# data[].attributes.body
This is the Google Form I used to log my hours for this class. The results will follow.

# data[].attributes.body
I'm attaching the hours I logged while completing the projects. Five of the 66 hours were logged before June 13, which I noticed was our start date. I needed only 45 and usually logged fewer hours than I actually worked, so I wasn't sweating this part of the requirements, however.

# data[].attributes.body
At first, I thought I had done a grand thing by being open-minded and reading a novel from an author whose books I've never appreciated. Sigh. Though it is much better than the other two novels I've read from Hardy, I will never teach Return of the Native to a whole class. Nonetheless, I did finish the book, deciding it could be read as an independent project in AP Literature for students whose tastes differ greatly from my own. I do enjoy his poetry, and unlike the other two novels I read, I had little trouble reconciling his overly detailed description with my imagination. However, I could not step very far from the barf bag when he got entrenched in extremely slow-paced romance and melodrama. Fortunately, his characteristically colorful settings and complex characterizations often made the reading enjoyable. It was just quite uneven.

Here, I've included a study guide that students can fill out to get credit for an independent project.

# data[].attributes.body
I expected to find several books or projects not worth completing. However, my first five turned out to exceed expectations. Then I ran into Henrik Ibsen's Ghost. Ugh. Although I had true contempt for Ibsen's A Doll's House in college--I don't care how liberated you are, you still should have the decency to fulfill your obligations to your children and love them--I very much appreciate and enjoy Peer Gynt. I've also found a couple of his other plays interesting. Unfortunately, I found Ghost reminiscent of A Doll's House and didn't even finish reading it.

A second novel given to me by a colleague--Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brien--looks interesting enough for me to finish reading after I finish this course. But it doesn't seem engaging enough for students, and it's awfully long. I'll return to it, but not for teaching.

# data[].attributes.body
Similar to my work for the Norse Gods Unit, I just couldn't wait for summer to begin before viewing some of the videos for the course I subscribed to on Egyptian myth, so I didn't need all twelve hours to complete the videos for either course. As with the Norse myths, I already had a curriculum developed for Egyptian mythology. The videos rather helped me fill in gaps in my knowledge and enrich the information I'll be able to share with students. However, unlike the Norse course, this one actually opened my eyes to a vast world of archaeology I didn't understand previously. Sure I knew about the main Egyptian monuments, King Tut, and all the mummification. However, I had no idea how extensive temple ruins were up and down the Nile from the Delta to the Sudanese border. This Egyptian project on Google Earth will allow me to share much of this knowledge with my students as we read the myths. My organization might not make sense out of context: instead of following north-to-south or south-to-north geography, I've placed sites in the order they appear in the myths we read in class. I will show bits of this Google Earth slideshow as a journal or as an introduction to class discussion on various myths as we travel through the unit.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

# data[].attributes.body
My Norse Gods Unit for Mythology is already complete, but I decided to embark upon a twelve-hour video course on Norse Myth from an academic expert in the field for background and enrichment. I won't be making any new study guides for the unit because, quite frankly, I already have too many stories and have to leave some out each year, but I have created a new Google Slideshow giving some background on the Norse deities and cosmology. The lecture series gave me extra background to share with students and helped me to create this slideshow.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Phantom of the Opera - YouTube

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The first four videos are previews or "anytime" videos that can be used at any time during the unit. Likewise, the final four videos are all about the ending...

# data[].attributes.body
This Google Earth project will familiarize students with the Palais Garnier and other settings for The Phantom of the Opera. It gives a brief overview, rather than an in-depth explanation, as I originally wanted. However, it does allow students to envision the settings better and see how reality and fantasy entwine, just as they do in the novel.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here.

Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

Learn more about Google Earth.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Aw snap! Google Earth isn't supported on your browser. You may need to update your browser or use a different browser. Please see our system requirements for more information. Chrome is a great choice and you can download it here. Or if you're feeling adventurous, you can try Earth anyway by choosing an option below.

# data[].attributes.body
This PowerPoint will introduce The Hounds of the Baskervilles, as well as a unit on Sherlock Holmes tales that I often use with seniors, so it can do double duty. It took much too much time to create with all the research, picture hunting, and fine tuning, but it should now create appeal!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Hound of The Baskervilles PowerPoint

# data[].attributes.body
The book is complex and took both reading and re-reading on my part. It fills a very narrow niche in my AP Lit curriculum. However, over the years, I've had several AP students wish to read it as an independent project, so I decided it was time to create a study guide they could use in place of mere book notes. I wouldn't use this with a whole class, but I can see why some students rave over it because of its point of view and deep themes.

# data[].attributes.body
These study guides replace ones I created 25 years ago. The only thing I kept was an activity for the second study guide. The rest is much improved, helping students to concentrate more on literary elements and techniques than they did on my original study guides. I'd also like to think that my new questions will engage students more by addressing their own interests in the book and its interpretation.

# data[].attributes.body
The Hound of the Baskervilles includes a particularly atmospheric setting that creates mood, enhances the tale's lore and suspense, and complements the action. This Google Slideshow introduces an activity on setting for Chapter 7 of The Hound of the Baskervilles. I hope students will be able to create their own atmospheric settings, using our novel as a model.