Mitchell - AP Literature & Composition Assignments
- Instructor
- Ms. Carrie Mitchell
- Term
- 2019-2020 School Year
- Department
- Language Arts
- Description
-
Class Title:
AP Literature and Composition
Code:
HLA510
Text:
Norton Anthologies; Various Novels & Plays
Rating
5+
Prerequisite:
Instructor Recommendation
Grade:
11-12
Fees:
Approx $94 for the AP Exam
Max:
15
Can be repeated? No
Meets 2x/Week
Description: The curriculum for this course follows the criteria required by the Advanced Placement College Board Program. This course will prepare students to take the AP Literature and Composition Exam in May for which there is a fee. College credit can be earned based on test performance. Course content includes the intensive study of novels, plays, short stories and poetry from a wide variety of authors. Students will write an analytical essay, and engage in individual and group projects and presentations. Summer homework required.
Upcoming Assignments
No upcoming assignments.
Past Assignments
Due:
Assignment
Othello Project: What is the ultimate cause of Othello's demise?
Answer this question in any format you choose , but make sure that it is answered completely and supported with text evidence, quality commentary and an
appropriate level of sophistication.
Since you are doing this as a class, it will be due Friday at the start of the period.
You will have 15-20 minutes to prep on Thursday.
A Passage to India
Read this short introduction
Please read Chapters I-VI, taking notes on the characters introduced. Who are they?
Where are they from? What do they want/need/desire? What motivates them?
What conflicts are in their lives? etc.
Due:
Assignment
I. Please read Othello, Act IV if we didn't finish it in class and check this out: Othello Act IV Summary
II. Write a multi-paragraph character analysis that argues for or against your adopted character's importance to the plot/conflicts/resolution of Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. Please make sure that you have gotten feedback/approval on your thesis from me via email!
Due:
Assignment
Please read The Poisonwood Bible, Books 6 and 7: "Song of the Three Children" & "The Eyes in the Trees" and continue with your character study.
Write a paragraph (25 minutes) in which you discuss the title of EITHER of these two Books of The Poisonwood Bible. Consider what it means in regards to the plot of the book and also to one of the book's themes. Underline your thesis. Handwrite, please. :) Look at your color-coded paragraph from last Thursday and color code those elements that are included in this paragraph. USE YOUR BOOK FOR THIS!
Sample thesis: The final Book of Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, called "The Eyes in the Trees," has implications to the conclusion of the plot, and is also indicative of one of its major themes, that _____________. (fill in the blank as appropriate)
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Assignment
Please read The Poisonwood Bible, Book 5 "Exodus" aka "What We Carried Out" and continue with your character study.
Write a paragraph (25 minutes) in which you compare The Poisonwood Bible with any of the other short stories or novels we have read so far. Consider how the environment affects the characters and their decisions. Underline your thesis. Handwrite, please. :)
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Assignment
Read The Poisonwood Bible, Book 4 "Bel and the Serpent" aka "What We Lost."
Add on to your Character Stalking document. And, again, think about what the titles of this section mean.
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Assignment
Please read Chapter 1, pages 58-65, on Multiple Choice Strategies. Then, review your missed questions from Practice Test 1 and complete this: M/C Practice Test #1 Analysis.
Read The Poisonwood Bible, Book 2 "The Revelation" aka "The Things We Learned."
Add on to your Character Stalking document - and make sure to consider chapters that aren't from your character's perspective. You can learn a lot from what other characters say about yours...
Due:
Assignment
"No other continent [besides Africa] has endured such an unspeakably bizarre combination of foreign thievery and foreign goodwill."
--Barbara Kingsolver
Please read this The Poisonwood Bible Intro & Fun Facts and then read Book One: Genesis/
"The Things We Carried" and as you read, make sure to sort the characters and make some notes about their voices as most in the Price family - except for Nathan - get perspective chapters. Who are these people? How are they different? How are they similar?
And, please complete practice test #1 multiple choice in your new study guide on pages 11-21. This is a book you can and should write in so annotate, annotate, annotate! Enter your answers into this form: TPR Practice Test #1 2020
Due:
Assignment
Please read this lengthy, but good, article about Chinua Achebe: Chinua Achebe Article from the New Yorker prior to reading Things Fall Apart.
Read Things Fall Apart in its entirety (ca. 200 pages)
Look at and prepare mental answers to these: Things Fall Apart Discussion Questions
Due:
Assignment
Take a look at this interesting article: The Scramble for Africa
Please read Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies" that starts on page 311 in your text book. As you read, consider the author's quote: "No country is my motherland. I always find myself in exile in whichever country I travel to...". How are the themes of belonging, being an outsider, fitting in, evident in this story?
Before, during and after your reading, look at questions 1-5 in "SUGGESTIONS FOR WRITING" on page 326. Select one of these questions to respond to in a paragraph you will write in class.
Due:
Assignment
Read Chapters 2 and 3 of Heart of Darkness.
Write informal answers to these Questions for Discussions on pages 382 and 383: 9, 12, 15, & 17.
