English Literature and Composition

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "English Literature and Composition"

Beatrix Chase
5 years ago
Views:

1 English Literature and Composition Brief Description of Course Designed to provide a college-level experience, this course will adequately prepare students for the successful completion of the AP English Literature and Composition Exam, which they will take in May. The course will follow the guidelines presented in the AP English Course Description and will satisfy the Curricular Requirements demanded of this course. AP English Literature will: include an intensive study of representative works from American and British Literature, in different genres, from the 6th Century to contemporary times; teach students to write an interpretation of literature that is based on careful observation of textual details; include frequent opportunities for students to write and rewrite formal, extended analyses as well as timed, in-class responses; and provide frequent teacher feedback on students writing assignments, before and after the students revise their work. This course will focus heavily on British Literature and will include American Novels and Plays, as well. Non-fiction will be used throughout, as necessary. The class will sometimes begin with a reading journal during the first ten minutes of class, a discussion of Class Preparation Assignments, or a general discussion. We will often have timed-writing exercises. Furthermore, a class Vocabulary List will remain in the classroom and will grow as the material we discuss grows. The first week of the course will include an introduction to the class, a discussion of the AP Exam, and a general discussion of literature: Why do we read? What are the different genres? What is the difference between understanding, analyzing, and evaluating literature? Etc. Unit Information Unit : Introduction to the Course and Old English and Medieval English Period What is literature? Reading, Responding, Recognizing Literature. What is composition and language? Analyzing Literature: genre study; language (style); audience; the nature of writing assignments in AP Literature. Discussion of Horace s dictum that good literature must be "dulce et utile." Discussion and preview of the AP Exam. Preview of the works to be taught this semester. Review Summer Reading Excerpts from Beowulf, The Seafarer, Chaucer s Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, "The Pardoner s Tale, The Wife of Bath s Tale, Four Folk Ballads. First In-Class, Timed Writing Assignment: Unit 2: The English Renaissance Period Poetry: Sonnets and Other Forms Sonnet, Sonnet 35, Sonnet 75, Sonnet 3, Sonnet 39, The Passionate Shepherd, The Nymph s Reply, Sonnet 29, Sonnet06, Sonnet 6, The Mystery of the Sonnets, Sonnet 30, Speech Before Her Troops, Examination of Don Luis de Cordoba, from The King James Bible, from The Sermon Taught on the Mount, Parables in World Literature. Other selected Sonnets. Explication Essays Develop class-created rubrics to evaluate essays; considering diction, syntax, structure, specificity and generalization, spelling, penmanship, rhetorical techniques, etc. Unit 3: Shakespeare Macbeth Due: Recitation of Sonnet 9

2 Timed in-class essays: topic TBD Unit 4: American Drama Death of a Salesman Timed in-class essays: topic TBD The Basics (Staging, Acting, Theme, Structure, Spectacle, Song, Character, Plot, Soliloquy, Aside, etc.) Addressing local issues and briefly touching upon global improvement of essays: structure, flow, and overall effect. Developing a class-based rubric focusing of diction, syntax, structure, style, specificity and generalities, rhetorical techniques, spelling, and penmanship. In-Class Conferences on Each Student s Writing MIDTERM Unit 5: The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning, Holy Sonnet 0, Meditation 7, On My First Son, To His Coy Mistress, To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time, Song, excerpts from Paradise Lost, excerpts from Dante s Inferno, To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars, To Althea, from Prison, excerpt from Neverwhere, A Modest Proposal, from The Rape of the Lock, and excerpts from Days of Obligation. Explication Essays Unit 6: The Romantic Period Robert Burns, William Blake, Wordsworth, Comparing Lyric Poetry Around the World, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, George Gordon, Lord Byron, Shelley, Keats. Unit 7: Euripides Medea and Shakespeare s The Taming of the Shrew: comedy as method for showing humanity s capacity to be ridiculed. Students use the writing process to compose an essay that compares and contrasts male and female roles in Medea and The Taming of the Shrew. Comparison of Shakespeare s theatre with the Greek model. Exploring a theme in both plays, developing a thesis, and drafting an essay. In-class timed writing on AP-level question. FINAL FOR FIRST SEMESTER SECOND SEMESTER UNIT OUTLINE Unit : Review Revisiting local issues, but focusing on global improvement of essays: structure, flow, and overall effect. Developing a class-based rubric focusing of diction, syntax, structure, style, specificity and generalities, rhetorical techniques, spelling, and penmanship. In-Class Essays In-Class Conferences on each student s writing Othello Unit 2: The Victorians Alfred, Lord Tennyson; Robert Browning; Elizabeth Barrett Browning; Charles Dickens Hard Times; Anton Chekhov s An Upheaval ; Matthew Arnold; Emily Bronte; Thomas Hardy; Gerard Manley Hopkins; and A.E. Housman. Unit 3: AP Prep Practice exams and essays for the AP Examination

