AP Literature and Composition
Stephanie Heintz Wood
North Iredell High 2008-2009
Course Description
Advanced Placement (AP) Literature and Composition is a course which has been designed according to the standards of the College Board and AP Central. Students who sign up for AP Literature should be aware that this course is designed to be equivalent to a college-level undergraduate course, engaging students in close textual readings, in search for deeper understanding of how writers create meaning through the use of language, structure, style, themes, and literary devices. In addition, students will have the opportunity to read for personal growth and development.
This is a rigorous course that requires students to read extensively and analyze critically. In mid-May, students will take the College Board’s AP Literature and Composition test, wherein the student’s score will determine the amount of college credit earned. While a score of a 3 (out of a possible 5) is the minimum required to be considered for credit, students should research the colleges they wish to attend in order to find out if a higher minimum score is required for credit to be rewarded.
Note: A detailed course description for all AP courses, as well as additional information can be found on the following website: legeboard.com
Course Expectations
Students are expected to complete all summer reading and summer assignments prior to the first day of class, expecting a test/evaluation on day two of school (SEE ATTACHMENT A). Students must purchase a three-inch binder and divide this binder into the following sections: READER RESPONSE, TEST PREPARATION, STUDY GUIDES/READING GUIDES, POETRY, AND WRITING. Throughout the year, we will be building a complete notebook to guide you in your writing development, as well as in your test preparation.
Students are expected to attend all classes (refer to school attendance policy) and complete all assignments, both in and out of class. Because AP Literature is truly designed to mirror the college experience, students need to learn to follow the calendars I give you monthly, working and planning ahead in order to ensure success.
Most days we spend time in what a good friend of mine calls “the evil circle,” wherein we have seminars on what we are reading and learning. We will actively discuss the writing styles of various authors, as well as our reactions and evaluations of these pieces; so, being prepared for class is a must. We also spend quality time in class writing about literature in order to develop and polish our own evaluative and interpretive skills.
Overview of Assignments
You will be reading from all genres of literature including poetry, short stories, nonfiction, drama, and novels. While the poems we study may not be as lengthy as a drama or novel, you need to be prepared to read them numerous times; the poems we will study are complex and can be quite daunting. The aforementioned calendars will provide due dates and guide you in reading longer works—do not procrastinate or your grades will reflect your lack of preparation.
In addition, practice AP tests and essays will be given in class, mirroring the conditions of the AP test, and these will be graded using the AP rubrics and formulas for determining scaled scores. Students will take these periodically throughout the year to chart individual (and class progress) as well as to determine where learning gaps exist. Comprehensive tests which cover units or particular writers or genres will also be used to evaluate your progress along with literary terms quizzes, wherein you will define and apply your new knowledge of these terms (A SAMPLE GIVEN AS ATTACHMENT B).
Writing assignments will vary from critical essays to creative projects and presentations. Formally, you will explicate poetry, write several short critical essays, use a number of approaches to literature (such as feminist, post-colonial, historical, etc.) to analyze novels and short stories, and conduct research on literary topics. All formal papers will follow the MLA format, and many times these papers will be evaluated and edited by your peers, and even returned for further revision after I have graded them to ensure learning and growth. Papers are expected to display coherence, organization, offer arguments and show thorough analysis using specific examples and evidence from the text. Many former AP test prompts—poetry, prose, and free response—will be completed both in and out of class, wherein students will evaluate their own progress as I offer suggestions for improvement and revision. Creative assignments will include Reader Response journals and writings, PowerPoint presentations, visual interpretations (photo journals, graffiti journals, drawings), point-of-view writings, personal poems, and more—all based on your knowledge and application of literary devices, structure, theme, and style.
Grades
This course is actually divided into two semesters: the first is called Advanced Senior English, and the second retains the AP label. Our school system awards one quality GPA point to the first semester and two quality points to the second; therefore, regardless of the rigor, it is still possible for advanced students to retain their coveted GPAs. During the first term, progress and improvement will be taken into account when grading as we learn about college-level writing and how to evaluate literature in depth. However, by the second term, grades will be determined by performance and participation. The grading scale will follow our system’s adopted scale: A=100-93, B=92-85, C=84-77, D=76-70, F=69-below.
