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Advanced Placement English (APE) Literature and Composition
Syllabus for 2016-2017: Teacher – Mrs. J. Beaven
Welcome! You will be embarking on a whole new high school experience this year. This course is
rigorous, requiring you to become critically and personally involved in reading and writing.
Through this course students will be involved in literature from various genres, geographical areas, and time periods. Writing will be in the modes of writing to understand, writing to explain, and writing to evaluate. A student’s role is to meet the challenge of the course with vigor and intensity, to listen, facilitate, edit, write, and read, and grow as a writer, a reader, and as a human being. The teacher’s role is to instruct, facilitate, read, write, edit, and encourage improvement and growth in both critical reading and analytical/creative writing.
The APE course is based on the objectives put forth by the College Board in the English Literature and Composition Course Guide, as well as those objectives set forth by the state. The primary objectives are as follows:
1. Students will study representative works from various genres from the sixteenth century to contemporary times, focusing on American and British authors.
2. Students will interpret literature through the careful observation of textual detail. Students will observe structure, style and theme. Students will consider the social and historical values of the work. Students will consider and analyze the uses of literary elements such as figurative language, imagery, symbolism and tone.
3. Students will write frequently: formally and informally, extended analyses and timed responses, in class and out of class. Writing will be for the purpose of understanding, explanation, and evaluation.
The Summer Experience
APE Students (APES) will begin their APE experience during the summer with some preparatory reading and terminology practice. At the end of the syllabus is a list of literary terminology with which all APES must be familiar. Students are to study the highlighted terms and be ready for a test on the first Monday of the school year.
For each assigned summer reading, students are to take notes, using the dialectical note method (as explained on page 11), to create a one-page synopsis, and to respond to the text appropriate question on my wikispace – Mrs. Beaven’s English page by the assigned due date. The notes will be checked on the first day of class, and the blog responses will be checked throughout the summer.
The summer texts are as follows:
How to Read Literature like a Professor, Foster (to be read with post by July 10)
The Bluest Eye, Morrison
The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger
Heart of Darkness, Conrad
One text from the IRA list (on page 4)
Extra credit will be given to students who read the other in-class texts, do dialectical notes, and have them ready on the first day of class.
The Classroom Experience
There are many expectations for students who embark on the APE experience. School expectations are that students acknowledge and comply with the school rules as are designated in the school handbook. My expectations, beyond the objectives set forth previously, are that students come to class prepared to accomplish the goals for the day, that students actively participate in the learning that is going on in the classroom and out of it, that students acknowledge and adhere to deadlines and assignment due dates, and that students give all of their efforts to help in their own preparation for the AP English Literature and Composition exam.
There are some policies that are only relevant to my class. They are as follows:
Late work: Late work will only be accepted for homework/projects that extend beyond two days of work time. No late next day work will be accepted. Please make allowances or special arrangements for any assignment that you might not be able to get in on time. The exempted late work must be submitted within one week of the original assignment due date; after that week the grade will be a zero.
Grading: Grading is based on four categories:
1. Tests and quizzes 35%
2. Essays and presentations/projects 35%
3. Homework and notes 15%
4. Class participation/facilitation and in-class group activities 15%
Tests and quizzes: Tests and quizzes will be given in relation to the readings and vocabulary that we are working on at the time. All tests will be announced at least five days prior to the actual test. Tests will include objective and subjective assessment, meaning there will be multiple choice, matching, true and false questions, and short answer or essay questions. Quizzes may not be announced in advance. Vocabulary quizzes will occur on the Friday, or final day, of the week that the list is assigned.
Essays and presentations: Students will be writing essays throughout the year. These essays will be started in the classroom, will be edited and rewritten outside of the classroom, and will be submitted to www.turnitin.com, as well as to the teacher. Students may re-submit an essay at any time within the current grading period for further editing, improvement of a current grade, or when revision is teacher required. There is no set schedule for presentations. Scheduled presentations for this year include: vocabulary preparation, voice lessons, grammar practice, Othello recitations, poetry analysis, research paper material, short story boot camp coverage, and creative writing share.
Homework and notes: Students are expected to do periodic homework for the literature dependent on the assigned reading. Students are also responsible for practice of the vocabulary and grammar topic for the week.
Class participation: Class participation can make or break an APE grade. It is imperative that all students get involved in the class discussions. It is also imperative that each student facilitate a class discussion at least once a grading period. The value of participation can be measured in the student’s ability to transfer thought to a verbal statement to a written statement. Students will be evaluated through active participation, Socratic seminars, and during reciprocal teaching, as well as other large and small group activities.
The Writing Experience
Reference Text: Strunk Jr., William and E.B. White. The Elements of Style, 4th edition. Needham Heights, Ma.: Pearson Education Co., 2000.
Students should expect to write an essay about every two weeks. The writing experience will include practice for the AP exam in May, informal writing (ex. journals, quick writes, etc.), expository and analytical writing (explanation of an author’s use of tone, an interpretation of a poem’s theme), and argumentative essays (ex. research papers, the social implications of a text, etc.). Students will also have the opportunity to write creatively. Most of the writing experience will be connected to the class readings, unless otherwise noted. Students will end the year with an extensive portfolio of writings.
Except for the initial and final practice AP essays, all writing will go through at least three drafts; they will be edited by student peers, by the instructor, and then will be submitted for a grade. After an initial grade, as stated earlier, students may re-submit essays for further editing or grade improvement. If required by the teacher to re-submit an essay, a conference must be scheduled with the teacher to discuss the needed revisions/corrections.
