AP Chemistry 2015 - 2016 General Information Text: Chemistry, Steven S. Zumdahl (6th edition) Recommended Pre-requisites: (Honors) Chemistry, Algebra II, Pre-calculus or concurrently enrolled Summary of Course: AP Chemistry is designed to be the equivalent to University level chemistry for science majors. The topics include structure of matter, stoichiometry, chemical reactions, solutions, gases, thermochemistry, periodicity, chemical bonding, chemical kinetics, chemical equilibrium, acids & bases, electrochemistry, descriptive chemistry, coordination chemistry and complexes, nuclear chemistry, and introductory organic chemistry. AP Test: The AP Chemistry test is administered in May and is a product of The College Board. It consists of multiple choice, constructed response problems, equation writing and essay sections. Many colleges award credit depending on the candidate’s AP test score. The College or University determines what, if any, credit is granted and what scores are required. AP chemistry provides the student with a very strong chemistry background and will require University level work. This can be a very good learning experience for the well-prepared, well-motivated student. AP Chemistry will be one of, if not the most challenging course, that the student has taken up to this point. The students have been advised that there will be a great deal of work involved in this course, as this is the only way to learn chemistry to the depth required. Summer Work: As with many AP courses, the students will be expected to complete a certain amount of work, on their own, over the summer. This work will be a review of many of the topics covered in first year chemistry and is dependent on that knowledge base. The summer work required for AP Chemistry students is listed below. From Appendix One read sections A1.1, A1.3 and page A7.

Read Chapter One and do questions/problems page 32 #18-21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 31a,b, 41, 44, 49a,b, 50a,b, 56, 67, 74, 82. Read Chapter Two and do questions/problems page 75 #20-22, 24, 41, 42, 43a,b, 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 70, 71,82. Read Chapter Three and do questions/problems page 123 #19, 21, 31, 34a, 44a,d, 45, 46, 50, 51,52, 54, 67, 68, 79c,d,e, 80, 83, 84, 92, 100, 109.

Study Ion Formula/Charge Sheet – You must memorize the formulas and charges for all ions on this page. There will be a quiz on the first day of school.

Within the first week of school we will review and check the work from chapters 1 through 3 and that material will comprise the first test.

Students may email me during the summer if questions arise. I may be able to help with brief questions but keep in mind this work is review in nature and I cannot teach via email. I will reply as soon as possible but please realize that I will be out of town at times and may not respond immediately. gee_t@westcler.org

Common Monatomic Cations and Anions Cation Name Anion Name

H+ Hydrogen F- Fluoride Li+ Lithium Cl- Chloride Na+ Sodium Br- Bromide K+ Potassium I- Iodide Cs+ Cesium O2- Oxide Mg2+ Magnesium S2- Sulfide Ca2+ Calcium N3- Nitride Ba2+ Barium P3- Phosphide Al3+ Aluminum C4- Carbide

Common Type II Cations Cation Systematic Name Cation Systematic Name

Fe2+ Iron (II) Pb2+ Lead (II) Fe3+ Iron (III) Pb4+ Lead (IV) Cu+ Copper (I) Sn2+ Tin (II) Cu2+ Copper (II) Sn4+ Tin (IV) Co2+ Cobalt (II) Hg2

2+ Mercury (I)* Co3+ Cobalt (III) Hg2+ Mercury (II) Cr3+ Chromium (III) Ni2+ Nickel (II) Mn2+ Manganese (II) Zn2+ Zinc** Au+ Gold (I) Cd2+ Cadmium** Au3+ Gold (III) Ag+ Silver** *Note that mercury(I) ions always occur bound together to form Hg2

2+ ions. **Although these are transition metals they generally form only one type of ion, and a Roman numeral is not used.

