<p>AP English III: Reading Seminars Letter</p><p>Parents and Students: </p><p>Students are beginning a project that will require them to combine to form opinions of their own about various subjects by exploring topics through reading. Students will be participating in one of four seminars that will be offered, and because I believe that interest and learning go hand in hand, they will be choosing which of the seminars they think will most interest or benefit them. </p><p>The seminars will involve reading two to four books, depending on length and difficulty; participating in three discussion panels relating to their topic; writing two papers, one analytical and one reflective; and most importantly thinking and assessing in order to make pertinent connections with the world around them.</p><p>The seminars are entitled Against All Odds, The Search for Identity, A Woman's Place, and Diversity in America. On the following page is a list of books that fall under each category. Since this is a topic that students will be spending much time on both in and out of class, I would ask that you and your child take some time to discuss which seminar would be most interesting and beneficial. You might even take advantage of the internet by going to sites like amazon. com which can be invaluable when trying to research books quickly. I have read most of the novels on this list, but I am depending on the expertise of other professionals for some of the selections as to the age appropriateness of the works. </p><p>Please make yourself aware of the contents of the books that your child chooses to read since you are ultimately responsible for what is or is not appropriate for him/her. In addition, this project requires students to work at a steady pace for the six weeks with very few "checkpoints" along the way to make sure that they are being responsible. Please join me in encouraging students to budget their time wisely so that this project will be successful for all of us. Students will have a syllabus detailing each seminar's deadlines and can explain to you how this project will be evaluated, but feel free to contact me with any concerns that you may have about this six weeks. Thanks for your continued interest in the progress of your child's success! </p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>Amy D. Sefcik [email protected]</p><p>Please sign and return the following: </p><p>I have read this letter and pledge to help my student successfully complete this year in English III AP by helping to select books and topics and by keeping abreast of his/her progress throughout the six weeks. ______Reading Seminar Unit: Grading For this unit, you will write two papers in conjunction with your reading, each paper will count as one major grade. Reader Reaction tickets, and Rhetorical Devices quizzes are minor grades. Here is the breakdown for your grade: 1st Six weeks: 2nd Six weeks: Reading and Discussion: 1- 2x minor grade Reading and Discussion: 2- 2x minor grade . 40 points from books . 40 points from books . 10 points for note cards for first . 10 points for note cards for second seminar seminar . 10 points for discussion in first . 10 points for discussion for second seminar seminar iSearch Paper: 1- major grade Reflection Paper: 1-major grade Reader Reaction Tickets: minor grade Reader Reaction Tickets: minor grade Rhetorical Devices quizzes: minor grade (2) Rhetorical Devices quizzes: minor grade (2)</p><p>Reading Seminar Unit: Papers "iSearch" Paper • Two typed pages Due Tuesday, Sept. 29 First, think about topics, issues, and events from your reading that you would like to know more about. Your "iSearch" paper will have five sections: 1. Present the Question. Write about the origin of your topic choice and why you want to know more about it. 2. Describe the Search Process. Write about how you conducted your research. Where did you look first? Why? What surprises, if any, did you encounter in your research? Did these change the way you approached your questions? 3. Telling What You've Learned. This is the "report" section. Tell what you have learned that helped answer the initial question(s). 4. Saying What It Means to You. Explain how this information helped you better understand the book you are reading (or have read). 5. Citing Reference Works. Use proper MLA Works Cited format.</p><p>"Reflection" Paper • Two typed pages Due Tuesday, Oct. 27. For your "Reflection Paper", reflect on the books that you have read this six weeks; write about any combination of these ideas: . What did you think as you read your books? . Did any books surprise you? . Did your books live up to your expectations? . Did the books open you up to any new ways of thinking? . Did your books remind you of anything in your own life? . What did you feel when you read your books? . Did you like your books? Why or why not?</p><p>To get full credit, you must be specific and document from the books about which you write! Organize this in a way that makes sense and shows thought. Tickets to Your Seminar The notecards will serve as your “admission ticket” to your seminar. If you do not have your notecards fully prepared, you will not be admitted to the seminar (grr ...).</p><p>That means you will not receive your points for the notecards or the discussion! In other words, these are VERY important. The good news is that they are not difficult to prepare.