Advanced Placement English
“Human Introspective”
Advanced Placement English has three purposes. The first is to refine your writing abilities with emphasis on maturity of style and thought as means of expressing yourself effectively and fluently. As you complete high school and turn towards college, immature syntax, superficial analysis, and major grammatical errors should have vanished from your writing. In fact, the mastery of writing will be the foundation of your entire college education. The second purpose is to introduce you to a study of fiction, drama, and poetry in order to increase your understanding of literature through critical analysis and thinking. The final purpose is to prepare you to earn college credit through the AP Examination by mastering the two skills outlined above. (AP Scoring Component 12)
This is a year-long course in which you will receive an English IV credit and, possibly, a college literature credit. For this reason, the syllabus will be a blend of English IV and AP materials, strands, and assignments. Additionally, the Common Core Standards and 21st Century Standards will support the methodology of this course, and the Cherokee Central Schools (Cherokee High School) Graduation Project Requirement will also fall within the boundaries of this class.
Required Texts
You will need the following books:
Arp, Thomas and Greg Johnson. Perrine’s Literature Structure, Sound & Sense. 11th Ed. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2012.
Hacker, Diana and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference. 7th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2011.
Lee, Martin. Grammar & Writing for Standardized Tests. Student Edition. New York: Sadlier Oxford, 2005.
Wilhelm, Jeffrey, Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann Chin, and Jacqueline Jones Royster, eds. British Literature. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2009.
Assignments
This is, essentially, a college class taught in a high school setting. Therefore, you will be responsible for ALL assignments, whether in attendance or not. It is your responsibility to stay abreast of the assignments and readings. If you are absent or know (in advance) that you will be absent, email or text the instructor to check in. If an assignment is due when you return, it is due when you return (whether or not it is your first day back). A few college visits will be required and some arts and lectures will be recommended. It is imperative to attend class to assimilate all of the pertinent information you will need for the examination.
Evaluation and Credit
The numerical evaluation system for English IV/ AP, will be the same as school policy:
A 93-100
B 92-85
C 84-77
D 76-70
F Below 70
All writing assignments will be scored based on the following rubric:
The A paper is a SUPERIOR paper in every way, marked by the following traits:
Advanced Placement Objectives:
Reading:
You will be asked, at some point, to consider the literature that we have been reading, look for patterns, and similarities, and to organize it thematically (for example, love and relationships, human introspection). So, make sure to pay careful attention to the themes in the works.
Though the works we will read in and out of class will be divided into genre (fiction, poetry, and drama), students will be reading novels throughout the year (to include summer reading).
Informal Writing Assignment One (due date: first Friday)
Writing Sample Summer Reading Paper (AP Scoring Component 3)
Formal Writing Assignment Two (due date: midterm/first nine week term)
Students will read a selection of works to include novels like The Color Purple and short stories like “Spunk” and “Everyday Use” and will draw conclusions about the social and historic contexts within the works and will write an expository essay about their findings. Students will focus on support of argument, rhetoric and organization. (AP Scoring Components 4, 7, 10 and 13)
Formal Writing Assignment Three (due date: midterm/second nine week term)
Multimedia Autobiography Assignment
Formal Writing Assignment Four (due date: TBA – will coincide with Graduation Project Board Requirement)
Research Paper on novel The Name of the Star and Jack the Ripper with peer editing and teacher conferencing (and multiple revisions, if necessary)… to include Multimedia Presentation (AP Scoring Component 6)
Formal Writing Assignment Five (due date: midterm/third nine-week term)
Students will focus on making connections through writing and will self-select ten poems and will not only discuss literary and poetic terminology and how the devices impact each poem, but will compose their own “Mirror Anthology” in which the write poems about the same topic with the same length, form, devices and so forth. Poems may be selected from our texts or the (above mentioned) list. In order to select the poems, students must analyze and evaluate and make judgments about the selections they read in order to properly pick materials. (AP Scoring Components 2, 8 and 9)
Formal Writing Assignment Six (due date: TBA/quarter three)
Sample Prompt, College Essay, Formal Letter, College Application (AP Scoring Component 13)
Formal Writing Assignment Seven -- will be evaluated in a final portfolio as well as scored individually based upon AP rubric (due date: TBA/quarter four)
The prompts that will be used are those from years past (from the released AP Examinations), which were presented in class over the weekly discussions/activities. Editing and rewriting will be mandatory. (AP Scoring Component 5)
Reading: (AP Scoring Component 1)
The reading selections listed below encompass a plethora of genre and authors from British and American writers (in order to meet the AP requirements) as well as international writers (in order to fulfill the Common Core English IV strictures). These works will revisit the works and times from the early sixteen hundreds to contemporary times.
* Though there seems to be an overabundance of literature listed, we will not cover all of it. First of all, there is no feasible way to really analyze and evaluate this amount of literature on an in-depth level. Next, the sheer amount of literature would consume all of our time and no time would be left for discussion or writing. My reasoning behind such a large list is that every class is different. What works with and for one class, does not necessarily work with and for another. College level courses are about teaching the students to be accountable for their work, ideas, and decisions; they are about teaching students to think for themselves and to support their ideas; they are about learning for leaning’s sake; they are about imbuing a love of and for literature, whenever possible, and making the connections with the literature so that students might see the triumphs of and failures of humankind in order to make them more well rounded citizens and to lead others into the future. The beauty of literature, from my perspective, is that somewhere, sometime, someone has felt exactly as I do at this very moment… and that makes everything worthwhile and everything a lesson. Therefore, I will select literature that works within the confines of the clearly delineated themes revolving around humanity that I have outlined below that will work, specifically, with each body of students.
