AP Literature and Composition Course Syllabus Instructor Contact Information: Instructor: Ms. Mapes E-mail: kmapes@hbr429.org School phone: 815-286-7500 ext 7524 Cell phone (texts only): 815-694-0806 Availability: Mornings: M, T and F 8-8:35 Afternoons: M-F from 3:05-3:35 (later if scheduled) Website: http://hbrmapes.weebly.com/ https://classroom.google.com Course Introduction Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition is designed to imitate a college level, freshman English course. By performing well on the AP Exam in May, students will be able to obtain one year of college credit in English. Thus, the pace and depth of this class is equal to a college level. This class will be both stimulating and demanding with the core goal to encourage students to read, write and discuss works critically and with energy and imagination (College Board). Whether you plan on being an English major or not, all college courses will require you to read, discuss and write about your ideas. No matter how well you do on the AP Exam (and all of you will do well), the best part of this class is that you will be more prepared for college classes next fall (yes, in just one year!). It is important, in that case, to take this class seriously in preparation for your future. What I Expect As an AP Lit student I expect you to: Come prepared to class everyday having your homework completed and materials on hand Participate frequently in discussion and to ask questions about anything and everything you are thinking about in the reading Complete writing assignments on time and demonstrate a desire to improve your writing skills throughout the course of the year Come to me at an appropriate time to discuss any concerns you have over the class, a reading you may be struggling with, your grade or anything else that might arise Materials Although you will receive copies of all of the books, it may benefit some of you to buy your own copy. This way you are able to annotate in your book instead of having to use post-it notes. All of these books are available at a very low cost on websites like amazon.com and ebay.com. You may also bring the books to class on a tablet device such as an ipad or Kindle. Textbook: Literature & Composition Jago, Shea, Scanlon and Aufses (Don t buy this one) How to Read Literature like a Professor Thomas C. Foster Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad Lord of the Flies William Golding Frankenstein Mary Shelley Rime of the Ancient Mariner Samuel Taylor Coleridge King Lear William Shakespeare Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston The Importance of Being Ernest Oscar Wilde A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift Selected poetry
*Although not required, I encourage each of you to purchase an AP prep book. This class will prepare you well for the exam, but those of you who do a little extra studying on your own will almost guarantee a good result on the exam. I recommend 5 Steps to a 5 AP English Literature. Reading Students will be reading a wide range of texts from various genres and time periods. These texts require close reading and frequent discussion to understand their complexity of meaning. Close reading of texts will be completed through annotations, multiple readings and various critical approaches. Students will be assigned reading every night and will be required to read 20-30 pages. Students are given a reading calendar and therefore should plan ahead. Reading will also be assigned over winter and spring break. The literature read will be discussed in class daily. These discussions will range from small group to Socratic Seminar and graded to ungraded. No matter how these discussions are structured, they are extremely important. Through the discussion of literature you are able to achieve a better understanding of what you are reading and broaden your scope of understanding beyond your own thoughts and ideas by listening to others. Class discussions will focus on the social, cultural, historical and literary significance and values of each piece. Writing Students will be required to complete several different types of writing to both further their skills for the exam and to gain a deeper understanding of the material they ve read. Informal Writing Although titled as informal, this writing still requires the excellent writing style used in formal writing assignments. This writing is considered informal because it is used as a way to discover and expand your ideas about the literature we read in class. You will encounter informal writing through annotating novels, free writing, and completing reflective responses. This type of writing will be done each week, if not more. Although these are not graded assignments, they are important for coming up with ideas that can be later expanded into formal writing assignments. Formal Writing Students will complete graded, timed writing assignments bi-weekly. Students will write in-depth literary analysis essays several times throughout the year on both teacher-provided and student-generated topics. Feedback and Revision One major goal of this class is to improve student writing, which cannot be achieved without feedback and revision. I make it my goal to return papers in a timely manner (1-2 weeks at the most). 1 st semester, only I will be giving feedback on students writing but by 2 nd semester I will expect students to peer review one another s paper before being turned in, as they have become more accustomed to the AP writing rubric and what college level writing looks like. I will also have students keep their returned papers in a portfolio. We will have a one on one writing conference where you will walk me through each piece in your portfolio and discuss your strengths and areas of improvement for writing.
