CRAs Continued

Today, after a short discussion of the terms "literature" and literary merit" from the homework, we spent the rest of the period working on the CRA drafts students wrote yesterday. More with those tomorrow.

Tuesday

We opened the day by wrapping up our discussion of "The Three Lilies" and then spent the rest of the period on the assignment below.

The Close Reading Analysis Write-Up

1. Choose ONE element of Jan Neruda’s short story.
2. Write a single-paragraph analysis of the passage that reflects on this element and how it contributes to theme and/or tone. 

Your paragraph should begin with a clear statement of purpose (topic sentence):

• Through… Neruda examines… 
• By… Neruda explores…
• In “The Three Lilies,” Neruda seems to criticize…
• Neruda’s short story demonstrates how…
• Through multiple references to _____, both literal and metaphoric, Neruda explores how…

Support your assertion with copious examples/quotations from the story.
Each quotation or example should be carefully explicated to show HOW the example proves your assertion.

"The Three Lilies"

We began and ended the day with a look at Neruda's short story. In between we talked a bit about school pictures (Friday, 9/2) and the course description. More on "The Three Lilies" tomorrow.
New Due Dates:

• "Literature" and "Literary Merit" definition assignment at Moodle, 8/31
• Course Description Quiz, 9/2

Canaries and Phoenixes

Today we started with a review of theme focused on "A Canary for One," and then spend the rest of the day on Alexie's short story, "This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona."

HW (Re)Read "The Three Lilies."

Stuff and Hemingway

Today we made name tags, got new planners, talked a bit about the upcoming assignments and Macbeth, and then spent the rest of the period working with Hemingway's "A Canary for One."

New Due Dates:

• (re)Read "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona" 8/26
• Find, Print, Sign and Return the "AP Honor Statement" at Moodle 8/31
• Have The Awakening 8/31

And so it begins...

Today we spent the day having a look at William Blake's painting, Newton, and cleaning up a few loose ends about the summer work.

Part 4

Dear AP Lit Students,

A quick look online shows how industriously you have been posting to the Foster forums. I have read all of the first forum, and I am impressed at the range and level of insight. "Meeting" you this way is one of my favorite parts of the class.

As of yesterday evening, the final piece of the summer assignment (due the 20th at 12:00 p.m.) is open. Have a look and let me know if you have any questions. I hope you enjoy the stories I have chosen.

Finally, it seems time to make a note on late work. Some of you have not yet posted to the first Foster forum; it is not too late. Late work is better than no work both intellectually and as it regards your grade.

May this find you enjoying the last weeks of your summer and looking forward to the start of your senior year.

See you in person next week.

Mr. Staiano

Forums Due 8/8 and 8/15

Well, it's August already and time to, slowly, start thinking about school. By now you should have started Foster's text in anticipation of finishing sometime in the next couple of weeks. Your next two assignments are posted at the Moodle site (which most of you have successfully joined) and simply require you to post to two different discussion boards in response to How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Many of you have begun posting already, and I have certainly enjoyed reading what you have to say. Remember that with this forum, and all of them, the more you read and post, the more useful it will be.

And that's all there is to it. Have a look around and get to work on the Foster assignments. The final Foster assignment will be posted later this month.

Let me know if you have any problems with the website or otherwise need to consult with me. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Foster.

Enjoy August.