Picture Day!

We began the day with a short course description quiz (which we grouped scored and saved for future origami projects). After having our pictures taken and taking care of a bit of business, we were pretty much done for the day (though fourth period did have 10 minutes to wrap up our discussion of "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona").
HW: Literature and Literary Merit Assignment @ Moodle, Due 9/5

Poetry Books, Theme, & Alexie

We began the day with a review of theme, went to the library to get Sound and Sense, and spent a few minutes talking about Alexie's short story.

Tomorrow is picture day!

Planners & Gothic Grandmas

After distributing new EHS planners and collecting early honor statements, we spent the remainder of the period writing and talking about "The Children's Grandmother."
HW: (re)Read Alexie's "This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona."

Housekeeping & Day 1, Cont.

We began the day by creating name tags, then briefly discussed the course description. The rest of the period was spent discussing the painting from yesterday and starting our look at "The Children's Grandmother."
HW Find, Print, and Sign the AP Honor Statement at Moodle. Due 8/31.

The First Day

Today we spent our short period talking about grading and the summer work. We also wrote about and began a discussion of a painting that will be continued tomorrow.
HW: (re)Read "The Children's Grandmother," available here. I forgot to mention this in 3rd, so we'll read it together in class.

Forum Thoughts, Part 4, & Late Work

Dear AP Lit Students,

A quick look online shows how industriously you have been posting to the Foster forums. I have read and graded 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.

The second forum (due the 20^th) is also off to a good start; however, I wanted to clarify that for the second Foster forum, you should post a specific example (e.g. In the book Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, which I am currently reading, the character Florence certainly seems to fit Foster's definition of a Christ figure [chapter 14, "Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too"]) and then explain how your example works in some detail.

 

As of today, the final piece of the summer assignment (due the 24th at 3:15 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. Also, the counselors have informed me in no uncertain terms that they are not allowing students to drop AP classes this year, so do the summer work now and avoid digging yourself a hole for the start of the new semester.

 

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 very soon.

 

Mr. Staiano 

Summer HW Due 8/13 and 8/20

We are well into August already and it's time to, slowly, start thinking about school. By now you should have started Foster's How to Read Literature Like a Professor 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 Foster's text. 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 forums), the more you read and post, the more useful it will be. Please have a look at the grading rubric which is posted immediately below the forum for more details.

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 shortly, and I'll send an email reminder about a week before it's due.

As ever, 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.

Enjoy August.

PS Those of you who have already posted should be able to see your grades on individual posts. These grades, combined with the number of times you post, will determine your grade for the forum assignment as a whole.