Cranston Public Schools
029 12 AP English Literature and Composition
Required Summer Reading 2016
As a senior Advanced Placement English student, it is expected that upon entering the
AP classroom you are an active reader and are willing to demonstrate your reading
proficiency very early in the first semester and plan to further develop that proficiency
throughout the year. It is our hope that beyond helping you to sharpen your analytical
reading and critical thinking skills, this summer reading assignment will keep your mind
active and challenged while encouraging a love for reading.
Required Texts:
Frankenstein – Mary Shelley
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
Poetry – See Attached List of Choices with additional
Instructions
Assignment: You can expect to write at least one in-class essay in response to the
required readings. In addition, your teacher will create and assign supplementary
alternative assessments during the first week of school to further measure your
reading and learning.
To prepare for these assessments, it is recommended that you take detailed notes
regarding how specific literary elements contribute to meaning, focusing particularly
on the social and historical values presented. Some literary elements you may want to
focus on include: structure, point-of-view, style, tone, narrative voice, selection of
detail, and characterization. You may use these notes when you write your in-class
essay(s). You will need to have copies of all texts available for your use.
12 AP Summer Reading – Poetry Assessment (adapted from Ms. Stormont,
AP English teacher at St. Paul’s Preparatory School, St. Paul, Minnesota)
1. Choose at least five poems from the list below.
2. Read each poem closely and annotate thoroughly paying special attention to answering the
question, “How does the author use literary devices to create meaning?” Note that you will
need to find and print copies of each poem you choose to analyze. You may use the attached
graphic organizer worksheet to generate ideas.
3. Once you return to school, be ready to create either a short (4-5 minutes), online generated
presentation such as PowerPoint, Glogster, Google slides, Prezi, etc. or a written report
(teacher discretion) that informs your classmates and teacher of your analyses (see the
attached sample rubrics).
Your presentation/report should include:
a. Names and representative poetic movement of each poet and the titles of their poems
b. Hallmarks of the poet’s style (i.e. what was/is he or she known for?)
c. Copy of each poem with a brief discussion of how it displays the stylistic hallmarks
of the author and the representative poetic genre (metaphysical, romantic, Victorian,
modern, Harlem Renaissance, etc.). Be sure to discuss how the author makes use of
his/her genre’s characteristics.
d. Comparison and contrast of the style and themes of your chosen poems to one or both
of the required novels. After reading both novels and reading and annotating five
poems, include in your presentation how each piece treats a similar theme. That said,
you must choose your poems carefully to ensure that you will be able make some
connections among the readings. After all, the College Board wants to see that you
are able to read, analyze, and interpret a variety of forms and styles of poetry and to
make connections/comparisons among the works you’ve read.
e. a consistent control of the English language conventions and spelling.
f. a works cited page/slide if any sources were consulted.
4. Be prepared to answer questions from your classmates and your teacher about your
presentation and/or report. Over the summer, you should concentrate on choosing and
analyzing your poems as well as preparing your presentation. Your teacher will give you
additional criteria for the presentations/report, so there is no need to begin that process until
classes resume.
AP English Literature and Composition poems that frequently appear on the AP Literature Exams
John Keats: “Ode on a Grecian Urn”
Andrew Marvell: “To His Coy Mistress”
Wilfred Owen: “Dulce et Decorum Est”
John Crowe Ransom: “Bells for John Whiteside’s
Daughter”
5. Emily Dickinson: “Safe in their Alabaster Chambers” 18. William Shakespeare: Sonnets (Choose one)
6. John Donne: “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” 19. Percy Bysshe Shelley: “Ozymandias”
7. T.S. Eliot: “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
20. Wallace Stevens: “Sunday Morning”
8. Carolyn Forché: “The Colonel”
21. Dylan Thomas: “Do not go gentle into that good
night”
9. Robert Frost: “Mending Wall”
22. William Carlos Williams: “Danse Russe
10. Robert Hayden: “Those Winter Sundays”
23. William Wordsworth: “The World is Too Much With
11. A. E. Housman: “When I Was One-and-Twenty”
Us”
12. Langston Hughes: “Let America Be America Again” 24. William Butler Yeats: “The Second Coming”
13. Samuel Johnson: “To Sir John Lade, On His Coming
of Age” (‘A Short Song of Congratulation’)
1.
2.
3.
4.
Matthew Arnold: “Dover Beach”
Elizabeth Bishop: “In the Waiting Room”
Gwendolyn Brooks: “We Real Cool”
Robert Browning: “My Last Duchess
14.
15.
16.
17.
Summer Reading Poetry Presentation 12 AP
Sample Presentation Content Rubric
Name:________________________________________________________________________
Criterion
Comments
Includes names and representative poetic movement of each poet and the
titles of their poems
Points
earned
_____/10
Includes hallmarks of the poet’s style (i.e. what was/is he or she known for)
_____/25
Provides a copy of each poem with a brief discussion of how it displays the
stylistic hallmarks of the author and the representative poetic genre
_____/25
Offers a comparison and contrast of the style and themes of chosen poems
to one or both of the required novels
_____/25
Uses technology to enhance presentation
_____/15
Total Points Earned for Project Content:
_____/100
Comments:_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Summer Reading Poetry Presentation 12 AP
Sample Presentation Rubric
Criterion
Comments
Points
earned
Effectively and skillfully uses eye contact, appropriate volume and language, rate of
speaking, and posture, to present information with enthusiasm, poise and confidence.