Common Polyatomic Anions Ion Name Ion Name

Hg22+ Mercury (I) CO3

2- Carbonate NH4

+ Ammonium HCO3- Hydrogen carbonate

NO2- Nitrite (bicarbonate)

NO3- Nitrate SCN- Thiocyanate

SO32- Sulfite ClO- Hypochlorite

SO42- Sulfate ClO2

- Chlorite HSO4

- Hydrogen sulfate ClO3- Chlorate

(bisulfate) ClO4- Perchlorate

H3O+ Hydronium BrO3

- Bromate* OH- Hydroxide IO3

- Iodate* CN- Cyanide C2H3O2

- Acetate PO4

3- Phosphate MnO4- Permanganate

HPO42- Hydrogen phosphate Cr2O7

2- Dichromate H2PO4

- Dihydrogen phosphate CrO42- Chromate

C2O42- Oxalate O2

2- Peroxide S2O3

2- Thiosulfate *series analogous to chlorate

Glen Este High School 2015

Summer Reading/Writing Assignment (100 points)

Course: AP English Literature and Composition and College

Credit Plus

Teacher: Ms. Yarchi

Assignment Part I: Read and annotate (40 points):

1.) Select a text from the list below. The number

next to the book indicates how many times the text showed up on the AP

English exam:

(15) Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

(12) Catch-22, Joseph Heller

(11) The Awakening, Kate Chopin

(7) All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy

(7) Sula, Toni Morrison

(6) Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

(6) Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

2.) Read and annotate the text according to the directions that follow. All summer

assignments (Part 1& 2) are due the first day of school. The summer work will

result in the first grade for the course. Anything submitted late will drop one

letter grade per day. No work will be accepted after the third day. In addition,

late summer work typically is an indicator of course displacement. If you are not

prepared for the first day of CCP/AP English, then you may want to see your

counselor to drop this demanding class. If you have any questions, please email

Ms. Yarchi at yarchi_t@westcler.org.

Annotate The Text Directions: As you read, create annotations in the margins throughout 80% of the

book. The annotations need to reveal your thoughts about what you are reading. These

notes should be interesting questions, connections, ideas, or theories you have as a reader.

Look at the following examples for thoughtful annotations (as opposed to glib summary

statements). Thoughtful annotations might look like this:

Janie’s hair is mentioned a lot

– I wonder why.

Here’s the hair again

– Joe’s making her

tie it up – is he

jealous?

Janie frees

her hair –

symbol of

her own

freedom?

Tea Cake ran off with Janie’s

money – why does she stay

with him?

Joe Starks reminds

me of my father –

his way or the

highway. Starks

has more

charisma, though

Beseeching

– implore,

request

earnestly

Annotations might start with a summary or observation of what happened, but will

include some sort of question, challenge, or extension. Think about ways you can clarify,

challenge, visualize, connect, or define something that happens in the text. Please pace

yourself to maintain the annotations throughout the entire novel, even if it means making

more than 80% annotations. The purpose of the assignment is to help you track your

thinking. This is a skill we will use throughout the year. Your thinking doesn’t

automatically stop when you reach 80%---please don’t let your record of thinking stop

because you reached the minimum threshold.

FYI: No-Credit Annotations might look like this:

Please Note: While all of these are natural reactions sometimes while reading,

they are not the evidence of thoughtful reading I am looking for as I evaluate your

annotations. Commentary like How sad, or WOW! Might begin an annotation, but you

need to explain a little more (e.g. WOW! I did not expect Tea Cake to die).

Assignment Part II: Letter of Introduction (60 points)

Directions: Write a letter about yourself to your future CCP/AP

English teacher that follows the following format. The letter should

be typed and use 12-point Times New Roman font. The more

specific and the less general/ generic you are, the better. This paper

will also show me about you as a writer, so craft it to reveal your

writing style, as well.

Paragraph 1: The first paragraph tells me your name, your English teacher from last

year, significant English classes from the past and something that sets you apart from

others.

Paragraph 2: The second paragraph discusses your writing experiences. What is

writing like for you? Is it pleasurable or painful? Discuss types of writing you do in and

outside of school. When is writing exciting? When is it difficult? What are some of your

writing habits? What is the process you use? Has your process or habits changed over the

years? If I had a picture of you at home writing, what would it look like? What types of

writing (that you do) make a difference in your life? Can you recall sharing your writing

with friends? How do other people help or hinder your writing? Is there anything you

miss about the way writing is now as compared to what writing was like when you were

younger?

WOW!

WHAT?

This book stinks I’m

hungry

Paragraph 3: The third paragraph focuses on your reading experiences. What is

reading like for you? Is it pleasurable or painful? Discuss types of reading you do in and

outside of school. When is reading exciting? When is it difficult? What are some of your

reading habits? Have those habits changed over the years? What types of texts make a

difference in your life? What specific texts did you specifically like and/or dislike and

why? Can you recall sharing books with friends? What contributions have reading made

to your life? Is there anything you miss about the way reading is now as compared to

what reading was like when you were younger?

