Category Archives: AP Literature

May 14, 2015 · 2:57 pm

2015 AP Summer Reading

Although there is no official summer reading assignment for AP Literature at Dr. Phillips, students who do well on the exam are, almost without exception, inveterate readers. Therefore, you are encouraged to read, read, read in the lazy days before you begin your senior year! Here are some tips and challenges to help you choose:

1. If analyzing literature seems intimidating, we recommend this fine resource: How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster, especially since many of you will be transitioning from AP Language and Composition to a literature class.

2. If you want to brush up on or discover some the frequent biblical allusions in British and American literature, read the books of Genesis, Matthew, and John in the Bible.

3. To refresh yourself on all that pesky mythology writers like so much, tackle this classic: Edith Hamilton’s Mythology. If you are a fan of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan or Michael Scott’s The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, those will also help refresh you about Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic mythology.

4. Obviously we can’t cover everything in one year, so consider picking up a classic you’ve heard of but haven’t had the opportunity to read in school. Below is a list of novels and plays of literary merit which will not be part of the curriculum at Dr. Phillips but frequently appear on the examination. Although all of these works are considered classics, you will find a wide variety of styles and a broad range of topics represented.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Raisin in the Sun
Catch-22
Crime and Punishment
Death of a Salesman
Heart of Darkness
Invisible Man
Jane Eyre
Madame Bovary
Obasan
The Turn of the Screw
Waiting for Godot

If none of these titles appeal to you, then the Books and Chocolate Classics Challenge has a number of categories that might do the trick. You can find their list of suggested books here.

5. You might also consider reading a recent work that has been nominated for or won a major literary prize such as the National Book Award or Pulitzer Prize, the Man Booker Prize (Great Britain), or the Governor General’s Award (Canada).

6. If you’re just looking for something different to read or need a guiding hand to keep you on track, why not try a book challenge? Here are links to a variety of different challenges. You may not complete one over the summer, but you can certainly broaden your knowledge and your enjoyment by trying one.

PopSugar’s Challenge – 50 books ranging from “read a book with a one word title” to “read a book your mom loves” to “choose a book based solely on its cover,” which gives you plenty of fun choices. Check out the challenge here.

Banned Books Challenge – Feeling daring? Read something that someone else doesn’t want you to! The Buckling Bookshelves blog has created a challenge with levels of participation from “Making Waves” to “Leader of the Revolution.” Sign up here.

Kindred’s Challenge – Another checklist-based challenge that includes everything from choosing a poetry collection to reading something electronically. Pick up the handy infographic for the challenge here. Specific suggested authors all happen to be male (hmm), but that’s offset nicely by the next challenge.

Women Challenge – Discover some amazing female authors through Peek a Book’s third Women Challenge here.

Diversity Challenge – Male or female, most writers studied in literature classes tend to be Caucasian. Discover more amazing books by writers of color through My Little Pocketbook’s Diversity Challenge. Check out some great authors here.

Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge – Another random choice challenge by one of my favorite book sites online. Choices here range from author origin to genre style to type (how many book challenges do you know select a self-improvement book?). Keep up with other challenge members through Goodreads or the #ReadHarder hashtag. Check out the list here.

Books in Translation – AP offers the opportunity to read some books in translation, but that’s merely a smidgen of the great literature out there that wasn’t written in English. Hop over to the Introverted Reader’s challenge to select translated works here.

Around the World Challenge – This challenge focuses on the book’s content rather than who wrote it. Where do your book’s characters go? Plot their movements and consider some mini-challenges based on geography on a special Google map from It’s All About the Books here.

Chunkster Challenge – Serious books call for serious dedication–especially if they’re long ones. Try your hand at a 450+ page whopper. It may take you all summer for the one book, but it could be amazing! Your chunk o’reading can be in any genre, age group, or format (except graphic novels), so if you never got around to reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix because you saw the movie instead, now might be the time to see what the Hollywood folks left out. Sign up here.

Thanks to writer Emma Cueto of Bustle for her great roundup of reading challenges.

Have a great summer, and happy reading!

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Filed under AP Literature

Tagged as AP, reading, summer

March 30, 2015 · 1:54 pm

3rd Marking Period Reflection: AP

Now that we have completed the marking period, it is time to reflect on your performance as a student in AP English Literature. For this assignment, you will need to review the information in your class portfolio in addition to the writing assignments you have submitted to Edmodo. Your reflection should be thoughtfully written, with an eye toward improving your performance on the coming AP exam.

First, SORT the contents of your portfolio.