The Reading Experience
Class Text: Arp, Thomas A. and Greg Johnson. Perrine’s Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2002.
Over the last three years, students have been exposed to a general overview of literature (9th grade), American Literature (10th grade), and British Literature (11th grade). The authors, texts, and writing experiences have been challenging. For APE, students will have a world literature experience, and the writing will showcase the students’ knowledge and appreciation of its role in contemporary life and values.
Students will read texts in a variety of genres and time periods. As texts are read, students will investigate the author and the time period in which the text was written. Culture and value will play a role in how students read and interpret the text. Connections will be made between the events/activities of the author and the time period of the text and between the text and our current time period. These connections along with the close readings of the text will lead to interpretations and further analysis. Essential questions will help to focus student thought, and the writing, be it expository, analytical, or evaluative, will also be focused on these questions.
Students will actively engage in large group discussions as well as small group discussions to provide opportunity to not only analyze the literature, but also to evaluate its role in past cultures and in contemporary culture. Evaluations of student reading will be through reading journals/dialectical notes, quickwrites, projects, focused essays, etc. Students are expected to be actively engaged in their reading experience.
Independent Reading Assignments are meant to continue to expose students to works of literary merit. Students may choose a text from the list below to read. Students will write a three page paper: two pages will focus on an analytical/interpretive reading of the text, and one page will be a personal response to the text. Students may choose to discuss any literary element of the text so long as their essay shows careful reading and an attempt to apply their understanding of the text to contemporary time.
Independent Reading List (IRA)
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The Alchemist, Coehlo
All the King’s Men, Penn
The Awakening, Chopin
Beloved, Morrison
Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky
Death of a Salesman, Miller*
- in the text book
The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood*
In Cold Blood, Capote
Invisible Man, Ellison
(I have these available)
The Kite Runner, Hosseni
Life of Pi, Martel
Ordinary People, Guest*
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Joyce*
Pride and Prejudice, Austen
The Sound and the Fury, Faulkner*
The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway*
Wuthering Heights, Bronte*
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Stowe
* indicates that the books are in the bag of books you have already received
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The Research Paper
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Second Semester, approx. weeks 4 - 12
In the second semester, students will be required to write an extended argumentative paper. Students will choose a social issue, historical or contemporary, and investigate both sides of the issue. Students will explain the controversy by briefly describing both sides of the argument. Students will then argue the side they most believe in. Included within this argument will be three pieces of literature – from a variety of genres and time periods – which portray and support the position taken. Students will be encouraged to identify pieces that are informative and argumentative, fiction or non-fiction. The length of the paper will be determined by the students complete and cohesive arguments, yet the expected length will be between six to eight pages, not including the outline and works cited page. MLA style must be used for referencing all sources; a works cited page must be utilized.
Mrs. Beaven – Contact Information: Feel free to contact me in one of the following ways if you have any questions.
Email:
Wikispace: Mrs. Beaven’s English page, beavenenglish.wikispaces.com
Google Classroom: class code – xv964x (once you join you are int)
School phone #: 330-873-3315 (this summer, this will change)
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Guidelines for the Dialectical Journal
(Used with all texts, including the summer readings)
Dialectical: applying principles of logical examination to analysis, exposition, and criticism.
In an effort to become more reflective readers, those who experience an interaction between themselves and what they read, we will be using a dialectical journal for note-taking. This type of journal allows you to record your thoughts as you read. Not only will you have a record that you have read the assigned work, but by writing, you can increase your comprehension of the work. The columns of your journal should be set up on your own paper like the model below.
Notes, summary, quotations, observations, page, lines Observation, reactions, responses
Questions, notes, figurative language, etc. Act, scene connections, speculations, etc
Journal Guidelines
· Divide your pages into three columns as shown in the model.
· Be sure to enclose quotations in quotation marks and indicate the page number in the center column. If taking notes on poetry indicate line number; if a play, indicate act, scene and line.
· Do not summarize the plot of the novel; instead, record details, notes, and or quotations that you find important, significant, striking or confusing in some way. Look for significant changes in character, thematic ideas, motifs, reoccurring elements.
· In your observation column, record comments to explain a quotation, assertions about character, comments on interesting diction, imagery, setting, theme, point of view, characterization, any other literary devices you notice, and questions about material not understood. This area is a good vehicle to moving toward understanding of a text and how it makes meaning.
· Write in your journal legibly so that it can be easily read; however, you do not have to recopy your journal to make it “pretty” or “neat.” A journal need not be perfect in grammar or spelling, but you should be sure to spell proper names correctly.
· Note: A dialectical journal is not just a personal response journal. It is a method of taking notes while you are analyzing literature at the same time.
Some sage advice from a note-taker/grader
· Do not procrastinate – do your notes early and while you are reading.
· Decide when you want to write in your journal. Some readers like to record their thoughts as they read in a written conversation with the text; others prefer to read, highlight passages (only if the text is your own) and then record responses when they have finished reading for the day. Regardless of the method you choose, do not wait until you are finished reading the entire novel before beginning your journal. Write while you are still in the process of reading.
· Look for connections to other literature or to current events. Literature often sparks memories of other works, other media such as television, movies, radio, newspapers, and magazines. Look for similar themes, personalities, or the like and note them in your journal.
· Reread your journal as you continue to read the text. Revise your ideas as you change your thinking and understanding. Revise your predictions as you write.