Paragraph 4: The fourth paragraph explains all the other quirky things about you and

your life that I should know. You could tell me your favorite movie, TV show, band,

candy, video game, cat’s name, etc. Tell me what you like to do, where you work, about

your family, etc. Include anything that your AP English teacher should know to help

better get to know you as a student.

Paragraph 5: The fifth paragraph explains why you chose to take CCP/ AP English.

Identify if you are taking this course for CCP credit or to take the AP English exam in the

spring. In your explanation, discuss at least three specific goals that you have for this

English course English. Again, please be more specific than “My goal is to get an A.” If

receiving an A is your goal, describe it in terms of how you will reach that goal (i.e. My

goal is to memorize every book we read in class, thus ensuring high scores on exams

which will lead to an “A” in English class).

Optional, but highly recommended reading:

Before beginning AP English Literature and Composition, it will be helpful for you to

have a strong foundation in the study of literature. A couple of books can help you build

on this as you start the year:

How to Read Like a Professor by Thomas Foster

Mythology by Edith Hamilton

The following works represent the range of literature suggested to write about on the AP

exam open response prompt. See any of the AP teachers for more information about

these books, or read the synopsis on a bookstore website or Amazon.com.

Most Frequently Cited 1970-2011

24 Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

19 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

16 Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevski

16 Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

15 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

15 Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

15 Moby Dick by Herman Melville

14 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark

Twain

13 King Lear by William Shakespeare

12 Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

12 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

12 Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James

Joyce

12 The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

11 The Awakening by Kate Chopin

11 Billy Budd by Herman Melville

11 Light in August by William Faulkner

11 Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zorah Neale

Hurston

10 As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

10 Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

9 Antigone by Sophocles

9 Beloved by Toni Morrison

9 The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

9 Native Son by Richard Wright

9 Othello by William Shakespeare

9 Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

9 A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

8 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

8 Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya

8 Candide by Voltaire

8 The Color Purple by Alice Walker

8 Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy

8 The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

8 A Passage to India by E. M. Forster

8 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom

Stoppard

7 All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren

7 All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

7 The Crucible by Arthur Miller

7 Cry, The Beloved Country by Alan Paton

7 Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

7 Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad

7 Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

7 The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

7 Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

7 Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

7 A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

7 Sula by Toni Morrison

7 The Tempest by William Shakespeare

7 Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

6 A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

6 An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen

6 Equus by Peter Shaffer

6 Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

6 Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift

6 Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen

6 Major Barbara by George Bernard Shaw

6 Medea by Euripides

6 The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

6 Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

6 Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

6 Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot

6 Obasan by Joy Kogawa

6 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

6 The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

6 The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

6 Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

6 The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

6 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

5 Bleak House by Charles Dickens

5 The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chkhov

5 Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

5 Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

5 Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

5 Hamlet by William Shakespeare

5 Macbeth by William Shakespeare

5 Mrs. Warren’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw

5 The Piano Lesson by August Wilson

5 Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

5 Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

5 Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys 5 Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor

May 21, 2015

Dear Advanced Placement Environmental Science Student:

I hope you are looking forward to a challenging and rewarding Advanced Placement Environmental

Science (APES) class this fall. You will find APES to be interesting, relevant, and thought provoking. Since

AP courses are taught at the college level, you also will find APES to require a consistent, high level of effort

on your part. Each week, you should expect a minimum of 5 hours of homework, cumulative vocabulary

quizzes and an essay question. Success in APES will depend on your commitment to the class and yourself.

Since APES covers a broad range of topics, we need to “hit the ground running.” Consequently, you

must review some concepts and content that you previously had so we may move forward. The areas that you

need to be up on by the first day of class are the basics of the lithosphere (the solid part of the Earth), the

atmosphere and the hydrosphere (the water part of our planet.) Below are the sections of our textbook, Miller

Living in the Environment, 16th edition (Miller LITE), that you need to read and the questions in the book that

you need to answer. When answering these questions, you need to write them in the following format:

Question number Letter of the answer Write out the answer, including enough of the question so the

answer stands alone (i.e., there is enough there for your answer to

make sense when you review it.)

