Tag: APLit17

The Summer Assignment

AP LIT SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

Your task: Read deeply for meaning and complexity, and create a mature, sustained conversation about some aspect of the texts in the form of blogging.

READING

Your two assigned novels this summer are:

MUDBOUND by Hillary Jordan

Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (You’ll definitely want your own copy for the AWIR event at MHS!)

What makes this year’s summer reading unique is that you’ll have a chance to engage in conversations with BOTH authors. I am beyond excited about this important and meaningful opportunity. I will provide you with more details fall, but please know that I have chosen these novels purposefully.

*I recommend ordering both of these books from Amazon, but Books-a-Million will work for a few more dollars.

WRITING

This summer you will begin your very own AP Lit blog. Your blog will be an off-shoot of my (brand new) Edublog. Edublogs is a platform serviced by WordPress, so not only is it user-friendly and completely legit, but it uses all of the major elements of WordPress, which is a really good thing to know as you continue to advance your education.

You will be responsible for THREE POSTS.

Continue reading The Summer Assignment

#APLit17 on Twitter

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Confession: I love Twitter.

I actively use it to extend my professional learning opportunities, stay up-to-date, check in on a celebrity or two, belly laugh at King Henry tweets, and most importantly, connect with other educators. I shamelessly brag on my students, share what’s happening in my classroom, and participate in the weekly and beloved #aplitchat.

You are IN NO WAY obligated or required to create an account and “be on Twitter.” But if you are, feel free to follow me. To keep it professional and less-weird, I won’t follow you back until you graduate — an AP Lit rite of passage. 🙂

  • My handle is @karlahilliard, and I will Tweet all AP Lit related announcements, ideas, articles, photos, and reflections to #APLit17.
  • I encourage you to share your own thoughts and reactions and questions to your reading using #APLit17.

I thought I’d make this official and share my intent. I hope you’ll join in on the conversation and extend our classroom experience into the Twittersphere. Happy Tweeting!

Welcome #APLit17!

Dear Future AP Lit Students,

If you’re reading this letter it’s most likely because you’ve signed up for a rigorous, challenging, intellectually transformative class – Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition, which is a long, fanciful name for a course that requires a strong, get-your-hands-dirty work ethic. As I’m sure you already know, the work-load of AP Literature will challenge you, sure, but what I think is more important to tell you is the work you do will be rewarding.

If you have an eager and curious mind, and I know you do or you wouldn’t be here reading this, this course will help you to develop some heavy-duty literary skills. And by skills, I mean a systematic, utilitarian way of reading deeply and analytically, the ability to produce clear, elegant, and creative written responses to literature, and a cultural awareness of some of the greatest and most famous Literature-with-a-capital-L ever written. You will have the opportunity to grow intellectually and emotionally, and you will probably be able to answer a few Jeopardy questions along the way, too. It goes without saying that I am beyond excited to be teaching this course next year.

But before we get too rapt with excitement and possibility, let’s start with The College Board’s vision of AP Lit, yes? Here is an excerpt from the course description. You will, of course, get more specific and tailored information on your syllabus in the fall. Continue reading Welcome #APLit17!