Novels: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Color Purple*, Ethan Frome, Flowers for Algernon*, Frankenstein, Divergent*, The Future of Us, Have a Little Faith, Hourglass, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Invisible Man, Jane Eyre*, Murder on the Orient Express, The Name of the Star*, The Near Witch, The Phantom of the Opera, Pygmalion, The Taming of the Shrew*, Thirteen Reason’s Why, The Wizard of Oz, The Metamorphosis, The Watch that Ends the Night, and (excerpts from) The Bible* (*required)
Fiction: (samples)
Non-Fiction: (samples)
Drama: (samples)
Poetry: (samples)
Students will work in groups and will self-select poetry from this list (a minimum of ten poems) to study in an in-depth manner. Students will write a paper on the interpretation of three of the self-selected poems in which he/she interprets the poems through their literary devices and elements and themes (denoting similar patterns and themes) and then writes an expository essay as well as contemporary mirror poetry pieces. (AP Scoring Component 2) This will be a class assignment.
Quarter One… “History & Humanity: Are We Learning from Our Mistakes”
This nine-week term will consist of non-fiction, fiction, drama, and poetry. Students will read specific selections together (The Color Purple, Flowers for Algernon, selections from The Bible, short stories like “Spunk”, poems like “Richard Cory”, and various pieces from both texts) and students will self-select two short stories, three poems, and one novel from the list (not proscribed as mandatory reading). Students will complete the paper on social norms, human rights, and fairness vs. equality, and will focus on various issues that have been revisited throughout humanity like gender, race, class strata, human rights and so forth. Film viewing will be mandatory as well. (AP Scoring Components 4, 10, and 13)
Quarter Two… “Perspectives, Revelations, Observations & Judgments”
This nine-week term will be characterized by our perspectives and judgments as human beings. We will analyze ourselves and will seek to make revelations (positive) based upon our observations. We will read specific selections together (Have a Little Faith, The Near Witch, Thirteen Reasons Why, along with short stories like “The Sniper”, “Everyday Use”, and “A Jury of Her Peers”, along with the drama “Twelve Angry Men”, and poems like: “Terrence, This is Stupid Stuff”, “The Road Not Taken”, and “To Virgins, to Make Much of Time” ). Students will select three additional poems and one novel from the self-selected list. Students will be looking at themselves and their actions and will complete the Multi-Media Autobiography Project. (AP Scoring Components 11 and 14)
Quarter Three… “Making Connections: Mirror Images” Plus Graduation Project
This nine-week term, the students will focus more on poetry. The major novels read will be The Name of the Star and The Watch that ends the Night (the focus on these will be historic/period writing and perspective); these novels will be read largely out of class and will lead into the Graduation Project Requirement (mentioned above under projects… the Graduation Project Program Coordinator will give more information at the start of this assignment and will assign deadlines). During class, students will focus on making connections through writing and will self select ten poems and will not only discuss literary and poetic terminology and how the devices impact each poem, but will compose their own “Mirror Anthology” in which the write poems about the same topic with the same length, form, devices and so forth. Poems may be selected from our texts or the (above mentioned) list. We will take a week to focus on Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” (abridged version) in order to meet our Common Core Component Requirement and will compare and contrast the work to the film Ten Things I Hate About You after our analysis. (AP Scoring Components 2, 8 and 9)
Quarter Four… “Where Do We Go From Here?”
While our focus, this nine-week term, is to complete our AP writing assignments, review for the exam, and begin working on our college entrance requirements, we still need to be focused on improving ourselves, humanity and the world around us. Therefore, we will read the novels: Divergent, Frankenstein, and hourglass, and discuss (via writing) the ramifications of our actions as a society and where they are leading us. Students will demonstrate their voice using clearly supported arguments and rhetoric. Students will pick one self-selected play and find a film which they believe parallels the play and an issue facing society today (texts may be used as well as the aforementioned list). (AP Scoring Component 15)
Essential Questions: (Common Core)
AP English Literature Summer Reading Schedule:
Over the course of the summer you will read three selections: one, “The Things They Carried” will be a short story; one will be a novel, Fallen Angels, and one will be a drama, “The Importance of Being Earnest”. You will complete the assignments mentioned below. You do not need to complete the standard summer reading for the school with this, this assignment (collectively) takes the place of the standard summer reading assignment.
The theme for the summer will be Love and War/Hate. Put on your thinking caps.
Assignment One:
Read “The Things They Carried” and Fallen Angels. Watch the news and spend a minimum of three hours on-line scanning and reading news stories about our recent part in the war overseas. Contemplate what you have read and seen and formulate opinions. Write a paper in which you compare and contrast the story and novel with real life (what has been taking place for the past few years from a military standpoint). You may touch upon theme, mood, tone and conflict (any and all of them). Follow the MLA paper guidelines that are attached.
Assignment Two:
Read “The Importance of Being Earnest” and watch the Reese Witherspoon version of the film. Contemplate the various forms and complexities of love and how they can be misconstrued, mistaken and misunderstood by humanity in the everyday world. Keep a diary which exhibits demonstrations of the various forms of love (see below). Then, consider the various social norms that existed at the time the story was written. Do you think that those social norms/societal strictures would make life more easily understandable if used today or not? Why? Write a paper in which you explain why having a set of social “rules” would benefit relationships in society today or not and why? If you believe that it would be better, what sorts of social mores would you teach?