For Example:

Chapter 2

1. A The annual percent change in population of striped bass from 1985-2000 was 7%.

There also are two Internet assignments that must be completed over the summer. Completion of this work

by the first day of class is required and there will be an open summer assignment quiz on the second

day. Completing the summer work will put you in great position to be successful in APES. The only students

to ever failed 1st Quarter did so because they didn’t complete the summer assignments. Be a part of the

successful group!

Topic Read These in Miller LITE: Answer

These

Questions:

Science,

Matter,

Energy

Systems

Chapter 2 (pages 28-47) AP Review

Questions 1-

14 on pages

49A-49B

The

“spheres”

Section 3-2 (pages 54-57) and 3-5 (pages 65-71) AP Review

Questions 4-

7 and 12 on

pages 76A

and 76B

Climate Section 7-1 (pages 141-145) AP Review

Questions 1

and 3-6 on

page 161A

Aquatic

Systems

Sections 8-1 (pages 163-165) and 8-4 (pages 174-179) No

Questions

Water

Resources

Section 13-1 (pages 314-321) AP Review

Questions 1

and 6-9 on

page 343A

Geology Sections 14-1 (pages 345-353) and 14-2 (page 353) AP Review

Questions 1-

5 on page

369A

Atmosphere Section 18-1 (pages 469-470) AP Review

Questions 1-

4 on page

495A

Basic

Chemistry

Supplement 6 (pages S39-S45) No

Questions

Basic

Weather

Supplement 8 (pages S47-S52) No

Questions

Internet

Activity:

Earthquakes

www.sciencecourseware.org/virtualEarthquake/ Click on

“Execute

Virtual

Earthquake”

to earn and

print (or

email) your

virtual

seismologist

certificate

Internet

Activity:

Geologic

Time

Go to:

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/education/explorations/tours/geotime/index.html

and do the “Understanding Geologic Time” activity

Write down

the 5

questions

and the

correct

answers at

the end of

the activity

In order to complete the summer assignment on time, it is in your best interest to “eat this elephant”

one bite at a time by dividing the reading and question answering into smaller “chunks”. Set a deadline for

each chunk and then stick to it.

APES is a course in which any student willing to put in the effort will be successful. Dedicated

students will be well prepared for the APES exam in May of 2016. I strongly encourage each of you to

consider your commitment to APES, make a decision, and if you decide to do whatever it takes to succeed, be

prepared for a challenging, fun year exploring and explaining the world around you. If you have any questions

about APES, please call me at 284-2764 or e-mail me at whitford_k@westcler.org. Have a great summer, and

I will see you in the fall!

Sincerely,

Mr. Whitford

Glen Este High School

AP United States History Summer Assignments

Textbook: United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examinatio (AMSCO)

Supplemental Textbooks: The American Pageant and Nation of Nations

Summary of Course: This course is designed to provide an in-depth study of United States

History from early colonization to the present day. Emphasis will be placed on factual

knowledge as well as developing the ability to analyze and interpret historical events through

the use of primary source documents, opinions of noted historians and various selected

readings. The ultimate goal of the course is to prepare students t o achieve a high score on the

College Board's "Advanced Placement U.S. History Exam" in May. This exam is required of

all students taking the course and will result in the student being awarded college credit if they

receive a passing score on the exam.

Evaluation: Students will be evaluated using a variety of methods including participation

in class activities, quizzes, chapter tests, homework, research projects, presentations and

semester exams.

Workload and Time Commitment: In order to cover the amount of material and the

development of the skills needed for success on the College Board's Advanced Placement

Exam, it will be necessary for us to cover one chapter per week. Students should plan on an

average of thirty minutes to 45 minutes of reading or homework each evening during the

week. Readings will come from both the main textbook and supplemental texts. It is

crucial that we keep up with the one chapter per week format in order for us to finish the

required material and to a l low two weeks for review before the Advanced Placement Exam

in May

Academic Ability: The AP College Board reports that the number one criteria for being

successful in an Advanced Placement course is not academic ability, but rather,

commitment and hard work. Success in this course requires that you

give every assignment your best effort. If you cannot do this, then

please do not take this course.

