English III

The Things They Carried     O’Brien     Penguin Books     ISBN 014014773X

In the story Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong, Mitchell Sanders says the following about Rat Kiley’s story-telling:

Whenever he told the story, Rat had a tendency to stop now and then, interrupting the flow, inserting little clarifications or bits of analysis and personal opinion. It was a bad habit, Mitchell Sanders said, because all that matters is the raw material, the stuff itself, and you can't clutter it up with your own half-baked commentary. That just breaks the spell. It destroys the magic. What you have to do, Sanders said, is trust your own story. Get the hell out of the way and let it tell itself. (O'Brien 116)

A written response of two pages should focus on the following:           

How does the dispute between Rat and Sanders reflect O'Brien's approach to story-telling in the narrative as a whole? Be specific.

Writing as Readers

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Choose a particular theme, element, motif, conflict, symbol, extended metaphor, or juxtaposition that interests you and seems important to Kesey’s novel. You might even choose one particular scene that is essential to the action and conflict of the book.   Or, you might consider sociological elements such as gender roles, emasculation, race, social power, counter-culture, insanity, labels, etc.  Choose something in the book that interests you. 

For the first day of school, write a one-page informal response paper on your chosen topic.  This should not be a rough draft of an essay.  Try to make it be more observational and reactionary than argument-driven.  You should, however, try to choose a topic rich enough that it would benefit from closer study. 

In the early weeks of the school year, you will be developing and writing a full-length essay on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on a topic of your own design.  This response paper is the first step in that process.  It will garner feedback from Mr. Becker and from a peer that you will use to expand it to a formal essay. 

Other Gods and Other Monsters

True West by Sam Shepard Samuel French ISBN 0573 61728 7

A written response of two pages should focus on the following:

The first act of Shepard’s True West should recall Miller’s Death of a Salesman in that it proceeds along realistic lines and examines Austin and Lee in the context of heredity and environment. As the act draws to a close, the brothers seem poised to “evolve,” both individually and in terms of their relationship. However, the second act quickly diverges from this pattern and descends into increasingly “absurd” situations that lead ultimately to a stalemate. How does the conflict in form in Shepard’s play perfectly reflect the antagonistic relationship of its principal characters?

Strange Plays

A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Samuel French
ISBN 10: 0573608148, ISBN 13: 978-0573608148 

A written response of two pages should focus on Nora’s movement from ignorance to knowledge. In particular, students should consider how the protagonist’s attitude toward her husband changes over the course of the play. Students should also consider how Nora’s relationship with her husband recalls the unhealthy relationship between Biff and Willy Loman.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Choose a particular theme, element, motif, conflict, symbol, extended metaphor, or juxtaposition that interests you and seems important to Kesey’s novel. You might even choose one particular scene that is essential to the action and conflict of the book.   Or, you might consider sociological elements such as gender roles, emasculation, race, social power, counter-culture, insanity, labels, etc.  Choose something in the book that interests you. 

For the first day of school, write a one-page informal response paper on your chosen topic.  This should not be a rough draft of an essay.  Try to make it be more observational and reactionary than argument-driven.  You should, however, try to choose a topic rich enough that it would benefit from closer study. 

In the early weeks of the school year, you will be developing and writing a full-length essay on One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest on a topic of your own design.  This response paper is the first step in that process.  It will garner feedback from Mr. Becker and from a peer that you will use to expand it to a formal essay. 

Suggested Readings

ONLY AP COURSES have REQUIRED WORK(see below for AP French).  The following are merely SUGGESTIONS for interested students.

Appropriate for any French language students:  The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, or The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas. Furthermore, The French Way, by Ross Steele, offers and engaging and amusing look at the French culture, character, and language.

Rising juniors and seniors may consider such classic works in translation as Madame Bovary by Flaubert, The Red and the Black by Stendhal, or Germinal by Zola.

The following are suggested for students who wish to do some reading in French, according to their level of study: LES VACANCES DU PETIT NICOLAS by Sempé/Goscinny for rising level IV students; SUIVEZ LA PISTE by Emile de Harven (audio version – http://eloeffler.basd.k12.wi.us/fr/slp/) or LE VOL DE LA JACONDE by H. Zahler for rising level III students; UN ETE PAS COMME LES AUTRES by H. Zahler for rising level II students.

AP French

Students will receive a packet by early June with a cover letter explaining the grammar, reading and writing assignments to be completed over the summer. Please keep your books from this year and be attentive to due dates for the summer work.

History Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Recorded History, Samuel Noah Kramer. University of Pennsylvania, 1981  
ISBN-10: 0812212762 / ISBN-13: 978-0812212761.

Read introduction, chapters 1, 9, 14, 25. Instead of buying the entire book, you may purchase a packet with the assigned chapters at the Connecticut College bookstore.  Write a 1-2 page journal in which you discuss what you learned about the Sumerians and what you learned about how historians and archaeologists study ancient civilizations.