SAVE: Major Works Data Sheets

Timed Writings

MC Practice

Lit Circles Window Notes

KEEP/TOSS: Everything else!

REFLECT: Review your written responses for commonalities. What are the most common issues on your papers? What can you do to address and correct that issue? Compare some earlier papers with papers written more recently. Where do you see that you have grown/improved?

Submit your completed reflection to the blue box. You may return your folder to your class box.

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Tagged as reading, reflection, writing

February 3, 2015 · 12:35 pm

Essay Revision with Highlighters

This revision technique can be very helpful in determining areas of strength and weakness in your AP prompt responses.

You will need four different color highlighters to complete the task. Please mark your response to the “The Black Walnut Tree” prompt as follows:

Color 1 – Highlight your thesis statement and the topic sentence of each paragraph.
Color 2 – Highlight any specific quotations you have made from the text.
Color 3 – Highlight the literary techniques and strategies that Oliver is using in the poem to evoke meaning. In other words, how is Oliver communicating the underlying meaning of the poem with her selected strategies (like imagery, tone, etc.)?
Color 4 – Highlight your interpretation of Oliver’s strategies and the meaning they convey. These highlighted lines explain why you derive a particular mood or meaning from the lines or strategies/techniques/language you have chosen (what about the strategy made you think what you did).

After you have finished marking your draft, look for opportunities for improvement. Is one color dominating the essay as a whole? Do you notice a lack of any particular color? Do you need to include more specific evidence from the text? Does your essay need restructuring overall because your thesis only addresses one part of the prompt? Do the topic sentences connect logically with the thesis and provide a logical and coherent flow in your essay? Have you chosen appropriate techniques and strategies to discuss? Are you fully explaining the use of those techniques and how they help to reveal meaning? With answers to these questions in mind, rewrite the essay. Consider what we reviewed in terms of the scoring rubric and plan to create a final version that would bring the score up at least one point from the original draft. If you have been stuck on a score, you should improve and revise to lift this essay out of the rut.

Your completed revision should be stapled to the back of the prompt and in-class draft. You may type it if you wish, but typing is not required. Your revision is due when you come to class Friday, February 6.

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Filed under AP Literature

Tagged as analysis, revision, writing

October 27, 2014 · 2:43 pm

Marking Period Reflection: AP

Now that we have completed the marking period, it is time to reflect on your performance as a student in AP English Literature. For this assignment, you will need to review the information in your class portfolio in addition to the writing assignments you have submitted to Edmodo. Your reflection should be thoughtfully written, approximately one solid paragraph per section. Be sure to include all three areas in your review.

First, organize your portfolio. It should include the following items:
–>AP Practice Items: timed writings, multiple choice practice
–>Diagnostic Items (Literary Terms, grammar, etc.)
–>Major Works Data Sheets for all works – these will become the backbone of your study guide for the AP exam in May.
Other papers may be discarded or filed.

Now, write your reflection. Consider your completed work, your success on out-of-class items, your participation in class, and your overall work habits (homework, planning, paying attention, etc.) as you complete your reflection.

+ PLUS – In what areas have you succeeded? What are you doing that is working well for you? What kinds of assignments or activities have been the most positive for you and why? Where are you having the most success as a student of AP Literature?

– MINUS – In what areas have you struggled? What did not turn out the way you planned? Do you have habits in or out of class that affect the quality of your work and participation in class?

Δ CHANGE – What do you plan to change or do differently to achieve better results in the coming marking period? What would you like to improve the most over the next nine weeks?

Submit your completed reflection to the blue box. You may return your folder to your class box.

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Tagged as reading, reflection, writing

September 26, 2014 · 8:00 am

Florida Teens Read Titles 2014-2015

Panthers are invited once again to take part in the Media Center’s Florida Teens Read/Paw Prints program for this year. Students who read one of the FTR or PP books may come to the media center to take a quiz. A passing score is 70%. Students who pass will be given a symbolic charm for that book and a quiz certificate. Extra credit may be earned if you show me your successful certificate! We only allow a student to retake a quiz if the teacher authorizes it. Students who pass the most quizzes will be invited to the teen literature celebration in May.

Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Naturals

At 17, Cassie is recruited by the FBI because they recognize that she is a natural profiler. She joins a team of extraordinary teens in Washington D. C. to undergo professional training, but she soon finds herself mixed up in a dangerous case that involves her missing mother. (crime fiction)

Bodeen, S. A. The Raft

Robie is fifteen and very independent. She frequently flies from her home on the Midway Atoll to visit her Aunt in Honolulu. When her plane goes down in the Pacific Ocean on her return trip, Robie has to deal with thirst, hunger, and other dangers as she struggles to survive the shark infested waters in a life raft. (survival fiction, environmental issues)

Busby, Cylin. Blink Once

West was a talented dirt-bike racer until a severe accident left him paralyzed and unable to speak. He learns to communicate to another patient, Olivia, through blinking and writing. West falls in love with Olivia, but as he begins to recover he discovers that Olivia may not be who he thought she was. (medical fiction)

Casella, Jody. Thin Space

Between world of the living and the world of the dead, there can be a thin space that makes travel between the two realms possible. If only Marsh can find a thin space, he can come to terms with his twin brother’s death, and lay his guilt to rest. It seems impossible so he looks for places in bare feet where someone may have died the same place they were born. Then he meets Maddie, who offers to help him in his search and a tragic mistake is revealed. (afterlife fiction)

de la Peña, Matt. The Living

Shy takes a job on a cruise ship to help his mother and sister pay the family bills. Sounds like a great job, right? Girls, free food, free room, and different passengers on every cruise. Then a massive earthquake happens, bigger than has ever been recorded and life for Shy is changed forever. Life becomes a battle to survive for those left alive. In addition, there is a disease that is killing people in Shy’s family and neighborhood. How is Shy’s job related to this? Can he save anyone? Will they believe the truth? (survival fiction)

Griffin, Paul. Burning Blue

Popular Nicole Castro is adored for her beauty—until the day a hooded assailant sprays burning acid on her face, scarring her forever. As Nicole attempts to heal, she and classmate Jay Nazzaro begin an unlikely friendship. Jay suffers from chronic seizures and understands what it’s like to be seen as different. As he develops feelings for Nicole, he becomes determined to use his computer hacking skills to catch her attacker. (fiction)

Harden, Blaine. Escape from Camp 14: One Man’s Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West

Shin was born in a North Korean prison camp in 1982 and endured a life of hunger, hard labor, and punishment. He memorized the ten camp laws including, “Anyone caught escaping will be shot immediately.” He knew nothing else until his escape in 2005. Shin is the only known person born inside a North Korean camp to escape to freedom. His incredible story of walking to China is told by journalist Blaine Harden who goes to great lengths to document the facts and relate them to what is known of North Korea’s people, politics, and government. (nonfiction)

Marriott, Zoë. Shadows on the Moon

Suzume’s life feels perfect and carefree until the day she witnesses her beloved father’s murder. Her mother quickly remarries her father’s best friend, and Suzume feels her old identity and life slipping away so she must be brave. As Suzume struggles to adapt, she discovers that she is a Shadow Weaver, a person who can magically weave illusions. Suzume can appear to be anyone, and as she hones her magical abilities, she becomes bent on revenge. Will a chance at love sway her dark plans? (fantasy fiction)

Rowell, Rainbow. Eleanor & Park

Two teen misfits, Eleanor, overweight, flamboyant and bullied, and Park, half-Korean, into comics and alternative music, living in Omaha, Nebraska in the 1980s forge an unlikely relationship that blossoms into first love. This is a smart, touching romance with an undercurrent of tension and darkness that will keep you in suspense until the very last page. (bullying, abuse, love fiction; mature language)

Sáenz, Benjamin Alire. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Set in the summer of 1987, two Hispanic boys, Aristotle, an angry loner, and, Dante, gregarious and outgoing, meet and form a deep and special friendship. Aristotle struggles with family issues including an older brother in prison and a father carrying baggage from his wartime experience. This is a beautifully told story of two young men trying to figure out who they are, who they will become, and where their friendship will take them. This is a coming of age story involving issues of homosexuality. (fiction)

Woodson, Jacqueline. Beneath a Meth Moon: An Elegy

Fifteen-year-old Laurel is the new girl in Galilee, Iowa. She makes a new best friend, easily earns a spot on the cheerleading team, and catches the attention of the star basketball player. She is unable to heal from the tragedy her family left behind in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina and escapes into a world of meth. She meets Moses while begging for change and he is concerned the drug will take her life like so many other young people he knows. (fiction)

Happy Reading!

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Filed under AP Literature, Honors IV

Tagged as books, reading

September 19, 2014 · 12:08 pm

Improving Your AP Responses

Now that you have received your first scored AP essay back, you might be thinking about ways to improve your writing–especially if you’d like to get into the 7Up club. Completing an AP prompt can be challenging, even for students who are confident writers. Although AP officially stands for Advanced Placement, it’s also telling you the key to success:

AP = Answer the Prompt

The number one thing separating a top scoring AP essay from one that doesn’t get the job done is whether the student has carefully considered and addressed all parts of the prompt. Here are some things to consider when you sit down to write.

