Learners following the Cambridge International AS Literature in English syllabus will study a range of texts in the three main forms: prose, poetry and drama. Set texts are offered from a wide range of different periods and cultures. Learners will develop skills of reading and analysis of texts, and are encouraged to undertake wide reading to aid understanding of the texts studied. They will learn skills of effective and appropriate communication including the ability to discuss the critical context of texts. Questions about the summer reading for AS Literature in English can be directed to [email protected]
Course Materials Needed:
link to assignment, various resources and pdf of this play:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O9NzY9VoarxjIyAvR0umoM3XwjDJOAec?usp=sharing
also copied below
2022 - 2023 AICE Literature 12th grade summer reading assignment due Friday, August 12, 2022:
For your summer assignment there will be three steps to complete.
In AICE English Literature, we always begin units by researching the author. It is important to build context and connections. When researching Tennessee Williams, you will focus on the following questions:
Part 2: The Journal
You will complete a handwritten dialectical journal as you read, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. You will be expected to make 5 entries in your journal per Act. Below is an article that details the elements of a dialectical journal:
How to Write a Dialectical Journal
By Scott Neuffer
The term “dialectic” stems from ancient Greece and the philosophers Socrates and Plato. They developed the dialectical method of reasoning through dialogue, questions and answers, and the continuous investigation of opposites to arrive at truth. In the classroom, this method can be applied to your journal writing. The dialectical journal is a way for you to explore your own thoughts and feelings in response to assigned literature. Hopefully, you arrive at a greater understanding of the text and yourself.
Journal Format
Create your journal by dividing the pages vertically into two columns. In the left-hand column, record passages from the assigned text and corresponding page numbers. You can title this column “Readings” or “Passages.” The column subheads can include the specific title and author of the work if reading more than one book. In the right-hand column, which you can label "Responses," record your personal reactions and insights to the text so they correspond with each selected passage on the left-hand side. In a true dialectic fashion, the journal should mirror your back-and-forth reasoning process.
Text Entries
Selection of passages for the left-hand column is entirely up to you and should be based on personal interest and appeal. Entries can be one sentence or a complete paragraph. The Madison County School District recommends searching for quotes that are significant, powerful, thought provoking or even puzzling. Passages may contain unusual vocabulary or effective metaphors or similes. They may reveal a pattern, illuminate a particular character or setting, or represent a plot twist. Perhaps most importantly, passages should appeal to you personally, whether reminding you of something in your own life or verbalizing something you’ve always thought.
Response Entries
Response entries in the right-hand column will also vary with your personal preferences and interests. Generally, they can take the form of questions and/or clarifications about the text, personal reactions, greater reflections on themes or characters, predictions on plot development, or even evaluation of the author and his or her implicit values.
Benefit of the Dialectical Method
Of course, you’ll only get out of a dialectical journal what you put into it. The goal of any dialectic is to develop greater understanding and reveal truth. Hopefully, the back and forth between the two elements in your journal leads to a third element -- a new understanding that didn’t exist beforehand. “By writing about literature, you make your own meaning of the work in order to truly understand it.”
How to Write a Journal Response
Kori Morgan
Journal responses are one of the few writing assignments that provide complete control over subject, structure and style. Taking a more personal, less formal approach to writing about literature, these brief papers offer the chance to respond to required reading in a way that fits your interests and learning style. Whether you're investigating an area of confusion or sharing a personal connection, journal responses let you use individualized writing techniques to help with understanding and appreciating reading assignments.
Don't Fear the Informal
While injecting your own thoughts and opinions into a writing assignment often is dangerous territory, using first-person point of view and describing personal reactions are key components of journal responses. Don't be afraid to discuss your emotional responses to the reading, personal experiences that mirror its ideas or ways you can apply its message to your own life and education. If you're responding to a short story, for example, you might compare and contrast yourself with the main character and show how your personal experiences helped you understand him better. The more honest you are in your reflection, the most useful the assignment will be.
Be Observant, Not Opinionated
While journal responses are more informal than most writing assignments, they don't give you license to spout your views without backing them up. Your journal response should reveal your thought process of engaging with the text more than just showcase your personal emotions and thoughts. Avoid stating how much you "liked" or "hated" the reading; instead, delve deeper by determining what specific aspects were powerful or unsettling. To take your reflections to a higher level, try examining how your opinions changed as you analyzed specific passages or researched the topic on your own.
Critique the Craft
Whether you're reading fiction or nonfiction, putting the author's writing style under a microscope can help you examine how the main theme or argument develops throughout the piece. Tone, description and persuasive techniques are all worth studying as you delve into the text. If you're reading a short story, for example, you might choose to analyze the story's setting and how the author uses imagery to bring it to life, while a journal response on an editorial might explore the author's strategies for getting readers to consider his position on an issue.
Ask Questions
While some reading assignments may present clear topics for journal responses, it may be harder to crack the surface of others. If an aspect of the reading confuses you, try using your journal response as a tool for answering your questions. You might pose your question in the introduction, then search the text for direct quotes that demonstrate how you think the author responds, creating a conversation between you and the text over the issue. As a result, your response can become not just a reading reflection, but documentation of your attempts to resolve your uncertainty.
Part 3: The Characterization
Choose any character from the drama and use the adjective list to assign 3 adjectives to your chosen character.
Write a well written analysis that describes the character by using the adjectives and evidence from the play to justify your response.
Consider the following points about your character when choosing your adjectives:
Course Materials Needed:
- 2” Binder for notetaking and accumulated resources. Students will use this resource as a demonstration of learning in the course. Because this course provides a staggering amount of writing resources and materials, a separate binder for the course is recommended.
