Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition s1

Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition

Course Information and General Syllabus (2014-2015)

Course Overview

According to the guidelines provided by The College Board, Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition is a course that engages students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Students will read literature from various genres and periods, primarily from the sixteenth through the twenty-first century, concentrating on works of recognized literary merit written in English. Writing to understand, explain, and evaluate these works is a significant part of the class.

Students will demonstrate skill in literary interpretation and analysis by responding to questions on both familiar and unfamiliar works. Students will also be held accountable for recognizing subtleties of language, identifying literary techniques and devices, and connecting these observations to meaning in literature. Students will take the AP examination in May (possibly earning scores that lead to college English credit) and will continue to develop as appreciative life-long readers and effective writers who think deeply and analyze critically. More specifically, students in this class will:

 analyze and interpret poetry, short stories, drama, novels, and essays by carefully considering the structure, style, and themes of each work;

 examine how authors’ use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone contributes to meaning and leads to better understanding;

 apply effective composition strategies and develop stylistic maturity in writing that demonstrates the ability to use:

-a wide-ranging vocabulary of denotative accuracy and connotative resourcefulness

-varied sentence structure, including appropriate incorporation of subordinate and coordinate constructions

-logical organization that is enhanced by coherent repetition, transitions, and emphasis

-effective generalization that is illustrated with specific detail

-a clearly developed voice and controlled tone that is genuine and consistent

-emphasis through parallelism and antithesis

 write for a variety of purposes (understanding, explanation, persuasion, evaluation, and reflection)

 demonstrate an understanding of the conventions of citing primary and secondary sources (MLA format); and  research, draft, revise, and reflect upon the writing process.

Texts and Materials

The primary text is provided and will be utilized for most short story and poetry coverage, as well as some reading and composition instruction. Novels and plays that are not included in the primary text may be student-owned/purchased, checked out, or occasionally provided from a classroom set. Selections from all genres include a variety of American, British, and world authors from several centuries.

 Primary text: Literature & Composition, Reading, Writing, Thinking, Carol Jago, Renee H. Shea, Lawrence Scanlon, and Robin Dissin Aufses, editors

 *How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster

 Novels and plays: Macbeth(William Shakespeare); *Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte); *Things Fall Apart (Chinua Achebe); Metamorphosis (Franz Kafka); Antigone (Sophocles); Trifles(Susan Glaspell); The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde), The Awakening (Kate Chopin); A Doll’s House (Henrik Ibsen); Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin); Fences (August Wilson); Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury); My Antonia (Willa Cather); Frankenstein (Mary Shelley); The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald); and excerpts from selected other novels and plays.

 Various handouts and texts provided by Instructor

 Pens

 Highlighters (several colors)

 Loose-leaf paper and binder

 Flashdrive

 3x5 index cards

 Post –it notes (1 ½ by 2” works well, but if you prefer the larger size that’s fine.)

*Denotes summer reading assignment Class Activities and Assignments

Reading

 Class readings will be grouped mainly according to genre. Our schedule is divided into 6-week segments. The first two 6-weeks will be mainly devoted to poetry explication with some time spent given to the summer reading assignments. The third 6-week lessons will focus on elements of drama. During the second semester, drama will be continued into the fourth 6- weeks, with elements of the short story and novels taking the remaining time. Novels for outside reading will be assigned throughout the school year. Students will always have an outside reading assignment. Although the study of the genre is how the class is set up, some attention will be given to periods. Also, I intend to use Abrams examination of literature using various lenses.

Writing

 Class writings will be almost daily with double entry journals, annotations, informal reaction papers, timed writings, and research /analytical papers. Students will have ample opportunities to write for specific purposes, such as argumentative and persuasive papers; they will also practice writing in response to a prompt. Writing workshops dealing with rhetorical strategies, sentence combination, subordination/coordination, paragraph organization, and the use of transitions will also be implemented. Students will also have peer reviews and teacher conferences to decide on improvements. Use of effective voice will be reviewed and practiced twice weekly with exercises from Voice Lessons (Nancy Dean).

 Students will complete Critical Reading Portfolios (CRPS) for each novel and play. Each portfolio requires students to engage in analysis, reflection, and evaluation. Students examine structure, style, tone, characterization, plot, theme, imagery, and symbolism. Students are also expected to explain biographical, social, and historical concerns and values that are relevant to the novel/play.

 Students are required to write one formal MLA-format critical essay on a teacher approved work of literature.

 Students will also write one to two essays per grading period. Some of these will be timed, with opportunities to revise and edit after instructor and/or peer feedback. Scores will be based on the AP rubric for essays.

Vocabulary  Class vocabulary lessons will be done each day at the beginning of class. These “bellringers” will consist of two terms of literary/rhetorical form. Students will define and /or use the terms correctly in a sentence. At the end of the six weeks, students will be tested on the terms.

 Students will also be given handouts with various vocabulary terms; some of these will be “tone” words, synonyms, vivid verbs, among other examples of vocabulary that can make writing stronger and more interesting. Use of connotation and denotation will also be discussed. Students are expected to demonstrate appropriate word choice in written assignments.

