Captain Shreve High School

English III - Advanced Placement English Language and Composition

M. Barclay, AP Instructor

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Summer 2013 Assignments

You have three assignments for the summer. Read the directions below and the directions for each assignment carefully. All reading guide and film study assignments are due the first day of school, but if you are eager to start, you may take advantage of my “Early Bird Special” and email your assignments to me by August 7 for 5 bonus points. You can turn in one or all assignments early if you wish. See my note about emailing assignments. The book assignments must be completed individually, but I encourage you to collaborate on the film study. Projects will be presented the first week of school and cannot be submitted early for bonus. I encourage you to email me over the summer if you have questions or concerns as to how to complete these assignments. Budget time over a several weeks to read the books and a couple of days to complete each of the assignments and the project. Waiting until the week before school begins is ill-advised.

These documents are available on the Captain Shreve website: Shreve.com.

Your summer reading will involve three texts (nonfiction and documentary film) to explore the American Dream. This argument runs throughout American literature and rhetoric in pop culture and will serve as a common thread to tie our studies together all year.

Due Dates: All assignments are due the first day of school, but if you are eager to start, you may take advantage of my “Early Bird Special” and email your assignments to me by August 7 for 5 bonus points. You can turn in one or all assignments early if you wish. See my note about emailing assignments to me. The book assignments must be completed individually, but I encourage you to collaborate on the film study. I also encourage you to email me over the summer if you have questions or concerns as to how to complete these assignments.

Academic Honesty:All of the text assignments must be completed without consulting any other person, book, or source. Doing so will violate the academic honesty policy and you will receive not credit for your assignment.

Emailing assignments: Address your email to me properly and sign your name (Dear Mrs. Barclay,… This is my ___ assignment…Sincerely, Your Name)In the message subject line, include your name and title of the assignment you are turning in. Do not cut and paste your work into the email. Send it as an attachment (doc, docx, or rtf files only). I will reply to confirm the receipt of your message and assignments. Print my email reply and bring it with your printed assignments on the first day of school.

On annotating the text: Learn to write notes in your copy of the book. Do not use e-books for our class. They do not support the close reading strategies you need to develop for our course. Annotations include margin notes, underlining ideas and writing commentary or reactions of your own, and summarizing ideas at the end of a chapter.

Part I: The Overachievers, Alexandra Robbins. “Journalist Alexandra Robbins returns to her high school to follow nine students as they navigate what has become the dog-eat-dog battleground of fierce competition… In a book that aims to calk the [college] admissions frenzy, Robbins combines fascinating investigative journalism and fast-paced storytelling to deliver a funny, moving narrative that explores how our high-stakes educational culture has spiraled out of control.”This assignment is to be completed without consulting any other person, book, or source. Dictionaries may be used to define vocabulary terms.

  1. Read and take notes on The Overachievers.
  2. Complete the reading guide items below. Type your answers. You may use a dictionary to look up definitions.

Part II: Read Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Motherand complete the reading guide assignment. Pulitzer Prize winning journalist SonioNazario investigates the journey of a teenage Honduran native, Enrique, as he braves the journey from his home through Central America and Mexico to reunite with his mother. Separated from his mother for eleven years, Enrique’s quest is like that of thousands of children and adults who enter the United States illegally in the hope of achieving the American dream. Nazario examines the perils immigrants face, and the ongoing questions which surround this issue: labor, funding, crime, and a growing focus in politics. This assignment is due the first day of school. Use the downloadable version to type your answers; assignments that are not typed will not be accepted. This assignment is to be completed without consulting any other person, book, or source. Dictionaries may be used to define vocabulary terms.

  1. Read and take notes on Enrique’s Journey.
  2. Complete the reading guide items below. Type your answers. You may use a dictionary to look up definitions.
  3. Choose 1 project from the list and complete it. Be prepared to present your project the first week of school and answer any questions your classmates or I may have about your work.

Part III: Film Study: Find any episode of the National Geographic television series Border Wars and view it at least once. Episodes are available for free at many websites, including Hulu.com, Dailymotion.com, and TVGuide.com. Netflix, Amazon.com, and others may charge a small fee.

Read and follow the directions carefully. The assignment is due the first day of school. We will have a graded discussion of the assignment the first week of school. The last portion of the assignment requires you to compare and contrast the television show with Nazario’s account in Enrique’s Journey.You may completethis assignment with a small group of no more than three people. All group members’ names should be included on the completed assignment.

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Reading Guide: Robbins, The Overachievers

English III – AP Language and Composition

Barclay

Analyzing the Argument.Choose 1 item from each section A-D. Answer each item in complete sentences. Cite evidence from the text to support your response for ALL items. Your responses should be at least 6 sentences each, but many items will require a longer response to be considered adequate. When complete, you should have 4 responses total.

