Assignments for week of September 7, 2009

Dear class,
It was fabulous getting to know you better during the AP Summer Institute. I am very excited about this upcoming year. This year you will become even better readers, writers, and thinkers!

Below, please find the assignments and supplies needed for the first week of class.

• 500 word essay assignment and text of A streetcar Named Desire is due Wednesday.
• Vocabulary quiz Thursday.
• Review the Common Application and select a topic--begin brainstorming ideas. We will most likely address the elements of the college application essay on Friday. The link to othe application is: https://www.commonapp.org/CommonApp/docs/downloadforms/CommonApp2010.pdf
  

Supplies:

1. 1 folder
2. 1 composition book
3. 1 notebook/binder with which to take notes
4. 1 binder for handouts (to stay in-class)
5. Several blue or black pens
   I also recommend you obtain a stack of index cards for future use with vocabulary

Please feel free to discuss with me if you are unable to obtain any of the above supplies due to financial hardship.

Mini Essay on A Streetcar Named Desire:

This mini essay will be an exercise in being concise. Please select one of the literary elements below and write a mini essay (around 500 words, which is one page single-spaced or two pages double-spaced) about that element in A Streetcar Named Desire and how Tennessee Williams uses that element to achieve some type of purpose or goal in his writing.
1. Names of people & places (include symbolism)
2. Theme: Past vs. Present (include ideas of the Old South)
3. Theme: Reality vs. Illusion (include bathing/ cleanliness and madness)
4. Motif: Light/ Darkness/ Shadows (include symbolism, use in stage directions)
5. Music & sounds (include symbolism, how music is used in stage directions, etc.)
6. Themes: Gender roles and class issues
7. Theme: Youth vs. Age (include Death as a theme)
8. Character development-- Blanche Du Bois
9. Character development-- Stella Kowalski
10. Character development-- Stanley Kowalski
11. Character development—Mitch
12. Eunice & Steve as foils for Stanley & Stella
13. Theme: Desire
14. Setting-- (interior/exterior, internal/ external, private/public)
15. Stella's conflict-- between Stanley & Blanche (Blanche vs. Stanley as foils)
16. Mitch vs. Stanley & other men

Remember that even though this is only 500 words, you still need the following:• A clear, non-obvious, insightful thesis—so it needs to be something along the lines of: literary element + how Williams uses it to achieve his purpose as a writer• Specific quotations and examples from the text• An organizational scheme/ development of your argument• You must have a conclusion, but the conclusion may be only a sentence or two—it doesn’t have to be a whole paragraph

Please bring in a rough draft on September 9 for a peer-editing exercise.

The final copy will be due on Friday, September 11. (Revised dates)

SUMMER READING AND WRITING ASSIGNMENT: AP Literature & Composition

Welcome to AP English: Summer Assignment

I. Ms. Tramantano’s contact information:
Jdavid4@schools.nyc.gov

Please contact me via email during the summer if you have any questions or problems!

II. Summer Institute
Wednesday, August 26-Friday August 28 12:00-4:00 PM

You are expected to attend all three days and to have your summer assignment finished beforehand. Do not plan trips or work during those four days, please. If your family has already planned something for any of those four days, please speak to me and we can arrange an alternative assignment.

III. Summer Assignment

A. Read Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
*translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky
Complete 3 reading journals to be posted on our class blog about the book. Email them to Jdavid4@schools.nyc.gov
Comment on at least 4 classmates’ journals on the blog at http://tigerwriters.blogspot.com

B. Read A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Complete 3 reading journals to be posted on our class blog about the book. Email them to Jdavid4@schools.nyc.gov
Comment on at least 4 classmates’ journals on the blog at http://tigerwriters.blogspot.com

Buying Crime and Punishment: Each student should purchase his or her own copy of Crime and Punishment. (The rest of the books will be provided for you by the school.) If buying the book is a financial hardship for you or your family, please let me know and I will arrange for your book to be paid for. Please buy the Pevear/ Volokhonsky translation of Crime and Punishment and not another translation.

Reading Journals and Responding to Other Students’ Journals on the Blog

While you are reading, (don’t wait until after you’ve finished the book!) write three reading journals for each book. You should write one near the beginning of your reading, one somewhere in the middle, and one at the end.

The journal should be around two-three organized paragraphs long, and should contain your questions, thoughts, and opinions about the book. They should NOT simply summarize the plot. Some possible topics:

Personal reactions (emotional, conceptual, etc.)
Questions you have about the book
Post a favorite quote or passage and tell why you thought it was significant OVER ->


Something from the book that connected to current events, another period in history, another book or movie, or your own life (remember that everyone is going to read this)
Identify a major theme you see developing in the book
What is your opinion of the book so far? Why?
Analyze a particular character’s development
Analyze the writing style or the author’s purpose for writing in a particular way
Predict what you think will happen next in the book and tell why
Discuss a literary element (symbolism, imagery, plot structure, etc.) and talk about what role it plays in the book
What were the author’s main ideas in the book? What did he want the reader to learn or gain or think about through reading this book?

Try to be provocative, controversial, and thoughtful so that others will want to respond to your post. Also, it is great to ask thoughtful questions about the book that your classmates can respond to.

*The post should be a final draft, so I expect you to correct it for spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc. Please use standard formal English and look over your journal before you send it. If your post is filled with grammar errors, I will just send it back to you and ask you to revise it. Don’t forget to put your name on your post! *

When you have finished your journal, email it to Ms. Tramantano at Jdavid4@schools.nyc.gov and she will post it for you.

How to comment on your classmates’ journals on the blog:
Read other people’s comments before responding so that you can create a conversation over the internet about the work!

Go to http://tigerwriters.blogspot.com to see your post and respond to you classmates.

To leave a comment:
Click on the orange link at the bottom of the journal post you want to comment on that says “0 comments” or “2 comments” (or whatever number of comments there are).
Write your comment in the box.
Under “choose an identity,” select “other.” Fill in your first name. You do not need to fill in a web page.
Click on “publish your comment.” Your comment will NOT show up on the blog right away; it will be sent to me to approve before it will appear on the blog.

Summary

All components of your summer assignment must be completed by Monday, August 24th.
Ø Read both books
Ø Write 3 reading journals about each book (total of 6 overall)—beginning, middle, and end
Ø Respond to 4 of your classmates’ journals on the blog for each book (total of 8)
Again, please email if you have any questions or problems.