Review the attached list of 70 literary devices covered in ninth grade (in our class). Complete the matching assignment and be prepared to give oral examples of each upon the second day of class.
Advanced Placement Course Agreement
Course Title:________________________________________________________
Student’s Name:_____________________________________________________
College Board Advanced Placement courses provide college level studies for high school students who are ready to do college level work. AP courses are taught using college level materials and strategies that will prepare students to take the College Board Advanced Placement Examinations. Some students do not choose to take AP exams but consider Advance Placement Courses as rigorous college preparation.
Typically, successful AP students are task-oriented, proficient readers who are able to prioritize their time and who have parental support.
Parents and students are to read the attached course description before signing the Advanced Placement Agreement. Please call the guidance office or administration if you wish to discuss and AP course.
To enroll in an AP class, the parent and student must read, agree to, and sign this course agreement.
Homework: The daily average for student homework is 40 minutes to an hour. Students are often assigned reading or long-term projects that require them to plan their time carefully so that they are not overwhelmed by deadlines. Developing self-discipline in the area of time management is a goal of all Pre-AP/AP classes.
Late Work: No late work will be accepted for an AP class.
Reading: Students will be required to complete ALL reading assignments, including summer reading for AP students (see the AP Summer Reading List).
Expectations about reading:
Examination: Students are expected to prepare for and take the AP Examination.
Student, Parent, Teacher Responsibilities:
Student: You have chosen to enroll in this AP course. By enrolling you agree to:
Parent/Guardian: Your son or daughter is responsible for securing your permission by enrolling in this course. By allowing your son or daughter to enroll, you agree to:
Teacher: I agree to…
Honor Code: This class will be conducted, like a college or university, under an honor code. All students will be expected to do their own work. Occasionally, students will be given projects or exams that must be completed outside of class. If a student breaks this code, it may result in the student’s being removed from the class.
Exiting Policy: Students will have a one-week grace period in which they may exit an AP class.
“Human Introspective”
Advanced Placement English has three purposes. The first is to refine your writing abilities with emphasis on maturity of style and thought as means of expressing yourself effectively and fluently. As you complete high school and turn towards college, immature syntax, superficial analysis, and major grammatical errors should have vanished from your writing. In fact, the mastery of writing will be the foundation of your entire college education. The second purpose is to introduce you to a study of fiction, drama, and poetry in order to increase your understanding of literature through critical analysis and thinking. The final purpose is to prepare you to earn college credit through the AP Examination by mastering the two skills outlined above. (AP Scoring Component 12)
This is a year-long course in which you will receive an English IV credit and, possibly, a college literature credit. For this reason, the syllabus will be a blend of English IV and AP materials, strands, and assignments. Additionally, the Common Core Standards and 21st Century Standards will support the methodology of this course, and the Cherokee Central Schools (Cherokee High School) Graduation Project Requirement will also fall within the boundaries of this class.
Required Texts
You will need the following books:
Arp, Thomas and Greg Johnson. Perrine’s Literature Structure, Sound & Sense. 11th Ed. Boston: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2012.
Hacker, Diana and Nancy Sommers. A Writer’s Reference. 7th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2011.
Lee, Martin. Grammar & Writing for Standardized Tests. Student Edition. New York: Sadlier Oxford, 2005.
Wilhelm, Jeffrey, Douglas Fisher, Beverly Ann Chin, and Jacqueline Jones Royster, eds. British Literature. Columbus: Glencoe/McGraw Hill, 2009.
Assignments
- Summer Reading
- English IV AP emphasizes the reading and analysis of fiction, drama, and poetry. In order for students to make the most of their time in preparation to take the AP Examination, students will be required to read two selections from the Summer Reading List, select and complete an activity to go with each novel. (see attached assignment -- theme is Love and War/Hate: A Study of Humanity, and selections to be read are “The Things They Carried” by O’Brien, Fallen Angels by Meyers, and “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Wilde) You will also have a terminology review that must be reviewed and completed prior to beginning this class (see attached). These assignments will be given to you prior to the beginning of the school year via conference, mail, and email. (AP Scoring Component 3)
- As there is a “No Late Work” policy, the assignments are due no later than the third class day in which school is in session.
- Reading
- English IV AP emphasizes the reading and analysis of the three genre mentioned above (see Summer Reading). You will need to read selections throughout the year a minimum of two times. Much of the reading will need to take place outside of the classroom in order to lend time to proper discussion and activities/exercises which will take time in class. You will need to make sure you set aside the time to complete all reading selections.
- You will need to become familiar with the forms, techniques, and terminology used in these genres in preparation for the AP Exam.
- Common Core Articles will come in the form of research and bi-weekly global discussion articles which each child must bring in and speak for two to three minutes on topic and ramifications of issue
- Writing
- You will be required to write a number of papers which should provide adequate practice for writing about fiction, drama, and poetry.
- A major focus of writing in AP IV will be on refining and polishing your writing (to include writing to a variety of audiences, with a variety or aims, in a variety of modes).
- Emphasis will be on invention, drafting, and revisions with papers going through the writing process. Drafts will be evaluated by peers, instructors, and guest instructors.
- You will need to pay attention to your writing with regards to a more mature use of diction, tone, syntax, and audience in order to achieve a sophisticated style.
