1. Who are you? (No, no. Who are you really?) And who are you not?
Develop a response in the comment box below.
Include your first name and last initial at the beginning of your post.
If you have trouble commenting stop by 2207 and I can give you a quick tutorial.
Include your first name and last initial at the beginning of your post.
If you have trouble commenting stop by 2207 and I can give you a quick tutorial.
2. Below you'll also find a copy of the letter I gave you on Tuesday.
Dear 2012-2013 AP English Language and Composition students,
During
the 2012-2013 school year Gloucester
High School will offer AP
English Language and Composition for the second time. Late in the winter of 2012 you chose to
take this course and now you have been accepted.
You may have said to your self, "What have I gotten into?"
Here's a short version of the fun ahead.
During the summer you are
expected to read All Souls by Michael
Patrick MacDonald, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
by Michael Pollan, Dogtown: Death and Enchantment in a New England Ghost Town by Elyssa East, and a book of
your choice. You will also be expected to keep a passage response journal for
each work, participate in three AP English Language summer sessions at Gloucester High School, post comments on the AP
English Language blog (apenglangghs2014.blogspot.com), and create an argument
web. (You will find out more about the web in during the summer.) This list is not intended to scare you off. However, I want to be honest and
upfront about the expectations. If you are seriously committed to reading, analyzing,
writing, researching, talking, debating, and thinking at a college level, I
promise that you will find the summer experience – and the course as a whole – to
be fulfilling and rewarding.
During each term of the school year you will
read several hundred pages, write a couple dozen pages, and participate in
several graded discussions. You are expected to be self-motivated and
genuinely engaged; and, since the goal of the class is for every student to do
well on the AP exam, it is important that you are willing to work with
classmates in small groups to analyze text and evaluate peer work. You will
learn from the texts, your teacher, and each other. To achieve this goal the
class atmosphere must be collegial rather than competitive, and you must do
your share of the work.
Please consider this description
of the course and make a decision about whether or not you are committed to
fulfilling the requirements of AP English Literature and Composition. Please
complete the "commitment form" (on the back of this letter) and
return it to me, Mr. James Cook, in room
2207 by Friday, May 25. If you have questions about any of the
expectations please stop by 2207. I am looking forward to getting to know you.
Sincerely,
Mr. James Cook
English Teacher
Gloucester High School