3 MIDTERM Unit 4: Modern and Post-Modern Experience The Second Coming, The Hollow Men, A Room of One s Own, Araby, The Rocking- Horse Winner, A Shocking Accident, The Soldier, Iraqi War Blog, The Demon Lover, Shooting an Elephant, B. Wordsworth Explication Essays Unit 5: Post-Modern Novels Things Fall Apart and The Stranger Unit 6: AP Prep Practice exams and essays for the AP Examination Books. Pearson Literature: The British Tradition, Pearson (200). 2. Arthur Miller s Death of a Salesman 3. Chinua Achebe s Things Fall Apart 4. Albert Camus s The Stranger 5. Euripides Medea 6. Shakespeare s The Taming of the Shrew 7. Shakespeare s Othello During the school year, students will be assessed through tests, quizzes, notebook work, homework, papers, projects, and class participation. The breakdown for these categories is as follows: Tests /Quizzes (40%) Homework/Classwork (20%) Papers and Essays (5%) Projects and Presentations (5%) Participation (0%) *The student s citizenship and work habits grade reflects cooperation, honesty, respect, class participation, completion of work and preparation for class. The grade will be determined by a combination of the student s actions and behavior in class towards other students and the teacher and by his/her abilities to follow classroom rules in addition to turning in assignments on time, percentage of participation points, and having materials for class. Each student s academic grade will be determined by the average of total points earned at the end of each grading period. A + = 99 00% A = 94 98% A - = 90 93% B + = 87 89% B = 84 86% B - = 80-83% C + = 77 79% C = 74 76% C - = 70 73% D + = 67-69% D = 64 66% D - = 60 63% F = 59% and below CITIZENSHIP GRADE: O = Outstanding = Student has exemplary behavior, has maximum participation points, and

4 always has materials for class. S = Satisfactory = Student has occasionally broken classroom rules, has more than average participation points, and usually brings materials to class. N = Needs Improvement = Student has broken classroom and school rules, has minimal participation points, and rarely brings materials to class. U = Unsatisfactory = Student frequently breaks classroom and school rules, has no participation, and never brings materials to class. CLASS/HOMEWORK/LATEWORK POLICY We will always have homework. Class Preparation Assignments will be due at the beginning of class and homework packets will be due every few weeks. If it is not turned in promptly at the beginning of class, it will receive a late grade. In addition, class work is due at the end of each period, unless otherwise determined. If it is not turned promptly, it will receive a late grade. Students have only two days to turn in late work. If work is turned in a day late, 20% will be discounted from their grade earned on the assignment. If work is two days late, 40% will be discounted from their grade earned. Assignments turned in more than two days late will not be accepted and students will earn a zero on that assignment. When students have an approved absence, they have 2 days for each day of absence to make up missed work and tests. It is the responsibility of the student to follow up with teachers regarding their lessons, assignments, and exams. If a student misses a test or a quiz, and his/her absence is unexcused, the test or quiz may not be made up. If the student has an excused note, he/she must take the test or quiz on the second day that he/she returns to school. Students will be assigned study groups in class and may exchange phone numbers with their group to get assignments when they are absent or to have a source for assistance when doing an assignment. Students should access the class TWS on the school website to see what they missed in class or what is assigned for homework. When they are absent, students are expected to make up notes, classwork, and homework. They should come during break, lunch, or after school office hours to speak to the teacher about make-up work. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Academic dishonesty (otherwise referred to as cheating) includes, but is not limited to: Use of cell phone or other signaling device Copying another student s work or assignment Putting your name on someone else s project or work Copying another student s answer during a quiz or test Using a cheat sheet during a quiz or test Helping or giving the answer to other student(s) Plagiarism of internet materials Possession of any unauthorized materials during an exam

5 Changing an answer after work has been graded and presenting it as improperly graded The teacher is in charge and responsible for determining if cheating has occurred. Consequences for cheating are: st Violation: Referral to the principal, parent conference, an F on the work, hour principalassigned detention after school 2nd Violation: Referral to the principal, parent conference, in-house suspension 3rd Violation: Referral to the principal, parent conference, suspension 4th Violation: Referral to the principal, parent conference, F in the class, and class must be repeated in the summer CLASS BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATIONS Students are expected to arrive to each class on time and be in their seat ready to begin work when the bell rings. Students who arrive to class after the bell will be marked tardy. After the fourth tardy, students will receive an office referral and will receive an office assigned consequence for that tardy and every tardy thereafter. In class tardy consequences are as follows: st : Warning 2 nd and 3 rd : Parent notification by teacher 4 th: Referral to office and office assigned consequences CLASS RULES ) Respect yourself and others 2) Arrive to class on time and be in your seat ready for instruction. 3) Come Prepared: Bring all proper materials to class 4) If you have a question, raise your hand and wait to be called upon. 5) Do not leave you seat unless you have permission. 6) No food, drinks, or gum allowed (except bottled water) 6) No cell phones 7) I will dismiss you soon after the bell Consequences: Verbal Warning Change seats Contact parents Referral to the office Teacher assigned detention Lunch Teacher assigned detention After school Parent/teacher/administrator conference If a school rule is broken (ie. gum chewing, not wearing uniform) or if a severe situation arises, students will automatically receive the last consequence COMMUNICATION Notifying Parents: All grades will be recorded and updated weekly on teacherease.com. If your child s progress falls from satisfactory to unsatisfactory between the progress report and the final grade, you

6 will be notified by a phone call or you will receive a notice by . Phone (school): (626) rflores@agbumhs.org Please leave a message if I am unavailable, and I will return you call as soon as possible. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like to meet to discuss the progress of your child. =================================================================== CUT CUT Dear Parent Please print this form and fill in applicable information on the following page and have your child return it to class no later than Friday August 4th. Student Name (please print) Parent/Guardian Name(s): Phone Number (best reached): Parent Address: () (2) By signing this form, you are indicating that you and your student have reviewed this syllabus and understand all class rules and policies. Signature

CLASS EXPECTATIONS Respect yourself, the teacher & others 2. Put forth your best effort at all times Be prepared for class each day

CLASS EXPECTATIONS Respect yourself, the teacher & others 2. Put forth your best effort at all times Be prepared for class each day CLASS EXPECTATIONS 1. Respect yourself, the teacher & others Show respect for the teacher, yourself and others at all times. Respect others property. Avoid touching or writing on anything that does not