- Final drafts of five papers will be typed and added to your working portfolio. These papers must be typed using the Cherokee High School Manuscript Format. (Any and all papers may be emailed to your instructor prior to due dates for comments, suggestions, and help.)
- All papers will require the proper documentation in the MLA format.
- Papers will be submitted at the start of class (when due) and conferences may be set up in order to discuss grading questions (upon return).
- Reading Response Journal
- You will be required to keep a daily reading journal throughout the length of the course. You will be given a copy of the guiding principles for this assignment (these principles are designed to help you analyze the literature). This assignment is designed to help you grow as a reader and to utilize when writing, if necessary. This binder will be turned in every two weeks (on Fridays and will be returned on Mondays). Please make use of the Essential Questions, “Reaction/Response”. Your RRJ may encompass questions and observations that you have “Dialectical Response”, personally, about the literature or may reference particular quotes as well as; however, should you read a selection that you feel comfortable with, select two or three Essential Questions and answer those.
- Responses may be written in ink on loose-leaf paper or typed and printed, but they must be maintained (and organized) in a binder. (AP Scoring Component 7)
- Projects
- Throughout the semester, you will be given tasks in order to promote the reading and writing which will be taking place both in and out of the class; for example, you will be rearranging the pieces we read into thematic units so that you begin to look for patterns and make connections. Projects will be discussed in class and will be carried out outside of class. Specific assignments and information will be given when the time for the assignment to begin is reached.
- Projects will have a minimum completion time of two weeks. Projects may be turned in prior to the due date and conferences may be arranged to obtain answers to questions or to obtain help.
- (21st Century Standards) One project that you will be completing and presenting to the class is a Multimedia Autobiography Project. When we focus on our novel unit and the section of the “Human Introspection” that deals with Perspectives, Revelations, Observations and Judgments, you will have to weigh and measure your life as it stands… past, present, and future… and present your findings to the class.
- (Graduation Project and 21st Century Skills) One paper and project that you will be dealing with falls under the English IV heading of historic novels. You will be researching and writing a paper on Jack the Ripper as you read various selections from that time period and a novel that falls under the genre of historic fiction, The Name of the Star. After writing your paper in which you posit your theory on who Jack the Ripper was and you peer edit and conference with your instructor (prior to revisions), you and a small group will create a multimedia presentation in which you all present your findings. (AP Scoring Components 6, 14)
- The Advancement Placement Examination
- The Advanced Placement Examination is given nationally to AP students in May.
- By scoring a three or higher, a student may obtain advanced placement credit.
- Students will need to do the following in order to be successful: (A) read all daily assignments carefully and conscientiously, (B) become familiar with the format and types of questions asked on the examinations, and (C) try to actively develop your writing so that it matures.
- You will be given and “Opener” each class period which has been taken from a former or (open) AP Examination. We, as a class, will work through the activity during the first 10 minutes; however, is it your responsibility and will be counted as a participatory grade to complete the assignment upon entrance of the classroom each day.
This is, essentially, a college class taught in a high school setting. Therefore, you will be responsible for ALL assignments, whether in attendance or not. It is your responsibility to stay abreast of the assignments and readings. If you are absent or know (in advance) that you will be absent, email or text the instructor to check in. If an assignment is due when you return, it is due when you return (whether or not it is your first day back). A few college visits will be required and some arts and lectures will be recommended. It is imperative to attend class to assimilate all of the pertinent information you will need for the examination.
Evaluation and Credit
The numerical evaluation system for English IV/ AP, will be the same as school policy:
A 93-100
B 92-85
C 84-77
D 76-70
F Below 70
All writing assignments will be scored based on the following rubric:
The A paper is a SUPERIOR paper in every way, marked by the following traits:
- Outstanding word choice
- Outstanding organization
- Outstanding syntax with a wide variety of sentence patterns
- Maturity of thought and language
- Clear purpose with detailed development, supported by examples, quotations, and indirect references
- No major errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation
- No more than one or two minor errors, depending on length
- Good word choice, sentence structure, organization
- Good maturity of thought and logic
- A stated purpose with less development, examples, and details, lacking the more mature style of the superior paper
- No major errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation
- No more than one or two minor errors, depending on length
- Average word choice, often simple, immature, inappropriate
- Adequate organization
- Good sentence structure but often simple and without variety
- Fair logic, clear enough to convey the paper’s purpose
- Average maturity of thought but lacks adequate development
- Only one major error in grammar, spelling, and punctuation and/or several minor errors
- Poor diction, misuse of words, non-standard expressions
- Some attempt at organization
- Garbled, fragmented, or unclear sentence patterns
- Little thought, resulting in poorly conceived, expressed, and developed ideas
- Serious errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, mechanics (No more than two major errors or multiple minor errors)
- Poor and immature
- Lack of organization
- Disconnected or garbled syntax
- Long, uncontrolled, infantile, short, or choppy sentence patterns
- Lack of logic which fails to conceive, state, or develop an idea
- Three major errors and/or multiple minor errors
- Comma splices
- Lack of subject-verb agreement
- Lack of pronoun-antecedent agreement
- Unjustifiable fragment
- Run-on or fused sentences
- Misuse of to, too; their, there; it’s, its and so forth
- Five misspelled words
- Any three of the following:
- Misuse of ;
- Misuse of ,
- Misuse of the ‘ in plurals
- Misuse of ‘ in possessive pronouns
- Misuse of ‘ possessive nouns
Advanced Placement Objectives:
Reading:
- To improve the student’s reading ability for comprehension, interpretation, and evaluation
- To improve the student’s vocabulary
- To furnish the student with ideas for discussion and writing
- To improve the student’s thinking skills through critical reading and analysis
- To introduce the student to literary terminology and its use
- To introduce the student to genres of fiction, drama, poetry
- To make the student a better reader of one of his native languages through the analysis of how that language is used in a variety of forms
- To enable the student to read complex texts with understanding and appreciation
- To review and refine for the student writing as a process that includes invention, drafting, revisiting/revising, and editing
- To provide students the opportunity to master the art of writing about fiction, drama, and poetry
- To emphasize writing about literature
- To improve the student’s thinking skills by writing critical essays about literature
- To expect students to write prose of sufficient richness and complexity in order to communicate effectively with mature readers
- To introduce the students to a variety of writing techniques, including informal responses, imitation exercises, journal keeping, in-class responses, and longer, formal papers
- To allow students to refine their own style of writing
- To review, as needed, problems in mechanics, usage, and grammar in an on-going fashion and to develop skills like sophistication of sentence structure (AP Component 12)
- To prepare students for the AP Examination by familiarizing them with the test’s format
- To improve the student’s test-taking skills through timed drills of multiple choice and essay questions
- To deal with effective test-taking strategies
- To instill confidence in student which should ensure the student’s achieving AP credit or advanced standing
You will be asked, at some point, to consider the literature that we have been reading, look for patterns, and similarities, and to organize it thematically (for example, love and relationships, human introspection). So, make sure to pay careful attention to the themes in the works.
