AP Humanities

Dear Future AP Lang/Humanities Student,

Welcome to Humanities/AP Language and Composition! As a member of the AP English Language and Composition class, you will study and practice the art of rhetoric. Additionally, to enrich your perspective of the American experience, you will analyze American literature. The design of the course will be different from the structure of your previous English classes; however, if you embrace the challenges that the course aims to provide, then you will surely grow as a reader, writer, and thinker.

To prepare for a successful year together, you will complete the following assignment over the summer. You will submit this assignment on the first day of school.

Summer Task: Please select and read one nonfiction book (or play or collection of poetry) that captures the story of an underrepresented American voice. For the purpose of the assignment, we will adopt a flexible definition of the word “underrepresented,” but please strive to pick a story that broadens your understanding of the American experience. As you read, please complete a dialectical journal with at least 50 responses (details regarding the journal and success criteria are at the end of this packet). Please do not read a book that you've read before, or books that have been adapted into films. Be prepared to share your thoughts and reflections on the story in September.

We understand the summer assignment could be described as a challenge, but the challenge is exactly why you should cherish the opportunity to complete the assignment with pride and self-reliance. As teachers of AP Lang/Humanities, we love working with students who have a positive mindset about reading, writing, learning, and reflecting. We think this project is a great way to start the year with a little bit of all of those. We look forward to meeting you in September. In the meantime, please enjoy the beautiful sounds, sights, and smells of summer.

Most Sincerely,

Mr. Gary Baier Mrs. Lauren Romagnola

gary.baier@fairport.org lauren.romagnola@fairport.org

DIALECTICAL JOURNALS

The term “Dialectic” means “the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer.” Think of your dialectical journal as a record of the conversation you have with your text.

The process is meant to help you develop a better understanding of the interplay between a writer and a reader. Use your journal to incorporate your personal responses to the texts or your ideas about the themes. You will find that the journal is a useful note-taking strategy that will prepare you for adequate textual analysis.

PROCEDURE:

As you read, choose passages, claims, or insights that stand out to you and record them in the left column of a two-column chart that you create in your notebook (ALWAYS include page numbers). You may want to do this in a digital format that can easily be submitted to google classroom, which we will have. Digital submissions, therefore, will be the preferred, but not the only accepted, format.
In the right column, write your response to the text (ideas/insights, questions, reflections, and comments on each passage)
Try to categorize your responses using the following codes:
- (Q) Question – ask about something in the passage that is unclear or unfamiliar
- (C) Connect – make a connection to your life, the world, or another text
- (P) Predict – anticipate what will occur based on what’s in the passage
- (CL) Clarify – answer earlier questions or confirm/reverse a prediction
- (R) Reflect – think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense. What conclusions can you draw about the world, about human nature, or just the way things work? Which of your prior beliefs or understandings are exposed to you or even called into question?
- (E) Evaluate - make a judgment about what the author is trying to say

CHOOSING PASSAGES FROM THE TEXT:

Look for quotes that seem significant, powerful, thought-provoking or puzzling. For example, you might record:

Effective &/or creative use of stylistic or literary devices
Passages that remind you of your own life or something you’ve seen before
Structural shifts or turns in the plot
A passage that makes you realize something you hadn’t seen before
Examples of patterns: recurring images, ideas, colors, symbols or motifs.
Passages with confusing language or unfamiliar vocabulary
Events you find surprising or confusing
Passages that illustrate a particular character or setting

Your dialectic journal can respond to the text in a variety of ways. The most important thing to remember when responding to the text is that your observations should be specific and detailed. You can write as much as you want for each entry.

“Dialectical Journals .” Houston ISD , www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/16378/Pre-AP%2010%20Dialectical-Journal-Handout.pdf

Success Criteria

Examples and/or description of criteria

Excellent (100)

Decent (85-90)

On the road (75-80)

Yikes (50-75)

Depth of responses indicates that the writer reflected critically on the passage, its role in the text, and how this has shaped their understanding of the text and its message.

All responses demonstrate significant depth and reflection.

(E) This passage informs the reader about Abigail's characterization. It shows her to be capable of terrible threats and acts, which I believe will be important later in the play. However, this quote also offers reasoning behind Abigail’s somewhat sadistic personality. It gives the readers backstory on her character, and a traumatic experience from her past. Abigail watched her parents be brutally murdered during a raid, and that definitely caused her significant psychological damage. This new information gives Abigail’s character more dimension and provides the reader with some sympathy for her.

Mostly excellent responses with some responses that might lack some depth, reflection, or connection like this:

E. This quote is significant because it reveals the concept of witchcraft in the story. Betty cannot bear to hear the lord's name, exemplifying that she could be “influenced under Satan's control” which eventually leads us to the main idea of the story.

Many responses are limited or lacking depth and connection. Might look like this:

R) This brings in a deeper meaning of what witchcraft really is and expands the reader's knowledge. Witchcraft means being with the devil.

