{"id":138,"date":"2012-02-17T13:12:16","date_gmt":"2012-02-17T18:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ijwi.net\/?p=138"},"modified":"2012-02-17T13:18:43","modified_gmt":"2012-02-17T18:18:43","slug":"intensive-journalistic-writing-courses-give-summer-reading-assignments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/?p=138","title":{"rendered":"Intensive Journalistic Writing Courses Give Summer Reading Assignments"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Intensive Journalistic Writing Courses Give Summer Reading Assignments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Alan Weintraut, the film study, print and online journalism teacher at Annandale (Va.) High School, is an Intenisve Journalistic Writing Institute participant and leader who developed a strong program. When Alan\u2019s AP English Language and Composition sections grew, Joy Korones\u00a0 teamed with Alan to teach one of the classes. Below is the letter their registered students received before school was out in June 2010. This is the first assignment of the 2010-2011 academic year.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Date: June 9, 2010<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>To: AP English Language and Composition students<\/strong><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>From: Mr. Weintraut, <a href=\"mailto:ajweintraut@gmail.com\">ajweintraut@gmail.com<\/a>; Ms. Korones, joykorones@aol.com<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Re: Summer reading assignments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First off, we look forward to meeting all of you on the first day of class! The course is officially called \u201cAP English Language and Composition,\u201d though the content has not changed drastically from when it was called AP Journalism. As you know, this is a rigorous writing course, and you\u2019ll need to complete some summer work.<\/p>\n<p>Please remember that this is a rigorous writing course, and students should be enrolled in the course only if they have:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Intellectual curiosity<\/li>\n<li>A desire to read nonfiction pieces<\/li>\n<li>A desire to write every day and improve their writing<\/li>\n<li>A proficiency in completing homework assignments<\/li>\n<li>A desire to work hard in an accelerated class<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Although next year is one of the last things on your minds, here is the overview of the assignments due <strong>on the first day of school. <\/strong>Of course, be careful not to leave them until the last minute. You must see your counselor to determine which teacher you have for next year. You will communicate with one of us over the summer about your homework.<\/p>\n<p>Please read all of the following directions very carefully\u2014the deadlines for a couple assignments are nearer than you expect. Please e-mail us if you have any questions, but be sure to <strong>identify yourself using first and last name<\/strong> in the heading of the e-mail so it doesn\u2019t get mistaken for Spam.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Assign. #1\u2014Novel Reading &amp; Written Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Choose a book to read from the list below:<\/p>\n<p><em> What Really Happened to the Class of \u201993<\/em> by Chris Colin (a TJHSST graduate)<\/p>\n<p><em> Outliers <\/em>by Malcolm Gladwell<\/p>\n<p><em> Freakonomics <\/em>by Steven Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner<\/p>\n<p><em> Three Cups of Tea <\/em>by Greg Mortenson<\/p>\n<p><em> Into Thin Air <\/em>by Jon Krakauer<\/p>\n<p><em> This Boy\u2019s Life <\/em>by Tobias Wolff<\/p>\n<p><em> The Hot Zone <\/em>by Richard Preston<\/p>\n<p><em> Kitchen Confid<\/em><em>ential <\/em>by <a title=\"Anthony Bourdain\" href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Anthony_Bourdain\">Anthony Bourdain<\/a><em> <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> Friday Night <\/em><em>Lights by <\/em>H. G. Bissinger<\/p>\n<p><em> Pilgrim at Tinker Creek<\/em> or <em>The Writing Life<\/em> by Annie Dillard<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve selected your book, complete a 3-4 page analysis of the book as a whole. <em>You must blend some criticism and personal reflection within your writing<\/em> to avoid a dry retelling of the book. You should consider the response to be more than just a \u201cbook review\u201d of your chosen book. The grade will be based on your critical thinking that is applied to the reading.\u00a0 Please include your personal responses to major sections of the book. You must answer some or all of these questions in the text of your review:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For whom is the intended audience of this work? Conduct research on sales figures, publishing house and critical reviews at the time of its publication.<\/li>\n<li>What were the cultural, political and social circumstances at the time of the book\u2019s publication? Elaborate with detail.<\/li>\n<li>How did the author\u2019s biographical and educational background lead him\/her to writing this book? What strategies of rhetoric and persuasion does\u00a0\u00a0 the writer employ?<\/li>\n<li>What entails good writing? <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Provide some direct examples from the book<\/span>, cite page numbers, and explain how those passages constitute good writing.<\/li>\n<li>How did you respond to certain passages of the book? How did you react personally? Why?<\/li>\n<li>What did book critics say at the time of the novel\u2019s publication? (Do not simply cite quotes from the back cover of the book. Do a little research.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Assign. #2\u2014Choose one of the following: <\/strong>Do some online research to learn more about these books (Amazon.com is a good place to start), and choose one to read. You will give a 15-20 slide PowerPoint presentation on the first day of class. The content will be the same as your written analysis. However, the only content you will need to provide is your PPT. Please refer to the rubric when you prepare for this assignment.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Professor and the Madman<\/em> by Simon Winchester<\/p>\n<p><em> Lies My Teacher Told Me <\/em>by James W. Loewen<\/p>\n<p><em>Year of Magical Thinking<\/em> by Joan Didion<\/p>\n<p><em> The Things They Carried <\/em>by Tim O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n<p><em> Devil in the White City<\/em> by Erik Larson<\/p>\n<p><em> Omnivore\u2019s Dilemma <\/em>by Michael Pollan<\/p>\n<p><em> The World is Flat,<\/em> by Thomas Friedman<\/p>\n<p><em> The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat <\/em>by Oliver Sacks<\/p>\n<p><em> Zeitoun <\/em>by Dave Eggers<\/p>\n<p><strong>Optional, extra credit assignment #3\u2014Reading of <em>Be True to Your School<\/em>, by Bob Greene<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Bob Greene is a famous journalist who was a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, and he\u2019s written several books, one of them about Michael Jordan. <em>Be True to Your School<\/em> is an account of Greene\u2019s life in 1964\u2014his junior year in high school as recorded in his journal. It\u2019s a first person, quick read and an amusing account of what high school was like the year the Beatles landed. You will be required to keep a journal throughout your senior year, and this book gives you a good example of what can happen when you are a disciplined, daily writer. Reading this book and completing a 3-4 page critical evaluation of the book will give you between 5-10 percent added to your 1st quarter grade. You will also have a simple \u201cbook talk\u201d with me about the novel once school has started.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DEADLINES\u2014VERY IMPORTANT<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You must e-mail your teacher with your selections by June 30<\/strong><strong>. <\/strong>We will approve your selections on a first come, first served basis.<\/p>\n<p>For your summer readings, you should buy the book so you are free to mark up the text as you read.<\/p>\n<p><strong>LAST WORDS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Enjoy your summer, but don&#8217;t delay in starting your reading. Feel free to contact me with any questions you have. The total value these assignments will have on your 1st quarter grade can be as high as 20%.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alan Weintraut, the film study, print and online journalism teacher at Annandale (Va.) High School, is an Intenisve Journalistic Writing Institute participant and leader who developed a strong program. When Alan\u2019s AP English Language and Composition sections grew, Joy Korones  teamed with Alan to teach one of the classes. Below is the letter their registered students received before school was out in June 2010. This is the first assignment of the 2010-2011 academic year. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lessons-and-models-free"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":145,"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions\/145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ijwi.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}