Though the works we will read in and out of class will be divided into genre (fiction, poetry, and drama), students will be reading novels throughout the year (to include summer reading).
Informal Writing Assignment One (due date: first Friday)
Writing Sample Summer Reading Paper (AP Scoring Component 3)
Formal Writing Assignment Two (due date: midterm/first nine week term)
Students will read a selection of works to include novels like The Color Purple and short stories like “Spunk” and “Everyday Use” and will draw conclusions about the social and historic contexts within the works and will write an expository essay about their findings. Students will focus on support of argument, rhetoric and organization. (AP Scoring Components 4, 7, 10 and 13)
Formal Writing Assignment Three (due date: midterm/second nine week term)
Multimedia Autobiography Assignment
- This is a presentation of your life. Choose a theme first. It should show moments and events that have shaped you -- made you who you are.
- Just who are you?
- What do you stand for?
- What is important to you?
- Capture yourself using all of your senses, which creates tone. Use similes and metaphors like “fresh cut grass” or “burning sugar” to show examples.
- You need to choose a part of you that represents the whole (synecdoche), not every detail of every minute of your life.
- Include: music, pictures, vacation places that impacted you, quotations, a stuffed animal that might have represented security or tenderness in your young life, etc.
- Presentation: Power Point or Prezi.
- Make sure you check this for spelling, grammar, and punctuation before it is presented to me and your peers. (AP Scoring Components 11 and 14)
Formal Writing Assignment Four (due date: TBA – will coincide with Graduation Project Board Requirement)
Research Paper on novel The Name of the Star and Jack the Ripper with peer editing and teacher conferencing (and multiple revisions, if necessary)… to include Multimedia Presentation (AP Scoring Component 6)
Formal Writing Assignment Five (due date: midterm/third nine-week term)
Students will focus on making connections through writing and will self-select ten poems and will not only discuss literary and poetic terminology and how the devices impact each poem, but will compose their own “Mirror Anthology” in which the write poems about the same topic with the same length, form, devices and so forth. Poems may be selected from our texts or the (above mentioned) list. In order to select the poems, students must analyze and evaluate and make judgments about the selections they read in order to properly pick materials. (AP Scoring Components 2, 8 and 9)
Formal Writing Assignment Six (due date: TBA/quarter three)
Sample Prompt, College Essay, Formal Letter, College Application (AP Scoring Component 13)
Formal Writing Assignment Seven -- will be evaluated in a final portfolio as well as scored individually based upon AP rubric (due date: TBA/quarter four)
The prompts that will be used are those from years past (from the released AP Examinations), which were presented in class over the weekly discussions/activities. Editing and rewriting will be mandatory. (AP Scoring Component 5)
Reading: (AP Scoring Component 1)
The reading selections listed below encompass a plethora of genre and authors from British and American writers (in order to meet the AP requirements) as well as international writers (in order to fulfill the Common Core English IV strictures). These works will revisit the works and times from the early sixteen hundreds to contemporary times.
* Though there seems to be an overabundance of literature listed, we will not cover all of it. First of all, there is no feasible way to really analyze and evaluate this amount of literature on an in-depth level. Next, the sheer amount of literature would consume all of our time and no time would be left for discussion or writing. My reasoning behind such a large list is that every class is different. What works with and for one class, does not necessarily work with and for another. College level courses are about teaching the students to be accountable for their work, ideas, and decisions; they are about teaching students to think for themselves and to support their ideas; they are about learning for leaning’s sake; they are about imbuing a love of and for literature, whenever possible, and making the connections with the literature so that students might see the triumphs of and failures of humankind in order to make them more well rounded citizens and to lead others into the future. The beauty of literature, from my perspective, is that somewhere, sometime, someone has felt exactly as I do at this very moment… and that makes everything worthwhile and everything a lesson. Therefore, I will select literature that works within the confines of the clearly delineated themes revolving around humanity that I have outlined below that will work, specifically, with each body of students.