Revision and writing workshops will be focused on the following writing areas; along with any other areas I find need improvement as the class continues: A strong, wide ranging vocabulary used with both denotative and connotative accuracy A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of both subordination and coordination to create fluency A logical organization which is enhanced by the skillful use of specific techniques of coherence such as, repetition, transitions and emphasis A balance of generalization with specific illustrative detail An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, a consistent voice, and achieving emphasis through parallelism and antithesis Units of Study *Subject to change Unit 1 Intro to AP and intro to poetry (9 Weeks) EQ: How does a poem mean? (not a typo analyzing how meaning is created in poetry) Readings: Literature & Composition, Selected handouts and poems Unit 2 Civilization and Savagery (8 Weeks) EQ: What does it mean to be civilized? Is humankind inherently good or evil? How do we make moral choices? (the nature of good and evil as presented in a given text) Which has a greater impact on human development nature or nurture? Readings: Heart of Darkness, Lord of the Flies, Hollow men, How to Read Lit like a Professor Unit 3 Gothic Romanticism (3 Weeks) EQ: How does a lack of compassion lead to prejudice and stereotyping? Which has a greater impact on human development nature or nurture? How do feelings of guilt affect and influence our actions? Readings: Frankenstein, Rime of the Ancient Mariner Unit 4 Revenge and Madness (6 Weeks) EQ: What are the potential conflicts when one person s reality is another person s illusion? How does one s familial relationships shape our understanding of ourselves and the world we live in? How does sanity or insanity allow characters to attain or prevent what they want? Readings: King Lear Unit 5 Identity and Culture (7 Weeks) EQ: Do we create an identity or inherit one? What are the potential conflicts when one person s reality is another person s illusion? How does one s familial relationships shape our understanding of ourselves and the world we live in? If language shapes identity, how does it do so? Readings: Death of a Salesman, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Unit 6 Comedy and Satire (2 Weeks) EQ: How does the Importance of Being Ernest become a social commentary on its society? What are the different types of humor? How are they used? What purposes do they serve to reveal meaning? Readings: The Importance of Being Ernest, A Modest Proposal After the AP Exam In this class, our overall goal is the AP Exam at the beginning of May, however this does not mean that when the exam is done the class is over. In fact, we will have several more weeks until graduation. In that time we will further extend our understanding of satire and personal connections to poetry. Grading Timed writing will be graded using the AP writing rubric with a score ranging from 1-9. These scores will correlate to percentages. Because timed writing will only be improved by practice, students will have the opportunity to revise their work for a higher grade. 2-1 = 55-50% 4-3= 65-60% 5= 75% 7-6= 85-80% 9-8=95-90% Assignments in this class are weighted according to the percentages provided. Participation 25% Which includes homework, schoolwork Discussion 20% Which includes Socratic seminars and portfolio conferences Vocabulary quizzes 10% Weekly Writing assignments and tests 45% Which includes outside essays, timed writing, tests, major projects Revision All major writing assignment can be revised, once, for full credit. To complete a revision you must meet with me before or after school to discuss your paper and planned revisions in person. Revisions must be completed 1 month from when papers are returned a specific revision date will be given for each paper. Changes must be marked on both the original and revised copies of the papers. Classroom Policies Passes Since you are all young adults, you will be allowed to use passes as needed. Please note that it is always the teacher s discretion to decide whether or not you may leave the classroom and I will not allow you to go in the middle of instruction or discussion. If I feel you are abusing this privilege consequences will occur. Please note that you will be responsible for any class work you miss while out of the classroom. Late work Each assignment/assessment (besides optional revisions) includes both a due date and a deadline date. The deadline date is the absolute last day an assignment/assessment can be turned in. As long as the work is completed by the deadline, you will receive full credit. After the deadline passes you will receive a zero for that assignment.
If you do not complete an assignment by the due date (the recommended date to turn the assignment in) you are required to complete a Missed Due Date Form. These are available by the classroom library and need to be turned in directly to me. Remember all assignments are due at the beginning of class and those that are not will be considered past the due date. Absent work If you are absent it is your responsibility to collect your homework. Absent work must be made up in a timely manner or it will be considered late (see policy above). According to the school handbook you have the same amount of days that you were absent plus one to make up the work. If you are absent due to a sporting event, field trip or blood drive, where you are in school for half the day you MUST see me that same day to collect your missed work. Otherwise it will be counted as late. Because this class is heavily discussion based, if you miss a graded discussion day you will be expected to make up the work in an alternative assignment. Paper Formats Please use proper MLA format on all typed paper assignments. I require the use of Times New Roman font, 12 point. See the following website for more MLA formatting tips: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Food and Drink Only water in a clear water bottle with a lid will be allowed in the classroom. Laptop Passes I will only write laptop passes during passing periods or before or after school. Do not ask for a laptop pass in the middle of class or interrupt any of my classes for a pass.