1

Advanced Placement Seminar- Women in Fairy Tales

Summer Assignment 2017- Ms. Blanding

Welcome to AP Seminar- Women in Fairy Tales. It is paramount that you practice critical reading, writing, and
research skills throughout the summer. You are welcome and encouraged to purchase copies of the books needed
(extra credit awarded to students who bring the physical books to share with the class/ no e-books); however, you
may also check out copies from a public library. The summer assignment will be graded for the first marking
period of the Fall 2017 semester. There are 3 parts to this assignment. Students must complete ALL parts by the
first day of school in September.

Plagiarism: The schools plagiarism policy will be applied to any plagiarism for the summer assignment. You will
not receive credit for plagiarism because you did not do the work. Furthermore, you may not make up the
assignment and will face a suspension from school. You MAY NOT use SparkNotes, MonkeyNotes, or any other
materials to replace reading the actual book. This also means you may not use information from these websites for
your paper (i.e. direct quotes or paraphrasing, I have visited these websites, I know the information available). You
may not use materials from another student. Do not work collaboratively on this assignment. Do not wait for the
last week in August to take on all this work. This assignment will require you to employ your time management
and organization skills. Additionally, if you are inclined to cheat on this or any assignment, why are you taking
an AP class? The goal of our coursework is to GROW, this will only be accomplished with authentic work
production and effort.

Summer Assignments: ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE THE FIRST DAY OF CLASS. NO EXCEPTIONS. You will
have a vocab quiz the first day of class. Additionally you will produce at least one AP assessment per week,
every single week of the year.

DO NOT email over the summer with questions about the assignment, I will not be checking my e-mail.
DO NOT email me asking for a copy of the summer assignment after June 28, 2016 12pm- it will be posted
on the schools website.
 2

Summer Assignment
Part I: Terminology for AP Seminar- Women in Fairy Tales
Directions: Familiarize yourself with these terms by creating flashcards using 3x5 index cards. Place the term on
one side and the definition on the other side of the card. These are terms that we will use consistently throughout
the year. Heres a tip: Creating illustrations for definitions will help you remember the words. I will check
for the 48 index cards and definitions on the first day.
Vocabulary List
1. Allusion: An indirect reference, often to another text or an historic event. *
2. Antithesis: Parallel structure that juxtaposes contrasting ideas. *
3. Archaic diction: The use of words common to an earlier time period; antiquated language.*
4. Archetype: A recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or mythology.
5. Attitude: The speakers position on a subject as revealed through his or her tone.*
6. Authority: A reliable, respected sourcesomeone with knowledge. *
7. Bias: Prejudice or predisposition toward one side of a subject or issue.*
8. Belief: An acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
9. Claim: An assertion, usually supported by evidence. *
10. Colloquial/ism: An informal or conversational use of language.*
11. Concession: A reluctant acknowledgment or yielding.
12. Connotation: That which is implied by a word, as opposed to the words literal meaning *
13. Construct: An idea or theory containing various conceptual elements, typically one that is considered to be
subjective and not based on empirical evidence.
14. Context: Words, events, or circumstances that help determine meaning. *
15. Credibility: The quality of being trusted and believed in/ being convincing or believable.
16. Declarative sentence: A sentence that makes a statement and creates an argument position. *
17. Deduction: Reasoning from general to specific. *
18. Denotation: The literal meaning of a word; its dictionary definition. *
19. Diction: Word choice. *
20. Ethics/ethical perspective: systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong
behavior.
21. Ethos: A Greek term referring to the character of a person, one of Aristotles three rhetorical appeals (see
logos and pathos); an appeal to ethics. *
22. Figure of speech: An expression that strives for literary effect rather than conveying a literal meaning.*
23. Framework: The basic structure underlying a system, concept, or text.
24. Historical criticism: An approach to reading literature that explores both when it was written and when it
is set - and how those contexts inform the works meaning.
25. Irony: A contradiction between what is said and what is meant; incongruity between action and result.*
26. Individualism: A social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals over collective or state control.
27. Juxtaposition: Placement of two things side by side for emphasis. *
28. Logos: A Greek term that means word; an appeal to logic; one of Aristotles three rhetorical appeals (see
ethos and pathos).*
29. Occasion: An aspect of context; the cause or reason for writing. *
30. Paradox: A statement that seems contradictory but is actually true. *
31. Persona: The speaker, voice, or character assumed by the author of a piece of writing. *
32. Philosophy: the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, particularly as an
academic discipline.
33. Political criticism/lens: criticism that is specific of or relevant to politics. It focuses on a texts political
foundation.
34. Propaganda: A negative term for writing designed to sway opinion rather than present information. *
35. Psychological lens/perspective: this approach examines the effect of modern psychology on literature and
literary criticism.
36. Purpose: Ones intention or objective in a speech or piece of writing. *
37. Refute: To discredit an argument, particularly a counterargument. *
38. Satire: An ironic, sarcastic, or witty composition that claims to argue for something, but actually argues
against it. *
 3

