AP Literature - (12th grade) (Period 4) Assignments

Hi Kids,

There are a few important things you need to be aware of.

First: Make sure you are logging into Schoology daily --  lms.lausd.net
All of our work is now digital. You need to upload your assignments using 'submit assignment' and the Upload tab or the Create tab to copy and paste your work into that window. I am using Sylmarhs.org mainly as a backup for additional document sharing and general reminders.

Second: I am going to start a Weekly Check in! Every week on Wednesday, you need to log into Schoology, get in your Courses, Select English and do the check-in assignment. Students who are not submitting their work and do not respond to the check in will be reported for follow-up.
We're not on a break. This isn't optional. It's quick and easy and you get a free point.

 

Third: On Monday, I was able to retrieve the paper assignments left in the classroom before our school closed. Those assignments are being graded now for the 10-week report card. However, you probably won't get these papers back. The two-week packet of work will go towards the 15-week report card.

Fourth: Expect the weekly work to continue in a digital format. Type directly into the assignment window using the Create tab or copy and paste your work from Google Docs or Upload your assignments as .docx or .pdf files. Every week while school is closed there will be assignments and activities posted in Schoology. We'll be using SpringBoard in the ebook format in 9th grade, and AP Literature will have assignments based on the texts in your homework literature books.

 

Fifth: You need to keep reading! If you do not have novels at home, you can check out ebooks for free from the LA Public Library. 
https://www.lapl.org/collections-resources/e-media  Browse that link and read about how to check out novels that you can read for your Reading Logs, Novel Checks (9th grade), and Major Works (12th grade).

 

 

Poetry Paper - First draft due

Bring it to class for Peer Editing.

 

Writing Prompt – Poetry

(Minimum 2 full body paragraphs & with a short intro and conclusion paragraph – 4 paragraph paper)

Choose a Renaissance poem and a modern poem.  After fully explicating each poem in your journal, compare and contrast your defensible interpretations in terms of imagery, symbolism, figurative language, tone, worldview, and subject matter (use at least 4 terms).  In terms of the poems’ artistry and quality, which did you find the most effective—the Renaissance or the modern poem? Explain.

Note: Information about the poem’s structure is also needed when discussing the artistry and poetic techniques of its composition.

Intro with claim (answer the question clearly and directly with a defensible interpretation!)

WGAGA paragraph – include short, direct quotes and literary terms

WGAGA paragraph – include short, direct quotes and literary terms

                Conclusion – your final thoughts (no new evidence)

Be clear.  Be direct.  Don’t be squirrely in your writing.  College readers are not going to read your paper 4 times to try to figure out what you mean.  You will be scored down.   Avoid run-ons and fragments. Re-read each sentence for logic.

Renaissance poems: Sidney p. 239-240, Spenser p. 236-28, Shakespeare – p. 253-256, Marlowe p. 245, Petrarch p.260-261, Raleigh p. 245 – (Prentice Hall)

Modern: Pablo Neruda p. 261-2 (Prentice Hall), Sylvia Plath – p. 986-989, (both) Hughes (Langston – p. 982 & Ted – p. 974), Dylan Thomas p. 889, Seamus Heaney p. 739-740 (Perrine Literature)

Poetry Paper Peer Review:

1. Which 4 literary terms is the paper focused on?
2. Does it clearly use in text citations? If there are problems, explain.
3. How many quotes were used? (Goal was ~20) Note exactly how many quotes they included.
4. Is the prompt fully addressed? If not, what is missing?
5. Is the writer’s analysis & preference for the Renaissance or modern poem clear? If not, explain what is not explained or missing.

Self-Edit:

After your peer review, self-edit your paper for punctuation, sentence structure, and errors pointed out in your peer review. Read each sentence in your essay backwards, from the end of the paper to the beginning. If that sentence does not make sense by itself, something is WRONG with it.

MLA In-text Citations:

In Marlowe’s poem, his speaker tries to seduce a maiden to be “his love” with flowery clothing, soft wool, and slippers with “golden buckles” (4, 13).

“Spinster” is also based on the subject of love, which is shown in the imagery of “a ceremonious April walk” with the speaker’s story of a woman and her “latest suitor” (Plath 2-3).

Parts of consecutive lines quoted: (Plath 7-10).  Parts of non-consecutive lines quoted: (Plath 7, 10).

If you have to insert or change part of a quote, you do it in [square brackets].