Section A

  1. Chapter 2: Analyze cause and effect: What prompted the Reagan administration to commission the report A Nation At Risk? What were the effects of this report?
  2. Chapter 2: Analyzing argument: What is TCCi? How does it factor into Robbins' argument about overachievism?
  3. Chapter 3: Analyzing argument: According to Robbins, student happiness should be most important to college counselors who are hired to help them in the admissions process. What strategies (called “packaging”) do counselors use to mold students to fit a school instead of the opposite, finding a school to fit a student? What does Robbins claim about the effects of “coaching”?
  4. Chapter 4: Analyzing cause and effect: What are the effects of No Child Left Behind?
  5. Chapter 5: Analyzing argument: List several facts/ examples that Robbins cites to prove that “People are making money off of parents' worries and fears” (110).
  6. Chapter 5: According to the text, what is the difference between strategizing, embellishing, and cheating in the college admissions process?
  7. Chapter 6: Analyzing argument: In this chapter Robbins discusses “specialization” and its effects. Identify facts and statistics she uses to argue against specialization.

Section B

  1. Chapter 7: Analyzing argument: Draw a graphic organizer to represent the various view points on sleep patterns and teens based on the paragraph which begins “One argument...” (181).
  2. Chapter 8: Analyzing evidence: What does the US News and World Report “America's Best Colleges” claim to represent? According to Robbins, what does the report actually represent? How do schools manipulate information to achieve a favorable ranking?
  3. Chapter 9: Identify facts or statistics Robbins cites to support the claim that helicopter parents can negatively effect their children.
  4. Chapter 10: How does overachievism affect teachers?

Section C

  1. Chapter 11: Robbins makes the claim that “Their identities have been lost in a pursuit of perfection” (263). Based on the students she follows throughout the text, describe at least two who, over the course of the study, “lose their identities in a pursuit of perfection.”
  2. Chapter 13: How might the pursuit of high profits drive the test prep industry? Cite evidence from this chapter in your response.
  3. Chapter 14: Athletes are held to particular standards in terms of taking performance enhancing drugs. In your opinion, is taking medication for academic enhancement a form of “cheating”? Explain and support your response with evidence from the text AND your own ideas.
  4. Chapter 15: What are “teacups”? What is their role in the trend of overachievism?

Section D

  1. Chapter 17: Read Robbins' list of proposed solutions/ changes to help curb overachievism. Choose the 3 most important changes to YOU. Explain the implications of each change/ solution and why it would be effective.

The Overachievers Vocabulary: Look for these words in the text as you read. Create flashcards for 20 words. Write the word on one side; one the other side write the definition and the sentence where you found the word (cite the page number). These items are not part of the “Early Bird” special.

  1. cataclysmic
  2. perfunctory
  3. besot
  4. permutation
  5. impetus
  6. modus operandi
  7. tantamount
  8. manic
  9. superfluous
  10. curry (verb)
  11. curriculum vitae
  12. ambience
/
  1. obsequious
  2. nullify
  3. Machiavellian
  4. hiatus
  5. albeit
  6. platonic
  7. inane
  8. plethora
  9. banal
  10. egregious
  11. burgeoning
  12. eclectic
  13. flagellation
  14. precipitous
/
  1. epitome
  2. vacillate
  3. truncate
  4. kowtow
  5. insidious
  6. juxtaposition
  7. ubiquitous
  8. penultimate
  9. flux
  10. diatribe
  11. formative
  12. stymie
  13. ibid (this is an abbreviation; what does it stand for? Notice how Robbins applies it in her bibliography)

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Reading Guide: Nazario, Enrique’s Journey

English III – AP Language and Composition

Barclay

Assignment:

  • Read Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother and complete the assignment included here.
  • This assignment is due the first day of school.
  • Use the downloadable version on CaptainShreve.com to type your answers; assignments that are not typed will not be accepted.
  • This assignment is to be completed without consulting any other person, book, or source. Dictionaries may be used to define vocabulary terms.
  1. Identification: Write a complete sentence that describes or identifies these people, items, places, or events.

