Welcome to AP Language and Composition!
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There is a summer reading and homework assignment! By receiving this note, I’m
writing it down that you are aware of your responsibilities—consider this your AP
Language & Composition subpoena! Please understand that this work is mandatory—no
exceptions. Last moment / rushed / incomplete work = shoddy grade. THIS WORK IS
DUE THE SECOND DAY OF CLASS! LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
And yes, I look forward to getting to know you and working with you to enjoy literature.
PART ONE: Required Text
Read Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild. If you need a copy of the book, please drop
by Mr. Heberlein’s room (room NW 224) to check one out for the summer. HOWEVER,
it is highly encouraged that you buy a copy of the book for yourself; in this way, you can
write in the book and/or highlight important parts. In relationship to this text, a 5-page
research paper will be assigned at the start of school. You will then be required to keep a
Dialectic Journal. This should be typed. Select one quote or brief passage from each
chapter, excluding the quotes and passages Krakauer utilizes as pre-chapter introductions
to his chapters; in other words, if they’re not by Krakauer himself, then you can’t use
them. The process: write down the quote/passage word-for-word and include the page
number. Next, address how/why the quote relates to a theme or character or plot
element. It’s acceptable to re-use themes and characters but try to diversify your choices
as much as possible.
So, for the record…
●Write down what you believe is an important sentence OR brief passage—include the
page number(s) after each quote!
●Write a response explaining how or why or in what way the quote is significant AND
how it relates to a theme or character or plot element. Diversify theme and character
choices when possible.
●One quote and response per chapter is the minimum requirement; additional Dialectic
Journal entries are encouraged.
PART TWO: Vocabulary Log
Create a HAND-WRITTEN log of 50 words that you discover from reading,
conversation, and observation. The reason this part of your homework needs to be handwritten is so that you have a greater chance of remembering what these words mean. We
will have a vocabulary assignment that relates to this vocabulary assignment. Some of
these words can be known to you, but—if they are—they need to be recognized as
challenging. Historical references and allusions are acceptable. For each word:
•Identify the part of speech (noun, verb, adverb, etc.).
•Provide its prominent definition (make sure it matches the way it was originally used).
•Write an original sentence using that word—feel free to conjugate.
•Cite where you discovered/heard/observed that word. BE PRECISE WITH WHERE
YOU DISCOVERED THE WORD! If from a written work, note the title and author of
the work, the page number of where the word can be found, and reproduce the
sentence. Conversation? Note who was involved and the context of the dialogue.
Observation? Where did you hear/see the word? From a movie? Television program?
Billboard? Again, please explain the context in which the word was used.
PART THREE: Read an Autobiography/Biography/Nonfiction Novel of Your Choice!
This book should be significant—no shorter pieces. Minimum of 150 pages,
please. Need a recommendation? Feel free to select one from the list below. The titles
that have an “*” by the author’s name can be checked out by me. Again, I’d encourage
you to buy your own copy.
•You will be expected to have a “Book Talk” with me; this will be scheduled once the
school year has started. I suggest that you also complete a dialectic journal (see part 1
above) for this book.
Recommendations:
Author
Title
Aaron, Hank
Adams, Ansel
Adams, Henry
Angelou, Maya
Ashe, Arthur
Bird, Larry
Black Elk
Bradley, Bill
Brave Bird, Mary
Burch, Jennings
*Capote, Truman
Conway, Jill K.
Duncan, Lois
Feynman, Richard
I Had a Hammer
Ansel Adams, an autobiography
The Education of Henry Adams
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Days of Grace: A Memoir
Drive: The Story of My Life
Black Elk Speaks
Time Present, Time Past
Lakota Woman
They Cage the Animals at Night
In Cold Blood
The Road From Coorain
Chapters: My Growth As a Writer
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman: Adventures of
a Curious Character
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
All Men Are Brothers: Life and Thoughts of
Mahatma Gandhi As Told In His Own Words
Through a Window
Death Be Not Proud
Bound for Glory
Woody Guthrie: A Life
To be Young, Gifted, and Black
Act One: An Autobiography
Three
A Moveable Feast
All Creatures and Small [this is a series]
Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and
Declarations of Independence
Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood
Farewell to Manzanar
The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African
Childhood
Franklin, Benjamin
Gandhi, Mahatma
Goodall, Jane
Gunther, John
Guthrie, Woody
Hansberry, Lorraine
Hart, Moss
Hellman, Lillian
Hemingway, Ernest
Herriot, James
Hockenberry, John
Hooks, Bell
Houston, Jeanne Wakatsuki
Huxley, Elspeth Joscelin Grant
Iacocca, Lee A.
Jiang, Ji-Li
Karr, Mary
Keller, Helen
Kherdian, Veron
Kincaid, Jamaica
*Kingston, Maxine Hong
Koehn, Ilse
Kovic, Ron
Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth
Lindbergh, Charles
McCourt, Frank
Malcolm X
Mathabane, Mark
Mays, Willie
Moody, Ann
Mowat, Farley
Orwell, George
Parks, Gordon
Parks, Rosa
Puller, Lewis B.
Radner, Gilda
Rather, Dan
Reiss, Johanna
Riddles, Libby
Robinson, Jackie
Sandburg, Carl
Turow, Scott
Twain, Mark
Van Devanter, Lynda
Waite, Terry
Washington, Booker T.
White, Ryan
Wiesel, Elie
Wolff, Tobias
*Wright, Richard
Iacocca: An Autobiography
Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
The Liar's Club: A Memoir
The Story of My Life
The Road From Home; the Story of an Armenian Girl
My Brother
The Woman Warrior: Memories of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
Mischling, Second Degree: My Childhood in Nazi Germany
Born on the Fourth of July
Guest: The Life of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
"We"
Angela's Ashes: A Memoir
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Kaffir boy: The True Story Of a Black Youth's Coming of
Age in Apartheid South Africa
Say Hey
Coming of Age in Mississippi
Born Naked
Down and Out in Paris and London
A Choice Of Weapons
Quiet Strength; The Faith, The Hope, and the Heart of a
Woman Who Changed a Nation
Fortunate Son: The Autobiography of Lewis B. Puller, Jr.
It's Always Something
The Camera Never Blinks Twice
The Upstairs Room
Race Across Alaska: First Woman to Win the Iditarod Tells
Her Story
I Never Had It Made
Always the Young Strangers
One L.
The Innocents Abroad
Home Before Morning : The Story of an Army Nurse In
Vietnam
Taken On Trust
Up From Slavery
Ryan White: My Own Story
All Rivers Run to the Sea
This Boy's Life: A Memoir
Black Boy, A Record of Childhood and Youth
PART FOUR: OPTIONAL
For your own edification and betterment (translation = this next part will not be
graded but is good for you as a budding writer) –I strongly suggest that you complete a
written companion to your autobiography / biography / nonfiction book. This will be
autobiographical—about YOU! Create a personal journal; each entry should address
your own personal summer activities and reflections. The personal journal is not directly
related to the autobiography reading assignment other than the task itself is
autobiographical. Write as many personal journals as you’d like to during the summer.
My recommendation is three entries per week, but you do not have to stick to that
suggestion. It can be more or less journals...it can span a specific time period that you
decide upon...it can chronicle a specific event/experience, etc.
Recommended book purchases by the start of the school year:
● The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
● 5 Steps to a 5: AP English Language [second edition or higher] published by - McGraw Hill
QUESTIONS?
Contact me via email or work phone:
Mark Heberlein
HeberleinM@edmonds.wednet.edu
Phone # = 425.431.5288