Information Technology High School - Ms. Conn
Information Technology High School
AP English Literature Syllabus
2019-2020
Instructors: Ms. Conn and Mrs. Backer
Grade Level Offered: 12
2 Credits (1 credit per semester)
Course Overview
AP English Literature and Composition is a college-level course that follows the curricular requirements outlined in the College Board’s AP English Course Description. The course will provide students with intellectual challenges and workload consistent with those of an undergraduate English course. In this course, students will study drama, poems, short fiction, non-fiction, and novels that offer a panoramic perspective of the human experience. Through close reading of literary texts from a wide array of genres and time periods, students will come to understand the qualities inherent in great literature. Students will explore answers to the following questions: How are the struggles of humankind reflected in the universal themes of literature? What role does the understanding of these themes play in the present and future development of humanity? How does our writing, here and now, contribute to the collective “history” of humankind?
The demands of this course will be rigorous, but with substantial intellectual reward and accomplishment. Literary analysis will include the study of figurative language, diction, rhetoric, style, structure, language and syntax. Mastery of literary terms will be essential. Vocabulary study will be incorporated. There will be a significant amount of reading followed by a significant amount of discussion and written interpretation. Writing well about literature will be mandated. Students will compose substantial writing over the course of the year.
Course Objectives
In this course, you will accomplish the following:
• Improve close reading and analytical strategies.
• Stretch imaginative abilities in reaction to literature.
• Improve your ability to find and explain (through discussion and writing) what is of value in literature.
• Explain the function of character, setting, plot, structure, and narrator/speaker.
• Explain the function of word choice, imagery and symbols.
• Explain the function of comparison.
• Develop textually substantial arguments about interpretations of part or all of a text.
• Develop and explain figurative language, including tone, voice, and diction.
• Improve organization in writing to improve coherence and emphasis.
• Advance vocabulary skills and language appropriation.
Reading Assignments
The most essential requirement for this course is that students read every assignment—read it with care and read it on time. Students will need to plan time in their schedule for more reading than most courses require in high school. Poetry will need to be read multiple times, so do not think that poetry assignments will be easier because they are shorter in length. Novels will demand planning and extensive time devoted to reading and analysis.
Writing Assignments
In this course, students will use writing in three capacities: to understand, to explain, and to evaluate. Papers will be examined based on four standards of writing effectiveness: content/support, organization/clarity, style and mechanics. Through workshops and the revision process, emphasis will predominantly focus on the writing process, thus fostering maximum individual growth. Students will compose critical, creative, informal and formal AP-based writing.
Critical writing asks that you evaluate the effectiveness of a literary piece, but to be an effective evaluator, one must understand and explain. The critical writing opportunities will include, but are not limited to, explications of a poem and a play, a close reading of a novel, and a research-based novel analysis. The specifics will be addressed throughout the year. Students will be expected to include specific and well-chosen evidence to articulate their analysis of poems, drama, and fiction. The critical writings are based on close textual analysis of structure, style (language, imagery, symbolism, tone) and social/historical values. Writing will be examined in in-class and on-line workshops. Students will be expected to examine and create rubrics based on the AP English 9-point rubric.
Creative writing will also be a component of this course and will be assessed based on knowledge and application of appropriate structures and styles within the assignment’s parameters. Techniques to be addressed include structure, theme, and style (diction, syntax, figurative language, symbolism, and tone). Creative writing opportunities include, but are not limited to, sonnets, group-authored and class-presented poetry, fiction stories, and others. These assignments must be typed and proofread before turned in to me.
All forms of writing will fall under the categories of informal (classwork, homework or formative assessment) and formal (summative assessment). The informal pieces will be assessed based on depth of analysis and less on structure. Formal writing will be long, thorough writing in which you will be given substantial preparation time and a grading rubric.
Throughout the course, students will utilize workshop and language mini-lessons to assist in the goal of developing stylistic maturity in writing and language usage. Vocabulary and language development will also be included in accordance with mastery-level objectives.
Writing Evaluation
For your writing, you will be evaluated by the AP rubric, which evaluates:
• Ideas and Content
• Insight and Support
• Voice
• Organization
• Word Choice and Sentence Fluency
• Conventions
Grading
Grades in this course will assess progress over time—improvement and hard work. Grades will reflect commitment which may include, but is not limited to the following: attention to knowledge and acquisition and improvement in literary study, timely efforts, class attendance and participation, cooperative working to acquire knowledge and help others improve writing and reading analysis. Grading will be based on class discussion and activities during class, out-of-class reading and other assignments, and papers written in and out of class.