In this course you will learn more about United States than you ever imagined. Instructional

techniques will include lecture and note-taking, class discussions, oral and media presentations

and independent reading. A great deal of time will. also be devoted to acquiring and developing

the ability to write historical essays based on the analysis and interpretation of historical fact.

Summer Reading and Assignments: The following assignments are taken from the course

textbook: United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement Examination (AMSCO)

If you miss the summer assignment meeting on May 21, you will need to pick up a copy from the

Glen Este High School main office by the end of June. The cost of the AMSCO textbook is

included in your AP U.S. History course fee and the book is yours to keep.

Students are responsible for completing the following assignments by the first day of class on

August 20, 2015.

.

1. Read the introduction and Chapters One and Two in AMSCO.

2. At the end of each Chapter is a series of short essay questions. Please complete two essays of

your choice from each chapter.

3. Chapter one essays are on pages 19 and 20.

4. Chapter two essays are on pages 43 and 44.

Completed essays are due on the first day of class, August 20.

Summer Reading Assignment English I Honors

Part One - Read the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

Part Two (to be done at the same time as Part One) - Using sticky notes or writing on loose-leaf

paper, annotate (supply with critical or explanatory notes) the text for the following items:

1. Literary devices (simile, metaphor, allusion, etc)

2. Characterization (sections that help us get to know a character)

3. Interesting/ important events

4. Changes in characters as they mature

5. Examples of themes from the novel:

prejudice relationships superstition

gender bravery/cowardice education

class empathy/sympathy mockingbird

6. Personal comments

7. Questions/ Visualizations/ Evaluations/ Clarifications/ Predictions/ Connections

8. Your favorite lines or paragraphs that seem meaningful to the ideas of the novel

Regardless of whether you use post-it notes or loose-leaf paper, you will want to write the chapter

number and the page number at the top of each note. (Think of this activity as “talking back to the

book.”)

If you would like to type notes after you have created them (and label accordingly with

chapter numbers and page numbers), that is a welcome alternative.

We expect a minimum of 25 post-it notes with comments that reflect the above items.

Part Three - Additionally, you should make a note at the end of each chapter summarizing and

reflecting on the events of the chapter. Doing so will help you remember what each chapter was

about when we are discussing the book in class. Ways you could complete this part of the

assignment might be by posting a sticky note at the end of the chapter or writing it on loose-leaf

paper.

If you would like to type summaries/ reflections (and label accordingly with chapter

numbers), that is a welcome alternative.

Scoring – Annotations and chapter reflections will be assessed based on thoroughness of notes.

Did you annotate for items 1-8 listed above? Did your reflections show that you actually read and

understood the novel?

Point breakdown:

25 post-it notes (consider the eight items outlined in Part two) = 2 points each = 50 points

31 chapter summaries/ reflections 2 points each = 62 points total

TOTAL = 112 POINTS

Your summer reading assignment is due on the first day of school.

Summer Reading Assignment English II Honors

Part One – BUY and read the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles.

Part Two – Type at least 30 annotations (notes) for the following items:

1. Literary devices/ figurative language

2. Characterization (sections that help us get to know a character)

3. Interesting/ important events

4. Changes in characters as they mature

5. Examples/ ideas of themes from the novel

6. Personal comments

7. Questions/ Visualizations/ Evaluations/ Clarifications/ Predictions/ Connections

8. Your favorite lines or paragraphs that seem meaningful to the ideas of the novel

Number each note (1 - 30) and include the chapter number and the page number as these should

be in chronological order. (Think of this activity as “talking back to the book.”) You may have

more than 30 notes.

We expect a minimum of 30 notes with comments that reflect the above items (1 – 8).

Part Three - Additionally, you should make a note at the end of each chapter summarizing and

reflecting on the events of the chapter. Doing so will help you remember what each chapter was

about when we are discussing the book in class. (Do not use Spark Notes, Book Rags, etc….)

These summarizing / reflective notes should be typed.

Scoring – Notes and chapter reflections will be assessed based on thoroughness and

thoughtfulness. Did you consider items 1-8 listed above? Did your reflections show that you

actually read and understood the novel?

Point breakdown:

30 notes (consider the eight items outlined in Part two) = 2 points each = 60 points

13 chapter summaries/ reflections 5 points each = 65 points total

Typed and placed chronologically for ease of understanding 15 points

TOTAL = 140 POINTS

Your summer reading assignment is due on the first day of school.

