Advanced Placement English Blog Directions
Over the course of the summer, you have agreed by contract to read a number of books for our AP English class. Good for you! In correlation with this work, you will need to participate in a team weblog -- or blog -- where you will write about some open-ended topics related to your summer reading or to literature in general. Here are directions and information for this assignment.
First things first: your participation in this blog is your first assignment, and it alone will comprise 20 % of your first nine week's grade.
Second, you must participate in 6 out of the 8 weekly blog sessions. Each week there will be a different objective to fulfill. The sessions start the first full week in July and end near the end of August. I will begin each session with a detailed explanation of the week's objective and, very likely, an example of what I'm looking for. Weeks begin on Sunday and end on Saturday. The weekly dates and topics are the following:
- Week 1 – June 26 - July 2: Reflect on the most influential book in your life
- Week 2 - July 3 - 9: Comment on what Sparknotes says about a summer reading book
- Week 3 - July 10 - 16: Write 3 Poems inspired by a summer reading book
- Week 4 - July 17 – 23: Compare and Contrast the literary style of two authors of your summer reading books
- Week 5 – July 24 - 30: Relate themes in a summer reading to current political/societal events
- Week 6 - July 31 - Aug 6: Discuss and Explain Classical Allusions and Archetypes in a summer reading book
- Week 7 - Aug 7 - 13: Compare and Contrast two characters from different books in your summer reading
- Week 8 - Aug 14 - 20: Go back and comment on 3 other student postings
Third, now that you know what you must do in general, you must create a member ID to post to our blog. After receiving this document over email from me (my email address is: delacruz@dewittschools.net), you will receive an email from the blog service inviting you to join our blog. Please follow the directions in that email. You can make a user at blogger.com and reach our specific blog page at dewittapeblog.blogspot.com.
Those are the first few steps you need to take. I want you to do just 6 of 8 because it allows some flexibility depending on your summer schedule. Make sure you carefully read the explanation I will post at the start of each week. Aim for between 700 to 1000 words per blog posting. (To check word count, type using Word or Works, go to tools and then Word Count on the menu bar). Each entry will be graded on the following:
- Quality of Thought and Expression – The depth and detail of your analysis and how well you express/explain your assertions. How you use vocabulary, sentence structure, and examples.
- Length – Aim for between 700 and 1000 words per posting.
- Using Quoted Material Correctly and Citing it Correctly
You DO NOT have to write using the 5-paragraph form but should include some sort of introduction with an opinion stated as a fact (thesis) and a conclusion. If you have a question about anything I have mentioned, LOOK UP THE ANSWER! There are countless free sources of info on the web. I’ve found the following sites useful:
www.dictionary.com (Check out the language resources link)
There are other useful websites out there. The point is: be proactive, be resourceful, be the best you can be!
Want extra credit? Okay then, go beyond week eight’s 3 comments and comment on 3 more student posts. The comments should be at least 250 words long a piece. Print out the each comment and the post it corresponds to.
If you have any questions, just contact me. Have a fabulous summer and remember, a good attitude will make this seem like a whole lot more fun! Woo-hoo!