Novels: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Color Purple*, Ethan Frome, Flowers for Algernon*, Frankenstein, Divergent*, The Future of Us, Have a Little Faith, Hourglass, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, The Invisible Man, Jane Eyre*, Murder on the Orient Express, The Name of the Star*, The Near Witch, The Phantom of the Opera, Pygmalion, The Taming of the Shrew*, Thirteen Reason’s Why, The Wizard of Oz, The Metamorphosis, The Watch that Ends the Night, and (excerpts from) The Bible* (*required)
Fiction: (samples)
- “The Sniper” by O’Flaherty
- “Everyday Use” by Walker
- “Misery” by Chekhov
- “Jury of Her Peers” by Glaspell
- “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Gilman
- “The Guest” by Camus
- “A Rose for Emily” by Faulkner
- “The Story of an Hour” by Chopin
- “Spunk” by Hurston
- “The Matchmaker” by Berg
Non-Fiction: (samples)
- From Genesis…The King James Version of The Bible
- Psalm 23
Drama: (samples)
- “The Glass Menagerie” by Williams
- “Twelve Angry Men” by Rose
- “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Wilde
- “Death of a Salesman” by Miller
- “Our Town” by Wilder
- “Oedipus Rex” by Sophocles
- “Othello, the Moor of Venice” by Shakespeare
- “The Taming of the Shrew” or “Much Ado About Nothing” by Shakespeare
Poetry: (samples)
- “Winter” by Shakespeare
- “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” by Shakespeare
- “The last Night that She lived” by Dickinson
- “The Bean Eaters” by Brooks
- “Terence, this is stupid stuff” by Housman
- “Arts Poetica” by MacLeish
- “Spelling” by Atwood
- “Is my team plowing” by Housman
- “Mirror” by Plath
- “There is no Frigate like a book” by Dickinson
- “The world is too much with us” by Wordsworth
- “Meeting at Night” by Browning
- “After Apple-Picking” by Frost
- “Those Winter Sundays” by Hayden
- “Shopping in Tuckahoe” by Flanders
- “To Autumn” by Keats
- “Harlem” by Hughes
- “Metaphors” by Plath
- “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning” by Donne
- “To His Coy Mistress” by Marvell
- “Annabel Lee” by Poe
- “The Raven” by Poe
- “Introduction to Poetry” by Collins
- “The Road Not Taken” by Frost
- “A Noiseless Patient Spider” by Whitman
- “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” by Herrick
- “The Writer” by Wilbur
- “Fire and Ice” by Frost
- “Because I could not stop for Death” by Dickinson
- “Ulysses” by Tennyson
- “The Chimney Sweeper” by Blake
- “Ozymandias” by Shelly
- “Sorting Laundry” by Ritchie
- “My Last Duchess” by Browning
- “in Just –“ by cummings
- “Miniver Cheevy” by Robinson
- “Siren Song” by Atwood
- “Journey of the Magi” by Eliot
- “Leda and the Swan” by Yeats
- “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Frost
- “The Lamb” by Blake
- “The Tiger” by Blake
- “A narrow Fellow in the Grass” by Dickinson
- “Crossing the Bar” by Tennyson
- “Dover Beach” by Arnold
- “The Turtle” by Nash
- “We Real Cool” by Brooks
- “Rite of Passage” by Olds
- “Woman Work” by Angelou
- “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Frost
- “Virtue” by Herbert
- “Porphyria’s Lover” by Browning
- “Sound and Sense” by Pope
- “The Sound of Night” by Kumin
- “The Dance” Williams
- “Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night” by Thomas
- Death, be not proud” by Donne
- “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by Keats
- “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by Eliot
- “Kubla Khan” by Coleridge
- “Persephone, Falling” by Dove
- “The Colonel” by Forche
- “Richard Cory” by Robinson
- “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” by Shakespeare
- “Raptures” by Slavitt
- “The Death of a Soldier” by Stevens
- “Ex-Basketball Player” by Updike
- “I wandered lonely as a cloud” by Wordsworth
- “Sailing to Byzantium” by Wordsworth
Students will work in groups and will self-select poetry from this list (a minimum of ten poems) to study in an in-depth manner. Students will write a paper on the interpretation of three of the self-selected poems in which he/she interprets the poems through their literary devices and elements and themes (denoting similar patterns and themes) and then writes an expository essay as well as contemporary mirror poetry pieces. (AP Scoring Component 2) This will be a class assignment.
