A Once And Future King: Summer Assignment

Honors World Literature               2016-2017 Summer Assignment

 

Instructor: Kelly Loock          

Email:    kelly.loock@calvaryschools.org

Phone:   714-662-7485 x.2449

Blog: www.thefineprint.edublogs.org

Websites: www.turnitin.com

www.edmodo.com

www.renweb.com

 

Assignment(s) Overview

Welcome to your entrance ticket to World Literature Honors 2016-2017. Please read ALL of the

instructions that follow and then carefully construct your project over the summer break.

 

    • Due Dates:

Quizzes and Blog Forums #1, 2, 3: Due: July 08, 2016

Quizzes, Blog Forum #4, Book Chat, Essay #1: Due: July 15, 2016

Essay #2:  Due: August 12, 2016

 

    • Read: The Once and Future King by: T.H. White (ISBN: 0441 62740 4) ** Or you can use the e-book on your new-kindle device.

 

    • The Fine Print: Our class blog will have helpful hints and blog postings all summer long. Keeping checking back, to see postings on author’s lives, characterization and helpful videos to keep you engaged in Whites’ novel. Hint. Hint. There are always a few answers to Edmodo quizzes hidden amongst the blog posts.

 

    • Blog Forums, Book Chats and Essays
      • 4 Blog Forums:  Post one original answer and two comments per forum
      • One Book Chat
      • 2: five paragraph, Literary Analysis essays *(in MLA format)

 

    • Acceptable format and guidelines for turn in
      • MLA format
      • Please turn into all work to turnitin.com—work must be time stamped by midnight of the due dates.

 

E-Book Information

  • World Literature Honors is an e-book course. We do not use any physical books in our course of study. Please review the following requirements for your e-book purchases/decisions.
    • The device must either:
      • A: Be a Kindle device (Kindle, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Fire, etc.)
      • B: Support the Kindle App  (Droid, iphone, ipad, etc.)
    • We will be using Whispercast for our book distribution, so every device will need to be connected to an Amazon account (the account can be connected to the student or the parent). We will sign up Whispercast the on our class blog the week of August 22, so please have your devices by then.
    • We will be using our e-books in class, so please be aware that it will need to be carried around school and stored throughout the day in your locker or backpack.

 

Assignment Directions

 

STEP ONE: Purchase: The Once and Future King by: T.H. White (ISBN: 0441 62740 4 or e-book)

Sign Up:

      • The Fine Print
        • Log into: thefineprint.edublogs.org
        • In order to post, you will need to create an account. Please remember your user name and password. We use The Fine Print  throughout Honors World Literature, make sure your log in and password are easy to remember. 
        • In order to log in you will be prompted to created your own blog. We do not use the individual blogging feature, but you will need to create one in order to make an account.
      • Edmodo

 

      • Turn It In
        • Create an account and log in, if you don’t already have one.
        • Add World Literature Honors by using the class ID: 12802307
        • Password: missloock

 

STEP TWO: Read The Once and Future King by: T.H. White (ISBN: 0441 62740 4 or e-book), note the separate due dates of completion. **Please read the following steps, so that you can actively read the above novels with a directed eye at the novel’s themes, symbols and characterizations.

 

STEP TWO AND A HALF: Throughout the course of your readings, answer Edmodo quizzes and write in the online forums. You do NOT have to have the book completed for the July 8th, deadline.

 

STEP THREE: Upon completion of the novel please complete a book chat. Book chat format is attached to the back of this packet and available on The Fine Print Blog/assignments/Bookchats. Please re-type/copy and paste questions and answers into an MLA formatted document. Turn in completed Book Chat (4-5 pages) and final forum  by July 15, 2016.