Writing Prompt – Poetry Paper

(Minimum 2 full body paragraphs & with a short intro and conclusion paragraph – 4 paragraph paper)

Choose a Renaissance poem and a modern poem.  After fully explicating each poem in your journal, compare and contrast your defensible interpretations in terms of imagery, symbolism, figurative language, tone, worldview, and subject matter (use at least 4 terms).  In terms of the poems’ artistry and quality, which did you find the most effective—the Renaissance or the modern poem? Explain.

Note: Information about the poem’s structure is also needed when discussing the artistry and poetic techniques of its composition.

         Intro with claim (answer the question clearly and directly with a defensible interpretation!)

WGAGA paragraph – include short, direct quotes and literary terms

WGAGA paragraph – include short, direct quotes and literary terms

             Conclusion – your final thoughts (no new evidence)

Be clear.  Be direct.  Don’t be squirrely in your writing.  College readers are not going to read your paper 4 times to try to figure out what you mean.  You will be scored down.   Avoid run-ons and fragments. Re-read each sentence for logic.

Renaissance poems: Sidney, Spenser, Shakespeare, Marlowe, Petrarch, Raleigh (Prentice Hall)

Modern: Pablo Neruda (Prentice Hall), Plath, (both) Hughes, Thomas, Heaney (Perrine Literature)

 

Our writing focus is analytical body paragraphs with frequent, and I mean FREQUENT, concise textual references.  Stuffing two or three long, droning quotes into your essays just won't do for an AP exam.  You don't have time to copy half a paragraph or multi-line block quotes into your paragraphs.  Grab a phrase, work with it as part of your analysis, and move on. 

 

Look at your rubric for poetry writing

• The 6-point essay is what this writing is based on. Although this paper is going to be worth 15 points because we’re also using MLA in-text citations, and I’m separating some of the scoring to allow for more specific points and details.

Row A – Thesis - What you must have: A defensible interpretation in your thesis and clearly identified texts and authors.

Use the CATt thesis format to do that (Claim), (Author), (Title), and (text type), to do that.

Row B – Evidence & Commentary - Answers all parts of the prompt – exploring at least 4 literary terms with short, frequent evidence as you compare & contrast the poems, AND clearly defends your view of which poem in terms of artistry and quality is superior.

Row C – Sophistication – Demonstrates a sophistication of thought or develops a complex literary argument.

Choose your two poems for your Poetry Paper - one Renaissance and one modern (20th or 21st century)

Renaissance poems: Sidney p. 239-240, Spenser p. 236-28, Shakespeare – p. 253-256, Marlowe p. 245, Petrarch p.260-261, Raleigh p. 245 – (Prentice Hall)

Modern: Pablo Neruda p. 261-2 (Prentice Hall), Plath – p. 986-989, (both) Hughes (Langston – p. 982 & Ted – p. 974), Dylan Thomas p. 889, Seamus Heaney p. 739-740 (Perrine Literature)

AP Classroom - Required Unit 3 - FR  (free response)

40 minutes timed

 

Complete a dialectical journal, on regular paper, for one poem, but your journal should also refer to the other poem as the predecessor or the response. (poems are found on p. 245)

Your single page journal will be collected.

Dialectical Journal

1. Requires you to read the poem “Harlem” by Langston Hughes p. 748 in your HW textbook

 

The rest require close analysis of the text and characters with some reviewing and re-reading of the text.

Winter Assignment AP Lit - M/C practice unlocks on 12/20 & due on 1/12 before 10pm

Oedipus Rex and Othello Essay

Outline and examples

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO IT LIKE THIS. However, if you want some structure, here’s some structure!

When you write by hand, you MUST underline Oedipus Rex when you mean the title not the person and Othello when you mean the play not the man. When typing, you italicize the titles instead of underline.

                Aristotle defines tragic heroes as characters of noble stature who, through their personal flaws, known as their hamartia, accidents of fate, and erroneous decisions, bring about their own downfall. These characters incite sympathetic responses from the audience, catharsis, for being well-intentioned characters who, through a reversal of fortune, peripeteia, meet tragic ends resulting in them losing everything they truly valued.  These characters also shift from ignorance to knowledge, with the moment of anagnorisis, a dramatic realization of their true state and acceptance of their fault. In the dramas Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, lies, fate, and free will heavily influence the lives of both tragic heroes.

                Claim – CATt thesis (CATt is Claim, Author, Title, text type): In the dramas Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, (claim goes here – example for both) lies, fate, and free will heavily influenced the lives of both tragic heroes.

In the dramas Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, (example-fate) lies influenced the inevitable destiny of the tragic heroes.

In the dramas Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, (example-free will) free will and the acts of man propagated lies which dominated the lives of the tragic heroes.

