Summer Homework, 2011

AP Language and Composition
Summer Homework, 2011

Welcome to Mr. Kline’s AP Language and Composition! I’m very excited about next year and I’m looking forward to meeting all of you. As with most AP classes, our work begins this summer. Many of these assignments require access to the Internet and to e-mail. If you do not have dependable e-mail access, feel free to use good ol’ fashioned snail mail. I love snail mail!

Kline’s Contact Info:
Please contact our school’s counseling department (503-785-8760) for Mr. Kline’s e-mail or snail mail address.

A note on e-mail etiquette: Remember that your audience is an English teacher. It is perfectly acceptable to be friendly and funny in your e-mails, but you should always use your best spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Thanks in advance.

Your assignments:

1. Relax. Take June off. Don’t think about school again until after July 4th.

2. Memorize the definitions of some fancy rhetorical strategies (click here). Expect a quiz within the first week of class.

3. Read “How to Mark a Book” (click here).

4. Read one of the 100 greatest novels of all time. You can find a list here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/may/08/books.booksnews
• To know when to begin this assignment, consider how long it will take you to read your novel. Start reading in order to finish by September 1st. You will be sharing your reading experiences with your classmates during the first week of school.
• Before you begin reading, send me an e-mail telling me which novel you’ve selected and why you’ve chosen it (If you’d like to deviate from the list, check with me. I’ll let you know if your choice works).
• Divide the book into quarters. At the end of each quarter, e-mail me a 100-word (minimum) reflection. Consider the following subjects: what challenges are you encountering? What are you enjoying? What is the author arguing for or against? How does he or she do so? Be sure to include the author and the title of your book in each e-mail, as well as the pages that you read. It is perfectly okay to read the same book as one or more of your classmates (and discuss it with them, too!). You may include reflections on your discussions in your e-mail.
• As you read, practice the techniques described in “How to Mark a Book.”
• I must receive 5 e-mails before September 1st, 2011.

5. Read the excerpt from “The Age of the Essay” (click here).
• Maintain a “Curiosity Journal”: a journal of events, ideas, or observations that surprise you, that catch your eye, that make you curious. In the past, I have required AP Lang and Comp students to monitor the news over the summer. This will not be a requirement this summer, though attention to the news might provide interesting material for your journal. I don’t care what form your journal takes, but I will be looking at it when we return to school. This journal will be due on the first day of class.

6. Watch the Independent Project Video. You can find it here:
http://www.examiner.com/unschooling-in-national/the-independent-project-video

7. Propose a project:
• Write a 500-750 word essay in which you pose a question you would like to answer over the course of this class. The question may be rooted in your personal interests, your career goals, current political, social, or environmental events, or items your Curiosity Journal.
• The body of your essay should let me know the origin of your question, how you expect to attempt to answer it (consider resources and methodology), potential obstacles, and a proposed project you would create to demonstrate your new knowledge and understanding.
• This essay should be well crafted, with a clear opening, closing, and organization.
• The essay should be typed using MLA format (google “MLA Format” if you’re not sure what I expect). My preferred fonts are 12 pt. Times New Roman or Palatino.
• This essay is due on the first day of class.

If you have any questions or difficulties, do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail. My job is to be your advisor, not your obstacle.

Happy Summer!



Kline


Handy reminder:
This document will be posted to my AP Lang blog:
http://aplang-o-rama.blogspot.com

If anything interesting happens over the summer, I’ll post it there.