Theme of AP Lit

I am very excited to have 35 students in AP Lit this year. With two sections, we can mix up readings, discussions, and assignments accordingly.

To begin class, we left behind required paperwork and information. Instead, we started our collaborative environment by teams listing literary terms on the board, and we commenced our participation by having an informal q & a.

Then, the paperwork came back: discipline review, schools policies, the AP Lit syllabus (which still, mournfully, has our favorite Scottish play listed instead of King Lear).

To wrap up today's course, you received a list of AP Literature terms. For this list, you will either create flashcards or use a Steno pad to learn unfamiliar terms and add these to your analyses in class. Then, you have a glossary of lit terms -- there is an overlap -- to help you recapture forgotten lit terms and learn new terms.

Due Friday: Close read "The Birthmark" for literary devices, themes, motifs, and critical schools (Historicist, Feminist, Psychoanalyst, Marxist). You will use this close reading on Friday to compose a typed essay in class. This will be your "Summer Reading in 4 Days" assignment and provide a writing sample for the course.

*For those of you wondering about the ins and outs of close reading, we will do a few in class during the upcoming days to give you a sense of what you may annotate for literary analysis.

Last year's AP Lit was one of the best classes I have ever had -- the content, the discussions,  the parties, the random raps. I hope you enjoy our short stories, novels, plays, and poetry and that these literary marvels will inspire you to read more for your own enjoyment.

P.S. I'll start wearing the big heels tomorrow.