AP English Language & Composition
AP Language and Composition
2024-2025 - Summer Reading Assignment
Clarence High School
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any one of us:
Ms. Adams - cadams1@clarenceschools.org
Mrs. Bieler - cbieler@clarenceschools.org
Ms. Mroz - bmroz@clarenceschools.org
Ms. Rzepka - przepka@clarenceschools.org
Welcome to AP Language and Composition! You have chosen to spend your junior year working hard to become a better reader, writer, and thinker. Registering to take an AP class in high school proves that you are a dedicated learner and eager for a challenge. Because AP classes are designed to simulate college-level courses, the expectations and work load are heavier than in the traditional English classes you have experienced so far. Diligence and hard work in this course will lead you toward earning college credit on the AP exam in May. We look forward to a wonderful year together!
Your summer assignment:
- Read and annotate The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls;
- Create a double-entry journal to collect and record excerpts from the book (and your commentary)
relevant to the questions below;
- Be ready to take a test on The Glass Castle during the first week of school.
We strongly recommend that you purchase your own copy of this text so that you can easily annotate within the pages. You may also borrow a book from school and use post-its to take your notes.
An electronic copy of the text is also available here if you prefer:
As you read, you will be collecting passages that speak to the following topics (according to your birth month - see below). You should create a double-entry journal (either electronically or hand-written) with the excerpts from the book (with page numbers) on one side and your explanations of their relevance on the other. You should aim for 10-15 excerpts from throughout the entire text.
Some things to consider as you choose excerpts:
One purpose of this assignment is to encourage you to READ CLOSELY. The kinds of excerpts you choose will be quite telling about the depth of thought you are bringing to your reading. You need to find passages that probe the idea of the prompt, rather than just containing general references to the topic.
Some things to consider in your explanations:
Why is this excerpt important? How does it relate to the question? How does it relate to the book as a whole? Does it raise or answer any questions for you?
Example from The Great Gatsby
Prompt: Trace and collect passages about facades, masks, pretending, and “false fronts.”
Excerpt from text
- Then wear the gold hat, if that will move her;
If you can bounce high, bounce for her too,
Till she cry "Lover, gold-hatted, high-bouncing lover,
I must have you!"
—Thomas Parke D'Invilliers (preface)
Explanation of relevance
This passage is significant because it sets up a question that the reader grapples
with throughout the text: is it in fact necessary or wise for a person to reinvent
themselves in order to win the affection of someone that they care about?
The speaker of this poem seems to advise that it is NOT wise to be yourself,
but rather that you should pretend to be something you’re not in order to please
the person you care about. Wear a yellow hat and bounce around if that is what
she wants; hide your actual self and never take off your costume or act differently
than she wants. This advice is absolutely terrible, and the entire book shows
us how dangerous it can be to buy in to this mindset.
You need to complete ten - fifteen of these journal entries (handwritten or typed) from throughout the text in order to answer the appropriate questions according to the month of your birthday (see reverse side).
Directions:
If your birthday is in JANUARY: Read the epigraph by Dylan Thomas at the beginning of the book. Interpret the poem. Then trace its relevance throughout the memoir.
If your birthday is in FEBRUARY: Collect passages that both describe and speak to the children’s “education.” What can you infer is important to the family?
If your birthday is in MARCH: Trace and collect passages about fire.
If your birthday is in APRIL: Trace and collect passages about the role of religion in the book.
If your birthday is in MAY: Although Jeannette faces great hardship during her childhood, she also grows and matures as a result of her experiences. Collect passages/events that contribute to her growth and maturity.
If your birthday is in JUNE: Select Jeannette’s three most important character traits that allow her to escape from her impoverished childhood. Then find passages/excerpts from the memoir that illustrate the traits you choose. Be sure to label each quote with the trait.
If your birthday is in JULY: As teenagers, Lori, Jeannette, and Brian forge a strong sibling bond that was crucial to their future happiness. Choose passages that help to describe their relationship and help to show how they encouraged one another to persevere.
If your birthday is in AUGUST: Focus on Maureen throughout the novel. What is her experience of the family dynamic?
If your birthday is in SEPTEMBER: Trace and collect passages about hunger.
If your birthday is in OCTOBER: Characterize/describe Rex Walls. What perception about Rex did Jeannette leave with her readers? How are we supposed to feel about him?
If your birthday is in NOVEMBER: Characterize/describe Rose Mary Walls. What perception about her did Jeannette leave with her readers? How are we supposed to feel about her?
If your birthday is in DECEMBER: The title of this book is obviously symbolic. Choose passages that not only describe the “glass castle,” but ones that develop its symbolic significance for the family.