A Quick Reminder

Dear AP Lit Students,

Just a quick reminder that the final piece of the summer assignment is due today. I have graded those that were posted as of this morning, and I must say so far the work has been very good. Don't forget you have to write about TWO stories. Also, it wouldn't kill you to read all four; you will soon enough in any case.

Enjoy your final weekend of summer.

Mr. Staiano

PS I am in need of a responsible TA any period but second, preferably 1st, 3rd or 6th. There are perks. ;-)

The Summer Assignment: Parts 3 & 4

As school rapidly approaches, a few things:

1) The first Foster forum was fairly successful. Though it was clear that many of you had not (and perhaps STILL have not) finished Foster's text, all but five of you posted to the discussion.

2) You may have noticed that we are having technical difficulties with Moodle. The techs and I are aware of it and it is being looked into. What it means to you is that many of the "Thoughts on Foster's Text" posts have simply disappeared, as have some of your accounts I think if they were created between sometime on 8/7 and sometime on 8/14. The good news is that I had already graded all those posts, so even if we can't find them, you get credit. I will try to grade the rest of the work pretty much as you post it so we don't lose anything else if this happens again.

3) The second Foster forum is due 8/19.

• Be specific! Talk about a concrete moment in a book, movie or TV show and explain how it shows Foster's point.
• When necessary (and it should often be), cite your source in correct MLA format (Google it).

4) The final part of the summer assignment is now available at Moodle. Read the directions carefully.

5) Protect against future Moodle collapse; type and save your work in another program and paste it into Moodle.

I do hope you are enjoying your final weeks of summer, and I apologize for the technical difficulties. As always, feel free to email with questions.

Summer Homework Update

I thought I'd address a few of your questions and comments, as well as a few of my own, with the whole group.

Foster

• You should be well into Foster's book by now. Don't try to read it all at once.
• Don’t expect to get all the allusions to other books. The examples are just to help you get his point.
• Read carefully and with tools (e.g. a pen, highlighter, sticky notes). Dialogue with the text—highlight AND comment on interesting or troubling passages, mark sections to discuss online or in class later, etc.
• Actually read it. Pretending to read it (or anything we study this year) is a useless exercise. It's like pretending to do push-ups: it won't make you stronger.

Moodle Discussions:

• It appears that most of you have successfully logged in to Moodle, and the first discussion forum is off to a good start.
• If you started the account creation process and haven't gotten the confirmation email, check your spam folder.
• Read the discussion board guidelines posted at Moodle.
• You may post a new thread or comment on an existing thread.
• Good posts do not have to be long posts. Long posts, like long-winded people, tend to inhibit conversation.
• How you craft your comments matters. Take care with your language, even if you are posting from a phone or iPod.

Don't hesitate to email with questions or concerns.

I'll post the final part of the summer assignment in a week or so. Don't worry. It's short.