Grading in my AP Literature will be based on a point system; thus, the weight of an assignment is determined by the number of points each assignment is worth. An example would be as follows: Reader Response journal (five entries)=25 points; Comprehensive Test=100; Poetry Explication=80, and so on.
Texts (in addition to summer reading)
Textbooks: Arp, Thomas R., and Greg Johnson, eds. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and
Sense. Ninth Edition. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006.
Elements of Literature, Sixth Course: Essentials of British and World Literature.
Orlando: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston2006.
Griffith, Jr., Kelley. Writing Essays About Literature. 3rd ed. San Diego: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1990.
Poetry: Included in Perrine and Holt are poets such as Keats, Coleridge, Plath, Herrick, Donne,
Shakespeare, Blake, the Shelleys, Lord Byron, the Brownings, Arnold, Housman,
Eliot, Owen, Dickenson, Milton, and more. (See detailed weekly syllabi for specifics.)
Novels: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—Mark Twain
The Awakening—Kate Chopin
Ellen Foster—Kaye Gibbons
Heart of Darkness—Joseph Conrad
The Things We Carried—Tim O’Brien
A Tale of Two Cities—Charles Dickens
Plays: A Doll’s House—Henrik Ibsen (in Perrine)
Hamlet, Macbeth (in Holt), and Othello—William Shakespeare
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (in Perrine)and Taming of the Shrew—Shakespeare
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead—Tom Stoppard
Oedipus Rex—Sophocles in Perrine)
Equus—Peter Shaffer
The Glass Menagerie—Tennessee Williams
Death of a Salesman—Arthur Miller
Other: Beowulf—translated by Burton Raffel
The Canterbury Tales—Geoffrey Chaucer
A Modest Proposal—Jonathan Swift
Personal Note
This course is demanding, but AP Literature affords students a college opportunity that most high school students do not have. Students are expected to show maturity, responsibility, and integrity in regards to all aspects of the course. This will be an interesting endeavor for all of us, as learning should be constant and perpetual.
Good Luck!!
AP Literature and Composition Syllabus
2007-2008
Fall Semester
Week One—Evaluating Summer Reading and Review
· Students will turn in summer reading assignments and take an essay test (test as per our school’s summer reading requirements). The test will be two AP open ended questions that relate to two of the works assigned over the summer. This will be graded on knowledge of text only, but it will give me a chance to see where each student is in their writing skills, such as in thesis development, use of evidence, ability to persuade and argue, and grammatical construction. I will use these first essays as a spring-board for daily mini-lessons on topics such as: how to use varied sentence structures to create sophisticated writing—using subordination and coordination, how to logically organize and progress through an essay to ensure coherence, and how to use general and specific detail to support the thesis. Not only will I will use student samples of both appropriate word choice and transition statements, but I will also draw from student samples that need further development and cohesiveness. After the lesson, students will re-submit both essays highlighting “new” sentences using the varied methods. This process will then be repeated throughout the first term—through peer editing as well as by my own notations on student work through both pre- and post-writing conferences to allow students numerous opportunities to develop their writing skills to those desired at the college-level. Daily student writings will also focus on one or more of these writing skills to evaluate both individually as well as in small and whole group seminars.
· For the remainder of the week, students will work in groups to create a presentation on one of the summer reading works, reviewing all basic elements of literature: plot, theme, characterization, point of view, and setting; also, author background will be included. Groups may choose any form of presentation. This will enable students to conduct one final review of these five works before moving on to other material. Presentations will be made on the final two days of the week.
Week Two—The Novel
· The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—Students will have daily reader responses to engage them in the text and serve as catalysts for class discussion throughout the novel. An example: What is the theme that is embedded in the feud between the Shepherdsons and the Grangerfords? These reader responses are designed for individual connection with a text, as well as to develop analytical writing skills.