- College Ruled paper for binder
- Tab dividers (5) for binder organization
- Highlighters (3 different colors)
- 1 ream of copy paper (copies will be made of texts and distributed to limit the cost to students)
- 10 pk of page protectors (to keep important reference handouts)
- Colored Pencils
- Blue or Black Pens per Cambridge guidelines
- Reading Text assigned by Cambridge from the course syllabus: Atonement by Ian McEwan (This text can be found on Amazon for $10.95)
link to assignment, various resources and pdf of this play:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O9NzY9VoarxjIyAvR0umoM3XwjDJOAec?usp=sharing
also copied below
2022 - 2023 AICE Literature 12th grade summer reading assignment due Friday, August 12, 2022:
For your summer assignment there will be three steps to complete.
- Author Research
- Read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams and complete a dialectical journal
- Complete a character analysis
In AICE English Literature, we always begin units by researching the author. It is important to build context and connections. When researching Tennessee Williams, you will focus on the following questions:
- Where is he from?
- What time period did he write this piece of text?
- What are some of his other credits? Does he write poetry, plays, or novels?
- What are the common themes present in his works?
Part 2: The Journal
You will complete a handwritten dialectical journal as you read, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. You will be expected to make 5 entries in your journal per Act. Below is an article that details the elements of a dialectical journal:
How to Write a Dialectical Journal
By Scott Neuffer
The term “dialectic” stems from ancient Greece and the philosophers Socrates and Plato. They developed the dialectical method of reasoning through dialogue, questions and answers, and the continuous investigation of opposites to arrive at truth. In the classroom, this method can be applied to your journal writing. The dialectical journal is a way for you to explore your own thoughts and feelings in response to assigned literature. Hopefully, you arrive at a greater understanding of the text and yourself.
Journal Format
Create your journal by dividing the pages vertically into two columns. In the left-hand column, record passages from the assigned text and corresponding page numbers. You can title this column “Readings” or “Passages.” The column subheads can include the specific title and author of the work if reading more than one book. In the right-hand column, which you can label "Responses," record your personal reactions and insights to the text so they correspond with each selected passage on the left-hand side. In a true dialectic fashion, the journal should mirror your back-and-forth reasoning process.
Text Entries
Selection of passages for the left-hand column is entirely up to you and should be based on personal interest and appeal. Entries can be one sentence or a complete paragraph. The Madison County School District recommends searching for quotes that are significant, powerful, thought provoking or even puzzling. Passages may contain unusual vocabulary or effective metaphors or similes. They may reveal a pattern, illuminate a particular character or setting, or represent a plot twist. Perhaps most importantly, passages should appeal to you personally, whether reminding you of something in your own life or verbalizing something you’ve always thought.
Response Entries
Response entries in the right-hand column will also vary with your personal preferences and interests. Generally, they can take the form of questions and/or clarifications about the text, personal reactions, greater reflections on themes or characters, predictions on plot development, or even evaluation of the author and his or her implicit values.
Benefit of the Dialectical Method
Of course, you’ll only get out of a dialectical journal what you put into it. The goal of any dialectic is to develop greater understanding and reveal truth. Hopefully, the back and forth between the two elements in your journal leads to a third element -- a new understanding that didn’t exist beforehand. “By writing about literature, you make your own meaning of the work in order to truly understand it.”
How to Write a Journal Response
Kori Morgan
Journal responses are one of the few writing assignments that provide complete control over subject, structure and style. Taking a more personal, less formal approach to writing about literature, these brief papers offer the chance to respond to required reading in a way that fits your interests and learning style. Whether you're investigating an area of confusion or sharing a personal connection, journal responses let you use individualized writing techniques to help with understanding and appreciating reading assignments.
Don't Fear the Informal
While injecting your own thoughts and opinions into a writing assignment often is dangerous territory, using first-person point of view and describing personal reactions are key components of journal responses. Don't be afraid to discuss your emotional responses to the reading, personal experiences that mirror its ideas or ways you can apply its message to your own life and education. If you're responding to a short story, for example, you might compare and contrast yourself with the main character and show how your personal experiences helped you understand him better. The more honest you are in your reflection, the most useful the assignment will be.
Be Observant, Not Opinionated
While journal responses are more informal than most writing assignments, they don't give you license to spout your views without backing them up. Your journal response should reveal your thought process of engaging with the text more than just showcase your personal emotions and thoughts. Avoid stating how much you "liked" or "hated" the reading; instead, delve deeper by determining what specific aspects were powerful or unsettling. To take your reflections to a higher level, try examining how your opinions changed as you analyzed specific passages or researched the topic on your own.
Critique the Craft
Whether you're reading fiction or nonfiction, putting the author's writing style under a microscope can help you examine how the main theme or argument develops throughout the piece. Tone, description and persuasive techniques are all worth studying as you delve into the text. If you're reading a short story, for example, you might choose to analyze the story's setting and how the author uses imagery to bring it to life, while a journal response on an editorial might explore the author's strategies for getting readers to consider his position on an issue.
Ask Questions
While some reading assignments may present clear topics for journal responses, it may be harder to crack the surface of others. If an aspect of the reading confuses you, try using your journal response as a tool for answering your questions. You might pose your question in the introduction, then search the text for direct quotes that demonstrate how you think the author responds, creating a conversation between you and the text over the issue. As a result, your response can become not just a reading reflection, but documentation of your attempts to resolve your uncertainty.
Part 3: The Characterization
Choose any character from the drama and use the adjective list to assign 3 adjectives to your chosen character.
Write a well written analysis that describes the character by using the adjectives and evidence from the play to justify your response.
Consider the following points about your character when choosing your adjectives:
- Personality
- Appearance and mannerisms
- Thoughts and motivations
- Dialogue that allows a character's words to reveal something important about his or her nature