28 May 2008

Dear Parents and Students,

It is my pleasure to welcome you and your child to Advanced Placement English Literature. Because your child has probably taken an AP previously, you already know that the AP program is designed to provide students the opportunity to experience a college-level course in high school as well as prepare them to take and pass the AP exam offered in May next year. As a result of your child’s intensive study and efforts, colleges and universities could grant future college credit, placement, or both depending upon his/her exam score and the individual institution’s policies.

Since AP English Literature is a college-level course, the rigor and commitment to it are significantly greater than any college preparatory literature course one is required to take in high school. Specifically, students will be expected to spend at least 1-2 hours almost every night reading, writing, or studying for this course. Students will also have mock exams & additional study sessions on weekends in March and April to prepare for the College Board exam. It is critical that students are able to make the necessary time commitment to ensure his or her success; even if students are accustomed to earning A’s and B’s, they will find this course very challenging.

Besides the course analytical guide for poetry, Sound and Sense, by Laurence Perrine, (Harcourt Brace), students will be using a variety of short stories, novels, poetry, plays, criticism, vocabulary, and teacher selected sources for students to experience a representation of work from various time periods, genres, and authors. Please see the attached reading lists. The majority of the novels will be issued to students throughout the year; however, I strongly encourage students to purchase their own copy of each novel so they can make their annotations directly in the text. How to Read Literature Like a Professor (Thomas C. Foster) and Writing with Style (John R. Trimble) students are required to buy as supplemental texts since we do not have an AP Literature text book. You can find these new or used on Amazon.com.

A commitment to AP English Literature begins with the summer reading assignments, and they are attached to this letter. The presentation and summaries of the summer reading assignments are essential to help students build background knowledge for our short story, novel, plays, and poetry units—and students will be tested over the information in the first two weeks back to school. I will have a discussion board set up for the AP students to share their thoughts about the readings and to ask questions over the summer.

Finally, the course syllabus will be passed out the first day back to school detailing content, pacing, and procedures for the course. As well, a course webpage will be maintained on my website, www.mrsgreer.net, beginning in August. During parent night you may find out more about the course. In the meantime, feel free to email me with any questions you might have.

Thank You,

Mrs. Tiffany Greer

www.mrsgreer.net

AP English Literature-Part I

Summer Reading

While it is impossible to prepare ahead of time for all the background knowledge you will need for the AP exam, there are certain areas of learning which, perhaps, more likely than others to show up in literature. With British Literature in particular, Biblical allusions and Greek mythology show up time and again. Over the summer, it is your responsibility to read and summarize all of the *Biblical excerpts and one of the **myths listed below. Your notes/summaries will be checked & graded upon your return to school, you will have a quiz on the excerpts, and you will be required to teach your selected myth to your classmates—you come as the expert!

*Please use a King James version of the Bible or find a Bible online for your reading.

**If possible, use the Edith Hamilton version for the Greek myths

Biblical Excerpts / Greek Myths
The Creation, Genesis 1-2
The Fall, Genesis 3
Cain & Abel, Genesis 4
The Flood, Genesis 6-9
Tower of Babel, Genesis 11:1-9
Sodom & Gomorrah, Genesis 19
Abraham’s Sacrifice, Genesis 22:1-19
Jacob & Esau, Genesis 27:1-40
10 Commandments, Exodus 20
Birth of Moses, Exodus 1-2:11
The Burning Bush, Exodus 3-4:17
The Plagues, Exodus 7-12:30
The Parting of the Red Sea, Exodus 14
Psalm 23
Jesus’ Birth in Matthew and in Luke
Three Wise Men, Matthew 1-2
King Solomon, I Kings, verse 3
Samson & Delilah, Judges 16 (or 13-16)
Jesus’ Miracles:
Water into Wine, Feeding the People, Healing
of the Blind (John 2:1-11, Mark 8:1-13, 22-26)
Lazarus (John 11:1-44)
Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7—esp.5:1-10)
Judas’ Betrayal (Matthew 26—focus on 26:36-56)
Crucifixion (Matthew 27:11-56)
The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-15)
The Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13) / Cupid and Psyche
The Rape of Persephone
Odysseus & the Cyclops
Charybdis
Hercules
Daedalus
Agamemnon & His Children
Fall of Troy
Orpheys & Eurydice
Zeus & Leta
Quest for the Golden Fleece
Pegasus & Bellerophon
Baucis & Philemon