The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli. Although many versions are available, you should purchase the Penguin Classics edition (John Bull, translator, Anthony Grafton, introduction) ISBN-10: 0140449159 / ISBN-13: 978-0140449150.  Read Introduction and Chapters 8, 17, 18, 21, 23, and 25.

Write a 2-3 page typed reading journal. In your journal, comment on one topic from each of the assigned chapters and Grafton’s Introduction. This does not need to be written as a formal essay; we are most interested in your reaction to main ideas from the assigned sections of The Prince.

Rise to Rebellion, Jeff Shaara. Ballantine Books, 2004.ISBN-10: 0345427548 / ISBN-13: 978-0345427540

No written response is required. Be prepared to participate in a graded in-class discussion of the novel when school begins in the fall.

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War, Tony Horwitz. Vintage, 1999.
ISBN-10: 067975833X / ISBN-13: 978-0679758334

Write a short (2-3 page) journal response to the book.  Provide analysis and your own thoughts on the book, not just a general plot summary.

Textbook assignment: American History: A Survey (14^th ed.), Alan Brinkley. Glencoe/McGraw Hill 2009
ISBN 13 978 0 07 340695-4

Read chapters 1-2 and take notes on separate paper (maximum of 3 pages of notes per chapter).  There will be an open note quiz in the first week of school.  Note: if you buy a used copy of the textbook, make sure that it has little or no underlining/highlighting. 

The Undercover Economist, Tim Harford. Random House, 2007. ISBN-10: 0345494016 ISBN-13: 978-0345494016

Write a short (2-3 page) journal response to the book.  Provide analysis and your own thoughts on the book, not just a general plot summary.

Martin Luther King, Jr., Marshall Frady. Viking/Penguin Lives, 2005
ISBN-10: 0143036483 / ISBN-13: 978-0143036487

Read the biography over the summer; a journal will be assigned once the school year begins.

The Search for Major Plagge: The Nazi Who Saved Jews, Michael Good. Fordham U P, 2006
ISBN-10: 0823224414  ISBN-13: 978-0823224418

Write a short (2-3 page) journal response to the book.  Provide analysis and your own thoughts on the book, not just a general plot summary.

Write a 2-3 page essay in which you:
1. Identify and explain the themes and events within the play that are specific to African Americans.
2. Identify and explain the themes and events within the play that are common to most families.

In preparation for AP Latin, students should read Julius Caesar's Gallic Wars (also sometimes called The Conquest of Gaul) and Vergil's Aeneid in English.  

Any translation will do, however the Penguin Classics edition of The Conquest of Gaul, ISBN-13 978-0140444339 and Fagles' translation of the Aeneid, ISBN 978-0143106296 are recommended. Both of these are available in paperback and electronically for the Nook and Kindle.

Suggested Reading

The Classics Department also recommends a number of interesting books to read that concern the Classics for students or adults who are interested. Titles include:

• Robert Harris's novels Pompeii, Imperium, and Conspirata (especially for CLIII and CLIV students)
• For lovers of literary novels:  Achilles: A Novel by Elizabeth Cook, The Dream of Scipio by Ian Pears, The Love Artist by Jane Alison, The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder, and Lavinia by Ursula LeGuin.
• On the lighter side:  Lindsey Davis's Marcus Didius Falco Mysteries or Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series - two ancient private eyes.
• For younger readers: books by Rosemary Sutcliff and Caroline Lawrence
• Mythology:  D'aulaire's Book of Greek Myths is good for young readers

From Prerequisites Chapter Pages 1 – 60

Also Refer to Appendix Pages 843 – 861

Page 60 #3 – 7 all, 13 – 36 all, 37 – 58 all (follow directions as to methods of solution), 60 – 70 even, 71.

AP Calculus

From Chapter 1 (Prerequisites for Calculus) – Chapter Review

Page 56 #1 – 18 all, 21 – 36 by 3, 38 – 41 all, 46b, 47b, 53, 55 – 70 all

Use your TI graphing calculator frequently on many of these problems so you are once again comfortable with your TI.

Download Dr. Tyler's assignment sheet

Download "Useful Greek and Latin Word Roots" 

Download CSE Name-Year Citation Guidelines 

All Spanish Courses

Suggested Readings

The following are merely SUGGESTIONS for interested students.

The following works are appropriate for Upper-School students: MIRACLE IN SEVILLE by James Michener, WHEN I WAS PUERTO RICAN and ALMOST A WOMAN by Esmeralda Santiago, FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS by Ernest Hemingway, and WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA by Carlos Eire.

For advanced students (entering level four or higher), Santiago’s books are available in Spanish: CUANDO ERA PUERTORRIQUEÑA and CASI UNA MUJER. Advanced students may enjoy reading a HARRY POTTER book in Spanish, such as LA PIEDRA FILOSOFAL, the first of the series.  Also recommended is LA TESIS DE NANCY by Ramón Sender for an amusing look at the Spanish language and culture through the eyes of a young American studying in Spain.