Homework for the week of 3/31

Monday: Read and annotate beginning of Book Three, through page 309 for Tuesday.
Block day will consist of in-class writing. Novel should be completed by Friday, 4/4.

Summative assessment for Beloved will be due on Monday, 4/7.
Examine a claim Morrison makes in Beloved about one of the following topics and how it relates to contemporary American society:
1. The legacy of slavery
2. The idea of collective memory in a society
3. The ways in which race and gender interconnect

CHANGE TO SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT:
Instead of a paper, you will be expected to participate in a graded discussion. I sent an email out with the rubric and specifics of the process.
 Due on Monday, April 7. 

Literary Research paper work:
Now is the time to get focused on your paper. Please come see me if you have questions, confusions or concerns. Here is the remaining timeline:
A portion of the rough draft of paper is due on April 11. The minimum you need to turn in:
 1. Three pages of a rough draft, including an introduction and thesis as well as the beginning of your argument. 
2. A clear outline, preferably with clear topic sentences and  some references to primary and secondary sources.
You may turn in more than this, but it is not a requirement.  

The final paper is due on Monday, April 28th. The requirements are outlined on the rubric I sent you in Google docs. In addition:
1. The paper should be between 4,500-5,500 words, about 12-15 pages double-spaced in Times New Roman font. There should be a Works Cited page that has a minimum of six sources. See the Literary Research page for exemplar papers.

This paper will count 50% of your fourth quarter grade. Time and revision are keys to success. Also, I hope you know that any whiff of plagiarism will mean you receive a 0. Every year, this is an issue, so please cite carefully.

Homework for the week of December 16

Your work for this week consists of two threads:

Poetry Out Loud:
Memorize poem #1 and practice your performance for block day. You will receive feedback on the following criteria:
Voice and Articulation
Physical Presence
Dramatic Appropriateness
Evidence of Understanding
Overall Performance
Accuracy

Poem #2 is due on block day: January 8th or 9th. If you are interested in the school-wide competition, please sign up with me by Friday, January 3rd.

Literary Research Project:
Remember that second novel, the one you vowed to begin earlier in the process to avoid late night stress? Hopefully, you are well on your way with it. If not, there is no time like the present to begin. Your work for this novel includes:
Annotations
Literary Analysis chart
Flash fiction assignment: Culling from your wisdom in reading two books by your author, construct a “short short” story where you imitate the style of your writer, using some of his or her signature “moves”. Length: no more than 1,000 words.  In addition, please include a process paragraph on how you chose to imitate the author. Pay careful attention to diction and syntax.
These three assignments are due on Friday, January 3.

Literary Research Project

During graduate school, I had the opportunity to study William Faulkner's work and bear-wrestled The Sound and The Fury to the ground. I also read about his life: his insecurities, his failures as a man and his amazing speech when he received the Nobel Prize for literature. I  looked at many critics, those who thought he was a genius and others who believed he was an overrated drunk. What I discovered is there is so much more to Faulkner than I learned when I studied As I Lay Dying in my AP Lit class in high school. In looking at this range of work and criticism, I gained insights about my writing that has helped me finish my memoir. Our hope is this literary research project will help you connect the dots and extend yourself to reach outside the vacuum that is so often the case in high school curricula.

In very general terms, the task is straightforward: you pick an author, a literary time period, a genre you have a question about; you read as much of his/her work you possibly can; during your reading, you formulate and track the development of an inquiry which will turn into a thesis; you consult historical and critical resources; you write a paper between twelve and fifteen pages; you turn it in and celebrate a tremendous accomplishment; your parents look at you with admiration; Mr. Record stops you in the hall to ask how your paper is coming; when you tell him it's done, a proud smile crosses his face, and with all profundity says, "Congratulations." Sounds good, right?

Because AP Lit is a college-level course, you will have quite a bit of freedom on this work. In college English courses, most professors have you read a few books, then they say, "write a paper." There isn't a prompt; there aren't specific guidelines. The expectation is that you display some original thought and initiative. Part of the purpose of this project is to help you get to the point next year when you can shrug off the influence of teachers and blaze your own trail. However, I'm not letting you fly unfettered just yet.

It is a requirement of this project that you check in with me via small papers, letters and literary analysis charts throughout the year. I shall collect these papers and respond to what you've written about. We'll also conference on your progress. I hope you are wildly excited about this project. If you choose the right author or topic, you should be! Below is the schedule of big dates as well as a literary analysis chart which I expect you to pass in with each mini-paper. Please download a copy when you get your first book. As always, if you have questions, feel free to call, email or make an appointment to chat.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES:

Note: You will need to use vacation time to complete these readings, unless you are superhuman. If you do this, your life will feel much calmer and more manageable. Don’t test the bounds of your procrastination skills.

September 30th: Choose an author. If you have questions, come see me beforehand. No J.K Rowling or that guy who wrote Captain Underpants. Jodi Picoult won’t cut it either. Sorry. If you are thinking of taking the AP Lit exam, this list may be helpful for you: http://www.chelseaschools.com/library/ap_literature_popular_titles.htm
Some other lists that could be of interest:  
NPR story on adapted version of Modern Library list 
Modern Library's 100 Best Novels
AP Free Response List: This is the list (and frequency) of titles which have appeared on the AP Literature exam since 1971.

November 1: First letter due. This is addressed to me. In it, observe the style of your author. What did you notice about the sentences? Paragraphs? Chapters? Voice? What did you think your author did exceptionally well? What confused you about your author? Why? In looking at the biographical details of your author (or time period), what questions do you have so far? What do you expect from the next novel? And, the million dollar question: Do you think you made the right choice? Length: 3 pages, double-spaced. In addition, please attach the literary analysis chart for book #1. It is also listed above in Helpful Documents.

 
January 3: Second book due. Here’s the fun one. Culling from your wisdom in reading two books by your author, construct a “short short” story where you imitate the style of your writer, using some of his or her signature “moves”. Length: no more than 1,000 words.  In addition, please include a process paragraph on how you chose to imitate the author.

January 31st: Third book due. Please write a 2-3 page analytical paper, comparing the three books of your author. This should contain a seed for your thesis.
 Please submit the literary analysis chart for book #3.

March 7: You find three pieces of critical work and respond to them, analyzing the claims of the author and weaving in analysis which will help support your thesis. 

NOTE: For your final paper, you will need four secondary sources. Three of these sources must be critical essays.

April 11: Rough draft due. You must turn in at least 3 pages of your rough draft and an extensive outline for the rest of your paper.


Here is an exemplar papers which may help guide you: Steinbeck author paper


April 28: Final paper due. 12-15 pages. Blood, sweat, and tears. After I look at it, you can have it bronzed and put on your mantle.