39. Semantics: The branch of linguistics and logic concerned with meaning; the meaning of a word, phrase,
sentence, or text.
40. Sociocultural lens: a theory used in plenty fields such as psychology and is used to describe awareness of
circumstances surrounding individuals and how their behaviors are affected specifically by their
surrounding, social and cultural factors.
41. Speaker: A term used for the author, speaker, or the person whose perspective (real or imagined) is being
advanced in a speech or piece of writing. *
42. Subculture: A group of people within a larger culture, such as a country, who have something in common
(ie. race, ethnicity, religious/political beliefs, etc).
43. Syntax: Sentence structure. *
44. Thesis: The central idea in a work to which all parts of the work refer. Thesis statement: A statement of the
central idea in a work, may be explicit or implicit. *
45. Tone: The speakers attitude toward the subject or audience.*
46. Understatement: Lack of emphasis in a statement or point; restraint in language often used for ironic
effect.*
47. Validity: The quality of being logically or factually sound, soundness or cogency.
48. Voice: In grammar, a term for the relationship between a verb and a noun (active or passive voice). In
rhetoric, a distinctive quality in the style and tone of writing. *

Part II: Reading Assignment

Fundamental to the Seminar course, students must learn to read difficult texts through the following
lenses:

Directions:
1. Read and annotate The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande using the SOAPSTONE
annotation method, QUEST analysis, and three or more of the above lenses. *Refer to the graphics at the
end of the document for more information about QUEST and SOAPStone.
2. You must read (at least) one nonfiction book from the titles outlined below. Two of the selections (Berendt
and Hammer) are included on the approved AP Central College Board list for suggested readings. However,
the other two texts are worthy reads as well. Read with a critical eye and evaluate every argument. As you
read, annotate the text for information that reflects the lenses in the above graphic. Address an array of
lenses that connect to each other; read specifically for information that reflects lenses that logically connect
 4

or overlap- as this connection will help you with the research skill that requires you to create lines of
reasoning in future research papers. *See the summer essay assignment guidelines in Part III of this
document.
a. Note: The above graphic only reflects a sampling of lense types. You may separate the lenses, or
you may create your own (ie. Religious, Philosophical, Artistic, Gender, Race, etc.).
b. Remember to annotate using the SOAPStone and QUEST methods of analysis.
c. As you have purchased the Gawandes text and your nonfiction book of choice, feel free to annotate
directly in the book. If youre not interested in marking up your book, feel free to use post-its.

3. Develop an authentic independent reading practice. I am committing to at least 15 minutes of reading

EVERY DAY this summer. Keep a list of the books you read and when. Work on your self-discipline
through the development of this practice. It will be clear through your discussions and writing who is
reading independently and who is not.

