AP Summer Homework

RAHS AP Language Summer Reading for 2024:

Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran

 

Welcome to AP English Language and Composition! This will be an exciting and challenging class in which you will learn to read deeply and write well. Like the AP Language exam you'll take in May, we will focus on nonfiction and close reading. However, we will also read novels, poetry and drama. And you will write in many modes, from rhetorical analysis to historical research to personal essays and more. Although this is a demanding college-level course with required homework, challenging reading and rigorous assessments, your teachers will support all students willing to put in the work. Students will also receive assistance from classmates and may take advantage of after-school tutoring. Not everybody will get an A, but all serious students can succeed.

 

Summer reading, Part 1

To start the year, we are requiring summer reading. The book we have chosen is the critically well-received second novel by a Rio Americano graduate: Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran.

New and used copies of the book are readily available at stores and local libraries. This colorful and entertaining novel explores timely issue of immigration and family ways that make the readers think, without being didactic.

We are also excited to announce that Shanthi has agreed to join us on campus in August for a discussion of her book.

The only required writing for the book is to make a list of about 10 questions you have for the characters or the author. Also on the first Monday of school, bring a two-page letter attesting that you read and what the book made you think about. Have a parent assign the letter with a one-line handwritten note attesting that you read the book. We strongly encourage you to take notes on the book so that you can engage in text-based conversations about elements of literature, immigration, child welfare and other issues the book brings up. You will not be graded on your notes, but be ready to discuss the book in the first weeks of the semester.

 

Part 2

Each summer the New York Times Learning Network has a summer reading contest, in which students respond to articles and other items that appear in the Times. Students can submit a short essay (up to 250 words) or video (up to 90 seconds). This is a great way to practice writing and keep up with the kinds of topics that we may delve into in AP Language. Thus we want you to submit twice, responding to articles that were printed that week (stay current). We will give extra credit to anyone among the winners for any week, so you could submit more than twice to land a winner. Save a copy of your responses and submit them to a Google classroom assignment in the first week of school. Many Times articles have a paywall, but you can find many free articles on the contest page. Follow contest instructions exactly to get credit. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/18/learning/our-1Sth-annual-summer-reading-contest.html

 

Mr. Mahoney and Mr. Bearson