reading poetry

A. How to read a poem:

There is no single way. The best advice I can give you is to sit by yourself in a quiet place and read aloud slowly, several times, paying attention to the images, ideas, and feelings the words call into your mind, imagination, and heart. Poetry can be magical stuff, but it can't compete with ipods and cell phones, tv's and texting. Give it a chance to get inside you and stretch out.


B. Questions to ask of individual poems:

1. Who is the speaker of the poem? What qualities of personality does the poet provide? What kind of language does the speaker use? How does the speaker's mind work? What hints of personal history are given? Are there any specific facts about the speaker's identity?

2. What is the situation of the poem? Is there a social, cultural, historical, or familial context given? Does the poem refer to any specific events? Does it contain an account of an incident? Imagine the poem as a dramatic utterance—what scene is being portrayed?

3. What is the tone of the poem? Are there words that describe the attitude of the speaker toward the subject of the poem as a whole? Does the tone change as the poem develops? If so, where are those "turns" (shifts of tone or subject)? What is the tone of individual lines or sections of the poem?

4. How would you paraphrase the poem into a series of prose sentences. What clarity is gained from paraphrasing? What essential qualities are lost?

5. Does the poem have a basic meter? What is it? How does it either advance the musicality of the poem or provide emphasis to certain words and ideas? Where does the meter change?

6. What devices or poetic techniques does the poet employ? How does the poet use strong diction, concrete detail, sensory images, irony, or figurative language? How do these devices help us better understand some element of the poem's meaning? How does the use of language strengthen both the idea of the poem and its emotional content?


C. Define and be able to identify examples of each of the following terms:


FORMS
sonnet (Elizabethan, Petrarchan)
villanelle
sestina
dramatic monologue
quatrain
couplet
stanza
closed form
open form
terza rima
heroic couplet
blank verse
free verse
ballad stanza

STYLE
diction
imagery
detail
repetition
speaker
connotation
denotation
tone

DEVICES
apostrophe
personification
irony
rhetorical question
simile
metaphor
metonymy/synecdoche
allusion
symbol & allegory

SOUND
masculine rhyme
feminine rhyme
approximate (slant)
rhyme
alliteration
consonance
assonance
end-stopped lines
enjambement
caesura



METER
iambic/ anapestic
dactylic
trimeter
tetrameter
pentameter
trochees
spondees


TONE (apply to poems)
audacious
awestruck
baffled
bemused
bitter
bleak
complacent
confident
critical
desperate
discouraged
disheartened
disturbed
dreamy
ecstatic
envious
euphoric
exuberant
fearful
gentle
giddy
humble
humorous
hypnotic
ironic
lethargic
lonely
majestic
melancholy
mocking
mystical
outraged
passionate
patronizing
persuasive
playful
pleading
puzzled
sarcastic
seductive
shrewd
timid
vengeful
weary
wistful
yearning

AP--April Assignments

We have two reading and writing projects yet to complete. The first, reading a novel from the AP authors list, researching critical literature on that novel, and writing your final paper for the course, is described on the "April Reading List" document from Wednesday March 19 on this blog. Give me your choices by Wednesday, April 2. As part of this assignment, post THREE blog entries while you read your novel (due April 11, 17, and 25), the second of which must include your list of research articles found on JStor.

The second project is a poetry unit, the one genre we have not formally considered. The components of this assignment are as follows:
1. Select a poem from a list I will post.
2. Memorize your poem. If your poem is longer than 25 lines, you may memorize part of it--at least 20 lines--and read the rest.
3. Recite your poem to the class as you begin your in-class presentation.
4. Post on your blog (and read as part of your presentation) a 600-700 word essay (approximately) discussing one of the elements of the poem. Discuss either the poem's form, control of tone, diction, use of figurative language, use of imagery, use of irony, or portrayal of its speaker. Whichever element you choose, use specific examples to illustrate how that element of the poem contributes to our understanding of the poem's meaning.
5. Lead a brief discussion.

Finally, our test and quiz schedule is as follows:
April 4--Vocabulary 28-30 (Last vocab quiz of your high school career)
April 11--Multiple choice--12 minute quiz
April 28 & 29--60 minute multiple choice test (section 2 Monday, Sections 1 & 3 Tuesday)
May 2--Papers on novels due
Thursday, May 8--AP exam