REQUIRED READING
1. The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande*** ($8.00-$10.00 on Amazon)
2. One book from the nonfiction list below*** (Prices will vary based on book selection)
3. The Irresistible Psychology of Fairy Tales by Ellen Handler Spitz ( Google the article and print. Bring to
class on the first day of school)
***Must purchase and bring to class on the first day of school

NON-FICTION LIST
1. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
2. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by Jon Berendt
3. Dear Ijeawale, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer

INDEPENDENT READING SUGGESTIONS:

1. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (nonfiction)
2. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (historical fiction)
3. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (fiction)
4. Fast Food Nation by Eric Scholsser (nonfiction)
5. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (fiction)
6. Citizen- An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
7. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (fiction)
8. Freakonomics by Stephen J Dubner (nonfiction)
9. The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip Hop by Saul Williams (poetry)
10. Americannah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (fiction)

Part III: Writing Assignments

Directions: We will be working extensively with your assignments and the books during the first few weeks of the
school year.
1. The following is a comprehensive reading guide to assist you in gleaning important facts and ideas from
The Checklist Manifesto.
a. Before you read: Find out something about the author, Atul Gawande. What is his background?
What is his ethos? What do we mean by ethos? Why do you think he wrote this book?
b. Provide answers to all questions on looseleaf paper. Be sure to label each section when providing
your responses.
c. For your final required response for this text- Assess your performance as a student, examine what
you have learned from Gawandes book, and how you will make use of checklists in this Seminar
course, throughout your senior year, and beyond.

Introduction
1. What is the essential lesson or "takeaway" from
the account of the seemingly-simple ER stab
wound case? Of the case of the man who
"flatlined" while undergoing surgery for his
tumor?
2. What is the principle of necessary fallacy? Why do
we fail?
3. What are the problems with "eptitude"?
4. What is the paradox of gained knowledge and
technology?
5. What may be the answer?
Chapter 2: The checklist
1. What were the circumstances that led to the
pilot's checklist?
2. Why might "simple" be better than "complex,"
particularly for experts reluctant to use simple
lists?
3. What was the Keystone Initiative, and why did
it work despite hospital staff misgivings?
4. What is the essential reason that checklists
improve performance?
Chapter 4: The idea
1. What's the importance of diffusing decision-
5
Chapter 1: The problem of extreme complexity
1. Why is the care of the nearly-drowned child
special?
2. Just how complex is "standard medicine"? (see 19,
21, 23) How does Tony DeFilipo's story exemplify
the complexity?
3. Why is medicine specialized?
Chapter 3: The end of the master builder
1. What's a cognitive net?
2. What are three types of problems? Can
checklists help with "forming functions" or
simple problems? How are complicated and
complex problems different?
3. How does Gowanda show that checklists can
help with complicated and complex problems?
4. What happened to master builders?
5. What wisdom does Joe Salvia have for
Gawande, and what surprising lessons did
Gowanda learn from him?
6. What is the importance of the submittal
schedule?
7. Who gets to find problems and what
happens when they do?
Chapter 5: The first try
1. What's the WHO, and why was their request to

making?
2. How did the traditional model of decision-making
work after Hurricane Katrina?
3. Why did Wal-Mart succeed when the government
did not?
4. How do checklists "balance a number of virtues"?
(79)
5. What other people (surprisingly) use checklists?
How are they used? Why are they used?
Chapter 6: The checklist factory
1. Who is Daniel Boorman? Why is he an aviation
checklist guru?
2. How does the DOOR FWD CARGO checklist work?
3. What are the elements of good checklists?
4. How did Gawande's flight simulator experience
show the best practices of checklist making?
5. What was the lesson from Flight 38 from Beijing to
London? From the flu vaccine? (133;
pneumococcus vaccine).
6
Gawande a "prop"?
2. How impossible did Gowanda see the task of
helping WHO? Why was he wrong?
3. What were (are) some of the treatment problems
that Gowanda articulated?
4. Why are simple interventions so potent? Why is
plain soap "leverage"?
5. Antibiotic training why were people resistant?
6. What was the importance of the placement of
"cleared for takeoff"?
7. Why are talking and briefing so important? Why is
talking among team-members "non-standard"?
8. Teamwork: why is it so hard? What happens when
people "click"? (see, for example, 105-107)
9. Is success just a matter of luck? What's the
activation phenomenon? The pause point?
Chapter 7: The test
1. There are several reasons that the person who is
in charge should not be responsible for the
checklist. What are these reasons?
2. How are pause points important in these
instances?
3. How did certain items ultimately end up on the
surgical checklist? What criteria were essential?
4. How did Gawande's team decide where and how
to check the checklists?
5. What happened when tracking six basic steps?
6. Why must the checklist be "top down"?
7. How were the eight hospitals in Gowanda et al.'s
study different and how did those differences
affect the checklists?
8. What were the informal results of checking the
checklists? The formal (actual) results?
 7

