Class Blog Index for 2012-2013

Here is the basic introductory information for the two courses I am teaching this year.

For British and Western Literature (Periods 1, 3, and 5)
The URL for the blog specific to this course:  http://BritLit2303.blogspot.com
British and Western Course Syllabus

For AP English Literature and Composition (Periods 4 and 6)
The URL for the AP Lit and Comp blog:  http://APLit2303.blogspot.com
Course Syllabus for AP English Literature and Composition

Please make note of the blog address for your particular course. On these blogs I provide a brief overview of the day's activities, immediate homework and often reminders about upcoming assignments, links to necessary sites and/or Google.docs for selected hand-outs, and whatever else seems essential "for the good of the order."  Although I don't use the blog to announce otherwise unexpected homework (except for one first-of-the-year "check the blog" activity), I often use it to provide more specific details and to clarify questions about homework assignments mentioned in class.

The blogs are invaluable for students who are absent, but I expect all students to routinely "check the blog" every day.

Special note to parents:  You are encouraged to read the blog to stay current on what your student is/should be doing in our class. Sometimes parents have mentioned that they enjoy simply knowing what literature we're reading at the moment, because it can spark some actual "book talk" across the generations.
Please be aware, however, that the tone of the blogs is somewhat informal because I'm writing primarily to and for the kids.  Also, be sure to check the additional information below.

CURRICULUM NIGHT-
If you were unable to attend our IHS Curriculum night on September 13, 2012, I invite you to read both the "hand-out" of parent-night highlights for your student's course as well as the complete syllabus handed out to students.  Links to these documents (separate for each course) can be found on the course posting for Sept. 13, 2012.

I am looking forward to the upcoming school year.

Melanie L. Boaz
Email

WELCOME BACK!

Very soon, I will be setting up new blogs for each of my courses this year:  British and Western English (periods 1, 3, and 5) and AP English Literature and Composition (Periods 4 and 6).  I am looking forward to meeting all of you.  However, today I'm using the site that is linked directly to the IHS teacher web pages to communicate with the AP Lit students concerning summer reading.  If you will be in one of my British and Western classes, the following information does not pertain to you.  I hope you've been reading something of your own choice, however, and I will see you next week!

In the meantime, this is just a short follow-up to the spring hand-out regarding the summer reading text for AP Lit, W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge.  If you have not finished the book yet, no need to panic.  However, if you haven't STARTED it, it's past time.  Start.  Now.  Book not bought, borrowed, or ordered yet? Okay, now you can panic . . .

Your job is simply to read the book--carefully, thoughtfully, and completely.  Good reading generally entails marking points of special interest or curiosity, passages worthy of more leisurely analysis, elements that resonate with other works that you've read, or other elements that will support later discussion. That said, you are not expected to annotate cover to cover, and no grade will be given for whatever you do or don't write in your book or on post-it notes.  After school begins, however, you will be asked to annotate several selected passages; more on that later.

As you read, however, or in reviewing what you might have read much earlier in the summer, DO consider several aspects of the book:

1) How does it remind you of The Great Gatsby? Consider a variety of parallels (no hints from me) and do at least a mental comparison/contrast for particular criteria.  (Maybe even write down a few prep notes--for this and each of the following, your personal preparation is the key, not doing something for a grade.)

2) One of these connections is surely the narrative voice--give special consideration to the characters who tell the story--again, I don't want to list out exactly what you should consider, but definitely aim for a fairly thorough evaluation here between Fitzgerald's and Maugham's fictional narrators.  

3) Find three or four passages that you consider especially "rich" and worthy of a close reading discussion.  You'll be asked later to prepare a written assignment on one or two of these, but for now, look for several possibilities and simply write the page numbers (1-3 pages each) on a fly leaf or bookmark.

4) Consider minor characters--who is most interesting/important/compellling or otherwise especially worthy of our attention?

5) Consider that Maugham is British, but his characters in this book are mostly American.  And he places these Americans not only in the U.S., but also in selected locales all over the world.  Why?  What does he think of them?  What do we learn/deduce abut his OWN values and cultural expectations?

6) I could go on . . . but YOU pick one more thing that you could offer right off the bat as an element we should pursue.

Although I will probably give some form of very short assessment as early as the third day of school (Sept. 6th),  I will wait until Monday of the second week (Sept. 10) for the first significant reading check.  There will be 2-3 written preparation assignments, at least one short typed passage analysis, and an in-class timed essay using a prior AP exam question.  The work WILL count as part of the first semester exam, and we will refer to it from time to time throughout the year.

Other texts:  It is so close to the start of school that I am going to wait until I see you to give you the list of works you will need to provide--I have some commentary and suggestions that would be easier to tell you about as we go over the selections.   The school will supply the main textbook, Perrine's Structure, Sound and Sense, which contains abundant short stories, poetry, and drama.  Our early work will be confined to that text, the summer reading book, the personal essay, and other hand-outs you will receive.  Students will be responsible for several other texts each semester, but you will not need any other text until at least October 1. 

Enjoy the last few days of vacation, read The Razor's Edge, and I look forward to meeting you soon.

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