And, these Questions on Style and Structure on pages 383 and 384: 1, 9, 14 or 15, 17, 18, & 19 or 20.
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Assignment
Please read this introduction and Chapter 1 of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness in the textbook (pages 327 to 347).
As you read, take a look at and take some notes on these: HoD Ch 1 Discussion Qs
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Assignment
1. Please finish reading Death of a Salesman, Act 2, if we didn't do so in class
2. Complete and share with me this Writing Assignment.
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Assignment
1. Please finish reading Death of a Salesman, Act 1, if we didn't do so in class, and think about its developing themes as expressed in character actions and dialogue, the setting (including historical context) and symbols.
2. Also, read the short play Trifles in the textbook on pages 59-67. Then, choose one of the themes suggested on page 68 and write a paragraph in which you agree or disagree with it being an appropriate theme for the play. Include at least two bits of textual evidence, cited correctly (as discussed in class and here ) in your paragraph and underline your thesis.
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Assignment
Due Thursday, October 24, 2019
Prepare for the midterm exam by...
...studying the 100 Wuthering Heights Vocabulary Words
...re-reading the poems on the list (you should have Poetry List Aug-Sept 2019)
...reviewing the poetry terms on this list
Work on your parts of the WH class project for Friday's presentation!
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Assignment
2. Read Wuthering Heights, Chapters XIV-XX
3. Work on Presentation Parts as necessary
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Assignment
I. Consider This: Which poem have you selected for your essay? Add the title and your thesis
to this doc: Poetry Essay Title & Thesis
II. Integrating Quotations into Analysis Essays
A closer look at p. 135
III. Prepare a graphic organizer for your poem here or on your own, if desired.
IV. Wuthering Heights
Character Analysis Paragraph - Rewrites? By Friday October 11, please.
Due:
Assignment
1. Please read Wuthering Heights, Chapters I-VI - the start of Vol. II. As you read, keep track of the next generation of characters that you will get to know in these pages. Here is a doc that will help you: WH Next Gen Char Notes, Vol. II, I-VI.
2. Please read pages 123 - 125, looking carefully at the annotations of the sample poems and the commentary. Then, do the activity on page 126 as described - just as really thorough annotations on the poem itself. Below is one you can print out or annotate right on the doc.
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Assignment
1. Please read Wuthering Heights, Chapters XII - XIV and continue adding observations and quotes to your character chart (this is the master: WH Character Chart I-XIV).
And, complete this Character Analysis Activity.
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Assignment
1. Please read Wuthering Heights, Chapters VII-XI. Remember this doc: Here to consider as you read. And do think about the characters we discussed in class last week and which ones might change and which might not change as the plot moves forwards (and backwards!). And also think about the setting as issues of setting, access, and mobility reflect many of the novel's themes of social class, family, property, and estrangement, therefore making setting quite important in this text.
2. Study Vocab Set 1.
3. And, read pages 90 to 95 in your textbook which serves to connect some literary elements of style. There is an annotated excerpt from a Thomas Hardy novel and then an activity. Look at the former and complete the latter ("A House for Mr. Biswas") here: Mr. Biswas Activity (pg. 95)
Due:
Assignment
1. Listen to this Wuthering Heights Intro Talk and then read Wuthering Heights, Chapters I - VI and any of the voluminous introductory material that you would like to slog through. Here is a document that describes several objectives for you to consider as you read this complex, interesting, challenging novel.
1. Please read Lit and Comp, Chapter 3, pages 79 to 90. Take notes on things you that are new to you and/or important to remember. Read the literary examples and do the activities - in an informal way, but do go through the thinking and dissecting that is asked of you.
Remember, reading passively is a one-way street that leads to nowhere. Be active. Work to understand, learn, know, remember!
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Assignment
1. Supplies you might want for this class include highlighters, colored pens or pencils, notecards, sticky notes, and a dedicated notebook. But, you can also do most things on the computer as well, so you have some flexibility.
2. In the Lit/Comp textbook, please read Chapter 2, pages 15 to 51. Most of this will be a review of literary concepts that you have been learning/relearning/reviewing since about second grade. But, invariably, there will be new items presented that you will want to make note of. And, the text examples are awesome and might even be things that we read this year!
Please create a quality* slide for each new (to you) concept presented in the pages. Each slide should contain
a term/concept/idea
a definition/description
an example
Each of you should make between 5 and 10 slides.
Please share your slides with me at [email protected].
*Quality slides are legible from a distance, thoughtfully laid out and with a good balance of words and negative space. Consider the font you use and its size - 24 to 36 should be about right for most fonts. This about color, images and layout.
Please look at this annotation of the poem “Digging” and then watch the short analysis video right after that. Based on your reading and these these resources, write an MLA formatted paragraph responds to this prompt: What message is the poet conveying about life in the poem "Digging"?
Need help with MLA formatting? Here is a Ready Made Template for you to use. Simply click on it, go to File>Make a Copy and then rename it by replacing "Copy of" with your first and last name. Voila!