This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, January 28, 2013

Focus: Interpreting the task of Sisyphus in our world and Camus'

1. Announcements!

2. Indulging in a little Sisyphus-inspired writing...

Task 1: Imagine yourself as Sisyphus, straining to push the boulder up the mountain only to watch it roll back down again...for eternity.  Compose a brief piece of fiction (traditional prose, stream-of-consciousness narrative, poem, etc.) describing the uphill journey, the pause at the top, the trip back down, and the beginning of the next journey.

Task 2: Compose a brief piece of fiction as yourself. Try to think of something in your life that seems sisyphean...a day at school?  A particular class? An extracurricular activity?  A conversation with your parents or a sibling or a teacher or a friend?

3. Reading Camus' "Preface" and "The Myth of Sisyphus"  with an impromptu Socratic seminar

HW:
1. Finish your big question blog on The Stranger if you have not done so already.
2. Finish up your critical review book in the next few days.

This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, January 25, 2013

Focus: Forming thematic ideas about The Stranger

1. Announcements!

2. Warm-up: Perusing an eye-opening article about Camus

3. Brainstorming ideas about The Stranger in response to AP prompts from the past:

1971. The significance of a title such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is so easy to discover. However, in other works (for example, Measure for Measure) the full significance of the title becomes apparent to the reader only gradually. Choose two works and show how the significance of their respective titles is developed through the authors’ use of devices such as contrast, repetition, allusion, and point of view.

1973. An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

4. Adding The Stranger to your big question blog

HW: Finish your blog if you did not finish in class; take time to peruse others' blogs as well.  Also, aim to finish your critical review book by next Wednesday.  If you have finished your book, take a look at the guidelines and the sample essays posted on the class website.

This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, January 24, 2013

Focus: Working through larger thematic questions and statements in The Stranger

1. Announcements!

2. Warm-up: Agree, disagree, unsure

3. Final Socratic Seminar: The Ending of The Stranger

HW: 
1. Bring a laptop to class tomorrow (if you have one or can borrow one from a really, really nice person).

2. Try to finish your critical review books by Monday or Tuesday of next week so that you can start drafting.

This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, January 23, 2013

Focus: Shaping your brilliance to decipher the prose multiple choice question

1. Announcements and snack!

2. Warm-up: A few fun facts about multiple choice and AP scores

3. Giving you the rest of the answers for yesterday's passage and offering an opportunity for Q&A

4. Engaging your competitive side: A multiple choice contest...winnners take all.
Need more enticement?  View the menu!

HW: Finish reading The Stranger for tomorrow's Socratic seminar.  For your reading ticket, please pose one central question you think this novel asks, and explain whether or not the novel answers the question.  Please TYPE your response and bring in at least TWO PASSAGES from the text to support your ideas.

This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, January 22, 2013

Focus: Forging the bridge between your literary intelligence and the multiple choice question

1. Announcements!

2. Making peace with the prose multiple choice sections...a few suggestions and strategies

3. Meeting Cyril and Vivian and ringing in your answers (get your cell phones ready for this poll)

• What "giveaway words" are hidden in the question?
• How do you take down the "distractor" and pick the best answer?

HW: Prepare for our final Socratic seminar on The Stranger this THURSDAY; continue reading your critical review book (aim to finish in a week).  

This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, January 18, 2013

Focus: Interpreting Camus' imagery and structure in The Stranger

1. Announcements!

2. Warm-up: Sketching out the ending of Part 1 of The Stranger
What story do the images tell?

3. Socratic Seminar #2: The Stranger, Part 2 (Chapters 1-3)

HW: Please finish The Stranger by next Thursday for our final Socratic Seminar (this is a slight change from the original schedule.

This Seat's Taken: AP Lit, January 17, 2013

Focus: Analyzing voice in your critical reviews and The Stranger

1. Announcements!

2. Warm-up: Perusing sample a sample critical review essay and determining how to read your book

3. Forming questions for the hat of knowledge and discussing The Stranger, Part 1, Chapters 4-6 with the MMM approach (small groups)

žWith your group, discuss the MMM of each chapter and jot your ideas down in your composition book.

žMoment: Which moments in each chapter make you pause and why?

žMovement: Where does there seem to be movement?  Lack of movement?  Repetition?

žMultiple Meanings: Try to find a pattern among the moments and movements you have discussed.  Right now, your thoughts may largely be taking on the form of questions.

If you find your conversation getting stale, please grab a card from the bucket of knowledge.

HW: Read The Stranger, Part 2 (Chapters 1-3); for your reading ticket, please connect a specific passage back to one of the big questions from Tuesday's green sheet.