 

STEP THREE AND A HALF: While reading each book, please focus of the following themes, while choosing one of The Fine Print note taking strategies, under “Reading The Fine Print”. Notes will NOT be turned in for credit, but will help when posting original comments on the blog, as well as reviewing for your test during the first week of school:

 

  1. All children must become adults (the age of innocence/ tension between childhood and adulthood)
  2. The importance of memory
  3. Boys and girls cannot effortlessly change roles in society
  4. Dreams remain distinct from waking life
  5. Ferocious Love vs. Loss
  6. Realism vs. Fantasy

 

Two weeks before the first due date, questions will appear on www.thefineprint.edublogs.org. The Fine Print is our World Literature forum. It is our way to discuss novels and help each other through World Literature Honors. Before posting any material, please re-familiarize yourself with The Fine Print’s  “Responsible Blogging” Section. (Section will be at the top of the blog).

 

There will be helpful hints posted on the Fine Print every few days. The Blog Forums will have questions posted on the main blog page. Use these questions to help guide your reading. At least two weeks before the due dates, Fine Print Forums, regarding the chosen questions, will be open to post one original comment per posted forum and comment on two student’s post. Remember: Original Posts must end in a question, because blogging is a conversation that we want to keep going. And, each comment must consist of constructive criticism and/or further examples to help the argument. Remember you will have to visit the Forums multiple times to see/read the ongoing conversations, as well as comment on your peers’ literary critiques. (Forums can be found at the top of the blog)

 

STEP FOUR: After reading the novel, chose one of the two prompts from “Beginning Prompts” to write a 5 paragraph Literary Analysis essay for the due date of July 15th. This is my first impression of your writing talent—show off a bit. Make sure your essay follows MLA format, excludes dead words, contains no first person pronouns, has sentence variety, is grammatically correct, all quotes are cited ( i.e. (Lowry 12)), and is stapled and ready to be turned in. Essay must be turned into Turn It In. No hard copy is needed. Failure to turn in project, will result in a class transfer to World Literature CP.

 

After you have completed the first essay, and have turned it in. Await edits from myself, Miss Loock and then begin working on essay two: Due August 12, 2016. Chose one of the five prompts from “Advanced Prompts” to write a 5 paragraph Literary Analysis essay. The five essay prompts are listed below, make sure to choose the prompt that best magnifies your writing skills. Remember: a five paragraph essay can NOT fit on one page. Hint: The Fine Print Blog Forums will help add analysis to your essays. ** Note the prompt you are answering in your paper title: (Ie. Prompt #1: An Event to Remember)

 

STEP FIVE: Turn in all work to turnitin.com. Place the correct assignment in each category. Grades will be returned to you within two weeks.

 

A Writing Note: The summer assignment will be inputted into Parent’s Web for several grades. Your summer assignment grades will be assessed at the Sophomore Honors Writing level. This will give you an indication of where you will be starting for the school year. Please use this time as a learning tool to strengthen your skills. I promise I have a lot to teach you, if you are willing to learn.

Quiz Note: All reading quizzes in WLH are taken pass/fail. If you receive a 70% or higher on your quizzes you will receive 100%. If you receive a 60% or below, you will receive a 50%.

 

**********THIS IS NOT A PLOT SUMMARY ESSAY*********

*** Beginning Prompts***

ESSAY PROMPT #1:

 

A major theme of A Once and Future King can be stated as “the sins of the father effect the son”. In  your essay defend or retract this statement through the life of King Arthur— starting with his conception of the round table in “The Queen of Air and Darkness” to his life goal of “might is only to be used for right.” How do his ideas affect the knights, the country, and the war?

 

ESSAY PROMPT #2:

 

T.B. White uses knights to be the protectors of Arthur’s Camelot and the codes of conduct that are kept within the city. Yet, there always seems to be a tension between violence of war and chivalry— especially in the character of Lancelot. Lancelot has three loves: people, chivalry and God.  Describe how White humanizes Lancelot emotionally, physically and literally, by embodying the spirit of Camelot. And, finally, how does Arthur’s knighthood affect the overall morality of Camelot?