 

Pre-write for this essay – up to 30 minutes – remember to include evidence (grounds) from both plays

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO IT LIKE THIS. However, if you want some structure, here’s some structure!

Hook – intro the topic: (Include defining the tragic hero & the power of lies)

                Claim – CATt thesis (CATt is Claim, Author, Title, text type): In the dramas Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, (claim goes here).

First Warrant (Topic sentence): Oedipus Rex

                Grounds (Evidence):

                Grounds (Evidence):

Second Warrant (Topic sentence): Othello

                Grounds (Evidence):

                Grounds (Evidence):

Third Warrant (Topic sentence): (Counterclaims & Refutations Paragraph – defend why your view of the role of fate and free will for each character is the logical and backed up with evidence – remember: there are MANY ways to interpret the text, you are just backing up why yours is logical and not assumptive or a fallacy)

                Grounds (Evidence):

                Grounds (Evidence):

Concluding thoughts: (tragic heroes, summarize main points, restate claim)

When you use terms from your Aristotle notes, clarify what they mean within the text of your essay.

Reminder: Each example of Grounds should have at least two sentences of meaningful Analysis in your own words that connects the evidence to the ideas presented in the prompt and supports your claim. You do not have to write your Analysis in your outline. You can do that in your essay itself.

Oedipus Rex and Othello – Essay

(Copy the prompt)

Consider the power of a lie.  Oedipus grew up thinking he was someone else’s son and the truth unfurled his terrible destiny.  Othello was happy in his marriage until he was plagued by the lies and schemes of Iago.  How much of a role did fate play in the fall of each tragic hero? How much was the fall the fault of men?  Argue whether, in these plays, it is men’s will and their words which shape the tragic hero’s destiny, the hand of fate, or both. Take into account Aristotle’s definition of what makes a tragic hero.

 Review your Aristotle notes and Pre-write for this essay 

Include evidence (grounds) from both plays (WGAGA format)

Use transitional words and phrases to maintain cohesion between the differing ideas

Vary your sentence types: mix compound and complex sentences with simple sentences 

 

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO IT LIKE THIS. However, if you want some structure, here’s some structure!

• Hook – intro the topic: (Include defining the tragic hero w/ defined Aristotle term(s)& the power of lies)
•                 Claim – CATt thesis (CATt is Claim, Author, Title, text type): In the dramas Oedipus Rex by Sophocles and Othello by William Shakespeare, (claim goes here).
• First Warrant (Topic sentence): Oedipus Rex
•                 Grounds (Evidence):
•                 Grounds (Evidence):
• Second Warrant (Topic sentence): Othello
•                 Grounds (Evidence):
•                 Grounds (Evidence):
• Third Warrant (Topic sentence): (Counterclaims & Refutations Paragraph – defend why your view of the role of fate and free will for each character is the logical and backed up with evidence – remember: there are MANY ways to interpret the text, you are just backing up why yours is logical and not assumptive or a fallacy)
•                 Grounds (Evidence):
•                 Grounds (Evidence):
• Concluding thoughts: (tragic heroes, summarize main points, defined Aristotle term(s) recap, restate claim)

Allusion Homework:

* This week – choose a Biblical Allusion from your hand out on ‘Biblical Allusions and Greco-Roman Myths’. 

* Choose one that you do not already know well.

* Look it up online (http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/) and read that specific Biblical passage. 

* Complete a Dialectical Journal on the biblical allusion passage you chose.

Bring your completed journal to class on Thursday.

(The file is attached if you cannot find your handout.)

• AP students - You cannot complete reading logs on Hamlet - read in 10th grade or Romeo and Juliet - read in 9th grade.
• In AP, if you read dramas by Shakespeare or Sophocles, it's 1 play per week. They're quite short. It does not matter how long your paperback margin translated version is. It is read at a pace of 1 play per week.

Read in class: Oedipus Rex

Scene 1

Reading p. 1224 – 1231

 HW Book: p. 1255-1262

Review Parados references (allusions)

Review Scene 1 – Creon declared that anyone who concealed knowledge of the crime would be exiled and the murderer himself was to be cursed and consumed in evil and wretchedness. 

Ironically, Oedipus claims to be as loyal to Laios as a son to find his murderer.

A clairvoyant is called to help solve the crime.

Tieresias, the prophet, has a terrible truth to tell and begs leave not to say it.

Oedipus is angered by his refusal and yells at him and insults him.

Tieresias asks to go into exile for withholding the truth, as Oedipus said anyone who withheld information would be.

Tieresias warns him again that it would be terrible to know the truth and clarifies that he is the pollution (the problem) in his own city-state.

