• (Click here for a copy of the AP Seminar Summer Reading 2018 assignment.)

     

    BRANDYWINE HIGH SCHOOL

    AP Seminar Summer Reading 2018

     

    Students taking AP Seminar in the fall will read two books this summer and complete two assignments. Bring a hard copy of the completed assignments to class on the first day.

     1)  They will choose one of the two books for Brandywine’s summer reading for 10th grade and complete the assignment on a separate piece of paper or in a separate document.

     

     Entering 10th Grade

      The Help by Kathryn Stockett

      OR

      The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

      Assignment

    Assignment

     

    Answer the following questions:

     

    • Why is it important that a student your age read this book?
    • Identify the main characters and their traits (personality traits).
    • Identify character changes throughout the story.
    • Identify character flaws – What limitations, imperfections, etc. affect each character?
    • Identify the conflicts that the protagonist faces (internal and external).
    • Identify the setting (changes in, importance of, impact of).
    • What are some of the most important events that take place? Why are they important?
    • What is the climax of the story? Why did you decide that?
    • How is the story resolved?
    • Theme(s) – What do you think this book says about people or life in general?

     2)  The additional reading for AP Seminar this summer is Fahrenheit 451, which will be part of our first unit on technology. As students read, they should complete the quote analysis assignment looking for arguments Bradbury may be making.  Some possible arguments may be on the subjects of

    • Technology
    • Thinking / Ignorance
    • Rules
    • Relationships
    • Emotion / Indifference

    It is going to be very tempting to Google information about the above and what F451 says about those topics, but it will be far more interesting and meaningful for students to craft their own ideas.  They should try to find about fifteen quotes that seem  important in the novel (approximately five per section) and infer some argument that Bradbury may be making with that quote.  The attached chart gives an example of what you need to complete this task, including the speaker, the quote, the page number, and the meaning. Again, complete this on a separate piece of paper or in a separate document. Please, note there are no right and wrong answers.  It is more about support.  Do NOT copy this assignment from someone else or the Internet.  In fact, do not work on it with others--other than to discuss what an interesting book you get to read. 

     

    Remember that Bradbury wrote this in the 1950s! Come prepared to discuss how many predictions he made that were correct!

     

    Fahrenheit 451

    Quote Analysis Assignment

    Directions: You can copy this document if you want to hand write your quote analysis, or you may craft your own on a Google doc.  As you read, find  quotes in each section that seem meaningful to an argument the writer might be making.  Your goal is fifteen, which is an average five per section, but that is just a guideline.  Please, work alone on these (without friends or the Internet).  These will be due the first day of school.  An example has been done for you.  You might not know the arguments when you pick out a quote, but it could still be something interesting that might have significance later.  There will also be a reading test on F451. 

    Speaker

    Quote (page number)

    Meaning / Argument

    Clarisse and Montag / narrator

     

     

    “‘Bet I know something else you don’t. There’s dew on the grass in the morning.’

    He suddenly couldn’t remember if he had known this or not, and it made him quite irritable” (7).

     

    Bradbury is showing how in the future, the world is so fast-paced that people stop noticing all the little things, especially in nature.