AP English Literature Winter Break Assignments

The AP English Literature Break Assignments include a mixture of learning new material and reviewing previously learned skills to revise writing for clarity; strength of thesis; understanding of a single theme statement in the thesis; and then adding textual support and your analysis to produce an essay of 1500 words.

  1.    Complete the AP English Literature Practice Exam—all questions. Be sure to meaningfully annotate each passage or poem of the exam.

2   2. Watch the following videos on Universal Theme: 

What Makes A TED Talk Great?: What Makes A TED Talk Great? Universal Theme

Topic Versus Theme: Topic versus Theme by Dana Morgan

The Only Way You Will Ever Need To Teach Theme: The Only Way You Need to Teach Theme

Finding Theme with Practice Exercises Finding Theme (With Practice Exercises) by Joanne Katona

Please take notes on each video—they may be compiled together on one or two pages if needed.

3   3. Read the Essay: Revise for Evidence—all sections. It was distributed before the last day of the semester.

   4.   Use the information/feedback written on your essay, and through direct instruction based on Thesis Statements (and what you learned from the Videos) to revise you’re The Fall of Rome Essay. It may be typed or handwritten. It must have a new thesis that builds off of your first one. It needs to include textual support—specific quotes or passages and your analysis of them in your essay. I will not accept an essay of less than four handwritten pages (2 front/back pages) or 4 typed pages, simply because all you had so much to say!!! You just needed to slow down and logically introduce characters, and prove the claims or statements that you made and state a universal truth (theme/lesson) that you learned as it relates to power.

5 NOTE: If you did not receive your essay, I have begun scanning them and emailing them to students. You should all have your essay—with the exception of one student who accidentally? Took his home, by December 31^st. 

Winter Break Reading-Honors English Ten

Dear Students--I hope that you are all having a restful break. As a reminder, all students should have checked out from me, or have their own novel of at least 200 pages that you are reading for Winter Break. You should have received the Winter Break reading journal to keep your journal response entries in.  Each week, you will need to make four journal entries.  These should begin with a quote, the page number, date. Then, you should discuss what the quote reveals about the plot or characters involved. Do not solely make personal connections. The journals are due (12) of them, upon return to school on January 9th. 

H. Expository Composition period 5

Please bring both King Lear; your lines, and The Souls of Black Folk to class tomorrow. If all goes well, we should have a chance to view a little of Lear; work on our lines; read a bit; and get an assignment on The Souls of Black Folk.
2. Everyone should have ordered The Hip-Hop Generation. We still will read that next semester when we switch to World Literature.
3. Your Winter Break Assignment will focus on memorizing and interpreting your lines; modelling another passage from King Lear; Writing a Creative Assignment; and lastly, preparing to read Hip-Hop Generation.

AP English Literature period 1

1. AP English Literature Reflection (all questions must be addressed but in narrative form--you may discuss highs and lows and ah-hah! moments in your response): How are questions related to answers? How are answers related to questions? Explain or discuss the relationship between literary questions and answers.
What process did you use to create your multiple choice exams? Which questions are you most proud of and why? Which text was most difficult for you to compose questions? Why might this be the case? In what way did the assignment incorporate critical thinking skills? How are you better able to interpret literature as a result of the assignment? Suggested length: 2 pages typed and due by December 14th 1 pm. 
2. Please stop by your your Winter Break AP English Literature Multiple Choice Exam and Winter Break Assignments before Friday, December 18th or you will start second semester behind and at a deficit! 

H. English Ten period 3

1. Annotated Bibliographies that are printed and submitted by Monday at 9:00 a.m. will be accepted, but will lose a full letter grade after being scored.
2. Remember to review the notes you  took on Poetry: the types of poems, definition of poetry, and the literary and figurative devices associated with poetry.

H. Expository Composition

1. Remember to bring The souls of Black Folk on Wednesday for a short reflection. Also, review your lines and King Lear up to Act II scene 1.

AP English Literature Period 1

Those students who have not submitted and printed their The Fall of Rome Multiple Choice Exam will lose a letter grade after it is graded. You were advised that this assignment would not be accepted late.
2. Your Final Typed Drafts of the Antigone Exam and your Group exam are due Monday morning. Please do not arrive to class late if you are unable to print--otherwise you will miss the final.
3. You will have a Final exam. You will either take a Multiple Choice AP Literature Exam--the scores WILL COUNT and an essay ( a free response question) most likely about The Fall of Rome and Antigone. 
3. You will also complete a reflection on the process of creating your multiple choice exams and will also receive a winter Break assignment on Monday! 

AP English Literature Period 1

Tomorrow, you should have printed your Final Draft of your Multiple Choice AP English Literature Exam for The Fall of Rome. You should be finished, or more than half way finished with your Exam for Antigone--Paul Roche version.  Tonight--please look over and flag meaningful passages to discuss in groups as you prepare to construct your group Multiple Choice Exams.  Link to Paul Roche Version of Antigone: Antigone Translated by Paul Roche

H. English Ten p. 3

1. Continue to work on your Annotated Bibliographies, especially your annotation/summary paragraphs. Be sure to spell check and read for clarity. Be sure to use a variety of verbs but to make sure that the verbs make sense.
2. Create an original poem modelled after either, "Metaphor" or "The Hound"
3. Annotated Bibliographies typed, on Chromebook due tomorrow! After I review and provide information regarding citations for articles read in class, you should be totally finished! 

AP English Literature Period 1

1. You should be working to complete your TWO multiple choice AP style exams on The Fall of Rome and Antigone before Friday. Again, you will have the chance the work on exams on Thursday.  Please bring fully charged Chromebooks, books and materials. 

Article of The Week: American Kids Are Brats?

Article of the Week: Whole Class Why American Kids Are Brats?

AP English Literature

1. Continue working on your Multiple Choice Exam for The Fall of Rome. Be sure that your selected passages are not based only on your favorite parts but the entire book.   This means, passages might be from the beginning of the novel, the middle and the end.
2. Jot down some connections or questions that you expect to discuss tomorrow regarding The Fall of Rome.
3. You may want to bring in your throwbacks to determine when and where you will meet to construct the third MC Exam.
4. Review returned work and assignments.
As of December 5th, I can not accept late work. It is too close to Final Grades.

H. Expository Composition period 5

1. Carefully contemplate yiour final draft of the modelling assignment, where you pick a speech act from Edmound (soliloquy; letter; etc) or the Fool and model it using your own idea for a rant.
2. Re-read Act 1 scene 4-5 and respond:  1. What does Goneril hope to do by writing a letter to her sister Regan? 2. Why does Lear also write to Regan? What does he hope to do or tell Regan about in his letter? 3. By siding with Goneril, how does Oswald demonstrate he may be an evil character in the play? 4. How does Edmound successful smear his brother Edgar's reputation? Why does Edmund cut his self? 5. What punishment awaits Edgar, according to Gloucester?

AP English Literature period 1

1. Be sure to score each and every student response for The Street 2009 Response Question. You should have scoring commentary for each student response scored.
2. Reflect: What will you need to do to improve your timed writing scores? Write and type  one page reflection in which you assess and identify the ares you will need to improve on in order to be successful on the timed writing segment of the AP Literature Prose (Question 2) Passage.  You may want to consider comparing your writing to what you felt was the strongest or highest scoring essay.
3. Begin selecting passages for your Individual Multiple Choice Exam on The Fall of Rome.  You will Need to select 5 meaningful passages from the novel and begin crafting your questions.