</p><p>You will need five notecards for each seminar. • THREE of the notecards will be prepared with the page number and the first sentence of a significant' passage on one side of the card. On the other side of the card, you need to write down either: A) a personal connection, B) and ethical or social concern, or C) something you found upsetting, disturbing, confusing. You don't have to go into too much detail, but remember these are ideas that you will be sharing with the group, so you must write enough that the ideas are clear to you during the discussions. • One notecard is BONUS (Yea!!). This will contain stylistic techniques from your book{s) that you find interesting or bewildering. • The final notecard will be blank, as it will be used during the seminar.</p><p>Seminars Your group will have three seminars, one during the first six weeks, and two during the second. You should have finished with at least one book by the time the first seminar rolls around. (Remember, you must read 40 points worth of books!) Seminar discussions will be asked to move into the big open space just outside the classroom door so that others may continue to read.</p><p>You will have the entire period to discuss what you have read. During this time you should: 1. Share your notecards. Go around the group, one at a time, and ask everyone to read one of their notecards. The group will then discuss what the person has shared. 2. Continue taking turns until either the class period is over, or you have all run out of notecards (four rounds!) 3. Your ‘blank’ notecard should be used to either: a. make note of something you found particularly insightful b. write down an idea or question for further research</p><p>Once the group has finished their discussion, check to make sure all group members are at approximately the same point in their reading, and that the original choice of the ‘next book’ is still valid. Seminar Books You and your group members should choose which books you will read and in what order during the first day of this unit. Group size is not limited; choose a seminar based on its inclusion of books you want to read.</p><p>AGAINST ALL ODDS Z is for Zachariah (5) Two Old Women (5) Inherit the Wind (5) Any Harry Potter (5) The Bean Trees (10) A Walk in the Woods (10) Digital Fortress (10) The Pleasure of My Company (10) The Lovely Bones (10) Nickel and Dimed (10) Nectar in a Sieve (10) Ender's Game (10) Angela's Ashes (15) Master and Commander (15) Seabiscuit (15) Cold Mountain (15) Into Thin Air (15) Over the Edge of the World (20) Sword of Shannara (20) A Soldier of the Great War (20)</p><p>THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY Rules of the Road (5) The Giver (5) Of Mice and Men (5) What Should I Do with My Life? (10) The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (10) Tuesdays with Morrie (10) Expecting Adam (10) A Gracious Plenty (10) Ishmael (10) The Things They Carried (10) Shades of Simon Gray (10) Speak (10) The Catcher in the Rye (10) Life of Pi (10) Siddhartha (10) A Prayer for Owen Meany (15) A Separate Peace (15) Slaughterhouse Five (15) My Name is Asher Lev (15) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (20) Robert O'Brien Velma Wallis Jerome Lawrence J.K. Rowling Barbara Kingsolver Bill Bryson Dan Brown Steve Martin Alice Siebold Barbara Ehremeich Kamela Markandaya Orsen Scott Card Frank McCourt Patrick O’Brian Laura Hillenbrand Charles Frasier Jon Krauker Laurence Bergreen Terry Brooks Mark Helprin</p><p>Joan Bauer Lois Lowry John Steinbeck Po Bronson Billie Letts Mitch Album Martha Beck Sheri Reynolds Daniel Quinn Tim O’Brien Joyce McDonald Laurie Halse Anderson J.D. Salinger Yan Martel Herman Hesse John Irving John Knowles Kurt Vonnegut Chaim Potok Robert Pirsig A WOMAN’S PLACE Welcome to the World, Baby Girl (10) Fanny Flagg Tara Road (10) Maeve Binchy The Color Purple (10) Alice Walker Having Our Say (10) The Delaney Sisters Reviving Ophelia (10) Mary Pipher Black and Blue (10) Anna Quindlen Ellen Foster (10) Kaye Gibbons Where the Heart Is (10) Billie Letts Herland (10) Charlotte Perkins Gilman In a Different Voice (10) Carol Gilligan The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood Rebecca Wells (10) Nectar in a Sieve (10) Kamela Markandaya The Secret Life of Bees (10) Sue Monk Kidd So Long a Letter (10) MariamaBu In the Time of the Butterflies (10) Julia Alvarez Reading Lolita in Tehran (10) Azar Nafisi Jane Eyre (15) Charlotte Bronte The Joy Luck Club (15) Amy Tan The Red Tent (15) Anita Diamant The Poisonwood Bible (20) Barbara Kingsolver</p><p>DIVERSITY IN AMERICA The Watsons Go To Birmingham (5) Christopher Paul Curtis Tunes for Bears to Dance To (5) Robert Cormier The Bluest Eye (10) Toni Morrison Black Like Me (10) Howard Griffith Hijas Americanas (10) Rosie Molinary A Lesson Before Dying (10) Ernest Gaines When I was Puerto Rican (10) Esmeralda Santiago Their Eyes Were Watching God (10) Zora Neale Hurston Living up the Street (10) Gary Soto The Color of Water (10) James McBride The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Mark Haddon Nighttime (10) The Color Purple (10) Alice Walker Nickel and Dimed (10) Barbara Ehrenreich The Joy Luck Club (15) Amy Tan My Name is Asher Lev (15) Chaim Potak Jubilee (15) Margaret Walker Snow Falling on Cedars (15) David Guterson Native Son (15) Richard Wright The Kite Runner (20) Khaled Hosseini Post-ethnic America (20) David Hollinger</p>