Oedipus begins to suspect Kreon of treason for bringing up the crime to undo the city and then gets angry again, insulting Tieresias, and calling him a false-prophet.  

The Choragos warns that the anger will not lead to anything good.  (1229)

Tieresias has been pushed too far at this point due to Oedipus’ self-righteous anger and pride and clearly hints at the truth in riddles for Oedipus to piece together.

The dramatic irony lets the audience understand how well the blind-prophet sees the truth and how much is hidden from the prideful king. 

At the end, the people still believe and trust in their king.

 

Ode 1: Allusions – discussion

• AP students - You cannot complete reading logs on Hamlet - read in 10th grade or Romeo and Juliet - read in 9th grade.
• In AP, if you read dramas by Shakespeare or Sophocles, it's 1 play per week. They're quite short. It does not matter how long your paperback margin translated version is. It is read at a pace of 1 play per week.

In class essay on "Araby" focusing only on the first six paragraphs. This will be a timed, 40-minute essay. Review the text to help prepare.

Ideas to pay attention to while reviewing “Araby”

Darkness and Light – where is it dark? where is there light?

Clean and Dirty – where is it dirty? Where is it clean?

The epiphany – what does our narrator realize?

Narrative tone – what is the author’s attitude towards the narrator and the narrator’s situation (a young boy’s experience with first love) as the story is told – (Sympathetic? Cynical? Supportive? Neutral and observant?)

Note: Streets are inanimate objects – a blind street means a dead-end street. It’s not that the street or that the people on it can’t see.

 

Title: “Araby” Questions

Be sure to answer every part of each question. These questions will help guide you to a deeper analysis of the text. Take your time to think about it, look up words you do not know, go back to the text as often as you need to, and do your best.

 

Completing these questions will give you the background and depth of consideration that you will need for an upcoming essay based on this short story.

 

 

Ideas to pay attention to and think about while reading “Araby”

Darkness and Light – where is it dark? where is there light? Consider the symbolism of where the light and dark is seen.

Clean and Dirty – where is it dirty? Where is it clean?

The epiphany – what does our narrator realize?

Narrative tone – what is the author’s attitude towards the narrator and the narrator’s situation (a young boy’s experience with first love) as the story is told – (Sympathetic? Cynical? Supportive? Neutral and observant?) 

Remember: The author is NOT the narrator. Our narrator is a boy who developed a crush on a friend's sister. Our narrator is not Mr. James Joyce.

Note: Streets are inanimate objects – a blind street means you can't drive through it. Students often misunderstand the first sentence of the story because they do not read the provided footnote. It’s not that the street or that the people on it can’t see. A "blind" street is a street that has a dead-end like a cul-de-sac. That's why it has less traffic and is a quieter street. 

Bring your HW novels to class 📚 (or check them out from the classroom - BEFORE Friday)

Friday is NOT the day for you to waste time 'searching for a book to read'.  📖  You should have already been reading all week. 

AP students have selected novels from the AP Literature book list

Major Works - Teacher Model

If you need help or would like to see an example of what a complete Major Works Template could look like, please view the attached file.

 

Note: If you choose to type your assignment, you should use italics for the text title instead of underline. If you hand write your assignment, underline the text title clearly whenever you use it.

 

Even if the major work you are writing about is Antigone, do not just copy my model. It's an example.

ASB Students who had to leave:

The Iliad

Students read the text in groups, round-robin 10 line sections p. 67-70

Group Work:  Copy and Answer the questions #1-4

The Iliad - Questions

Questions: #1 – refer to the text

#2 – refer to the art and deduce your conclusions

#3 – compare this fight with Beowulf and Grendel’s mother – refer to the text

#4 – Refer to the text

 

Dialectical Journal

• Use the theme notes to help you identify one of the themes of your novel.
• You may print and then write your responses by hand.
• You may type your responses and then print when it is complete.

 

Make sure your name is on your paper before you turn it in. Homework without a name is recycled. It is due at the beginning of class.

 

If you receive feedback on your HW to review HW help, consult your notes on how to complete your homework or review the Homework Help link on the right side of my web page. Read the instructions on the reading log. The number one mistake is not following the directions written on the handout.

 

An absence or not picking up a reading log form is not an excuse for not turning in your homework on Monday (or first day after a holiday). Print a form from my web page or complete a reading log on your own paper. Use the homework help to assist you.

Bring your HW novels to class

 

You cannot spend our reading time looking for a book, so you need to come to class prepared. If you forget your novel, you'll be reading from the literature textbook. 

 

You cannot complete your homework without your novel.