Other Assignments

 Students will have homework assignments which will usually consist of reading (outside novel); additional assignments may include reaction papers and double entry logs.

 Students will have regular reading checks on assigned reading.

 Students will have tests that are similar in format to the AP style examination, with multiple choice passage analysis and in-class essay response.

 Students will occasionally be assigned projects in which they will incorporate technology.

Grading

Grades will be categorized according to the three levels below.

 Level one (homework and participation) 20%

 Level two (reading checks and quizzes) 30%

 Level three (essays and tests) 50%

Mid-term and final exams will count as 10% each of the semester grade.

Policies and procedures

 All materials (texts, novels, paper, etc.) should be brought to class each day unless otherwise instructed.

 Late papers and major assignments will be deducted 10 points per day late. No major assignments will be accepted more than a week past the due date.  A student may make up work for EXCUSED ABSENCES. These missed assignments are always recorded as zeroes until they are made up. This practice helps the student and parent see how the student’s grade will be affected if the assignment is not completed.

 Students are expected to read each novel outside of class, take appropriate notes, answer assigned questions, prepare a CRP entry (see previously stated guidelines), and be prepared for a class discussion on the date specified.

 Class discussion is very important. Each student is expected to keep up with all the assignments and contribute to class discussions as much as possible.

 Most selections included in our class reading list were written by suggested authors on the College Board list.

First semester

Week 1: Introduction to the course

 Diagnostic AP exam

 Summer reading tests and writing assignments

 What is genre?

 Poetry explication handouts (tone words, DIDLS, TPCASTT) Week 2: Poetry

 Vocabulary terms

 Voice lessons (tone)

 M. H. Abrams’ approach to literature

 Barbie Doll (Marge Piercy)

 Small group analytical exercise

 Annotation/double sided notes log

Week 3: Poetry

 Composition workshop: Responding to the prompt—a look at taking a statement and turning it into a question; students will practice responding to prompts in short writing assignments, then apply skills to essay assignments.

 Storm Warnings (Adrienne Rich); 1981 prompt

 The Man He Killed (Thomas Hardy); Mirror (Sylvia Plath)

Week 4: Poetry

 Voice lessons (diction)

 Denotation/connotation

 Assign Great Expectations (Charles Dickens); assign CRP.

 In class writing: critical analysis of poem we have read thus far in class (students will learn how to go beyond the five paragraph essay). Students will learn how to perform a “close” reading of a poem. They will use their annotation log (week two) to examine the textual details and to conclude how these components create an overall effect. They will include in their analytical essay specific references to details in the specific poem they have chosen to critique. They will prove (with textual evidence) claims about the artist’s mastery and quality of work. We go beyond “likes or dislikes” in our evaluation. We must look at a work and decide “did the artist achieve what he or she set out to do?” The evaluation for this analytical essay will include a scoring rubric for the textual evidence of a poem and also the final summation that answers whether or not the artist “mastered” his or her poem. The main point is for the students to be able to make a clear decision and back up his or her point with evidence.

 Selected poems from Emily Dickinson, Henry Reed, William Wordsworth

Week 5: Poetry

 Voice lessons (imagery)

 Imagery—selected poems from Robert Browning, Gerard Manly Hopkins, Adrienne Rich, Seamus Heaney, and John Keats

 Double entry reaction log

Week 6: Poetry

 Vocabulary test

 In class timed writing (writing a critical analysis essay)

 Students will examine their essays and use different colored highlighters to mark generalizations, abstractions, and textual references made through paraphrase and direct quotation; students will then revise the essay.

Week 7: Poetry

 Students will practice scoring a sample essay using a rubric.

 Students will write a college entrance essay.

 Students will research college requirements and create comparisons of tuition, entrance requirements, scholarship opportunities, and essay requirements.

Week 8: Poetry

 Vocabulary terms  Voice lessons (imagery)

 Imagery—selected poems from Langston Hughes, Robert Frost, Theodore Roethke, and Andrew Marvell

 Students will create questions from the question stems; they will then work together to discuss and answer the questions.

 Students will write a sample “prompt” question pertaining to one of the week’s poetry selections. They will highlight important parts of the prompt and create actual questions that should be answered in the prompt. They will then meet with a partner who will offer revision suggestions for clarity. They will then revise and rewrite the prompt for a class writing assignment.

Week 9: Poetry

 Voice lessons (detail)

 Figurative language: symbolism/allegory—selected poems from Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, William Blake, and Billy Collins

 Students will write their own poems focusing on symbols and allegory.

Week 10: Poetry

 Voice lessons (syntax)

 Allusion—selected poems from Edwin Arlington Robinson, William Blake, and e.e. cummings

 Tone—selected poems from Denise Levertov, William Shakespeare, Alfred, Lord Tennyson, John Donne

 Students will explicate each poem and annotate in a double-sided notebook.

 Assign The Great Gatsby (selections).

Week 11: Poetry

 Vocabulary test

 Voice lessons (syntax)  Musical devices—selected poems from Ogden Nash, Gwendolyn Brooks, Maya Angelou, and Robert Frost

 Rhythm and Meter—selected poems from George Herbert

 Sound and Meaning—selected poems from Galway Kinnell

 Students will explicate each poem and annotate in a double- sided notebook.