Quarter One… “History & Humanity: Are We Learning from Our Mistakes”
This nine-week term will consist of non-fiction, fiction, drama, and poetry. Students will read specific selections together (The Color Purple, Flowers for Algernon, selections from The Bible, short stories like “Spunk”, poems like “Richard Cory”, and various pieces from both texts) and students will self-select two short stories, three poems, and one novel from the list (not proscribed as mandatory reading). Students will complete the paper on social norms, human rights, and fairness vs. equality, and will focus on various issues that have been revisited throughout humanity like gender, race, class strata, human rights and so forth. Film viewing will be mandatory as well. (AP Scoring Components 4, 10, and 13)
Quarter Two… “Perspectives, Revelations, Observations & Judgments”
This nine-week term will be characterized by our perspectives and judgments as human beings. We will analyze ourselves and will seek to make revelations (positive) based upon our observations. We will read specific selections together (Have a Little Faith, The Near Witch, Thirteen Reasons Why, along with short stories like “The Sniper”, “Everyday Use”, and “A Jury of Her Peers”, along with the drama “Twelve Angry Men”, and poems like: “Terrence, This is Stupid Stuff”, “The Road Not Taken”, and “To Virgins, to Make Much of Time” ). Students will select three additional poems and one novel from the self-selected list. Students will be looking at themselves and their actions and will complete the Multi-Media Autobiography Project. (AP Scoring Components 11 and 14)
Quarter Three… “Making Connections: Mirror Images” Plus Graduation Project
This nine-week term, the students will focus more on poetry. The major novels read will be The Name of the Star and The Watch that ends the Night (the focus on these will be historic/period writing and perspective); these novels will be read largely out of class and will lead into the Graduation Project Requirement (mentioned above under projects… the Graduation Project Program Coordinator will give more information at the start of this assignment and will assign deadlines). During class, students will focus on making connections through writing and will self select ten poems and will not only discuss literary and poetic terminology and how the devices impact each poem, but will compose their own “Mirror Anthology” in which the write poems about the same topic with the same length, form, devices and so forth. Poems may be selected from our texts or the (above mentioned) list. We will take a week to focus on Shakespeare’s “Taming of the Shrew” (abridged version) in order to meet our Common Core Component Requirement and will compare and contrast the work to the film Ten Things I Hate About You after our analysis. (AP Scoring Components 2, 8 and 9)
Quarter Four… “Where Do We Go From Here?”
While our focus, this nine-week term, is to complete our AP writing assignments, review for the exam, and begin working on our college entrance requirements, we still need to be focused on improving ourselves, humanity and the world around us. Therefore, we will read the novels: Divergent, Frankenstein, and hourglass, and discuss (via writing) the ramifications of our actions as a society and where they are leading us. Students will demonstrate their voice using clearly supported arguments and rhetoric. Students will pick one self-selected play and find a film which they believe parallels the play and an issue facing society today (texts may be used as well as the aforementioned list). (AP Scoring Component 15)
Essential Questions: (Common Core)
- How do you construct sentences that have parallel structure?
- How do phrases convey specific meanings and add variety and interest to writing or presentations?
- If two independent clauses are joined by using a semicolon, what must the relationship of the two clauses be?
- What punctuation would be needed if you were joining two related independent clauses with a semicolon and a conjunctive adverb?
- Where in a sentence is a colon used to introduce a list or quotation?
- What is the importance of spelling correctly in your writing?
- What are the effects of refining standard conventions as oral and written language change in society?
- How can reference books be used to discover the correct usage of the English language?
- What are the rules for using hyphens at the end of a sentence and to connect words, compound nouns and adjectives, prefixes and suffixes, numbers, and fractions?
- How can varying sentence formation affect writing?
- How can understanding the meaning of a sentence clarify the meaning of a word in that sentence?
- How can changing the part of speech of a word change the meaning of that word?
- What are the types of textual evidence?
- How do you construct inferences with textual evidence?
- How do textual features define a theme?
- How is theme developed throughout a text?
- How does characterization relate to plot development?
- How does characterization relate to development of a theme?
- How do you determine the meaning of a word in context?
- How does diction influence meaning and tone?
- How do authors use different literary elements to create mood?
- How does an author evoke a cultural point-of-view?
- How does an author communicate a character’s perspective?
- How is a message expressed in different forms of media?
- How do authors use allusion?
- How do allusions impact literary works?
- How do I know I am growing as a reader?
- What strategies do I need to use to comprehend text?
- What are the types of textual evidence?
- How do you construct inferences with textual evidence?
- How is a central idea or thesis developed throughout a text?
- What influences authors’ choices regarding text structure and organization?
- How do you determine word meaning using context clues?
- How does word choice affect meaning and tone?
- How do authors elaborate?
- How are rhetorical devices used to advance point of view or purpose?
- How do different mediums present story elements?
- What makes a valid argument?
- What is the literary significance of historical documents?
- How do I know I am growing as a reader?
- What strategies do I need to use to comprehend text?
- How does a reader determine an unreliable narrator?
- How does a reader verify the reliability of evidence in an ambiguous text?
- How does a reader determine the subjectivity/objectivity of a narrator?
- How does a reader discern the interrelatedness and significance of different themes?
- How does foil/setting/ point-of-view/other elements impact the development of a literary work?
- Why do authors choose particularly evocative words?
- What makes language “fresh, engaging, or beautiful”?
- How does writer’s craft create an overall aesthetic impact?
- How do plot structure, theme, and aesthetics interrelate?
- How do writers create and use multiple points-of-view?
- How does an audience generate criteria to evaluate multiple interpretations of a text?
- How are themes and topics treated across time?
- How do geographical and cultural attitudes influence literature?
- How does a reader evaluate the validity of information in a text?
- How is a central idea or thesis developed throughout a text?
- What influences authors’ choices regarding text structure and organization?
- How do writers refine a word to shape content and influence others based on the writers’ point-of-view?
- How do writers use structure to effectively make points clear, convincing, and engaging?
- What criteria does a reader use to evaluate the effectiveness of exposition and argument?
- How does a writer create style?
- How do style and content impact the text?
- How does a reader evaluate effectiveness of rhetoric?
- How do writers use charts, diagrams, and other graphics to address problems and solutions?
- How does a writer create a sense of validity?
- What are the themes, purposes, and rhetorical features of foundational U.S. documents?
- In a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas, how does the participant support his or her claims?
- When collaborating, what are the important elements to promote civil, democratic discussion?
- How can a speaker engage a listener in a thoughtful, well-reasoned exchange of ideas?
