American Literature Advanced Summer Requirement I Mrs

English 131: American Literature Advanced Summer Requirement I Mrs. DePietro (ldepietro@btcatholic.org), Mr. O’Connor (boconnor@btcatholic.org), and Mrs. O’Sullivan (oosullivan@btcatholic.org) What is the purpose? The summer reading assignment serves multiple purposes. First, it keeps our critical and analytical reasoning sharp. Summer reading also prepares us for the first weeks of fall semester when our teachers will use this material in class. What do I do? Print this document. (One-sided or two-sided pages are equally acceptable). Read the articles in sequential order, from first to last. As you read, annotate the articles in blue or black pen by underlining important material and by writing explanatory notes in the margins. Why do we annotate? Annotations document our reading experience. They act as a record of our deepening understanding of the material: our observations, insights, and commentary. Annotations are the way we have a conversation with the material we read. How do we annotate? We underline sentences we consider important in some way. All underlined text must be accompanied by an explanatory note in the margin. As we annotate, we record fully expressed ideas in the form of complete sentences, not shorthand that only we can understand. Consider these guiding questions as you annotate: ❏ Which reading material reveals something especially new to me about the Puritans and related topics? What exactly does the material reveal to me that I did not fully understand before? ❏ What connections can I make between the reading material and what I already know? How is the material related to my knowledge of religion, the law, politics, geography, the arts and sciences, psychology, and so on? ❏ What connections can I make between current events and the reading material? Is the material somehow relevant to what I see online or hear on the news? ❏ How do I react emotionally to certain passages? Where do I experience the emotions of regret, inspiration, sympathy, obligation, and so on? ❏ How is the reading material useful in some way? How might this information prove useful as I interact with the world and the people who share it with me? ❏ What are the implications of the reading material? How is the material important in some way? Why does it matter? ❏ What questions occur to me as I read? What questions might illuminate this material even further? Avoid summary! Your annotations should NOT summarize or state the obvious. Your annotations should document your ongoing conversation with the material. Use the guiding questions above to help you. The material includes footnotes. You should consider those footnotes part of the assigned reading and include them in your annotations as well. Page 1 English 131: American Literature Advanced Summer Requirement I Mrs. DePietro (ldepietro@btcatholic.org), Mr. O’Connor (boconnor@btcatholic.org), and Mrs. O’Sullivan (oosullivan@btcatholic.org) How will my annotations be evaluated? Please read the following rubric to better understand how your annotations will be evaluated: 100 -- These annotations are exemplary. Not only does the student consistently follow all directives of the assignment but the student executes them exceptionally well. The approach is tenacious, and the work reveals an uncommon reading ability. This student makes meaningful connections and observes things other students fail to see, and articulates it exceptionally well. 93 -- These annotations are strong. Not only does the student follow all directives of the assignment but he/she executes them reasonably well. The approach is persistent, and the work reveals an attention to detail. But these annotations lack some degree of sophistication found in the finest annotations. 86 -- These annotations are successful. While the student follows the assignment directives, some directives are more thorough and more developed than others. The approach is unbalanced; some annotations are more detailed, precise, or more perceptive than other annotations. The student might summarize, at times, or state the obvious, but generally the annotations are fruitful. 79 -- These annotations are limited. While these annotations are technically “finished,” the student does not follow all assignment directives closely enough. The approach is disorganized and unfocused in places. These annotations tend to summarize, state the obvious, or perform a superficial reading of the text. 72 -- These annotations are fundamentally lacking. While these annotations might include flashes of concentrated effort, they are generally marked by a lack of focus on the directives and a disordered reading of the text. The approach is haphazard. These annotations are marked by inconsistency or gaps in the reading experience. 65 -- These annotations are substandard. While some annotations exist, they are too unfocused, sporadic, or incomplete to present a thoughtful reading of the text. The approach is scattered. The teacher has reason to wonder whether the student read the assigned material. 