Grading Scale
|Course Work |Percent of Final Grade |
|Summative Assessments (Exams, Formal Papers, and Projects) |25% |
|Formative Assessments (Reading Quizzes, Vocabulary Quizzes, Exit |25% |
|Slips) | |
|Class Participation (In-class reading analysis, writings, |35% |
|discussion and overall participation) | |
|Homework |15% |
Course Outline
Weekly Vocabulary Acquisition:
Objectives are to
• Improve vocabulary knowledge and competence.
• Improve sentence fluency, sentence variety and grammatical conventions.
Introduction to Course (1-2 weeks)
• Hand out syllabus and course calendar
• Set the tone for the course: The Emperor’s Three Questions (Tolstoy)
• The First AP Essay
-Talk through the process: what went right, what went wrong, and what do you need?
• Introduce Vocabulary Study
Unit 1: Short Fiction I (2-3 weeks)
• Short Fiction Unit: “The Story of an Hour” (Chopin) and “Girl” (Kincaid)
-Analytical Focus: dialogue, characterization, setting, plot, point of view
-Thematic Focus: liberation, societal expectations and limitations, complexities of family relationships
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (contemporary prose)
Unit 2: Poetry (2 weeks)
• “My Last Duchess” (Browning), “I am Offering This Poem” (Santiago Baca), “Theme for English B” (Hughes)
-Analytical Focus: structure, repetition, simile, metaphor
-Thematic Focus: self-importance, identity exploration, facing adversity
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (contemporary/20th century poetry)
Unit 3: Longer Fiction or Drama (3-4 weeks)
• Hamlet (Shakespeare), Oedipus Rex (Sophocles), The Importance of Being Earnest (Wilde), excerpt from Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston)
-Analytical Focus: characterization, point of view, setting, conflict, plot
-Thematic Focus: identity formation vs. societal expectations, self-knowledge
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions, free-response paper (contemporary/20th century prose) and literary argument
Unit 4: Short Fiction II (3 weeks)
• “Two Kinds” (Tan) and additional short fiction texts
-Analytical Focus: characterization (including narrator, protagonist, antagonist, and archetype), conflicts, setting, mood, atmosphere, tone, imagery, figurative language
-Thematic Focus: parent-child relationship
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (contemporary/20th century prose)
Unit 5: Poetry II (3-4 weeks)
• “How Do I Love Thee?” (Browning), “The Fish” (Bishop), “The Sun Rising” (Donne)
-Analytical Focus: structure, hyperbole, literal vs. figurative meanings, imagery, metaphorical comparisons, extended metaphors, personification, allusion
-Thematic Focus: TBD
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (pre-20th century poetry)
Unit 6: Longer Fiction or Drama II (2-3 weeks)
• A Doll’s House (Ibsen), excerpts from Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston), excerpt from Frankenstein (Shelley)
-Analytical Focus: characterization (including foil characters and complexities of character), structure, function of contrasts, irony, tone, diction, syntax, point of view, symbolism
-Thematic Focus: women’s rights, humanity, the outcast
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (pre-20th century prose) and literary argument
Unit 7: Short Fiction III (3-4 weeks)
• “A Rose for Emily” (Faulkner) and additional short fiction texts
-Analytical Focus: development of character, epiphany, conflict, setting, plot, structure, syntax, symbolism, imagery, motif, simile, personification
-Thematic Focus: societal expectations, fate vs. free will
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (contemporary prose)
Unit 8: Poetry III (3-4 weeks)
• Shakespeare’s Sonnets (selections) and additional poems
-Analytical Focus: structure, imagery, contrast/paradox, irony, symbolism, metaphor, allusion
-Thematic Focus: societal expectations, romantic love
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (metaphysical poem)
Unit 9: Longer Fiction or Drama III (3-4 weeks)
• The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde), The Nameksake (Lahiri), The Kite Runner (Hosseini)
-Analytical Focus: dynamic and static characters, characterization, plot, conflicts, point of view, setting, diction, syntax, irony
-Thematic Focus: alienation, societal expectations, self-determination
-Formative and Summative Assessments: online multiple-choice questions and free-response paper (pre-20th century prose) and literary argument
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