AP English Literature-Part II

Reading Assignments

The following is a selection of short stories, novels, and plays will be using throughout the AP Literature Course (but not limited to):

Short Stories

“Revelation” Flannery O’Conner

“A Rose for Emily” & “Barn Burning” William Faulkner

“Yellow Wallpaper” Charlotte Perkins Gillman

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Joyce Carol Oates

Novels

The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (required summer reading)

Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë

Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Plays

Oedipus the King, Sophocles

Hamlet and/or A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare

A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen and/or The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller

Translations, Brian Friel

Fences, August Wilson

Poetry

Selections will be assigned based on poetic devices explored in class

Discussion Board

I have set up an account on www.nicenet.org for AP Literature and my grade 9 literature classes. Below are instructions for accessing the site, conferencing, and posting-replying on-line:

Click on the Join A Class link under Students on the right hand side.

Enter the following class key: C6Y39T48

You need to create a user name and password. Please make your user name your first and last name.

Finish the registration process. You are now logged on to the classroom area of the discussion board!

When you log into nicenet.org, you will click on Conferencing to see what topics have been posted.

You can reply to what I posted, or you can post your own topic. You will click on post to share your ideas. When you click into the conferencing section, you will also see what others have written. You can hit reply under their comment to specifically reply to them although the entire class will be able to read it.

This discussion board works like email and most discussion/black boards. If you are not sure how to do it, you can follow the instructions on www.mrsgreer.net and then click on grade 9 lit, click on discussion board.

*You are required to post an original idea/interpretation 3 times this summer;*You are required to reply 3 times this summer. This will count for a participation grade. Your grade is based on how insightful your comments are as well as the depth of your response(s). Please provide textual support whenever possible. Please use complete sentences and spelling.

Check List of Summer Assignments

Requirements / Tasks & Directions
Pre-summer Meeting / Tuesday, June 3 at 1:00. You will receive summer assignments, send email, and log on to the discussion board.
Biblical Excerpts / 1. Take notes ALL listed passages, noting the “characters”, plot, and any symbolism/morals. The idea is to understand the gist and message of the passage, not necessarily the religious implications. Think of it as literature, not a religion per se.
2. You will have a quiz over this material in the first week back to school
Greek Myths / 1. Choose 1 myth.
2. Take notes indicating the plot, characters, symbolism. Be prepared to present your myth upon return to school.
3. Presentation should be 5-7 minutes. Please consolidate your notes into a handout to distribute to the class. The focus of the presentation is to help us understand the myth
How to Read Literature Like a Professor / 1. *You need to purchase this book.
2. Enjoy this book! It is quite entertaining and will be very helpful for this class.
3. Mark in the book or take notes. I will not collect these notes; this is for your edification. The book will be referred to throughout the school year in class. It can also help you with Poisonwood Bible.
4. Be prepared for a quiz over this material in the first week back to school.
Poisonwood Bible / 1. Read and enjoy this novel!
2. You need to take novel notes. Your notes should cover: Setting, Plot, Character, Point of View, Theme, Literary Devices (ie metaphor, symbolism…look for patterns and change over time).
3. Be ready for a test over this novel in the first week back to school.
Writing With Style / * You need to purchase this book. I would try to find a used copy on Amazon.com
Discussion Board / 1. You will need to log on following the directions in this handout
2. You need to post ideas and comments 3 times this summer
3. You need to reply a minimum of 3 times to others’ postings.