Prologue

  1. braceros
  2. Group Beta
  3. Grandmother Maria
  4. Grandmother Agueda
  5. Lourdes
  6. Enrique
  7. Belky
  8. Diana
  9. Santos
  10. Gloria Patel
  11. coyotes
  12. Marco Antonio Zablah
  13. El Infiernito
  14. Mara Salvatrucha
  15. La Arrocera
  16. madrinas
  17. “TengoSida”
  18. Olga Sanchez
  19. patero
  20. El Tirindaro
  21. “EnriqueLourdes”
  22. Padre Leo
  23. E-pod
  24. Jasmin
  25. Miguel
  26. Police chief of Nuevo Laredo
  27. Proposition 187
  28. Don Francisco Presenta
  1. Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Correctly cite the page number(s) for each answer.
  2. What does Nazario carry which keeps her out of jail three times during her investigation?
  3. What happened to the smuggler who was paid to help Lourdes into the U.S.?
  4. Describe the complex relationship between Lourdes three children.
  5. List various types of coyotes and the fees they charge to smuggle children.
  6. Why did Lourdes leave California and travel to North Carolina?
  7. How many attempts did Enrique make before he was reunited with his mother?
  8. List 4 names for the train immigrants ride through Central America and Mexico.
  9. Explain the complex role churches and religion play in immigration.
  10. In Nuevo Laredo, Enrique cannot call his mother. Why not? What must he do before he can call her?
  11. When smugglers helping Enrique contact Lourdes, what do they demand from her?
  12. Describe the complex relationship between Enrique and his mother when they are reunited.
  13. How much will it cost Enrique to bring Maria Isabel to the U.S.?
  14. Describe Maria Isabel’s reasoning for staying in Honduras and her reasoning for coming to the U.S.
  15. How do Central American countries and Mexico benefit from their citizens who immigrate to the U.S.? How does this immigration also damage those countries?
  16. Dates: Why is each important? Use complete sentences.
  17. January 29, 1989
  18. March 2, 2000
  19. March 24, 2000
  20. May 14, 2000

Creative Project: Use the information from your reading guide to complete 1 of the projects listed below. Your project should present your interpretation of the text. Be prepared to explain how your ideas are based on evidence from the text. All projects should be polished for mechanical and grammar issues. Neatness counts.

  1. Poetry: Use specific scenes in the text to inspire 4 original poems of at least 20 lines each. Poems may follow a structure or maybe free verse. They should employ poetic elements such as imagery, metaphor, synecdoche, metonymy, etc., and should convey a theme or purpose from the text. Yes, your poetry will be scored on its quality.
  2. Speech: Select and address a specific audience of your choice. Write and deliver an original 500-750 word speech based on a single human rights or immigration issue encountered in the text. Make your position clear and support it with evidence to be persuasive.
  3. Visual Art: Create a series of 3 original billboards/ posters based on a single human rights or immigration issue encountered in the text. Use scale, color, images, and language (sparingly) to effectively communicate a position on the issue. All 3 billboards/ posters should be based on the same issue, but may be directed at different audiences (mothers, Americans, Hondurans, etc.). All artwork must be original. Posters must be on standard size poster board paper.
  4. Video: Produce a series of THREE original 30 second commercials based on a single human rights or immigration issue encountered in the text. Use camera angles, color, images, music, and language to effectively communicate a position on the issue. All 3 billboards/ posters should be based on the same issue, but may be directed at different audiences (mothers, Americans, Hondourans, etc). (PhotoStory is a free downloadable software that could be great for this.)
  5. Music: Write original song lyrics and accompanying music inspired by scenes or issues encountered in the text. Your lyrics and music should convey a clear position and tone. Record your performance on video for the class or perform it live.

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Film Study: Border Wars

English III – AP Language and Composition

Barclay

Due Date: First day of school. **Early Bird Specials are Due August 7

You are going to be “reading” a visual argument. Consider the language used to describe people and situations, as well as some common filmmaking techniques as you view the film and answer the questions below.

  1. Graphics, subtitles, pre-credits, credits, subtitles, sequences, sound (natural sound and music!)
  2. Shot types: close, long, high/ low angle, moving, zoom, freezes, sequences (linear, associative, montage) cuts, transitions – the order of the shots is important, too. How is the argument organized?
  3. Color, lighting, visual effects
  4. Point of view, narration, interviews
  5. Setting – consider the overall setting and shot-to-shot – What is in the foreground, background, and why?
  6. Music!

Assignment: View the film individually or in a group and answer the “Questions to Consider” below. Type your answers to these questions in MLA format. Assignments should be completed by groups with no more than three students; all group members’ names should appear on the assignment heading. Answer in complete sentences and be thorough.

Questions to Consider:

  1. Find two examples of the filmmaker’s attempt to create an emotional response in the viewer. The emotion could be fear, pride, anger, contempt, joy, pity, etc. Write a specific description of your examples (the visual or audio used) and identify the emotion the filmmaker is trying to evoke from the viewer.
  1. Find two examples of the filmmaker’s attempt to appeal to our sense of logic. The use of expert testimony, facts, statistics, charts, graphs, etc. are some techniques. Write a specific description of your examples.
  1. How does the filmmaker use music to get a response from the audience? Find a specific example and describe it. How do you think the director wants the audience to respond by using this music?
  1. What is the filmmaker trying to convince his audience to think or feel about immigration ? (These ideas should be central to the show – like a thesis statement in an essay.)
  1. List three claims the filmmaker makes to support his thesis statement (an idea he/she will prove over the course of the show). Cite evidence from Enrique's Journey that refutes these claims. Use direct quotations and cite page numbers.
  1. Both Border Wars and Enrique’s Journey use first hand accounts to achieve their purpose. What does Border Wars reveal about immigration? What does Nazario reveal through the accounts in her investigation? Cite specific examples from the text and the film.