_____/25
The student skillfully introduces the topic, maintains focus, and transitions between key
points.
The student skillfully presents information, findings, and supporting evidence, conveying a
clear and distinct perspective appropriate to purpose and audience.
_____/25
The student skillfully adapts speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a
command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
_____/25
The student skillfully makes strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio,
visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings,
reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
_____/25
Presentation Grade:
_____/100
Comments:_____________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
NAME:
TASK
Cranston School District
GRADES 11-12 INFORMATIONAL/EXPLANATORY WRITING: reports; response to informational and literary text; etc.
Students write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
Nearly Meets
Standard
2
Expectations
Exceeds Standard
4
Establishes context
and purpose W.1112.2a
The student effectively identifies a topic and
establishes an interpretive claim/assertion
in the form of a focus/thesis that addresses
the prompt.
The student clearly identifies a topic and
establishes an interpretive claim/assertion in
the form of a focus/thesis that addresses the
prompt.
The student identifies a condition,
situation, or issue that addresses
the prompt, but the purpose and
focus may be weak.
The student fails to identify a
condition, situation, or issue that
addresses the prompt, and may
not have a focus.
Effectively sets context (background
information).
Sets context (background information).
Sets limited context (background
information)
Context is missing.
If applicable, the student skillfully engages
the reader while establishing purpose with a
clear focus/thesis.
The student develops the topic thoroughly by
selecting a depth of the most significant and
relevant facts, extended definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and
examples appropriate to the audience’s
knowledge of the topic.
If applicable, the student engages the reader
while establishing purpose or focus.
The student attempts to engage the
reader, but is not successful.
The student does not engage the
reader.
Information may be lacking and/or
not accurate.
The student selects
inappropriate information.
The student references limited
texts and attempts to interpret text,
but interpretation or conclusion
causes confusion.
The student uses an organizational
structure that may cause confusion.
The student shows little or no
interpretation of the text.
Demonstrates
critical thinking in
order to develop
the topic
W.11-12.2b
Creates an
organizing
structure
W.11-12.2a ; W.1112.2c ; W.11-12.2f
The student references texts and uses
relevant and insightful citations to support
interpretations, thesis, or drawing
conclusions.
The student organizes complex ideas,
concepts, and information so that each new
element builds on that which precedes it to
create a unified whole; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and
multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
The student uses effective transitions to
clarify the relationships among ideas and
concepts.
Meets Standard
3
The student develops the topic thoroughly by
selecting the most significant and relevant facts,
extended definitions, concrete details, quotations,
or other information and examples appropriate to
the audience’s knowledge of the topic.
The student references texts or uses relevant
citations to support interpretations, thesis, or
drawing conclusions.
The student organizes complex ideas, concepts,
and information so that each new element
builds on that which precedes it to create a
unified whole; include formatting (e.g.,
headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and
multimedia when useful to aiding
comprehension.
The student uses appropriate transitions to
clarify the relationships among ideas and
concepts.
Below Standard
1
The student’s writing shows little
evidence of organization.
.
The student uses a few transitions
to clarify the relationships among
ideas and concepts.
The student attempts to provides a
The student uses no transitions.
Uses voice and style
to enhance
meaning.
W.11-12.2d; W.1112.2e
The student provides a pertinent concluding
statement or section that follows from and
supports the information or explanation
presented (e.g., articulating implications or the
significance of the topic).
The student provides a concluding statement or
section that follows from and supports the
information or explanation presented (e.g.,
articulating implications or the significance of the
topic).
concluding statement or section that
follows from and supports the
information or explanation presented
(e.g., articulating implications or the
significance of the topic).
The conclusion may be lacking
and the paper ends abruptly.
The student skillfully uses language that
clarifies and supports intent and establishes an
authoritative and academic voice.
The student uses precise language, domainspecific vocabulary, and techniques such as
metaphor, simile, and analogy to manage the
complexity of the topic.
The language is pedestrian and may
not establish an authoritative or
academic voice.
The student does not use language
that clarifies or supports intent or
establishes an authoritative voice.
Establishes and maintains a formal style and
objective tone while attending to the norms and
conventions of the discipline in which they are
writing.
Style sometimes becomes informal.
Does not maintain a formal style.
Establishes and maintains a formal style.
The student uses varied sentence length and
structure to enhance meaning.
Demonstrates
command of
written language
conventions
L.11-12.1 ;L.11-12.2
The student uses varied sentence length and
structure to enhance meaning.
The student does not vary sentence
length and structure to enhance
meaning.
The student demonstrates consistent control of
grammar, usage, punctuation, sentence
construction, and spelling.
The student demonstrates control of usage,
grammar, punctuation, capitalization, sentence
construction, and spelling.
The student demonstrates some
control of usage, grammar,
punctuation, sentence construction,
and spelling.
The occasional errors do not interfere with
meaning.
The occasional errors do not interfere with
meaning.
The errors may interfere with
meaning.
The student does not vary
sentence length and structure to
enhance meaning.
The student demonstrates little
control of usage, grammar,
punctuation, sentence construction,
or spelling.
The numerous errors interfere with
meaning.
SCORE
☐ Proficient
☐ Not Proficient