Responses are 1-2 sentences. Limited depth, reflection, and effort are present.

Q) This quote uses the word beguile in it, and I don’t know what that word means?

Diversity of responses draws from a wide variety of types/purposes. Notes are not over reliant on one type or style of note.

A wide diversity of notes is present, indicating that the reader has spent time interacting with and responding to the text in a variety of ways.

Some diversity is present, but the author might lean on one type of response or neglect to use 1-2 types of responses.

Some diversity is present, but there is a significant reliance on one type of response. For example, ⅓ of the responses are questions.

The responses are not labeled OR do not indicate to serve a certain purpose OR are only of one style or purpose.

Connections to other reading, learning, or life experiences are profound, thoughtful, and demonstrate a love for the pursuit of learning.

(C&Q)Here, Parris takes offense to Mr. Proctor's views and refers to them as Quakers, a religious group based in Pennsylvania starting in the 17th century. In AP American History, we learned that Quakers are very open, friendly and welcoming. They focused on gender equality, had good relations with Native Americans and had religious freedom. Why did Parris use ‘Quaker'' as an insult? Was it just because their views didn’t align perfectly with his? I think this might tell us something about the lack of inclusivity in Puritan Salem.

C) I remember learning about Quakers in APUSH. I think Parris’ statement that they “are not Quakers” in Salem is suggesting that they are not free-spirited and that they follow rules here. It’s interesting that Parris seems to view that society/mindset as a negative thing.

C) Quakers are generally known for being a very peaceful and tolerant group of religious individuals. They are open minded, and speak freely of their beliefs

C) I think Quakers lived in Pennsylvania. I wonder why Parris mentioned this.

DIALECTICAL NOTES MODEL

Dialectical Notes

Include the passage & page number

Respond using the categories listed above.

Please code your responses!

“You can’t buy your way into Major Junior A hockey. It doesn't matter who your father or mother is, or who your grandfather was, or what business your family is in … If you have ability, the vast network of hockey scouts and talent spotters will find you, and if you are willing to work to develop that ability, the system will reward you.” (17)

E- While I see what the author is saying here, I have to disagree. Although yes, you can't buy your way into the good hockey leagues, you can buy private hockey lessons and good equipment. You can buy things that give you a better chance at receiving more opportunities. So yes, it does matter who your father and mother are and what business they are in- because that is where the money to pay for your training comes from. The good players get good training and therefore get presented with more opportunities. Yes, you can still work really hard and try to give yourself the opportunity, but it is a lot easier if you have the money to do so.

“‘Lift up your heads,’ Robert Winthrop told the crowd many years ago at the unveiling of a statue of that great hero of American independence Benjamin Franklin, ‘and look at the image of a man who rose from nothing, who owed nothing to parentage of patronage, who enjoyed no advantages of early education which are not open- a hundredfold open- to yourselves, who performed the most menial services in the businesses in which his early life was employed, but who lived to stand before Kings, and died to leave a name which the world will never forget.” (19)

C - The story of Benjamin Franklin reminds me a lot of the story of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was born in poverty in the Caribbean and when he moved to the Virgin Islands his father abandoned their family and his mother had died. He started working as a clerk to support himself. When he came to America to attend college he joined the Revolution and rose to prominence as George Washington's right hand man. Hamilton is a true story of rising from nothing, similar to Franklin. They don’t owe anything to their parents and had to support themselves financially by working, but ended up with a very well known name in history, in fact, they are both on dollar bills. You really don’t get many stories like his anymore. Many people, especially political leaders now like to say the “rose from nothing” to make them seem more down to Earth, but nearly all politicians now come from a well off family who has supported them. Hamilton is a true outlier, truly working his way up to the top and becoming, in my opinion, one of the most well known political figures in America.

“Being a successful lawyer is about a lot more than IQ. It involves having the kind of fertile mind that Poole had. And just because Michigan’s minority students have lower scores on convergence tests doesn’t mean they don’t have that other critical trait in abundance.” (89)

R - I think us as a society focus way too much on test scores (IQ, SAT, ACT etc.) - because who is realistically going to succeed in our world: someone who is incredibly smart but has no social skills? Or someone with amazing social skills and a creative mind? Test scores can only take you so far. As it talks about later in the book, it's all about social skills and knowing the right people, and you can’t get to know the right people unless you have those crucial social skills and creative thinking.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

We thought it could be helpful to share some titles that we think could work well for our summer assignment. Above all, we hope that you pick a nonfiction book that interests you and captures the story of an underrepresented American voice.

Here is a list of books that could work well but that you are not limited to:

The Sum of Us by Heather McGhee

Educated by Tara Westover

Becoming by Michelle Obama

Forward: A Memoir by Abby Wambach

Maid by Stephanie Land

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs

An Unquiet Mind by Kay Jamison

Life on Mars by Tracy K Smith

From the Outside by Ray Allen

The Sixth Man by Andre Iguodala