9. What were the various responses to the study's

results?

Chapter 8: The hero in the age of checklists Chapter 9: The save

1. What is the real cultural "big deal" about using 1. Why was Gowanda using the surgical checklist
checklists? (160) really?
2. Warren Buffet and other high-roller investors 2. What sorts of problems did the lists catch?
managed to avoid "cocaine brain" and have more 3. What happened to Mr. Hagerman?
successes than failures. What lessons did they 4. Why did Gowanda end his book with this story?
learn from their successes? From their failures? Does Gawande's "failure" make him a better
3. How did Cook's checklist improve both speed and person? Surgeon? Story-teller?
efficiency?
4. How do checklists conflict with the image of a
hero?
5. How did USAirways Flight 1549 show that real
heroes use lists?
6. Who REALLY saved the people of flight 1549?
7. What are the key elements of professionalism?
Where does discipline vs. autonomy fit?
8. What are the components of systems, and where
do systems break down? Why don't we know how
systems break down?

2. The essay assignment for your nonfiction book choice is as follows: Include in an essay of no more than 1000
words, an outside credible source that you can relate to one or more of the lenses of information you have included
in your essay already. Expound on your connection between information in the nonfiction book and your selected
source, relating that connection to one or more lenses. The information in your outside source may extend a facet
of a topic in the authors book, corroborate the authors research, or contradict the authors findings.
a. To ascertain the credibility of an author/source, consider the following components:

Reputation (credentials?)
Ability to observe (eyewitness?)
Vested Interest (stakeholder?)
Expertise (researcher? professional?)
Neutrality (biased? objective?)
 8

Note: In AP seminar, RAVEN is a verb. We RAVEN all sources.

b. DO NOT SUMMARIZE THE PLOT OF THE LITERATURE. Do not make assumptions. Ground all
claims/ideas in evidence. Use at least 15 of the vocabulary words provided in Part I to develop
your analysis (underline vocabulary as you use it). You must use evidence from the text to support
your claims, however, the strength of your essay will depend on your analysis. *Tip: Explain what
the text doesnt say, but rather implies.

4. Also include in your essay a poem or piece of art related to one of the themes of the book and connections
to one or more lenses reflected in the book. After an analysis of the poem or art piece, expound on this
connection in your essay, establishing a clear line of reasoning between and/or among any or all of the
three sources (the nonfiction book, your outside credible source, and your poem or piece of art).

Note: Organization is integral to writing a strong essay. Once you have compiled all of the moving parts (the text,
your thesis, the lenses you will use, supporting reasons, evidence, an outside credible source, the poem or piece of
art you will use, vocabulary words, analysis), decide how to best organize this information so that your essay is
clear, concise, and fluid throughout.

3. Read and annotate the article The Irresistible Psychology of Fairy Tales by Ellen Handler Spitz using the
SOAPStone method, QUEST, and analyzing through at least two different lenses. Review Part II for the lenses we
will use to analyze texts.
*Note- There is no separate writing assignment for this particular reading.
9
10