· Novel terms identified and discussed (lists adapted from AP workshops). A quiz will follow that not only includes definitions, but will have application practice (SAMPLE AS ATTACHMENT B FOR POETRY).
· Archetype handout, developed from Griffith text and colleague. Settings such as the “river” discussed as applied to Huck Finn and characters identified where applicable. Students will refer to archetype sheet throughout the year as we develop the ability to see “into” a text, rather than simply read for comprehension.
Week Three—Companion Novels
· The novel Ellen Foster will be paralleled with Huck Finn, and sample texts will be analyzed for similarity between the two novels. The elements of literature related to the Civil Rights Movement will be compared and contrasted with the realism of the Civil War age.
· AP online handout: “An Exam Reader’s Advice on Writing,” and a writing handout on what AP readers look for—adapted from an AP colleague and Duke Tips.
· Assignment: Analytical paper—Comparing and Contrasting Ellen and Huck. Student edits for elements noted in week one that have continued as daily mini-lessons, as well as instructor feedback on same, will be provided (from this point forward this process will not be noted, but will be an understood component of daily and weekly writing).
· First AP practice test—multiple choice and essays. The poetry will be for practice only, the prose passage from Huck, and the free write will pull from any novel/play we have in our repertoire of knowledge. I will evaluate essays using the AP rubric and give detailed feedback on each essay. Besides the continual focus on sentence structure, transitional elements, thesis development, and cohesiveness we began in week one, we will now begin to add the next component required for AP level writing. Again using student essays, we will have numerous writing seminars and daily mini-lessons discussing how “all roads lead to tone” in a literary piece as well as how students must develop a controlling tone in their writing, how students must consider the voice and diction of their essays, and how sophisticated writing includes a range of vocabulary used in the appropriate manner. Students will consistently have my annotations of their writing to help revise these, as well as subsequent essays. Small group seminars, peer editing, and both pre- and post-conferencing with me will be utilized in various manners to improve upon students’ weaknesses. (Again, from this point forward in the course, these are understood components of all formal and informal writing.)
· A seminar will be held to discuss multiple-choice answers and possibilities. AP practice books will be issued to read about test-taking tips.
Week Four and Five—Women in Literature
· Feminist criticism (in Griffith).
· Kate Chopin and The Awakening. A graffiti journal will be the interactive project wherein students will use quotes, themes, words, and artwork to represent each chapter of the novel. Students will use creativity to develop meaning and interpretation (SEE ATTACHMENT C). A rubric will be used that evaluates: cover, use of quotes, creativity, content, and titles for each section.
· Kate Chopin’s short stories will end the week with focus on women’s roles throughout her time and in her works, analyzing her writing using a feminist approach. “Desiree’s Baby,” and “The Story of an Hour.”
· A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, using daily reader responses. Reader Responses will be chosen from weeks two to five, revised, and turned in. These responses should reflect true thought, personal connections to text, as well as the importance of literary devices such as tone, mood, diction, and style.
· Drama terms will be identified and discussed. Quiz will mirror the novel terms aforementioned.
· Essay day—practice AP open-ended simulation. Students will use the AP rubric and AP handouts from week three to score self and a partner, partners will create workshop groups with others, and each student will turn in a self-evaluation with all materials to me for further evaluation. Students will have the opportunity to rewrite this essay or one from the Huck practice test.
· Comprehensive Test #1—designed to test students on all texts studied from weeks 2-5. Students will show knowledge of literary terms, passage analysis, identification of key concepts, and will extend to essays that deal with the thematic implications of the works.
· Notecards due (see ATTACHMENT A from summer reading assignment) from weeks 2-5. These notecards, as they are developed over the year, will serve as a reminder and study guide as students prepare for comprehensive tests, practice tests, and the final AP test.
Week Six—Classic Drama
· “The Nature of Drama” pp.1027-32 in Perrine.
· Oedipus Rex—Students will study and evaluate tragedy and apply drama terms such as denouement, dramatic irony, and chorus. Socratic seminars will be held as we read aloud and discuss the importance of prior knowledge and mythological allusions in numerous texts.