 

*** Advanced Prompts***

 

ESSAY PROMPT #1:

 

A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, recounts the psychological or moral development of its protagonist from youth to maturity, when this character recognizes his or her place in the world. Select a single pivotal moment in the psychological or moral development of the protagonist in A Once and Future King. Then write a well-organized essay that analyzes how that single moment shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.

ESSAY PROMPT #2:

 

It has often been said that what we value can be determined only by what we sacrifice. Consider how this statement applies to a character from A Once and Future King. Select a character that has deliberately sacrificed, surrendered, or forfeited something in a way that highlights that character’s values. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how the particular sacrifice illuminates the character’s values and provides a deeper understanding of the meaning of the work as a whole.

ESSAY PROMPT #3:

 

In a literary work, a minor character, often know as a foil, possesses traits that emphasize, by contrast or comparison, the distinctive characteristics and qualities of the main character. For example, the ideas or behaviors of a minor character might be used to highlight the weaknesses or strengths of the main character. In A Once and Future King, choose a minor character that serves as foil for the main character.

Then write an essay in which you analyze how the relation between the minor character and the major character illuminates the meaning of the work.

 

You will be tested on the novel during the first month of school, failure to pass this test, will result in a transfer from Honors World Literature into World Literature CP.

Attached to the back of this packet is a rubric for the Book Chats and for the Essays.

Use the rubrics to check your understanding of the material and content.

 

BOOK CHAT: EXPLORING FICTION

Please re-type questions and answers into a MLA formatted document. There is no length requirement for your answer, just make sure that you have COMPLETELY answered the questions with the appropriate details and knowledge. HINT: A complete Book Chat should be, at the very least, 3-5 pages.

 

Part 1: Reading journal

This section will include a collection of facts, impressions and ideas recorded during and after you read the novel.

                                                     

  1. Predict the story after reading the first chapter. What different predictions can you make ?

 

  1. Write about any matches or digressions between your predictions as the story develops then concludes.

 

  1. Give some details about the location or the setting of the novel. Why did the author chose this location for their story?

 

  1. Did you feel happy with the outcome of the story ? Give your assessment by explaining why or why not.

 

Part 2 Commentary

This section will include a collection of short written responses commenting on the main features of the novel.

 

  1. Are the characters real to you or are they just stereotypes ?  Explain using the main characters as examples.

 

  1. Does the novel present realistic situations ? If so, how do you know? If not, what is being presented? Why?

 

  1. What kinds of issues and problems are being dealt with ? How do you know?

 

  1. To what extent are the issues and problems resolved ?

 

  1. What kinds of readers (audience)  might be interested in this novel ?   Why ?

 

Part 3  A Folio Piece

Select one of the following activities based on your work of fiction.

 

  1. Write about events in the story from the point of view of a minor character. What did he or she see ?  What did he or she do ?  What did he or she feel ?

 

  1. What would you have done differently if you were one of the characters ?

 

Part 4: Book Chats

Compose a list of FIVE observations which takes your book into consideration, while comparing it to another book that you have previously read.  Try to include at least one of each type of statement in your list.  For some, it may be challenging to come up with a theme that applies to your works, or to find similarities between the characters.  Try!  Usually something will surface with a bit of digging.  Think about the characters, the literary style, the setting, the author’s purpose, point of view, etc.

 

TYPES OF OBSERVATIONS:

 

Statements of comparison

ex.:  ____ and _____ both deal with children growing up in violent surroundings.

       ____   and  ____  both have villains who die in the end.

 

Statements of contrast  

ex.:____ shows the negative consequences of risk-taking, while ______ shows its

      rewards.

       ____ is a humorous coming-of-age story, while ____ is a serious one.

 

Statements of theme

ex.: Sometimes we are our own worst enemy, or, Suffering can make us

        stronger.  *Remember not to phrase a theme as a moral (NO “you shoulds”)