Mrs. Powell’s Pre- Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition

Grade Level Offered: 9th

bonnie_

School # 474-7702

Home # 460-9231

General Course Information

I] Course Description:

The Pre-AP 9th Grade Literature and Composition Course is an accelerated course designed to prepare students for success in their college- level AP Language and Literature courses. Our focus this year will be on literary analysis, close reading, vocabulary, process writing, and SAT preparation. Work hard; always do your best. Most of all- have fun.

We would also like to invite all pre- AP students to experience the Mock AP exam given to the current AP Literature students. The dates this year are Saturday, February 4th or Sunday, March 4th at 7:45 am. We will send out reminders and details as the dates grow closer.

II] Assignment Expectations:

· I will have a tentative agenda for the week on the board. It is imperative that you keep organized. There will be daily, weekly, monthly, and long-term assignments occurring simultaneously. It is YOUR responsibility to stay informed and to be prepared.

· All out-of-class papers, unless noted otherwise, should be typed, double-spaced in 12 point Times New Roman. MLA FORMAT. Do not wait until the due date to test your printer, for tech-breakdown will not be an excuse for an extension. If all else fails, write in blue or black pen, skipping lines. Students are expected to turn in the entire process of their writing - draft to final. You may rewrite one paper per quarter only after conferencing with me. I will document the average of the two grades.

· Assignments are due at the moment I ask for them; therefore, there will be a letter grade deduction for students who are tardy the day an assignment is due. If your assignment is not submitted that day, you will receive a zero. Please do not leave assignments in my box unless requested to do so.

· If you are too ill to attend class or there is an emergency, the papers and projects which are due should still be turned in on the due date via friend, parent, or through email. You are expected to meet your responsibilities to your group and to the class.

· Make-up work is available for absences which occur within your 9 absence window. Please refer to the Student Success handbook. You will have one week upon your return to make up the work. It is YOUR responsibility to see me before or after school.

III] Assignment Sampler:

· Student-centered class participation through workshopping, group work, peer teaching, and Socratic seminars. Students will be expected to participate fully by attending these sessions with the appropriate notes, outlines, rough drafts, questions, comments, visuals as the assignment requires.

· Creative individual and group presentations

· Organized notebook including journals used to connect with the literature and to spark class discussion

· Essays- An AP rubric of 0-9 applies. You will have these rubrics at the beginning of the year, and we will spend time prior to each type of writing discussing the terminology and expectations highlighted within the rubric. In addition we explore sample essays which run the gamut of scores. Essays will include in-class and take-home timed tests (50 points) and take-home essays (100 points). Some type of Evaluation Sheet or Rubric will accompany each writing assignment and will be returned with the evaluated assignment. In some cases the student will be asked to score his or her essay after it has been marked up, and in some cases students will evaluate one another

· Multiple-choice practice and objective quizzes

· Weekly vocabulary and terminology quizzes

· SAT Language and Reading Practice

· Introduction to the MLA format and researched assignments

IV] Thematic Coverage- based on dualities that will lead us to themes.

Conformity and Rebellion

Dreams and Reality

Savagery and Civilization

Innocence to Experience- The Hero’s Journey

Tragedy and Triumph

V] Skill Coverage: ALL ROADS LEAD to HOW and WHY- Tone and Theme

LITERARY ANALYSIS

· Point of view

· Characterization

· Setting

· Structure- Form

· Symbol

· Allusion

· Irony

· Tone

· Theme

CLOSE READING

· Literary devices

· Diction

· Syntax

VI] Writing Exploration:

· Writing about close reading

· Literary analysis- timed and take-home

· Narrative and Persuasive essays

· Creative writings

· Introduction to explications and writing about poetry

· Comparison/ Contrast

· Researched assignment

VII] Materials

1) A three-ring binder for English ONLY divided into four (4) sections: I) Course Materials (general miscellany), II) Vocabulary, III) Literature Notes, IV) Essays (I will be doing random checks and will recollect returned work at any time, so please ensure that you label everything, keep it in the correct section, and come prepared.

2) A supply of blue or black pens, pencils, a highlighter, sticky notes, and flash drive

3) Home access to a dictionary and thesaurus. See me if you need either.

4) Your texts: Prentice Hall, Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes, Gold Level,; Vocabulary Power Plus, Level 1. and assorted novels and plays.

VIII] Supplementary Resources: In addition to selected short stories, essays, poems, the following is a tentative list of full-length works not included in our text which we may encounter this year. Your plays and novels may be checked out, but I highly recommend buying your own copy if at all possible. See list below:

· Anthem, Rand (summer text)

· A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry

· Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck

· Lord of the Flies, Golding

· Animal Farm, Orwell

· I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Angelou, or Tuesdays with Morrie, Albom

IX] Recommended Resources handy for your high school English career and beyond:

· A Pocket Style Manual, (Fifth Edition), Diana Hacker ( We recommend that each 9th grade honors student purchase this book, for it will be useful for the remainder of high school and into college.)

· The AP College Board website

· An SAT Prep Book- we have the College Board publication available for check out.

X] Independent readings- 1 per quarter: I will provide you with a list of authors and playwrights from which to choose. The list will come from titles from past AP Free Response Questions available @ (homepage.mac.com/mseffie/AP/APtitles.html ) should you want to look it over. Assignment details to follow.

XI] How Will I Be Graded?

Your grade will be based on total points accumulated per grading period. Point values will vary according to the complexity of the assignment. For example, class work may be worth 5 points while an essay may be worth 100 points. You may redo one paper per quarter (you have to have written the original paper for this to apply); however, you must make an appointment to work with me on the revisions either before or after school. You have also been given a BONUS OPPORTUNITY sheet which will be entirely your responsibility to read and utilize if is important to you.

Grading Scale

100 – 90 = A

89 -80 = B

79 – 70 = C

69 – 60 = D

Below 60 = F

Students must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale to participate in interscholastic extracurricular activities.

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This class is meant to be challenging, and your best will be expected. That said, if you ever need extra assistance or have concerns, let me know so I can help. I want this experience to be a positive one. Let’s have a great year! I am looking forward to working with you.

B. Powell