DO

• Be thorough. Make sure you have identified everything the prompt is asking you to do. Doing a brilliant job of identifying the literary devices in a prose passage or poem is great, but if you never show how they are working in the piece to reveal the theme (or whatever the prompt is asking you to comment on), then your essay won’t rise much higher than a 5.

• Be specific. Quote from the poem or passage to support your points; don’t generalize. Embed the quotations smoothly within your analysis rather than copying chunks and dropping them into the text for the reader to make the connection. Refer to specific events, conversations, and characters in your selected novel or play for Q3.

• Be generous. One example, no matter how sparkling, is ever enough. To move from “plausible” (6-7) to “persuasive” (8-9), you have to provide plentiful support for your ideas. That means tracing an idea throughout an entire larger work instead of mentioning just one key scene, or connecting the images in every stanza of a poem, not just the most vivid one in the final couplet.

• Be aware. Consider your audience. These people are experienced teachers and professors. They’re also avid and careful readers. Pitch your essay at a level they expect. Employ formal language. Use present tense when writing a cricial discussion of a piece of literature. Leave yourself out of it; keep the focus on the work itself, not what you think, like, or dislike about it.

• Be yourself. The very best essays are always a combination of excellent analysis and a strong, unique voice. Yes, a formulaic five-paragraph essay from a three-part thesis will get the job done, but when it comes to AP, style points are crucial. Now is the time to show off your fabulous vocabulary or your interesting insight. Remember, the full name of the course is AP Literature and Composition. Include the niceties of writing that can help your essay sing.

DON’T

• Summarize. The last three words of the Q3 prompt are always “Avoid plot summary.” Your job is not to explain to the reader what happens in the novel or what occurred next in the play. The reader is assuming that you, as an AP student, have read the work and “get it.” You should assume the same about the reader. The college professor who wrote a dissertation about Shakespeare is not going to appreciate (and doesn’t need) the two paragraphs you just wasted explaining what happens in Othello.

• Parrot the prompt. Your thesis statement should reflect your thinking about what the prompt is asking, not incorporate the wording in the prompt itself. The more copying you’re doing, the less thinking.

• Regress. Signal phrases like “In conclusion” or openers like “Webster’s defines X as…” reveal a lack of confidence in your ability to structure and present original, quality writing. These are training wheels from elementary school. Leave them in the past where they belong. Check out the Verboten list for other phrases to avoid.

• Cheerlead. Your job is not to convince the reader of the writer’s brilliance or how the passage reflects humanity, literature, or writing in general. Stay away from statements about the nature of society and phrases like “Great writers often…” “Authors often use…” or “We as humans…”

• Dump. Pointing out a metaphor, symbol, or other literary device to the reader without analyzing further is like a cat dropping its dead mouse offering on the doorstep. It’s not enough to identify that a writer or poet is employing a particular device. You have to connect the use of the device with the MOWAW (meaning of the work as a whole). The same is true for examples and support in Q3. Mentioning the use of winter imagery in a poem is one thing. Explaining how those images enhance the sense of isolation expressed by the speaker is something else entirely.

• Panic. The reader is well aware of the time constraints you are working under. Plan your essay and execute it to the best of your ability in the time you have available. Read carefully (you can do that). Annotate as you go (you may not like it, but you can do that as well). Create a structure for your essay. Get started. If you’re stuck on an introduction, start with a body paragraph and circle back to write the introductory paragraph later, once you have a firmer grasp on the scope of your essay. Include specific examples that reinforce your thesis throughout. As Teddy Roosevelt said, “Do what you can with what you have where you are.”

Happy writing!

Adapted from material by Jane Gutherman, AP Literature instructor at Dr. Phillips HS.

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Tagged as AP, reflection, tests, writing

August 30, 2014 · 1:58 pm

Thug Notes Introduction

In June 2013, Thug Notes produced its first video to YouTube. Thug Notes introduces classic works of literature with a hip-hop twist. Creators Jared Bauer and Jacob Salamon write the scripts with actor/comedian Greg Edwards hosting each episode as Sparky Sweets, PhD. The aim is to summarize and analyze classic works of literature with a hip-hop twist.

Here’s an example of the Thug Notes style applied to Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. I’ll post the Thug Notes version of each work they cover that we read in class, but be warned! Salty language and adult themes ahead. Proceed with caution.