Week 12: Poetry/Fiction and Drama

 Students will choose two of the poems covered and write a comparison/contrast analysis.

 Peer edit and review.

 Collaborate with instructor for insight and suggestions.

 Rewrite and present to the class.

 Score a sample poetry AP essay; peer review and discuss.

Weeks 13 and 14: Fiction and Drama

 Introduction to Drama.

 Assign The Grapes of Wrath for outside reading.

 Read selections from the following authors: Charles Dickens, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, George Orwell, Mark Twain, Virginia Woolf, and selected others.

 Read Macbeth (William Shakespeare).

 Multiple choice test on fiction selections.

 Practice multiple choice questions from the AP exam.

Week 15: Fiction and Drama

 Read Trifles (Susan Glaspell.  Demonstrate the different phases of the interpretive essay—analyzing literary elements, developing a thesis statement, planning the essay, and supporting the essay.

 Write an interpretive essay after analyzing a student sample.

 Vocabulary terms on fiction

 Continue to read The Grapes of Wrath—in class reading time.

 Selection from Bharati Mukherjee (nonfiction)

 Voice lessons (diction)

 Vocabulary quiz

 Read Fences (August Wilson).

 Read selection from Geeta Kothari (nonfiction).

 Semester review

 Exam on selections from Fiction and Drama and The Grapes of Wrath.

2nd semester

 Assign Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austin).

 Read in class from novel.

 Voice lessons (syntax)  Vocabulary (language test terms)

 Begin MLA style research paper.

 Use multiple texts to develop a thesis for the paper.

 Test on vocabulary

 Continue MLA style paper.

 Reintroduce Abrams lenses.

 Read A Doll’s House (Henrik Ibsen).

 Jigsaw discussion groups for MLA paper topics and supporting details.

Week 4: The Novel and selected readings

 In class reading of Pride and Prejudice.

 Selected readings and double sided journal logs for the following authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Joyce Carol Oates, Ana Menendez, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Gwendolyn Brooks, Gary Soto, and Chinua Achebe (nonfiction).

 Peer edit and revise MLA paper.

 Instructor conference

 Submit MLA paper.

 Finish reading Pride and Prejudice.

 Essay response on Pride and Prejudice through the Abrams lenses (various lenses for the class)

 Sample prose AP questions (practice responses)

 Sample multiple choice questions for AP exam practice

Week 7: The Novel and selected readings  Assign The Awakening (Kate Chopin).

 Discuss Abrams’ lenses and assign different critical approaches to different groups.

 Students will work in groups to respond and analyze small prose selections; they will want to pay special attention to details in The Awakening that will help them discover and make connections to literary periods and critical approaches.

 Literary circles for discussion on The Awakening

 Read poetry by Anne Bradstreet to connect to feministic approaches

 Write a comparison essay on the novel and one of Bradstreet’s poems

 Students will work in pairs to identify the thesis statement and the main points of the essay

 Teacher/student conferences on the essay

 Submit final paper

 Practice question stems with The Awakening

 Sample AP exam prose prompt

 Practice writing thesis statements with the prompt

 Practice main points with the prompt

 Assign Frankenstein

 Vocabulary for fiction

 Selections from Sandra Cisneros, Oscar Wilde, Anton Chekov, John Donne, Andrew Marvell, and William Shakespeare

 Write questions from various selections using question stems

Week 11: The Novel and selected readings  Continue Frankenstein

 Vocabulary quiz on fiction terms

 Assign new terms from Frankenstein

 Watch video of Frankenstein

 Continue video of Frankenstein

Week 13: Spring Break

Week 14: Selected readings

 Out of class essay on Frankenstein (theme) in which the students analyze images and strategies the author uses to create the tone, theme, mood, and characters

 Selected readings from T. S. Eliot, James Baldwin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and Seamus Heaney

 Sample free response prompts

 Create thesis statements and main points for the prompt

 Create evidence for the main points

Week 15: Selected readings/ Presentations

 Read Othello in class; discuss

 Selected readings (outside class) from Emily Dickinson, Alice Walker, Salman Rushdie, Flannery O’Connor, Robert Frost, William Blake, Matthew Arnold, and Walt Whitman

 Begin oral presentation strategies; students will practice and incorporate guidelines and strategies into class presentations

Week 16: Presentations/AP exam

 Continue Othello

 Begin class presentations

Week 17: Selected readings/Presentations/AP exam  Multiple choice test on Othello

 Recap of multiple choice and essay strategies; students will take a released exam that may be used as a final exam for the class

Week 18: AP exam review

 AP released exam

 Review class members’ Critical Reading Portfolios on various novels

Week 19: AP exam review

 Review poetic devices, essay components, theme, tone, and tips for answering multiple choice questions

 Practice relaxation strategies, introduce healthy snacks for the brain, and encourage students to shoot for the stars!!!!

Weeks 20 and 21: Post AP exam

 Cover Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and early Renaissance selections