0 -- Zeros are sometimes awarded for a lack of participation, submitting the work too far past the deadline to be reasonable, or some other serious flaw, such as academic dishonesty. It is possible for a student to submit annotations that are so sparse, so disordered, and so incoherent that they warrant a zero. Page 2 English 131: American Literature Advanced Summer Requirement I Mrs. DePietro (ldepietro@btcatholic.org), Mr. O’Connor (boconnor@btcatholic.org), and Mrs. O’Sullivan (oosullivan@btcatholic.org) TRANSFER STUDENTS As a general rule, students who transfer to Blessed Trinity on or after the July 4 holiday are not accountable for summer reading and are not expected to complete the requirement. These students, however, might choose to finish the assignment and will be evaluated in the same manner as their classmates. Students who transfer to BT prior to the July 4 holiday are responsible for the summer reading requirement. HONOR PLEDGE Keep in mind that we have an honor pledge at our school. As you complete the summer requirement, keep this honor pledge in mind: On my honor before God, I pledge that I have neither given nor received aid on this assignment. FIGURES AND ILLUSTRATIONS The following picture demonstrates the scope and expectations of the assignment. The images should give you a better idea of how to complete the three major parts of your annotations. Page 3 English 131: American Literature Advanced Summer Requirement I Mrs. DePietro (ldepietro@btcatholic.org), Mr. O’Connor (boconnor@btcatholic.org), and Mrs. O’Sullivan (oosullivan@btcatholic.org) Fig. 1: Note how the annotations are complete sentences aimed at underlined portions of the text. Also note how the annotations do not summarize. Page 4 English 131: American Literature Advanced Summer Requirement I Mrs. DePietro (ldepietro@btcatholic.org), Mr. O’Connor (boconnor@btcatholic.org), and Mrs. O’Sullivan (oosullivan@btcatholic.org) The following article appeared on the The organ and all musical instruments were website GPB (Georgia Public forbidden. Puritans sang psalms a cappella. Broadcasting), which is sponsored by The Puritans were strict Calvinists, the Public Broadcast System. or followers of the reformer John Calvin. Calvin taught that God was all-powerful and People & Ideas: The Puritans completely sovereign. Human beings were depraved sinners. God had chosen a few Like the Pilgrims, the Puritans were English people, "the elect," for salvation. The rest of Protestants who believed that the reforms of humanity was condemned to eternal the Church of England did not go far damnation. But no one really knew if he or enough. In their view, the liturgy was still she was saved or damned; Puritans lived in a too Catholic. Bishops lived like princes. constant state of spiritual anxiety, searching Ecclesiastical courts were corrupt. Because for signs of God's favor or anger. The the king of England was head of both church experience of conversion was considered an and state, the Puritans' opposition to important sign that an individual had been religious authority meant they also defied saved. the civil authority of the state. Salvation did not depend on outward In 1630, the Puritans set sail for behavior, but on a radical undertaking that America. Unlike the Pilgrims who had left demanded each individual to plumb the very 10 years earlier, the Puritans did not break depths of his heart and soul. This "Covenant with the Church of England, but instead of Grace" contrasted with the "Covenant of sought to reform it. Seeking comfort and Works," which stressed the importance of reassurance in the Bible, they imagined righteous behavior. Faith, not works, was the themselves re-enacting the story of the key to salvation. The experience of Exodus. Like the ancient Israelites, they conversion did not happen suddenly; it were liberated by God from oppression and proceeded in fits and starts punctuated by bound to him by a covenant; like the doubt, as divine power worked its way on Israelites, they were chosen by God to fulfill fragile human material. a special role in human history: to establish But it was not only individual a new, pure Christian commonwealth. salvation that mattered; the spiritual health Onboard the flagship Arbella, their and welfare of the community as a whole leader John Winthrop reminded them of was paramount as well, for it was the their duties and obligations under the community that honored and kept the covenant. If they honored their obligations covenant. The integrity of the community to God, they would be blessed; if they failed, demanded religious conformity. Dissent was they would be punished. tolerated, but only within strict limits. Arriving in New England, the John Winthrop understood that Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay people were bound to disagree and was Colony in a town they named Boston. Life willing to tolerate a range of opinion and was hard, but in this stern and unforgiving belief. But he also recognized that if dissent place they were free to worship as they were not kept within bounds, it would chose.

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