If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Dohrmann (Dohrmann_m@westcler.org) or Mrs.

Schmidt (Schmidt_d@westcler.org).

Glen Este High School Summer Reading Assignment (100 points) Course: Pre-AP English Teachers: Mrs. Stautberg Directions: The focus of the Pre-AP English course is American Literature. Since there is so much excellent literature to cover throughout this course, you must read and analyze ONE novel during the summer. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Stautberg stautberg_k2@westcler.org. The novel you will read and analyze is: The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald Part 1: Marking Text as you Read (75 points) Directions: As you read each text, annotate the text (write directly on the pages) recording your thoughtful interaction with the story, characters, setting, theme, etc. Ideas for what you annotate are listed below:

o Question: Ask a question about a confusing passage (i.e. Did Gatsby know Daisy before he bought the house across the bay? Why does he always look across to the Green Light”?)

o Prediction: Make a prediction about what will happen next in the novel (i.e. I think Meyer Wolfsheim will foreclose on the Buchanan’s mansion).

o Connection to Other Texts: Connect a passage to another book, story, or movie (i.e. The 1920s setting reminds me of the movie, The Untouchables).

o Insight: Explain your thoughts on a specific theme, symbol, event, character or plot change (i.e. The author consistently mentions hands, a possible symbol of strength or willpower).

o Important Detail: Determine the importance of a certain detail about setting, character action, or plot development (i.e. that sign seems to always be there when the characters do bad things).

To receive full credit for your annotations, 80% of your pages should contain at least one annotation.

No-Credit Annotations might look like this: The objective in annotating a text is to hold evidence of thoughtful reading. Commentary like How sad, or WOW! might begin an annotation, but you need to explain a little more (e.g. WOW! I did not expect Gatsby’s father to show so much pride in his son).

WOW!

WHAT?

This book stinks I’m

hungry

Part 2: Letter of Introduction (25 points) - Directions: Write a letter about yourself to your future PreAP English teacher that follows the following format. The letter should be typed and use 12-point Times New Roman font. Paragraph 1: The first paragraph tells me your name, your English teacher from last year, your favorite school subject, the best book you’ve ever read, and something that sets you apart from others. Dig deeper than “I have three sisters.” The purpose here is to allow your teacher to see the person inside the body that sits in the classroom. Paragraph 2: The second paragraph discusses your writing experiences. What is writing like for you? Is it pleasurable or painful? Discuss types of writing you do in and outside of school. When is writing exciting? When is it difficult? What are some of your writing habits? What is the process you use? Has your process or habits changed over the years? If I had a picture of you at home writing, what would it look like? What types of writing (that you do) make a difference in your life? Can you recall sharing your writing with friends? How do other people help or hinder your writing? Is there anything you miss about the way writing is now as compared to what writing was like when you were younger? Paragraph 3: The third paragraph focuses on your reading experiences. What is reading like for you? Is it pleasurable or painful? Discuss types of reading you do in and outside of school. When is reading exciting? When is it difficult? What are some of your reading habits? Have those habits changed over the years? What types of texts make a difference in your life? Can you recall sharing books with friends? What contributions have reading made to your life? Is there anything you miss about the way reading is now as compared to what reading was like when you were younger? Paragraph 4: The fourth paragraph explains all the other quirky things about you and your life that I should know. You could tell me your favorite movie, TV show, band, candy, video game, cat’s name, etc. Tell me what you like to do, where you work, about your family, how many videos you’ve made with your friends using the “Harlem Shake” app. Include anything that I should know to help better get to know you as a student. Paragraph 5: The fifth paragraph explains why you chose to take Pre-AP English. In your explanation, discuss at least three specific goals that you have for Pre-AP English. Please be more specific than “My goal is to get an A.” If receiving an A is your goal, describe it in terms of how you will reach that goal (i.e. My goal is to memorize every book we read in class, thus ensuring high scores on exams which will lead to an “A” in English class).

All summer assignments are due the first day of school. The summer work will result in the first grade for the course. Anything submitted late will drop one letter grade per day. No work will be accepted after the third day. In addition, late summer work typically is an indicator of course displacement. If you are not prepared for the first day of Pre-AP English, then you may want to see your counselor to drop this demanding class.