Dear Future AP US Students: My goal in designing your summer assignment was twofold. First, I want the assignment to enhance rather than diminish your enjoyment of the summer vacation. Second, I want you to get a vivid, detailed picture of some of the people or episodes we will study next year. To achieve these two goals, I’ve come up with the following idea: pick from among the many popular, high-quality biographies, novels, movies, documentaries, or TV shows that have been made about U.S. history. Then have a conversation with someone about it and reflect in writing on your conversation. Here are more detailed instructions: Step 1: Choose your book, movies, or TV show Begin by choosing your reading/watching material. You should choose either 1 book, 3 movies, or ​ about 6-8 hours worth of a TV series. Needless to say, you should choose material that you haven’t ​ already read or watched. On the back of this page, I provide a list of recommendations. You can consider anything on the recommended list to be “pre-approved.” If you want to read/watch something other than what I’ve listed, you must get written approval from me by email. If you choose something Rated R or TV-MA, you must have a parent send me a note giving you permission. ​ ​ Step 2: Discuss the book/movies/TV series Next, find someone who would be interested in talking to you for at least 30 minutes about the book you ​ ​ read or the movies/TV you watched. It could be a friend (including someone else in this class), sibling, parent, grandparent, etc. Your conversation-partner need not have read/watched the book/movies/TV that you did, but it’s cool if you pick someone who knows what you’re talking about! In any case, you might want to start by summarizing/explaining what you read/watched. Your conversation should be 30-60 minutes and can focus on any of the following: ● What you found most interesting or surprising in the book/movies/TV show ● What you found most confusing or unclear in the book/movies/TV show ● What questions you have after reading/watching ● What additional background you would need to better understand what you read/watched Step 3: Write a reflection on your conversation Once you’ve had your conversation, write a reflection of about 1,000 words on what you discussed. Your reflection should address the following questions: ● What ideas and/or questions did your conversation focus on? ● Did you and/or your conversation partner learn anything in the course of the conversation? ● What questions do you still have after the conversation? ● Has the conversation inspired any further research on your part? If so, what did you learn? Assessment Your written reflections will be evaluated on the following criteria: ● Did you take care to produce a piece of writing that is clear, well-organized, and proofread? ● Does your writing reflect some serious curiosity about the people and events you’re discussing? ● Do you include specific information/examples to illustrate your points? ● Do you have something interesting to say -- something that holds the reader’s attention? Due date Please submit your drafts via Classroom by 10:00 pm on August 20, 2019. Late work will be penalized ​ ​ up to 10%. RECOMMENDED TITLES BOOKS Historical novels: The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara; Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier; Whiskey ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Rebels, by David Liss; The Alienist, by Caleb Carr; Fever 1793, by Laurie Halse Anderson; The Secret ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. ​ Biographies/Autobiography (these tend to be long): Hamilton, by Ron Chernow; Grant, by Ron Chernow; ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Benjamin Franklin, by Walter Isaacson; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot; John ​ ​ ​ ​ Adams, by David McCullough; American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, by Jon Meacham; ​ ​ ​ The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism, by Doris ​ ​ ​ Kearns Goodwin; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, by Frederick Douglass (this one is short); ​ ​ Founding Brothers, by Joseph Ellis. ​ MOVIES Letters From Iwo Jima (R), 12 Years a Slave (R), Born on the Fourth of July (R), Lincoln (PG-13), All the ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ President’s Men (PG - HIGHLY recommended), Bridge of Spies (PG-13), Patton (PG), Flags of our ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Fathers (R), Glory (R), Selma (PG-13), Malcolm X (PG-13), Thirteen Days (PG-13 - highly ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ recommended), Charlie Wilson’s War (R), Miracle (PG), Good Morning Vietnam (R), 13th (TV-MA), ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The Fog of War (PG-13), Best of Enemies (Not Rated), Gettysburg (PG). ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ TV SERIES/MINISERIES Roots (one of the most-watched mini-series in TV history), Prohibition (Ken Burns documentary), The ​ ​ ​ ​ Dust Bowl (Ken Burns documentary), any documentary by Ken Burns, John Adams (HBO series - TV-14 ​ ​ ​ - highly recommended), Sons of Liberty (History Channel series - TV-14), Turn: Washington’s Spies ​ ​ ​ (AMC series - TV-14). .