Welcome+Letter

Dear AP Students:

Welcome to AP Literature! I look forward to a year of discussion and mutual learning of new perspectives on literature.

AP Literature is a freshman college level course in both Literature and Composition. To be successful in class, you will need a working knowledge of essay writing, analyzing literature and some basic research skills. The coursework is rigorous, but rewarding to a committed student. We move at a much quicker pace than the regular curriculum for your senior year, so you will have to work to prioritize your time and manage it well over the year. We are in a unique situation with the four-day school week. To be successful and complete the required assignments for the course, Friday workdays may be needed more frequently than during other classes. If you work at a scheduled job, please prepare for this possibility.

The two books listed below are part of the required reading for the course and it will be important that your summer reading assignment is complete prior to the school year. This will also keep your brain active and it will help you ease seamlessly into your senior year of high school. Reading these books will help you to understand the other reading requirements throughout the school year.

Our two novels for summer reading are __Frankenstein__ by Mary Shelly and __Walden__ by Henry David Thoreau. The copy of Walden that we have at the school includes his essay on Civil Disobedience, which I would also like you to read.


 * Please be sure to give yourself adequate time to read both of these novels.** Waiting until a week before the new school year will not be enough. You can find these novels at the school and you can check them out for the summer, or you may go purchase a copy from an online or used bookstore. If you purchase the copy for yourself, you will be able to mark it up on your own.

The projects for our two books will be due on the first full day of class next year (we may have a shortened schedule the first day of class). Make sure that you annotate your books while reading. Please see [] on how to mark a book. Using post-its or another sheet of paper for notes also works well if you are borrowing a school copy. You will need to complete a project on both books. Each project is worth 50 points (100 total) and is equivalent to approximately one letter grade in the class.

You will also be contributing in an online collaboration project at [] and you should have already been asked to be a member. There are three discussion questions on each novel, as well as a page for you to contribute to the space. Be sure that you contribute to the best of your ability to demonstrate the care you took in reading the novels.

If you have any questions concerning this assignment in the summer, please contact me at Samantha.walder@k12.sd.us or 605-783-5693.

Thank you!

Mrs. Walder