General Course Information

Grade level (s) offered: 12

1.0 Credits (1/2 per semester)

Prerequisites: Accelerated 11 is highly recommended; it is expected that students enrolled in AP English Literature and Composition will take both the AP English exams in May. Check with your college to see what credits they offer for each or both tests.

Brief Course Description:

We will be analyzing literature from the point of view of the writer as well as of the reader to determine how the literature affects its readers and in what ways. We will "measure" literature against the history of philosophy to understand how literature fits into its own time as well as in all time. We will ask, "What is art?" and try to determine the qualities of great literature. In addition, our literary analysis will look at style and structure and a writer's diction, imagery, use of detail, language and syntax and to what effect. Vocabulary study is important. Writing well about literature is a key component of the class. Students will keep a writing log over the course of the year to document their improvement and to engage themselves in thinking about their writing.

Course Outcomes:

• to give students knowledge and skills they need to score a 3 or higher on the AP English Literature and Composition exam and the AP English Language and Composition exam. It is an expectation of the class that all students will take both AP exams in May
• to promote students' imaginative abilities in reaction to literature
• to help students find and explain (through discussion and writing) what is of value in literature
• to understand the nature of literature in an artistic sense and in its historical context
• to revisit the purposes and strategies of rhetoric
• to study vocabulary in the context of the literature and with college level word lists; to help students advance in vocabulary skills to cope with unfamiliar language

Methods of Instruction:

Discussion is the primary way in which students come to understand a particular work of fiction or poetry. Discussion is both large group and small group. Discussions are sometimes student led. Cooperative learning groups are also used extensively in this class. There are projects/assignments to be done individually as well.

Resources/Texts: (Texts listed below are generally included in course, but will vary from year to year).

• Sophie's World, Jostein Gaarder (Summer reading)
• Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
• The Canterbury Tales, (Selected Tales including the Knight's Tale) Chaucer
• The Inferno, Dante
• The Metamorphosis, Kafka (Independent reading)
• Tess of The D’Urbervilles, Hardy
• A Doll House, Ibsen
• The Death of Ivan Ilych, Tolstoy
• Paul’s Case, Cather
• Greenleaf, O’Connor
• A Good Man is Hard to Find, O'Connor
• Good Country People, O'Connor
• Araby, Joyce
• The Dead, Joyce
• The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde
• Brave New World, Huxley (Independent reading)
• 1984, Orwell
• One Hundred Years of Solitude, Marquez
• Native Son, Wright (Independent reading)
• Shakespeare (selection may vary from year to year)
• Various satirical selections
• Various persuasive and argument texts
• Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense, 8th Edition, Arp and Johnson
• Falcon Skills & Style Handbook
• Accelerated English 11 & AP English Glossary & Guide (from 11th grade )
• Elements of Arguement, ch. 7, Rottenberg
• Various Web Resources

Assessment:

• Assessment is done primarily through essays.
• Some quizzes are given (weekly vocabulary quizzes).
• Knowledge of literary terms is tested.
• Students are expected to be active participants in discussions. 
• An exam is given at the end of first semester.
• Students who take the AP test in May are not required to take the second semester exam.
• Students will create a writing log to help with self-assessment of writing.

Essay Summary:

1. AP Lit: A White Heron
2. Setting: Canterbury Tales
3. Tone: The Inferno
4. AP Language
5. Short Fiction: Campare & Contrast
6. Diction & Imagery:1984
7. Satire
8. AP Lit: The Crossing
9. AP Lit/Poetry: Death of a Toad
10. AP Language:
11. Responding to a critical analysis (first of two): partner
12. Responding to a critical analysis (second of two): individual

Grading:

• Standard English Department Grading Scale
• Grades are calculated using total points.
• AP Rubric for scoring essays (all essays worth 50 points)

• Review Summer Assignment: present projects
• Hand out syllabus & course calendar | Attendance is critical!!
• The Emperor's Three Questions
• Independent reading: Native Son (see below)
• Introduce Vocabulary Study & Weekly quizzes
• Introduce Elements of Lit terms for test
• Review Acc.11/AP Glossary & Guide
• The writing log binder
• Answering the "So What?" question (reference: an essay about essays)
• The first AP essay (not graded): A White Heron
  • talk through the process: what went right, wrong, what do you need?

Reviewing Rhetoric (2 weeks)

• Review Acc.11/AP Glossary & Guide
• ch. 7 "Language & Thought," Rottenberg
• Read Tom Wolfe article and other texts
• Argument/Rhetoric terms test
• Essay (4): AP Language
  

• Integrates the study of the literature/concepts/themes we have studied
• Is a new study of a text/concept
• Requires all students to write/contribute
• Is a collaborative or public performance