- How do we appropriately respond to diverse perspectives?
- How do we evaluate claims made in an argument?
- How can information from various sources help us to make informed decisions and solve problems?
- How do point of view, reasoning, and rhetoric change the effectiveness of a speaker?
- What is the importance of presenting a clear perspective including opposing viewpoints?
- How can we use digital media to make speeches more effective?
- How might you adapt a speech for different audiences?
- How do writers effectively select, organize, and analyze content?
- How does a writer evaluate arguments to: introduce knowledgeable claims, use valid reasoning, and create relevant and sufficient evidence?
- How do writers develop narratives using effective structure and details?
- How do writers address audience and purpose?
- How do writers revise and strengthen their writings for a specific audience and purpose?
- How do writers use inquiry to investigate research topics?
- How do writers assess the relevance and significance of resources to maintain selective flow of ideas for research topic?
- How do writers analyze and compare texts to recognize similar themes or topics?
- How do writers adapt their processes for a variety of purposes?
AP English Literature Summer Reading Schedule:
Over the course of the summer you will read three selections: one, “The Things They Carried” will be a short story; one will be a novel, Fallen Angels, and one will be a drama, “The Importance of Being Earnest”. You will complete the assignments mentioned below. You do not need to complete the standard summer reading for the school with this, this assignment (collectively) takes the place of the standard summer reading assignment.
The theme for the summer will be Love and War/Hate. Put on your thinking caps.
Assignment One:
Read “The Things They Carried” and Fallen Angels. Watch the news and spend a minimum of three hours on-line scanning and reading news stories about our recent part in the war overseas. Contemplate what you have read and seen and formulate opinions. Write a paper in which you compare and contrast the story and novel with real life (what has been taking place for the past few years from a military standpoint). You may touch upon theme, mood, tone and conflict (any and all of them). Follow the MLA paper guidelines that are attached.
Assignment Two:
Read “The Importance of Being Earnest” and watch the Reese Witherspoon version of the film. Contemplate the various forms and complexities of love and how they can be misconstrued, mistaken and misunderstood by humanity in the everyday world. Keep a diary which exhibits demonstrations of the various forms of love (see below). Then, consider the various social norms that existed at the time the story was written. Do you think that those social norms/societal strictures would make life more easily understandable if used today or not? Why? Write a paper in which you explain why having a set of social “rules” would benefit relationships in society today or not and why? If you believe that it would be better, what sorts of social mores would you teach?
- Love of friends (three examples)
- Love of parenthood (three examples)
- Love of ideal (three examples)
- Love of passion (three examples)
- Love of thing/hobby (three examples)
Review the attached list of 70 literary devices covered in ninth grade (in our class). Complete the matching assignment and be prepared to give oral examples of each upon the second day of class.
Advanced Placement Course Agreement
Course Title:________________________________________________________
Student’s Name:_____________________________________________________
College Board Advanced Placement courses provide college level studies for high school students who are ready to do college level work. AP courses are taught using college level materials and strategies that will prepare students to take the College Board Advanced Placement Examinations. Some students do not choose to take AP exams but consider Advance Placement Courses as rigorous college preparation.
Typically, successful AP students are task-oriented, proficient readers who are able to prioritize their time and who have parental support.
Parents and students are to read the attached course description before signing the Advanced Placement Agreement. Please call the guidance office or administration if you wish to discuss and AP course.
To enroll in an AP class, the parent and student must read, agree to, and sign this course agreement.
Homework: The daily average for student homework is 40 minutes to an hour. Students are often assigned reading or long-term projects that require them to plan their time carefully so that they are not overwhelmed by deadlines. Developing self-discipline in the area of time management is a goal of all Pre-AP/AP classes.
Late Work: No late work will be accepted for an AP class.
Reading: Students will be required to complete ALL reading assignments, including summer reading for AP students (see the AP Summer Reading List).
Expectations about reading:
- Assigned reading is done outside of class most of the time.
- Discussion of outside reading, particularly at the upper levels, is most often done after the entire work is read.
- Students may be reading one book in class and another book outside of class at the same time.
- Students are expected to read what is required; Spark Notes and Cliff’s Notes will not give you the information you need to answer required questions, write an acceptable prompt, or participate in class discussions.
Examination: Students are expected to prepare for and take the AP Examination.
Student, Parent, Teacher Responsibilities:
Student: You have chosen to enroll in this AP course. By enrolling you agree to:
- Invest the time and energy necessary to be successful
- Organize your time
- Take responsibility for your work/assignments, whether you are present in class or not
- Do your own work
Parent/Guardian: Your son or daughter is responsible for securing your permission by enrolling in this course. By allowing your son or daughter to enroll, you agree to:
- Be familiar with the information in the packet given to your child the first day of class
- Notify the instructor by email or telephone when you have questions or concerns
- Support and encourage your son or daughter whenever possible
- Check to make sure, daily, that reading and homework assignments are being completed
Teacher: I agree to…
- Teach the above named AP course at a college level and pace
- Respond to parent communication in a timely manner
- Send student progress reports home every two weeks
- Provide tutoring for AP classes Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays after school from 3:10 until 4:10
Honor Code: This class will be conducted, like a college or university, under an honor code. All students will be expected to do their own work. Occasionally, students will be given projects or exams that must be completed outside of class. If a student breaks this code, it may result in the student’s being removed from the class.
Exiting Policy: Students will have a one-week grace period in which they may exit an AP class.